EU and Google antitrust, China leads on iOS downloads, 6% in the US plan to buy an Apple Watch and more…
Each week the MEF team curates mobile stories from around the world. Essential news you may have missed, the latest market insight & data nuggets, the Global Mobile News Round-up offers an instant international mobile content and commerce snapshot.
Global News Stories
EU Accuses Google Of Antitrust Violations; Starts Android Probe
Bloomberg
The European Union escalated its four-year-old probe into Google Inc., accusing the Internet giant of abusing its dominance of the search-engine market and starting a new investigation into its Android mobile-phone software.
The European Commission sent a “statement of objections” to Google that alleges the company has been unfairly favoring its own comparison shopping service above rivals since 2008. Regulators, who have the power to impose fines, will also look at Google’s contracts with phone and tablet makers to check if they are forced to use the company’s services or blocked from adopting modified versions of Android.
Jawbone’s new fitness tracker lets you make payments from your wrist and is cheaper than the Apple Watch
Jawbone will be launching a new fitness tracker this summer that you can also use to make payments, the company just announced.
The $200 band, which will be called the UP4, comes with the same fitness sensors as the recently released UP3, but also includes NFC support so that you can tap-to-pay at retailers that support the technology.
Report: China Now Leads The World In Downloading iOS Apps
Gamasutra
The latest report from mobile analytics firm App Annie suggests that, after years of rapid growth, China has finally surpassed the United States when it comes to iOS app downloads — though the U.S. still leads the world in terms of iOS revenue.
App Annie analysts believe this jump in demand is due in large part to the recent launch of the latest iPhones in China, but it may also be due to the growing preponderance of free-to-play mobile games; according to the report, the lion’s share of iOS downloads in China were games or photo/video apps.
Blow To Internet.org As Indian Internet Companies Begin To Withdraw
The Huffington Post
A day after Flipkart exited from the Airtel Zero platform, Cleartrip, NDTV, Newshunt and the Times Group announced that they are stepping away from Facebook’s internet.org initiative today.
The Times Group will be pulling out TimesJobs and Maharashtra Times from Internet.org, and has committed to withdraw from internet.org if its direct competitors – India Today, NDTV, IBNLive, NewsHunt, and BBC – also pull out.
Google Wallet Adds New Integrations with Shopify, Seamless, Dunkin’ Donuts And More
TechCrunch
Google has been stepping up its game in mobile payments the last several months, buyingSoftcard’s point-of-sale tech and making some international advances for its money transfer service.
Today it’s adding another crucial piece to mix: some key integrations with merchants and merchant platforms. Customers that use Android apps from Dunkin’ Donuts and Seamless, and merchants that build online stores through Shopify, will now all be able to access Google Wallet to make and accept quick payments.
Exclusive: Six Percent Of US Adults Plan To Buy Apple Watch – Reuters / Ipsos Poll
Reuters
About 6 percent of U.S. adults plan to buy Apple Inc’s smartwatch according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, with men twice as likely as women to purchase Apple boss Tim Cook’s first new major product.
The poll showed the watch, marketed by Apple as a high-fashion item as well as a new frontier in technology
, appealed to fewer than 4 percent of women compared with 9 percent of men.
Just Over 18 Per Cent Of UK Payments Are Cash
FTSE Global Markets
Research from building society Halifax this morning suggests that cash makes up just £18.33 of every £100 spent, with digital transactions soaring over the last few years. Smartphone usage has powered the change, and mobile transactions are expected to grow from £9.7bn this year to £53.6bn by 2024.
Consumers are embracing the digital age when it comes to their spending habits, favouring card and electronic payments over the more traditional methods of cash or cheque. According to current account customer data published today by Halifax, payments by debit card now account for over half (56.7%) of all consumer transactions and cashless payment methods have increased to 83.4% of all current account transactions
Mobile Media Time To Surpass PC Media Time In 2015
Mobile Marketing Magazine
This year, for the first time, the amount of time UK adults spend with mobile devices each day will surpass the amount of time spent online via desktop and laptop PCs for the frst time this year, according to eMarketer’s estimates of media consumption among UK adults.
While time spent online via desktop or laptop computers has risen minimally over the past several years—and is expected to see year-over-year growth of just three minutes for 2015—gains in time spent with mobile devices have been much more vigorous.
Wellness Programms Will Spur Wearables Adoption In Workplace
Fierce Mobile
A new Tractica report projects more than 75 million wearable devices will be deployed in enterprise and industrial environments between 2014 and 2020, with smartwatches leading the way.
The research firm’s report, “Wearable Devices for Enterprise and Industrial Markets,” cites corporate wellness programs as the top driver for adoption.
While the study does not include adoption trends in the healthcare industry, Tractica’s lead wearables analyst and research director toldFierceMobileHealthcare the healthcare industry will see wearables adoption growth as well.
100B Messages And 500M Users Say Push Still Works – For Messages That Matter
VentureBeat
Apparently, people care about stuff that matters. To them, at least.
In the largest study of push notifications ever, Urban Airship says that average opt-in rates are highest for apps in categories like business, charity, travel/transportation, and utility/productivity. Meanwhile, they’re lowest in mobile gaming, food and drink, and retail apps.
Average opt-in? 43 percent.
Global News Round-up – These articles are not written by MEF and do not represent any views of individuals, members or the organisation.
