Today's Mobile Minute features mobile app revenue, context around ICTs and revolutions in the Middle East, an infographic of the top mobile operating systems around the world, new funds for telecommunications in Iraq, and malware in the Android app store.
- A new report from Forrester Research estimates that revenue from mobile apps will reach $38 billion by 2015. The New York Times looks at the data from the report and examines what it means for the future growth of the app market.
- Curious about the uprisings in the Middle East and the role of the Internet and digital media? MIT's Technology Review explains both the historical and region context of the revolutions, stating that "the technology matters far less than the context of the politics, culture, and history of the place and people involved in using the technologies. In Tunisia and Egypt, it was crucial that a minimal number of people, commonly both young and elite, had high literacy rates, access to the technologies, and skill in using them." Click through to read more about why technology was useful.
- A new infographic over on Read Write Web breaks down the top mobile operating systems in different countries around the world. From Apple taking top place in Japan (58% market share), France (64%), and Canada (77%) to Nokia's dominance in Brazil (47%), India (71%) and Egypt (80%), the chart graphs the top four operating systems in 14 countries around the world.
- The New York Times reports that the mobile operator Zain Iraq has recently received $400 million from the International Finance Corp. to expand its services across Iraq. With current mobile penetration in Iraq estimated at around 77%, the money will be used to upgrade and expand Zain Iraq's current telecommunications system.
- Over 50 apps were recently removed from the Android app market after they were found to carry malware. The apps not only mined sensitive data on users' phones, but also gave the creators of the apps complete administrative control over the device. The New York Times reports that there were roughly 50,000 downloads of the infected apps before Android pulled them.
[Mobile Minute Disclaimer: The Mobile Minute is a quick round-up of interesting stories that have come across our RSS and Twitter feeds to keep you informed of the rapid pace of innovation. Read them and enjoy them, but know that we have not deeply investigated these news items. For more in-depth information about the ever-growing field of mobile tech for social change, check out our blog posts, white papers and research, how-tos, and case studies.]
Image courtesy Flickr user QiFei
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