Your First Mobile Application

Transcription

1 Your First Mobile Application What You Need to Know Jonathan Wurtzler Web Developer marketing + technology sundog fax: th st s floor 6 fargo, nd

2 Smartphones like iphones, Droids and Blackberrys are becoming an increasingly larger part of our lives. Every day, people everywhere are using their phones to do everything - from viewing their to tweeting their latest meal. And they do it all by using one thing: apps. Micro applications have made it possible for us to check things on the fly instead of being forced to sit in front of a computer screen. Now you can be at a football game and post a picture of you and your friends cheering, or you can catch-up on the latest blogs while sitting in a waiting room. What these little apps are capable of is endless. How can you not want to be a part of something like that? As a developer, I know it can be tempting to jump into the mobile market as soon as possible. But remember, it s important to learn exactly what you re getting into. So, before your business joins the mobile market, put your time and energy into researching phones, studying competitors apps and preparing a strategy. Know Your Phones Phone selection is crucial when targeting your app for the mobile market. Phone selection will affect a number of things, including: app projects and study the mobile market to ensure that the phone you re considering has staying power and will not be discontinued in the near future. Know Your Market Another area for businesses to consider before joining the app world, is location. Whether you choose to market your app on a local (US) or world (global) scale, based on your target audience, it is a good idea to compare the differences in market shares between each phone. In the local (US) market, there are four major contenders: RIM, Apple, Android, and Windows. RIM currently is in the lead. Windows is still a wild card, due to the release of the Windows 7 phone. And, as that company along with Apple and Android continues to offer more powerful devices, we may see RIM s market position sink. You will also notice the world market paints a very different picture than local markets for some of the following companies. For example, what was almost dead in the US Symbian is a powerhouse in the world market. So, do your research on both markets and bear in mind, only time will tell which companies will be at the top for the long haul. The number of people in your market, those who will own the phone brand, or model, you choose on which to market. The application market you will join and whose apps will compete with yours in that market. Which OS you will use to develop and maintain your app as well as the language, rules and regulations you should know about. The level of difficulty involved in making your phone choice will vary based on your knowledge of available smart phones. If your knowledge is limited, you may choose to go with what you know by writing an app for the smart phone you prefer to use. For those with more extensive knowledge, writing an app is a test of personal ability, or of experience, so they will have more options to choose from. No matter what your level of mobile awareness, consider the potential future of mobile 2

3 US Market The above chart, taken from the Nielsen Company 2010 quarter 3 report, outlines just how well major mobile contenders are doing in the local (US) market share. RIM/Blackberry In the third quarter of 2009, Research In Motion (RIM) topped the charts at 37%. Then, RIM was a strong choice for almost all users, because their keyboards made usage fast and simple and their phones were easy to use. As time moved on, however, and other phones became more advanced, RIM s numbers dipped to 30%. Apple iphone At the end of 2009, Apple s iphone continued to show strong numbers. The phone held its own at 26% for the entire year, despite the oncoming charge of Droid. A lot of the company s market staying power can be attributed to the loyalty of their customer base. Many said no matter what other phones hit the market they would always support the Apple brand. Android In 2009, Android was just getting its feet wet at a mere 4%. The Droid Motorola led sales until early 2010 when Android launched the Droid Incredible. As more models hit the market and people became more familiar with Android phones, the brand s popularity increased. Its success and growth were hard to ignore. Android s market level surpassed Windows at 19% by the end of the 2010 third quarter. 3

4 Microsoft Windows Mobile In 2009, Microsoft had 20%, just 6% behind Apple. But once Droid came into the picture, the company began to drop in the ratings, finishing out Q at 15%. While this number is relatively low, the onset of Windows 7 phones in Oct 2010 may help it climb again. Especially since it might be hard for other companies to compete with a phone that both links to the Xbox Live online gaming community and partners with the social giant Facebook. Palm, Palm Web, and Symbian These three phones started toward the bottom of the market in 2010 and, unfortunately, only declined as the year progressed. As far as market share and popularity are concerned, these phones are hardly considered contenders. Worldwide Mobile Market 4

5 Symbian The Worldwide Mobile Market chart on the previous page shows Symbian is dominating foreign markets, specifically Korea and India. The company s growth over 2010 steadily increased in units sold, even though their overall market share has decreased. They still lead by a large margin, but that could change with time. Android In one year in the worldwide market, Android saw an amazing boom. They jumped from selling less than 1.4 million units to over 20 million and saw their 3.5% world market share jump to over 25%, dwarfing Apple and RIM. As it is in the US market, Android is a solid contender to any other phone out there. Apple iphone Worldwide, Apple saw growth in their overall units sold, but their actual market share has plateaued slightly below 17% almost half of its US market share. RIM/Blackberry Like Apple, RIM saw an increase in units sold, but still lost much of its previous market share. The company now stands below 15%. Windows Much like their status in the US, Windows doesn t seem to be a real player in the world markets. As you can see from the Worldwide Mobile Market chart, the company took losses in both units sold and market share. However, many people still think Windows could make a comeback with the introduction of their new Windows 7 phones. 5

6 Know Your Numbers Another area to research before joining the mobile world is the app market for each operating system (OS). Each market offers a different number and different types of competing apps. In this case, data like that below should be carefully considered before making a choice. (148Apps.biz, 2010 AndroLib.com 2010 McInnes, 2010 pre central, 2010 Microsoft, 2010) The hard numbers for the above chart show Apple at 297,101, Blackberry at 9,650, Windows at 1,388, Android at 170,617 and Palm at 5,400. As you can see, the saturation of each market is staggeringly different, showing which app markets developers are flocking to. The current numbers take into account the Windows 6 system only. Because of the massive OS changes to Windows 7 OS, all apps created for version 6 will have to be overhauled in order to work properly. This rebuilding phase will require time and energy from developers and we may see them take advantage of offers from other platforms like ios or Android to bring to Windows first. What do these numbers really mean? When entering a market that already shows high numbers, you will need to make sure your app is unique. In other words, if you plan to delve into the Apple or Android market, you better be ready for some competition, because with more than 150,000 apps in each market, it will be hard not to run into an app that s at least similar to yours. Conversely, your app is more likely to be unique in a market with fewer apps, but there may be a reason the apps are missing from the market. Be unique right from the start. 6

7 Know Your Requirements As mentioned before, mobile markets have unique rules, regulations and requirements for building applications. Each app market is different and has different standards that must be met before earning approval. Android is currently the only company that allows submittal directly to the market. So, to ensure development and submittal are accepted into the desired market, it s best to learn and follow the app requirements from the beginning. This will keep the app building process as efficient as possible and will help avoid being forced to rebuild apps over and over to get them published. Apple Requirements Apple requires that companies first sign-up with their developer community (Apple, 2010) before starting to program iphone apps. Only those who pay the yearly fee of $100 are allowed to download the SDK and development may only be done on a Mac computer. Once the app is created, companies are required to go through an approval process one that was, until recently, undocumented. Once the app is approved, it can be posted to the istore. This sounds easy, but many apps have been rejected at this phase, often for unknown causes. The approval process itself often involves a long waiting period anywhere from 6 days to 42 days (148Apps.biz 2010). And, until recently, Apple hadn t developed any set guidelines so that developers could make sure their apps were up to the proper standards before submittal. Thankfully, there is now a list of guidelines on the Apple developer site. It s highly recommended that companies read this document prior to starting a project, so that companies can prevent a rejection and ensure app approval. Android Requirements The requirements for Android development are substantially easier than Apple s. Simply pay the yearly fee, download the SDK which works for Windows, Mac and Linux from their website (Android, 2010) and begin coding. Submission to the Android market is also a far easier task than entering the istore. Finished apps can be uploaded once the $25 registration fee has been paid and the required information is filled out. Note that your app may still be removed if it does not follow Android s guidelines, so reading these requirements is a must. Another benefit from creating apps for Android is that companies or people may host or serve any applications they ve built on their own without putting them on the market. In these cases, however, the person, developer or company is required to handle all credit card sales, traffic and promotion themselves. Unfortunately, choosing this route means that users who want to download your application will be asked whether or not to allow untrusted sources on their phone, which could decrease the app s success. RIM/Blackberry Requirements RIM/Blackberry requirements are similar to Droid development. Download the SDK from their website (BlackBerry, 2010), and enter your information. As a bonus, RIM/Blackberry does not require a subscription fee. In order to submit apps to Blackberry s App World, companies must register as vendors. This requires a $200 fee and will allow for up to 10 app uploads. After those 10 uploads are used, vendors much purchase an additional package of 10 apps at the same $200 cost. Palm Requirements Palm has two development options: either the SDK for JS/HTML/CSS or their PDK for C/C++. Both are free and require no information or submission to use. One thing to remember when building a Palm app is they have a 200MB limit. Similar to an Apple application, apps must be submitted for review before being published. After the app is created, developers must sign up (free) and follow Palm s list of submittal steps for app approval (Von Rospach, 2010). Then, if approved, Palm will notify you with directions on how to upload the app. 7

8 Windows 7 Requirements Windows 7 is another market that offers free development. The Microsoft site (Microsoft, 2010) provides access to the tools necessary for development, which of course must be done using only a Windows computer. Once the app is created, companies must sign-up for an annual membership at a cost of $99. To be published, apps must be submitted to Microsoft for review and then accepted or certified. To read the full guidelines regarding the certification process, download the.pdf off Microsoft s website (Microsoft Corporation, 2010). Know Your Information Choosing the mobile market that s right for you, your company, and your app, involves many factors. It may be best to choose Android the market with the fasted turn- around time, so you can avoid a lengthy approval process and publish your app as soon as possible. Or, if your company prefers to choose a market that allows you to reach as many US phones as possible, Palm is the way to go. Before diving into the exciting world of apps, review the provided information and study the differences between mobile devices, app markets, and the requirements of each. Then, do some homework on your own. Weigh the pros and cons of each and every aspect of your new app and where or how it should be developed and published. And, as with everything in the software realm, remember things change quickly. Think ahead, think thoroughly and be smart before you start, so you can avoid going back to the drawing board later. 8

9 Sources: 148Apps.biz. (November 18th, 2010). App Store Metrics. In 148Apps.biz. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Apple. (2010). ios Dev Center. In Developer - Apple. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Android. (2010). Android Developers - Dev Guide. In Developer - Android. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from AndroLib.com. (November 16th, 2010). App Stats. In AndroLib. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from BlackBerry. (2010). BlackBerry Developer Zone. In BlackBerry. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from McInnes, K. (June 11th, 2010). BlackBerry App World 2.0 Expectations High Post WWDC. In Blackberrycool. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Microsoft. (2010). app hub registration walkthrough. In MSDN App Hub. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Microsoft. (Nov 18th, 2010). WindowsPhone - Shop Apps. In Windows Phone. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Microsoft Corporation. (October 2010). Windows Phone 7 Application Certification Requirements. In site PDF. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from The Nielsen Company. (November 1st, 2010). Mobile Snapshot: Smartphones Now 28% of U.S. Cellphone Market. In nielsenwire. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from pre central. (Nov 18th, 2010). Official App Catalog App Gallery. In pre central. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Tudor, B and Pettey, C. (November 10th, 2010). Gartner Says Worldwide Mobile Phone Sales Grew 35 Percent in Third Quarter 2010; Smartphone Sales Increased 96 Percent. In Gartner. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from Von Rospach, C. (August 18th, 2010). Bring Us Your Apps, and Sell Them, Too. In HP Palm Developer Center. Retrieved November 10th, 2010, from 9