Distimo cites free apps as the leading cause for Android Marketplace reaching the 400K mark as 68% of all apps downloaded on Android devices was free content. As we’ve mentioned before, free apps, otherwise known as the freemium apps, are becoming the emerging business model in app development. The model has boosted the downloads from the Android Market nearly 166% since the beginning of 2011.

Distimo drew up a timeline comparison of Android’s ascent to 400K downloads with Apple’s trajectory to the same milestone. While Apple’s climb has been relatively steady to each subsequent thousand-download marker, Android Marketplace actually took longer to reach the 200K and 300K marks than Apple App Store. However, Android Marketplace took considerably less time to expand from 300K to 400K than Apple App Store, which gives cause to speculation of whether Android will be able to maintain this steep increase as it approaches future milestones.

One reason Distimo offers for the boom in Android app downloads is the application store’s 100,000 active developers publishing on average 4.1 apps a piece. More apps developed make for more apps downloaded, for sure. At any rate, Android Marketplace appears to be on track to outpace Apple App Store in 2012.

While this could come across as an “egg on your face” scenario, especially in light of the Gilberto Sanchez verdict, the RIAA was quick to respond to these findings with something resulting in a “it wasn’t us” response. In a CNet article, quotes from RIAA spokesperson Jonathan Lamy indicates as much:

“We checked the block of IP addresses allocated to RIAA staff to access the Internet and no RIAA employee was responsible for this alleged use of bittorrent” … Lamy had an explanation for that that implies that a third-party vendor was responsible for the downloads. “Those partial IP addresses are similar to block addresses assigned to RIAA. However, those addresses are used by a third party vendor to serve up our public Web site,” he said. “As I said earlier, they are not used by RIAA staff to access the Internet.”

With that in mind, Ernesto, the TorrentFreak writer responsible for the initial RIAA-outing article, wondered, “If official records can be wrong as the RIAA claims, then this would mean they probably accused people wrongfully also.”

From there, WebProNews asked the RIAA in an email about the false accusations related to IP address and received the following email response:

We have not suggested that the official records of IP addresses assigned to the RIAA are mistaken, however, the real issue is how and whether IP addresses assigned to the RIAA were captured. The methodology employed by the RIAA to identify IP addresses is no secret, has been validated by independent experts, and has never been successfully challenged in court.

As for the TorrentFreak story, assuming the IP addresses were validly identified and they are in a range assigned to the RIAA, the allegation that RIAA staff used BitTorrent is inaccurate. The RIAA has two sets of distinct IP addresses managed by two different ISPs and used for two distinct purposes. One set is used by our staff to access the internet and the other set is used by a third party off site vendor to serve up our website to the public and is not even accessible by our staff. The partial IP addresses cited in the original TorrentFreak story are possibly consistent with the block of IP addresses associated exclusively with our public website, and bare no relationship to the separate block of IP addresses used for Internet access by our staff.

We have no idea whether the data referenced in the story is real or, if real, how it was acquired. I would check the bottom of the website, youhavedownloaded.com. Lower left hand corner. It says “don’t take it too seriously” and “it’s all a joke.” It doesn’t sound like the website creators consider the finding to be “official records” (to use your term), so I’d tread carefully before you give this story (or website) any credence in the first place. It’s possibly a hoax.

While the people that run YouHaveDownloaded.com maintain their data is accurate, their “it’s all a joke” disclaimer gives the RIAA all the deniability it needs to discount these findings, whether they are precise or not.

Furthermore, the portion about the separate IP addresses, a block for employees and a block for third party developers who produce content for the RIAA site, gives the RIAA further room to essentially disregard the “findings,” although, it’s hard not to wonder if the RIAA will investigate whether or not any of those third party IP addresses were responsible for the downloads in question, and what, exactly, the punitive reaction would be, if any.

Williams was yanked by ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast last Monday after he made statements comparing President Obama to Hitler. You can watch those comments below –

The song references the last week’s events -

So Fox and Friends wanna put me down.
Ask for my opinion, then twist it all around
Supposed to be talkin’ about my father’s new CD
Well two can play that gotcha game, just wait and see

Yeah you can keep Fox and Friends and ESPN out of your homes too
Cause Bocephus and all his rowdy friends and his song is outta there

It is available as a free download for the next 48 hours. You can receive the track via email using the box below -

Williams announced the release of the track via Facebook and Twitter:

Hank Williams Jr.Hank couldn’t wait on the BIG announcement. He has hit the studio to record “Keep The Change” and wants to offer it to all his Rowdy Friends free for 48 hours! Download it now and tell all your friends! 1 hour ago · 1,556 likes · 382 comments

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Expand your horizons so even more people use your product.

Clearly, that’s the thinking of the uTorrent developers and their multiple device support announcement. As indicated by TorrentFreak, the version of uTorrent that supports the multiple device platform is only in the alpha stage, but considering the efficiency with which uTorrent updates its client, don’t expect this feature to remain in the testing stages for long. According to the TorrentFreak report, the new version of uTorrent will allow bit torrent users to synch their downloads to the various devices they are using.

This is an obvious use of multiple device support, and with via the updated uTorrent (version 3.1 — link goes to the 3.1 exe file), users will be able to drop and drag their downloads to whatever supported devices they choose. Apparently, file conversion for the various devices was included in the update, but TorrentFreak learned that’s an option that will be available for premium uTorrent members.

Yes, uTorrent is launching a premium service, too, called uTorrent Plus:

In addition, the latest alpha also shows the option to convert files into the appropriate formats supported by the various devices. However, TorrentFreak has learned that this tease was put in by mistake and that it will be removed in the next update.

While the device integration will become part of the stable uTorrent release in a few months, conversion will only be available for people who upgrade to the premium uTorrent version, the upcoming uTorrent Plus.

Is file conversion an important aspect uTorrent is leaving out, at least for the free version users? Or does the fact that uTorrent will soon support multiple platforms good enough for you to stay with them?

It’s hard to reconcile these two positions, but yet, here we are. Apple did announce their Apps Store eclipsed 15 billion downloads on the same day their injunction against Amazon was denied. While the lawsuit is still ongoing, Amazon can, for the time being, continue to use the phrase in question. As for the App Store milestone, considering the proliferation of Apple’s team of iDevices (iPhone, iPad, iTouch), eclipsing the 15 billion downloads mark was only a matter of time.

Currently, the Apps for iPhone store has, according to Apple’s promotional material, over 425,000 apps available for the iFamily. Concerning the significance of these downloads, Apple had this to say:

“In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “Thank you to all of our amazing developers who have filled it with over 425,000 of the coolest apps and to our over 200 million iOS users for surpassing 15 billion downloads.”

So much for confusion and being misled. Apparently, that catch-all will be used to address future downloads and if they diminish? Beating a dead horse aside, PC World speculates the announcement is to counter Google’s boasts about the number of Android devices activated on a daily basis, as well as the amount of Android apps have been downloaded:

The announcement comes a few weeks after Googlers started throwing out numbers at public events showing the Android Market is quickly approaching the 5 billion download mark, and that the last billion downloads were added in only two months.

So. Is this just a case of two companies in a “whose is bigger” contest or is there real value in learning about the amount of downloaded apps each platform has had? From here, the main value received from Apple’s announcement is that the “confusing and misleading” arguments about Amazon’s use of the “App Store” phrase are bogus. Or is it their contention that if Amazon wasn’t using the phrase, the Apps for iPhone store would have more than 15 billion downloads? Or does Apple just want to have control of the phrase for marketing purposes?

Clearly, there isn’t much confusion going on, especially if you go by their claims about their download numbers.

Finally, Apple’s release indicated that over $2.5 billion has been paid out to application developers. Is that before or after they started denying certain apps, only to make a similar one themselves?

The company says it is committed to full compliance with the exports controls and sanctions programs, and that as a condition of Google’s export licenses from the Treasury Department, the company will continue to block IP addresses associated with the Iranian government. 

"During the protests that erupted in Iran following the disputed Presidential election in June 2009, the central government in Tehran deported all foreign journalists, shut down traditional media outlets, closed off print journalism and disrupted cell phone lines," said Google’s Export Compliance Program Manager, Neil Martin. "The government also infiltrated networks, posing as activists and using false identities to round up dissidents. In spite of this, the sharing of information using the Internet prevailed. YouTube and Twitter were cited by journalists, activists and bloggers as the best source for firsthand accounts and on-the-scene footage of the protests and violence across the country. At the time, though, U.S. export controls and sanctions programs prohibited software downloads to Iran."

"Our products are specifically designed to help people create, communicate, share opinions and find information," Martin added. "And we believe that more available products means more choice, more freedom, and ultimately more power for individuals in Iran and across the globe."

Last year, the New York Times reported that the U.S. began allowing tech companies to export online services like instant messaging, chat, and photo sharing to Iran (as well as Cuba and Sudan).

"The release candidate pushes us closer to the final launch of Opera 10," said Jan Standal, Vice President of Desktop Products, Opera. "We paid special attention to the mail client, which is one of our most enduring and popular features. Now, we are very close to releasing the best browser in Opera’s long history. We hope everyone who has helped us test our browser thus far will put the release candidate through its paces. With everyone’s help, Opera 10 will surprise a lot of people with its speed, stability and powerful features."

The release candidate includes features like: 

- New look and feel

- New application icon

- Enhanced speed and performance

- Opera Turbo

- New bandwidth-booster for slow connections

- Improved Opera Mail

- Tabbed browsing includes resizable thumbnail tabs

- Opera’s Speed Dial upgraded

- Faster on resource intensive pages like Gmail and Facebook (40% faster than Opera 9.6)

The release candidate is available for download.

In other Opera news, the Opera Mini application has been named the most downloaded moible app. App marketplace GetJar says the app has been downloaded 25 million times from its store alone. StatCounter has Opera at 25% share of the mobile browser market.

Opera has run over 10 million tests on the beta and has received plenty of feedback. They say performance and stability were prioritized in this version.

"For us, it is a resounding success when more than one million people use your beta and are excited enough to give us so much actionable feedback," says Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner. "This third beta comes after a lot of careful improvements. We have never released such a solid piece of technology that not only runs seamlessly, but is so nice to look at as well. I am proud of this release, and I hope that the Web-using world will benefit from a browser that is truly ready to do some heavy lifting."

The release does not come with Opera Unite, the company’s recently announced inter-browser communication technology. That is still in alpha mode and will be released to beta in due time.

New features do include:

- Tab Tweaks
- User interface tweaks
- Multilingual
- Crash prevention
- More "turbo"

Opera Turbo is a compression tool used for faster surfing. The tool has been refined for increased speed when browsing with slower network connections.

Users wanted more tab options, and now they have them. Users can view visual thumbnail tabs on the right or left side of the screen, as well as on the top or bottom. The tabs are also resizable and the thumbnail view is optional. This version of Opera also contains 38 different languages.

Original Article: Lookout Microsoft! Mozilla’s Firefox is closing the gap a bit, as they’re about to pass 1 billion total downloads, and some think they might even pass the mark as early as Friday.

When do you think Firefox will pass the 1 billion mark? Tell us.

Mozilla is prepping for the occasion with a new site, OneBillionPlusYou.com. Little is currently known about the site, but we assume it will feature information about Firefox’s success along with various download statistics.

At the beginning of the month Chris Crum wrote about how Firefox’s newest release, version 3.5, had more than 1 million downloads in its first day of launch. Instead of just sitting around revealing in their success, Mozilla is currently hard at work on version 4.0.

It should be noted that the one billion total downloads is in reference to ALL versions of Firefox, which dates back to 2002.

The concept is a product of Best Buy partnering with CinemaNow, the same company that Blockbuster has dealt with to offer movies through set-top devices. According to Variety:

Details on how exactly Best Buy would benefit from a potential partnership with CinemaNow, and others, are still being finalized. But one possibility is that Best Buy would market and sell Web-enabled devices — from TVs to Blu-ray players — that would include built-in access to CinemaNow’s library. Such devices may roll out as soon as this summer. Best Buy would presumably share in the revenues generated from downloads or streaming with CinemaNow or another provider.

This could get interesting, considering Best Buy has recently launched its Remix program, which includes both an affiliate program and an API. What this really means is that Best Buy will be getting more traffic. Best Buy is already largely benefiting from the void left by Circuit City, as Hitwise recently pointed out.

The Best Buy/CinemaNow service is said to be going into effect in the second half of the year. Meanwhile, Google will have its own set-top devices in the works. The video industry is going to get really interesting over the next year or so.