Retailers are optimizing their mobile apps this holiday season because shoppers are armed with more than just a wallet and their lists.

Until recently, smartphones didn’t do much but help shoppers find a store location or take a picture of an item to share with someone for their purchasing input. Apps that were able to check inventory or compare prices were few and far between.

As the pressure on brick-and-mortar stores to compete with online retailers increase, physical retailers have ramped up the functionalities of their apps to do more than just provide location and hours. However, according to marketing firm Acquity Group, only 25 percent of major retail chains offer their own mobile apps and just over 37 percent have a mobile website. Has this trend of consumers utilizing mobile apps to shop, compare prices, and purchase products thrown retailers off guard? For the first time in history, smart devices have become most people’s primary computer. Not desktops or laptops, but the devices in our pockets. It isn’t a fad; it’s here to stay.

Experian’s PriceGrabber issued results of its third winter shopping holiday survey which uncovers retail app trends. According to the survey:

• 39 percent of consumers have shopping-related apps on their smartphones
• 42 percent said they plan to download new shopping apps on their phones
• 65 percent said they will download coupon apps
• 62 percent will download price check apps with the ability to scan barcodes
• 38 percent use shopping apps to enhance the experience of shopping in physical stores

Some of Keynote DeviceAnywhere’s customers have upped the ante this year by appealing to mobile shoppers. Amazon.com, one of the world’s largest online retailers, said they will provide a five percent discount to shoppers if they use Amazon’s Price Check app from a physical store. eBay’s RedLaser and Google Shopper also offer apps that allow consumers to find pricing information online while shopping in physical stores.

Brick-and-mortars retailers will undoubtedly get creative to underscore advantages of shopping at the physical store. What does this mean for mobile shopping apps during holiday season 2012? GPS functionality that provide locations of sales clerks and products that consumers have tagged? Self-checkout via mobile devices? Scanning items and having them delivered directly to your car in the lot? There is limitless potential for retailers, whether physical or online, as long as their apps are optimized, bug-free and functional. Needless to say, the way for them to secure and grow their customer base is through mobile.

Retailers and all other organizations must extend their businesses and brands to the mobile channel or they’ll be left in the dust. Though Black Friday is over, I’m optimistic consumer holiday shopping will continue through January with last-minute incentives and price drops in the coming weeks. Retailers still have time to ramp up their mobile offerings to grab a piece of this mobile revenue pie.

As 2011 holiday shopping soars online, read about how mobile is redefining retail commerce in The Keynote Benchmark. Happy savvy shopping!

Both companies already provide age and maturity level suggestions for each app listed in their storefronts. Reading between the lines, it’s obvious neither company wants to relinquish control over part of the app submission process to a third party. Apple seems to be rating their apps just fine on their own, having descriptive ratings for their apps, some of which even encompass the essence of ESRB ratings. Google indicates that they “put a lot of effort into Android Market’s rating system… so they think it’s best for Android users and developers to stick with Android’s existing ratings which are well known and understood.”

So what does this mean for app developers? According to CTIA and ESRB, developers submitting apps to participating storefronts will be required to fill out a multiple-choice questionnaire designed to determine the age-appropriateness of the content and context of apps. This includes information on violence, content, language, drugs, and what location or personal information is shared with third parties. This is only applicable to new app submissions. Those that are already in app stores won’t be rated unless developers choose to submit them for ratings. Developers also have a choice to appeal ratings if they feel it’s inaccurate with regard to their app’s content.

The question is: Do developers really need to go through an extra step in the already-complex app submission process, even if it is relatively painless? Whether a mobile app rating system will have much impact or show itself to be useful still remains to be seen.

(LinkedIn Poll: Is the CTIA/ESRB Mobile Apps Rating System going to have a big impact on you or your organization? Go here to answer: http://linkd.in/vULUaC)

It seems like tech gifts such as smartphones and tablets are all the rage for children this holiday season so perhaps it’s not a bad idea after all. But I’m sure both sides of the fence will have their own opinions once the first rating badges begin appearing. What do you think?

In doing so, Adobe has in part validated the criticisms of Flash made by the late Steve Jobs in 2010, when he was CEO of Apple. “Flash was created during the PC era – for PCs and mice,” Jobs wrote in an open letter defending his company’s refusal to support Flash in iOS in favour of the HTML5 standard.

Adobe hinted at this move away from Flash for mobile in its acquisition last month of Nitobi, which makes cross-platform mobile development software called PhoneGap. This tool allows developers to create mobile applications using HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript and to package that code in a wrapper environment so it will run as a native mobile app.

This effectively means that developers will still be able to take their Flash content, repackage it, and optimize it for mobile devices by turning it into native apps that can be downloaded via the appropriate storefront – including the Apple App Store.

Both Adobe and Flash have long been part of the developer ecosystem and this shift raised some interesting points.

Firstly, Adobe Flash was made for the PC-to-PC era and as a result, when utilizing the technology on mobile, there were some clear challenges both for developers and the end user. Issues such as security, reliability and even its effect on battery life, due to software rather than hardware decoding, were often cited as reasons why Flash wasn’t fit for mobile.

Secondly, by eliminating Flash for mobile, Adobe has cemented the current mindset of developers and organizations the world over – either you make a standalone app, or you develop an HTML5 Web app. I suggest you read my recent post on this topic to learn more about how you can come to a decision on this question.

However, another way to look at it is that Adobe allowed the Web to mature much faster than it would have without Flash. It essentially became the vision for the future of HTML. As HTML5 came about, Flash-like capabilities such as animation and interactivity became the new standard. We should perhaps thank Adobe (and Macromedia who created Flash and was acquired by Adobe) for showing the community the way to make the Web behave in ways that greatly enhanced the user experience.

So, what does the future hold for Adobe Flash? Support for the platform will continue to be available on PC with a focus on those areas where they can have the most impact, such as advanced gaming and premium video. At the same time, with the Adobe team looking to leverage their expertise to progress HTML5, a standard that is built with the connected world in mind and somewhat device agnostic, this could be the end of mobile Flash as we know it. Then again, HTML5 aims to incorporate most of the goodies of Flash so in a sense, Flash for mobile is dead, but through its ashes, HTML5 was born.

With the rapid adoption of smartphones, the ability to access email on your handset in a simple, fast and function-rich environment has become a basic requirement for the end-user. Online services have begun to leverage HTML5 to provide this functionality irrespective of the device; however, demand for native applications that provide smoother functionality is still in high demand.

Getting Gmail on the iPhone has, up to now, been a bit of an arduous task. Users have had to input their Gmail data into the phone’s Mail app or access it via a browser, which ultimately lacks several of the features that are included in the online version. So, when on Wednesday, the Gmail App for iOS became available, the industry was excited – well until they tried it out.

A flood of complaints from early adopters around a bug with notifications resulted in an apology from Google (both on Twitter and their blog) and the removal of the app from the App Store. So, what happened that allowed a buggy app get through two traditionally comprehensive testing processes? Well we don’t know and are never likely to, but perhaps we can learn a lesson or two.

When speaking to our customers one of the most common reasons that we have found is that they previously only tested a fraction of the real-world scenarios. Bug proofing on an emulator, a single test phone hooked up to the computer or a quick trip down the road for real world testing is not enough and they were surprised when they encountered end-user complaints.

I am not suggesting that Google or Android test this way, in fact they both have an impeccable track record in my opinion, however it illustrates the point that companies need to test a lot of different scenarios before going live with a new app. Now, we don’t expect people to fly all over the world, purchase thousands of local handsets and go to remote mountain summits to test functionality – it’s financially prohibitive and impractical to say the least. But by leveraging a cloud-based, SaaS solution which automates the testing of all of your mobile apps and websites, combined with a test plan, you can have a comprehensive real-world QA process. But it shouldn’t end there, as mobile is far from static, it is constantly changing with new spectrum, operating systems and user-cases requiring ongoing monitoring, product improvements and updates.

As this case shows, no one can guarantee that an app will never go out with a bug or not perform as expected in a certain user case, but we can work together to mitigate the risks.

The Gartner top ten IT trends are recognized by the IT industry as a strong indicator of those technologies that will have a significant impact on enterprise infrastructure in the coming year. For example, cloud computing took the number one spot in 2010 and it has subsequently dominated the corporate agenda and media headlines over the past 12 months.

Enterprise mobility is clearly a key strategic move that many organizations are currently undertaking. However, one of the biggest challenges we have encountered while dealing with our customers is understanding where to start – from development, deployment to long term monitoring and adaptation.

There is no one-size-fits all solution and no singular technology that enables enterprise mobility. Instead, multiple systems combined with a shift in how IT departments, floor employees and C-level execs “control” access to the content and systems within the organization is necessary.

Gartner has clearly recognized this trend, breaking down some of the core technologies that will play a key role within mobility within organizations over the next year:

Media tablets and beyond (1). According to Deloitte, more than 25% of all tablet computers will be purchased by enterprises this year – an incredible figure when you realize that the iPad, the first tablet to gain widespread attention, was launched just over one year ago. Tablets, as a result, will be one of the several new environments that IT departments will have to be prepared to support.

Mobile-centric applications and interfaces (2). Siri is just one way that user-interfaces are evolving on the mobile handset. Touch and gesture will continue to transform the way we interact with, consume and create content.

Application stores and marketplace (4). As companies look to take advantage of the mobile opportunity, ranging from cost savings to improvements in productivity, IT departments are struggling to ensure only approved apps find their way onto company-owned devices. The rise of the enterprise app store will allow IT departments to manage and control certain applications getting on to handsets.

Cloud computing (10). The growth, support and adoption of the HTML5 standard will be a driving force behind the growth of cloud computing on the mobile platform. The development of hybrid and pure HTML5 applications will leverage this infrastructure and drive this strategic technology forward.

Fast forward to today and it is in fact Motorola Solutions, rather than Motorola Mobility, that has taken up the challenge with the launch of the ET1 tablet. The tablet, however, is unlikely to find much appeal amongst C-level executives or the mobile workforce, nor was it intended to, as this device is to be sold to employers for use by shop floor employees.

The seven inch enterprise tablet features specifications to rival the latest high-end consumer-focused devices on the market, including front and back cameras, Wi-Fi, a 1GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of system memory running and the Android v2.3.4 (Gingerbread) operating system. However, hot-swappable batteries, lack of cellular support and lack of access to the Android market show its true colours.

The device is pre-loaded with key applications for its target market including product comparison tools, manager dashboards, mobile POS and item location tools. This is clearly ideal for IT departments who want to avoid the security issues traditionally associated with the mobilization of the workforce.

Those companies wishing to offer additional applications built in-house will be required to use the tablets HTML5 compatible web browser, combined with a new web-based application development tool called RhoElements, to roll these out.

The advantage of this approach, in addition to security and employee control, is that these applications will also run across existing Windows Embedded Handheld and Windows CE devices already present within the workplace.

With a price tag of $1,000 for bulk orders, the ET1 tablet is clearly targeting those employers in key verticals; however I struggle to see why I wouldn’t buy an iPad, a durable case and a custom HTML5 solution instead.

With the rumored launch of a Facebook HTML5 application at today’s Apple Event, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for this new standard despite the obvious conflicts of interest for the handset manufacturer and what some of the challenges the industry need to still overcome before it’s deemed enterprise ready.

Why is the industry excited about HTML5?

With growing industry unease around the iOS walled garden, headaches over Android fragmentation and a flurry of new OS contenders, the hype around HTML5 might be justified. So, with companies including Salesforce, Slideshare and Pandora already signed up, what are some of the key advantages of HTML5?

• Cross-platform & Cross-Device Compatibility.  The consumerization of IT has meant there is a plethora of devices and operating systems within each organization, with each requiring a native application to be built from scratch. A HTML5 application can be run on Android, iPhone or Blackberry devices and CSS3 features can be leveraged to automatically adjust the application page layout.
• Version Control and Time-to-Market. HTML5 apps delivered as mobile web applications enable direct control over the app. Organizations can upload new functionality and bug fixes onto the application server, making these changes immediately available for the mobile user. This also allows enterprise developers to be more reactive and shorten time-to-market of new apps by not being subject to stringent and lengthy app store approval processes.
• HTML5 Skills Are Available in Abundance. According to The Wall Street Journal, companies are being forced to increase salaries, retrain software engineers, outsource app development and set up offshore development labs to meet the demand thanks to a young mobile app ecosystem. Web skills are much more likely to already exist within an organization and the ability to reuse existing code brings on other advantages.

Adoption of the standard is clearly on the rise for the reasons stated and many more. However, the mass rollout of HTML5 over native Android and iPhone apps still face some considerable hurdles.

The Challenge for HTML5 & the Growth of Hybrid

The consumer influence has driven higher IT expectations from workers. Native apps that can take full advantage of all the phone features will be able to offer the “high end experience” currently not delivered through HTML5 web apps.

Another key challenge that is likely to be adopted soon is that employees have shown they aren’t comfortable working on the web all the time. The ability to save data on the native device is still a comforting feeling for the users and, although HTML5 can support this to some degree, there is still room for improvement.

This doesn’t mean we won’t see the growth of HTML5 in the enterprise market, not in a pure play fashion, but in a hybrid approach.

Ron Perry is chief technology officer at Worklight, recently provided the following description in an article published on Venturebeat:

A hybrid app is a native, downloadable app, that runs all or some of its user interface in an embedded browser component. To the user, a hybrid app is almost indistinguishable from a native one: it is downloaded from the app store or marketplace, it is stored on the device, and it is launched just like any other app.

But to developers there is a huge difference because instead of rewriting the app from scratch for each mobile OS, they write at least some of their application code in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, and reuse it across devices.

What the future holds (in my opinion at least)

Native apps will still be extremely popular for many developers; however, HTML5 represents a major shift in the industry and is quickly closing the performance gap. As a result, organizations are likely to develop a variety of applications, rather than adopt a single approach, producing a mix of native, hybrid and pure-play HTML apps (similar to the rumored Facebook approach).

For example, HTML5 apps targeting the consumer market, both by independent developers and B2C companies, are likely to be a key growth area for the technology. This is predominantly due to the ability to bypass the costs and time required to develop a multi-platform application, but there are some other key reasons.

• HTML5 apps are searchable by crawlers such as Google’s search engine, ensuring that the apps can be discovered by billions of consumers;
• They can mash content with data or apps from third parties and access analytical services such as traffic measurement tools and ad server targeting technologies;
• You don’t need to get anyone’s permission to distribute HTML5 apps.

New Opportunities Means New Challenges

Whether this standard will rise or fall, like many before it, will not be decided by a single organization or developer group, but by the developers that have shaped the mobile industry and the tools available to them.

Up until now, one of the major obstacles has been the lack of a standardized test environment that supports each of the above use cases.  Now with HTML5 support within DeviceAnywhere Test Center Enterprise, that barrier to adoption has been removed and companies have a single solution that can be used for any use case, device or development technology.

Over the next 12 months, we’re likely to see a new debate emerge above the traditional one over fragmentation – native, hybrid or HTML5. Who do you think will be leading the market at the launch of iPhone 5?

This group is an outlet to discuss strategies related to mobile application lifecycle management, or mobile ALM, to help developers and QA professionals navigate through the complete mobile application development lifecycle from planning and execution to post-deployment analysis and support.

DeviceAnywhere encourages your participation so feel free to start discussions, post questions, share resources and create dialogue with fellow industry peers. Your engagement in this group will be extremely valuable to all members and we’re sure you’ll find it resourceful, too.

In response to this growing IT headache, Verizon Wireless earlier this week announced the launch of the Verizon Wireless Private Applications Store for Business, a private application store for their enterprise customers. The proposition is simple in that each storefront will offer both company-created apps and third-party efforts, all optimized for use both inside and outside of corporate firewalls across any operating system, device or carrier.

However, there are two clear challenges which jump out at me. Firstly, as enterprises have learned over the past couple of years, the ability to offer an application across any operating system, device or carrier is both expensive, time consuming and often not realistic for organizations.

The second challenge is that although IT departments can develop this application storefront, the consumerization of IT has shown that employees will not wait for their employers to catch up to the market. If the applications available do not perform as well, or better than consumer apps, employees will simply bypass the storefront and return to the unapproved, yet bountiful app stores, of the relevant operating systems.

As a result, it’s essential that prior to launching a private storefront, the IT department are able to ensure those applications developed in-house reflect the personal preferences, requirements and devices of that company. Bringing “good enough” products to market is not an option.

What does this mean for the mobile ecosystem itself? While consumers have enjoyed the “choice” of multiple operating systems each offering a unique flavor from which to choose, it has meant that 2011 has been a year of consolidation within the mobile industry as “rival” operating systems fall by the wayside (Symbian, WebOS, MeeGO).

Ed Hansberry of InformationWeek highlighted this for me by writing about how just last year, we saw seven potential candidates when it comes to mobile operating systems (iOS, Android, MeeGO, WebOS, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Symbian) and today there are just four (iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows 7).

But does this mean that developer conversations need a new topic? With the recent news that both Amazon’s upcoming Kindle Tablet and China’s Baidu will be running operating systems based on Android, there are likely to be more versions and derivatives of Android than you can shake a smartphone at.

Bloggers and mobile pundits can once again sleep easy at night!