Google's Chrome browser has 1 billion monthly users on Android and iOS

Google's Chrome mobile browser has broken the 1 billion monthly user threshold and is the latest segment of Google's ecosystem to enjoy mass appeal. Chrome on iOS and Android now joins Google Maps, YouTube, Gmail and Google Play as billion monthly user properties.

Chrome has been around on the desktop now for eight years. It released Chrome version 50 for Windows, Mac and Linux last week, and updated Chrome for iOS to version 50 yesterday. While it isn't know what the exact split of Android vs. iOS users is, Android likely has the lions share of numbers simply because it is the dominant mobile OS as well as having Chrome as the default browser on devices.

Other fun facts, Google revealed that Chrome now loads 771 billion pages each month, its auto-complete search feature helped users avoid typing 500 billion characters. Google'estimates this feature has saved 186,528 years of typing.

Source: Google via ZDNet

Android Pay prepares for its British Invasion

Android Pay is fast gaining ground and is aiming to unveil its services in the U.K. which is usually a good test bed for the rest of Europe as well as other countries in the world. Android Pay uses secure applications as well as NFC to enable touchless mobile payments.

Google has announced that it is to launch its Android Pay mobile payment service in the UK within the “next few months.” Supporting banks will include Bank of Scotland, First Direct,Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, M&S Bank, MBNA and Nationwide Building Society, “with new banks being added all the time,” according to Google. Android Pay is not available in Canada at this time.

Microsoft's Lumia 650 is now available for pre-order in Canada

Microsoft's Lumia 650 is now available for pre-order in Canada at an affordable price of $200.The latest Microsoft device is expected to ship on April 1. Sporting the latest version of Windows 10 for Phones, the Lumia 650 is geared towards enterprise users and has midrange specs including a Snapdragon 201 quad-core processor clocked at 1.33GHz,1GB of RAM, 16GB of storage (expandable via microSD), a 5-inch 720p HD OLED display, a ho-hum 8 megapixel rear camera and a 720p HD camera up front.

The premium Windows 10 features like Continuum and Windows Hello will not usable with the Lumia 650's specs but users can expect the latest build of Windows 10 on Phones with many of Microsoft's services on tap. It is also interesting to note that the $199 pricing is identical for the US and for Canada, which is a rare and welcome thing for Canadians. We ordered one of these Lumia 650's and will hopefully have a review up a few weeks after it ships.

Source: Thurrott.com

Adobe: 46 per cent of retail traffic driven by mobile

$27 Billion Spent Online so far; Star Wars’ Kylo Ren, Xbox One, Samsung Gear VR, and GoPro HERO3 Top Sellers

Adobe released its first set of 2015 Digital Index Online Shopping data for the holiday season. Between November 1 and November 24, nearly $27 billion have been spent online, 8.5 percent more than in 2014. Mobile devices continue to play a dominant role in online shopping, driving 46 percent of visits to retail sites and 24 percent of sales ($6.32 billion).

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