RIM sees huge opportunity for mobile application development in India
Canada based BlackBerry handset maker, Research In Motion (RIM), has reportedly said that there is tremendous potential for mobile applications development in India. According to reports, Annie Matthew, Head of Alliance and Developer Relations, RIM India has said that they see huge opportunity in mobile application development. Further, the BlackBerry App World currently has 26,000-odd registered developers from India, against 5,000 two years ago, with the applications numbering over 40,000.
As per sources, Matthew also said that they have commenced a pilot project in Tamil Nadu for applications created by youths for youths and are keen to take this project across the country. She added that the company has a 70:30 revenue share where the app developer receives the majority chunk.
Regarding the new Near Field Communications (NFC) technology, she said that they are looking at launching the NFC application in India by November-end, which will benefit the domestic healthcare industry immensely. Through NFC, pharma companies will be able to get data from consumers instantly.
AT&T extends the U-Verse Mobile application to Android Users
AT&T has expanded its new U-verse Mobile application to Android smartphones including the Samsung Captivate, HTC Aria and Motorola Bravo as well as the BlackBerry Curve 3G, allowing subscribers to download and watch their favorite television programming on the go.
U-verse Mobile access is free to AT&T customers with qualifying TV plans, users without a qualifying U-verse TV plan will be able to subscribe the service for US$9.99 per month.
According to AT&T’s spokeswoman Jenny Bridges, the carrier is offering as many as 400 TV channels to its eligible subscribers out there.
U-Verse doesn’t offer the download facility for latest TV series, but the old ones are practically good to go for. All shows are available for download through Wi-Fi networks for now.
Deutsche Telekom launches its own app portal (Germany)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Softwareload, Deutsche Telekom’s mobile applications portal offering more than 15,000 mobile applications for download has been launched in the UK. Currently, there are more than 1.5 million registered users of Softwareload’s sister site.
According to Dirk Lebzien, Head of Softwareload, consumers and business people alike are using mobile devices far more often for work or entertainment on the move resulting in the demand for wider access to exciting new apps to make the most of their mobiles and with the launch of our UK mobile store on Softwareload.co.uk, shoppers can choose from more than 15,000 software titles that they can quickly and securely install onto their mobile device.
Softwareload’s 12-month download guarantee will also be profitable for the customers enabling them to store their purchase securely online should they need to install it on a new mobile device during that period.
AccuWeather launches ad-free app
AccuWather Inc. has launched the AccuWeather Quick application in order to meet the demands of the people who are constantly on the move. The app will be offering consumers’ weather information such as current conditions, hourly data and midday forecast.
According to Michael Sylvie, director of user experience/interactive media at AccuWeather, State College, and the company got many requests for an ad-free app, and they were tired of all the weather apps that looked exactly the same. So the company decided to make a paid app and make it fun, especially in using the accelerometer to navigate rather than all the buttons and tabs other apps use.
The highlight of the application is its colorful icons, which it uses to deliver information visually.
AccuWeather has several mobile applications for different smartphone platforms, a mobile site and an SMS alert service.
Verizon to launch app store on March 29 (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mobile application storefront of Verizon has been announced to be launched by the telco on Monday, March 29. Customers will be offered access to games, applications and other services that can be downloaded directly to their handsets and billed to their Verizon Wireless account through this store.
Verizon customers who use smartphone platforms such as Android, BlackBerry, webOS and Windows Mobile can already access the branded app stores for their specific devices.
According to Leroy Williams, the operator’s executive director of applications, the storefront will open with about 300 applications, although that number will ramp up very quickly and adding that thousands of additional applications are now awaiting testing and certification.
Mobile apps to generate $1.6 billion revenue this year: Study
According to a new study conducted by the Yankee Group, mobile applications are expected to generate nearly $1.6 billion revenue in the United States in the year 2010.
There are several factors in the report which show the increase in the shipments of smartphones, and more application stores including the expensive ones. Though Apple iPhone users and AT&T subscribers download more applications than anyone else, the research organization has predicted that Android will be the next breakout smartphone application platform.
According to Carl Howe, director of anywhere consumer research at Yankee Group, Boston, MA, two factors drove the company to increase their forecast, the first one was an increase in the percentage of apps that consumers were willing to pay for- up from 18 percent in August to 30 percent in January- and an overall increase in average paid application price from $1.99 in August to $2.85 this year.
The 2009 forecast of the company was $343 million, but that was using the prior paid app ratio of 18 percent with an average price of $1.99.
Indian telco Reliance plan mobile app stores
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Online mobile applications stores has been planned by one of the India’s top mobile firm, Reliance Communications, thus opening up a new revenue stream from add-on services such as music and social networking.
The first version of Reliance Communications application store would go live for GSM customers by the end of February and expended version would be available to its CDMA customers by the end of March.
Seventh-ranked Aircel was the first Indian operator to announce a mobile applications store in January when it signed a deal with number two software services firm Infosys Technologies.
