According to US research advisory Gartner, mobile payments may be the next “big thing” for retailers. The firm expected 38 percent growth of mobile payment users last year, totaling 141 million.

While this may seem like a lot, the industry still has a long way to go and there are a number of roadblocks ahead, according to Sandy Shen, Gartner Research Director. “The biggest hurdle is the need to change user behavior by convincing consumers to pay with mobile phones instead of cash and cards,” says Shen.

Retailers can play a large role in changing user behavior. While manufacturers can produce the phones to process mobile payments and merchant service providers can set up the networks, a lack of retailer support will lead to little (if any) mobile payment adoption.

The first step for retailers is to educate themselves about the technology, the ecosystem and the opportunity mobile payments afford. Software Advice, an online company that reviews of point of sale systems for small business, hears from a lot of retailers that are curious about mobile payments. Here are the answers to some of the most important questions.

What are mobile payments?
Mobile payments are transactions that take place at the interaction of radio-frequency equipped mobile devices and payment terminals. This connection, called near field communication (NFC) is already popular in MasterCard PayPass and Visa payWave transactions.

What is the consumer-facing technology behind mobile payments?
Consumers register a personal virtual wallet (e.g., ISIS virtual wallet or Google Wallet) and access it through a mobile OS application. These devices must also have an integrated NFC chip (a list of compatible phones can be found here). When the consumer is close to an NFC-capable point of sale terminal, a connection is established, the consumer inputs a PIN code and the transaction is completed.

What do retailers need to accept mobile payments?
First, retailers have all the same requirements as they do to accept credit card payments–merchant account and gateway for payments, POS software and hardware). Specifically, retailers need a credit card machine that is capable of conducting ISO 14443 communication. These specifications are integrated in some new, high-end credit card machines. Alternatively, retailers can use a standalone NFC receiver, which is usually the cheaper option of the two.

How do mobile payments benefit consumers versus using credit cards?
The main selling point of mobile payments is its ease of use–consumers have their smartphones handy, why not process transactions with them? This is also one of the biggest debates of the benefit of mobile payments–does this really solve a problem for consumers? Added benefits of mobile payments include an either method of replacing consumer credit card accounts if a phone is stolen, as well as the future potential value-added services that mobile developers can produce.

To read further on the ecosystem of mobile payments, click here: http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/retail/mobile-payments-faqs-1012512/

Written by Michael Koploy, SoftwareAdvice.com

On March 14, 2011, Microsoft released Internet Explorer 9 (IE9). The look and feel changed with the information bar moving to the bottom of the browser and the search bar being integrated into the address bar. But overall, the change in user functionality is what affected add-ons the most. This change also created a very different experience for the user in terms of what they have to do to use add-ons after they install them.

IE9 asks for the user’s consent to enable newly installed add-ons, instead of automatically enabling them from the start:

IE9 Asks for User Consent to Enable Add-ons

When the user clicks Enable, they are shown this screen:

User Must Now Enable Add-Ons

This could lessen the chance of the user actually being able to use the add-on that they installed. They may click Don’t enable or they may just X out of the message completely because they don’t understand what it is or they are annoyed by the messaging.

IE9 also gives the user information on what is slowing down their browser and messages them on a regular basis asking them to speed up their browser by disabling add-ons:

Users Asked to Disable Add-Ons to Speed Up Startup

When the user clicks Disable add-ons, they are shown this screen:

Screen Shown to User When They Click Disable Add-ons

If the add-ons the user has installed and enabled total a load time of more than .2 seconds, the add-ons will show up on this list and the user may choose to disable them. This new functionality helps speed up the user’s browser, but it can also cause the user to want to uninstall all add-ons listed whether or not they really contribute to slowing down their browser.

On November 8, 2011, Mozilla released Firefox 8 (FF8).   This new version adds a new confirmation prompt for add-ons.  This prompt is different depending on whether or not the add-on is installed via an XPI or an EXE.

When an add-on is installed via an XPI, FF8 displays a modal dialog box with an Install Now button:

Modal Dialog Box with an Install Now Button

The user has to click Install Now to enable the add-on(s).  If they click cancel, the add-on(s) will not be enabled for use.

When an add-on is installed via an EXE, FF8 opens a new tab with a checkbox confirmation screen:

Add-on Installed via EXE, FF8 Opens Checkbox Confirmation Screen

By default, the checkbox is not checked, so the user has to check the box next to Allow this installation and then click Continue to be able to use the add-on.  If the user doesn’t check the box and clicks Continue, the add-on will not be enabled.

With the changes these new browser versions bring, it seems that the ultimate goal is speed. Each browser wants to be the fastest. These changes can be seen as both positive and negative for users.  As a positive, users may have a faster browser and not have to wait as long for load times.  As a negative, they have to take additional steps to “enable” add-ons that they have already agreed to install and in some cases, they have agreed multiple times through certain processes that confirm the user is installing what they want to install.

These changes can also be seen as both negative and somewhat positive for add-on developers. As a negative, these changes make it harder for an add-on developer because users have to take additional steps to be able to actually interact with their add-ons.  As a positive, with survival becoming harder and harder for add-ons, it encourages developers to make sure their add-on has a fast load time and it creates enough value so the user will want to take the necessary steps to enable the add-on for use.  However, even with those changes, it doesn’t ensure that the user will “enable” their add-on.  Another alternative for add-on developers might be exploring the options of building out a desktop version of the add-on so the application isn’t affected by any of these changes.

Overall, sometimes change is good and sometimes it’s not so good.  As things change though, we have to roll with those changes and allow ourselves to make the best of them.  We will just have to wait and see what comes next! Do you have any tactics to deal with browser changes?  If so, add them to the comments.

Nicole Virnig, Account Development Manager, W3i, LLC
Nicole focuses on growing W3i business relationships, making sure the  client has what they need to make them successful. If they aren’t  happy, she isn’t happy.

With Windows 8, Microsoft is taking a dramatic change in how users interact with Windows; centered on the Metro interface and application environment.  Here’s what I learned at the Microsoft Build Conference in Anaheim, California as Microsoft revealed the latest incarnation of Windows, namely Windows 8.

In Windows 8, Metro is a replacement for the Start Menu, and the normal desktop view of Windows.  When a user first logs into Windows 8, the first thing they see is the Metro interface with application tiles on the interface that are similar to the tiles seen on Windows Phone 7; these tiles are called “Live Tiles”.  Besides being interfaces to the specific application, they can display information relative to their function on the tile themselves.  For example, a weather app could display your current weather location, the Twitter app could show the latest tweets, and so on.

The Windows 8 Start screen in developer preview version (Build 8102.winmain_win8m3.110912-1733.92eb4451821f0730). It was released at the Build Windows event. Source: Wikipedia

Microsoft is heavily pushing the Metro interface; it appears that they want to use the current base of Windows-based systems to incorporate Metro, rather than having it limited solely to low-powered tablet-based systems.  Microsoft is betting that touch will be everywhere in a few years; much like the age of computers changed when the mouse was introduced.  They are counting on the fact that touch will have the same effect; every system, every monitor, will be touch enabled.  With that context, their promotion of Metro makes sense for the future of Windows.

Touch

Metro is really meant for a touch interface.  Touching a tile opens the application; swiping on the main interface scrolls the available tiles. Swiping from the right edge in any application brings what Microsoft terms “Charms”, which gives access to sharing, search, configuration options and the like. Swiping from the left edge switches between running applications; swiping from the bottom or top of an application will bring menu options available from that application.
The Metro interface is definitely a touch interface; with a touch-enabled screen it is “fluid and fast” as Microsoft described it many times during the conference.  At the same time, however, it turns into a second-rate interface with a mouse and keyboard; much like touch on the classic desktop is not ideal, keyboard and mouse on the Metro interface does not feel ideal.  Granted, many things may change before the release of Windows 8, however, I hope the interface translates better than it does currently.

The classic desktop is still there as a tile on the main Metro window.  All applications that currently run on Windows 7 should work fine under Windows 8; when those applications are launched they open on the classic desktop and work as you would expect them to.  The classic desktop will be available on any x86 and x64 systems; however with the new ARM platforms that Microsoft is targeting (light tablets like the iPad and Android platforms), the classic desktop is rumored to not be available; the only interaction will be through the Metro interface.

Metro Environment

The best way to describe the environment that Metro applications run in is comparing it to current offerings of iOS and Android platforms.  Metro is a closed environment, given only what the Windows Runtime (WinRT) allows.  All apps work within a sandboxed environment; apps have their own storage area and temporary file location.  Any access outside of these areas is only through the user specifically selecting files outside of those environments; the Windows registry and random file access is not allowed.  There is limited interaction between apps; the only way to “share” content between apps is through the use of Contracts defined by Microsoft.  These contracts define what each application shares with other applications, either as a source or a target of those given contracts.  For example, one app might be able to share pictures with another app, or another might be a target for search queries within the application.
Applications are fully managed, much like the application lifecycles you see in iOS and Android platforms.  When an app is visible, it’s in its running state; if the user switches to another application, the former app will go into a suspended mode shortly; taking memory but not able to process any data.  Eventually if the memory needs to be freed, Metro will stop the application; these situations should be handled.

Access to external services, such as querying web services and such are all managed through WinRT.  Metro apps can define background processes for performing tasks and keep the application responsive, but as always, these are all managed by the system.  Any normal service, running under the normal Windows desktop or web service, cannot assume that the Metro app is actually in a running state so any requests should come from the metro app in polling those services.
All device interaction with the computer is also managed with WinRT and Metro; any request to device capabilities, like the camera or accelerometer data, must first be declared in the application manifest.  Additionally, user confirmation must be given when the application tries to access the device module; the user will be given an option to approve the access when the app tries to access the device.

Windows Store

Like the other operating systems mentioned, all Metro apps are solely distributed through the Windows Store.  Like Apple’s App Store, all apps within the Windows Store must be fully approved by Microsoft, matching Microsoft’s design specifications for Metro apps, as well as functionality.  Given that many of Microsoft’s customers are enterprise installations, they did say that there will be enterprise installation methods available (likely through Active Directory or the like); however for all home and individual installations, Metro apps are only installed through the store, and cannot be side-loaded.  There is no actual installation executable (exe or msi) for Metro apps; a metro app is essentially a signed package and manifest, which the Metro environment loads; no custom installation options are available.

As much as has been said about Metro, very little was said about the Windows Store itself.  The current build of Windows 8 has a live tile for the store, but it only is a placeholder and is not currently available.  As mentioned above, all Metro applications must be approved by Microsoft; while the length of this approval process is unknown, they did say that the entire process will be transparent as to what stage of the approval an app is in, as well as detailed explanations as to why an app was rejected, and what needs to be changed to allow it to be approved.  There will be pricing options available, although the license options and Microsoft’s portion of the sale was not described.  It was mentioned that classic desktop applications may be available in the store, however, full details aren’t available.  Microsoft will likely release more information concerning the store when it’s available.

Overall Windows 8 Experience

 As it stands right now, Windows 8 and the Metro interface is pre-beta software; it is very buggy and experimental.  Windows 8 should not be run on production or every-day use systems; you will experience crashes and hangs; to anyone that has run pre-release software this should come as no surprise.  It is possible to run Windows 8 on some virtualization software, although the performance leaves much to be desired, as most VMs have a very basic video card driver, and all of Metro uses DirectX to run.  I would suggest a dedicated piece of hardware if one is available.
Microsoft plans to follow the same release cycle they had with Windows 7; there will be one Beta and on Release Candidate (RC) before the Release to Manufacturer (RTM), with the retail version of Windows 8 coming in the Fall 2012.  Many things will change between then and now, including the items listed above.

For more information about Metro applications and Windows 8 subsystems, visit the Microsoft Windows 8 development site at http://dev.windows.com, and all the videos of the keynotes and sessions from the Build conference can be found at http://www.buildwindows.com.

Joel Braun, Senior Software Developer, W3i

Joel has more than 9 years experience in software development focusing on native Windows development in C++.

As a tech geek, I have a few go-to websites that I always use when I am in the market to buy a gadget for myself or a fellow geek. (I also use some browser extensions.)  Here are my favorites to help you with your holiday shopping for the geek on your holiday list.

How to Find Gifts for the Geek in Your Life

Computer Hardware: Newegg.com – This is my go to for anything with peripherals and components.  I also go to this site when I am bored for its entertainment value.

Geeky Gifts:  ThinkGeek.com - I go to this site to discover new tech gadgets. Family members know any gift from ThinkGeek is an awesome gift for me.

Mobile and Web Deals: pricegrabber.com – This is a great site for finding the most competitive price.  There is also a mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

iPad – http://itunes.apple.com/app/pricegrabber-ipad-edition/id363624354?mt=8

iPhone/iPod Touch – http://itunes.apple.com/app/pricegrabber/id341253803?mt=8

Android – https://market.android.com/details?id=com.pricegrabber.PGAndroid

Web Browser Add-ons: Priceblink.com – I use this in my Chrome browser.  It shows me competitive pricing and whether there are coupons available.  They also have it for Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer, and iPad.

Chrome: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/aoiidodopnnhiflaflbfeblnojefhigh

FireFox: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/priceblink/

Overall Choice: Amazon.com – I always cross-check prices and read reviews for anything I have a hankering to buy. I use Amazon to cross-check in-store prices and other shopping sites.  This coupled with AmazonPrime and the newly released Kindle Fire make Amazon the place to go. Why wouldn’t you buy it from Amazon if you can get free two day shipping? I now tend to buy from Amazon for almost anything since I can get it in two days.  I am a huge Android fan so I also check Amazon’s App Store for the free app a day.

We all develop our own shopping strategies as time goes on. I was visiting family this past weekend and I was shocked to see an Amazon box lying around the house. My parents always wanted to touch and feel products before they bought them but the times are changing. What are your go-to sites for buying the latest gadgets and components? Do you have any tips or gem sites to share?

Matt Brauchler, Business Intelligence Developer, W3i, LLC

Matt has over 7 years’ experience working in Information Systems. He is a Business Intelligence Developer for W3i with expertise in SQL, Data Warehousing, and Reporting. He is also a lawn perfectionist and enjoys learning new technology.

First impressions matter. In fact, 90% of people form an opinion about an interface in 1/20th of a second, which will impact the likelihood of someone interacting with your app or website. Astounding!

Don't Compromise on App Aesthetics for Higher Conversions

What can someone possibly absorb in that amount of time? Likely, things that are not always front and center when one thinks about creating an app or service. Elements like colors, shapes, layout, balance and white-space among others – the look and feel of whatever interface they are looking at. These aspects create emotions such as trust, joy, comfort and so on (or the inverse). Certainly, these emotions can and will influence the way users explore and interact with an interface, if they chose to do so at all.

Still think you don’t need to worry about aesthetics? Think again. A plethora of research was conducted that supports the notion that aesthetics play an integral part in the user experience – in short, attractive things work better. Investing in aesthetics increases the likelihood of a user choosing to interact with your product and also increases the chances that your user will return to use it again, and tell their friends about it. Aesthetics increase the perceived value and usability of your product.

So what goes into creating a successful, visually pleasing design – something that is aesthetic? There is no magic formula, but there are general guidelines. We call them design principles. Principles that deal with many of the elements mentioned earlier in this post. Talking about each could easily take up a number of subsequent posts. Instead, I will point you to a decent collection of resources that noupe has put together recently: 45 Free Lessons in Graphic Design Theory.

What apps or sites can you think of that are visually appealing and invite usage?

David May, Director of Creative Services; W3i, LLC
David has been working in the design industry for over 9 years and carries a fancy B.F.A. with focus in Graphic Design. He’s a native of Germany and loves peanut m&m’s. about everything related to the web and design in general.

I recently gave a talk to a group of marketing specialists from large corporate firms. After my talk, one of the attendees approached me and said: “I enjoyed your talk, it all sounds so exciting, but can you please tell me what exactly an app is?” Talk about a reality check.

In the ultra fast paced world of connected devices, one of the words that’s thrown around more than any other is the term “app”. So for those amongst you who are still trying to figure it out, an app typically refers to software used on a smartphone or mobile device such as the Android, iPhone, BlackBerry or iPad, as in “mobile app”. Similarly the phrase “web app” or “online app” is also used in a business setting as an abbreviation for “Web application” or “online application”. It’s a piece of software that helps you get things done, receive updates, or enjoy a little leisure time.

Now that we have that figured out, let’s fast forward to how apps are evolving almost as quickly as they appeared.

Apps, The Next Evolution

Mobile apps extend the reach and productivity of your business, but even “mobile” devices are rapidly changing shape. Take for example the I’mWatch – A sleek, thin and ergonomic watch that’s powered by the Android OS. The watch is a phone, web, music, radio, organizer, photo and video player. This new level of portability delivers new use cases for apps, as we currently know them.

“The effects of the mobile industry are making a huge impact in retail right now. Companies are looking at innovative ways to bring in new customers, deliver their messaging and maximize sales through the use of branded apps,” shares Ariel Haroush CEO of I Display, Part of the Outform Group. “The key is to deliver mobile content throughout the retail shopping experience via smart digital retail signage.” Expect to see Android OS based point of sale devices sprouting up in a fashion boutique near you.

Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and other TV Manufactures have already started launching their line of app enabled TVs. These “Smart TVs” can connect to the web through ethernet or wireless connection.  This connectivity allows the user to perform many of the functions on their television that could normally only be done on a computer or mobile device. Samsung has already gone the extra mile by launching their own dedicated App Store for TVs.

“The support for Samsung Apps – from content providers to developer partners and consumers around the world – has been tremendous,” said Eric Anderson, Vice President of Content and Product Solutions, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. “As we look ahead, Samsung sees the opportunity to expand not only the breadth and depth of apps, but also how users interact with them, making it easy to discover and enjoy content across multiple devices in the home.”

In conclusion – Get ready to re-learn everything you know about apps. The trends creeping up right around the corner are about to deliver the reality to the sci-fi we’ve been dreaming of. Developers who aren’t seriously considering the opportunities of these connected devices will be missing out.

Turning it back over to you – How do you see the evolution of apps progressing? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us on Twitter @W3i and @OrenTodoros

Minneapolis, Minn. October 21, 2011 – AppAllStar, a daily free app promotion site marketed by W3i, announces Championship Week, October 23^rd to October 30^th, to celebrate one million downloads of its AppAllStar iOS app.  Championship Week will feature seven of the top ranking paid apps from companies such as SEGA® Corporation and SkyVu offered for free for just 24 hours.  These popular apps are seldom offered to the public at no charge.

AppAllStar Champion Week Feature Free BattleBears1

AppAllStar launched its iPhone app in March, 2011, and in less than six months has grown to more than one million users.  AppAllStar provides consumers a one stop shop for quality game apps daily.  AppAllStar solves the problem of wasting time discovering and paying for cool games. By installing the AppAllStar app you can review and install a new app each and every day.  Aside from quality tested content, AppAllStar provides a frictionless user experience allowing users to install a new game and then get on with their day.

“We are excited about the lineup. Our partners really ‘stepped up to the plate’ allowing AppAllStar to
feature some of their best iOS games. This may be the only time these games are offered for free so we are recommending consumers install AppAllStar to so they can review the line-up from day one.”  comments Joram Manka, AppAllStar Product Manager.

About AppAllStar:  AppAllStar is a product of W3i Mobile Solutions, LLC.  W3i develops and promotes quality, useful free apps across an extensive app network offering advertisers user acquisition for iOS™,
Android™, and Windows™ apps and developers revenue models to grow their app businesses.    Get the latest from AppAllStar on Facebook and Twitter @AppAllStar. To learn more, visit www.W3i.com.

The names of the companies and products mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:

Deborah Manthei

Director Marketing Communications

Office:  320.257.7571

Mobile:  320.310.7714

Deborah dot Manthei at W3i.com

HTML5:Everyone’s either talking about it, writing about or experiencing it. But who’s really using it and how?

With this post, that’s exactly what I wanted to determine.  The result as you’ll find out, is that HTML5 is at the brink of creating a shift in the way we discover, interact and share the content we love, but still has a long way to go.

HTML5-Changing the Way We Live?

In a nutshell, HTML5 is the natural evolution of HTML, the backbone of all things web. HTML4, the previous iteration of the language, debuted in 1997 and was updated, tweaked and revamped to keep up with all the changes in the web and mobile, not to mention users.

One of the biggest pro’s of HTML5 for developers is the freedom to deploy once and have their app available everywhere. From a consumers’ viewpoint, buying something once with the freedom to use it on multiple platforms is a major plus.

The HTML5 standard supports video, offline reading, touch and gestures – all functions that, until recently, were available for mobile devices on native apps. That being said, when it comes to mobile apps, native development currently wins out over HTML5, especially when trying to deliver apps that take advantage of some of the smartphone’s advanced functionality such as access to the camera.

The HTML5 Mobile App Store Landscape

Currently, the simplest way to distribute HTML5 apps is via the web, which end-users can then connect to via a hyperlink to their mobile device. This, of course, eliminates the need to go through Apple’s lengthy and somewhat confusing approval process. Alternatively, there are HTML5 app stores cropping up that are ready to make an impact in this new market. Very much like the app store, third party developers can list and sell their HTML5 mobile app modules and components in the stores, usually with the usual 70-30 revenue split.

Appcelerator just announced their new marketplace at the company’s Codestrong Developer Conference. The HTML5 app store includes mobile app modules, templates, design elements, cloud extensions and other components for the Appcelerator developer community to use.

OpenAppMkt, launched in 2010, is a web app that can be accessed from openappmkt.com. Installing it is super simple if you’ve ever added an item to you device’s home screen. You can browse through it like you would the App Store or Android market. Most of the apps are free, however, like with most good things in life, the best things cost a little money.

Openspacestore, which was recently launched at TechCrunch Disrupt, recognizes the type of website–gaming, entertainment, news, travel or other and notifies the user in real-time that new apps are available for download. A perfect example of this is a visitor going to TMZ.com and being notified of the top gaming and entertainment apps such as DailyHoroscope and Angry Birds. Another example is visitors going to CNN.com and being alerted of of CNN’s free app web app, as well as other breaking headline apps like NYTimes, Fox News, Good Morning America and others.

 In Conclusion - Future updates to HTML5 (or will it be HTML6?) will surely deliver the freedom to access the mobile devices’ advanced functionality such as storage, in-app notifications, camera access, use of the GPS and so on.  The truth is that most of this is already achievable by utilizing services such as PhoneGap. At the end of the day, it all comes down  to one thing; great apps deliver a rich, user-friendly experience, regardless of what technology is implemented.

How do you see HTML5 evolving? Share your thoughts in the comments or reach out to us via Twitter @W3i and @OrenTodoros.

Oren Todoros, Consultant, W3i, LLC
Oren has more than 9 years experience in online marketing and is now specializing in app marketing.

Recently W3i released a new service, Apperang.com, for incentivizing users to download mobile apps for their iPhone®, iPad®, and iPod touch® devices

W3i was able to create this service in a couple of months because of some great industry leading tools. Apperang.com was built using Microsoft’s .NET framework and ASP.NET web application framework. ASP.NET provides many out of the box features that make creating sites quick and simple. Things like Site Membership and Forms Authentication, Session State management, Master Pages and customizable controls provide the fundamental pieces needed to build a robust web application.

Site Membership

ASP.NET provides an out of the box solution to provide membership to your site. With a few simple configuration settings and the use of the Web Site Administration Tool you can setup users and roles for your site. There are also a series of controls that ship with ASP.NET that allow you to provide login, registration, and password recover functionality to your own site with no extra coding. Even if you don’t use the built in ASP.Net Membership, Forms Authentication provides a quick way to manage users throughout the page life cycle and most authorization can be handled by setting up configuration settings in the Web.config file. If a page needs to display content differently based on whether or not a user is logged in or based on a role, the LoginView control can handle this declaratively, meaning no extra code needs to be written. All of this out of the box functionality is extendable. So even if you need more control over certain behaviors you can write you own custom code using defined extension points.

Session State

ASP.NET has a built in session management system. It’s part of the page life cycle and handles the loading and persisting of session data. You can store just about any kind of Object in session making it very easy to store and retrieve data. You can choose from five different modes Off, InProc, StateServer, SQLServer, and Custom. Each one has an advantage and disadvantage, mostly dealing with a balance between performance and the durability of the data after the applications and servers are no longer running. The Custom mode allows you to build your own Data Provider if you have specific needs on where and how your session data is stored.

WCF

In the near future W3i will be releasing the Apperang Mobile App into the App Store. Another great advantage to using the .NET Framework is access to the Windows Communication Foundation or WCF. WCF provides the ability to expose functionality in a Service Orientated Architecture (SOA) type fashion without being locked into a specific protocol for communication between systems. W3i has taken advantage of WCF by utilizing the RESTful services feature in order to expose key functionality to the Apperang Mobile App. In a matter of a few weeks we were able to expose a set of services with the same functionality that was built into the website by utilizing WCF. WCF also allows us to add or change protocols with simple configuration changes. So if at some point in the future we need to expose the service using SOAP we can do this by adding a new endpoint configuration. The other great advantage of WCF is that it is fully extendable and can be customized at about every point in the pipeline, though you probably won’t need to as it is full featured out of the box.

Expect to see W3i release some new sites and services in the upcoming months utilizing more of Microsoft’s .NET framework and ASP.NET.

What’s more important, the number of installs attained or the number of installs chosen by desire and retained? The answer will dictate what kind of comments you want to leave on this post.

The blogosphere has blown up over the past couple of weeks around a debate I thought died years ago: opt-in versus opt-out.

The catalyst for this post revisiting the debate comes from a company that formerly operated in an opt-in software marketing space  moving to the other side  of the user choice fence, while another, Facebook,  arguably continues to struggle with opt-out backlashes from its huge and growing huger (yes, huger) user base.

So what’s the deal?  When it comes to creating value in connecting people with applications, it’s a no-brainer. Let user consent, control and choice drive the install car and everyone wins.

When it comes to distribution, The Rolling Stones are wrong; you can always get what you want

Opt-in ensures that the average customer passing through an install process gets what they want, without surprises. When customers are opting in to an installation, the user isn’t the only one that’s winning and getting what they want. Advertisers have something to gain from users consciously choosing their offers: a lower attrition rate.

Installs vs. Qualified Installs

In the long run, what does gaining installs in an opt-out strategy get you? What’s the long term value of an install that wasn’t wanted? What good does the install do if it’s immediately uninstalled or never used? Worse yet, what happens when the process provides a bad user experience now associated with your brand? In the court of public opinion, qualified installs stand up strong for all: user, publishers and advertisers. Don’t get me wrong, not every install in an opt-out process is unwanted, but it follows that the attrition rate is much higher than with opt-in.

Street Cred: It matters in app distribution

Certify this, approval that. There are a plethora of industry “stamps of approval.” W3i is proud to be a member of the TRUSTe Trusted Download program. While that program contains some flexibility, opt-in truly respects the user’s privacy and adheres to user’s choice and consent principles, which are typically best practices in the internet space.

It’s not about the dollar, right?

When the question comes up, opt-in versus opt-out, one of those vehicles is clearly being driven by revenue, the other by user experience and value. You can massage the numbers however you want, all I’m saying is: if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck . . .