Mobile Application Development

Agenda

1030 Mobile DevelopmentApps & The AppStore, Making Money From Apps, Mobile Web vs Mobile App

1200 Lunch1300 Technical Stream

iPhone Coding, Business Engagement, C#.NET with MonoTouch, Unity

1300 UX Design StreamIntro to UX, UX Concepting, Interaction Design, Graphical Design

1500 ReceptionFurness Senior Common Room

Apps & App Stores

Reuben EdwardsComputing Communications

History

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcnXOhrmDB8

Mobile Apps

Psion Organiser II1986

Palm Pilot1997

Nokia 66302003

iPhone2007

Smartphone Market Share (2010Q2/Gartner)

Mobile Operating Systems

• Symbian• Android• Windows Mobile/Phone• iOS• Meego• Blackberry• PalmOS

Symbian

Power *****

Difficulty *****

Capabilities *****

Market Reach ***

Business Use ****

Symbian OS• Symbian OS– The Symbian operating system is globally the

predominant operating system although performs poorly in the US

– The Symbian operating system has evolved from the EPOC operating system that was developed by Psion as a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) operating system.

– The Symbian OS grew out of a partnership between Psion, Nokia, Ericsson, and Motorola, although Nokia have gradually bought out the other manufacturers.

Android

Power *****

Difficulty ***

Capabilities *****

Market Reach ***

Business Use ****

Android OS

• Linux-based Operating System• Includes:

– Hardware reference design– Linux OS kernel– Open source libraries (e.g. SQLite, WebKit, OpenGL, etc)– Runtime which manages and executes applications within a

Virtual Machine– Application Framework which exposes underlying functionality– User Interface Framework– Pre-installed applications– Software Development Kit

Windows Mobile

Power *****

Difficulty **

Capabilities *****

Market Reach **

Business Use *****

Windows Mobile & .NET

• Windows Mobile is arguably the leading player in enterprise and business application development and deployment.

• The use of the .NET Framework for development allows for relatively simple cross-platform development.

PalmOS

Power ****

Difficulty ****

Capabilities ***

Market Reach *

Business Use ****

Palm

• Palm was one of the early leaders in PDA development and so has traditionally held a strong position in the development of enterprise applications, although its market share has declined significantly over the years and has long since been displaced by Windows Mobile. – Indeed, Palm have shipped devices with Windows Mobile,

and this is likely to continue to become a long-term trend as the brand is still strong within the business community.

– A new version of the PalmOS, WebOS has failed to have a major impact on the market and unlikely to offer significant new opportunities for development.

iPhone

Power ****

Difficulty *****

Capabilities ***

Market Reach **

Business Use ***

iPhone

• The iPhone has been heavily hyped but in terms of market reach is still a niche device.

• However it has enjoyed considerable success in the US market now accounting for approximately 25% of Smartphone sales.

MeeGo

• Linux-based Operating System– Debian-based

• Partnership between Intel and Nokia– Merges Intel’s Mobin with Nokia’s Maemo

• Apps developed using Qt– Also supports GTK apps

• Netbook variant based on SUSE Linux called Smeegol

MeeGo UIX

Apple Magic(will you ever forget last Tuesday?)

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BnLbv6QYcA

Apple App Store

• The “App Store”Date Available apps Downloads to date

July 11, 2008 500 0

July 14, 2008 800 10,000,000

September 9, 2008 3,000 55,000,000

October 22, 2008 7,500 200,000,000

December 5, 2008 10,000 300,000,000

January 16, 2009 15,000 500,000,000

March 17, 2009 25,000 800,000,000

April 23, 2009 35,000 1,000,000,000

June 8, 2009 50,000 1,000,000,000+

July 11, 2009 55,000 1,000,000,000+

July 14, 2009 65,000 1,500,000,000

September 9, 2009 75,000 1,800,000,000

September 28, 2009 85,000 2,000,000,000

November 4, 2009 100,000 2,000,000,000+

January 5, 2010 120,000 3,000,000,000+

March 20, 2010 150,000+ 3,000,000,000+

April 8, 2010 185,000+ 4,000,000,000+

April 29, 2010 200,000+ 4,500,000,000+

June 7, 2010 225,000+ 5,000,000,000+

September 1, 2010 250,000+ 6,500,000,000+

October 20, 2010 300,000+ 7,000,000,000+

Age Ratings4+ Contains no objectionable material.

9+May contain mild or infrequent occurrences of cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and infrequent or mild mature, suggestive, or horror-themed content which may not be suitable for children under the age of 9.

12+May also contain infrequent mild language, frequent or intense cartoon, fantasy or realistic violence, and mild or infrequent mature or suggestive themes, and simulated gambling which may not be suitable for children under the age of 12.

17+

May also contain frequent and intense mature, horror, and suggestive themes; plus strong sexual content, nudity, strong language, alcohol, tobacco, and drugs which may not be suitable for children under the age of 17. Consumers must be at least 17 years old to purchase apps with this rating. Whenever an app of this rating is requested for download, a message will appear, verifying if a user is 17 or older, and asking to confirm the purchase for this reason.

Fixing bugsNine Inch Nails• In May 2009, Trent Reznor of the rock band Nine Inch Nails

announced, via his Twitter account, that Apple had rejected an update to the Nine Inch Nails application due to "objectionable content".

• The developer posted a message on the Nine Inch Nails discussion boards explaining the situation further: "v1.0 is live. v1.0.3 got rejected due to content yet the app has no content in it.

• This was mainly a stability release to fix the bug that crashes the app for international users.

• The bug was fixed 24 hours after 1.0 went live and we have been waiting for Apple to approve it ever since.

• Meanwhile the app continues to get a growing number of 1 star ratings from international users understandably frustrated by the bug. "But looks like our hands are tied". Apple later permitted the update.

Other App Stores

• Ovi Store– http://store.ovi.com/?cid=store-fw-ilc-hero-acq-n

a-ovicom_nli-uk-0-1• Windows Marketplace– http://marketplace.windowsphone.com/Default.a

spx

• Android Market– http://www.android.com/market/#app=basesign.

alltie• Blackberry App World– http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/

Independent App Stores

• Handango– http://www.handango.com/homepage/Homepag

e.jsp

• Downloads.com– http://download.cnet.com/mobile-applications

• GetJar– http://www.getjar.com/

Making Money From Apps

7 App Reviews

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D83xNRXxO8U

Where is the Money?

• Sales?– Typical prices: 59p - £1.19– Less 17.5%– Less 30%

• Advertising?– Would you click-through?– Lack of multi-tasking a problem?

• Web?– Parent sites with click-through advertising…

• Products– Sell something …

Top 10 (Paid) – 18/11/10

1. Sleep Talk Recorder 59p2. Angry Birds 59p3. Cut The Rope 59p4. Rage HD £1.195. WhatsApp Messenger 59p6. Amateur Surgeon 2 59p7. Angry Birds Halloween 59p8. Tetris® 59p9. Fruit Ninja 59p10. Scrabble® 59p

Top 10 (free) - 18/11/10

1. Train Conductor2. Rolo3. Celebalike4. Coca-Cola Christmas Special5. Christmas!!6. Smurf’s Village7. Take That8. Minigore9. TRON10. Tiny ChefTM

Discussion

• What makes a top Game?

• Fulfil a need or milk a brand?

• Quick games or immersive?

• Games or Utilities?

Angry Birds

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNNzRyd1xz0

Mobile Web or

Mobile App

Pros & Cons

Apps WebSlow Approval Instantly AvailableInstalled on Device Cross-platformOffline Require DataContent Restrictions UncensoredTailored to Device Variable outputMultiple-build Single build

Why the Web?

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZNEJq1_0VE

BBC Web Versions

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile/web/versions.shtml – Low– Standard– Desktop

.mobi

• Nokia.com– http://www.nokia.com/

• Nokia.mobi– http://mobile.nokia.mobi/

.mobi Backers

• Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefonica, Telecom Italia, Orascom, GSM Association, Hitchison Whampoa, Syniverse, Visa

• Free testing tool, Ready.mobi– Scores mobile readiness from 1 to 5

• DIAL– Device Independent Authoring Language– Aids in creating sites for mobile devices

Device dependence

• .mobi breaks concept of device independence• Site optimised for mobile rather than designed

for any device• Potentially mitigate by pairing .com and .mobi

domains– Automatically redirect mobile devices to .mobi

version

mobiForge

• Developer resource for mobile web development– Technical articles and blogs– Tools– Reference Material– Forums– Directory

Mobile Web Strategy

• Why should it be mobile?– Content should be directly useful to a mobile user

• What content should I make mobile?– What need does it serve?– What value does a mobile perspective provide?

• What are the users goals?– Are these different for mobile users?

Overall Goals

• Business Goals– What are the business’ goals?– How does a mobile presence help to achieve these goals?– Are there new business opportunities?

• User Goals– How does the audience benefit from a mobile app?– What tasks will they accomplish?– Does the immediacy of mobile help the user?– What is the context of the information?– How much attention will be paid to the content?

Technical Constraints

• What type of devices do the users have?• What are the financial constraints?• What is the range of screen sizes?• How much bandwidth will the app have?

Mobile Information Architecture

• Structure information as simply as possible• Place the right information in the right place• Consider “click investment”– Data retrieval relatively slow on mobile– Lengthy retrievals lead to user frustration– Every link should clearly label what is being

downloaded so that the user is willing to wait• Avoid “click disappointment”

Keep it simple

• Limit choices– Take the content relevant to a mobile user and discard the rest– Create a simple, drill-down architecture

• Limit categories• Limit links to 10 per page• Code links with access keys (e.g.0-9) so keypad can be used to access

content quickly on olderdevices

• At least one content item, per page!• Prioritize links by popularity• Click-streams

– Spread content over multiple pages

Designing for multiple screens

Traditional Web Layout

Possible Mobile Layout

Summary

• Not all about Apple• (Well 98% of it is!)

• Keep it simple• But remember…

There’s an app for that…

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Neao1ajboKw