We have some exciting news to share – after growing more than 1,000 percent since its December 2011 launch for iOS, Fiksu’s FreeMyApps discovery platform is now available on Android.

It's been an exciting first year as we built out and nurtured the FreeMyApps platform, which has quickly become the go-to destination for eager consumers interested in discovering new apps. In fact, the FreeMyApps platform has more than 750,000 monthly active users.

The beta version of the FreeMyApps Android app can now be downloaded from freemyapps.com for both smartphones and tablets, and the full version will debut on Google Play later this month. The Android FreeMyApps community is expected to ramp up quickly as the hundreds of thousands of current FreeMyApps users on iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches will be able to do cross-platform social sharing with their friends on Android devices.

FreeMyApps offers users iTunes and GooglePlay gift cards for discovering and engaging with apps and games, which then pumps money back into the app ecosystem through in-app purchases and the purchasing of paid apps. Users can also select gift cards from Amazon.com, Groupon, Fandango, Hulu+ and more, and will soon be able to redeem their credits to donate to their favorite charities.

FreeMyApps has also forged strong relationships with app developers and publishers, launching more than 120 titles this year alone for 30 of the top 50 grossing game publishers in the iTunes Store. Across all publishers, FreeMyApps has launched more than 500 titles in its first year. 

For app publishers, the FreeMyApps platform includes many benefits, including social media amplification. Apps are promoted to a FreeMyApps Twitter community of 100,000 and across Facebook, where the service has a reach of more than 80,000, enabling app publishers to extend their reach beyond the FreeMyApps community.

In Q1 of 2013, FreeMyApps will launch an enhanced version of the platform to assist app publishers achieve a deeper level of engagement with their users by encouraging and rewarding users to explore new apps more deeply or re-engage with existing apps.

Big thanks to all for covering the news: ADOTAS, BostInno, GoMo News and Inside Mobile Apps.

Venture capital investments in mobile have boomed this year, reaching levels not seen since 2001. For thrill-seekers hoping to hit the jackpot and “win big,” new smartphone and tablet apps are providing Las Vegas-style gambling options – with real money – at the swipe of an index finger. And following a series of leaks and rumors, Google Play will now offer gift cards for its content-distribution store.

Mobile now represents a staggering 46 percent of all VC investments, with venture backing for mobile consumer apps totaling nearly $4 billion during the first six months of 2012, according to new data from M&A advisor firm Rutberg & Company. During this time, VCs invested in 479 mobile startups, with the median funding round size netting at $3.5 million. “The six-month mobile investment total represents the highest level of activity for a half-year period since the firm initiated coverage in 2001 – in addition, 2012 mobile investments are currently $1 billion ahead of the pace set during the first half of 2011, which was the largest year for mobile tech venture funding in a decade,” reports Jason Ankeny in FierceMobileContent.

Juniper Research estimates that by 2017 consumers will gamble $100 billion on their mobile devices. Game developers have recognized this huge market opportunity and are starting to convert smartphones into virtual casinos – and up the ante by adding real-money bets. In the U.K., where it is legal, Big Fish Games Inc. will soon introduce a version of its gambling app Big Fish Casino with real-money betting, Bloomberg reports. “This is the biggest opportunity that game developers have had since the advent of the Internet,” Christopher Griffin, chief executive officer of Betable, said in his recent Bloomberg interview. While in-app gambling with real money isn’t yet cleared in the U.S., gaming giant Zynga is lobbying hard because the company has plans of its own to launch real-money gaming products in the first half of 2013, according to reports in the The Wall Street Journal.

After months of speculation and increasing user demands, Google Play gift cards are officially expected to hit U.S. retailers in the next few weeks, reports Engadget. The gift cards will be available in $10, $25 and $50 denominations, and users can redeem them for just about any digital content in the Play Store. These new cards represent Google’s latest step toward a “full-fledged content store," helping Google to compete with the popular Apple's iTunes gift cards and others in the physical retail store market, according to The Verge.

After recently announcing the next version of Android, “Jelly Bean,” Google touted some impressive numbers surrounding the Google Play ecosystem. With 1.5 billion installs a month, 600,000 available apps and games and 20 billion app installs, Google is quickly closing the gap between Google Play and Apple’s App Store.

We’ve discussed the compelling opportunities the Android market offers and how it can benefit your app business in exceptional ways. To arm you with the information you need to improve Android app discovery, drive more installs and generate long-term, loyal usage, we've also developed a new eBook

In addition to discovering four “must-know” differences between Google Play and Apple’s App Store, our new eBook provides you with six valuable tips for Android marketing success, including:

1. Exploit the Marketing Attribution Capabilities of Google Play: Take full advantage of Google Play’s marketing attribution capabilities to conduct closed-loop analysis of your advertising, and base ongoing advertising decisions on known performance. As you acquire users, use this data to steer your marketing toward the sources that generate your most desired users, at the best cost.

2. Optimize Advertising in Real Time: With the insights gained from marketing attribution, optimize your advertising in real time toward traffic sources that are delivering the best results.

3. Optimize Your App for Search: In Google Play, search is the primary means of organic discovery. You can greatly influence search rank, and therefore app discovery, by identifying your most successful keyword and including it in the app title, and by using that keyword in the app description and promo text multiple times. Since updating your submission is quick and easy, consider experimenting with different keywords and combinations to see which yield better results.

4. Conduct Longer-Term Ad Campaigns with Multiple Networks: Google Play’s ranking algorithm rewards long-term user acquisition—apps that acquire and retain users are awarded with higher ranks. Therefore, ad campaigns should be sustained over several months, as opposed to short bursts of activity often seen in the iOS market.

5. Test Your App Presentation on Google Play: Take advantage of the fact that you can update your app immediately on Google Play. Test the way your app is presented. Try different app titles and meta tags. Test the app name in the logo. Explore new ways to describe your app, and look for new keywords.

6. Target Loyal Users—Not Just Installs: To build a thriving app business, you need installs by loyal users. It is loyal users who use your app repeatedly, make purchases, register, or take other actions that tie back to an ROI. An install, or even an app launch, does not mean that you have a loyal user. In fact, studies show that many users who install an app never even use it, or abandon it after a single use. It is loyal users on which you ultimately build your app business.