Android JellyBeans & other Google announcements at its I/O developer summit

Expected more. However, the key ones for me in announcements -

·         More hardware announcements and in particular the Tablet - Google is now definitely also a hardware player – Motorola, Phone, tablet, home entertainment hub. There can’t live in denial any more!

·         Cloud play and cross screen leverage via Chrome and Google Play

·         Siri like voice search app

·         Growing traction and evolution of Google’s key social asset - Google+

Key Announcements Summary (hope I have covered everything)

·         1 million Android activations a day 

·         Who said Google isn’t a hardware company !

o    Nexus 7 - Google comes out with its own 7 inch (Nexus 7) very competitive priced tablet

o    Nexus Q – Home entertainment hub which fetches your content from Google assets in the cloud  and streams it to your TV, music system, etc.

·         New Android version = JellyBean

o    Includes a Siri-like voice driven app called Knowledge Graph and it answers questions about traffic, sports scores, and general information

o    Better notification support

o    More languages support including Hindi

o    Optimized input via keyboard and voice input

o    Song recognition software a la Shazam

o    Magazine Reader, Google Currents, a la Flipboard

o    Chrome browser with sync across Android devices

·         Google Play enhancements

o    Now offering magazines, TV shows

o    Rental + Purchase models

o    Play back movies and TV shows on all your Android devices, through Google Play

·         Google Maps

o    Offline caching

o    Public transport data (routes, timings, etc.)

·         Google+

o    250 million users

o     “Events” – More contextual and personalized invites including ability to attach video greeting, integration with Google calendar and updates in stream, upload and share photos in real time during the event  

Press Release

Android @ I/O: the playground is open

June 27, 2012

(Cross-posted on the Official Android Blog)

Last year at Google I/O, we talked about momentum, mobile and more. This year, we’re picking up right where we left off. More than 400 million Android devices have now been activated—up from 100 million last June. And twelve new Android devices are activated every every second—that’s more than 1 million a day. Today, we’re rolling out a new version of Android called Jelly Bean, adding more entertainment to Google Play, and introducing two powerful—yet distinctly different Nexus devices to bring you the best of Google.

Jelly Bean: simple, beautiful and beyond smart 

Jelly Bean builds on top of Ice Cream Sandwich. It makes everything smoother, faster and more fluid. For example, notifications are now more dynamic: if you’re late for a meeting or missed a call, you can email or call directly from notifications. The keyboard is smarter and more accurate, and can predict your next word. And voice typing is faster, working even when you don’t have a data connection.

We’ve redesigned search from the ground up in Jelly Bean, with a new user interface and faster, more natural Voice Search. You can type your query or simply ask Google a question. Google can speak back to you, delivering a precise answer, powered by the Knowledge Graph, if it knows one, in addition to a list of search results.

Today’s smart devices still rely on you to do pretty much everything—that is, until now. Google Now is a new feature that gets you just the right information at just the right time. It tells you today’s weather before you start your day, how much traffic to expect before you leave for work, or your favorite team's score as they’re playing. There’s no digging required: cards appear at the moment you need them most.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pPqliPzHYyc

Starting in mid-July, we’ll start rolling out over-the-air updates to Galaxy Nexus, Motorola Xoom and Nexus S, and we’ll also release Jelly Bean to open source.

Google Play: more entertainment

Google Play is your digital entertainment destination, with more than 600,000 apps and games plus music, movies and books. It’s entirely cloud-based, which means all of your content is always available across all of your devices. Today our store is expanding to include magazines. We’ve been working with leading publishers Condé Nast, Hearst, Meredith and more to offer magazines like House Beautiful, Men’s Health, Shape and WIRED.

Now, you can also purchase movies in addition to renting them. And we’re adding television shows on Google Play—in fact, we’re adding thousands of episodes of broadcast and cable TV shows, like "Revenge," "Parks & Recreation" and "Breaking Bad," from some of the top studios, like ABC Studios, NBCUniversal and Sony Pictures. You can play back movies and TV shows on all your Android devices, through Google Play on the web, and on YouTube, and soon we’ll bring the experience to Google TV devices.

Movie purchases, TV shows and magazines are available today on play.google.com, and will roll out to Google Play on devices over the coming days.

Nexus 7: powerful, portable and designed for Google Play

All of this great Google Play content comes to life on Nexus 7, a powerful new tablet with a vibrant, 7” 1280x800 HD display. The Tegra-3 chipset, with a quad-core CPU and 12-core GPU, makes everything, including games, extremely fast. And best of all, it’s only 340 grams, lighter than most tablets out there. Nexus 7 was built to bring you the best of Google in the palm of your hand. Hang out with up to 10 friends on Google+ using the front-facing camera, browse the web blazingly fast with Chrome and, of course, crank through your emails with Gmail.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=YMQdfGFK5XQ

Nexus 7 comes preloaded with some great entertainment, including the movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," the book “The Bourne Dominion,” magazines like Condé Nast Traveler and Popular Science, and songs from bands like Coldplay and the Rolling Stones. We’ve also included a $25 credit to purchase your favorite movies, books and more from Google Play, for a limited time. Nexus 7 is available for preorder today from Google Play in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia, and starts at $199 in the U.S. It will start shipping mid-July.

Nexus Q: It’s a sphere!

It's great to be able to take your entertainment with you wherever you go, but sometimes you want to ditch the headphones and enjoy music with friends and family. So we’re introducing Nexus Q, which combines the power of Android and Google Play to easily stream music and video in your home—all controlled by an Android phone or tablet. Designed and engineered by Google, Nexus Q is a small sphere that plugs into the best speakers and TV in your house. It’s the first-ever social streaming device—like a cloud-connected jukebox where everyone brings their own music to the party. Available first in the U.S., you can preorder Nexus Q today from Google Play for $299, and it will ship mid-July.

If you own one of the 400 million Android devices out there, you already know that it’s much more than simply a phone or tablet. It’s your connection to the best of Google—all of your stuff and entertainment, everywhere you go. Now you have a new version of Android, more entertainment and a growing portfolio of Nexus devices to choose from—all available in Google Play. The playground is open.

Posted by Andy Rubin, Senior Vice President of Mobile and Digital Content

Android Jelly Bean vs. iOS 6 vs. Windows Phone 8 | Gizmodo UK

Decent read !


Click title to access full article

App payments will shore up mobile carriers’ falling content market share

No comments on professional proprietary grounds

Informa telecoms & Media

Press Release

by Guillermo Escofet

June 27, 2012

According to the latest forecasts from Informa Telecoms & Media, operators will see their share of mobile content and commerce revenue drop from 44% in 2011 to 31% in 2016 globally. The operators’ market share will shrink in areas such as mobile music, mobile games, mobile TV/video, mobile messaging, location-based services and chat/social-networking over the next five years, as these services go increasingly “over the top.” This fall in market share would be more precipitous if it wasn’t for the growing role that operators will play in mobile app payments.

The app stores have unseated the operators from their former dominance in the mobile content space, but carrier billing – app-download and in-app payments charged to mobile phone bills – will allow operators to claim an increasing share of revenues over the coming years. Although operators have been firmly shut out of Apple’s game-changing mobile apps ecosystem, all the other players that have jumped on the mobile apps bandwagon, including Google, Microsoft, Nokia, RIM and Samsung, need carrier billing to get paid for downloads from their app stores. Only Apple benefited from the precedent, through iTunes, of having a direct billing relationship with millions of digital media users.

“But operators could miss out on the opportunity afforded by carrier billing if they don’t make it more affordable and accessible to app-store owners and developers, and if they do not introduce more efficient and flexible systems than the clunky and unreliable PSMS,” says Guillermo Escofet, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media. “More compelling alternatives are already appearing in countries such as Russia, where instant-payment terminals in streets allow users to turn cash into e-money to spend on digital goods.”

The slice of app revenues going to operators will grow from 10% in 2011 to 17% in 2016. “Not because operators will increasingly act as a direct retail channel for apps, but because they will increasingly act as enablers of paid-app downloads on third-party stores,” says Escofet.

The need for carrier billing is becoming all the more pressing as app stores push further into emerging markets, where bank accounts and plastic money are rare, and premium SMS is for most the only means of paying for digital goods on phones.

Emerging markets make up the lion’s share of mobile subscribers globally, and that proportion is constantly growing. And the app stores that that have embraced carrier billing are the most relevant to emerging markets, such as Nokia Store, Google Play (formerly Android Market) and BlackBerry App World.

Informa predicts mobile content revenues (total data revenues minus Internet access and P2P messaging) to grow from US$40.7 billion in 2011 to US$131 billion in 2016. Informa’s forecasts only take into account direct end-user revenues – i.e., money paid by users for content and services – and do not include indirect revenue sources, such as advertising.

Vodafone brings 3G services at an attractive price!

Press  Release
June 19, 2012


Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, today announced the introduction of new, attractive and competitive tariffs for 3G data plans for its customers. These data plans start from INR 25 for 25 MB data usage and go up to INR 1599 for 12 GB of data usage. For any usage beyond the stipulated data usage on each plan, the customers will be charged at the rate of 2P/10KB.

And that’s not all. The Pay As You Go (PAYG) rate for prepaid customers is now the most competitive and lowest in the market, making it much more affordable. At 2p/10kb, it is an 80% reduction from the existing rate, making it a plan tailor-made for everyone. Additionally, Vodafone will now allow its customers to use data from their bundle package while on-net roamingacross any location in India without any additional charge.

Announcing Windows Phone 8

Future of Windows Phone is about a shared Windows core. Windows Phone 8 will share a core with Windows 8

• All the nuts and bolts of Windows Phone 8 will be the same as Windows 8 on tablets and PCs
• For consumers: Greater choice in hardware. Wider range of phones with new capabilities. Experiences will cross over between phones and PCs
• Apps on Windows 8 can transition to Windows Phone 8 and vice versa. That means you're going to see the same apps on all devices: phones, tablets, laptops, etc.

by Joe Belfiore, Windows Phone Blog

June 20, 2012

Three years ago I was lucky to join the Windows Phone team at a time when we were “resetting” our approach to mobile operating system software. We made big changes to our design, our approach to partners, and our platform. The result was Windows Phone 7.

Now it’s time to start telling you about the next exciting chapter of our story: Windows Phone 8. Officially announced this morning in San Francisco, it’s the most advanced mobile OS Microsoft has ever made and will arrive on new phones later this year.


Many of Windows Phone 8’s new capabilities come from a surprising source: Windows, the most successful and powerful operating system on the planet, and one used by more than a billion people. Yes, you read that right: Windows Phone 8 is based on the same core technologies that power Windows 8. As a result, Windows Phone 8 will unleash a new wave of features for consumers, developers, and businesses.


Today I’ll give you a high-level sneak peek at the Windows Phone 8 platform and tell you just some of what it’s going to make possible. I’ll also share some exciting news about apps and updates for current Windows Phone customers. This isn’t a full disclosure of everything in Windows Phone 8—look for a more complete tour of new features later.

The power of Windows

If you’ve seen Windows 8, Microsoft’s groundbreaking new release for PCs and tablets, you’ve probably noticed it bears more than a passing resemblance to the look of Windows Phone. Here’s how the Windows 8 Start screen looks in the latest preview release.





With Windows Phone 8, the similarity is more than skin deep. We’ve based the next release of Windows Phone on the rock-solid technology core of Windows 8. It means Windows Phone and its bigger sibling will share common networking, security, media and web browser technology, and a common file system. That translates into better performance, more features, and new opportunities for app developers and hardware makers to innovate faster.
This new shared core—along with all the extra work we’ve done on top of it—opens up a new world of capabilities, which you don’t have to be a techie to appreciate. Here’s a taste:

• Multi-core processor support: As reviewers have noted, Windows Phone runs buttery smooth on phones with a single processor. But piggybacking on the Windows core provides support for multiple cores—so we’re ready for whatever hardware makers dream up.
• Bigger, sharper screens: Windows Phone 8 supports two new screen resolutions—1280x768 and 1280x720, opening the door to amazing new handsets with high-definition 720p displays.
• More flexible storage: Windows Phone 8 supports removable MicroSD cards, so you can stuff your phone with extra photos, music, and whatever else is important to you, and then easily move it all onto your PC.
• NFC wireless sharing: If you haven’t heard the term “NFC” yet, I’m betting you soon will. This emerging wireless technology lets phones share things over short distances. In Windows Phone 8, it helps make sharing photos, Office docs, and contact info easier—just tap your phone another NFC-equipped device. How cool is that?
• Internet Explorer 10: The next version of Windows Phone comes with the same web browsing engine that’s headed for Window 8 PCs and tablets. IE10 is faster and more secure, with advanced anti-phishing features like SmartScreen Filter to block dangerous websites and malware.
• Wallet: Windows Phone 8’s new digital Wallet feature does two great things. It can keep debit and credit cards, coupons, boarding passes, and other important info right at your fingertips. And when paired with a secure SIM from your carrier, you can also pay for things with a tap of your phone at compatible checkout counters.
• Better maps and directions: Windows Phone 8 builds in Nokia mapping as part of the platform. Our partnership will provide more detailed maps and turn-by-turn directions in many countries, plus the ability to store maps offline on your phone so you can work with maps without a data connection.
• Cooler apps and games: Basing Windows Phone 8 on the Windows core will unleash a new wave of amazing apps and especially games, for reasons I’ll touch on in a moment.

A new Start

We’re putting the finishing touches on Windows Phone 8 as I write this. It has a ton of great new consumer features that I can’t wait to tell you about in the months ahead. Today, however, I’m going to show off just one: the beautiful, flexible new Start screen.






As you can see, we’re making Windows Phone 8 even more personal, with a new palette of theme colors and three sizes of Live Tiles, all of which are under your control. We know Live Tiles are one of the things current owners really love about their Windows Phones, and we wanted to make them even more flexible and unique. This short video shows the new Start screen in action.

Windows Phone…7.8!

The new Start screen is so useful and emblematic of what Windows Phone is about that we want everybody to enjoy it. So we’ll be delivering it to existing phones as a software update sometime after Window Phone 8 is released. Let me repeat: If you currently own a Windows Phone 7.5 handset, Microsoft is planning to release an update with the new Windows Phone 8 Start screen. We’re calling it “Windows Phone 7.8.”


Some of you have been wondering, “Will we also get Windows Phone 8 as an update?” The answer, unfortunately, is no.


Windows Phone 8 is a generation shift in technology, which means that it will not run on existing hardware. BUT we care deeply about our existing customers and want to keep their phones fresh, so we’re providing the new Start screen in this new update.

100,000 apps and beyond

Today we announced that the Windows Phone Marketplace officially hit 100,000 apps and games—a milestone we reached faster than Android, and a testament to the thousands of talented developers around the world who’ve supported us since launch. Together they deliver more than 200 new titles, on average, each day.


On behalf of everybody at Windows Phone, THANK YOU! We appreciate your effort and creativity and the value you bring to Windows Phone users. 


To mark the milestone, today we’re announcing a new batch of marquee titles. The official Audible app for audiobooks arrives in Marketplace today. Official apps from Chase and PayPal are in the works. Gameloft has Windows Phone versions of Asphalt 7: Heat and N.O.V.A. 3 Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance on the way.


And Nokia is helping deliver the much-requested Zynga games Words with Friends and Draw Something to Windows Phone later this year. Check out Nokia Conversations today for more details this and other new Windows Phone-related announcements today. (And don’t miss the fun new “100,000 Apps and Counting” mugs and other goodies in the official Windows Phone Gear Store!)

Developers, developers, developers

Since we’re talking about apps, I want to tell developers a little bit about what they can expect in Windows Phone 8. Some of the exciting changes on the way include:

• Native code support: Windows Phone 8 has full C and C++ support, making it easier to write apps for multiple platforms more quickly. It also means Windows Phone 8 supports popular gaming middleware such as Havok Vision Engine, Autodesk Scaleform, Audiokinetic Wwise, and Firelight FMOD, as well as native DirectX-based game development.
• In-app payments: In Windows Phone 8 we make it possible for app makers to sell virtual and digital goods within their apps.
• Integrated Internet calling: In Windows Phone 8, developers can create VoIP apps that plug into our existing calling feature so Internet calls can be answered like traditional phone calls, using the same calling interface.
• Multitasking enhancements. Windows Phone 8 now allows location-based apps like exercise trackers or navigation aids to run in the background, so they keep working even when you’re doing other things on your phone.

This is just a taste. Later this summer, we’ll have much more for developers on the Windows Phone 8 Software Development Kit (SDK) and the new Visual Studio 11-based development tools. So stay tuned.

Windows Phone 8 @ work

In Windows Phone 8, we’re also moving into the workplace in a big way, introducing a number of features and capabilities that companies and their IT departments demand. This is just one more benefit of sharing a common core with Windows 8. Some of the new business-friendly features include:

• Device encryption: To help keep everything from documents to passwords safe, Windows Phone 8 includes built-in technology to encrypt the entire device, including the operating system and data files.
• Better security: Windows Phone 8 supports the United Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) secure boot protocol and features improved app “sandboxing,” so the phone is better protected from malware with multiple layers of security.
• Remote management: With Windows Phone 8, IT departments can manage apps and phones remotely, with tools similar to ones they now employ for Windows PCs.
• Company Hub and apps: Companies can create their own Windows Phone 8 Hub for custom employee apps and other critical business info.

New languages, update process

I get a lot of tweets asking, “When will my phone get Arabic? Farsi? Turkish?” They’re also the top feature requests on the Windows Phone Suggestion Box site.


I’m happy to tell you these languages are coming! In fact, Windows Phone 8 will support a total of 50 languages, or double the current geographic coverage. We’re also expanding 


Marketplace, our store for apps and games, to support app downloads in over 180 countries—nearly triple its current footprint.


Another area I know many of you care deeply about is Windows Phone software updates and how they’re delivered—something we’ve gotten a lot of feedback on over the last year. Today I’m excited to tell you that we’ve been working closely with our many partners to improve the update process for Windows Phone 8, and help get you our latest software more quickly and easily.


How? First, Windows Phone 8 updates will be delivered wirelessly over-the-air, so you don’t have to bother plugging your phone into your PC to update anymore. Second, we will support devices with updates for at least 18 months from device launch.


Finally, we’re working to create a program that gives registered enthusiasts early access to updates prior to broad availability—a little gift to our biggest fans and supporters. We think these three initiatives will help keep your phone fresher than ever before.

What’s next

I know that’s a lot to digest—and look forward to. And I didn’t even mention actual phones yet!
We’re really excited about the strong line-up of hardware partners who are putting their support behind Windows Phone 8. The first wave of devices for Windows Phone 8 will come from Nokia, Huawei, Samsung, and HTC, all built on next-generation chips from Qualcomm.
As I’ve said, we’re just starting to tell the full Windows Phone 8 story. Keep your eye on the official Windows Phone blog and website for more news throughout the summer. And, as always, I’m eager to hear what you think. Thanks for reading!

Canalys : Facebook announces App Center

Facebook’s App Center provides a valuable opportunity for increased exposure through a smaller, curated, social environment. However, this will also be yet another store for developers to monitor and manage, at a time when competition for developers’ attention from other ecosystem leaders and store providers is only intensifying. However, with no app store today doing a good enough job in terms of aiding app discovery, it is likely that it will be inundated.


For Apple and Google particularly, while Facebook’s store may well be helpful in sending consumer traffic to their stores to make purchases, for those customers they are losing control of the app discovery process


Also while Facebook, does not benefit directly from revenues for paid-for content on iOS and Android, the availability of the store for these platforms will nonetheless help to generate a vibrant ecosystem and storefront that should drive additional downloads on the web - from which it is able to take a revenue split for paid content - and it promotes apps that use Facebook Logins and share content using its services, encouraging greater and deeper user engagement.

Link to full article

What is the significance of Facebook’s decision to launch an app store?

• App Center will aid app discoverability on Facebook by offering users the opportunity to browse or proactively look for apps
• The value of the Facebook App Center to developers will primarily be as a means to increase exposure
• Facebook’s store will drive traffic to Apple’s App Store and Google Play, yet it also threatens their control of the discovery process

Through its official developer blog, Facebook announced on 9 May 2012 that it would be launching an app store to its 900+ million users in the coming weeks. App Center will be accessible to Facebook users via the web, and through its iOS and Android apps, and it will offer users a portal through which to find a curated collection of social apps. Crucially, Facebook states that only apps that receive positive user ratings and meet its quality guidelines will be listed, with those that are ‘well-designed’ and that ‘people enjoy’ prominently displayed. It is a move that follows steps taken towards the end of last year to bring its social apps platform to mobile, (see Canalys' report, ‘Facebook as a mobile app platform’, published 5 December 2011).

Aiding app discovery beyond social

Its decision to launch an app store will address a serious problem developers faced on Facebook of how to get their apps discovered. As a social network, Facebook’s apps platform naturally lends itself to social recommendations and discovery driven by users posting updates, messages and invitations from within social apps and games; celebrating high scores, asking friends to join a game, or highlighting other in-app activities. Uptake and adoption of a social app on Facebook can quickly snowball with each new user helping to attract more contacts from their own social graph.

But despite having such a powerful, critical discovery tool at their disposal, app discoverability has still been an issue for Facebook app developers. Getting an app noticed in the first place - or found by someone who may enjoy it or find it useful but does not have a friend actively using it already - is very tough. There has been nowhere for users to go to browse through apps on Facebook, only the option to search for a specific app by name; so there have been few opportunities to ‘get the ball rolling’. This has been a frustration for some developers, particularly fromsmaller organizations with little consumer brand awareness, and a barrier to uptake for others.

App Center will tackle this problem head on. Facebook users will now have a portal through which they can browse and discover new apps. This will be welcomed by the vast majority of users, particularly if the apps on show remain of high quality. For developers, the move brings not only improved discoverability, but also additional analytics information and monetization prospects. Facebook is adding a new app ratings metric to its developer portal, Insights, which will allow developers to see how different age groups, split by gender, rate their application. Given the link between ratings and store placement, this will prove a critical metric for developers to focus on, and should ensure they respond promptly to address criticism and complaints left in negative user reviews.

Initially through a beta program, Facebook is adding support for paid-for applications (it already supports in-app purchases), using Facebook Credits where purchased on the web. From the mobile App Center, users will be able to browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation and perhaps payment, they will be directed to Apple’s App Store or Google Play to complete the transaction and download. This will help to ensure that the two leading store providers’ terms and conditions are not infringed and that they do not attempt to obstruct Facebook’s initiative – not that either would want to risk discouraging Facebook from actively working on their respective platforms, and indeed driving traffic to their app stores.

While Facebook, therefore, does not benefit directly from revenues for paid-for content on iOS and Android, the availability of the store for these platforms will nonetheless help to generate a vibrant ecosystem and storefront that should drive additional downloads on the web - from which it is able to take a revenue split for paid content - and it promotes apps that use Facebook Logins and share content using its services, encouraging greater and deeper user engagement. Moreover, it adds value for both Facebook users and developers. Opening up and improving an additional revenue stream from paid-for apps on the web, ahead of its pending IPO, is also not a bad move for Facebook.

More than just games

The app store approach will also help social apps other than games get a better chance to get noticed. The dominance and popularity of social games from Zynga, Playfish, Playdom and others, and the fact that in-game achievements give a regular and natural reason for content sharing and notifications to friends, has ensured that to date relatively few non-game apps have been offered on the Facebook platform. Offering a browsable portal for apps, segmented by category, with highly rated apps emphasized, should give plenty of other social apps a greater chance of success. Of the six example launch titles that Facebook’s blog post refers to, half of them (Spotify, Pinterest and Viddy) are not games, and Facebook is clearly eager to position the App Center to developers as an ‘additional way to grow their apps’ and drive greater usage and downloads.

Certainly for developers of social apps on iOS and/or Android, struggling to get their offerings noticed in the vast catalogs of the App Store and Google Play, Facebook’s App Center provides a valuable opportunity for increased exposure through a smaller, curated, social environment. However, this will also be yet another store for developers to monitor and manage, at a time when competition for developers’ attention from other ecosystem leaders and store providers is only intensifying. They will need to maintain an inviting and up-to-date ‘app detail page’ on Facebook and ensure the social noise around their app remains positive or is promptly addressed – such a lively social environment will prove crucial to watch. Developers will therefore need to balance an ongoing resource commitment with the potential for greater social exposure. Apps submitted by 18 May 2012 will be prioritized for review to appear in the store at launch. With no app store today doing a good enough job in terms of aiding app discovery, it is likely that it will be inundated.

No room for complacency

However, to prove successful in the longer term, Facebook will need to ensure that it continues to improve and enhance App Center: 

• It needs to offer a demonstrable commercial opportunity for developers. It will soon need to be able to talk about success stories in which a presence on Facebook’s app store has helped developers to build credible and sustainable businesses and make real money.
• As such, consumer awareness and understanding of Facebook Credits and how to obtain them will need to be improved, and aided by the availability of locally appropriate acquisition payment models. Its prepaid voucher availability at physical retailers will be important, particularly in markets where credit card penetration is poor.
• It must ensure the store remains fresh and vibrant. It will need to continue to work to attract social app developers to deliver new and innovative titles regularly. If the catalog is allowed to stagnate, or if the storefront does not change with sufficient regularity, users will see no incentive to visit the store. It will be critical to attract locally relevant apps, particularly for non-English speaking markets, otherwise user engagement will suffer.
• It must ensure that in prominently positioning ‘well-designed’ and positively reviewed apps, it is not continually promoting the same set of apps, too many apps of the same type, or only apps from big and better known brands at the expense of innovative titles from smaller developers. This would lead to a stagnant storefront and developer frustration.
• It must ensure its app guidelines are enforced and that quality control does not lapse, otherwise users will be frustrated by poor app experiences. It will also be critical that apps which feature in App Center are secure, free from malware – particularly an issue where a listed Android app links back to Google Play - and do not endanger user privacy – a factor of special concern and importance given the level of personal information stored in some users’ Facebook accounts.
• As the store catalog grows, it will need to innovate and invest around further enhanced app discoverability tools itself, such as algorithm-based recommendations or ‘deal of the day’ initiatives. The foundation stone for Facebook App Center’s success will be that it offers developers help with discoverability of their apps. Ifthat tenet of the proposition is diluted, its value to developers will rapidly diminish.
• It should consider extending support to additional mobile platforms, such as BlackBerry or Windows Phone, in order to maximize the number of mobile users who are able to take full advantage of apps on Facebook.

There is also no room for complacency on the part of other app store providers. For Apple and Google particularly, while Facebook’s store may well be helpful in sending consumer traffic to their stores to make purchases, for those customers they are losing control of the app discovery process. This will only be exacerbated by the insufficient and ineffectual existing discovery tools of the leading app stores that get worse as store catalogs continue to grow. As such, both consumers and developers could well become less reliant for app discovery on the native store clients on mobile devices in favor of external discovery portals, sites and stores such as Facebook App Center, which brings with it significant risks, (see Canalys' report, ‘App stores risk losing control of app discovery’, published 27 January 2012). Facebook is continuing to make in-roads into the mobile space, and store providers should be wary of its aspirations to become the primary discovery portal for social apps.

Facebook : Growing quality apps with the App Center

FB's decision to launch its app store is significant as in my view as it will aid discoverability for apps (browse and/or look for) and consequently benefit developers by way of increased exposure for offerings

Bruce Rogers, Facebook Developer Blog

June 7, 2012

Today we’re launching the App Center, the place for people to find great social apps on the web and mobile.


Driving installs on the web and mobile

The App Center helps high-quality apps grow by promoting those that people enjoy the most. It includes all types of social apps, including those built for Facebook.com, iOS, Android, and the web. People can find apps through their friends, browse by category, or get personalized recommendations.


The App Center is available on Facebook.com and in our iOS and Android apps. If a user is browsing the App Center from their computer, they can easily send a mobile app to their phone. Whenever a mobile app requires a download, users will be sent to the respective install page in the Apple App Store or Google Play.


Growth tied to quality

The App Center lists apps based on quality signals from users. To see if your app meets the requirements, you can view your status in the App Dashboard.


Keep your app detail page up-to-date even if it isn’t currently listed, as it will appear in Facebook search for people who haven’t installed your app. Your app will be automatically included in the App Center once it meets our quality thresholds.


The App Center is beginning to rollout to users in the United States today. We will provide more details on the localization tools and international availability in the coming weeks.


The App Center is launching with over 600 apps, including new apps like Ghost Recon Commander, Jetpack Joyride, and Ghosts of Mistwood. More apps are being added every day. Learn how to include your app or visit the App Center.

Experience more with expanded Tweets

The new expanded-content idea certainly has the potential to become a monetization strategy for Twitter. Among other things, Twitter could charge media companies for access to the new feature, or it could ask for a cut of any revenue from song downloads or other monetization that occurs via links in the expansion or media pane. Or, it could offer the enhanced content option to advertisers who want to promote a movie or song by using it — which would make a nice companion to its “promoted tweets” and “promoted trends” and other advertising offerings.

What makes this kind of offering a double-edged sword, and a further reason why traditional media might want to be cautious about their relationship with Twitter, is that adding expanded content is clearly the company’s way of adding more value to its website and mobile experience so that users will spend more time there

Twitter Blog

June 13, 2012

Starting today, you can discover more interactive experiences inside any Tweet on twitter.com and mobile.twitter.com. When you expand Tweets containing links to partner websites, you can now see content previews, view images, play videos and more.


You’ve probably expanded Tweets before to play videos from YouTube or see photos from Instagram. Now, a diverse and growing group of new partners like the The Wall Street Journal, Breaking News, and TIME also deliver rich content inside Tweets containing a link to those websites.


It’s easier than ever to discover breaking news and bylines. When you expand a Tweet linking to a news article by The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle or Der Spiegel Online, you can see a preview with the headline, the introduction and sometimes the Twitter accounts of the publisher and writer. You can continue to read the article, follow these accounts, and reply, favorite or retweet the Tweet.


You can also see exclusive photos from inside the WWE ring, or images from sources like BuzzFeed and TMZ.


You can even watch moments from your favorite television shows like BET’s 106 & Park and play video from partners like Lifetime and Dailymotion.


This easy new way to discover content from the web begins rolling out to everyone on twitter.com and mobile.twitter.com starting today, and it’s coming soon to Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for Android.


- Michael Sippey, Director, Product Team (@sippey) 

Skype Advertising Update

Proposed ads are currently silent and non-expanding and appear for users who do not have Skype Credit or subscriptions and are using Skype for Windows. 


Skype is selling its inventory through Microsoft’s own advertising network. This seem like an important push for Skype’s profitability in the long run. Hopefully, there wont be a user backlash to the “tainting” of Skype’s famously free service, but it certainly makes sense for Skype to try and get something out of its massive non-paying user-base.


Skype Blog
June 13, 2012


Today we are announcing the launch of Conversation Ads in Skype. These new display ad units will appear within the calling window of users who do not have Skype Credit or subscriptions when they're making 1:1 Skype-to-Skype audio calls using Skype for Windows.

We're excited to introduce Conversations Ads as an opportunity for marketers to reach our hundreds of millions of connected users in a place where they can have meaningful conversations about brands in a highly engaging environment. Skype is already at the center of meaningful conversations, where families, friends, and colleagues spend time together.

While on a 1:1 audio call, users will see content that could spark additional topics of conversation that are relevant to Skype users and highlight unique and local brand experiences. So, you should think of Conversation Ads as a way for Skype to generate fun interactivity between your circle of friends and family and the brands you care about. Ultimately, we believe this will help make Skype a more engaging and useful place to have your conversations each and every day.

Here are more details about Conversation Ads:

• Conversation ads are available for marketers to purchase in 55 markets where Skype is available. Users without Skype credit or subscriptions will see the ads during 1:1 Skype-to-Skype audio calls in Skype for Windows.


• Skype call quality will remain the same. Ads will be silent, non-expanding and run after we've completed our regular detailed quality checks on your connection./li>

Here's an example of what these new ad units will look like:

The Skype experience is our top priority, which is why we we've taken our time testing what kind of advertising works best in the Skype environment, including Conversation Ads. As we roll out this and additional commercial experiences in the future, we will continue to test, learn and make any necessary adjustments along the way.