With mobile now firmly at the forefront of the business mind, we are beginning to see apps becoming more and more the focal point; not only as drivers for initial business, but also as the foundation for a variety of backend processes.

Apps for business are being asked to become more and more complex in an effort to compete in the marketplace. As a result Mobile Backend-as-a-service or BaaS (sometimes MBaaS) platforms are cropping up to ease the burden of the developer.

BaaS platforms are offering solid cloud storage solutions which are wonderful tools to help minimize the size of your mobile app and provide a place to easily update your content inside of the app on the fly. Additionally these platforms are offering additional features that provide real value to the app ranging from push...

Apptopia provides an essential service to all those in the app industry. The buyers and sellers of apps are Apptopia’s main customer base, however; those looking to study the market before they even build their app can find use in Apptopia.

Continuing with our Apptopia theme this week, I conducted a search on Apptopia as if I were building an app but wanted to study the market before I got started. In this blog I will discuss the information available to market researchers.

I have an idea for a health and fitness app but before I take the time to build it I want to understand my market, if there is one. I also want to see if there are similar apps available already. And if so, how are those apps succeeding in the market. What have other apps in this category done? How many downloads do they get? What’s their revenue stream? What has...

The world of apps is constantly growing and evolving. As a result entrepreneurs are finding new and interesting ways to capitalize on the market. One such company is banking on the notion that apps are worth more than just the .99 cents you buy them for in the App Store. What if you could buy the whole app, the source code, marketing materials and developer rights without ever writing a stitch of the code yourself?

This is what Apptopia aims to provide, the first marketplace for mobile business sales. Apps are quickly becoming small businesses, so why shouldn’t they change hands in the same way a restaurant or bars do?

RareWire was given the chance to have a conversation with Jonathan Kay, one of the Founders and COO of Apptopia. Here is what he had to say about this emerging marketplace for apps.

Let me start off by pointing out the obvious, I am not a tech person. I have a degree in Psychology and am a marketer for RareWire. However, this gives me a unique perspective amongst an office full of techies. I can see an app as a consumer would, not a developer or designer. So when I inevitably came across the proverbial question of native v. web apps my answer was simple: whatever works. I don’t mean this in an ambivalent, brush-off sort of way; I mean it literally. Whatever app does what I want it to do without making me want to throw my phone across the room, wins.

As long as your app does what it is supposed to do in a well-crafted and efficient way, it will succeed.

Now, I’ve read plenty of articles from Daring Fireball to Forbes about native v. web apps and it’s clear that building native can create amazing mobile...

You have built an App and have placed it into the App Store. First of all, congratulations, this is the hard part. Now you must contend with marketing your app and attracting consumers to build your user base.

For the sake of argument, let’s say a month goes by and through no fault of your own, your app just isn’t selling. So you set out to find out why. You have done your research and your app name and branding are unique to the space you are in, so no problem there. Or is there?

It turns out that there is an app in the App Store that has a similar name as yours. While it isn’t directly competing with you are users, it is killing your search ability as it is older and seems to have keywords that overshadow your app.

So you make the decision to rename your app. This will help distance you from the other app and give...