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每日观察:关注各国Android用户每月应用下载量(11.19)

1)尼尔森最近的用户圣诞节消费意愿调查报告指出,多数6-12岁美国儿童最想要的电子产品是苹果iPad,有44%受访儿童表示希望能够在未来6个月中购买iPad,而2010年的同一调查比例则是31%。

kids 6-12(from nielsen)

kids 6-12(from nielsen)

与此同时,任天堂DS的支持率为25%,微软Xbox 360的Kinect支持率为23%,PlayStation Move则是10%。

在这一年龄段用户中,iOS移动设备人气指数居于首次,iPod touch和iPhone在这一群体中的支持率分别是30%和27%,位列第二、第三名。

在13岁以上美国用户中,24%受访者有意在未来6个月中购买iPad,而去年的这一调查比例则是18%。

ages 13(from neilsen)

ages 13(from neilsen)

但在这一用户群体中,非苹果平板电脑支持率达17%,而iPhone支持率则是15%;非苹果智能手机支持率也达到14%,而iPod touch支持率仅占8%。

2)诺基亚首席执行官Stephen Elop在最近媒体采访中表示,诺基亚的首要目标是打败其他采用微软操作系统的移动设备制造商,而不是Android或iOS操作系统。

他称公司目前主要策略是以比其他Windows Phone设备制造商更低的价格出售手机产品,等诺基亚在Windows Phone平台站稳脚跟,他们就会着眼于增加利润,并扩大与微软在智能手机领域的合作。

据其所言,诺基亚目前采用低价策略就是为了推动手机销量,这种举措同时也有利于增加Windows Phone对开发者的吸引力。

3)据pocketgamer报道,开发商Mobile Pie手机游戏《My Star》顶级IAP选项——200个Star Cash(售价26.99英磅)在10月份的盗版率高达93%,盗版IAP与正版销量比例将近14:1。

My-Star(from beefjack.com)

My-Star(from beefjack.com)

据该工作室创意总监Will Luton所称,这些盗版IAP主要来自使用了iAP Cracker这款破解软件的越狱手机。在售价相对较低的IAP中,产品盗版率也明显更低,其比例为1.16:1。

他表示公司清楚是哪些玩家使用了破解软件,他们可以将其帐号屏蔽,但目前还没有采取行动,他们将更新游戏引擎以杜绝这种现象。

4)移动分析公司research2guidance最近调查指出,美国市场的Android应用下载量居于首位,但欧洲Android应用的每用户平均下载数量更多。

avg monthly app downloads per users(from research2guidance)

avg monthly app downloads per users(from research2guidance)

瑞典用户平均每月下载5款以上的Android应用,几乎是美国用户的两倍。每月下载应用数量超过美国的其他市场还包括英国、德国、西班牙、瑞士、荷兰、意大利、葡萄牙和韩国。

不过美国占50%以上的Android Market应用下载量,其Android应用下载量达35亿次。居于其次的是韩国,Android应用下载量占比9%,其后分别是英国、德国和法国。而俄罗斯、日本和中国是最不活跃的Android应用下载市场。

5)英国手机评价网站www.GoodMobilePhone.co.uk最近调查指出,22%英国用户后悔购买iPhone,有43%的iPhone用户甚至羡慕其他智能手机用户。

iphone-4s(from zdnet.co.uk)

iphone-4s(from zdnet.co.uk)

在这些后悔购买iPhone的用户中,男性比例占73%,女性占27%。

调查还指出,有25%的iPhone用户对手机电池寿命不甚满意,13%受访者不满iPhone缺乏按钮功能,8%认为iPhone上的电子邮件不好用,5%对iPhone功能感到失望。

6)PwC最近发布的调查报告显示,在3282名智能手机调查用户中,半数以上受访者每天都要用智能手机做三件事:打电话,看新闻、天气预报或者体坛消息,访问社交网站。超过40%的受访者表示,他们希望在未来两年中扩大智能手机用途,使用智能手机应用接接触旅游、医疗健康等14个不同领域的内容。

future expectation for activity engagement(from PwC)

future expectation for activity engagement(from PwC)

7)手机游戏开发商NaturaMotion日前宣布,公司于9月份推出的赛马模拟游戏《My Horse》几乎没有投入任何用户获取成本,目前就已收获50万DAU,用户每日访问游戏达200万次。

my-horse(from insidemobileapps.com)

my-horse(from insidemobileapps.com)

该游戏曾获苹果“每周游戏”的推荐,在10月份基本上位于美国营收榜单的60至140名之间。

《My Horse》是该公司从付费运营模式转向免费增值模式的首款游戏,主要特色在于使用了高端技术创造出栩栩如生的角色形象。

8)Capcom旗下手机游戏部门Beeline Interactive最发布第二款免费增值iOS游戏《Snoopy’s Street Fair》,它是一个可运行于iPhone、iPod touch和iPad设备的通用版本。

Snoopy’s Street Fair(from insidemobileapps)

Snoopy’s Street Fair(from insidemobileapps)

玩家在游戏中要扮演Charlie Brown这个角色,为自己的棒球队参赛而筹措资金,带着忠诚的小狗史努比在街上摆摊。与《Smurfs’ Village》一样,这款游戏也通过IAP功能盈利,游戏发布两天后在App Store免费iPhone、iPod touch游戏榜单中位于第18名,在游戏营收榜单中位于第128名。在iPad免费游戏中位于第12名,在iPad游戏营收榜单位于第88名。

9)iSuppli公司最近报告指出,每部亚马逊平板电脑Kindel Fire制造成本约201.7美元,但该设备售价199.99美元,这意味着亚马逊每售出一部Kindle Fire都要倒贴1.71美元。

Kindle-Fire-Tablet(from blognotes)

Kindle-Fire-Tablet(from blognotes)

Kindle Fire硬件最大的开销在于屏幕,其制造成本是87美元,而RAM、电池和外壳等其他部件的成本约15至25美元。

亚马逊此举意在通过Kindle Fire销量,带动其应用商店游戏、应用程序和书籍等软件内容的销量。(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

1)Apple’s iPad top of Christmas lists in US as 44% of 6-12 year olds lust after iOS tablet

by Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman

Developers of apps aimed at a younger audience just might find the latest statistics released by Nielsen informative to say the least.

According to the firm’s look at Christmas consumer habits, the top consumer electronics device wanted by children aged 6-12 is Apple’s iPad. And by some distance, too.

Besting Xbox

Nielsen reports 44 percent of kids surveyed expressed an interest in buying the device within the next six months, compared to 31 percent in 2010.

It also puts iPad way ahead of other Christmas favourites, like Nintendo DS on 25 percent, Kinect for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 on 23 percent and PlayStation Move on 10 percent.

Indeed, iOS devices as a whole came top of the pile, with iPod touch and iPhone nabbing spots 2 and 3 on the list, too, with 30 percent and 27 percent respectively.

Appy Christmas

Older kids, too, have a hunger for iOS.

Among those aged 13 and over in the US, 24 percent are interested in buying an iPad in the next 6 months, again up from 18 percent the previous year.

Apple doesn’t enjoy a clean sweep in this category, however, with non-Apple tablets on 17 percent sitting above iPhone on 15 percent.

Non-Apple smartphones also come in at 14 percent, with iPod touch further down on 8 percent.(source:pocketgamer

2)Nokia to combat rival Windows Phone OEMs before taking on Android and iOS, claims CEO Elop

by Keith Andrew

As with Android, one of the first concerns facing any Windows Phone manufacturers is not taking down rival operating systems, but rather fighting for space within the platform itself.

As such, it’s of little surprise to hear Nokia CEO Stephen Elop claiming the Finnish firm’s initial target will be to erode the share of rival OEMs operating on Microsoft’s OS, rather than taking down either Android or iOS.

Step by step

“In the early days our first competitors are the other ecosystems,” Elop said at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecoms Conference in Barcelona, claiming offering handsets at a cheaper price than other Windows Phone OEMs is a key strategy.

Once Nokia is secure on Windows Phone, he stated, then the company can look to increase its margins and expand partner Microsoft’s footprint in the smartphone market.

“You see us pricing the devices so that that we can get what we think will be a good volume,” he added.

Such an approach will also endear Windows Phone to developers, Elop claimed.

“What we hear from developers (is) they recognise the commitment we have made,” he added. “We need to ship volumes of devices to further attract them.”

Elop also laid out plans to “aggressively” target the US market with Lumia 800, which just rolled out in the UK, Germany and France.(source:pocketgamer

3)Mobile Pie’s My Star hit by 93% piracy rate on top in-app purchase in October

by Keith Andrew

The concept of people pirating paid games is an established, if still despised, part of the industry for most developers. The idea that free releases can be hit by the practice too, however, is relatively new.

That’s exactly what’s happening with My Star from Britsol-based Mobile Pie, however, with owners of jailbroken iPhones making use of a tool called iAP Cracker to unlock the game’s in-app purchases.

Indeed, the game’s top IAP – 200 Star Cash credits, sold for £26.99 – suffered a 93 percent piracy rate in October, equivalent to almost 14 hacked IAPs to every legitimate one.

Eye on analytics

The hack was only discovered when the studio noticed a discrepancy between the game’s analytics and official reports from Apple.

“We had a much higher than expected month in analytics for September which I initially put down as a big whale,” creative director Will Luton said via email.

“When I ran the October report from analytics and it showed that we had over a 10 times multiple for revenue month on month, I was ready to stage an intervention. Digging deeper in to our server records, however, we realised that the IAPs were actually spoofed on a jailbroken phone using iAP Cracker.”

The IAP in question, in Luton’s words, awards players with “an awful lot of nice items in the game”.

More importantly, however, it also lets players level up quicker and, as such, facilitates the posting of inflated scores on My Star’s leaderboards.

The issue within

As such, while Luton doesn’t believe those using iAP Cracker would otherwise be legitimate customers – lost revenue not really the issue here – Mobile Pie is still concerned by the practice, given it messes with the studio’s analytics and means future projects will have to be hack tested.

Indeed, in the case of less valuable IAPs, the ratio of pirated purchases to legitimate ones falls dramatically, to 1.16:1 – a negligible figure Luton admits could be accounted for by an error in the analytics.

“The numbers could be the work of one or two players using the hack,” Luton added.

“This is the second attack we’ve had – the first being altering P-Lists. I would advice all developers to avoid using them for any sensitive data as any jailbroken user can edit them.

“It certainly isn’t pandemic like paid app piracy. Also, we know who the players are that are using the hack so could easily delete their characters or ban them completely in some instances. We haven’t exercised this yet. We will update the My Engine to shut the practice down.” (source:pocketgamer

4)Euro Android users download more apps than Americans

by Zen Terrelonge

Swedes are the most playful users, downloading over five apps per month.

The US mobile market is the worldwide frontrunner when it comes to total Android app downloads but Europe takes the gold based on total app downloads per user, according to mobile analyst research2guidance.

The firm says Sweden is the leader with users downloading more than five apps per month, which doubles the average US user who downloads fewer than 2.5 apps each.

Other markets to beat the US for monthly app downloads include the UK, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Italy, Portugal and South Korea.

The US may be down on the monthly scale but it’s not out. Overall the market is responsible for over 50 per cent of total Android Market app downloads, which is equivalent to 3.5 billion installs, according to the report.

This leaves South Korea in second with nine per cent followed by the UK, Germany and France, while Russia, Japan and China are among the most inactive app downloaders.(source:mobile-ent

5)One in five Britons regret buying an iPhone

by Zen Terrelonge

43 per cent are jealous of other smartphone users.

Is the Apple halo slipping? Although the firm sold 4m units of the iPhone 4S in its opening weekend, there is evidence of some disenchantment with its devices.

Mobile phone comparison site www.GoodMobilePhones.co.uk claims 22 per cent of UK iPhone users wish they had chosen a different device.

The report says of those regretting the purchase, 73 per cent were male while 27 per cent were female.

Almost half of iPhone users at 43 per cent say they are jealous of users that own other smartphones, while 25 per cent as unhappy with the phone’s battery life, according to the report.

Further results show 13 per cent were unsatisfied with the lack of  buttons, eight per cent had difficulty using emails and five per cent were disappointed with its functionality.(source:mobile-ent

6)Increasing reliance on smartphones will only continue as consumers see mobile apps as the key to help pocketable computers become more central to everyday life. A new PDF report out on Friday from PwC shows that more than half of the 3,282 smartphone owners surveyed use their smartphones for three activities each day: basic communication, accessing news, weather or sports and social network usage. And over the next two years, more than 40 percent of those surveyed expect their activities to increase across 14 different areas, such as travel and healthcare management thanks to apps.(source:gigaom

7)NaturalMotion’s stallion simulator My Horse amasses 500,000 daily active users

by Keith Andrew

In the history of Oxford-based outfit NaturalMotion, the firm’s horse simulator – the appropriately named My Horse – may prove to be something of a landmark title.

Back in September, the developer unceremoniously announced it was shifting its focus from paid titles to free releases, with the aforementioned My Horse the first game to fly the freemium flag.

Two months on, and NaturalMotion has revealed My Horse is generating 500,000 daily active users (DAU), all clocking up 2 million game sessions in the process.

Making the jump

“This is an incredible sign for us as we have barely spent anything on user acquisition,” said CEO an co-founder Torsten Reil, adding a spot on Apple’s ‘game of the week’ resulted in the game hovering between #60 and #140 on the US top grossing charts during October.

Indeed, the performance of My Horse appears to have rejuvenated the company, which is perhaps best known for it character animation technology, deployed in the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV, Red Dead Redemption, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

The firm’s in house games output, nonetheless, remains an important part of NaturalMotion’s make up.

“Our games business is a business in its own right,” added Reil.

“We know how to use our technology so we come up with concepts internally and then work with other firms. Having third parties come to us is not something we’re doing at the moment.”(source:pocketgamer

8)Capcom’s Snoopy Street Fair Serves Up a Nostalgic Free-to-Play Treat on iOS

Randy Nelson

Beeline Interactive, the mobile gaming unit of Capcom that’s behind runaway hit Smurfs’ Village, has launched its second free-to-play iOS title based on a beloved children’s entertainment property. Snoopy’s Street Fair applies many of the same game mechanics to Charles Schulz’s classic Peanuts franchise, while remaining faithful to the source material’s characters and unique visual style.

A universal app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, Snoopy’s Street Fair begins with Charlie Brown learning that his baseball team is going to a championship and needs new jerseys. In order to afford them, he decides to start his own street fair to raise funds. Players take on the role of Charlie Brown, with his faithful dog Snoopy lending his help.

As Charlie Brown, players must place various booths and attractions on the block in order to raise funds. These include lemonade stands, snack carts, and a number of different games. Players can also place photos booths, which can be used by players to take photos using their iOS device that integrate Peanuts characters. These photos can be saved to their device and even shared with friends. Friends can be added from Facebook and Game Center, and visited at any time to see what they’ve done with their block. The game also allows players to visit random blocks, or blocks that have been selected for display by the developers.

Like Smurfs’ Village, Snoopy’s Street Fair is monetized through in-app purchases of the premium currency called cash. Beeline Interactive has gone to some lengths to make it very clear for children and their parents that these purchases cost real money, so as to avoid concerns like those that arose around younger players unknowingly spending real money on Smurfberries in Smurfs’ Village.

Snoopy’s Street Fair launched two days ago and is already at No. 18 on the App Stores’s list of top downloaded free iPhone and iPod touch games. It is also ranked on the list of top-grossing gaming apps, coming in at No. 128. It’s at No. 12 on the iPad’s free game chart and No. 88 in terms of top-grossing iPad games.(source:insidemobileapps

9)Amazon to lose $1.71 on every Kindle Fire sold according to iSuppli estimates

by Matt Sakuraoka-Gilman

Kindle Fire may be something of a bargain for consumers, but Amazon itself looks to be taking a hit for every unit it sells according to figures from iSuppli.

The firm estimates it costs Amazon $201.70 to build each Kindle Fire, which means, with an initial price of $199.99, the firm will lose $1.71 for every one of the devices sold.

This figure is actually less than the $10 margin originally estimated by iSuppli back in October 2011.

Supply chain

The main culprit in the cost of manufacturing is the Kindle Fire’s screen which costs $87 to build. Other components, such as the RAM, battery and the case cost between $15-$25.

The maths still add up for the company though, with Amazon picking up revenue aplenty from apps, games and books et al that will be sold on the device.

Initial estimates forecast 5 million Kindle Fires will be sold before the end of 2011, with initial shipping volumes reportedly increased to deal with demand.(source:pocketgamer


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