With Apps World Europe kicking off to a great start so far, we took a moment to visit Developer Zone 1 to find out what industry experts have to say on building multi-platform apps.

RunRev’s Benjamin Beaumont, Joe Stagner from Mozilla and Andrew Ashe from EuroTalk were on the panel to give app developers some top tips on how to develop a successful application:

Enthusiasm

Be aware of your own enthusiasm. You’ve got to publish something that people really want to use and it’s really easy to make something that you think is great but it doesn’t work for the customer.

Prototyping

Building a prototype of your app in order to test it on your audience is a great way to find out what works and what doesn’t. Making the target group your focus will aid you into creating an app that suits their needs. Andrew Ashe said: “We throw away at least 60% of what we do – testing it with your target niche group, and if they don’t like it you can’t try and persuade them, you have to change it to suit them.”

The use of an app is an emotional experience, so by ensuring you have targeted your audience and have made an app that suits them, you will have created emotion towards the app and the audience, therefore making them become a potential regular user.

Simplicity

Benjamin Beaumont added that simplicity is also a key part in the development and prototype process. Developers need to work on the design of an app, alongside the content. However, Beaumont said: “We are great developers but doesn’t mean we are great designers.” Hiring an external designer may help your process to building an app that engages with your audience.

Grab their attention

Another aspect of building an app is to focus on the first 60 seconds of the user’s experience, in order to keep them interested in your application. “If you’ve lost them in the first 60 seconds, you’ve lost them forever. Don’t think that you’ve got something amazing later on, you’ve got to get it right early on,” said Ashe.

Development practice

By having an actual development practice, it will make the process of building an app less painful. Joe Stagner said: “Because apps are so easy to replace and the marketplace is so dynamic, the ability to evolve your app quickly but without missteps is super important. You may have the number 1 app in your space, but a point release that is less than satisfactory could crush your market position from a single point.”

With the festive season fast approaching, we’re gearing up for a bumper few months for mobile display advertising as ad budgets reflect the growing tendency of consumers to research products, compare prices and purchase Christmas gifts over their smartphones and tablets.

Record revenues were generated over mobile last year, and this year is set to smash this with brands spending more on mobile advertising than ever.  Planning for the busiest weeks in the mobile advertising calendar is already well under way and now is the time to ensure you’re ready and well placed to maximise the mobile advertising opportunity this holiday season. (more…)

You know a technology has really arrived when it has its own conference, so it’s no surprise to see that there’s a conference dedicated to apps today. Apps World takes place at London’s Olympia on 29-30 November, and is accompanied by a free exhibition. On the exhibition floor, there’s a program of sessions, including one from Intel that will reveal how you can make money selling your HTML5 apps.

HTML5 is the latest version of the language that is used to create websites, but it offers such rich options for animation, video and interaction, that it’s increasingly being used to create app experiences. The Intel AppUp developer program is now accepting HTML5 apps, to be sold through the Intel AppUp center, which underlines app stores including the Dixons KnowHow Centre. There’s also a developer challenge running with the best app in each of five categories receiving an Ultrabook, so now is the perfect time to start making HTML5 apps.

The free Intel workshop at Apps World will show you how you can turn your HTML5 code into an app using the Intel AppUp Encapsulator, and how you can submit it to the store. Experts will be on hand to answer your questions, so it’s the perfect opportunity to kick start your future in HTML5 app creation.

Register for your free exhibition pass to get access to this application lab now!

Poynt is exhibiting at next week’s Apps World event, come along to stand 125 and meet Poynt and learn more about their convenient and timesaving GPS-enabled mobile local search and advertising platform that connects consumers to local offers, businesses, events, restaurants, movie theatres and weather information.

A global leader in mobile local search and advertising recently announced the Poynt platform has surpassed the 11 million user milestone, with 2.1 billion interactions recorded by Poynt users globally. This has given Poynt anecdotal insight into consumer behaviour revealing interesting characteristics of their users. Check out this infographic here created by Poynt which displays some of the behavioural patterns they have been able to deduce. (more…)

buzzdoes are excited to be launching their automated word-of-mouth marketing tool at Apps World Europe next week. To celebrate the launch they are giving away $100 credit to visitors who register at their stand (number 73)

We think developers will love buzzdoes because:

• It’s viral – each happy user can effortlessly steer dozens of new users your way.
• It’s effective – a word-of-mouth recommendation, from a trusted source, can cut through the noise of traditional marketing methods, making it the most influential and reliable promotional tool.
• It’s risk-free – the developer is billed only when a user downloads an app from a buzzdoes user recommendation – no strings attached!
• It’s profitable – buzzdoes includes a social feature, which serves as a permanent advertisement creating a whole new revenue stream for developers.
• It’s effortless – a user simply has to click on the buzzdoes button, select friends and the recommendations are on their way .
• It’s simple and instant, requiring single line code assimilation and quick registration. (more…)

Adfonic’s very own Paul Childs presented to a packed hall at a seminar at Apps World North America. Paul provided independent analysis of the options available to developers and explored various options that developers need to consider when optimising performance and revenue.

Q: What monetisation options are there for developers? What are the key reasons for taking ads?

Developers have a number of monetisation options open to them. Taking mobile ads generates an additional revenue stream and provides developers with an alternate business model to paid apps. It also presents them with an opportunity of cross promotion. Ad funded apps also benefit from instant monetisation and revenue optimisation. (more…)

Good morning, welcome to the first day of Apps World Europe 2011!  We’re taking over the Olympia 2 here in London with some of the leading brands and people in the industry for two days of apps discussion, insight and networking.

If you’re heading down to the event this morning, the first sessions will be kicking off at 9am. Here’s a link to the full agenda.

Last minute booking has been furious but there are still a small number of places left on the free and paid for conference streams, so if you’re in the area, feel free to come down.

We’ve got some fascinating sessions today, with brands such as Nokia and Spotify taking part; as well as global operators such as Vodafone, Orange, Telefonica and Singtel all offering the benefit of their experience and industry viewpoint.

Here’s some interesting food for thought around some of our key sessions today. In the morning we’re looking at operator strategies for Apps & content:

Mobile Europe: Mobile application stores: what’s the opportunity?

Txt4ever: Operators need to embrace apps for new revenue streams

OVUM: Operator billing for third party app stores: changes ahead

In the afternoon we are looking at advertising your app and the media strategies available within the apps business.

Smashing Magazine: How to market your mobile application

Apps Tech News: 10 ways to make your app stand out in the mobile crowd

.NET: 10 step approach to marketing your app

Over in Developer Zone 1 Samsung are taking over with a whole afternoon dedicated to bada developers. Here’s what’s in store

2:00 Welcome
2:10 The UK bada developer challenge
2:15 bada ecosystem/from idea to published app
2:45 bada: show us the money
3:30 Coffee Break
3:45 Tools: implement, test, optimize
4:15 bada and iOS
4:45 Q+A
5:00 End of workshop

Manfred Bortenschlager, Platform Evangelist, Samsung
Keith O’Brien, Head of Content, Samsung
Sameer Ballewar, Technical Consultant, Samsung
Keith Bauwise, Technical Evangelist, Samsung
Jon Lansdell, Technical Writer, Samsung

So there are some things to think about today… If you’ve got something to add to any of the sessions you see, or harbour a burning question that needs answering, you can tweet it into the #AppsWorldQ hashtag; our panel moderators will be keeping an eye on this. Or you can earn maximum kudos by asking it directly over the Q&A mic.

Don’t forget about the official after show drinks will be at the Old Firehouse in Hammersmith. There’ll be complimentary drinks, networking and general merriment for all paid delegates. Doors open at 7.30, come along!

As an official media partner of this year’s Apps World Europe, Text it will be running an exclusive competition for all attendees. Text it will be giving away a bespoke mobile website, as well as a bulk SMS campaign (delivered to 5000 UK directors) to one lucky winner.

(more…)

According to a  report from International Telecommunication Union, exponential growth in smartphones, tablets and other web-enabled mobile devices will result in mobile web being more popular than the web as we know. With this paradigm shift, businesses across the globe see opportunities of getting into the hands of their customers, quite literally. (more…)

We’re very pleased to announce Ciklum will be exhibiting at Apps World at stand 84 on 29^th and 30^th November at Olympia 2, London, have a look at the floor plan here to locate them.

Ciklum is a Danish owned company providing near shore software development resources from the Ukraine and Belarus. (more…)