Welcome to “Silicon Beach”!
This month has already seen the launch of the Computicket iPad app in the App Store as well as the first, all-girl developed iPhone app – AmaLotto. immedia CEO Anice Hassim says that these developments represent a significant milestone in the evolution of the local post-PC industry. “We have long realised that app development is a highly creative new industry and that any budding talent pool needs their own ‘playpen’ to allow their skills to grow.
“In light of that, we invested heavily in our own training programmes, a move which is now yielding spectacular results. Even more exciting is that the development of the multidisciplinary talent associated with bringing these kinds of app to life, is taking place on Durban’s doorstep, which means we can imbue all the work we do with a dynamic set of African values and sensibilities.”
And it’s this kind of ground-breaking work that’s rapidly positioning immedia at the epicentre of a group of companies spearheading a new revolution at ‘Silicon Beach’.
Exciting times indeed!
Girl Power reigns supreme in KZN app development!
Smartphone and iPad apps are fast becoming a unit of currency in the digital world with Durban currently serving as a hotbed for their development. Now it seems that the girls may just be spearheading their very own ‘quiet revolution at the beach’.
Proof of this is the brand new AmaLotto app from immedia.
The latest creation of a fresh new, all-girl team – Nirissa Govender (designer) and Siveshnee Moonsamy (developer) – who produced the app and are both under the age of 25. Govender says ‘Girl Power’ is a must in every industry and in the case of the AmaLotto app has definitely led to a unique final product in terms of its unique personality, look and feel. “We took the concept of the local lottery, which all types of South Africans know about, and gave it the stylish, glossy feel to which every iPhone user should be accustomed. By focusing on the personality of the app, rather than simply what it needed to do, we submitted an app that was functional and has an element of fun and playfulness,” she explains.
The AmaLotto app idea began as a small pet project which quickly captured the attention of the rest of the dev team and evolved into a scheduled assignment. Govender says the big idea behind the app stemmed from the huge popularity of Lotto in South Africa.
There’s a new style agency in town!
Establishing an app dev studio in South Africa is challenging, no matter what the resources you have at your disposal…
It really is time for the media industry to stop living in denial.
There is a new world order and if they want to be relevant to it, they need to stop resisting it and learn the new ways of doing business. When it’s a few guys and girls from Durban (with nothing but what we grub-staked ourselves) trying to take on the universe, well – let’s just say there are lots of tears and precious few smiles so far.
Clients are so ring-fenced by traditional agencies (who are clueless about the pace of evolution we are currently living through) and refuse to let outside opinion in, probably on the basis that agencies like us are a threat, which couldn’t be further from the truth.
Apple’s human moderated App Store ensures that the quality bar for a successful app is very high. As a result, bright talented people want to work and compete in a high quality environment which is why full-brained talent (right and left) gravitates towards iOS dev because it excites and engages them full spectrum.
News from the ‘Smart’ World
1. Support for paid Android apps to consumers in 26 new African countries
Google has announced that consumers from 99 new countries – including 26 African countries – will be able to purchase apps from Android Market. This latest expansion of Android Market means more applications – including games, social, and productivity apps – for consumers and more selling opportunities for developers in more countries.
2. Print moves to ‘pad’
The latest news out of the US points to the fact that whether they like it or not, print players are beginning to move to the iPad platform in their droves. This follows the news that Condé Nast’s GQ and Wired magazines, are to set to be sold on the iPad for $2 each with yearly subscriptions for $20.
The publisher will begin by releasing versions of its New Yorker magazine with coverage of Osama bin Laden’s death to generate some additional buzz for its iPad magazines. This also means that the costs of Condé Nast’s current iPad publications will fall considerably. Its Wired app currently costs around $4 per issue, and its GQ app costs $5 per issue.
Did You Know?
The iPhone could be headed for No. 1 this year as it makes massive gains on Nokia.
The lead that Nokia and Research in Motion (RIM) have enjoyed for years in the smartphone market is evaporating rapidly, according to a recent report by IDC.
Their immediate problem is Apple, which shipped 18.7-million iPhones in Q1 2011, more than double last year’s shipments, to overtake RIM’s BlackBerry. This brought it within 5.5-million units of Nokia’s Symbian smartphones. This may mean that unless Nokia manages the transition from Symbian to Microsoft Windows Phone 7 more smoothly than expected, Apple could overtake it before the end of the year.
But gaining even more rapidly are the two leading manufacturers of Google Android phones: Samsung and HTC. Their shipments increased 350% and nearly 230%, respectively, year over year, albeit from smaller bases.
In total, 99.6-million smartphones were shipped in the first calendar quarter of 2011, up from 55.4-million last year, with no sign of slowing down. “Conditions in the smartphone market are creating a perfect storm for sustained smartphone growth,” said IDC’s Ramon Llamas.
Last week, IDC reported that in the broader market for all mobile phones, smart and not-so-smart, Apple has taken the No. 4 spot and is growing faster than any of the other top manufacturers.
Source: Tech.fortune.cnn.com