Mobile Apps that are Money Making Machines

While Robert Nay recently made headlines for developing a chart-topping iPhone app, the 14-year-old from Spanish Fork, Utah will need to create a paid or advertising-supported follow-up to his Bubble Ball puzzle game in order to make any money.

Since Apple opened the iTunes App Store in July 2008, independent developers have created tens of thousands of titles with the hopes of striking it rich through paid downloads (where they keep up to 70 percent of the sales) and more recently via advertising or premium upgrades.

With increased competition from major game developers and globally recognized brands, however, most independents lose money on their smartphone applications that are now also created for Google’s Android mobile operating system.

Yet it is still possible to get rich right away developing iPhone apps. Just look at how some of the top app makers to come out of nowhere did it.

New and noteworthy app all-stars

Zeptolab/Cut the Rope
Ten days after this addictive puzzle-solving game debuted for 99 cents on the iTunes App Store last October, Cut the Rope was downloaded more than one million times. Ten days later, another million copies were sold. By year-end, this Moscow-based development company founded by two 28-year-old brothers had an absolute blockbuster with the sale of more than five million apps.

Co-founder Semyon Voinov, who previously worked as an artist with Helskini-based mobile development firm Digital Chocolate before joining forces with his brother full-time last spring, recently told us that independent developers can still thrive making iPhone apps because “there is no need to have a big team or business connections.”

That didn’t stop major game publishers from taking notice. Zeptolab’s first app, the 99-cent slingshot game Parachute Ninja, sold a respectable 300,000 copies with New York City publisher Freeverse. Last June, Zeptolab scored a publishing contract with Chillingo – the UK-based behemoth behind Angry Birds and other iconic titles. Chillingo, which markets games for an undisclosed cut of the action, was impressed with Zeptolab’s production values and chart-topping potential.

“We saw the great talent ZeptoLab had and the innovative gameplay design they had created,” said Chillingo co-founder Chris Byatte. “We realized that with even more polish, the game would have massive consumer appeal and we’re proud to see all the success we’ve helped them achieve.”

Pocket Gems/Tab Farm

Venture capitalists are paying more attention to iPhone app developers, including this San Francisco-based startup that was founded in September 2009. Stanford University MBA student Daniel Terry, who briefly worked in the product department of large mobile app developer Tapjoy, saw the success of freemium games on Facebook.

Freemium games like Zynga’s FarmVille cost nothing to download but hit players up for premium gameplay along the way. Before Zynga launched the official FarmVille app for the iPhone, Pocket Gems earlier last year scored a nice success with the similar game Tap Farm. With five titles in the App Store, Pocket Gems last month raised $5 million from Sequoia Capital, a backer of Google, Yahoo! and other groundbreaking companies.

First-mover successes
Steve Demeter/Trism
The poster child for overnight success developing iPhone apps, Steve Demeter boasted of making more than $250,000 in profit only two months after his color-matching game Trism debuted in the App Store in the summer of 2008.

“The key is to make an application that instantly proves its value,” Demeter explained when we interviewed him a year later.

The San Francisco-based Demeter, who was 30-years-old when Trism started selling for $4.99 a download, predicted early on that that the game would generate more than $2 million in profit. It’s estimated that Trism cleared $1 million, but increased competition in the App Store apparently killed its trajectory and there has been no major follow-up since. While he acknowledges that creating one of the first blockbuster hits for the iPhone changed his life, Demeter learned to keep his financials closer to the vest.

“Talking about numbers made me realize why people don’t talk about numbers,” he said. “You get people asking for loans, and (in meetings) that can become a stumbling block.”

Demeter said he expects to come out with Trism 2 in the coming months.

Ethan Nicolas/Ishoot
This former Sun Microsystems engineer literally quit his day job shortly after reportedly making more than $600,000 in only one month (including $37,000 in a single day) in late 2008. Legend has it that Nicholas, based in Wake Forest, North Carolina, programmed much of iShoot with his 1-year-old son on his lap during his off hours.

After a sluggish beginning trying to sell the shooter game out of the gate at $4.99 per download, Nicholas struck gold while giving away a “lite” version of the game for free. Thereafter, iShoot shot to number one on the free charts. Of the nearly 2.5 million consumers who downloaded the game in those opening weeks, more than 300,000 ended up shelling out a discounted three bucks for the complete game.

iShoot continued to gross hundreds of thousands of dollars thereafter. Naughty Bits, the iPhone app development company Nicholas formed, also enjoys modest success with the 99-cent Rhumb Line board game app.

GreatApps/iSteam
Not every million dollar iPhone app is a game. To date, this 99-cent novelty app – which makes your iPhone look like a steamy mirror after a hot shower – has been downloaded more than three million times.

The London-based, twenty-something developers behind GreatApps – who modestly claim to be just “three Greek guys playing with a Mac” – came together in November 2008. The company is now marketing technology that detects how firmly users tap touchscreen devices so that different responses can be programmed based on the amount of force applied.

Other GreatApps iPhone apps include the free titles Zen Piano, GoSanta!, and CometBuster that use the company’s TapForce technology.

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Apple Innovates Microsoft Litigates?

Posted on 12 January 2011 b Michael, Mobile Marketingwatch.com

A legal battle is brewing between Microsoft and Apple.

While there’s nothing new about lawsuits and patent claims generating heated rhetoric in the competitive mobile space, Apple is making big waves (even for Apple) in its ongoing effort to secure a trademark for the term “app store.”

Despite Apple’s initial trademark play some three years ago, only on Tuesday did Microsoft file a motion for a summary judgment which would effectively prevent Apple from securing the controversial trademark that was first sought by Apple in 2oo8.  (read more)

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60% of MySpace to be laid off today… :(

The growing irrelevance of Myspace — the once dominant social network so profoundly eclipsed by Facebook — has bordered on tragically laughable for awhile, with Myspace all-but-admitting its own irrelevance by rebranding itself as a social entertainment portal… a move accompanied by News Corp saying that they expected a “turn around” in Myspace’s profitability in quarters, not years.

It’s looking increasingly likely that Myspace hasn’t shown the turnaround News Corp expected, and so they are going to help their troubled sibling along with massive staff cuts. Myspace is now expected to axe between 550 and 600 staff today, which is a full 60% of the company, and it’s rumored many of these employees will be international.

Believe it or not, internally, Myspace employees are actually relieved by the latest rumor, because they expected seventy percent of the work force to be laid off. 60 percent at least gives them 10% more chance of keeping their jobs.

Not that it matters: News Corp is likely gutting Myspace in order to make the venture look better on paper so that they can sell it to another buyer. Myspace is going down, sooner rather than later… it’s just a matter of when.

Count Down 321…. Blast Off ! Apple Stocks for 2011

Apple shares soared on the first trading day of 2011, reaching a new all-time high and topping $300 billion in market capitalization.

Near the close of regular trading on Monday, Apple’s shares were trading at $329.43, up $6.87 or more than 2 percent, giving the company a market value of roughly $302 billion.

Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster issued his forecast of what’s coming for the new year, including popular predictions of a Verizon iPhone and new iPad, followed later in the year by an update to the iPhone as well as new Mac lines. As for the Verizon iPhone, it’s not a new prediction, with Munster having already guesstimated that Verizon will ship 9 million iPhones next year.

Munster also sees improved cloud services from Apple as likely, as well as the possibility that we will see iPads offered with a subsidy from carriers, presumably in exchange for customers agreeing to a long-term contract. Currently, iPad owners don’t get a discount (in fact the 3G version costs $130 more), but they also don’t agree to pay each month for the wireless service.

The “What will Apple do” question is likely to preoccupy more than just Wall Street. Expect many of the product introductions at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show to be examined through the lens of how they will compete with both current and expected products from Apple, which is skipping the show as usual.

Longer term, Munster said he still expects Apple may expand its television “hobby” and start making its own line of TVs.

by Ina Fried
Posted on January 3, 2011 at 1:20 PM P

Reality Star “The Situation” Sorrentino’s iPhone application, Top-10 Grossing Apps?

Disclaimer, you might hate us or resent us for posting this and possibly crossing into the world of “pop,”  but please bare with us tech geeks; there is a method and a purpose to our madness….(lol)

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter By Leslie Bruce – Tue Sep 21, 5:01 am ET) – MTV reality star Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino’s iPhone application has soared into Apple’s top 10-grossing entertainment apps since its release last Thursday, an Apple spokesman said.
The application — appropriately titled “The Situation” and available for $4.99 on iTunes — offers users: a “GTL” finder for local gym, tanning and laundry facilities; a workout routine designed to sculpt Shore-worthy abs; an interactive video game titled “Grenade Dodger”; a soundboard offering Sorrentino’s most memorable quotes; and a link to e-mail “The Sitch” directly.

“It’s done extremely well, and we believe it will continue to do so,” Apple’s Adam Matuzich told The Hollywood Reporter. Apple declined to release specific sales numbers.

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Bing Surpasses Yahoo, Google Still Reigns King of Search

Here’s an interesting data point for those watching Microsoft’s effort to make it in the world of search.

According to ad network Chitika, via Search Engine Land, Bing is the second most popular search engine, beating Yahoo for the position.

Chitika works with 80,000 sites, mostly in North America, and tracks the referrals from search engines sent to its partners.

According to its data, Bing took more share at the start of the year than Yahoo and it’s only consistently grown that share. It’s mostly taking share from Yahoo it seems, but Google’s share has dropped a few percentage points.

Here’s a look at just the Yahoo and Bing data with out Google in the mix:

chart

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/bing-passes-yahoo-2010-8#ixzz0zcvrHDn3

RIM in talks with Millennial Media?

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal today, Blackberry-maker RIM is in the market for a mobile advertising acquisition of its own. Those close to the matter indicate RIM has been in talks with Millennial Media, a leading independent ad-network, though it’s still speculation at this point.

According to those familiar with the negotiations, RIM has reportedly been in talks with Millennial over the past few months, but largely put it to rest after neither party could agree on a sale price. Reports indicate Millennial has asked for between $400 million and $500 million, though RIM has backed down saying both Google and Apple overpaid for their respective acquisitions of AdMob and Quattro Wireless, and they don’t intend to do the same.

Millennial is unlikely to sell according to an interview with its CEO from early August with The Wall Street Journal. Millennial Chief Executive Paul Palmieri said that the company hopes to make a public offering of shares rather than be acquired. ”We are on the path of being an independent company,” he said.
Regardless, RIM needs to make a move quick to bolster its fledgling business models. While the Blackberry maker still shines in the enterprise circle, its consumer segment lacks considerably when compared to the likes of Apple and the plethora of Android devices on the market. Introducing innovative consumer-focused services combined with monetization from its very own mobile-ad network could help RIM avoid the inevitable loss of relevance in the fast-paced mobile ecosystem.

Get your mark, get set, go!…. Tablet race started! ASUS on board with Android and Windows Mobile.

By Matthew DeCarlo, TechSpot.com
Published: August 13, 2010, 11:50 AM EST

The foretold tablet apocalypse has yet to fall upon us, but the touchscreen slates are coming. Asus promises. The company plans to launch its first tablet in December or January, which will be a 12-inch, $1,000 Windows Embedded Compact-based behemoth that ships with a docking station that transforms it into a laptop, according to CEO Jerry Shen.

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Looky here!- Dell's new tablet powered by Android….

How sweet that sound of  “crossover.” Well thanks to Dell, they are reinventing the word.

Hate to say we said so..Android starting to take over!

We all know that Android has done a remarkable job growing and expanding in the past year. However, I do not think any of us could have predicted just how much the maturing operating system has grown. Canalys, a research firm, is reporting today that Android OS has grown a whopping 886% year-over-year in the second quarter!

That is ridiculous growth for any product and shows just how popular Android is becoming worldwide. Here are some of the interesting statistics Canalys has gathered:

• Symbian OS took 38% market share worldwide in Q2 (41% year-on-year growth)
• Android had 23% market share (884% year-on-year growth)
• BlackBerry OS took 18% share (41% year-on-year growth)
• iOS came in with 13% share (61% year-on-year growth)

Apple’s iOS displayed the second-best growth numbers, but as you can see, came nowhere near Android, which blew everybody else out of the water.

Android did just as well in the US with 34% market share during Q2, which is a growth rate of 851%. The enormous growth can be attributable to the large number of handset makers that have embraced Android, such as Motorola, HTC, Samsung, LG and Sony.

The momentum is with Android at the moment and it has shown no signs of slowing. With more manufacturers entering the game, the operating system looks to have a bright future.