DAILY

Web technologies
to flip app economy
“on its head”
By Steve Costello
Web technologies are
“flipping the apps store
model on its head, giving
developers the freedom to innovate
without having to ask permission”,
Jay Sullivan, SVP of products for
Mozilla (pictured), said.
The company on Sunday
announced its Firefox Marketplace,
an HTML5 app store which will
support the launch of the first
handsets powered by its Firefox OS
when they reach the market later this
year.
“We're giving developers the
freedom to hack without
gatekeepers, providing them with
much greater flexibility to innovate
and make money. Web app
developers can distribute their apps
on their own terms and not be
subjected to anybody else’s
conditions,” he told Mobile World
Daily.
And the use of web technologies
will provide consumers with more
freedom, “enabling them to buy an
app once and use it everywhere they
can access the web, while providing
access to local content and apps
which are highly relevant to their
needs,” he continued.
While Android and iOS are the
platforms with traction on their side,
and Microsoft’s Windows Phone and
BlackBerry 10 are set to provide
increasingly competitive alternatives,
the fact that web apps use
technologies that are already familiar
works in its favour.
“The most important thing to
realise from the outset is that we’re
not introducing a new platform.
There are millions of developers
who already have a great, touchfriendly,
app-like mobile web
presence”, Sullivan told Mobile
World Daily.
They key benefit of web-based
apps is that developers can address
the largest possible user base, rather
than being forced to port apps
between different platforms using
native tools.
“Today’s app and content
developers are under pressure to
deliver for multiple platforms, each
with their own programming
languages, tools and processes. More
and more, they are turning to
“hybrid” apps, building their apps
using HTML5, putting a light native
wrapper around them, and
submitting them to app stores. So,
HTML5 apps are already being
widely deployed,” Sullivan said.
The changing balance of the app
ecosystem will also provide
opportunity for operators, who have
been “largely marginalised in the
mobile apps world, as the customer
relationship for apps is generally
between the customer and one of
the two big app stores,” the Mozilla
executive continued.
“This means that operators can’t
leverage one of their biggest assets,
the billing relationship with the
customer. Mozilla is pioneering
payment APIs for the Web, which
will appear first in Firefox OS, that
allow network operators to play a
role again”, Sullivan noted.
Aepona inks OneAPI deal with US Cellular
By Ken Wieland
US Cellular, a Chicago-based
carrier, has signed up to
Aepona’s OneAPI platform.
A GSMA initiative, OneAPI uses
cloud-based APIs to make
operators’ network capabilities –
such as billing, location and
messaging – available to
application developers using
Aepona software. US Cellular will
also deploy Aepona’s AMP (API
Nokia talks up
apps efforts
By Steve Costello
Nokia said that it is “opening up
its APIs in imaging, location
and music to encourage
developers to build unique and
innovative experiences for Lumia”.
At its press conference yesterday
morning, the company revealed
that more than 130,000 applications
are now available for the Windows
Phone platform.
The recovering handset giant is
also continuing its efforts to build
the ecosystem for its Asha Touch
mass-market devices, launching its
Asha Developer Competition,
which is designed to encourage
Monetization Platform), which
enables operators to choose their
preferred business model for API
charging.
Only qualified developers will be
permitted to access US Cellular’s
core network and billing assets.
“Trends such as bring-your-owndevice
are making it increasingly
difficult to roll out and manage
mobile applications consistently
across enterprises,” says Will Yapp,
Aepona’s SVP of sales (Americas),
developers to create high-quality
apps targeting these handsets.
It is open to developers
worldwide in categories across
music and entertainment; games;
utilities and productivity; and news
and information, with apps judged
on “creativity, user experience and
market potential”.
Nokia also announced a new set
of applications for Lumia and Asha
users, “many using unique platform
and device enablers to deliver better
quality application experiences”.
“Quality, tailor-made apps translate
into increased consumer engagement,
which is the key for ecosystem
success,” said Marco Argenti, senior
VP of developer experience for Nokia.
Companies working with Nokia
include Foursquare, which has
created two “app variants” for
Windows Phone. First to market, and
in a prepared statement. “By
providing mobile network
capabilities, like communications
and context as cloud-based APIs,
US Cellular can help developers
embed rich mobile functionality
into a range of business and B2C
applications in a device-agnostic
manner.”
US Cellular says that 61 per cent
of its customers have access to
LTE, which will increase to 87 per
cent by the end of the year.
available for all Windows Phone
devices, will be a version with voice
support, NFC and Nokia maps
integration, while a Lumia-exclusive
version includes augmented reality.
A “modernised” Foursquare app
for Nokia’s Asha devices is also in
the pipeline.
In addition, WhatsApp will soon
offer support for Asha devices with
dual SIMs, and “unveil new features
that deep link to the platform”.
WhatsApp will also continue its
development for WP8, with “new
features and a new user experience”.
Nokia also announced an alliance
with entertainment company
Dreamworks Animations, which
will use Nokia’s APIs to deliver
“rich, interactive entertainment
experiences” exclusively for Nokia
devices, starting from the second
half of 2013.
APPS NEWS
Twillio: operators
facing challenges in
wooing developers
By Steve Costello
It is “incumbent” on operators to
market themselves to app
developers and demonstrate how
they can bring value to a partnership,
according to Lynda Smith, chief
marketing officer of cloud
communications company Twillio.
“I’m not convinced app
developers see telcos as a partner.
They see them as connectivity or a
‘dumb pipe’. The value-add and
partnership comes higher up the
stack – for example the platform like
iOS or Android,” she said.
“And couple this with the lack of
trust developers have for operators
relative to commitment to their
cause, it’s a tough call to think of
them as partners,” Smith continued.
At the heart of the issue is the fact
that operators need to commit to
supporting developers, rather than
such projects being “a science
experiment”.
She noted: “Operators have so
many lines of business that it is
easy, and the evidence is there, for
the whole app developer focus to
get lost or be a focus de jour – and
often for only the person that is
passionate about it.”
“If an operator decides to be in
the business of supporting app
developers, then they need to take
an outside in approach. They need
to fully understand what is
important to the developer, like
collaboration on cross-carrier,
standardised APIs. They need to
hire people who get it. And they
need to demonstrate long term
commitment,” Smith advised.
An opportunity for operators to
improve their currency with
developers will come through RCS,
once developers “get out of the ‘wait
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and see’ mode” for the technology.
“Creating a standard specification
for rich communications
functionality that leverages a global
network is the right first step. What
will also be critical is creating a
great developer experience around
the usage of this technology in
applications,” Smith said.
Adding enhanced communications
to apps is something that developers
are embracing – “once they get a feel
for the possible”, she noted.
“When there is "democratic"
access to technology, distribution,
and infrastructure, it's reasonable to
expect a surge of innovation using
these new tools. And it will take
education and inspiration to the
possible,” she continued.
And developers are also aware of
some of the other strengths of
telecoms operators.
“As for the potential value, I do
think they get the power and
influence telcos have, including
their reach and brand,” Smith noted.
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MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS DAILY 2013 | www.mobileworldcongress.com Tuesday 26th February PAGE 11