Honeycomb users buy the most apps

Android users have a bad reputation when it comes to paying for apps, but this chart released from Google recently show that Honeycomb tablet users are bucking that trend. In fact, it suggests that if you are really looking to monetise you app on Android, then your focus should be tablet users.

Source: Androidos

Samsung tease the Nexus Prime

This sweet teaser video - Android advertising has come a long way from those ultra-macho Droid promos - for the Nexus Prime has me very excited about Google's event next Tuesday 11th October.

Android App Review - Diversion

At first glance you'd be forgiven for immediately dismissing Diversion as a poor game. Ezone.com's free app has very silly and camp graphics and looks like a simple run and jump clone, however there's more about this game than meets the eye. If you can ignore the crazy colours and costumes, then there's a rather addictive puzzle game for you to get engaged with here. Although the format is repetitive, running and jumping to the end of a course of platforms, with the odd mini boss thrown in for good luck, Ezone.com include enough variation and challenges to keep things interesting. For example, some levels require your character to swim, use zip lines, fly, climb and teleport across the 3D environment. Yes the characters and costumes look ridiculous, but it's relatively easy to find something for your character to wear that isn't too embarrassing. 

Also, with over 100 levels for a free download it's definitely value for money.

Good:

Free

Hundreds of levels

Creative and challenging

Bad:

Terrible character design and costumes

Some people will find it repetitive

Large 16mb download, but installs onto the SD

Via: Android Market

Mobile games dominate app stores

We knew this all already, but here's further evidence from Nielsen that mobile games dominate the app space. Users are more likely to download a game app over any other and are also more likely to pay for them.

Source: Mashable

Google add killer "Download Map Area" feature to Maps on Android

What's the most frustrating thing about having maps and GPS on your smartphone? Not being able to use them in places where you need maps most, such as when you're on holiday, because you don't have a data connection. Well, Google's killer new Download Map Area feature for Android now means that you can use maps offline in future, with a little forward planning of course.

Google update - Google Maps 5.7 - allows you to pre-download and save maps onto your Android phone. When you have a data connection, just browse to the area that you want to visit and then click on more. Within that menu you now have the option to download that map, within up to a 10 mile radius. For now, it's just the basic map and remember that you won't have a data connection when you visit the location, but it's a really useful feature.

Source: Google 

LG Optimus Pad 3D Android tablet available at Best Buy, for a price

LG Optimus Pad 3D is now available at Best Buy, according to the UK version of their website, but for an eye watering £749.99. LG's flavour of Android Honeycomb has appealed to me ever since reading about the T-Mobile G-Slate. Throw in the power of a 3D gimmick and I was hooked. However, with Samsung's excellent Galaxy Tab 10.1 set to retail at around £250 less it's now hard to justify spending that much money on a tablet that I'll need to wear glasses to use.

UK mobile app market worth £280m in 2010

Mobile stats specialists Research2Guideance have released figures that the UK app market was worth £280m in 2010. Here are the headline figures.

• The UK accounts for around 8% of the global app market
• 860m apps were downloaded in the UK in 2010
• Free apps accounted for 757m of the total, around 88%
• Paid apps accounted for 105m of the total, around 12% 

Unfortunately, you don't get the full report unless you're able to pay them a heap of money, so I don't have any more detail. However, one interesting additional piece of information that they tease you with is that females are adopting smartphones at a faster rate than men in the UK now. Research2Guideance claim that the number of women who own smartphones will be equal to that of men by the end of 2011.
Source: Research2Guideance