Web analytics firm Mixpanel has just launched real-time mobile analytics for the the Android platform.

Mixpanel Android analytics lets Android developers track events, do A/B testing and segment user interactions across their apps in real time. Mixpanel’s goal is to offer app developers more robust and granular data as opposed to the high-level-only statistics that many mobile analytics packages offer.

Android analytics support comes two weeks after Mixpanel launched its iPhone analytics library, and the Android offering integrates with applications in much the same way. Since its launch, the iPhone analytics library has received hundreds of sign-ups and is getting generally positive reviews.

I spoke with Mixpanel’s Jeremy Richardson about how the company’s approach to mobile analytics is different from its competitors’ and what benefits Mixpanel can offer developers. Flurry, one of the better-known mobile analytics firms, was criticized by Steve Jobs at the D8 conference for collecting too much personally identifiable information. This led to an updated terms of service for analytics trackers.

Richardson explained to me that Mixpanel’s approach is to track user behavior, not to collect personally identifiable information. Data is aggregated by default, and device data is never published. That ensures that Mixpanel complies with the iOS rules; the same considerations are in place for Android developers.

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An Actions-Based Approach to Analytics

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Mixpanel has always taken an approach that’s less about stats and more about actions and results when it comes to web and web application analytics tools. That is, instead of taking the Google Analytics approach of tracking page views, it tracks designated actions or “events” instead. In the web app space, this might be translated into how many users complete a survey or a level up in a game.

This can translate over to the mobile side too. Android developers can use the Android analytics library to add support to their projects. Then they can designate what actions or events they want to track. The Android walkthrough contains some examples of how this process works.

This video also gives an overview of Android analytics in action:

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Single Dashboard Overview

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When it comes to viewing your stats and reports, developers do it all from Mixpanel’s event dashboard. Event tracking, A/B testing, visitor retention analysis and funnel analysis are all selectable and data can be easily exported.

Here’s what we like about the mobile analytics libraries: They use the same dashboard as those for websites or web apps. This means that instead of having to go to different sites or log into different accounts as you would with some monitoring services, you can just select what app or website you want to view from the same main panel.

In this way, Mixpanel actually hopes it can gain some new customers for its social and web analytics offerings from its mobile users.

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Pricing

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Like all of Mixpanel’s offerings, Android analytics is free for up to 10,000 data points a month. After that, pricing starts at $50 a month.

For developers that are looking at understanding how users are using applications and what features or aspects of the apps are used more than others, we think that the system Mixpanel has in place could be invaluable. For game makers especially, having an overview of where people stop playing a game or what levels are completed most or least can really be useful when making future design or programming decisions.

The mobile analytics space is still relatively small, with very few companies taking an approach that is not associated with in-app advertisements. We expect to see this field blow up even more as mobile application usage continues to grow

Sometimes, you have a little something to share, but because your “little something” is a snippet of code or a slice of design, the traditional tools for sharing don’t quite fit the bill.

That, and not all your online friends are going to be interested in the esoteric details of your craft. Forrst seeks to give designers and developers a place to share all their “little somethings” in a beautiful, social setting. It’s a bit like Tumblr, but focused specifically on the task at hand. It’s also kind of like Dribbble, but with code-friendly formats, too.

And it’s invite-only, which is sure to give the site an exclusive appeal.*

In addition to posting links to sites, snaps of design ideas and lines of code, you can also pose questions to the community, making the site more than just an excuse for showing off — it’s also got the potential to be a valuable resource.

Of course, it’s only fitting that a website for web designers and devs should also be beautiful and well-made.

The site was featured recently in a Smashing Mag post on 2010 web trends. Calling Forrst.com a “beautiful design with attractive visual elements and original navigation,” Smashing said the details combine to form an excellent impression. “Notice how the background of the upper area of the page changes when the browser window is resized… The ‘log in’ box is quite cool, too.”

Each post has “likes” and comments, so popular posts get lifted to the top of that tab. And newest posts are featured under the “Fresh” tab. The site even has a handy bookmarklet for posting while browsing. Another element we like about Forrst is its strict policies on self-promotion (not allowed — come for the feedback or stay at home), relevant content (irrelevant blather will be removed), constructive criticism and venting (no kvetching, please).

All in all, we think Forrst is a great idea: A site that’s candy-coated with a beautiful interface, but which also contains a substantial center of intelligent community members.