According to new data from Nielsen, Americans now spend more time using mobile web and apps on their smartphones than they do online on their PCs, reports Engadget.
That shift toward mobile is affecting how many spend their free time. Americans spent an average of 34 hours per month using mobile apps and browsers in 2013; that’s more time than they spent online with their PCs, which chewed up 27 hours … Expand Expanding Close
Samsung announced today that it is launching the “Samsung Solution Exchange” to offer unique mobile solutions to business owners. The app marketplace of sorts will offer businesses an easy way to find productivity and business related apps from third-party developers that are specifically suited for Samsung devices:
The Samsung Solutions Exchange delivers a range of offerings from third party providers that increase productivity and ROI, including sales and management applications, mobile device management solutions, cloud services, collaboration tools and security solutions – all designed to make it easier for enterprises to succeed in the new era of mobile business with our robust suite of SAFE devices.
Samsung says it will work with third-party developers, MDM providers, and sales channels to “systematically identify unique customer requirements and rapidly deliver end-to-end solutions.” To do that it will be making its SDK available to those that are part of the new Samsung Solution Exchange and a web portal will make it possible for business to discover new mobile solutions.
Research firm Canalys is out today with its latest report tracking worldwide smart mobile device shipments for Q1 with Android accounting for almost 60% of smart mobile devices shipped by OS. That’s compared to a 19.3% share for Apple and approximately 18.1% for Microsoft. Keep in mind Canalys’s report also includes notebooks, in addition to tablets and smartphones, which account for the majority of Microsoft’s share. When looking at tablets alone, Apple continued its lead with 46.4% share in the quarter, although Canalys warned Apple “lost share to its Android-based rivals for the third consecutive quarter.”
‘Spearheaded by Google and Amazon, the commoditization of the tablet market has happened far quicker than that of the wider PC market,’ said Canalys Senior Analyst, Tim Coulling. ‘Profit margins are being squeezed and vendors without a low cost structure will find it hard to compete. A solid range of must-have accessories and a software and services strategy are vital as vendors will increasingly need to make revenue around their devices.’
When it comes to smartphones, the report has Android at roughly 75.6% of shipments with around 32% of those shipments coming from Samsung. We know Apple sold around 37 million iPhones in the quarter but, as always, we warn that the stats from Canalys don’t include shipped vs sold data. Expand Expanding Close
As we discussed in February, HP is re-entering the Android tablet game after a little 4-year WebOS hiatus. Their first effort, the HP Slate 7 goes on sale today for a very reasonable $169. On the plus side, HP offers SD Card espansion, built-in printing and Beats Audio to the package when compared to the $199 Nexus 7. Like the Nexus 7, the Slate is almost entirely Stock Android (Here Here!). Unlike the Nexus 7, however, the screen is the same 1024×600 resolution as the two year old base model Kindle which currently sells for $159.
The real news here for Android is that HP’s expansive network of international customers now have easy access to an inexpensive tablet. I expect this to be a big deal. Expand Expanding Close
