With the debut of the NBA "Game Time" application for Android, it is becoming evident that companies understand that interactive applications can extend their brand.

Mobile Marketer's Giselle Abramovich interviewed Bob Keyser, senior vice president of Schematic, the company that created the application in partnership with client Turner Sports, the NBA, T-Mobile USA, Google and Apple (for the iPhone version). Mr. Keyser shared his expertise in terms of applications. Here is what he had to say:

What can mobile developers who are experienced with other platforms expect from Android in terms of capabilities and usability?
Before the introduction of Android, the iPhone was really the only platform out there that allowed developers to create apps with both touch screen and advanced video capabilities.

What Android does is open up these opportunities to a vastly larger audience of consumers and universe of devices.

While the T-Mobile G1 phone is the first handset built to leverage the Android platform, there are a number of other handsets coming out from various manufacturers that will leverage the Android platform, and these new handsets will be available on a wider variety of network providers.

What this means is that developers will be using Android to create applications that will run on multiple handsets and networks rather than in a single, dedicated, tightly controlled environment.

Right now Android is very much an open source environment with Google encouraging developers to share, so there's the opportunity for companies to actually tweak the underlying platform to add additional functionality.

How can sports leagues extend their brands and increase fan engagement with interactive, mobile applications? Beyond just sports, what can companies in general do to create successful, mobile experiences that increase brand awareness?
One of the concerns that sports leagues and broadcasters have expressed in the past is the idea that interactive applications, whether they're mobile or not, could potentially take away from people watching on TV or attending the games.

Our approach and what we've seen with the projects we've worked on is that interactive apps really help bond fans even closer with their favorite players and teams.

Mobile sports applications for instance, deliver on the ultimate fan fantasy of being able to access sports information 24/7 no matter where they happen to be.

It's ideal for people who participate in fantasy leagues or are regularly on the go who want to be completely up-to-date on the latest sports news, scores, and stats.

Additionally, these new sports apps are ideal for fans who want to follow their favorite individual players or teams, especially if they're not the big names that receive primetime-type coverage.

Beyond the sports world, it's a reality that consumers expect to be able to access information 24/7 without being tethered to a computer or a television.

Mobile apps are really all about offering good customer service -- it's brands being available with helpful information around-the-clock in a format that's most convenient to consumers.

And it's key for these brands to realize that they just can't replicate their websites into the mobile environment -- they need to give consumers tasty morsels of content, snacks rather than full meals.

This type of content is much more appropriate for the mobile environment, and it is much more palatable to consumers on the go.

What should developers keep in mind in order to be as efficient as possible when designing an app for both Android and iPhone at the same time?
What we've found -- and it's a great credit to both the Android and iPhone platforms -- is that we can design what we feel is the optimal application in terms of interface, usability, capabilities, etc. and have it work well on both platforms.

We haven't needed to work around anything on either side that would limit our ability to design the best possible application for the task at hand.

One thing developers need to remember is that you still need to plan on developing two completely different code bases.

Once the application design is mostly finalized, you need to fork off into two separate teams writing code for their respective platform. Also, developers need to keep in mind that there are some specific hardware differences between platforms.

For instance, there's a menu button on the G1 that isn't on the iPhone. Neither setup is necessarily better, but it's a difference to keep in mind if you want an application to be the same on both platforms.

Once you start leveraging the unique capabilities of each individual phone, you lose that complete consistency between the two experiences across platforms. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it's a tradeoff you need to be consciously willing to make.

For mobile applications, what is the best way to balance the capabilities of the underlying platform (Android, iPhone, etcetera) with something that is easy and enjoyable for consumers to use?
As we mentioned above, this is really the heart of the matter when it comes to creating mobile apps.

The most important thing to realize is you're not trying to recreate, say, a PC-based environment on a phone, but rather deliver functionality that is designed specifically for the mobile environment and best meets a mobile consumers' needs.

For mobile apps, what drives usability is the ability to deliver the most critical information in the most digestible way possible.

While it's certainly possible to throw everything and the kitchen sink into a mobile app, the key to success is in focusing on the absolute most important information in a simple to access environment.

For sports apps this means offering bite sized chunks of information, whether it's box scores or in-game updates or information on how your favorite player is doing in the game he's playing in at the moment.

It's quick to access, it's simple to consume, and it's available in real time. And best of all, it allows a team's fans to never miss a minute of the action.