Porting iOS (iPhone) Apps To Android And Blackberry

Golden Gekko is often asked to extend an iPhone app to other platforms such as Android, Blackberry, Symbian, HTML5, etc.

So, why would they come to us if they’ve already developed an app with someone else? Usually, for one of the following reasons:

a) Current developer lacks skills and experience for other platforms than iOS
b) Unhappy with the existing developer
c) Concerned about the complexity of other platforms due to fragmentation
d) Want a long term development partner that covers all platforms

What is porting?

“Porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed…” and “Software is portable when the cost of porting it to a new platform is less than the cost of writing it from scratch. The lower the cost of porting software, relative to its implementation cost, the more portable it is said to be.” (source: Wikipedia)

In reality there is no such thing as porting from iOS to Android or Blackberry. The development environments are completely different, which means that unless you’ve planned for cross-platform development from the beginning you will have to start from scratch for additional platforms and the cost of pure development will be similar or sometimes higher than the first platform.

So what is the point of this blog?

Even though there is no easy solution to porting, there are lots of tips and tricks that make the process smoother, the cost lower and the app more successful:

1. Adapt existing Use Cases, Wireframes and Designs to the new platform

Even though the code cannot be reused, the overall concept of the app, user journeys, information architecture, designs, etc can. However, you need to make sure that the app is customized for the special attributes of each platform in terms of underlying OS concepts, navigation, screen sizes/resolution, limitations, additional features, etc. If you already have good documentation of the app, we recommend analyzing the deltas and describing the differences compared to the original app, keeping it trackable, so that future changes in the original app will also result in similar changes to the other platforms.

2. Sharing resources such as Copy, language files, graphical assets and media

This is where a lot of long term headaches and savings can be made. By sharing resource files where possible, you only have to update the content once and then automatically propagate to the builds for each of the platforms. Often this involves a scripted conversion step, but setting this up early is of great value for long term savings.

3. Backend communication and integration

If the app communicates with one or multiple backends then the API requests should be the same across platforms. In some cases you should consider developing a middleware that sits between the backends and the apps to avoid having to make changes to multiple apps if there is a change on the backend.

4. Code structure

To make it easier to maintain the code across multiple platforms make sure that you use the same or similar variables, classes, etc as this will save a lot of time for developers to make updates. You might also be able to reuse data structures and algorithms.

5. Preparing for tablets and other devices

Finally it is important to continue to plan for future platforms and devices becoming available. When specifying the new app for Android or Blackberry then also make sure that you consider support for Android Tablets, alternative screen sizes, new Blackberry’s launching, etc. Tablets especially require a modification of graphics, as well as user journeys, to make best use of the extra screen space.

 If you have to reduce cost because of budget constraints you can:
a) Complement the existing app with an HTML5 mobile website - this doesn't replace having an app on the other appstores but is a good way of building a mobile presence across all devices
b) Use a cross platform web runtime solution such as Phonegap for Write Once Run On Multiple (WOROM) - this is always going to be a compromise compared to native apps but can be acceptable in certain cases

In conclusion "porting" or developing for multiple mobile OS is not an easy task but the effort, costs and timelines can be reduced and the result can be very rewarding, if planned and executed properly.

For more about porting to Android also read Techcrunch article "Porting iOS to Android pitfalls and perks"

For more information about how to develop and maintain applications across multiple OS contact us for a call or meeting.

What's going on in the world of mobile apps and devices?

What's going on in the world of mobile apps and devices?
The mobile echo system keeps on evolving faster than ever and it's often difficult to see the macro trends with all the day to day announcements and comments about winners and losers. One of the most exciting things is that nothing is certain.

Here's a short summary of the trends that we are seeing and longer term impact:

Handset Operating Systems and Development Platforms

• iPhone - Continues to evolve with OS4 being a great leap forward and with the best UI and SDK for developers but overall market share is stablising at about 13.5% of smartphones globally and with only one new device release per year growth is likely to be tempered going forward
• Android - Outsold iPhone in Q2 and increased their market share by 886% since last year with more handset manufacturers continuing to launch devices and competing against each other with vastly improved hardware including QWERTY keyboards, better cameras as well as very competitive prices and is expected by most to be the nr 1 smartphone OS in 2011
• RIM continues to hold on to a big share of the smartphone market with 18% based on a wide range of communication and utility focused devices for business users as well as the youth market with an amazing usage adaption among teenagers in the UK thanks to Blackberry Messenger but market share is expected to decline unless Blackberry 6 delivers improved app support and user interface 
• Nokia has gone from the undisputed leader to an underdog despite still being the global leader in overall market share (36% in Q2) and smartphones (43% in Q2) due to lack of great new devices and unclear strategy of Symbian and MeeGo but we would definitely not rule them out as they still have deep pockets and a very loyal base in emerging markets and a partnership with Intel with even deeper pockets and long term bets riding on the success of MeeGo
• Palm WebOS went from being a dead horse to a joker when HP acquired Palm earlier this year thanks to having developed the 2nd best OS to iPhone in terms of user experience and based on open standards and as the largest PC manufacturer worldwide HP won't give up in the first place
• Microsoft Mobile has constantly failed to deliver a really appealing user experience since they first launched the SPV in 2002 and although they undoubtedly provide the best PC - Mobile integration it hasn't been enough but with Windows Mobile 7, the biggest development community in the world and a track record of not giving up they might still have a chance to find a market and slowly grow over the next couple of years from 5% of the smartphone market in Q2
• Samsung Bada Wave is another unexpected player in the smartphone OS space as they also deliver devices with Android and Windows Mobile but Bada has outperformed most people’s expectations in terms of user experience although it essentially is a Android copycat based on Linux and Java and won’t have much chance in the high-end smartphone segment
• Webruntime Widgets are not really a OS or a platform but with the popularity of webkit based mobile browsers and the push for standardisation among carriers the widget standard (also referred to as JIL by Vodafone, webruntime by Nokia and WebOS by Palm) it's becoming an important platform and might actually have a good chance of establishing a standard for apps that don't require the latest and greatest from each of the individual platforms.
• Java ME continues to be the leading platform in terms of installed base and handset sales supported by Symbian, Samsung Bada, Windows Mobile, Blackberry and most proprietary OS from Nokia (e.g. S40), Sony-Ericsson, LG and Samsung with well over 2 billion devices worldwide and over 0.4 billion downloads per month with majority of Java downloads now in emerging markets such as India, Indonesia, Brazil and China
   

The full Q2 smartphone market share report is available here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10839034

Handset manufacturersRather than speculating over their futures we think that it's simply interesting to look at their worldwide market share of sales today and which operating systems they are betting on.
1. Nokia (36.1%) - S40 for low-end, Symbian S60 in transition and MeeGo as the future strategy
2. Samsung (20.7%) – Mix of proprietary OS for low-end and Android, Windows Mobile and Bada on mid to high-end
3. LG (10.0%) – Transitioning from proprietary OS to Android as their main platform for consumers and windows mobile for business with more than 10 devices planned to launch in the next 3-6 months
4. RIM (3.6%) – Full focus on Blackberry OS
5. Sony-Ericsson (3.6%) – Selling devices based on Proprietary OS, Windows Mobile, Symbian and Android but betting on Symbian as main device going forward
6. Apple (2.8%?) – iPhone OS
7. Motorola (2.8%) – Returning from the dead with Android as their core platform and extremely strong performance in the US during the last 2 quarters thanks to Droid
8. HTC (2.5%?) – Fully focused on Android and Windows Mobile and by many considered the leading Android manufacturer

And don’t forget about Huawei and ZTE from China and of course HP/Palm.

More stats available from:http://mobile.downloadatoz.com/article,global-mobile-phone-market-statistics-in-q2-2010.html

In conclusionsThe media and financial community seems to believe that there can only be two or maybe three winners in the smartphone space like in the PC world with Microsoft Windows, Mac OSX and various Linux versions. What if it’s possible with more? Maybe the market is so big, the technology development so fast and customer preferences so different that there is room for more than three? Google Android definitely looks like the favorite of the day but we don’t think the battle is close to being over. Like we said in a previous update. “In mobile fragmentation is forever. Deal with it.”

The opportunity of iAds

What do we think?

When iAds was launched earlier this year the Financial Times called me and asked what we thought about the announcement and it's impact on the industry. I said I was excited about the richness and simplicity and that I was convinced it would give the mobile advertising industry exactly what it needs in terms of strong backing (Apple) and setting a new industry benchmark.

Since then Apple has officially launched the product and sold inventory for about 40m USD so what do I think now? When should you use iAds?

iAds are fantastic in terms of attracting customers to engage with rich media. If you want guaranteed eye balls and engagement then iAds can be a great start. Especially now that media is excited about iAds and will write about it therefore generate positive PR.

Does iAds replace mobile apps?

In my opionion iAds replace mobile microsites and not apps. The advantage of apps compared to iAds are...

1. Apps are available offline and iAds are not
2. Apps can give you very low cost engagement per customer if you have a strong brand and/or concept, e.g. an app that costs 40k USD to develop and generates 100k downloads cost 0.4 USD per engagement vs 1 USD per click for iAds at the moment which would cost you 100k USD for the same engagement

How do you reach customers on other platforms such as Android and Blackberry?

Our expectation is that other mobile advertising platform providers such as Google and Microsoft will quickly follow with similar formats based on HTML5 and that mobile web and iAds will merge over time as the user experience will be almost exactly the same.

Posted by Magnus Jern CEO of Golden Gekko

What is the cost of developing a mobile app?

The most common questions we get are
1. What phones should I develop and launch my App for (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Java, Mobile Web generally, etc)?
2. How much will it cost to develop an app?

Since Golden Gekko might not be seen as an objective source for the answer to these questions we will point you to the Silicon.com has a great article which answers the following questions. How do I convince my CFO to invest in a mobile app? How much does building a mobile app cost? How can you make an app successful? What are the mistakes to avoid?

Read more on http://www.silicon.com/technology/mobile/2010/02/11/want-to-build-a-mobile-app-heres-how-to-convince-the-cfo-39745366/

Recipe for success with mobile apps

I'd like to take the opportunity to update you on what's being going on in the mobile space during the past 6 months and some exciting opportunities going forward. I've tried to pick out the areas that are most relevant for you from our massive knowledge base consisting of over 150 mobile apps and services launched in the past 6 months.

1. Why brands should launch branded mobile apps?
2. In mobile fragmentation is forever. Deal with it.
3. How to choose mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, etc)?
4. Why is mobile web not enough?
5. Producing your own apps using Tino Mobile


1. Why brands should launch branded mobile apps?

Over the past year there has been an enormous hype around iPhone applications in particular and mobile applications in general. After 10 years of uphill struggle, mobile marketing and services finally took off with a big bang. Companies ranging from global consumer brands such as Coca Cola, Mercedes, Kraftfood, Nike, Zara and Pizza Hut to small and medium size organisations including festivals, restaurants, local touristboards, hotels and publishers.

An overwhelming 64.8% of marketers and publishers reported planning to invest in mobile apps this year, according to a December 2009 survey conducted by DM2PRO and Quattro Wireless. The most successful from a reach perspective are no doubt those with a great entertainment value (e.g. iPint, Barclays Waterslide, Volkswagen Polo Challenge and Malibu Bowling) while the ones delivering the greatest ROI are applications that provide a relevant
service to customers (North Face Snow Report, Yellow Pages, Timeout sponsored by Smirnoff, Absolut Vodka cocktail guide, etc). 25.000 people using a branded application every week potentially generates a lot more value than half a million people downloading a game which they play ones.

Rory Sutherland, Executive Creative Director at OgilvyOne probably describes it in the best way when talking about "mobile" advertising: "Never dismiss branded utility. It's a lot easier to be repeatedly useful than repeatedly funny."


2. In mobile fragmentation is forever. Deal with it.

A couple of weeks ago TechCrunch had a great article about mobile fragmentation by Richard Wong at Accel Partners. The article (http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/04/mobile-fragmentation-forever/) highlights the fact that there is no long or short term solution to fragmentation and nor is there a simple answer to which platforms companies should invest in. As one of the pioneers in cross-platform development Golden Gekko has invested heavily in R&D and education of customers and partners. We have managed to make it easier and more cost efficient to develop and maintain cross-platform apps but there is still no simple solution. Multiplatform development platforms work for simpler apps but in reality there is no out-of-the-box solution if you want to deliver the best experience for each platform.
Our recommendation is

1. Plan for cross-platform support from day one unless you are absolutely certain that you only want to launch on one platform - fixing it later is very expensive
2. Ensure that your development partner has the experience to develop for multiple platforms and that if an porting tool or multi-platform tool is recommended that you understand the limitations agree on processes and scope for design, testing, acceptance, appstore uploads and other distribution early on for each platform as this will save you a lot of time and effort throughout the project

3. How to choose mobile platforms (iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Java, Widgets, etc)?

The number of mobile OS platforms and development SDKs keep on increasing with new platforms including Samsung Bada, MeeGo, 5+ different widget platforms, Palm Webapps, Windows Mobile 7, etc. Which platforms should I chose?
We think there are 4 key considerations:

1. What is your objective? PR or Mass market reach?
2. Who is your target audience? Markets? Niche segments?
3. Where will you get the most attention for the least money? Many operators and handset manufacturers offer very attractive distribution deals.
4. How much are you willing to spend?

Our platform recommendations vary from case to case but our general advice is:

• PR, communication and experience - iPhone apps
• Innovation & controversial - Android is the first choice as there are few restrictions in terms of APIs and approval
• Youth market - J2ME for non-connected apps
• Mass market reach - Launch on as many platforms as you can afford starting with iPhone and Android
• Business users - Blackberry and J2ME

Android or Java are our preferred base platforms for cross-platform development as there are clear development synergies between J2ME, Blackberry, Android and e.g. widgets whereas iPhone development has limited synergies with anything else. One of the main limitations with J2ME today is that most users won't connect to the network due to issues with settings, data costs, security prompts, etc but the number of downloads for a like for like iPhone and J2ME app is still 5x to the advantage of the J2ME app.

Finally the other key considerations is distribution and media spend. Many of the handset manufacturers and operators are desperate to get new innovative apps on their appstores and will therefore give you all kinds of free promotions and traffic. A free promotion by e.g. Nokia OVI could easily be worth 50-100k Euro in media budget and will give you a lot more reach and downloads than an iPhone app would without putting the same kind of media budget behind it. We are currently getting similar offers from Vodafone, O2, Samsung, RIM/Blackberry and various other partners so it's always worthwhile discussing these opportunities.


4. Why is mobile web not enough? Consumers are disappointed with mobile web experience.

A recent survey of 1001 mobile Web users found that users have high expectations for mobile Web performance. Ultimately, the majority stated they expect Web sites to load as quickly, almost as quickly, or faster on their mobile phone, compared to their home or work computer.

The survey "Why the Mobile Web is Disappointing End-Users" also revealed how unsatisfactory mobile Web experiences can negatively shape a consumer's opinion of an organization. In the survey:

• 60 % of respondents have encountered problems when accessing websites on their mobile phones in the last 12 months
• More than half are unlikely to return to a Web site that they had trouble accessing from their phone, and 40 percent said they'd likely visit a competitor's mobile Web site instead.

What do we think?

The mobile web is great for text based services like news, search, directory, etc but as soon as you want an interactive experience with maps, embedded video & sounds, location, animations or anything more advanced then apps are currently the best solution.

For more information about the survey see a summary here http://www.slideshare.net/Gomez_Inc/gomez-mobile-web-experience-survey-why-the-mobile-web-is-disappointing-end-users


5. Producing your own mobile apps using Tino

Finally we want to give you an update on our self-service tool for mobile apps Tino Mobile. Tino allows you to produce your own mobile apps with more standardized features. This does not replace bespoke development of innovative new apps but allows all kinds of great apps to be produced.

During the past 3 months we've continued to enhance the tool with

• New features including carousels, embedded video and audio, questionnaires, more flexibility for image/text formatting, SVG fonts, banner ads and lots more
• Major UI enhancements for larger screens
• Enhanced device support for Blackberry
• Making the online tool easier to use

During the coming month we will also introduce support for Android and iPhone as well as a myriad of other features.

If you want more information visit http://tinomobile.com or contact us for an online demo.


Magnus Jern, CEO

In Mobile, Fragmentation is Forever. Deal With It.

TechCrunch has a great article about mobile fragmentation by Richard Wong at Accel Partners. The article highlights the fact that there is no long or short term solution to fragmentation and nor is there a simple answer answer to which platforms companies should invest in. As one of the pioneers in cross-platform development Golden Gekko has invested heavily in R&D and education of customers and partners.

Our platform recommendations vary from case to case but our general advice is:

• PR, communication and experience - go for an iPhone app
• Innovation - Android is the first choice as there are few restrictions
  
• Youth market - J2ME for non-connected apps
  
• Mass market reach - multi-platform is a must
  
• Business users - go for Blackberry and J2ME
  

Java/J2ME is our preferred base platform as there are clear development synergies between J2ME, Blackberry, Android and e.g. widgets whereas iPhone development has limited synergies with anything else.

One of the main limitations with J2ME today is that most users won't connect to the network due to issues with settings, data costs, security prompts, etc but the number of downloads for a like for like iPhone and J2ME app is still 5x to the advantage of the J2ME app.

Read more on
http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/04/mobile-fragmentation-forever/

Anyone Make A Mobile App In Five Easy Steps

Official press release:

Time, and cost to get an app to market gets faster and more affordable

Golden Gekko, a leading developer and technology provider for cross platform mobile applications, today unveils its new service Tino, that will allow anyone to build a mobile application and bring it to market much faster, and more affordably, than has previously been seen in the mobile app marketplace.

To build a mobile app, a customer can visit www.tinomobile.com and follow five easy steps to build an application of choice. Pricing for Golden Gekko’s Tino starts at as low as £100 which is significantly cheaper than the average £5-10,000 price tag of comparable applications.,
“We are offering Tino as a low cost entry to the mobile app marketplace, and can provide anyone with the tools to build a mobile app, with a process that takes less than an hour,” said Magnus Jern, Golden Gekko’s CEO. “Our Tino customers do not need to be technical experts, as they’ll get an easy step-by-step guide that allows them to self-develop a mobile app on the Web.”

Golden Gekko’s Tino invites everyone to create attractive, powerful mobile applications, that will support 90 per cent of the global mobile handset market,
using any content, external feeds, and rich media. The process is simple, requires no programming, and can be completed in as little as 30. Tino will automatically host and track the number of engagements.

Tino customers will get access to the wealth of experience Golden Gekko has in the mobile applications industry, of serving exciting mobile content on billions of phones worldwide, and developing content for 40 leading global brands including Absolut Vodka, Accenture, Bloomberg, Coca Cola, Disney, European Directories Novartis, Paramount, Perfetti, Sara Lee, Unilever, Universal Pictures and Vodafone.

For more visit http://www.tinomobile.com

Most mobile marketing startups hedging their bets by developing apps for multiple platforms

Moconews has an interesting article about the challenges of multi-platform mobile development (iPhone, Android, Java, Blackberry, Symbian, Windows Mobile, etc) today.

The trade-off between delivering an amazing user experience to 2-3% of mobile subscribers (e.g. iPhone and Android) or a mass market application for a wide range of devices (50% or more) is a difficult one for everyone. Our general experience is that Java applications delivered across Symbian, Blackberry, Windows Mobile and proprietary operating systems get up to 10x as many downloads as an iPhone app but achieving a similar user experience is very time consuming and costly.

The average cost of an advanced iPhone or Android game/app is in the region 25-50k euro depending on complexity whereas as a mass market app/game with 80% phone penetration (across multiple platforms) is about 200.000-400.000 euro when fully optimized across the devices.

So what about automatic porting services then? There are several companies that claim that they can deliver cross-platform porting at costs starting around 10.000-20.000 USD. Our experience however is that the tweaking and optimisation to make the ported application to look and work nicely on the individual platforms make the cost almost as high as doing proprietary development.

More comments on this to follow...

Mobile app developer headaches continue

One of the main topics with our clients, partners and internally is mobile application fragmentation. Despite all efforts by handset manufacturers and mobile operators to make it go away it is actually getting worse and worse. Java, Symbian, Blackberry Java, Android, iPhone, Brew, Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, Vodafone Widgets (JIL/Opera widgets to be fair), script languages and more.

Or maybe it is for the better as all the new platforms also encourage innovation in new technology and features? Golden Gekko is probably one of the few companies that doesn't mind fragmentation at all as we think the platforms help deliver diversity.

Who knows? Continue reading on
http://mobione.com.au/wordpress/2009/07/mobile-game-developer-headaches-continue/

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)

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...

Friday: Mobile World Congress in Barcelona 2009 - Next big thing?

Next week the biggest telecom event of the year takes over Barcelona. We will be at the fair as usual networking and checking out what others are doing. If you haven't already then please contact us for a meeting.

This year we will look out for

• anything app-store related from Nokia, Microsoft, Samsung, etc (big question is how they will succeed where e.g. Handango has previously failed)
• to what extent mobile content and services companies can continue to push advertisement based business model in the current climate
• what Sun has to say about the future of mobile Java (they have some kind of an announcement)
• mobile e-mail - can someone really offer a consumer e-mail service that is close to the experience of the Blackberry but without needing a special handset and mobile operator subscription. Momail is one very interesting company in this space!
  
• location based communities - Google just launched Altitude and there are about 50 other companies out there with similar services but is there anything truly disruptive? We are obviously biased as close partners to GeoMe but we think that GeoMe could be the answer!
  

See you at the fair!

Friday: Mobile Applications - The Next Big Thing In Mobile Marketing?

Jim Cook at Mobiadnews interviewed Golden Gekko CEO Magnus Jern earlier this week about the mobile application trend. Here's the full article or http://www.mobiadnews.com/?p=3172

Other than giving a great overall overview of mobile applications in marketing the article also highlights the Lynx campaign as a great mobile application making it even more famous!

Brands Love Mobile Apps

Moconews has a great article about how "Brands Love Mobile Apps" but also how there is a risk that the application stores get cluttered with so many apps that it becomes a problem.

http://www.moconews.net/entry/419-Mobile-Applications-A-Hit-With-Brands

This article highlights two trends:
1. The major consumer brands already investing in mobile are now all interested in launching mobile applications, particularly on the iPhone app-stores but also in other places
2. There are already over 10.000 iPhone applications on iTunes and 30.000 applications on Getjar and it is getting more and more difficult to stand out and make your app a hit. Even driving viral video views on Youtube is easier because there are more tools to cross-promote and of course the audience is so much larger.



Over 90% of these applications are however badly designed, full of bugs, not working across most devices and not very relevant or useful which means that there is no abundance of great applications that stand out. Download 10 random applications from the iPhone app-store or Getjar and I can assure you that you will experience this yourself.

The implication is fairly simple. There is an enormous demand for great applications so deliver great applications and you will generate attention, downloads, active users and hopefully meet your objectives!

More about how you deliver great mobile applications tomorrow!

iPhone SDK, Android and Symbian creating more fragmentation

With over 300 million iphone applications downloaded to date and 200m+ applications downloaded every month across all mobile platforms the mobile application market has never been more interesting. But it's not all good. Despite all the positive impact from the iPhone and Android in the last year this is also causing majors headaches for the mobile services industry. Fragmentation is constantly increasing with more OS (iPhone, Symbian, Android, Windows Mobile, Moblin Linux, Blackberry, etc), mobile browsers (Opera, Safari, Chrome, etc), application standards (Java, iPhone SDK, Symbian, Android SDK, Brew, 5+ different widget standards, etc). This will increase technical complexity, time to market, costs and potentially kill the chances of the industry really taking off. Imagine having to developing different versions of every software program for Dell, HP, Lenova, Toshiba, Asus, etc.

Developing 4 different OS versions of an application is possible although costly for most mobile services companies. Mobile game developers have dealt with this issue for some time with porting and testing costs making up as much as 80% of the total budgets which is bearable but certainly not profitable. The even bigger challenge however is maintaining, upgrading and supporting 5 different OS versions of an application that is in need of constant change. Unless you are Google, Facebook, MySpace or another business with 100m+ users this is simple not an option if you want to have a profitable business.

What are the options then unless you have unlimited resources for mobile application development?

A) Browser based solution only
Stick to a browser based solution and do everything you can to optimise the service over time and leverage new functionality such as script languages on the devices where this is possible. The negative side of this is that the user experience is always a little bit slow and the design and interaction capabilities very limited. It will very seldom give the user a WOW experience.

B) Automatic porting tools to support all platforms
There are a various porting tools available for porting from Java to Brew, iPhone, Windows Mobile, Android etc. These reduce the development efforts but not the optimising and Q&A work. However, they also substantially limit the use of native APIs and functionality across the platforms which means that the ported version is usually based on the most common denominator between the platforms, i.e. a bad compromise.

C) Java and iPhone versions
The only application development standard that works on a majority of handsets is Java Mobile Edition (J2ME). Java is currently available on over 90% of all devices in Europe, 80% in North America (includes packaging for Brew) and about 75% worldwide according to Strategy Analytics. The only multimedia enabled device that does not support Java today is the iPhone. Java definitely has its limitations but in terms of cost efficiency it is the only platform of choice.

In conclusion although the new platforms provide great new capabilities it is very unlikely that the development community will be able to support all of them. The decision on which platforms are used for development must be made on a case by case basis but in most instances Java is the only viable solution for downloadable applications in combination with standard XHTML for browser based services. Despite the competition from new and exciting platforms Java has a good chance to continue to be the platform of choice in the future.

We look forward to further debate on this subject!