ReadWriteMobile

A year into its life, the Amazon Appstore for Android is kind of like the quirky stepchild of the other major app stores. It is not directly tied to a platform, the way Apple's App Store or Google Play are, but it is distinctly different from other third-party app stores like GetJar that are not controlled by a large, trusted brand. Its uniqueness provides both benefits and pitfalls to Android developers, including the chief concern of many app publishers: How am I going to make money off my app?

If you liken app stores to race horses, Apple is the biggest, baddest thoroughbred in town. Google Play is a fine specimen with some distinct qualities but has a lot of work to do in the practice yard before catching up. Everything else is an also-ran. Windows Phone has been growing rapidly, increasing from 40,000 apps in Nov. 2011 to 70,000 at the most recent count. Then there is BlackBerry App World. For all of Research In Motion's troubles, its app repository is tied with Windows Phone at 70,000, which includes 15,000 specifically designed for the BlackBerry PlayBook. There are no tablet apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace, mostly because there is no Windows tablet (well, one worth anything).

German BlackBerry blog BlogBerry.de sent us over an infographic (through its content promotion specialist BlueGrass Interactive) breaking down the "reality" of the native app stores. It quotes RIM VP of developer relations Alec Saunders as saying 13% of BlackBerry developers have made $100,000 or more off their apps. We have heard this song and dance before. Take a look at the infographic below and let us know in the comments what you think of the BlackBerry App World, its quality of apps and whether or not it is a wise business decision to build any apps for the BlackBerry platform these days.

James Pearce, head of mobile developer relations for Facebook, likes to point out that "you and your friends don't always have the same devices" or even use the same mobile platforms.

That's a problem for the company, as it has to support all the major platforms, from Apple iOS to Google Android and beyond - often putting it in the position of benefitting its competitors. But it's also a huge opportunity for Facebook itself to shape and dominate that common platform.

Mobile game developers are some of the leaders in app development. They push the bounds of what devices can do, how to implement constructive user experiences and handle privacy situations. By studying mobile game developers, one can see the macro environment of the mobile app ecosystem at large. Yet, when it comes to making money off of apps, game developers are often groping for solutions along with everybody else.

There are advantages and pitfalls to all types of monetization schemes. Freemium games with in-app purchases can be heavily reliant on a small portion of users. Mobile advertising only works for large-brand publishers and games that go viral. Monetization is the trickiest question an app publisher can face. What is a game developer to do?

Apple's decision to deprecate the Unique Device ID (UDID) for iOS devices has sent the mobile advertising and analytics industry into panic mode. Analytics and tracking services relied on the UDID for information about users' behavior and engagement. The UDID allowed developers, trackers and advertisers to send personalized push notifications, improve conversion rates and engage users. The easy solution UDID provided is now being taken away and the mobile ecosystem is scrambling for a solution.

Apple is well within its rights to ditch UDID. From a privacy perspective, it is probably the right thing to do. Yet, privacy has never exactly been a concern for data trackers and advertisers. The more they know about a user, the better. Developers are now coming up with ways to get around the UDID issue and continue business as usual.

Not quite two months after the European Commission approved Google's pending acquisition of smartphone maker Motorola Mobility (MMI) on the grounds that it would be pro-competitive and would not impact the patent market much, the lawmaking body announced it is opening up two parallel investigations of MMI's conduct. One will study whether the company failed to honor its patent licensing term commitments to Europe's counterpart to the FCC, the ETSI. The other will look into whether Motorola made similar missteps in its dealings with the International Telecommunication Union - the United Nations agency that looks after the world's broadband markets, and which one U.S. FCC commissioner fears may eventually be appointed caretaker of the Internet.

The Windows Phone Marketplace is a sad, sorry place. It is a land of copycat games, worn-out titles and a plethora of apps that border on outright spam. Since the end of 2011, it has grown from about 40,000 apps to nearly 70,000, but any subjective analysis of those new apps would show that almost all of them are of poor quality. Top publishers have either abandoned Windows Phone or just do not care. With the upcoming release of the Nokia Lumia 900, can Microsoft turn developer sentiment around?

There are several things that Windows Phone has going for it. The consensus among developers is that Windows Phone is the easiest mobile platform for which to develop. Apps that are given tender loving care actually look and perform great. Too bad those apps are few and far between.

Easy, instant push notifications are a phenomenon of modern mobile technology. They deliver news, app updates, requests and prompts to users to complete an action. Mobile developers, marketers and advertisers all see push notifications as a key way to reach an audience at the most personal level: straight into their pockets.

This level of personal interaction is precisely what makes consumers not entirely trust push notifications. It is a mixed bag: They love notifications when they are useful, hate them when they become a vehicle of spam. For developers, this is a fine line. There is a fundamental disconnect between technologists and consumers when it comes to push notifications. Many developers think push is a wonderful, useful tool. Most consumers would prefer to be left alone. Developers: what do you think consumers think of push notifications? That is the subject of this week's ReadWriteMobile poll.

You are almost there. The finish line is so close you can taste the champagne toast that comes with victory and a job well done. But ... but, it is just not working. There is a bug in the app and the development team cannot figure out where it is and how it has tossed a wrench in the entire process. Progress has come to a complete stop and the finish line, once so close, might as well be a thousand miles away.

Mobile app testing is not easy. Whenever I talk to a developer, testing inevitably is one of the phases of creation that is both exciting and excruciating - exciting because a product is finally near completion, excruciating because... well, if you have ever tried to dig unknown bugs out of software, you understand. To do testing right, it is a multi-layered approach that takes time, resources and patience. There are several ways to go about app testing and not all situations make sense for every developer.

Unified communications is one of those terms that makes enterprise IT guys giddy but also haunts their dreams. The idea of unified communications was conceived in the late 1970s and early '80s when the first Public Branch Exchange systems (PBX) were put in place. The concept continued to evolve with the advent of IP-based communications, but the true dream of UC - a simple, always-available telelphony system that tied into all other forms of communication - remained elusive. While many vendors think they have figured out the UC conundrum, each is always missing the key ingredient: simple.

That is starting to change. Mobile technology and the cloud give developers the capability to bring true unified communications closer to reality than ever before. Leading the charge is the iPad, a simple device that makes complex tasks easy. FuzeBox, working with Apple from its Cupertino campus, brings us closer to real UC with the release of an application today for the new iPad. While FuzeBox takes an incremental step, it does not reach UC. Will we ever fulfill the dream for simple and ubiquitous unified communications?