Google Play Celebrates App Milestone by Offering Discounts

by Holly Shoemaker

Yesterday Google announced a milestone – Google Play celebrated the 25 billion app download mark. Through Sunday, Google is selling some of its apps and games for $.25, with new apps being added daily.

For those looking for additional deals, the Google Play Store also offers the following deals through Sunday:

• Must-own movies starting at $4.99
• Twenty five albums that “changed the word” starting at $3.99
• Twenty five banned books for $.99 a piece
• Magazines for $1.99 per issue 

Google Play versus App Store

Apple hit the 25 billion download mark in March. While Apple's iOS App Store still houses a slightly larger amount of apps, at 700,000, Google is quickly catching up. The Google Play Store has 675,000 available apps.

Shifting Trend? 

Google’s announcement and sale to celebrate its milestone may have come as a surprise to some. An earlier study showed that interest in developing apps for Android devices decreased. While it looks like the trend is changing, app developers are still finding it more challenging to break even. With Google’s less stringent standards when it comes to publishing apps, that may provide a better route for developers.

Mobile Apps Gaining Use During Emergencies and Natural Disasters

by Holly Shoemaker

A recent survey from the American Red Cross showed that twenty percent of people have used mobile apps to access information during emergencies and natural disasters.

Other Numbers at a Glance

The survey consisted of an online poll of 1,017 U.S. adults and phone interviews with an additional 1,018 respondents in June. The America Red Cross found the following:

• While more people still use television, radio and online sources to obtain updates regarding emergency situations, those sources of information have declined since last year. In comparison, the number of people who use mobile applications has increased 18 percent since 2011. 
• Mobile apps tied with those who turn to social media sites for information, and those who use social media are more likely to use apps for disaster or emergency information. Eight percent of the public downloaded apps to assist them in an emergency or disaster. The number significantly increases to 25 percent among users who learned about a disaster or emergency from social media sites.
• One in five Americans have used an app to obtain emergency information.

Concluding Thoughts

The use of mobile apps continues to increase across industries. When it comes to obtaining information for emergency and natural disaster purposes, an app may be just as quick as turning on the TV, especially if people are not close to one. However, work is still needed to communicate the usefulness of these apps. The study showed that respondents do not typically think about downloading an app via an app store during these times. Many apps like a weather forecaster or even an app flashlight are useful in daily situations and will come in handy should an emergency situation arise.

WWDC Stresses Apple's App Dominance

by Holly Shoemaker

Apple focused on mobile solutions at its 2012 Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this week. While Apple, as expected, did not announce a release date for the next iPhone, the company took the time to rattle off statistics in its keynote address. The company also focused on Mountain Lion, its updated operating system, which should help Apple continue to dominate the market.

App Store Numbers at a Glance

 

At the conference, Apple stressed the following statistics:

• The App Store is available in 155 countries.
• Apple had paid $5 billion to developers for App Store downloads.
• Users have downloaded 30 billion apps from the App Store.
• The App Store has 400 million accounts.
• A total of 650,000 apps are now available in the App Store – 225,000 of them were specifically designed for the iPad.

According to Gartner, Inc., an information technology research and advisory company, the App Store should generate $58 billion in sales by 2014. By providing the above statistics, Apple gave concrete reasons as to why developers should continue to make apps for Apple. After all, developers need to meet goals and make profits too.

How Google Play and Facebook Compare

• The Google Play store, formally the Android Market, has more than 500,000 apps available.
• Facebook opened its App Center to users on June 8, 2012. The App Center opened with about 600 apps. The App Center is available on the web, iOS and Google's Android operating systems. Last month, Facebook reported that it sent users to Apple's App Store 83 million times.

Concluding Thoughts

While much of the focus at the WWDC came as no surprise, Apple's focus clearly showed the company believes it will continue to dominant app downloads and sales. Even OS X Mountain Lion brings features like messaging and apps from the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to the Mac. Developers received a preview of Mountain Lion back in February. In July 2012, users may purchase Mountain Lion in the Mac App Store for $19.99.

Apple Removes Controversial “Fake ID” App from App Store

by Holly Shoemaker

For over two years, Apple offered an app in its App Store that allowed users to find templates for driver’s licenses for all 50 states. Users then had the ability to upload photos to a chosen template. While the manufacturer of the driver’s license app said the app was not designed to promote fake IDs, Apple succumbed to political pressure and removed the app from the App Store on December 12, 2011.

Apple typically makes developers go through a time-consuming screening process before it will offer an app in the App Store. Because Apple does not use open-source technology like Google, it has the final say over what it offers. In the case of the license app, I wonder how the app has flown under the radar until now.

Why Now?

What made Apple remove the app? Sen. Bob Casey (D, PA), wrote a letter to Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, asking him to remove this app from the App Store. Casey noted concerns regarding the ability to make fake IDs and possible risks such as identity theft. Some people have said Casey took this action because he faces re-election.

Concluding Thoughts

I wonder why Apple even offered this in the first place. Apple would have known it would succumb to pressure. It is possible that the company believed the manufacturer’s rationale that the resolution of the photos had poor quality. Therefore, no one would have the ability to present them as fake IDs. It is also possible that Apple pushed the limits to see what type of limits actually apply to the company.

Whatever the reason, I agree with Apple’s decision. Whether anyone had the ability to pass this off as an ID becomes irrelevant to a point. It comes down to social responsibility and common sense.