Christmas Day 2012 was a bonanza day for the mobile industry as more smartphones, tablets and Kindle-type mobile devices were activated than on any other day in history.

A report from Flurry Analytics claims that activations on 25th December rose to more than 17.4 million, a 332 percent increase from the former December baseline of 4 million per day and 2.5 times greater than Christmas 2011 figures.

This was the first year in which tablet activations outstripped smartphones, at a rate of 51 percent to 49 percent.

“The big winners were Apple iPads, Apple iPad Minis and Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7-in tablets,” the Flurry report stated. “In particular, Amazon had a very strong performance in the tablet category, growing by several thousand percent over its baseline of tablet activations over the earlier part of December.”

The volume of devices activated on Christmas Day had an impact on app downloads also. In total 328 million apps were downloaded on the day with 1.76 billion apps bought from Google Play and Apple during the Christmas week. This was up 65 percent on the weekly average for December 2012.

According to Flurry’s vice president, Peter Farago, one billion app downloads a week will become the norm in 2013. He said: “Following a year where Google and Apple drove unprecedented adoption of mobile devices, Facebook declared itself a “mobile” company, and Amazon and Microsoft both made significant investments into mobile computing, we look forward to continued record-breaking adoption of smart devices and applications.”

For more information on the global mobile industry don’t miss out on your chance to attend the GSMA Mobile World Congress 2014, in Barcelona. For the best in accommodation, arranged transportation, restaurant recommendations, and anything else you can think of to make your stay in Barcelona one to remember, look no further than EAS, the travel agent you can trust. With our expert local knowledge we can source rooms in the best hotels, find you the most centrally located apartments, organise airport transfers and other transportation needs, and even arrange yacht and aircraft charters. Click on this link for more information.

Netflix is looking to make acquisitions following its move to raise $400 million in new debt, the company said last week.

The online video service will use $225 million to refund $200 million of existing notes at lower interest rates. The rest will be used for corporate spending including capital expenditures, investments, working capital and potential acquisitions.

This money could also be used for more original programming if the company’s own political drama “House of Cards” proves to be successful. The series stars Kevin Spacey who plays a US Congressman bent on revenge after being passed over for the position of Secretary of State and cost a reported $100 million for two seasons. The Netflix difference, however, is that subscribers can watch all 13 episodes of the first series at once without having to suffer the usual week long suspense which comes with other network series.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, Netflix added 2.05 million streaming users in the US alone, meaning they now have 33 million streaming users worldwide. These strong results were mostly due to record numbers of consumers activating electronic devices such as tablets and smart TVs during the Christmas season.

This news led Netflix’s shares to surge to new heights two weeks ago as its stock climbed $43.60 to $146.86, the biggest single day gain since the firm went public more than a decade ago.  Despite this, Netflix’s video-licensing bills are piling up. By December 2012 the firm owed $5.6 billion during the next five years and many analysts are questioning whether such high share prices are justified.

For more information on Netflix and other leading companies in the world of entertainment content head down to MIPCOM 2013, Cannes, 7-10 October. If you’re looking for accommodation then book with EAS now. With our expert knowledge of Cannes we’ll find you the best hotels, rented apartments and even luxury yachts right in the heart of the city. We can also organise nightly entertainment, take care of your transportation needs and reserve you tables at the best restaurants. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

For the first time since 2010 investor confidence is on the rise in Europe’s three largest economies Germany, France and the UK and 2013 should see an increase in investment according to a survey by Union Investment.

The study, which involved a representative survey of 165 investment decision-makers in Germany, France and the UK, also anticipates that real estate markets in Turkey, Poland and Ireland will emerge stronger in 2013.

Investors still raised caution regarding shrinking credit markets with 70 percent expecting loan rates to rise, while others highlighted higher taxes in France as an added burden.

Some 85 percent of those surveyed said the euro crisis would lead to a stronger focus on core products, such as those with long leases, central locations and high-quality assets.

In addition only 30 percent of investors now expect a Europe-wide recession. This compares with 42 percent when the survey was last conducted. While a mere 3 percent still believe that there is real possibility of the euro-zone collapsing, compared with 12 percent previously.

The news comes on the back of positive results from Europe’s commercial real estate sector. Investment volumes in European commercial real estate hit nearly €44 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, the highest quarterly level since 2007.

Cross border investment rose by a healthy 19 percent last year and according to property consultants Cushman and Wakefield, it could rise by 6 percent to €141 billion in 2013 despite the still-fragile economic recovery in Europe.

“Cross border investment was the biggest area of growth last year, it outpaced the domestic buyers,” explained David Hutchings, head of European research at Cushman & Wakefield. “In any country in the world you will find people shopping for property in Europe.”

Property investors are still focusing on the larger markets of France, the UK and Germany, which make up 61 percent of the market share. However, the Nordics have seen their slice of the pie increase from 15.3 percent in 2011 to 17.9 percent last year.

For more information on the health of Europe’s real estate market and construction and property news from around the world check out MIPIM 2014 held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, 5. For all your accommodation, transportation and entertainment needs look no further than EAS, the local travel agents you can trust. Whether you’re after rooms in some of the most centrally located hotels, your own private apartment or villa, or are looking to charter a luxury yacht for upscale entertaining, we have the answers you are looking for. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

So it’s now official: the smartphone market is actually a duopoly dominated by both Android and iOS who accounted for 91.1 percent of fourth quarter sales in 2012.

According to International Data Corporation’s (IDC) latest figures the two platforms accounted for 87.6 percent of all sales in 2012. However the main chunk of the pie belongs to Android, which pulled in 69 percent of all smartphone sales globally, while Apple devices took 19 percent of the market share. Apple’s sales proved to be highest in Western markets mostly because of lower priced iPhone 4 and 4S resulting from the introduction of the iPhone 5.

IDC put Android’s market-beating growth down to the fact that 2012 saw an explosion of Android smartphones matching nearly “any budget, taste, size and price.”

In comparison, Blackberry mobile sales fell by more than 36 percent last year and it now only holds 3.2 percent of the market share. Microsoft on the other hand managed to increase its share from 1.5 percent in 2011 to 2.5 percent last year, however the firm is still at the bottom of the smartphone platform rung.

Programme manager for IDC’s Mobile Device Trackers, Ryan Reith claimed that despite the low figures it was not all doom and gloom for Blackberry and Microsoft. “There is no question the road ahead is uphill for both Microsoft and Blackberry, but history shows us consumers are open to change. Platform diversity is something not only the consumers have asked for, but also the operators,” he said.

IDC noted that Linux-based smartphones could be more of a factor in 2013 with the launch of devices from SailFish, Tizen and Ubuntu. However, the analyst firm warned that these platforms will need time and investment to gain momentum in the market.

For more information on smartphones and their various platforms head down to next week’s Mobile World Congress 2014, If you’re after accommodation then look no further than EAS, your friendly local travel agents. We’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of Barcelona, organise all your entertainment needs and arrange transportation. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.