MagicSolver

App analytic and market intelligence specialist, App Annie released its 2013 retrospective report on the key trends from last year and it reveals some major shifts in terms of download market share and emerging app markets. Definitely take time to download the free report and read it. You can get it here.

In the meantime, here are the potted highlights: Read the rest of this entry »

According to a stat embedded in this informative infographic from Bizness Apps, “by 2015 more than 780 million people will be mobile only users, not owning a laptop or desktop computer.”  This astounding stat has repercussion for any business, especially SMEs, that are putting together a mobile strategy. With mobile commerce expected to be worth $30 billion but 2016, it is clear more and more people are leading with their smartphone and tablets when it comes to making purchase and transactions.

So with these stats in mind what ‘mobile’ path should a small business take? Based on its research, Bizness App has asked the question of whether a business should develop a mobile website or mobile app? Looking at the results there is clearly a case for doing both.

Source: Bizness Apps

Preview

Our friends at Flurry have written a very interesting blog on app growth in 2013.  Every single app category has grown in 2013 and overall app usage is up 115%.  What an extraordinary statistic, coming on the back of years of sustained growth.

What caught our eye most was the categories of app that grew most quickly.  These were Messaging & Social and Utilities & Productivity.  We wrote a blog about massaging and social, particularly the huge growth in WeChat back in October and you can read it here. Read the rest of this entry »

January is the time of the year where you take stock of the past 12 months while looking to the future and making predictions. In the world of gadgets and apps 2013 was a big year, so what better way to survey the winners, losers and 2014 game changers than in a stunning infographic form (thank you Financesonline.com).

Naturally, the apps section caught our eye and we have no argument with Twitter #Music branded the clunker of the year – it closed six months after launching due to a lack of users  – while the one to  watch in 2014 is, apparently, location-based social networking dating app Tinder. Which apps do you think will make it big this year? Read the rest of this entry »

Once upon a time there was only one mobile eco-system worth developing apps for: iOS.  Why?  Because that was where the money was.  It was generally accepted that the only place that people would pay for apps was the Apple App Store.

Not any more.  A recent article in the Financial Times (free subscription required) suggests that, whilst the revenue generated from the top 200 apps on the Apple App store has risen from $15 million per month to $18 million, the Google Play store has seen an astonishing growth from $3.5 million to $12 million.  And this does not include regions where the Google Play store is unavailable and where third party app stores might bolster this number even more. Read the rest of this entry »

In terms of total app revenue across iOS and Android, the U.S has traditionally dominated. But it appears this influence is shifting. According to a recent the report from AppAnnie, Japan overtook America as the country generating the biggest app revenues for the first time in October last year. Surprising? Perhaps, but what was also interesting is the rate of growth Japan has undertaken. Where the U.S.’s app revenues grew steadily over the year, Japan’s rise has been more meteoric in the same period. Read the rest of this entry »

The question of where the next generation of app developers and computer programmers are coming from is one that has taken centre stage. With computer science considered a secondary discipline in schools and the decline in the number of students reading A-level Computer Science, the art of computer programming is fast losing its cachet.

The emergence of affordable computers like the Raspberry Pi have helped reignite interest in coding in young people and hopefully help to establish the next crop of future programmers. To celebrate the art of programming we have cherry-picked three apps that help young types learn about coding.

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It’s been difficult to keep quiet over the last few months such has been our excitement but we can finally reveal some big news: MagicSolver has been working with Disney to bring you the 12 Day of Disney app. This iOS app recommends a free Disney app every day from 14^th – 25^th December and is chock full of exclusive new titles and free in-app purchases with every game.

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Released in September, Apple’s shiny new iOS 7 operating system delivers some nifty new features for app developers to integrate API into its apps while also offering some new opportunities to improve engagement with users. These include automatic updates, letting users find apps ‘Near Me’, a facility to target your app to a specific age group, greater presence on the device’s App Store and a ‘Wish list’ function enabling users to earmark an app their like to download at a later date.

According to reports some 200 users (and counting!) have upgraded to iOS 7 so the decision whether to optimise your apps shouldn’t be taken lightly. If you’re one of the undecided then perhaps this infographic below from India-based IT Company Dot Com Infoway might persuade you to take the plunge.

Source: Business 2 Community

We can officially start getting excited about Christmas! Well we can from this Saturday, 30^th November, when our annual Advent 2013, 25 Christmas Apps app launches. This year’s iOS and Android app is even bigger and better. Users still get to discover and download a new, free, top quality app everyday until 25^th December but this time we’ve cranked up the production values and fun quota on the mini games.

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