Research In Motion executivess took the stage during BlackBerry DevCon Europe on Tuesday to clear up a few facts about the company’s success with its BlackBerry App World marketplace. RIM’s new CEO Thorsten Heins said BlackBerry App World is now home to more than 60,000 applications, which is a fraction of what’s available in the Android Market or iTunes App Store, and that BlackBerry devices are among the most popular smartphones purchased in the United Kingdom. RIM’s vice president of developer relations Alec Saunders also said that there are 174 million app downloads per month, or about 6 million applications downloaded per day, The Verge reported. Saunders argued that RIM’s BlackBerry App World has 43% more daily downloads per app than Apple’s own iTunes App Store and he said App World can be more profitable as well — BlackBerry apps supposedly earn about 40% more than their Android counterparts, and 13% of BlackBerry developers have made more than $100,000 from their apps. In addition to the app figures, Saunders and Nokia’s head of Qt announced that RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook OS now supports the Qt developer framework, originally intended for Nokia devices.

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Apps running on Apple’s iOS devices crash more frequently than Android apps according to a new study preformed by mobile app monitoring company Crittercism. The data, which was collected between December 1st and 15th last year, spans 23 different versions of iOS and 33 different Android versions. The latest version of iOS (5.0.1) leads all others with 28.64% of all crashes, Forbes reports. The OS build is still relatively new, however, so much of the poor performance could be attributed to apps that haven’t yet been properly updated. Even still, there are older version of iOS that have surprisingly high percentages — iOS 4.2.1 was responsible for 12.64% of crashes, iOS 4.3.3 had 10.66% and iOS 4.1 had 8.24%. The chart above, which represents collected from more than 214 million apps between November and December 2011, shows that iOS apps are more likely to crash across all quartiles. A second chart below shows the percentage of app crashes across all OS versions addressed by this study.

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Guess who’s back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let’s hit the break together and check some out!

Chris Parsons – Classy Fireplace for GoogleTV (Free)

Yeah, I strayed a bit with this one but if you have a GoogleTV it’s pretty awesome. The name implies it may only be a classy fireplace video but it’s quite a bit more then there. Yes, it has a fireplace you can watch in 1080p but there are other scenes available to choose from. My personal favorite is the aquarium. Each scene comes with sounds and music, all of which are adjustable for either the sound or the music, so if you’re laying on the couch and just want to chill to the sound of water falling you can do that. Rather just chill to some background music? You can do that too. Check it out, it’s available free and quite relaxing, if not mesmerizing at times. Market Link

Richard Devine – Netflix (Free)

US readers I apologise, you’re most likely not interested in this. But this week my app pick is Netflix, and it’s squarely aimed towards my fellow Brits (and of course our Irish friends.)

The service itself needs no introduction, we’ve all heard about it for years now from our American cousins but finally we can join in. The catalogue isn’t massive at the moment, but having said that there is a lot of content worth watching. Everyone gets a free months trial so there’s no excuse really not to try it.

The Android app does what it needs to without being groundbreaking. But it streams really well, even over 3G there’s minimal buffering and the quality is adjusted depending on your signal strength. I’m really impressed with the whole package and will definitely be keeping this, coupled with an unlimited data plan it’s superb. Try it out, honestly guys I think you’ll like it. Market Link

Alex Dobie – SoundHound and SoundHound ∞ (Free / $2.99)

If there’s one app you don’t realise you need until it’s too late, it’s a music identification app. SoundHound is my weapon of choice in this department, and if you were watching Google’s recent 10 cent app promotion last month, you may have already picked this one up for next to nothing. SoundHound lets you find out what that song is by listening to a few seconds of it and matching it against a vast database of tunes, and it even supports track identification from live performances or humming. Once you’ve found out what you were listening to, SoundHount gives you the option to look up lyrics, find it on Spotify or YouTube, or tell you friends via Facebook or Twitter.

SoundHound comes in free (add-supported) and “Infinity” flavors, the latter of which adds a couple of additional features, while getting rid of those pesky ad banners. Both allow unlimited song identifications, and at £2.99 in the UK, the “Infinity” version still represents great value. Market Link

Jerry Hildenbrand – Convertr ($1.99)

We all love big fancy 3D games and gigantic applications that take 10 minutes to install.  It’s human nature to think bigger equals better, but sometimes the simplest utilities are some of the best apps.  Convertr is that app.  Anything from cooking and measuring ingredients, to building a shed in the garden and needing to convert measurements can be made easier using it, it’s really simple to operate, and has one of the most polished user interfaces you could ever ask for — all in a small unit converter app. 

It handles units of all types, including ones you don’t see very often like Frequency and Torque, and has a handy update utility built in that gives the current currency conversion rates each time you start it up.  This of course means it needs the FULL INTERNET ACCESS permission, but there’s no other screwey permissions to worry you.  Add in features like favorite unit types and adjustable decimal place rounding, and there’s a lot to like here.  A buck nintey-nine may sound like a lot for a small tool like this, but I’m happy to support a developer who makes this sort of quality application.Market Link  

Guess who’s back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let’s hit the break together and check some out!

Chris Parsons – Classy Fireplace for GoogleTV (Free)

Yeah, I strayed a bit with this one but if you have a GoogleTV it’s pretty awesome. The name implies it may only be a classy fireplace video but it’s quite a bit more then there. Yes, it has a fireplace you can watch in 1080p but there are other scenes available to choose from. My personal favorite is the aquarium. Each scene comes with sounds and music, all of which are adjustable for either the sound or the music, so if you’re laying on the couch and just want to chill to the sound of water falling you can do that. Rather just chill to some background music? You can do that too. Check it out, it’s available free and quite relaxing, if not mesmerizing at times. Market Link

Richard Devine – Netflix (Free)

US readers I apologise, you’re most likely not interested in this. But this week my app pick is Netflix, and it’s squarely aimed towards my fellow Brits (and of course our Irish friends.)

The service itself needs no introduction, we’ve all heard about it for years now from our American cousins but finally we can join in. The catalogue isn’t massive at the moment, but having said that there is a lot of content worth watching. Everyone gets a free months trial so there’s no excuse really not to try it.

The Android app does what it needs to without being groundbreaking. But it streams really well, even over 3G there’s minimal buffering and the quality is adjusted depending on your signal strength. I’m really impressed with the whole package and will definitely be keeping this, coupled with an unlimited data plan it’s superb. Try it out, honestly guys I think you’ll like it. Market Link

Alex Dobie – SoundHound and SoundHound ∞ (Free / $2.99)

If there’s one app you don’t realise you need until it’s too late, it’s a music identification app. SoundHound is my weapon of choice in this department, and if you were watching Google’s recent 10 cent app promotion last month, you may have already picked this one up for next to nothing. SoundHound lets you find out what that song is by listening to a few seconds of it and matching it against a vast database of tunes, and it even supports track identification from live performances or humming. Once you’ve found out what you were listening to, SoundHount gives you the option to look up lyrics, find it on Spotify or YouTube, or tell you friends via Facebook or Twitter.

SoundHound comes in free (add-supported) and “Infinity” flavors, the latter of which adds a couple of additional features, while getting rid of those pesky ad banners. Both allow unlimited song identifications, and at £2.99 in the UK, the “Infinity” version still represents great value. Market Link

Jerry Hildenbrand – Convertr ($1.99)

We all love big fancy 3D games and gigantic applications that take 10 minutes to install.  It’s human nature to think bigger equals better, but sometimes the simplest utilities are some of the best apps.  Convertr is that app.  Anything from cooking and measuring ingredients, to building a shed in the garden and needing to convert measurements can be made easier using it, it’s really simple to operate, and has one of the most polished user interfaces you could ever ask for — all in a small unit converter app. 

It handles units of all types, including ones you don’t see very often like Frequency and Torque, and has a handy update utility built in that gives the current currency conversion rates each time you start it up.  This of course means it needs the FULL INTERNET ACCESS permission, but there’s no other screwey permissions to worry you.  Add in features like favorite unit types and adjustable decimal place rounding, and there’s a lot to like here.  A buck nintey-nine may sound like a lot for a small tool like this, but I’m happy to support a developer who makes this sort of quality application.Market Link  

Guess who’s back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let’s hit the break together and check some out!

Chris Parsons – Classy Fireplace for GoogleTV (Free)

Yeah, I strayed a bit with this one but if you have a GoogleTV it’s pretty awesome. The name implies it may only be a classy fireplace video but it’s quite a bit more then there. Yes, it has a fireplace you can watch in 1080p but there are other scenes available to choose from. My personal favorite is the aquarium. Each scene comes with sounds and music, all of which are adjustable for either the sound or the music, so if you’re laying on the couch and just want to chill to the sound of water falling you can do that. Rather just chill to some background music? You can do that too. Check it out, it’s available free and quite relaxing, if not mesmerizing at times. Market Link

Richard Devine – Netflix (Free)

US readers I apologise, you’re most likely not interested in this. But this week my app pick is Netflix, and it’s squarely aimed towards my fellow Brits (and of course our Irish friends.)

The service itself needs no introduction, we’ve all heard about it for years now from our American cousins but finally we can join in. The catalogue isn’t massive at the moment, but having said that there is a lot of content worth watching. Everyone gets a free months trial so there’s no excuse really not to try it.

The Android app does what it needs to without being groundbreaking. But it streams really well, even over 3G there’s minimal buffering and the quality is adjusted depending on your signal strength. I’m really impressed with the whole package and will definitely be keeping this, coupled with an unlimited data plan it’s superb. Try it out, honestly guys I think you’ll like it. Market Link

Alex Dobie – SoundHound and SoundHound ∞ (Free / $2.99)

If there’s one app you don’t realise you need until it’s too late, it’s a music identification app. SoundHound is my weapon of choice in this department, and if you were watching Google’s recent 10 cent app promotion last month, you may have already picked this one up for next to nothing. SoundHound lets you find out what that song is by listening to a few seconds of it and matching it against a vast database of tunes, and it even supports track identification from live performances or humming. Once you’ve found out what you were listening to, SoundHount gives you the option to look up lyrics, find it on Spotify or YouTube, or tell you friends via Facebook or Twitter.

SoundHound comes in free (add-supported) and “Infinity” flavors, the latter of which adds a couple of additional features, while getting rid of those pesky ad banners. Both allow unlimited song identifications, and at £2.99 in the UK, the “Infinity” version still represents great value. Market Link

Jerry Hildenbrand – Convertr ($1.99)

We all love big fancy 3D games and gigantic applications that take 10 minutes to install.  It’s human nature to think bigger equals better, but sometimes the simplest utilities are some of the best apps.  Convertr is that app.  Anything from cooking and measuring ingredients, to building a shed in the garden and needing to convert measurements can be made easier using it, it’s really simple to operate, and has one of the most polished user interfaces you could ever ask for — all in a small unit converter app. 

It handles units of all types, including ones you don’t see very often like Frequency and Torque, and has a handy update utility built in that gives the current currency conversion rates each time you start it up.  This of course means it needs the FULL INTERNET ACCESS permission, but there’s no other screwey permissions to worry you.  Add in features like favorite unit types and adjustable decimal place rounding, and there’s a lot to like here.  A buck nintey-nine may sound like a lot for a small tool like this, but I’m happy to support a developer who makes this sort of quality application.Market Link  

Guess who’s back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let’s hit the break together and check some out!

Chris Parsons – Classy Fireplace for GoogleTV (Free)

Yeah, I strayed a bit with this one but if you have a GoogleTV it’s pretty awesome. The name implies it may only be a classy fireplace video but it’s quite a bit more then there. Yes, it has a fireplace you can watch in 1080p but there are other scenes available to choose from. My personal favorite is the aquarium. Each scene comes with sounds and music, all of which are adjustable for either the sound or the music, so if you’re laying on the couch and just want to chill to the sound of water falling you can do that. Rather just chill to some background music? You can do that too. Check it out, it’s available free and quite relaxing, if not mesmerizing at times. Market Link

Richard Devine – Netflix (Free)

US readers I apologise, you’re most likely not interested in this. But this week my app pick is Netflix, and it’s squarely aimed towards my fellow Brits (and of course our Irish friends.)

The service itself needs no introduction, we’ve all heard about it for years now from our American cousins but finally we can join in. The catalogue isn’t massive at the moment, but having said that there is a lot of content worth watching. Everyone gets a free months trial so there’s no excuse really not to try it.

The Android app does what it needs to without being groundbreaking. But it streams really well, even over 3G there’s minimal buffering and the quality is adjusted depending on your signal strength. I’m really impressed with the whole package and will definitely be keeping this, coupled with an unlimited data plan it’s superb. Try it out, honestly guys I think you’ll like it. Market Link

Alex Dobie – SoundHound and SoundHound ∞ (Free / $2.99)

If there’s one app you don’t realise you need until it’s too late, it’s a music identification app. SoundHound is my weapon of choice in this department, and if you were watching Google’s recent 10 cent app promotion last month, you may have already picked this one up for next to nothing. SoundHound lets you find out what that song is by listening to a few seconds of it and matching it against a vast database of tunes, and it even supports track identification from live performances or humming. Once you’ve found out what you were listening to, SoundHount gives you the option to look up lyrics, find it on Spotify or YouTube, or tell you friends via Facebook or Twitter.

SoundHound comes in free (add-supported) and “Infinity” flavors, the latter of which adds a couple of additional features, while getting rid of those pesky ad banners. Both allow unlimited song identifications, and at £2.99 in the UK, the “Infinity” version still represents great value. Market Link

Jerry Hildenbrand – Convertr ($1.99)

We all love big fancy 3D games and gigantic applications that take 10 minutes to install.  It’s human nature to think bigger equals better, but sometimes the simplest utilities are some of the best apps.  Convertr is that app.  Anything from cooking and measuring ingredients, to building a shed in the garden and needing to convert measurements can be made easier using it, it’s really simple to operate, and has one of the most polished user interfaces you could ever ask for — all in a small unit converter app. 

It handles units of all types, including ones you don’t see very often like Frequency and Torque, and has a handy update utility built in that gives the current currency conversion rates each time you start it up.  This of course means it needs the FULL INTERNET ACCESS permission, but there’s no other screwey permissions to worry you.  Add in features like favorite unit types and adjustable decimal place rounding, and there’s a lot to like here.  A buck nintey-nine may sound like a lot for a small tool like this, but I’m happy to support a developer who makes this sort of quality application.Market Link  

Guess who’s back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let’s hit the break together and check some out!

Chris Parsons – Classy Fireplace for GoogleTV (Free)

Yeah, I strayed a bit with this one but if you have a GoogleTV it’s pretty awesome. The name implies it may only be a classy fireplace video but it’s quite a bit more then there. Yes, it has a fireplace you can watch in 1080p but there are other scenes available to choose from. My personal favorite is the aquarium. Each scene comes with sounds and music, all of which are adjustable for either the sound or the music, so if you’re laying on the couch and just want to chill to the sound of water falling you can do that. Rather just chill to some background music? You can do that too. Check it out, it’s available free and quite relaxing, if not mesmerizing at times. Market Link

Richard Devine – Netflix (Free)

US readers I apologise, you’re most likely not interested in this. But this week my app pick is Netflix, and it’s squarely aimed towards my fellow Brits (and of course our Irish friends.)

The service itself needs no introduction, we’ve all heard about it for years now from our American cousins but finally we can join in. The catalogue isn’t massive at the moment, but having said that there is a lot of content worth watching. Everyone gets a free months trial so there’s no excuse really not to try it.

The Android app does what it needs to without being groundbreaking. But it streams really well, even over 3G there’s minimal buffering and the quality is adjusted depending on your signal strength. I’m really impressed with the whole package and will definitely be keeping this, coupled with an unlimited data plan it’s superb. Try it out, honestly guys I think you’ll like it. Market Link

Alex Dobie – SoundHound and SoundHound ∞ (Free / $2.99)

If there’s one app you don’t realise you need until it’s too late, it’s a music identification app. SoundHound is my weapon of choice in this department, and if you were watching Google’s recent 10 cent app promotion last month, you may have already picked this one up for next to nothing. SoundHound lets you find out what that song is by listening to a few seconds of it and matching it against a vast database of tunes, and it even supports track identification from live performances or humming. Once you’ve found out what you were listening to, SoundHount gives you the option to look up lyrics, find it on Spotify or YouTube, or tell you friends via Facebook or Twitter.

SoundHound comes in free (add-supported) and “Infinity” flavors, the latter of which adds a couple of additional features, while getting rid of those pesky ad banners. Both allow unlimited song identifications, and at £2.99 in the UK, the “Infinity” version still represents great value. Market Link

Jerry Hildenbrand – Convertr ($1.99)

We all love big fancy 3D games and gigantic applications that take 10 minutes to install.  It’s human nature to think bigger equals better, but sometimes the simplest utilities are some of the best apps.  Convertr is that app.  Anything from cooking and measuring ingredients, to building a shed in the garden and needing to convert measurements can be made easier using it, it’s really simple to operate, and has one of the most polished user interfaces you could ever ask for — all in a small unit converter app. 

It handles units of all types, including ones you don’t see very often like Frequency and Torque, and has a handy update utility built in that gives the current currency conversion rates each time you start it up.  This of course means it needs the FULL INTERNET ACCESS permission, but there’s no other screwey permissions to worry you.  Add in features like favorite unit types and adjustable decimal place rounding, and there’s a lot to like here.  A buck nintey-nine may sound like a lot for a small tool like this, but I’m happy to support a developer who makes this sort of quality application.Market Link  

Guess who’s back?! Sorry about last week folks, we know you want your apps and all but we were busy getting ourselves ramped up for CES 2012. Either way we are back in action this week so let’s hit the break together and check some out!

Chris Parsons – Classy Fireplace for GoogleTV (Free)

Yeah, I strayed a bit with this one but if you have a GoogleTV it’s pretty awesome. The name implies it may only be a classy fireplace video but it’s quite a bit more then there. Yes, it has a fireplace you can watch in 1080p but there are other scenes available to choose from. My personal favorite is the aquarium. Each scene comes with sounds and music, all of which are adjustable for either the sound or the music, so if you’re laying on the couch and just want to chill to the sound of water falling you can do that. Rather just chill to some background music? You can do that too. Check it out, it’s available free and quite relaxing, if not mesmerizing at times. Market Link

Richard Devine – Netflix (Free)

US readers I apologise, you’re most likely not interested in this. But this week my app pick is Netflix, and it’s squarely aimed towards my fellow Brits (and of course our Irish friends.)

The service itself needs no introduction, we’ve all heard about it for years now from our American cousins but finally we can join in. The catalogue isn’t massive at the moment, but having said that there is a lot of content worth watching. Everyone gets a free months trial so there’s no excuse really not to try it.

The Android app does what it needs to without being groundbreaking. But it streams really well, even over 3G there’s minimal buffering and the quality is adjusted depending on your signal strength. I’m really impressed with the whole package and will definitely be keeping this, coupled with an unlimited data plan it’s superb. Try it out, honestly guys I think you’ll like it. Market Link

Alex Dobie – SoundHound and SoundHound ∞ (Free / $2.99)

If there’s one app you don’t realise you need until it’s too late, it’s a music identification app. SoundHound is my weapon of choice in this department, and if you were watching Google’s recent 10 cent app promotion last month, you may have already picked this one up for next to nothing. SoundHound lets you find out what that song is by listening to a few seconds of it and matching it against a vast database of tunes, and it even supports track identification from live performances or humming. Once you’ve found out what you were listening to, SoundHount gives you the option to look up lyrics, find it on Spotify or YouTube, or tell you friends via Facebook or Twitter.

SoundHound comes in free (add-supported) and “Infinity” flavors, the latter of which adds a couple of additional features, while getting rid of those pesky ad banners. Both allow unlimited song identifications, and at £2.99 in the UK, the “Infinity” version still represents great value. Market Link

Jerry Hildenbrand – Convertr ($1.99)

We all love big fancy 3D games and gigantic applications that take 10 minutes to install.  It’s human nature to think bigger equals better, but sometimes the simplest utilities are some of the best apps.  Convertr is that app.  Anything from cooking and measuring ingredients, to building a shed in the garden and needing to convert measurements can be made easier using it, it’s really simple to operate, and has one of the most polished user interfaces you could ever ask for — all in a small unit converter app. 

It handles units of all types, including ones you don’t see very often like Frequency and Torque, and has a handy update utility built in that gives the current currency conversion rates each time you start it up.  This of course means it needs the FULL INTERNET ACCESS permission, but there’s no other screwey permissions to worry you.  Add in features like favorite unit types and adjustable decimal place rounding, and there’s a lot to like here.  A buck nintey-nine may sound like a lot for a small tool like this, but I’m happy to support a developer who makes this sort of quality application.Market Link  

You there! Android hacker! Stop screwing around with your battery stats!

OK, if you’re not part of the small subset of rooted users who likes to mess around with things they shouldn’t, you can probably skip the rest of this story and read something more interesting below. But if you have fiddled with battery stats on your phone, or used any of the rooted “battery calibration” apps in the Android Market, which do the same thing, it’s time to stop. Google engineer Diane Hackborn has taken to Google+ to dispel the myth that wiping battery stats can improve your battery life, or the efficiency with which your phone charges.

This file batterystats.bin is used to maintain, across reboots, low-level data about the kinds of operations the device and your apps are doing between battery changes. That is, it is solely used to compute the blame for battery usage shown in the “Battery Use” UI in settings. That is, it has deeply significant things like “app X held a wake lock for 2 minutes” and “the screen was on at 60% brightness for 10 minutes.”

It has no impact on the current battery level shown to you. It has no impact on your battery life.

So there you have it. If you want better battery life, you’re better off trying more basic techniques like keeping tabs on screen brightness or anything that might be running in the background. Or, y’know, buy a bigger battery…

More: +Diane Hackborn

You there! Android hacker! Stop screwing around with your battery stats!

OK, if you’re not part of the small subset of rooted users who likes to mess around with things they shouldn’t, you can probably skip the rest of this story and read something more interesting below. But if you have fiddled with battery stats on your phone, or used any of the rooted “battery calibration” apps in the Android Market, which do the same thing, it’s time to stop. Google engineer Diane Hackborn has taken to Google+ to dispel the myth that wiping battery stats can improve your battery life, or the efficiency with which your phone charges.

This file batterystats.bin is used to maintain, across reboots, low-level data about the kinds of operations the device and your apps are doing between battery changes. That is, it is solely used to compute the blame for battery usage shown in the “Battery Use” UI in settings. That is, it has deeply significant things like “app X held a wake lock for 2 minutes” and “the screen was on at 60% brightness for 10 minutes.”

It has no impact on the current battery level shown to you. It has no impact on your battery life.

So there you have it. If you want better battery life, you’re better off trying more basic techniques like keeping tabs on screen brightness or anything that might be running in the background. Or, y’know, buy a bigger battery…

More: +Diane Hackborn