1）Kantar Worldpanel ComTech最新数据显示，在过去三个月中销售的所有Android设备中，将近三分之一（29%）设备的屏幕大小超过4.5英寸，例如三星、HTC、LG、华为等最设备（游戏邦注：苹果iPhone目前屏幕大小为3.5英寸）。

smartphone sales(from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech)

Kantar还发现Android过去一年在欧洲市场份额已经增长20.2%，目前其智能手机设备欧洲市场份额已达三分之二。除了在美国之外，Android在各主流市场份额都呈现超过10%的增幅，但在美国则下降4.5%，而iOS同一时期在美国市场份额增长近9%。

Android在Kantar所调查地区的智能手机市场份额均超过50%，在西班牙更是接近90%。在8个最重要市场中，Android占比达61%，而iOS则是24%，其余智能手机平台占比5%左右（其中以Windows为主）。

smartphone screen size(from kantar)

调查还发现移动设备屏幕大小会影响用户的使用习惯，在设备屏幕大小不足3英寸的用户中，仅有19%用户使用移动设备下载和观看视频内容，而设备屏幕至少达5英寸的用户群体的这一比例高达65%。

2）据venturebeat报道，苹果日前推出针对iOS 6平台的App Store测试版本，这个新版App Store最大的改观在于检索功能的优化，它采用了Chomp原来的搜索界面，将传统的列表取代为可划动的卡片界面。这种设计有助于iPad用户更清楚地看到应用截图及评价情况。

ios-6-chomp-design(from venturbeat)

此外该应用商店还植入Chomp检索算法，据悉苹果还专为iOS 6 App Store更新了原来的Genius推荐功能，但目前该功能尚未在测试版本中亮相。有人推测苹果可能根据Chomp算法调整Genius功能。

3）据venturebeat报道，谷歌最近针对三星与苹果官司的审判结果表示，三星败诉对Android操作系统并不会有什么影响，但如果三星被迫在美国停售基于Android的智能手机和平板电脑设备，那么Android设备的出货量可能就会受到打击。

android-verdict(from venturebeat)

4）据pocketgamer报道，由Cygames开发、DeNA发行的Mobage手机社交游戏《Rage of Bahamut》登陆iOS平台3个多月后，目前仍是iPhone游戏营收榜单第11名，但它在Android平台表现更出众。该游戏于2012年2月入驻Google Play，自今年4月25日以来一直位居该平台应用营收榜单之首。

blood-brothersom pocketgamer)

DeNA在4月份又通过Mobage平台发布一款与之类似的硬核RPG回合制战斗游戏《Blood Brothers》，该游戏目前已晋升至Google Play营收榜单引10名，仅次于竞争对手GREE游戏《Crime City》之后。

《Blood Brothers》于8月27日发布iOS版本，最近在美国App Store最高排名是游戏营收榜单第271名，虽然这个名次并不算出众，但需注意的是《Rage of Bahamut》也是靠时间积累逐渐攀升至榜单前列。

5）英国摇滚乐队Queen日前通过Facebook宣布其主唱人员Freddie Mercury将成为《愤怒的小鸟》游戏形象之一，Rovio将发布一个基于Freddie的全新小鸟角色，以配合Mercury在9月5日的庆生推广活动。

freddie-angry-birds(from pocketgamer)

6）Visage最近发布信息图表显示，2016年全球移动数据流量将增长18倍，去年有52%的数据流量来自视频内容。

从2010年至2011年，移动数据流量增长1.33倍；2000年至2011年，移动数据流量增长8倍。

3G移动网络目前已覆盖全球45%的人口，有60%运营商计划在2013年推出4G网络服务。

2008年移动数据流量成本为0.46美元/MB，2009年为0.19美元/MB，2010年为0.1美元/MB，2011年为0.06美元/MB，2012年为0.03美元/MB。

Future_of_Mobility_infographic(from Visage)

（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）Android Smartphone Sales, Led By Big Screens, Are Growing Everywhere Except In The U.S.

Ingrid Lunden

We’ve seen a lot of images of an (alleged) iPhone coming soon with a bigger screen, and some numbers out from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, the WPP-owned market analysts, underscore how a bigger iPhone may not be coming a moment too soon. In the last 12 weeks, it found that Android-based smartphones have continued to extend their lead over the rest of the pack, and the charge is being led by the big boys — literally.

Of all the Android devices that have been sold in the last three months, nearly one-third (29%) of them had a screen size of over 4.5 inches, with large-screened devices from Samsung, HTC, LG(pictured), Huawei and more. Apple’s current iPhone has a screen of 3.5 inches.

Kantar also found that Android’s market share in Europe has gone up by 20.2% in the past year; its devices now account for two-thirds of the smartphone market in Europe. In fact, as you can see in the table below, Android grew its share by double-digit percentages in just about every major market, except for the U.S., where it actually declined by 4.5% as iOS increased by nearly 9% over the same period a year ago.

Still, the U.S. appears to be an outlier at the moment (if not marching to the beat of a different drum altogether). Overall, there is not a single market among those surveyed by Kantar where Android does not have over 50% of all smartphone handset sales and is still growing stronger than the rest. And in some markets like Spain that percentage is even approaching 90%.

Across the eight most important markets, Kantar notes that Android has a share of 61%; while iOS is at 24%; and the rest all have 5% or less, led by Windows.

Going beyond straight handset sales, Kantar also takes a look at screen size and how that form factor impacts consumer behavior — the chief takeaway here being that the larger the screen the more likely a consumer will use that device for different services. (And if you think about long engagement times on something like the iPad tablet as the extreme of what happens when you have a large screen, this shouldn’t be too much of a surprise.)

“It is interesting to look at the impact a larger screen size has on how consumers use their smartphones, particularly as the line between tablets and smartphones becomes more blurred,” analyst Dominic Sunnebo writes.

This seems especially true for services that need more input from a user, or rely on visual elements. ”Only 19% of consumers with a screen smaller than three inches download and watch videos,compared to 65% when the screen is five inches or more,” he writes.

Perhaps more importantly for carriers and handset makers, bigger screens as a result are also important for customer retention: that’s because the more engaged a consumer is with a device, the more likely they will stay loyal to a brand when they upgrade, Sunnebo says.

That has worked brilliantly for Apple up to now with its 3.5-inch devices — with iPhone owners being strong users of their devices, and also very loyal to the brand. The question is whether consumers will start to look for more, and if Apple will give it to them.（source:techcrunch）

2）Apple’s iOS 6 App Store search takes a bite out of Chomp

Devindra Hardawar

After Apple acquired (and shut down) the app discovery service Chomp, we expected some improvements for the iOS App Store. Now it looks like those upgrades are finally taking shape, thanks to an update to the App Store last night for iOS 6 beta testers.

The big change is the addition of a new swipeable card interface for App Store search results on the iPhone and iPad, which resembles Chomp’s old search interface and replaces the the traditional list view from searches. As the video below from JailBreakNation shows, the new design makes better use of the iPad’s larger display by showing you a screenshot of the app, along with its ratings.

It also looks like Apple incorporated Chomp’s search algorithm into the updated iOS 6 store. The video shows how the same search gets different results on an iPad running iOS 6 and an iPhone running iOS 5.

While great for consumers, the search result changes may force developers to rethink the way they market their apps. It’s particularly important on the iPhone, where users will likely see less search results when flipping through the cards interface, compared to the older list of results.

Apple also turned on its Genius recommendation feature in the iOS 6 App Store update last night, which until now was unavailable to beta testers. I suspect Apple had to tweak Genius to take advantage of Chomp’s algorithms, and for whatever reason the company wasn’t able to do that before iOS 6 beta testing began.

We’ve been hearing quite a bit about how much more elegant the App Store feels in iOS 6, so these improvements don’t come as a huge surprise. I expect Apple to integrate even more enhancements before the official release of iOS 6.（source:venturebeat）

3）Google responds to Apple v. Samsung: It doesn’t apply to Android

Dean Takahashi

Google hinted today that it will likely be unaffected by Samsung’s court loss to Apple over patents related to the iPhone’s design. Samsung’s stock has taken a hit today, as it will have to pay $1.05 billion for violating Apple’s patents based on a jury ruling on Friday. Google supplies the core Android operating system for Samsung’s smartphones and tablets.

Google said that the claims involved in the patent case don’t relate to the core software. But if Samsung is forced to stop selling its smartphones and tablets in the U.S., as Apple is expected to request, the number of Android shipments could suffer.

Google said, “The court of appeals will review both infringement and the validity of the patent claims. Most of these don’t relate to the core Android operating system, and several are being re-examined by the U.S. Patent Office. The mobile industry is moving fast and all players — including newcomers — are building upon ideas that have been around for decades. We work with our partners to give consumers innovative and affordable products, and we don’t want anything to limit that.”（source:venturebeat）

4）The Charticle: Mobage flexes its muscles as Blood Brothers hits Google Play top 10

by James Nouch

The Charticle is PocketGamer.biz’s weekly look at the games jostling for position on the app store charts. It covers Apple’s App Store, Google Play and the Amazon App Store.

Take even the most cursory of glances at the app store charts, and you’ll see that Rage of Bahamut – developed by Cygames published by DeNA for its Mobage platform – continues to perform strongly across all platforms.

More than three months on from its iOS launch, the collectable card game is still the eleventh highest-grossing game on the iPhone.

And on Android, it’s doing even better.

Rage of Bahamut was released on Google Play back in February 2012, and since 25 April 2012, the game has enjoyed an unbroken spell as the top-grossing application of any kind on the Google Play platform.

A challenger approaches

It’s a success that DeNA is keen to replicate, and the Japanese publisher’s latest offering through its Mobage platform is a similarly hardcore title.

A fantasy RPG with a tactical turn-based battle system and plenty of stats to pore over, Blood Brothers launched on Google Play in April 2012.

And it’s been making steady progress, now sneaking into the Top Grossing top 10, just behind rival GREE’s Crime City.

Slippery slopes

Released on 27 August for iOS, it’s not in danger of ousting the chart toppers quite yet, but the game is certainly ascending the rankings considerably more quickly than it did on Android.

Since its launch seven days ago, Blood Brothers’ highest position on the US App Store’s top grossing games chart has been 271 – a position that its Android counterpart took months to reach.

While that number is not awe-inspiring, it’s worth bearing in mind that Rage of Bahamut took time to build momentum too, gradually ascending the charts.

Of course, it could be that these type of games naturally play better with an Android audience; and that’s exactly the sort of thing we’ll be focusing on in future weeks. （source:pocketgamer）

5）Legendary rocker Freddie Mercury is joining Rovio’s Angry Birds cast

by Anthony Usher

Iconic British rock band Queen has announced via its official Facebook page that legendary frontman Freddie Mercury is to become an honorary member of Rovio’s colourful family of miffed avians.

Later today, the Finnish developer will release an all-new animation that features Freddie the Angry Bird (who you can see below) riding his bicycle in time with Queen’s popular 1978 hit ‘Bicycle Race’.

The release of this video will kick off a week-long worldwide celebration of the late singer’s life, which includes Freddie For A Day – an annual event that coincides with Mercury’s birthday on September 5th.

Be sure to keep your eyes (or just one of them if you’re really busy) firmly focused on Rovio’s YouTube channel.（source:pocketgamer）

6）Infographic: The staggeringly huge future of mobility

by Mike Shaw

Global mobile data traffic is expected to increase 18-fold by 2016.

Mobility and data traffic has changed dramatically as smartphone use has increased.

Strategic mobility management company Visage compiled the infographic below to show just how much it has grown in the last decade, and how much more we can expect it to increase, and some of the figures are startling.

Mobile data traffic is set to grow worldwide by 18 times in the next four years, while last year, 52 per cent of that traffic was video.（source:mobile-ent）