$19B Acquisition Lighting the Mobile App Developer World On Fire

By John Houghton on March 26, 2014

They say that the rising tide floats all ships.  What about a tidal wave?  Many people are dumbfounded at the valuations that app companies are receiving, especially in the messaging world, but looking back at history can provide some perspective. 

Messaging has been hot for a while, starting with AOL in the 90s, then platforms were developed that integrated the many messaging solutions.  Microsoft bought Skype for $8.5 billion in 2011, and although that wasn’t an app deal, it set the tone.  Facebook then bought Instagram for $1 billion in 2012; the biggest app deal to date, and it seemed like a lot, but that deal has been totally eclipsed by Facebook’s latest $19 billion dollar […]

Mobile App Increases Revenue at Walmart

By John Houghton on March 18, 2014

“Customers who use the app actually shop with us two times more frequently and spend 40% more than a customer who doesn’t use our apps,” according to Wendy Bergh, Vice President, Mobile & Digital Strategy at Apps World 2014.  While many companies want assurance of a return before they invest, Walmart is an example of an innovative company who took a risk by investing in mobile apps without any clear return in sight.  By taking a risk and carefully listening to her customers she was able to provide a substantial return on investment to Walmart through mobile apps.  It makes sense that Walmart would find this opportunity, because there is a lot of low hanging […]

Sell Your App Idea With a Prototype

By John Houghton on March 6, 2014

The most effective way to sell a mobile app idea is to create a complete prototype so that your stakeholders can get a sense of the full experience of your app.  People are visual, and by showing your idea in action you can capture the excitement and give a sense of what the app really does.  That’s the advice of Marco Paglia, Google’s Design Lead.  An effective presentation can help you secure funding or get your company’s buy-in on the concept and design.

In other words, your prototype needs to be fully functional and complete with graphics and transitions. In order to sell the idea, the prototype must be striking and visually appealing.   Then it […]

3 Tips for Improving App User Experience

By John Houghton on February 14, 2014

Last week I went to Apps World 2014 in San Francisco with the intent of interviewing thought leaders on a variety of topics, including User Experience (UX).  Why user experience?  Because if an app isn’t useable, it will fail; and many apps are failing because of usability.  When you consider all of the other factors, you can max out each of them, but if your app’s UX (user experience) is poor, the app will fail.  The UX of an app is one of the most determinate factors of success.  This is why it’s so important for app developers to figure out what good UX is and implement this in their app.  A good UX makes […]

Mobile App Developer Hiring Continues

By John Houghton on January 31, 2014

Mobile app developers are in demand and will be for the foreseeable future.  According to what I’m seeing in the marketplace, projects that were previously shelved due to lack of funding are now starting to get attention and funding.  Apple’s iOS is still the first target for an app’s release, with the iPhone being first, followed at a distance by the iPad.  This is despite Android’s dominance and having the market share of mobile devices, but not yet having the mindshare.  Apple is the number one brand (according to Interbrand), and everybody wants to be associated with it.   All a company has to do is develop a good iOS app; however, that’s not as […]

Android Developer Salaries Surpass iOS

By John Houghton on January 31, 2014

According to Indeed the average salary for an Android Developer in San Francisco is $124,000, while a Senior Android Developer makes $150,000 (as of 1/30/14).  When compared to iOS developers, I’ve been seeing evidence of Android developers making more, $122,000 and $139,000 respectively.  This is reflected by the dominance of the Android operating system in the marketplace, and due in part to the success of Samsung.

Overall, I find that Android programming (which is done in Java) goes quicker than iOS programming, but there are significant holdups when it comes to QA (Quality Assurance – testing).  There are so many different types of Android devices, and for a mainstream app, you can’t ignore them.  To test, […]

Increase Your Customer Knowledge with Mobile Analytics

By John Houghton on January 29, 2014

Do you want more data about your customers and prospects?  It’s a worthwhile pursuit.  He who has the data, has the power; and if you have the data, you also stand a much better chance of winning.  I remember in my Marketing class at UC Berkeley, when my professor David Aaker explained that in the ‘70s, the grocery store retailers held the power because they controlled the shelf space.  Then when the brands began to harness the data, the power position reversed, so that the brands now told the retailers what to do.  This is because the brands were first to harness customer data.  Information is power, and as the playing field has shifted to mobile, […]

Mobile App Development Cost and Design

By John Houghton on January 28, 2014

Two of the toughest issues for mobile app development company stakeholders are cost and design.  On the iOS platform (iPhone/iPad), particular attention is paid to design, and Android also has its own design language; however, the navigation patterns can be quite different between the two platforms.  In this video episode of Mobile App Development TV, we talk to Pete Petras, who is the US Creative Director for Globant.  Globant is a technology service provider focused on developing compelling experiences with particular expertise in mobile app development.  Pete talks about the cost incurred when companies undertake development projects, and how user experience is becoming a driving factor in app success.  Watch the video now:

Watch MP4 (iPhone/iPad)

People […]

How do I Add Twitter Functionality to My Mobile App?

By John Houghton on January 27, 2014

Not everybody who is responsible for a mobile app project knows how to use Twitter inside and out, so if you are one of those people, this article is for you.  Whether it’s iPhone, iPad or Android app development, for a while now it’s been possible to add Twitter functionality to an app, so if a user likes a piece of content within a mobile app, they can share it in the form of a tweet.  I sometimes get requests to build a Twitter function exclusively with the ability to tweet a fixed message, or to retweet a message (without the option to edit it).  This post is targeted toward people who want those capabilities […]

Key Metric for App User Acquisition: CPI – Cost Per Install

By John Houghton on January 23, 2014

For those of you that don’t know, and many who call my company are new at this, there is a key metric for marketing your app known as “Cost Per Install.”  It is the marketing cost that you pay to acquire a user to install your app.  I remember last year, the number seemed to be around $1 per install, but now that number is creeping up to $2.  If you’ve read some of the previous articles on this blog, you’ll know that when an app is launched, it needs a boost to raise its visibility and get it moving.  It needs downloads, good ratings, and engaged users, all of which can be boosted by […]