The Angry Birds phenomenon seems to stay in the news every week, and this week it was all about Android. Rovio Mobile launched Angry Birds for Android last week through an exclusive arrangement with online retailer GetJar. Ryan Kim reports that the popular game was downloaded two million times in just a few days, and GetJar saw a ten-fold increase in downloads the day the game was released, lending weight to the argument that ad-supported free games have a viable future. The high download rate stretched the company’s servers to the limits.
AT&T has been regularly rolling out Android phones, and this week it launched the U-verse Mobile app. AT&T Android phone owners can check the U-verse TV program guide and manage DVR recordings from the phone. U-verse customers with a qualifying plan can even watch recorded programs on the phone over a Wi-Fi connection.
On Wednesday, Verizon released details on its forthcoming Android tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The 7-inch tablet runs Android 2.2 and will be available in Verizon retail stores for $ 599 without a data contract. Kevin explains how customers might be willing to pay more for the Galaxy Tab’s many features. Steve Jobs may think there is no market for a tablet smaller than the iPad, but Kevin thinks customers will appreciate the portability.
The potential for making money with the Android platform was demonstrated this week as figures showed that Android smartphone owners produced more ad revenue than iPhone owners. Android may be the new kid on the block compared to the iPhone, but the whopping 1,284 percent growth in ad revenue since January prove the Google phone OS is a force to be reckoned with. Those playing in the Android arena have a good business opportunity, given the phenomenal growth in the market.
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