KINDLE NEWS: Kindle Fire's fast rise in actual use noted ... Amzn appstore app updated yesterday...Kindle Blogger on 'Best Reads of 2011' list - UPDATE

Amazon Appstore app updated to version 2.2.0

UPDATE - Commenter Jenni pointed out today that the Kindle Fire's built-in app for the Amazon Android Appstore is Version 2.38.6 while this update for the Amazon store is Version 2.2.0.

  The Update Tuesday, also reported in detail at Android App Central is about the Amazon app store for Android used on devices that are not the Kindle Fire.

  In fact, I don't see the option to show/not show notifications on the Kindle Fire's own built-in store app, but a clue was that no "compatability testing" app would be needed or improved for the Kindle Fire version!

  So, the v2.2.0 Amazon app store app is only for OTHER devices using Amazon's Android Appstore, and is used as an alternative to Google's Android Market and of course so that people can go get Amazon's "Free Android App of the Day"

In fact, part of the annoyance for me was seeing so many notifications from Amazon's apps that are seen

I'm linking to the details in AndroidCentral report and the even more detailed at AndroidPolice (with screen shots of notification options), for those whom this update affects (many of us have Android smartphones and other Android tablets -- in my case the Samsung Galaxy S2 phone and the Samsung 10.1" Galaxy Tab tablet.

On the Kindle Fire, there are no notification options (I'd assumed they were on the manageyourkindle page but they're not), so the notification changes are apparently only for the Amazon Android AppStore app that is used by all other devices, which CAN go to Google's Android Market for app files.

Sidenote - Android Market is now Google Play.
  Android Market's name and URL have just been changed by Google from market.android.com to Google Play, with the URL https://play.google.com/store, which is where you're taken if you type the old Android Market address.

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Earlier today, for the Amazon Android AppStore app used by other devices:
  The Verge's Andrew Webster lists the changes.

We no longer have to see the notifications every day or several times a day, as there's now an option to be notified or not about app downloads, installations, and updates -- and we can now tweak the settings.

  Since I don't install every app I download (the free ones are just kept at Amazon until I want to use them), I really don't like being notified constantly that they are ready to be installed.  So, this is a very welcome change for me.

There are also app compatability checks and messaging in connection with payment options.
Photo credit: hothardware.com

KINDLE FIRE AND USAGE STATS
Tuesday, a day before the iPad 3 (or iPad HD) announcement today, Gigaom.com and several other online 'zines carried stories on Mobile ad provider Jumptap's MobileSTAT report, that

• the Kindle Fire's traffic ('in-use' stats) jumped, from 4 percent at launch in November, to 20% in December and to 33% in January.
  
  The iPad's mobile traffic dropped from 65 percent in November to 48 percent in January.
• helped increase overall tablet traffic by an average of 50% through January.

Gigaom's Ryan Kim Ryan Kim adds:

' But the Kindle Fire is showing that it is not just a cheap plaything.  According to the data, people are actually using it despite its rougher edges compared to the iPad.  In January, Flurry noted that the Kindle Fire had just barely eclipsed the Galaxy Tab as the most used Android tablet.  Based on Jumptap’s figures, it looks like the Fire has outpaced the rest of the Android pack. '

In the graph above,
  .  the Apple iPad market share is in light blue.
  .  the Kindle Fire market share is shown in blue-green, and
  .  the All others market share is shown in dark blue.

You can see the relative changes for each.  Click the graph to get the larger, more readable graph at Gigaom.

Jumptap tracks the advertising on its network of 95 million U.S. users, involving 21,000 apps and websites.  They also found that "Android and [Apple] iOS represent 91 percent of the mobile OS market, with Android enjoying 58.8 percent of mobile market share while iOS follows with 32.2 percent.  More detail and another graph are at the gigaom site.  Of course, the new iPad will have an effect on relative growth shown for the next few months.


KINDLE BLOGGER JOHN COG FINDS THAT ONE OF HIS BLOG ARTICLES MADE THE READER'S DIGEST BEST READS of 2011

From Me and My Kindle (Website: www.beyond-black-friday.com), here's Cog's introduction about his discovery:

' A funny thing happened when I found Reader’s Digest‘s list of the “Best Reads of 2011.”  A post from my blog was #4 on the list!

  Woody Allen wrote the #3 article on the list, and Roseanne Barr wrote the #13 article.  (And I also recognized the names Christopher Hitchens and David Brooks).  The editors of Reader’s Digest had selected “the most unforgettable articles” for the entire year from newspapers, magazines, and from the internet, but it still took me a while to fully accept what had happened.  The “best reads” of the year came from The New York Times, Vanity Fair magazine, The Atlantic, National Geographic, and — from this blog! '

Heady stuff, but he's always been an engaging, creative blogger.  To see which of his stories made the Best Reads list for the last year, read the full story on his blog.

I use Cog's name here despite his using a pseudonym on the blog, since his postings are often available at Teleread under his everyday name, and he's been interviewed about his blog at Len Edgerly's The Kindle Chronicles podcast, and is this week's featured interview, focusing on his co-authoring of the new Kindle word game for Kindle Keyboards (non-Touch models) AND the $79 Kindle Basic (no Keyboard/No Touch) Throw in the Vowel



Kindle Touch 3G, US-only   Kindle Touch WiFi (US)   Kindle Touch WiFi-Only, outside US    Kindle Basic   (UK: KBasic)   Kindle Fire
Kindle Keybd 3G   (UK: Kindle Keybd 3G)   K3 Special Offers   K3-3G Special Offers   DX

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Check often: Temporarily-free recently published ones
  Guide to finding Free Kindle books and Sources.  Top 100 free bestsellers.  Liked-books under $1
UK-Only: recently published free books, bestsellers, or £5 Max ones
    Also, UK customers should see the UK store's Top 100 free bestsellers.

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