Get ready for October 31st with our brand new app Halloween 13: Daily Spooky Surprises, which launches on October 19th.

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MagicSolver, the app discovery and user acquisition specialists, have been named one of Mobile Entertainment’s Top 50 Mobile Innovators in the UK for 2013.

The ME Top 50 has been going for three years and recognises excellence within a number of mobile specific sectors. MagicSolver has been recognised for its continued success in the Apps sphere after it amassed more than 30 million downloads for its portfolio of mobile app discovery platforms.

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So we’re proud to celebrate our 4th anniversary in charge of a company creating the best apps for iPhone, iPad and Android for our 30 million users in over 120 countries.

The tens of thousands of positive emails, reviews and feedback from our users has been our best reward, helping our team of 20 talented app Magicians feel proud to be selecting the best apps every day for you in both http://www.freeappmagic.com/ and for our renowned seasonal calendars.

We’re also glad to have worked with a number of fantastic partners, from the best indie developers looking to get their apps discovered through to the top gaming companies and the best digital advertising agencies.

So thanks again to our 30 million users, the 600 talented apps developers we have selected apps from and all the Magicians on our team who have helped to make this all possible.

It’s time for the June edition of the App Show and we really got our teeth into a wide variety of app industry issues this month.

We chatted with Craig Grannell, games editor for Tap! Magazine and contributor for Macformat, about the changes to iOS 7 and what that means for the future of Apple. We caught up with Iris Campinski from Apps for Good and Ben Howard from ViewRanger to discuss how their work with apps has helped the community. And we discussed how you turn a board game into an app with Rodeo Games’ CTO Richard Brooks and Creative Director Ben Murch.

With Beth reviewing superhero apps and the Free App Magic Chart rounding things off, you can check out this bumper interview special by listening the podcast via http://bit.ly/msappshow.

George

With an ever increasing number of smart mobile devices being sold every year, the mobile app ecosystem is exploding in size as more and more people enter the market. So the Application Developer Alliance have surveyed mobile device owners to find out their behaviour towards apps and see if there are any major insights that mobile marketers should be tapping into.

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Hi everyone,

It’s time for another edition of the App Show and, yet again, we’ve got some absolutely cracking features coming up for you.

We’re chatting with Andrew Smith from Appy Nation about how indie developers are coming together to help push their apps up the chart; an essential listen for any of you thinking about extending your marketing reach.

On top of that, we’re also talking tax breaks for British game developers with Dr Jo Twist of the UK Interactive Entertainment Association and Andrew Eades, CEO of Relentless Software, to discuss how the moves may benefit app developers. And, of course, we’ve got the news, reviews and Free App Magic chart to enjoy.

Listen live tonight from 9pm on Star Radio here or catch up with our podcast by downloading it here from tomorrow onwards.

Hope you enjoy the show!

George

Judging by the findings of the Developer Economics 2013 report, the monetary rewards for app developers aren’t anything to write home about. Commissioned by ecosystem analyst Vision Mobile, the report – condensed into lovely bite-size form in the infographic below – shows that 67% of developers are actually earning below the “app poverty line” of $500 per app per month. Unsurprisingly the report shows that revenues are boosted the more platforms app developers engage with (72% use two or more platforms concurrently) and even though subscription models pay out more, the most popular is in-app advertising with 38% of app developers adopting this model. To get a more detailed overview of developer practice check out the infographic.

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New research by uSwitch has revealed that smartphones users in the UK pay for just 1 in 10 of the apps they download. The survey, which asked 1,700 people, also reported they each owned 29 apps, adding up to a total spend of just £8.94. Although the report clearly hasn’t covered a broad range of users, so may not be indicative of the whole country, it suggest that smartphone users are wary of parting with cash for apps.

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May is National Share-a- Story-Month, a time to get children interested in books and reading by spinning a few of your favourite yarns to a young audience. Anything that gets the wee stripling’s nose in a book or fires their imagination can only be a good thing. Of course, thanks to the advancement of technology in smartphones, tablets and apps, the humble children’s book has had an interactive transformation. Whippersnappers can now enjoy stories through touchscreens, complete with cool animation, educational mini games, sound effects and interactive flourishes. So to celebrate the art of storytelling and to encourage kids to read, we have hand-picked three of the most interactive and exciting Children’s Book apps available on the virtual book shelves.

The Cat In The Hat – Dr. Seuss

Undoubtedly one of the greatest children’s books ever, Dr. Seuss rhyme, rhythm and repetition-tastic tale is a great way for kids to learn to read – and be entertained in the process. The apps features are all geared for improving literacy – words zoom up and are spoken when pictures are touched while individual words can be highlighted and read aloud when tapped. But one of the coolest features is the ability to record your own storytelling voice and share it with other users of this app. But if you’re too self-conscious about dubbing your own narration you can still rely on pro actors to weave this catty tale.

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