Apple is busy trimming down its App Store, trying to get more family friendly and useful apps on the rack. After the much talked about sex-themed apps were snipped it moved on to doing away with ‘cookie-cutter’ apps that are basically simple apps built from templates. Another step in the same direction and Apple is now looking to cut down books! Yes, out of 150,000 applications in Apple’s App Store, 27,000 are represented by books and these are getting redundant, despite being abundant.

One of the main reasons for doing this is believed to be creation of a great user experience for iPad users. Reading books via the iBooks app is one of the iPad’s best features. This app won’t come pre-installed though; definitely Apple is going to make their app pricey on the App Store.

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AT&T doesn’t seem to be accepting the open nature of Motorola’s Backflip and the Android platform. Backflip was officially available on Sunday on the AT&T network and with this the company’s lays its first step on Android ground. The Motorola Backflip certainly has some unique features but certain software differences set the smartphone apart in a rather unpleasant way.

The device, rather mysteriously, doesn’t have an option to install applications outside the official market of the Android. This ‘Unknown Sources’ setting is simply missing from the Applications menu. Apart from external app restrictions, the phone has been preloaded with a number of AT&T apps that can’t be removed unless a certain backdoor hack method is applied.

Neither AT&T nor Motorola reps were able to elaborate on why the full Android experience is not provided on Motorola Backflip. The Google Android team said that they could not provide details about the decisions taken on software modification as the phone was not a Google-branded one. Keeping in mind AT&T’s constant glower at Apple’s mobile technology which allows tethering of apps, this move could be to implement restrictions on use of such apps.

With the hype and hoopla surrounding Apple’s latest product, the iPad, reaching a crescendo with only a week left for its release, there are questions abound. And one of the most prominent ones is (or rather, was) whether the device will be able to tether to an iPhone. And the answer has been a resounding and significant NO!

Known for their transparency and easy access to the actual heads in the business, Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs is the purported source of the answer. Reports have it that a Swedish user named Jezper Söderlund had inquired about the possible tethering of the Apple iPad to the iPhone and MacBook Pro. To which Mr. Jobs has purportedly answered in a mono-syllable word – NO!

As the question of ‘to be or not to be’ hovers on the subject of tethering the soon-to-be-launched device to the iPhone, it seems only Mr. Jobs can provide a clean insight into the same.

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Revenue generation of the global app market is projected to reach $15.65 billion in the next four years. This has been said in a recent report by research2guidance where they mention that the cause for this is the rising focus of OS and OEM developers on applications and the increasing trend of ’smart devices’ in the market.

The mobile industry has seen a surge in handsets with advanced capabilities in the past year. The market’s growth is also driven by the highly progressive and connected consumer base globally. If things continue in a similar manner then global smartphone user numbers would reach 970 million in 3 years’ time.

John Herlihy, the European Director of Google’s online sales said at the Digital Landscapes conference at UCD that Google has a major orientation towards mobile devices and they will soon gain more significance than desktop PC’s. It is true that Google has exhibited its dedication to lead in the mobile world, moving ahead of the world online. The Android and Nexus One stand testimony to this fact.

The cloud comes to play a major role here, as Google is more concerned about where we store our photos, rather than how we edit them. The cloud is a part of Google’s domain and with most of our online activities being done on the iPad, Nexus One, and such devices where specific needs are addressed by widget-style simple apps, then the importance of desktop PC’s automatically diminishes.

It all depends on what people prefer; the actual users of both desktop PC’s and handheld devices will determine whether Google’s prediction comes true or not.

Around his time of the year several online merchants notice a slackening in sales and dragging site traffic. This would be a great time for online merchants to reevaluate their strategies, their web content, and see what’s working for them and what isn’t. Here are some of the reasons why eCommerce sites don’t live up to expectations. For those who can identify with most of these reasons, it’s time for a revamp.

Unattractive Site Design: If your eCommerce website looks like it has belongs to the earlier half of the 2000s then your customers would definitely prefer other trendier looking, modern websites.

Weak Browsing Options: Users enjoy a good browsing experience and if navigation tools are weak, or if your search option is not strong enough then a potential customer could be easily lost.

Lack of Security: Customers who feel that their online transactions are not secure will not check out of your shopping cart. Use of PCI compliant software suites like CoreCommerce or Pinnacle Cart is a good way to address these security issues.

Lack of Contact Information: Customers hesitate to make online transactions on sites that have little or no contact information. Giving complete details about your company and contact information can help boost sales.

There are other aspects to consider such as poor product description/ visibility, poor SEO backing, no up-selling, no payment, tax and shipping information, and so on. So bring to life a fresh eCommerce storefront that is well optimized, designed, and marketed, and you will soon be on the right track.