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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Check out this in depth infographic about the rise of Indian as an app superpower and insatiable consumer apps. Created and commission by vserv.mobi, this rather lengthy graphic points out how the country is ranked top or near the top in major app stores around the world and how an app developer culture has emerged to fuel this climb to app top table. More interestingly it also delves deeper into the demographic of apps users and the type of consumers they are. Take a look below.

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Following on from our previous blog post – “Living without apps? Impossible” – if we need further confirmation that the world is addicted to using mobile apps then Flurry’s comprehensive five-year research analytics provides it. Integrating it analytics into thousands of apps in the U.S, the company monitored the behaviour and usage of the country’s smartphone owners. The top line results show that apps dominate the lives of American smartphone and tablets users, cannibalising 80% of the time spent using an iOS and Android connected device (according to the report this amounts to two hours and 7 minutes every day.)

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Naturally, we love apps at MagicSolver but how pivotal have they become to our everyday lives? This interesting infographic commissioned by apigee reveals that many of us are dependent on apps to get us through the day or carry out simple tasks. In fact Spain is the country most reliant on apps with 93% of the research respondents saying they can’t see out one complete day without accessing apps. And who can blame them. For further infomorsels on our app addiction take a look at the infographic below.

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For game developers, large and small, there is no bigger industry event than GDC. Held in San Francisco from the 25^th – 29^th March, the Game Developer Conference is a forum for industry figures – from programmers, artists, designers, audio professionals and business execs – to network and share the latest developments in gaming. MagicSolver will be there with its mobile gaming hat, while for other business management software like fake paystub generator is useful for different payments and others. 

Recent research from industry body TIGA reported that mobile was a major factor in the growth in the gaming industry and this year’s GDC is expected to have a big mobile flavour.

With games the most popular apps to download, getting noticed in an 800,000 ocean of apps can be difficult. MagicSolver has consistently supported mobile gaming by promoting publisher’s games on our apps such a Free App Magic and we especially take pride in helping fledgling independent game developers gain visibility in both iOS and Android app stores.

So if you’re an independent game developer creating exciting apps for iOS and Android, need help to climb the app store rankings and going along to GDC, we would love to meet you. Email letschat@magicsolver.com and we can set something up.

Making a success in the apps business is getting harder, especially for fledgling developers. But how difficult? A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, based on research by Distimo, laid out the stark reality facing app startups. From the 800,000 apps on Apple’s iTunes Store, only 80 generated more than $1 million in revenue during the fourth quarter.  A couple of years ago a few hundred downloads would secure a place in the top 20 rankings – now you need several thousand – while only 2% of the top 250 publishers in the U.S. app store are first time app developers and they haven’t even touched on Android.

The problem for app startups is gaining visibility in a vast landscape dominated by more established, well known publishers. Getting as high up the rankings as possible is vital when you consider that more than half of iPhone users fail to look beyond the top 25 apps. And who can blame them – the thought of sifting through over 800,000 apps to find the exciting ones is a herculean task.

Of course app startups don’t possess the marketing clout of bigger companies, so making themselves heard in the App Store noise is a challenge. But there is an alternative way for developers to increase download traffic.

Over the years MagicSolver has developed an eco-system of apps that help promote developer’s apps to reach a wider audience. By recommending the best apps to download each day our flagship product, FreeAppMagic, and our range of seasonal apps, such as Halloween, Valentine’s Day and Christmas, offer a platform on both iOS and Android to hit the right people.

So although the Wall Street Journal article paints a dispiriting picture, with 10 million active users and over 50 million downloads generated for app developers, we provide another effective option for developers to get noticed in app stores and make a success of their business.

App developers and publishers look away now. According to new research 81 per cent of UK visitors to the Apple App Store do not browse past the first 50 apps – this is despite the store getting 52.2 million visits a week in the UK. Worse still, over half (57 per cent) of iPhone users fail to look beyond the top 25 apps.

This is deflating news for app developers starting out or established publishers trying to engage customer and attract download traffic. With over 700,000 apps on the App Store and a further 435,000 expected to land on iTunes in 2013 it is easy to see why smartphone and tablet users find discovering new apps a daunting task.

Judging from this study, it is critical for app developers/publishers to appear high up in the rankings to gain any sort of in-store visibility; they certainly cannot rely on Apple’s promotional policy to gain traction.

MagicSolver offers another route for developers/publishers to increasing app downloads through our own portfolio of apps. FreeAppMagic, our flagship app, offers three paid for apps for free every day while we have seasonal/event apps such as Valentine’s Day, Halloween and Christmas Advent.

Our apps have 10 million plus iOS and Android users in 100 countries, so app developers and publishers who sign up for our service will be privy to a large audience – we have delivered over 50 million downloads so far.

Another interesting outcome from the study is that 85 per cent of App Store visitors need some persuading before making a download: strong reviews, images, and a reasonable price are the main criteria they look to before pressing the buy button. MagicSolver has an editorial team that selects the best apps to promote on our apps. All the apps promoted are four of five star reviews and are, of course free for 24 hours; this tick the two main user reasons for downloading.

So although this news may seem like a depressing read for developer/publishers, all is not lost: talk to us to find new ways to rise up through the App Store rankings and gain exposure.