Facebook to Take on Google With App Marketing

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How many apps do you have on your device? Go ahead, check first, ok, now how many of those apps are paid apps? More than likely you have at least one paid app on your device. Now where did you get that app? More than likely it was downloaded from the Google Play Store, it is however possible that you downloaded and paid for it from Facebook’s own app store. If Mark Zuckerberg has anything to say about it, we will all be using his app store to buy our apps.

That’s right people, Facebook may be trying to flank an unguarded side of Google’s front in the mobile app market. We know that many people are using Android devices, in fact they make up 80% of the mobile market currently. The part that Zuckerberg sees as an opportunity, is the paid app market from Google, and it’s lack of marketing.

The Google Play Store, at any given time, has many apps to choose from, some paid and some unpaid, but one thing you won’t see a lot of, is promoting of these paid apps. It is mainly up to developers to promote their own product, even if Google is taking a cut from each paid download. Though Google is not the only company leaving their guard down. Apple is as well, with the numbers being over one million apps and only 200 apps displayed on App Store charts. Though it is possible to search for apps on Apple’s App Store, but this may be one of many reasons we switched to the great Android OS. Searching for an app in the App Store may not give you exactly what you are searching for, in fact, only 0.02% of apps are displayed in the Apple App Store at one time. Of course, you could spend an hour scrolling through to find what you want, but is any app really worth searching for an hour? This is where Google learned a lesson.

When you search an app on the Play Store, you will be presented with 500 apps in reach. Still, with a better search option, which Google, a search engine company better be good at, those 500 apps only amount to 0.04% of the total number of apps available on the Play Store. With this weakness from both Google and Apple, Facebook is aiming to show of their own app store, which has existed for some time now, just not really given attention.

So in an attempt to get that attention from developers, Facebook is hosting a conference called “F8” on April 30th. At this conference, an argument will be made by Facebook’s chief app developer, Ilya Sukhar. The argument will be that Facebook can give your app the attention, you as a developer, want to achieve. Reports point out some interesting points that Sukhar may be planning to make. Firstly, the biggest attraction, is that Facebook has over 1.2 billion users on Facebook, and for the most part, they are accessing the site on their mobile device. Talk about mobile advertising opportunities.

Next your attention may be moved to how Facebook knows your struggles as a developer. Look at the many apps Facebook has tried to make a thing, and just didn’t succeed. This means Facebook knows your pain, and wants to help cure that pain, though, have they done a great job healing their own wounds in the past? You be the judge on that one. Facebook also knows what it is like to own apps, like Whatsapp and Instagram. Back to how Facebook plans to make money where Google and Apple both are falling behind.

Facebook feels the way to make money, is to sell ads on Facebook, and any other apps Facebook decides to purchase, that link back to the Play Store. Since Facebook is slightly similar to Google in the fact that 53% of their income is from ads, this option will mend in nicely with Facebook’s structure. How will this affect Google?

Well technically it wont. In fact, it may help Google make money without spending money. To compare, we will be using a recent Discovery Channel segment that is fresh in our minds. There are fish that have bacteria on them, and without a way to clean themselves off, these fish could die due to that bacteria. Luckily for them, there is fish that are smaller, and feed on that bacteria. So, the smaller fish, attach themselves to the bigger fish, eating the bacteria and helping the big fish survive. Google makes money on each paid app sale, and if their product is getting advertised at no cost to them, well then that’s just money coming in, and none going out. Google is the big fish, and Mark Zuckerberg, (imagine how hard it was not to type suckerberg), is the little fish.

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New Phishing Scam Aims to Use Google Docs and Google Drive Against Us

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Phishing scams are always just around the corner, and the latest one is taking aim at anyone using Google Docs, or Google Drive. This new scam however, is less obvious and more believable than most, which makes it more dangerous.

If you are a user of either Google Docs or Google Drive, you have more than likely received an email saying that a doc has been shared with you. If you have, then you most likely know the steps that need to be taken in order to see that shared doc. First you open the email, and then the link inside. Once you have done that you will be redirected to a Google sign in page, where after you sign in, you will be taken to the doc that has been shared.

Well this phishing scam does all of the above but the login page is very well done and leaves you believing you are at an official Google sign in page. However this is phishing scam we are talking about here, so you are not at an official login page. The email you opened up, with a vague but realistic subject that says “document” or something like that, has brought you to an unofficial login page. Where after you enter your information, it goes to a PHP script with an unsecured web server.

The goal is obvious, retrieve your Google login information and then your email, Google Play account and any other Google service are all compromised. The even scarier part, is this fake login page is hosted by Google, which makes it look even more real. Also after you click “Sign In” you will be shown a realistic doc. This was done by creating a folder inside Google docs, and marking it public. After doing so, they get realistic emails sent out to many potential victims about the shared doc. The difference is, the login page and the information you enter, is very valuable, and should never be taken lightly.

So keep your eye out for this scam, and be sure you know the person who is sharing a doc with you through Google Drive, or Google Docs. There really is no reason a stranger should be sharing anything with you anyway. Have you already seen this email, or are you protected against such things?

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King, The Company Behind Candy Crush Plans to go Public and Finish With a $7.6 Billion Valuation

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The makers behind Candy Crush bring you, well the company behind Candy Crush. King is set to go public towards the end of March 2014. The details of the company going public have also been revealed, and they have some interesting valuations of their company.

When they finally do go public, they plan on selling around 22.2 million shares, and no, they will not come with a bag of candy. Instead, they will come with a $21 and $24 price tag. All of this puts the company’s valuation, currently, at $7.6 billion, but are they really worth that much?

King very well may be worth that much, they are more profitable than another mobile gaming company that you may have heard of called Zynga. When Zynga went public, they were valued at around $20 billion. Though, in the end, numbers proved them to really only be at around $7 billion, still that’s more than you have in your pocket right? So to go with this valuation of King, we look at their past, and how much they have made so far.

The company has had a few games out, but most notably, Candy Crush, the game even mathematicians find to be difficult. However, that game and many others, helped earn the company a profit, let me type this again, profit of $568 million last year. Let’s compare stats here, we could talk about Zynga in this comparison, but that wouldn’t be as interesting. Zynga lost $37 million last year by the way, but no, instead we are going to compare King to a very popular gaming company, EA Sports. EA Sports makes games not only for mobile devices but for in home and mobile consoles. EA also only pulled in a profit last year of $98 million, which, looking at all the factors that’s not bad. EA has boxing and basically more overhead to worry about, but still, the numbers are mind-blowing. How is a free game making more than EA Sports in one year, and coming out on top while other mobile game developers are falling behind?

Simple answer to that question is in app purchases. If you have played Candy Crush, and we are sure you have, you know that you can buy things to help you throughout the game. Sometimes, you get so frustrated you think what’s a dollar really? You wouldn’t be alone in thinking that, since 5% of users are thinking the same thing and making in app purchases inside King’s games. That may seem like a small percentage, but keep in mind, there are more than 400 million users at any monthly time. For these reasons, their valuation is not really looked at with a sideways glance.

So we sit and wait for King’s IPO, and we watch as they either succeed or give us another show like Facebook did when they went public. Though with numbers like this, their odds look pretty good.

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Google Changes Nexus 5 Bumper Cases With Larger, Easier to Press Buttons

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As owners of the Nexus 5 many people think it may be best to purchase a case straight from Google. This would make perfect sense, buy a HTC device and get a HTC case, or own a Samsung device, get a Samsung case. Doing so makes you think that the case your ordered was tailor-made to fit and function with your device. Problem is, with the Nexus 5 case from Google, people had a tough time using the buttons. It seemed as though the part of the case that covered the buttons, wasn’t tailor made for the Nexus 5, and needed some improvement. Well that improvement has come, and Google fixed it without saying anything, to anyone.

The case we are talking about here is the Google Nexus 5 Bumper case. The case was supposed to be made exclusively for the Nexus 5, but if you tried to wake the device with the case on, you may have thought otherwise. Same goes for the volume, you had to use a lot of pressure to do either task, and you would’ve noticed the case buttons were too thin or small. For some, the fact that the case had very poor functionality with the device was enough reason to skip it, maybe buy a third-party case. Though like a thief in the night, Google changed the build of the case, and said nothing.

In comparing newly ordered cases from Google, and first day bought cases, you can see the buttons were changed. The volume rocker was moved up just a smidge, but definitely made thicker. The power button on the side was moved down just a bit, and also made thicker. The case comes in multiple colors, and it seems that depending on the color case you order, may affect whether you get the new buttons.

Reports say that the only case color you may want to avoid, is yellow. For some reason, the yellow case still has the old buttons, while the other colors being ordered are receiving the new buttons. Reasons behind this could be speculated, maybe they are trying to get rid of them, or maybe they were sent out by accident, but for the time being stick with the other colors. It has been recommended that if you do want to spend the $35 on this official Nexus 5 case, you may want to order it in black or grey, while red and yellow is like taking a chance. Either way, it is odd that Google is fixing the problem without making an announcement. Almost like they want to cover up the problem. Possibly it is that the mistakes were an accident, but Google is usually pretty good about helping solve problems, at least when they are admitted. We will just have to wait and see if the attention this issue will be getting now, will cause Google to speak up.

Have you ordered the official bumper case for your Nexus 5, and did you have this issue? What did you do about it?

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Onyx Throws Out Teaser For New E-Reader Called The Onyx Book i86

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We recently reported about a company called Onyx that would be releasing a new smartphone similar to the new YotaPhone 2, but would only come with a single e-ink display instead of the dual LCD/e-ink setup like the YotaPhone 2. The smartphone that Onyx is reportedly working on to release later this year is appropriately called the InkPhone, which seems like more of an e-reader with smartphone capabilities than a smartphone, but we assure you it’s both. Onyx looks to be gearing up to offer more than just the InkPhone though, as they have recently put out a teaser via a spec sheet for a new e-reader they are working on, that will carry an e-ink display with high resolution.

As reported by The Digital Reader, Onyx appears to be working on an e-reader that is currently in development, with an 8-inch display that has a resolution of 1600 x 1200. The e-reader in question is called the Onyx Book i86, and is said to be running Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The software is admittedly a couple of versions behind, but this isn’t the only device that we’ll see this year that isn’t utilizing Google’s newest version of the mobile operating system. Other specs and features include a 1GHz processor and 512MB of RAM,(which is certainly enough to handle Android 4.4)4GB of internal storage space, and a microSD card slot in case you need to expand on that. We see this as a possible option for those who read a lot of books and will be looking to keep near an entire library’s worth of content on this one device.

You’ll also find that Wifi and Bluetooth are supported with this e-reader, and it’s said to have a headphone connection port for use with hardwired earbuds or headphones, and seems to have at least one speaker. Given these multiple potential options for audio, it seems that you can utilize audio books as well as e-books for this device, an use one of three options for listening which consists of headphones, the speakers or a bluetooth headset. There is no word on what this device might cost, but we do know that it will support a wide range of file formats for e-books as well as other files, which includes, PDF, Epub, FB32, Doc, CHM, HTML, rtf, and MP3 playback. If you’re in the market for a new e-reader, this is one that is worth keeping your eye on.

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Sony Xperia T2 Ultra Sample Photos Surface, Images Taken Are Only At 8MP Resolution And Not The Full 13MP

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We reported just yesterday that T-Mobile might be getting the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra, which is more of a mid-range device than something high-end like their new Xperia Z2. Although it falls under the mid range category, it likely will still take decent photos, especially since it carries a 13MP Exmor RS camera. Today we’re getting a first look at what some of those pictures will look like, with the first sample pictures to surface that have been taken with the camera on the Sony Xperia T2. Other specs include the 6-inch IPS display with 720P resolution, and software version Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as opposed to the Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat that should be showing up with the Z2 and Z2 tablet.

The sample pictures show below are taken with the Xperia T2 Ultra XM50h model, which is the variant of the device that will be slated for release on the ChinaUnicom network that supports dual SIM and comes in black. There will also be a second model releasing in the region on the china Mobile Network labeled as the Xm50t, which comes in white. It’s also important to mention that the pictures you see here that were taken with the devices camera are only taken at an 8.7MP resolution, but remember that the Sony Xperia T2 Ultra comes with a 13 MP camera, so with photos taken at full resolution the images will look quite a bit better than what is displayed here. With that said, these picture actually look pretty decent, with only the last one looking a little more grainy than expected. It’s also worth noting that all the sample photos from the XM50h were taken on the Android 4.3 firmware build of 19.0.D.0.251.

So far there hasn’t been any sort of price confirmation on the device as of yet once it hits T-mobile, we have only heard of leaks that it will be making a debut on the network sometime around or next to the release of the Xperia Z1S that T-mobile is slated to get as well. For those looking for a device with fairly decent specs and a slightly bigger display, the Xperia T2 Ultra is starting to look pretty good.

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Samsung Is Working On A New AMOLED Tablet With A 2560 X 1600 Resolution Display

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Samsung’s reported second Android tablet sporting a Super AMOLED display is currently in development, and it seems that it has been confirmed that it will not only come with a 2560 x 1600 resolution, but will also come in at three different models. One WiFi, one with 3G connectivity, and one that supports LTE. The listed variants are the model numbers Sm-T800, SM-T801, and SM-T805. The recently released Samsung Galaxy Note Pro series of tablets and Galaxy TabPro series of tablets also utilize this particular screen resolution, however the Pro series devices come with a tad bit of a higher price tag. It is unclear whether this particular tablet with have a price range that is similar to that the of the Pro series devices.

Rumors are suggesting that this tablet will have a screen size that consists of anywhere between 8 and 10 inch sizes, and will come running the latest version of the Android software, Android 4.4.2 Kit Kat. On the processor side of things, it’s said to be housing an unknown processor from the Exynos 5 series of chipsets, and of course it wouldn’t be Samsung without the famous Touchwiz UI, and Magazine UX that we see on the Galaxy Pro series of devices. Although we don’t know for sure what the price will be for this new tablet in any of the models, it’s likely that it could come in at a fairly steep price like the Pro tablets. It’s also possible that Samsung could be looking to make this their Flagship tablet for the year, as the Pro series of tablets are more marketed towards business consumers and not the general public.

There is also a rumor that Samsung is possibly testing at least one feature on this tablet that exists on the Galaxy S5. The Ultra Power Saving Mode that lets users get up to 24 hours of battery life off of a 10% charge when they enter Ultra Power Saving Mode is the feature in question, and could be extremely useful on a larger display like this tablet. I have never personally gotten very good battery life on any of the devices that uses a Super AMOLED, so this in particular would be a great feature to have. More details will most likely surface in the coming weeks or months.

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