Electric Chapel Commercial 2012 !!!

The App Store is Like Playing the Lottery !!!

When you hear stories about independent App Store developers becoming extremely successful, you might think that the App Store is a viable business and something that can easily provide you with extra income. But, according to a recent survey by marketing firm App Promo, it is actually quite difficult to release apps that become successful.

The survey shows that “59 percent of apps don’t break even, and 80 percent of developers can’t sustain a business on their apps alone.” The fact that there is over 600,000 apps available on the App Store could be a contributing reason for the difficulties that developers face, since there is limited visibility for the apps that they release. That is, of course, unless they are dedicated to an  extensive — and expensive — marketing pitch.

“Over the years I have seen visibility of applications I’ve worked on greatly reduced,” developer Pat McCarron told Ars. “Right now your app is likely not going to be found if you never break the Top 100 or Top 200 lists. Users won’t navigate forever down the list of top apps to find yours sitting lonely at the bottom.”

Rogue Amoeba’s Paul Kafasis agreed that the App Store has become more of a lottery, and less a chance for small developers to succeed along with well-established companies.

“The App Store is very much like the lottery, and very few companies are topping the charts,” Kafasis told Ars. “It’s a hit-based business. Much like music or book sales, there are a few huge winners, a bigger handful of minor successes, and a whole lot of failures.”

To release an app to the App Store, you must be an official registered developer with Apple, a program that costs $100 to enroll in. Have you ever released, or considered developing, an App Store app?

Samsung is Dominating Apple in Worldwide Smartphone Market Share !!!

Apple and Samsung continue to battle it out in the smartphone market, and Samsung continues to hold the upper hand. While Apple continues to hold a strong grip on the American smartphone market, the latest numbers for worldwide smartphone market share show that Samsung is beginning to pull away from Apple in its lead over the iPhone maker.

“The race between Apple and Samsung remained tight during the quarter, even as both companies posted growth in key areas,” Ramon Llamas, a senior research analyst with IDC, said today in a statement. “Apple launched its popular iPhone 4S in additional key markets, most notably in China, and Samsung experienced continued success from its Galaxy Note smartphone/tablet and other Galaxy smartphones.”

During the first quarter, IDC research reveals that Samsung remained the number one smartphone vendor in the world with a market share of 29.1 percent, nearly five percent higher than Apple’s stake of 24.2 percent. Samsung shipped 42.2 million smartphones worldwide in the first quarter, while Apple shipped 35.1 million iPhones. Both companies have increased their smartphone shipments dramatically year-over-year, with Apple and Samsung shipping only 18.6 million and 11.5 million smartphones respectively in the year-ago quarter.

At that time, Nokia was the top smartphone vendor with market share of 23.8 percent. A year later, it holds a staggeringly lower 8.2 percent stake in the smartphone market. Apple was also still ahead of Samsung at the time, but the smartphone landscape has changed significantly in the past twelve months.

“While Apple and Samsung have taken it in turns to lead the smartphone market over the last four quarters, it seems as if Samsung may now have established a firm lead in this space, shipping 11.8 million more units than the Cupertino, California company in Q1,” Juniper said in a statement today.

Apple has yet to launch the iPhone on the world’s largest carrier, China Mobile, so that could help the Cupertino-based company make up some significant ground in international market share. For now, however, Samsung is winning. Apple might dominate the United States smartphone market, but Samsung is dominating the rest of the world.

iTunes Match Comes to Austria, Greece, and Italy !!!

As reported by MacStories, Apple today updated its terms and conditions from the Austrian, Greek, and ItalianiTunes Stores to include new information for the iTunes Match service. With this move, the Cupertino-based corporation is bringing iTunes Match to additional countries today, including the three aforementioned and maybe more.

According to Federico Viticci of MacStories, iTunes Match is apparently accepting new accounts from Austria, Greece, and Italy. It is not known if there are other countries receiving the service, but if you happen to see it when browsing around, please let us know in the comments.

iTunes Match is available 37 countries worldwide today, according to a support document published by Apple. It is rumored that the service will roll out in Japan soon as well, but there’s no specified date for it.

Reuters: Apple Working to Bring EPIX Streaming to Apple TV !!!

According to sources of Reuters, Apple is currently working to bring film streaming service EPIX to their $99 1080p streaming box. Such a partnership would mean additional content from studios like Lions Gate Entertainment, MGM, and Paramount Pictures — which, incidentally, created EPIX just three years ago.

Even though Apple is working hard to gain rights for film streaming from EPIX, Reuters’ sources note that things “are in the preliminary stages and no agreement is considered near.”

In the past few months, there have been many rumors circulating about an Apple HDTV set that could make its debut later this year. Some claim it will be Retina, while others add that it could include such iOS functions as Siri and Game Center. I could see Apple entering the gaming scene with such a device, but I’m not sure exactly how things will work since PS3s and Xbox 360s seem to rule that ground right now — there’s really no way Angry Birds can compare if you want to play a real game like Uncharted or Call of Duty, though iOS alternatives and ports have been rather successful.

Other than gaming, it’s obvious that Apple will include iCloud media streaming with their TV set, but there’s still so much that we don’t know about it — how much will it cost, will there be different display options, will there be an “Apple TV App Store,” and so on. For now, feel free to speculate in the comments and tell us what you think the corporation will do to make their impact on the television industry.

Brydge Transforms Your iPad into a MacBook !!!

CLICK HERE 4 MORE !!!

Kickstarter project Brydge is an accessory that turns your iPad into a MacBook. It has an aluminum body, patent-pending hinge, speakers, keyboard, and more. With the project fully funded, it should enter production soon. Pledges are still being accepted, and $170 for the model without speakers or $210 with speakers will get you your own Brydge. What do you think about it?

Brydge is an elegant solution to the lack of quality iPad keyboards and accessories currently on the market. Made from aerospace-grade aluminum, with optional stereo speakers, Brydge connects to your iPad using a patent-pending hinge. This click-in hinge allows for close to 180 degrees of iPad positioning and holds your iPad secure.

WWDC 2012 !!!

CUPERTINO, California—April 25, 2012—Apple® today announced that it will hold its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) June 11 through June 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West. At this year’s five-day conference, developers will learn about the future of iOS and OS X®, allowing them to build incredible new apps. WWDC will also feature more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers as well as the popular Apple Design Awards, a showcase of the most outstanding apps from the past year. 

“We have a great WWDC planned this year and can’t wait to share the latest news about iOS and OS X Mountain Lion with developers,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The iOS platform has created an entirely new industry with fantastic opportunities for developers across the country and around the world.”

Developers will be able to explore the latest innovations, features and capabilities of iOS and OS X Mountain Lion and learn how to greatly enhance the functionality, performance, quality and design of their apps. Developers can even bring their code to the labs and work with Apple engineers, applying development techniques and best-practices to enhance their apps.

Activities at Apple’s WWDC 2012 include:

• more than 100 technical sessions presented by Apple engineers on a wide range of technology-specific topics for developing, deploying and integrating the latest iOS and OS X technologies;
• 100 hands-on labs staffed by more than 1,000 Apple engineers providing developers with code-level assistance, insight into optimal development techniques and guidance on how they can make the most of iOS and OS X technologies in their apps;
• the opportunity to connect with thousands of fellow iOS and OS X developers from around the world—last year more than 60 countries were represented;
• engaging and inspirational lunchtime sessions with leading minds and influencers from the worlds of technology, science and entertainment; and
• Apple Design Awards which recognize iPhone®, iPad® and Mac® apps that demonstrate technical excellence, innovation and outstanding design.

Please go to the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2012 website (developer.apple.com/wwdc) to purchase tickets, as well as for updates and more information.

Developers who are unable to attend this year’s conference can access and watch all technical sessions from the Apple Developer website (developer.apple.com/videos) as soon as they are posted for free.

New Mockup Designs of the 4″ iPhone Surface !!!

With a number of reports calling for a 4-inch iPhone later this year, a flurry of new mockup designs — seen above — have surfaced that attempt to illustrate what the device might look like based on rumors. These most recent mockups come from design student Daniel Bautista, who bases his design on a leaked Photo Stream image from last summer. The next-generation iPhone is also rumored to have metal casing, LTE compatibility, and improved battery life. Are you planning on purchasing a new iPhone at some point this year?

Browse Instagram on iPad with the Beautiful Iris !!!

Even in the light of Facebook’s recent acquisition of the much-loved photo sharing service Instagram, third-party developers are still working on apps using the existing API. Yesterday, for instance, Eric Hoffman Design released a beautiful Instagram browsing app for the iPad called Iris. While it’s a shame you can’t publish any photos with the app, there’s no reason not to buy it if you like to browse photos by your friends.

At $1.99, Iris allows you to tap a photo to like or unlike it, share photos on Twitter by tapping it when it’s enlarged, comment on your friends’ photos, find new people to follow, browse the well-liked photos of Instagram, see the location on a map where the photo was taken, and oh so much more. The user interface alone is the most beautiful way to browse Instagram on any device, not just the iPad. So go give Iris a try today!

Draw Something Updated with Social Features and More !!!

The insanely popular game Draw Something for iOS has been updated with several new features, including the ability to comment on drawings, post your drawings on Facebook and Twitter, save your drawings to your photos, undo your last line, and obtain immediate updates by pulling down to refresh.

Draw Something is an addictive drawing game by OMGPOP — recently acquired by Zynga — that requires you to sketch or doodle various words for your opponent to guess. The game, $0.99 with a free ad-supported version, peaked as both the top free and paid app on the App Store, and continues to sit among the top five in those categories. Have you drawn something yet?