The charts show how iTunes content revenue has been steadily growing upward and to the right. But they also show that Apple saw an increase in iTunes net sales by $300 million just from the holiday quarter (when Apple always sees its biggest concentrated pop in downloads) to the March quarter, making $2.4 billion in sales. This is also up from $1.9 billion during the same quarter a year ago.

Relatively, this is still very tiny compared to the $23 billion in net sales Apple derived from its most essential business, the iPhone. And to the $8.7 billion from the iPad last quarter. But iTunes alone is close to half of Mac net sales, which were $5.4 billion.

The reason for the increase is mostly due to Apple’s steady expansion of the iTunes Store to new countries around the world in recent quarters. iTunes Music sells in 119 countries, videos in 109 countries, while the App Store and iBookstore are both in 155 countries.

According to Asymco’s calculations, this wider availability in the store has driven up the amount the average user is paying Apple for content:

In March Apple reported that they have 500 million iTunes [users] so one way to think about the iTunes business is to say that  iTunes users purchase content and services at the rate of about $40 per year.

This is really interesting in the context of the long-rumored Apple video subscription deal and the still-being-hashed-out “iRadio” service for subscription music content. Imagine if just in just some of those countries Apple introduced a $10 per month streaming solution. So instead of $40 per year from a user, Apple started getting more like $120 per year. And that would be just music. If there was a separate video package some day that figure would get even larger. Plus, that doesn’t include money spent on and within both Apple’s own iOS and Mac apps and third-party apps.

iTunes has always been more of a bonus source of revenue than a meaningful contributor to Apple’s bottom line — the songs were originally there to sell iPods, in the way mobile apps are there to sell iOS devices. But software and services — from iCloud and Maps to Siri — have begun to play a more prominent role at Apple, and in its customers’ experiences. A subscription service of digital content, if deployed and priced correctly, could actually turn into a meaningful new source of revenue for Apple.

If current trends continue, with software and content sales going up and laptop and desktop sales dropping off, it’s not impossible that Apple’s content business could someday soon outpace the Mac segment as its third-largest business.

RIM is also adding more discoverability and social capabilities to the new BlackBerry World, allowing customers to share their content and app choices with friends through messaging and social networking apps, and even through a form of proximity-based communications. From the Inside BlackBerry Blog:

With BlackBerry World, there are various ways to browse, download, buy, and manage apps using a BlackBerry smartphone, BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, or desktop or laptop computer, — inspiration is at your fingertips. And if you find something you love and want to tell the world, you can easily share it with your friends over BBM, Facebook and Twitter. Also, you can simply tap smartphones together and invite your friends to download it — just like that.

There’s no word yet on how extensive RIM’s multimedia library will be, what pricing will be like, or whom the company is partnering with to supply those songs and videos. We’ll find out soon enough though. RIM said the new content would soon appear in the BlackBerry World web storefront, and in the coming weeks BlackBerry phone and tablets will receive software updates to reflect the app store changes.

In related news, BlackBerry is again publicly mulling the possibility of licensing the BlackBerry OS. In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, CEO Thorsten Heins said that RIM is now focused on proving its net-gen QNX-based OS BlackBerry 10 in the market. If BB 10 is a success it would consider licensing it to other manufacturers, Heins said – and not to just handset makers. The BlackBerry OS and RIM’s QNX automotive infotainment software are converging in a platform called Car 2, which could make BB 10 the first industry-spanning operating system.

Alas, Angry Bonds is not about disgruntled 007 agents. Instead, it is one of more than 45 apps in the Bloomberg App Portal that perform tasks like risk analysis and client management. The company didn’t disclose specific prices for the apps, which are free to preview, but it’s a safe bet they cost more than 99 cents. The Financial Times reports that Bloomberg will, like Apple, take a 30 percent cut.

The launch is significant because Bloomberg has now opened up its vast pool of financial data to outside developers who can then craft new products to help traders and analysts. Until now, the company founded by New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg has closely guarded its proprietary system, which costs around $20,000 a year for a license.

The app store comes at a time that Bloomberg is adopting its famous financial terminal for the mobile environment through tools like Bloomberg Anywhere and selling a new edition of its core product, Bloomberg Next. The company and its main competitor Thomson Reuters were hard hit by the economic meltdown in 2009 that decimated many of their financial clients.

Here are some more screenshots of the apps (don’t have too much fun…)

In court filings last week, Apple demanded that Amazon provide an executive to testify why the company decided to remove the words “for Android” from some of Amazon’s app store marketing. The filing also repeats allegations that Amazon’s use of “Amazon Appstore” with the Kindle Fire tablet was intended to confuse consumers. (Here are some highlights for legal eagle types:)

evidence suggesting that the name of Amazon’s Service is actually “Amazon Appstore,” or at least that Amazon has consciously chosen to cease or minimize the use of “for Android” with its mark, is highly relevant to Apple’s offensive case  [...]  Amazon has steadfastly refused to produce documents and information regarding the use of “for Android” in connection with its service [...] Amazon has failed to produce a witness who can testify regarding the decision not to use “for Android” with the Amazon  Appstore Service outside the context of the Kindle Fire, despite clear evidence that Amazon frequently does not use “for Android” in conjunction with its Service

Apple first filed the lawsuit in March of 2011 after its rival opened “Amazon Appstore for Android” and the two companies have since been locked in procedural squabbles. Amazon argues that the term “app store” is generic. Apple, on the other hand, says the removal of the “for Android” phrase is evidence the term is not generic and is now accusing Amazon of dragging its feet in producing evidence.

Apple, meanwhile, is still trying to obtain an official trademark for “app store,” a process that has been tied up even since Microsoft asked the US Trademark Office to refuse the application. A similar fight is playing out in Europe.

Apple’s attempts to restrict Amazon’s use of “app store” is occurring as the companies appear on a collision course for the same customers. Reports this week suggest that Apple executives regard Amazon’s store as a bigger threat than Google’s store even though it is now much smaller. Apple’s fears may lie in the fact that Amazon’s store has iTunes-like quality control and because Amazon is selling a growing array of tablet devices and is planning to offer a smartphone. A report by Flurry also found that Amazon’s store generated 89 percent of revenue per active user compared to the best performer, Apple’s App Store, putting it well ahead of Google Play.

Despite all the legal action, Apple may be grasping at straws as its legal case for “app store” appears weak. Amazon and other opponents have pointed out that “app” was a word of the year in 2010 and that Steve Jobs reportedly used “app store” in a generic way — much as a person would say “shoe store.”

(Image by Edward Westmacott via Shutterstock)

“Supporting Google Play is one more way we’re delivering a uniquely open and collaborative reading environment to our customers,” Kobo CTO Dan Leibu said in the release.

Unlike Barnes & Noble and Amazon, Kobo doesn’t have its own app store. Preloading the Google Play app is a relatively inexpensive way for Kobo to try to provide an app ecosystem without trying to build its own. Kobo also supports the Android App Store.

Kobo released the Vox last October for $199.99. It’s now $179.99 on Kobo’s site.

Books on Google Play launches in Germany

Another Google Play announcement today: Books on Google Play — formerly known as the Google eBookstore — is now available in Germany. Music and movies on Google Play are still not available there. Google also sells e-books in the UK, Canada, Australia and Italy and plans to do so in France.

The group of nine writers, operating under the China Written Works Copyright Society, claim that some 37 works have been published in Apple’s App Store without their agreement. Their 12-billion-yuan ($11.9 million) lawsuit entered formal proceedings in Beijing last week, according to the English edition of the Chinese business news site Caixin Online.

The group includes pop culture figure Han Han, a politically-controversial author, Li Chengpeng, as well as other popular writers like Cang Yue and Murong Xuecun, the report says. There’s a screenshot of a Murong Xuecun app pictured here. Developed by “Portege Pte”, it’s unclear whether this is one of the authorized or unauthorized works.

As with other paid apps and books in Apple’s App Store, Apple takes a 30 percent commission on every purchase.

The CWWCS has been through this before with other companies that have been involved in the illicit distribution of their work via e-books: in 2010 Google (NSDQ: GOOG) had to issue the group a formal apology for a similar offense; in 2011, Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) deleted 2.8 million works from its Wenku e-book portal at the group’s request. Similarly, there have been two other suits against Apple over ebooks: one involving an individual writer and other concerning a group of six authors. It’s not clear in these past cases if the portals in question made financial settlements when dealing with the cases.

As with the counterfeit Apple stores that were closed down last year, it may well be the case that ordinary consumers have no idea that they are paying for books that are illicit. Created and published by third-party developers, some of the more popular works have seen up to one million downloads in Apple’s App Store. That also puts these e-books into the same category as digital music in the country, where of tracks have been published by those not authorized to do so, and many consumers downloading them are none the wiser.

Of course, $1.9 million in compensation is small change to one of the world’s biggest and most profitable companies, but even being accused as a facilitator of copyright infringement must be an embarrassment for Apple. China is a significant strategic investment the company, which has made a big push into China in the last year — ramping up its retail presence, making its App Store more local-currency-friendly, and (if you believe reports) even expanding its production in the country.

Tethering can be a life-saver when you’re stuck at a location without Wi-Fi or hardwired Internet access and need to do something that requires a keyboard and processing power. But carriers don’t like the idea of their customers running data-thirsty PC apps over wireless networks, and many charge a significant monthly premium in order to allow people to use their phones as wireless modems.

iTether appeared to be a way around that restriction. For a one-time $15 fee, Tether (the company behind the app) promised to “help iPhone users find a simple, affordable and effective way to use their laptops while traveling,” said Tim Burke, the company’s CEO, in a blog post announcing the release of the application.

Patrick Hankinson, the company’s chief marketing officer, bragged on his Twitter feed that iTether quickly became the top-grossing app during the short amount of time it was live on the App Store, besting such iPhone juggernauts as Zynga and Rovio. And Tether’s servers sagged under the weight of those curious about the app. But a little after 9 a.m. Pacific Time (NYSE: TWX), it all came to a halt.

The app is no longer available in the App Store, to the surprise of very few. Apple is famously circumspect about the types of applications it will allow into the App Store, unlike other mobile application stores that don’t have such a strict review process. (Tether makes an Android and BlackBerry version of its app.) And it would seem that the approval of the app, much the same way a games-subscription app was made available and then pulled in quick fashion last week.

Tether thought it was playing by the rules. “We were very clear with Apple what our app did. They asked us a bunch of questions and then approved us,” the company said on its official Twitter feed in response to a question from a potential user. Certain carriers around the world may not be as restrictive when it comes to tethering as AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon are in the U.S., but it’s hard to imagine that an App Store reviewer would be unaware of the app’s potential to anger those key partners.

In any event, those who managed to download Tether before it was pulled from the store found a cheap way to use their PC or Mac anywhere, so long as they also have their iPhone. So long as they don’t start downloading pirated HD movies over their carrier’s network (or other bandwidth-intensive files), their carriers may never know that their iPhones are skirting the rules.

Under the terms of the deal, GetJar will be distributing QQ browser, which is available for iOS, Android, Symbian and Java devices, as part of Tencent’s strategy to take its products to a more global audience. The move comes as we are seeing more activity from Western companies to expand their business in China, too. Most recently, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) finally started to accept payments in Yuan on its Chinese App Store.

The deal is not exclusive as such: Tencent already offers its QQ browser through the Apple App Store, for example, although it is in Chinese so fairly unapproachable for those who don’t speak the language.

Tencent claims that its QQ browser is one of the fastest on the market. Because it is run as a cloud service, on Tencent’s XCloud architeture, users can also use the browser to securely store software, pictures and other files as part of the offering. Mobile QQ browser is built for mobile through cloud services.

In China, QQ browser is the second most-popular mobile web browser, according to November figures from Ai Media Consulting (via China News). It has a 27 percent share of the market, with the UC Web browser at 65 percent. (Opera is in third with six percent, and the browsers that are dominant in the West such as Safari on iOS, or Android’s web browser, don’t even seem to register.)

That share in China alone gives QQ significant penetration. As of last month, China had 1 billion mobile users, with 102 million on smartphones, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

That means that if the market share estimates are accurate, QQ has potentially 270 million users, since the browser is also available for feature phones on networks slower than 3G.

It will be interesting to see if the QQ browser will be able to get much traction in Western markets, where people largely default to using mobile web browsers that are pre-loaded on to devices: meaning iOS users use Safari, Android users use Android, WP7 users take Internet Explorer and so on.

Possibly because China is one of those places where mobile internet growth is outpacing that of fixed growth (fixed lines are actually in decline; and there are currently 150 million broadband lines), we’ve seen a lot of innovation — probably more than you get in the West — from tech companies in the country to target mobile users.

It’s not unusual for an internet portal like Tencent to make and distribute mobile phones, app stores, games, payment systems, messaging apps and mobile browsers. Others that have also followed this route include Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU) and Alibaba. On the Android platform alone, there are dozens of companies operating app storefronts distributing apps for the OS.

In the new filing, Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) calls attention to its rival’s use of “*Amazon* Appstore” to market the Kindle File which was announced in September. Apple had filed its original complaint last spring after Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) used the phrase “Appstore for Android” to publicize its phone-based app store. Apple has now also tacked on a new false advertising claim to its earlier allegations of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The complaint (embedded below) also contains pictures of both advertisements.

The revised claim comes at a time when the Kindle Fire is threatening to be the first serious disruption of a tablet market that, so far, has been overwhelmingly dominated by Apple’s iPad. Persuading consumers that it has the only “app store” may be part of Apple’s strategy to retain market share.

Apple could face an uphill battle, though, in convincing a court that it can own “app store.” When the lawsuit was first reported last spring, Apple’s claim was met by controversy and even ridicule by people who said the phrase was a generic term like drug store that no one could own. It probably didn’t help Apple’s case that “app” was named the 2010 word of the year by lexical societies and that Steve Jobs was reported to have used the phrase “app store” in a generic fashion.

The company is still waiting to learn if the Trademark Office will grant its application for a trademark. Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) has registered a formal objection.

Although a claim to own “app store” might strike some as far-fetched, Apple has long been a master of using different forms of intellectual property to wrap a legal force field around its products. In its high profile patent campaign against Samsung, for instance, Apple has not only accused the Korean company of infringing its utility patents but also its design patents and trade dress as well.

Trademark cases, like the app store one, can require a court to decide where a name fits along a five-part distinctiveness scale. Names that simply describe a product like “Cooked Tomatoes” are considered “generic” or “descriptive” and will receive less protection than so-called “fanciful” names like Xerox or Oreo.

App store 2nd Amended complaint

– GetJar: Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is antsy about GetJar’s use of “app store,” and GetJar looks like it is trying to fight back. (via GetJar blog)

– Foxconn: The Apple manufacturer is reportedly investing $1.6 billion to open new Apple retail stores in the region to push sales of products. (via Bloomberg)

– Zynga: Any doubts about Zynga’s ambitions in mobile? It’s now acquired Five Mobile, a mobile gaming studio in Toronto, Canada.

– Apple Apps: Piper Jaffray’s take on last week’s news that Apple has passed 15 billion app downloads; includes projections. (via Fortune)

– HTC: Looks like HTC will be supporting unlocked bootloaders for the HTC Sensation, the HTC Sensation 4G and the HTC EVO 3D. (via Facebook, This is my next)