Author Archives: Hussain Fakhruddin

Top Ten Reasons Why Samsung Might Ditch Android Soon

Samsung has used the Tizen OS for its all-new Gear Fit smartwatch, and most industry experts believe that a Tizen phone might also be coming along soon. In the following discussion, we highlight a few points that justify Samsung’s gradual move away from Google Android.

Many techies were taken by surprise when, at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) this year, Samsung launched its Gear Fit smartwatch – a device that was powered by the Tizen operating system. It only added fuel to the already buzzing rumors that the South Korean company is looking beyond Google Android as the default platform for its next line of gadgets – including, of course, smartphones. We here take a look at some of the key factors why Samsung is starting to promote Tizen OS instead of its long-time ally, Android:

 

  1. Expansion of activities – Samsung Mobile has been in the smartphone business long enough to start expanding its line of activities beyond developing only mobile hardware. Tizen OS is its in-house platform, and if it starts gaining in popularity – Samsung will no longer have to stay overly reliant on the periodic Android updates released by Google. Owners of Samsung phones would also get more customized features.
  2. Insecurity – Google Android powers Samsung phones, but it is the default platform for Motorola devices as well. It’s understandable why the former company would start looking for a different OS, from that of one of its biggest rival brand. At the end of the day, product-differentiation matters – and Samsung wishes to be perceived ‘differently’ from Motorola.
  3. Profitability from mobile apps – With nearly 65% of all Android devices being made by Samsung, there is no room for doubting the dominant position of the company in this sector. However, experts from mobile app companies agree that this does not translate to hefty revenues for the South Korean mobile giant. On app and game downloads from the Play Store, Google reaps the dividends. If Samsung has a separate OS, it can start earning more from mobile apps (particularly from the wildly popular Galaxy handsets).
  4. Lowering bug and malware risks – Android is, by far, the leading mobile OS in terms of market-share – but things underneath are not as uniformly rosy. Over the last couple of years, there have been reports of many Android handsets getting infected by Trojan viruses and/or other malicious bugs. Although Google started providing Verify Apps, cases of users unknowingly installing virus-ridden apps from the Play Store is still pretty common (a point where Apple iTunes steals a march on the Android store). Samsung would surely make Tizen more secure, to bring down such complaints.
  5. Having its own mobile ecosystem – Microsoft has Nokia, Apple uses its proprietary OS for iPhone handsets, and Motorola Mobility is owned by Google. There seems to be hardly any reason for Smsung not willing to/not being able to create its own mobile OS, instead of staying dependant on Android. Samsung might not have come this far without Google’s support, but it can now start using an OS that can hold its own.
  6. Tizen would serve an entire range of electronic gadgets – Thanks to the high-on-functionality Tizen platform, Samsung no longer needs to hope for more profits from its smartphone business alone. Choi Jong Deok, a senior executive from Samsung, has already stated that the new OS would power television sets, refrigerators and wearable devices (like the already launched Gear Fit) too. If Tizen lives up to the hype Samsung is building up around it, there will be plenty of earning channels for the company – even after it parts ways with Android.
  7. Growing interest among developers – Samsung recently concluded the Tizen App Challenge, which had a $4 million prize money for the mobile application developer who could create the best apps for the Tizen platform. Well over $2 million was spent for conducting this competition – clearly indicating that the company was treating the development of Tizen extremely seriously. The response to the contest was very good, indicating that Samsung won’t face a shortage of developers, if and when it decides to fully replace Android with Tizen.
  8. Steering clear of controversies – Samsung and Apple have been at loggerheads at most times. During the recently concluded lawsuit between the two, the role of Google came to the fore like never before. Samsung had to seek the help of Google to testify that it was already working on the mobile technologies for which Apple had brought in patent infringement charges. A completely new OS like Tizen would, hopefully, help Samsung to stay away from such legal tussles in future. Steve Jobs had once referred to Android as a ‘stolen product’ – and Samsung no longer needs to cling on to it.
  9. The Linux assurance – Tizen is a HTML5-based mobile OS, supported by both Samsung as well as the Linux Foundation. In theory, it can become more than a match to Google Android – in terms of quality, security, reliability, and other key aspects. The open-source nature of Android has often come in for criticism, and Tizen might just be a better alternative for Samsung to use on its smartphones in future.
  10. Need to focus more on mobile software – Samsung’s mobile hardware business is profitable – but the ever-increasing competition might cause the earnings to taper off in the foreseeable future. In the budget smartphone sector, the earning potentials are, in any case, limited – while for the more pricey mobile segment, Samsung cannot yet compete on its own with Apple’s well-established ecosystem. The only way out to remain viable over the long-run is to focus more on the underlying software for handsets. Samsung cannot dictate Google how Android upgrades should be planned – but with Tizen, it will have full freedom to establish an ecosystem of its own.

Although Samsung’s switch from Android to Tizen seems to be in the offing, the transition might not be as seamless as originally envisaged. The Tizen project has already been delayed multiple times – and in case it has a limited collection of mobile apps, it would be blown away by iOS and Android (much like what has happened with Blackberry 10). The good thing is, Tizen has been modeled on the lines of Android itself, and Samsung has no plans to launch it on smartphones before ironing out all probable issues with it. It will be fascinating to watch how Samsung fares with its Tizen, against the might of Google Android.

 

AppBoard Tuesday – Avoid The ‘This Looks Fine’ Syndrome!

Hello everyone! It’s Tuesday – which means this week’s edition of AppBoard Tuesday (ABT) is all ready. By the way, we apologize for the no-show of our newsletter last week, owing to unavoidable circumstances. Anyway, we are back – and you can look forward to ABTs every Tuesday from now on.

This week, we won’t be talking about any particular app development technique or marketing/promotional methods. Instead, the agenda in today’s edition of ABT is the importance of ‘quality work’ over ‘quick work’. At times, service providers tend to overlook certain apparently minor bugs and other issues in their offerings. Such lackadaisical ‘This Looks Fine’ syndrome often has a nasty way of biting back, pretty soon!

Let’s start off with a general example. Last week, we had missed out on an ABT. We could easily have brought out the edition on Wednesday or Thursday, and just called it a ‘delayed publication’ or something, right? But then, the ‘Tuesday’ in AppBoard Tuesday’ would have been lost, there would no longer be any consistency about our weekly newsletter, and it would have been relegated to ‘just another thing’ we do every week. That was not something we set out to do when ABT was first launched, and it never shall be.

 

Okay, then – let’s now come back to our professional domain. Every mobile app developer in the world is aware that clients love companies that can complete projects very quickly. Let’s here take a pause though. If a mobile apps company were to deliver applications well before pre-specified deadlines without properly testing them, would that be okay? At first, there would be the ‘This Looks Fine’ feel (maybe even the client would be convinced) – but as cracks start to appear (read: bugs, app crashes, viruses, and the like), negative feedback would start pouring in. And as we all know, in the corporate world, bad word-of-mouth publicity can absolutely ruin a company.

 

So, how should one fight with this short-term ‘This Looks Fine’ approach? At Teknowledge Software, we have a very stringent set of policies for the purpose. In-house readers are no doubt already aware of the detailed code reviews and unit/cloud testing performed for each of our mobile apps (prior to launch). Multiple revisions in the app framework and UI/UX designs are done and clients are constantly kept in the loop. What ultimately matters is creating and delivering applications that do not give any scope of complaints on the part of buyers. Most of our clients have nice things to say about our after-sales services – but we do not like the sight of user-grievances being registered. A faulty app reeks of unprofessionalism – and that’s not a label any self-respecting app developer would like to get attached with.

 

Many companies that offer cross-platform mobile application development services tend to rush through the testing phase – simply because deadlines are fast approaching, and the app ‘looks fine’ on devices. Nothing can be a more dangerous ploy, from a purely business perspective. We keep advising our app development team to meticulously test every code/program/wireframe and prototype that they come up with. At times, a minor mistake in the code might not affect its operations at first – but over time, such ‘small’ problems can assume much larger proportions. Remember, it’s never about hiding defects with a piece of tape – you need to repair the problems in their entirety. What ‘looks fine’ to you now might seem absolutely junk a few weeks later. Clients would be enraged, and your market goodwill would take a nosedive. Why take a shortcut, when it can lead to serious complications pretty soon?

This brings us to the issue of maintaining high quality standards while completing app development projects within time. Although we work on multiple Android, Blackberry and iPhone app projects simultaneously, and our portfolio has got applications belonging to diverse genres – meeting deadlines has never been a challenge, and we have never had to compromise on quality for that. Our belief, that detailed tests at every stage of the app development processes actually makes the final round of testing quicker and easier, has been vindicated over time. We may be working on an iPhone app for kids or an Android app for business – a blend of quality-commitment and time-maintenance will always be our hallmark.

 

Some say, as you gain professional experience you become more confident – which makes it less necessary to check and re-check your work. Makes no sense, in our opinion. We have over 600 apps in our portfolio (and we are sure many companies have even more!) and have been in this business for close to a decade now. If anything, our app testing procedures have become even more rigorous over the years. We recently launched ‘Real Talk’, our 622nd app, – and the tests for it were as systematic and detailed as they were for our very first few apps. With experience, you become wiser – and wisdom definitely does not preach that you can get away with quick and shoddy work.


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If you want to be a successful mobile app development expert, stop staying cocooned with the ‘This Looks Fine’ syndrome. Remember, the most plump and red apples can have worms in it – and apps with the very best visual effects and illustrations can have bugs that are slightly tricky to find. Test your apps for all such probable problems…and then, well, test some more. Make sure every line of the inserted code and every feature/control is working properly – in the device(s) on which the app would be downloaded. Have a multiple screening process in place, so that bugs that remain undetected at the first go are found and removed later. Don’t lose your sleep over project timelines – they won’t be affected. What’s more – you will manage to keep your clients satisfied, always. After all, that’s the key objective of any business, right?

 

There’s an old adage – ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. If you are in the business of making mobile apps, it doesn’t have much significance for you. A developer agency simply cannot afford to wait till their apps – filled with covered-up buggy codes – actually break down, before starting to look for fixes. Make apps that offer complete quality assurance – it’s a policy that works, we can vouch for it!

 

Good apps can potentially last a lifetime on users’ smartphones – while the bad ones get deleted soon after being downloaded. The sooner you can get out of the escapist ‘This Looks Fine’ feel and make sure that things are ‘actually fine’ – the greater will be your chances of being able to churn out great apps, continuously.

 

Lo and behold – the discussion on the importance of maintaining high app development quality standards has now brought us to the end of this edition of AppBoard Tuesday. It ‘looks fine’ to us – but once again, we are only too eager to hear from you about more tips and tricks to improve service quality. By the way, we have started working on a couple of new apps – you will get all the inside details on them in later editions of ABT.

 

Till next time then, have a great week, and yes…stay zapped with apps!

 

Native Apps And Mobile Website – A Comparative Analysis

Entrepreneurs and marketers often wonder whether they should depend on mobile websites or develop native apps for lending their businesses the requisite amount of exposure. We have here compared these two tools on the basis of several important criteria.

 

Targeting prospective clients who access the web on the go has emerged as a key element of the overall marketing strategies of most companies. In the United States, the use of mobile devices is increasing by the day (a rise of nearly 5% was reported last year), and the trends are pretty much the same in most other developed/developing nations across the world. There are two major channels to gain business exposure on mobile devices – mobile (responsive) websites and native mobile apps. Contrary to popular belief, the latter concept is the earlier one, with its origins being traced back to 1998 – when Nokia pre-installed the blockbuster Snake game in its handsets. In the following discourse, we will compare the merits and demerits of native apps and mobile websites:

 

  1. Creation – Responsive websites take this round easily. To create a successful, engaging mobile application, a fairly large amount of time, money and professional UI/UX designing expertise is required. Making a mobile version of an already existing website is way simpler – all that’s required is to create and test fluid designs and select the sections/text/graphics that would be present in it.
  2. Speed – Mobile app developers treat app-speed as a virtue. They know full well that if an application takes minutes to load, no one would bother taking a second look at it. The same is broadly true for mobile websites too – but they generally take significantly longer to load completely than a seamless, user-friendly app.
  3. Marketing & Promotion – This one is a stalemate. Mobile websites, like their original computer versions, require continuous search engine optimization (SEO) to gradually gain traction on the World Wide Web. Similarly, for ensuring a high download count for apps, strategic marketing campaigns need to be conducted. Broadly speaking though, since iPhone and Android apps are present in the stores of their respective platforms, additional marketing requirements are just a tad less.
  4. Approvals – A good mobile website will have a steady, high number of regular visitors, while a slow, cluttered one will flop – but there is no way it can be banned by any authority (except, of course, if a website promotes drugs, gambling, and the like). On the other hand, a mobile apps company has to constantly keep the factor of app-approvals at iTunes and the Play Store under consideration. Particularly at the former, the approval regulations are rather stringent.
  5. Offline performance – Websites, by definition, are not supposed to work offline. That, in turn, means that if a potential buyer does not temporarily have online connectivity on his/her phone, (s)he cannot check out the portal, for that specific span of time. Native apps clearly hold the aces on this count – since most of them function perfectly well in the offline mode.
  6. Usage of phone resources – Leading mobile app development companies make it a point to come up with such applications that utilize all the available resources of a smartphone optimally. GPS features, camera, video-recording and social media connections would be some of the most common examples in this regard. A responsive website is, however, more of a standalone feature. Users can read the content and browse the pages – but they can’t expect it to integrate with other mobile resources.
  7. Role in building brand-value – Both mobile websites and apps deliver in this regard – but the latter has just a little edge. Once a user closes a website on his/her device, (s)he has to relaunch it – to be exposed to the visual branding elements present on it once again. An Android or iPhone application would, however, remain present on the home screen of the device. Provided the icon of the app is smartly designed, it would serve as a source of continuous brand-recall.

Note: A word of caution here though. Lousy apps are deleted pretty quickly by users from their phones, which erases this advantage – and in fact, generates a negative buzz about the concerned company.

 

8. Flexibility – There are companies that offer cross-platform app development services – but in general, an iPhone app won’t work on an Android device, and vice versa. Mobile websites, on the other hand, might have browser-compatibility-related issues. The codes used to make a mobile app are not portable from one handset to another either. Both app and website developers strive to offer customized services, and they need to keep in mind the above factors.

 

9. Maintenance – A responsive website requires maintenance, but not to the extent needed for mobile apps. Developers typically have to release upgrades/updated versions of apps at regular intervals – and proper app testing procedures have to be carried out for each of them. A mobile website, on the other token, generally has a single version – making the task of bug-testers just a bit easier.

 

10. Interactive features – This has been one of the main reasons for smartphone apps surging ahead of mobile websites in terms of user-popularity across the globe. An app is meant to engage users – be it playing games, performing mathematical calculations, tracking incomes and expenses, taking/sharing media content, and performing other such functions. The mobile version of a website cannot incorporate so many interactive features – simply because they might compromise the site’s speed.

 

11. Level of competition – The demand is more for native apps – and hence, it is understandable that the worldwide app markets are way more competitive too. Right from business-related applications, to mobile apps for kids – every category of app has many entries (and new ones coming along every quarter). On average, an app lasts for around 35-40 days (except for the ones that really gain users’ favor) on a mobile device. Now compare that with a mobile website, which cannot be removed unless the parent company decides to do so. An app-maker has to compete with a lot more rivals – a website designer can focus only on making the web pages user-friendly and optimized.

 

12. Visibility – A featured app at iTunes and/or Google Play Store would always have high download potentials. People can find them easily, read up reviews, and get them on their phones. Mobile websites are not similarly listed anywhere – and unless the SEO job on them is done well, they won’t rank high on the search engines. That, in turn, makes discoverability an issue.

 

13. System requirements – Slow websites are irritating. A mobile web portal would have high footfall and low bounce rates only when the devices used to view them have strong and fast internet features. There are select smartphone models (iPhones, for instance) which do not support any Flash content on websites. Apps, in most cases, do not come with such constraints. Flash is not (mostly) used in them anyway, and experts from mobile application development agencies keep the size and bandwidth requirements of apps low. A website CAN be fast, a native app is ALMOST ALWAYS faster!

 

14. Popularity – And finally, we come to the benchmark that has the maximum influence on companies’ decisions to go for mobile apps or a mobile website. In terms of user-engagement, apps (a daily engagement duration of almost 2 hours and 20 minutes) are streets ahead of responsive sites (less than 25 minutes). What’s more, the time people spend on using native apps is increasing over time, while that for mobile websites has remained flat.

 

There is, however, no reason to consider native apps and mobile websites to be perfect substitutes. Ideally, a company should create a well-working, responsive website (without any multiple URL-concerns), and then develop personalized mobile applications. A website can be formed in the form of a web app too. To capture the eyeballs of mobile users, both the channels have important roles to play – it would be a mistake to neglect any one of them completely!

 

Apple WWDC 2014: A Quick Round-Up

The iWatch did not make an appearance during WWDC 2014, but the annual developers’ conference organized by Apple had its fair share of major announcements. In the following piece, readers will be acquainted with the news bytes from WWDC that have made the headlines.

 

It’s the final day of the 2014 edition of the World Wide Developers’ Conference, at San Francisco. Right from the keynote session, Apple has used this platform to unveil a slew of new programs and concepts – although no major product launches have featured during this event. Professional developers, however, have particular reasons to feel pleased with how this year’s WWDC has panned out. We here provide a quick recap of all the important announcements from Apple WWDC 2014:

 

  1. Handoff and Airdrop – Apple has focused in a big way on offering ‘continuity’ of service to users of iOS devices. The newly announced ‘Handoff’ feature would allow people to create, edit and sync their emails and other documents between their iPhones and iMacs. Files will be shareable from now on across Macs and mobile handsets – a functionality which had not been present earlier.
  2. Siri – A newer and better virtual assistant – that’s what Siri promises to be, on the next line of Apple phones and tablets. At the WWDC, it was announced that Siri would boast of complete voice-control features (hands-free) from now on. The activation command would be ‘Hey Siri’ – somewhat similar to the ‘Ok Google’ command for Google Now on Android devices.
  3. iOS 8 – According to most professional mobile app experts as well as general Apple-enthusiasts, this was the biggie of the 5-day annual conference. The much-anticipated new mobile platform was finally launched – and what immediately stood out were the robust (much more user-friendly than iOS 7) message support and management features on it. Apple has made improvements in the notifications area as well – something that used to remain cluttered in earlier versions. External widgets can be installed on devices powered by iOS 8 devices too. The platform is still not a patch on Android in terms of customization – but Apple is surely moving in the right direction.
  4. Xcode 6 – This was one of the more unexpected announcements at the WWDC, although iOS app developers won’t mind it one bit. In this Xcode update, programmers would have the option to check out bits of codes, without having to create entire projects. Animated SceneKit and SpriteKit are present in the sidebar section (where the coding results are also displayed). The built-in UI inspector tool is expected to offer some extra help to app testers.
  5. HealthKit – Confirming all pre-release rumors, Apple iOS 8 has arrived with a dedicated HealthKit application. It has been created to help users monitor all important fitness and health metrics, at home as well as while on the move. There is a special hub section, to study overall personal fitness trends over time. Apple has entered into tie-ups with several noted clinics and fitness centers for HealthKit, including Mayo Clinic and Nike.
  6. OS X Yosemite – Apple’s well-hyped OS X Mavericks, in its initial form (launched during WWDC 2013) was not entirely free of glitches. This year, the company has unveiled the first look of its ‘sequel’ – the OS X Yosemite, and this one does look truly impressive. The overall look and feel of Yosemite is evidently inspired from the latest iOS platform (in particular, the attractive layout of the Notifications Sidebar). iCloud Drive is probably the biggest talking point on the new desktop platform – since it will make every document stored on iCloud easily searchable via Finder. A beta version of OS X Yosemite is expected to roll out this summer, before the free full version hits the markets towards the end of the year.
  7. Instant Hotspot – A relatively minor announcement, but a very interesting one in its own right. With the Instant Hotspot feature, iMacs will be able to share the cellular properties of iPhones automatically. That, in turn, will let people to place calls right from their computer. Till date, there have been no software that offer similar services, from any web or mobile app development company in the world.
  8. Photos App – In a further indication that Apple is finally realizing the value of personalized features, the company announced the launch of Photos App, for iPhones and iPads. All pictures taken by users would now have easy sharing options across different mobile devices. The iCloud accounts of people would serve as the picture storehouse, with Apple providing 5GB space for free (more space can be bought at specified rates). The shared pictures would have editing options as well.
  9. HomeKit – Another much-in-vogue Apple rumor that was substantiated at the WWDC. Apple launched HomeKit – an innovative mobile-operated program for making ‘smarter homes’. The program would be controllable via Siri – and it would let users manage practically everything about their homes, simply by issuing voice commands. Irrespective of whether you want the garage doors opened, the bedlight turned on, or the lamps switched off when you leave a room – talking to your iPhone will be all you will have to do.
  10. Swift – What Apple has lacked in terms of major product launches during this year’s conference (the iPhone 6, in particular, was not even expected to debut during the event), it has more than made up with newer, better facilities for iPhone/iPad app developers. The new Swift language has been reported to be significantly faster and more secure than both ‘C’ and ‘Objective C’. However, to ensure that professionals working on mobile app projects are not inconvenienced, Swift would have easy integration features with the earlier coding languages.
  11. Predictive keyboards – For those who have been complaining for long about the ho-hum nature of iPhone virtual keyboards, this is a great piece of news. The revamped Apple keypads have ‘auto-learning’ features – enabling them to study and learn from users’ previous typing behavior. A special query-resolving feature, named QuickType, has also been embedded in the keyboards. Oh, and iOS 8 will allow users to install third-party keyboards too. Finally!
  12. Maildrop and Markup – These are the two major updates in the email system of the latest OS X platform. Via Maildrop, ‘heavy’ mail attachments (upto a maximum size of 5GB) can be uploaded on iCloud, and the link shared with the intended recipient(s). Markup, on the other hand, has been designed as an image editor – right inside the mailbox. With text and shape-editors, magnifying features and enhanced drawing help, Markup adds a fresh feel to the email setup of iMacs.
  13. Spotlight updates – On both computers as well as on iOS mobile devices, Apple has decided to add new features to Spotlight. On iPhones, Spotlight can now be used to look up various forms of local information (e.g., movie listings) and iTunes content, in addition to the contacts and iPhone apps stored inside the handset. On Macs, Spotlight has got a new launcher tool. Users can now even go through Apple Maps and other web content, directly from Spotlight.
  14. Family Sharing – A maximum of 6 family members will be able to share the same downloaded content from iTunes – provided that the same credit card is used to link all the accounts. Pictures and other documents can, hence, be seamlessly be shared across family networks. The Family Sharing feature also rules out accidental downloads of apps from iTunes.
  15. Better app collaboration – To enhance the app-experience of users, Apple has got rid of the ‘sandbox’ feature that used to be a trademark of all iOS applications. Users can now share app details in a third-party application, so that the functionality of two or more apps can be combined. From now on, iPhone/iPad apps will be able to ‘communicate’ with each other – a welcome change from what used to be case till now.

The announcement of iMessage now offering audio and video support was a high point of the WWDC 2014 too. The new OS X will also have customized storyboards – another welcome update for iPhone app development experts. Interestingly, Apple’s stock prices fell significantly on June 2nd – when it became clear that iWatch won’t be making its debut during the event. The WWDC this year has seen Apple make several major announcements to further improve its products (both computers and mobiles), as well as extend loads of support for developers. It’ll be interesting to see if the major product releases that the company has in pipeline turn out to be successful too.

Is The iPhone 6 Set To Be A Flop?

Speculations about when Apple would release iPhone 6 are rife – but more interestingly, doubts are mounting as to whether it will be able to manage decent sales figures. In what follows, we have taken a sneak peek at some factors which can cause iPhone 6 to ultimately fail.

The much-anticipated iPhone 6 was not unveiled during the ongoing World Wide Developers’ Conference (WWDC). While Apple generally announces new lines of smartphones around September, this wasn’t particularly surprising though. What the no-show of iPhone 6 did do was add momentum to the murmurs that the handset might not live up to its frankly excessive hype. In Britain alone, a survey found that over 65% of smartphone-users believed that the next-generation iPhone would fail. More strikingly, a much higher percentage of people are of the opinion that the Samsung Galaxy S5 would be a much bigger hit than iPhone 6. Here are a few reasons which might lead to iPhone 6 turning out to be a flop:

 

  1. General perception that there would be nothing new – Apple has been dropping subtle hints about the Healthbook app that iPhone 6 would come with. This, however, has failed to really excite mobile app company experts or general users. About 1 in every 5 users of Apple products think that iPhone 6 will broadly be similar to its predecessor – the iPhone 5. As such, they believe that the upcoming model is not worth buying.
  2. Lower than average battery life – A point on which the iPhone 6 is almost sure to lose out to the latest phone model from Samsung. The Galaxy S5 offers battery backup of eleven hours and a quarter – while that of the iPhone 6 will be, at best, something around six hours. People who don’t like to carry mobile chargers wherever they go (and that’s most individuals!) are likely to stay away from Apple’s hugely hyped product.
  3. Saturation in most international markets – Make no mistake – smartphones are being launched by the dozen every quarter, and many of them are finding takers worldwide too. However, for a handset exclusively targeted for the premium segment of the market – things might be slightly different. With the price tag likely to remain on the higher side, it won’t find a decent opening in cash-crunched nations in South America and even some portions of Asia. On the other hand, the US and UK markets are already filled up with a deluge of relatively new smartphones. Only time will tell whether the iPhone 6 packs in enough punch to justify its price tag and mark its niche in the global markets.
  4. Sharing options will probably not impress – There are iPhone application development companies that release apps with social sharing options – but that won’t be enough to mask the woefully poor default sharing options on iPhone 6. If the developers do not go for a major shake-up of the app settings system, what buyers would get is a device with pre-loaded apps (like iPhoto), which allow sharing only to a small set of other applications. Those who love a customized app-experience would stay in favor of Android devices.
  5. A belief that Apple’s quality standards have gone down a bit – This is probably the most potentially damaging belief, that is taking form in the minds of techies and general people across countries. About 25% of all people opine that Apple products no longer promise that lofty excellence that they used to, when Steve Jobs was at his prime. The iPhone 6 might yet surprise everyone with its quality, but most people won’t buy it before reading the reviews meticulously.
  6. Extremely limited options for personalization – What worked great in 2007 comes across as irritating in 2014 – and strangely enough, the experts at Apple seem oblivious to this fact. At a time when Android handsets are highlighting enhanced customization options as their USP, iPhone 6 (like its predecessors) will have the same standard layout – with default displays and apps on the home screen. Doing an iOS jailbreak is, of course, an option – but would people purchase it in the first place, when other, cheaper (not necessarily better though) alternatives are available?
  7. Lack of interest among existing iPhone users – Even those who own iPhones at present do not seem too confident about the success of the soon-to-be-released model. During the research study in UK, those who had predicted that the Galaxy S5 would trump iPhone 6 with relative ease were mostly…hold your breath…iPhone-users. Apple CEO Tim Cook definitely harbors hopes of making a dent into Android’s overwhelmingly high market-share, but the pre-release buzz about the iPhone 6 is remarkably lukewarm.
  8. Will the presence of two different versions help? – Ideally, it should – but the fiercely competitive mobile markets worldwide might wipe off such potential advantages. The 4.7-inch version of iPhone 6 is not likely to create much of a ripple – since people have long been hankering for a handset with a larger screen from Apple Inc. There will be a phablet-sized 5.5-inch version (as reported via Foxconn) as well, but it will have to be absolutely outstanding in terms of features – to stand out in the already overcrowded phablet markets.
  9. Not much of use as a camera device – If you are one of those who like to snap high-quality pictures with your smartphone, iPhone 6 won’t be your ally. The Nokia Lumia phones might have their fair share of shortcomings – but the 41 MP camera pre-installed in them has, till date, no competitors. Even Sony Xperia Z2 and Samsung Galaxy S5 have 20.7 MP and 16 MP cameras respectively. These figures are streets ahead of the 8/10 MP camera that the iPhone 6 is likely to have.
  10. The market dominance of Samsung will hurt iPhone’s prospect – This is, in essence, a vicious cycle. The popularity figures of Samsung flagship mobiles have soared over the past few years, while Apple’s iPhone 5S performed at just about average levels, and the ‘budget’ iPhone 5C was the very definition of disaster. This, in turn, has helped Samsung in particular, and Android in general, to create a market clout – which the iPhone 6 might find difficult to break into.
  11. Absence of NFC – Near Field Communication (NFC) technology was launched over 3 years ago, and even certain laptop models/brands have them now. Inexplicably, Tim Cook and his team have decided to stay away from using NFC in iPhones – and they are not likely to make an exception for the iPhone 6. People are increasingly getting used to one-tap digital security at home and single-touch mobile payments. The latest iPhone might come across as slightly backdated to them.
  12. Keyboard functionality is likely to be ordinary – If you are expecting Swype or haptic feedback features from the built-in keypad of the latest iPhone – well, get ready to be disappointed. Unless the predictions of software analysts and mobile app developers are way off the mark, the keyboard will remain considerably less functional than those on Android devices. Chances of Apple integrating usage patterns in the keyboard of iPhone 6 also appear slim. At least the new iOS 8 platform (unveiled during WWDC) supports third-party keyboards – otherwise that would have been a bone of contention too.

If iWatch arrives before iPhone 6 and is poorly received, that can create a further air of negativity about the latter. Apple has an enviable track record of success – and it has the capability of turning all these projections and survey results on their head, by ensuring that the iPhone 6 appeals to general buyers and techies alike. It would be a huge mistake to write off iPhone 6 before it is launched – but as things stand now, it does not seem like a big winner waiting in the wings!

 

16-Point Checklist For Hiring The Best App Development Company

Practically every app development company claims itself to be the ‘best’ – but not all of them are able to meet their extravagant service promises. If you are on the hunt for a reliable developer firm, you need to consider the factors mentioned in this checklist.

 

Mobile app development is a sub-domain in the tech sector that has witnessed amazing rates of growth over the last couple of years worldwide. In India alone, the total number of developer companies is in excess of 300000. Apart from gaming, music and entertainment purposes, business-related apps are becoming increasingly popular too. If you do not yet have a dedicated mobile application to promote your professional operations, you are, in all likelihood, missing out on a significant chunk of your potential clients. That, however, does not mean you should hire the first app developer you come across. To get customized applications at competitive rates, a certain amount of prior research is of the essence. The following checklist should serve as a handy guide:

 

  1. Check the track record – Looking for a cheap Android or iPhone app quote is not all that you should be concerned about. At the end of the day, the company you choose should be able to cater to your precise needs – and this makes hiring an experienced company vital. Always opt for a company that has a portfolio of at least 200-250 successfully created applications. Teknowledge, for instance, has already completed well over 500 mobile app projects.
  2. Consider the domain of expertise – With most companies specializing in cross-platform mobile app development, a bit of online research is all you need for this. Even if you need only an iPhone or an Android app at present, don’t go for a company whose operations are limited to that platform. Apart from iOS, a good mobile application development service provider should be equally at ease while working on the Blackberry, Android, Windows Phone and HTML5 platforms.
  3. Inquire about the team of developers – There are many companies which either employ developers on a freelance basis, or delegate projects to smaller, third-party organizations. You cannot expect any form of accountability from such firms. Make sure that the mobile apps company you have zeroed in upon has a permanent, well-trained team of developers. The entire project should be done in-house.
  4. Look up client testimonials – If a developer company has been able to provide complete customer-satisfaction to many clients, chances are high that its quality of service is indeed high. Check the testimonials page on the website of the companies you have shortlisted, and go for the one that has the most number of favorable reviews. Ideally, a well-established app development company should have at least a few reputed Fortune 500 organizations as clients. Ask for the contact details of a few clients too, for getting first-hand feedback. After all, fake testimonials are not particularly uncommon on the web!
  5. Are free quotes available? – Developing a mobile app involves expenses (at times, pretty high levels) – but a company should not charge anything for providing a service quote. Either contact app developers directly, or look on the company’s site – to find out how you can apply for a free Android or iPhone app quote/estimate. If the concerned company demands hefty advance payments, start looking for alternatives.
  6. Scope of interaction – Irrespective of whether you do or do not have any technical knowledge, you should always be kept in the loop – when the app project is going on. Find out at what intervals your chosen company would share (and explain) detailed mockups and wireframes of the application(s). Ideally, there should be meetings scheduled between you and the representatives of the app company on a weekly or fortnightly basis. You should have the option to call up/email the service provider whenever any emergency requirement crops up.
  7. Intellectual property rights – Interestingly, not many app clients pay due attention to this extremely critical factor. Make sure that you would have full rights over the source codes and other elements of intellectual property – once the app(s) is completed and delivered. There must never be any confusion over establishing your ownership on it. Of course, if you are buying an already existing app from iTunes/Google Play store, you need not worry about this issue.
  8. App interface designing skills – A balanced combination of technical excellence and creativity is what your selected app company should be able to provide. Remember, an over-complicated and/or bland-looking mobile application has minimal chances of becoming popular – no matter what its overall range of features might be. Select a company that has experienced, knowledgeable UI/UX and graphic designers. It’s immensely important that your app looks easy on the eye and is user-friendly.
  9. Read through the contract document – A free quote and a relatively reasonable final cost estimate – is that all you should be after? Far from it! Study the contract document provided by the app company carefully, and clarify all doubts from the company personnel. Be wary of hidden charges that might push up the final payment figure. Ask about the intervals at which you will need to make payments. Do not settle all dues till you have received the app and tested it properly.
  10. App-monetization help – Yours might be a paid app or a free app – but it should ultimately generate revenues. This, in turn, brings to light the importance of app monetization. For paid mobile applications, your chosen agency should help you in determining the correct pricing strategy. On the other hand, if you are looking to create a free app, select a firm that has the expertise to implement effective in-app advertising and additional download schemes. Story Time, our free app for kids, would serve as the perfect example.
  11. Reliability of the company server – In a bid to lower the total mobile app development costs by a few bucks, many people make the mistake of hiring the services of low-profile, rather obscure firms. These companies are not generally able to provide any assurance about the quality of their servers and systems. Ideally, you need to find out from beforehand whether continuous build servers would be used for creating your project. During the testing and even after delivery, the company should stay in charge of app deployment and maintenance issues.
  12. Check the network of the company – There can be no compromise with the quality of an app, if it has to get approved at iTunes or Google Play Store. However, it does help if the company you select has a few people who are in constant touch with the authorities at the Apple/Google stores. The app review and approval process might get expedited by just a bit.
  13. App testing and quality assurance – Adhering to strict quality standards is the hallmark of any decent app development company. The quality assurance (QA) statements in the contract document should include details on the mobile app testing procedures that would be undertaken. Make sure that the prototype of your app would be tested for bugs on actual devices (focus group testing) as well as in the cloud network. You should also have a password-protected virtual location, for conducting tests on your end.
  14. Ratings of the company’s previous apps – If a company has been in the app development business for a fairly long period and enjoys a good market goodwill, several of its apps would invariably feature in the top/featured lists at the online stores. From our 500-odd apps, around 80% do have focused presence on such lists, while a few of them have also bagged professional awards. Go for an app agency which has quite a few products that are featured at the stores. If your app becomes popular, your business would automatically receive a boost.
  15. Customized app creation services – There are many companies that are into marketing and selling their in-house apps only. For a brand new app, these are not the ones you should contact. Instead, get into a deal with a company where developers would listen to your exact requirements and app-concepts, and initiate the development project accordingly. Pay money for app(s) that would actually serve your needs – don’t let a company coax you into buying their own, existing apps.
  16. Press and media contacts – The duties of a professional app development firm do not end with delivering mobile apps to clients. It should take up the responsibility of creating an initial buzz about them too – via online press releases, events, and through their social media channels. Look for a company with active presence on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, Pinterest and Behance. Proper exposure of an app is crucial for its ultimate success.

 

Keep a tab on all the cost elements involved in your app development project. Gather quotes from four to five firms, and compare their charges and expected quality of service – before getting in touch with any one of them. Being in a tearing hurry to hire an app developer might leave you saddled with expensive, sub-standard applications – and that’s certainly not what you want!

 

Infowatch May – The Teks Newsletter

It’s a refreshingly wet end to the month of May. If any of our Indian readers had been complaining of heat and humidity over the past month and a bit – get drenched to your heart’s fill today (as long as the downpour lasts, that is!). Once you’re done, do check out our Infowatch newsletter though – for you would like a concise wrap up of all tech going-ons in this month, right? Here are some of the news bytes from the domain of technology that made it to the headlines in May:

 

‘Roombots’ As Furniture

 

Move over robots, for the ‘roombots’ are here! The latter are battery and motor-powered robotic blocks that can mold themselves in the shape of practically any household furniture. Each roombot measures nine inches in length, and comes with retractable claws. According to Swiss designer Massimo Vespignani, these automated pieces of furniture would be particularly convenient for elderly people.

 

Katniss Everdeen Comes To Your Smartphone

 

Well, this ‘The Hunger Games’-based mobile gaming app has not yet hit the markets – but developer company Kabam has plans to launch it in the third quarter of the year. Mobile experts from Kabam has already got into collaborations with Lionsgate – the banner under which ‘The Hunger Games’ movies are produced – for making a role-playing game, where players would be able to assume the characters of the District Members in the app. Incidentally, Kabam had earlier developed a mobile game based on ‘The Hobbit’.

 

Home Platform From Apple?

 

The WWDC (World Wide Developers’ Conference) starts in two days, and there’s every chance that Apple Inc. will unveil an all-new smart home platform during the event. Either the NFC or the iBeacon technology will be used to pair household electrical gadgets (lights, fans, etc.) with iPhones. The moment you walk in to your room carrying a paired iPhone, the lights in your room will get automatically switched on!

 

Flappy Bird Eyes A Comeback

 

Fans of this mighty addictive mobile gaming application can now rejoice. Don Nguyen, the developer of Flappy Bird, has announced that the name of this game in its revamped avatar will be ‘Flappy Bird: New Version’. The game would have multiplayer features (yay!) – and would probably be available at online stores from August.

 

Mark Zuckerberg Focuses On Charity

 

The man behind Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, has donated a princely sum of $120 million for a charitable cause. The money has been given to the authorities of San Francisco Bay Area school – and should go a long way in improving the facilities and infrastructure of the students over there. What Zuckerberg won’t want is a rehash of his much-criticized previous charity act, four years back.

 

Gibson Acquires Phillips’ Audio Business

 

Everyone is talking about the Apple-Beats deal which happened on May – but this acquisition was almost as important (okay, maybe not from the monetary perspective). Gibson Firms, an American music company, has bought the rights for selling all audiovisual equipments of Phillips. The value of this deal was $135 million, and it is expected to strengthen the brand presence of Phillips in the markets of US and Japan.

 

Samsung Galaxy S4 Finally Gets Kids’ Mode

 

The recently released Galaxy S5 already has it, and the South Korean mobile giant has decided to bring Kids Mode to the S4 line of phones as well. This is a welcome piece of news for parents worldwide, who would now be able to let their children use mobile apps for kids on their phone – without having to worry about accidental taps and/or downloads. The Galaxy S4 would also have the Knox 2.0 security suite.

 

Samsung Opts For Tizen OS For Its New Smartwatch

 

There were already indications that Samsung is planning to gradually move away from Android – and the new Galaxy Gear smartwatch has fueled such rumors manifold. The wearable gadget is powered exclusively by the Tizen platform (it’s owned by Samsung) and boasts of voice-based camera features and a music player. It remains to be seen whether Samsung ditches Android for its next line of phones too.

 

Court Orders Google To Let Users Exercise Their ‘Right To Be Forgotten’

 

Following a lawsuit, an European court has issued this directive. The individual users of the search engine can now directly contact the Google authorities to ‘erase’ previously stored details about them on the online space, which are no longer relevant at present. The ruling is in accordance with Article 17 of EDPR (European Data Protection Regulation). Google can no longer dig up unsavory details about people, if the latter don’t want it!

 

Android Phones Again Under Security Scanner

 

If you are a relatively frequent visitor to adult entertainment websites on your Android phone, you might be in for a rude shock pretty soon. A senior professional from Bitdefender has revealed that the Reveton Gang (which launched a mobile malware several years ago) has found an innovative way to frustrate Android-users. The Reveton virus blocks phones as well as computers (via a fake security warning), and asks for a pretty hefty ransom to unlock the devices. The ransomware attacks Android phones and tablets by tracing the IP addresses of the latter. Oh, and the payment channel Reveton opts for (uKash or Paysafecard) cannot be tracked.

 

Salesforce Apps To Be Available On Windows Phones

 

In a bid to strengthen his ‘mobile first, cloud first’ strategy, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced that most customer-management mobile applications of Salesforce will be present (a long-time competitor of Microsoft in the mobile market) on the forthcoming range of Windows devices. The collaboration would facilitate easier and quicker data integration on users. The deal is expected to make Microsoft a force to reckon with in the domain of cloud computing.

 

Book Publishers Enraged By Amazon’s Power Abuse

 

General book-lovers as well as publishing houses have reacted strongly to Amazon’s distinctly underhand tactics to manipulate buyer-behavior and promote e-books from its platform. The online bookstore of Amazon has even gone to the lengths of raising the prices and wilfully delaying the delivery of books. Hachette, one of the leading booksellers in the US, has directly felt the brunt of Amazon’s antics. There is a conflict scenario between Amazon and individual publishers/guilds in Germany too.

 

End Of Apple vs Samsung – Latest Edition

 

The patent-infringement lawsuit that had been raging over the last couple of months was finally settled in the first week of this month. Samsung Mobile was ordered to pay $119 million to Apple Inc. by a California jury. Although this was a moral victory for Apple, the penalty mentioned in the final verdict is way less than the $2.2 billion the company had initially demanded. What’s more – Apple was also ordered to pay $158400 to Samsung, for infringing a patent regulation.

 

Panic Spreads At eBay

The belief that eBay was a virtual marketplace completely safe from hacker attacks was turned on its head in May. According to Devin Wenig (the head of global marketplaces), hackers managed to access the contact details of a whopping 145 million users worldwide – by using the credentials of 3 eBay employees. The company promptly issued notifications to people to change their eBay login passwords immediately. Thankfully, the payment gateway was not compromised.

 

Springpad To Shut Down Soon

 

Catch Notes and Astrid were note-taking mobile apps that were mighty popular at the online stores, before both of them were pulled down. Springpad, which created quite a buzz initially, is about to follow suit. The app would shut down next month, and users worldwide have been advised to take a backup of their data on another application (e.g., Evernote).

 

Roger Federer Spotted Wearing Google Glass

Google Glass has found a celebrity fan in the form of Roger Federer, the Swiss tennis ace. Federer wore Glass during a practice session with his coach Stefan Edberg – at Mountain View. At the end of the session, Federer expressed that it was indeed interesting to get the ‘Google Glass view’ while playing. Glass has received only lukewarm response among techies and general users till date, and the thumbs-up from Federer can boost its sales in future.

 

Prototypes For The Google Chauffeur Project Are Out

It was confirmed last week that Google is indeed working on creating ‘driverless cars’ in the United States. These cars won’t have brakes, steerings, or fuel chambers – and would roughly resemble the shape of a computer mouse. The maximum speed of these automated, self-driven cars will be 40 km/h. During the Code Conference at LA, Google co-founder Sergey Brin expressed confidence about the success of these driverless vehicles.

 

BBM Protected To Be Launched Soon

 

Blackberry CEO John Chen has already dropped hints that the company would be focusing more on enterprise users, and BBM Protected would be the first update in this regard. This iteration of Blackberry Messenger would allow office colleagues to chat with each other, under a greater security hood. BBM Protected would, of course, retain its general instant messaging (IM) features. Powered by Blackberry 10.2, Protected is likely to be launched in mid-June.

 

Instagram against ‘belfies’?

 

If you like to take selfies and upload them on Instagram, you better be in shape ‘literally’. Meghan Tonjes, a California-based user, had uploaded photos of herself – narrating her tale of weight-loss. To her utter surprise, she found that the picture of her…well, ample…bottom (hence the name ‘belfie’) had been removed by Instagram, for breaching guidelines. Interestingly, the photo-sharing website and mobile app has nothing to say against the large number of skimpily-clad people who upload their selfies every day. Double standards, anyone?

 

Dell Reclaims Top Spot In The Indian PC Sector

 

The reports for the first quarter of 2014 are out, and Dell has emerged as the undisputed leader in the personal computer market in India. Indrajit Belgundi, the director of Dell India, highlighted improved distribution system and better partner support as two key causes behind the company managing to capture an impressive 23.1% market share. In the workstation segment in particular, Dell has a staggering 47.1% share in India.

 

With the launch of iPhone 6 in the horizon, Apple has announced that it would fix all lingering bugs in iPhone 5 handsets – in a bid to keep buyer loyalty levels intact. Speculations about the probable features of iWatch are on – while the news of Facebook working on a video-chatting app to trump Snapchat also featured among the tech highlights of May.

 

 

As has become the norm for practically every month now, a slew of new smartphones hit the market in May. Among them, the LG G3, the Sony Xperia Z2 and the Micromax Unite easily made the most headlines. Blackberry is pinning its hopes on its budget smartphone, Z3, to bring about a mini-revival. In India, Moto E has become immensely popular after its launch in May (Flipkart reported that the phone is ‘out of stock’ thrice).

Okay, that’s about it regarding the going-ons in the world of technology this month. Now for a brief look into what we – the Teknowledge mobile app development team – had been up to. Two new mobile applications – News Feed and FitTube – were launched in May. The former is a real-time newsreading app, offering custom feeds from multiple internationally recognized news agencies. FitTube, on the other hand, is a personalized fitness and exercise/workout application (developed for our Australian client Amanda Smith). Fitness videos on YouTube can be directly downloaded on the app. We are happy to report that FitTube has managed to break into the top-100 apps in Australia, within a couple of days of its launch.

Teknowledge on Pinterest

As far as online presence is concerned, it was a more than decent month for us. A Pinterest profile has been started (http://www.pinterest.com/teksstudio/), while our Behance profile (https://www.behance.net/teknowledge) now has nearly 600 project appreciations. The number of our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/TeknowledgeMobileStudio) followers is growing too.

Story Time For Kids - shortlisted for mBillionth Award

So, that was all that the cake named ‘May 2014’ was all about. Now for the icing – our mobile storytelling app, Story Time For Kids, got shortlisted for the coveted annual mBillionth Award South Asia this month (final results are pending). Fingers crossed, we would be able to report more such great news next month.

 

If you have any tech update that should have featured on this list, feel free to add it in a comment. Until next time then – enjoy June!

 

The Apple-Beats Deal: What, Why & How?

In what was Tim Cook’s first major corporate takeover deal, Apple announced its formal acquisition of Beats Electronic on May 28. In what follows, readers will be brought up to scratch with some of the nitty-gritty of this deal.

After purchasing NeXT and getting back co-founder Steve Jobs onboard (way back in 1997) Apple had not really spent big money on any major acquisitions. That was until the day before yesterday though – when it splurged $ 3 billion to buy Beats Electronic. We would here look at all the aspects related to the high-profile Apple-Beats deal, which had been in the news for several weeks:

 

  1. What does Beats do? – Beats is not only a high-end headset maker, contrary to what many consider it to be. The company has two divisions – Beats Electronic and Beats Music. The former is into making high-end speakers, headphones and accessories. The latter, on the other hand, offers seamless music-streaming services. Apple has bought them both.
  2. How much is the deal worth? – Out of the overall $3 billion worth of the acquisition, Apple is paying $2.6 billion upfront. The rest of the amount will be paid out in the form of stocks later. While these figures are barely a fraction of Apple’s total cash reserves – they are more than Beats’ average annual earnings.
  3. A long-standing corporate relationship – The deal might have finalized only yesterday – but Apple and Beats were reportedly in sync with each other for nearly a decade. Jimmy Iovine, the CEO and founder of Beats had visited Apple (along with several other companies) at the turn of the century, when digital music was beginning to make a mark in the worldwide markets. Apple has a long history in offering classic blends of technology and sophistication in their products (think, the iPod), and that had impressed Iovine a great deal.
  4. How will Apple benefit from the deal? – No one comes even close to the total number of music file downloads from iTunes, the store has nearly 50 million listeners for its free radio service, and most music-related iOS mobile apps are wildly popular. So, why did Apple need to acquire Beats? Eddy Cue, the chief of iTunes store, pinpoints the customized playlist option that Beats offers as the key reason. For all the enormity of Apple’s song collections, it could not provide a customized album-listening experience to people till date. Beats will fill up this requirement.
  5. Is this Apple’s first acquisition for a long time? – In terms of the volume of money changing hands, it is. However, Apple has been actively acquiring companies in the recent past – with as many as 27 firms bought in the 2013-14 fiscal year alone. According to CEO Tim Cook, acquiring Beats was an addition to a strategy that Apple has been following for some time now. In fact, he termed the Apple-Beats deal as a journey ‘from dating to marriage’!
  6. What will happen to Beats’ headphone business? – This is not yet completely clear till now. One thing is for certain though – Apple does not have any plans to pull the plug on the production of Beats headphones in the foreseeable future. Within a relatively short time span (half a decade or so) Beats has managed to capture nearly 61% of the market, and it does not make any sense in stopping this almost-certain source of steady revenue. Of course, it would be a mistake to assume that Apple has acquired Beats for only its headset business. The Apple earpads are horribly bad, but they hardly make a dent in the company’s overall prosperity.
  7. Hasn’t the Apple-Beats deal come a bit earlier than expected? – It has. Initial reports and rumors suggested the deal would be announced formally at the World Wide Developers’ Conference (WWDC), that kicks off on the 2nd of June. Professional software makers and mobile application developers feel that Apple brought forward the deal date by a few days, simply because the company has a lot other things on its roster at the WWDC. Interestingly, the final acquisition value ($3 billion) is about $200 million lower than what had been estimated at first.
  8. What happens now to the founders of Beats? – Iovine and Dr. Dre (the co-founders of Beats) have maintained that they always wanted to work WITH Apple. Thanks to this acquisition – it seems that they will now be working FOR the company. Dre and Jimmy will have to commute from LA to San Francisco and back frequently, since Beats will be continuing its operations as a standalone company.
  9. Taking the fight to Spotify – While Apple theoretically, of course, can launch music-streaming services – Tim Cook has ruled out the implementation of any such plans. Instead, with the support of Beats Music, Apple Inc. would find it easier to break into the market segment dominated by Spotify till date. Interestingly, this was not one of the motives that Cook or any other Apple executives stated. All that they harped on was how eager they were to work with the ‘incredible’ people of Beats.
  10. Will the deal be profitable in the long-run? – Unless something drastically goes wrong, Beats should start adding to Apple’s already considerable revenue figures from October or November this year. The headphone company recorded a mighty impressive 30% hike (in the first quarter of 2014) over its $1.1 billion earnings last year. Over time, the percentage of Beats’ contribution to Apple’s revenue is expected to increase.
  11. Were the Beats co-founders always interested in the music industry? – According to Doug Morris, the CEO of Sony Music, this wasn’t the case. Jimmy Iovine was the one who was interested in making high-end headphones, while all that Dr. Dre wanted to do was open a sneakers-manufacturing company! If Iovine had not managed to convince Dr. Dre for starting Beats, there would have been no deal!
  12. The shaky ground of digital music industry at present – Although the total music downloads from iTunes recently crossed 36 billion, a closer look reveals cracks. Eddy Cue has already highlighted the rapidly dwindling number of music records being launched at the online store. The number of new music-related mobile apps at the store has gone down slightly too. In such a scenario, the curation-oriented business model that Beats follows is likely to serve as a channel for revival of digital music. If things go as per plans, a free version of Beats might also be on its way pretty soon.

Jimmy Iovine had already tried to collaborate with HTC to revolutionize the face of mobile music, but that strategy fell flat on its face. Undaunted, he and Dr. Dre has now got into a deal with Apple, that would make digital music qualitatively better and technologically more nuanced than ever before. There’s no point in speculating whether Steve Jobs (not particularly known for his spending habits) would also have gone for this acquisition. The Apple-Beats deal is confirmed, and if the surge in the valuation of Apple’s shares after the announcement is any indication, it might prove to be a really smart move.

 

16 Great Splash Screen Examples For Mobile Apps

It’s better to not have a splash screen at all than have one that looks dull and boring – that seems to be the general consensus among app designers. Wasting the precious few seconds that an app requires to load does not make sense though – and a good splash screen can use this time effectively, just like the following do.

When a user launches an app, the latter takes a few seconds to load (ideally, this time should not be more than 10 seconds). This time is generally utilized by most app developers for displaying a splash screen. Although there is a school of thought that splash screens tend to make an app ‘seem’ slow, there is no way of doubting the impression that they can potentially have on app-users. The key is to prepare a nice and interesting blend of pictures, symbols, colors, and other visual branding elements – to keep people from feeling bored (that’s right, even a few seconds of staring at a blank mobile screen can be boring!), as the application loads. Here are a few elegant and well-designed splash screen examples:

Agent PC

The splash screen on this mobile app focuses chiefly on increasing the familiarity of the company logo with users. The bright orange background is eye-catching, and the logo has been cleverly put right at the center. The glowing effect around the logo is an interesting addition too.

Weesh

This one stands out due to its smart yet informal nature. UI/UX designers from mobile app companies should note how the loading progress of the application is displayed on this screen – lending it a dynamic feel. The image used is practically child-like, with the wordplay in the caption (‘make a weesh’) adding to its charm. Understated, but interesting!

JackThreads

If you like to play around with the texture of mobile app splash screens, this would be the perfect example for you. The jet-black background has only the app name and the caption at the center, but never looks too plain. The tagline used on the screen also gives users a notion of what the app in particular, and the company in general, is all about.

Evernote

The Evernote mobile application has legions of users – and the splash screen does its bit to keep people interested. The lively green color of the background has an immediate drawing-in effect, with only the app-symbol (not even the name) being displayed. The makers have put in a collage of icons in the background, which, in a way, promotes some of their other smartphone applications.

Forkly

On first sight, the splash screen of the Forkly app might remind you of a blackboard. It’s a deliberate ploy on the part of the mobile app developers to use chalk effects on the screen – and this strategy does lend a ‘different’ feel to Forkly’s startup. The font and background texture contrast well. The tagline chosen is informative without trying to be too clever.

Zaarly

The collage of images, featuring happy faces, is the high point of the splash screen of Zaarly – a mobile buying application. A one-line text is enough to let users know what to expect from the app, and the logo (in the stylized ‘Z’) is seamlessly displayed. The blue background ensures that all the photos are easily viewable.The trademark sign indicates that the makers are aware of their intellectual property rights as well!

Vimeo

A dedicated video app should have an interesting introductory screen, and Vimeo does not come up short in this regard. The simplistic, colorful illustrations on the splash screen makes it almost look like a mobile app for kids. The choice of colors is very smart, and the overall display has a sort of warm, welcoming effect. Short and sweet would be the best way to describe this screen.

Blip Me

The developers of the Blip Me application has played around with fancy text styles – and to good effect. The wooden texture (on the lower portion of the background) is particularly innovative, as is the way in which the space between the two words is utilized. It’s an Android app that operates almost like a walkie-talkie, and people can get an idea about that directly from the screen.

Popset

This group image-sharing application is somewhat similar in its functionality to our very own ‘Speedy Snap’ app. What’s noticeable in this splash screen is the different texture used for the title of the app. The light background complements the text and the rather playful logo nicely. There’s a quietly efficient feel about this one.

Cloudee

Newbies from iPhone app development companies can take a cue from Cloudee, to get an idea of how to create splash screens that are in sync with the nature of the concerned applications. Cloudee facilitates quick and easy video-sharing on the cloud network – hence the name – and the splash screen displays images of nice little clouds. The color is varied, to prevent any sort of monotony. The way in which every cloud overlaps the one next to it is worth noticing too.

Coaster

The great thing about this drink-buying Android and iPhone app is its simplicity and subtle elegance. The gradient color beautifully changes from purple to blue – giving the screen a cool ‘pop-out’ effect. Nothing except the name of the application is displayed at the center, while at the bottom there is a punchline (admittedly, it looks like a line out of any teen movie!). If the tagline had been something a bit more imaginative, the screen would have been truly outstanding.

Weather of Olympus (WOO)

If you like to get weather updates on your mobile, you might have already tried this popular Android application. Its splash screen has a bright yellow hue – but what’s more interesting is the icon at the center, which immediately piques the interest of users. The gradient and texture are uniform, and load time is relatively short.

Nike+ Running

Nike correctly assumes that anyone who is not familiar with the famous ‘tick’ sign of its logo is practically living in the Stone Age. It does not bother putting the brand name on the mobile splash screen – and focuses on enhancing the display effects instead. The red background is the perfect contrast with the white logo at the center. Also of note is how the mobile app designers have showcased running tracks in the lower portion of the screen.

Lift

Lift is promoted as a mobile coaching app, and its splash screen is nicely indicative of its overall functionality. The punchline ‘Unlock Your Potential’ both intrigues as well as motivates users, as they wait for the app to load. The white vertical stripes combine very well with the light blue color. The choice of font for the app-name deserves a special mention as well. It’s elegant, without coming across as too frivolous or difficult-to-read.

iSpice

There are plenty of cooking apps created by mobile companies across the world – so why does iSpice stand out? The most important factor would be its splash screen, which has the image of an interestingly curled up red chilli! On the two sides, different spices are displayed – one of a light and the other of a dark shade (which works wonders as a contrast). iSpice is all about ‘spicy’ cooking, and launching the app immediately gives smartphone-owners an idea about that!

Lemon Wallet

The reviews of the Lemon Wallet app are not uniformly positive, but its splash screen is nothing short of awesome. The feel of an actual leather wallet is captured in the screen, via the stitch displays and the overall texture. The logo – bright, large, and clear – sits proudly at the center, with the name and the tagline of the app beneath it. Our ‘My Budget Tracker’ application has a somewhat similar look and feel in its splash screen.

 

When it comes to professionalism and neat efficiency, few mobile app splash screens can rival that of the Paypal application (note how the name is embedded in the screen). FlipBoard and National Parks would win brownie points for the lively themes in their startup screens. Among location-based mobile applications, LocalHero and Pocket Navigator (that’s from our own portfolio) offer contrasting, yet equally interesting introduction pages. We offered some handy tips on splash screen designing sometime back, and together with these examples – they should serve as really handy references for creating smart, interesting startups for your mobile apps.

 

AppBoard Tuesday – How To Minimize Risks Of App Rejection At iTunes?

Another week, another Tuesday, and time for another edition of AppBoard Tuesday (ABT). By the way, have you ever wondered why we don’t bring out our internal newsletter on the first day of the week? Well, Mondays are when you might be feeling a little ‘blue’ (c’mon, who doesn’t feel a bit of ‘Monday Blues’?) – so Tuesday is a much better option to get your attention to the stuff we share in our ABTs.

Okay, enough of the starters – now for the main course. This week, we will be discussing an issue that every mobile application developer lives in mortal fear of – the risk of their apps getting rejected at Apple iTunes. According to CEO Tim Cook himself, around 30% of all the submitted apps are rejected every week, simply because developers fail to meet specific guidelines. We won’t be talking about the more evident causes of such app-rejection, like presence of bugs/malware and a high frequency of app crashes. Instead, readers will be acquainted with other, often overlooked factors. Be wary of these issues, before submitting your app:

 

Usage Of Apple’s Copyrighted Images

 

Apple Inc. has a wide range of bright and stylish user-interface components, pictures, buttons, and similar stuff – which you might feel would look just perfect on your app. If you happen to pinch and upload a copyrighted image though, your app is almost certain to get rejected. The designers at Apple are creative, but they don’t like their creations being randomly used by others.

 

Mentioning The Names Of Other Platforms

 

Like Teknowledge, there are many other companies that are into cross-platform mobile app development. On iTunes though, you must never mention that your app is ‘also available on Google Play Store’, or any other platforms. Apple, understandably, hates it when the names of its rivals are mentioned in its store – and your app might face a swift rejection as a result.

 

Note: This is not an iTunes-exclusive regulation. On no online store should you ever mention the other platforms your mobile app supports. Publish such information on your website, social media pages and press releases instead.

 

Use Of Apple Product Names

 

Have an app (let’s say it’s name is ABCWorld) fully customized for iPhone 5? Don’t make the folly of naming it ‘iPhone ABCWorld app’. In general, avoid the temptation to use the names of any Apple product in your app name. Remember, terms like ‘iphone’, iPad’, ‘iPod Touch’ and the like are trademark properties of Apple. App developers have no right to use them for commercial purposes.

 

Submitting Apps That Save Data On Users’ Devices

 

With the release of iOS 5.1, Apple has categorically debarred any app that saves data on the devices of users. The latest iOS smartphones and tablets have iCloud support, and your app is not supposed to abuse the space available here. Create the application in a way that, the Local Storage and the device cache is used for data-storage. Saved data should never have any overwrite option.

 

Using Only The iOS Simulator For Speed Testing

 

No matter how beautiful and innovative the splash screens of your apps are, no one would wait for minutes for it to load properly. On the iOS simulator, an app should load within a maximum of 15 seconds. However, that’s not all what you  need to consider. Test the speed of the app on slightly older iOS device models as well, and make sure that the load speed is high enough on them as well. Not everyone has the iPhone 5S – and you need to offer great user-experience to those having older phones too.

 

A ‘Beta’ App Never Gets Approved

 

All iPhone app developers have felt that the review process at the iTunes store is too stringent. Let’s be fair over here though – why on earth would Apple want to showcase a mobile application that is unfinished? Submit only the final, pre-tested version of the app, and do not put in words like ‘preview’ or ‘beta’ in its name. At times, naming a new app ‘Version 0.9’ can spell its doom!

 

Creating An App With Extremely Limited User Appeal

 

Apple wishes that all iOS apps should have a mass appeal (okay, our My Budget Tracker is not meant to be as popular as Angry Birds!). If you develop and submit an application that caters to the needs of an extremely small niche of mobile users – you would be, in essence, toying with the risks of rejection. It’s not always possible to come up with apps that everybody would be interested in – but it is advisable to widen the set of potential users as much as possible.

 

Using Third-Party Payment Channels

 

Users should have the option of purchasing an iOS application through their iTunes account, and there must never be any other alternative ways. Do not include links on any of your app pages/screens, that lead users to a third-party payment gateway (for digital subscriptions as well as in-app purchases). Even biggies like Dropbox got banned from the Apple store – simply because it had flouted this regulation. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that providing more purchase options would add to users’ convenience. If your app gets booted out, no one will get to see it!

 

Implementation Of Private APIs

Apple cares for the confidentiality of the information stored in the iOS devices of users’ – and hence this regulation. If your app calls an external framework, private API, or a coding library – there are chances that it will pick up (without the user’s content) information from the smartphones and tablets in which they are installed. Avoid using such external, private APIs – the authorities at Apple do not like them at all!

 

Excessive Vibrations

While there has been no official statement about the maximum permissible level/duration of vibrations in iPhone apps, it is always better to err on the safer side. There have been many cases till date where apps that generate excessive vibrations (mostly at the time of sending notifications) have been disapproved by Apple. In general too, people won’t like apps that would cause their phones to vibrate all day long – so what’s the point?

 

Developing Apps That Are Bandwidth Killers

 

If your all-new snazzy app places too much strain on the available mobile bandwidth of prospective users, Apple won’t take too kindly to them. Applications that have .ipa images of size more than 50 MB have practically minimal chances of approval. You need to remember that there are many users who have limited cellular data plans on their devices – and your app would be either too slow, or completely non-functional for them. Keep a close tab on the megabytes of data downloaded, every time your app is launched (during the mobile app testing phase). If it hogs too much of data, don’t bother submitting it to iTunes before doing the necessary modifications.

 

Not Bothering To Ask For User Permissions

 

Apart from ensuring that your app remains functional even when the network connectivity is weak (or absent) – this is yet another factor you need to consider. On all iOS 6 devices, Apple has made it mandatory for apps to ask for users’ permissions for accessing the information stored in their devices. Even when such permission request is denied, the app needs to remain functional. If the app you have submitted crashes whenever someone does not allow it to access personal information, it won’t be approved by Apple. Rest assured.

 

Presence Of Adult Content In Apps

 

Right from the app name, to the on-page content and links present in it – if anything is even vaguely suggestive of porn, iTunes will refuse to take a second look at the application. In early-2010, Apple cracked down on all apps that had sexually provocative names and/or functionality. At Google Play Store, you can use a third-party marketplace to showcase adult-themed Android apps. On iTunes, there is no chance of doing the same.

 

Apps Created For A Short Time-Span (Usually, an event)

Apple wishes all iOS applications to deliver value to users over a long time-span. Apps that are specifically developed for lotteries, sweepstakes or any other form of one-shot contests violate this – and hence, are generally rejected at the first go. If you have come up with an app that only promotes a short-duration event, don’t expect it to find favor at iTunes.

 

Make sure that your products do not have the same (or are not too much ‘inspired’ by) the existing applications at iTunes. Do not submit an app that has the look and feel of a mobile website. Be careful while implementing all the human interface features. We’ve learnt these little tricks to get iPhone apps approved at iTunes without any hassles – and we hope that other app developers would be benefited by the above pointers too.

 

And with that, it’s time to wrap up the fourth edition of AppBoard Tuesday. Next week, we will be covering yet another relevant issue related to mobile apps. Do feel free to suggest any topic that you wish to be addressed through this newsletter. Oh, and keep in mind – on the 31st, ‘Infowatch May’ will be out. Till the next time, stay zapped with…you know it by now…apps!