apps | Internet Marketing Blog

Debenhams rolls out free wi-fi in its stores

Debenhams announced today that it will be providing free wi-fi in partnership with O2, in all of its 167 stores.

The wi-fi coverage will allow customers to access information about products, view reviews, order out of stock items, and receive discount vouchers straight to their mobiles.

This is a smart move from Debenhams, and one which addresses the threat of mobile use in store and turns it to the retailer's advantage.

by Graham Charlton 12 June 2012 10:22am 3 comments

Are too many ads spoiling the ITV Player?

ITV recently added live streaming to its apps for iPhone, iPad and iPod, just in time for Euro 2012.

I have used both iPlayer and the ITV Player iPhone apps over the past few days, and iPlayer wins hands down.

Here's why...

by Graham Charlton 11 June 2012 11:49am 20 comments

Quixey raises $20m for app search engine

When you want to search the web, chances are you turn to Google. But where do you go when you want to search for mobile apps?

It's a question more and more consumers will grapple with as use of smartphones grows and the number of sites with app platforms increases. And one company, Quixey, wants to be the answer to that latter question.

by Patricio Robles 07 June 2012 19:17pm 0 comments

For Flattr, mobile becomes more of a barrier, less of an opportunity

Despite all of the well-documented challenges facing organizations that are trying to take advantage of the rapid rise of mobile, mobile presents what may be one of the greatest business opportunities for many companies.

It's not hard to understand why: there are estimated to be more than 5.5bn handsets in use globally today, making the mobile phone one of the most ubiquitous devices ever.

In developed and emerging nations, a growing number of those phones are smartphones that offer always-on access to the web.

by Patricio Robles 29 May 2012 10:33am 0 comments

Apps do not equal money: fools gold revealed

App findability is a major problem for new app releases. The Holy Grail is to get into the top 25 list on the app store.

Unfortunately, to get into that listing, you need to be downloaded 40,000 times a day! It's time for a new approach.

by Rob Borley 28 May 2012 10:42am 2 comments

Google launches in-app subscriptions on Google Play

For developers building mobile and tablet apps, in-app billing is an indispensable monetization tool.

After all, it's often easier and more profitable to give an app away for free and then charge for extra features. This is particularly true for gaming apps.

But there's another monetization tool that many developers, particularly those building content-rich apps, have been eying: in-app subscriptions.

by Patricio Robles 25 May 2012 16:52pm 1 comment

Yahoo builds a browser, and people actually like it

Yahoo has made a lot of big mistakes over the years, and today it finds itself in the fight of its life to stay relevant on the modern web.

The big questions: what can Yahoo do to recapture some of its past glory, if anything at all?

One possible answer is so obvious that nobody thought of it earlier: build a browser.

by Patricio Robles 24 May 2012 16:14pm 6 comments

Online shoe fitting app reduces returns by 23%

An app which allows customers to find more accurate information about the shoe size they need to order has managed to reduce fit-related returns rates by 23%

US retailer Running Warehouse has been using the Shoefitr app on its product pages since 2010, and the tool has been very popular with consumers.

By reducing fit-related returns, the app has enabled Running Warehouse to increase its profit margins by 2.5%.

by Graham Charlton 16 May 2012 12:14pm 3 comments

Facebook's App Center: the exciting bit is mobile

Last week Facebook announced that it would be creating its own version of an app store, aptly called the App Center.

Facebook software engineer Aaron Brady made the announcement via the company’s blog, explaining that: “In the coming weeks, people will be able to access the App Center on the web and in the iOS and Android Facebook apps”.

This will create a central place to find apps that use Facebook Open Graph, from Facebook.com or within the two most-popular mobile apps.

by Vikki Chowney 14 May 2012 10:00am 3 comments

Facebook launches its own app store

Facebook has built a multi-billion dollar ecosystem with its application platform, but much of the growth of that platform has been driven by social games created by companies like Zynga.

In an effort to help the 900m-plus Facebook users discover apps of all shapes and sizes, and create new monetization opportunities for app developers, Facebook yesterday announced the launch of its own app store, the App Center.

by Patricio Robles 10 May 2012 10:18am 1 comment