With Instagram recently having been acquired by Facebook for $1 billion and OMGPOP, makers of Draw Something, cashing in for $200 million, developers are attacking the mobile app space with a renewed vigor. Before jumping head first into a new project aiming to be the next big acquisition target, developers might be wise to look over a white paper recently put together by App Promo. (more…)

Amazon on Tuesday announced a new mechanism that will facilitate in-app purchases within mobile applications available for download in the Amazon Appstore. Much like the services currently offered in iOS apps by Apple, in BlackBerry apps by RIM and in Android apps by Google, Amazon’s new system will allow developers to sell additional content, level packs, new features and more from within their apps. ”Amazon Appstore’s In-App Purchasing service enables developers to generate more revenue from ...

The iPhone’s unprecedented success stems from the combination of multiple factors, not the least of which are Apple’s industry-leading design prowess and its ability to make software that appeals to enthusiasts and mass-market users alike. The culture and hype surrounding Apple products doesn’t hurt either, of course. Where the overall experience is concerned, Apple wisely created a scenario that gives it control of both hardware and software, removing carriers from the equation to an exte...

Many industry watchers argue that software ecosystems now present one of the biggest hurdles to mobile platform owners looking to combat the mobile juggernauts that iOS and Android have become. BGR has been covering the issue for years, and in November 2010 we said that absent apps were a huge barrier for Microsoft as it re-entered the mobile space with Windows Phone. Now, nearly a year and a half later, the Windows Phone platform is being taken a bit more seriously by mobile developers, however the issue of ...

Google on Tuesday announced on the company’s developer blog that it has updated its Android Application Statistics tool in an effort to provide more detailed information to developers. The tool originally provided apps’ performance throughout various countries, system versions and device models, among other data. The update brings a new way to analyze data as well as a redesigned user interface and new installation metrics that can measure unique user and device stats. Developers can view active i...

To say that the past 12 months have been a bit rocky for RIM and the Blackberry eco-system in general would be grossly understating the obvious. The once great manufacturer has seen record capitol losses and watched its market share slide at an increasing rate. One of several reasons for the slip has been a lack of developers attention for the BlackBerry platform, especially relative to competitors such as iOS and Android. The Blackberry Playbook, RIM’s attempt at entering the tablet world, has flounder...

AT&T is preparing a service that will let mobile app developers pay for the mobile data used by their applications, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. AT&T’s network and technology head John Donovan compared the service to toll-free calling for the mobile-broadband world. “A feature that we’re hoping to have out sometime next year is the equivalent of 800 numbers that would say, if you take this app, this app will come without any network usage,” said Donovan. Custom...

Earlier this month, Research in Motion began to offer free BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to any Android developers that repackaged their apps for App World. Due to overwhelming interest, the Monday deadline for registration has been extended to February 15th and all developers will have until March 2nd to submit their apps. As of last Friday, there had been more than 1,500 app submissions and over 6,600 new developers registered in the BlackBerry App World according to RIM. According to a post on its blog late ...

At last month’s Consumer Electronics Show, Research in Motion previewed the company’s upcoming BlackBerry PlayBook 2.0 update, which we exclusively reported would land in mid-February. The anticipated update will give PlayBook users the ability to use Android apps that have been compiled for RIM’s platform, but getting developers on board remains the issue. RIM is taking steps to get the attention of developers, however, and one of the first is to offer free BlackBerry PlayBook tablets to ...

Over the next 12 months, Google’s Android operating system will become the favorite platform among mobile developers, according to research firm Ovum. Nearly all developers, however, will support both mobile platforms. While Apple’s iOS and Android have long been the favorites, Ovum said there is growing developer interest in both Windows Phone and BlackBerry operating systems. “The growing momentum behind Windows Phone indicates that Microsoft has managed to convince developers that its pl...

Microsoft recently revealed a number of details on its Windows 8 Windows Store, an application storefront that will launch in February in tandem with Windows 8 Beta. Microsoft corporate vice president Antoine Leblond explained that developers will receive 80% of all revenues from applications sold after earning $25,000 in revenue, before which developers will receive a 70% cut. Apple, by contrast, offers developers 70% of app revenues. Microsoft is also taking a different approach to subscription models. The ...

We’re live from Spotify’s New York City press conference where CEO and founder Daniel Ek took the stage to announce several new Spotify features, most notably applications. Ek confirmed that Spotify will launch a “truly integrated” application platform inside Spotify that will be “tailored to you and your user tastes.” Third party developers can easily build HTML5 apps using a simple API. The first generation of applications will be featured within the “Spotify platfo...

Apple just started seeding iOS 5.1 moments ago to iOS developers. The new build is available for the iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad and third and fourth-generation iPod touch devices. We’ll let you know if this new release further fixes battery life and if we find any other changes. Apple’s full change log for this release follows below. (more…)

Apple began seeding OS X Lion 10.7.3 to developers on Tuesday. In its release notes, Apple said there are no known issues and that the update focuses on iCloud document storage, AddressBook, iCal and Mail. As is typical, developers who choose to upgrade will not be able to revert back to the previous build after updating to OS X Lion 10.7.3. Apple’s full release notes follow after the break. (more…)