According to a study by Kantar Worldpanel ComTech, for the first time the share of Android devices occupied more than half of the markets of major countries in Europe, Australia and the USA: it ranges from 49.6% in Italy to a record 84.1% in Spain.

The other day, Autodesk announced a new version of its Scaleform framework for developing user interfaces (UI), which was used by the creators of many hit “AAA” class games. Now it is equipped with tools that are designed to “make life easier” for mobile developers, in particular those who make applications for iOS and Android.

According to the Euroset report, in the first half of 2012, 4.9 million smartphones were sold in Russia at an average price of 10.2 thousand rubles. Thus, the market in monetary terms amounted to about 49.4 billion rubles.

PapayaMobile, the creator and operator of the eponymous mobile social gaming network for Android users, has announced the launch of a new service for application developers under this OC. It is called AppFlood and is a free network for cross-promotion.

Today, Facebook announced the release of a completely redesigned new version of the SDK 3.0 for iOS, including support for iOS 6 and iOS Dev Center (the new Development Center for iOS), which stores documentation and links to resources for developers.

Two-thirds of mobile phones purchased in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2012 were smartphones. This is one of the results of the latest study of the American smartphone market conducted by Nielsen – see the rest inside.

Today Apple has opened a new category “Food & Drink” in the App Store. The company has not commented on the opening of the new section, but apparently this is due to a large number of applications of this subject.

Tapjoy, the developer and owner of the eponymous platform for monetization and advertising in mobile applications, announced the conclusion of a strategic partnership with the provider of analytical information for developers Kontagent.  According to the parties, the result of this cooperation should be new products and services for the mobile industry.

The iPhoneAppCafe resource has officially announced an App Idol contest to implement the idea of a brilliant app for the App Store. To participate in the competition, it is necessary to fill out an application by July 24, describing in detail the idea of the application.

Today, two iconic mobile games have been released at once: firstly, an update and an HD version of the popular Tiny Wings, and secondly, Amazing Alex from Rovio.

Amazon has announced GameCircle for Kindle Fire, a comprehensive service similar to Game Center for iOS.

According to the results of a mini-study conducted by Ampulum companies, users find mobile games thanks to the recommendations of their friends and using search queries in the app store. At least that’s what they claim.

Microsoft will “leave no stone unturned” in the competition with Apple. The corporation intends to compete in every segment of the market where the “apple” company is present. This was stated in an interview with CRN by Steve Ballmer, chief executive Officer of Microsoft.

Research in Motion (RIM) is investing $100 million in developing a developer community for its BlackBerry platform.

News in audio format! Let’s talk about why the popularity of mobile games is growing in China, what Beeline has agreed with Google Play and which smartphone Amazon intends to release. 

Today Activision and Rovio Entertainment confirmed rumors about future console versions of Angry Birds. The companies said that three different versions of Angry Birds for game consoles are currently in development.

The second version of the popular game engine for iOS has appeared. The v2.0 framework is available on the official website; briefly read about its main features below.

Analysts from Transparency Market Research have published a report that makes forecasts about the development of the mobile content market for the next five years. Researchers believe that by 2017 its volume will exceed $ 18 billion, with the largest revenue (11.4 billion) coming from the mobile games segment.