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The pace of development in the Google ecosystem means that Apple is fast losing it’s first-mover advantage in mobile, with sales of Android apps in the Google Play store booming in the fourth quarter of 2012, while the growth in sales of Apple apps has slowed.

According to Google, app sales doubled in the fourth quarter, while sales of Apple apps for iOS-based iPhones and iPads increased by 20 per cent.

The spike in sales of Android apps has been driven by sales of more high-end Android devices, such as the Samsung Galaxy SIII and the Google Nexus 7, which in turn has made users more comfortable purchasing Android apps.

Furthermore, Google claims that Android now offers a similar number of apps for Android users that Apple offers for iPhone and iPad users – around 700,000 for Android compared to 800,000 in the iOS app store, a gap that is closing fast.

Until recently, it had been assumed that Android apps would lag far behind iOS apps, but rising sales has persuaded app development houses to increasingly put new apps for the two platforms on a par, with some developers seeking to develop for Android first.

For example, Ngmoco has conventionally developed apps for Apple first, before porting them to Google. Now, it treats the two operating environments equally. And Google has ploughed resource into developer tools to make it easier for developers to build apps for Android.

However, with three-quarters of the smartphones now sold globally running on Android, and app developers now making 40 per cent of their income from the platform, the balance will soon tip in the direction of Android.

Microsoft, meanwhile, claims that 150,000 apps are available for Windows Phone, although it still lacks versions of popular apps available on the ‘big two’, while BlackBerry claims some 70,000 for its latest BlackBerry 10-based phones, which some users have complained either don’t work or are very basic.
Read more: http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2241705/google-android-app-development-outpacing-apple-ios-and-windows-phone#ixzz2K7X6Kaxp

Below, you’ll find four topics that are gaining attention from development teams today. Read on–and follow the links–to learn why each could be key to staying ahead of the mobile development curve:

1. Backend as a Service (BaaS). BaaS has emerged as an alternative to mobile middleware, the software that connects disparate mobile applications. The new approach uses the cloud to connect back-end services to the user-facing front end of mobile apps. This eliminates the need for developers to build out their own back ends; BaaS provides the back end, along with common back end features like push notifications, location services, and social networking integration.

2. REST APIs. Mobile–along with cloud, social and ‘big data’–is changing the complexion of application integration. Over the past few years, new technologies and integration approaches have arisen to address the unique requirements of integrating mobile apps. In particular REST APIs have taken the fore, gaining added important in application integration design.

3. Mainframes and legacy applications. Shiny new apps are threatening the existence of legacy applications and the mainframe. Or are they? This trend has yet to take a solid direction. Increasingly, development leaders are forced to measure the worth of existing applications against brand new mobile and Web apps. As mobile app adoption spreads, the question of what will happen to mainframes and legacy applications only gets louder.

4. Web vs. native browsers. The debate over Web and native browsers came to a head in 2012 when Facebook’s Zuckerberg denounced HTML5. Still, it’s far from over. Development leaders are wondering how HTML5 will impact open source software and mobile applications, should it gain popularity with developers. It remains to be seen what will happen, and how the outcome will impact both development and integration.

A world class congress grew in Barcelona.

The GSMA Mobile World Congress: the world’s most important B2B event in the telecommunications industry. Worldwide attention focuses on this sector for 4 days, offering maximum visibility for innovative mobile solutions.

Barcelona and the GSMA propose the Mobile World Congress as a showcase for demonstrating business solutions based on mobile technology.

From 2013, the Gran Via venue, with its state of the art infrastructure, will offer new growth opportunities for GSMA.

It will still be possible to hold corporate events at the former Montjuïc Fair venue.