You think 50 billion is a big number? It's certainly a bit bigger than some other numbers that spring to mind, such as 48 billion, and that in itself gives Apple something to celebrate. As is customary with these App Store milestones, whichever lucky jackanape triggered their download at just the right millisecond will receive a gift -- a $10,000 iTunes voucher, no less -- while 50 runners-up will get $500-worth of credit each.
But none of that is the really big, big news. What matters here is the rate of growth, which seems to have accelerated during the course of this year. It took 14 weeks for the App Store to get from 40 billion to 45 billion downloads between January and April, but less than 4 weeks to get from 45 to 50 billion. Now, we're totally dependent on Apple's internal stock-takers, not to mention an erratic ticker ("for illustrative purposes only"), but if those numbers are even remotely accurate then they represent something of a popularity surge.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Software, Mobile
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Source: Apple
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T-Mobile USA has been making a big push for pre-paid customers since it launched its Uncarrier plans in March, and it seems to be working -- unfortunately, at the expense of more lucrative post-paid clients. While pre-paid revenue bumped to $503 million over $474 million last quarter, post-paid revenue fell to $3.2 billion, a drop of 4.7 percent, and overall revenue dropped by about the same amount to $4.7 billion from $4.9 billion in Q4 2012. Overall, however, the company did pick up 579,000 customers in total, and claimed its lowest client turnover rate, 1.9 percent, since way back in 2008. Another bright spot has been the addition of the iPhone, as the company has already pushed around 500,000 of the 4, 4S and 5 models out the door since it launched at the Uncarrier event -- perhaps due to the very attractive pricing.
Filed under: Mobile
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Facebook has already set up shop in North Carolina and Oregon, but it's heading to Iowa for its next -- and biggest -- data center. According to the Des Moines Register, the town of Altoona will be home to a 1.4-million-square-foot facility (code-named Catapult), and it will reportedly be the "most technologically advanced center in the world." Why Altoona, you ask? The city is already home to several data hubs, as its fiber-optic cable system, access to power and water utilities and affordable land are big draws for companies. Facebook will complete project Catapult in two $500 million phases, though the entire cost will reportedly ring in at $1.5 billion. The social network is also seeking wind energy production tax credits, which is no doubt connected to its Open Compute Project for promoting energy efficiency. That's all we know so far; suffice to say a center this big won't be built overnight.
Filed under: Internet, Facebook
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Via: TechCrunch
Source: Des Moines Register
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Intel just reported a quarterly net income of $2 billion, with $12.6 billion in revenue for a total earnings of 40 cents per share. Net income is down 17 percent compared to Q4 2012, when the company reported $2.5 billion in profit. Revenue is also down by seven percent compared to the previous quarter's $13.5 billion. President and CEO Paul Otellini, who is stepping down in May, references the upcoming 14nm transition, saying that the technology will "will significantly increase the value provided by Intel architecture and process technology for our customers and in the marketplace." The earnings call is set to happen soon; we'll report back with any additional news -- on the CEO front or otherwise.
Filed under: Desktops, Intel
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Source: Intel Newsroom
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