Actually, the global statistics draw rather bright future for mobile applications turning them into a very promising advertising platform.

According to global mobile statistics 300,000 mobile apps have been released within these three years. Experts from IDC on the basis of research revealing 10.9 billion apps downloads in 2010 predict that by 2014 users will increase this number to 76.9 billion. What a business would not like to be part of this statistics? The overall audience using mobile apps is immense thus the promotion opportunities are infinite. By the way, the biggest mobile audience dwells in Japan (53.3% of all mobile users worldwide), the USA goes second with 34.4% and Europe takes the third place with 28%. The most popular categories of downloaded apps are games; news; maps; social networking and music and I just cannot help mentioning that Intellectsoft is sound on each mentioned category and even more. As for mobile platforms, iOS is still streets ahead of its competitors with more than 300,000 applications on App Store.

This year apps downloads are about to reach 32 billion with advertising spending set to increase to £1.79 billion.

David MacQueen, wireless media strategies director at Strategy Analytics, said that the tendency to spend more money on in-app ads is an inevitable result of increasing demand for mobile apps. Thus the more consumers will use their mobile devices the more advertisers will go mobile.

Though each coin has two sides. In the chase for profit some companies get overwhelmed by monetisation of mobile apps and forget about end-users. There have been calls for companies to reduce the amount of spending that can be done on an app after Apple was sued over in-game charges by a number of parents. Just like people say, too much water drowned the miller.

You’ve probably heard of Best Web Design Agencies already. It is an international independent authority on web design agencies with offices in the United States, UK, Canada and Australia. This team of professionals aims to cream off the top-notch companies all over the world thus helping end users and enterprises to get the services and products of unrivalled quality from top dogs in this industry. They specialise in web design and mobile development including flash and e-commerce.

The Intellectsoft team is honoured to be acknowledged by such sound specialists, as well as we are happy to find ourselves among three top Android developers.

Even if you haven’t heard of the Best Web Design Agencies and their rankings you are sure to know Android platform – the main and direct rival of Apple's iOS, Windows Phone and BlackBerry. This Linux-based flexible OS is rapidly taking over the world with market share reaching 52.5% by 2011 and over 850,000 of new Android smartphones and tablets being activated daily in 2012. By the way, being primarily designed for smartphones and tablets due to its the open and customizable nature Android may be used on other electronics, including laptops and netbooks, smartbooks, ebook readers, and smart TVs (Google TV).

With such immense popularity, no wonder, Android has a large community of developers writing apps that extend the functionality of the devices. Mobile developers all over the world want to have a share of this creamy pie delivering their own solutions and ideas for the Android devices. Thus it is sometimes hard to get the idea of the industry and see who can be trusted and whose services will provide top quality and high profit. The rankings like Top 10 Best Android Development Companies will take the hard work out of your choice.

Grounding on the extensive experience accumulated over the years Best Web Design Agencies have decided upon certain criteria to pick the best representatives of the industry focusing on the most essential aspects of Android development and featuring the general services provided by Android developers, as well as the expectations in the industry.

• Firstly, the research team reviews the quality of development. They evaluate a vendor’s work to create quality code for the platform based on commonly accepted standards of development.
• Secondly, they focus on design. The specialists assess the overall quality of the graphics displayed on the Android platform. It is important whether the images compliment the development work, and foster the effectiveness of the app.
• Customer support is another essential evaluation criterion determining the overall quality of the provided service.
• Moreover, the Best Web Design Agencies team looks into the speed at which the developers are capable of developing code. They review the vendor’s efficiency in the development process and being able to meet deadlines.
• Last but certainly not least, the research team reviews QA process and the level of bug testing the developer provides prior to rolling software out.

The Intellectsoft team is proud to have met all these requirements and taken the third place in the Top 10 Best Android Development Companies. While Android platform is adopting new technologies and breathing new life into innovation and entrepreneurism Intellectsoft aspires to extend these behaviours into our apps as well as our own endeavours.

Experts and researches compared the two platforms once again: which one is more exposed to hacker’s attacks iOS or Android? According to the researchers from Black Hat Europe the latter appeared to be more vulnerable, thus extremely attractive for wicked hackers.

As in any activity in malware making the revenue should outstrip the cost of the system exploiting. Otherwise there is no point in doing it. Besides, hackers prefer easy and not too risky attacks.

Let’s take iOS for instance, being a closed and highly secured system it makes downloading hostile applications quite a challenge. Firstly, to load anything to App Store one has to pay 99 USA dollars. Secondly, a proper registration is required: hackers will have to identify themselves and give personal information which is not what they usually do. Thirdly, the risks are sky-high: at App store they review the code of each and every application submitted. Surely failures happen even at Apple, but if the wrong app gets through the initial review it will be detected within one week by the monitoring system.

As for Android it is not so protected. With only 25 USA dollars you are welcome to load apps to Android Market. Moreover the submission process is as easy as a pie: only online form is required. Provided we are all not so honest when filling out such forms, it’s obvious hackers may lie to Google too. Last but not least apart from the iOS platform Android makes possible runtime modifications.

We at Intellectsoft respect and work with both platforms – iOS and Android. Besides, we are sure that users jailbreaking their mobile phones and devices (and loads of peeps do that) are the most attractive for hackers regardless of the platform they use.

By the way free apps especially from third party app stores may harm mobile device in other way. Even if they do not embody some dangerous virus, they may simply steal your battery charge. Adds in such kind of applications are the great battery bandits indeed. According to the research carried out by Abhinav Pathak (a computer scientist from Purdue University in Indiana) free applications like Angry Birds for e.g. need not more than 10 — 30% of overall app battery consumption to run their core function. The report claims that approximately 75% of the remaining battery consumption from the app goes to collecting and transmitting information like GPS location back to the advertisers of the used application. One should be careful, as another time killer may turn out to be the phone battery killer as well.

There is nothing worse than setting limits to your mind or missing a chance to learn something new. With the World Marks app developed by Intellectsoft you will have a marvellous chance to learn more about the British coins. Surely, the app is primarily targeted at numismatics although it will be of great use and interest for peeps not keen on coins collecting at all.

The app embodies loads of handy features and has an intuitive user-friendly interface. The World Marks app allows its user to identify silver hallmarks and select these from a tumbler, ultimately identifying the year, city, quality, maker and any duty thus allowing the user to determine the value of the item, supported by a news feed. All the details along with a picture of the identified items can be saved.

Using World Marks you can create your own comprehensive database of good-quality images and specs for every British Coin Series minted from inception to the present date. Moreover you can share your pictures as the app supports email allowing the user to send the image and hallmark details to friends/contacts.

The World Marks app is incredibly useful and complete in its content providing information that is surplus to requirements. The app is available for iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S. However, you won’t find it on App Store. World Marks was developed for the internal use by the customer company only. 

You can find more apps developed for iPhone in our portfolio (most of them are available on App Store). 

If you run (or to be more exact, drive) into trouble…

Surely, we hope you’ll never get in any kind of a road accident, it happens sometimes. The GEM will help greatly if you break down. The Assist Me feature will show your location on a map using GPS. Observe your location and touch the ‘Assist Me’ call button. This will dial directly to the Rescue Centre where you can tell the operator exactly where you are to ensure help will soon be on the way.

A dream journey is a journey without traffic congestion

Want to avoid traffic congestion on your way home/to work/elsewhere? Plan ahead to ensure that you get there on time. Simply select ‘traffic updates’ from the menu and you can view traffic alerts near your location or any location in the UK. Zoom out to see more alerts further away. Select any pin and read details of that incident.

Some more handy features

GEM also includes such useful features as My Renewals and Good Morning. With My Renewals you will never have to browse through those old documents again to find out when those important motoring essentials are due. All you need to do is enter your renewal details and this motoring diary will remind you three weeks before you are due to renew. Good Motoring is a perfect way to keep in touch with GEM as this feature will provide you with different articles, company news, info on the latest polls and competitions. Check out our portfolio for more information about GEM Motoring Assist.

Haven’t heard about GEM Motoring Assist Company?

Originally established in 1932 as the Company of Veteran Motorists to combat the increasing number of road accidents, GEM Motoring Assist is the UK’s leading driving based Road Safety association with around 70,000 members. All set a good example on the road by agreeing to drive with care, courtesy and concentration.

GEM Motoring Assist app is available on Android Market and App Store right now.

With the increase in the number of iPhones, iPod touches and iPads up to 315 million, the number of apps have risen too. Today’s expected unveiling of the iPad 3 is set to spark another app-buying frenzy. Billions more apps have been downloaded for rival systems such as Android, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.

Right now there are more than 550 thousand free and paid-for apps on the store (though, while you’re reading this post the number might have increased again). Actually, Intellectsoft had a hand in the process with CatNav, Pocket Physio, CarDaddy and many other great apps.

Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Internet Software and Services, said: "We’d like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded. When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users.”

Indeed, the speed at which apps are being sold is stark given that the 10 billionth app was downloaded as recently as last January.

It seems like a serious reason to celebrate, doesn’t it? Well, being quite a unique company with an unmatched approach to everything they do Apple celebrates 25bln download launching a new App Store category. The “Catalogs” could be a tantalising glimpse of something bigger to be unveiled tonight at the launch of the next-generation iPad. The experts have already called this release a bit premature, because listing particular apps this category doesn’t feature in the store's front window. Besides, there’s no category home page for «Catalogs» at time of writing. The reclassification even surprised a UK dev house whose fashion store app has been recategorised to the new Catalogs section.

Maybe this new section is just a way to tidy up the Lifestyle shelf, which bowed under the great range of shopping apps of all kinds (TopShop, Tesco and Groupon mixed with the likes of Get a Girl, SpareRoom and iBaby Feed Timer). Also, the new Catalog category may be a new way to lure users to shop via iOS devices. Anyway, only Apple knows exactly what they are doing and they’re doing it well (most of the time).

Carbs & Cals features a wide range of popular food and drink items, in up to 6 portion sizes for each item, with the carb, calorie, protein, fat and fibre content clearly displayed above each photo. The app is developed in co-operation with the true experts on the matter — Chris Cheyette MSc BSc (Hons) RD, Diabetes Specialist Dietitian & Yello Balolia BA (Hons).

How does it work?

Food & drink items are arranged in logical categories (Biscuits & Crackers; Bread; Breakfast; Cakes & Bakery; Desserts; Drinks; Eggs & Cheese; Fruit; Meals; Meal Accompaniments; Meat, Chicken & Fish; Potatoes; Rice, Pasta & Grains; Sauces & Spreads; Snacks; Take-aways; Vegetables & Pulses). Simply look at the food on your plate, find the food in the App, choose the relevant portion size and add it to the built-in Meal Calculator. Each meal is saved into the integrated Calendar so that you can easily keep track of the food & drink you consume every day.

Besides, with Carbs & Cals you may set daily targets! Choose to count any combination of carbs, cals, protein, fat and fibre as well as 5-a-day fruit & veg, enter your weight, height, age & daily activity level and the App will calculate your estimated calorie & nutrient intake and give you daily targets to aim for.

One more bonus for the UK users: a wide range of favourite branded foods, including Kellogg’s, Domino’s & Danone – & lots more to come!

Intuitive interface and powerful search function will guide you through the diverse menu. Besides, we took care about your device memory – all images are stored on a server to use less storage (though Internet access is required to use the App).

It will take ages to enumerate all the handy features and the benefits Carbs & Cals boasts, so just go to the Android Market and check it out!

The app is developed for the Persian Cat Press (PCP) — a well-known publisher from Greater Manchester, UK. They specialise in publishing iStories and are always on the lookout for the most amusing and fascinating updates from App Store. Their top-notch specialists download a lot of story apps at their official website.

PCP decided to share their well-written, honest and concise recommendations with iPhone and iPad users via the Cat-Nav app. What a marvellous idea!

Why Cat-Nav is a real must-have for iPhone and iPad users?

This app is a boon for the fans of Apple devices, as it will help you get the most of your iPhone or iPad. Being intuitive and easy-to-use Cat-Nav includes loads of handy features. The Cat-Nav app features extensive archive (with links to an even bigger archive on the PCP official website) and “Persian Cat Press favorites” section telling you all about the apps they most enjoyed over the past few months.

What’s more, the app boasts such advantages as weekly updates delivered via push-notification, quick links to an extensive searchable archive with loads of reviews of quality apps, weekly update of reviews archive , etc. Last but not least, Cat-Nav is ad-free and no in-app purchasing is necessary.

For further information about Cat-Nav check out our portfolio.

Guinness St. Patrick's Day 2012 is developed in the best traditions of Diageo Plc. – organisation cherishing its clients and aiming to reach each and every one of them. As their key marketing strategy is targeted at the end-clients and their main principle is receiving information directly from the client, we optimised the application to meet these requirements in full.

With new version of the app Diageo Plc. is eager to excel itself gathering personal info and acquiring loyalty of the vast number of users. The new version of Guinness St. Patrick's Day app is marked out for improved design and more educational rather than commercial attitude. Representing entertaining quiz the new app will help promoters share with the clients amusing facts about the popular holiday and its origin, as well as about the product. Besides, the Guinness St. Patrick's Day 2012 app supports more localizations including Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, German, English, Polish, Russian and Swedish languages.

The new application is sure to satisfy all users and meet Diageo’s requirements as well. For further information, please, visit our portfolio.

By the way, our heartiest congrats to Barcelona for being chosen as the Mobile World Capital, i.e. that Barcelona will not only host Mobile World Congress through 2018, but will become a permanent technological and cultural centre concentrating the potential of worldwide mobile communications.

The Congress motto can be presented with just one word — “more”: each year the organisers aim for more attendees, more outstanding exhibitors, more CEOs delivering keynotes, more App Developer Conferences, etc. Last year organisers broke their own record with more than 60,000 attendances, 3000 CEOs, 1400 exhibitors, 2,900+ press members representing 1,500 media outlets and more than 12,000 Mobile App Developers. True to the name of the event, it is global indeed hosting attendees from 200 countries from all over the world. This year organisers promise to take MWC to a new level and break all the records yet again.

The 2012 MWC Congress will feature:

• A world-class thought-leadership conference including visionary keynotes and panel discussions
• A pioneering technology and product exhibition
• App Planet – the Centre of the Mobile Apps Universe
• The newest programme, mPowered Brands for global marketers and agencies to increase their knowledge of mobile marketing and connect with mobile players bringing their visions to reality
• Last but not least, the Global Mobile Awards programme highlighting cutting-edge innovations in the mobile world. By the way, each ceremony at MWC Awards is marked out with live performances by top stars!

Obviously, this year MWC organisers have excelled themselves! Just take a look at the list of MWC Keynote Speakers in 2012 featuring highly respected business celebrities: Ben Verwaayen, CEO Alcatel-Lucent, Li Yue, China Mobile, Rene Obermann, CEO Deutsche Telekom, John Donahoe, CEO eBay, Hans Vestberg CEO Ericsson, Eric Schmidt, Chairman Google, etc. The host for MWC 2012 will be comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin.

Intellectsoft just couldn’t miss this largest, most significant and most successful mobile event in the world, as all companies in the vanguard of mobile development trends will certainly be there.