The mountain of unused phones will continue to rise as the number of phones have already eclipsed the number of clean toilets,  and not all of those devices are being utilized. Love2Recycle‘s recent graphics shows that the average mobile consumer already owns two unused phones with only 11% getting recycled each year in the US. Click here to see the rest of the graphics: Read more

Revenue from apps is expected to reach $25 billion in 2013, according to a new forecast from ABI Research. According to the forecast, revenue from apps sold on tablets is expected to reach $8.8 billion this year, while smartphone apps are expected to bring in $16.4 billion. The forecast is also calling for Apple to dominate the app marketplace and bring in 65 percent of the revenues. Google Play is forecast to account for 27 percent of revenues and 8 percent of app revenues are expected to come from “other mobile platforms.”

Here is more from the report: “As part of a main trend, tablet apps will steadily increase their share of the market over the coming years, to an extent that they will, in 2017, nearly match the smartphone application revenues and surpass them in 2018, when the combined revenue base will reach $92 billion.”

“The larger screen makes apps and content look and feel better, so there are more lucrative opportunities,” commented Aapo Markkanen, ABI Research’s senior analyst. “One might think that the bigger installed base of smartphones would compensate for the disparity, but that notion fails to take into account the arrival of low-cost tablets, which hasn’t even started yet at its earnest.”

Apple’s iOS mobile operating system adoption is growing, according to new metrics from  mobile marketing company Jumptap. The company reported today that as an operating system, iOS grew its market share from 26 percent in 2011 to 43 percent in 2012.

Here is more from Jumptap’s site:

Growth is likely attributed to the iPhone 4S and 5 launches in late 2011 and September 2012, respectively, as well as increased iPad use. Meanwhile, Android edged up slightly, maintaining the number one spot, while RIM declined significantly. For advertisers who seek reach, efficiency and results, targeting across both iOS and Android will optimize results.

The company also reported that tablet share doubled on the Jumptap network in 2012, as phone share dropped significantly. The company expects this trend to continue.

According to recent surveys from Pew Research Center, educators are more dependent on mobile devices than ever before:

• 92% of these teachers say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to access content, resources, and materials for their teaching
• 69% say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to share ideas with other teachers
• 67% say the internet has a “major impact” on their ability to interact with parents and 57% say it has had such an impact on enabling their interaction with students

Further, four in ten educators report using e-readers for classroom assignments. Unfortunately, teachers of lower income students are 17% less likely to engage mobile technology in classroom instruction. Read more

iPhone app downloads increased 13 percent in January as compared to December reaching 6.01 million daily downloads, according to new metrics from Fiksu.

The Fiksu App Store Competitive Index, which measures the average aggregate daily download volume of the top 200 free U.S. iPhone apps, followed a 16 percent increase in downloads during the month of December. The increase in January downloads was driven by new devices activated around the holidays.

“The January Fiksu Indexes are early indicators of the ‘mainstreaming of mobile advertising’ with marketers placing a focus on value over volume as they strategically plan for the year ahead – spreading their budgets out to maximize impact,” explained Micah Adler, CEO of Fiksu in a press release. “We expect brands to allocate more dedicated spending to mobile advertising campaigns in 2013 and to only get savvier about aligning seasonal spending to the ebbs and flows of user acquisition costs.”

A recent survey from software security specialists, AVG Technologie, reveals that 25% of smartphone and tablet users store intimate photos or videos on their devices. The press release shows that users are embracing technological advances for photos and videos, while still citing lack of security for every day uses like shopping and banking.

J.R. Smith, CEO of AVG Technologies on this security dichotomy:

This survey has clearly demonstrated that there is confusion in the minds of consumers about what is and isn`t safe or sensible to do with a mobile device. It is already limiting the appeal of mobile shopping, banking and ticketing, and this is in turn hampering the industry`s efforts to drive new innovations and monetization methods. At the same time, millions of consumers are exposing themselves to risk of personal and professional embarrassment by storing sensitive images on their devices.

While businesses are working to build up consumer confidence, users who do store private photos on their phone might want to know that there are ways to keep those sexy things safe. For example, if you lose your phone you can remotely delete those intimate photos. There are also great apps that can help you keep private photos away from unfamiliar users. Hide it Pro is a great example that can stow away your data so you can easily hand off your device to a friend without getting embarrassed about your personal photos.

Of the top 250 publishers in the Apple App Store for iPhone in the U.S., only 2 percent are new publishers. For Google Play in the U.S., only 3 percent are new publishers, according to app analytics company Distimo.

In this month’s publication of, “The New Apps in the Crowd,” which examines trends in Apple’s App Store for iPhone, Apple’s App Store for iPad and Google Play from October 2012 through January 2013, Distimo also revealed that “the top 250 new publishers in the U.S. in Google Play published an average of six free applications, while the top new pubs in the U.S. in the Apple App Store for iPhone published an average of two free applications.”

Even though these app stores are getting crowded, there is still room for newcomers. According to Distimo, 17 percent of the top 300 applications in Apple’s App Store for iPhone in the U.S. were new applications. Newcomers held 12 percent of the top 300 applications in Google Play’s U.S. store.  Read more

Tablet sales grew by a whopping 75 percent, reaching 46.2 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, according to new metrics from market research company Canalys. The company found the Apple led the market for worldwide tablet shipments owning 20 percent of the market share and shipping 27 million PC units. To put this in perspective, one in six PCs that shipped in 2012 was an iPad.

During the fourth quarter, Amazon shipped 4.6 million Kindle Fires, which was up 18 percent. Most of these sales came from international orders as shipments reportedly declined in the U.S. In Q4 2012, Google shipped 2.6 million Nexus 7 and Nexus 10 products and Samsung shipped 7.6 million pads, an increase of 226 percent.

Here is more from Canalys: “Canalys estimates that the mini made up over half of Apple’s total pad shipments, with its attractive price point and compact design leading to significant cannibalization in the iPad range and wider PC market. Despite record shipments, Q4 saw Apple’s pad share dip to 49%, becoming the first quarter it has not controlled over half the market.”

Dropping the price of your app in Apple’s App Store can help increase revenues, according to a new report by Distimo. The report, which looked at the effect of downloads based on price drops found that cumulative downloads grew by an average of 1665 percent five days after a price drop in the Apple App Store for iPhone. While not as huge, cumulative downloads grew by an average of 871 percent on the iPad.

Despite a lower price point, this huge spike in downloads leads to increases in revenue. According to the report, revenue increased by 95 percent for iPhone apps three days after a price drop and revenue increased by 51 percent for iPad apps within three days of a price drop.

Here is more from the report: “The effect on downloads of a lower price ends, when the price increases again. Download volumes in the Apple App Store for iPhone drop by -46%, aggregated over five days after a price raise. In the Apple App Store of iPad, the drop in downloads is somewhat higher, -57%.”

In the final quarter of 2012 Google Play app revenue doubled, and iOS App Store revenue grew by about one-fifth, as compared to the third quarter, according to new data from App Annie.

The company reported today that Apple had record revenues in December 2012, jumping 35 percent over December. “…this gain surpassed even the standout revenue increase from November to December last year,” explained the App Annie blog.

Google Play’s growth was led by sales in Asia. The App Annie blog explained, “Japan and South Korea led this growth and contributed close to half of Google Play’s app revenue in Q4.”

According to the metrics, in December 2012, 76 percent of Google Play app revenue in the U.S. came from  the games category. In Japan, games drove 88 percent of revenues and South Korea Google Play revenues dominated with 95 percent of the market.