With Key Lime Pie just around the corner, backend as a service provider Kinvey has come up with an infographic detailing the brief history of Android from 1.0 to 5.0.

Even though the first Android OS was rolled out in 2008, there have been plenty of innovations and alterations in those four and a half years, with each iteration of course named in alphabetical order after a saccharine sweet treat.

Key Lime Pie is set to feature at Google I/O on May 15-17, although nothing has been set in stone from the search giant as yet.

Take a look at the infographic below. Do you remember Android Cupcake, Donut and Eclair? (more…)

The free-to-attend Android developer event at Apps World North America on February 7-8 in San Francisco is all set to feature various leading Android developers, authors, evangelists and operators divulging their expertise on all things Droid.

Sponsored by Barnes & Noble, the Android developer conference runs on both days of Apps World and will be of interest to anyone building apps on the Android OS.

Highlights of the day one track will include expert opinion from James Steele, author of The Android Developer’s Cookbook on how to create the optimal Android experience, and Tom Chavez, NOOK Developer Evangelist for track sponsors Barnes & Noble on how to quickly monetise on the NOOK bookstore.

The second day of the Android developer conference sees discussions on exploring cross platform dev tools, as well as insight from Donn Felker, author of Android Tablet Application Development for Dummies, and representatives from Facebook, Microsoft and VisionMobile.

The OS market has long since been considered a two horse race, but plenty of evidence suggests Android is pulling ahead, with recent research from MBA Online confirming that 1.3m Android devices are activated each day compared to 515,000 iDevices.

To find out how to register for the free-to-attend Android developer event, visit here.

With only days until Apps World on 2-3 October, which means we’re agonisingly close to learning who the first ever Appsters Awards winners will be.

Our judging panel has been over 70 finalists across twelve industry categories. The judging team has been tirelessly scoring, comparing and contrasting the highly varied field, based on their interpretation of a number of key factors involving strategic objectives, innovation, feasibility and measurements of success.

There’s been laughter, tears, heated debate and lots of coffee. But as we near the end of the process, excitement is building towards the Awards ceremony on 2 October at the Kensington Roof Gardens. (more…)

Piracy is a fact of life on all mobile platforms including Android. If an attacker wants to pirate your app its only a matter of time and effort. We don’t have to be sitting targets though. We can add layers of protection around our app to make it difficult for would-be pirates. Let’s look at some of the techniques and tools we can use to protect our apps.

If the app relied on a server, for media like videos or pictures, or the results an algorithm hosted on the server, then whenever the app contacts the server, the server can verify that the app is licensed. As long as the server remains secure it is very difficult to circumvent this technique.

Using libraries like Google’s LVL (License Verification Library) or DroidActivator we can shut the door on casual piracy. Essentially, the library is integrated into our app, then, when the app is installed, it contacts a license server, which checks to see if the app was legally installed. Be aware however that using these libraries is not just a simple matter of copy and paste. Some effort has to be put in to modifying the libraries to avoid common cracking techniques. (more…)

We’ve seen the market demand for Apps explode exponentially over recent years, as they become the tool of choice for interaction on smartphones. As the infrastructure and programming languages for their creation have become more accessible, there’s been a corresponding explosion in the sheer quantity available in the market. With this level of demand and supply, and the low barrier to entry for App creation, there comes a cost – quality can suffer.

Whilst there exist many tools and techniques to measure and monitor the quality of the Apps themselves, there is little in the way for monitoring the quality of the developers creating them: and developer competency is the single greatest predictor of application quality. That’s where The Android Academy with their online Android Academy Certified Developer (AACD) qualification comes in with a solution for the Android industry.

Speaking at Apps World, Carl Whalley from OTAMate Technology Ltd, one of the companies behind the AACD programme, highlighted the need for an accurate, standard, instantly verifiable system which is above all affordable.

“We’re delighted to be able to partner with Apps World and extremely pleased they recognise that the AACD Android qualification really can make a difference to the quality of Android Apps we’ll see in the future”, he said. (more…)

Brand Republic, Marketing and Media Week today announced their Mobile Marketing Village within the Apps World exhibition on 2-3 October at Earl’s Court 2. The village will create a focal point for; marketing, media, communication and digital marketing professionals at the event where leading agencies, augmented reality providers, ad networks, analytic platforms and location based service providers will be exhibiting.

The Apps World event will be hosting a free to attend exhibition alongside 10 different niche workshop tracks covering the entire mobile app ecosystem. The Mobile Marketing Village will be placed adjacent to the Mobile Marketing workshop track, allowing those in; media buying agencies, retail, financial services, FMCG, charity, fashion, publishing and other industries, to attend sessions and be introduced to leading suppliers and experts who can offer advice on building a cutting edge mobile marketing strategy. (more…)

Leading Android developers, Google Android representatives, handset manufacturers and operators will be appearing on Apps World’s ‘Droid World’ stage this year, delivering valuable developer advice and ideas covering design, build, architecture, interface and monetisation issues. The open-source nature of the Android platform has led it to become the most popular platform in the world with 51.6% of market share in December 2011.

Taking place as part of Apps World on 2-3 October at Earl’s Court 2, the Droid World workshops will see some of the industry’s most successful developers shed light on their creative, technical and business processes in open, interactive workshops where attendees will be encouraged to suggest discussion topics, debate and collaborate. Find out more about the workshops here

Developers can register for free to attend the workshops on 2-3 October here (more…)

On November 29-30, Altoros exhibited at Apps World Show London Olympia. Altoros is a global company of experts in software and application development, and provides new approaches in staffing technology projects.

(more…)

Apps World exhibitor LeadBolt, the leading mobile advertising network and in-app ad monetization company announced this week the release of a revolutionary new ad format. “App Wall” is designed to allow developers to monetize their apps quicker, with more consumer engagement options and without the integration issues of an SDK.

“We set out to create a solution for developers to monetize their apps without the need for much effort over the development of the app itself. Developers should be able to focus on what they do best – developing amazing apps,” said LeadBolt CEO, Dale Carr. (more…)

From app developers to product strategists, the pendulum swings widely on whether engaging consumers via their mobile device should be a mobile web or native app experience.  Ultimately, when it comes to consumer facing products the decision does need to be based on the most effective way to connect your consumers to your product and to understand where the market is – because that is where the consumer will be found. (more…)