Some grossing iOS apps that are remarkable too

Let us look at some top grossing apps that are leading the iTunes stores and would probably continue to lead the charts for a long time.

Truecaller:

Truecaller is a remarkable application that has grown for its unbeatable utility. Blocking spam calls from service providers or unknown callers was never so easy. But the best feature it provided was to identify possible callers who are unidentified or strangers. The features kept for in-app purchase of the application were also relevant and poised themselves as valuable add ons. Truecaller has earned a 4.4 rating in iTunes and set definitely set for a business model that will be focused to stop call spamming and trace numbers tweaked in accordance to the a numerous factors.

We phone:

We phone is an incremental application over skype and viber. The backbone of the application is based on the call quality it delivers which is much better than skype. It is not uncommon for skype to disconnect or hang up between an ongoing call. We phone capitalizes on that and gives crystal clear call quality to its users. iPhone app development experts at we phone have set a well devised monetization plan based on credit buying. It is set according to the usage patterns of users.

Viber:

Viber is also a mass driven in-app purchase based app that combines the goodness of apps like Line and We chat along with awesome call clarity over 3g or wifi. Viber positions itself as a perfect app that can be used by people to communicate with a lot of visual expressions while also giving them a chance to do VoIP calls. However, iPhone app development experts of the company have strategized the credits pack with respect to other demographic variables.

Candy Crush:

Candy crush is one of the most addictive game that which earns more than $800k everyday from in-app purchase. The game is highly addictive and runs on multiple platforms including the web and Facebook too. Infact the major revues for the application comes from facebook itself but social sharing and presence across the platform is highly beneficial that triggers a lot of in app purchases. These in-app purchases are mostly to purchase extra lives. The driving factor here is the addictiveness of the game and social sharing.

2048:

It is a highly addictive games developed by the iPhone app development experts of Ketchapp. The puzzle game is addictive and ensures long playing sessions. Monetization of the app is not been done through in app purchase however the app features interstitials after each session is completed. The game has a lot of potential to earn though various other monetization including in- app purchase as well.

Though Android is the market leader, iOS remains the thought leader

According to gartner the total market share of android stood almost 58% while iOS stood at 23%. There is a great advantage when you have the largest number of users using your operating system. Everything that is done on the system gives massive results.Huge ecosystems that are based on free software offerings can provide huge benefits and this is applicable with android too. Infact the fate of a game such as flappy bird could not have been the same if it did not have an android version. A mobile app development company knows these benefits associated with android but does not rule out the trendsetting iOS platform at the same time. It is also reported several times that despite holding a small market share, iOS has earned 5 times more revenues than android. It might irk a few android fanboys but Apple still has a  thought leadership engine at the bottom of iOS which solves user challenges more efficiently.

The inception:

iPhone app development India and developers all around see iOS as the standard platforms which is considered as a reference for app development. The iPhone was based on the idea of revolutionizing the smartphone and it did not really do anything entirely inventive to achieve that. It was just a mash up, upgradation and reiteration of existing technologies to make a mobile device that put a credible device to capture, send and process data with an immersive experience for the first time. Android came second.

Upgradations that are worth:

No doubt android has made it possible for a large number of income groups to use a smartphone with speedy upgrades; Apple on the other hand has been very consistent with their upgrades. The idea of solving problems fuelled the same and what users got was highly organized and useful upgrades. Be it the iOS7 or the fingerprint reader, everything adds value to the entire ecosystem.

The future:

The mobile device evolved by leaps and bounds with the first iPhone. Since then, the smartphone ecosystems have been trying to prove valuable for various segments of users and industries. One of the major breakthrough here for iOS is its ability to prove itself for the enterprise. The iOS7 has clearly proved its advantages over android in enterprise computing and has addressed some of the most critical issues. Android has not been able to do it yet.

With an open source code, android has its own set of advantages. However, it does come with a lot of challenges for a conventional user. Generic users have their own set of challenges and to answer them in the best way possible a lot of thought leadership is necessary. Till now, Apple has been doing this more often than android which has kept the made the ecosystem most valuable if not the biggest.

Common ways to build revenues through in app display ads

There are numerous ways you can earn money through hosting advertisements in your mobile application. One of the fundamental tradeoff that comes with in app advertisements is between earnings and user experience. However, if placed properly, they can give you substantial earnings and splash you with money if you get your app viral by luck. One of the recent examples can be mentioned of flabby bird that earned the developer a whopping $50000 a day through ads at its peak. The ads used to appear in between the consecutive sessions when you kill the bird till the beginning of the next session.

There are numerous in app ad types you can go for. Although there are numerous micro factors, engagement of the game is the central factor that decides the ad type to be incorporated in your application.

In app mobile advertising:

Numerous app development company go for in app mobile ads as they are convenient to get done. Just download the SDK , select an ad network and go.

Advantages: Robust, Lot of options for monetization that comes out of the app

Banners:

Banners are again very popular although a lot of user might find them annoying and spammy. Banners are easily deployable and can start working pretty quickly. The CTR through banner however are low as they do not appear to be trustworthy.

Interstitials:

Interstitials are meant to feature ads on the screen at specific time intervals that may vary from one app to another. Mobile app developer like interstitials to an extent as they appear in a pattern when user attention is at the highest.

Video ads:

There is already a lot of apps that come with video ads. Video ads attract the highest eCPMs and promises to be the next big thing for mobile applications. Facebook and twitter are already contemplating to bring video ads for mobile. And it can also become an important platform to create advertisements in the coming times. As 4g penetrates into most part of the worlds, video ads will become an important platform.

App walls:

An app development company can utilize app walls for multiple purposes. App walls can advertise multiple apps in one splash and hence they are effective tools for app marketing. There are many android app that carry app walls and are pulling a lot of revenues.

Mobile ad display is a dynamic space where things are changing and improvising at a high pace. The methods and platforms are getting more and more streamlined, yielding better results for advertisers and mobile app developers each day.

How is developing a Mobile game preferable over an app and still be profitable?

Games remains the most popular category of apps in both app stores. Making a game is always an exciting idea. An interesting game can attract numerous downloads and create huge revenue potential for an app development company. Yes, developing a game app is preferred over other app categories and are often turn out to be the highest grossers in the app stores. The profitability of a great game app remains unquestioned within the app development community and more and more games are being made.

If you browse across the most grossing iOS apps of the last year, game haves again taken the centre stage with their sheer number in the list. The trends follow in android too with a lot of games earning most of the money. However at the same time, most of these game apps are either free or provide in app purchase options. Are they profitable enough? Is making a game app confirms increased chances of profitability?

The state of touch screen devices:

Look into the enterprise apps, they do not really amass to huge download numbers. Blackberry has been ousted by Apple but iOS 7 enterprise features is a recent thing. The gross implication still suggests that the touch screen devices still contribute to a large number of media consumption. Casual mobile games steals a significant share of that pie every time. It is apparent from the data posted by Flurry that games are one of the most engaging app category in the app stores. More than 30% of the time on smartphones are spend on casual games. Females contribute to a lot to that share too. Hence, there is a lot of scope for an app development company when they make a game application.

The profitability factor:

Game apps brings substantial to massive earning potential that can be churned out of multiple monetization routes. An app development company believes that these days it is utmost important to deploy a free version of the game. The first version need to be free. Being a game app, there must be an opportunity for everyone to download and enjoy the game. Free download dodges the of price and provides experience to a large number of users. Following the success of the first version, a paid version can later be launched to monetize the user base.

The game app can also be updated to give new features and provide in-app features that can be paid. The session time can also be monetized with ads that are strategically crafted with respect to the UX/UI.

Everybody likes some casual entertainment:

Every app development company that ever worked on an app will understand that while other apps can be demography specific, games breaks all these barriers to enter all the territories. Everyone, despite their age, language or gender can play a casual game creating a lot of revenue potential that is apparently difficult with other apps.

Games are one of the most popular category in the app stores and can promise huge revenues for a developer. If one can execute a great game app idea, it is surely going to get big on app stores.

How to decide between a responsive website or a native mobile app?

Choosing between making a native mobile app and a responsive mobile website is difficult. To arrive at the right decision, the only thing that can guide you is your requirement. There are pros and cons associated with both of them but your business requirements and budget will help you make the right choice.

When to make a mobile app?

1. When you are a renowned brand and people know you.

2. When your think your are going to attract regular usage for your app.

3. You want to make something interactive or building a game app. The assets better be stored in the device for faster code execution.

4. When you plan to employ the device’s hardware such as camera, voice recorder etc then mobile apps make sense.

5. If you are looking to provide offline browsing for your target users, apps are the way to go.

6. Apps with graphic intensive operations.

When to make a mobile website or go for responsive web page design?

Your mobile app development company must consider going for a mobile website when

1. You do not have much of brand recognition in the market.

2. Your need to serve the data at the fastest and most efficient manner. Unlike apps, mobile websites need not be optimized for all devices. The usage of CSS3 makes them fit across a large number of display resolutions.

3. You need cost effective development. Mobile websites are deployed once and can be accessed irrespective of the device configuration. This brings down development costs, that would have been spent on making an app otherwise.

4. You need SEO benefits (as you do not have a strong brand name). Mobile websites come with all the SEO features in the backend and catalyses search engine rankings.

5. It is best suited for corporate websites for displaying information across a large number of devices.

6. Mobile websites are also best for entities that need high immediacy, such as news websites.  If you have a mobile website, you have better chances to be visible on SEPRs when you publish breaking news etc. Apps do not give you that flexibility.

These are some of the general conditions that can help you make the right decision when choosing between responsive web page design and a native app. If you are still confused you can consult an experienced mobile app development company.

The S5 is good but not exciting

So the device war for 2014 has already began and android app development companies are waiting to have their hands on the new launched devices. Last year has not been that great for samsung and with the new device they would be hoping to register significant sales figures. However, competitors have geared up too and seems like this year is going to be really a tough battle for the all the android OEMs. Among everything there are minimal improvements in features that can be called as substantial incremental innovation. Samsung has already tried using head movements, air gestures etc. to create something sometatial but all that could not attract the attention of android app development experts till date. Keeping this in view, will the new galaxy s5 loaded with waterproof feature and a fingerprint sensor create value for the company and android developers.

The competitive android market:

There is a stiff competition between OEMs in the android market these days and unlike 2011-2012, samsung is no more the only android OEM player. In korea the company has significant sales but Apple comes out as the favorite in japan and china now. People want the iPhone more than any android device and this suggests that samsung is not going to steer clear to the record breaking sales figures. Even in America and europe, the iPhone is likely to fare better in terms of sales volume.

If we talk about the competition within android then in south asia itself, cheap android manufacturers are doing exceptionally well. Brands such as xiomi, micromax etc. are not only creating high configuration cheap phones but paying close attention to the aesthetics as well. Making money from this segment is not easy. Talking about the relevant market of s5, competitors such as sony and HTC have already rolled out their flagship devices and have been able to get significant sales too. It cannot be a clean sweep for samsung.

For android app developers the fingerprint sensor is of some use. If samsung provides an API for the sensor , we can surely expect to see some app innovations based on the fingerprint sensor. This is somehow a little far fetched but there is not much exciting in the device this time as well.

It is certain that samsung will sell a significant number of S5s too but like the previous year there isn't anything much exciting.

A throwback to the android timeline

Android becoming the largest mobile ecosystem today suggests that open source software governed by a strong team of developers can do wonders. There are numerous open source projects that have failed in the due course of time. Not due to lesser creativity of the developer community but mostly due to improper channeling of efforts coupled with bad timing and strategies with updates etc.

Android, under the leadership of google surpassed these challenges. It made an average app development company to treat android as one of the major platforms. After its first release, the popular mobile operating system has undergone a myriad of changes that were centred on improvising the performance of the OS. Lets look at some of the critical events from its inception to becoming the largest mobile ecosystem.

• Founded in 2003 android was eventually acquired by google in 2005.

• The first android device was an HTC dream that ran the android 1.0 version which was upgradable to android 1.6, also named as froyo.

• Being an opensource software that had the potential to draw a large number of OEMs, android gave itself a strong symbolic identity and named it successive versions derived from food.

• Android launched 2 successive updates to its first major versions in 2008 V 1.4 and 1.6 respectively.

• The next major change came with gingerbread that focused on larger resolution, speedy touch navigations, support VoIP and SIP, more sensor support, extended web video format support and various other advancement. Gingerbread went on to become the most stable for android developer india and other countries and has recently been outnumbered by jellybean.

• Gingerbread was followed by the third major release, honeycomb. Android developers india and developers from other countries did not see much affinity towards this release. During its launch in feb 2001, most of the leading devices were manufactured by samsung and the upgrade brought a lot of issues with network connectivity. However honey comb was important for android as it was the first android version to support dual core processors.

• Honeycomb was remained dormant and made way for ICS that successively captured a large market share, finally breaking the monopoly of gingerbread. ICS was hailed for its noticeable battery life and camera performance over Gingerbread. ICSs propagation can also be credited to the huge sales for galaxy s3 that registered record breaking sales.

• Just when ICS stood as a stable android version at the beginning of 2012, google launched another major upgrade that focused on a consistent frame rate of 60fps that gave a buttery feeling while navigating any touch action. Stock android browser was replaced by a mobile version of chrome. Jelly bean went for 3 major version upgrades. The latest is 4.3 and it runs on almost 9% of the total android devices.

• The latest major update that followed after JB was Kitkat. Kit kat was targeted to solve the sticky challenge of fragmentation and hence Kitkat is optimal for low RAM devices and supports zram too.

Android is highly valuable for an app development company and its successive development reinforces the fact that android is going to hold its ground strong to remain a dominant player in the market.