Tag: mobile apps

Mobile gaming is more than just a fad

The game industry is beginning to evolve as it puts more focus on the mobile sector. The mobile games market has been heavily saturated for some time, but large publishers and development studios that had initially been averse to the concept of mobile gaming are beginning to enter into the market with their own products. As mobile gaming continues to grow in popularity, the practices that have become common in the mobile gaming business are also becoming common in the overall game industry.

The game industry has been focusing more heavily on the mobile sector for good reason. Mobile games represent one of the most lucrative aspects of gaming today, with some 247 separate game companies earning more than $1 million in mobile revenue in the U.S. alone. Google, which provides access to a wide range of mobile gaming applications, has seen more than 300 million downloads for the mobile games it supports, with the developers of these games bringing in a collective $600 million. These may be astonishing numbers, but Google is widely considered within the game industry to be the least lucrative market for mobile gaming applications.

Many people enjoy mobile games because they are simple in nature and can be played anywhere and at any time. They offer on-demand entertainment that people have come to expect thanks to their growing reliance on mobile technology. Moreover, people have shown that they are willing to spend money on these games, whether it is the price for purchasing the game or buying in-game items, digital currencies, and bonuses that make gameplay more enjoyable.

Microtransactions, a term that represents in-game purchases, have become somewhat infamous among consumers. Some people claim that mobile games are nothing more than cash grabs, using microtransactions to take advantage of people that are willing to spend their money. These microtransactions are becoming a more integral part of traditional gaming, with developers and publishers introducing in-game purchases in order to cater to a more mobile-centric audience.  As mobile games continue to gain prominence, they may end up determining the course of the game industry’s future, which may cause a serious division between consumers and game developers that have an interest in microtransactions.

uTest is back but has changed its name to Applause.

The software testing company recently updated and in addition to announcing its name change from uTest to Applause, the company also revealed that it has acquired the German company Testhub, which specializes in crowd-testing and gives Applause the ability to make the most of real-world testing of desktop, web and mobile apps.

Applause and Testhub have a collective total of seven years experience in crowd-testing.

Furthermore, they have worldwide access (including 200 countries and territories) to more than 140,000 testers, combined. This will help Applause’s goal to provide companies with mobile tools and analytics to help them achieve “360° app quality”.

Both firms have produced more than one million test reports and have done business with thousands of companies, including big names like Amazon, Netflix, Google and USA Today. Over the course of six years, Applause has raised $80 million in funds by itself and has expanded its business across Europe and North America. Testhub will become Applause EU and will be the company’s base of operations in Europe.

In-the-wild testing for mobile apps and desktop and web applications will enable developers to test their apps in real-life scenarios.

Applause’s real-world testing services allow their clients to test their products beyond a lab. They can conduct testing on localization, usability of software, as well as conduct security and load checks for customer privacy.

Moreover, they provide their clients with a mobile SDK that will report bugs and crashes, as well as collect valuable feedback from Android, iOS and Windows Phone app users. Additionally, developers can monitor their mobile applications throughout all of the chief app stores by using the company’s Mobile Analytics dashboard, which gives a full view of their app’s progress starting at the development stage.

According to Applause CEO Doron Reuveni, “Modern app quality is no longer just a developer or QA problem; it’s a CIO problem, a marketing problem, a sales problem and a CEO problem. As Applause, we bring together a range for testing services and app quality tools to enable companies to achieve this.”

Developers of mobile apps can select the Applause products and services they need, allowing them to customize their experience instead of having to buy what they do not require.