If you’ve ever wondered why birthers, inside jobbers, and other conspiracy theorists won’t simply take the truth at face value, two researchers at OSU have found that we tend to ignore – and reject – instant corrections to data. → Read More
Much of the time when you talk about browser market share, it’s in the context of IE vs. Chrome vs. all the rest. But new data released from e-commerce technology company Monetate today has thrown the mobile version of Safari into the mix. The result? The firm found Mobile Safari to be the most rapidly growing web browser over the past year on its sites, going from 5.84% in Q1 2011 to 11.12% in… → Read More
Juniper Research released a report today that found that global mobile network operator revenues are set to exceed $1 trillion by 2016. This would be something to celebrate were it not the case that costs are forecasted to rise in accordance with revenues — and exceed them. The report says that mobile networks are facing a potential “nightmare” scenario within four years if remedial action is not… → Read More
Wireless provider Mobistar recently announced the results of their survey which sought out cell phone usage by gender. If stereotypes are to be believed, then the results are hardly shocking.
The survey found that women spend more time on the phone, and send more text messages than men. However, the study also found that women are less keen on smartphones. → Read More
There’s a new study out that says having tax dollars go towards free cell phones for the poor actually creates money for the economy. They’ve been dubbed “Obama Phones” in the press even though the program, Lifeline Assistance, has been around for many years. The theory behind the program is that people who cannot afford to have a phone miss out on work opportunities. The study, conducted by the… → Read More
This is just what Alone Together predicted: people, particularly young people, feeling more comfortable with themselves online than they are offline. Black is white, up is down, and the Mets are a well-run organization. The study comes to us by way of Kidscape, a children’s charity. → Read More
Bad news for people who think they’re great drivers because they play games like Gran Turismo 5: you’re not. New research suggests that while playing games may improve reaction time, it also seems to help churn out aggressive drivers. It’s easy to be an aggressive driver in Gran Turismo where damage is minimal (if existent at all), but not when you’re driving down I-95. → Read More
A new study, from York University, finds that Facebook users are basically a bunch of narcissists. What better way to talk about the thing you love the most—yourself—then to constantly preen your online profile and make sure your friend count is as high as possible? → Read More
If you’ve seen a teenager in the last two years, then you’ve seen a teenager texting. Seriously, I can’t think of a situation in the last couple of years where I saw a teenager without a cell phone. The teenagers in my extended family send text messages seemingly all day long, every day. Now the Pew Internet and American Life project has released a pretty comprehensive analysis of teen texting… → Read More
A Pew Internet & American Life study has refuted the idea that use of the Internet necessarily leads to decreased social isolation. Quite the opposite!, yelled a character in a Charles Dickens novel. It turns out that as people continually use things like Twitter, Facebook, and the like, they’re both expanding their social circle and increasing contact with said circle. → Read More
There’s a silly study, conducted by Retrevo, making the rounds that purports to analyze how iPhone users fare in the dating world. I know, right? One stat to whet your beak: one in three iPhone owners have admitted to breaking up with their significant other via text message. Amazing. → Read More
According to a J.D. Power study, Apple has been named number one in consumer satisfaction in the consumer and business smartphone market while LG is number one in the traditional feature phone market. First, a bit of explanation of terms. In this case, a smartphone is a phone with an operating system that is able to run more than the built-in application deck. A feature phone is a phone with a… → Read More
I’m aware studies comparing cell phone charges generally have to be taken with a grain of salt (especially cross-country studies like the following one), but this one coming from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications is pretty interesting.
It’s not really a “world” ranking, but the ministry compared [JP, PDF] cell phone charges in seven major cities in Europe, Asia and the… → Read More
Stop the presses! New data suggests that people who illegally download music are more likely to buy music from legitimate sources (iTunes, Amazon MP3, Beatport, etc.) than are God-fearing, non-illegally downloading folks. Such is the claim from a recent Norwegian study. Of course, the music industry has rubbished the claims, as it so often does. → Read More
This may come as no surprise to you, but don’t think that spam is going away anytime soon. In fact, according to a recent Microsoft study, more more than 97 percent of all sent e-mail is spam. Ninety-seven percent! Granted, most of that stuff will never hit your inbox, thanks to improved filtering, but still! All that wasted bandwidth. → Read More
We’ve all read the stories about kids playing games like World of Warcraft till they keel over, but did you know that, generally speaking, gaming is bad for your social and family life? A proper academic study says so, so far be it from us well-adjusted (I think I just qualify as “well-adjusted”) gamers to suggest otherwise. → Read More
Flickr’d DVRs aren’t just good for watching Conan O’Brien at a decent hour. Nope, it turns out that they can also improve your relationship. That’s what a new study claims, at least. The study, carried out by NDS (a big manufacturer of DVR “technology”), shows that 79 percent of respondents said that the little device actually improved their relationship. → Read More
Gartner is predicting the global sales of mobile phones will increase 11% this year; that’s 1.28 billion phones, compared to 1.15 billion sold in 2006. But while the overall market looks pretty good, certain regions will experience declining sales this year, as ‘mature’ markets such as Western Europe, Japan and North America are reaching saturation. Given this, the firm identified five key… → Read More
A new study has found links between cellphone use during pregnancy and behavioral problems in children later in life. Just the type of news the cellphone industry wants to hear, I’m sure. The study, conducted by UCLA and a Danish university, sampled some 13,000 kids. It found that children whose mothers had used a cellphone “two or three” times a day had increased likelihoods of… → Read More
Sony’s extremely expensive 11-inch OLED TV that landed stateside earlier this year claims a lifespan of 30,000 hours or 10 years, but DisplaySearch says otherwise. The research firm tested two XEL-1 TVs for 1,000 hours and estimates that the organic light-emitting diode set would fizzle out after 17,000 hours. “The results demonstrate that the Sony display is significantly inferior in many… → Read More
[photopress:pewcell.jpg,full,center] More Americans would have a hard time giving up their cellphone than giving up the Internet or TV. That’s what a Pew study found, at least. Six years ago, most people said that giving up a landline telephone would be the hardest technology to give up. The results show that 51 percent of Americans would have the toughest time giving up their cellphone… → Read More
Stanford University recently conducted a research study to see what people do on the Internet. According to their website with a 1996-based layout, E-mail still reigns king as the most popular activity with 90% of users sending e-mails. And get this: Chat rooms are for the young and anonymous, as if you didn’t already know tons of pervs chill in them all day long. Stanford also describes the… → Read More
Looks like Apple may be in for some decreased sales come the release of the iPhone. According to a recent survey done with 379 people, the price of the iPhone is too expensive for most people’s tastes. In fact, only 1% of those surveyed said they’d shell out $500 for an iPhone. 42% said they’d pay $200 to $299, while 60% said they’d switch their carrier to get their hands… → Read More
You probably have broadband Internet access at home, and as it turns out, you’re not alone. In fact, according to a Consultancy Park study, half of all American households have broadband, explaining the popularity of YouTube and other bandwidth-heavy Internet content. It’s a small wonder that the likes of dial-up will soon be nothing but memories. While it’s great that you can… → Read More
Seattle, WA
San Diego, CA
Menlo Park, CA
Boston, MA
Berlin, Germany
San Francisco
