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Savvy app developers looking to connect with the major players in the wireless industry can find their networking needs met at the CTIA Enterprise and Application show.

The wireless confab, which officially kicks off today, will offer small developers access to the major carriers, handset manufacturers, and large businesses looking to delve more into the mobile world.

"For developers, it's all about the opportunities," said Rob Mesirow, vice president and show director for CTIA.

CTIA was actually ahead of its time in its focus on apps. The show was previously called Wireless Apps before it was changed … Read more

Carriers love to make sure their preloaded applications are jammed into our smartphones--a source of frustration to many of you, I know, and something that's enough to put you off the idea of any carrier app whatsoever. Still, every once in a while a company gets one of these little programs right.

Take AT&T's Smart Wi-Fi app, which is available today for free on the Android Marketplace (unlike other carrier apps, this one does not come preloaded). The app lives up to its name in finding Wi-Fi hot spots. It also has a number of nifty … Read more

When writing a weekly column about the apps business, it's easy to get caught up in the new opportunities, capabilities, and trends emerging in this burgeoning area. It's equally easy to forget they come with new threats.

These threats, which include rogue apps that can swipe your personal data or steal passwords for your bank accounts, are real and growing.

A recent study conducted by security software provider McAfee found that that amount of malicious software, also known as malware, targeting Android had jumped 76 percent since the previous quarter, a remarkable rise in just three months. At … Read more

Mounting piracy is the dirty little secret in the world of mobile applications.

Piracy isn't talked about a lot, but it has quietly grown into a major problem for many developers. It's more of an issue in Android because its open nature and loose authentication tools allow pirates to rip off and distribute paid apps.

"This is one of those problems that seem to have been running under the radar," said Carl Howe, an analyst at Yankee Group. "Every developer thinks, 'it must just be me.'"

Developers, you're not alone. A recent survey … Read more

The mass adoption of HTML5 as a way to create applications may be coming sooner than you think.

At least, that's what Rob Chandhok, president of Qualcomm's Internet services division, thinks. He recently sat down with CNET to talk about where apps are headed. And the direction solidly points to HTML5.

"We see HTML5 and Web-based mobile applications as the way it will end up," Chandhok said.

Companies such as Pandora and LinkedIn already use HTML 5 as the basis for their applications. He said in the next 18 to 24 months, the standard will reach … Read more

Consumers love their applications. Carriers do too, unless the applications are bandwidth hogs.

With carriers trying to clamp down on excessive data consumption, it's more important than ever for developers to make sure they aren't creating apps that hog the data highway.

"Bandwidth is not infinite and it's not free," said Larry Rau, director of technology for the application ecosystem for Verizon Wireless. "It's something developers have to be aware of."

Consumers are starting to grow aware of the issue. Last year, AT&T opted to offer tiered data plans, introducing … Read more

When Autodesk's SketchBook Mobile application launched two years ago, it garnered more than 1 million downloads within the first two months, propelling the company into a completely new business.

So it's surprising that Chief Executive Carl Bass didn't know about the application--which lets you make an array of sketches with your finger--until a week before the launch.

"We definitely didn't have the attention of the company," said Christopher Cheung, project manager in charge of SketchBook. "It was a small isolated project."

SketchBook's success was partly born of the extreme hands-off approach … Read more

For developers looking for that extra leg up, there are few better places to start than with the wireless carriers.

Last week, I wrote about the critical importance of finding the right partners. And for many, getting the blessing of a carrier is like Kobe Bryant getting a clear lane to the hoop: you're all set up for that slam dunk.

There are many potential rewards, including monetary support, an increase in public awareness, possible new relationships, and a stamp of approval from a major player in the wireless industry. But with so many developers angling for the attention of so few carriers, how does one stand out? One way is through developer contests, which are often sponsored by or run by the carriers.

"It's given us a chance to show the world the work we're doing," said Brendan McBride, founder and executive director of Remas, a nonprofit organization developing an app that allows immigrants in the U.S. to more smartly send funds back to their home countries. The app won a contest run by AT&T. "Having won the prize has given us a degree of credibility that would have been difficult to achieve as a start-up organization."

While these contests open some doors, there are some limits. AT&T has been shying away from preloading applications, so that avenue is largely closed to developers. A lot of the success… Read more

Thanks to streaming services and file sharing, there's little incentive to purchase music anymore. Everybody knows CD sales have been falling for years, but as soon as the record labels stop making CDs, their value will skyrocket.

Sure, there's still a sizable market for CDs, but if sales continue to decline I think the labels should offer a very limited run of each CD title on its original release, say a few thousand discs, with beautifully printed booklets and packaging, and auction them on eBay. When they're gone, they're gone. Prices would go through the roof, … Read more