TechBytes: Smart Phone Sales
eBook Best Sellers, Facebook Sobriety Test.
Nov. 11, 2010— -- Sales of smart phoneseBook Best Sellers are taking off. A new report shows the number of smart phones sold worldwide from July through September nearly doubled, to 80 million, compared with a year earlier. That's nearly 20 percent of all phones sold in the quarter. Sales of phones powered by Google's Android software leapfrogged the iPhone and BlackBerry.
There's new evidence of just how popular eBooks are becoming. The New York Times says it will begin publishing eBooks best-seller lists in fiction and nonfiction early next year. The Times' lists are widely considered the industry standard.
There's some new software to prevent any late-night regrets on Facebook. Social Media Sobriety Test prevents users from going on Facebook and other social media sites if they've had too much to drink. It requires users to take a coordination test before letting them log on. The program is free and works with the Firefox web browser.
