ReadWriteWeb

Teens sure do love their texting. New data from Nielsen proves it.

According to an analysis of 65,000+ mobile subscribers' phone bills, U.S. teens have tripled their data usage. In the third quarter of 2011, teens aged 13-17 averaged 320 MB of data per month. This number has increased 256% over the last year, and not surprisingly teens are are consuming data faster than any other age group. But when it comes to data usage, boys are consuming 382 MB per month while girls only use 266 MB. This is not the case when it comes to texting.

The New York Times released a new iPhone app this afternoon and it looks great - if you're a Times subscriber at $15 per month. Will a large number of people pay that much to access high quality content about the public interest in a mobile app? I'm not so sure they will. Maybe that doesn't matter though.

The app is nicely designed and integrates a wide variety of features, some of which are available for free. It's both cool and very frustrating. Why aren't more apps like this? Why is the paper of record paywalling its best content about a subject of such great public importance?

Let's say you're a Middle Eastern dictator with an atrocious human rights record and repressive domestic policies. Currently, many of your constituents are in the streets, loudly decrying your government calling for you to step down, if not for your execution. In many ways, the situation doesn't look that different than it did in other countries in the region just before their leaders were overthrown.

Despite a violent crackdown on the protests, the rabble rousers just won't quit, and they're using their smartphones to keep in touch and get around your stringent controls on freedom of the press. What ever do you do?

Somewhere along the complex supply chain of the mobile world's chips, antennas, touchscreens, operating systems and inter-linked celular networks traveling around the globe - someone has been caught capturing and transmitting more of your data than you'd probably like. There are probably any number of parties doing something similar but mobile usage data capture service Carrier IQ has been found to have code installed, with the phone companies' blessing, on millions of phones without the knowledge of consumers.

We're all awash in a sea of data, we have been for some time, but as we meet that data we learn that it is made of people. We've met the data tsunami and it is us. That's bound to make a lot of people uncomfortable. If a future based on that data unfolds in the wrong way, it could end up a major hindrance to the quality of human life.

Google Maps just went indoors. Starting with Google Maps 6.0 for Android, users of Google Maps can now navigate inside of mapped locations such as airports, malls and IKEA stores. The program launches with selected partners, and any business owner can apply to have a floor plan included.

This is a key move for Google's mobile business, which up until now could only take you to the front door of the place for which you were searching. Google Maps on the desktop recently got 3D photo tours of small locations, an extension of Street View, but this is a bigger step. When Google Maps goes inside, Google can take you all the way from searching for something to holding it in your hand, advertising and data-gathering all the way.

Webscorer is an integrated system for organizing timing-sport races. It includes three components: two different iOS timing apps called Webscorer PRO and FAN and an associated website that provides results posting, online race registration and racer interaction services. You'll need iOS v3.1.3 or later. The iPad versions are optimized for the larger screens, and they are planning on Android versions in the future. It can be used by both fans and by the race organizers in any race where timing determines the winner, such as in cycling, skating, motor sports, or running races.

It is dirt simple to use: you start the clock and then tap the screen as you wish to record a time, and then enter the racer's name. When you want to upload the results, you tap a few other buttons and enter the sport information.

According to a new study from Forrester Research, 5% of U.S. adults now scan 2D bar codes - including QR codes - with their smartphones, up from 1% in 2010. Compared to consumer adoption, the development of 2D bar code reading software has grown much faster, while business adoption of the codes as a strategy has grown much slower.

"Too few eBusiness professionals use best practices to offer consumers good experiences once they've scanned a bar code," writes author Julie Ask. The study's conclusion is that consumer habits are driven by ubiquity and ease of access; just like with traditional 1D bar codes, consumers will get used to them the more prevalent they are. That means it's up to businesses to use QR codes wisely while not being afraid to keep up with consumers' interest in new technologies.

Alt title: A Win for the Web.

Sources close to the news have told ZDNet reporter Jason Perlow tonight that Adobe will announce soon that it has given up on the development of mobile flash and will increase its investment in supporting HTML5. The company will say, according to an email published by Perlow, that it will encourage app developers to work with the cross-platform Adobe AIR platform to be distributed across mobile app stores, a caveat that could mean the news is less dramatic than it might seem. Rather than building with AIR for mobile, though, it seems likely that more developers will focus on HTML5 instead.

Feisty Twitter user Counternotions quotes Adobe's CEO from 2010 "Technology problems [w/ Flash] Mr. Jobs mentions...are 'really a smokescreen.'" Apple's refusal to go with the glitchy, gloppy proprietary protocol that performs poorly on Apple devices had to be a big part of what turned the tide.

Bing has updated its mobile app today, launching an HTML5 app that provides (more or less) the same experience across mobile platforms, whether on the native app or the website. The native apps for Android (for Verizon users here) and iOS now provide a new, Web-based HTML5 experience also available on m.bing.com.

The update adds a split view for maps and lists, making it easy to see the locations of search results. The Android version now features transit routing and real-time transit news, previously only available on Bing's mobile site. The iPhone version gets Bing's mobile Web video content, which launched on the Web version last month. The update also adds Bing Deals to the search experience, an interesting move that adds a revenue stream for Microsoft and a convenience for consumers.

Google has launched GoMo, an initiative to mobilize websites for better user experiences. It features compelling graphics, tips about why and how to go mobile, case studies and a site tester, as well as a list of featured paid vendors who make mobile sites.

Google reports that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a site that's not mobile friendly, but user engagement increases by 85% with a mobile-friendly design. That trend is appearing around the world; consumers are way ahead of businesses on mobile. GoMo is a concerted effort to help companies catch up.