Earning Greenback in iPhone App Store

I read an article recently that begged the question, “can developers still make money in the iPhone app store?”  This is interesting because Apple has really looked to make the user experience seamless, and since they now boast over 25,000 applications, I’m pretty sure some of those are busts, and of course some of those are gems.  but since we all can’t be Rovio and make upset, feathered animal games, can we still earn a pretty penny as a developer in this mature market?

I read a blog post in researching this subject and it seems that you can.  According to a simple question posted on Quora, “What are the all-time highest grossing iPhone apps?”, the response was:

Apps that are estimated to have made over $10M before Apple cut:+ Angry Birds (Chillingo, Rovio)+ Tweetie (Atebits)+ Bejeweled 2 (PopCap)

Other high-grossing apps (estimated over $1M):+ Cut the Rope (Chillingo, Zeptolab), Doodle Jump (Lima Sky), Navigon Mobile Navigator (Navigon), TomTom, Flight Control (Firemint), The Sims 3 (EA), Madden NFL 10 (EA), The Oregon Trail (Gameloft), The Moron Test (Distinct Developments), TextFree Unlimited (Pinger), ColorSplash (PocketPixels)…”

Peter Clark, in the same question response on Quora writes, “about 9% of Twitter users use the Tweetie iPhone client [1]. Tweetie sells for $2.99 (and there were two versions.)  if we assume 25M twitter users, and Tweetie 1 had 4% (based on quick googling) market share, and Tweetie has 9% market share, that is approx 4,000,000 downloads at $2.99 a pop: $12M, minus the Apple Tax (30%) that means the Tweetie developer has made approx $8,400,000. “  These numbers look pretty good.  but what if I’m not making apps that support one of the biggest social media sites on the planet?  According to some, it’s all in how you go to bat.

In an article on Flurry, Simon Khalaf writes, “Studying the questions, the answer came down to a matter of basic execution: a great concept, a good user experience, tight marketing and a smart distribution plan. those factors helped “thrust” the title into the “orbit” of the top Sellers category. then the real “booster” of superior merchandising placement kicked in. “  in a previous post, I mentioned that app store games are taking more and more market share from handheld video gaming companies like Nintendo and Sony.  This has to be because not everyone wants to play Madden 2012, or call of Duty.  Some people honestly wanna play Paper Toss during the last 15 minutes of their lunch break or on the train ride back home.  This is where the money is made.  You don’t have to spend years creating Gears of War 3, you have to create a simple, fun, and addicting game that benefits from viral media.  Market it will and the money is yours.  in that same article, Khalaf writes, “there appears to be more of a middle class in the App Store; that is, more companies bringing in respectable revenues. This is particularly true when comparing revenue distribution across iPhone Apps versus what games and apps earned on traditional carriers like Verizon and Sprint. This is due in large part to the free trial, better navigation, community ratings and superior discovery solved by Apple in their store. What this means for developers is that if they release a title with a strong concept and solid production values – even if it doesn’t have a known brand associated with it — and they market it well, they can have a hit and make money.”  makes sense to me.

All in all, you don’t have to create Angry Birds 7 (or whatever they’re up to now).  You can’t make crap, but you don’t have to make a masterpiece either.  despite a mature market, there’s still plenty of coin to be earned and advertising dollars to be spent.  So grab your closest friend that majored in computer programming and get to work.  in the words of Blake from Glengary Glenn Ross, “the money’s out there waiting for you.  You pick it up it’s yours.  You don’t, I got no sympathy for ya.”  Go get em!

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Top 5 Monaural Bluetooth hands free kits

Today most mobile handsets, except the really basic ones, offer Bluetooth which provides wireless connectivity. over the past couple of years, the Bluetooth accessories have undergone drastic changes with the inclusion of features such as noise cancellation, voice alerts, quick charge and many more such features.

Bluetooth handsfree kits that are available today can be easily classified in to two main categories &#151 monaural and stereo handsfree kits. the monaural audio channel based handsfree kits only support voice communications while the stereo hands free kits offer music playback along with audio communication.

Last time we covered the stereo Bluetooth handsfree kits for those who like to enjoy their music along with the regular communication but this time we have chosen top 5 monaural or mono Bluetooth headsets. due to mono audio channel, these headsets are smaller in size and can only be used for communication purposes only.

Nokia BH 904 (Rs 4,500)

Nokia has a range of Bluetooth accessories for mobile phones in both the Mono and the Stereo category. the Nokia BH 904 is a monaural Bluetooth headset which features a radical design comprising an extendable boom microphone that allows the user to connect or disconnect calls. this extended arm also enhances sound reception of the microphone thereby improving audio quality. not to forget the enhanced comfort that is offered by this device even when it is used for a long duration.

The BH 904 also features active noise cancellation with the help of a secondary microphone placed right on the outer side of the handsfree. this allows the device to increase or decrease the noise cancellation intensity with the change in ambience noise.

BlackBerry HS300 (Rs 2,000)

Research in motion has the HS300 handsfree kit especially for the BlackBerry devices. the device carries the BlackBerry legacy with its full black colour and simplistic design. the device is small in size that makes it a perfect fit for the ear and discreet at the same time. It features an automatic volume control so the user does not have to struggle while using it.

The device features voice prompts for major events such as connectivity and battery level and also features rapid charge which helps it to get back in action in minimum possible time, basically ready for business.

Plantronics Bluetooth Headset Voyager Pro+ (Rs 3,000)

Voyager Pro+ device is extremely comfortable to use with its behind-the-ear design and along with that it has a boom microphone for better and clearer communication. well the only downside is that its micro-phone is a non-retracting one so it kind of sticks out of the device all the times.

Other than that the device delivers superb voice clarity and active noise cancellation with the presence of another microphone to listen and then act on the noises. this is probably the only mono hands free to feature Advanced 2 way Data Port connectivity allowing it to playback music from the Bluetooth stream too. the device’s extended microphone is prone to wind disturbance but the company has given it 3 layers of protection and wind noise suppression technologies to counter them.

Plantronics Bluetooth Headset M100 (Rs 2,800)

The Plantronics M100 is a sleek handsfree with a unique design that gives it an exciting and sophisticated look, which suits both executive and casual attires. the M100 comes in a dual colour graphite, blue colour tone with a glossy outside and in a matte finish in the inside surface. in a nutshell, the look and design of this device is great and with a slim profile it can be worn every day without any hassles.

One of the best features of the M100 is its voice alerts. Users are alerted when the device is switched on, paired, connected and even when the battery level goes down, making possible a virtually vision less operation.

M100 perfectly suits even the iPhone as it gives the exact battery level on phone’s screen through its free iPhone app. along with the Bluetooth version 2.1, the M100 features quick Pair technology that eliminates the need to input any passwords to connect the device to the mobile phone. also, the device can be connected to two devices simultaneously.

Jabra Bluetooth Headset Wave (Rs 3,500)

Well Jabra devices are known for their quality and its quite right if we say that Jabra as a name is quite synonymous with communication accessories, be it Bluetooth or non Bluetooth based. the Wave is another great headset from the house of Jabra. this headset, like the Voyager Pro+, features a non-retracting boom microphone with a behind the ear design.

It features a same 3 layer wind protection technology and active noise cancellation. the design, however, is a little different than the Pro+.

The device also features visual display for both battery and Bluetooth along with that voice prompts helps the users in many different ways too. but sadly enough it does not feature the A2DP profile as the Pro+ does.

Tech Talk: Techie gifts for your holiday shopping

For work or play, there’s something for everyone By MJ Shoer November 24, 2011 2:00 AM

Happy Thanksgiving! once you have enjoyed time with family and that wonderful sleepiness that comes from turkey with all the fixings, like many, your focus may quickly move to the holiday shopping season and Black Friday. this year, I’ve noticed that some stores are opening up late Thanksgiving night, before midnight, backing up Black Friday into today.

Whether you choose to brave the masses who throng to the stores at hours when I prefer to sleep, or if you are just getting into the holiday spirit, if you are looking to get someone a technical gadget of one form or another, I hope you will find a great idea here. welcome to my seventh annual gift guide for the techie on your list.

Each year at this time, I look back at prior lists and this year, in particular, I got a pretty good chuckle from the recommendations from my first list back in 2005.

Gaming systems were the hot item that holiday season and while they continue to be sought-after gifts for the younger people on our lists, this year we have not seen a new introduction to fuel that must-have rush to the store to get it before they are all sold out. On the gaming front, the hot items this year are new releases of popular games like the “Call of Duty” series and others. if you’ve got someone who has a game system and is an avid gamer, the latest version of their favorite game is always a good choice.

The item that really caught my attention from the 2005 list was the fact that the Motorola RAZR was the hot cell phone of the season. Take note that I said cell phone, not smartphone. this season, the RAZR is again one of the hottest items, but this time, it’s a reborn RAZR, the Droid RAZR Android smartphone. It’s the thinnest smartphone to date and boasts a Kevlar skin for durability, and has one of the largest and sharpest smartphone screens we have seen to date.

There are many high-end smartphones available, most running the Android operating system.

With the expansion of 4G high speed mobile data networks, these smartphone deliver Internet speeds that rival your home broadband connection and deliver great mobile Internet experiences. the iPhone 4S is the latest version of the incredibly successful iPhone family and it continues to deliver on the excellence we have all come to expect from Apple. the S in the new version is a nod to Siri, the new voice-activated intelligent digital assistant built into the iOS operating system. at the rate smartphones are progressing, artificial intelligence will seem old school in the not-too-distant future. There’s not much you are not able to do with a smartphone these days.

Next to smartphones, the most popular gift request may be a tablet.

The iPad and Galaxy Tab (Android) tablets remain the standard to beat, with the iPad being the clear leader. Many wish lists will have the iPad on them this season, I’m sure. In the business arena, we are starting to see purpose-built business tablets come to market. for the business person who wants a tablet too, these may be an interesting option as they may be able to cross the line between personal entertainment device and business productivity tool without making your IT security suffer. Models like Lenovo’s ThinkPad Android tablet have several business features, like device encryption for security, built in. Depending on the primary purpose of the tablet, you may have lots of options to choose from. if you are an iPhone user, I recommend you stick with the iPad. if you are an Android user, I recommend you stick to an Android tablet. why? because your apps will work on both your smartphone and tablet, without having to re-purchase them. That’s not to say you can’t have an iPhone and an Android tablet or vice versa. Just be prepared to buy your apps twice, once for each platform.

If you want a tablet, but don’t want to shell out the roughly $500 price that most tablets sell for, you may want to give very serious consideration to the newest Barnes and Noble Nook Tablet or Kindle fire from Amazon. Both are traditional eReaders that have matured into very capable tablet platforms. Both are based on the Android operating system, but are not as open as a traditional tablet. Both Amazon and Barnes and Noble have put a layer on top of the operating system that somewhat limit what you are able to do with the tablet, but if you want to be able to read books, magazines and newspapers, surf the Web and check your e-mail, these tablets — priced from $199 to $250 — are an affordable and attractive option.

With all these battery-powered gadgets around, a great gift idea or add-on gift is a portable charger that will power all your devices so you don’t have to carry around a special bag just for all your chargers. there are also some very small portable battery packs, to help keep your smartphone or tablet going when you are running low on power. Many of these are solar as well, which brings a nice green element to them.

I could fill a few pages with gift recommendations, but space is limited. While I don’t have time to give these their just review, also think about touch screen all-in-one PC’s like the Lenovo IdeaCentre or HP TouchSmart, or a digital camera. Canon has an impressive line of digital cameras from compact point-and-shoot models to fully equipped digital SLRs. if a flat screen TV is on your list, consider one with Google TV and WiFi built in to take your TV watching to the next level with Internet-enabled apps and streaming video.

My very best wishes to you and your family for a very happy Thanksgiving and a truly joyous holiday season. thanks for reading.

MJ Shoer is president and virtual chief technology officer of Jenaly Technology Group, inc., a Portsmouth-based outsourced IT services firm. He may be reached at .

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iPhone apps to get you home, count calories and make a birthday card

Put down the flip phones. Throw out the sliders. If you carry a “Zach Morris,” please see your nearest kiosk for immediate assistance.

Today’s world is run by the smart phone, and if you don’t plug in, you’ll be lost among the shuffle.

And it can be confusing. what apps to buy. what free apps are best? “Should I upgrade for 99 cents?”

From those buying their first iPhone to veterans, advice is here for the app enthusiast.

We’ll feature three app reviews twice a month: The Best Buy, the Helper and the Best App Ever.

No, what I call the iFriend can’t do everything. but like the commercials say, there’s an app for just about anything.

The best apps make life easier. they consolidate pocket items. They’re convenient.

That’s the criteria. So let’s take a look.

THE DEAL

Wait, I can get a full year of live turn-by-turn navigation with voice guidance for a special holiday offer of $9.99? And the app is only 99 cents?

The MotionX GPS DriveBy App by MotionX has fast routes with multitasking abilities.

It has traffic updates, preserves addresses and it won’t fall asleep in the middle of the trip. other navigation apps are good, but most are overpriced brand names.

And the standard Google Maps Direction App doesn’t cut it. No voice guidance, no turn-by-turn. The map is slow and the directions will occasionally send you to the wrong destination.

THE HELPER

Ever go to a restaurant and wonder how many calories are in the main course?

The Meal Snap — Calorie Counting Magic App by DailyBurn — counts calories digitally and costs 99 cents.

Tap the app, point the included camera at the dish and snap. in seconds the App generally calculates how many calories the meal contains.

BEST APP EVER

Forget Mom’s birthday? Don’t turn to the Hallmark or CVS down the street.

The Cards App by Apple allows users to design birthday, greeting and love cards, among others, on the device. for $3, a physical card will be sent to the recipient through snail mail, but this app is free.

Set a reminder for your girlfriend’s birthday, whip up a card on the app and what could be a stressful situation has been avoided.

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SoliCharger Rocks Tunes While Recharging

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Just in time for the holidays, Sollight has released the SoliCharger-SP, which looks to be a rugged, dependable solar charger with a price tag – $59.95 online – that’s bound to catch Santa’s eye. as an added bonus, this gizmo not only recharges your iPhone or iPod (or whatever mobile device you happen to have in your pocket), it doubles as a set of speakers, so you can turn your MP3 player into a party at the drop of a hat.

Red Ferret reports that the SoliCharger includes two built-in speakers equipped to amplify your tunes, as well as enough battery life to charge most smartphones completely in under an hour, even while you and your friends are enjoying that edifying podcast you recently downloaded (or, you know, some AC/DC). The SoliCharger, like most solar chargers, features a variety of charging tips (including the 32-pin Apple, USB, USB Mini, and USB micro adapters) designed to ensure that whatever make and model your phone, this charger will be equipped to provide the juice.

image via Sollight

As an added bonus, the 9-ounce SoliCharger doubles as a case for your phone or player (with plenty of room left over for all those adapters, if necessary) and even works with most GPS devices and the SonyPlaystation – solar-powered video games, anyone?

In a pinch, of course, you can also use the unit as a back-up battery pack, recharging with juice from a regular wall-socket, but with a large solar panel puts out 70mA of power in full sunlight (and which recharges fully in under an hour) you should be able to provide plenty of talk or play time via clean, green solar energy. Compatible with the iPhone 4 and 4S, the SoliCharger is available beginning December 1.

Help Carbonfund toward their goal of planting 1,000,000 trees. Subscribe to Green Earthling Deals by Friday, Nov. 25, 2011, and EarthTechling will donate $1 for every new subscriber. See contest rules for details. Sign up in the upper right-hand corner at EarthTechling.com or right here.

Guide: to buying an iPhone

While there are many dozens of Android phones on the market, Apple to date has released only five models of the iPhone. Only three are currently offered by Apple and its U.S. carriers (AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint). Whether you’re planning your first foray into the world of iPhone ownership, or an upgrade from a now woefully outdated first- or second-generation model, choosing which iPhone to buy is a decision that requires some thought. your options: the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4, and the iPhone 4S.

Cash as cash can

The first question, as it so often is when it comes time to buy shiny new electronics, is what your budget is. in theory, if you’re buying your new iPhone for yourself, you’re prepared to set aside at least $70 per month for service (and possibly considerably more, depending upon your service plan). each carrier sells new iPhones with two-year contracts, so whichever iPhone you get, remember that you’re paying at least $1700 over the next two years to use the device.

But your phone’s contract cost is non-negotiable. where you can save some cash–if you’re willing to sacrifice in other areas, as we’ll discuss below–is on the one-time expenditure you make when you actually buy the phone itself.

The iPhone 3GS is available for free from Apple’s online store, though you’ll have to sign a two-year contract with AT&T to get that 8GB model at no cost. (Apple sells an unlocked version of the 3GS for $375.) AT&T is the only carrier to offer the 3GS, as that phone is only compatible with AT&T’s GSM-based network. (Curiously, AT&T lists the iPhone 3GS for sale at $1, though as this article was published, AT&T’s online store claimed to be out of stock.)

Bargain hunters who’d like a phone released after 2009 can still save some coin by opting for an 8GB iPhone 4. It costs $99 with a two-year contract, which you can sign with either AT&T, Sprint, or Verizon. (Unlike the iPhone 3GS, the iPhone 4 works on the CDMA network used by Verizon and Sprint as well as AT&T’s GSM network, though you have to buy a phone compatible with that specific network.)

Then, there’s the latest iPhone model–the iPhone 4S, which came out in October. It starts at $199 for the 16GB model, with 32GB and 64GB versions available at $299 and $399, respectively. again, those prices require a two-year contract; you’ll be able to choose which carrier–AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint–that you sign up with.

What’s in storage

If money is no object, your next must-answer question applies to storage. As noted above, the free AT&T iPhone 3GS and the $99 iPhone 4 are both offered only in 8GB models. And the phone’s operating system and stock apps eat up some of that storage anyway; you’re probably looking at no more than 7GB of usable storage with one of those models. Is that enough?

That depends. Will you be syncing your iTunes music library with this iPhone? If the answer is yes, check how much music you own by clicking on Music in the Library section of the iTunes sidebar and then looking at the status line at the bottom of the window. If you’re using iTunes Match, you can obviously free up plenty of music space, since most of your music will instead reside in iCloud, not on your device.

If your music library won’t be a problem, consider what else you might use the iPhone for. Many apps are on the smaller side–well below 50MB. But if you’re an avid gamer, remember that graphically intense games can gobble up 600MB or more in an instant. And if you plan to take oodles of photos–or shoot hours of video with the built-in camera on your phone–that’s another big potential space-eater.

Remember that the iPhone 4S comes with either 16GB, 32Gb, or 64GB–plenty more storage, if that’s what you need.

Feature show

On the hardware side, the 3GS is available in black only and sports a rounded back. the 4 and 4S are available in both black and white, and sport a straight back. You can still find cases and accessories for all three models, but accoutrement for the 4 and 4S are more readily available.

All three models support iOS 5, Apple’s latest and greatest incarnation of its mobile operating system. But there are significant differences among the three iPhones in terms of what they do and how they do it.

Cameras: each can take photos and shoot video. the iPhone 3GS is limited to a single 3-megapixel camera and shoots VGA-quality video. the iPhone 4 employs a 5-megapixel still camera that can shoot 720p HD video, and a second, front-facing VGA-quality camera. the iPhone 4S uses an 8-megapixel still camera that can shoot 1080p HD video, and the iPhone 4’s same front-facing VGA-quality camera. Only the iPhone 4 and 4S support FaceTime, Apple’s video-calling technology for calls between iPhones, iPads, iPod touches, and Macs.

In plain English, the iPhone 4S can take point-and-shoot quality photographs, the iPhone 4 shoots decent photos, and the iPhone 3GS takes photos with a decidedly camera phone-esque veneer.

Processors: Camera quality isn’t the only way the iPhone 3GS, 4, and 4S compare along a good, better, and best scale. the phones’ internal processors mirror that line; the 4S uses the same Apple-designed A5 chip that powers the iPad 2, and it blazes. both the iPhone 4 and the iPhone 3GS use an A4 processor, with the 3GS the measurably slower of the two older models. You may only notice that slowness if you’re frequently around folks using newer, faster iPhones, however.

Displays: the iPhone 4 and 4S use Apple’s Retina display, packing the screen so densely that your eye can’t make out the individual pixels; it’s a particularly impressive feature for apps written to take advantage of the Retina display. the 3GS’s display is less visually impressive, but still quite legible.

Voice Recognition: Only the iPhone 4S supports Siri, Apple’s virtual voice recognition-based assistant. Folks who use Siri quickly come to depend on it for quick tasks like scheduling reminders, setting appointments, checking the weather, and taking dictation. But the vast majority of iPhone owners have long relied on their fingers for those tasks without much difficulty, so you won’t suffer much without it.

Pick a phone, any phone

So, how do you choose? If you’re the kind of gadget hound who needs the latest and greatest Apple technology, well, then you probably didn’t just read this piece–the iPhone 4S is the only option that will satisfy you.

The $199 that separates the 16GB iPhone 4S from the 8GB iPhone 3GS could pay for somewhere between two and three months of cellular service for either phone. Whether paying extra cash for the increased storage, better cameras, additional features, and snappier performance is worth it is an entirely personal decision.

Some extra points to consider: You’ll sign a two-year contract when you order a new iPhone (unless you opt for much pricer unlocked versions of the iPhone you buy). You’ll never be able to upgrade your iPhone’s storage space size. But it’s quite likely Apple will offer another major iOS upgrade or two over the next two years, and there’s no guarantee that the already two-and-a-half-year-old iPhone 3GS will support any or all of the features of a hypothetical iOS 6; 2008’s iPhone 3G, for comparison’s sake, can’t run iOS 5.

Spending $99 for the iPhone 4 instead of taking the free 3GS may thus provide a better return on your investment, since you’re under contract with your carrier anyway. It’s a better phone in numerous respects, and will very likely be able to run at least one iteration of iOS that the 3GS cannot. Saving an extra $100 by eschewing the iPhone 4S today might make it easier to justify purchasing a hypothetical future iPhone once your new contract is up two years from now.

If, on the other hand, you’re considering a new point-and-shoot camera, or you’re apprehensive about your potential skills as a literal touch-typist, the extra $100 for the iPhone 4S may be worth it.

Regardless of which phone you choose, the good news is simple: You’ll end up with an iPhone, and that means you’ll have an excellent smartphone in your pocket.

Lex Friedman is a Macworld staff writer.

Apple invents more efficient OLED hybrid display – MacDailyNews – Welcome Home

“a news report that broke in July stated that LG thought that OLED displays weren’t suitable for smartphones and tablets,” Jack Purcher reports for Patently Apple. “some debated that claim and now we see that Apple does as well.”

“in a new patent application published by the US Patent and Trademark Office this morning, we discover that Apple has found a way to make an OLED based display work better with applications such as word processing and email for corporate users while gaining a power savings of up to 30%,” Purcher reports. “Apple has been on a tear this year working on next generation hybrid displays to power their future iOS devices. in April, we learned that Apple had devised a smart hybrid e-Paper/Video iOS display and in July we discovered that Apple was working on smart transparent displays that could uniquely support augmented reality based applications.”

Purcher reports, “It’s evident that Apple is placing a tremendous amount of research and finances behind display technology in order to stay one step ahead of the competition.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]