iPhone News Updated

Apple – Apple’s iOS Winning The Race Against Android, But Not For Long

iPhone Apps – 15 Billion Downloads

Last week, Apple announced that it’s iPhone App Store has reached 15 billion downloads. Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said “In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen.” “Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.”

Solid Growth From Android As Well

Google’s SVP and advertising chief, Susan Wojcicki, said that the Android Market has 250,000 apps and 6 billion downloads on 135 million devices. This is very promising growth. In just two months, the number of devices has risen from 100 million to 135. This is most likely due to the incredible amount of new Android smart-phones and tablets newly released. Since Android tablets haven’t become really popular yet, most of the 135 million devices are smart-phones.

iOS Still Bigger Than Android

Larry Page from Google stated that there are 550,000 new Android activations every day. That’s an a 10% increase in just 2 weeks. Android is growing at an alarming rate. Despite this, iOS still massively outnumbers Android, by about 65 million. (iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad). In any case, iOS is bigger than Android as a mobile platform.

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Google+ checklist: games, ads, iPhone app, URLs, plus the mainstream

Google says it has ten million people in Google+ and now it’s up to the search giant to see what it can do to turn the early looky loo’s into regular participants despite the fact that most of their “friends” are still over on behemoth Facebook instead (here’s how to get your invite into Google+). That checklist for Google Plus, if Google is smart about it, will include everything from online gaming to an iPhone app to custom user URL’s and, while users may not celebrate it, advertising. And oh by the way, inviting the mainstream in before the place becomes overrun with the stench of geeks-only participation might not be a bad idea either.

Here’s a look at what Google must do next to plus things up and turn Google+ into a true Facebook rival and not merely a niche-y Facebook alternative for geeks.

Google Plus Games: Facebook games are the scourge of the social network for those who don’t play them, as invites run amok for social games like Farmville and Zombies reached spam proportions before they were finally brought somewhat under control. But games are an essential part of Facebook in the eyes of many of its users, and if Google wants the mainstream, it’ll need to add games to Google+ in such a way as to not sully up those users who don’t want gaming spam. Sidling up to Zynga or Angry Birds maker Rovio might not be a bad first step.

Google+ iPhone app: Google made a tactical error by not ensuring it had a Google+ iPhone app approved in Apple’s App Store from the day Google+ launched. Either Google has been slow in getting the app going, or bitter smartphone rival Apple is stonewalling the approval process, or Google thinks limiting Google+ to strictly having an Android app is a good idea. None of those three scenarios look promising, as the hundred million plus iPhone and iPad users are going to be far less interested in switching over to Google+ if they have to rely on the web app. Web apps, by definition, are lame.

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