Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.
Global News Stories
Mobile App Usage Increases In 2014, As Mobile Web Surfing Declines
TechCrunch
New data from app analytics provider Flurry released today states that native app usage on smartphones is continuing to grow at the expense of the mobile web. The company claims that users are now spending 2 hours and 42 minutes per day on mobile devices as of March 2014, up from 2 hours, 38 minutes as of a year ago. Meanwhile, mobile app usage accounts for 2 hours and 19 minutes of that time spent, while mobile web usage has dropped from 20% of the U.S. consumer’s time in 2013 to just 14% – or 22 minutes per day – as of last month. Says Flurry CEO Simon Khalaf, the changes indicate that the mobile browser has become just “a single application swimming in a sea of apps.”
Consumers Are Still Seeing Seams in the Mobile Wallet
NY Times
LIBBY CATHEY and her sorority sisters fumbled with pesos as they split the bill at Señor Frog’s in Cancún, Mexico, over spring break last month. But the return trip was painless. For the cab ride from the airport to New York University, two of her sorority sisters took out their smartphones and, with a few taps, reimbursed her for their portions of the fare in a few seconds. This, according to a cadre of start-ups and big corporations, is how consumers will pay for everything in the future, from babysitters to four-star dinners, as checks become cumbersome and exact change harder to find.
UK Mobile Banking Transactions Double in a Year
Mobile Marketing
The number of mobile banking transactions in the UK doubled between 2012 and 2013, according to figures released today by the British Banking Association (BBA) in its debut Way We Bank Now study, the first in a series of publications highlighting how Britain is embracing technology. The study, which covers the UK’s five biggest retail banks’ – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander – customers, reveals that these customers are now making more than 5.7m transactions a day using smartphones and other internet-enabled devices.
Facebook Still Dominates on Mobile, But Its Lead Has Declined
Mashable
Facebook continues to dominate on iOS and Android, by time spent, but its lead has slipped slightly. The average U.S. user spent an average of 2 hours and 42 minutes per day on mobile devices in the first three months of this year, according to new data from Flurry, an app analytics service. Facebook and Instagram, which it acquired in 2012, accounted for 17% of that time.
Don’t believe a thing! Tech-themed April Fools’ gags for 2014
Digital Trends
It has become traditional for tech companies to publish an April Fool’s Day gag or two, and over the years they have become more and more elaborate. This year is no exception. There are some great jokes, and some very silly videos out there. We’ve gathered together our favorites for you to have a laugh, and also to make sure you’re not caught out during the day.
Microsoft unveils Cortana, its answer to Siri and Google Now
Engadget
Microsoft has just announced Cortana, a new voice search tool for Windows Phone 8.1. Powered by Bing, it will eventually replace the search function in Windows Phone, and you’ll be able to access it (her?) through a special Live Tile. On top of search, it can make calls, send texts, take notes, give reminders and set alarms. Microsoft also said that it’ll work with third-party apps, and that it’s already been working with select developers like Hulu and Facebook.
The Credit Card Industry Is Enormously Powerful And Complex — But Payments Startups Are Beginning To Shake It Up
Business Insider
The credit card industry processes a massive volume of transactions — about $4 trillion last year in the U.S., according to BI Intelligence estimates.
With so much money in play, it’s no wonder that a host of startups are trying to carve out a niche for themselves and offer services to merchants and consumers that will rewrite the value they get from every credit card payment.
Read More… (Report)
Mobile Braodband has added billions: Study
MSN Australia
Australians would each have about $650 less in their pockets if mobile broadband didn’t exist, according to an analysis commissioned by the Australian Communications and Media Authority. The technology has saved businesses time and money and made consumers more productive. As a result, the economy has grown by an extra 0.28 per cent every year since 2007, the report says.
Mobile ad spend to hit $16.8bn by 2018
Mobile Entertainment
Advertising spend on mobile search and discovery is expected to hit $16.8 billion by 2018, reports Juniper Research. This increase – which is a huge difference from the estimated $6.4 billion in 2013 – will be driven by adpsend and advertising in local search apps such as Yelp, which will be the fasted growing market segment. The growing popularity of such platforms is being fuelled by the improvement of location-based tech such as GPS and smartphone map apps. This kind of tech has recently been adopted by BMW and Tesco – meaning they can develop targeting strategies based on where a customer is or has been.
Xiaomi’s Hugo Barra: True world phones in 2 years, Android all the way
CNet
As we sit down for lunch at his favourite Korean restaurant near the Xiaomi office here, Hugo Barra, former Googler and current Xiaomi global VP, seems like a changed man. He looks relaxed and casual, clearly enjoying the food despite an upset stomach — a far cry from the slightly stiff, formal, and taciturn Barra I met three years ago at Mobile World Congress.
Global News Round-up – These articles are not written by MEF and do not represent any views of individuals, members or the organisation.
