SEO Werkt!

User data has fueled the growth of apps in the mobile economy.

Instead of buying digital goods, we are increasingly exchanging them for our personal information, such as our names, email addresses, browsing preferences, location and much more.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with this model but the long term viability of it depends on all parties coming together to ensure transparency across the value-exchange.

That’s why MEF has recently launched its Global Privacy Report to investigate levels of awareness as to what user data is captured and whether or not this affects consumer behavior.

The study was far reaching with over 9,500 respondents across ten countries.  What emerged is a fundamental disconnect between the assumptions we as an industry make about consumers and what they actually think.

Freemium content or ad-funded services are based on a simple value exchange: you get a useful app for free or next to nothing and in return the app provider collects your user data to monetize it in some way.  That’s why when you boot up an app you are often met with some form of request about sharing your location or other data.  

For the consumer the request it can appear totally unrelated to the function of the app – for example, why would a spirit level app need to know where you are?

Moreover, consumers are increasingly aware that if they can purchase mobile versions of console games for free or next to nothing (when its console edition costs a hundred times as much) then its likely that something else is going on.

This is the hallmark of the app economy.

Interestingly, the report found that 70 per cent of consumers say  it’s important to them to know exactly what data an app is collecting and what data is being shared.  Nearly half say that it’s very important.  This says very clearly that consumers understand the impact of apps on their privacy and importantly that they want to have some control.   

Secondly, the wake-up call to app developers should be that that only 37 per cent of consumers are comfortable sharing information.  33 per cent are not at all comfortable. That means either 33 per cent of all consumers are avoiding apps because they don’t trust them, or they are happily downloading and using apps unaware that they are sharing their personal information.

Neither of these scenarios is good, but the second is much worse.

It means that at some stage it is likely that there will be a backlash. Consumer trust is a company’s most valuable asset and not easily regained whether or not app providers clean up their act and become more transparent.

Building consumer trust is critical to growing a sustainable business in a market where thousands of apps jostle for space.  As an industry we have a limited window of opportunity to show consumers that we are capable of protecting their privacy by not taking their understanding of it for granted.  We have work to do to bring consumers with us on this journey into this information value-exchange that is equitable to all parties.

Some of the principles of trust are already established at a legislative level with privacy policies becoming mandatory in many territories. What’s missing is how developers and app stores introduce and build the asset of consumer trust into their day-to-day business, taking the practical steps to establish transparency in a consumer-friendly way.

It’s not uncommon for a privacy policy to be reached via a link that takes the consumer out of an app and on to the mobile web, interrupting the user experience.  Some apps also have privacy policies that run to 65 pages and we have to consider if this disclosure is constructed with the consumer in mind and would a consumer really read a lengthy policy in the immediacy of the mobile environment?

App providers don’t have the time to become privacy experts.

They need a simple, cost effective way of building best practice privacy disclosure into their development workflow in a way which puts the consumer at the centre of this process.  Clearly there is a need for tools which provide short form privacy policies that also execute in-app and explain privacy in plain English.

Consumers have told us that privacy is an issue for them and we can ill-afford not to listen.  MEF is working with our members to address this challenge with practical guidelines and new tools through its Global Privacy in Mobile Apps initiative.

Andrew is the global chairman of MEF, trade organisation representing the global mobile content and commerce industry. He is also the chief strategy officer at mobile payments business, mBlox. An industry veteran with more than 17 years experience at the mobile coal-face Andrew has championed countless mobile industry issues. He help found MEF in 2001 to support the mobile industry as it grows in to new geographies and new vertical markets.

Photo Credit: Szift/Flickr

Filed under: Big Data, Business, Mobile

Tapjoy, an advertising and monetization platform for mobile devices, is partnering with Kontagent, an analytics provider for app developers, in a move that will usher in “new products and services” for the mobile industry.

Tapjoy engages users on over 600 million devices, driving them to discover a variety of applications and advertisements through a virtual rewards system.

“We know that it’s becoming more difficult to monetize users in the increasingly competitive mobile economy,” said Mihir Shah, the CEO of Tapjoy, in their press release. “That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with Kontagent to be able to provide more solutions to help developers improve user acquisition, retention and monetization — and ultimately improve their bottom lines.”

The San Francisco-based Kontagent tracks more than 1,000 applications and 150 million users since it was founded in 2007. Earlier this year, the company released its kSuite DataMine platform that allows their customers to engage and monetize their users more efficiently. Kontagent also tracks aggregate market data, such as the shift in consumer tastes toward social casino games on Facebook.

“We’ve developed a best-in-class analytics offering for the biggest names in the [mobile] space,” said Jeff Tseng, the CEO of Kontagent, “and with this partnership, we look forward to continuing to build innovative new solutions for our customers.”

Shah and Kontagent president Josh Williams will be speaking at GamesBeat 2012 later today in a monetization panel entitled, “Overcoming Hurdles in Monetization, Distribution and Discovery.”

Filed under: games, mobile

The Netflix model of unlimited content works well for movies and television shows, but can it work for magazines?

That’s the question being answered by Next Issue, a subscription-based all-you-can-read tablet app that’s hitting the iPad today after an extended period flying solo on Android.

Via the app, users have access to 39 titles from all the big publishers – Conde Nast, Hearst, News Corp, Meredith, and Time — so there’s no shortage of options. Surprisingly, Next Issue hopes to double its selection by the end of the year.

Next Issue offers two types of subscriptions, which run for $10 and $15. The more expensive Premium subscription offers the service’s entire catalog (including its weekly selections), while the Basic plan only offers the top magazines.

Either way, it’s a pretty good deal, considering the average magazine subscription runs for a yearly $20. Half that price for 40 titles? That’s pretty hard to pass up.

But what’s most surprising is just how long its taken the app to reach iPad owners. As the success of Apple’s Newsstand app has shown, iOS is a major moneymaker for magazine publishers. It will be interesting to see where the service goes from here. There may be some hope for magazines just yet.

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: media

Although it might pain some Apple fanboys, a clever new theme for jailbroken iPhones shows what would happen if the Metro design of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system landed on the iPhone.

Jailbreaking your iPhone opens the door to loading unapproved applications, crazy themes, and using the phone on other carriers. The “Metroon” theme for Dreamboard can be downloaded from the Cydia Store and allows a jailbroken iPhone or iPad touch to look and feel like Windows 8, which Microsoft will release in late October. The Metroon package costs $1.50, a small price to pay to freak out your Apple-obsessed friends.

Check out the clever app in the video below:

Via Jailbreak Nation

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible — visually and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, taking place July 10-11 in San Francisco, is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile

When is being uncool cool? For Samsung, it’s when it gets you out of a potentially nasty legal battle with Apple.

U.K. Judge Colin Birss ruled today that Samsung’s Galaxy Tab Android tablets don’t infringe on the iPad because they’re simply not as hip, Bloomberg reports.

The Galaxy Tabs “do not have the same understated and extreme simplicity which is possessed by the Apple design,” Birss said. “They are not as cool.”

More specifically, Birss said the Samsung slates were clearly different from the iPad because they were thinner and sported “unusual details” on the back. Indeed, it’s hard to mistake an iPad for the Galaxy Tab if you have it in your hands, or can look at them from all angles.

Last week, Apple won a preliminary injunction against Samsung over sales of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in the U.S.

The news, obviously, is a double-edged sword for Samsung. While it no longer has to worry about fighting with Apple over the Galaxy Tab’s design, it’s also a very public declaration that Samsung’s tablets lack something special.

This ruling won’t affect Samsung’s sales, but in the vicious high school mentality of gadget geeks, it’s a dig that won’t be forgotten anytime soon.

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible — visually and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, taking place July 10-11 in San Francisco, is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat

The twisty turns of Apple and Samsung’s current legal battle are enough to give you whiplash. After U.S. District Court Judge Lucy Koh denied Samsung’s appeal to lift the sales ban on the Galaxy Nexus earlier this week, the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit just suspended the sales ban tonight, The Verge reports.

The suspension likely won’t last for long though, as it’s only valid until Apple has its say. The court will then have to decide whether the sales ban should stay in effect throughout the trial between Apple and Samsung, The Verge notes.

Judge Koh last Friday granted Apple a major win by calling for a temporary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. The move wasn’t too surprising though, as Koh also called for a temporary injunction against Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet earlier last week. (The Galaxy Tab ban is still in effect.)

Apple posted a $95.6 million bond this week to enact the Nexus sales ban, on top of a $2.6 million bond for the Galaxy Tab. The bonds will protect Samsung in case the injunctions are later dismissed.

Come next week, none of this will really matter though. Google says it will have updated versions of the Galaxy Nexus available that won’t offend Apple’s unified search patents.

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible — visually and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, taking place July 10-11 in San Francisco, is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat

People-powered traffic and navigation application Waze is mightier than ever after having doubled in size in six months. Today, the four-year-old company celebrates 20 million members who’ve accumulated more than 3.2 billion miles of on-the-road time with Waze in tow.

Founded in 2008 and launched globally at the end of 2009, Waze is a mobile app for iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian phones that provides GPS device-like capabilities and helps people route around traffic by crowdsourcing driving data from its members.

The startup has added a bevy of new features to its service, including gas prices and voice control, since raising $30 million more in funding ($67 million total) in October 2011. And it’s been rewarded with 13 million new users in eight months.

The 20 million-member stat is good news for the growing company — and for Apple too. Apple will use Waze data in its upcoming Maps application for iOS 6. More Waze users means better traffic data, and better data will help Apple release a maps application that’s on par with, or perhaps superior to, the Google Maps experience iOS users have grown accustomed to.

Here’s one more thing to note about Waze: With its social-mapping prowess, Altimeter Group mobile analyst Chris Silva told VentureBeat, Waze is an attractive acquisition target, especially as the maps space gets increasingly competitive. Don’t take your eyes of this startup — unless, of course, you’re driving.

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile, social

Nine months after launching its high-end Atrix 2 smartphone, Motorola has revealed the device’s followup — the Atrix HD.

The device’s features are pretty standard Android fare by this point: 4.5-inch display, 1.5-Ghz dual-core processor, 1 GB RAM, Android 4.0 — so no big surprises there.

On the design side, Motorola has clearly borrowed some elements from the Droid Razr, a device often praised for its slick exterior. Like the Razr, the Atrix HD will feature a Kevlar-backing, which, along with its Gorilla Glass-enforced screen, should add volumes to its durability.

One likely problem, however, is the device’s battery. While the Atrix HD’s display will no doubt be impressive, it’s unlikely that its paltry 1,780 mAh battery will be able to power it for long. That’s a problem Motorola solved with the 3,300 mAh battery in the Droid Razr Maxx, so it’s a bit of a surprise that the company isn’t bring that battery technology to the Atrix HD as well. (Maybe in the inevitable Atrix HD Maxx?)

Alongside the phone, Motorola is also listing compatibility with the Atrix Lapdock, a device that has always seemed great in theory but less great in execution. Hopefully, Motorola will improve things this time around.

As for the carrier, the unsubtle AT&T logo on the device’s front should give you all the info you need on that end.

Photo: DroidLife

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile

While the Android buzz is now firmly focused on the recently unveiled Jelly Bean, the previous major update, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, has finally reached double-digit penetration in the market.

It’s a bittersweet victory though, as it took 8.5 months since Android 4.0′s release to scrape together 10.9 percent of the Android market. Meanwhile, the majority of Android users (64 percent) are running the 15-month old Gingerbread update.

The latest statistics, gathered at Google’s Android developers website, won’t do much to satisfy critics who say that Android is horribly fragmented. Google has historically avoided forcing Android updates on device manufacturers, who usually need several months to tweak the software for their products.

At least the adoption of Android 4.0 seems to be speeding up. Last month, Google reported that only 7.1 percent of devices were running Android 4.0.

Come next month, Google will add Android 4.1 Jelly Bean statistics to its market report. That update will officially hit Nexus devices later this month, and it’ll give us some idea if how well Google’s new Nexus 7 tablet sells.

Via Android Police

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat

It’s been a rough night for T-Mobile customers, as the carrier has confirmed that it’s currently experiencing a data outage across its network.

We’ve been seeing reports from T-Mobile customers experiencing data issues tonight, though not all T-Mobile customers appear to be affected. T-Mobile’s Twitter support account confirmed that something is up and that the carrier is feverishly working to restore services. (I feel for the poor soul running that Twitter account tonight.)

For now, all T-Mobile customers can do is sit tight and pray that the carrier fixes things before the morning. Or you could join the complaint party over at T-Mobile’s support forums.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen an outage on T-Mobile’s network. Verizon’s LTE network, on the other hand, has had sporadic issues over the last year (that’s the price you pay for being first to LTE).

Design is determining the winners in everything mobile. The most successful players are focusing on one thing: How to make products, services, and devices as compelling and delightful as possible – visually, and experientially. MobileBeat 2012, July 10-11 in San Francisco , is assembling the most elite minds to debate how UI/UX is transforming every aspect of the mobile economy, and where the opportunities lie. Register here.

Filed under: mobile, VentureBeat