An Ignoble Experiment

2. Report: Android surges to record 80% smartphone shipment share in Q2

Samsung Electronics admonished digital marketing agency partner Fllu for offering Android application developers cash in exchange for mentioning the manufacturer's upcoming Smart App Challenge on the Stack Overflow programmer site.

On Thursday, Android developer Delyan Kratunov blogged an exchange with Fllu COO John Yoo, who wrote "I was wondering if you would be interested in doing a small partnership to promote the upcoming Samsung Smart App Challenge. We need guys that know about Android Apps on Stackoverflow." After Kratunov asked for details, Yoo responded "All we need you to do is talk about the SSAC (Samsung Smart App Challenge) and get the word out. How? We were thinking about 4 questions on Stackoverflow over the span of a month..... as well as replies to posts made by other members. Don't worry about finding the questions to reply to because we will send you links." Yoo said Fllu would pay Kratunov $500 for his participation.

Samsung acknowledged Yoo's actions in a statement issued to The Verge but said they were "clearly against Samsung Electronics corporate policy." The device maker contends it was not aware of Fllu's cash-for-content efforts and halted Yoo's plans once it discovered the bribery scheme. "We remain committed to engaging in transparent and honest communications with consumers," Samsung said.

Kratunov also posted a follow-up email from Yoo reading in part "There has been contact that was made from our company regarding promotional opportunities, specifically to be made via public community channels--namely Stackexchange/Stackoverflow. Please note that our request to promote via these public channels is a breach against their Terms of Service and could result in your account being terminated. We do not condone such actions that contradict the respective forum policies and would like to redact any correspondences made. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Samsung is the world's largest Android device manufacturer. The company reported record net profits of $6.97 billion in the second quarter of 2013, up from $4.56 billion in the year-ago period and higher than the previous record of $6.41 billion in the first quarter of this year. Sales in Samsung's mobile business jumped to $31 billion, up from $20.1 billion in the year-ago quarter and $28.51 billion in the year-ago period.

For more:
- read this Verge article
- read this AppleInsider article

Read more about: Android, Samsung Electronics
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By Jason Ankeny

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3. Facebook ports Home's Cover Feed to flagship Android app

Google's (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android mobile operating system powered a record 79.5 percent of all smartphones shipped worldwide during the second quarter of 2013, up from 69.5 percent in the year-ago quarter, research firm Strategy Analytics reports.

Global smartphone shipments grew 46.7 percent annually from 156.5 million units in the second quarter of 2012 to 229.6 million in the most recent quarter. Strategy Analytics credited growth to strong demand for Android models across all price points in both developed and emerging markets, led by the U.S., China and Brazil. "Competitive licensing costs, numerous hardware partners and a large apps store continue to be among the main drivers of Android's success," said Strategy Analytics Executive Director Neil Mawston.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) shipped 31.2 million iPhones between April 1 and June 30, increasing from 26 million in the year-earlier period. The iOS platform nevertheless slipped to 13.6 percent global market share, its lowest level since the second quarter of 2010. Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows Phone follows at 3.9 percent, increasing from 3.6 percent in the year-ago quarter as shipments grew from 5.6 million to 8.9 million.

"Microsoft is making steady progress in the smartphone market due to strong support from Nokia (NYSE:NOK). However, we believe Microsoft's [Windows Phone 8] platform still needs to improve in at least two areas before it truly takes off," said Strategy Analytics Analyst Linda Sui. "First, the license fee charged to smartphone makers for WP8 must be more competitive to compete with Android in lower price bands. And second, Microsoft must dramatically accelerate its support for advanced technologies, such as octo-core chipsets, because WP8 continues to lag behind Android in the premium smartphone category."

Strategy Analytics did not even break out metrics on struggling BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY), instead lumping the OS into an "Others" category. Those less popular platforms represented only 3 percent of smartphones shipped in the second quarter, plummeting from 10.4 percent a year ago as shipments declined from 16.2 million to 6.9 million.

For more:
- read this Strategy Analytics blog post

Read more about: Metrics, BlackBerry
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By Jason Ankeny

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4. LinkedIn mobile engagement jumps 40% in Q2 after apps revamp

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) is overhauling its Android social networking application with the addition of Cover Feed, an alternative lockscreen first introduced as part of the Facebook Home launcher.

Facebook Home, unveiled in early April, is an alternative homescreen that pushes the social media giant's mobile services to the forefront of the Android user interface. With the release of the latest Facebook for Android update, users can set Cover Feed as their device lockscreen, letting them view photos and updates from their Facebook friends without installing the complete Home package.

"Cover Feed has been a popular element of the Home experience, and making it available from the Facebook Android app makes it accessible for more people," a Facebook spokesperson told CNet. Facebook notes that the standalone Cover Feed is available exclusively to Android devices that support the full-fledged Home experience, including the HTC First, HTC One, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 and Nexus 4.

The move to extend Cover Feed to Facebook's flagship Android app casts doubt on the future of the standalone Facebook Home experience. The app remains limited to only a handful of Android devices, and among the roughly 21,700 consumers who've submitted Home reviews to the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Play marketplace, close to half have awarded it just one star, the digital storefront's lowest rating.

Facebook has promised significant improvements directly inspired by consumer comments, and in June it rolled out a favorites tray allowing consumers to customize their Home experience by pinning the other apps and games they use most, a move to assuage criticisms that Home is too rigid and makes it too difficult to access other mobile features and functions. Last month, Facebook Home also added new folders for organizing applications.

Facebook now boasts 819 million mobile active users, increasing 51 percent over the second quarter of 2012. Mobile daily active users now exceed 469 million. "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 last week.

For more:
- read this CNet article

By Jason Ankeny

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5. eMarketer: U.S. adults spend 2.5 hours a day on non-voice mobile activities

LinkedIn experienced dramatic increases in mobile user engagement during the second quarter of 2013, growth the professional networking platform attributed to recent overhauls of its Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android applications.

The updated LinkedIn apps, which the company rolled out in mid-April, introduced new personalization options as well as more efficient access to professional information and insights. "So far we've seen a 40 percent lift in mobile homepage engagement as compared to the previous app. And a more engaging mobile experience enhances the overall health of the LinkedIn platform," LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner said during the company's second quarter earnings call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. "Since the introduction of the new app, we've consistently seen increases in social actions, article views and mobile profile edits when compared to the previous version."

Mobile remains LinkedIn's fastest growing service, Weiner added. "In Q2, we averaged 33 percent of unique visiting members coming through our mobile apps, versus 21 percent a year ago," he said.

The LinkedIn network connects 238 million professionals across 200 countries and territories worldwide. Revenue for the second quarter reached $363.7 million, an increase of 59 percent compared to $228.2 million in the year-ago quarter. LinkedIn's Marketing Solutions segment, which includes sponsored ads inserted into the mobile update stream, generated second quarter revenues of $85.6 million, a year-over-year increase of 36 percent. "Content marketing within mobile has proven to be an effective form of marketing solution," Weiner said. "And so we're excited about the prospects there."

LinkedIn's gains follow a week after Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) reported second-quarter revenues of $1.81 billion, above analyst expectations of $1.62 billion, a surge credited in part to continued growth of its mobile advertising efforts, which generated 41 percent of the social network's total revenues, up from 30 percent in the first quarter of this year. "When you look at how Facebook has been able to use sponsored content, LinkedIn will be able to do much of that as well," Evercore Partners Ken Sena told Reuters.

For more:
- read this release
- read this Seeking Alpha transcript
- read this Reuters article

Special Report: Wireless in the second quarter of 2013

Read more about: Mobile Social Networking, Metrics
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By Jason Ankeny

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