BII MOBILE INSIGHTS: In-App Purchase Revenue Is Soaring

Mobile Insights is a daily newsletter from BI Intelligence delivered first thing every morning exclusively to BI Intelligence subscribers. Sign up for a free trial of BI Intelligence today.

in app revenue In-App Purchase Revenue Soars (Distimo via TechCrunch)
Though it’s well-known that many of today’s mobile applications generate revenue through in-app purchases, a new report from Distimo shows how powerful this money-making mechanism has become. In January 2012, just over half (53 percent) of iPhone App Store revenue in the U.S. was attributed to in-app purchases, but as of last month, that number has climbed to a record 76 percent. The figure varies by region, however. In Germany, for example, it’s lower — only 61 percent of revenue in February came from these in-app sales. Meanwhile, in Asian markets the number soars. In Hong Kong, Japan, China and South Korea, at least 90 percent of all revenue comes from in-app purchases. Read >>

Facebook Rumored To Reveal The Facebook Phone (TechCrunch)
Facebook invited press to an event at its headquarters on April 4th to "Come See Our New Home On Android." Sources tell TechCrunch it will be a modified version of the Android operating system with deep native Facebook functionality on the homescreen that may live on an HTC handset. The evidence aligns to say this is the Facebook Phone announcement people have been speculating about for years. Read >>

Why Apple's Reputation Depends On The Next iPhone (USA TODAY)
When it comes to technological critiques, especially in the mobile sector, there is no gray area: You're either a fanboy or a hater. And it's that lack of middle ground that has contributed to a mindset that has allowed Apple to lag behind the innovation curve. Take Apple's most important product: the iPhone. Even BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins, a man who's very familiar with accusations of complacency, derided the iPhone line as boring and based off ideas that are now five years old. Two years ago, thanks to the zealotry mindset, the man would've been eviscerated. But now in 2013 with 20/20 hindsight, the guy's got a point. If the iPhone 5S doesn't blow us away, Apple's clout and reputation falls with it. Read >>

Twitter Co-Founder Working On A Mobile Startup (All Things Digital)
According to sources, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone is close to launching a new startup called Jelly, which one person called a "native mobile" effort. While it’s not clear exactly what that means, sources said the well-known entrepreneur has already hired four or five employees to form a team on the mystery product that will likely be aimed at smartphones and tablets. It’s an interesting move, since Stone is also running a small incubator called Obvious with one of his Twitter co-founders, Ev Williams. They left their daily roles at the high-profile microblogging service to create Obvious, which has startups such as Lift, Branch and Medium in its portfolio. Read >>

Does Privacy Just Mean Security? (GigaOM)
Anonymous data is one of the staples of the big data movement, but there’s a dark side. In theory, data from mobile phones lets us do things like map traffic patterns, while Web-behavior data can be a boon to researchers and others trying to make sense of how people conduct their online lives. The thing is, it’s hard to keep that data anonymous. Perhaps all we can hope for is to keep potentially sensitive data out of the wrong hands. The latest proof of how hard it is to anonymize data came earlier this week, when a group of MIT researchers published a paper based on their analysis of 1.5 million cell phone traces over 15 months inside a "small European country." And it's not good. Read >>

‘Programmers Loathe’ Developing Games For Android (VentureBeat)
Those in the mobile gaming industry, whether developers, publishers, or investors, are at odds about whether Android is a good platform to develop on and whether it will grow. "Today, I think 26 percent of developers prefer working with Android," said PlayJam founder Jasper Smith. "My prediction is in a couple of years, that’s going to be 60 percent." But not everyone sees Android as a great environment. "Android is not a great environment — certainly not for graphics. Our programmers loathe it," said Chris Doran, the founder of Geomerics. People didn’t love developing for iOS at first. But as the tools advanced, so did the love for the platform. Read >>

HTML 5 Versus Mobile Apps (Tech Guy Web Solutions)
HTML5 mobile apps are catching up to the native App store apps. HTML5 is attractive for mobile apps due to the much easier and more familiar coding standards of HTML, CSS and Javascript. However, native apps are usually better built and look more professional. Here are some pluses and minuses of both:

HTML5: Familiar programming, Native to the browser, can be written once and used on any device and OS, with much lower costs, no approval and no downloads.
Mobile Apps: More professional, more reliable, no need for an Internet connection, faster and better device integration.

You're probably going to need both, it's all about user preference. Read >>

Mobile App Or Mobile Site, That Is The Question (MDG via Best Design Tutorials)
Marking a presence on the Web requires you to have an existence on the mobile Web. The dilemma that crops up is: whether to build a mobile-optimized website or just a standalone app? Read >>

mobile app or mobile web