WebProNews

Smartphones Driving Non-Voice Communications

The increase in mobile device usage for non-voice communications, such as text messages, email and Internet access is being driven primarily by the popularity of smartphones, according to a new study by BIA/Kelsey. BIA/Kelsey's Mobile Market View study, found 18.5 percent of consumers searched the Internet for products or services in their local areas, up from 15.6 percent in 2008, and 16.7 percent visited a social network such as MySpace or Facebook, up from 9.6 percent in 2008.

Smartphone Sales Up 12% In Q3

Global mobile phone sales reached 308.9 million units in the third quarter of 2009, a slight increase of 0.1 percent from the third quarter of 2008, according to a new report from Gartner. Smartphone sales showed solid growth with more than 41 million units sold for a 12.8 percent increase from the same period last year.

Dell To Launch Android-Based Smartphone

Dell said today it plans to introduce smartphones based on Google's Android platform in Brazil and China. The company said it plans to sell its new Mini 3 smartphones through China Mobile, the largest telecommunications firm in the world with more than 500 million customers, and Claro, which has more than 42 million customers in Brazil as part of the America Movil network.

Buy A Blackberry From Walmart Get A $100 Gift Card

Walmart has introduced yet another holiday promotion, this time the retailer is offering a $100 gift card with the purchase of any Blackberry device, both in stores and online.   Staring Saturday, November 14 at 8 am through November 20, shoppers will receive a $100 Walmart Gift Card with the purchase of Blackberry devices with a two-year contract.

Google Launches Custom Search For Smartphones

Google has launched Custom Search for smartphones. This means that if you own a site and add a Google Custom Search box to it, it will format search results to fit the screens of supported mobile devices. The following devices are supported:

Email Not Just Alive, But Use Increasing

ExactTarget released some new findings today about email use, finding that it is increasing, with social media and smartphones playing key roles.

Apple And LG Rank High In Consumer Satisfaction

Overall satisfaction among smartphone owners has increased significantly over time as manufacturers continue to improve their offerings, according to a new report from J.D. Power and Associates. Satisfaction among consumer smartphone owners has increased 14 index points (on a 1,000 point scale) from just six months ago, while satisfaction among business owners has increased by 43 index points from 2008 as these devices have become more stylish, customizable and user friendly.

Android Demands as Much Marketing Attention as iPhone

At Search Marketing Expo East in New York, where WebProNews is on location, Michael Martin of Internet Marketing Inc. delivered a presentation about the growing Android market. He spoke about how Android is becoming an increasingly important mobile platform for marketers to keep in mind. In other words, it's not just about the iPhone.

AdSense Gets Optimized for Smartphones

Google has announced a new feature for AdSense mobile publishers, which lets them serve text and image ads on their sites, specifically optimized for high-end smartphones like the iPhone, Android devices, and the Palm Pre. With the launch of the feature, publishers can run larger AdSense ads on these phones, whereas before, they could only serve smaller ads.

Samsung Set To Launch App Store

Samsung Electronics announced today it will launch a new app store for its smartphone users on September 14. The app store will open in the U.K., France and Italy, with more than 30 countries including Germany and Spain to follow. Initially the store will be focused on users of Omnia and I8910 HD devices and later expand to other models. Users will be able to browse a variety of applications including games, references, social networking, e-books and health related tools.