Internet speeds drop around the world according to Akamai, adoption rate up

Internet speeds drop around the world according to Akama, adoption rate up

Here's an odd one: average connection speeds around the globe dropped 14 percent to just 2.3 Mbps during the last quarter of 2011. The drop off remains something of a mystery since the data used to calculate that result doesn't include mobile broadband (so its increased adoption can't be dragging down the whole) and Akamai offers no explanation. Still, it's not time to start panicking, just yet. Even though speeds in the US dropped 5.3 percent from the previous quarter, average connection rates are still up significantly over the previous year. Otherwise, things largely stayed the same. Global broadband adoption was steady at 66 percent and the US continued to trail its friends across the Pacific (by a lot) in the race for the fastest Internet connections.

Interestingly, while the number of broadband connections stayed consistent the number of narrowband lines (under 256 Kbps) declined dramatically. Yet, the percentage of the world's population connected to the web managed to increase 2.1 percent quarter over quarter -- and 13 percent for the year. So, while it may seem that the internet had a temporary set back in Q4 of 2011, the long term trends look good. The number of people online is increasing, the average speeds being pulled down by those people is climbing and the number of folks stuck in the dial up era is dropping. To get a copy of the full report hit up the source.

Internet speeds drop around the world according to Akamai, adoption rate up originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 30 Apr 2012 17:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceAkamai  | Email this | Comments

AMD reports net loss of $590 million for Q1 2012, calls that ‘solid results’

AMD reports net loss of $590 million, calls that 'solid results'

We're not sure about you, but we wouldn't call losing over half a billion dollars "solid results." Still, we're not 100 percent ready to rain on AMD's parade yet. The non-GAAP results (which disregard a pile of one-time charges and investments) turn the $590 million loss into a $92 million profit. Still, the GAAP results do make two straight quarters of losses and revenue clearly continued to decline, falling to $1.59 billion. That's down six percent from last quarter and two percent from the same time period last year. Revenue from the graphics division held steady from last quarter, though, it's down seven percent year-over-year. For more financial fun hit up the PR after the break.

Continue reading AMD reports net loss of $590 million for Q1 2012, calls that 'solid results'

AMD reports net loss of $590 million for Q1 2012, calls that 'solid results' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Gmail Meter brings detailed analytics to your inbox

Gmail Meter brings detailed analytics to your inbox

Just in case a constantly increasing unread messages counter isn't providing enough details about the flow of messages to your inbox, the Official Gmail Blog has pointed out the Gmail Meter tool for detailed monthly activity breakdowns. A Google Apps script developed by Romain Vialard, it can show you stats on volume, daily traffic, traffic pattern, email categories, time before first response, word count and thread lengths; providing an even deeper dive than Google's own Account Activity dashboard. Setting this up on one's account requires setting up a Google docs spreadsheet and then installing the script on it and requesting a report, there's a YouTube video embedded after the break and a tutorial linked below to help you along. On the plus side, now when someone asks "why haven't you responded to my email yet?", you can show them they're still well within the average time before first response window.

Continue reading Gmail Meter brings detailed analytics to your inbox

Gmail Meter brings detailed analytics to your inbox originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceOfficial Gmail Blog, Tutorial  | Email this | Comments

Intel reports $12.9 billion in revenue for Q1 of 2012, breaks no records

Intel reports $12.9 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, breaks no recordsWhile it's hard to get upset when your company is raking in just shy of $13 billion over just three months, we're sure Intel's investors are a little sad to see revenue drop across all business divisions. With a net income of $2.7 billion, profits dropped nearly 19 percent from last quarter and everyone from the data center group to the PC client group saw revenues fall by significant margins. There's no reason to worry about Chipzilla, though. The company's seemingly constant record smashing quarters had to come to an end sometime and we're sure with its entrance into the smartphone market this year new streams of revenue will start pouring in shortly. Check out the source link for all the financial nitty gritty.

Intel reports $12.9 billion in revenue for Q1 of 2012, breaks no records originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google reports $10.65 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, splits stock

Google just announced its earnings for Q1 of 2012 and the company did not disappoint. It raked in $10.65 billion, a full 24 percent higher than last year for the same time period and a hefty improvement over last quarter. Of that rather sizable chunk of cash, $10.2 billion came from advertising revenues -- $7.3 billion of that placed on Google's own properties. GAAP net income for the quarter was $2.89 billion, more than twice that of Q1 2011, which brings its total war chest to $49.3 billion in cash on hand. Perhaps the biggest news for investors, though, is the 2-for-1 stock split, which is a perfect accompaniment for the skyrocketing price. It's worth noting however, that this new stock is a new class of non-voting shares. For more info check out the PR after the break and don't miss the letter from Larry Page and Sergey Brin at the source link.

Continue reading Google reports $10.65 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, splits stock

Google reports $10.65 billion in revenue for Q1 2012, splits stock originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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StatCounter finds 1366 x 768 to be most popular screen resolution for the first time

StatCounter finds 1366 x 768 to be most popular screen resolution for the first time
It's had quite a run, but it looks like the old standby resolution of web designers everywhere, 1024 x 768, has finally been eclipsed by a newer, wider rival. According to web analytics firm StatCounter, use of 1024 x 768 fell from 41.8 percent in March of 2009 to 18.6 percent this March, while 1366 x 768 (common to many laptops) shot up from just 0.68 percent to 19.28 percent during the same time period, making it the most popular screen resolution worldwide. 1280 x 800 sits in third place at 13 percent, while all other resolutions remain in the single digits. Those interested can break down those stats further at the second source link below.

StatCounter finds 1366 x 768 to be most popular screen resolution for the first time originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hacker News  |  sourceStatCounter (1), (2)  | Email this | Comments

Internet Explorer claws back a bit of market share at the expense of Chrome and Firefox

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It may have been on a steady decline for years (albeit still the number one web browser all along), but it looks like Internet Explorer has now once again found itself on a bit of an upswing. According to the latest numbers from Net Applications, IE (all versions included) gained a full percentage point in the past month (following a similar gain in January) to sit at a market share of 53.83 percent, its highest level since September of 2011. That growth came largely at the expense of Firefox and Chrome, which each dropped less than a percentage point to 20.55 and 18.57 percent, respectively (Safari and Opera also saw slight declines). As others have noted, Net Applications did recently tweak its method for measuring browser usage, although it's not clear if that alone accounts for the shift in IE's favor -- perhaps the new ad campaign is working? You can find the full breakdown at the source link below.

Internet Explorer claws back a bit of market share at the expense of Chrome and Firefox originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 02 Apr 2012 11:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink SlashGear  |  sourceNet Applications  | Email this | Comments

China officially tops one billion mobile subscribers

We heard last year that China was approaching 900 million mobile phone subscribers, and it looks like it's now finally hit the big one. The country's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology confirmed today that, as of the end of February, there were more than a billion mobile subscribers in the country (1.01 billion, to be specific). As the AFP notes, that's individual subscriptions, which includes users with more than one phone, but any way you slice it that's a whole lot of cellphone users. Of those, 144 million are on 3G networks, which is fully double the number from April of 2011. Not surprisingly, much of that growth comes at the expense of landline phones, which have dropped a further 828,000 in the first two months of the year to 284.3 million. Internet use also continues to be on the upswing, with more than half a billion people having internet access of some sort, and 154.96 million having broadband access (up nearly five million during those same two months).

China officially tops one billion mobile subscribers originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:08:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceAFP, China Daily  | Email this | Comments