Type of Article: MacTech Blog

A slew of new devices leveraging improved connectivity to mobile handsets have fueled strong growth for wearable wireless mHealth devices in 2012, according to ABI Research (www.abirsearch.com). By the end of the year, nearly 30 million devices will have shipped, up 37% on 2011 shipments, says the research group.

TeamViewer (www.teamviewer.com), a provider of remote control and online meetings software, has announced the findings of its survey of 500 American adults ages 18 and older who work from home either full time or part time, conducted online by uSamp in October.

The survey, which was drafted based on TeamViewer’s experience in office communication, found that fully half (50%) of telecommuters feel that they are more productive working from home, with 23% even saying that they are much more productive.

Kaspersky Lab’s (www.kaspersky.com) experts have presented their views on the core threats of 2013. The most notable predictions for the next year include the continued rise of targeted attacks, cyber-espionage and nation-state cyber-attacks, the evolving role of hacktivism, the development of controversial “legal” surveillance tools and the increase in cybercriminal attacks targeting cloud-based services.

Nasuni (www.nasuni.com), a provider of enterprise storage to large, distributed organizations, has released its “Special Report on Shadow IT in the Workplace,” which reveals that large numbers of employees use Dropbox and other consumer file sharing services for sensitive work-related data, even if they know that their employer has a specific policy banning the use of such services.

Nothing is impossible when it comes to setting app prices. Freemium models are on the rise in the US, UK and Germany. Staggered prices combined with cleverly communicated value boost customer loyalty.

The international App Store Study 2012 conducted by the global strategy and marketing consultancy Simon-Kucher & Partners in the US, UK and Germany analyzed the prices of 2,400 apps by price and category. Looking at the top 100 downloads and top 100 purchases in the Apple AppStore, the study shows consensus concerning price models and ranges across the countries.