Latest Podcast



Featured Articles

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

Ofcom helps protect customers against unexpected roaming charges

UK service providers must notify customers when they connect to a different network

New rules from UK telecoms regulator Ofcom will protect customers when they use their mobile phone on a foreign network. In addition, customers will be alerted if they are inadvertently roaming, perhaps because they're near an international border.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Global smartphone market is set for recovery, says new forecast

A new forecast from research specialists Canalys shows the smartphone market is set to recover next year. Worldwide shipments declined by 12% last year but that decline is expected to slow to 5% this year.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

Vodafone and Three plan to merge their UK businesses

New Hutchison/Vodafone network would be biggest UK operator

Vodafone Group plc and CK Hutchison Group Telecom Holdings Limited have agreed to combine their UK telecommunication businesses, respectively Vodafone UK and Three UK. The merger will create a large new network operator to compete with Virgin Media O2 and EE.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

UK mobile payment service Paym to close in March 2023

UK mobile payment service Paym will close on 7th March 2023. The service, which allowed users to make and receive payments using their mobile phone numbers, was launched in 2014.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Qualcomm legal action moves forward in the UK

Which? seeks payout for Samsung and Apple smartphone owners

Consumer protection organisation Which? has been given permission by the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal to represent Apple and Samsung smartphone buyers in a legal case against chip manufacturer Qualcomm.
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS

Opinion Articles

Thursday, July 7, 2011

The changing face of app stores

Mark Bridge writes:

When applications first hit the headlines, there were many stories about developers making small fortunes just from selling applications. Now there’s much more focus on promoting the app.

To understand what’s changed - and to discover how developers get their apps noticed inside ever-expanding app stores - I spoke to Carsten Frien. He’s CEO & co-founder of mobile advertising marketplace madvertise, a company that’s based in Germany and has recently opened an office in the UK.

Carsten explained there was a very straightforward reason for this new focus on promotion.

“We believe that the focus has changed because the advertising-funded model is more sustainable and is generating higher revenues for the application developers, and so they have switched from a paid-for application model to the free-to-the-end-consumer ad-funded application model”.

But what about application stores themselves?  Will we see them change as well? 

Very probably, suggested Carsten.

“If we go back in time by about 12 to 24 months, the landscape looked significantly different - so I would assume over the next couple of years we’re seeing many changes how app distribution is working. There’s a number of companies who are already trying to cut out app stores and trying to distribute apps directly from their own web sites.”

madvertise brings together advertisers with mobile website owners and application developers. One of its services, KatAPPult, guarantees to get applications in the ‘top 25’ Apple App Store listing. Rather bluntly, I asked Carsten how consumers could trust app stores when the charts can be manipulated.

“If we draw a parallel to Google.com, you have two types of search results. You have the free listings which are driven by the Google index, and you have the paid search results at the top and on the right-hand corner. In the app store you don’t have this distinction between free links and paid-for links. There is no traditional paid-for search model in the app store yet, so the application developer who wants to be in the top 25 has to generate a large amount of downloads in a relatively short period of time. Whatever is popular and downloaded a lot makes it to the top 25 list. I wouldn’t say you can’t trust the top 25 listing; it’s a good reflection of what’s popular in general terms.”

My conversation with Carsten went on to cover the making of a ‘good app’ and the future of mobile advertising. Click here to listen using the built-in player on our website, find our podcasts via RSS or hear the show on iTunes.
Print
Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Rate this article:
No rating

Categories: Applications, OpinionNumber of views: 6614

Tags: applications madvertise

Leave a comment

This form collects your name, email, IP address and content so that we can keep track of the comments placed on the website. For more info check our Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use where you will get more info on where, how and why we store your data.
Add comment

Recent Podcasts

A week of mobile industry news, including the latest security and privacy concerns

Podcast - 16th April 2014

We begin this week's podcast with a discussion about the Heartbleed bug, the effect it's having on the mobile industry and the wider issues for all internet users.

We're also talking about the future of BlackBerry, UK 4G coverage, new CEOs, Bluetooth connectivity, privacy concerns and the next generation of mobile processors.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

A new mobile move from Microsoft, a roaming revolution in Europe... and much more

Podcast - 9th April 2014

This week's podcast starts with news from Microsoft about an update to its Windows Phone platform and a cost-free OS offer to hardware manufacturers.

There's also a new flagship smartphone from Nokia, a roaming announcement from the European Parliament, a UK virtual mobile network from The Co-operative Group, a change at the top for Mozilla, retail expansion for Vodafone and an awkward end to BlackBerry's relationship with T-Mobile in the USA.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Acquisitions, banking, complaints... and the rest of the week's mobile industry news

Podcast - 2nd April 2014

Acquisition announcements from Facebook and Intel are the first stories in this week's look at the latest UK mobile industry headlines.

They're followed by news about mobile payments, mobile banking, a phone with an invisible solar panel, customer complaints, low-cost 4G smartphones, productivity apps and an intriguing case of WhatsApp-itis.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Smartphones, smart watches and SMS spam: all the week's mobile industry news headlines

Podcast - 26th March 2014

Iain Graham, James Rosewell and Mark Bridge are reunited for their regular weekly look at the latest UK mobile industry headlines.

Today they're talking about smart watches, an Apple iPhone announcement, the new HTC One M8, the closure of Ovivo Mobile, text spam, peer-to-peer messaging, government hacking and mergers.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating

Designing mobile phones for seniors: we talk to Doro and Emporia Telecom

Podcast - 21st March 2014

Producing mobile phones for older customers requires much more than big buttons and a simple interface. At Mobile World Congress last month we spoke to two major players in this growing sector: Swedish company Doro and Austria's Emporia Telecom.

Our first conversation was with Harald Obereder, Chief Technology Officer at Emporia, who spoke to Mark Bridge about handset design and user interface design. This was followed by an interview with Chris Millington, Managing Director for Doro UK and Ireland, about research and development in the 'senior tech' market.

Author: The Fonecast
0 Comments
Article rating: No rating
RSS
First45679111213Last

Follow thefonecast.com

Twitter @TheFonecast RSS podcast feed
Find us on Facebook Subscribe free via iTunes

Archive Calendar

«November 2024»
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
28293031123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
2526272829301
2345678

Archive

Terms Of Use | Privacy Statement