Apple is sharpening its focus on businesses in iPhone OS 4, but BlackBerry usage of mobile apps is still more concentrated and higher during the workday than iPhone. Localytics also reports that BlackBerry app usage on the weekend is statistically identical to workweek usage. In contrast, iPhone owners use mobile apps more frequently on the weekend with the greatest difference at 2:00 pm EST when weekend usage is 40% higher than the same time Monday through Friday.

In the second study of hourly app usage, Localytics mined its mobile analytics data from millions of phones in the US and Canada over two months for iPhone and BlackBerry application usage. The mobile analytics data were summarized by day of the week and hour of the day, and normalized as a percentage of the busiest hour for each.

BlackBerry During the Work Week, iPhone on the Weekend
In a previous iPhone analytics study, Localytics reported that mobile app usage on the iPhone peaked at 9:00 pm EST during the week and maintained peak usage throughout weekend afternoons and nights, with iPhone users generating 7% more traffic on the weekend. Localytics suggested that while the iPhone is making professional inroads, it continues to be predominantly a personal device.

BlackBerry, on the other hand, continues to reach out to consumers with new devices andtargeted sponsorships. However, the BlackBerry analytics study from Localytics shows that mobile app usage still appears concentrated around professional use. BlackBerry mobile app usage is higher throughout the workday and starts to peak at 7:00 pm EST, two hours earlier than the iPhone. More telling, there is no statistically significant difference in the usage of BlackBerry apps on the weekend compared to Monday through Friday (t-test p=0.39), unlike the iPhone.

Implication for Developers and Marketers
The two studies from Localytics highlight the opportunity for app developers and marketers to use mobile analytics to reach business professionals or consumers by targeting platforms and dayparts to optimize advertising, schedule promotions, drive sales and increase customer engagement.

Apple® today announced that its magical and revolutionary iPad will be available in the US on Saturday, April 3, for Wi-Fi models and in late April for Wi-Fi + 3G models. In addition, all models of iPad will be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK in late April.

Beginning a week from today, on March 12, US customers can pre-order both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models from Apple’s online store (www.apple.com) or reserve a Wi-Fi model to pick up on Saturday, April 3, at an Apple retail store.

“iPad is something completely new,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re excited for customers to get their hands on this magical and revolutionary product and connect with their apps and content in a more intimate, intuitive and fun way than ever before.”

Starting at just $499, iPad lets users browse the web, read and send email, enjoy and share photos, watch videos, listen to music, play games, read ebooks and much more. iPad is just 0.5 inches thick and weighs just 1.5 pounds—thinner and lighter than any laptop or netbook—and delivers battery life of up to 10 hours.*

iPad’s revolutionary Multi-Touch™ interface makes surfing the web an entirely new experience, dramatically more interactive and intimate than on a computer. You can read and send email on iPad’s large screen and almost full-size “soft” keyboard or import photos from a Mac®, PC or digital camera, see them organized as albums, and enjoy and share them using iPad’s elegant slideshows. iPad makes it easy to watch movies, TV shows and YouTube, all in HD, or flip through the pages of an ebook you downloaded from Apple’s new iBookstore while listening to your music collection.

The App Store on iPad lets you wirelessly browse, buy and download new apps from the world’s largest app store. iPad includes 12 new innovative apps designed especially for iPad and will run almost all of the more than 150,000 apps on the App Store, including apps already purchased for your iPhone® or iPod touch®. Developers are already creating exciting new apps designed for iPad that take advantage of its Multi-Touch interface, large screen and high-quality graphics.

The new iBooks app for iPad includes Apple’s new iBookstore, the best way to browse, buy and read books on a mobile product. The iBookstore will feature books from the New York Times Best Seller list from both major and independent publishers, including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins Publishers, Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Group and Simon & Schuster.

The iTunes® Store gives iPad users access to the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store with a catalog of over 12 million songs, over 55,000 TV episodes and over 8,500 films including over 2,500 in stunning high definition. All the apps and content you download on iPad from the App Store, iTunes Store and iBookstore will be automatically synced to your iTunes library the next time you connect with your computer.

Pricing & Availability

iPad will be available in Wi-Fi models on April 3 in the US for a suggested retail price of $499 for 16GB, $599 for 32GB,$699 for 64GB. The Wi-Fi + 3G models will be available in late April for a suggested retail price of $629 for 16GB, $729 for 32GB and $829 for 64GB.  iPad will be sold in the US through the Apple Store® (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers.

iPad will be available in both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G models in late April in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan,Spain, Switzerland and the UK. International pricing will be announced in April. iPad will ship in additional countries later this year.

The iBooks app for iPad including Apple’s iBookstore will be available as a free download from the App Store in the US onApril 3, with additional countries added later this year.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Today, Apple continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning computers, OS X operating system and iLife and professional applications. Apple is also spearheading the digital media revolution with its iPod portable music and video players and iTunes online store, and has entered the mobile phone market with its revolutionary iPhone.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada – SelfServeApps is announcing the launch of a new web-based iPhone app creation service this week at Macworld Expo 2010. The service is directed at creative professionals and business owners, and allows anyone to build a high-quality iPhone app from their web browser in less than an hour at a fraction of the cost of custom development.

Fees start as low as $99 for setup and $29 per month, and range depending on the package purchased. SelfServeApps enables business owners and their creative service companies to secure their business names in the Apple App Store.

Most iPhone app development companies provide custom production that can take many months and cost tens of thousands of dollars. SelfServeApps makes having an app affordable for small business owners, and gives them equal footing in the mobile market. “One of our motivations is to help local and regional operators compete with large corporations with a low cost, high quality app,” said Doug Pelton, CEO and founder of SelfServeApps.

Those offering web-based services to date, like Mobile Roadie and AppMakr, have focused on the vanity app market where the majority of customers are bands, celebrities or just individuals wanting to mobilize their social networks. SelfServeApps’ primary market is web developers, ad agencies, PR firms and other creative companies who in turn offer it as a service to their customers. This effectively adds iPhone apps to their service mix overnight without the traditional overhead costs and risks.
As partners, creative professionals earn recurring revenue, receiving a 50% discount on all fees.

There is no programming involved and they can reuse the web content and graphics they have already produced for their clients. A dashboard is included to manage multiple projects and a content management system makes updates to applications easy, without having to resubmit to the App Store. Businesses with many locations will appreciate their app’s Store Locator functionality and the bulk upload feature.

Currently the fees range from $99 (USD) for setup and $29 monthly up to $499 for setup and $99 monthly. All packages include the ability to integrate mobile web pages so businesses can offer their customers the convenience of placing orders from their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

The company is focusing exclusively on the iPhone platform since Apple was responsible for 99.4% of all mobile app sales up to January of this year.

Vancouver, Canada. NonLinear Software has released the public beta of a new Mac desktop application called “appOmator” that allows anyone to make an iPhone app, no software programming experience required!

The appOmator software is now available as a free download from appOmator.com. Using a simple drag and drop interface, appOmator users can create an iPhone app in less than an hour.

The appOmator software allows you to easily build custom menus with buttons that play videos and audio tracks, link to slideshows, and display RSS feeds or web pages that can pull dynamic content form the Internet directly into your iApp. Unlike other iPhone App building services that let you upload content into pre-baked template apps, appOmator gives you full control over how your finished app looks and functions. Once you’ve finished building your own iPhone App, you may then export a finished App ready for upload to the iTunes App Store (for a fee – iPhone Developer account required), or you can choose to use appOmator.com’s App Management service and have the company take care of posting and managing your app for you. According to the company’s CEO Martin Sitter, “We have big plans for the future development of appOmator.

With the iPad just around the corner, you’ll soon be able to output your Apps, eBooks, albums and other art for display on Apple’s new tablet computer. We will also be enhancing appOmator with new features that make the most of the iPhone SDK.

It’s our goal to push App programming to the limit so you can make cool and novel Apps that stand out from the crowd.” Release your band’s album as an iPhone App and sell it in the iTunes App Store. Put your documentaries and other video projects out on the iPhone and reach a global audience of interested viewers. What you do is up to you. Download appOmator today! For more information, visit appOmator.com Martin Sitter CEO appOmator

http://www.appomator.com

Montreal, Canada – Announcing that PMChampion, the developer of This is GRE and This is GMAT, has launched the first two apps of their ‘This is…’ series, to help grad school hopefuls succeed in their entrance application. These apps are the first two in a series of fully loaded, complete training packages for students preparing for entrance to graduate school and college. The applications help users score as high as they possibly can on their Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and to increase chances of being accepted by their preferred university.

The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) are required parts of a grad school application in most U.S. universities. As the test gives an indication of a student’s potential success, it carries substantial weight when administrators are considering applications for entrance to their programs. Understandably, universities prefer to welcome those with a greater chance for a successful academic term. Writing the GRE or GMAT is serious business.

Developers at PMChampion specialize in educational courses and have designed these applications as comprehensive training packages containing everything students need to know before taking either of the exams. Unlike other apps, developers have left nothing out. Users are fully prepared to give their entrance exams their best shot after completing the training. In fact, the developers boast that users of This is GMAT will raise their scores by at least 100 points, if they follow the program properly.

When users download This is GRE or This is GMAT, they get all the educational tools they need in one convenient spot on their iPhone or iPod Touch. There are numerous aids including lessons, vocabulary, practice tests and valuable study tips, all geared to prepare students thoroughly for taking their exam.

While the developers naturally cannot guarantee admittance to any university or program, all of the apps from their ‘This is…’ series can help students do the absolute best they’re capable of for this part of entrance requirements.

This is GRE and This is GMAT may be segments of an ongoing series but they are also part of an existing educational product line for PMChampion. The developers offer an online training course for the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam, which assists those trying for certification and have future plans for the release of This is SAT for the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), which is due out sometime in March 2010.

Device Requirements:
iPhone or iPod Touch 3.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
This is GRE and This is GMAT are each only $9.99 (USD) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Education category. Take advantage of ongoing introductory discounts that are offered for a limited time.

iPhone users in North America can now download a free app that provides lifetime turn-by-turn GPS map guidance with CoPilot(R) Live Directions(TM). The app, from GPS navigation pioneer ALK Technologies, Inc., gives you a 30-day Free trial of the full GPS navigation app for iPhone with premium features such as voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation and 3D map displays throughout the US and Canada. After 30 days, users can opt to continue using premium voice-guided GPS navigation with a 12-month or 30-day subscription via in-app purchase ($19.99 and $2.99 respectively), or they can simply continue to enjoy free lifetime use of map-only turn-by-turn directions.

In addition to breakthrough affordability, CoPilot Live Directions takes a more flexible approach to map management. As with all CoPilot Live products, detailed street maps are stored on the phone, not downloaded per trip. However with CoPilot Live Directions, customers can choose how much or little of North America’s road network they wish to store on their iPhone. After installing the app, simply download your choice of map from in-app to iPhone via WiFi: either the complete map of North America (1.3GB) or individual maps of the states you need (approx 50MB).

Michael Kornhauser, Managing Director at ALK Technologies said, “With CoPilot Live Directions, we are making full-featured turn-by-turn GPS navigation for iPhone more affordable, more flexible and more accessible than ever. With a choice of features, mapping and subscriptions, including free map-based directions, there’s now a CoPilot to suit all types of traveler and every level of budget.”

Key features in CoPilot Live Directions:
* 30 days free full-featured CoPilot Live navigation with Text to Speech voice guidance, 3D maps and advanced trip planning
* Free lifetime use turn-by-turn directions with automatic route calculation and 2D maps
* Full street level maps of the US and Canada
* Detailed street maps downloaded via WiFi and stored on the iPhone, so there’s no need to rely on your data network for navigation
* Navigate to a street address or one of millions of businesses using integrated real-time local search
* Free CoPilot LiveLink location sharing lets friends and family know where you are via the Internet, Facebook or on-screen in CoPilot on their own phone

http://www.alk.com/copilot/copilot_directions.asp

Members of the public throughout the country can now carry the CrimeReports national crime map wherever they go thanks to a new iPhone app created by CrimeReports.com. The new CrimeReports iPhone app is the only mobile app to feature official, up-to-date crime data directly from more than 600 law enforcement agencies across North America as well as sex offender data for all 50 states. The app is free to download from the iTunes App Store starting today.

“We’re excited to provide another avenue through which local law enforcement agencies can engage their citizens in crime prevention and community policing efforts,” says Greg Whisenant, founder and CEO of CrimeReports. “By making this information available on a mobile device, citizens will have even easier access to the information that will keep them and their families safe.” He adds that this benefit to the community is one of the reasons CrimeReports decided to offer the app free of charge.

The CrimeReports app features nationwide registered sex offender listings, as well as near real time neighborhood crime data directly from more than 600 CrimeReports law enforcement partners across the U.S. and Canada. All participating CrimeReports agencies receive this new mobile outreach to their citizens at no additional cost to the agency as well.

CrimeReports is the fastest-growing official crime map in North America, adding more than 50 new law enforcement agencies each month to its network. In addition, iPhone users can use the app to ask their local law enforcement agency join.

The CrimeReports iPhone app allows users to:

• Filter data by location or address, incident type, and customizable date range
• View recent neighborhood level crimes on the map or in a list
• View national sex offender data alongside crime in your neighborhood
• Sign-up for free, automated, email crime alerts
• Request the participation of your local law enforcement agency if they’re not already on-board

http://www.crimereports.com/iphone

iPhone Apps Are Latest Gold Rush

The iPhone has minted a gold rush. In just two years, the iPhone has become not just a gold mine for Apple Inc., but also for companies that create the software programs that run on the device. Since Apple launched its iPhone applications storefront via its iTunes software, more than 100,000 applications have been created (148Apps – Nov 2009), with more than 1 billion downloaded onto iPhones and iPod Touches.

iPhone applications are specially designed software programs that work exclusively on the iPhone. They vary from sports updates to video games to utilities that allow people to use their iPhones as flashlights or as locators of the nearest Tim Hortons.

For media companies especially, iPhone applications are about staying ahead of the curve. In industry parlance, it’s called being where the audience is. Optimistic industry observers such as Dale Fallon, director of Score Media Inc.’s mobile division, expect that within two or three years the audience for sports-based mobile Web sites and software will be the same size as the current Web audience.

Meanwhile, the applications act as incremental revenue streams, double as effective marketing tools and allow smaller media companies to extend their brands.

At Pelmorex Media Inc.’s Weather Network (Canada), the iPhone application WeatherEye is just part of the channel’s expanding mobile arsenal. The network’s offerings include a mobile Web site, desktop widgets and an application launched in March for use on the BlackBerry device.

The free WeatherEye has been downloaded almost 750,000 times since the end of October, with just under half of those by people outside of Canada. The French version of the application is the most popular weather application in France.

“From a return on investment perspective, it absolutely makes sense,” said Mark Thompson, director of The Weather Network’s mobile division.

Apple takes a 30% cut of any iPhone applications that are sold at its virtual store, but for applications offered for free, the companies do not have to share their advertising revenue with Apple.

The surge in iPhone applications has also benefited developers. With companies now scrambling to find anyone capable of making these programs, some developers command upwards of $200 per hour and applications cost between $15,000 to $50,000 to create.

Certain developers have found themselves in the spotlight after finding some of their applications – which invairiably retail for less than $5 – have yielded more than $250,000 in sales in thier first couple of months, convincing some to give up their day jobs in the process.

“It’s a market that has appeared out of nowhere, really,” said Ian Maskell, SEO of CA-based application developers site iPhone App Freelancer.

“All of a sudden, anyone who knows how to make an iPhone app are making lots of money off it. It’s one of those things that doesn’t come around very often but when it does, the first people through the gate make a bundle,” he said.

However, with developers being in such high demand, the prices quoted for the development of some applications is proving prohibitive for many, so Maskell came up with a plan.

With what he believed to be a killer application idea, but struggling to find a developer (within his budget) who could help, Maskell set about creating iPhone App Freelancer, to connect “ideas people” to programmers and developers. “Through our website we offer companies and individuals with great ideas the ability to turn them into iPhone apps with little or no programming knowledge”.

“Much like an auction, we bring entrepreneurs and businesses together with experienced iPhone application developers in the most cost effective manner possible” – says Maskell.

“We have approximately 800 members, and a pool of about 300 developers who receive notification whenever someone posts a new project,” he says. “I would estimate we’ve had close to 100 projects completed.”

And just how important will the iPhone become as an effective marketing tool in the coming months and years? “One customer stated that about 60% of the estimated five-million monthly page views they recieve on their site were generated by the iPhone” – Maskell states.

“With those kind of figures, you can see the potential is there for getting your brand exposed to a massive and ever increasing audience” Maskell continues – “from a business perspective, there is a massive captive audience at your disposal with the iPhone and the application market – the advertising potential is massive”.

The mobile advertising market is expected to hit $12-billion (USD) by 2013, compared with about $1.7-billion this year, according to research company Informa Telecoms & Media.

“If you’re not in the mobile space, you’re missing a very big opportunity to communicate with your consumers,” Mr. Maskell concludes.

Speakal launches the new and trendy iPom with two flower-shaped speakers and a rocking 12 Watts subwoofer.

“With the markets focusing primarily on delivering music through iPod, iPhone, and MP3 players, the iPom offers a new solution for the consumer who stores music on USB drives or SD cards,” said David Solomon – CEO.

The new eco-friendly apple shaped iPom speaker comes in 3 different vibrant colors – White, Red and Green- with two detachable flower-shaped speakers. It allows you to enjoy music from a variety of media such as USB flash drives, MMC/SD cards and from any other music source that connects through a 3.5 mm input jack such as iPod, MP3 players, Zune, CD players, computers, or gaming consoles.

“We are pleased to launch the new iPom before the Holiday Season. With its unique visual appeal, the iPom delivers a truly remarkable sound experience,” added Mr. Solomon.

The consumer can easily dock the flower speakers on top of the apple or enjoy a sound surround effect by having one or both speakers docked separately in their pots and positioned in different angles.

Priced at $99.99 the iPom is available at www.Speakal.com and through authorized retailers and e-tailers in the U.S.A. and Canada.

THE IPOM FEATURES:

Unique Design:

The iPom has the shape of an apple that is topped with two colorful flower-like speakers that catches and pleases the eye.

Touch of fashion:

The iPom comes in three vibrant colors that complement your home office, bedroom, dorm room, or home décor and that brings in new vivid looks.

Sound Quality:

The iPom has a bass reflex technology and an air flow optimized design to consistently deliver a constant outstanding sound. The user can place the flower shaped speakers in various positions and angles depending on their taste and still enjoy a 360 degree sound surround effect too.

Compatibility:

The consumer can play music from USB flash drives, MMC/SD cards or from any audio or gaming device that has a 3.5 mm jack such as iPod, iPhone, MP3 players, Zune, Wii, PS3  etc.

Humanized Touch Control Technology:

The different controls on the apple shaped speaker allow the user to amplify or reduce the volume, play or pause the music, or select the desired track by gently touching the appropriate control.

ROHS compliant / GREEN:

The iPom efficiently utilizes minimal energy and is manufactured using environmentally friendly components.

Waze, Inc., the first free provider of driver-generated maps and real-time road information, today announced the availability of its platform for community crowdsourcing of maps, worldwide. Already, drivers have organically formed their own groups and have started using waze to build local maps in over 20 countries around the globe, including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Trinidad Tobago. Due to driver demand, waze can now be used to generate real-time maps anywhere in the world, quickly and accurately, by simply driving around with waze’s free mobile app installed on your phone.

Through a community-based approach, waze harnesses driver-generated data in order to build navigable road maps. The waze application runs on users’ smartphones, while automatically and anonymously sending back GPS points as they drive. This data is then used to build and continuously update the road grid itself, road changes, and more. All of this information is collected passively, but drivers can also take a more active role, by joining the map editing arm of the community online at world.waze.com.

Demand from the international community spurred waze to open its platform worldwide, after its successful launch in Israel and the US. With waze’s technology, users can now build maps from scratch – literally paving the roads they drive on the map. Patented technology enables the map building process to happen very quickly, for example, in Singapore the highway grid was mapped in just a few days by a handful of active users. Once the map is created, the mobile app automatically provides free turn-by-turn navigation, as well as real-time traffic and community-generated road reports to all wazer’s in the region.

“Even without specific country support, we were amazed to see wazers on our live map in clusters all over the world self organizing,” said Noam Bardin, CEO of waze. “We are committed to fostering this community of users and supporting them with the new infrastructure launched today. I would like to thank these motivated wazers from all over the world for helping us bring better maps, free navigation and an improved daily commute to their regions.”

Waze launched its first mobile application in Israel, where it has been downloaded by more than 200,000 commuters. It is the fastest-growing navigation application in that market with unprecedented real-time traffic information and a navigable map built entirely from scratch by the community’s users. Waze launched in the USA over the summer and is currently available nationwide.

“Traditional map making technologies are labor intensive thus expensive,” said Mark Fitzgerald of Strategy Analytics. “Real-time maps and crowdsourced data can provide both the functionality and the free-to-consumer cost structure to serve as the map for the mobile generation, just as Wikipedia serves as the Encyclopedia for the Internet generation.”

Waze is available for Android, iPhone, Symbian & Windows Mobile users and is actively seeking partnerships with commercial map owners worldwide that want to join their crowdsourced mapping initiative.