Rob Thurner, lead trainer for the Mobile Training Academy, has written a two-part article for NewsLine taking an in-depth looks at the apps market, as it approaches its four anniversary.

In the first part, Thurner discusses why apps are great – for personalisation of a device, as a payment channel, and because theres simply no credible alternative – and what factors contribute to their success

“Whatever the business sector and consumer proposition, apps are all about delivering a clear consumer benefit, delivering engaging content, maximising download volumes and ensuring frequent use,” says Thurner in the article. “Get it right and the rewards are sensational. Take Angry Birds, Rovios legendary app, which achieves 1m downloads and the cumulative play time of 25 years gaming every day, and generates monthly in-app ad revenues of $1m.”

In part two, meanwhile, Thurner looks at the difficulties many companies have faced in the app ecosystem, and provides his top five pitfalls – audience reach, discovery, cost, revenue, and project management. If you want to know any more than that, youll have to read the second part of the article, which you can find here.