Smartphone Q2 sales jump 74 pc: Gartner
Sales of smartphones increased 74 percent in the second quarter of 2011 and accounted for 25 percent of overall mobile device sales, according to a new report from Gartner Inc.

The sell-in demand for mobile devices dropped 4.4 percent during the quarter for a total of 421.1 million units. The drop was a result of a buildup in stock at the end of the first quarter following the Japanese earthquake.

Overall, worldwide sales of mobile devices to end users totaled 428.7 million units in the second quarter, a 16.5 percent increase from the second quarter of 2010.

Nokia was the leading smartphone manufacturer by volume with a 22.8 percent share, down from 30.3 percent last year. Samsung came in second with a 16.3 percent share, down from 17.8 percent last year.

Other manufacturers that lost share include LG, which went from an 8 percent share last year to 5.7 percent this year and RIM, which went from a 3.2 percent last year to 3 percent this year.

The biggest gainers were Apple, which came in fourth with a 4.6 percent share, up from 2.4 percent last year. ZTE came in fifth with 3 percent share, up from 1.8 percent last year and HTC?s share totaled 2.6 percent, up from 1.6 percent last year, to put it in seventh place.

Verizon improving user experience for V Cast Apps store
Verizon Wireless is tweaking its V Cast Apps storefront to improve the user experience and will introduce the new version at its annual Verizon Developer Community conference in September.

Since the V Cast Apps store was launched in March 2010 some consumers have complained that it is slow to browse and download apps. Developers also reported delays.

Verizon is hoping to improve the user experience for both mobile application developers and consumers in the revamped storefront. The company will also strive to process and approve app submissions within two weeks.

Sprint teams up with McAfee to offer mobile protection
Sprint customers using select Android powered devices are now able to download mobile security protection McAfee.

McAfee Mobile Security can help mobile users protect information stored on their devices from loss, theft and Viruses. It can be downloaded from the Android Market and is available as a 12-month subscription for $29.99.

McAfee Family Protection Android Edition is an application that allows parents to filter inappropriate Web sites on a child?s mobile device. It can be purchased as a 12-month subscription for $19.99.

Hipcricket?s campaign volume nearly doubles in first half

Hipcricket is experiencing double-digit month over month growth in 2001 in the number of campaigns processed each month. As a result, the number of campaigns executed by the company since it was founded in 2004 now totals 130,000.

The mobile marketing and advertising company said it has powered more than 30,000 campaigns so far in 2011 using a variety of techniques, including SMS, CRM, mobile social, QR codes and branded applications. Clients have included MillerCoors, Nestle and Macy?s.

Hipcricket executed 17,000 campaigns in the first half of 2010 and nearly doubled that in the first six months of 2011.

Earlier this month, Augme Technologies Inc. signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hipcricket and the deal is expected to close at the end of August.