| This week's sponsor is Intel. |  | Intel® Software Adrenaline Magazine
Get the latest in touch and sensory technologies. This edition explores the frontiers of touch computing, mobile lifestyles and more. Download today |
Also Noted: Moovweb
Spotlight On... Digital Advertising Alliance, Network Advertising Initiative each release guidelines for mobile ad data usage
China's Baidu reports increase in mobile revenues; Rockstar discounts its mobile games and much more...
News From the Fierce Network:
1. Google, FTC finalize settlement over Motorola patents
2. BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet chief set to leave company
3. Google ponies up $600,000 for free Wi-Fi in San Francisco
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Today's Top News 1. Facebook posts blowout quarter, with mobile gains leading the way
Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) reported second-quarter results that blew past analysts' expectations, driven largely by dramatic improvements in the company's mobile business. Specifically, mobile ads generated 41 percent of Facebook's revenues--far exceeding analyst expectations of 33 percent, according to VentureBeat, and above the 30 percent Facebook reported in the first quarter of this year. "Nearly half a billion people use Facebook on their phones every day and soon we'll have more revenue on mobile than on desktop," Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said during the company's second-quarter earnings conference call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. Investors roared their approval: Facebook's stock opened up 26 percent, to $33.50 per share, after the company's earnings announcement. The results indicate that Facebook is well on its way to becoming a "mobile first" company, as Zuckerberg envisioned more than a year ago when he ordered an overhaul of the company's mobile products. Investors had been wary that Facebook would be able to accomplish the task, but the company's progress during the second quarter appeared to quell concerns. "Finally, the blowout quarter that Facebook bulls have been waiting for," Paul Sweeney, an analyst at Bloomberg Industries, told Bloomberg. "Among many impressive data points, I think investors will focus on the percentage of revenue from mobile of 41 percent, which was well above consensus." "The time people are spending on mobile devices is increasing dramatically that mobile represents just 2 percent of ad spent globally and 3 percent in the U.S.," said Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg during the company's earnings conference call. "We have a massive and growing mobile user base. We have an impressive share of mobile time spent and we have one if not the most effective mobile app products. Together this positions us well to lead the mobile app market." Market research firm eMarketer predicts Facebook will capture 13 percent of the global market for mobile advertising this year, up from 5.4 percent last year. However, eMarketer forecast Facebook will continue to trail the market leader in mobile ads--Google--for the foreseeable future; eMarketer predicts Google will command fully 56 percent of the mobile advertising market this year. In its second quarter results, Facebook's daily active users (DAUs) reached 699 million, a year-over-year increase of 27 percent, and the company's monthly active users (MAUs) totaled 1.15 billion, an increase of 21 percent year-over-year. But the company's mobile MAUs increased fully 51 percent year-over-year in the second quarter to 819 million, indicating Facebook is growing its mobile user base far more quickly than any other area. The company's mobile DAUs reached 469 million during the second quarter. As for the company's financials, Facebook notched revenue of $1.81 billion, above analyst expectations of $1.62 billion, according to Bloomberg, and also an increase from the $1.18 billion the company reported in the year-ago quarter. Facebook's net income clocked in at $333 million in the second quarter, a reversal from the $157 million net loss Facebook reported in the second quarter of 2012. And, importantly, Facebook said it continues to position itself for future growth. "We also continue to innovate around our mobile app products," Sandberg said during the company's call. "In April we launched ad targeting for future trends. This helps marketers, everyone from multinationals to local businesses, reach people in emerging markets who they could not easily reach before. While these ad markets are not especially large today, they'll become increasingly important in the years to come." Facebook recently revealed that its streamlined Facebook for Every Phone application--targeted generally at feature phones in emerging markets--has eclipsed the 100-million-active-user benchmark, corresponding to roughly one out of every eight of the social network's mobile users worldwide. For more:
- see this release
- see this VentureBeat article
- see this Bloomberg article
- see this Reuters article Special Report: Wireless in the second quarter of 2013 Related articles:
Facebook trialing mobile game ads inside notifications tab
Facebook expands mobile app install ads to specific Android, iOS devices
Facebook: Mobile now generates 30 percent of advertising revenues
Facebook: Mobile users outnumber Web users
Facebook introduces device, OS targeting for mobile advertisers
Facebook acquires Microsoft's Atlas advertising platform Read more about: Facebook
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2. Google releases Android 4.3 with user profiles, gaming enhancements
As expected, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) officially took the wraps off its Android 4.3 upgrade, highlighted by the introduction of user profiles, Bluetooth enhancements, gaming improvements and new content-protection technologies. The launch of the new operating system coincided with the launch of Google's new Nexus 7 Android tablet, which the company said will be powered by Android 4.3 and will go on sale in the coming weeks across a number of countries. (Click here for details on the Nexus 7.) The launch of Android 4.3 and the new Nexus 7 were largely in line with what was expected. Further, the news is likely more of a stepping stone to the launch of Android 5.0, which The Wall Street Journal reported will be released this fall and will push the Google platform into laptops, wearables and appliances, giving manufacturing partners greater flexibility to customize the OS for use in devices beyond smartphones and tablets. During the Android 4.3 launch event, Google Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai, who oversees Android as well as the company's Chrome efforts, also offered a quick update on Google's Android progress: He said Google Play has recorded a total of 50 billion app downloads, and developer revenues from Android users have increased 2.5 times during the past year. He also said the company now counts more than 1 million Android apps in its digital storefront. Among the new features in Android 4.3 are: - User profiles, which will allow Android users to tweak layouts and available applications based on who is using the device. Google said the service will allow parents to limit the types of apps available to their children, for example, or for stores to use Android tablets in kiosks.
- Bluetooth Smart, which is also called Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE). The technology, which is also being added to Apple's iOS 7, will allow users to pair devices like heart rate monitors to their Android devices.
- Support for OpenGL ES 3.0, which Google said will allow Android game developers to create photo-realistic 3D games and applications. "This is a big deal for game developers," said Google's Hugo Barra.
- New digital rights management APIs, which Google said will provide developers with additional options to protect their content. Google said Netflix plans to use the new APIs in its Android app in order to stream 1080p content.
Google said Android 4.3 will soon be available for the Android developer editions of the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One as well as the Nexus 7, Nexus 4, Nexus 10 and Galaxy Nexus. Sony said a number of its Xperia phones will "eventually" be upgraded to Android 4.3, while HTC and Samsung said they are "reviewing" their Android 4.3 upgrade plans. Aside from Android 4.3 and its new Nexus 7 tablet, Google also announced a few additional news nuggets. The company showed off its new Chromecast device, a USB stick that users will be able to plug into their TVs to easily view Internet video content from YouTube, Netflix and Google Play. The $35 device is available starting today from Amazon, Best Buy and elsewhere, and essentially allows Android and iPhone users to beam content from their phone to their TV. Google said it will release a Google Cast SDK to developers that will allow them to support the gadget via their own apps. Google also announced its new Google Play Games app, which the company said will act as a hub for Android users' gaming experiences. The app will essentially list of a user's Android games alongside those Google+ users they are connected to, and will allow users to view their gaming progress in relation to their Google+ connections and the wider Android community. The Google Play Games app will also provide game recommendations based on a user's Google+ connections. Finally, Google also announced a "textbook" category in its Google Play bookstore that will allow students to either purchase or rent textbooks from publishers including McGraw-Hill and others. For more:
- see this Google post
- see this FierceWireless article
- see this TechRadar article
- see this Engadget article
- see this The Verge live blog
- see this AllThingsD live blog
Related Articles:
Best Buy confirms new Nexus 7, Android 4.3 launch ahead of Google event
Rumor Mill: Google unveiling Android 4.3 next week
Rumor Mill: Some Samsung smartphones might skip to Android 4.3
Android co-founder Miner calls fragmentation fears 'overblown'
Android Jelly Bean adoption finally eclipses Gingerbread
Google unveils Nexus 7 Android Jelly Bean tablet Read more about: Android
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3. Apple begins reviving hacked iOS developer center
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is slowly beginning to turn its developer tools back on, a week after the company reported that an "intruder" had broken into its developer center and possibly obtained iOS and Mac OS developers' personal information. Late last week Apple reported that "in order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we're completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database." Today, the company said two of its services, iTunes Connect and Bug Reporter, are now functional. "We plan to roll out our updated systems, starting with Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, Apple Developer Forums, Bug Reporter, pre-release developer libraries, and videos first," Apple wrote on its developer center. "Next, we will restore software downloads, so that the latest betas of iOS 7, Xcode 5, and OS X Mavericks will once again be available to program members. We'll then bring the remaining systems online." The company created a status page here to update developers on the company's progress. Turkish security researcher Ibrahim Balic has claimed responsibility for the attack, telling The Guardian that his goal was to demonstrate that the Apple site was leaking user information. "My intention was not attacking," Balic explained. "In total I found 13 bugs and reported [them] directly one by one to Apple straight away. Just after my reporting [the] dev center got closed." The issue is a critical one for Apple as the company works with iOS developers on the rollout of its new iOS 7 operating system. Apple unveiled iOS 7 at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference in June. Among the biggest changes in iOS 7 is the elimination of skeuomorphism, the longstanding iOS design aesthetic that leverages real-world images and metaphors like linen-textured gray backgrounds, wooden bookshelves and spiral-bound notebooks. The revamped OS also signals the launch of multitasking for all apps, AirDrop wireless file sharing, revamped Siri voice controls and the iTunes Radio streaming music service. For more:
- see this GigaOM article
- see this Apple developer page Related articles:
Apple developer site hacked, security researcher claims responsibility
Apple's iOS 7 beta 3 brings fixes for Messages, iCloud bugs
Apple rolls out iOS 7 beta 2, adds iPad support
Report: Apple's iOS 7 redesign still in flux, major revisions likely before release
Apple CEO Cook: New iOS 7 is the 'biggest change to iOS since the iPhone' Read more about: Apple, iOS
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4. Nokia offers YouTube video uploader app
Nokia (NYSE:NOK) released a new app for Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone operating system that allows users to upload videos directly to Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) YouTube. While the actual app is a relatively minor item in the overall mobile marketplace, it serves to highlight the increasingly complex web of alliances and rivalries that has grown out of the intense competition in the mobile industry among the world's largest technology companies. Nokia's new app "helps you to share your videos quickly and easily with your friends, and works for all videos shot on Nokia Lumia phones with Windows Phone 8," Nokia wrote in its description of the offering on Microsoft's Windows Phone Store. "Simply select the video in the Photos app and share, or upload after capturing and trimming with the Nokia Video Trimmer through share option." According to testing by The Verge, the app only works on Nokia's new Lumia 1020, though it likely will be made available to additional Lumia phones--and possibly Windows Phone devices from other manufacturers. But the release of the app comes on the heels of bickering between Google and Microsoft over a native YouTube app for Microsoft's Windows Phone operating system. Microsoft previously built its own YouTube app for Windows Phone without Google's consent, incorporating features that halted ads from playing while enabling a video download option. Google responded with a cease-and-desist letter calling on Microsoft to "immediately withdraw this application from the Windows Phone Store and disable existing downloads." Shortly after the dust-up, Google and Microsoft announced a collaboration to build a native YouTube video application for Windows Phone. Now, Nokia appears to be getting into the issue with its own YouTube video uploader. The situation is notable, considering Microsoft is working to cut into the enormous lead Google commands in the mobile market with its Android smartphone operating system. In order to do that, Microsoft is working to expand the number of applications written for its Windows Phone platform--applications including one for Google's own YouTube service. Nokia, meanwhile, is using Microsoft's Windows Phone platform to combat Samsung and other smartphone manufacturers that have risen to prominence on the sales of devices running Google's Android OS. Thus, Nokia too is working to increase the app options available to its own customers. Further complicating the situation is Google's strategy to support rival operating systems such as Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS platform--indeed, Google released its own native YouTube iOS app after Apple removed a built-in YouTube app from its iOS platform. But Google is relatively selective with the platforms it supports with apps--the company generally hasn't released native applications for the BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) or Windows Phone platforms. For more:
- see this Verge article
- see this app listing
- see this CNET article Related articles:
Microsoft, Google building native YouTube app for Windows Phone
Microsoft revamps YouTube app for Windows Phone to appease Google
Google orders Microsoft to kill YouTube app for Windows Phone
Google launches cross-platform YouTube paid channels program
YouTube for iOS adds live video streaming, My Subscriptions uploads
Google overhauls YouTube Capture, Currents apps for iOS Read more about: YouTube, Nokia
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5. Report: U.S. mobile malware infections drop 63%
The number of phones in the United States infected with malware decreased 63 percent from the first quarter of this year to the second quarter, according to a new report from mobile security firm NQ Mobile. However, the firm said it identified 51,000 new mobile malware threats globally during the first half of this year, infecting an estimated 21 million mobile devices across the world. "Our midyear report shows that although we discovered 51,000 new mobile malware threats, infection rates continue be very unpredictable and highly localized," said Omar Khan, co-CEO of NQ Mobile. "And as evidenced by the Bill Shocker malware we discovered in January which infected over 600,000 mobile devices, it takes just one successful piece of malware to create a local malware epidemic." NQ said the United States accounted for 6.5 percent of the world's malware infections. The firm said China leads the world with the largest number of infected phones: NQ said 6.7 million devices were infected with malware in the first half of 2013 in China, a 43 percent increase from the first quarter to the second quarter. Russia and India followed China in terms of the number of new infections. NQ said 32 percent of the mobile malware it discovered this year was designed to "collect and profit from a user's personal data," and 23 percent of malware was designed to make a user's device stop working. NQ said the most popular method of infecting a phone was "app repackaging," where hackers add lines of malicious code into a genuine app and repackage and reload it onto a third-party marketplace for unsuspecting mobile users to download and install. NQ said it obtained its findings through its Security Labs division as well as the 111 million active user accounts it tracks through its NQ Sense mobile security product. NQ isn't the only company reporting on malware in the mobile industry. According to a new Juniper Networks report, mobile malware threats surged 614 percent between March 2012 and March 2013 to eclipse 275,000 total malicious apps. For more:
- see this release
- see this page Related articles:
Bluebox: Android security flaw exposes 99% of devices to hacker attack
Juniper Networks: Mobile malware threats explode 614 percent year-over-year
Lookout: 1M U.S. Android owners have downloaded adware in past year
Android malware disguised as mobile ad network infects up to 9 million devices
Consumer irresponsibility abetting Android malware surge Read more about: malware
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SPOTLIGHT ON... Digital Advertising Alliance, Network Advertising Initiative each release guidelines for mobile ad data usage Two major advertising trade groups recently released guidelines on how their respective members should handle the collection of mobile user data. The Digital Advertising Alliance, which leads the advertising industry's targeted ad privacy program, and the Network Advertising Initiative, which covers third party ad networks and exchanges, published guidelines on the collection and retention of information on mobile users. The issue has grown into a major topic of discussion among regulators, advertisers and mobile marketing companies, considering the detailed location and usage information available on mobile users. With the rapid evolution of mobile technologies, and the increasingly powerful tools available to advertisers, those in the industry have been left to decide for themselves exactly how they wish to collect and use data on wireless customers. Thus, it's no surprise that the DAA and the NAI are hoping to standardize the situation, partly to allay regulators' concerns and partly to ensure the market will continue to advance. "Consumers love being mobile," said DAA Managing Director Lou Mastria. "And they also understand that much of the enjoyment, convenience and information they receive in mobile environments are supported by advertising. Brands, too, are increasingly converging communications channels--making little distinction as to how customers interact with them. Our newly announced mobile guidance is intended to help brands, agencies, ad networks and mobile providers navigate data collection and use across mobile and other platforms according to our established self-regulatory principles--all backed by third-party enforcement." Click here for details from the DAA and click here for details from the NAI. Quick news from around the Web. @FierceWireless: RT @verge: Samsung reportedly building new Nexus 10 tablet, arriving in the 'near future' Article | Follow@FierceWireless > China's Baidu increased its revenues largely thanks to advances in mobile. Article > Rockstar discounted its mobile games ahead of the release of its GTA V game. Article > iOS users in China spend more time in Books, Newsstand, Utility and Productivity app categories than iOS users in other parts of the world, according to Flurry. Article > Solstice Mobile said it will introduce products to aid developers in the migration to Apple's iOS 7 platform. Release > According to a new study, mobile TV users pay more attention to their shows than people who watch TV on regular TV sets. Article > Mobile payments company Fortumo recently partnered with both China Unicom and China Telecom. Article Wireless News > Google finalized its settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, under which Google has agreed to no longer seek sales bans on products that infringe on the standards-essential patents it owns. The FTC set up an arbitration process for patent complaint as part of the settlement. Article > The head of BlackBerry's PlayBook tablet division is leaving the company, and his departure comes less than a month after CEO Thorsten Heins announced that BlackBerry would not upgrade to the device to its latest software, effectively orphaning the gadget. Article Broadband Wireless News > Justin Bieber, the cloud and the quest for virtualization. Editor's Corner > Google offered to donate $600,000 to install free Wi-Fi hotspots in 31 public spaces around San Francisco, but the city, concerned about ongoing costs it might have to shoulder, is approaching the offer cautiously. Article And finally… Two-thirds of world leaders are engaged in diplomatic relations on Twitter. Release > Monetization Workshop - August 2 - San Francisco, CA - Twilio HQ Build revenue and better monetize your apps. Join CBS Interactive, CapCom, PlayFirst, Dolby, Twilio, and other industry leaders for a monetization workshop and open bar reception. Register now, learn how to make your app profitable.
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