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App recommendation offers an opportunity for operators – Nielsen
Posted on October 22, 2010 by Allison Pinney @ 8:44 pm
Published by GSMA Mobile App Briefing: Tuesday 19 October 2010

App recommendation offers an opportunity for operators – Nielsen

LIVE FROM MOBILE APP WORLD 2010: Edward Kershaw, VP of Mobile Media, EMEA for metrics company Nielsen, used his presentation at Mobile App World 2010 this morning to highlight a number of trends in the apps industry, not least the fact that there is still an important role for mobile operators to play in the ecosystem in terms of aiding application discovery for consumers.According to Kershaw’s presentation, the prevailing methods of app discovery are searching app stores from the mobile handset, and recommendations from family and friends – in the latter case adding a social element to app purchases, which he argues many app stores have so-far failed to embrace. However, Nielsen’s research found that consumers also identified “device homepages,” “carrier homepages,” and “email tips from carriers” as valuable sources of app information, even if these are not currently well used: “They say ‘I wouldn’t mind some suggestions occasionally’,” he argues.Positively, Kershaw also notes that mobile phone customers “do not have an inherent fear of paying for stuff,” highlighting the fact that many consumers are already familiar with making content purchases (ringing tones, etc) from their handset – an attitude which can be carried over into the app space “if you get payment simple enough.” Citing US figures, Kershaw noted that 91percent of games buyers will pay for apps, a sentiment echoed by 86 percent of entertainment app users and 76 percent of news consumers. While the device user experience has aligned somewhat with that of the internet, so far user attitudes have not followed: “That feeling that content is worth paying for remains with smartphone consumers; I couldn’t say the same thing about internet users.”

Moving onto the growth of the tablet computer category, characterised by Apple’s iPad, Kershaw argues that “iPads are seen by consumers as far more mobile than they are sedentary,” contrasting with devices such as Sony’s PlayStation Portable, netbook computers and even Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader – although obviously not offering the same levels of mobility as a smartphone. Interestingly, this contrasts with recent findings from publishing house Conde Nast, which indicated that owners primarily use the iPad in a fixed location. Unsurprisingly, iPad users also exhibited different application preferences to smartphone users, preferring books, multimedia and magazines – “long form entertainment” – over the radio, news and music activities which dominate on the iPhone. iPad users are also “pretty happy to pay;” users are characterised as “largely pretty well off, that early-adopting bunch of guys – and it frequently is guys – that we all know and love.”

Finally, shifting to the choice of platforms, Kershaw noted a conflict for brands when creating a mobile strategy – “they are torn between the concept of cool and edgy, which might win awards, and mass market,” represented by the iPhone at one extreme, and Nokia’s Symbian OS devices at the other, with Android currently providing something of a middle ground. Despite the lack of focus on Symbian OS in the developer community, Kershaw notes: “It’s a brave pundit who writes-off Nokia. Nokia is a fighting company.”

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Microsoft highlights the paradox of choice for mobile developers
Posted on by Allison Pinney @ 8:41 pm
Published by GSMA Mobile App Briefing Tuesday 19 October 2010

Microsoft highlights the paradox of choice for mobile developers

LIVE FROM MOBILE APP WORLD 2010: Brandon Watson, Director for Windows Phone 7 at Microsoft, used his keynote speech at this morning’s Mobile App World 2010 event to highlight the challenges of choice for mobile developers, arguing that “there are so many choices, it’s almost overwhelming. It’s the paradox of choice.” Watson also used the event to criticise the focus on the widespread coverage of the number of apps in a store, on the day that Apple confirmed its App Store has topped the 300,000 mark – although with some earlier reports suggesting that the Windows Phone 7 store will have just 2,000 titles available at launch, customers will not be faced with the same paradox of choice.Watson notes that the nature of the fragmentation is different in the mobile world from the traditional internet, with in some ways mobile presenting a more unified picture for developers. In the internet world, “along came the web and everything became abstracted,” he argues, with developers confronted by a mix of web tools, scripting frameworks, middleware, database platforms and operating systems, before reaching the hardware layer. The fact that this environment has led to the emergence of front-end and back-end developers was deemed “a bit weird – it’s just building an application.”In contrast, in the mobile space this has been simplified, with developers writing for the device OS, which runs directly on top of the hardware. However, in this instance the fragmentation comes from the multitude of platforms available – with choices including Windows Phone 7, iOS and multiple Android variants. “Instead of programming for the lowest common denominator for the web, you are now targeting iPhone, or Windows Phone 7, or the flavour of the week depending on which carrier or which Android phone. It’s not a simple matter of iPhone has more customers: the question is, does it have your customers? That is what is going to be challenging for developers.”

Moving on to the app store ecosystem, Watson takes a similar line to Nokia with regard to total available product numbers: “Whenever I’m asked, ‘how may apps do you have?,’ I ask ‘how many apps do you have on your phone?’ As long as we have those, that’s all that matters, right?” But this could easily be a reflection of the less than startling number of apps currently available for Windows Phone 7 when compared to iOS, Android and even RIM’s BlackBerry, although in Microsoft’s defence this is largely the result of it building up a new catalogue following the decision to break compatibility with its earlier Windows Mobile platforms.

The economics of Apple’s App Store was also criticised, as being a platform which recognises volume, rather than revenue generated by developers. This has led to the prevalence of two pricing options, free and US$0.99, in order to drive the largest volume of downloads, making the economics significantly more challenging for developers.“Selling a million units at US$0.99 is a great plan, but it’s still a million units. It’s a lot. To be able to sell a million of anything is a huge deal.” Windows Phone does not have the legacy of this pricing model, Watson argues, enabling developers to price products more realistically – although with the availability of low costs generally seen as the reason why mobile apps are so popular, it will be interesting to see if consumers are now prepared to pay more for software.

Google’s Android Market also came in for a swift jibe, with Watson noting the lack of a search option when accessed from a browser – deemed ironic, considering Google’s core activity in the search market.

With an increasing amount of focus being placed on the potential of cloud-based services to shift intelligence away from handset apps to a server, Watson iterated the strengths and power of the handset and suggested the adoption of a hybrid model. “You have more processing power in a phone than was used in all of the programmes that put people into space. That is terrifying and yet amazing all at the same time. So it is silly to think that you would throw away all of this processing power, and not take advantage of the processor, not take advantage of the graphics – it just seems a bit strange. So why not focus the data in the cloud, and then let the UI and the presentation of that data happen on the phone?”

Moving on to Windows Phone 7, Watson says that the company’s decision to “restart” its mobile activities, rather than continuing to evolve the existing Windows Mobile operating system, “gave ourselves a little flexibility.” The company focused on three goals to this end: to help customers personalise handsets with apps and games, to help developers be profitable, and help developers deliver cloud experiences.

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O2 Media: Operators in prime position for personalisation
Posted on by Allison Pinney @ 8:36 pm
Published by GSMA Mobile App Briefing Wednesday 20 October 2010

O2 Media: Operators in prime position for personalisation

LIVE FROM MOBILE APP WORLD 2010: Shaun Gregory, Managing Director of O2 Media, used his keynote speech at today’s Mobile App World 2010 event to trumpet the potential for operators in delivering personalised content and apps to consumers, stating that “apps are the new battleground, and the gateway to personalisation.” At the heart of this was the somewhat Orwellian argument that: “we know everything about our customers – behaviour, interests, location, life stage, demographics.” And Gregory was also scornful of new media companies, and their opinion of their role in the value chain: “we have a really deep understanding of our relationship with customers. Certainly for Microsoft, Google and Yahoo, they kind of think they know who everyone is, but they don’t really know. And they don’t really have a relationship with customers,” he argued.At the heart of Gregory’s argument was research which indicates that operators rank second only to family and friends in terms of customer trust, putting them in a strong position with regard to recommending and endorsing products and services – echoing comments from Nielsen yesterday, which indicate that customers are open to app recommendations from these players. However, a critical consideration is the need for privacy, which again is an issue where companies such as Facebook lose out. “Today if you look at the majority of our campaigns, each campaign has the opportunity for customers to opt out… unlike an Apple or a Facebook, we signpost where the exit is in very single campaign. The relationship we have with customers is one built on trust, and we are very open around privacy.”

What is leading the need for personalised content is massive fragmentation within the media ecosystem, as content providers new and old begin serving a distributed and diverse customer base worldwide. With this ecosystem only set to become more disparate, Gregory argued that: “there is a real role for technology, but a fantastic opportunity for operators.”  Customer usage profiles are changing, and “a mixture of data, particularly mobile data, sits centrally to people’s life now, rather than being on the periphery.” In order to drive interaction with this engaged customer base, apps need to be interactive, social, connected, practical and “safe.”

As an example of the benefits of personalisation, Gregory trumpeted a 30 percent response rate for an app campaign by UK bank NatWest, which saw the customer base segmented by location and ’sort-code’ – so that active NatWest account holders could be targeted. He also made reference to an app created for drinks company Heineken which, despite the quality of the app, “didn’t go anywhere, because nobody told the consumers about it” – “delivering the app is where the game starts,” he argued. In terms of app discovery, “old media” was suggested as being an especially effective option: Gregory said that SMS messaging is a key tool, with subscribers “happy” to receive messages from operators, and 62 percent of customers reading messages from senders that they do not know within five minutes of receipt.

The role of mobile advertising in the media ecosystem will also become more central to campaign planning, compared with being “currently a bolt-on, or an adjacent.” Gregory also talked-up the role of the operator’s O2 Active portal, noting that in terms of usage “it is still big numbers, advertisers want to buy it, and we are selling it really well.”

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Vodafone trumpets the benefits of customer insights and WAC
Posted on by Allison Pinney @ 8:34 pm
Published by GSMA Apps Briefing: Wednesday 20 October 2010

Vodafone trumpets the benefits of customer insights and WAC

LIVE FROM MOBILE APP WORLD 2010: Sanj Matharu, Principal Manager of Developer Marketing at Vodafone Group, today talked up the potential of WAC for developers to address multi-platform application deployments, while acknowledging several challenges for the technology in the short term. The ability for developers to create products once, submit applications to a unified distribution channel, and address a range of devices was praised, although Matharu noted that the big issue for WAC is that it is “coming soon, it isn’t available now”. In terms of publishing commercial apps for customers, “we are aiming for February,” he said.This could lead developers to other platforms in the interim – potentially at the expense of momentum in the WAC ecosystem. “What do I do in the meantime? There are other opportunities available,” he said. The presentation also touched on another issue that will affect the success of WAC: the availability of supporting handsets.

Matharu also highlighted that through its international presence, Vodafone Group is able to provide developers with insight into customer preferences and behaviour in specific markets, stating that “there are little details that can be the fine line between success and failure for applications.” The insights shared with the audience included: “Gambling apps in Ireland, not going to work; adult apps in Spain, they love it.” As with other operator (and some vendor) app stores, Vodafone has a quality assurance process before products can be sold to customers, which takes a maximum of 10 days. Developers are provided with feedback as to why an app may be rejected, including the need to comply with local content regulations.

Addressing the mobile apps versus mobile web question, Matharu argued that the picture is perhaps not as clear-cut as it is made out to be. “Everybody talks about fragmentation for mobile devices, but you also have to bear in mind the web browsers you are dealing with. One of the other challenges of having a mobile web page is that if your application is extremely rich, how do you access device features if you want to use them: how do you access the camera, how do you access the accelerometer?” – issues he said WAC is intended to address. In addition, mobile apps also present a more straightforward path toward monetising apps than mobile web pages, with operator billing among the payment options that remove the need to record and process credit card details.

Against a backdrop of fragmentation in the application store ecosystem, Matharu promoted the benefits of the Vodafone store, including as a channel for Android content – “the actual shop experience is a lot richer,” he argued. Echoing similar comments from O2 Media, Vodafone uses its knowledge of customer behaviour to power its recommendation engine, delivering targeted content to users. Vodafone’s app store also differs from Android Market and other rival offerings by building on Vodafone live! to become a full-service content store, rather than a focused software proposition.

Matharu also trumpeted availability of a virtual testing lab, hosted by Vodafone in Germany, in order to enable developers to pilot apps across a range of handsets. “It’s not a silver bullet, it’s not necessarily ideal for high-resolution gaming or anything like that, but it certainly goes some way to alleviate the issues associated with scaling-up,” he said.

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Microsoft To Deliver Opening Keynote at Mobile App World
Posted on October 14, 2010 by Allison Pinney @ 10:52 pm

Five days left to register for the conference with speakers from across the app ecosystem, including Palm, GetJar, BBC, Thomson Reuters, O2, Fetch Media and M&C Saatchi Mobile.

LONDON, UK – 15 October 2010 – Brandon Watson, Director of Developer Experience at Microsoft has been confirmed as the opening keynote speaker at the Mobile App World conference, taking place in London on 19 and 20 October.

“We are delighted to confirm that Brandon will be joining us and delivering the opening keynote address, said Shaun Pinney, Director of Mobile App World. “Having such a high profile speaker would be great for our delegates at any time, but with Microsoft‟s launch of the WP7 operating system it will be even more exciting for the attending developers and marketers.”

Other speakers confirmed for Mobile App World include:

  • Shaun Gregory, Managing Director at O2 Media who will deliver the keynote address on day two of the conference on the subject of content opportunities in an app market.
  • Ben Combee, Senior Developer Relations Engineer at HP/Palm, who will discuss the solutions to the fragmentation of app stores and the issues this presents developers.
  • Ilja Laurs, CEO of GetJar who will discuss „The New World Order: Moving from Clicking to Tapping and what this means for brand‟.
  • Ilicco Elia, Head of Consumer Mobile Products at Thomson Reuters who will discuss adding value to paid-for content against free-to-download models.
  • George Voulgaris, Project Partner at webinos who will discuss what 2011 holds for mobile apps and how the app delivery environment will change next year.
  • John Bush, Managing Partner, Envisage Engagement Management, will cover CRM and ROI for apps and asks if marketers are really brave enough to measure the ROI of their investment.
  • James Connolly, CEO of Fetch Media will present the findings of a consumer survey commissioned especially for Mobile App World
  • Matt Johnson and Doron Reuvini from UTest will discuss how to launch apps that users will love.

Themed „Delivering the Future of Apps‟ the two-day conference consists of sessions and workshops led by speakers from all parts of the mobile ecosystem and will see discussion on app creation and promotion to ensure the real business benefits from apps, not just hype. Mobile App World aims to encourage tangible benefits for marketers to take away and implement. To encourage this, the event is providing agencies the opportunity to bring a client for free with a two-for-the-price-of-one ticket promotion.

“The Mobile App World programme will provide a platform for some the world‟s leading thinkers on apps to share their thoughts and experiences about exactly what it takes to develop an app that delivers real business value and not to just satisfy a client who wants an app because of all the hype they see,” Pinney said.

The conference programme will feature the inaugural Mobile App World Awards at the end of day one of the conference, which will recognise the best in app creation and strategies and the names behind them in the global app world.

To register and for more information on Mobile App World 2010

www.mobileappsworld.net

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Apps vs. Browsers
Posted on by Allison Pinney @ 8:51 pm

Apps vs. Browsers The Apps vs. Browser question is one of the great debates of our time, well, at least in this little industry of ours. But what direction are we heading in? Here are some recent comments that caught our attention: David Smith, managing director at IMRG, the online retail industry body thinks that web sites optimised for mobile phones will become more important for retailers than smartphone apps. “It’s a question of whether to create a mobile web site or go down the app route. If you go down the app route, that restricts you to the use of certain mobile devices for that app,” David told Computing. Andrew Darling at the Association for Interactive Media and Entertainment also thinks browsers are the way to go. “With iPhone app development costs running at 10 times more than mobile site costs and with a reach which is fifty times less, sex appeal and app vanity will only trump pragmatic reach for so long.” Andrew said in Mobile Entertainment. But it should be possible to cost effectively build apps for multiple platforms, as HP Palm’s Ben Combee will discuss in one of the two free workshops for developers at MAW. In his two hour workshop Ben will provide step-by-step instructions to developing a cross platform app that deploys to Palm webOS, Apple iOS, Google Android and others. One app developer I met at a recent Mobile Entertainment Meet Up saw both sides of the coin. Apps will be the best way for certain functions – for example, airline check in apps where rich content and a high quality of user interface is necessary. However for or many other functions, particularly those in the long long tail of the big apps stories, the browser experience will become more and more common. So, Mobile App World delegates? What say you? Are apps going to be niche or as dominant as they are today? How do you think mobile browsing is going to impact the app industry and how should marketers plan for an app/browser dual world? Of course there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss these issues at Mobile App World, but why not start the debate here and then continue it over a glass of wine at Vinopolis on October 19th and 20th.

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Magic Software UK highlights more effective mobile application development at Mobile App World 2010
Posted on by Allison Pinney @ 6:40 pm

Bracknell, United Kingdom, October 13, 2010 — Magic Software Enterprises (UK) Ltd., a subsidiary of Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: MGIC), a global provider of cloud and on-premise enabled application platform and business integration solutions, announced that it will be introducing uniPaaS and iBOLT to mobile application developers at this year’s Mobile App World in London on 19 – 20 October 2010.

uniPaaS is an application platform that simplifies the process of building and deploying mobile applications,  full client, rich internet applications (RIA), and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings.

uniPaaS pre-compiles and pre-configures the intensive code-writing process associated with developing mobile applications. Providing a single development and deployment paradigm, uniPaaS means fewer skill-sets to manage, enabling enterprises and independent software vendors to roll-out their mobile application faster and at lower cost.

Mobile applications developed using uniPaaS are lightweight enough to fit the limited memory and processing power of the phone or device, but powerful enough to enable workers to complete their essential tasks. uniPaaS also features its own dedicated client side module, ensuring that mobile applications created using uniPaaS are not vulnerable to internet based security threats. In addition to uniPaaS, Magic Software will also introduce iBOLT, its code-free business integration platform.  Using both uniPaaS and iBOLT, developers are able to build mobile applications that integrate and present multiple enterprise system data on a single mobile screen.

An example of this integration is the combination of SAP with Salesforce.com CRM data, ERP data and back-office systems and processes to produce entire business workflows that can be customised, extended and deployed for use by sales teams and technicians in the field and employees on the move.

Magic Software is also encouraging developers to pre-register for uniPaaS Jet, a free full application platform which is coming very soon at http://web.magicsoftware.com/coming-soon-unipaas-jet–free-single-user-edition-application-platform/

Mobile Enterprise Application - Resources

Magic Software’s Mobile Solutions

White Paper, ‘6 Tips for Building Mobile Enterprise Applications in 2010’

White Paper, ‘The 5 New Essentials for Building Business Applications’

Read more about the uniPaaS Application Platform

Read more about the iBOLT Business Integration Suite

Webcast, ‘Introducing uniPaaS from Magic Software’

 

About Magic Software

Magic Software Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ: MGIC) is a global provider of on-premise and cloud-enabled application platform solutions – including full client, rich internet applications (RIA), mobile or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) modes – and business and process integration solutions. Magic Software has 13 offices worldwide and a presence in over 50 countries with a global network of ISVs, system integrators, value-added distributors and resellers, as well as consulting and OEM partners. The company’s award-winning, code-free solutions give partners and customers the power to leverage existing IT resources, enhance business agility and focus on core business priorities.  Magic Software’s technological approach, product roadmap and corporate strategy are recognized by leading industry analysts. Magic Software has partnerships with global IT leaders including SAP AG, salesforce.com, IBM and Oracle. For more information visit about Magic Software and its products and services, visit  www.magicsoftware.com, and for more about our industry-related news, business issues and trends, read the Magic Software Blog.

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