Top 5 Consumer Mobile Application Categories for 2012

Mobile application market has seen tremendous growth in less than half a decade's time. There are more than six billion phone subscribers in the world, which indicates that around 80 percent of the world now owns a mobile phone. There's a huge demand of Smartphones in market because of the multiple features they come with. And this growing demand is increasing the share of mobile apps market.

According to a study by mobile application store GetJar, the mobile apps market is expected to reach $17.5 million by 2012. More than 7 billion application downloads were performed in 2009, which is expected to cross 50 billion in 2012.

Gartner in the latest research has identified mobile application trends that will be a hit in 2012. So, here are the top 5 consumer mobile applications to watch-out for in 2012:

Location Based Services

It is expected that 1.4 billion people will be using location-based services by 2014. Location based service takes user's location, preference, gender, age, and several other things into account to deliver the content. Location based mobile applications prove time saving while searching for locations, navigating from one place to another, or even in storing route maps for next visit. Users can guide fellow travelers about shortest route, most time saving way of reaching out to a location, and best restaurants, coffee shops, hospitals & other places to visit in that area.

Social Networking

Social networking is booming and mobile applications have made it easier for people to stay connected. As per Gartner, it is the fastest growing consumer mobile application category. Social networking sites are transforming into portals, cloud storage, and transit hubs because of the increasing functionalities they are providing in terms of email, videos, games, e-commerce, and more.

m-Commerce

Though mobile commerce is an extension of e-commerce but it has made a separate market for itself. m-Commerce applications have just entered the market and users are currently not being offered too much functionality. It is expected that very soon retailers will shift their focus from e-commerce to provide more feature enabled mobile commerce applications. Users will get the ability to check into the store, add an item to shopping cart through bar code or picture they have clicked in the physical store. All these features are surely going to make shopping easier & more interesting through a mobile device.

Mobile Payment

Mobile phones with NFC payment feature have already entered the market and consumers are slowly getting adapted to the technology. Mobile payment applications have created a buzz in market. These apps make money transaction easier for buyers as they are relieved from the worries of carrying credit/debit cards wherever they go. But, payment solution providers have to create more awareness about the benefits of these applications in the consumer sector.

Instant Messaging

Mobile instant messaging applications are a hit amongst users of all age groups. Apps like Skype, Whatsapp, Nimbuzz make it easier and more pocket friendly for users to stay connected. BlackBerry, Apple, and Samsung already have IM apps for their device users & other manufacturers are also expected to come up with competitive applications very soon.

Other than these mobile application categories mobile email, mobile videos, gaming apps are also expected to become user favorite in 2012. These applications are not only expected to generate revenue of $15.9 billion this year, but will also give a push to hardware sales, advertising revenue, and technology innovation.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean: A Preview

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean has finally arrived on Nexus device in market. Though, it is not the most remarkable update from Google but Jelly Bean covers up for the areas where its predecessors just lacked in.

Google might have taken the decision of introducing Jelly Bean because of the low response that Ice Cream Sandwich has gained. The ICS operating system was present roughly in 10 percent of the devices a year after it was released.

While Android 3.0 was exclusively for tablets and Ice Cream Sandwich aimed at giving smoother UI to Android devices, Jelly Bean is expected to receive a widespread adoption. Google Nexus 7 tablet is the first Android device to feature Jelly Bean OS.

So, What are the New Things That Jelly Bean Has to Offer?

If reports are to be believed, Android Jelly Bean is so far the best version if your device is capable of running it. You won't find Jelly Bean appreciably different from Ice Cream Sandwich at first glance. But, the newest version has relatively lower boot time when compared with device running on Ice Cream Sandwich.

1. Notifications & UI

The notification pattern in Jelly Bean is completely changed. The neon blue highlights have been replaced with cleaner & more visible white. Moreover, the size of notifications has also increased. Users will be able to see quick preview of incoming emails & other built-in apps in the Android device.

The current time is displayed at left and day of the week is present atop the date. You can return to missed calls through handy callback button and share photos immediately after being taken.

2. Widget Placement

It was a tricky affair to place widgets anywhere on homescreen in earlier versions of Android. But, with Jelly Bean you will be able to move icons & get a customized layout. Moreover, you can also resize the widget the way you want to. You will also find a Sound Search Widget, similar to Shazam application on the homescreen. You can get artist, track, and cover information about the song while it is playing on the device just by tapping the widget.

One thing that might disappoint you is the lack of tablet-friendly applications support on Jelly Bean. For example, Netflix is said to be supported by the OS but when opened on Nexus 7, it displayed a too small or too big layout before setting up accurately.

3. Project Butter

Project Butter, as named by Android 4.1 engineers is one of the significant improvements but you won't get to know about it till the time you actually use a Jelly Bean device. The Project Butter has made the responsiveness of the device as smooth as iOS. Whether you own a smaller display Android device or Nexus 7, the responsiveness will be similar. Google has used different methods like "Vsync timing" (to ensure consistent frame rates on all screens) and triple buffering (the key element for overall smoother feel across the UI).

4. Other Features

The list doesn't end here. Android 4.1 Jelly Bean comes with a number of small features too.

• Google Chrome browser is now the default browser in Jelly Bean devices. This successful transition will give you a smoother & faster browsing experience.
• The soft keyboard in Jelly Bean is smarter and more accurate than the one in Ice Cream Sandwich.
• Text-to-speech feature is improved with Jelly Bean and voice typing works even without data connection.
• Face Unlock feature in Android 4.0 was nice but there were chances of somebody else accessing the handset by using your photo. Jelly Bean has Blink Detect feature. User will be asked to blink eyes to confirm that it's not a static image.
• Viewing photos is a faster affair in Jelly Bean. You can quickly swipe from camera to image view mode and delete unwanted images with a swipe up button instead of tapping on the picture.
• There's an accessibility option for blind users. They can use new Gesture Mode to navigate the UI with only touch & speech output.
• Map users can save the data offline, which is beneficial for Wi-Fi only devices.

Android Jelly Bean is a fast and fluidic platform, thanks to Project Butter. But, the OS still lacks in security features like remote lock or wipe. The new operating system is expected to be a nice boost for Google's Nexus branded hardware and we are eager for its release for other handsets as well.

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Top 5 Consumer Mobile Applications Categories for 2012

Mobile application market has seen tremendous growth in less than half a decade's time. There are more than six billion phone subscribers in the world, which indicates that around 80 percent of the world now owns a mobile phone. There's a huge demand of smartphones in market because of the multiple features they come with. And this growing demand is increasing the share of mobile apps market.

According to a study by mobile application store GetJar, the mobile apps market is expected to reach $17.5 million by 2012. More than 7 billion application downloads were performed in 2009, which is expected to cross 50 billion in 2012.

Gartner in the latest research has identified mobile application trends that will be a hit in 2012. So, here are the top 5 consumer mobile applications to watch-out for in 2012:

Location Based Services

Gartner expects that 1.4 billion people will be using location-based services by 2014. Location based services takes user's location, preference, gender, age, and many more things into account to deliver the content. Location based mobile applications prove time saving while searching for locations, navigating from one place to another, or even in storing route maps for next visit. Users can guide fellow travelers about shortest route, most time saving way of reaching out to a location, and best restaurants, coffee shops, hospitals & other places to visit in that area.

Social Networking

Social networking is booming and mobile applications have made it easier for people to stay connected. As per Gartner, it is the fastest growing consumer mobile application category. Social networking sites are transforming into portals, cloud storage, and transit hubs because of the increasing functionalities they are providing in terms of email, videos, games, e-commerce, and more.

M-commerce

Though mobile commerce is an extension of e-commerce but it has made a separate market for itself. M-commerce applications have just entered the market and users are currently not being offered too much functionality. Gartner expects that very soon retailers will shift their focus from e-commerce to providing more feature enabled mobile commerce applications. Users will get the ability to check into the store, add an item to shopping cart through bar code or picture they have clicked in the physical store. All these features are surely going to make shopping easier & more interesting through a mobile device.

Mobile Payment

Mobile phones with NFC payment feature have already entered the market and consumers are slowly getting adapted to the technology. Mobile payment applications have created a buzz in market. These apps make money transaction easier for buyers as they are relieved from the worries of carrying credit/debit cards wherever they go. But, payment solution providers have to create more awareness about the benefits of these applications in the consumer sector.

Instant Messaging

Mobile instant messaging applications are a hit amongst users of all age groups. Apps like Skype, Whatsapp, Nimbuzz make it easier and more pocket friendly for users to stay connected. BlackBerry, Apple, and Samsung already have IM apps for their device users & other manufacturers are also expected to come up with competitive applications very soon.

Other than these mobile application categories mobile email, mobile videos, gaming apps are also expected to become user favorite in 2012. These applications are not only expected to generate revenue of $15.9 billion this year, but will also give a push to hardware sales, advertising revenue, and technology innovation.

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Kouziro Launches 21.5 inch Android Tablet

Kouziro, the Japan-based company has given competition to Viewsonic's 22 inch tablet and Asus Transformer AiO's 18.4 inch tablet by launching a 21.5 inch Android tablet.

The stylish looking FT103 is one of the largest devices running on Android platform. The 21.5 inch device has full HD resolution of 1920x1080 pixels but only operates in horizontal mode. Here are some features of the tablet:

• Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich OS

• Dualcore 1GHz processor
• 1.2MP front camera
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB internal memory and microSD slots for expansion
• Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi
• micro HDMI port
• USB 2.0 port
• 2x1W stereo speakers
• Headphone jack and microphone

With dimensions 512.8x24.8x353mm and weighing 5kgs, the tablet comes with a kickstand so that it can be comfortable placed on a desk. The tablet has low screen resolution when compared to its screen size, less internal storage, and can only be charged through adapter because there’s no space for battery.

According to TheVerge, Kouziro FT103 will be available in the market by end of July at an approximate price tag of $438.

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Google Planning to Roll-out Android PDK to OEMs to Fix Fragmentation Issues

Google is planning to provide device manufacturers with earlier access to upcoming versions of Android OS, in order to fix Android’s platform fragmentation. The practice will start with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and the OS will be made available to OEMs in the form of a Platform Development Kit (PDK) 2-3 months before the new version is released.

The Director, Product Manager, Android, Hugo Barra said, “The new Android PDKs were SDKs for device manufacturers. This will provide Google Hardware partners with an opportunity to ensure that new features introduced are compatible with their devices before the new version of OS is released.

It has been seen that Android device manufacturers do not put much efforts to ensure that the hardware is compatible with the Android OS version. According to Google’s developer dashboard, 65 percent Android devices are running on Gingerbread, or Android version 2.3.3, the update that was released in February 2011. There are only seven percent of Android devices in market, which are running on Ice Cream Sandwich, the most recent version of Android OS.

The announcement by Google won’t close the time gap between the release of new version of Android and the actual period by when majority of Android users get the OS on their phones. The move by Google is definitely going to be a welcome one for the Android developers who want to design applications that are compatible with one of the many versions of OS that is current being used.

Customizing Google Chrome for iOS & Making it Your Default Browser

Google released the Chrome browser for iOS platform last week and within no time, it became the top app on the Apple's App Store chart. Google Chrome is an amazing alternative for Apple users who were bored of Safari and were hunting for a change.

If you are a Google Chrome lover, you will be glad to know that a couple of Cydia tweaks can make Chrome the best replacement for Safari. But, you need to make Chrome as your default iOS browser in order to add enhancements.

You cannot replace Safari with Chrome if the phone isn't jailbroken. So, Browser Changer, which is a jailbreak tweak in Cydia will allow you to set the third-party browser as default while opening links in the device. Browser Charger can be downloaded for free in Cydia. After downloading Browser Charger, you have to select Google Chrome from tweak's settings.

It's time to add a few tweaks to your Google Chrome to make it even better. Install Chromizer in Cydia and get set to play with some awesome features of your new default browser.

Here are a bundle of advantages of installing Chromizer:

• If you want to initiate a full screen mode in your device, tap once with three fingers and iOS status bar will disappear.
• The "pull to refresh" feature is also present for reloading webpages.
• More intuitive navigation by swiping to left or right with two fingers.
• Users can enable iPhone like tab switching in order to make switching tabs with one finger, more apparent.

The Google Chrome tweak in Cydia is getting applauds from iOS users who love to have full control on their device. There's one thing that might bother you after switching to Chrome. In Safari, it is easy to quickly add ".com" to domain names as you enter them in search or address bar. But, Chrome has the generic keyboard layout and lacks in this feature. So, you will not get access to the same domain shortcuts. In case you want to resolve the issue, there's a free tweak with the name of ChromeURL available, which will bring the familiar Safari browser keyboard layout back.