Apple CEO Tim Cook has hailed the company's "deep connection" with the UK as it continues its expansion efforts across the country.

Cook's comments follow the publication of figures by Apple showing it has doubled the size of its engineering workforce in the UK over the last five years.

The tech giant has also invested more than £18 billion in the country during that time.

"We’ve been serving customers in the UK for more than 40 years, and we’re proud of our deep connection with communities across this country," Cook said.

"We’re thrilled to be growing our Apple teams here, and to keep supporting the extraordinary innovators, creators, and entrepreneurs who are pushing the boundaries of technology in so many ways."

The tech giant now supports 550,000 jobs through direct employment, its supply chain, and the iOS app economy, according to a recent announcement.

Its engineering teams in London, Cambridge, and elsewhere are working on support for key technologies in Apple Intelligence, such as Siri’s deep integration into Apple products, and Private Cloud Compute.

There are also UK teams working on silicon engineering, along with services like Apple Music and Apple TV+, where production has tripled in the last two years alone.

According to Apple, the UK boasts the largest developer community in Europe.

Since the launch of the tech giant’s App Store in 2008, developers across the country have earned nearly £9 billion from selling digital goods and services, it said

The company also highlighted its educational programs, including The King’s Trust, which it has since helped to expand its STEAM programming to every region across the country through the organisation’s Achieve programme.

Apple continues its UK expansion

Last year, Apple launched a major recruitment drive in the UK, looking specifically for AI development staff around the country. It currently has more than 150 positions open at various locations around the country.

It also opened a new office in Cambridge focused on AI and machine learning with several hundred staff, as well as a six-storey, 500,000 square foot headquarters in London at Battersea Power Station.

It's not all plain sailing in the UK for the company, though. It's currently facing a class action lawsuit for charging UK developers a 30% fee.

The case was last week given the green light by the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and could see Apple forced to pay back fees to 13,000 developers amounting to up to £785 million.

"Apple’s App Store is currently the only means by which app developers can distribute their apps on iOS devices.," said competition law expert Sean Ennis, who is leading the claim.

"Apple exploits this fact by charging excessive commission fees that do not reflect the significant value that third-party apps contribute to the success of iOS devices."

"Apple’s exploitation of its monopoly on iOS app distribution deprives developers of fair compensation and funds that could be better spent on research and development."

Two apps described as 'mandatory' for attending the Qatar World Cup have been the subject of privacy complaints by multiple European data regulators, amidst claims they collect sensitive data outside of their remit.

‘Ehteraz’ and ‘Hayya’ are both apps released by Qatar’s Ministry of Interior and its Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy, respectively. The former is listed on Google Play as a contact tracing app for the tournament, while the latter is listed as a portal through which to book tickets, manage accommodation, and enter stadiums, but experts have argued that the permissions required by both apps go far beyond these basic functions.

In a statement, Germany’s BfDI (The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information) urged football fans looking to download the app only to do so if “absolutely necessary”.

The regulator also suggested that users should put the apps on a spare phone that contains no other personal data or contact information, and wipe the phone's storage and operating after use.

It alleged that the permissions and data processing of both apps goes beyond that described on their app store listings, that one of the apps tracks the number of phone calls made, and that data used by the apps is “transmitted to a central server” in addition to remaining on the device.

Datatilsynet, Norway's data protection authority, likewise stated that it does not know “what these apps actually do,” but that Ehteraz is required for seeking any medical treatment whilst in Qatar.

It recommended not giving the Hayya app permission to use device location and urged all businesses planing to send employees to the Qatar World Cup to carry out proper risk assessments.

“We are alarmed by the extensive access the apps require. There is a real possibility that visitors to Qatar, and especially vulnerable groups, will be monitored by the Qatari authorities.”

Google Play notes that Hayya’s security practices do not include data encryption, and the developer has neglected to provide a way for users to delete their data. The official FIFA guidance on Hayya explains that a Hayya card is “required to access the stadium on match day”.

The UK government's travel advice for Qatar states that visitors will not be required to register with Ehteraz prior to arrival, but that Hayya is a mandatory ID required not only for entering stadiums during the event, but also for entering Qatar in general.

“We are aware of media reports on this matter and we will consider the potential impact on the privacy rights of UK citizens,” an ICO spokesperson told IT Pro.

“If anyone is concerned about how their data has been handled, they can make a complaint to the ICO. We’d also always advise travellers who may be heading to Qatar to refer to our Your Data Matters page to ensure they are aware of their data rights."

The ICO declined to comment on the suggestion of using spare phones for app use.

Apps released for the promotion of, or to interface directly with, sports events have a history of security concerns. At the start of 2022, a ‘devastating flaw’ was discovered in China’s Beijing Olympics app that allowed threat actors to circumvent encryption intended to protect users’ files and voice recordings.

The MY2022 app, the use of which was mandatory for both international and domestic visitors to the games, was also found to transmit some metadata without any SSL encryption and lacked transparency over the extent to which it shared user medical data with third-party organisations.

In response, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) urged athletes to use temporary phones throughout the Beijing Winter Olympics, and advised participants and spectators not to download apps required to attend the event for fear of personal data theft, tracking, or malware.

Google will soon push harder to get its cut of in-app purchases through the Play app store, according to Bloomberg’s sources.

Google, like Apple, requires app developers to give it a share of all in-app purchases. However, some developers have skirted these rules, such as Epic Games, by allowing users to pay with a credit card instead of Google Pay. This trick helps them bypass Google’s 30% fee.

This high-margin revenue share leads to billions in revenue for Google and Apple, so they have become rather protective of them. Some developers, though, see these "App Taxes" as excessive and are even forming coalitions to challenge them.

Sources told Bloomberg that Google looks to protect these fees by releasing a new set of guidelines clarifying the fee requirements. The updates could come as early as next week. According to the report, Google won’t immediately pull non-compliant apps from the Play Store. Instead, it’ll give them time to update their apps and bring them into compliance.

There are no details on how Google plans to enforce the rules more successfully. There’s a chance it makes Google Pay a requirement for all in-app purchases. It may also take away the apps’ ability to point users to websites outside the app to make purchases or subscribe, which is one way Apple keeps things in check.

When Google officially announces the updates, we’ll let you know what’s changes. Check back soon for updates.

Epic Games is suing Google and Apple over the removal of its popular game Fortnite from their app stores, amid a growing battle around the slice of sales taken by the tech giants.

Google and Apple take a 30% cut of all payments made in games and apps downloaded via their stores. To avoid losing that revenue, Epic Games said it would offer a 20% discount to players who purchase in-game currency directly from Fortnite rather than through the app, prompting Apple and Google to boot the game from their official stores.

Apple said it removed Fortnite because the feature had the "express intent of violating the App Store guidelines," while Google also said the move violates its policies, but added that it would "welcome the opportunity to continue our discussions with Epic," according to a report from Sky News.

In response, Epic filed lawsuits against both companies — and released a video lambasting Apple's decision based on its own classic 1984-themed advertisement. Apple's original ad was released to both promote the forthcoming Macintosh and to criticise IBM's then-current monmopolisation of the desktop PC market. Epic's video turned this theme around on the company, saying Apple has "become what it once railed against" and calling for the platform-holders to "free Fortnite".

"Apple's removal of Fortnite is yet another example of Apple flexing its enormous power in order to impose unreasonable restraints and unlawfully maintain its 100% monopoly over the iOS in-app payment processing market," Epic said in its Apple complaint, according to CNN.

The company similarly said in its complaint against Google that the tech giant was "using its size to do evil upon competitors, innovators, customers, and users in a slew of markets it has grown to monopolize."

Fortnite only arrived on the Apple App Store and Google Play in April, 18 months after offering it for Android as a download outside of the official market. Epic had been slow to allow the game to be downloaded via the stores because of the potential revenue loss, instead offering its own installer. At the time, CEO Tim Sweeney said the 30% cut was "disproportionate to the cost of the services these stores perform." However, Epic said it had to shift to the official store because Google kept showing pop-ups warning that third-party software is dangerous or even malware.

It still remains possible to sideload Fortnite onto Android phones, but not iPhones. Anyone with the game already installed on an iPhone can continue playing for the time being, though updates may eventually break it.

This isn't the first time that Epic and its CEO Tim Sweeney have taken up arms against perceived monopolistic practises within the games industry; he has previously accused Microsoft of trying to build a "walled garden" for PC gaming through its UWP apps, and has been a vocal opponent of the dominance held by Valve's digital distribution service Steam over the sale of games, even going so far as to launch the Epic Store as a competing platform.

Epic also isn't the only digital developer to take issue with paying Apple and Google 30% of mobile revenue. Streaming app Spotify filed an antitrust complaint with the EU about Apple's cut, which the company said forced it to charge iPhone users more if they registered with the service via the App Store. Similar complaints have been filed to the EU against Apple by ebook seller Rakuten, tracking device maker Tile, and messaging app Telegram.

Those complaints have sparked an investigation into Apple's App Store rules, with European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager saying in June: "It appears that Apple obtained a 'gatekeeper' role when it comes to the distribution of apps and content to users of Apple's popular devices. We need to ensure that Apple's rules do not distort competition in markets where Apple is competing with other app developers, for example with its music streaming service Apple Music or with Apple Books."

In the US, the CEOs of both Apple and Google, alongside fellow big tech leaders Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg, have recently been summoned before the House Judiciary Committee's panel on antitrust and monopoly issues. After questioning the CEOs, committee chair David Cicilline concluded that "they have too much power".

The official app for the Trump campaign is doubling-up as a powerful data collection tool, accessing users' users’ contacts, location and Bluetooth connection.

Data collection and targeted online messaging are integral to election cycles. While the 2016 election saw the use of social media platforms to reach voters, the 2020 election cycle has turned to campaign apps promoted by the candidates.

These apps, distributed via the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, enable the Trump and Biden campaigns to directly to voters and collect huge amounts of user data without relying on social media platforms or exposing themselves to fact-checking.

The Trump campaign launched its official app in April. Since debuting, users have downloaded the app 780,000 times, according to the measurement service Apptopia. While the app features carefully curated feeds meant to reinforce the Trump campaign’s main talking points, it also serves as a powerful data-collection tool.

When signing up for the app, users must provide their full name, phone number, email address and zip code, and they are also encouraged to share the campaign app with their existing contacts. The campaign aims to reach likely Trump voters and collect each of these voters’ mobile numbers.

The strategy also includes requesting access to location data, phone identity and control over the device’s Bluetooth functions.

The Biden campaign launched its own app, though it asks for less information than the Trump campaign’s app. Beyond basic network and notification permissions, the Team Joe Campaign App requests access to users’ contacts.

According to MIT Technology Review, the Trump campaign app’s use of Bluetooth is especially notable as Bluetooth beacons were recently found in campaign yard signs. As an individual passes a campaign sign with a beacon embedded in it, they’re recorded and identified using Bluetooth.

The campaign uses this data to build a profile, and then uses that profile to target advertising at specific individuals or people like them.

For politicians, individualized campaign apps blur the line between government and private communication. They also allow campaigns and government officials to largely avoid fact-checking. When using such apps, the line between government and campaign isn’t always clear.

When the iPhone launched almost 12 years ago, no one realised it would become such a powerful business tool.

Originallylaunched as a premium smartphone at a time when smartphones were just taking off, it's evolved to be one of the most widely used devices in the world. Now available in a range of different models, including the newest releases - the iPhone XR, iPhone XS and XS Max - there's something for everyone.

What makes the iPhone such a smart business device is its power. It can multitask seamlessly and with more and more apps becoming available on the App Store every single day, it can seriously boost productivity both in the workplace and outside it if you rarely head into the office anymore.

The iPhone's security features are also market-leading and with a suite of business management tools available for admins to ensure their firm's security policies are adhered to at all times, there really is no better device for mobile working.

But what makes the iPhone an even better productivity tool is the wealth of apps available on the App Store. When it launched in 2008 (a year after the iPhone's debut), there was just 500 apps available to download. Now, there's an estimated 2.2 million apps available worldwide and these cover everything from productivity apps, design apps, security apps, social networking and education apps, collaboration tools and a whole lot more, to power your entire life.

Here are some of the best business apps for the iPhone and our reason why you should download them.

Bear

Published by: Shiny Frog

Category: Productivity

Price: Free, $1.49 (1.13) per month

Bear is an app that wants to make it as easy as possible to quickly scribble down notes, create lists, or write essays on the go - with the support of some powerful tools underneath.

With a range of customisable interfaces, style options for text, formatting choices, and support for 20 different programming languages, this incredibly slick app injects life into the process of writing into your device, a far cry from the fairly drab plain white page of most note taking apps.

Headline features include a focus mode that strips away notifications and options, in-line support for images and photos, the option to tag and cross-link to other files, and support for multiple format types, including PDF, HTML, DOCX and JPG.

Main Idea: Powerful writing app for notes, essays, to-do lists and coding wrapped up in a slick UI

Genius Scan

Genius scan is your own portable document scanner that uses the iPhone's camera to create perfectly presented copies of documents, in PDF format.

Take a picture of a page from your notebook, document, business card, whiteboard, presentation or anything else and it'll toggle the lighting, perspective and more to make the background white and text super-clear, so you can read it as easily as if it were a scanned file.

You can also stitch different pages together to make one PDF document. This is perfect if you need to digitise a text document you have or your notes. You can then file everything away in an easy-to-find format, so you hopefully won't end up with a stack of paper notes on your desk.

If you want to share your files with others, you can either upload them to a cloud drive or send to your contacts. Alternatively, protect each with a password or FaceID if they're confidential files you want to hide from anyone accessing your device.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

Adobe

Category: Business

Price: Free

Open, view, and share PDFs from your iPhone for all of the information you need to stay up to date on projects, presentations, and reports. You can comment on the files to offer feedback or leave yourself notes to refer to later.

Fill and sign forms with ease through Adobe's file reader that goes beyond simple file reading. Make sure to take advantage of Adobe Mobile Link - just turn it on in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Readerwhich makes your recently viewed files available across all of your devices. As long as you stay logged into your account, your files will continue to be synced to your account and therefore available from all devices.

Main Idea: A file viewer and editor necessary for anyone that works with PDFs on a regular basis.

Alternative: PDF Reader

AirWatch Agent

AirWatch LLC

Category: Business

Price: Free

AirWatch Agent is an app for managing and supporting devices across your company. A tool for mobility management, the app can be used with the AirWatch console to monitor and manage all devices within a company. For organisations that rely on communication and collaboration between teams and employees, having a single app keeping track of everything can be very useful, and it couldn't be easier to set up and use.

Main Idea: With the rise of BYOD in business, it's already true that pretty much everyone works with a mobile device. This app helps to control and manage this, improving security at the same time.

Dropbox

Dropbox

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Store and share files and documents between team members directly from the cloud with Dropbox. The app allows you to store photos, documents, and videos for access from anywhere across all devices, with 2GB of free space, included when you sign up. Sharing among team members is incredibly simple, with the ability to access files from wherever you are increasing mobility and easing collaboration. You can easily access files and document when out of the office, allowing you to continue working from wherever you happen to be.

Main Idea: There are a lot of cloud storage options out there. If you're not sure which is best for you, check out our more in-depth look at the most popular services.

Alternatives: Google Drive, Box, OneDrive

CamScanner Pro

INTSIG

Category: Productivity

Price: 3.99

Transform your phone into a portable scanner that gives you the ability to save documents as image files or PDFs. You can then organise files on the go, share them with colleagues via email, or store them in the cloud with services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box. And you no longer need to bother with multiple copies because files will be automatically synced across all of your devices.

Main Idea: Get high-quality scans using just your iPhone, easily accessible and backed up from anywhere.

Alternative: Tiny Scanner Pro

Enlight

Enlight

Category: Photo & Video

Price: 2.99

Mobile photo editing suite Enlight won plenty of plaudits in 2015, and with good reason. Lightricks' app empowers users with the ability to touch-up images through an intuitive and precise interface. You can overlay photos, swap filters add artistic effects and more. And the app is equally as impressive on the iPhone version as it is on iPad.

Main Idea: Enlight offers a comprehensive toolset aimed at Instagramers, amateur photographers, as well as photo enthusiasts who are after greater power from a mobile image editor.

Alternatives: Adobe Photoshop Express, ProCamera, TiltShift Generator

Evernote

Evernote

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Evernote syncs across all of your devices so that you don't have to fret about switching between devices. More than just a note-taking app, create checklists and clip web pages for later reference in one uncluttered workspace. You can even share and discuss pages from within the app, taking the hassle out of collaborative work.

Main Idea: This app is here to help you work, but only if you let it. Evernote is an indispensable tool if you use it regularly, but falls flat if you don't take advantage of its unique features.

Alternatives: Microsoft OneNote, Notability

Inbox by Gmail

Google Inc

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Despite having automated cars, drones, and heavy machinery, we're still living the dark ages when it comes to email, which requires plenty of manual attention and time. Mail technology is getting smarter, however, and Google has learned from Dropbox's experiment with Mailbox when it comes to features such as bundling similar messages together and making reminders into separate entries for easy reviewing.

Main Idea: Google's latest offering in the battle to reach inbox zero, and keep it that way.

Alternatives: Microsoft Outlook, Gmail

Invoice2go

Invoice2go

Category: Business

Price: Free

This app lets you save receipts, sign documents, generate statements, keep a calendar, enter location information, and scan information to help keep your business organised. Real-time charts provide a visual representation of how your business is performing as well. Create three invoices for free with Invoice2go with an option to upgrade to Invoice2go Pro.

Main Idea: Create and send professional invoices using a variety of templates from any of your Android devices. If you have trouble keeping information organised and need a more comprehensive and professional way to track money owed, money paid, and money received, this is the app for you.

Alternative: Invoice Simple

Turn to page 2 for even more detail about the best apps you can download on your iPhone.

iPlanner UK

David Pejinovic

Category: Productivity

Price: 0.79

iPlanner UK is a highly customisable diary app for your personal schedule. The ultimate scheduling app, iPlanner UK lets you plan every moment of your day from work hours to meetings and personal errands and ensures you'll never miss an appointment or deadline again. What makes the app even more effective are its many customisation options, from icons and colour coding to different day/week/month views and time zone support.

Main Idea: Keeping track of meetings and events is important for everyone, not just those of us who are on the disorganised side; with so many options for customisation, this might be the right app for you.

Alternative: Planner Plus

iTranslate Voice translator & dictionary

Sonico GmbH

Category: Productivity

Price: 4.99

Translate into 42 languages with voice input, a dictionary, AirTranslate, and more with iTranslate Voice. Translating can be a lengthy and frustrating process, but this app is the perfect tool for crossing languages barriers. With 42 language options available, iTranslate allows you to translate spoken language into written English (or the language of your choosing), with AirTranslate even allowing you to connect devices and engage in a conversation with others.

Main Idea: This app can help you communicate more efficiently across languages and in a global context.

Microsoft Office Lens

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

This app originally started out as a Windows Phone exclusive. Use it to photograph typed text, such as a document, article or even a menu or sign, and it will upload the photo to Microsoft's servers. There, OCR (optical character recognition) will convert it into text which you can edit in Word or OneNote or save it as an image or a PDF.

This app saves endless retyping and may be sufficient enough to do away with the need to carry a portable scanner when you're out and about on the road. Plus, you can put it to all sorts of lateral uses, such as scanning business cards and converting brainstormed ideas on a whiteboard on the basis of a PowerPoint presentation.

Main Idea: A highly accurate cloud-based OCR app convert documents into editable text straight on your iPhone.

Alternative: Evernote

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Microsoft combines contacts, email, and calendars into one mail app for easy accessibility. Outlook sorts and prioritises your messages for you with the most important filtered into a focused tab and the rest placed in another to be dealt with later. Schedule meetings, set reminders, and attach files across all of your accounts. This app will help you focus a cluttered inbox and consolidate important information into one app.

Main Idea: Organising your messages according to what's important, Microsoft's official email app is here to make your life easier.

Alternative: Inbox by Google

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Corporation

Category: Productivity

Price: Free

Microsoft Word fits seamlessly into an app format with the capabilities in viewing, creating and editing documents. You can't lose formatting or access from different devices through cloud so this app is extremely useful for editing and updating documents on the go. It's the Word we know and love on desktop designed for Android.

Main Idea: Edits our documents across multiple devices without losing formatting or data. It's perfect for users travelling.

Alternative: Google Docs

Signal

Publisher: Open Whisper Systems

Category: Communications

Price: Free

The trouble with communicating with others using a smart device over the internet is that you can never be too sure that someone is snooping in on your calls. Signal offers complete end-to-end encryption, so even the developers of the app cannot see what you are talking about.

The app works with your existing contacts list, but whoever you are chatting to also needs to have the app installed too.

Main Idea: You will need this if you need to keep private conversations secret.

SwiftKey Keyboard

Publisher: TouchType (Microsoft)Price: Free (in-app purchases)

SwiftKey is a terrific alternative to the standard iOS virtual keyboard. The smart keyboard replaces your device's built-in keyboard and its unnecessary autocorrect functions with one that adapts to the way you type. SwiftKey learns your typing style over time to give you more accurate autocorrect and more appropriate next-word prediction. It also comes with more than 800 emojis, and additional design variants can be purchased for those that want a more personal touch.

Alternatives: Brilliant Keyboard, TouchPal Keyboard

Slack Team Communication

Slack Technologies, Inc.

Category: Business

Price: Free

Slack is the perfect app for workplace communication that connects team members. It creates organisation and structure through devolved channels for different projects, topics and teams. This can bring teams together in an organised manner without the chaos of a large sprawling group chat.

You can drag and share files quite simply and everything is archived meaning past conversations can be easily located.

Main Idea: Simple and effective in connecting team members.

Twitter

Twitter Inc

Category: Social Networking

Price: Free

What would the modern world be like without Twitter? This social media app allows you share bite-sized updates with the world, composed of text, photos, videos and web links. Twitter has become a central tool for professionals in the media and marketing industries, primarily thanks to instantaneous communication and the service's prevalence as a destination for communities of all kinds, from sport fans to TV viewers, gig-goers to political activists, to discuss events, and for those discussions to appear as trending topics.

Twitter has experimented with new ways to attract users lately, including altering user feeds from displaying real-time tweets to tweets from several hours ago. But fundamentally, if you've not given the social network a try for work purposes, or tried it and given it up, it's still worth getting involved to explore what opportunities it could offer your business.

Main Idea: Update the world on what you've seen, heard and done in 140 characters.

Alternatives: TweetDeck, Buffer, HootSuite

TapeACall Pro

Epic Enterprises

Category: Business

Price: 7.99

TapeACall lets you record calls that you're on or placing, then share or save the recording. Simply open the app and hit record when receiving a call to create a new file that may be transferred from your iPhone to your computer or shared with others via email, SMS, Twitter, or Facebook

Main Idea: This app is convenient, easy to use, and allows you to transfer and share recordings, making it essential for calls that you'll need to reference later.

Wolfram Alpha

Publisher: Wolfram Group LLC

Category: Reference

Price: 2.29

WolframAlpha is the mobile version of the database website that can solve almost any query you throw at it, whether it involves mathematics, linguistics, finance, chemical formulae, the list is huge.

Instead of throwing back a list of search results, the app will generate immediate answers. For example, a search for Intel will display revenue reports, share prices, and even employee counts. Forget asking Google for answers, WolframAlpha has you covered.

Main Idea: A vast database of knowledge that is regularly updated.

Workflow

DeskConnect, Inc.

Category: Productivity

Price: 2.99

Connect apps and actions to automate the things you already do with your device. You can create your own apps or use others' creations with over 200 pre-defined actions, leaving you with endless possibilities for new workflows. The app is highly customisable meaning you can make it work harder for you without having to deal with any sequences that aren't personally useful.

Main Idea: Once you get the hang of automating a series of events into one action, your iPhone will become more useful and your life, easier.

Alternative: IF by IFTTT

Citymapper

Citymapper

Category: Travel

Price: Free

Citymapper has become one of the world's most popular apps for city navigation. It provides a deeper view of the city's infrastructure and transport network than Google Maps, and allows users travelling through the city to take into account the speed of their journey based on their mode of travel.

The app shrewdly considers congestion and offers a personalised touch to travelling - such as a wish to be environmentally friendly.

It has useful tools like commute tracking, travel history and statistics to help with journeys.

Main idea: An app that optimises commutes for users within their town or city

Alternative: Google Maps

BlackBerry has put yet another nail in the coffin of its BBOS smartphone line, with the news that the company will be shutting down the BlackBerry app store by December 2019.

First on the chopping block are the BlackBerry Travel and BlackBerry Playbook apps, which let you use your BBOS device to plan trips and videoconference respectively. BlackBerry Travel will be discontinued in February next year, with Playbook following suit the month after.

They will be followed by the company's BlackBerry World app store, which shuts down on 31 December 2019, a little over two years away. BBOS Customers won't necessarily be left out in the cold, however; the Amazon Appstore is included with BBOS 10, allowing customers to download a limited (but still fairly robust) selection of Android apps, and BlackBerry has not confirmed whether or not this will still be operational following BlackBerry World's closure.

To assuage nervous BBOS users, BlackBerry has promised customers "at least two full years" of support and network access for older BBOS devices. However, it has not committed to anything beyond that point, meaning that many businesses may find themselves out in the cold come 2020.

The company finally made the decision to ditch its own-brand operating system in 2015, moving instead to Google's Android software. However, BlackBerry's fortunes were not much improved by this, and the firm announced last year that it would cease manufacturing its own phones, outsourcing these duties to Chinese company TCL.

Unfortunately, sales have continued to be poor, and BlackBerry managed to shift just 200,000 units over the course of 2017. Despite launching a number of flagship devices, including the KeyOne with its physical keyboard, response from both consumers and businesses has been lukewarm at best.

BlackBerry is anxious to push users of its older BBOS devices towards its newer Android models, and is offering a trade-in programme which promises "a significant discount and incentive to upgrade," according to the company.

Apple is lowering its App Store commission for the first time, giving publishers and developers a larger cut of their sold apps.

Since the App Store launched in 2008, developers selling apps through Apple's digital marketplace have had to make do with a 70/30 split between themselves and Apple.

Starting from 13 June, Apple will lower that revenue split to 85/15, on the condition that an app retains a subscriber for more than one year.

All current subscriptions are eligible, and the change will apply immediately to apps with users that are more than a year old.

The change means that an app offering subscriptions, such as Spotify, stands to make around $15 million (10.3m) in extra subscription revenue every month.

In addition to new revenue split, Apple is also overhauling its terms for subscriptions.

Previously only certain apps such those in media and entertainment or productivity could charge subscription fees.

From this autumn, all apps will be eligible to offer subscriptions.

Opening up all apps to subscriptions is been seen by some industry watchers as a way for Apple to stimulate more high-end productivity and creation apps on its iOS platform, which powers devices like the iPad Pro.

Technology writer and noted Apple watcher, John Gruber, wrote: "This could be the change that makes the market for professional-calibre iPad apps possible I think this is terrific news both for developers and users."

Games will also be eligible, which could potentially have a major impact on titles such as Candy Crush Saga and Clash of Clans, which have attracted millions of players, and operate on a free-to-play model, supplemented by in-app purchases.

VR-related apps, too, which serve the likes of Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive may benefit.

However, as Apple itself notes, though all categories of apps will be eligible, the subscription business model will not be appropriate for every app.

Further changes are being made to App Store very soon.

Apple's digital marketplace now offers some 1.5 million apps surpassed only by the Google Play Store. As such, finding content can be a struggle for users, and featured app' spots have become a much sought after positions for developers.

Soon ads will appear at the top of search results in the App Store. Apple said these promotions will be relevant to the given search terms. Location data may also be used to serve some ads, but users can opt-out of this in their settings. Ads will not to displayed to users under 13.

These announcements come ahead of Apple's annual Worldwide Developers' Conference (WWDC), which takes places in San Francisco next week. Expect further announcements about the Apple's plans for the App Store then.

Apple has announced a number of big changes in the company's leadership team, with Jeff Williams becoming COO and a number of other shifts that demonstrate a potential change of focus for the company.

Williams joined Apple in 1998 and has been working as vice president of operations since 2004. He has led Apple's supply chain division since 2010 and worked heavily on the launch of the iPhone back in 2007 to help it become one of the most popular smartphones to date. He has also been instrumental in the Apple Watch's success, helping to ensure retailers are supplying demand of the wearable.

Johny Srouji has also been promoted, into the position of senior vice president for Hardware Technologies. Apple said he has shown great promise, overseeing Apple's research and development of components including batteries, application processors, storage controllers, sensors silicon, display silicon and other chipsets.

"We are fortunate to have incredible depth and breadth of talent across Apple's executive team. As we come to the end of the year, we're recognising the contributions already being made by two key executives," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

"Jeff is hands-down the best operations executive I've ever worked with, and Johny's team delivers world-class silicon designs which enable new innovations in our products year after year."

Additionally, Apple VP Phil Schiller will take on more duties, including over-looking the App Store across all platforms, while Tor Myhren will join Apple from advertising agency Grey Worldwide as vice president of marketing communications.

Cook added: "Phil is taking on new responsibilities for advancing our ecosystem, led by the App Store, which has grown from a single, groundbreaking iOS store into four powerful platforms and an increasingly important part of our business.

"And I'm incredibly happy to welcome Tor Myhren, who will bring his creative talents to our advertising and marcom functions."

The Apple App Store is one of the most popular app ecosystems available, with 1.2 million apps and over 75 billion downloads to-date.

However, getting an app into the store isn't straightforward as it has to be vetted. To help budding developers get their creations in the marketplace, Apple has now revealed the top 10 reasons apps are rejected.

Most of the advice appears to be common sense, but it serves as a useful checklist if you're planning on making a submission.

"Before you develop your app, it's important to become familiar with the technical, content, and design criteria that we use to review all apps," Apple explained in the developer section.

"We've highlighted some of the most common issues that cause apps to get rejected to help you better prepare your apps before submitting them for review."

Top of the list of reasons for rejection is that 14 per cent developers simply don't provide enough information - including details for demo accounts and contact information.

Buggy apps, violations of terms of conditions, inaccurate descriptions and substandard interfaces are also common reasons. Click on the image below for a complete breakdown.

"You should submit your app for review only when it is complete and ready to be published. Make sure to thoroughly test your app on devices and fix all bugs before submitting," Apple continued.

"Apple places a high value on clean, refined, and user-friendly interfaces. Make sure your UI meets these requirements by planning your design carefully and following our design guides and UI Design Dos and Don'ts.

Apple has agreed to cough up a minimum of $32.5 million in refunds to US customers who faced huge bills when their children made in-app purchases without permission.

The complaint was brought forward by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It alleged that Apple failed to notify customers that when they entered a password to approve a single in-app purchase, the login details remained active for 15 minutes allowing children to continue racking up an unlimited amount of charges.

Many children's games in the App Store offer in-app purchases to unlock additional functionality and charges range from as little as 99 cents up to $99.

As part of the settlement, Apple will change its billing procedures to make sure it has the express permission of the bill payer before an in-app purchase is authorised.

"This settlement is a victory for consumers harmed by Apple's unfair billing, and a signal to the business community: whether you're doing business in the mobile arena or the mall down the street, fundamental consumer protections apply," said FTC chairwoman Edith Ramirez.

"You cannot charge consumers for purchases they did not authorise."

In an internal memo to employees Apple CEO Tim Cook stated he wants to draw a line under the issue so the firm is not embroiled in a long legal battle.

"It doesn't feel right for the FTC to sue over a case that had already been settled. To us, it smacked of double jeopardy," Cook said in an internal memo.

"However, the consent decree the FTC proposed does not require us to do anything we weren't already going to do, so we decided to accept it rather than take on a long and distracting legal fight."

In the UK, a six year old named Will Smith ran up a 2,000 bill on his grandfather's iPad when he bought virtual food and coins in a game called Tiny Monsters. The situation was explained to Apple, and a full refund was awarded.

Inside the Enterprise: Apple's App Store is five years old. In that time, it has changed both the way we think about software, and even our vocabulary.

Once, few people talked about computer programs with any degree of enthusiasm, unless perhaps they worked in this industry. But millions of consumers have now downloaded software to their phones and tablets, and the term "app" has entered the mainstream.

Apple alone claims that downloads from its app store passed the 50 billion mark in June. Google Play, the main Android app store, is expected to pass that mark this year too, taking the number of apps downloaded to over 100 billion.

For consumers, the main advantage of app stores is convenience. Price is a factor, of course: plenty of apps are either free, or advertising funded.

For smartphone owners, being able to add to their devices' functions with a simple download, over the air, is that much easier than the old method of downloading a software installer to a PC, finding the (phone specific) connection cable, and then running obscure installation software. That phones are so much more powerful and can do more interesting things doesn't hurt, either.

For businesses, apps have also brought changes, but the picture is more mixed.

Although computers now have app stores too there is the Mac App Store from Apple and also an app store for Windows 8 take up has been slower, and the app choice is more limited. Key apps, such as Microsoft Office, are missing from the Mac app store, whilst software vendors such as Adobe have opted for a subscription model.

Rather, growth is coming from either bolt-on applications and utilities, or cloud-based services. It is increasingly easy to download services such as Evernote or Dropbox, and use these alongside mainstream business applications; some might argue it is even too easy, given the potential security concerns.

But allowing individual users to download, and update, their applications via an app store is fundamentally changing the way businesses deploy software too. Larger organisations can set up their own app stores; others have created lists of approved apps that they have tested. Although there are some concerns around areas such as payments for apps, the idea of expensing iTunes credits, or allowing downloads to be billed to a mobile phone account, may well be more efficient than corporate purchasing.

As Alexandre Mesguich, VP of enterprise research at analysts CONTEXT puts it, app stores have already changed the software landscape, and will continue to do so.

He believes that app stores will increase the number of enterprise programs available to buy, and will also become more flexible, when it comes to payments. And mobile device management technology is also being updated, to give businesses more control over who downloads which apps, and how they pay for them. The app store, it seems, is here to stay.

Stephen Pritchard is a contributing editor at IT Pro.

Apple has bolstered the security in its iCloud, App Store and iTunes service in a bid to prevent hacking. The services will now offer two-step verification in order to prevent unauthorised access.

Once activated, the additional security measure sends a four-digit number to a user's phone via a text message. This is in addition to entering the regular Apple ID password associated with the username.

The function is enabled when a user access an Apple service such as downloading content from the App Store, a forgotten password or getting Apple ID-related support.

Apple said in a statement that it took customer privacy "very seriously".

"Two-step verification is an even more robust process to ensure our users' data remain protected.

"Turning on two-step verification reduces the possibility of someone accessing or making unauthorised changes to your account information at My Apple ID or making purchases using your account. After you sign in, you can manage your account or make purchases as usual.

"Without both your password and the verification code, access to your account will be denied," the company said.

The new security measure is designed to eradicate the need for need of the security questions and sends a recovery key in case of forgotten passwords which Apple suggests users print out and keep somewhere safe.

In recent years, the usage of two-factor authentication has grown as cloud-based services seek to protect users by providing additional protections. Dropbox and Google have instituted such measures as a means for protecting data from getting into the wrong hands.

The option is currently available only to users in the US, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

A quarter of enterprises will have access to their own corporate app stores by 2017, predicts IT market watcher Gartner.

These hubs will provide business users with a range of apps that have been sanctioned for use by senior management, providing companies with greater control over the software their staff use.

Ian Finley, research vice president at Gartner, said enterprise app stores have the potential to improve security and simplify application procurement for larger firms.

Enterprise app stores enable procurement to broaden user choice by encouraging providers to submit competing apps.

"Enterprise app stores promise at least a partial solution [to security and procurement concerns] but only if IT security, application, procurement and sourcing professionals can work together to successfully apply the app store concept to their enterprises," said Finley.

"When successful, they can increase the value delivered by the application portfolio and reduce the associated risks, license fees and administration expenses."

The analyst house predicts enterprise app stores will allow IT departments to delegate application procurement to end users, which could save firms money.

Stewart Buchanan, research vice president at Gartner, explained: "Enterprise app stores enable procurement to broaden user choice by encouraging providers to submit competing apps, and to monitor demand for popular apps that may benefit from better negotiation of license terms and prices."

However, companies will need to constantly update the content of these app procurement hubs to encourage end users to keep visiting them, and let users provide feedback on the software offered through them.

"The primary determinant of success is app supply," said Brian Prentice, research vice president at Gartner. "The types of apps downloaded and used provide important information as to what types of solutions are of value to each type of user."

A US judge has rejected part of Apple's lawsuit against Amazon.com's use of the term App Store, ruling the firm cannot bring a false advertising claim against the online retailer.

US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, granted Amazon's motion for partial summary judgment, which only challenged Apple's false advertising allegations. Apple leveled other claims against Amazon, including trademark infringement.

An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment, and an Amazon representative could not be reached immediately.

Amazon has stepped up competition against Apple in recent years, launching its cheaper Kindle tablet computer to go after the dominant iPad and trying to lure mobile application developers to its Kindle platform.

One of the first public clashes in their tussle was Apple's 2011 lawsuit.

Apple accused Amazon of misusing what it calls its App Store to solicit developers for a mobile software download service. However, Amazon said its so-called Appstore has become so generic that its use could not constitute false advertising.

In a legal filing last year, Amazon added that even Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and his predecessor, Steve Jobs, used the term to discuss rivals. Cook commented on "the number of app stores out there" and Jobs referred to the "four app stores on Android."

In her ruling on Wednesday, Hamilton wrote that the mere use of "Appstore" by Amazon cannot be taken as a representation that its service is the same as Apple's.

"Apple has failed to establish that Amazon made any false statement (express or implied) of fact that actually deceived or had the tendency to deceive a substantial segment of its audience," Hamilton wrote.

A trial on Apple's remaining claims is scheduled for August.

The Google Maps app could be about to return to iOS devices, as sources claim the search giant is preparing to submit a new version of the navigation tool to the Apple iTunes Store.

A Wall Street Journal report, quoting a source familiar with the situation, claims Google has begun distributing an early version of the app to testers.

The new app is expected to include turn-by-turn navigation, which is featured in Android versions of the software but has never made an appearance on iOS editions.

Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device.

Apple controversially replaced Google Maps with its own navigation app when it launched iOS 6, the latest version of its mobile operating system, in September.

The move backfired slightly on the firm, as users spotted numerous geographical errors in Apple Maps, prompting the company's CEO, Tim Cook, to apologise for the offering's poor performance.

Guest editor's thoughts:

"Seeing as it is only, allegedly, submitting the app for approval now, could this be a sign Google had no backup plan for Apple doing what is regularly does and deciding to go it alone?

In a way, it's reassuring that someone as huge as Google can be as infallible as the rest of us when it comes to missing a trend or potential risk," says Liam Quinn, IT manager, Richmond Events.

A Google spokesperson responded to the Wall Street Journal's report by talking up the benefits of using its mapping app.

"We believe Google Maps are the most comprehensive, accurate and easy-to-use maps in the world," the spokesperson said.

"Our goal is to make Google Maps available to everyone who wants to use it, regardless of device, browser, or operating system."

Amazon.com has asked a federal judge to throw out Apple's false advertising claim in a lawsuit challenging the online retailer's use of the "app store" name.

The claim is part of a March 2011 trademark lawsuit in which Apple, which this year became the world's largest company ever by market value, accused Amazon of misusing its "App Store" name to solicit developers for a mobile software download service.

Use of the 'app store' term to refer to stores selling apps is commonplace in the industry.

Apple added the trademark claim last November, soon after Amazon announced the launch of the Kindle Fire tablet and, according to the complaint, began to call its app store "Amazon Appstore" rather than "Amazon Appstore for Android." It said this change could have contributed to confusion among consumers.

But in a filing on Wednesday with the US District Court in Oakland, California, Amazon said the term "app store" has become so generic that its use could not constitute false advertising.

Amazon added that even Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook and his predecessor Steve Jobs have used the term to discuss rivals, with Cook having commented on "the number of app stores out there" and Jobs referring to the "four app stores on Android."

"Apple presumably does not contend that its past and current CEOs made false statements regarding to those other app stores to thousands of investors in earnings calls," Amazon said.

"To the contrary, the use of the term 'app store' to refer to stores selling apps is commonplace in the industry."

Kristin Huguet, an Apple spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Apple is based in Cupertino, California, and Amazon in Seattle. A hearing on Amazon's motion is scheduled for October 31, and a trial is scheduled for August 19, 2013.

The UK government has launched a new version of its cloud app marketplace Cloudstore, a month later than planned.

The updated version adds the ability to buy products through the store as long as the buyer is registered to use the government's E-Marketplace.

Among the other new features of the portal for buyers are; an improved search engine that allows free form search alongside the ability to filter on G-Cloud attributes, viewing of supplier service definitions, terms and conditions, rate cards (where applicable) and other useful documents and comparison of services and standard configuration prices side by side.

On the supplier side it adds; the ability to make changes to a user's CloudStore entry directly (subject to G-Cloud programme approval), a more open and fairer marketplace through side by side service comparisons as well as "quicker and easier payments".

While the update was built on proprietary software which is the foundation of the government E-Marketplace, it still remained committed to using open source in future versions.

Government chief information officer Andy Nelson said: "Using cloud solutions in the public sector that have been assured and accredited will almost always be less expensive, and we will only pay for what we use.

"We had overwhelming interest in the first CloudStore. Today's iteration improves on the original in a range of ways better functionality on searching, price comparison and payment are just a few examples.

"CloudStore will continue to evolve and change. For this iteration it made practical and financial sense to use an existing government platform. We look forward to feedback from users as we continue on our cloud journey."

Eleanor Stewart, engagement manager for the G-Cloud programme said in a blog post that "we're going to focus on improving access to the CloudStore catalogue data so others can create stores tailored to different audiences and look at putting in place ratings and reviews so customers can tell others what they think about the quality of different services."

"We're also making sure that the next round of G-Cloud procurement is open by the end of the month so all those suppliers who want to get on to the store can do," she added.

Version one of the portal was launched in February, earlier this year.

Over 25 billion apps have been downloaded from the Apple App Store since it set up shop in mid-2008.

The 25 billionth app downloaded was Where's My Water? Free, a game that sees a sewer-dwelling crocodilian named Swampy the Alligator looking to get his plumbing fixed.

The downloader of that app, Chunli Fu of Qingdao, China, is to receive a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card in celebration of the 25 billion mark being reached.

"We'd like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve this historic milestone of 25 billion apps downloaded," said Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of Internet Software and Services

"When we launched the App Store less than four years ago, we never imagined that mobile apps would become the phenomenon they have, or that developers would create such an incredible selection of apps for iOS users."

iPad incoming

Meanwhile, Apple is preparing for a big launch tomorrow. The iPad 3 is expected to land sometime after 6pm GMT and the rumour mill has already been pushing out all kinds of conjecture.

Many expect the device to have a vastly improved display, with some suggesting it will even be called the iPad HD.

Others believer improved cameras and a better processor than the A5 in the iPad 2 will be announced in San Francisco tomorrow.

Check back on IT Pro tomorrow evening for the breaking news on the iPad 3.

A software hole in Apple's iPhone and iPad devices may permit developers to break through the App Store gates and control the device.

Security researcher Charlie Miller discovered the flaw, allowing developers to bypass the code signing restrictions and secretly install malware onto Apple devices.

"The flaw I found allows apps in the App Store to download new code and run it even if it's not signed or even if it hasn't been checked by Apple," Miller said in his YouTube clip below.

"Until now you could just download everything from the App Store and not worry about it being malicious. Now you have no idea what an app might do," said Miller.

Miller demonstrated the flaw by using a stock price checking application he created, InstaStock, which was approved even though it contained features to download unapproved code.

The app's code could let a hacker download an address book, view pictures, access other data and even make the phone vibrate.

Despite attempting to highlight security flaws in Apple's systems, because he had broken Apple's App Store rules, Miller was thrown off the iOS developer programme.

"Apple just kicked me out of the iOS Developer program. That's so rude," Miller tweeted on Monday. "First they give researcher's access to developer programs, (although I paid for mine) then they kick them out for doing research. Me angry."

"Just found out not only am I kicked out, I can't come back for a year. 1 year suspension," Miller tweeted today.

Apple has now removed the app from its App Store.

Amazon has been given permission to use the App Store name by a judge in the US for now, a court document has revealed.

Apple has been trying to keep the name all to itself with a number of legal tussles, including one against Microsoft.

The iPhone maker may have lost this first round of its lawsuit, but US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton did not agree with Amazon's claim the App Store name was generic, Reuters reported.

The judge allowed Amazon to use the name when approaching software developers in the US, as Apple was not able to establish "a likelihood of confusion" with Amazon's services.

The case is not yet over, however, and future decisions by the court could prevent Amazon from using the term from a later date.

Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet pointed to Apple's previous stance on the situation, simply saying Apple requested Amazon to not copy the App Store term as it would "confuse and mislead customers."

Apple filed the suit against the Amazon Appstore, which will sell Android apps, back in March.

Last month, Judge Hamilton said Apple faced a "stumbling block" in proving people would confuse the Cupertino firm's App Store for Amazon's Appstore for Android, according to an individual who was at the Oakland federal court hearing.

At the start of the year, Microsoft made its feelings known on Apple's claims over the App Store term.

"When viewed as a whole, the combination of the generic term 'app' with the generic term store' is nothing more than the sum of its parts and is not capable of identifying and distinguishing a single source," a court filing read.

Mobile app demand looks set to grow, with direct revenue from stores set to surpass $14 billion in 2012 and edge close to $37 billion by 2015.

So claims Canalys, which claims mobile network operators should see this as an opportunity to take on the vendor app stores from the likes of Apple et al.

Too much choice brings serious problems in terms of application discovery for both developers and users.

"The leading stores already have hundreds of thousands of apps, so it's hard for operators to compete with those numbers," said Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd.

"On the other hand, too much choice brings serious problems in terms of application discovery for both developers and users, which operators can turn to their advantage."

The research firm has predicted purchases from smarphones and tablet devices will be up by 92 per cent between this year and next. Furthermore, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2011 and 2015 will be just shy of 50 per cent.

"As more content and services are delivered over their networks, many MNOs are aspiring to move up the value chain. When it comes to detailed subscriber data, operators certainly have the competitive advantage," Shepherd added.

"While they must clearly be careful to respect their customers' privacy, the data they hold leaves them well positioned to propose targeted marketing services, such as promotions and recommendations, as well as richer editorial guidance, better localisation, improved security and simpler billing processes.'

More than 400 million and 43.3 million app-friendly smartphones and tablets respectively expected to be shipped around the world in 2011, there's a mammoth opportunity for network operators to offer users a more refined choice of applications, according to Canalys.

"Some operators are concerned that having their own branded app stores will appear as a throwback to the 'walled gardens' of the past,' Shepherd added. "While consumers would probably object to operators installing their app stores in place of vendor ones, there is no reason for operators not to pre-install their app stores alongside vendor stores to compete on user experience."

A malicious Android app, impersonating a legitimate application, has been spotted texting all contacts from users' phonebooks.

Once downloaded, the purported copy of Incorporateapps' Walk and Text app, which contains none of the functionality of the original, took phone data and sent texts, which were charged to the sender.

Data targeted by the malicious app, which Android owners could have downloaded from a variety of forums and file sharing sites, included phone numbers and IMEI codes.

The Trojanised app also recommended users installed the legitimate version of the application and even forwarded them to the official Android Market page, begging the question who was behind the fake app.

"One possibility is that it was a fan of Incorporateapps applications who attempted to protect the company from piracy," said Vanja Svajcer, principal virus researcher at SophosLabs, on a blog.

"Another possibility is that it was somebody who wanted to damage the company's reputation so that it appears that they stand behind the attack. The jury on that one is still out there."

The mobile security space could be set for an explosion in activity this year.

Despite attacks being low in quantity compared to PCs, McAfee claimed it saw a spike in mobile security threats in 2010.

The number of pieces of new mobile malware the firm found in 2010 rose 46 per cent over 2009.

As hackers often go for the lowest hanging fruit, Android owners may want to be particularly wary, given research this week indicated the platform was now more popular than Apple's iOS.

Microsoft and Telefonica have signed a partnership to make app development a more profitable and simpler experience for all involved, the claimed.

Developers can leverage the partnership for free, enabling them to enjoy the services of Telefonica BlueVia and the range of development and hosting tools offered by Microsoft, all via one portal.

The BlueVia developer platform allows for integration of text and voice within applications, offering a selection of business models for developers to make revenue from their apps containing such telecoms services.

Developers get a 10 per cent cut of text transactions, which will be made through O2 in the UK, as well as 50 per cent of ad revenue.

For O2 branded app stores, 70 per cent of each app sale will go into the hands of the developer the same share Microsoft offers for purchases over the Windows Phone 7 store.

Microsoft, meanwhile, will offer its Azure platform to host and deliver apps from the cloud, alongside tools such as Visual Studio and Silverlight app services.

A number of developers were on hand at a launch event in London today to explain how they used Microsoft and BlueVia together to create apps.

Gideon Clifton, chief executive (CEO) of MediaNet, noted how his firm's TaxiNet Windows Phone 7 app used Microsoft mapping software and Azure hosting to run the cab booking app.

Alongside these were integrated BlueVia services, such as an advertising API allowing the firm to insert app ads in image or text formats.

"The integration with network APIs is something the developer community has been screaming out for for some time," Clifton said.

Although the partnership will greatly assist Windows Phone 7 developers in producing apps for the platform, creations coming out of the joint Microsoft and Telefonica offering could appear on the likes of Apple's App Store and the Android Market.

Mark Taylor, director for developer and product commercialisation for Microsoft in the UK, said he would be delighted to see apps developed via the "revolutionary" partnership end up on Apple's virtual store.

"Obviously we're delighted to see these applications on Windows Phone 7 but we do appreciate there are one or two other platforms out there as well," Taylor told IT PRO.

"With the application platform in Azure, you can write those components to work on any other platform as well they could work equally as well on a BlackBerry or an iPhone."

Despite Microsoft being far behind Apple and Google in terms of the quantity of apps in their respective markets, Knut Aasrud, general manager for the Microsoft communications sector in EMEA, said it was about more than that.

"It's about quality apps that have the potential to be valuable," Aasrud added.

US antitrust regulators have started examining Apple's new subscription system for content-based apps, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

The investigations pushed by both the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission are still in a preliminary stage, and might not result in any action against Apple, the report explained.

Two aspects of the new subscription system are being questioned.

Investigators may look at whether Apple is pushing customers to make payments through the iTunes Store rather than going through publishers directly. The 30 per cent margin Apple receives on those transactions is also under the spotlight.

Some have also questioned Apple's decision to not allow content firms to link to their site from an iPad or iPhone app.

A spokeswoman for the European Commission noted that Apple's subscription service was being carefully monitored by the EU's executive arm too.

Apple's subscription system has received criticism from both media publishers and online streaming music companies such as Rhapsody and the French Deezer.

Axel Dauchez, president of Deezer, who opposes Apple's will to keep 30 per cent of the payments made for the subscriptions, said such a rate is "so obviously anti-competitive that it will never survive in Europe."

The day after Apple announced the launch of its highly controversial subscription service, Google presented its response, named One Pass, which has been described as a more "open" system for accessing content.

Google will keep 10 per cent of the payments made through its system, and will, unlike Apple, allow customers to access content not just from Google's app store, but also from the web too.

Apple's announcement that it will introduce a new subscription service for the publishers of content-based apps is the subject of heated debate.

The new subscription service presented by Apple will apply to publishers of video, music content, newspapers, magazines, among others. Apple intends to extend the same billing service that it recently incorporated with News Corp's The Daily app.

The most polarising aspect of the new system is Apple's decision to keep 30 per cent of all transactions with in-app sold subscriptions, as it does with other In-App purchases.

Although developers will still be able to sell subscriptions through their websites, Apple has made it mandatory for them to sell in-app subscriptions at the same price or lower.

Some developers have complained about what they are calling an abusive initiative by Apple.

Apple seemed to anticipate the controversy, as chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs defended the decision upon the introduction of the subscriptions initiative.

"Our philosophy is simple - when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 per cent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 per cent and Apple earns nothing," he said.

"All we require is that, if a publisher is making a subscription offer outside of the app, the same (or better) offer be made inside the app, so that customers can easily subscribe with one-click right in the app."

Some developers don't seem to agree with Jobs' view, and have complained about Apple's new subscription service directly.

Among those directly affected is music firm Rhapsody which, in a direct response to Jobs' statement, has described the situation as "an Apple imposed arrangement that requires us to pay 30 per cent of our revenue to Apple."

Rhapsody insisted that Apple's new subscription system would generate an "economically untenable" situation, as they would need to add the 30 per cent that Apple will soon start requiring to the content fees that they already pay to the music labels, publishers and artists.

"The bottom line is we would not be able to offer our service through the iTunes store if subjected to Apple's 30 per cent monthly fee versus a typical 2.5 per cent credit-card fee," Rhapsody said in a public statement.

Rhapsody has announced that it will consult its lawyers about the matter, and that it is willing to collaborate with its market peers in determining a response to Apple's measure, both from a legal and a business perspective.

Apple's App Store recently reached its 10 billionth download milestone.

IBM has formed an agreement with a global alliance of telecoms firms to make building app stores simple and fast.

The partnership with the Wholesale Applications Community (WAC), a body which includes board members from the likes of Orange and Vodafone, has produced a cloud-based "white label" mobile app store.

Built on IBM's WebSphere Commerce customer interaction platform, the store front provides mobile operators with a virtual space they can populate with apps.

The IBM software allows store owners to set up automatic discount offers based on customer preferences and buying behaviour, whilst also enabling targeted advertising campaigns for a more tailored experience for the end user.

The store front is available to WAC members through a cloud-based service and also offers access to WAC's wholesale application warehouse.

WAC has a catalogue of over 12,000 applications, all of which are automatically included in the white label store.

"The intersection of cloud computing, IBM's expertise in building rich portals with integrated commerce, merchandising and promotions, combined with WAC's extensive set of global applications creates a tremendous opportunity for mobile operators to expand and grow their business," said Scott Stainken, general manager, IBM global telecommunications industry.

"The cloud-based, white label application storefront developed by IBM will be invaluable to those operators who wish to quickly and effectively launch their own WAC-enabled storefront," added Peters Suh, chief executive (CEO) of WAC.

Read on for our look at the potential security threats that come with app stores.

Worldwide revenue for mobile application stores has been predicted to grow up to a 1,000 per cent between by 2014, according to a new report.

Analyst firm Gartner estimated the $5.2 billion (3.3 billion) revenue of this past year would rocket up to $58 billion in the next three years and the number of downloads would reach an unprecedented 17.7 billion a 117 per cent increase from the total downloads in 2010.

Stephanie Baghdassarian, research director at Gartner, didn't think the exponential rise in applications' downloads was just a fashion.

"We strongly believe there is a sizable opportunity for application stores in the future," she said.

However, she added, applications would have to develop to a point in which they provide a superior experience to the one that web-based apps will be able to deliver.

Although free applications are still unarguably the most popular amongst users, there has been a relative decrease in relation to those applications for which users are willing to pay. At the moment 81 per cent of downloaded apps were free of charge, a percentage Gartner said would continue to decrease.

The current average split of the revenues app stores generate is about 70/30, with 70 per cent going to the developer and the remaining 30 per cent going to the store owner.

Gartner predicted, by the end of 2014, advertising would be generating a little under a third of the revenue produced by application stores - going up from 16 per cent in 2010.

Gartner also pointed out the Apple App Store's competitors were gaining some traction.

Among the rivals growing to challenge Apple's supremacy, Gartner cited the Android Market, Nokia's Ovi Store, Research In Motion's (RIM's) App World, Microsoft Marketplace and Samsung Apps.

"We estimate that Apple's App Store drove close to nine application downloads out of 10 in 2010 and will remain the single best-selling store across our forecast period (through 2014), although to a lesser extent, as other stores manage to gain momentum," said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

By the end of 2014, Gartner forecast over 185 billion apps would have been downloaded from mobile app stores, since the launch of the first one in July 2008.

ANALYSIS In the last week we saw Apple celebrating its 10 billion App Store downloads milestone.

The success of app stores has been fairly startling in recent years, altering the paradigm of how people use their web connections.

But with the rise of these virtual emporiums, more of which are set to pop up soon, has come an increase in security dangers threatening end users.

So should users be panicking about what they're downloading and is there even much to be concerned about?

The threats

Users could encounter a variety of threats on app stores. Some are bundled in with other apps, such as wallpapers.

This throws up another challenge for vendors as they try to split malicious apps from the legitimate ones.

Spyware-type applications have been spotted as well, where SMS messages were sent to unintended recipients.

More traditional, PC-like attacks are another danger. Symantec researchers recently spotted a piece of malicious kit that stole data and reported back to a command and control centre.

The app was monitoring SMS messages and was capable of receiving instructions from the command and control centre as well.

Other dirty apps have forced the user to call premium rate numbers, so the crooks get some of their target's funds.

Not so serious?

Despite the range of threats out there, users should not feel overly perturbed. Not just yet, anyway.

The fact that no precise figures have been given on how many malicious apps are present on the likes of the Apple App Store and Google's Android Market, indicates hackers have not yet identified them as fine places to acquire funds and data illicitly.

Compared to the amount and range of malware targeting PCs, malicious apps pale in comparison.

Greg Day, director of security strategy for McAfee in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), said the security firm had not seen any more than 1,000 mobile threats in total, whereas there are 60,000 PC threats emerging a day.

However, he claimed it was "blatant" that apps will increasingly be used as a basis for attacks.

"What we've seen happen over the last year is a lot of testing can I do it, what can I do it with?" Day told IT PRO.

"The question is, at what point does that floodgate open and this becomes mainstream?"

Smarter businesses will prepare now for when mobile app threats really start to escalate, according to Day.

Orla Cox, security operations manager at Symantec, said her company had also only seen "a very small amount of threats."

But Cox said she expects certain kinds of app attacks to continue to rise, such as the aforementioned premium phone dialler danger.

She also pointed to the Android Market, indicating many of the threats Symantec has spotted had come out of the Google offering, rather than the Apple App Store.

This brings more fuel to the fiery debate around open vs closed systems in the IT world.

Day said from his perspective, the Android store appeared not to have the same degree of "rigour" as the Apple option.

At the time of publication, Google had not responded to a request for comment on Day's suggestions.

According to Cox, closed systems like Apple's App Store (and now Mac App Store) are inherently safer.

However, she recognised the importance of open systems, which could be seen as somewhat more "user friendly."

"It's trying to get the balance of the two," Cox told IT PRO.

"Of course, on the Android side there is going to be a time-lag between something being released that is malicious and it being removed from the marketplace but then you can argue it is more user friendly, users have greater access to applications."

She also noted how Apple's system was inherently more secure, but it takes longer for apps to go up on the store.

"There is no perfect solution," Cox added.

Going unofficial

Whilst there appear to be limited threats on official stores, unofficial ones are somewhat more risky.

The blame would lie at users' doors if their phone became infected after a visit to an unofficial store, but as we have seen with illegal downloading of music and film files, people often do not care about officialdom.

A recent threat seen by Symantec named Gemini was seen propagating from an unofficial source in China, for example.

Whilst it seems these stores are not yet widely used, Cox has seen more spring up in recent times.

"It'll be really interesting to see ... how relaxed people are going to be with what they place on their phones," Cox said.

"Will we see the same approach on mobile phones as we've seen on PCs where people are just a little bit more lax about it?"

The same, it seems, would go for jailbroken, or homebrew, apps.

The message at the minute is clear though: whilst the number of app threats are far from frightening, users and businesses alike need to be sensible about what they download.

Apple's launch of the App Store for the Mac last week came just too late for this column, but by Friday the company was already claiming over one million downloads.

This is a staggering number by any criteria. There are plenty of software vendors who would sell a close relative, in order to shift anything like that number of applications. The figure is all the more impressive, given the Mac's relatively small installed base, and the fact that only

According to Rob Bamforth, of analyst firm Quocirca, another benefit is the ease of updating apps that an app store offers. Smartphone users have already become used to seeing notifications of app updates pushed to their phone. Although Microsoft and Apple both have this function for operating system updates, it doesn't extend to third-party apps. The app store fixes this, removing what is often a large support burden for IT staff.

Perhaps in a future release, Apple could go further and allow businesses to download apps to a central server, perhaps via a future release of the server version of Lion, the next release of OSX. Another option would be to allow enterprises to manage the apps their staff can use, via a private area on the app store, effectively putting software distribution and updates into the cloud.

And, although Apple currently only allows Mac OS 10.6 users to access the Mac app store, there is a precedent for supporting other platforms: the Windows version of iTunes. Quocirca's Bamforth suggests that an Apple-run app store for Windows cannot be ruled out.

Stephen Pritchard is a contributing editor at IT PRO.

Comments? Questions? You can email him here

ASUS is set to launch its very own application store at one of the biggest tech shows of the year to complement its new range of tablets.

A marketing specialist from the computer manufacturer, who spoke to IT PRO at this week's BETT show in London, revealed the store would launch at CeBIT this coming March.

"Work is in progress," he said "and we expect it to be [publicly] available in April or May."

The company launched a number of tablets at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas last week. Today saw the devices' UK premier at BETT and IT PRO got a good look at the Android-based slates.

The employee we spoke to admitted they were mainly for consumers but claimed the market was not mature enough yet to see how they would play in the enterprise space.

"This year is about the user interface and making it intuitive for the user," he added. "Once we have achieved this, we will see how different people want to use the devices."

Take a look at our hands-on first look videos of the new slates and decide for yourself whether they are fit for business.

Microsoft has launched a legal challenge against Apple's trademark claim over the term App Store.'

The Redmond giant said in a filing with the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board that the words app' and store' were simply too generic for Apple to have a trademark on the phrase.

"When viewed as a whole, the combination of the generic term 'app' with the generic term store' is nothing more than the sum of its parts and is not capable of identifying and distinguishing a single source," the filing read.

Microsoft even went as far as to provide dictionary definitions for both words that make up the phrase to prove just how generic they were.

The company said Apple's own use of the word app was proof of its generic nature.

"For example, Apple's website encourages consumers to discover 'apps made just for iPad,' and describes its App Store as offering tens of thousands of apps,'" the filing continued.

Apple chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs was also cited as using the term app stores' when talking about competitors in the market.

Microsoft pointed to how the press uses the term app store' to define places that sell software apps.

The firm also said app store' was user by "many retailers" as part of their own application-selling stores.

"App store is a generic name that Apple should not be permitted to usurp for its exclusive use," the filing read.

"Competitors should be free to use 'app store' to identify their own stores and the services offered in connection with those stores."

As for whether Microsoft has challenged the App Store patent with another agenda in mind, considering its own virtual emporium is called Windows Phone 7 Marketplace, remains a mystery.

The news comes a week after Apple launched the Mac App Store. Over one million apps were downloaded from the store on the first day alone.

"We're amazed at the incredible response the Mac App Store is getting," said Jobs.

"Developers have done a great job bringing apps to the store and users are loving how easy and fun the Mac App Store is."

Apple opened its Mac App Store today as it promised to do in December, but users will need to have the Snow Leopard OS to gain access.

Those lucky enough to be on Snow Leopard will be able to access the new emporium once they update to Mac OS X v10.6.6. They can then rifle through over 1,000 apps which have been made available on launch.

All users need to do is get hold of the right software, perhaps shelling out 25 or more in the process, head onto iTunes and get downloading.

Developers, who were able to start posting apps for the store in November, will get 70 per cent of sales revenue from their apps and will not be charged for free apps.

"With more than 1,000 apps, the Mac App Store is off to a great start," said Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive (CEO).

"We think users are going to love this innovative new way to discover and buy their favorite apps."

The apps fall into various categories, including education, games, productivity and utilities.

The introduction marks another moment in the app store wars, with Google's Android Marketplace growing at rapid speed.

Earlier this week, Amazon made its first move in the space by opening the door to developers for its Appstore for Android.

A WikiLeaks app for iPhone has been pulled less than a week after it was made available for iOS users.

The app, which was placed on the App Store on 17 December, provided users with access to leaked cables and charged $1.99 (1.28) for access.

Of course, the communications have been accessible for free across the web and the app itself appears not to have been particularly popular with some.

A number of negative reviews were seen in a Google cached version of the app info, with one saying they would "rather go on wikileaks.com."

"This app is just a wrapper for the mobile web site," another poster called Murdock1450 said.

"There is no access to the actual released documents. Twitter feed doesn't count as up to date information."

There are a range of Android WikiLeaks apps where users can view leaked cables, a number of which are free.

At the time of publication, Apple had not responded to a request for comment.

The Cupertino company may have risked the wrath of pro-WikiLeaks web denizens such as the Anonymous hacking group, if Apple did take down the app.

Anonymous have launched various attacks on companies that have pulled support from Julian Assange's site, including MasterCard.

Last week, the Bank of America said it would no longer process payments for WikiLeaks.

Assange has reportedly claimed to have information related to Bank of America activity and threatened to release some damaging documents on senior members of staff at the financial institution.

The WikiLeaks founder remains at a mansion in Norfolk, where he has to stay under his bail conditions.

Apple will launch the Mac App Store on 6 January and will it available in 90 countries straight away.

The App Store experience will be brought to Mac OS X users and will feature free and paid-for apps covering a range of categories, including education, games and productivity.

The store, which had been announced by Apple earlier in the year, works in the same way as on the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.

Developers get 70 per cent of sales revenue from their apps and are not charged for free apps.

"The App Store revolutionised mobile apps," said Apple chief executive (CEO) Steve Jobs.

"We hope to do the same for PC apps with the Mac App Store by making finding and buying PC apps easy and fun. We can't wait to get started on 6 January."

Developers were able to start posting apps for the store in November.

Apple is due to have another big year of launches in 2011, with the latest operating system, nicknamed Lion, expected to be made available in the summer.

The next iteration of the iPad is also rumoured to be ready for February, just in time to go head-to-head against the RIM Playbook.

HTC is reportedly hiring staff in an attempt to build its very own mobile applications store.

This was the claim made today by the Financial Times, which said two sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed an online store for e-books and apps was in the offing.

The Taiwanese firm's handsets currently run Google's Android mobile operating system (OS), as well as Microsoft's new Windows Phone 7 OS, meaning if an app store were to open it would go into direct competition with Android's Market and Window's Marketplace.

One source said HTC was in the process of hiring content editors for e-books, magazines and phones, as well as mobile apps. The team will start out small and be based in HTC's homeland of Taiwan, before expanding to 100 people across the globe, added the source.

We contacted HTC for comment on the proposal but a spokesperson just told IT PRO: "We don't comment on rumour and speculation."

HTC has been growing steadily stronger over the course of the year, thanks to the explosion of smartphones. However, even with a third quarter profit of 1.6 billion, it only places fifth in manufacturer league tables behind Nokia, Apple, RIM and Samsung, according to a recent report by IDC.

Amazon is planning to launch its own mobile app store on Google's Android OS, according to reports.

A number of developers have been approached by Amazon about the new app store, but they were not told what the store would be called or when it would open, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.

Amazon would take a 30 per cent cut of app sales from its store, according to a document for developers seen by the WSJ. This would be the same percentage both Apple and Google take for their respective stores.

The document also reportedly contained a clause stating apps must not be offered at a lower price in other stores.

Currently, Apple's App Store has more than 270,000 apps, while Google's Android Marketplace has over 80,000.

At the time of publication neither Amazon nor Google had confirmed or denied anything on the introduction of a new app store.

It appears Amazon is looking to take on Apple in a number of different areas, given the merchant already competes with the Cupertino company in online music sales and ebooks.

Amazon is spreading its wings into other areas as well, having announced this summer the launch of a web-based grocery service.

Earlier this month, the company also introduced its Pet Supplies Store.

This weekend, Apple's App Store turned two.

We celebrate the store's second birthday, remembering how it was "just the other day" when it had a mere 500 available applications.

1. July 2008 The App Store is opened as part of the iPhone 3G launch.

2. July 2008 10 million apps are downloaded the first weekend.

3. Feb 2009 Competitor Nokia's app store, Ovi Store, is announced.

4. April 2009 RIM starts to challenge the App Store by launching one of its own, dubbed Blackberry App World.

5. September 2009 Apple celebrates two billion downloads from the store.

6. December 2009 More specific feedback is given rather than just listing "Waiting for Approval," "Approved," or Rejected" to those who submit a request for an app.

7. December 2009 Journalist Mark Fiore's satirical political cartoon iPhone app is rejected by Apple and the stir later allows him to become the first online cartoonist to win a Pulitzer Prize.

8. January 2010 Reports claim piracy had cost the App Store around $450 million in revenue.

9. May 2010 Apple's iPad is introduced to the UK, providing a new device for app use.

10. July 2010 Apple celebrates the App Store's second birthday.

Apple's App Store may have more apps, but it's Google's Android operating system that is getting more attention from developers, a new survey has revealed.

Of the 400 developers surveyed globally by VisionMobile, six out of ten reported having done "some work" on Android OS 10 per cent more than for iPhone OS.

Cross-platform plug-in environment Java and "dumbphone" OS Symbian also scored well, with just shy of half of the developers saying they had done some work on the platforms, but they admitted the platforms were no longer as dominant as they were two years ago.

BlackBerry OS and Windows Phone - along with its ancestor - meanwhile, both scored around the 40 per cent mark not surprising given how long they have been around. No other mobile OS had numbers of any significance.

VisionMobile analyst Andreas Constantinou pointed out that the iPhone OS and Android's lead became more significant when the actual number of devices they were present on was factored in.

"For example, the Symbian operating system is deployed in around 390 million handsets (Q2 2010), and claims over 6,000 apps, while Apple's iPhone has seen 30x more applications while being deployed in just 60 million units over the same period," he argued.

Interestingly, the survey revealed Apple and Google's platforms appear to be largely mutually exclusive.

Despite both platforms being familiar territory for more than half of the 400 developers questioned, just one in five of those who had released apps on one, had gone on to do so on the other two.

Either way, the iPhone OS and Android seem to have replaced Java and Symbian as the developer's platforms of choice a fact borne out in both the official figures and some of the anecdotal evidence surrounding them, Constantinou said.

"In the last two years, a mindshare migration has taken place for mobile developers away from the incumbent platforms Symbian, Java ME and Windows Phone, while a substantial number of PC software developers have flocked to iPhone and Android," he revealed.

"The vast majority of Java ME respondents have lost faith in the write-once-run-anywhere vision. Moreover, anecdotal developer testimonials suggest that half of Windows Phone MVP developers (valued for their commitment to the platform) carry an iPhone and would think twice before re-investing in Windows Phone."

The global market for mobile applications will be worth $17.5 billion (12 billion) by 2012, according to GetJar, which claims to be the world's second largest app store.

A study, conducted by independent consulting firm Chetan Sharma Consulting, reveals that the value of apps sold will have outstripped the value of global CD sales by 2012, while downloads will skyrocket from a total seven of seven billion last year to 50 billion two years from now, representing a 92 per cent increase year on year for the next three years.

The mobile app marketplace has largely been dominated by Apple's App Store the only app store bigger than GetJar since the iPhone's introduction in 2007.

However, over the last year and a half rival efforts spearheaded by Google's Android Market and Nokia's Ovi Store have emerged to challenge it.

According to GetJar, consumer perception of the app market as being the preserve of high-end smartphones is increasingly being threatened as more platforms and providers emerge aimed at more mass-market 'feature phones'.

"We wanted to find out the real value of the industry because we felt certain segments like the iPhone were being over-hyped and so-called feature phones were being under-hyped," GetJar founder and chief executive Ilja Laurs said in releasing the survey.

GetJar, which launched in 2008, has more than 65,000 applications available for a variety of handsets across multiple platforms. It claims to be approaching one billion downloads in total, and says the number of app stores has blossomed over the past couple of years, from just four when it launched in 2008 to a total of 38 by 2009, with more expected to launch this year.

Virtually all mobile players now have their own app infrastructure, with Google announcing today that users of its Android platform now had 30,000 apps to choose from.

"With the consumer appetite for mobile apps rocketing, the opportunities for developers are huge," Laurs said. "This report signifies a battle for survival of the fittest among app stores worldwide with app revenue and growth opportunities growing significantly.

"There is no way that this many app stores will survive in the long term and while the value of the global app economy is set to be astoundingly high by 2012, we think only a few app stores will share this revenue."

With over 150,000 apps, however, Apple's App Store still dominates the app landscape, but the market is changing rapidly even for Apple. The recent launch of the iPad, for example, saw a dramatic spike in activity on the App Store as developers looked to evolve existing apps and develop new software for the different form factor.

With other significant developments this year expected to include the launch of Windows Phone 7 Series and Nokia and Intel's joint MeeGo platform, the state of the mobile app market is likely to remain hard to pin down.

"The app ecosystem is adjusting across multiple dimensions and thus expanding the revenue opportunities," Chetan Sharma Consulting president Chetan Sharma said. "As the number of active data subscribers grows, we will continue to see the proliferation of apps in many directions on different device types."

Read on for our top 10 mobile productivity apps.

A 27-strong team of mobile firms is teaming up to take on Apple's App store.

Mobile application stores have taken off over the past few years, lead by Apple's own App Store.

While Google's Android Market and other mobile app shopfronts have popped up, Apple has dominated the space with billions of downloads.

Now, the market is hotting up, with a group of 24 mobile operators and three manufacturers teaming up to create their own monster application ecosystem.

At the moment, the Wholesale Applications Community is in the development phase, working on a set of standards to be released over the next year.

It's also looking for more industry members to join its team, which includes the likes of Sony Ericsson, LG and Samsung, as well as Orange and Vodafone. With its existing membership, it already has access to more than three billion customers.

The community is looking to streamline the creation of apps by letting developers focus on one system. However, with Apple's big market and shops run by major players like Nokia and BlackBerry, it's hard to believe developers won't have to make multiple versions of their apps.

The Wholesale Applications Community does have the support of the GSMA - the body that organises Mobile World Congress, where the announcement was made.

Rob Conway, chief executive of the GSMA, said in a statement: "This approach is completely in line with the principles of the GSMA, and in fact leverages the work we have already undertaken on open network APIs (OneAPI)."

"This is tremendously exciting news for our industry and will serve to catalyse the development of a range of innovative cross-device, cross-operator applications," he added.

Read on for more news from Mobile World Congress 2010.

Reports have suggested that App Store piracy has cost Apple and contributing App Store developers in the region of $450 million (275 million) in lost revenue since the App Store opened in July 2008.

The claim is made by online financial news site 24/7 WallSt, whose reporters Garrett W McIntyre and Phil MacDonald filed an in-depth report on app piracy earlier this week.

The quoted figure is extrapolated from estimates on the total proportion of downloads that are paid apps, the reported piracy rate for those apps, and the proportion of pirated app users that would have been willing to pay had a pirated version of the app not been available.

If the figures are accurate, Apple's 30 per cent share in all app revenues means it has lost out to the tune of $135 million (82.5 million) in the 18 months the App Store has been around.

The report's authors say the problem hasn't been helped by Apple's apparent indifference to the issue of app piracy. "A conservative estimate of the average piracy rate is that for every paid application developed and sold at the App Store three more are pirated," they noted.

"Despite this fact, Apple has been mute on the subject and done nothing to prevent acts of piracy, which is not unlike the stance it has taken on illegal music downloads to iPods."

However, the methodology used to calculate the figure has already attracted plenty of naysayers, who say the number could potentially be significantly wide of the mark.

The headline data of three billion downloads from the App Store - 17 per cent of which were paid for - are established fact, but the piracy rate of 75 per cent, and the average $3 price of paid-for apps are both estimates, as is the assumption that only one in ten app pirates would have been willing to pay for the app in the first place.

And when you factor in the site's estimate that 10 per cent of iPhones and iPod touches are "jailbroken" to potentially free them from the shackles of the App Store, 24/7 WallSt's own figures suggest each jail-broken device is responsible for 510 illegal app downloads a theoretically possible but massively unlikely figure.

Naysayers have been quick to point out that this doesn't diminish from the very real problem of app piracy, but say potentially overinflated figures are more likely to hinder the cause of getting it taken more seriously than help it.

"There's no question that App Store piracy is a huge problem, especially with some developers noting that as much as 90 per cent of downloads of their apps are pirated versions," Apple site The Unofficial Apple Weblog wrote in response today. "But 24/7 WallSt's numbers seem outlandish to say the least.

"It's hard to believe that even a company as stuffed with cash as Apple would simply look the other way and twiddle its thumbs over $140 million in lost revenue."

Apple had not responded to our request for comment at the time of publication.

Intel has launched the beta version of an app store designed for netbook users.

The new offering, called the Intel AppUp Centre, was announced by the company's chief executive Paul Otellini during his keynote speech at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last week.

The AppUp Centre will offer software applications for the increasingly popular netbook devices via a website and its first apps including Boxee, Newsy and Yoono Desktop are now available to download for free.

Renee James, corporate vice president and general manager of the Intel software and services group, said in a statement: "The Intel AppUp centre offers netbook users quick and easy access to applications specifically tailored to their mobile lifestyle."

"With today's kickoff of our beta store, both developers and consumers will be able to take advantage of the rapid expansion of this new category of computing as the stores continually add apps."

Acer, Asus, Dell and Samsung have confirmed they will be collaborating with Intel on the project for the apps which are compatible with both Windows and the open source OS Moblin.

There's no denying that 2009 was the year of the smartphone, whether you want to concentrate on the dawn of Android, the applications explosion or the fact that everyone now wants a smartphone rather than a lower-end feature phone.

We take a look at some of the technologies that look set to take 2010 by storm.

Samsung Bada

Samsung has always been one to dabble in different operating systems, launching devices using both Symbian and Windows Mobile in addition to its own feature phone OS.

In November, the Korean manufacturer announced its own smartphone OS, named Bada.

Despite receiving a lot of stick about the chosen moniker, Samsung Bada is a platform that could rival the lower-end smartphone operating systems such as Symbian, which is now only really used by Nokia.

The platform has been designed with apps and developing at its epicentre, so it fits well into the application-based future of mobile.

There hasn't yet been a handset launched using the OS, but when it does, we are promised a touch screen, a decent camera (Samsung has always been good with multimedia), and an app store launching soon after the first handsets are released.

NFC

Near Field Communication (NFC) went through trials in 2008 and it seems that manufacturers are finally now thinking about integrating into widely available devices.

Nokia began the trend with its own trial with an NFC chip integrated into the budget 6131. A number of beta testers used the phone for a year for contactless payments, digital concert tickets and oystercard travel.

NFC has almost been overlooked in the past year in connection with mobile phones, but Nokia has already announced it is aiming for the tech to be in all mobile phones by 2012.

One un-named Nokia source told mobile phone website Mobile Today that "In Q3 and Q4 of next year we will see Nokia going into NFC in a big way. They will be bringing forward a lot of phones with embedded NFC."

Maemo and Linux-based OS

Another area to look out for where Nokia is concerned is the decline of Symbian-based devices and uprising of Linux-based platforms such as Maemo.

We've already seen the Nokia N900 released, and it didn't disappoint, but we'd like to see more.

For Maemo-based devices, Nokia seems to have reverted back to the mobile computer' concept, first mentioned with the Symbian S60 N-series devices, meaning a top browser, big screen and speedy processor.

We can expect follow-ups to the N900 will start to pop up during the second half of 2010.

The iPhone 4G is one of the biggest rumours circulating on the web at the moment.

As is tradition, it's pretty likely that an upgrade to the iPhone 3GS will be launched in June at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference.

A number of different parts manufacturers have leaked contracts with Apple.

If we take these leaks for gospel, it seems the iPhone 4G will see an upgrade in camera (to five megapixels). The rumours started after OmniVision, the maker of the iPhone 3GS camera, announced it had received a significant order of five megapixel camera sensors.

Another suggestion that the iPhone 4G is on the horizon came about with the discovery of one application developer.

A representative from developer Pandav discovered that its app had been tested on a different version of the iPhone, identified by the code 3,1. The iPhone 3GS' identifier is 2,1.

Google Android

2009 was certainly been the year of growth for Google Android, but 2010 will be its teenage years, where it matures and becomes a stronger rival to BlackBerry, Windows and Symbian.

The first development will be that most higher-end Android devices will be upgradeable to version 2.0, in line with the Motorola Milestone. This will see a number of improvements such as unified email inbox, multi-touch support and an improved browser.

Version 2.1 of the Android OS is due this year too, making its debut with the Google Nexus One, Google's own handset.

Next up comes new devices.

It's safe to say that LG will increase its Android line-up, as will HTC and Motorola.

Sony Ericsson is launching its first Google Android device in the shape of the Xperia X10. If that's a success then it could well mean more Android devices from the Swedish manufacturer.

Acer has also announced it will be bringing more Android devices to market in 2010, although it won't be scrapping Windows just yet.

Applications

In the past year, the Apple App Store has stormed the applications market.

Currently, there are 120,000 applications available to buy and download for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but other stores including Android Market, BlackBerry App World, Ovi Store and Windows Marketplace are lagging seriously behind.

However, in 2010, other stores will begin to catch up with Apple. For example, bigwigs at Google are predicting that the Android Market will have nearer 150,000 applications on offer by the end of 2010.

RIM hasn't yet opened up it predictions, nor has Windows, but if both platforms want to be a contender in the smartphone arena, a huge selection of applications is essential for success.

Rumours of Google's own smartphone have been circulating for years, but now the search engine giant has finally launched the Nexus One.

The Nexus One features a five megapixel camera, HSDPA up to 7.2Mbps and HSUPA up to 5.6Mbps, a 1GHZ Snapdragon processor, and an upgraded OS (v2.1).

This is only the first device in Google's suite of superphones'.

It's also the first device to appear in Google's Mobile store, where the US giant will sell a number of other Android-based devices, including those manufactured by Motorola and HTC.

Windows 7

Windows 6.5 was introduced earlier in 2009 and it is a vast improvement over the rather disappointing Windows Mobile 6.1 platform.

However, Microsoft has hinted at the launch of Windows 7 next year, although due to delays, it's not clear when exactly the platform will be ready.

Apparently, with the new platform will come a whole new different type of device. The hardware has been redesigned to accommodate the operating system, rather than the other way round as is normally the case when manufacturing devices.

Windows 7 will co-exist with Windows 6.5, but it will be reserved for the flagship handsets, with high-performing multimedia features to boot.

Although there isn't much info around on Windows 7, if the positive changes in Windows 6.5 are anything to go by, the newest platform from Microsoft will be the best yet.

iSlate

A tablet has been on the cards from Apple for quite a while, but in the last couple of months, more and more information about this device have been surfacing on the internet.

Although not technically a mobile phone, it's not a computer either.

The iTablet, or iSlate as it has been referred to, will be pretty similar to Nokia's browsing tablets from 2008, but based on the iPod Touch and iPhone.

It's apparently all screen (up to 10in) and will include the same wireless capabilities seen on the iPod Touch, so just Wi-Fi. It's doubtful that there will be any other phone-esque capabilities present.

Rumours suggest that the iTablet, or iSlate, will be launched at an Apple event on January 26.

Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson has entered the smartphone market in full force, although the Swedish manufacturer seems unsure about which platform it prefers.

The Xperia X1 was Windows, as was the X2 (now withdrawn from the UK market), but the more consumer-based Satio was Symbian and the X10 sports Android.

The manufacturer has hinted that a follow-up to the Satio will be unearthed in 2010, but this time firmware issues will be ironed out before it hits the shelves.

The U5i as it's being called, will feature a capacitive touch screen and will run on Symbian S60 5th edition.

Although nothing has been formerly announced, we're hoping Sony Ericsson will add more to its Android range, because the X10 looks pretty impressive from we're standing.

Apple has continued to break records with its App Store, announcing that it has now had over three billion downloaded since its launch.

The App Store took the mobile world by storm when it opened in July 2008 and it now has 115,000 apps available for users.

Steve Jobs, Apple's chief executive, has laid down the gauntlet for other companies to attempt to reach its dizzy heights of popularity, referring to its success as "like nothing we've ever seen before."

"The revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon," he said in a statement.

The company made its statement about the app store success on the same day that Google launched its own "superphone," the Nexus One, which is being touted as the next possible iPhone killer.

This year has been a busy one for the mobile industry, but what are the moments that stick most in our minds? Read on to find out.

iPhone 3GS cometh, O2 waves goodbye

We loved the first generation iPhone and the second one built on that solid foundation. But despite their obvious beauty, both lacked key features. Until the iPhone 3GS came along this year that is, bringing with it copy and paste and other omissions of value to mobile fans.

Of course, that wasn't the only iPhone news this year. Far from it. O2 also waved goodbye to its exclusive hold over the iconic device and Orange and Vodafone's announcements that they'd got it were so close they might as well have shared the same press release. Orange is already selling the handset on its network, but we'll have to wait until 2010 for the iPhone's debut on the Vodafone network.

Alas, the arrival of the iPhone on two new networks hasn't thus far resulted in the fantastic deals users were hoping for. Then Tesco came to the rescue. In mid December the iPhone arrived on the Tesco Mobile network, which strangely enough is a joint venture with O2. Users can get it on a 12 month contract too. Full circle, eh?

T-Mobile and Orange get married

It was mid 2009 that rumours first surfaced that T-Mobile could be snapped up by a rival. Vodafone was first in the frame, followed soon after by O2 so it was a bit of a surprise when Orange and T-Mobile confirmed they were talking behind closed doors about getting together to form a new company.

The deal is expected to be completed in January, but it's still subject to regulatory approval. And, according to reports this month the companies would prefer to have the deal scrutinised outside of the UK for fear it'll take too long here and result in customers fleeing into the arms of competitors in the interim.

If the two do combine, they'll form a massive mobile powerhouse. If they don't, we're not sure what T-Mobile plans to do about the iPhone...

Palm and Motorola get their groove back

In recent years, it wouldn't be completely unfair to say that Motorola and Palm have both been treated as the poor relations in the mobile family. Their best seemed to be behind them and everyone's attention was on either the iPhone or Android.

So it was surprising then - pleasantly so - when Palm decided to create a whole new operating system dubbed webOS and unveil not one but two new devices on the platform. We've already got the Pre, which is exclusive to O2, and its younger sibling the Pixi has already hit US shores.

Motorola served up its own innovation in the form of MOTOBLUR but decided to jump on the Android bandwagon too by launching the DEXT and the MILESTONE.

Windows Mobile has a makeover

The marmite of mobile operating systems took note of user distaste this year by changing for the better. It was out with Windows Mobile 6.1 and in with Windows Mobile 6.5, otherwise known as Windows Phone.

Backed by a big money marketing campaign, support from the major handset vendors and, of course, some innovative tech, Windows Mobile is likely to gain more fans and even perhaps turn some of the haters into believers. Although it is a bit of a shame that we found out this month that its successor will be delayed in arriving on the scene.

App happy

We used to live in a world where you bought a phone because it looked nice and had to put up with its hollow innards or you bought something of substance that required a wheelbarrow for you to carry it around in. Then you could have the best of both worlds provided you stumped up a whole load of cash.

That's all in the past thanks to the emergence of app stores. While Apple's App Store was born before 2009, it was this year that it - and others like the Android Market and Windows Marketplace - really arrived. Apple's store reached the two billion download milestone and Android has reportedly reached the heady heights of 20,000 apps in its market.

So now, users can buy almost a blank canvas when they purchase a phone and then add to it through free and paid for apps whenever they choose. And when they don't want that app anymore, they can discard it just as easily.

Nokia dabbles

Aside from suing Apple for alleged patent infringement, Nokia served up its fair share of devices this year including the N97 Mini and N900. But it was something slightly bulkier that grabbed most people's attention.

When the company announced itsBooklet 3G it was adamant it wasn't a netbook, even thought it really really looked like one. Then, this month, it confirmed the product would have a 650 price tag, no doubt silencing any remaining inaccurate netbook tags.

FRIDAY FIVE: Our regular chart run-down of the top business apps for mobile devices.

Bookmark this page and come back every Friday for the latest app contenders for Android, BlackBerry and the iPhone.

For the BlackBerry app chart, click here.

For the iPhone app chart, click here. For Android, see below.

Top Android business apps

Top free

Voice Recorder Does what it says on the tin, with data recorded to the handset's SD card.

Battery Widget Keeps an eye on juice levels so they don't let you down at a critical moment.

OI Notepad This simple notepad lets you create a list of editable and sendable notes.

Astrid Task/Todo List An open sopurce task list to help you keep track of what needs to get done.

Jet Cet PDF A quick and easy way of viewing PDF files on the move.

Top paid

Power Manager (price TBC) An easy way to help manage the power of your Android-based handset, by changing settings to conserve energy for other tasks.

Open Home An app to help you make your home screen more individual with customisation for font, colours, icons and themes.

My Backup Pro ($4.99) An easy way to back-up applications, bookmarks, shortcuts, texts and more so you can easily port this data to a new device if your current one is lost of stolen.

Advanced Task Manager ($0.99) At a glance snapshot of all the tasks running on your Android phone quickly and easily.

RepliGo Reader ($19.95) A PDF reader with multiple zoom and fast reading capabilities for use with Gmail and a browser.

Top free

Handylogs Money Keep track of all your expense claims with this useful app.

Call Time Tracker An app to help the business person expense properly the amount of time they use.

Nice Office Turns your BlackBerry into a mobile virtual office with tools that let you store docs online, which you can then send to customers, partners and fellow employees.

DUB Contact Card A mobile business card that sends your details straight to another user's address book.

Salesforce Mobile A quick and easy way to get the benefits of CRM on the move.

Top paid

Wi-Fi File Transfer ($4.99) A quick and easy way of moving files between your iPhone and your PC/Mac.

Exgis Mileage Tracker(3.55) Lets you record your cars mileage in seconds.

Exgis Time and Expense Pro (10.59) Brings together Exgis' Time Tracker, Expense Tracker and Mileage Tracker into one suite.

ReportAway (6.35) Helps manage timesheets and expenses.

Copy2Contact (6.00) Schedule meetings with your contacts and add to your calendar straight from this app.

Top free

Yell.com Need to find a local listing? This is the app for you.

Currency Converter A currency conversion app with a funky inteface.

Remote Desktop Lite An app that gives you access to a PC running Windows XP Professional or Vista/Windows 7.

Mocha VNC Lite With this app, you can connect to a PC or Mac and view files and resources as if you were in the same room.

Quick Voice Recorder A full featured voice recording app for the iPhone.

Top paid

Quick Office Connect (5.99) Word and Excel but on the iPhone. Need we explain more?

Business Card Reader (2.99) A quick and easy way to get information from a business card onto your iPhone.

PDF Reader Pro (0.59) A PDF viewer and document manager in the palm of your hands.

Percentages 0.59 A simple and cheap out to do it exactly what it claims, work out percentages.

Documents To Go (8.99) A quick and easy way to keep on top of work while on the move.

Despite being much younger than its Apple-flavoured rival, the Android Market is holding its own and is now showcasing some 20,000 apps.

So claims statistics compiled by AndroLib, a site that has tracked the Android Market since its launch.

Almost two thirds (62.2 per cent) of the available Android applications are offered for free, according to the stats. What's more, almost half (44.6 per cent) of reviewers commenting on their chosen apps give them 5/5.

While 20,000 is a solid number, it is still overshadowed by the Apple App Store's own figure, which is reckoned to be around the 100,000 mark. Indeed, Apple recently celebrated having reached the two billion app download milestone.

That said, Android is increasing in popularity with analyst IDC saying its market share has been pushed higher of late.

"Because of its openness, a developer will be able to modify the platform and make it better," Andy Rubin, senior director for mobile platforms at Google, said at the launch of the first Android-running handset - the T-Mobile G1 - back in September 2008.

"It is future-proof because it is an open platform."

Motorola has played down reports that it is planning on launching an Android-based app store anytime soon.

Website Android Me has posted screen grabs supposedly from the new app store dubbed Shop4Apps. The live version of the URL has since been taken down.

According to the report, the app store will be accessible via both desktop or mobile devices or through a Motorola Media Link (MML). It claims the store will have a number of user-friendly features such as a 'MyLocker' section for download history and automatic update alerts.

However, Motorola is keeping tight-lipped. "We have not announced an application store and have nothing to share," it said in a statement issued to IT PRO.

Motorola has just launched its second Android-based handset in the UK. The first, the DEXT, was launched earlier this year, while the Milestone - known as the DROID in the US - hit UK shores earlier this month.

There are already reports surfacing that the Milestone has been so popular it has sold out, although Motorola won't provide details.

"It is Motorola's policy to not comment on sales or forecasts. However, we are delighted with the consumer and market response to MILESTONE since its availability in Germany, Italy, France and the UK," a statement said.

"We are confident that Android is key to our future handset strategy and the response to both MILESTONE and DEXT leave us well placed for the continued roll out of our Android-based portfolio globally throughout 2010." Click here for our review of the DROID.

Bookworms holding out for an e-book reader for Christmas can now feed their literary appetite on the move for free.

Amazon today unveiled its Kindle for iPhone app, making it available to 60 countries including the UK. The app was launched in the US back in March.

In addition to purchasing e-books from the Kindle store and viewing them on their iPhone and iPod Touch devices, users can also synchronise between what's on their Kindle, mobile device and computer thanks to Amazon's Whispersync technology. This means they can pick up where they left off reading wherever they happen to be.

"We are excited to make the Kindle for iPhone App available to iPhone and iPod Touch users in more than 60 countries, allowing them to access the vast selection of the most popular books, all available wirelessly from the Kindle Store," said Ian Freed, vice president, Amazon Kindle, in a statement.

"The Kindle for iPhone App is the perfect companion for customers who own a Kindle or Kindle DX, and a great way for customers around the world to download and read books even if they don't yet have a Kindle."