Hasta La Gadget!

Well, it doesn’t look like the news is getting any better for Motorola these days — ComScore’s latest report finds that the company has slipped from its top spot in US market share among mobile OEMs into a virtual tie with Samsung and LG, with Samsung edging out Motorola by just “a fraction of a percent.” They’re followed by RIM and Nokia, who are now in a tie for a distant fourth place at 8.3%, and Apple, which is said to have a five percent share. Of course, these stats are just part of a broader report, but the rest of the results are a bit less surprising — Verizon and AT&T are virtually unchanged in their position as the number one and two carriers at 31.1% and 25.2%, respectively, and the total number of subscribers in the country now stands at 234 million, of which 63.7% send text messages, 30.1% use a web browser, and 28.6% use downloaded apps.

ComScore: Samsung edges out Motorola in US mobile market share originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 May 2010 15:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft and Verizon might think all the kids want to do with their new Kin phones is pay absurd data rates for a half-baked Twitter experience, but it turns out Generation Upload is still actually just Generation Text Message. That’s at least the word according to a Pew Internet Research survey published on April 20th and neatly summed up by a new Flowlogic infographic published today — only 23 percent of American teenagers with cellphones use social networks with their phones, while 72 percent of all teens use text messaging. You might argue that Kin seeks to flip that balance, but Pew found that 63 percent of teens with cell phones don’t have data plans and the vast majority of teen cellphone plans are part of a larger family plan, so the Kin’s $30 / month data rate might be a hard sell to Mom and Dad.

We also thought voice calling on the Kin seemed like an afterthought to texting and social networking, but it turns out more and more older kids simply turn to the phone: 77 percent of 17 year olds text each other, but 60 percent of them call each other’s cell phones — and only 33 percent of them connect over social networking sites. Perhaps most damningly, Pew says nearly half — 46% — of teens play games on their phones, but Kin has no games at all. The report is actually full of other interesting tidbits like this and the infographic is quite nice, so hit the read links to check ’em out — perhaps Microsoft and Verizon should do the same.

Survey says: most teens don’t have a data plan, almost all send texts originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 May 2010 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve told us it’d be revolutionary, and if sales are the measure of a device’s success, then the iPad seems to be well on track to validating its creator’s bold claims. This past Friday, “just 28 days after its introduction,” Apple sold its millionth iPad. 1.5 million ebooks have already been downloaded to the device, along with 12 million apps. Steve Jobs has also taken time from his busy essay-writing schedule to remind us that that’s less than half of the 74 days it took to achieve the milestone with the original iPhone, and demand for the “magical” slate continues to outstrip supply. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Apple sells 1,000,000 iPads in revolution’s first month

Apple sells 1,000,000 iPads in revolution’s first month originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 03 May 2010 08:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Not that we necessarily needed a report to tell us this, but the fewer privileges you afford yourself as a Windows user, the more secure your operating system becomes. Such is the conclusion of a new report from BeyondTrust, a company that — surprise, surprise — sells software for “privileged access management.” The only way we use Windows 7 is as admins and we’ve never had a moment’s bother, but some of you like stats, and others among you might be involved in business, which tends to make people a little more antsy about these things. So for your collective sake, let there be pie charts! The report looks into vulnerabilities disclosed by Microsoft during 2009 and concludes that all 55 reported Microsoft Office issues and 94 percent of the 33 listed for IE could be prevented by simply running a standard user account. Or using better software, presumably. Hit the PDF source for more info — go on, it’s not like you have anything better to do while waiting for the Large Hadron Collider to go boom.

Windows 7 is safer when the admin isn’t around originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 30 Mar 2010 06:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nielsen‘s just released some zingers (also known as statistics) for you to chew on while you listen to a YouTube clip (something about Obamacare) drone on in another tab, tell your significant other to “hold on” and track your Domino’s pizza in a completely different tab. The annual Three Screens report, as it’s called, has some choice data on American habits, such as the fact that television consumption (average number of hours watched per day) has increased to nearly 35 hours per week per person. What else can we glean from this treasure chest of minutiae? Well, about 59 percent of Americans now multitask in front of the teevee with their laptops for an average of three and a half hours a month. A final interesting tidbit here — flying in the face of popular wisdom, it seems that the older you are, the more television you’re likely to watch — so keep your eye on your great Aunt Dot, folks: it’s possible she might be addicted to Gossip Girl. Hit the source link if you want to download the entire report (it’s a PDF).

Nielsen data: you’re probably watching too much teevee originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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