Augmented reality and mobile apps have met before, but some developers contend that the next encounters will produce an even more sophisticated class of technology.

The field of augmented reality places a digital overlay on the real-world view through a mobile device’s camera. Over the past couple of years, developers have taken advantage of a mobile platform’s camera and GPS to provide apps that help users find particular stores, restaurants or other points of interest. Games such as ARDefender also employ augmented reality.

But app creators have begun to engage more of a mobile device’s sensors -- accelerometers and gyroscopes, for example. Augmented reality apps that use detailed animations are also in the works. The objective: inject augmented reality technology in a wider range of apps to boost the user experience.

By Tim Kridel

Later this month, five of the world’s largest mobile operators plan to launch a virtual app store that will let their customers buy apps from one another. For developers, one potential benefit is access to each operator’s APIs to enable operator-specific additional features without rewriting big chunks of the app for each operator.

We spoke with Heavy Reading analyst-at-large Caroline Chappell, who recently met with the new app store’s architect, Michel Burger, head of architecture at Vodafone's Technology Strategy and Products Group. Although many of the store’s details are still under wraps -- Vodafone declined our interview request with Burger -- Chappell was able to get an overview of how the store will work and what it could mean for the app marketplace.

By Tim Kridel

Just how quickly can a mobile operating system go from last to first? Between late 2009 and late 2010, Android’s market share grew 615 percent -- enough to leapfrog into first place.

Wireless history is filled with plenty of other examples, good and bad, including the webOS flash in the pan. Fast-changing fates make it challenging for developers to decide which OS to support. The research firm iGR has been tracking the mobile market for a dozen years, and I recently spoke with its vice president of wireless and mobile communications research, Matthew Vartabedian, about what developers need to consider.

Right now, it’s a race between Android and iOS in terms of global market share. Do you see that changing over the next year or two?

Matt Vartabedian: In terms of global market share, I expect Android will go down market into the lowest price points and widen the gap against iOS. Nokia’s already there with Symbian and their S40 devices, and their plan is to convert those users (and new ones) to Windows Phone. The clock’s ticking on that strategy since the other major players are already in place. RIM just launched a new phone in Indonesia targeted at that market.

By Tim Kridel

Siri might be the best-known example of a voice-enabled UI, but it is certainly not the only one. Whether speech will eventually replace touch as the primary way that smartphone and tablet users interact with apps is debatable. But for now, one thing is clear: Developers should start considering whether and how to add speech control to their apps to stay competitive.

When looking to integrate voice controls to mobile apps, developers are faced with a growing and often bewildering array of implementation options. To help sort through the technology and design options, we recently spoke with Ben Lilienthal, co-founder and CEO of OneTok, a new company that aims to make it easier and cheaper for developers to speech-enable their apps.

By Tim Kridel

Android has a bigger market share than iOS, so a bigger pool of potential users should mean that Android apps drive more revenue, right? Not necessarily. For example, at the LeWeb conference earlier this year, Evernote CEO Phil Libin said that his app’s average revenue per user (ARPU) for Android is $1.06 versus $1.79 for the iPhone and $2.01 for BlackBerry. Its iPad ARPU, meanwhile, is $2.18.

Why such big differences by OS and form factor? To find out, we asked Ken Gullicksen, Evernote’s vice president of corporate development. One takeaway echoes our Q&A with FourBros Studios earlier this year regarding Windows Phone: When developers fixate on OS market shares, they risk overlooking nuances that point to revenue opportunities.

By Tim Kridel

If the term “Cabir” rings a bell, it means you’ve been in mobile app development since at least 2004. That’s when Cabir, considered the first known mobile virus, showed up as a proof-of-concept effort.

Since then, mobile devices have become more sophisticated in terms of processing power and connectivity -- which in turn creates more opportunities for malware writers. Just as important, the plethora of real-time operating systems (RTOS) has given way to a handful of smartphone OSs, which make it easier to write once, hack many.

We recently spoke with Trey Wafer, McAfee senior product manager, about how mobile operators, enterprises and security companies are responding to the mobile malware threat.

 

By John Moore

 Mobile emulators and simulators can help developers test their apps on different devices without having to actually have them on hand. The testing tools can make testing easier, particularly where there are lots of variations in device types, screen sizes and operating systems. But they also face some limitations.

By John Moore

Crowdfunding has taken off as a financing vehicle for a variety of projects, from music albums to software. Websites such as Kickstarter and IndieGoGo bring the funding appeal to the Internet public, and they sometimes even offer rewards to people who pledge support.

Crowdfunding may sound like an apps-to-riches story. But executing a crowdfunding campaign isn’t as simple as it may sound. Here, Scott Steinberg, CEO of strategic consulting and product testing firm TechSavvy Global and co-author of The Crowdfunding Bible, explains why.

What do you see as the most dangerous misconceptions regarding crowdfunding?

Scott Steinberg: The most common mistake is that people expect crowdfunding to be very straightforward, very easy and right for any type of project. It takes a tremendous amount of effort to run a campaign --  30 to 45 days is standard. We call it a marathon, not a sprint.

Crowdfunding tends to work best for projects that are easily communicable visually and can be summed up in a sentence. For a crowdfunding campaign to be effective, you need to capture the viewer’s attention very quickly and provide a strong call to action. You need to create a sense of urgency around the campaign and get people to dip into their pockets then and there.

 

By Tim Kridel

FourBros Studio created a buzz back in April when it blogged about its success with Windows Phone 7. Part of what made the post so interesting was the amount of metrics -- such as ad impressions and revenue -- that FourBros provided to illustrate their accomplishment. I recently spoke with Nathan Furtwangler, FourBros Studio member and developer, about what other developers can learn from their team and how their strategies might be applied to Windows Phone 8.

By Tim Kridel

One step forward, two steps back. That’s how Don Norman describes today’s gesture-based user interfaces (UIs) for smartphones, tablets and a growing assortment of other devices.

Named one of the world’s 27 most influential designers by Business Week, Norman laments the lack of standards, which have created a world where a finger-swipe on one device often doesn’t have the same effect on another. That inconsistency often makes using gesture-based UIs as much fun as folding a fitted sheet. Norman spoke to me about this and more from South Korea, where he was a distinguished visiting professor in the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology’s Department of Industrial Design.