Windows Phone and BlackBerry struggle to attract developer attention

Developer Interest Chart

We’re taking this with a grain of salt, since it applies only to users of the cross-platform Appcelerator Titanium development environment, but it appears that Windows Phone 7 is facing an increasingly uphill battle for mobile mind-share. At this point it should go without saying that a platform lives and dies by its developers and, according to Appcelerator, they’re growing less and less interested in creating apps for Microsoft’s smartphone OS. Only 29-percent of devs responded to the company’s quarterly survey that they were “very interested” in putting their wares on WP7, a fall of 7 points from last quarter and far less than market leaders Android and iOS. News is even worse for RIM, which saw a fall of 11-points in developer interest for BlackBerry, and now trails the folks from Redmond. Again, this survey is based only on the responses of 2,760 developers using a particular product, so we’d refrain from calling the results incontrovertible. Still, it reinforces something that even a casual observer could discern: BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7 have a tough row to hoe. Two more charts after the break.

Continue reading Windows Phone and BlackBerry struggle to attract developer attention

Windows Phone and BlackBerry struggle to attract developer attention originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Apr 2011 18:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs

We still don’t have a solid release date for HP’s tiny Veer — we’ve been told it’s “coming around the corner” and will be here “soon” — but if we were the guessing type, we’d say that the pint-sized webOS 2.2 smartphone will hit the market on or about the 2nd of May. That’s because a PreCentral reader stumbled across what looks like an official invitation to an “HP Veer Launch Party Event” in Los Angeles on that very date, and it’s typically fairly difficult to launch a handset without a handset to launch, if you know what we mean. Still, this looks like a business-to-business event, so we wouldn’t circle your calendar quite yet — but if you’ve already got that red marker out, you might want to put a X over May 12th instead. That’s the day that AT&T is hosting a webOS 3.0 developer webcast — which might be worth attending in and of itself — but is particularly noteworthy given that HP hasn’t announced carriers for the Veer or SIM-slot packing HP TouchPad just yet.

[Thanks, Brian L.]

HP planning Veer launch party for May 2nd, AT&T brings cake for webOS 3.0 devs originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 17 Apr 2011 17:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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This is Windows Phone Next — developers take notes (video)

Microsoft delivered a big batch of mobile happiness at its annual MIX developers’ conference this morn, promising a host of major features including multitasking, background audio, push notifications and raw sensor data (not to mention over 1500 new APIs) in the next version of Windows Phone. Of course, it’s one thing to tell you how pumped attending developers might be to bite into a nice juicy mango next month and another to see for yourself, so feast your eyes on the best of Windows Phone Next in the video above. Not bad, eh?

Sean Hollister contributed to this report.

This is Windows Phone Next — developers take notes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pieceable Viewer lets devs share iOS apps, personal feelings through a browser

For developers not quite ready to offer their iOS creations in the App Store, a new service promises to suck the grunt work out of bouncing works-in-progress off others. Pieceable Viewer is the magical program in question, launching today to let devs publish a copy of their apps to a private website, whose link they can share with beta testers, clients, and fellow code monkeys. Viewer generates a single line of code for sharing and, irony of all ironies, uses Flash to simulate apps inside the browser. It could be compelling for freelancers working with clients who don’t happen to own an iPhone, and, adds the company’s CEO, it helps devs circumvent Apple’s 100-device limit. All this from a company whose existing product enables people with no coding experience to build apps.

You can try it for free, with one person able to view one app, and a link that expires after an hour. Upgrade to a $30-a-month plan for three simultaneous views of up to five applications, and links that don’t expire. (For unlimited apps, you’ll have to spring for the $60 monthly plan, which lets up to ten people peep at once.) As for all you Android enthusiasts, your version is up next (surprise, surprise).

Pieceable Viewer lets devs share iOS apps, personal feelings through a browser originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Apr 2011 17:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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B&N accepting Nook Color app submissions, because you can never have too many app stores

The upcoming firmware update for the Nook Color is shaping up to be a hefty one for the e-reader-turned-Android tablet. Barnes & Noble has now announced that it’s officially opening up the device to developers, and will be taking app submissions through its developer site effective immediately. The Nook has long been one of the best bangs for your buck in the ever-expanding world of Android tablets, and all that’s left now is Honeycomb — and no, the hacked port doesn’t count.

B&N accepting Nook Color app submissions, because you can never have too many app stores originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 07 Apr 2011 15:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mozilla shames developers with list of slow performing Firefox add-ons

We know how Mozilla must feel. It spends every waking hour tweaking and perfecting Firefox to eke out as much performance as possible, only to see it all ruined by lousy add-ons that weigh the browser down like a block of cement. It’s apparently now had enough, however, and has gone as far as to publish a list that exposes the worst offenders. As of this writing, the two biggest drags on the browser by far are the FoxLingo translator / dictionary and Firebug developer tool add-on which, according to Mozilla, each make the browser 74 percent slower to start up. That list is just part of a broader crackdown on poor performing add-ons. Mozilla says it’s also instituting automated performance testing of the top 100 add-ons in its gallery, and that it will begin reaching out to developers directly to get them to improve performance (and even provide them with some new tools to help out). Hit up the link below to see how some of your favorite add-ons stack up.

Mozilla shames developers with list of slow performing Firefox add-ons originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Apr 2011 23:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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App-Powered Car Service Leaves Cabs in the Dust

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has a plan to make it easier to get a ride. Photo: Jon Snyder/Wired.com

It’s pouring outside, I have an appointment across town in 30 minutes, and my car’s in the shop. To make matters worse, the rain means all the cabs near me are already taken.

Desperate to hitch a ride, I launch the Uber app on my iPhone and tap a button to track my location. In four minutes, a black sedan pulls up to my house, and a driver opens the rear door, welcoming me in.

Fifteen minutes later, I arrive at my destination and step out of the car. I don’t have to hand over the $25 fare or tip, because I’ve already paid through the app. Yes, it was pricey, but it was worth it.

For me, Uber was simple: Request a ride, get in a car and go. But to get the car to my door, Uber’s system first had to crunch through an array of complex mathematical formulas created by its team of computer scientists, all in an attempt to solve a decades-old economics problem plaguing the cab industry: how to optimize driving routes — and provide enough cars — to pick up the most customers in the least amount of time.

“It’s really fun, sexy math,” says Travis Kalanick, Uber’s fearless CEO. He sounds cocky and self-assured, but without giving the impression that he’s trying to sell something. It’s math with real-world benefits, he explains.

“We are not just moving bits,” Kalanick said. “We’re moving people.”

Uber is not a cab business — the app hires luxury sedans — but it offers a compelling alternative to the traditional cab. The cab business is ruthless for everyone, especially the drivers. In order to legally drive a cab, every driver in most American cities must display a “medallion,” a city-issued badge that permits him or her to pick up people on the street when they wave their hands.

For about 80 years, cities’ transportation agencies have enforced the medallion system to regulate the quantity and quality of cabs zooming up and down the streets. The problem is, in most cities, the number of medallions has remained stagnant even as human population and traffic balloon.

Because of the limited number of medallions, the competition among drivers for obtaining a medallion is fierce. Cab drivers camp on waiting lists for nearly 20 years just to grab a badge. Once you’ve got one, the potential payoff is big: Some medallion owners auction off their badges for as much as $600,000 apiece, while others lease their medallions to cab drivers for $100 to $200 per shift.

And because a city’s cab supply is scarce, the competition for hailing a cab on the street is likewise intense, especially on a night like New Year’s Eve, or the minute the bars shout, “Last call!”

With technology, Uber offers an app-powered car service that helps drivers earn money outside the medallion system, which amounts to more vehicles to fill more people.

A startup based in downtown San Francisco, Uber launched in June 2010. The startup has partnered with dozens of sedan services to hire their drivers and hook them up with iPhones containing the Uber drivers’ app. Uber customers can hire drivers using the Uber app available on both iPhone and Android, or anybody with a cellphone can hail an Uber car by sending a text message containing the pick-up address to Uber’s number. Once riders make a request, they receive an ETA from the driver.

When a driver receives a request, it appears on his iPhone, along with GPS coordinates of the rider. From here on, riders can call the driver if they need to make any special requests. Customers are required to enter their credit card information through the Uber app or website prior to requesting a car, so when they step out, there’s no need to yank out their wallets. Riders can rate their drivers with a rating of 1 to 5, so if someone reports a negative experience, Uber can discipline (or fire) delinquent drivers.

Uber so far is only deployed in San Francisco, but over 10,000 customers have registered for the service already. The service will become available in New York “very soon,” according to Kalanick.

There’s no charge for the app, but customers pay a premium each time they book an Uber car — about 40 percent more than a regular cab fare.

To justify the premium, Uber guarantees that anybody who asks for a ride will get a car in a timely manner no matter what. Morevoer, Kalanick promises, the entire experience will be “über.”

“We want a more über experience,” Kalanick said. “Giving somebody you don’t know your credit card is not uber.”

The trick is, it’s not easy being “über.” It takes some really complicated math.


Sony Ericsson will let you unlock the bootloader on new Xperia Android phones — subject to conditions

While one group of Android phone makers is swinging towards locking their hardware down, Sony Ericsson is resolutely headed in the other direction. The Swedo-Japanese consortium has just announced it will provide a secure and legal way for eager Android hackers to gain full control of the bootloader on some of its upcoming 2011 Xperia line of phones. All four models are covered, the Xperia Play, Neo, Pro, and Arc, however you have to make sure you buy a handset that isn’t SIM-locked to a carrier and then there are territorial considerations to take into account. Warranties may still be voided by fooling around with your Xperia’s software (again, depends on individual handsets and markets) and SE warns gravely of the potential for “physical injuries or material damage” if you freak your Android into overheating or worse. So proceed with caution, but know that Sony Ericsson is by your side*.

* Subject to terms and conditions, repair charges may be incurred, Android upgrades are promised but never guaranteed.

Sony Ericsson will let you unlock the bootloader on new Xperia Android phones — subject to conditions originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 04:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Few Android App Developers Rake in Millions

The iOS platform isn’t the only way to make money on the mobile apps scene.

Tech news site Electricpig took a look at eight groups that have made it big — more than six-digits big — with hit Android apps.

Better Android Apps, for example, has made approximately $1.34 million from purchases of its hits Better Keyboard and Open Home. Yongzh created emulators for the PlayStation, Sega, Nintendo and Atari systems, and gathered about $1.81 million from sales of these apps.

“Conventional wisdom told us that to be successful, we had to focus on iOS. Conventional wisdom was wrong,” said Gary Gattis, CEO of Spacetime Studios.

That certainly seems to be true with the tower-defense game Robo Defense. It has also been a big winner, netting creator Lupis Labs more than $2.09 million.

An estimated 3.7 billion Android apps have been downloaded to date, according to AndroLib. Many developers wish that number would rise at a faster rate and are counting on tools like in-app payments to spur app purchases and developer earnings. However, that hasn’t stopped developers such as Eddie Kim, creator of Car Locator, or almost anyone else on this list, from netting big profits.

These high sales figures illustrate that Android’s app market is finally coming to fruition as a solid distribution platform, where software programmers can make good money. Within months of the opening of Apple’s App Store in the summer of 2008, a few lucky programmers quickly struck gold with hot sales of their apps.

Android has been around for about the same time, and only now are we beginning to see comparably high sales figures for Android app makers. Though Google’s app market has been slower to mature, these success stories should give programmers more incentive to make killer apps for Android-powered tablets and smartphones.

Beautiful Widgets netted its maker, LevelUp Studio, more than $934,000. Halfbrick Studios (maker of Fruit Ninja) has netted more than $242,000 after porting its iOS favorite to Android.

Other big winners, thanks to pop-up advertising, include Rovio, for (what else?) Angry Birds, and Arron La for Advanced Task Manager.

Spacetime StudiosPocket Legends, a 3-D MMO, has managed to garner profits of $8,000 per day from in-app payments, making it a shoo-in for six-figure earnings in the not-too-distant future.

“The Android platform has seen phenomenal growth, and it’s great that new avenues for app distribution are opening up,” Rovio CEO Mikael Hed said in a recent news release.

The addition of new marketplaces like Amazon’s App Store is proof, showing that Google’s OS has the potential to be just as lucrative as Apple’s, and companies want to get in on the action.

Spacetime’s Gattis summed up the Android app scene pretty nicely: “In some ways, it’s kind of like the wild, wild West,” he said, “but that’s where the Gold Rush people made their claim.”

Image: Bad Piggy Bank (Rovio)

Meet The Android App Millionaires [Electricpig via Android Guys]


Kyocera launches developer program for dual-screen Echo smartphone

Kyocera promised that an SDK for its dual-screen Echo smartphone would be coming soon when it announced it last month, and it’s now delivered that and more. It’s just kicked off a full-fledged Android Developer Program for the phone, which will give developers access to Kyocera’s support team, additional promotion and co-marketing opportunities for their apps, and even loaner units, although it’s not clear exactly who’s eligible for the latter. Those interested in taking part can download the SDK and contact Kyocera for additional information at the link below.

Continue reading Kyocera launches developer program for dual-screen Echo smartphone

Kyocera launches developer program for dual-screen Echo smartphone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 23 Mar 2011 17:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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