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

It’s the Champions League final this weekend and we’ll be glued to our screens at 7.45 on Saturday evening to watch Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund go toe to toe at Wembley! But if you want to get yourself eager for what will likely be an excellent match, here are three football apps to get you in the mood.

Score! World Goals

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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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Admit it, we all take our family for granted sometimes; life just gets in the way. But it without getting to serious, ‘The Family’ is the bedrock and fabric of society and on a personal level the most important people in our lives. If you weren’t aware, Wednesday was the International Day of Families, a programme run by the United Nations to acknowledge and appreciate the importance of family and the essential role it plays in our lives. So tonight, instead of immersing yourself in the TV, shutting yourself in the bedroom or acknowledging mum and dad with a grunt, play some of these app we’ve recommended below and have a fun-filled family bonding session.

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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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App audiences in the U.S. peak at 52 million during primetime (8-9pm) according to a new study by app analytic specialists Flurry. This is equivalent to audiences of three of the highest rated primetime TV shows in a good week and the joint circulation of the top 200 U.S. weekend newspapers.

The research centred on user’s monthly activity of the top 250 iOS and top 250 Android apps during February, plotting the hourly usage difference between weekdays and the weekend. Unsurprisingly audiences at the weekend were 25% greater between the 9am-5pm but perhaps what was less predictable was the audience number at primetime: both weekday and weekend users peaked at 52 million.

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It’s the May Day Bank Holiday and we’re all looking forward to spending our extra day off with friends and family. But how can you make the most out of that precious extra twenty four hours? We’ve got a few apps that we think will help you make this a bank holiday weekend worth celebrating!

Heads Up!

What do you get when you mix Articulate, Charades and super duper high tech smartphone gaming together? You get Heads Up, an awesome party game that’s bound to liven up any Bank Holiday gathering.

The game is really simple to play – you pick a category, hold your phone up next to your forehead and you have to work out what it is written on the screen as everyone in the room shouts hints at you. You only have a minute to guess as many names as you can so you have to be quick witted (and have helpful friends) to finish on top of the pile.

And, as a funny little twist, front camera on your iPhone records the action, meaning you can easily share your hilariously bad attempts at guessing “Ocean’s 11” with the rest of the world. Pretty good fun I must say!

So if you want to get your party started with a fun game for everyone to play (and you aren’t quite nerdy enough to get into Space Team), then Heads Up is a perfect way to keep a whole room happy.

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