Apple and Google mobile grew in 2011, all others shrank

Android and iOS combine to secure a whopping 82 percent of the smartphone market. Apple has 29 percent of the market, while Android has the lion’s share with 53 percent. These two platforms were the only ones to record growth in 2011. RIM’s BlackBerry OS, which has struggled this year, declined to a meager 8 percent of the market share. Newcomer Windows Phone 7 didn’t plummet like RIM, but it didn’t climb either. Throughout 2011, the platform never went above 2 percent.

The NPD has released smartphone market share numbers for the year. They aren’t surprising. Apple and Google continue to lead the way, as Android and iOS were the only platforms that grew.

Windows Phone 7 didn’t move, which is a minor surprise considering that Microsoft seemed to advertise their devices on television fairly extensively. 

An Honest-to-Goodness App Store You Can Walk Into

Openspace has built a physical brick-and-mortar environment around a thing strictly digital: the app. Their “app gurus” help customers discover and identify new mobile apps relevant to them.

The big problem that the store is trying to solve?

Tricia Duryee of AllThingsD:

Developers often complain about how difficult it is for their applications to be discovered, and frequently pay for advertising or third-party promotion. So it’s possible that a physical app store could be one more way to get the word out.

If this is indeed the problem, then yes, a brick-and-mortar app store could be the answer. But there also have to be other ways to streamline the app discovery process. I think it’s a huge area of opportunity for anyone who can identify the best way to solve this problem.

Barnes & Noble Has Shipped One Million Nook Tablets, Industry Report States

Talk about a dark horse in the tablet wars. Barnes and Noble has called for a larger order of the Nook tablets due to strong initial sales. And it screams of silent confidence.

While it’s unlikely that this device would pass the Kindle Fire in sales, B&N has the chance to carve out a nice part of the lower-priced tablet market.

Nothing about the Nook Tablet excited me when it released, but after this report, I’m making a trip to Barnes and Noble a priority on my list. I have to try one of these things out.

I wouldn’t go as far as TechCrunch’s Matt Burns in coining it a “top player”, though. Why don’t we wait until post-holiday-season numbers are released before we crown the product. That being said, there is some value here, and people looking to purchase a tablet for the holiday season should not automatically rule this gadget out.

Instagram photo app for Android is under way

It’s about time. The Instagram Android app is in development, and it inevitably means a nice bump in user numbers for the popular photo-sharing iOS app.

But the “casually-late” approach has hurt Instagram. Even just a few months ago, I considered Instagram an app that you would want to purchase an iPhone for (no pun intended). Some fantastic, beautifully-designed apps that compete alongside Instagram have emerged recently — Path, for example. Instagram may be concerned that even though their service continues to chug along, they need to find new, excited, engaged users.

Logically, it makes sense for Instagram to go after avid Android users who have never used the app before. But with Path (and a bevy of other apps) there too, Instagram shouldn’t expect to see as big of an active user bump as they would have seen, say, in October or November 2010.

Better late than never, I suppose.

Siri’s first real competition hits Android phones today

Here comes Cluzee, a third-party app considered by some to be Siri’s first real competition. BGR had a nice writeup, coining the app as “a Siri-like service that includes capabilities even more impressive than Siri in some cases.”

ExtremeTech, however, highlighted that the app could only recognize one out of five popular Siri commands successfully — which does not bode well for an app that is trying to position itself as a more-capable Siri alternative.

IntoMobile probably had the most telling stat of them all:

Be warned, there are currently 133 1-star ratings out of a total of 241, so Cluzee may have some improvements to make.

We all realize it’s a rush to get the best Siri alternative to market, but so far, many have tried and many have massively failed. If the ratings are any indication, Cluzee looks to have the features but simply lack the functionality.

App developers also have to be wondering if Siri is too established to be overtaken. What if the key to beating Siri is not to build a better Siri, but build a better voice-activated app that serves a different purpose?

Then again, Android users probably want to see a Siri clone on their OS sooner than later. It seems that Cluzee has a lot of work to do before they are even mentioned in the same breath as Siri. Perhaps the winner here is a company that won’t rush their app to market for the sake of getting it out.


iPhone 4S Battery Life Fail

9 to 5 Mac is reporting that despite Apple releasing an update to iOS 5, many users are still complaining of battery life issues.

While turning off Location Services, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi should provide temporary relief, it still comes as a massive disappointment for users who were looking for the fix.

Hopefully, Apple will be able to come up with a prompt update that fixes the problem for all users. With new Android phones on the horizon (including a sweet deal on the Motorola Droid Razr at Amazon), iPhone 4S users who value battery life may be inclined to switch over to one of the new Android handsets coming out.

As someone who has had major battery and random restart issues with the HTC Droid Incredible, I’m fairly positive that a brand-new Android handset is not in my immediate future. Luckily, my 4S handset has not suffered from any major battery issues as of late.

Why Apple's iOS Still Beats Android

“Interestingly, our April checks indicated continued strong demand for the iPhone 3GS at AT&T and iPad 1 at Verizon, as these older generation products with reduced prices often outsold new Android products,” Walkley wrote in a note to investors on Monday. “We believe this highlights Apple’s significant competitive advantage, and these older products help Apple offer a tiered pricing strategy at key channels.”

- Canaccord Genuity technology analyst Michael Walkley, on Apple’s older devices vs. newer Android devices

iPhone vs. Android: SAI Attempts To Settle The Score

Business Insider recently published results from their massive smartphone survey, which polled over 2,000 people.

Some of the most interesting findings:

  • Most participants say “features” and “platform” are the most important factors when choosing a smartphone. App selection is also important, but not as important as most people think.
  • Most Android users say they won’t consider buying an iPhone because they “hate” Apple.
  • Almost no participants are planning to buy a BlackBerry, a Windows Phone 7 phone, or Palm.