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With AppsGeyser, the worries of code disappear. All developers need to do is enter a URL of a mobile-designed website or grab the relevant HTML code you want turned into an application. And that’s it. The genius behind it is simply an automated algorithm that changes set lines of pre-written code, leaving the basic building blocks untouched that developers would have to otherwise write manually.

The service goes beyond creation and into monitoring and promotion, too. Advanced statistics allow developers to see how many times applications have been downloaded, installed and uninstalled; and applications can be submitted to “many galleries” around the web that specialize in application advertisement. The only potential caveat is that ads are built-in to all applications created with AppsGeyser, but to act as a suitable incentive, “[AppsGeyser pays] you every time someone clicks ads in your apps.” It is not yet known how much is earned per click for both parties.

Chief Technical Officer Salomatov wrote to us earlier this week, regarding the launch of a new API that allows developers to integrate their applications with the AppsGeyser service, and offers their users the “ability to create Android App right in [their] application.” The API is free and currently in private beta, available to “existing power users and for companies … that are serious about harnessing the potential of apps for their content distribution strategy.” If you are a company interested in the API, here’s where you’ll want to be.

One thing’s for sure – development just became a whole lot easier for simple applications. Now, where’s my iOS version?

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On metadata, Apple points out that there are certain bits of information which can’t be changed once an app is submitted for review, such as the name or keywords, but other bits of data like screenshots or marketing descriptions can be altered at any time. The full breakdown can be found in Appendix A and B of the iTunes Developers Guide. Developers can also check out Apple’s breakdown of the most efficient way to submit in-app purchases, streamlining the approval process and making sure all the pertinent info gets to all the right places. Finally, it is now possible for developers to submit the same product name to the App Store and the Mac Store, which will allow for consistency across brand platforms and provide easy recognition for customers.

This flood of new info should be extremely helpful for anyone in the process of submitting an app to Apple and being unsure of what to do next. Really, the hard work should all be handled in the creation of and testing of the app itself, not when you’re merely trying to go through the final steps of getting it approved and pushed out to the public. Hopefully this new information can make things just a tiny bit easier on everyone involved.

[via TiPb]

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According to research and analysis firm Gartner, Android enjoys 17.7% of the worldwide mobile operating system market share, 0.2% above Apple iOS, and is a strong challenger to become the leader of the market by 2014.

The Platform & Programming Environment
Applications for Android OS are written in Java, supplemented by a modified version of the Linux kernel. Both are essential elements to programming, where the former relates to an application and the latter to the bridge whereby hardware and software talk to each other. Android stresses that “each Android application lives in its own world” whereby: every application runs its own Linux process (Android plays King by executing and shutting down these processes); each process has its own virtual machine; and applications can see each other’s files if they share the same user ID.

Applications can be built in a number of ways, the most popular – and commonly accepted to be the easiest – method being through Eclipse, an open source software developing environment composed of an essential integrated development network (Apple’s being Xcode) and a plethora of additional plug-ins. Android released an official Development Tools Plugin specifically for Eclipse, which makes “creating and debugging your Android applications easier and faster … gives you an incredible boost in developing Android applications.” If Eclipse isn’t your thing, the Android SDK hosts an OS emulator that allows to you develop and test applications without the need for a physical device. Taking this one step further, the Android Virtual Devices tool allows developers to model actual devices that can run Android, by specifying memory size, whether or not the device has a camera or physical keyboard and so on.

The Developer Network
Android, owned by Google, allows developers to communicate with each other through Google Groups – electronic mailing lists and discussion groups. There are two main portals of communication, each of which carry their own subset of boards and categories. Firstly, the Android Developer Community. This is geared specifically towards those seeking information and discussion regarding the building of applications for Android OS. Seven main boards exist, including ones for novice builders, experienced developers and on Android security. The second portal of communication is the Android Source Community, a more general and contribution-based area where developers can get together to discuss the platform and coding behind it. Boards include general discussion, porting applications and Linux kernel code contributions.

In addition, developers can get together through live IRC on two official channels: #android (general discussion) and #android-dev (specifically for development) on the irc.freenode.net server. A number of unofficial channels also exist, some of which are listed in the embedded link above.

App Publication
The Android App Market has over 100,000 applications to date, making it second in the world only to Apple. All developers must go through a signup process for the Android Market, where a unique developer profile is created for a registration fee of $25. Once signed up, developers are free to publish and update applications at will. Unlike the Apple iTunes App Store, there is no approval process, meaning updates and new applications can be rolled out as soon as they are finished.

The lax publishing process is accompanied with a lax content and publication policy, which can be read here. In an earlier article entitled App Store Review Guidelines – A Closer Look, I commented on the vague and sometimes ambiguous phraseology used in Apple’s App Store Guidelines, the same can be said for the Android Market. For example, bullet point four reads “promotions of hate or incitement of violence” – are any shooting games automatically deemed unfit given the incitement of violence? In the official Android application rating document, readable here (and worth the read before the publication of any applications), it makes reference to “graphic violence” being allowed so long as it is rated “Mature”. Unfortunately, developers once again remain on the back foot when it comes to submission of applications.

In terms of commission, the Android Market has now imposed the industry-standard 70% developer commission for each copy of application sold. All payments work through Google Checkout, but only developers in certain countries can sell paid-for applications, presumably based on the limitations of Google Checkout. The list of countries where free applications can be downloaded is much more generous.

In concluding, the Android Market is experiencing phenomenal growth, along with Android OS. Its growing presence and status as a challenger against the long withstanding incumbent Symbian is making it a much more appealing choice to developers, eager to stay at least one step ahead in the technological game of catch me if you can. Focusing on the Android Market certainly has its advantages, particularly when it comes to red tape in comparison to Apple, but is also a risk given the iPhone and iPad’s enduring appeal, especially at this time of year.

Essential Links
Android Market
Android Fundamentals
Android Development Tools Plugin
Android Mobile Device Emulator
Android Virtual Devices Tool
Android Market Signup
Content and Publication policy
Android Application Rating

Developer Resources
The Developer’s Guide
List of Sample Apps

Recommended Reading
Official Tools
Developing in Eclipse, with ADT Plugin
Android Source Community
Android Developer Community

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Every iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad has its own unique device identification number, better known by the abbreviation UDID. Without TestFlight, developers need to add manually acquire every tester’s UDID number and add it into their developer account, then distribute the application via email or download so that testers can install the ad hoc copy through iTunes. The process, for both developers and testers, is time consuming and prone to error.

With TestFlight, developers upload a build of their application and are then given a private web link that, whenever a tester taps on it on their iOS device, automatically installs the application. The process of UDID gathering is handled through TestFlight and the Apple Developer Portal, as explained by Josh Kerr, co-founder of Zosh. A tester enters in their UDID information into TestFlight, then the developer can just copy and paste UDIDs straight into the Apple Dev Portal. Once the necessary certificate has been installed and a new build created, TestFlight automatically notifies all relevant testers that a new build is ready. No uninstalling of the application occurs, as it does through Apple’s official system. Having worked with beta releases through the old-fashioned Apple way and through TestFlight’s new alternative, the process is suddenly so much simpler. No iTunes. No syncing. Just a single webpage.

To understand just how useful TestFlight is, I turn my attention to Neven Mrgan, co-creator of The Incident. His story reveals how “I flew to WWDC just as The Incident was shaping up into a fully playable game … but the timing ended up being slightly wonky: there was a serious bug in the last version I had.” Under normal circumstances, people in this situation would have been forced to update the application through their own personal computer to which their device was authorized. Not ideal. And that’s where TestFlight comes in. With one tap to a unique link and another to download straight to your iDevice, the latest build downloads and installs automatically.

Apple rejected TestFlight as an application, presumably due to its circumventing nature of the normal beta process, but that has not stopped the developers 23 Divide from implementing it entirely through Safari. Nonetheless, TestFlight moves the barrier forward when it comes to ad hoc testing. Having used the service personally, I’m certainly appreciative.

[via ReadWriteWeb]

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With so many uses of the word “pimp” in there we’re surprised MTV isn’t getting in on the action as well.

Developers will be provided with a set of technical requirements and criteria as well as access to Fringe multimedia assets in order to create the best possible partner app to the show and must make it compatible with both iOS and Android devices. The winning app will go on to become the official Fox Fringe app and the developer will be awarded a $10,000 prize. A second place prize winner will receive $1000. The winners will be announced at this year’s Appnation in San Francisco.

Those interested are urged to visit the Appnation website to find out more about the competition which closes for entries on September 3rd

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iPhone app developers would do well to carefully examine all aspects of pricing as it pertains to their product, make careful pricing decisions, monitor and measure sales results, and make adjustments as needed to maximize their revenue. You can maximize sales results for your app through better marketing and marketing includes spending some time on the challenging area of pricing.

You should consider a number of factors when pricing your iPhone app. For starters, look at competing apps in your category and then ask yourself the following questions:

• How much do competitors charge for a similar app? Take a look at the AppStore and review how many apps are similar to yours. Have you produced another Battleship game that is similar to other apps or is it far better? Be honest!
• What are the differences between my app and someone else’s? Do you have more features? If it is a new financial calculator, does it offer something more than the other competing apps on the store?
• How does your app rate against the competition? Do you feel that your app has better graphics? Better sound? More exciting action? Have you confirmed this with your reviewers, friends, followers, and customers?
• How do you define your app and market? If you are selling a tool for sales reps only, have you attempted to define approximately how many sales reps are in your country or market? Of your target market how many of them might own iPhones?
• How does your app compare to free apps? If there are many competing free iPhone apps you will need to strongly communicate the value of your app. Overcoming objections to free is a high hurdle that can be mitigated with better marketing.
• How much would the app cost to develop by another company? Larger development firms can create an app less expensively than a small developers because they already have developers and graphic designers on staff and can quickly redirect their efforts to that iPhone app. Independent developers may have to outsource some of the skill set of development (especially if it’s a game).
• What were the actual development costs or time involved? Knowing your development costs is also very important in helping you determine the price of your app.

Setting Your App’s Price

After you’ve considered these issues, the big question remains, “How do I price my app?” You’ve come this far to develop a great app so don’t pass up this crucial step in making your app as successful as possible. Now, everyone defines success in their own way. Perhaps you want to generate $20,000 a year in additional income from an app that cost you $5000 to create.

Perhaps you have grander ambitions and want to generate $100,000 in app sales for a product that cost you $20,000 to create. If you start at a $.99 selling price (less Apple’s 30% take) you would have to generate 28,860 downloads to clear $20,000 or 144,300 downloads to achieve $100,000 in sales! These are huge numbers of downloads any way you slice it and that’s after you pay for your development costs. Starting at a $.99 sales price is going to take some time to breakeven unless you have a “grand slam, out-of-the-park, into-the- parking lot” kind of app!

In both examples I didn’t mention the breakeven which should also be factored in. I’m assuming you want to make some money selling your iPhone app. But, for the record you would need 7,215 downloads at the $.99 selling price to break even on the first example at a development cost of $5000. The second app would require you to have 28,860 in downloads just to break even on expenses of $20,000!

I also realize that you may have spent less developing your app and so your break even may be lower. But, regardless you need to calculate your break even so you at least have an idea of what it’s going to take to cover your development costs. If you haven’t spent real dollars in development you most certainly have burned long nights writing code! So, you should calculate your hours spent in development and estimate some sort of development cost based on your typical hourly rate.

Let’s assume you have spent $5000 to develop your business application. You believe you can sell 100 apps per day. Your sales numbers based on different price points are shown below. As you can see by looking at the table, pricing your app at $.99 will take you over two months (70 days) to break even assuming you spent $5000 to develop your app.

Based on the chart above I am of the opinion that it’s better to price your app a little higher at first and carefully monitor the results. By this I mean at least $1.99 so that you’ve got room to adjust your pricing downward if needed. The issue with any pricing assumption is trying to figure out how elastic the pricing model is for iPhone apps. Some app developers have said that lowering their price has had some effect on sales but only for a limited time. Others have said that lowering the price has had no effect on their sales. Who do you believe? Well, they are both right. It depends on the type of app being sold. So, the best approach is to experiment at a price point that makes sense for your app based on your competitive research, breakeven analysis and type of application. A truly unique app can command a higher price. Some utility apps are selling for much higher than $.99. Yes, even some games are selling for more than $.99!

Some app sellers have also found some success in offering some limited time offers where they drop the price for a few days to spur sales. If you have a certain promotion you want to do around an event you can often spur sales by offering a temporary price cut. Let’s say you offer a financial calculator that includes special tax features. You may want to reduce your price for a few days around tax time to spur sales to have your app take advantage of this particular time of year.

If you are confident that your app is unique and has qualities and features that no similar app provides, I say price it higher and measure the results. If over a few weeks your sales start to drop off you can carefully reduce the price for a time and measure the results. If you are spending some time on marketing and building a following for your brand you should see steady sales. Remember, in this economy people are willing to pay for quality at a reasonable price. They are not willing to pay for poorly designed apps at any price.

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Discover which Scoreloop games your friends are playing

Scoreloop Community provides the following features both on the web and in the dedicated iPhone application to any game developer/publisher by simply implementing the free Scoreloop SDK:

• Discover & Browse – All Scoreloop-enabled games, their high score lists and challenges are now more visible to players. Scoreloop Community for the iPhone also acts as a central gaming launch pad. It allows for launching Scoreloop enabled games and switching back and forth between the community and games.
• Scoreloop Promote – Now players can view the games that are played by others and access them directly on the App Store.
• Friends Activities – Scoreloop keeps players up to date with what and how their friends are playing.
• Scoreloop Avatar Editor – Players create and save custom avatars changing them as frequently as they wish.
• Web Widgets – With a single click, developers and publishers add customizable online high score lists to their own web sites, extending the community reach even further.

Scoreloop Community on the iPhone fully implements iPhone push notifications for Scoreloop challenges. Whenever players are challenged or when their challenges are accepted they will be directly notified through text like messages, badges and/or sound. This brings the social interaction in gaming even closer to the players and makes playing a Scoreloop enabled game even more addictive.

“After pioneering player challenges, Scoreloop is again raising the level of play for game developers with its cross platform community,” said Scoreloop’s CEO, Marc Gumpinger. “We’re providing the most sophisticated and complete mobile social gaming platform making gaming more fun and allowing our developer ‘partners’ to increase their user base virally through friend invitations and more. Scoreloop doesn’t create games, but instead we partner with game developers to move the market forward together.”

With its free, easy to implement and highly customizable SDK, Scoreloop is the only platform offering online high scores and player challenges available today for any game on the iPhone and iPod touch from OS 2.0 to 3.x. At the core of its mobile social gaming approach, Scoreloop’s challenges allow players to interact with each other on an entertaining and thrilling level. Players instantly see their high score ranking and can challenge anyone, including buddies in their address book or on Facebook. Scoreloop’s comparison algorithm makes sure players compete against someone at a similar skill level. If the player performs well, they win medals and Coins that show their skills to opponents. These features increase the game’s value, virally spread games and increase user loyalty.

Scoreloop generates revenues from its micro-transaction infrastructure that is shared with game developers and publishers. Scoreloop offers its technology free of charge and even allows for monetizing free games.

With hundreds of developers already registered, Scoreloop-enabled games continue to proliferate at the Apple App Store including: Aeio, Bug Landing, Flying, GeoRain, Monster Mash, Orb, Sorty, Submarine, Zombie Pub Crawl and 50 more game commitments from third party developers – more coming in day-by-day.

“We definitely will be integrating Scoreloop into all of our upcoming games,” said Bruce Johnson of Orange Crane Games who implemented Scoreloop in Zombie Pub Crawl. “Our staff is addicted to Scoreloop challenges,” added Stephen Northcott from Ginetix, who implemented Scoreloop in Orb.

With its new community platform on the Web, on Facebook and on the iPhone, Scoreloop extends its unparalleled online high score and player challenge features to reach even more players and generate even more visibility for Scoreloop enabled games.

About Scoreloop

Scoreloop is the technology leader in mobile social gaming bringing online high scores, player challenges and viral distribution to game developers and publishers.

As a neutral-platform, Scoreloop focuses on partnering with game developers to build the mobile social gaming community rather than developing its own games. Scoreloop is venture funded by Europe’s Target Partners.

To find out more about Scoreloop Community go to www.scoreloop.com/community and to download the free SDK go to www.scoreloop.com

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If you have aspirations to make more than a little spending money from your iPhone app then you must develop a marketing plan and apply tried-and-true marketing principles to your sales strategy. For example, as you wrote your iPhone app did you take some thought to determine who your target market is and how you will message to them in a way that they immediately understand the value of your app? Do you understand how to price your app for maximum success? Have you spent some time to formulate a marketing plan that will create a strong following of satisfied customers?

Marketing for iPhone apps is similar to marketing other online software products, although the marketing tools available have expanded in recent years especially in the area of social media. The steps are still the same: develop a product that your customers need (iPhone app), create and deliver a strong marketing message to attract a following, and continue to develop new products and upgrades to retain existing customers.

When you understand that marketing is a process that incorporates these fundamental steps you will be able to perform them to increase sales success for your iPhone app. For many iPhone app developers an understanding of the necessary marketing steps to increase exposure for iPhone app(s) is something new to them. Whether you are just starting out as a first time developer or have created and posted a number of apps for sale, you’ll want to take a closer look at marketing if you desire to move beyond being a casual developer and seller of iPhone apps to a successful marketer of your own best-selling brand.

Step 1: Understand Your App’s Unique Value and Message It

What sets your iPhone app apart from all your competitors? Let’s face it. There are lots of competitors with similar apps. You have to come up with ways to be unique. There are three key questions that you should attempt to answer as you define your iPhone app’s unique value. The answers to these questions become the pillars of your marketing process and should be incorporated in your marketing plan to the best of your ability:

1. What’s unique about your iPhone app? List all the features, graphics, sounds, functions that are unique to your app. This list will help you develop a marketing message for your app and keep you focused during app development.
2. Who is your target audience? Who will buy your app and who do you really want to sell to? Are you focused on the teenage market? Do you have a business app geared to a specific type of profession? Understanding your audience will help you develop a targeted marketing plan.
3. Who are your competitors? Are you going up against a large game developer or a business program? Knowing your competitors will help you define strategies to compete against the big boys.

The answer to these questions forms the basis of your marketing message.

Step 2: Deliver Your Message to your Targeted Audience

Demand for your app is created when you help a prospective customer see that you have a solution to their problem or you pique their curiosity. The demand for most products is already there; it’s just a matter of you creating a message that resonates with that audience and gets them to notice you.

Delivering your message happens when you create powerful descriptions and visuals for your app on the AppStore and on your app’s own web site. You must think in terms of showcasing your app on the AppStore and on a corresponding web site. The web site can be used to show videos of your app, provide additional screen shots and other content. Always display a “buy now” button prominently on your own site that directs the buyer to your app on the AppStore.

Social media marketing (SMM) can help you generate buzz for your app. Long before you launch the sale of your app you can be visiting and blogging to audiences that share an interest in your type of app. This interest can be converted to buyers once your app is launched. Take a look at using Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other social media tools to help get the word out about your app.

Step 3: Price Your iPhone App Effectively for Maximum Success

Much has been said about pricing your iPhone app. The strategy of pricing your app at $.99 to gain entry into the Top 100 category is becoming more difficult because of all the apps already posted to the App Store.

A better approach is to review the competition to get a feel for the price ranges for similar apps. If your app has strong features (go back to your list of unique features from step 1) then don’t be afraid to price the app at a higher price than $.99. Achieving break-even at $.99 is a lot harder than you may think unless you are one of the lucky few who hit a grand slam first at bat.
Starting at a little higher price gives you some room to discount and try some promotions to test out where your app will sell well. People will pay for quality and as more business-related apps become available their prices will reflect their value.

Step 4: Implement a Brief Marketing Plan for Your App

With the right message and the right audience combined with the right marketing tools and methods, you can create marketing campaigns that will be extremely effective in reaching your ideal audience. Your marketing plan does not to be lengthy but it needs to define what steps you will use to reach your defined audience. In short, your plan should include a clearly defined marketing message, a description of your ideal target audience, campaigns definitions (product reviews, press release and promotions) so that you have a roadmap of what you want to happen before your app hits the App Store.

Regardless of where you are at in the development process of your app you need to spend some time looking at how you want to market your iPhone app. The days of “hoping for the best” when selling your iPhone app are gone. Your marketing efforts should work in lockstep with your development efforts. Your sales results will improve through marketing and you just might come back to write another app, perhaps a best-selling blockbuster app!

Author: Jeff Hughes
Creator and Instructor of “Intro to Marketing iPhone Apps” available at http://www.xcelme.com

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