New data from market researcher NPD shows sales of prepaid smartphones are increasing at a rapid pace. Smartphone sales overall shot up 42 percent in the first quarter compared to the same time last year with 36 percent of the unit volume increase represented by prepaid smartphone sales. … Read More
The next MySpace? Facebook lost 10 million U.S. users since last year
Facebook has lost 10 million users in the US and seen no growth in monthly visitors in the UK over the past year, according to data from market research firm Nielsen. Research shows that the number of unique visitors to the Facebook website from computers, smartphones and tablets has fallen from…
Pentagon to grant security clearance to select Apple, Samsung devices
Department of Defense employees will soon be able to use smartphones from Apple and Samsung on the job. Specifically, Apple’s iPads and iPhones as well as Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones will be granted security approval from the Pentagon according to sources familiar with the plans as first reported by The Wall… … Read More
Facebook is blowing it
While waiting for my coffee to brew this morning, I checked my Facebook News Feed on my iPhone. But instead of amusing updates from friends and family, in the space of just a few flicks of my thumb, I was assaulted by not one, not two, but three different advertisements for online dating sites. Worst of all, there she was, again! That giant-breasted zombie stalker from Mate1.com who has been chasing me across Facebook for years!I know she’s not real. I know she’s just an advertisement. But I’m still terrified of that woman. I have nightmares of getting crushed by her mammary glands, squeezed to death like a boa constrictor kills a wild pig. I don’t ever want to see her again, but no matter how I try, I just can’t quit her.When first we met, in my pre-smartphone days, she flashed her soulless come-hither eyes at me from Facebook’s right-hand column. I swiftly learned how to click “hide this ad” and “hide all from Mate1.com.” I’m a social media take-charge kind of guy — tweaking privacy and ad settings comes naturally to me. But then, a couple of years later, not long (and not uncoincidentally) after Facebook’s IPO, she invaded my News Feed. Once again, I dutifully clicked “hide this ad” and “hide all,” albeit this time with a little less faith in the honorable intentions of Facebook’s ad-targeting algorithms.Continue Reading… … Read More
Your Brain on Computers: Readers Respond
Readers of the Disruptions column this weekend were alarmed about a nascent technology through which you can control computers and smartphones with your mind. … Read More
Smartphones out-ship feature phones for the first time ever
The first quarter of 2013 marks the first time smartphones out-ship feature phones, according to a recent report from market research firm IDC. The table below shows numbers from small and big smartphone manufacturers which, when combined, make up for the majority of devices in terms of total shipments. Specifically,… … Read More
