ISSN : 0976-8491 (Online) | ISSN : 2229-4333 (Print) IJCST VOL . 2, Iss UE 4, Oct . - DE C . 2011 Mobile Application Development-Hottest Segment in Global Market 1Uday Pratap, 2Dr. R. K. Srivastava 1Research Scholar, Singhania University, Rajasthan, India 2Bareilly College, Bareilly, UP, India Abstract have several options for development languages, such as C, The mobile app store market is likely to remain fragmented for C++, .NET, Java, Flash, etc. to create a software application. the foreseeable future, and it will continue to be a battleground, However, in the progress of mobile application development, attracting investment from a wide range of players. This is due to complex structure of mobile ecosystem, there is a due to one major factor: Numerous companies are realizing fragmentation in terms of different mobile “Operating Systems”, that the market is at the center, or is at least a building block, “Screen Resolutions”, “Device Models and Capabilities,” and of a much bigger play beyond the mobile platform. Besides “User Experience”. Fragmentation is the word that defines the smartphones, consumers are increasingly adopting devices biggest barrier. Fragmentation increases the cost and the time like Netbooks (smaller, lighter, less powerful, and cheaper to develop mobile applications [10]. notebooks), game consoles (like Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s Platform wise Smartphone Market Share (Percentage of PlayStation), e-readers (like Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Shipments): Noble’s Nook), and tablets (the latest being Apple’s iPad, which sold more than half a million units in the first days after its launch). As such, consumers increas¬ingly expect to interconnect these devices—including televisions—and access their content and applications seamlessly across them.[6] Mobile phones are not just “phones” anymore with only “voice and SMS” functionalities. The continuing spread of mobile technology will have a dramatic impact on the lives of individuals and institutions. Convergences of internet and telecommunication technologies are increasing rapidly. We are at the age of mobility which is providing us the freedom of being independent of time and place. Keywords M-VAS, Apps Store, Smartphone, iPad, iPhone, Netbook, Tablet. Fig. 1: A Fragmented Smartphone Market I. Introduction The success of Apple’s Application Store has not only established II. M-VAS Market Study the salability of mobile applications, but has also shown that The study includes native (downloadable) mobile applications the most excellent applications offer the potential to generate (not web-based applications) for mobile devices like large amount of revenues. Several telecom giants have thus smartphones and feature phones (not iPad or tablet PCs). The begun providing dedicated application stores for their users, market segmentation on the basis of store type includes on- so much so that more than 2 million applications are currently deck (operators, mobile device manufacturers, and Operating available for communications, games, multimedia, productivity, System (OS) developers managed) and off-deck (independent travel, and utility purposes. or third-party managed) stores. This research report categorizes About 6.4 billion (free, paid, and ad-supported) application the global market for mobile applications on the basis of Mobile downloads were made globally in 2009 alone from native (on- applications categories World Mobile Applications Market deck) and third-party (off-deck) application stores, generating research report provides market estimates and forecasts for revenues of $4.5 billion in the same year. Apple, with 2.5 the global markets of mobile applications in North America, billion downloads, dominated the applications market in 2009. Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW). In addition to market However, new players like Google, Nokia, and RIM are rapidly sizing and forecasts, the report also offers a detailed analysis entering the applications market space, as the increasing of the market trends, opportunities, and the factors influencing uptake and usability of Smartphone devices further boosts the growth of each segment of the mobile applications market. the mobile applications market. According to our estimates, The report also draws a competitive landscape, analyzing the global mobile application market is expected to be worth core competencies of major players and strategies adopted $25.0 billion in 2015, growing at a CAGR of 29.6% from 2010 to expand their market presence [3, 6]. to 2015 [3]. For companies developing their first mobile application III. Best Practice of Mobile Applications Development and mobile ISVs looking to support additional smartphone Industry platforms, the fastest path to market with a high quality product Given the challenges of mobile application creation, designers is often to engage a specialized development partner [7]. Within and developers must take full advantage of the lessons the traditional software programming scenarios, developers learned and best practices developed by industry pioneers www.ijcst.com INTERNAT I ONAL JOURNAL OF COMPUTER Sci EN C E AND TE C HNOLOGY 543 IJCST VOL . 2, Iss UE 4, Oct . - DE C . 2011 ISSN : 0976-8491 (Online) | ISSN : 2229-4333 (Print) like bitHeads. The following tips and checklist items can be Flip) in a manner that exploits the unique capabilities of each used to start new projects on the right footing, keep current device while maximizing software reuse and development projects on track and to recognize when the help of external efficiency; mobile development experts should be engaged. Context is 1. Small screen size means that less of a page or form can be king for mobile applications. A thorough understanding of the displayed, making it more difficult to maintain the user's sense user's context and objectives is paramount. A robust product of location within the application and navigation scheme; management process and iterative approach to design, 2. A variety of different screen sizes, resolutions and orientations development and testing is critical. (portrait, landscape, switchable) to design for; 1. Do not blindly mimic designs intended to run on desktop 3. Limited input devices and a variety of possible interaction devices; methods (keypad, stylus, touch screen); 2. Remove all clutter and simplify the application down to the 4. Text input is particularly cumbersome; essential data and functionality needed for the user to take 5. Limited battery life requires that power-consuming activities immediate action; must be carefully managed; 3. Present the minimum number of options possible on any 6. Limited processing power [7]. single screen; Minimize screen density but don't split content/ interaction across so many screens that users get lost; V. Impact of Mobility on End-Users & Developers 4. Use a consistent UI design that helps users maintain a mental There is another major change that can be easily overlooked, image of the application; even dismissed: Mobility has revolutionized both monetization 5. Design the UI to behave similarly to other applications on the and software distribution strategies from a simple “ring tone” device with which users are familiar; if designing for multiple business model. We encourage you to pause for a moment devices, follow established design conventions for each device and really focus on the impact on having the ability to reach and avoid the pitfall of trying to make the application behave hundreds of millions of customers, at any time, simply by the same across all platforms; uploading your app to a few App Stores. For us, this means 6. Exploit the unique capabilities of each device (GPS, that a developer has many more opportunities to create apps accelerometer, screen size, input methods) to create the most dedicated to specific market segments and on top of that engaging user experience possible; seasonal features: a successful solution (think Angry Birds) 7. Conduct ongoing usability testing throughout the design and need not only to be released for many types of devices, across development process, including testing on real devices, not several major platforms, but for each of these, we could offer just emulators; several apps targeted at different market segments, each 8. Make sure forms are easy to use and that navigation between requiring continuous releases of new features during the fields is predictable; course of a year. The bottom line is that, if you plan to be really 9. The less text input, the better; successful at building a mobile solution you have to be ready 10. Provide clear methods for the user to recover from errors, to deliver a family of apps, not just “one app” like in the Web or broken links and other problems, particularly if the device does Desktop era. The seasonal aspect and the relative high degree not have a simple back button; of competition between apps puts even more pressure on the 11. Avoid complex interaction patterns that require close user development cycles, and requires that developers release new attention for long periods of time; features often, especially when you factor in Ads and “in-app” 12. Use highly structured workflows or wizards for infrequent payments business models. tasks; Model Driven Software Development offers an interesting 13. Provide clear feedback on progress and the status of task alternative to the chaotic world of platform vendors. Unlike completion; your old MDA or CASE tool, DSLs are now capable of delivering 14. Use high contrast text color and select typefaces