The UK carrier O2 is working with a sustainability advisory group to put the ranking system together. It’s called the Forum for the Future, and it rates everything you might expect, and how it impacts the environment. Rating things like packaging, manufacturing, whether it can be recycled or not, and energy efficiency, among other things. Devices are scored in a zero to 5 system, and there are 63 questions that are “asked” when each device is being ranked.

As you might expect, other major manufacturers are jumping on board. Companies like Nokia, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson have already provided handsets for the ranking system. And O2 is actually making a good start, as 93 percent of their handsets currently available for purchase should be covered in the ranking system soon enough. Which is exactly why it’s strange that the iPhone isn’t included in the list. Another manufacturer that’s not present currently is the Canada-based Research in Motion, which manufactures BlackBerry handsets. However, RIM has stated that they will allow their devices to be ranked by early 2011.

In a move that may or may not be surprising for most people, when Apple was asked about their position on the new environmental ranking system, the spokesperson said nothing about it directly. Instead, they would rather you look at their own environmental tests, which they publicly release on their website. Apple suggests that the iPhone has a very minimal footprint on the environment. Organizations like Greenpeace have scolded Apple in the past for not being transparent enough in this regard, so this probably won’t help that picture at all.

via The Guardian

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There’s so much hysterical coverage of the great Apple versus Android war it sure is easy to get confused by all the claims and counter-claims: is the iOS really six times more popular for Web browsing than Android, or is it really only twice as popular?

That’s the trouble with statistics, they only give you a flavor of what’s going on, a careless whisper, a reflection of a clue. What’s really happening is that both platforms are growing incredibly fast – and that’s a good thing.

From my Apple-holic point of view, I was taken by Net Applications when it released data last week which told us six times as many iOS users browse the Web, in comparison to Android folk.

That report challenges a second set of data from Quantcast, which found iOS devices to be used just twice as much as Google’s OS.

Religious debate

I must admit I’m still reeling at how partisan discussions regarding the relative merits of Google’s free-but-not-entirely Android and Apple’s controlled-but-not-entirely iOS mobile operating systems have become.

The combatitive nature of these discussions truly reminds me of the dualistic Mac versus PC, Netscape versus IE, Blu-ray versus HD debates which have characterized the entire evolution of the technology industry.

In Apple’s corner sits the usual passionate bunch of Apple-holics, while in the other sit the sometimes viper-tongued Phandroid fan club. That’s the trouble with religious debate. It gets personal.

Google and Apple meanwhile have an adult business relationship. That’s why Apple gives Google a million dollars a month. It does? Yes. It does.

Let us quickly take a look at the methodology of both surveys.

With statistics, presentation is everything

Quantcast measures mobile Web usage, it does not include iPad usage, but does include iPod touch data. Data comes from sites which have included specific Quantcast cookies. Typically these include some of the top Web destinations.

The Net Applications data combines iPad with iPod touch and iPhone 4 usage. The methodology relies on data collected from across its customer network, along with aggregated data from search engines.

While both surveys suggest slightly different things, Quantcast has neglected to deliver a figure detailing the size of the mobile web market in comparison to the wider market.

This means that when you look at the Quantcast data the manner in which it is seemingly presented suggests iOS marketshare is declining relative to Android. This doesn’t seem to tally with Net Applications, which show that both platforms are growing, so is it a true reflection of the data?

I don’t think it is.

What’s actually happening is that the market for both platforms is growing, with Android slowly but surely achieving parity in terms of the number of devices in active use out there.

This makes it look like the also-growing iOS marketshare is declining, when in fact both are growing. It’s just Android succesfully entering a market it wasn’t in before.

Apple sells 6 million+ iOS devices each month

Apple has shifted over 120 million iOS devices so far, and seems set to add up to another 24 million or so to that number before the end of the year. Sales could be as high as 6 million devices each month, I estimate.

That estimate is my own conjecture based on the following:

* Apple is manufacturing 2 million iPads each month, rising to 3 million for the Holiday season.
* Apple is estimated to be selling 2 million iPhone 4 units each month.
* iPod touch accounts for around one-third of iOS devices, suggesting similar sales levels.

With four months remaining until the end of 2010 — including the Holiday season — Apple could easily exceed that 20 million device estimate.

Apple itself has claimed it is activating 230,000 new iOS devices each day. That adds up to 1.6 million devices per week. This essentially confirms my six million per month sales estimate, and suggests the figure may be higher. This is explosive growth.

Net Applications data shows that iOS use has grown from 0.44 percent in October 2009 to 1.13 percent in August 2010.

Net Applications also reveals that online, iOS (1.13 percent) is now bigger than Linux (0.85 percent) — a claim Android (0.17 percent) can’t make.

This doesn’t mean one platform is succeeding while another is failing. Both are growing.

Where was Android this time last year, when Apple’s OS was around 0.4 percent of usage?

This ain’t winner takes all

Apple or Android fans, it really is time to understand, this isn’t some dualistic good versus evil fight to the death between Apple and Android in which there can only be one survivor. That’s over-simplistic, stupid and, frankly, naive.

Think about it. We’re dealing with a market which will eventually comprise billions of devices. The last thing we need is one over-dominant platform. Think of the security, anti-trust and monopoly implications of such an outcome.

Apple and Android devices will in future sit beside offerings from the likes of BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm and Microsoft as citizens of the future mobile Web, unless one of the contenders attempts to forge monopolistic control. We can’t let that happen this time round.

What we need

* We need a more evolved discussion than that one party is good while the other one is evil.
* We need multiple platforms.
* We need standards-based approaches.
* We need apps, Web-based or otherwise.

Speaking of apps, the July Distimo Report (published Friday) into activity at App Stores for Apple, BlackBerry, Android, Nokia, Palm and Windows mobile devices shows that big developers are beginning to dominate app sales, with iPad apps contributing a nice slice of cream to the crop.

Taken straight from the press release:

* The average price of the 100 most popular applications in Google Android Market and Palm App Catalog is higher than the average price of the entire catalogue of applications.
* While the average price of all applications is only 16% higher in the Apple App Store for iPad than in the Apple App Store for iPhone, the average price of the 100 most popular applications is nearly three times as high in the Apple App Store for iPad.
* Paid applications are priced lowest in Google Android Market, Nokia Ovi Store and Palm App Catalog.
* The top three cross-store publishers that publish applications in multiple stores are Gameloft, Electronic Arts and Handmark, Inc.
* The top grossing publisher in the Apple App Store for iPhone is Electronic Arts, which publishes free and paid applications as well as applications with in-app purchases.

[via computerworld]

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While Microsoft is trying to save face with their upcoming launch of Kinect, and how it relates to hardcore gamers out there, Apple is apparently vying to make their name known amidst the crowd. Sure, their titles are far more “mobile” than, say, Microsoft’s, but that doesn’t make the gamers any less hardcore. Today, Apple officially unveiled their new “Hardcore Games” section within App Store Essentials. And, as you can tell from the picture above, it’s pretty hardcore.

Titles you’ll find in there range, but you should find some familiar ones like Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Chaos Rings, and Archetype. The prices don’t seem to have changed much, though. Any hardcore gamers out there feel like this section was absolutely needed to get your favorite games their own showcase area?

via MacStories

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The fantastic Nike+ App let you track how far, how fast and at what speed you’re running with only a sensor in your Nike-branded shoe and a compatible iPod or iPhone. Now you don’t need the sensor or the shoe.

The $ 1.99 app, which just got posted to iTunes, uses GPS to track where you run—something the old version was lacking—but still includes the community features that made running not quite such a lonely affair. Now you can use the iPod touch 2nd through 4th gen, and the iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4 with the Nike+ app. Only the iPhone works with GPS functionality unless you have something like Magellan’s iPod touch case, which adds GPS ability (along with a lot of weight).

As a fan of the original Nike+ concept, I’m happy that this lets more people running in order to make it more likely that I have someone to challenge to a race.

[Via Gizmodo]

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The Kiwi Drive Green Save Gas Module is $ 199.99 and can be purchased now. It has 20 lessons built in that teach you to drive greener and connects to the OBDII port on most modern cars. It has MPG gauges, engine sensors, and a trip computer among other things. The Kiwi WiFi is a $ 149.99 iPhone hardware/software combo that makes the iPhone into an automotive tool.

The Kiwi WiFi offers GPS track, dyno results, engine scan tool, and more with a connection to your OBDII port on the car. The Kiwi Bluetooth is similar to the WiFi with the same features and options for $ 99.99 but works with most Droid devices and will ship September 1. The Kiwi MPG is a small device shipping now for $ 89.99 that adds a MPG gauge, basic engine sensors, a trip computer, and connects to your OBDII port.

via SlashGear

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The Sudden Creations team released Sudden Tap 1.2.11, a new update for the iPhone rhythm game, now Plus+ enabled and iOS4 ready. With challenging and immersive gameplay, with animated notes and clean percussive feedback sounds, Sudden Tap lets the player feel like he’s not just playing the game but music too.

Sudden Tap brings a totally different gaming experience to the iPhone rhythm games scenario; unlike the more well known rhythm games, where notes flow down over virtual strings, Sudden Tap uses a modified/simplified version of Ouendan note-tapping system (Osu Tatakae Ouendan! NDS), with notes appearing in labeled order and counting down the time they need to be tapped using a glowing border.

Tap and drag the notes on the screen in the correct sequence and in time with the music. Crazy notes will fly on the screen, try to tap’em all. Now with Plus+, players can share online scores and unlock new awards. The Plus+ network combines the best features of an online gaming environment with the sharing and virality of traditional social networks.

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Cramzy today is pleased to announce that it has reached 3 million downloads from the Apple AppStore. This huge milestone makes the company the most successful iPhone developer in Bulgaria. End of march this year the company has announced their first million downloads and today, only 5 months later, Cramzy managed to triple their success. The reason is their latest free app – The River Test – a japanese job interview test which is given to applicants for senior management positions.

Maria Yordanova, co-founder and quality at Cramzy, came up with the idea of the app “We accidentally found a research showing that iPhone users typically have IQ above the average. So we thought why don’t we give them one of the most complex tasks to test their skills, and people just loved the idea. There are plenty of people who solve the task quicker than we do – and we are both Mensa members.” In the last month The River Test became the #1 game in United Kingdom, Ireland, Singapore, Greece, Hungary, Malaysia, Indonesia and among the top free apps in 60 more countries, making over 50,000 free downloads everyday.

Iliya Yordanov, CEO of Cramzy, decided to pay back the users for their support and add availability for iPad. “The app looks fantastically well on the iPad’s big screen”. So from the upcoming update (in two weeks maximum) The River Test will be an universal binary, and will include some great new features.

app store

Originally discovered on iPod Touch Fans (and also on 9to5), it appears that the new 4th generation iPod Touch actually contains a motor that allows it to vibrate. The motor is shown in the FCC tear down photos of the device.

Apple notes the vibration alert in their iPod Touch Accessibility page:

If somebody wants to start a video call with you, you’ll receive an invitation — along with a vibrating alert — on your iPod touch asking you to join. Simply tap Accept, and the video call begins.
Vibration has been an iPhone-only feature since the original launch in 2007. The vibration has been used for silent alerts as well as a form of force-feedback in many iPhone games.

[via macrumors]

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Interesting breakdown over at Asymco. It appears that while it still over one third of all iOS devices sold, the iPod touch is trending down overall as the iPad is pulling in a bigger percentage and the iPhone continues to break into more markets with more carriers.

It always bothered me that Apple put iPod touch numbers in with other iPods when it clearly belongs in the same category as the iPhone. Hopefully Apple stops grouping the iPod touch in with devices that can clip on your shirt and only share a common name. It appears they are heading in that direction with the ’230,000 iOS devices activated/day ‘ and ’120 million overall’ tallies.

I disagree with the closing paragraph however:

Quote

While I do think the iPad is growing in percentage, I think the 3G version is selling much better than anyone had expected, especially AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson. You don’t change your whole mobile data strategy after a month if the iPad has only met your expectations.

[via 9to5mac]

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We half-expected it to show its face during Apple’s iPod/iTunes presentation last week. Maybe Amazon did too because it now it looks as if upgraded versions of iLife (and iWork?) Family Pack appear listed on Amazon.

The $ 99 family pack is listed as shipping “within 2 to 4 weeks”. It was first reported in a Macworld forum last month.

Don’t neglect the July revelation that iLife and iWork ’10 books were listed on Amazon France for release in September turned out to be a little premature.

We wonder if these applications will be more deeply integrated with MultiTouch? We hear that iDVD may gain support for the creation of iTunes LP and iTunes Extras packages, giving consumers a way to share detailed digital albums featuring all manner of multimedia assets. This software was briefly discussed in December last year.

[Via 9To5Mac]

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