A new report from Juniper Research shows that new smartphone operating systems are expected to gain ground in niche areas during the next few years. Mobile platforms such as Asha, Sailfish and HTML5-based systems are likely to increase their market share thanks to cost innovation and local knowledge.

However, the global smartphone market is still expected to be dominated by Android and Apple iOS.

Figures from researchers at Strategy Analytics show that smartphone shipments grew by 46.7% year-on-year to almost 230 million units worldwide in the second quarter of 2013.

Android devices accounted for 79.5% of these smartphones, with Apple’s iOS in second place and Microsoft third.

James Rosewell interviews Ruth Barnett, head of communications at British-based technology company SwiftKey.

As well as talking about the SwiftKey keyboard app they also discuss competition in the mobile application space, working with manufacturers and the opportunities presented by 'Bring Your Own Device' schemes.

The Apple App Store, which celebrates its fifth anniversary today, contains over half a million applications that receive very few downloads, according to new research.

The BBC reports that app tracking company Adeven has calculated 579,001 apps out of the total 888,856 iOS apps in its database are ‘zombies’.

Online retailer Amazon has launched a new service called 'Login with Amazon'.

It’ll let any Amazon customer log in to mobile apps, online games and other websites with their Amazon account details. Mobile developers and web site managers will be able to incorporate Login with Amazon to save customers from creating a separate account.