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Posts Tagged ‘technology’

27.06.13

Check out the hottest topics about the industry this month in the App Show

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

19.06.13

Exploring the app ecosystem: insights into mobile user habits

 

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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28.05.13

Listen to The App Show live tonight from 9pm on Star Radio!

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

23.05.13

INFOGRAPHICS; the economics of being an app developer

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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14.05.13

Are app stores a graveyard for apps?

App performance specialists New Relic have come up with a rather startling statistic: 60% of apps on the Apple App Store have never been downloaded. That’s approximately 480,000 apps that have never been installed on someone’s iOS device. It also reported that one in four apps are abandoned after the first play. In this respect, New Relic is sighting poor app performance as the cause of this abandonment – check out its cool infographic below showing a flow chart check list to develop a fully working and successful app. However, for app developers, the 60% of non-downloaded apps stat should be more worrying.

10.05.13

British smartphone users looking for a free app lunch

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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09.05.13

Top 3 Children’s Book apps

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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07.05.13

Is the U.S. app audience primetime material for mobile marketers?

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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02.05.13

Top 3 Pet apps

The impact of pets on our lives should never be underestimated. Whether you own a mangy mutt, a 14-foot python or a memory-challenged goldfish, pets are like members of the family. To make sure we continue to treasure our furry/scaly/slimy/feathered friends, a National Pet Month has been organised to promote responsible ownership, raise public awareness of professional pet services and celebrate all things pet-related. So to acknowledge the contribution our animal friends make to our lives, we have cherry picked the top three pet-themed apps for your enjoyment.

MapMyDogwalk

This is an app that you can enjoy with your four-legged friend. Walking your hound not only gives the canine a workout but it also keeps you fit as a fiddle. Connecting via your device’s built-in GPS, this app tracks and maps your dog walking jaunts and records the duration, distance elevation, pace and speed in real-time. It also analyses how many calories you burn and whether you need to step up the march. You can your route with an online account, share your progress with friends on social networks and upload geo-tagged pictures of your walk with Rover for posterity.

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01.05.13

The latest edition of the App Show is out today!

Another month in the App World has passed so that means it is time for another episode of the App Show! And, boy do we have some top quality stuff lined up to pass by your ear buds.

We’re chatting to free to play consultant and general good egg Will Luton about whether freemium is here to stay. We caught up with Simon Read, developer of New Star Soccer, and Barry Meade, part of the studio behind The Room, to talk shop about their Bafta triumph. And we have Beth from MagicSolver reviewing three interesting infinite runners, as well as the news and Free App Magic chart.

You can listen to the show at 9pm tonight on Star Radio or, if you’re too busy watching the football, catch up with the podcast from tomorrow morning.

Enjoy!

George, App Show Presenter

Interested in learning more about the App Show? Then drop us an email at appshow@star107.co.uk