Appy Holidays: The First Billion-Download Week

In addition to setting a record for the number of smartphones activated in a single day, the world has broken another barrier: The number of applications downloaded in one week.
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IOS Devices Generate 2 Percent of Global Web Traffic

A small, but noteworthy, milestone for iOS. According to the latest worldwide browser market-share survey by Net Applications, Apple’s mobile operating system now accounts for more than 2.06 percent of all Web browsing traffic.

Apple Hits New Milestones: 10 Billion Apps Downloaded, 160 Million iOS Users and More

Apple said today its App Store has hit more than 10 billion downloads worldwide, equating to roughly 62 apps for each one of its 160 million iPhone, iPod touch and iPad users.

PC Sales Weakened in Q4–Everyone Blame the iPad

PC sales were weaker than expected in the fourth quarter. Might it have a little something do with the iPad? Yes.

Worldwide IT Spending Growth Speeds Up, Gartner Says

Good news, right? Yes, but it’s complicated by the weakness of the U.S. dollar.

Pulse iPad App Gets Steve Jobs's Praise in Morning…Then Booted From App Store Hours Later After NYT Complains

Yesterday morning, the pair of Stanford University graduate students who made the hot news-reading iPad app, Pulse News Reader, were ecstatic to be mentioned first–for being among the most promising developers for the new tablet device–by Apple CEO Steve Jobs in his keynote address to the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. But by afternoon, that flush of entrepreneurial success had turned sour, when Apple informed the two that Pulse was being pulled from the App Store after it received a written notice from the New York Times Company declaring that “The New York Times Company believes your application named ‘Pulse News Reader’ infringes The New York Times Company’s rights.” Pulse was down completely by 6:30 pm PT last night.

iPad Doing to the Netbook What the Netbook Did to the Laptop?

Apple’s iPad may not be cannibalizing sales of the company’s Macs, but it is evidently playing havoc with sales of netbooks. According to new research from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty, growth in U.S. netbook sales has been declining since January, the month during which Apple officially announced its much anticipated slate device.

KPCB Doubles Down on iFund: $200 Million for iPhone and iPad Apps

Add Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers to the list of companies funding iPad app development. This morning the storied venture capital firm said it is doubling the $100 million fund it established to provide seed capital for iPhone apps to fuel development of new apps for Apple’s iPad.

January Chip Sales Up 47 Percent Year-Over-Year

The Semiconductor Industry Association’s prediction of healthy growth for chip demand in 2010 seems to be panning out. Though January is typically a weak month, global semiconductor sales rose slightly thanks to solid demand for personal computers, cellphones and other consumer electronics.

Smartphones Evidently Quite Popular

The fourth quarter was a record one for smartphone sales. Research firm IDC reports that the industry shipped 54.5 million of the devices during the period. That’s a 39 percent increase year-over-year and one that benefited most top smartphone peddlers, particularly Apple.

The Chips Are Up, Redux

Chip Sales: Bottoms Up?