Today, Facebook app discovery too heavily favors the loudest apps with the most users, so Facebook today announces it will soon launch the App Center, a single, personalized hub for discovering the highest quality Facebook-integrated games and utilities from across the web and mobile. And for the first time, Facebook is beta testing the option for developers to sell pre-paid web and HTML5 apps. You’ll be able to access App Center via the web or mobile, and you can send apps you discover on a the web to your littler devices.

App Center could be a huge boon to app growth on Facebook, especially for those that are beloved but not inherently viral.   With any luck, App Center will usher in an age where your news feed is filled with apps you actually want use, not just the spammiest ones or those with the biggest marketing budgets.

Unlike the unpersonalized app directory Facebook shut down a year ago, App Center won’t list every available app, just the ones with the highest customer ratings, engagement, session length, and voluntary sharing. App Center dynamically shows you different apps depending on your habits. If you play games, that’s what you’ll see. If you think those are a waste of time and only use utility apps like BranchOut or Open Graph apps like Foodspotting, those will be what appear.

More at: http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/09/facebook-app-center/

So you’ve already learned how to navigate the tricky world of cross-platform app design and worked through all of the common pitfalls of developing your app. You have a vision, some inspiration and maybe even a name that you know will be perfect. So … now what?

It’s time to get down to the nitty-gritty and begin designing the structure, flow and features that will combine to form your finished mobile app. But actually performing these tasks isn’t easy — there are tons of moving parts and project management aspects to keep in mind during development. Developing a functioning and enjoyable mobile app requires discipline and practicality. If you don’t tend to the nuts and bolts of production, you’re putting yourself at risk for disaster.

1. Don’t Begin Wireframes or Designs Without a Flowmap

Have a well-thought-out user flow ready to go before wireframes and designs begin. Even simple applications should have a well-considered flowmap in place to help ensure a logical and reasonable navigational structure.

Another thing to pay attention to is making sure that key functional screens are close to the top rather than buried beneath multiple levels of navigational elements. Skipping the flowmap and simply designing or wiring screens without a plan is the easiest way to create a convoluted flow that leaves users confused and turned off.

More at: http://mashable.com/2012/04/11/mobile-app-design-tips/

This part of the site is where Foolproof (usability specialists) keep all of our proprietary research, publications and whitepapers.

http://www.foolproof.co.uk/insight/

It’s a store retailer’s worstmobile commercenightmare come true. 29% of consumers who use a smartphone to research a product while in a retail store end up purchasing the item online, many fromAmazon.com Inc., according to a new study by market research firm ClickIQ.

Of consumers who used a smartphone to research in-store and then purchase online, 55% were men and 45% were women, says the survey of 406 U.S. consumers who have researched a product while in a store and purchased that product.

For store merchants wandering their aisles watching shoppers on smartphones, age is a key indicator of who is comparing products and buying online. 26% of consumers age 30-39 and 25% age 18-29 recently used a mobile device to research a product while in a store. The numbers fall drastically from there with only 12% of those age 40-49, 6% age 50-59 and 2% age 60 or over researching products in a store using a mobile device.

Some big retailers are being hit the hardest by thism-commerceactivity. Respondents possibly visited more than one retailer but the study shows that the retailers most frequented for research wereBest Buy Co.at 36%, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. at 30% andTarget Corp.at 29%.

To find out what happened after the in-store research was complete, survey respondents were asked to state where they eventually purchased the product they were researching. Best Buy did the best job of retaining the sale. 35% of those that researched at Best Buy ended up purchasing at the Best Buy store with another 14% purchasing at BestBuy.com. However, 21% purchased the product from Amazon.com. The rest did not purchase. Of those that did their research at Target, 29% purchased at the Target store, 8% purchased at Target.com and 21% purchased from Amazon.com. Wal-Mart retained 26% who purchased at the Wal-Mart store and 10% who purchased at Walmart.com. Wal-Mart lost 24% to Amazon.com.

More at: http://www.internetretailer.com/2012/03/16/29-store-mobile-researchers-wind-buying-online

There are a lot of articles circulating about the benefits of mobile advertising. In fact, many companies and brands are embracing mobile advertising and seeing impressive results. However, the mobile advertising market hasn’t been cornered by one particular vendor and some are wondering if Facebook is going to join the mobile scene.

Facebook is recognized as one of the top social media sites. Plus, numerous businesses appreciate the advance targeting features that are available in Facebook such as demographics, interests, connections, etc.

Some would like to use these advanced settings to reach the mobile market. This means businesses would already be prepared to pay Facebook to reach their respective audience.

Another plus is that people use their cell phones to check on their Facebook accounts already, so it’s not like Facebook would have to entice anyone to go on their site via a mobile device. They also, have loads of mobile user data at their fingertips.

According to an article on CNET, “Facebook already has access to data of a large mobile user base”… Facebook says nearly half of its nearly 800 million users already log in via mobile devices, giving the network momentum in a market estimated to be worth $630 million.”

More at: http://socialmediatoday.com/dleitchmorevisibilitycom/432670/rumors-about-facebook-mobile

Tablet visitors to e-commerce sites spend 20% more than desktop shoppers, and twice as much as those using smartphones, according to a new report. 

Adobe’s Digital Marketing Insights report takes its data from 16.5bn visits to more than 150 retailers last year, and shows that AOVs from tablets are higher than from other devices. 

It also suggests that retailers should consider optimising the experience for tablet users. 

Percentage of visits from tablets

Before retailers get too excited by the figures, it’s important to note that tablet users make up a small proportion of total visits, just 4% on average. 

However, this is a growing proportion, rising from 1% in January 2011 to 4% in December. 

In stats from August, of the 1.57m sales generated by affiliates in August, 77,082 were made via mobile devices. 27,551 were via iPad, 26,360 on iPhone, and 13,862 on Android. 

In these stats, the iPad accounted for 0.9% of all visits, much lower than Adobe’s, yet contributed 1.75% of all sales. 

Many more tablets were sold over Christmas, so the number of people accessing e-commerce sites on tablets is only going one way for the moment. 

Smartphone use is also growing, doubling from 3% in January 2011 to 6% in December.

More at: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8731-tablet-shoppers-spend-21-more-than-other-consumers?

Mobile discovery company Shazam announced Tuesday (11/8) that USA Network’s hit show Covert Affairs will now feature Shazam for TV. Covert Affairs joins several other “Shazamable” shows, which means it will include call-outs during the show for viewers to use the Shazam app to tag music in the show and gain access to special photos and video. This feature will be available beginning with the second season of the popular TV-drama. Shazam for TV is an innovative app that allows users to interact with TV shows and access exclusive content using their mobile devices.  When a user tags the episode, they will be taken to a unique Shazam mobile commerce store powered by Delivery Agent. Delivery Agent manages all commerce for NBC Universal and dozens of other entertainment corporations as well.  Viewers will also be able to use Shazam for TV to download wallpaper on their phone, share content on social media websites, “like” the Covert Affairs Facebook page, in addition to purchasing show merchandise.  One of the most unique features of this application is that users will be able to access and purchase fashion brands seen on the show. For example, if a Shazam user is watching Covert Affairs and they notice the main character is wearing an article of clothing that they want to purchase, they can simply tag the episode on Shazam and choose the option to “Shop Covert Affairs”. Users will then be able to purchase the fashion brands seen in the show directly from the mobile commerce store. As a new feature to the Shazam app, all merchandise will be available to purchase through a single-button buying process.

More at: http://www.zippycart.com/ecommerce-news/3145-shazam-integrates-television-and-mobile-ecommerce.html

Starting with ‘smart TV’, YouGov says that only 15% of UK consumers say they will own one within the next 12 months. A multi-country study was carried out in November 2011 with almost 13,000 respondents and the full findings on technology device ownership, content and attitudes is due for full release in Q1 2012.

As we’ve covered heavily over the past few weeks, the TV set will soon become a key device that people use to access internet content either directly via a games console (such as the Xbox 360) or other ‘plug-in’ box such as Boxee or YouView (a new partnership between major broadcasters such as the BBC and Channel Four as well as BT).

Inthe area of smartphones, YouGov says that 86% of smartphone users ignore advertising on mobiles. YouGov’s Smartphone Mobile Internet Experience study tracks consumer experience of smartphones, mobile internet and applications, quarterly. The next wave of the tracker begins in December 2011 with a report due in January 2012.

Now on the surface this conflicts with recent IAB research that suggests 82% of smartphone users and 73% of tablet owners they wsurveyed (a total of 600 people) said that not paying a subscription but having advertising on mobile websites was the preferred approach.

With regards to radio, YouGov says that just over one in five (22%) of 18-24 year olds have listened to the radio via a portable radio set (including DAB). However, over one third (38%) of this age group has listened to radio streamed over the internet.

Finally, tablets. Russell Feldman, associate director of technology at YouGo says that nearly one quarter (24%) of tablet users access the internet in bed – which supports another suggestion from IAB that tablets are the ideal ‘downtime device.

IAB stats from last month claim that more than 50% of tablet interactions were found to take place in the late evening (between 7 - 12pm) resulting in tablets being the most used device amongst owners in the evening. Tablet usage then accelerates during the weekends with 25% of respondents choosing to use their device during their downtime and 49% agreeing the tablet is the device that best allows them to be entertained.

More at: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8542-yougov-releases-consumer-predictions-for-2012

Research from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) launched today suggests that consumers see tablets as the perfect device for late evening use when in front of the TV.

The study from research company Sparkler in partnership with panel providers On Device Research, found that 51% of all tablet uses occurred in front of the TV. In fact, tablet owners are 50% more likely to use their tablet in this situation than their mobile (35%) or PC (33%).

More than 50% of tablet interactions were found to take place in the late evening (between 7 - 12pm) resulting in tablets being the most used device amongst owners in the evening. Tablet usage then accelerates during the weekends with 25% of respondents choosing to use their device during their downtime and 49% agreeing the tablet is the device that best allows them to be entertained.

More at: http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8473-iab-research-says-tablets-are-perfect-downtime-devices

Last year, Jung Von Matt Sweden launched a mobile hunting game for the MINI Countryman in Stockholm. Now, the award-winning campaign is moving to Japan for a bigger, better game. The idea is the same: Use your smart phone to catch a virtual MINI, and then run as fast as you can out of its orbit to prevent anyone from stealing it. Anybody who successfully keeps it in their possession until the end of the game wins a real car, this time a MINI Coupe.

But everything’s bigger the second time around. The gaming area in Tokyo is about 32 times larger than Stockholm, at 240 square miles and the game is open to Android users as well as iPhoners. The number of players is expected to run into the six-figures, unlike Stockholm, which saw about 11,000 participants.

More at: http://adage.com/article/creativity-pick-of-the-day/catch-a-mini-world-s-biggest-reality-game/231225/