Windows 10 from Microsoft, new Google requirements for device manufacturers, new mobile advertising opportunities - and other news of the week for mobile developers

Google begins to demand more from device manufacturers on Android

Google tightens requirements for manufacturers of Android devices. The updated Mobile Application Distribution Agreements requires partners to install not 9, but already 20 Google applications on their devices, place a Google search widget on the main screen, and at the same time place the Google Play Store application and the Google folder, which includes 13 Google applications, including Google Chrome, Google Maps, Google Drive, YouTube, Gmail, etc. In addition, partners should strictly follow the recommendations on the use of certain words for search and virtual assistants with voice recognition.

Most often, manufacturers of devices on Android install their own software shell on top of the operating system, and also seek to replace basic applications with their counterparts, which probably caused the tightening of requirements. All this may further lead to some unification of the interface of all new Android devices. At the same time, the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) is gaining more and more popularity, in which there are no built-in search giant services. Device manufacturers, due to serious competition, it is important to lure the buyer with a unique product - not only the design, but also the content, and even Google’s small steps towards the unification of Android devices can frighten manufacturers. For example, OnePlus One is a top-end smartphone that works on CyanogenMod in general and seems to exist quite well.

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Windows 1 10!

Yes, it was 10, not 9, as everyone expected. A presentation of the new OS from Microsoft took place the other day, and the audience was in for a surprise from the very beginning - this is its name. It turns out that they wanted to use the name Windows 1, but it was taken, and to emphasize the significance and amount of changes in the new OS, they decided to call it the 10th.

The main feature of the new OS will be that it will run on any type of device from PC to smartphone. A single platform has been created that will allow installing applications from a single store for all your devices at once.

Not spared, and the corporate segment. According to the company, they created an impressive protection of personal data, which will be synchronized between all devices.

And now about the Start menu. He was paid special attention because of the many negative reviews of users 8-ki. The classic Start menu has partially returned, but a part of the tiled interface has been preserved - it even entailed the fact that now you can resize the start menu and add new tiles to it with applications.
We took into account the users' dissatisfaction with the fact that many programs on 8 OS were immediately launched on the whole screen and nothing could be done about it. As a result, in Windows 10 more attention is paid to users of desktop versions of programs.



Multitasking 10th OS has undergone considerable changes. Changed the interface to switch between running applications in the lower taskbar and the usual switching between active applications.

The command line of Windows 10 has been improved. Although the usual appearance remained, a lot of functionality was added, which was so lacking, which is a banal opportunity to use the CTRL + V combination, which was so lacking.

This is the main thing and the little that seemed important, and we hope that Windows 10 will pleasantly surprise all users.
The other day, Windows 10 Technical Preview will be available for PCs and laptops, and the full version with the ability to install on all devices will appear in 2015.

Mobile advertising "VKontakte"

Last week, Apptractor.ru held an event dedicated to a new advertising platform using the features of the VKontakte mobile app.



Every day, 18 million users of Android devices and 5 million users of the iOS platform enter the social network using a mobile. Judging by the diagram, if iOS tablets are almost a quarter of all devices, then the number of android tablets is only about 6%.



The advertisement will fall into the user's tape as a separate post with a text description, picture, application rating and a button to go to the mobile market for installation. For the Android installation, the VKontakte application itself will track, and for iOS devices, you will need to use the VKontakte SDK features. In the web version of VKontakte, you can manage your advertising company: expenses and targeting, monitor its results. Transitions from the application to the store through third-party web services to track until there is no possibility.



The presentation gave an example of advertising for an application for payment of utility services for Android. The average CTR was 3%, and the average installation price was about 18 rubles. The developers promise that it will be possible to use the new advertising format for Vkontakte in the near future, but for now you can submit an application for participation .

Google is preparing to release new formats of advertising for mobile devices

Google has announced the imminent launch of new options for displaying ads on mobile devices.

So now we will see:

Engagement Ads
Large advertisements that will scale and occupy the entire screen of the device. This will be possible through the use of HTML5 when creating such banners. The purchase model in this case will be CPC (cost per click). The demo format will be available soon in the AdWords Ad Gallery.

TrueView ads
Video ads will run right inside the app. TrueView ads are already running in AdMob and are widely used in gaming applications. The user can skip the video, and the advertiser pays only for full viewing.

Anchor ad format
Advertising is permanently on the user's screen, even if he scrolls through the pages. The banner is always attached to the bottom of the screen, but the user can close it at any time.



Magazine style text ad format
You could see this format earlier by visiting mobile versions of sites. Advertising in this version takes up the whole screen By analogy with a separate advertising page in a glossy magazine.



Google also announced 3 tools for quick, easy and convenient creation of advertisements. In particular, this auto-resizing tool and Flash-to-HTML5 conversion tools.