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500 MILLION: That's how many smart home devices ABI Research forecasts will be in the wild by 2018. Last year, there were about 17.23 million smart home devices shipped globally, according to ABI's data. Their definition of a smart home device includes a wide variety of contact and motion sensors (used for detecting window and door closures as well as for energy management), thermostats, plugs, door locks, and smoke detectors.
To reach 500 million by 2018, there will have to be about 100 million smart home devices sold each year on average over the next five years. Compare that to the high-growth tablet market, which shipped about 225 million devices this year. Smart home devices are only a small sub-segment of the larger Internet of Things (IoT) category, which is poised to hit 9 billion devices by 2018. Eventually, cities, factories, offices will all be powered by the IoT systems, but until then, smart home devices will be the bridge that brings the consumer directly to this new level of connectivity. (BusinessWire)
PUBCENTER DISAPPOINTS: The number of ads filling up Microsoft's Pubcenter in-app advertising network is falling drastically. Currently, ad fill rates on the network are falling as low as 2%, and the earnings potential on ads has fallen from dollars to single-digit cents. This is a huge blow to developers on the platform, and some are threatening to stop building for Windows Phone entirely. One angry developer writes, "For one, my team will no longer be making games that are solely ad supported – how our test (sic) go with other platforms and payment methods will be the determining factor in our long-term commitment to the Windows Phone platform." A flood of developers leaving Microsoft's platform will be a huge blow to their mobile plans. (WMPoweruser)
HUAWEI'S DUAL OS PHONE: The world's third-largest smartphone maker will launch a dual Windows Phone-Android device in the U.S. next quarter, which will run both operating systems. Huawei had launched a Windows Phone handset in the U.S. last year, but has now stated its preferred strategy with Microsoft's mobile platform is to set it up alongside Android. (The Verge)
QUOTE OF THE DAY — "When our engineers work tirelessly to improve security, we imagine we're protecting you against criminals, not our own government. The US government should be the champion for the Internet, not a threat. They need to be much more transparent about what they're doing, or otherwise people will believe the worst." — Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on his distaste for the government's spying of Internet users. Zuckerberg claims he called President Obama to "express his frustration," but that "it will take a very long time for true full reform." (Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook)
FACEBOOK APP CENTER: Business Insider's Jim Edwards discusses how a resurrected Facebook App Center could undermine Apple and Google's app store dominance. Namely, Google and Apple fail to market apps properly, and Facebook's scale cuts across all mobile users whereas Google's and Apple's reach is pigeonholed to users on their respective platforms. (Business Insider)
BILL GATES IN ROLLING STONE: The magazine has an extensive interview with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. In one telling moment, Rolling Stone asks what Microsoft can do to be more effective on mobile and in the cloud. In his reply, Gates immediately mentions Microsoft's flagship software suite, Office. He clearly feels that it needs to be overhauled for a cloud- and mobile-centered world: "Office and the other Microsoft assets that we built in the nineties and kept tuning up have lasted a long time. Now, they need more than a tuneup," he says. (Rolling Stone)
WHATSAPP DOWNPLAYS ANDROID SECURITY FLAW: WhatsApp released a statement that downplays an alleged security flaw in the company’s Android messaging app. An exploit was recently discovered that allows unauthorized applications to access chat transcripts that are stored on a device’s SD card. But the company is claiming that the flaw only affects devices that are already compromised by malware or a virus. "Unfortunately, these reports have not painted an accurate picture and are overstated. Under normal circumstances the data on a microSD card is not exposed," the company said in a statement. (TechCrunch)
GOOGLE SMART WATCH SPECS: Twitter's well-known mobile industry information leaker, @evleaks, shared some gossip on Google's upcoming smart watch device. LG will be building it and it will debut at Google's I/O developers conference later this year, he says. Its specifications are similar to that of the Samsung Galaxy Gear: 1.65-inch screen, 4 GB of storage, and 512 MB RAM. (@evleaks, TechCrunch)
REVOLVING DOOR AT CLINKLE: Two top employees have left Clinkle only a short time after joining the mobile payments start-up, according to reporting from Business Insider's Alyson Shontell. COO Barry McCarthy, who was hired away from Netflix, as well as a key designer and ex-Twitter employee — Josh Brewster. The payments app has raised a lot of money, some $30 to $40 million, but still has to launch its product beyond the testing phase. (Business Insider)
LEVELUP ON THE SMARTWATCH. Massachusetts-based mobile payment and loyalty technology provider LevelUp recently announced that its app will be available on the Pebble smart watch. The payments app was built by BeautifulLab and will allow users to make payments by scanning a QR code displayed on the smart watch at payment terminals where LevelUp is accepted. At BI Intelligence we recently forecast a healthy ramp-up in smart watch sales. (LevelUp)
U.S. CARRIERS: Here are several charts that depict how the top four U.S. wireless carriers performed in the fourth quarter of 2013, courtesy of Strategy Analytics. The charts include subscriber base, churn, ARPU, and revenue for each carrier. Among the key points: Verizon added more subscribers than T-Mobile, despite the latter's aggressive marketing campaign and clever pivot away from contracts and subsidies. For added analysis and insight, please refer to our Thursday mobile chart, US Mobile Carriers Place Their Hopes In Data Revenue, As Voice Revenue Plunges. Mobile analyst Chetan Sharma has also released his 2013 U.S. wireless market update. (Fierce Wireless)
In other carrier news U.S. regulators have approved AT&T's purchase of Leap Wireless, saying it is in the public interest.
STARBUCKS MOBILE ORDERING: Starbucks will begin testing a new ordering feature from its mobile app at some U.S. cafes, told Adam Brotman, the company's chief digital officer, to Bloomberg in an interview. Last year, Starbucks did over $1 billion in mobile transactions, and currently handles about 5 million mobile transactions per week. (Bloomberg)
The Information (paywall): Amazon's "Project Aria" smartphone plans are likely going to focus on emerging markets.
Marketing Land: Google has officially ended their large brand banner ads that pop up on desktop search results.
eMarketer: Desktop search ad revenue in the U.S. will decline by $1.4 billion as users migrate to mobile.
Capital New York: Jonathan Ellis, who was part of the team that developed and oversaw mobile strategy at The New York Times, is joining Mashable.
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