The e-commerce industry is slowly but surely gaining ground in the Middle East, with countlessgroup buying sites, a couple offlash sale sites, private shopping sites likeSukar, and a wide variety of straightforward shopping sites, likeNahel. Souqhas been one of the few Middle East based sites that gives store owners the chance to get their goods online without having to create their own online store. Souq is now joined by the Lebanon-basedMizalla....

If you’re struggling to keep up to date with your favorite creative types, we might have the solution for you.Dribbble, briefly mentioned in ourcreative inspiration guide, is “show and tell for creatives” — a website that provides a clean space for artists, photographers, designers and other creatives to share their works-in-progress (WIP). Through Dribbble, creatives can either sign up as “players” (those who are able to upload and share their WIP), “spectators” (those who simply comment on or like the WIP of players), or “prospects” (those drafted by players to also share their work)....

With so many applications submitted to the App Store, Android Market and other smartphone marketplaces, getting your application noticed can be tricky. Instead of relying on getting your app featured on an App Store or picked up by a reputable outlet to gain momentum, there are a number of ways to promote your app and get it noticed, one of these beingAppCircus; a global platform showcasing the most creative and innovative apps that allows you to demonstrate your app in action during some of the most influential international events in the mobile/tech scene....

Anew reportfrom research firm Canalys indicates that direct revenue from mobile app stores will almost double within the next year to hit figures of $14.1 billion, a 92% rise from an expected $7.3 billion in 2011. Estimates suggest that app store revenue will continue to boom over the next four years, reaching $36.7 billion by 2015. With an expected four-year compound annual growth rate of 50%, the report highlights opportunities for mobile operators to enter the app market to compete with vendor app stores including Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market....

As the smartphone market continues to grow, as a large number of featurephone owners migrate to more powerful, Internet-connected and advanced devices, the demand for mobile applications has boomed. Whilst many download a large number of apps on their smartphones the average number of installed apps that are frequently used sits at around 23 apps per device, with iOS device owners said to download more than their Android counterparts. Research analysts IDC estimates that manufacturers will ship more than 472 million smartphones this year alone, an increase of over 160 million units from 2010 – that figure will nearly double to reach 982 million by the end of 2015....