7 Mobile Insights May 2009 including iPhone App and Java download statistics

The past 9 months have been interesting in more ways than Apple achieving 1 billion app downloads from the iPhone appstore:

1. Mobile ad spend in 2008 in the UK exceeded expectations and doubled vs. 2007 (http://tinyurl.com/qengsl)
2. Over 400% growth in apps downloaded 2008 vs 2007 driven by the iPhone Appstore as well as free appstores (Getjar, Mobile9, Mobango, etc), device manufacturer appstores (Blackberry App World, Nokia Ovi, Samsung Mobile Applications, etc) and mobile operators (Vodafone Appstore, O2 Limus, Orange World Appstore, etc)
3. Although iPhone apps get all the attention Golden Gekko has found that when launching apps/games across both iPhone and other platforms the number of downloads on other platforms (Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Blackberry, etc) outnumber iPhone 10 to 1 (contact us for more info).
4. With approx 2% iPhone device penetration Apple Appstore has an impressive 12% (21% including iTouch) market share in volume of mobile apps downloaded in Europe and North America (Strategy Analytics: How Apple Change the Market for Mobile Applications, http://tinyurl.com/o52cm7).
5. Although iPhone app development can cost as little as $12.000 a well-designed app can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, take six to eight weeks to develop, and a couple more weeks more to be approved by Apple (http://tinyurl.com/qke9xb)
6. 52% of mobile users play games on their phone and about one-in-ten mobile phone users in Europe (8%) claim to have participated in mobile marketing efforts (MMA European Mobile Attitude and Usage Study, December 2008)
7. 51 percent of mobile phone users in the USA access content using their mobile phone on a weekly basis (http://tinyurl.com/p95opg)

Lynx Mobile 2.0: Lynx launches additional weapons of mass seduction following the success of Lynx FX

Considering that the Lynx mobile campaign was the most talked about and awarded mobile marketing campaign in 2008 this one went by quite unnoticed. A couple of weeks ago Unilever launched 3 new weapons of mass seduction (flirting tools) for the mobile.

Our latets favorite is Say Cheese with the following description:
Action speak louder than words. The latest clever mobile tool help you chat up girls. Simply give the girl your mobile and ask her to take a photo of you. Then when she presses the button, your cheeky message to her will appear on the screen instead. A fool proof way to break the ice.

The apps are available for over 500 devices including Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Samsung, LG, Motorola, Blackberry, etc. To download the latest apps visit m.lynxeffect.com on your mobile or www.lynxeffect.com on your computer.

Good luck with the flirting!

What is the cost of developing a mobile app (iPhone, Blackberry, Java, Android, etc)?

At Golden Gekko we often get into the debate with clients and partners about what the cost of a mobile app or game should be and even more so with the iPhone SDK. We know that it is possible for a freelance developer to develop a descent looking iPhone app in a couple of weeks for a minimal budget. At the same time developing a market leading app with great design, usability, content and interaction that doesn't crash is not an easy thing. Therefore it was interesting to read what other people have to say about the cost of implementing a mobile app.
"Although iPhone app development can cost as little as $12.000 a well-designed app can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $150,000, take six to eight weeks to develop, and a couple more weeks more to be approved by Apple"

Read more at:
http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/05/12/madison-avenue-and-the-app-store/

Now this is still the easy part. Developing an app that works across hundreds or even thousands of devices with different operating systems, screen sizes, navigation input mechanisms and capabilities is a whole different sport. When I worked Vodafone Group a couple of years ago the estimated average cost of developing a mobile game was about 200.000 euro whereof 50% for development and the other 50% porting and testing. Since then life for developer has gotten harder and not easier with more operating systems, screen sizes, touch screens, etc. At the same time budgets for app development have not increased so the only viable solution to deliver great quality apps and games is to make the development process more efficient and this is where Golden Gekko is currently developing all our R&D resources. More to follow...

Malibu Bowling game gets over 100.000 downloads first week

Get Your Island On™ with the free bowling game from Malibu® Rum. Put a Caribbean spin on an old favorite - bowling. Bowl in a rum shack. Bowl on the beach. Bowl in an underground cave or inside an aquarium. We've taken the Malibu Bottles off the bar, and made them part of the game. Now that's recycling!

The game developed for iPhone and all other phones (Nokia, Sony-Ericsson, Blackberry, LG, Samsung, Motrola, Windows Mobile, etc) had over 100.000 downloads in the first week alone growing with 25.000 new downloads every day. You can find it on http://Malibu-rum.com and the mobile site on http://malibu-rum.mobi or the Java version on e.g. Mobile9 on http://gallery.mobile9.com/f/748520/ and iPhone version on http://tinyurl.com/djwq7q

When you bowl with Malibu® Rum the lanes are always smooth, and the tails are always tasty! Enjoy!