New and Digital Media Stories

Developers made $10bn from iOS apps in 2014http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/08/apple-10bn-payouts-ios-apps-2014

This article is based on the fact that iPhone and iPad users have spent near enough $55m on applications and in app purchases within only the first week of January 2015. As Apples Vice President stated "This year is off to a tremendous start after a record-breaking year for the App Store and our developer community".

- Apple said that billings on the App Store rose 50% in 2014, although its corresponding figures for 2013 suggest the growth in spending on iOS apps was smaller than that in 2014.

- Apple ended 2012 having paid out $7bn to iOS developers, then $15bn by the end of 2013, and now $25bn by the end of 2014. The company said that New Year’s Day 2015 was its single biggest day of App Store sales since the store launched.

- Apple added that its Apps for RED charity drive in November and December helped boost its donations to the Aids charity to $20m in the final quarter of 2014, and $100m since it started working with the organisation.

It is quite interesting as an iPhone user myself, as it shows how much money one uses on their phone and the way in which they spent such a large amount in such a short period of time. 

WhatsApp growth continues with 700m users sending 30bn daily messages

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/jan/07/whatsapp-growth-700m-users-facebook

This article is based upon the fact that Whatsapp, an app used for messaging has reached new milestone of 700 million monthly active users, who send nearly 30bn messages every single day. They have mentioned that it is expected that in 2015, additional features are to be added on such as voice call features, making it a rival for services such as Skype. 

- WhatsApp’s rapid growth has thus continued since its acquisition by Facebook, which announced the then-$19bn deal in February 2014, before completing it at the higher price in October due to the inclusion of Facebook shares that had risen in value in the intervening months.

- WhatsApp’s last public milestone was 600 million active users in August 2014, so it has added new users at a rate of around 25 million a month since then. Previously, the app grew from 200 million active users in April 2013 to 400 million by December that year.

- WhatsApp’s main rivals include Facebook’s own Messenger app, which reached 500 million active users in November 2014, as well as Chinese messaging app WeChat, which reached 438 million active users in August that year.

In my opinion, this is a very interesting article, as it shows how much one uses whatsapp. As a whatsapp user, this shows and makes me consider how many hours I spend on my phone and how much time I waste.

Life before and after Facebook

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/03/life-before-and-after-facebook

This article is about the way in which technology has taken over kids lives and a majority of youngsters value time on their phones and laptops, in their room a lot more than time spent with their families. 

This article is quite interesting as it discusses the ways in which facebook has caused problems and began causing distances between family as children and parents would be on facebook instead of talking amongst each other. As they have stated that before punishing one and sending them to their room was considered a punishment, now its not even considered that as one is happy to stay in their room alone and chill. A real house example in which one expresses the way her children are allowed to go on there phones only once all the work is done and family time is spent. As I can relate to this, I find it interesting to see that the issue is everywhere and isn't just a one person issue.

Ebooks at night wont help you sleep tight, US study finds

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/dec/23/ebooks-affect-sleep-alertness-harvard-study

This article is based upon the fact that reading a light emitted book before bed it bad for your health. This is because US studies have shown that they effect when you sleep at night and alertness the following morning.

In my opinion, this is quite an interesting article, as it shows similar example as to why we should use a phone before bed and this has made me as a regular phone aware of what happens as a result of using my phone before bed. Therefore, encouraging me not to use it. As it shows that one is unable to wake up properly in the morning and it takes one at least ten minutes to wake up.