Android Picks Up The Pace In Smartphone Sales Over iOS Globally, While Windows Phone Continues With Modest Gains, Says Kantar
Google's mobile OS Android continues to power ahead as the world's most popular smartphone platform, according to figures out today from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech, the WPP-owned market research company that tracks sales of handsets across key markets on a 12-week rolling cycle. In the nine markets surveyed by Kantar -- Australia, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, UK and the U.S., all detailed in the table below -- the only one where Android did not dominate was Japan, where Apple's iOS just about eked out a lead against it (49.2% versus 45.8% of sales) for the three months ending March 31. Elsewhere, the figures indicate that regardless of whether the market is developed (U.S., UK, Germany) or emerging (China) or struggling financially (Spain), collectively, Android handset makers are winning them all, with sales figures for the platform reaching their high point in Spain, at 93.5% of all smartphone sales.
android
apple
australia
china
comtech
france
germany
google
ios
italy
japan
kantar
spain
windows
worldpanel
wpp-owned
Music Video Company VEVO Learns Dutch, Launches In The Netherlands
VEVO just became available in a whole new market, as its streaming music video service was launched in The Netherlands today. The launch will make more than 75,000 music videos available to Dutch viewers, and brings the total number of countries that it operates in to 11. It serves music videos in the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, and the U.K.
australia
brazil
canada
dutch
france
ireland
italy
launches
netherlands
service
spain
vevo
zealand
Google's Unified Privacy Policy Triggers Co-ordinated Enforcement Action - And Threat Of Fines - In Six European Countries
Google is facing enforcement action -- and possibly fines -- in six European Union member states after it failed to make changes to its privacy policy following requests by European data protection regulators. The six countries that have today launched data protection investigations into Google's unified privacy policy are France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.
action
enforcement
european union
france
germany
google
investigation
italy
netherlands
privacy policy
protection
spain
ComScore: Russia Widens Online Lead In Europe With 61.3M Users; EU5 Smartphone Penetration Now 57%, Samsung, Android Leading
The analysts at comScore have today published their latest research detailing how Europe is progressing in areas like smartphone penetration, broadband and consumer digital services like video consumption -- part of comScore's ongoing Digital Future In Focus series of annual reports covering different geographical markets. In all, the online audience across the region, covering 18 continues, to creep up and at the end of 2012 was 408.3 million users, with Russia the biggest market at 61.3 million; and mobile users in the "EU5" -- the top-five markets of Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK -- are now up to 241 million, with 57% of them using smartphones.
android
audience
comscore
consumption
europe
france
germany
italy
million
penetration
region
russia
samsung
service
spain
Amazon Drops Kindle Fire HD 8.9? Price From $299 To $269, Releases It In Europe And Japan
Amazon just announced that it would be dropping the price of the 8.9-inch version of its Kindle Fire HD. The tablet will now cost $269 for the Wi-Fi only version and $399 for the Wi-Fi and LTE version. The Kindle Fire HD 8.9" is now available in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan as well. Canada won't get the device this time around.
amazon
canada
devices
europe
france
germany
italy
japan
kindle
lte
spain
version
wi-fi