A study put out today shows that the discrepancy between iOS and Android users on the topic of spending money on applications has drastically shrank over the past year. The guys over at SwiftKey partnered with a few websites to take a poll to see how users on each OS buy applications. Last year 39% of iOS users owned 20 or more paid apps with 3% having none. Android was the opposite with 12% having none and a measly 10% having over 20.

This year, that large difference has evened out a little bit. Android’s numbers have jumped to 19% of users having over 20 paid apps and no paid apps down to 6%. iOS has dropped dramatically down to 26% with the rate of no apps growing at the same time. Google has certainly been a bit more forceful in how apps should look since ICS was released, but there could be other reasons for this growth as well. The quality of apps on the platform has definitely improved. Plus, many developers are pricing their apps at lower introductory price points to get you into the game, where they then sell you additional features through in-app purchases.

What do you think? Do you pay for a good amount of apps on your phone?

Via: SwiftKey

Android Users Catching Up with iOS in Willingness to Pay for Apps is a post from: Droid Life

If you can’t upgrade your phone to Jelly Bean anytime soon, you can at least download the new Play Store that includes sections for TV and Magazines, two new additions as of yesterday. Other than those new sections, there aren’t any major visual tweaks other than the removal of those awful reflections. After downloading the application, tap on it and install over top of the previous version of the Play store. 

Download: Play Store 3.7.11.apk

Via: AndroidSpin

Download: New Google Play Store Version 3.7.11 With Magazines and TV Shows is a post from: Droid Life

TiVo has been around so long that it’s now a household name, but up until recently their Android game was lacking. They have a basic Android application, but if you’re like me and leave your tablet on the coffee tablet in front of the TV, you would rather see a tab-specific application to control your TiVo with. Today, the company has released just that, along with a few really cool features other than your basic guide and search options. 

• My Shows – Check in on what you’ve got waiting in your own personal entertainment lineup in My Shows. Not only can you sort by date and title, you can monitor your available recording capacity with the handy disk space meter.
• Season Pass Manager – Prioritize and edit your Season Pass recordings with intuitive drag-and-drop functionality in Season Pass Manager.
• Remote – Take total control of your entertainment with your choice of two great TiVo remote control options: a full-scale replica of a classic TiVo remote or an intuitive, gesture-based remote control.

If you’re a TiVo user, it sounds like this app is going to be a must-have in your living room. The application is available for download in the Play Store now.

Play Link 

Cheers Novak!

TiVo Launches Tablet Application on Android, Looking Straight at You Google TV is a post from: Droid Life

The comments section on an app’s page in Google Play is an important section. If a potential buyer is looking for a quality app, they can browse through comments to see if the app has problems or if it lacks certain features. For those that have already purchased an app, leaving comments has been the best way to provide developers with feedback on bugs or requested features. Up until now though, developers have been unable to respond directly, making this somewhat of a 1-way street.

Starting today for “Top Developers,” with roll out to additional developers down the road, publishers can now reply directly to comments left on their app’s listing. Whether it be to help users, answer questions, or inform folks of new feature additions, this should be a great way for developers to stay in touch with their users. Keep it up, Google.

Via: Android Developers

Starting Today, Developers Can Directly Respond to User Feedback in the Play Store is a post from: Droid Life

The switch from the Android Market to Google Play was received with mixed reviews, but the one thing it did do, is give Google a place to sell multimedia under one unified brand. While “Google Play” still feels a little bit awkward to say out loud, Google is sticking to it and these new videos on YouTube show how Google plans to market their one-stop-shop for everything down the road.

True to Google fashion, they do their videos a little bit…different. It’s funny and catchy however, and even more important, it’s a good demo of what Play does. Their webstore for movies, music, apps and now devices is really key to Google’s plans moving forward.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Via: Phandroid

Google Begins Video Campaign for Google Play, Powered by Bananas and Mirrors is a post from: Droid Life

Remember that new Spotify app that came out looking really nice and inspired by Ice Cream Sandwich a while back? That was just a beta test of the app, but now that Spotify has got all the kinks worked out they’re letting everyone in on the new application. And they’ve even added a few more tricks into the deal for you:

• Play queue
• Last.fm scrobbling
• Crossfade/gapless playback settings
• Widget – control Spotify from the home screen
• Folder support

The download is available now in the Play Store for those who want to get in on the music streaming action. We advise you stream now before those shared data plans kick in.

Play Link

Via: Spotify

Slick ICS-Based Spotify App Leaves Beta, Available for Download Now is a post from: Droid Life

Nothing is more awkward than the feeling that you’ve met someone before, but you just can’t remember their name. The hugely popular note taking app, Evernote, is looking to help you with that with their new application “Hello.” Instead of stacking your contacts in an alphabetical list like most phones, Hello looks to save your contacts under pictures, names and unique notes that make people memorable. 

There are a lot of neat features with this application. When you make a new contact you can fill in information like what you were talking about when you met this person, who else you were with when you met this person and you can even hand the phone to them so they can take their own picture. You can pull from your current contact list and future upgrades will allow integration with other social networking sites to get even more information on each person.

The best part about this is that it all ties in with your existing Evernote account, storing all your information where you need it. The application is working to make remembering people in your phone more like you do in your mind. It’s an interesting concept that will only get better the more you use it. Hello is live in the Play Store available for download now.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Play Link

Via: Phandroid

Evernote Launches “Hello,” Helping You to Always Put a Name With a Face is a post from: Droid Life

Google pushed out a new version of the Play Store to devices yesterday numbered 3.5.19. No word on what changes are inside, but if your device hasn’t received the newest version yet, you can download it right below. To install, simply download the apk and install as you would any other 3rd party application. If you spot any differences in the new version, be sure to let us know down below.

Download: GooglePlayStore3.5.19.apk

Via: Phandroid

Google Play Store Updated to Version 3.5.19, Available for Download is a post from: Droid Life

A few interesting updates await you in the Play Store today if you head on over. First up is an update for arguably the best app of all time, Google Maps. The application will now show you Google Offers based on your location, so if you’re walking around downtown you can find where to go to lunch and save some money. The map view of this is particularly handy. Also tucked into this update is “360 degree panoramas inside restaurants and stores” and indoor walking directions for the US and Japan. Both of which can be pretty interesting once they become more widespread.

Shazam also has an update waiting for you, one that enables NFC if you have it. You can “swap tags and share your favorite music” through Android Beam just by tapping your two phones together (provided you both have NFC). Now you can really be that guy who shares the music with all of his friends.

Play Links: Maps | Shazam

Google Maps Update Brings Offers and Indoor Directions to Your Map, Shazam Update Enables Android Beam Tag Sharing is a post from: Droid Life

Google has launched additional carrier billing support on the Play Store for three out of the four major wireless carriers in America, excluding Verizon. Not that Google didn’t offer, but we have a feeling Verizon decided to decline the service for reasons unbeknownst. Previously, AT&T and T-Mobile customers could charge applications to their monthly bill, but now users can checkout movies, books, and even music straight on to their wireless bill. So, what’s up Verizon? When can Big Red subscribers get in on the action? Oh that’s right, you have your own App store that handles that.

Via: Google Play

Google Play Adds Carrier Billing Support of Movies, Music, and Apps for Multiple Carriers – No Verizon Love Yet is a post from: Droid Life

Our buddy Jigga_Z was doing some digging through the Google Play Store early this morning and came across a means of contacting a 24/7 help line for anyone having issues with the service. From Android applications, to Play Movies and Books purchases or basically any issue you are having in the Play Store can be solved over the phone with the help of Google technicians. Getting help is pretty easy – simply fill out their form with your name, telephone number, and a brief description of the issue and they call you in a quick manner. Pretty awesome, right?

We don’t know if this service is actually new with the Play Store, as services like Google Wallet have had this exact same customer help form for months now. Kellen took it for a spin when he was switching Wallet balances over from one phone to another before the app was capable of doing it automatically and found it to be useful. Has anyone seen this service before and used it? Now that you know it exists, do you plan on using it?

Update:  Yeah, this has been around for a while according to a handful of commenters. Sounds like it has been helpful to those that have taken advantage of it too.

Contact customer support

Cheers Jigga_Z!

Yes, the Google Play Store has a Customer Support Line is a post from: Droid Life

When Google chopped the Android Market off at the knees to unveil their new all-in-one media store dubbed Google Play, most people’s initial reaction was not all that favorable. In fact, “confused” is probably not even close to being the appropriate word to describe the way most Android fans felt. I argued that it made sense in the big scheme of things as Google likely wanted to draw away from the idea that their music, movie and book stores were tied to Android devices and instead show the world that they were available to everyone. While the name choice is still a bit puzzling, I do think it was the right move if Google plans to not only break into the tablet market with Android, but also to be more than just the “other smartphone OS for geeks.”  

When we talk about Apple products and iOS as a successful platform, up until this latest iPad, it wasn’t ever really about specs. Instead, it has always been about the ecosystem – more amazing apps than any other platform, massive music/movie/TV stores, and an OS that was easy for anyone to grasp on a variety of devices. It’s like an all-inclusive resort for mobile products. Your iPhone plays with your Apple TV which syncs with your iPad which is about to sync flawlessly with your iMac or Macbook once it sees Mountain Lion. It’s a suite of products that all work together

The Kindle Fire, it’s essentially the same thing. Ask anyone with a Fire if they know the operating system that it runs. I’d be willing to bet that 9 out of 10 have no idea that it is Android. You see, Amazon took Android, customized the hell out of it, dropped their own Amazon-branded app store on it, and created a similar all-in-one ecosystem to Apple’s that appears as their own. It’s apps, music, movies and a polished tablet UI together as one. Users of devices like this do not necessarily care what OS version or processor is in them, they care about the brand, the way it is presented to them, and ease of use.

With Android in general, there always seems to have been a disconnect in the ecosystem. There were once two separate operating systems for tablets and phones, some apps worked here while they wouldn’t work over there, Google’s other products like Chrome were at one time kept separate, and the music/movie/book stores were added on so much later that many haven’t yet fully adopted them as their go-to services. And were these Android specific or do I consume them from other outlets like my PC? Are they a part of Android or do they stand on their own?

So what does that have to do with Google Play? Think about it. Google Play is the new ecosystem for Google’s media products. Google has realized that in order to take this sector over the top, that they need to dip into the successful strategies of Apple and Amazon. Make their products about media, ease of use, and the Google brand rather than about subtle differences in specs or versions of Android. Google has essentially admitted that they are moving in this direction. Their product manager Punit Soni spoke just last week of a unified gaming experience from Google, meaning that you won’t have separate games for Google+, Chrome and Android and that they will all just be “Google Games.”

Sure, Android and its latest version still needs to be talked about as new features are introduced, but make it about those features and the experience they create rather than the version number, something they actually started to do with Ice Cream Sandwich. When Apple announces a new product, their commercials don’t brag about iOS 5.2, they talk about the new features that come in the software of the latest hardware release from them that you can’t live without. And I couldn’t even tell you what OS version the Kindle Fire is running at this point, but I know that my wife can’t put it down and consumes almost more media than I do away from a computer.

If they create the brand that users can go to for their media needs and an ecosystem that encompasses everything mobile and beyond (to TVs and to home), but without the confusion, how can they lose? Downplay Android, bring to light the fact that it’s Google? And why not release a device with this branding front and center. There has been enough talk about Google entering the hardware business that it wouldn’t surprise me if you started to see Google Play branded products.

“What’s that phone you’ve got there?” – “Oh it’s the Google Play phone.”

Something to think about.

Should a Google Play Branded Device Be Next for Google? [Opinion] is a post from: Droid Life

The new Google Play Store (build 3.5.15) that we first reported on last night, is now available for download after the break. Not only does it include a new tabbed experience in your “My Apps” section, but reviews of apps are more informative. You can see the device of the person leaving the review and also choose to filter by your own device if you wish. A very solid update, indeed. 

Download:  3.5.15.apk

Install right over the top of your current Google Play store just like you always do.

Cheers @lilcdroid!

Download: New Google Play Store Build 3.5.15 is a post from: Droid Life

A new version of the Android Market Google Play Store is slowly rolling out to handsets tonight, bringing with it a handful of new features from what we have gathered. As you can see from the screenshot on the left, it will now show you apps that have been installed and if they are up to date. There is also an “All” tab of sorts, which we are hearing is a list of all apps that you have ever downloaded.

We are seeing an “Unlock settings” option in the Settings menu along with the new build number of 3.5.15. We wish we had additional details, but most of our markets are not updating just yet. We’ll update this post as soon as we know more.

Update:  You can download the new version here.

Cheers Michael NM, Alan, and @mattwitscott!

New Google Play Store 3.5.15 Rolling Out – Shows Up to Date Apps, Previous Installs, and More is a post from: Droid Life

Beautiful Widgets, one of the most successful applications on Android, just got a massive update today. BW took the plastic off a new online Web Store that allows you to browse through their whole catalog of widget skins. You can see an HD version of the skin, scroll through a few skins in that set and even tweet about how awesome this new widget is going to be. Best part though is once you log into the website with your BW account, you can save widget skins to the cloud and then transfer them to your phone through the cloud.

And they weren’t done there. One of their most requested features was the option to have more than one forecast in their weather application and they have provided it in this update. You can even swipe between them smoothly like a good Ice Cream Sandwich optimized application would let you. How many users use BW? Are you going to make use of the new website?

Play Link

Via: Beautiful Widgets

Beautiful Widgets Gets Update to Version 4.0, Web Skin Market and Multi-Forecast Added By Demand is a post from: Droid Life