Burlapp - Mobile Application Development » mobile applications

App downloads to hit 48 billion by 2015, In-Stat study says

admin — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 13:38:19 +0000

Mobile application or app downloads is expected to hit close to 48 billion by 2015, this according to the recent study conducted by In-Stat, a technology research firm based in Scottsdale.

In a statement, Amy Cravens, Senior Analyst of In-Stat, said, “The prevalence of handset touchscreens is a significant development impacting the mobile applications market.”

The In-Stat study also shows that Apple and Android users are significantly more likely to download mobile applications.

Early this month, Apple announced that app downloads at the Apple App Store reached 15 billion. At the Apple App Store alone, there are more than 425,000 apps to choose from.

In hundreds of thousands of apps to choose from lies the challenge for businesses to get the attention of consumers.

In the article “Deciding Whether Your Business Needs a Mobile App” published in Inc.com, Lou Dubois wrote that in order to get the attention of consumers amidst the hundreds of thousands of apps around, your company app must:

Make life easier.

Make life cheaper.

Make life fun.

About the Author: Burlapp is a technology company that is focused on building mobile applications. If your company plans to integrate mobile technologies into your corporate strategies, contact Burlapp at its new website.

Understanding the mobile app platform

admin — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 08:42:47 +0000

“I’d say it’s critical for businesses to understand that mobile isn’t just a smaller version of the desktop,” Jason Spero, Google’s head of mobile for the Americas, has this to say about the mobile platform in an interview with Inman News.

Mobile, Spero said, is a different and brand-new platform that carries with it numerous potentials, possibilities, including some limitations.

The head of Google mobile for the Americas added, “Businesses need to better understand the unique attributes of mobile and determine their goals for it as well.”

Businesses must understand that mobile consumers are fundamentally different from the non-mobile consumers, Spero said. For instance, he said, mobile consumers are always on the move and always “looking to take action.”

According New York-based AMI-Partners, 3.5 million U.S. small and medium businesses or SMBs are currently using smartphones and 700,000 are using tablet PCs.

In one year, AMI projected that the number of SMBs owning smartphones will increase by 40%; while tablet PCs will increase by 85%. This data, however, does not include the current generation of workers that never goes out with their mobile devices.

“The success of Apple’s iPhone, iPad and similar Android devices has spurred this charge, and the adoption en masse drives a larger demand for more specialized, business-focused mobile apps,” AMI said in a statement.

Mobile App Strategy: The need to have one

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 04:18:14 +0000

Just a year ago, Morgan Stanley projected that in the next five years, mobile will be bigger than the desktop internet.

This mobile trend is mainly brought about by the rise of the smartphones. One of the impacts of the smartphone popularity is the growth of mobile applications or apps.

In the article “Wireless Mobile Strategy — Do You Have One? published in Technorati.com, Curt Finch wrote, “Smartphones are changing the way companies do business in a number of industries.”

With the growth of smartphones, Finch wrote that companies “have developed apps so that users can access their services easily and effectively on their smartphones.”

Mobile App Strategy

“The most important part of creating a mobile strategy for your business is knowing your audience,” Finch said.

In addition to knowing your audience, Gwynne Kostin, director of the General Services Administration’s Mobile Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies, told Nextgov.com that the mobile app must be task-oriented.

Kostin said that “unlike some people who browse the Web, mobile app users, by and large, are looking to complete a task rather than to gather information and expect an app to help them get there.”

How to cut your way through the crowded apps market

admin — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 05:22:34 +0000

The most effective way to cut your way through the already crowded mobile applications or apps market is to make use of the smartphone technology, this according to the Deloitte’s “Addicted to Connectivity” survey conducted among 31,000 global mobile users.

In an announcement released last week, Deloitte, a business advisory firm, predicted that “brands will find it even more challenging to ensure their mobile applications (apps) stand out to consumers.”

Deloitte’s survey showed that apps with the following features were most likely to be downloaded:

1.Portability

2.Accelerometer (This is the built-in electronic component that measures motion and tilt. The accelerometer is also capable of detecting motion and rotation gestures.)

3.Sophisticated touch screen use

4.Location-based services

5.Camera

The Deloitte’s mobile consumption survey also showed that 45% of smartphone users downloaded an app at least once a week.

In a statement, Howard Davies, Deloitte media partner said: “Brands view apps as a golden opportunity to communicate directly with consumers and in a more meaningful, long term manner. When brands get it right, the returns can be huge.”

Meanwhile, in an article published in Gigaom.com, Rachel Youens enumerated the “7 Habits of Highly Effective Apps”:

1.Understand the Potential of Mobile

2.Target Your Audience and Their Needs

3.Settle on an Objective

4.Measure Success

5.Test Regularly

6.Develop in Phases

7.Be Ready to Roll Out

Majority of US small companies find mobile apps essential

admin — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:56:50 +0000

Fifty-nine percent of small companies say that wireless services and mobile applications or apps are essential to their business operations, this according to the latest survey conducted early this year by The Business Journals among 2,223 business owners, presidents, and CEOs of companies with less than 500 employees.

For the past five years, according to The Business Journals, the number of mobile professionals in the United States has increased by one third. Data shows that five years ago, 698,000 companies considered themselves “as capable of doing business on the go.” Today, data shows that there are close to one million companies that “conduct transactions, interact with clients, and attract new prospects while away from the office.”

The Business Journals survey also shows that mobile-savvy companies earn $10.8 million annually on average, compared with $5.7 million for companies that lag behind mobile technologies and mobile strategies.

Pamela Springer, CEO of Manta, told Portfolio.com: “In order to grow and meet the new needs of today’s market, businesses need to be found where their customers are.”

“Whether it’s developing key relationships, connecting with customers, prospects, and partners, or finding new customers, companies that have mobile apps and can master the mobile sphere are the ones that are most successful,” Springer added.

Is your company still a mobile laggard?

Cellphone swiftly exiting; Smartphone rapidly growing

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 03:36:26 +0000

Cellphone is on its way out; while smartphone use is growing rapidly with regional differences. These are the result highlights of the survey conducted last February and March among 13,700 people from 16 countries by the research firm International Data Group (IDG).

“Mobile devices are gaining popularity very rapidly worldwide,” IDG said in a statement. Meanwhile, the research firm said that “it is clear that the traditional cellphone is fading fast.”

The IDG survey shows that over two-thirds of the survey respondents worldwide use smartphones for personal and business purposes. The survey further shows that in Europe, for both business and personal use, Nokia and Apple lead the way; while in the United States, Apple and Blackberry are used for business purpose; while Samsung and Apple are used for personal purpose.

The latest IDG survey also paints new behavioral pattern of smartphone owners. These state-of-the-art mobile devices are not just used for calls, email, and text messages. Smartphones are also used to regularly browse the internet and for mobile applications or apps use.

In addition, IDG said: “A large majority of respondents said they download apps to their phones and also pay for apps. Two-thirds regularly use between one to seven apps with the most popular being general news, social media, gaming, and IT news.”

Are smartphones the new cellphones? What do you think of the growing popularity of tablets?

Apple App Store downloads hit 15 billion

admin — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 05:32:54 +0000

Apple announced last Thursday that the total mobile applications or apps downloaded at its App Store surpassed the 15 billion mark. This announcement came just days before the third year anniversary of the Apple App Store, which was launched on July 10, 2008. To date, Apple App Store offers more than 425,000 apps.

The 15 billion apps, according to Apple, were downloaded by more than 200 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users worldwide. And out of the 15 billion downloaded apps, Apple reported that the company paid over $2.5 billion to developers. At the App Store, Apple follows the 70-30 scheme; that is, 70% of the app revenue goes to the developers, while 30% of the revenue goes to Apple.

In a statement, Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing, said, “In just three years, the revolutionary App Store has grown to become the most exciting and successful software marketplace the world has ever seen.”

During the first quarter of this year, Apple’s arch rival, Google, announced that its mobile app store, the Android Market, has over 200,000 apps and the total downloaded apps surpassed the 3 billion mark.

In the article “Understanding the Mobile Market and How It Impacts Your Business” published in Business2community.com, Manish Sehgal cited these mobile app benefits:

1. Doesn’t necessarily require an internet connection to work,

2. Creates a captive user experience, promotes your brand’s icon on the user’s desktop, and

3. Can use the device’s hardware capabilities.

Business and work related mobile apps gaining popularity

admin — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 02:52:36 +0000

Even as games persist to be the most popular mobile app category in the United States, other business and work related apps – those that enable employees to be more efficient and those that promote greater customer relationship are slowly making their marks in this growing mobile world.

Based on the latest data from Nielsen research, games continue to be the most loved apps by Americans; weather apps come 2nd; social networking apps come 3rd.

Meanwhile, business and work related apps such as banking & finance apps rank 8th as the most popular mobile app category; shopping & retail apps rank 10th; and productivity apps rank 13th.

Source: Nielsen

Mobile apps are those bite-sized software programs that are downloaded and installed in mobile devices such as smartphones.

The recent study of analytics firm Flurry showed that there are now more users of mobile apps than web users.

In the article “Choice of mobile over Web benefits companies most” published in the San Francisco Chronicle, James Temple wrote that “apps offer a controlled and predictable experience, more like a TV.”

*About the Author: Burlapp is a technology company that is focused on building mobile applications. If your company plans to integrate mobile technologies into your corporate strategies, contact Burlapp at its new website.

How to make your mobile app discoverable

admin — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 04:18:38 +0000

From the expected $7.3 billion direct app revenue in 2011, analyst firm Canalys announced last Wednesday that direct app revenue will hit $14.1 billion in 2012 and $36.7 billion by 2015.

The market opportunity for mobile applications or apps, the analyst firm said, is propelled by the growth in smartphones and pads, with 419 million smartphones and 43.3 million pads expected to be shipped worldwide for 2011 alone.

To date, there are hundreds of thousands of apps available. This high number of available apps, according to Canalys Analyst Tim Shepherd “brings serious problems in terms of application discovery for both developers and users.”

“Consumers will continue to value mobile device design and functionality, but the quality and availability of certain apps will progressively influence their buying decisions,” Shepherd said.

In an article published in Mashable.com, Healy Jones cited three ways in making your app more discoverable amidst the hundreds of thousands of apps available in the market today. These include:

1.In-Marketplace Optimization

2.Drive Inbound Leads From Outside the App Store

3.Make the Most of Customer Reviews

APPropriate Mobile Strategies

admin — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:24:45 +0000

The information technology ecosystem is changing. The once formidable IT strategy: the web is not as powerful as it used to be.

Studies have shown that the traditional website is slowly overtaken by the growth of native mobile applications or apps. Just this month, analytics firm Flurry reported that more people are using native mobile apps than the web nowadays.

Unlike the website where one only has to browse through the internet, a native mobile app needs to be downloaded and installed in the mobile device such as the smartphone.

As a new and entirely different technological tool, apps have the usual “in and outs.”

Jim Heising, founder and chief executive of Red Foundry, cited to The Wall Street Journal these app pitfalls:

.Load it up with features

.Release a feature if it’s buggy

.Try to reinvent the wheel

The founder and chief executive of Red Foundry stressed that apps should be:

.Simple

.Cheap

.Addicting

.Easy to identify by style

.Fun for people to do with others at a party

What do you think are the major dos and don’ts when it comes to apps?