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Tag: app developers

  • Apple Needs Fortnite More Than Fortnite Needs Apple

    Apple Needs Fortnite More Than Fortnite Needs Apple

    “Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, feels that Fortnite is large enough and scaled enough and that Apple needs Fortnite more than Fortnite needs Apple… and Google too for that matter,” says Alex Kruglov, CEO of pop.in. “Tim very intentionally wanted to get kicked out of the store. There is no other way to explain what they did so that they can make this very public and so they can have a lawsuit.”

    Alex Kruglov, CEO and co-Founder at pop.in, says that Apple and Google should reduce the 30 percent tax they charge developers for existing in their respective ecosystems:

    Apple and Google Must Reduce The Tax On Developers

    I definitely like the idea of challenging both the Apple store and the Google store in getting them to reduce the tax that they charge all of the developers. There are two potential issues here. Issue number one is that the tax is decided by Apple and Google and can be changed at any time. There is nothing that developers can do because there is no other place we can go to. There is no other way to get on the devices and a person usually has only one device.

    Secondly, kind of similar to TicketMaster in the 90s, when Pearl Jam went against them, they control the entire ecosystem. This includes the ability to advertise within your store to get your app downloaded. I love Apple’s clean well-lit ecosystem. I love what they’ve built. But if there is a bigger player who has leverage who can help the rest of us run more successful and profitable businesses I am all for it.

    Apple Needs Fortnite More Than Fortnite Needs Apple

    Tim Sweeney (CEO of Epic Games) is doing this very deliberatively. There is no question about it. If you follow Tim on Twitter or just in general, you know that he has been on this campaign for quite some time, since before they started their own ecosystem. Epic has its own store and they let developers opt-in to their fee system where they charge 12 percent.

    He feels that Fortnite is large enough and scaled enough and that Apple needs Fortnite more than Fortnite needs Apple… and Google too for that matter. Tim very intentionally wanted to get kicked out of the store. There is no other way to explain what they did so that they can make this very public and so they can have a lawsuit.

    Apple Under Pressure To Reduce App Store Fees

    Apple has been perceived as the good guy. Then on the other side with Google where with Facebook they are monopolistic given that they control essentially the entirety of the advertising system. So where do I think this ends up given the scrutiny that Apple is facing? I think that there is a very good chance that they will come back and reduce the fees and also opt-in to something firm as opposed to the set of rules that are all over the place.

    This is a pretty inexpensive way for both Apple and Google to say they are listening (to developers). We’ve heard the developers and we are going to do the right thing. I’m predicting this but this is definitely not what they have done over the last decade.

    Apple Needs Fortnite More Than Fortnite Needs Apple says Alex Kruglov, CEO of pop.in
  • Apple Will Eventually Fall Apart If It Doesn’t Back Down

    Apple Will Eventually Fall Apart If It Doesn’t Back Down

    “I think taking 30 percent from app developers is egregious,” says Alex Kantrowitz, publisher of the Big Technology newsletter. “It feels like protection money to me. As long as the company continues to rely on other people’s money to make its bottom line it’s going to turn slodgy, slow, bureaucratic, and I think it will eventually fall apart. Apple should back down because rent collecting is bad for its business long term.”

    Alex Kantrowitz, founder and publisher of Big Technology, believes that Apple should back down in its battle with developers like Epic Games because it is bad for their brand and could lead to epic failure for Apple in the long term:

    Epic Had Public Relations Campaign Ready To Go

    I don’t think it’s any accident that Epic went right after Apple’s brand which Apple has worked very hard to cultivate. Apple is a luxury product. What Epic is doing is trying to make this a battle for Apple where it says, do you want 30 percent of our revenue in the app store? Now you have to go from a company that everybody looks up to to a company that owns what it does, which is rent collects on the app store and takes 30 percent of our revenue.

    That’s why Epic has had this public relations campaign ready to go. It’s why it spoke about Apple’s history in the lawsuit. It’s why this was so planned, one move after the other, to show the public that this is actually what Apple is. If Apple is going to take our money they better own what they’re doing.

    Apple Taking 30 Percent From Developers Is Egregious

    What do developers get from the 30 percent that they pay Apple in terms of the revenue that they hand over to stay on the app store? They get the right to exist, that’s one thing. They get quick payments, that’s another. What else are they getting and is that amount of money actually worth it? Would they be paying anybody else that amount of money unless that other person had a monopoly?

    I don’t think it is worth it. I think 30 percent is egregious. It feels like protection money to me. Maybe we get somewhere in the 10 -15 percent range, that seems like the right amount for a developer to pay to Apple because Apple does provide some value. But the number right now is just totally out of whack and it exists because Apple has a monopoly on that store. It’s good that we are seeing somebody challenge what Apple’s doing.

    Apple Is The Only Show In Town For Developers

    Apple is basically the only show in town. If you don’t like what’s going on inside Walmart you go to your neighborhood store. If you don’t like what’s going inside the Apple app store where are you going to go? Maybe you can go to Google but Google is doing the same exact thing. I do think that Apple should definitely charge developers for what they’re getting.

    The question is do developers have any wiggle room so that they can have an opportunity to negotiate with a company like Apple? What Epic is showing is that is not really the case. This is how markets (should) work. You want to have the ability for the supplier and the demander to figure out a price that makes sense versus the supplier just setting the price and your sort of out of the market otherwise.

    Apple Will Eventually Fall Apart If It Doesn’t Back Down

    Apple should back down because rent collecting is bad for its business long term. You have to decide as a business, do you want to make your money milking your asset or do you want to make your money innovating into the future? Right now Apple has decided that it wants to be a rent collector. It’s worked out fine under Tim Cook, I won’t deny that. If you think about Apples’ long term sustainability does it want to build a culture where it’s business is taking a fee off of other people’s businesses or does it want to force itself to invent its way into the future?

    If I’m Apple I’m thinking long term. I want to have a more inventive culture, not a more asset milking culture. As long as the company continues to rely on other people’s money to make its bottom line it’s going to turn slodgy, slow, bureaucratic, and I think it will eventually fall apart. If I’m Apple, the case right here is to back down and think about where I’m going in the long term and it should be in an inventive way and not a rent seeking way.

    Alex Kantrowitz of Big Technology: Apple Will Eventually Fall Apart If It Doesn’t Back Down
  • Twitter Announces New Enterprise-Level API

    Twitter Announces New Enterprise-Level API

    Twitter is making big changes to its API that could greatly benefit developers. On Tuesday, the San Francisco-based social media giant announced that it has rolled out an enterprise version of its Account Activity API, allowing developers greater access to the activity data such as mentions, retweets, and likes.

    Twitter has had its fair share of criticism for missteps in developer relations. In the past, it encouraged the integration of third-party apps on its platform but later backtracked by placing crippling restrictions on them. The company also offered free developer tools only to go against its word by selling them instead and had abruptly canceled several of its developer conferences.

    It now appears that Twitter is trying to make amends for past blunders. Its recent announcement is seen as an initial step toward a larger revamp and expansion of its API and the rebuilding of its relationship with developers.

    The new enterprise Account Activity API  hints of Twitter’s commitment to making developer-focused improvements. With the new API in place, it will be easier for developers to create apps for chatbots and customer service interface.

    Previously, developers could only access the full set of activities of a specific account using the old Account Activity API. With the new enterprise API in place, however, developers will now have access to a larger number of accounts, and other useful data such as retries.

    Meanwhile, Twitter has now reclassified view typing indicators and read receipts of Direct Messages as activities that developers can access via the Account Activity API. The ultimate aim of these additions is to make it easier for developers to finetune their apps and create a more personalized customer chat experience.

    Direct Messages (DM) will also be eased out of the beta. To create a more streamlined process, DM will be replaced by a suite of developer tools such as Buttons on messages, Welcome Messages, Customer Feedback Cards, Quick Replies and Custom Profiles.

    [Featured Image via Pixabay]

  • Is It Worth It To Build And Maintain A Mobile App?

    If you want to make money in today’s market, you’re going to have to make a mobile app. That’s at least what it seems like when you look at financially successful apps like Angry Birds and Minecraft: Pocket Edition. As it turns out, however, these are anomalies in a market full of mobile apps that make little to no money. A new report out today says the number of apps that make nothing is only going to increase going forward.

    Gartner published a report on Monday that found consumers are increasingly turning towards friends, social networks and recommendation engines to find apps. That means less consumers are browsing the Apple Appstore or Google Play looking for apps that may interest them and that means less apps are getting the exposure necessary to make money. As a result of this, Gartner predicts that only 0.01 percent of all mobile apps will be considered a financial success through 2018.

    “The vast number of mobile apps may imply that mobile is a new revenue stream that will bring riches to many,” said Ken Dulaney, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. “However, our analysis shows that most mobile applications are not generating profits and that many mobile apps are not designed to generate revenue, but rather are used to build brand recognition and product awareness or are just for fun. Application designers who do not recognize this may find profits elusive.”

    Will you be building a mobile app in 2014? Will it be free or paid? Let us know in the comments.

    Gartner notes that mobile app developers are hurting themselves as many developers now offer their apps for free. This severely limits their ability to make money as the only way to do so is through in-app transactions. That being said, app developers will be in good shape if they only want to get their name out through said free app.

    “There are so many applications that are free and that will never directly generate revenue. Gartner is forecasting that, by 2017, 94.5 percent of downloads will be for free apps,” said Mr. Dulaney. “Furthermore, of paid applications, about 90 percent are downloaded less than 500 times per day and make less than $1,250 a day. This is only going to get worse in the future when there will be even greater competition, especially in successful markets.”

    It’s not all gloom and doom though. Sure, mobile apps are making less money, but that doesn’t mean mobile is slowing down. In a new report from Flurry Analytics, overall mobile app usage grew by 115 percent in 2013. That signifies a healthy market for apps, but it’s even better for messaging and social apps whose usage grew by 203 percent in 2013.

    Here’s the full chart:

    Gartner: Mobile App Development Is Becoming Less Profitable

    Flurry says the above chart makes them question whether social and messaging services are just that or if they could evolve into a platform of their own. The analytics company seems to think it’s the latter as they point to a few examples of how messaging apps can change how businesses sell products.

    For instance, Xiaomi launched a new smartphone through Tencent’s WeChat with an offer to buy the new device through the service. The result was 150,000 devices sold in under 10 minutes. Another messaging app – LINE – announced in early 2013 that it had helped its gaming partners reach 100 million downloads in just three months.

    So, what does this all mean? If 2014 is anything like 2013, you might want to be getting into the communications app market. There’s already plenty of competition, but there’s always a way to differentiate yourself. SnapChat proved that to be the case in 2013 when it became one of the biggest threats to Facebook.

    Of course, usage does not automatically mean revenue. In other words, just because somebody is using your app doesn’t mean that you’re making any money off of it. Building a popular app is the easy part – monetization is crucial and monetizing apps is getting harder as consumers demand more apps and services to be free.

    What’s a business with an eye on the app economy to do? The most obvious monetization strategy is to turn your app into a platform for advertisers. With enough users, selling ads can turn an app into a successful product. Without those users, however, you’re stuck with an app that can’t function as an ad platform. In lieu of ads, you could always just sell your app as a premium service, but paid apps rarely do well. If the Gartner report is to be believed, they won’t be doing well in the future either.

    In the end, it all comes down to what you want to accomplish with your app. If your business is wanting to turn your mobile app into a revenue stream, you either have to go free or paid. Neither avenue shows much promise. You can also use mobile to supplement your core business by attracting users to your product through mobile. A free app that directs users to your products either through simple games or communication features could be an effective marketing tool.

    The big takeaway from all of this is that app usage isn’t going to die down anytime soon. The potential revenue from those apps is already on the decline though. When developing an app, you will have to be mindful of both. The app economy is more competitive than any other and less than 1 percent is going to find any success. It might as well be you, right?

    Do you think it’s worth your business’ time and money to develop a mobile app? Will you be developing an app in 2014? Let us know in the comments.

    Image via Google Play

  • Google Thinks These Android Apps Are Beautiful

    Just last week, Google revealed what it felt were the best games available for Android devices. While games may make up a large portion of Android’s catalog of apps, they’re by no means the only apps available. For all the other apps, Google has released a list of what it considers to be the most beautifully designed Android apps.

    So, what does Google look for when deciding which apps are the most beautiful? Here’s the criteria:

    Attention to detail makes an app truly beautiful: transitions are fast and clear, and layout and typography are crisp and meaningful. In this collection, we highlight a few beautiful apps with masterfully crafted design details.

    Without further ado, here’s the full list of apps and their descriptions:

  • Timely – Timely’s smooth and playful screen transitions prove that setting alarms could be incredibly fun.
  • Circa – Circa’s design boasts elegant typography and an innovative reading interface.
  • Etsy – Explore wonderful hand-crafted goods with Esty’s beautiful layouts and subtle blur effects.
  • airbnb – Airbnb beautifully expresses Android’s visual langage with big images and stylish UI elements.
  • The Whole Pantry – Careful attention has been paid to every delicious photo in The Whole Pantry.
  • Runtastic Heart Rate Pro – This innovative app beautifully visualizes your heart rate, measured with just your device camera.
  • Tumblr – Tumblr makes a great first impression, letting you explore and follow blogs even before signing up.
  • Umano – Listening to the news never looked so good! Intuitive and delightful on both phones and tablets.
  • Yahoo! Weather – Yahoo! Weather always delights with photos and sunrise animations that look great, rain or shine.
  • Grand St. – This boutique electronics catalog features gorgeous magazine-like typography and photos.
  • Pinterest – Revel in the friendly and familiar design, complete with beautiful layouts and intuitive gestures.

    • If you want to see more about Google’s design criteria and what it looks for in Android apps, check out their rundown of the best designed Android apps from last month.

    Image via Google Play

  • Amazon Says Its Appstore Is Just Like A Pizza Parlor

    Have you developed a game for the Amazon Appstore? Perhaps your still on the fence? If so, Amazon has a new infographic that should help you understand why it thinks you should be developing for its platform.

    In a new infographic released today called “Amazon Appstore’s Developer Parlor,” the retailer compares its digital app platform to a pizza parlor. Why? Well, it reasons that the process of making a pizza from scratch is similar to developing an app.

    Wait, what?

    In Amazon’s eyes, its AWS services are like the pizza crust. It’s the foundation for your app and the first thing any developer needs to establish before working on the app proper. It then later compares the sauce and toppings to all the tools available to developers to help make their apps even more appealing, like GameCircle, In-App Purchasing and Amazon’s Free App of the Day promotion. Finally, it compares the distribution model of pizza parlors (i.e. delivery) to its own app delivery via the Appstore, email recommendations and HTML5 Appstore.

    For more, check out the full infographic below:

    Amazon Says Its Appstore Is Just Like A Pizza Parlor

    Image via Amazon

  • Facebook Developers Gets A New Web Site

    Facebook Developers Gets A New Web Site

    For the longest time, developers of Facebook apps were met with the same ol’ Web site when they visited the official Facebook Developers portal. Now those same developers are in for a treat as Facebook has decided to give its developer portal a complete makeover.

    Facebook Developers announced today on its blog that it completely remodeled its Web site to make it easier for you, the developer, to find what you’re looking for. The services they offer, including API documentation and app submissions, have also been completely revamped.

    Here’s what the new landing page looks like:

    Facebook Developers Gets A New Web Site

    Facebook says the new design will make the following easier:

  • Manage your apps and configure Facebook integrations
  • Navigate our improved documentation
  • Submit your app to Facebook App Center with a simplified flow
  • Find and report bugs with a faster response turnaround
  • Learn about the latest updates and news relevant to you on our homepage

    • Oh, and before you go running off to check it out for yourself, here’s what the new app dashboard looks like:

    Facebook Developers Gets A New Web Site

    You can check out the new Web site here. If you don’t see it yet, Facebook says that it’s slowly rolling it out right now. Everybody should start seeing the new site within the next few weeks. When you do get the new site, you’ll be greeted with a tour of all the changes. Afterwards, Facebook welcomes any and all feedback developers may have.

    [Image: Facebook Developers]

  • These Are The Best Designed Android Apps According To Google

    Are you working on an Android app and want to know how to best stick to Google’s guidelines while inserting your own personality into it? Well, that’s certainly a tall order for most indie developers, but it is possible. In fact, Google has a list of what it feels are the best designed Android apps currently available.

    In the latest episode of Google’s Android Design in Action Web series, the Android team dissects some of the best designed Android apps on Google Play. Apps like Timely, Play Newstand, Foursquare, Esty and others make an appearance as the Android team gets into the nitty gritty of what makes these app designs stand out from the rest. You might just want to take notes if you’re having trouble with your own app design.

    Check out the full 25 minute video below:

    Need more help designing an app? Check out this video from earlier this year where the Android team walks you through each step of designing an Android app.

    [Image: Android Developers/YouTube]

  • Facebook Login Is Everywhere These Days

    Facebook Login is an easy way for developers to integrate an immediately recognizable login feature into their apps or Web site. The social network revamped how it handles Facebook Login back in April, and now more apps than ever are using the feature.

    In a blog post released today, Facebook’s Jeffrey Spehar revealed that Facebook Login is now being used in 81 of the top 100 grossing iOS apps and 62 of the top 100 grossing Android apps. Even more amazingly, he also reveals that users log into new apps via Facebook Login more than 850 million times per month.

    So, what does this all mean to the developer who has yet to integrate Facebook Login into their app? Well, it obviously means that you’re missing out. Spehar says that developers who follow Facebook’s best practices when it comes to Facebook Login can see their conversion rates rise above 80 percent. That’s definitely worth checking into if you’re a lowly app developer looking to get more people into your app.

    To that end, Spehar shares two apps that are doing everything right in regards to Facebook Login. The two apps – Lyft and Kickstarter – are reaping the benefits of a simple Facebook Login process that only asks permission to access the bare minimum (public profile, email and friends list) while giving the user complete control over how often they want the app to post to their wall. Kickstarter even goes above and beyond what’s necessary by offering users the chance to try out their mobile app before choosing to share their Facebook information.

    In short, successful apps that use Facebook Login must be courteous, transparent and reassuring. You’re asking to access a lot of information from your users, and you have to let those users know that you won’t abuse that access. With distrust of Internet companies at an all time high, you can’t afford to even give the slightest impression that you’ll abuse a user’s data.

    If you want to learn how to properly integrate Facebook Login into your app, check out Facebook’s checklist and best practices.

    [Image: Facebook Developers]

  • Application Craft Is The Latest To Bring App Development To The Masses

    Development is hard. This becomes especially apparent when one is trying to build an application in the always growing mobile economy. There are app platforms that try to make development easier, but improvements can only be a good thing. That’s where Application Craft hopes to come in.

    UK-based Application Craft announced the availability of their app development platform today. They claim that their platform will be able to kill the “unnecessary complexity” that’s inherent to app development. The development tools are built with every platform in mind so people can cross publish their Application Craft-built apps across the Web, native and hybrid mobile, tablet, and desktop.

    “App development has become hugely complex and unapproachable for many developers, so we set out to create a platform for developers of all skill levels who simply want to get their business or consumer app created professionally and out to market quickly,” said Freddy May, founder and CEO, Application Craft. “Listening to our emphatic beta users, I would say we have already been extremely successful.”

    Application Craft has already proven itself among its thousands of beta users. One such beta participant was Coca-Cola who used it to develop a data collection program for the 2012 London Olympics. They were able to move from concept to finished product in a fraction of the time that it would take to make an app with traditional tools.

    The company is also hoping to service the independent development and student communities. One such teacher, Michael Jay Kintner of CNerd, said that Application Craft has been his platform of choice since it’s simple to use, but provides the tools his students need to build complex apps.

    Application Craft uses a drag-and-drop interface for building apps that makes of HTML widgets. These allow developers to create apps that offer services like geo-targeting, analytics, social media sharing and more without requiring one to build all of these functionalities from the ground up.

    Application Craft has three tiers for developers wanting to create their own apps. Amateur developers will want to try out the AC Free Platform. It features all of the basic features required to build apps and the company will host your finished app on their cloud servers once it’s finished.

    AC Pro Platform adds more secure app development and deployment alongside custom splash screens and domain names. On top of that, developers who use AC Pro will be able to add an ad widget so they can make money off of their app. AC Pro users can either pay $45 a month or $450 annually.

    AC Enterprise Platform is the best of the bunch as it includes all the previous features, but companies can run apps off of their own servers. Those interested in the Enterprise package must contact sales over price as it changes based on your needs like all Enterprise applications.

    It’s hard to say if Application Craft will make development easier as they claim. Many have claimed this in the past, but there’s still a wall that keeps even the most passionate of would-be developers out. Application Craft’s success is going to be measured on their ability to get users over that first wall.

  • Amazon Details Kindle Fire HD Development Requirements

    The Kindle Fire HD is launching later this week. Amazon needs developers on board to make sure early adopters have plenty of apps to use once they get their hands on the device in the coming weeks. They already released the tools that developers will need, but they’re now just getting around to detailing the requirements.

    The Kindle Fire and Fire HD are a lot like the iPad 2 and “new iPad.” Apps can work on both devices, but developers are encouraged to create their apps with both devices in mind. That means making apps that take advantage of the higher screen resolution afforded by the better hardware. To that end, Amazon has released a few materials for developing HD apps.

    First and foremost, Amazon says that all apps should support the three resolutions across the Kindle Fire line – 1024×600, 1280×800 and 1920×1200. The first two resolutions will be available on Kindle Fire devices later this week. Developers have until November 20 to take advantage of the massive resolution afforded by the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD. They have also created the “User Experience Guidelines” that will show developers how to best make use of screen real estate.

    Developing for Kindle Fire HD also means that you will be developing for Android 4.0. It’s a highly modded version of the popular mobile OS, but it still contains a lot of the same code from ICS. Amazon has added their own software in the form of API 15. Developers should get used to both when developing for the Kindle Fire HD. Amazon has prepared a “Development Best Practices” guide for those who are now just starting to develop for ICS with Kindle Fire HD.

    Amazon also suggests that developers implement hardware acceleration, which is afforded by ICS, into their apps. To do this, you will need to add support for the Android 4.0.3 API 15 libraries. Hardware acceleration wil be especially important for apps that rely on video or animation for movement. It will create a much smoother experience for the end user.

    Developers wanting to hop on board the Kindle Fire HD gravy train need only join the Mobile App Distribution Portal. From there, you can download the Amazon Mobile App SDK and submit your apps for approval.

    The Kindle Fire HD has the potential to finally take on the iPad at its own game. Developers will want to jump on board before it really takes off. Getting the first big hit on the Kindle Fire HD will ensure success down the road as well.

  • App Engine 1.7.0 Released at Google I/O

    App Engine 1.7.0 Released at Google I/O

    Released today, App Engine 1.7.0 and with it they are offering both SNI and VIP based SSL, which means low cost and universal support. That’s right, developers can serve their applications via HTTPS on custom domains.

    Here’s the lowdown from Google’s App Engine blog:

    Server Name Indication (SNI):

    This allows multiple domains to share the same IP address while still allowing a separate certificate for each domain. SNI is supported by the majority of modern web browsers. SNI is priced at $9/month which includes the serving of 5 certificates.

    Virtual IP (VIP):

    A dedicated IP address is assigned to you for use with your applications. VIP is supported by all SSL/TLS compatible web clients and each VIP can serve a single hostname, wildcard or multi domain certificate. A VIP will cost $99/month.

    Google App Engine’s additional location – the EU:

    For the past four years, App Engine applications have been served from North America. However, we understand that every ms of latency counts so we’ve turned up an App Engine cluster in the European Union so that our developers with customers primarily in Europe can have confidence that their site will look as fast as they’ve designed it.

    Initially, the Google App Engine cluster in the European Union will be limited to Premier Accounts only. If you are interested in signing up for a Premier Account to get access to our European cluster, as well as Premium Support and invoice billing, please contact our sales team at appengine_premier_requests@google.com.

    PageSpeed – Making the Google App Engine Powered Web Faster:

    At Google we’ve had an ongoing commitment to making the web faster and for almost a year the PageSpeed Service team has been enabling websites to optimize their static content for delivery to end users at lightning fast speed. Today we’re making this service available to our HRD applications with just a few clicks. Use of the PageSpeed Service is priced at $0.39 per GB of outgoing bandwidth, in addition to standard App Engine outgoing bandwidth price.

    GeoPoint Support in Search:

    Our Search team deserved a break after releasing the Search API a month and a half ago, but instead they’ve worked hard to announce exciting improvements at Google I/O. You can now store latitude and longitude as a GeoPoint in a GeoField, and search documents by distance from that GeoPoint.

    Other Service Updates:

    * Blob Migration Tool now Generally Available – Since the deprecation announcement for Master/Slave Datastore (M/S), we’ve been continually improving the experience for apps migrating from M/S to HRD. We’re happy to announce that the Blob Migration tool is now generally available, so you can migrate both your Blobstore and Datastore data in one easy


    * Application Code Limits Raised from 150MB/version to 1 GB/application     – For those of you biting your fingernails every time you update your application, wondering if today will be the day you finally reach the 150MB application version limit, fret not! We’ve updated the application size limit to be 1GB total for all versions of your application. You can check your app’s Admin Console to see the total size of all your application versions. In the future, you’ll be able to purchase more quota to store additional files.

    * Logs API Updates – Paid applications will now be able to specify a logs retention time frame of up to 1 year for their application logs, provided that the logs storage size specified is sufficient for that period. Additionally, we’re introducing some Logs API billing changes so that you can pay to read application logs after the first 100MB. Reading from the Logs API will cost $0.12/gigabyte for additional data over the first 100MB.
    Go SDK for Windows – We’ve published an experimental SDK for Windows for the Go runtime.

    * Go SDK for Windows – We’ve published an experimental SDK for Windows for the Go runtime.

    Google says these are just the highlights so, look into the new App Engine further. Supposedly it addresses a lot of user feedback and requests. You might find some of the features you’ve been waiting for, or discover other useful tools you didn’t even know you needed.

  • Ford’s Keyfree Password Manager Blows the Heads Off Competition

    Ford’s Keyfree Password Manager Blows the Heads Off Competition

    Ford has been desperately seeking a competitive advantage in creating an exceptional and undeniable driving experience, and their efforts have really paid off with this next innovation.

    Quite simple in its design, it is a Chrome extension that stores all your passwords for Google, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and many others. Combine this with a previously authorized smartphone, and you have a device that automatically logs you into all of your accounts upon approaching your computer.

    When combined with Ford’s NFC key fobs, you get instant access to your automobile with all your favorite sites unlocked and waiting for you inside. That’s truly a remarkable experience, in-car or otherwise. Getting access and staying connected is as simple as proximity; no need to remember, no need to type. It’s called Ford keyfree.

    Take a Look:

    Forget about asking why Chevy and Chrysler don’t offer this technology, why doesn’t Apple or Google? It’s password management technology that jumps leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, and it’s from an automobile company. That’s pretty damn impressive!

    While it isn’t available in the United States yet, it is on the way. In fact, we can expect to see a lot more innovation of this variety coming from Ford in the near future. The company has been funding a big open-source initiative and they are hungry for technology that puts the driver at the forefront of the in-car experience.

    Ford recently put resources and tools in place to make collaboration, innovation, integration, and development a mutually beneficial experience. They are seeking out engineers, inventors, app developers, scientists, and entrepreneurs to help them make the automobile more interactive. They have also partnered with companies like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and many others, in hopes of bringing concepts to reality.

    With their efforts so keenly focused on innovation and strategic partnership, there are bound to be a lot of developments rolling down the production line. We’ll keep you informed as Ford continue to seek out new avenues for refining automobiles and our driving experience.

  • Mozilla And National Science Foundation Unite For Mozilla Ignite

    Mozilla is probably the biggest proponent, outside of Google, of the power of the Web. They don’t believe in closed platforms or proprietary software. They believe in a future where everything is powered by a simple Web browser. To help advance that future, the non-profit is announcing a new contest.

    Mozilla and the National Science Foundation will be announcing a new program – Mozilla Ignite – at the White House tomorrow. It will challenge “designers, developers and everyday people” to “build applications for the faster, smarter Internet of the future.” What kind of applications? The two organizations want apps that will benefit humanity in areas like education, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, public safety and clean energy.

    “Mozilla believes in the power of the open internet and the power of distributed, community-based innovation,” said Mozilla’s Executive Director, Mark Surman. “This is an invitation to designers, developers and civic thinkers to create software that shapes the future and helps their communities.”

    Mozilla and the NSF are hosting Mozilla Ignite as part of the much larger US Ignite Initiative that was announced today by the White House. The goal is to “explore what’s possible through ultra-fast broadband networks.” As part of that exploration, Mozilla will be providing cash prizes to the winners.

    How do you enter? The first part of the contest is the “Brainstorming Round” where people will submit ideas of how to use the Internet as a means of social advancement over the next decade. Anybody can submit and discuss ideas during this round.

    Mozilla and the NSF will then select the very best of the ideas to receive funding and support. From there, participants will join together at hackathons and other events with the latest in Internet technology to test out their ideas. After all of the prep work is out of the way, the teams will compete for over $500,000 to make their ideas a reality.

    If you want to get started on the Internet of the future right now, you can submit ideas through Mozilla’s site. The deadline for submission is August 23. There are already two ideas that have fantastic potential. You can expect future proposals to be even better.

  • Windows Phone Marketplace Gets Strict With Submissions

    If there’s one complaint one could levy against the iTunes app store and Google Play, it would be that both are filled with a lot of trash. Little developers create an obviously lazy attempt at cashing in on the app craze or they outright steal somebody else’s app for their own purposes. It’s sad, but it’s common when both app stores are so open to submissions. Microsoft wants to make sure the Windows Phone Marketplace is home to a higher quality bar and have announced some new initiatives to keep that quality high.

    The Windows Phone team announced four new “improvements” coming to the Windows Phone Marketplace. Microsoft hopes that these changes will help decrease the amount of shovelware apps and increase the amount of quality that will hopefully drive more people to the platform.

    A problem that has plagued both iOS and Android is that app developers outright steal other developer’s content and republish it as their own. While the developer can report these actions, it can take Apple or Google days to respond. Microsoft feels that the majority of copyright and trademark violations are unintentional. To that end, they suggest that app developers follow these three rules:

    (1) You own the trademark, (2) you’ve secured permission from the owner to use it, or (3) you’re using a trademarked name (not a logo) to describe your app’s features or functionality without suggesting that the app is actually published by the trademark owner.

    It means that you can’t publish an app called “MSN” but you could publish an app called “Reader for MSN.” If a developer did intentionally infringe on your copyright or trademark, Microsoft will investigate and take down any apps if the complaint is valid.

    With Microsoft, it’s all about quality. Their next announcement is about keeping that quality as high as it can be. The company has seen a trend where developers submit hundreds of similar apps to different categories. The idea is that at least one of them will hit and they can start raking in that sweet ad revenue. Microsoft will have none of it though. So now they’re saying that any app submitted must be to a single category.

    If you are a developer submitting multiple apps at the same time, it’s fine if they’re different in some way to reflect the different categories they’e going in. It’s not going to work though if you have the same app icon for each app. Microsoft says that developers are going to have to differentiate the app icons if they want their apps to make it through approval. On a side note, the app’s branding shouldn’t be the focus of the icon either.

    Microsoft has had a rule for app keywords that says developers can only use up to five for each app. Developers have been breaking this rule and Microsoft never really enforced it. Now they are so any app starting this week that has more than five keywords will be denied submission. If you enter more than five keywords, Microsoft won’t just delete some until it hits five and let it through. They will delete all the keywords and send the app back to the drawing board.

    Oh, and the developers who are entering popular keywords like “Justin Bieber” for your totally unrelated app. That’s not cool and Microsoft has noticed that you’re playing the system. The company will now start monitoring this more closely and delete any unrelated keywords that you may have added.

    Like any good app policy, the final issue is about offensive content. Apple, Google and Microsoft all monitor their respective platforms for any apps submitted that may contain sexually explicit material or other offensive content. Microsoft isn’t going to be a stickler about it though. As far as sexuality goes, an app’s icon can have content that one would see in a PG-13 film.

    If your app does feature too racy of an icon, you will have to change it to remain in the store. Microsoft even helps those developers out by saying that silhouettes are totally acceptable. That opens an entirely new world of possibility in adult app development.

    While these rules seem pretty strict, it’s really not that bad. Microsoft is keeping a pretty broad line drawn between openness and strict regulations. I think that developers can appreciate a stronger focus on protecting IP as well.

    Will these rules help turn the Windows Phone Marketplace into a quality first app store? Or will it just drive away potential developers? Let us know in the comments.

  • Taptitude Proves Windows Phone 7 Games Can Be Successful

    If you’ve been following the mobile arena for any time now, you would have known that Zynga acquired “Draw Something” developer OMGPOP for a cool $200 million. Before that, OMGPOP was bringing in six figures a day in revenue. It’s a true testament to the ability of mobile games on Android and iOS to make developers obscenely wealthy. On the other hand, the success of apps on Windows Phone 7 has been relatively ignored by the media.

    FourBros Studios came out yesterday with a post on their Web site showing that Windows Phone 7 games can be successful. How successful? The studio is making over $1,000 a day now with their game, Taptitude. The wider adoption of Windows Phone 7 obviously led to their newfound success, but there were other factors at play as well.

    First and foremost, the game is free. That’s an obvious boost to app adoption since everybody likes free. If your app is free, you still have to make money off of it somehow though. On the more popular Android and iOS platforms, it’s done either through ads or in app purchases. FourBros Studios used Microsoft’s pubCenter to display ads on their game.

    The developer breaks down how pubCenter works for them. They say that you are paid for the number of “impressions” you earn each day. This is paid out per thousand impressions in an amount referred to as “eCPM.” Starting out, they were making very little money as they only got a few thousand impressions a day. Instead of throwing in the towel though, the team kept at it with constant free updates that added more to the game. This led to more people playing and keeping those that were already playing.

    All of this effort paid off in the end as they are now at nearly 100 million ad impressions. This isn’t the only factor in play though. At a point during last year, their “eCPM” was at $3 which boosted their revenue significantly. That was short lived, however, as it went back to $1 so they had to rely on impressions again to make money.

    It’s worked marvelously for them as they are now getting about 1 million impressions per day. This equates to about $1,000 a day in revenue. For a small team and indie game like Taptitude, that’s really impressive. It’s made even more impressive considering that it’s on the Windows Phone 7 platform.

    So let’s break down what makes this app successful. FourBros Studio built a game and stuck with it, they used pubCenter to monetize their free app and they provide constant updates to keep active players engaged while attracting new players. Would you look at that? That’s the exact same strategy every single successful app uses. So before you start making fun of Windows Phone 7 as a worthless platform to develop for, just know that the same strategies that make an app successful applies to any and all platforms.

    For all the juicy details and charts, check out FourBros Studios analysis of their game’s success. This should be a sign to other developers that it might be high time to invest in the Windows Phone platform. The audience is growing and they’re looking for quality content like Taptitude.

    [h/t: Business Insider]

  • Android App Developers Like Action Movies [Infographic]

    Android development has had a rough time of it over the past few weeks. There’s been reports of developers jumping ship and just losing interest in the platform. All this information has come from surveys that looked into developer interest at the most basic level. Where is the in depth survey that looks into device brands, platforms and even favorite movies?

    A new infographic from Startapp seeks to answer these very questions and more. The infographic contains the results from a survey that looked into the habits of Android developers. The results are fascinating as it paints a much brighter picture than what previous surveys have.

    The first and most important result from the survey is that the majority of Android developers are independent. This is further confirmed by the results that say the majority of Android development “companies” are staffed by a single person. With these kind of numbers, the amount of apps published by each developer must be pretty low, but surprisingly it’s not. Fifty-two percent of developers have published six to nine apps so far which is offset with 32 percent of them still working on their first app.

    A recent study found that the Amazon Appstore makes more money than the Google Play store. This survey seems to confirm that finding with 66 percent of developers publishing to the Amazon Appstore alongside the Google Play store.

    Of course, many Android app developers also make apps for other platforms. While Android is still the number one platform these developers at 62 percent, 37 percent of Android developers also develop for iOS. Even though iPhone development is second to Android developers, it’s third in terms of the devices they own. Fifty-three percent of Android developers own a Samsung device while 22 percent own an HTC device.

    By far, the most interesting find from this survey is the kind of movies, music and sports Android developers enjoy. It’s found that Android developers overwhelmingly prefer action movies more than any other genre. As for music, rock and pop are almost tied with one percentage point separating them. As for sports, soccer and basketball take the top spot with “Other” at a close second. What is “Other?” I don’t know, but I really hope it’s something like Curling.

    Following the White Rabbit [Infographic]
    © 2012 StartApp

  • Apple, RIM, & Android: App Facts [Infographic]

    Welcome to the wonderful and mysterious world of apps. These little guys can be pretty tempting. After all, as the now almost cliche saying goes; there’s an app for that. Although, it is true, not all apps are created equal. For instance, RIM offers only about 70,000 apps, but there are almost 6 million downloads per day. BlackBerry fans seem to really love these apps.

    In comparison, Google offers more than 400,000 Android apps, but only two paid apps have ever exceeded 500,000 downloads total. Ouch! iOS offers 500,000 apps, but their paid Apps popularity has decreased since last year. Interesting. Many of these statistics seem counterintuitive. Either way, Apple app sales are four times what Android apps are.

    Don’t let these numbers allow you to jump to conclusions. If you’re app-happy you need to investigate this next infographic from BlogBerry.de, the German BlackBerry site by RIM. It’s packed with colorful app facts and speaks the truth about apps in regard to who’s making the money and who’s downloading these things. Enjoy:

    Apps, RIM, Apple, How they Compare

  • Google To Android Developers: Use Google Wallet Or Get Delisted

    Google Wallet is a pretty nifty service. I use it for app purchases on my Android, but I can understand why consumers and developers alike would want to avoid using it. It seems that Google isn’t giving them a choice anymore.

    Reuters obtained an email sent from Google to Android app developers that essentially said they had to start using Google Wallet for in-app purchases or get delisted from the Android Market, I mean, Google Play. This would put the Android operating system on par with iOS and its universal use of iTunes for all purchases on the platform.

    The use of Google Wallet does have its drawbacks, however, especially for developers. Google takes a 30 percent cut of any purchases made through Google Wallet. The hope, according to developers, is that more purchases will now be made which will offset the increased cost to them.

    We reached out to Google for comment but have yet to hear back.

    This news follows on the this week’s announcement that the Android Market is now being integrated into Google Play alongside the company’s other services. This makes Android explicitly more of a Google product and app developers having to use Google Wallet for purchases only makes sense.

    Of course, Google Wallet isn’t only used for app purchases. It’s supposed to be the future of buying anything digital or retail – period. Rival services have been popping up recently, however, like PayPal’s efforts at The Home Depot or the recently announced collective of department stores using their own tech.

    This is just pure speculation here, but Google Wallet may only have Android to fall back on if any of these other services take hold. Google is no stranger to failure, but Google Wallet is one of those services that nobody, especially Google, wants to see fail. With it being forced onto Google Play developers and users, it gives Google Wallet the same amount of importance as iTunes. While not as impressive as being the service to herald in the next generation of payment systems, owning its own little corner of the digital retail landscape is proof enough of its success.

    What do you think? Is Google within their right to force app developers to adopt Google Wallet? Or should it be left open to whatever they want to use? Let us know in the comments.