Yesterday, we reported that Lodsys has served notices to iPad and iPhone developers on using its in-app purchasing system. The company also requested iPhone developers to obtain a license within 21 days. Today, Lodsys has responded publicly on the issue through a blog post explaining various elements of the patent infringement issue and why it is targeting iPad and iPhone developers.  some of the questions answered in the blog post are-

Q: Is Lodsys trying to force Apple to take a license by pressuring iOS developers?

A: No, that’s not what’s happening.  Apple is licensed for its nameplate products and services.

Q: What about other Operating Systems such as Android?

A: Google is licensed for its nameplate products and services.  Also, Microsoft is licensed for their nameplate products and services.

Q: I developed on Apple iOS (or other platform), why isn’t Apple (or other OS vendor) responsible, or taking care of this issue?

A: The scope of their current licenses does NOT enable them to provide “pixie dust” to bless another (3rd party) business applications.   The value of the customer relationship is between the Application vendor of record and the paying customer, the OS (is acting as an enabler) and the retailers (are acting as a conduit to connect that value), and taking their % for that middleman role.

Q: What are you charging?

A: In the case of an Application doing an in-application upgrade (and only this scenario), Lodsys is seeking 0.575% of US revenue over for the period of the notice letter to the expiration of the patent, plus applicable past usage.  So on an application that sells US$1m worth of sales in a year, the licensee would have an economic exposure of $5,750 per year.

iPad and iPhone developers can read the blog here.

Lodsys, a company based in Texas, has issued notices to several iPhone app developers. The company claims that it holds exclusive patents rights on an in-app purchasing system used on iOS apps and demanding iPhone developers to purchase licences be use the in-app system.

Under the in-app purchase system, an iPhone developer monetizes its app and an app user can buy several products available on the app.

Lodsys official website informs that the company has licensed patents to over 200 companies including Nokia, Apple, IBM and Google.

According to a report in Guardian, Lodsys claims that it owns the rights to four patents relating to in-app purchases including interactive online ads, online help and subscription renewals.

However, it is still unclear on what role Apple will play to resolve the crisis.

Microsoft has announced the release of Azure, a new toolkit, which will help iPhone developers create apps faster using cloud. The kit helps an iPhone developer to integrate Windows Azure into apps at a very low level. The toolkit will work on both, iPhone and the iPad.

iPhone developers can download the toolkit and can quickly start building iPhone applications on the Windows Azure platform without having to have comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft tools. The toolkit includes compiled iPhone code libraries, a sample iOS application, documentation, and a “Cloud Ready” Windows Azure deployment package.

“Today, it’s not just about how quickly a developer can create an experience, but how quickly that developer can build apps that work with unique devices across a dozen platforms,” wrote Jamin Spitzer, the senior director of platform strategy for Microsoft, in a TechNet post.

“Using the toolkits, developers can use the cloud to accelerate the creation of applications on the major mobile platforms. Companies, including Groupon, are taking advantage to create a unified approach to cloud-to-mobile user experience,” Spitzer said.

Via- cnet

Mu Dynamics, Inc. has announced the release of Blitz, the first API-friendly cloud-based load and scale testing solution for iPhone developers. Blitz is specifically built for iPhone developers who access content through APIs and help them in optimizing the performance and scalability of their apps.

“Blitz provides us with the testing solution we need to support our ever-growing line-up of mobile applications,” said Calvin Carter, president of Bottle Rocket Apps.

“Our projects are mission- critical apps for major brands with hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of users. We need to quickly determine if they can scale to support heavy usage. Blitz removes the guesswork of predicting performance issues and helps ensure scalability” he added.

Blitz offers unique capabilities that enable iPhone developers to:

• Multi-Location Load Testing for location-aware mobile apps.
• API Friendliness by integrating common app development tools to the cloud and thereby eliminating the expensive and time-consuming test creation process.
• Continuous Integration through a RubyGem, mobile app developers can incorporate Blitz into their continuous deployment process.

If you are an iPhone developer who is either planning to or is developing health apps then an online survey report Consumer Health Information Corporation (CHIC) to gauge consumer interest in health apps and the likelihood of patient adherence to apps brings some insightful advice. The survey results are based on responses from 395 respondents.

The survey shows 34.4% users discontinue an app due to availability of a better app and 32.6% discontinue because of lack of user friendliness (32.6%) are the top reasons for discontinuation of apps. this clearly signals how important it is for an iphone developer to keep upgrading the app and to keep it user-friendly.

For 90.9% respondents, ease of navigation was the top criteria that made apps favorable. 91.1% of those surveyed stated that they would be interested in using an app to gain information.

Moreover, 79.9% stated that they would be interested in using an application that can evaluate logged information and provide feedback (79.9%).

The survey also found that:

• 42.2% app users are most likely to use a health app to find information about drugs and 26.5% disease states.
• 39.8% will use such a health app several times in a day.
• 55.8% are somewhat influenced and 32.2% are very much influenced by consumer ratings of an app.
• 33.4% of users want health apps to be free with 30.9% willing to pay $1.00-$5.99 for an app download.

iPhone developer planning to build a health app can make use of the above findings to design an application and gain customer loyalty.

A new study by Harris Interactive and commissioned by EffectiveUI offers key consumer insights to iPhone developers looking for ways to maximize the potential of their app development efforts. The study finds that majority of mobile app users download apps based on good user experience (UX) and recommendations, rather than influencing by the brand name of the company releasing it.

The survey further reveals that 38% of app users are not satisfied with most branded apps. Further, 76% of mobile application users have the opinion that all branded companies must have apps to make shopping easier. Other key findings of the survey include:

• 32% of those surveyed have told others about a bad experience with a app.
• 13% have avoided downloading apps from a brand name organization due to a previous bad experience.
• 73% of app users see eye to eye that a company’s mobile app should be more user-friendly than its website.
• Only 18% of app users base their download decisions as per the brand name company.
• On UX considerations: 74% think it should be easy to use, 75% think it should do exactly what they want it to do and 57% think it should be nicely designed.
• 29% users downloaded apps as a result of a recommendation from someone who had a good experience with app.
• 66% app users have downloaded an app based on a review or recommendation.
• 57% have recommended an app because of a positive experience.

“The results of our survey are quite telling, and further proof that organizations must invest more in the user experience of their mobile apps, rather than rely solely on the brand,” said Rebecca Flavin, CEO of EffectiveUI.

“Mobile applications are the sure fire way to extend a brand. It’s time for organizations to understand how to fully leverage the mobile channel and optimize a user-centered approach to drive adoption, as well as reinforce and drive brand loyalty,” he added.

The survey clearly highlights the need for iPhone developers to focus on optimizing the user experience to retain customer loyalty and boost the potential of their apps.

If as an iPhone developer, you were worried about the rise in popularity of Android OS and Android market then put all your worries to rest. The latest IHS Screen Digest research has brought good news for iPhone developers as it predicts that combined revenues of four major app stores run by Apple, Google, Nokia and RIM will jump by 77.7 percent this year. Combined revenue for the four major stores is expected to touch $3.8 billion in 2011 from $2.1 billion in 2010.

What will particularly make an iPhone developer happy is the fact that Apple App Store is predicted to grab over three-quarters of the market revenue. This means that iPhone developers will continue their dominance this year.

“With consumers continuing to show robust, unflagging interest in downloading games and other applications to devices like smart phones and tablets, collective revenues from the four stores will climb sharply this year,” said Jack Kent, analyst for IHS.

Total revenue from games and other apps are projected to continue soaring in the next few years, leaping to $5.6 billion in 2012, $6.9 billion in 2013 and $8.3 billion in 2014.

Apple App Store will continue to head off all competition. Apple App Store is predicted to earn $2.91 billion, a jump of 63.4 percent from $1.78 billion in 2010. The App Store is expected to take in 76 percent of revenue in 2011 and hold on to 60 percent market share by 2014, despite serious efforts from other stores.

Radish Systems, developer of ChoiceView, will bring its new Software Developers Kit (SDK) for iPhone developers. The new SDK will allow iPad and iPhone developers to speedily and effortlessly add ChoiceView functionality to new or existing iOS applications, thus allowing quicker and more rewarding transactions.

ChoiceView technology allows businesses to instantly share any visual content required during a mobile phone call. It is enterprise software and works on Communications-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform. The ChoiceView SDK will allow iPhone developers to build new or augment existing apps by increasing comprehension, reducing transaction time, and increasing recall. ChoiceView deployed iOS apps supports existing websites, interactive voice response systems and contact centers businesses use.

“The new SDK unleashes a wealth of opportunity for both business and developer communities to easily create or update existing mobile apps with the ChoiceView functionality,” says Dr. Richard A. Davis, Radish Systems chief technology officer.

“We are extremely excited by the positive feedback we’re receiving from the industry for use of ChoiceView in a wide variety of business applications,” he added.

Radish Systems SDK is available for free and iPhone developers interested in adding ChoiceView functionality to their applications immediately can get the ChoiceView SDK beta here.

Xylogic has come up with a white paper titled “WHAT APPLE JUST WIPED OUT-The Rise of Free-To-Play iPhone Game Publishers in the US” which reveals that there has been a rise in free-to-play games in the United States in the last 6 months. Important findings of the study are as follows-

• iPhone game developers are faced with mobile users who expect games either to be free or priced lesser than console games.
• 80.8 percent of all downloads on iPhone downloads were free in March in the US.
• The console gaming industry model is challenged. Paid games for iPhone are priced $3.99 in comparison to $40 for a console game.
• In-app purchases are bringing revenue for iPhone game developers. Some iPhone developers have switched from the paid app model to free games with in-app purchases.
• Incentivized app installs had become the most efficient way for iPhone developers to boost downloads of their apps.

• 10.8 percent of all free iPhone apps in the US Apple App Store have in-app purchases integrated in it.
• 39.9 percent of 99.9 million free game downloads in the app store were free games with in-app purchases.

• 63 percent out of the 150 top free games in the app store are games with in-app purchases.

The Xyologic report says that Apple’s decision to ban incentivized app downloads will impact an important part of the iOS ecosystem. The policy change may also help Android Market to gain momentum in its favor.

iPhone game developers can read the complete text of white paper here.

Source- Xyologic

If you are an iPhone developer who also wish to develop apps for Windows Phone 7 to optimize the potential of his application then the new iPhone/iOS to Windows Phone 7 API mapping from Microsoft would be helpful to you. The mapping tool will help iPhone developers in developing apps for Windows Phone platform.

iPhone/iOS to Windows Phone 7 API mapping tool will allow an iPhone developer can pick out the iOS API calls from his apps, and swiftly search for the equivalent classes, methods and notification events in Windows Phone 7. An iPhone developer can look for a given iOS API call and discover the corresponding Windows Phone 7 together with C# sample codes and API documentations for both, iOS and WP7.

The code samples also allow iPhone developers to speedily migrate short blobs of iOS code to the corresponding C# code. All Windows Phone 7 API documentations are pulled in from the Silverlight, C# and XNA sources on MSDN.

The mapping tool will currently allow an iPhone developer only Network / Internet, User Interface and Data Management APIs to be mapped to Windows Phone 7 API. However, more iOS APIs will be mapped in the future.