It would seem, based on a new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) that this has very much become the case for iPad.

Originally envisaged as an entertainment device, the iPad is now shifting more towards business with 21% of owners saying they use it for business and work related tasks.

This is not surprising (in fact we would estimate it’s business use to be more) mainly due to its portable nature and practicality for completing day-to-day activities while on the go. With more and more businesses adopting iPads into their work environment we are also seeing growth in the number of apps designed for business being developed.

Flurry Analytics has released it’s latest report showing that iOS apps account for 69% of all projects started during the first quarter of 2012, meaning that for every ten apps built, seven of them are for iOS devices.

Furthermore, according to data from NetMarketShare, iOS has increased its mobile browsing market share from 53.65% in January 2012 to 65.27% in June 2012 (an increase of almost 12%) which is a lot when you consider the number of Android smart-phones in the market (currently powering half of the smartphones out there). Android finished on 19.73% market share for the same period (June 2012).

On the tablet front – recent research from NPD DisplaySearch, tells us the number of tablets shipped globally will increase from 121 million units this year to 416 million by 2017.

Figures released by Nielsen show just how competitive the app market is, looking at the top 50 apps across iOS/Android, they found that these apps account for 58% of users total time (and this is 34% for the top 10 apps alone).

Finally,  based on a report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) it would seem Apple & Google very much lead the way as it found that Android and iOS accounted for 59% and 23% of the smart-phone market (devices shipped) during the first quarter of 2012. That’s a whopping 82% of the entire market (124.9 million smart-phones shipped) during this period.

This is good news for companies and developers alike – there is always the fear that your app user may jump ship for the ‘hot new thing’ but this new data tells us users are developing more loyalty towards apps.

The overall app industry improved retention rates by 19% over the past year with iPhone and iPad seeing greater success – retention rates of 52% higher than those on Android.

As app customer retention rates improve, apps increase their dominance over the mobile. Nielsen reported that the average number of apps on a smartphone increased from 32 to 41.

Whats even more interesting is the comparison of apps verses online web. Localytics tell us that in the recently released ’2012 State of the News Media Report’ 29% of news app users launched the app more than 10 times per month. That compares very favorably to the fewer than 10% of online users who visited a news website more than 10 times per month.

Localytics provides app analytics for iPhone, iPad, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone and HTML5 apps on over 300 million devices.

This is a great one from the guys at Raka Creative based on recent data from bitly (URL shortener company) informing us of the optimal time to post on Facebook and Twitter:

One of the most staggering statistics? there are now 400-million iTune accounts with registered credit card numbers (making it the store with the most credit cards on file anywhere in the world). Apple have paid $5-billion to developers (which suggests that Apple have made $2.5-billion with their 30% cut).

Tim Cook (Apple CEO)

Some other statistics from the WWDC:

• 650,000+ apps in the App Store
• 225,000 of these are for iPad
• 30-billion apps have been downloaded to-date
• App Store available in 120 countries and soon to become 152
• Two-thirds of mobile traffic comes from Safari
• 7-billion push notifications everyday
• 10-bilion tweets from iOS5
• 75% ‘very satisfied’ rating on iOS

Food in a Flash contains over 1,000 quick, easy, tried and tested recipes to help with that old age question “what’s for dinner?”.

With a range op options like cooking on a budget, healthy options, meals in 10/20 or 30min it is the ideal kitchen utensil.

Download for the App Store here: http://itunes.apple.com/ie/app/food-in-a-flash/id525728799?mt=8

With smartphone’s now at 50% penetration in the US this is of course have a very positive affect on Apps, according to Nielsen, consumers are now downloading Apps more than ever…. The average number of Apps on a smartphone is now 41 (a rise of 28% on last years figure), and users are spending on average 39minutes per day on their chosen selection.

With Google’s Android currently sitting at 15-billion downloads and Apple at 25-billion it is easy to see how 88% of all Apps downloaded belonged to Android and iOS.

TechCrunch reported today that Gartner also released some interesting figures – Samsung and Apple accounted for 49.3% of all smartphones sold in Q1 of 2012 (compared to 30% last year). Samsung interestingly was also the only Android vendor to have more than 10% market share.

So what does this tell us? well nothing we didn’t already know! smartphone’s are leading the way, Apps are as popular as ever and they both continue to release some very impressive figures.

The mobile juggernaut game otherwise known as Angry Birds hit the astounding milestone of 1-million downloads last Wednesday (May 9th).

Rovio the developer behind Angry Birds said of the achievement “We are so thankful to all of our fans for their support, and we can’t wait for them to see what we have coming up”

To further celebrate their big win, Rovio created a short 21-second video to thank fans for the endless downloads, check it out below:

Business in the Community Ireland (BITCI)
Ireland’s only dedicated network for responsible business. Founded in 2000, BITCI are a national non-profit organisation whose vision is quite simple. It is to have all businesses in Ireland responsible and sustainable. Their patron is Michael D.Higgins, President of Ireland.

Visit the new website here: http://www.bitc.ie/

Safer-Networking (SpyBot)
Home to the award winning computer software that provides comfort and reassurance that your PC’s are protected against all the latest threats even before some other providers are even aware they exist.

Visit the new website here: http://www.safer-networking.ie/

Here are two great examples of how QR-Code and Augmented Reality have been used with great effect . . .

Starbuck Augmented Reality:

Turquoise Cottage QR-Code: