Factors Contributing to the Rise of App Store

Why Today’s Tech Companies are Preferring iOS over Android?

- Twitter recently launched a new music discovery program for Apple devices. Earlier the company launched its Vine video-sharing application as iOS-only in January, which is still exclusive to that platform today.

- Yahoo debuted its revamped Flickr app for iOS first and its gorgeous Weather app is again iOS-only. This clearly states Yahoo’s focus on iOS.

- Instagram, the most sought-after app for snapping, filtering, and sharing photographs, was initially launched solely on iOS and moved to Android after reaching 30 million iOS users and 1.5 years of market experience in its credit.

- Even start-ups prefer spending their capital on developing for iOS while venturing into the mobile app development arena.

The above examples clearly demonstrate who the beloved ruler of land is.  All the tech companies, including the start-ups are all gaga over the iOS platform. Why?

Total number of Active devices

In February 2013, the comScore mobiLens survey for the US stated, “Even though the 50% penetration threshold was passed seven months earlier, the rate of new smartphone users was second highest ever recorded with over 1 million new-to-smartphones users every week during February.”

The continuing rapid expansion of smartphone usage in the US is however, due to two dominant platforms: iPhone (iOS) and Android. As per the comScore findings, both the platforms make up 91% of the user base with about 40% for iPhone and 51% for Android.


With the higher share in the smartphones market, Android app development has lagged behind as compared to iOS, which is, still, the most preferred choice of everyone, who dreams to win accolades on the App Store. Why?

Android may be winning on Market share, but revenue, certainly, is going in the iOS App Store. Why?

The Graph clearly shows that iOS App Store is thriving, whereas, Google Play store is nowhere close to the former.

There are several factors contributing to the rise of App Store. For instance,

Developers find more money in iOS development as compared to Android. App sales on Android are very less, generating less money for their work. This could be due to the fact that some of the Android users are not downloading mobile applications at all. However, iOS buyers, buy Apple devices so that they can use the features available to them. According to Tim Windsor of Digitally Speaking, Most, of the Android users aren’t interested in serious computing power.

This is also possible that Android users who turn to the browser may not find it as appealing or engaging as compared to the Apple platform, which offers a high-quality user experience.

Another reason for Android going astray could be that Android users are more interested in downloading free apps on their devices. They are not likely to shop for the paid apps, resulting in generating less money for developers’ work, who, comparatively, gets high revenue on App Store. Thus, making them interesting in developing more and interesting apps for iOS users.

Android users are considered phones-first instead of smartphones-first. The availability of feature phones has reduced to the arrival of cheaper Android devices. It is possible that people are buying these devices just to call and send text messages. A segment of users is not aware of the apps i.e. how to download and use them.

The Android devices are everywhere. Users can find everything from high-end to the cheap phones. It is possible that these cheap devices do not offer good experience, when compared to other devices. Or maybe the cheap Android phones come with older version of Android, which are worse at browsing. Or this is also possible that some of these low-cost Android devices don't have the ability to access Google's app store.

All these reasons turned developers, who want to earn profits, towards iOS app development.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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There is a Reader for Everyone

Kindle vs. iPad Mini - Which is Your Favorite Pick

Tech world is constantly evolving and coming up with user-friendly and revolutionary tools. It has changed almost all the aspects of life. Life became easy with the advent of computers and now the smartphones but this is not the end. The tech world is working on Augmented Reality to make the world better.

The charismatic world of books, too, has adorned a new silhouette in the tech world. It all started with Amazon’s single device, called Kindle, an e-book reader produced by Amazon.com. And now it comprises a range of devices from Kindles with keyboards, to touchscreen devices and the Kindle Fire HD tablet.

Kindle devices, known as dedicated e-book readers, come with an e-ink screen, which looks completely different to an LCD screen and functions differently too. The e-ink screen brings the reader close to a printed page.

Amazon Kindle devices enable users to shop, download, browse, and read e-books, newspapers, magazines, blogs, and other digital media via wireless networking. Users can also store audio books and play MP3s, such as music, while they read.

Then, the tech giant, Apple introduced iPad in the tech-world.

The device transformed all the aspects of users’ lives, such as business, education, medical, finance, and entertainment and brought a fresh wave in the tech world. From the statistics you can estimate the popularity of the device among users.

With more than 300,000 apps made just for iPad, users have got everything they want in their hands. iPad offers better options to readers who are more into light reading such as, magazines, journals etc.

Although in the initial days, Kindle was the preferred device of many as iPad was heavy to carry. Since readers hold the device in front of them whenever they read from it, weight and size became the grave issues.

The launch of iPad Mini solved these two problems. Considered as the lightest eBook reader, iPad established itself as a breakthrough device. It let the readers read books, magazines, journals on the go and let them be in their comfort zone at the same time.

It comes with bright, colorful, beautiful displays. But these advantages have trade-offs. The reflective screens of the tablet make it hard to read in bright light. Using iPad for a long read is not a good idea as many people find that the backlight tires their eyes over the long reading sessions.

The shift to digital books is rising because eBook readers are easy to carry and users can access their books on multiple devices. The popularity of eBook readers and tablets is growing, however, there is, still, a section of people who like books in their original shape, who loves the musty smell of paper, these are called bibliophiles. Are you one of them?

It’s time to change your reading habit a bit, because, according to a MIT visionary, “in five years we will read almost no paper books—just digital devices. The book would become a relic, a collector's item.” Do you agree with him? Write your comments in the text box below.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Invent Your Own Marketing Trends In 2013

Strategize Your Marketing Plans From a Different Perspective

Seems like, the marketing world is going through seismic shifts year after year. In the year 2012, a number of new trends made the marketers strategize their marketing plans from a different perspective.

A quick glance in 2012:
• Facebook became the most popular social network and surpassed 1 billion active users
• Pinterest emerged as the hottest start up
• YouTube emerged as the strongest platform. A Korean artist turned into a global phenomenon as his video approached 1 billion views and became YouTube's most-watched video of all time in just 6 months
• Google+ became the new social platform for collaborating with friends and business associates to conduct face-to-face chat and virtual meetings
• Mobile app market became marketers’ hot-spot with new advertising platforms

All the above trends make it clear that 2013 is going to be a rocking year for the marketers looking forward to set new trends. With Social, Local and Mobile Channels (SoLoMo), here is how marketers can carve out their story of success:

Social Media – Connect to social media and make your customers your sales representatives. Facebook, Google+, Pinterest, Twitter and LinkedIn, almost all the social platforms will introduce new features which will help you in cementing your place in social media. For instance, Facebook introduced Graph Search in the beginning of the year. The feature is a new way to search for information on the social network.

With 1.06 billion monthly active users and 680 million mobile users, Facebook is the best social networking site to connect with your users.
If your target audience consists of teenagers, then also Facebook is your way to woo them. According to a recent study by Piper Jaffray, “33 percent of the 5,200 teens surveyed choose Facebook as their most important social network.”

For a wider reach, create fan pages and communities to manage your company’s brand and build relationships with the users. Engage your customers through your fan page, post your services/products’ information, offer promotions and ask your customers to share feedback. And with average daily Facebook likes i.e. 2.7 billion, you surely will get your chance to exhibit your brand to the users.

Here is list of number of users on social networking sites:
• YouTube has 1 billion users with 4 billion views per day
• Google+ has 343 million active users
• LinkedIn has 200 million users
• Pinterest has 48.7 million users

With all that stats, what are you waiting for start planning on how and when to launch your ad campaigns on social networking sites?


Location Based Apps – According to a recent survey, “Nearly half of the larger brands plan to increase their local marketing efforts in 2013.”
As smartphone penetration continues to grow, the location based apps such as; Yelp, Foursquare, Google map, Loopt and Gowalla let you expand the reach of your business. These smartphone apps enable any retail business with a physical location to communicate with customers online and get many of them turn into walk-ins.

Several new apps and mobile websites allow people to “check in” at locations and alert friends on social networks.

Click on the infographic to understand more about the dynamics of Location Based Apps.

Mobile devices – Engagement is the keyword when it comes to mobile marketing. There are over 5 billion mobile users and 1.1 billion smartphone subscribers worldwide. With more than 75% of the world population having access to smartphones, creating a mobile site and/or mobile apps is a good way to increase awareness of your product/services among the users. Mobile optimized websites and apps connect the users instantly with the brand.

Year 2013 will see even more smartphone users. From web browsing and app usage to social networking, messaging and multimedia, the audience is going mobile. Therefore, it becomes imperative for all the marketers to allocate more budgets to their marketing initiatives.

Augmented Reality – Augmented Reality (AR) brings together the real and virtual worlds where user experiences the real world with sensory objects like Google Glass, Nokia City Lens, or apps like Layar (on iPhone, iPad and Android devices). AR is expected to become the digital reality in 2013 and will emerge as a new way of customer engagement.

Augmented reality apps are bringing technology to the retail store. According to a new study from Juniper Research, with more brands and retailers looking into AR, it will generate an estimated $300 million in global revenue in 2013.

AR - Shopping Made Easy

Imagine walking down in the supermarket and looking for a desired product. With one click from your phone’s camera, an app can instantly capture the store displays and provide you with all the information about the products. You can find the product with best reviews or you can sort by price for the best deal, much like you can do online.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Essentials of Mobile App Marketing Strategy

Is Your Marketing Strategy Good Enough to See You Through the App Store?

Most apps fail to make it to the top of the app stores. This is the hard reality that several app developers face in the mobile app world. However, at the same time, you will notice, a huge number of apps are doing great in the app store and are very popular among the users. Confusing, isn’t it? The dynamics of app world revolves around the app marketing strategy. A successful app marketing plan is your way to enter in the mesmerizing world of mobile apps. In the absence of a proper marketing plan, a huge count of apps has lost their way in the labyrinth of app world.

So what are the nuances of an intelligent app marketing plan? What are the mistakes that marketers fall prey to, while formulating their app marketing strategy?

Before launching your app in the app store, it is important to answer the following questions:

What makes your app garner users’ attention? 
Influential designs are the integral part of mobile apps. It makes your app stand out among other apps available on the app stores. Creating high quality images, bright colored catchy icons and screen shots will help in attracting users’ eyes. Apps which provide great user interface and user experience get more attention from users.

How to beat competition?

The USP of your app will distinguish you from your competition. Develop the app with the USP in your mind. Why would someone want it? What makes it stand out? Is it needed among your audience(s)?

Capitalize on this USP of your app by spinning a web of techniques around the unique feature your app is offering. For instance, you may want to position your app as a quick messenger that allows users to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. Position your marketing techniques around this feature to beat the heat of competition.

Which marketing strategy will help you most in achieving your ultimate objective?

Understand the various new age mobile specific marketing techniques to chalk-out a clear marketing plan and use the best technique, to enter in the app world, depending on your app features and user-behavior :

1. Advertising through Ad Networks – Mobile ad networks are the bridge between advertisers and publishers on mobile websites and apps. Display your ads on the network of mobile publishers through the top mobile ad networks, such as Admob, Inmobi, LeadBolt, JumpTap, MobClix, Jampp etc. to reach the potential users.

2. Using Real Time Bidding Platforms – Real-time bidding process happens in the blink of an eye. According to fiksu, a mobile app marketing platform, “Real Time Bidding is the ‘stock market’ of selling and buying display ad space in online media – while obtaining control of your entire inventory all the way down to one impression at a time and in real time.” Platforms such as, Rocket Fuel, Ad Form, Digilant, Lucid Media, TheTradeDesk etc. allow you to bid on mobile traffic in real-time.

3. Incentive-Based Download Programs – offer incentives in the form of virtual currency to the players which they can use in their current game. The concept of incentivized downloads is to encourage users to download and try out other apps.

4. Work with a large number of traffic sources to avoid audience saturation. Work with several Mobile App Ad Networks, Real-Time Bidding Platforms and Incentive-Based Download Programs to know what works best for your app.

A successful app marketing plan includes mix of all the above mentioned techniques as well as online techniques such as, banner advertising and Pay Per Click campaigns that target desktop web, offline activities, TV and radio advertising, and even print marketing.

Marketers also track users’ post-download activities such as, which age-group is accessing the app? How many times a user is accessing the app? Which area of the app is being accessed? How much time a user is spending on the app? etc. All this information can be collected through mobile analytics tools such as:  Countly, MediaLets, MixPanel, BrandAttention, Sitespect and many more.

Based on the record of these mobile analytics tools, you can easily ascertain which marketing techniques are more useful for your app promotion. It helps you in eliminating inefficient ad spending and shifting budget to those traffic sources and campaigns that are delivering loyal users, who use your app repeatedly, make purchases, and spread the word among others.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Most Expensive Apps in the App Store

Welcome to the World of Pricey iPhone Apps

How much are you willing to spend on downloading an app on your iPhone? Like others you must be interested in downloading free apps or apps that cost a minimal amount of 99 cents. But have you ever thought of downloading an app worth $1000? Yes I’m talking about the most expensive apps on the App Store. Serving as high-end concierges, many of these pricey apps are developed to give you a taste of sheer luxury, whereas, others are developed to resolve complexities in the medical field, education or agriculture sector.

Here is a list of the most expensive apps with incredible capabilities. Would you pay $999.99 for any of these applications?

1) BarMax (iPhone and iPad) – Priced at $999.99, BarMax, a multistate version, is a prep course for either the California or New York bar exam. It is created by a group of Harvard Law School alumni and iOS developers with an objective to help law students who need to pass state bar examinations. Loaded with 50 hours of audio lectures, a full-time study calendar and more than 1,000 questions from previous bar exams, the app offers portable study material to the aspirants. The other state-specific versions are in the working which will roll out in 2020.

2) iVIP Black ($999.99) – Have you ever thought of booking a private jet, yacht or private island? Do you wish for personalized attention at hotels or resorts? Then iVIP Black iPhone app is your escape to a superior lifestyle. Known as the millionaires’ app, the application is your license to a premium life. To own this app, users are required to certify that they have a net worth of at least $ 1 million.

3) Agro (iPhone/iPad, $999.99) – The app aims at assisting agronomists in creating and distributing field inspection reports. According to its description on the App Store, "No matter what field of agronomy you specialize in, vineyards, orchards, broad acre farming, sugar cane or small-time domestic, this app will save you time and increase your bottom line by eliminating duplication of paperwork."

4) Engine Connect (iPad, $999.99) – The iPad app helps TV weather forecasters, sportscasters and news anchors in manipulating animations and graphics such as weather maps on the television screen as viewers watch them.

5) iStutter (iPhone, $999.99) - This app helps stutterers with their speech. As per its description "It analyzes vocal fold activity and selectively provides delayed auditory feedback (DAF) when the user's speech is too fast or the user is stuttering."

6) Intuition Control Solo WolfVision - This great utility application will help in controlling video conferencing. Images from video conferences can also be saved, stored and emailed directly from the iPhone.

7) QSFFStats – (iPhone/iPad) $999.99 – Don’t want to miss the score of your football team? Download QSFFStats, an iPhone app which keeps you update with all the scores and stats of all the leagues. It uploads game by game statistics via email.
8) SongBook DS - $999.99 – Now control multiple networked music players through a single touch interface. It is still on the App Store, but the developers of this app have made a cheaper but the same version of it, which only costs $25.

9) CTC - ($999.99) – Capture the Charge, in short CTC is developed for the doctors in solving their charge capturing problems. It facilitates the transmission of Current Procedural Terminology and ICD medical codes. The app supports a database of more than 1000 CPT Service and ICD diagnosis codes, which allow for doctors to file the correct codes and avoid inaccurate coding costs.

10) MobiGage NDI - ($999.99) – The app is developed for the factory managers for the inspection of manufactured parts and assembly lines. It can also be used in measuring of materials in manufacturing plants like, production of airplanes and cars.

All these apps come with some special and extraordinary capabilities. The unique idea behind each and every app aims at maximizing user experience and helps them in achieving their personal goals, be it achieving success in State bar exams or getting unique privileges such as welcome packages etc.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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Developers Checklist for Creating Apps for Children

Latest FTC's Guidelines to Protect the Privacy of Children Using Mobile Applications

Last month Apple tentatively agreed to pay an estimated $US100 million ($98m) in kind and cash to US parents whose kids bought virtual fish, unicorns, fairies and make-believe money - at exorbitant prices - while using bait apps.

The incident alarmed Apple, and now the company is offering parental security feature to give parents more control over their kids’ activity on Apple devices.

The company could have avoided the unpleasant circumstances if the developers had made it evident to the parents that the app they have downloaded on their device comes with interactive features like in-app advertising.

There are many apps, available in Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market that offer little or no information to parents about the privacy practices. A number of apps come with interactive features, such as, advertising, the ability to make in-app purchases, and links to social media, without revealing these features to parents prior to download. Many of the apps available on the App Store and Google Play Store share personal information like; device ID, geo-location, or phone number. These apps shared kids’ information with third parties without disclosing these practices to parents.

The existing app ecosystem is not transparent when it comes to building apps for children. However, companies have started taking initiatives after a strict regulation passed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The FTC suggested smartphone companies and mobile app developers to be mindful of parental concerns, government regulations, and practice transparency with users of all ages. The commission also suggested:
• To incorporate privacy protections into the design of mobile products and services;
• The developers must offer parents, comprehensible choices about the data collection and sharing through kids’ apps;
• To provide better transparency about how data is collected, used, and shared through kids’ apps.

Apps introduce kids to a new form of learning, which can be made easy by using the play medium. Their intriguing features and engaging content have given a new dimension to the way kids learn today. Most of the kids use iPad and mobile devices without their parents’ supervision. Therefore, it is important for developers to provide a clear declaration to parents regarding what information is being collected for whom and for what purpose ?

The idea behind creating mobile apps for kids is to make learning a fun activity for children and not an annoying activity for parents. The developers must consider these privacy concerns, particularly when developing apps for kids.

For more information on iPhone app development and free quote send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com.

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How to Reach the Top of the App Store and Stay There

How To Target the Top 25 Apps Charts?

The number of newbies in the app world is growing exceptionally every day. Every business develops a new app with a dream of reaching the top 25 in the iTunes store, a difficult yet the most cherished dream. Getting your app the desired attention is difficult, as nearly 600 new apps are uploaded on the app store every day. The chances for each and every app reaching the top 25 are bleak. There is no secret trick to reach the top. However, devising an astute marketing strategy for your app may help you in reaching your goal.

If you too are targeting the Top 25 apps charts, follow the list of best methods to get your app its share of attention on the app store:

1) App store optimization – Top ranking in the app store can be achieved by app store optimization. Apps which are discovered through organic search generates a huge number of downloads. Therefore, keep an eye on the following:
• Keywords, that are mostly used for searching or identifying a category, must be strong as it represents the user search and must relate to the app category
• The app title must carry a relevant and highly sought-after keyword to maximize the app exposure. The app’s name must represent its function
• The description, wherein you can describe the benefits of the app or the key features to the users, using keywords in the text. The app description must be optimized for search on Google, Yahoo and Bing

2) Using Social Media – A marketing strategy is incomplete if it does not involve social media platforms. With an astute marketing strategy you can make your app viral on social platforms like, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and LinkedIn. Link these channels to your website or micro-site for the maximum effect.

3) Press Release – A press release at the time of launch will get your app the desired exposure. Therefore, release an introductory note laced with keywords (to improve the search engine visibility) and distinct features of your app. Don’t spill the information in the release, instead focus on the key points and features. Additionally, coincide the release date of app with the day when press releases are mostly read. Give a link at the end from where the users can download the app. You can also post the reviews on various social media platforms for maximum exposure.

4) Using Freemium Model – Free apps get more attention than the paid apps. Then why to shy from using a new technique, i.e. Freemium Model, where in you offer a free version to the user and the further content is offered either through in-app purchasing or subscription. The subscription technique is used in the content based apps like publications. But to achieve success through this technique, don’t forget to list the benefits of paid version in the app itself.

For more information on iPhone app development and marketing strategy send in your email to marketing@ymedialabs.com

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