Mobile apps | Internet Marketing Blog

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

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

Facebook launches homegrown mobile photo app

What's cooler than spending $1bn on a mobile photo sharing app?

The answer: spending $1bn on a mobile photo service and then launching your own mobile photo sharing app service weeks later.

by Patricio Robles 25 May 2012 09:08am 1 comment

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

Angry Birds Space becomes fastest-growing mobile game ever

While nobody can deny the massive popularity of Rovio's Angry Birds franchise, there are plenty of skeptics who question whether Rovio's cash cow will remain popular forever.

And for good reason: in today's fast-paced and highly-competitive gaming market, which now includes millions of social and casual 'gamers', producing hits is difficult but keeping them hits is often even more difficult.

by Patricio Robles 30 April 2012 21:12pm 2 comments

Is Viddy Facebook's next big acquisition?

We have learned a lot about Facebook's $1bn acquisition of photo sharing service Instagram in the two weeks following the deal.

From details of the negotiations to the motivations that drove both parties to deal, a clearer picture has emerged about Facebook's largest purchase to date.

by Patricio Robles 30 April 2012 16:56pm 0 comments

Is your mobile app better than your website?

The apps versus mobile websites debate isn't going away any time soon.

It's not an either-or proposition, and companies that get too focused on picking a winner may lose sight of more interesting and important subjects that apps and the mobile web have created.

by Patricio Robles 24 April 2012 20:33pm 3 comments

Apps and free trials: Has The Telegraph got it wrong?

The Daily Telegraph released its iPhone and Android smartphone apps earlier this month, offering users a free one-month trial of its new service.

Users who sign up can access news content, live financial data and video and picture galleries.

The Telegraph has achieved successful engagement levels on its iPad app so it makes sense to add smartphone apps to its portfolio.

The apps cost £1.99 per month following the free trial, which is similar to pricing models offered by other publishers.

by David Moth 24 April 2012 14:38pm 0 comments

Q&A: Grapple CEO Alistair Crane on mobile app development

When creating a mobile app one of the key decisions is choosing what functionality to offer your customers.

For example, Comet’s app offered users product information and a price checking facility but didn’t offer customers the chance to make a purchase within the app.

In comparison, Premier Inn’s app allows users to manage their account and make bookings.

Both these apps were created by Grapple and achieved impressive download stats.

by David Moth 24 April 2012 13:01pm 0 comments

Five rules for boosting mobile app user retention

With smartphone penetration rising and more and more consumers turning to the mobile web, the opportunity to get your mobile app into the hands of those consumers might seem to be growing by leaps and bounds.

But getting the users you acquire to stick around is proving challenging -- perhaps even more challenging than on the web.

by Patricio Robles 29 March 2012 15:07pm 1 comment