We all know by now that e-commerce is fast becoming the most popular way for consumers to get what they want. In 2011, it was reported that 40% of UK consumers shop online and 51.9% research products solely online. People like to buy online – it’s quick, it’s easy and it cuts out the dreaded shopping trip on a Saturday.

With the rapid rise of smartphone and tablet device, “m-commerce” is now becoming the new norm. Research by EpiServer has shown that of the 1200 individuals surveyed, 59% have a smartphone and 18% use a tablet. Of these, 30% now mainly use their mobile when on the internet and 26% of these individuals had used an application to purchase a product online.

By 2015, it is estimated that consumers all around the world will spend $119 billion purchasing products via their mobile devices. As a result, UK consumers are now expecting the same high quality m-commerce services as those seen when using e-commerce sites. Consumers are expecting straight forward, seamless  m-commerce product buying, however, many UK brands have still to implement the capability.

Of the surveyed individuals, a large portion have reported problems when attempting to buy via their mobile; 49% reported that m-commerce sites are too slow and 35% said it was challenging to even try and login to purchase products. For brands to ensure they are not hindering their own sales figures, a flawless mobile payment system is vital.

All too often customers are taken to third-party payment screens which have not been developed for mobile browsers, resulting in having to re-enter information, waiting, re-entering (again) and then being confronted with screen resizing issues. Fail. Fail. Resize. Fail.

Larger brands have side-stepped this problem by developing payment apps, like Starbucks where customers can top-up their available balance and then buy products directly through their mobiles. This is not a solution which would work for all brands but PayPal have created a solution by offering a “mobile checkout experience” which can be integrated into existing mobile websites. If you’re interested in finding out more, get in touch.

The hardcore scene is still going strong with an avid fan base always wanting more. And more is just what we’ve given them, thanks to the annual release of the biggest hardcore music brand out there, Clubland X-Treme Hardcore 8… yes folks we’ve hit number 8!

The brand’s look and feel has stayed strong over the years, keeping to its hectic cut and paste storytelling routes (didn’t you know that every album tells a story throughout the artwork?) whilst continuing to grow over the years. Many pretenders have tried to copy our original style but none have ever truly succeeded – this is the original still the best!

This album is hitting you hard from Monday 16th so pick up a physical copy and check out the cracking JCard and CD artwork, or download and click through the unique digital booklet. Whichever format you choose, you can rest assured that both were designed with love.

As well as producing smartphone applications for our clients, we’re heavy app users ourselves. Predominantly iPhone, but we do have a few Androids among us, this is our list of must-have apps which have graced the Engine Creative smartphones in 2011, along with a mixed bag of comments from the team.

Here you go…

iTorch4 by Dan

Since the dawn of man’s time upon this Earth, a fear of the dark has cast its foreboding inky blackness upon his psyche.

For the cave dwellers, it was the cloak that hid the savage wolf… or worse. For me, it conceals the unsupported floor of my loft, beckoning me to put my foot through the bedroom ceiling.

The loft is dark… and with iTorch4,  I no longer fear it.

iBooks by Craig

Surprising. It’s part of iOS. It just sat there for a long time gathering digital dust. Surely the screen is too small for reading a book I said. And what about the smell! The lovely book smell!

Then I realised I was being an internet movie critic and should probably actually try it for myself before shooting it down in flames. So I bought a book. Well, I say bought. I downloaded a free copy of ‘A Study in Scarlet’ by Arthur Conan Doyle. It’s part of my mission to read the original stories that the brilliant Moffat ‘Sherlock’ episodes are based upon.

Over the next few days I discovered the great benefits of having a book on my phone. It’s always on you, wherever you are. Waiting outside ‘H&M’ for your other half? You have a book to read! Waiting at the station for a train? Book! Toilet? Book!

I’ve now got five books on my iPhone and it’s growing. I’ll never book back.

Paul’s tip bits:

Angry Birds

George loves it and it’s free.

Sky Bet

Not saying I’ve got a bit of a habit, but when you fancy a little gamble on Utd, it’s there!

Sky View

Just a nice little app that shows you where the big dipper is in the night sky and other little astrological stuff! Boom!

Bubble Wrap

When you’ve not got any actual bubble-wrap to hand you can take your anger out on this!

Sky go

You can watch Sky sports anywhere now. So if Utd are playing and the wife wants to shop, everything is now OK!

Google Maps by Miroslav

It might sound a bit generic, as the app is very generic, but I couldn’t live without my Google Maps. I love live traffic information, great when you’re on the M1 or A14!

Latitude (part of Google Maps) is brilliant to check the whereabouts of Justin while he’s driving without ringing him. It shows where on the map your loved ones are. Some may say it’s a bit ‘stalkerish’ but there are different visibility settings so things don’t have to get too creepy.

I know it’s boring, but on my little Android it is the most used app. Even for regular destinations it’s great for traffic stats :-) so it’s always on.

Billy’s threesome:

Plants vs. Zombies

A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home. Use your arsenal of 49 zombie-zapping plants — peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more — to mulchify 26 types of zombies before they break down your door.

Behance Network: Creative Portfolios & Galleries

Use Behance Network for iPhone to explore millions of creative projects by the world’s top creative talent. The app also offers the ultimate mobile portfolio that seamlessly syncs with your Behance projects.

Solitaire

The same classic Windows Solitaire game plus the ability to control card movements naturally by just swiping or tapping the cards on your iPhone/iPod touch/iPad.

Wunderlist by Tim

Free task manager/list maker. Sync online and between devices. Useful for everything from sharing a shopping list with the missus to website “to do” lists.

Instagram by Phil

If you look into the social folders on my phone, you’ll find a plethora of icons; some stand the test of time and some get dumped within a few days, but I can’t stop checking out the latest social apps wether it’s uploading images, logging in or checking out.

I love taking pictures and I love looking at pictures just as much, and Instagram fulfills those needs. There is a great community within the Instagram world that’s forever expanding. With a user base of almost 15 million, it’s looking to overtake Foursquare as the most widely used app, and thats before they launch the Android version in the new year.

Even with the v.2 update a few months ago, the UI and UX has stayed simple and straight forward, but I think it’ll need a bit of an overhaul soon to keep things fresh (I’m looking at you ‘Path’). Oh, and if you’re looking for the perfect desktop accompaniment to the Instagram app, then check out Instadesk, it’s by far the best one around at the moment.

Yeah, Instagram was Apple’s App of the year, and it’s mine.

Foursquare by Phil

Dominos have lost thousands of pounds through my mayorship, no only joking. My Foursquare usage has slowed down over the months, but I still use it regularly especially if I’m in new surroundings. Look, I get a free pair of pants if I’m the mayor here, only 7 more check-ins – Bonus!

Sonos by Matt

I use it every day and it’s good “n” stuff. ‘Nuff said.

Around Me by Michaela

There is something rather reassuring about knowing you have an app in your bag that can give you live directions [telephone number] to the nearest pub, followed by a take away, failing the whole thing a taxi home… have to love “Around me”.

Shazam by Andy

It’s magic. Short and simple. Wherever I hear something new or old that sparks my audio interest, Shazam picks it up, tags it and gives me a musical diary of my year.

Combined with Spotify, I now have the soundtrack of my life in my pocket. Nice.

With the release of Ministry Of Sound’s latest exercise DVD entitled ‘Pump It Up – Move It Lose It’ we’ve certainly had our own workout here at Engine HQ.

Starting with the creation of the new Pump It Up brand identity, the DVD cover and booklet information, we then went on to produce the DVD graphics and on-screen menus, the set design for the video production, various versions of the television advert and the promotional online megamix. By producing all brand assets in-house we were able to enhance the complete brand vision that the guys at Ministry Of Sound have developed over the years.

‘Pump It Up – Move It Lose It’ is out to buy on the 26th December, and is the perfect new year solution to all the excessive chocolate and turkey indulgences over the festive period.

“I came to Engine Creative to discover and experience how creatives work in the design industry and during my time here I wanted to challenge myself and push my boundaries as a creative. Never before working with moving image I thought this would be the perfect place to start. I was asked to create a small video for the Blog and, inspired by the work of Craig (Engine Creatives very own Senior Video Producer) I set to work on a small video piece that would capture the spirit of Christmas.”

Good work fella’ and a Happy Christmas to one and all!

Please show your support by following us on Twitter & Facebook. All going well, there’ll be more give-aways in the new year.

Check back daily to find out when each download goes live and all we ask is that, should you use any of them, send us a pic of how, where and why.

Download the fifth set here.

Download the set from day 1 here.

Download the set from day 2 here.

Download the set from day 3 here.

Download the set from day 4 here.

Please show your support by following us on Twitter & Facebook. All going well, there’ll be more give-aways in the new year.

Check back daily to find out when each download goes live and all we ask is that, should you use any of them, send us a pic of how, where and why.

Download the fourth set here.

Download the set from day 1 here.

Download the set from day 2 here.

Download the set from day 3 here.

Continuing the royalty-free image give-away, here’s the download for day 3.

Please show your support by following us on Twitter & Facebook. All going well, there’ll be more give-aways in the new year.

Check back daily to find out when each download goes live and all we ask is that, should you use any of them, send us a pic of how, where and why.

Download the third set here.

Download the set from day 1 here.

Download the set from day 2 here.

Please show your support by following us on Twitter & Facebook. All going well, there’ll be more give-aways in the new year.

Check back daily to find out when each download goes live and all we ask is that, should you use any of them, send us a pic of how, where and why.

Download the second set here.

Download the set from day 1 here.