I wish this had been a quote and been reported more broadly, but as far as I am concerned this article from Fierce Wireless buries the lead: “Stephenson also said that within the next 24 months he envisions some customers moving to data-only plans as voice and messaging become data applications.”

Stephenson is Randall Stephenson, the CEO of AT&T, and this is the first time I have heard a carrier’s CEO admit that there is coming a day when they don’t make money off minutes and texting. Frankly, this will be a great day, hypothetically a day that gets us closer to separating the relationship between the carrier we choose and the devices we choose.

Entrenched interests rarely adjust easily, though, something tells me this quote isn’t as straight forward as it appears. We’ll see.

There are a number of really good posts floating around (try here, here, here and here for a few — courtesy of either Daring Fireball or MG Siegler) on things people would like to see added to iOS 6 and be announced at Apple’s worldwide developer conference (WWDC). I’d like to focus on an area that has been broken for four years now and could really use an upgrade and some new features, an area that would roundly be applauded by every iOS developer: App Store Tools.

The information and abilities that we get in iTunes are pathetically out-of-date, to say the least. Four areas I’d love to see improved.

Beta Programs

In the beginning, Apple gave us four devices (first and second generation iPhone and iPod) and 100 slots for testing purposes. Now if you are supporting iOS 5 and later, there are no less than 8 devices that need to be supported. How about iOS 4.2 and later? That’s 34 devices since you should test iOS 4.2, 4.3, 5.0 and 5.1 on each device. [1]

Now… start adding in partner companies. We reserved no less than 20 devices for our DEWALT partners, 10 people at 2 devices each. And I had to sprout horns and ward off potential internal reviewers with a trident. I’ve got more of these deals in process and can’t figure out where I am going to come up with test slots.

Just delete a few, you say? Wish I could. Or, rather, wish this would help as the devices only refresh at renewal, which for me is January.

And don’t even start on the arduous process of getting the unique device identifiers (UDID), getting them into iTunes, changing the provisioning file, getting it into XCode (the dev environment), getting it into the app, distributing it and actually getting it correctly installed. It’s a small miracle when it works.

I’d like to see a couple of things happen here. One, I’d like to see a designation in the App Store for beta applications. This means I can post it to the Store through the standard process and have a private link that I can use to distribute the app. The app can only be downloaded by testers who have permission to access the app. This can be managed by using the iTunes email address (or similar identifier) instead of the UDID, allowing us to opt people in through a simple web portal.

Second, the app wouldn’t need to go through review, since access is restricted, making it fast and easy for developers to iterate. In exchange for abolishing the limit on the number of beta users, the app would be time restricted. In 1-3 months it would time out and the app would automatically be removed from iTunes if it isn’t submitted for review within 18 months.

This would streamline the distribution process, get us out of the business of dealing with UDIDs and provisioning files, and make distribution a snap. Apple would get well-tested, higher quality apps in the App Store as well.

What are the odds of this happening? I don’t know about the details but I wouldn’t be surprised to see a change. Just a few months ago Apple started rejecting apps for using the UDID in their code. They don’t want us to have access. But until Apple deals with the provisioning files, they still need to give us access to it. A new process — like the one I described — would do away with that necessity.

Analytics

I think an honest-to-goodness beta program is a possibility. App Store Analytics, I admit, is a wing and a prayer. Given that, I’m desperate for more information about my apps then what I have now: downloads, purchases, gifts, returns, revenues. Even the basics would tell me a ton of information that would help me figure out how to promote my app. Here is a list of some analytics data I’d love to have:

• How my app was found: iTunes feature, external direct, company page, search, the “bought other products like this one” links
• If search, what term was used
• If feature, from what page
• On which version of the app store: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, iTunes
• For which device model (i.e., iPad 1, 2 or 3)
• Did the person buy

While I’m not counting on this happening, it would make a huge difference in my ability to understand who is buying, where they are coming from and how I can attract more of them.

If they want to get even fancier, take a look at appFigures and Flurry and bring those features in-house, too.

Promo Codes

Promotion codes are an invaluable tool. Many developers use them to give out free copies to prospective customers, others use them for the press. But these codes are a real pain to get out of the system. First, they are buried four levels deep in iTunes Connect in a place I really don’t want to go unless I am making changes to my apps. Second, they come via a downloaded file, which makes accessing them from an iPad or iPhone impossible. Third, they are a pain in the neck for a customer to enter: copy the code, go to the App Store, go to the Featured tab, scroll to the bottom, choose Redeem, paste it into the field, submit. Finally, they expire four weeks after I create them. Use them or lose them!

Let’s make this easy. When I ask for a promo code, give me an iTunes link with a special code embedded that I can copy and send to the customer — if I request 10 codes then show me 10 links — but show them to me in the browser so I can copy them and send them. The link takes the user to the app store, adds it to their account automatically and starts the download. [2]

Furthermore, we need promo codes for in app purchases. With so many apps going freemium, it is hard to give out free copies of the add-ons. Promo codes that work for in app purchases would make a huge difference, too. Here’s how I’d do it: after clicking the redeem link, download the app if it isn’t already downloaded. Once done it would register the purchase in your account and alert the app that a purchase has been made the same exact way it does today. From there, it is the developer’s responsibility to handle things correctly.

App Discovery

At the time I thought the 100 character keyword limit would be a stopgap solution but here we are three years later and it is still around. Fast forward to earlier this year when Apple bought Chomp, an app discovery web site. Here’s hoping, as my last wish for WWDC, that we get improved search, improved app discovery, and an end to the 100 character keyword limit.

—

[1] iPod second, third and fourth generation devices is 3, iPhone 3g, 3gs, 4 and 4s is 7, iPad 1, 2 and 3 is 10. The iPod second generation and iPhone 3g will not support iOS 4.3 and later. So that’s 10 devices for iOS 4.2, 8 for iOS 4.3, 8 for iOS 5.0 and 8 for iOS 5.1, or a total of 34 devices.

[2] I hate the four weeks restriction but it isn’t a big enough deal to care about so I didn’t address it here.

… Well, picture anyway. Great post by Open Signal Maps showing the breadth of Android fragmentation. That’s a whole heap of trouble, right there. Not much more to be said. So go look at the post.

p.s. Anyone who is interested in powerOne on Android needs to email us. If you already have, please don’t email again. We’ve got you on our list already.

I bought an Amazon Kindle around the holidays. My goal was to read less daily stuff and more fiction and non-fiction. So far so good. I am still reading plenty of news but I have read at least ten books in the last few months, more books than I have read in the last ten years. For the record I bought the Kindle Touch.

For the most part I have been happy with it. The purchase process is seamless, reviews of books are nice, and its feature set is straight forward. It is a little slow to react to menu presses and the like, but page turns are fast enough and the e-ink display is fine for reading in light. My biggest headache is with touch itself but only because it reacts differently than my iPad. On the Kindle, anything that touches it counts as a touch — a blanket corner, pillow, arm, finger, anything. On an iPad, only body parts touching makes it register touches. This is awkward as I constantly forget, go to wipe some piece of dirt off the screen and find myself a chapter ahead.

Another issue is the screen’s color. It is darker than a piece of paper so even in times when I would normally be able to read a book without a problem, I still need a light for my Kindle. Backlighting might be nice, but that is a fine line. Too bright, like my iPad, and it keeps me up in the evenings and early mornings when I do my recreational reading. Today I use a small light attached to the Kindle where I can focus the source on the screen. Of course this means I had to buy a light, attach it to my Kindle, and carry an accessory with me, making my small Kindle that much bigger.

Enter the rumor mill. Reuters is reporting that Amazon is rushing the next Kindle to market in July and that the big new feature is a lit screen. It’s believed Amazon is rushing it to market because Barnes and Noble released a version of their eReader with a backlit screen. I doubt it. Amazon, like Apple, always seems to do things on their own schedule. [1]

Given that, if it is done tastefully, I think the backlighting will be an excellent feature and would even get me to buy a new one. But the light has to be simple (not glaring), be able to turn off, and the device can’t suddenly work for one week when the old model worked for one month.

—

[1] Really, MG? There is no way Amazon “has to react” any more than Apple does to Android. No one is going to switch to Barnes & Noble’s eReader for the backlighting. And a new user will pick a platform based on content and reach more than a small feature of the reader. I care way more if my book is available and the format will be available for the long run then on a backlit screen.

In the past few weeks we are starting to see a consolidation trend in the mobile market. First, Facebook buys photo-sharing app Instagram. Now, Evernote buys Penultimate. If you are unaware, Penultimate is a notepad app that works like a regular notebook, meaning with a pen or finger. It is a very well done app but is limited by existing pen-on-iPad technology, like every other handwriting-oriented app.

The purchase by Evernote makes sense. More notes feeding into Evernote plus the ability to add pen input to Evernote itself without reinventing the wheel. Evernote adds something to Penultimate, too, since Evernote has OCR technology built in so hypothetically it can make your handwritten text searchable. [1]

I believe we are at the beginning of a consolidation tipping point in mobile apps. In the early days of the PC there were hundreds of companies writing software. A decade later only a few major companies remained. I think the same is true here. There are too many apps chasing too few dollars.

Right now those purchases seem to be strategic. But I won’t be surprised to hear about a well-financed company buying up multiple apps and consolidating them into a BigCo that can generate BigCo-type dollars.

—

[1] I say hypothetical because handwriting can be really sloppy and might be very difficult to discern exactly what is written.