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Nokia is hosting a free 2-days intensive workshop to explore user-experience on the new Nokia N9 smartphone. This workshop will be hosted at GITEX Technology week in Dubai on October 11th and 12th.

With Qt Quick and QML, you can create beautiful mobile applications where touch input, fluid animations and UX are crucial. Qt offers you a robust, tried and tested application and UI framework for the development of rich compelling apps for the new Nokia N9 smartphone and Nokia Symbian smartphones.

This will be a hands-on, classroom-style, setting where developers will be taught how to create mobile applications using Qt Quick for Nokia N9 smartphone, focusing on UI, Mobility APIs and the use of the new NFC technology APIs.

If you are curious to learn more about Qt Quick then this workshop will allow you to ask experts about its technical capabilities, exchange ideas with your peers, and see for yourself how Qt Quick will provide increased flexibility while reducing long term support costs.

Click here to find out more.

twofour54 tadreeb is proud to announce the iPhone 360 Application Development Training Course …

Dates: October 22nd until December 12th (8 weeks – Saturdays only. No class on November 5th > Eid)
Timings: 10 am to 1 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm
Cost: 8,000 AED per delegate

For more information please click here.

AppsArabia is part of twofour54.

Apple Middle East office
twofour54 Complex, Abu Dhabi

Business Insider featured an article by this dude, Brian Akaka from Appular, which is well worth reading.

The tips are basically:

1. design a beautiful app icon
2. don’t ask for ratings too early
3. try hard to get Apple to feature you
4. focus on impressing users quickly
5. keep it simple
6. ensure it looks gorgeous
7. know your market & set your price accordingly
8. or produce an uber app if you can afford to worry about commercials later
9. a great app description is critical
10. ask for a fresh perspective & act on it
11. consider old ad techniques too

But you should read the full article.

We at AppsArabia are interested in providing investment for app projects that are commercially viable. This means they have to generate revenue and, for them to generate revenue, they have to add value to consumers by meeting a demand. So some tips from us are:

• do a simple focus group to test that people are going to want your app & that they are going to be prepared to pay for it (how much?)
• consider how you will get your app to the target market (the appropriate App Store)
• how will people pay for your app (are you relying on them having a credit card)?

And, obviously, the cost of creating the app (i.e. the level of funding from AppsArabia) should be sensibly modest. As a rough guide, we expect the app to have a realistic revenue forecast which can pay back the cost of development within 3 to 6 months of net revenue.

twofour54 tadreeb (the media training academy arm of twofour54) has acquired Dubai’s SAE Institute, the world’s largest network of media training academies.

This is great news for the app development industry throughout the MENA region because SAE Institute provide app development training! Click here for an example of the sort of app development courses they run.

Click here for more information.

The fabulous Technology For Marketing & Advertising blog posted a nice piece recommending 5 articles on mCommerce. I think these could be interesting reading for all app entrepreneurs and developers:

1. Mobile Web: the game changed
2. Understanding and tackling consumers’ high expectations of mobile
3. What do users want from mCommerce sites?
4. ASOS voted as the best mCommerce site… what are they doing so right?
5. Mobile marketing: stop thinking sales and start thinking experience

Click here to read the TFMA article.

Forum Nokia is hosting a free 3-days intensive training workshop on Qt and Qt Quick in Dubai, U.A.E on 28-30 June 2011. Based on the popular Qt Creator IDE, the Nokia Qt SDK brings the power of Qt to Symbian, Maemo, and MeeGo application development. Learn how Qt cuts Symbian lines of code by up to 70% and at the same time delivers native app performance, platform integration, and look and feel. Also find out how to reach 100 million Symbian smartphones and 150 million to come in 190 countries with Qt and Ovi Store.

Click here to find out more and register.

This Windows Phone 7 event will cover a variety of topics to get developers up and running on their app development …

• how to build an app on Windows Phone 7
• how to monetize your Windows Phone 7 app with Yalla Apps
• how to leverage your iOS development skills to build apps for Windows Phone 7
• a hands-on “Build Your Own App” workshop
• a Windows Phone 7 App Showcase

*** And every attendee will walk away with something special! ***

The event will be at Microsoft’s offices in Dubai Internet City on Saturday 11th June 2011 from 10am to 6pm.

Click here for more information and to register.

Our friends at SAE Institute have kindly offered 2 free places on their one day iPhone app development training on 4th June.

During this One-Day training you will:

• Learn the fundamentals of Objective-C programming.
• Learn how to use the Xcode IDE.
• Be taught how to make different view/window/tab bar/etc based applications.
• Learn how to work with table views.
• Learn how to access Accelometer to recognize device’s orientation.
• Learn how to use image views to make image galleries.
• Learn how to pack your applications and send it to App Store.
• Be introduced to marketing tools for iPhone applications.
• Be introduced to alternative iPhone/mobile application development platforms.
• Be introduced to iPhone application development industry and its potentials.

Fees:
AED 500 online registration (Inc free software installation + snacks, coffee and lunch).
(Registering for iPhone shortcourse during the one day training will waive AED 1,500 off the course’s fee).

To win a free place:
Email us why you want to learn to develop iPhone apps and what you intend to do with your new skills. The better your reason, the more chance you have of winning!

The training will be on Saturday 4th June from 9am at SAE Institute, Knowledge Village in Dubai.

For more information, go to the SAE Institute web site.

Go to the Facebook page.

Arab Business Machine (ABM), the Apple Authorised Distributor, are running an iOS app development course from 29th May to 2nd June at Zayed University’s Media City Campus in Dubai. This is a special, invitation only, event and ABM have offered 2 places for free to AppsArabia.

I think it is only right that I offer these places to local iOS app developers who are active AppsArabia members … and the fairest way to do this is via a mini competition

To enter the contest and win a place on the training course, please email us a short paragraph (no more than 100 words) telling us what your favourite iOS app is and why.

The requirements are as follows …

1. you must have an Apple MacBook (with all the latest updates and Xcode 4 installed)
2. you must have an iPhone iPod Touch or iPad (NOT jailbroken with the latest iOS update installed)
3. you must have programming skills – Objective C (preferred), C or C++
4. you must have an Apple developer account (if you don’t have one yet, click here to enroll in the program of your choice)
5. we must receive your email no later than midnight on Monday 23rd May

Obviously, we’re keen for you to use your app development skills to actually build apps, perhaps funded by AppsArabia?

The trainer will be coming from Atlanta’s Big Nerd Ranch Co., a company that works closely with Apple (and previously NEXT).

You will learn how to …

• create iPhone applications that use Core Location (GPS, Cell Tower Triangulation, Wifi Access Point Location) to pinpoint a user’s location
• localize applications for international use
• swap out different interfaces (windows) with animation
• display data in tables
• create applications that can record audio and play short sounds and full audio files
• store data as files or SQLite databases
• handle warnings from the phone so applications don’t get shut down
• handle touch and complex multi-touch sequences
• draw with Core Graphics
• animate user interfaces with Core Animation
• create an application that can access the user’s photos or use the camera to take new photos for use within the application
• use the accelerometer to detect changes in the device’s orientation
• pull data from a web service for use in an application
• create applications that access and modify the user’s Address Book through a standard or customized interface
• maintain a preference file for an application
• use Instruments to profile an application

ABM is the Apple Authorised Distributor in the region and one of the very few companies that are able to provide such courses. This is a wonderful opportunity – you’ll learn new skills and how to improve your existing development talents.

Many thanks to our friends at ABM and Apple for providing us with this opportunity!