Across Europe, Android remains the top OS with 70.7% share, while Apple holds second position at 19.2%. Windows, at third, accounts for 8.1% of smartphone sales.

“Apple regained ground in the first quarter of 2014, primarily due to the strong performance of the iPhone 5S, growing its sales share in Europe, Japan and Australia,” says Dominic Sunnebo, strategic insight director at Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. “By contrast, Windows had a tough start to the year as a result of its entry-level Nokia models facing fierce competition from low-end Motorola, LG and Samsung Android smartphones.”

Apple has been particularly successful in Japan where, in the past quarter, it has secured 42% of smartphone sales on NTT DoCoMo, 59% on KDDI AU and 81% on Softbank. The design of the iPhone (30%) remains the key draw for Japanese consumers, followed by its 4G capability (29%) and the belief that it will be reliable (24%).

“Japan’s love affair with Apple shows no sign of fading. Even though the iPhone has now been available on Japan’s largest carrier, NTT DoCoMo, for a number of months Apple still accounts for more than 40% of sales on the network,” Sunnebo continues. “The success of the iPhone is also filtering through to the iPad, with almost a quarter of Japanese iPhone owners also owning an iPad. With smartphone penetration in Japan lagging well behind Europe and the US, Japan will remain a key growth market for Apple.”

The post As Windows Stumbles, Apple Regains Footing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

The most notable of new features is Cortana, Microsoft’s voice-command personal assistant.

Named for a character from the hugely popular Halo video game, Cortana is powered by Microsoft’s Bing search engine.

Cortana enables users to make phone calls, send texts, dictate notes or provide reminders.

“Cortana gets to know you and gets better over time by asking questions based on your behavior and checking in with you before she assumes you’re interested in something,” Microsoft explained yesterday. “She detects and monitors the stuff you care about, looks out for you throughout the day, and helps filter out the noise so you can focus on what matters to you.”

The software giant confirms that Cortana will launch soon in the U.S. as a beta, in the U.K. and China in the second half of 2014, and in other countries in 2015.

Registered developers can update their phones to Windows Phone 8.1 as part of the developer program later this month.

The post Microsoft Shows Off New 'Cortana' Personal Assistant appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

This week, the company launched iPass Open Mobile for Windows Phone 8.

iPass now enables Wi-Fi connectivity for users of Windows Phone 8, along with Android and iOS devices. This development is poised to help enterprises keep mobility costs down, and mobile worker productivity up in the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) era.

Available as a free download from the Windows Store, iPass Open Mobile for Windows Phone 8 provides employees with “seamless connectivity to the world’s largest commercial Wi-Fi network of more than 1.4 million hotspots, including in-flight Internet, hotels, airports and business venues around the world.”

“Today’s business travelers require reliable connectivity to be productive. Without it, users turn to cellular services or Wi-Fi session passes without regard for the high costs to the organization,” says Barbara Nelson Chief Technology Officer at iPass. “With this launch, iPass Open Mobile is now available on all preferred mobile platforms, providing mobile productivity, mitigating risk, and supporting BYOD policies for enterprises and users around the world.”

The post iPass Puts Renewed Focus on Global Enterprise Wi-Fi Connectivity appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

Windows Phone customers enjoy gaming with over one-third of all app downloads and 60% of Windows Phone Store revenue originating from games. In fact, almost half of the top 50 Windows Phone developers create games for the platform.

This week, the Windows crew is at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco showing developers “how fast and efficient” it is to port their existing games to Windows Phone.

At GDC, Unity announced the Unity 4 open beta for Windows Phone 8.

Open to all developers, the beta program represents an opportunity to try the new tools, provide feedback, and begin Windows Phone 8 game development.

Unity is already showing off a few popular titles built on the new platform and available in the Windows Phone Store today, Microsoft says.

All told, it was one of many promising new announcements from the Windows team and their partners. To learn more about the partnerships and projects in the works, click here.

The post Microsoft Says Games Drive Bulk of Windows Phone Store App Revenue appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

United says the freshly launched app puts important travel information at the fingertips of Windows Phone users.

With the app, United customers can book reservations – including reward travel – check in for flights, access mobile boarding passes, monitor flight status details and view their MileagePlus frequent flyer accounts.

“United’s new app takes full advantage of the innovative features and unique design of the Windows Phone 8 platform,” said Scott Wilson, United’s vice president of merchandising and ecommerce.

“We continue to invest in technology that offers travelers more options and convenience,” Wilson said, formally unveiling the app. “United’s robust website and mobile travel tools enable our customers to get the information they need, buy the products they want and choose services they desire when and where they want.”

The United Windows Phone 8 app is available now from the Windows Phone Store.

The post United Airlines Lands App on Windows 8 appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“When Hurricane Sandy mowed over the East Coast last year and the first devastating images appeared,” Stroh remembers, “two thoughts crossed my mind: Are the people I know there OK? and How can I help? I know I wasn’t alone.”

In response to the growing need for improved communication with friends and loves ones in times of emergency, Microsoft is unveiling an innovative new app called HelpBridge that makes it easier to address both of these concerns.

The app, which is free and available only in the U.S., lets you assemble a list of friends and family members who you’d want to notify in an emergency or natural disaster.

On your command, Stroh explains, HelpBridge will then quickly blast out email or text alerts (or post an emergency message on your Facebook wall) to let people know you’re safe or require aid.

Alerts can also optionally provide your precise location via your phone’s GPS signal.

Corresponding with the blog heralding the launch of the new app, Microsoft released this video to illustrate exactly how the new app works. Check it out below.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPYVHmW5GX8&list=UUKxeTee0H8k8M4VQ0xC1HCQ&index=1[/youtube]

The post Video: Microsoft Says New App is Critical in Emergencies appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

On Wednesday, Todd Brix, Microsoft’s Senior Director for Windows Marketplace, publicly reflected on his company’s progress in mobile during the past year. And developer enthusiasm was corroborated with some pretty impressive data.

“Over the last year,” Brix admitted, “we’ve certified and published over 75,000 new apps and games (more than doubling the catalog size) and over 300,000 app updates. In addition, this year we added the capability for customers to tell us if they have a concern about an app.”

As a direct result of our investments, Windows Phone customers now download, buy, and use more apps than at any time since we first launched Windows Phone 7 two years ago.

The typical or average Windows Phone user downloaded 54 apps to personalize their phone experience in 2012.

While Microsoft still has a way to go before it can lay clam to disrupting the smartphone duopoly enjoyed by Android and iOS, the software giant and burgeoning mobile maven has undeniable momentum going into the new year.

The post Microsoft Enjoyed Banner Year for Windows Phone Apps appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

On Tuesday, Microsoft – as planned – brought closure to Windows Mobile 6.x.

Microsoft has issued a final reminder that, beginning today, the Marketplace for 6.x devices will no longer be available.

As confirmed by Engadget, the announcement from Microsoft means that users will no longer be able to browse, buy or download apps from their phone through this service.

According to the software giant, however, all the apps you presently have will continue to work.

Re-installing an app will no longer work unless the app is available directly from another third party site.

The post Marketplace for Windows Mobile Finally Closes appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

And that will certainly be good for business at the venerable sports institution.

On Tuesday morning, ESPN Radio today unveiled its “single, most definitive ESPN Radio App optimized for iPhone, iPod touch and – for the first time – iPad.”

The app, which ESPN says is sponsored by Lowe’s, creates a personalized sports listening experience (both live and on demand) and includes a new feature that allows fans to build their own sports stations.

Additionally, fans now have the option to rewind live audio streams, including ESPN Deportes Radio.

If you’re not an iDevice owner, don’t worry. ESPN confirms that versions for Android and Windows 7 smartphones are slated to launch later this summer.

“This latest version of the ESPN Radio App builds on our promise to deliver the best sports audio content across any device,” said Marc Horine, Vice President at ESPN Digital and Print Media. “With this update, fans now have complete control over their listening experience as the app provides the functionality to customize specifically by sports, teams and athletes they care most about.”

The post ESPN Radio App Comes to iOS appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.

“Today I’ll outline the latest steps we’re taking in our ongoing effort to keep the quality bar high in our rapidly growing Marketplace,” Brix writes. “I know most of you share our goal of a great shopping experience and already go out of your way to follow our policies and guidance. For others, I hope this insight into a few near-term changes we’re putting in place helps save you time and reduces your risk of having apps pulled from the Marketplace.”

According to Brix, the efforts underway are aimed at: (1) Avoiding trademark trouble (2) Keeping the quality bar high (3) Cleaning up keywords (4) Refining our approach to content policy enforcement.

A big part of the clean up process, he writes, will involve removing sexually explicit or suggestive content that doesn’t fit the Windows community standards.

“Apps that don’t fit our standard will need to be updated to remain in the store… This is about presenting the right content to the right customer and ensuring that apps meet our standards. We will also monitor customer reaction to apps and reserve the right to remove ones that our customers find offensive.”

“We’re committed to our developer community and appreciate your feedback on how we can make Marketplace better for you and your customers,” Brix concludes.

The post Microsoft to ‘Clean House’ Inside App Marketplace appeared first on Mobile Marketing Watch.