Although reports made in May 2010 indicate that Android had outsold Apple iPhones, more recent and current reports of the 2^nd quarter of 2011 made by National Purchase Diary (NPD) on Mobile Phone Track service, which listed the top five selling smartphones in the United States for the months of April-June of 2011, indicate that Apple's iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS outsold other Android phones on the market in the U. S. for the third calendar quarter of 2011. This was true for the previous quarter of the same year; The iPhone 4 held the top spot.  The fact that the iPhone 4 claimed top spot does not come as a surprise to the analysts; rather, it is a testament to them of how well the iPhone is revered among consumers. The iPhone 3GS, which came out in 2009 outsold newer Android phones with higher screen resolutions and more processing power. The list of the five top selling smartphones is depicted below:

1. Apple iPhone 4
2. Apple iPhone 3GS
3. HTC EVO 4G
4. Motorola Droid 3
5. Samsung Intensity II[1]

Apple’s iPhone also outsold Android devices7.8:1 at AT&T’s corporate retail stores in December. A source inside the Apple company told The Mac Observer that those stores sold some 981,000 iPhones between December 1st and December 27^th 2011, and that the Apple device accounted for some 66% of all device sales during that period (see the pie figure below) . Android devices, on the other hand, accounted for just 8.5% of sales during the same period.

According to the report, AT&T sold approximately 981,000 iPhones through AT&T corporate stores in the first 27 days of December, 2011 while 126,000 Android devices were sold during the same period. Even the basic flip and slider phones did better than Android, with 128,000 units sold.[2] However, it is important to understand that this is a report for one particular environment at a particular period in time. As the first iPhone carrier in the world, AT&T has been the dominant iPhone carrier in the U.S. since day one, and AT&T has consistently claimed that the iPhone is its best selling device.

Chart courtesy of Mac Observer: http://www.macobserver.com/tmo/article/iphone_crushes_android_at_att_corporate_stores_in_december/

A more recent report posted in ismashphone.com, dated January 25 2012, indicated that Apple sold 37 million iPhones in Q4 2011.  It appears that the iPhone 4S really helped take Apple’s handset past competing Android phones. According to research firm Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, Apple’s U.S. smartphone marketshare has doubled to 44.9 percent.[3] Meanwhile, Android marketshare in the U.S. dropped slightly to 44.8 percent. This report means that the iPhone has edged just a little bit past Android in U.S. marketshare. This is occurred after Apple’s Q1 2012 conference call, which saw themselling 37 million handsets. Meanwhile, it’s reported that marketers of Android devices, such as Motorola Mobility, HTC and Sony Ericsson saw drops this quarter.

The RSS feed, which commonly stands for Really Simple Syndication, is an internet protocol that helps spread the availability of frequently published or updated Internet content.

RSS Benefits for an Internet Content Provider or Blogger
The use of an RSS feed saves immeasurable time for a content provider. When an interested person subscribes to an RSS feed, the owner of that feed now has a way to reach large numbers of people without having to resort to spamming techniques. The RSS feed also allows a content provider to send the requested topical information without specifically asking, every time, to those people who have subscribed. The content provider uses a program, written in XML code to make the information they post available to each person that has requested a subscription to that particular RSS feed.

RSS Benefits for the Average Internet User
The Internet grows larger by the minute. It is easy for a person to have information overload. The use of an RSS feed gives an individual more control over what information they see while on the Internet. It is also very useful for anyone that wants to stay up to date. Subscribing to the RSS feed for a topic of interest automatically provides the subscriber continued availability of the latest information on that topic. The Internet user relies on a small program called an RSS Feeder to gather the information on the RSS feeds to which they have subscribed.

Most browsers these days have built in RSS readers making that gathering the desired information easier than ever to accomplish. Joining an RSS feed is a very simple thing to accomplish.
 

RSS Benefits for Small Businesses

More and more Small Business owners are adapting targeted online marketing campaigns such as RSS Feeds in order to provide relevant content to new and existing customers. Maintaining web content such as:  company news; contests; promotional events; related articles; notifications; product launches; directories; and newsletters are examples of ways of staying in touch with customers in any niche market.  As search engines retrieve information from RSS Feeds and content is syndicated to other websites, chances of increased traffic are inevitable.  For active websites, RSS feeds are invaluable tools for small business owners.

USA.gov Updates: News and Features

Search for RSS feeds (search topics)

Welcome to Google Reader (find and keep track of interesting stuff on the web.)

NPR public radio station (popular, news, program and topics RSS feeds)

RSS in Plain English (video)

10 Helpful Uses of RSS Feeds for Marketing

Incorporate Google RSS feeds onto your site

Adding RSS Content on Yahoo

The field of information technology is in many ways perfectly suited for entrepreneurship. Many highly successful enterprises started with a lone IT professional venturing out on their own and starting up their own company. If you have computer science skills and want to explore alternative options outside the corporate arena you should seriously consider going into business for yourself. Businesses may be more willing to hire you as a contractor rather than as a full-time worker. There are certain IT jobs that are perfect for individuals who want to be self-employed, they include:

• Working as a Consultant
Large IT departments are not as necessary for corporations as they were at the start of the internet era; this is partly due to the trend towards cloud computing. Consultants are often brought in to handle the need for tech expertise when companies downsize or eliminate their IT departments. A consultant may work for several different clients at the same time, be on call for various disciplines or be commissioned for specific projects.

• Web Entrepreneurship
The ease of building a website and the fact that web hosting is relatively affordable means that it does not take a lot of know-how to start your own online empire. You can sell products or services, or start your own online community. Another option is to start selling goods via auction sites or on sites that sell advertising space. You will need an understanding of marketing and of search engine optimization so that you can draw visitors to your site.

• Programming Apps for Mobile Devices
The future of the Internet is in mobile devices. Statistics show that much of the world will be using mobile devices and smart phones to handle their surfing needs in the near future. If you have the skills to program the apps used on these devices, you could be among those riding the wave of this trend.

It is not impossible to start an Information Technology company with very little startup capital. Getting it off the ground in terms of online visibility will require focus to detail, knowing your target market, a consistent campaign to build a client list and a solid reputation.

Python is an incredibly powerful and useful computer programming language that many of the biggest websites in the world rely on for their foundation. Python provides reliable results that are functional and involve a variety of dynamic scripted and non-scripted contexts. And because it is free and open source, it has remained a popular choice for a variety of different developers who are looking to build new sites on one of the most reliable languages available. Here is a look at 10 of the most famous software programs that are written in Python and what they do.

YouTube
If you love watching hours of homemade and professional quality video clips on YouTube, you can thank Python for giving you that option. The foundation for Python helped YouTube integrate streaming videos into their pages, as well as the ability to like videos and embed certain information. YouTube is one of the most popular sites on the Internet, and it runs off of one of the most powerful languages in Python.

DropBox
What started as a powerful app, DropBox is now used by a variety of individuals, businesses, companies, organizations and more. This program lets you save files to a cloud-based service, that you can then access from anywhere in the world. With Python at the root of DropBox, there is no longer a need for USB sticks or blank CDs, since you can now save and share everything with your cloud-based account.

Google
It takes a lot of power to be able to handle the most popular search engine in the entire world. That is why Google uses Python for its mainframe foundation, as well as in addition to various apps that it runs in conjunction with the main site. The ease that Google provides for finding certain information, would be impossible without Python at the core.

Quora
Got a question? Ask it on Quora. This site compiles a list of questions and answers that come from a community of individuals. Those questions are then organized by various members of the community, which puts the most relevant information at the top. The creators of Quora, who happened to be former Facebook employees, decided to use Python to help them create the world’s best Magic 8 ball in Quora.

Instagram
If you love taking photos of your food or a new outfit and posting it online for all of your friends to see, you can thank Python for that ability. Granted, Instagram has both a very powerful app and a website, but the latter runs on Python language. The system allows for users to browse, find and post pictures that they like on the site.

BitTorrent
BitTorrent has evolved quite a bit in recent years, but its foundation and earlier years were built on Python. When it comes to one of the largest databases of knowledge, media and content, BitTorrent is the way to go. But you wouldn’t be able to get any of those lectures or other legal stuff that you are downloading from BitTorrent, if it wasn’t for Python.

Spotify
Spotify changed the music game when it allowed you to listen to ad-free music of your choice. This wasn’t a program where you got to select a playlist, but rather full songs that you love, on repeat as many times as you can imagine, if you so desire. But whether you are rocking out to the latest K-Pop song from Psy or a classic jazz tune, you are doing so because Spotify was built on Python.

Reddit
Reddit is one of the biggest open communities on the web. You have a question, want to talk about something in specific, or find tons of information regarding a particular topic, you can just look on Reddit. The site relies on Python to help them store user names, categorize subreddits, upload links to GIFs and, of course, award gold to valued posters.

Yahoo Maps
Much like Google, Yahoo also uses Python for a variety of different resources. Most valued may be Yahoo Maps. The API and programming behind the maps program, which is built with Python, allows for users to find locations, get directions and even find reviews about local places.

Hipmunk
If you love to travel, you have likely come across Hipmunk. And while the site lets you save money on booking your itinerary through Hipmunk, it is Python that keeps everything organized. Python also helps sort the best discounts and rates, so you can get the best packages available.

Python is an incredibly powerful tool for web development. More and more sites rely on it, including 10 of the most powerful sites in the world that are listed here.

Related:

Current Active List of Organizations that use Python 

Working With Lists In Python