Google has just launched a new tool that allows anyone to just simply create an Android Application.  To use App Inventor, you do not need to be a developer. App Inventor requires no programming knowledge at all. You visually design the way the app looks and use blocks to specify the app’s behavior instead of writing code.

The App Inventor team has created blocks for just about everything you can do with an Android phone, as well as blocks for doing “programming-like” stuff– blocks to store information, blocks for repeating actions, and blocks to perform actions under certain conditions. There are even blocks to talk to services like Twitter.

If App Inventor is so simple that schoolchildren can make apps, some those same children will soon become coders themselves … and perhaps choose to develop Android apps rather than iPhone.

Give App Inventor a try! Head on to http://appinventor.googlelabs.com/about/ to learn more about it.

Sources:

http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/google-app-inventor/

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/12/android-app-inventor-lets-you-be-the-developer-video/

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/200887/google_app_inventor_lets_anyone_make_android_smartphone_apps.html

ThinkLink’s FaceCash mobile payment system allows you to pay for items just by scanning your phone and showing off the attached photo to confirm that it is your own money that you’re spending. This system supports BlackBerry, iPhone and Android devices. Simply sign up, link your FaceCash account to your personal checking and savings account, and you’re good to go with participating merchants. The apps can also store credit card numbers and banking information, making it easier to make payment even without your wallet. However, FaceCash currently only has merchants in California and nowhere else.

Source:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/17/facecash-mobile-payment-apps-are-like-real-money-only-with-your/

We have seen a lot of skinning on the Android handsets, where OEMs differentiate themselves with consumers, such as Motorola (Motoblur), Samsung (TouchWiz), and HTC (Sense).

Windows Phone 7 devices, which has a narrow set of hardware and software guidelines that restrict OEMs from modifying their user interface. Microsoft has come up with plans to help them write unique apps. At least that’s what this June 1st Microsoft job posting for a senior Windows Phone software developer says:

“We are looking for a strong and experienced developer to help the OEM to design and develop applications that make their devices stand out in the marketplace. You will also help them to bring new phones to market.”

The position would be “working directly with a top Korean cellular phone manufacturer, who has made a large commitment to Windows Phone.” It’ll be interesting to see if these apps are enough to differentiate one touchscreen handset from another.

Source:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/11/microsoft-helping-oems-develop-unique-windows-phone-7-apps/

Apple is accepting iOS 4 apps, which means we should see quite a few apps that take advantage of multitasking on the iPhone 3GS and iPhone4, as well as make use of the 1500 other new APIs in the system when it launches on 21 June. Only certain tasks are allowed in the background, so apps that need to run persistently, like IRC and IM clients won’t really work.

Source:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/11/apple-now-accepting-ios-4-apps-multitasking-ahoy/

Local developers of mobile applications are turning to companies as a new driver of growth. The business is very lucrative, with analysts and industry players estimating that apps creation and maintenance for companies will be worth some US$3billion (S$4.2 billion) worldwide. The apps developed for businesses provide a mobile service for their customers or intranet work system for staff.

The technology required for developing mobile apps is closer to a software than a simple app. Thus, developers can charge more and generate multiple revenue streams. This greater sophistication increases the barriers of entry in the competitive landscape.

Source:

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporebusinessnews/view/1061504/1/.html

A recent study on more than 4200 people who had downloaded a mobile application in the last month showed that there was an increase in smartphone app usage these days. On average, the number of apps a smartphone user has on an Android phone is 22.

The average number of installed apps based on various smartphone OS:

• BlackBerry: 10
• iPhone: 37
• Android: 22
• Palm: 14
• Windows Mobile: 13

The most popular apps across smartphones showed pretty consistent results.  A few had strong showings, with the obvious and leading ones dominated by Google Maps and Facebook.

Source:

http://mashable.com/2010/06/01/nielsen-mobile-app-june2010/

Personal finance site Mint.com has released its Android app, letting users access to a complete snapshot of their finances and managing them on the go.  their financial picture and manage their finances on the go.

The app is similar to their iPhone app, having the ability for users to see real-time account balances, check recent transactions; compare their spending against their monthly budgets, and edit transaction details. There are also a few features that are exclusive to the Android app, including easy search for recent transactions, a Mint.com widget that includes snapshot of overall cash flow in real-time, and Android live folders that give users financial updates on the phone’s home screen without launching the Mint.com application. Most importantly, the app is password-protected and allows users to immediately disable access to the app from the Mint.com website.

Source:

We know that Androlib is in no way the official word on actual figures. However, we have always found Androlib helpful in looking at the overall picture and trends.  The charts they put together help us to see the bigger picture.

There are 47,517 total applications in the Android Market.  At the rate things have been going, expect the unofficial number to eclipse 50,000 sometime in the coming week or two.  In terms of paid versus free apps, roughly 40 percent of the available titles are paid while the rest are offered at no upfront cost.

Sources:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/23/android-market-clears-the-50-000-app-mark-says-androlib/

http://www.androidguys.com/2010/04/23/android-market-hit-50000-apps-time-google-io/

When Apple changed the words in its legalese that comes with the software development kit for its iPhone 4.0 OS, it appears that they planned to ban data collection and reporting from the analytics tools offered by firm such as Motally, Flurry, Localytics, Medialets and Distimo.

Finally, Apple has came out and explained what they meant. These firms are not being banned. So Apple’s notoriously long, secretive app approval process will probably get longer and more confusing to some developers. And analytics vendors will need to pay careful attention to what Apple considers acceptable and unacceptable. But they’re not being locked out.

Source:

http://venturebeat.com/2010/04/22/apple-not-banning-analytics-from-apps/

Demand for smartphones has been booming in Singapore, especially over the last six months. Smartphones allows users to check email, watch youtube videos, edit powerpoint presentations and also provides the ability of other computer-based activities. It now stands 70% to 80% of all the handset sales, according to the 3 Singapore telecommunications companies – Singtel, Starhub and M1. Research firm, Gartner, put global smartphone sales at 14% of all handset sales.

Some reasons for the high adoption rate are the ability to use mobile applications on these smartphones, the attractively priced subscription plans and network upgrades with faster data speeds to users.

Sources:

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_514798.html

http://topnews.us/content/216862-demand-smartphones-escalates-singapore

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=490668