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Facebook Might Be Developing Its Own Version Of the App Store

The idea of having a Facebook App Store does sound fairly interesting.

According to several sources, including some former Facebook employees that were involved in the planning phase of this software, Facebook might be developing its own version of the App Store. This idea comes as a type of contingency plan in case Google Play forcefully removes Facebook from its list of available apps.

The reason why Google would actually kick out Facebook is based on several factors. Most Facebook-related applications and games run on Android even though users get them from somewhere else besides the Google Play store. This might be seen as egregious by the latter party, with high chances that it will drop support for Facebook entirely.

This has happened in the past to several applications which were promptly kicked off the Google Play app store, according to NeuroGadget. For instance, in China, Google Play is unavailable for almost all users, but Facebook can run without any problem, along with its apps.

Another reason why Facebook would develop this store, besides creating a safety net in case the aforementioned event occurs, is based on the fact that Facebook is the only tech titan company which does not have their own retail platform. Google, Apple, and Microsoft, all have their own versions of an app store, leaving Facebook fairly behind from this point of view.

The recent experiment conducted by Facebook, where the company pulled off their Facebook app support from Google Play showed how users would react if this would eventually occur. Most people simply used a web browser in order to access Facebook while the normal Google Play version was down, making the company thoroughly consider the option of creating their own version of an app store.

Besides the safety provided by a contingency plan, a Facebook Store would provide a friendly environment for app developers towards creating applications designed for Facebook use only as well. But this will all be entirely dependent on how the user demographic will approach the idea of a possible new app store, as well as adoption rates.

Although the idea that Facebook might be developing its own version of the App Store can be considered as a mere allegation, one cannot deny that the next logical step in the company’s evolution would be just that. Even if it may not even be developed as a way to overthrow its competitors, a Facebook Store application would effectively install a safety net for the company towards an eventual app support dismissal from either Apple, Google or Microsoft.

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Most U.S. Smartphone Users Download Zero Apps Each Month

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There are thousands and thousands of apps for any OS made for mobile devices. Download numbers are impressive, but we tend to overstate the enthusiasm people have for these software pieces.

The first app store was launched by Apple in 2008. In June, the company announced that more than 75 billion apps have been downloaded at the moment. Moreover, the next month was Apple Store’s best month in history in terms of revenue, Quartz notes. So finding out that most smartphone users download zero apps per month is surprising.

Comscore released a report shedding more light onto app downloading and usage among U.S mobile users. The results are based on data from the whole second quarter of 2014 and involved only users of 18+ years old. The most intriguing result is that almost two thirds of smartphone users do not download any app during. Eight percent of the surveyed users downloaded one app per month and almost 9 percent – 2 apps. Percentages drop further on.

The results clearly convey that app stores and app developers thrive due to a minority of app enthusiasts. The top 7 percent of users download half of all the apps from app stores during one month.

The most used app by U.S. smartphone owners (you know which one) intends to monetize user data in every possible way.

Most smartphone users download zero apps but the rest counterbalance

According to Comscore, users spend 52 percent of their time with digital media, a consistent, albeit non-dramatic, increase from around 40 percent in 2013. Almost every smartphone owner uses apps, but many have clear preferences. A “staggering 42% of all app time spent on smartphones occurs on the individual’s single most used app,” comScore reports. About 57 percent of the surveyed smartphone owners used apps daily.

“While the meteoric growth of apps transpired quickly, this shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise,” comScore said. “After all, apps are the fuel that is driving mobile’s growth and where most of the devices’ utility comes from,” the report adds according to PCmag.

There are 83.8 million Android users in the U.S. and only 67.4 million who use Apple smartphones. As expected, Apple users are wealthier on average than Android users.

Most smartphone users download zero apps probably because they are content with the stock apps. Looking at the most used apps, we can see that smartphone users took their desktop preferences to their mobiles. The mobile Facebook app was used by 115.4 million unique visitors, clearly ahead of the Youtube, accessed by 83.4 million users, followed closely by Google Play, Google Search and Pandora Radio.

Apple, Google Revised App Refunding Terms

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Maybe you mistakenly purchased an app from one of the main app distributors, Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Your first thought probably was that it is lost money. Fear no more, that is about to change soon. The Korean Fair Trade Commission ruled that both Apple and Google must revise the terms and condition of their app stores, because some of them are unfair for Korean consumers. The decision regarding the app refunding terms will impact consumers worldwide. Apple remains the top smartphone producer in the U.S and the company will allegedly adapt the app refunding terms for its largest market.

The changes soon to be operated by Apple are expected to be globally expanded, from what Hwang Won-Chul, head of the KFTC’s Adhesion Contract Division declared on Appleinsider.com. Google, on the other hand, will perform the required changes only for Korean consumers. The KFTC’s main concern is to protect the consumers from potential damages undertaken by foreign companies. After the damage is done, the compensation process, when possible, is a burden for the consumers. A KFTC official stated “It is important to protect domestic consumers beforehand from the damages caused by foreign businesses, since compensating for these damages can be tricky after the damages are done. With the amendments, we aim to set orders for the foreign firms as well, who take up a significant proportion in the 2-trillion-won domestic mobile app market”, according to Koreabizwire.com.

The KFTC has a history of obliging online stores to change their app refunding terms

Koreans are among the most avid technology consumers in the world, so the KFTC has to supervise the online activities at a very fast pace. The Commission is not at its first measure of the kind. Priorly, KT Olleh Market, SK T Store, and LG Uplus have all been requested to amend similar changes in March. The Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice has been pushing the KFTC to address the issues by legal actions for more than a year.

Apple will be obliged to perform another change as well. The company used to modify the contents of the contracts’ content without prior notification. That will not be allowed anymore. Moreover, refunds will be available for in-app products like newspapers or music files. Before, consumers had to go to ‘Report a problem’ on Apple App Store if they claimed a refund. Each claim was analyzed individually by an Apple employee who could grant or deny them the request. From now on, the process will be automatic, according to Appleinsider.

Google will leave the matter of app refunding terms in the developers’ hands as the Play Store did not feature a refunding option beforehand.