ESMG WebCrew

The Facebook app on your Android device, iPhone or iPad is about to get a lot more interesting.

 

Facebook has announced it is in the process of launching an App Center in the Android and Apple Stores Thursday night. It’s rolling out on three platforms: Android, iOS and Facebook.com (on the mobile web) itself.

 

We’ve known Facebook was working on an app center for some time; it was announced back in May. But this is its first public-facing manifestation, appearing as updates in app stores.

 

What this means: You’ll soon be able to customize your mobile Facebook app. Will Facebook be charging for the apps? Here’s a clue: the company explicitly doesn’t want to call it a “store,” according to ABC News.

 

“The App Center is launching tonight with more than 600 social apps, including Nike+ GPS, Ubisoft Ghost Recon Commander, Stitcher Radio, Draw Something, and Pinterest,” Facebook reps wrote in an email.

 

“You’ll only see high quality apps in the App Center, based on user ratings and engagement.”

 

Keep it right here, we’re updating this fast. We’ll let you know when the various App Centers are available. –Mashable

 

Today, 85% of the world’s population has access to a mobile phone with voice and text capabilities. Five years from now, in 2017, the same amount of the global community will have access to high-speed 3G Internet through mobile phones, finds a new report from Ericsson.

 

By 2017, there will be 9 billion mobile subscriptions. Half of the world’s population will have a 4G connection, and there will be 3 billion smartphone subscriptions.

 

To compare those numbers with today’s figures, there are currently 6.2 billion mobile subscriptions held by 4.2 billion subscribers (many of whom have multiple subscriptions). At the end of 2011, there were 700 million smartphone subscriptions worldwide.

 

“Today, people see access to the Internet as a prerequisite for any device,” says Douglas Gilstrap, senior vice president and head of Strategy for Ericsson. “This mindset results in growing demand for mobile broadband and increased data traffic. Operators recognize this business opportunity and are aiming to facilitate this growth and provide good user experience with fast data speeds through high capacity networks.”

 

The company’s 27-page Traffic and Market Report for June 2012, released Tuesday, forecasts the future of mobile across the planet. Ericsson predicts mobile Internet traffic will increase 15 fold by the end of 2017, as mobile becomes the only means of accessing the Internet for many people.

 

The report also breaks down the world’s regions by growth of mobile connectivity. So far in 2012, China has added the most new mobile subscriptions with 39 million. India comes in second, with 25 million new subscriptions.

 

If Spotify, Rhapsody, or other streaming services won’t answer the question, maybe indie labels and artists will.  These figures are from an independent catalog of 87 albums and 1,280 songs, as posted on The Trichordist.  On Spotify, they seem consistent with reports of per-song payouts of roughly one-third to one-half of a penny.

 

per source: “Payable to Artist/Label via digital distributor for sales from July to December, 2011.”

 

(Rhapsody purchased Napster last year, though the Napster name continues in various European territories.)

 

Zune

 

15,159 plays

 

Payout = $437.58

 

$0.028 per song

 

Ratio = 25:1 iTunes Song Download

 

 

 

Napster

 

30,238 plays

 

Payout = $479.07

 

$0.016 per song

 

Ratio = 43:1 iTunes song download.

 

 

 

Rhapsody

 

50,822 plays

 

Payout = $668.57

 

$0.013 per song

 

Ratio = 53:1 iTunes song download.

 

 

 

Spotify

 

798,783 plays.

 

Payout = $4,277.39

 

$0.005 per song.

 

Ratio = 140:1 iTunes Song Download!!!