Mobile industry in the last one decade has gone through various pain points

5 key ingredients of a successful mobile product

#1. Integrate within users lifestyle

e.g one touch RBT, IDEA CELLULAR’S idea of pressing the star while listening to a song, to make it a caller tones. They used to get a million user every 4 months but after the introduction of this facility, they got next million in just 18 days

Enable services in their ecosystem, e.g capturing reminders from email, saving pictures to web

If the consumer is not using the apps on a regular basis, its gonna die

#2 Mobile internet- think outside the box

Doing banking transactions through internet

Add mobility to web services

Is email = reply, mobile internet = internet on mobile??

#3 focus on the user experiences

Most used and abused statement

e.g adding comments on facebook, linkedIn etc

give all the info in the existing digital lifestyle

Keep it simple and stupid

any mobile transaction that is more than 3 steps,you are bound to lose that customer

one click apps is the solution

#4 There is no single killer app, but have killer environments e.g google, facebook, amazon that makes a killer one

e.g Google and Apple

look at specialised / mash-up

look for core product with plug-in interfaces adding diversity

#5 Rapid prototyping, testing and scalability

Engage with customers , get feedback, ensure scalability, else it will shrivel and wither away

Do many things, pick the one that clicks and build on that

Throw it up and see what sticks

Just because the thing is not worked in west, don’t dismiss it, eg voice based services

Take attention to the social consideration

Vodafone is now working on data services for emerging markets

If 100 people own the phone, less than 5 ppl use the services

Ranjan shared some facts about BlackBerry

565 carriers / partners

Launched in 1999, 100 millionth BB shipped May 2010

No.1 smartphones in US,NO.2 in the world

50 percent are non enterprise users

The only smartphone focused vendor among top 5 worldwide

More than 2,50,000 developers

Blackberry is a platform and not a phone

Explained about BlackBerry App World 2.0

More than 50 percent BB use app world

14k apps today, growing more than 70 percent per quarter

More than 1.5million downloads per day,now available in 58 countries

How to monetize the apps

Ads supported

Ad network integration

Future LBS integration

Brand sponsored application

User paid application

Single paid download

Subscription based apps

Free or Trial Application

Start from free apps and later convert to paid one

BB has 30 million users worldwide

Latest from BB

BBEM is the enterprise connectivity services from BB

New in BB6: Web kit Browser

BB share 60 percent revenue with Developer

Payment services from BB5 and BB6

BB analytics services: gives an idea about what type of users using the apps, segregation, time spent, apps used

Analytics will help one improve the apps

New BBM social platform for BB5 and BB6

Embed chat, invite friends, share content, create communities, customize user profile,expected to be launched 2011 march

BlackBerry Playbook,the tablet space, will be running in QNX operating system

Super Apps: advantages

Always on

Integration with native apps

Proactive and notification driven: e.g highlight flight delay

Highly contextualized,social and connected

BB Developer Zone

free registration and developer program for students

Sunil spoke about “Idea validation of an Application on Marketability, Technical Feasibility and Scalability”, here are the highlights from his talk

Started his talk by saying that this was the first time he was talking in front of a student crowd, he touched upon various subjects like  apps stores,  Nokia and  Apps download.
5 trends in mobile

1. Un precedented increase in smart phones, Nokia leads the segment

Margin is almost 8 to 9 times when smart phones are sold, when compared to entry level phones

Nokia plays in all the segment, right from  entry level to Mego, super computer devices

2. Growth in internet penetration in India

52 million active users in India

3. Growth in Mobile Internet

In next 4 years, more number of people will access internet from mobile devices than desktop or laptop

4. Unprecedented Device Convergence

Right from camera to music, everything in one mobile device

5. Unprecedented adoption of Apps

in 2012 , 5o billion apps will be downloaded

If you have Idea,there is an opportunity to become an entreprenuer

Nokia supports the local apps and make sure that local developers are a big success

Nokia helps in feasibility, marketability, uniqueness, ROI, consider while developing an apps

Key points to consider while developing an app
95 percent of the apps are repetitive

Idea Validation

Key consideration

Is it genenuine real life problem?
Check for existence of similar apps as solution to the problem

Should be extremely flexible and open to feedbacks

Do not ignore the end consumer perspective

Idea should lead to an intuitive and easy to use app

Focus on facts and figures

Be unique

Gyrate an existing category, create a new category by blending existing categories

Be realistic about what your apps can achieve

Focus is the King

Big is not better, small is beautiful

Facts about OVi store

190 countries, 80 diff languages

3 million downloads per day

Active users download 8.5 per month

India has become no 1 country in the world when it comes to OVi download, 8.9 million per month

Astrology app, panchang is a big hit

Every student can become an entreprenuer, Nokia is ready to provide courses, train and students can submit their apps

At present working with 10 universities in India

Farting app was the number one app for a very long time

Angry App is corrently the number one app in gaming category

Nokia has sold 1.3 billion phones so far

Next 6 months Nokia will be selling 65 million phones globally

If one sells an app through Nokia app store, the person gets 70 percent and balance to Nokia

The session was followed by Q and A

We’re having lots of buzz going on wondering what this Speed Dating thing is all about…

To clear your doubts, here’re a brief as to what Speed Dating scheduled during IAMAI’s Mobile Application Developers’s Meet is…

At how many conferences do you get an opportunity to interact in detail with a speaker? hardly any. At the max you might manage to exchange cards.

Speed Dating is an arrangement wherein participants would get a 10 min one to one time with a speaker of his/her choice. One gets to interact with the speaker in person, share his/her ideas/concerns, get tips, advices and so on.

Below are some pics from the speed dating room, during the 1st MoBile App Developers Meet held in Bangalore during June 2010

Speed dating is a good opportunity to seek help/inputs from experts. Do not miss it.

Register for IAMAI’s Mobile App Developers’ Meet happening in Chennai on 23rd

09:30:10:00 hrs Registration and Coffee 10:00-10:10 hrs Message from the Director General, COAI’s desk Cmde J.Jena, Directore, TCoE 10:10-10:30 hrs Address on “Idea Validation of an Application on Marketability, Technical Feasibility and Scalability” Sunil Rao, Head of Forum – Nokia India 10:30-10:50 hrs Address on “Apps for the Converged World” Kallol Borah, Co founder, Lukup 10:50-11:10 hrs Address on “Marketing of Apps” Badri Sanjeevi, Chief Executive Officer, Mauj 11:10-11:20 hrs Interaction with Audience

11:20-11:40 hrs Tea/ Coffee Break 11:40-12:00 hrs Address on “Mobile Content Issues: Overcoming App Fragmentation” Ranjan Moses, Carrier Product Manager, Research in Motion 12:00-12:20 hrs Address on “Mobile App Monetization: The Way Forward” Mahesh Narayanan, Country Manager, BD, Google India 12:20-12:30 hrs Interaction with Audience 12:30-13:10 hrs Conversation with Vijay & Neeraj Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Chairman & Managing Director, One97 Mobility Fund* Neeraj Bharadwaj, Managing Director, Accel India Growth*

13:10-14:15 hrs Networking Lunch and visit to App room 14:15-14:50 hrs Presentation by Developers’ Presenters: Satish Reddy, CEO, Aha Apps (15 mins) Pankaj Bhargav, HR Mantra (10 mins) Hendry Roselinmary, Saadhvi Technology (10 mins) 14:50-15:00 hrs Interaction with Audience

15:00-15:15 hrs Tea/Coffee 15:15-17:00 hrs Speed Dating and visit to App room 17:00 hrs Seminar Concludes

Here’re some first pics of the venue for Mobile Application Developers’ Meet, being held at IIM Bangalore Auditorium.

The passage

The garden

The Auditorium

When you visit Bengaluru next week to attend Mobile App Developers’ Meet, you might also wish to explore rest of Bengaluru, better known as Garden city.

Bengaluru offers several interesting places of tourist interest, right inside the city and in its outskirts. We present you a brief guide, so that you can make the most of it…

Bannerghatta National Park is very close to IIMB, the venue of our event. Below are some interesting photos of lion cubs I took during my last week visit to Bannerghatta…

You may also wish to visit Cubbon Park and Vidhana Soudha, the two most popular destinations within the city

Lumbini Garden, Ragigudda temple, Lalbagh, Bugal Rock park, Vishveshwarayya museum etc are a few other tourism attractions in Bangalore.

Ex-Bangalore activities:
If you’re looking for adventure, you can take off for a Scuba Diving session at Netrani or try rock climbing in Ramnagara or just go for a moonlight trek at the Skandagiri hills

Weekend Getaways from Bangalore:
Wayanad, Kerala (300kms, read Bengaluru-Wayanad travelogue)

Ooty (Tamil Nadu)
300 kms… Read Bangalore-Ooty travelogue

Other destinations:
Keladi Fort, Kodachadri, Manipal End Point, Madhugiri Fort, Tumkur, sanskrit village, Mathur * Gingee Fort

Photos copyrighted to Shrinidhi Hande

We got lots of inquires asking what is speed dating that is mentioned in the agenda of Mobile App Developers’ Meet.

Be assured that we’re not getting into match making business. Here’s speed dating explained:

At most of the conferences, participants hardly get to talk to speakers one on one; this is because of time constraints and huge number of participants. As a result, lots of questions will be leftover unanswered and delegates may not be able to make the most of the conference.

However, IAMAI’s Mobile Application Developers’ Meet is going to be different.

End of the day, one full session is dedicated to Speed Dating. Under this, participants of the event can request IAMAI as to with which speaker they’d like to interact with. After receiving the requests, IAMAI officials will facilitate one on one interaction with the speaker and delegates. Delegates can have one to one conversation with the speakers, who’ll be experts in their field of specialization and get all their doubts clarified on the spot.

Speed dating will last for 10 minutes only. IAMAI will make an attempt to entertain as much requests as possible within the available time, however, a guarantee that you’ll get to speak to the speaker of your choice may not be possible.

Further, as always. You can use the medium of this blog to post your questions and queries. We’ll make an attempt to get them answered by concerned experts.

So, see you at IIMB next week

(Graphics by Satish)

Sachin Vinod Rathi is an Architect Advisor with Microsoft India. Over the period of 12+ years he has been leading and architecting enterprise products, provided architectural direction, technology assessment, and technical team leadership on legacy product re-architecture and modernization.

Prior to Microsoft, he was with SAP (Research & Innovation) as Architect and was leading ESA, Office Integration, Output Management and Forms Integration functionality for Business by Design (A1S) product line. He has led Intellectual Property (IP) initiative that resulted in the filing of four Patent disclosures and more than a dozen patent applications.

Prior to SAP, he was with Hyperion (now Oracle) & i2 as Technical Architect wherein he Instituted & Implemented Strategic Direction for Technology across all the solutions in i2 SRM Suite & Hyperion BPM Suite.

His education qualification includes MBA (Finance), Symbiosis and B.E. (Industrial), RKNEC.

About Microsoft India

Microsoft entered India in 1990 and has since then is working closely with the Indian government, IT industry, academia and local developer community for ushering in some of the early successes in the realm of IT. Microsoft currently has offices in 13 cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Pune. Increasingly, Microsoft is becoming a key IT partner to the Indian government and the industry. Since its advent, Microsoft has been supporting and fueling the growth of the local IT industry through its partner enablement programs. Since its entry into India, Microsoft has focused on three things, namely:

* Becoming a key IT partner to the Indian government and the industry
* Supporting and fueling the growth of the local IT industry through its partner enablement programs
* Under Microsoft Unlimited Potential, enhancing education, jobs and opportunities and fostering innovation through relevant, affordable access to computing.

Microsoft in India employs about 5500 people and has six business units in India representing the complete Microsoft product lifecycle.

Anand Virani, has 12 years experience in the wireless industry. Having worked with blue-chip companies in US and India, he is familiar with diverse work cultures. Virani has held various positions in Business Development, Product Management and Marketing & Engineering. His Specialties include:

• Domain Experience & Business Models Expertise
• Internet / Mobile converged services: Mobile Instant Messaging, Mobile Internet Music, VOIP, Web 2.0
• Mobile application enablers & platforms: Smart phones, BREW, J2ME, OMA WAP
• Internet / Mobile convergence enablers: IMS, Mobile IP, WiMAX, IP/MPLS, SIGTRAN
• Wireless broadband technologies: WCDMA/UMTS, HSxPA, CDMA2000 1X, 1x-EVDO

Qualcomm started out providing contract research and development services, with limited product manufacturing, for the wireless telecommunications market. One of the team’s first goals was to develop a commercial product. This effort resulted in OmniTRACS®. Since its introduction in 1988, OmniTRACS has grown into the largest satellite-based commercial mobile system for the transportation industry today.

Qualcomm plays a central role in the rapid adoption and growth of 3G and next-generation wireless around the world. Qualcomm’s current intellectual property portfolio includes more than 10,100 United States patents for wireless technologies, with more than 165 telecommunications equipment manufacturers licensing them worldwide.

From its beginnings in 1985, Qualcomm has grown from seven individuals meeting in a den to a world-leading provider of wireless technology and services. Qualcomm is a global company, a firm with many facets, with each business division changing the way we live and work through its own unique contributions. But no matter what each Qualcomm business does, all are united by a single, driving passion: to continue to deliver the world’s most innovative wireless solutions.

Since 1985, Qualcomm’s visionary technology leadership has been carrying the world forward, changing it by improving the way people communicate, work and live. And with that same pioneering spirit, Qualcomm is still innovating; still chipping away at the boundaries of what’s possible, still changing the world, one idea at a time.

View his Public Profile: on linkedin