Author Archives: Hussain Fakhruddin

The Worldwide Mobile App Market: Facts & Figures

The mobile app-making industry is a highly skewed one – with around 25% of all developers accounting for over half of the revenues from the online stores. Such other fascinating trends and insights from the mobile app sector have been presented in what follows.

In 2008, Mary Meeker, a tech analyst from Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, had predicted that the usage of mobile web would overtake that of static internet (i.e., via computers and laptops) by 2014. Going by the tremendous increase in the usage of smartphone applications across the globe, Meeker’s prediction seems well on its way towards being realized, pretty soon. We here present some interesting facts and data from the global mobile app market:

 

  1. Nearly 60 billion total downloads from iTunes – Apple iTunes has witnessed growth at amazing rates, particularly since 2010. The total number of app downloads from the store stands at a shade below 60 billion at present – with more than 800 applications being downloaded every second (on average). Music and gaming apps have emerged as the most popular, with the former registering a growth rate of 66% over the last 3 years.
  2. Free apps rule the roost – This is one of the key reasons why mobile app development companies are increasingly focusing on creating free applications with in-app advertisements. Industry experts have projected that the total number of free app downloads would reach 254 billion by the end of 2016. On the other hand, the total number of downloaded paid apps would be somewhere in the region of 13.5 billion by the same period.
  3. Increase in cross-platform mobile usage – While accessing the web on mobile devices is a trend that has caught on, people are yet to start using smartphones and tablets as the ‘only’ medium to use the internet. As per latest reports, almost 60% users were reported to be utilizing personal computers as well as as mobile handsets to connect to the World Wide Web. The number of ‘mobile-only’ web users has remained fairly static (although significant) during the last few quarters.
  4. Burgeoning popularity of gaming apps – Across countries, gaming apps seem to have caught the fancy of all smartphone-users. In countries like Spain, South Korea and China, the amount earned from the download of mobile gaming applications vary in the 55%-60% range (out of the total revenues of online app stores). In the Apple iTunes store, games make up 18.3% of the total download count, with education and business apps coming in at the second and third positions respectively.
  5. App development is not necessarily a profit-earning profession – Even if we discount the 18% of mobile app developers across the globe who have no wish to earn money through their apps, this observation remains true. According to a VisionMobile report, around ⅔rd of all app developers earn less than $500 per application (which is considered to be the threshold income level in this sector). Around 53%-54% of iOS and Android developers actually lose money (in varying levels). In comparison, HTML5 developers generally earn more.
  6. Mobile app market to touch $25 billion – Over the last couple of years, the mobile app industry has witnessed annual growths in excess of 60%. This, in turn, has pushed up the total value of the sector to above a whopping $25 billion. With a 65% share, iOS applications mint the most money, with Android apps (27% share) coming in at second. Interestingly, it has been projected that tablet apps would become more popular than smartphone apps by 2018.
  7. Mobile apps easily outperform mobile web – Researches have proved that this is virtually a no-contest. In 2013, people spent an average of 29-30 hours per month on using mobile apps. During this period, the time spent on accessing mobile websites was a measly 3 hours and a bit. What’s more – as apps are becoming more popular, the interest in mobile web seems to be receding, albeit at a slow rate.
  8. Rise of in-app purchases – Since only 7% of the apps showcased at the online stores are paid, developers have been forced to think up alternative ways for earning from their products. The dominant trend in this regard has been the proliferation of in-app purchase options. By the end of next year, at least 3 out of every 10 mobile app downloads will offer in-app purchases to buyers. Not surprisingly, the revenue share through this channel has jumped from 10% (in 2011), to a touch above 40% at present.
  9. India has emerged as a major player – No longer can any doubts be expressed regarding the prominence of India in the worldwide mobile application development sector. The country presently has well over three lakh app developers, and the total value of the industry is expected to reach an all-time high of $626 million by 2016. At present, more than 100 million mobile apps are downloaded on a monthly basis in India.
  10. Parents regularly search for mobile app for kids – Not only have kids and teens from around the world caught up by the app juggernaut – parents too seem to have realized that mobile applications are good for their wards. The tendency of looking for age-appropriate apps is more among parents of girls (74%) than those of boys (63%). For those in the 3-7 age group, educational apps for kids are the most popular, while teens in the 12-17 age range prefer music and social networking applications more.
  11. The iOS vs Android debate – If you consider revenue figures, iOS is the clear-cut winner, while from the download share perspective – Android comes up trumps. An overwhelming 75% of total app revenues accrue from Apple iOS applications, while the earning figure from Android apps hover around 20%. However, when it comes to total number of downloads, Android enjoys numero uno position – with significantly more than 50% of market share.
  12. Apps as a tool for mobile marketing – The usage of specific company-branded mobile apps has received a boost in the last year too, with around 26% people presently using such applications. While mobile marketing still remains dependant on search, there is little room for doubt that apps have also started to make their presence felt in this domain. They offer corporate houses a quick, easy and customized way to connect with prospective clients.
  13. More downloads do not automatically imply greater success – A well-promoted mobile application will have handsome initial download figures. That, however, does not necessarily mean that it is a big hit among users. A Localytics study has revealed that, around 1 in every 4 downloaded apps are never used more than once by users (this metric has remained steady over several quarters). Experts on iPhone and Android apps, hence, need to consider factors other than total download figures, to gauge the success (or otherwise ) of an app.
  14. Social networking is far from being the top app category – Given that Facebook is, by far, the most popular mobile app amongst US-users, this comes as something of a surprise. At iTunes, social networking apps make up less than 2% of the total number of downloads – which puts this category well below entertainment, sports, music and business apps. The figure is somewhat similar at Google Play Store and Blackberry App World too.

 

Experts feel that, in the next few years, the big breakthrough would arrive in the domain of mobile retail transactions. The total value of mobile payments has been projected to reach $720 billion by 2017 – a more than three-fold increase over the 2013 figure. Mobile web has not quite gone beyond the usage of static internet yet – but such a scenario is more than plausible within the next two years.

 

25 Categories Of Smartphone Users: Explained Through Memes

It’s Friday afternoon, and most of you probably already have one eye on the upcoming weekend, right? Let’s not get into any serious tech topic here, just when you are thinking about catching ‘Godzilla’ at the theaters, hitting a nightclub (c’mon, it’s Friday Night!), or looking forward to simply sleeping away the next two days. But hey, we are a mobile application development company – so how can a blog post of ours be filled with run-of-the-mill jokes and gags? It won’t – but we will put a smile on your face by categorizing all smartphone users in the following categories. Let’s see if you can identify with any of them:

The ‘Oh-So-Lonely’ Smartphone User

 

(S)he will spend the weekend playing single-player games (which can be anything from Solitaire to Card Shark) on his her smartphone. To add some spice, (s)he can even try texting him/herself. In most cases, these smartphone users are proud of the fact that mobile handsets are their best (and probably only!) friends.

 

The ‘Sleepyhead’ Smartphone User

 

These poor dears can’t really be blamed. They’ll party hard till late night, return home in the wee hours of Saturday morning, put their smartphone in silent mode, and drop on the bed like drooping daisies. Their dreams of sleeping till Saturday noon will be quashed though – simply because they had forgotten to silence/put off the phone alarm too. At 6:00 am, the device will rudely awaken them – and they will remain sleepy throughout the Saturday.

 

Note: Some are more fortunate – their sleep is too deep to be disturbed by phone alarms!

 

The ‘Know-It-All’ Smartphone User

 

Well, they don’t really know everything about everything, but they sure know how to use their smartphones to cover up their knowledge deficiencies. Try telling something to them during a weekend gossip session – and they will immediately flash out their fancy iPhone/Android phone, launch the internet, and prove (at least try to!) that you are factually wrong.

 

The ‘Too-Many-Contacts’ Smartphone User

Most smartphones offer unlimited contact lists – and these users would use this feature to store the numbers of as many people as they can. Confusions would soon ensue, as they end up sending text messages, WhatsApp messages and BBM pings to the wrong persons. And as they say, a wrong message in the hands of a wrong person can spell DOOM!

 

The ‘Misled’ New Smartphone User

 

From iPhones and Android handsets, to even Windows Phones and Blackberry (to a much smaller extent though) – every smartphone platform has hardcore fanboys. A new buyer can get influenced by the biased opinions of his/her buddies, and later find that his buying-decision was not at all correct. Imagine a weekend traveler having to rely on the grossly inaccurate Apple Maps!

 

The ‘Creative’ Smartphone User

 

These lot have to be applauded. They will come up with new, entirely original (at most times) and increasingly intriguing ways to use their mobiles, without compromising on their own convenience. Instruction manuals don’t have any meaning for them – they will use their smartphones in exactly the way they feel like.

 

The ‘Always With Charger’ Smartphone User

 

A smart set of people. They know that a smartphone laden with scores of mobile app won’t offer great battery life, and are forever ready to pull out the phone charger at every opportunity. A bit of frustration might creep in though – after all, it’s plain sad if your phone battery dies quickly after a full night of charging.

 

The ‘Absent-Minded’ Smartphone User

 

To give credit where it’s due, they are very agreeable in nature. The problem is, they are not always aware of what they are saying ‘yes’ to – particularly if they have the latest smartphone model in their hands. There are loads of gaming apps launched by mobile app companies every month – these users have them all, and keep playing even when there’s ice in the car or fire in the house!

The ‘Oh, dear! Can’t Use’ Smartphone User

 

Someone from up above are not pleased with these people – and hence, these troubles. Imagine the chagrin of a teenager, all set to show off his/her flashy new smartphone to friends – only to be stymied by the fact that (s)he can’t unlock the screen. Repeated tries later, and confidence levels having taken a nosedive – (s)he has to trudge to a local service center, and get the stupid, malfunctioning (or should it be non-functioning?) device repaired.

 

The ‘Laggard’ Smartphone User

 

They are perennially late to jump on the latest smartphone bandwagon. Those from this group depend on rumors and hearsay for deciding on which model to buy – and ultimately end up spending money on an almost outdated device. Think about someone buying the Samsung Galaxy S2 instead of the chic, new S5 – and you’ll get the picture.

 

The ‘Superhero’ Smartphone User

These self-professed superheroes are nothing but addicts of mobile adventure games. In a virtual world, they perform all sorts of deadly stunts with consummate ease – and unfortunately, feel that they can do the same in the real world too. Sense arrives only after a fractured limb or any other form of serious injury. This is precisely why mobile apps for kids do not generally have any form of dangerous actions depicted in them.

The ‘Forever Comparative’ Smartphone User

 

Blackberry fans view iPhone-users as too flippant, Android fans view Blackberry as a piece of fossil, iPhone fans think of Android-users as wannabe geeks…and the argument continues. The moment (s)he catches up with you – (s)he will take the slightest cue on arguing that his/her smartphone is way better than yours. It’ll be an absolute blessing if you have the same model though – the, the two of you can jot down the minus points of all other mobile OS platforms together.

 

The ‘App-Addict’ Smartphone User

 

If you say ‘What is a smartphone without regularly updated mobile apps?’, no one will agree with you more wholeheartedly than these people. Even when their mobile battery is about to breathe its last, their first concern would be to auto-update their apps (and ensuring that the battery gets exhausted even sooner!). Not calling home, not texting to parent – it’s only about those ‘more-precious-than-life’ apps.

 

The ‘Wifi Hunter’ Smartphone User

 

At restaurants, at home, while walking across the driveway – these people will keep checking whether their smartphone has free wifi access. If yes, they will do a bit of quick browsing – or else, they’ll keep looking. They believe (correctly) that the mobile web network should not be overburdened, and if wireless connectivity is available anywhere – it simply MUST be used. No wonder most places have started using password-protected wifi resources.

 

The ‘New’ Smartphone User

 

Ah, our sweet moms and dads – migrating from the first time from their out-of-fashion Nokia handsets to sleek smartphones. Tasks as simple as typing out a text message or putting the phone on loudspeaker seem more challenging than rocket science to them. Try calling them up or strike up a SMS conversation with them – and you’ll easily detect how awkward they are with smartphones.

 

A quick disclaimer – There are many elderly people who use smartphones with absolute elan. We aren’t talking about such quick learners here.

 

The ‘Not-In-Sync’ Smartphone User

We don’t often realize this, but smartphones have a mind of their own. Just because someone has downloaded a cool music app from a good mobile apps company does not mean (s)he will be able to enjoy just the songs (s)he likes. It might very well happen that the phone’s favorite tunes are different from that of the user’s. In such cases, the former’s wishes prevail. Nearly always.

 

The ‘Overprotective’ Smartphone User

 

Alternatively known as snobs. They will show off the snazzy new mobile devices they have recently bought – but all hell might break loose if you even touch the phones without their prior consent. It’s not actually a fault – they indeed believe that their pricey smartphones can be handled in the best manner only by themselves.

 

The ‘Follow The Fad’ Smartphone User

 

They love the feel of new smartphones – and they wish to enjoy the feeling every few months (or even weeks!). Every time there’s a buzz about a new smartphone being launched, they are the first to pre-order it. Factors such as price, technical specs, longevity take a backseat – as only one concern takes precedence: to own something no one else yet has.

 

The ‘Prankster’ Smartphone User

 

From friends to parents , no one escapes the brunt of his/her jokes. At times, these pranks are so uncannily practical, they take the other party by surprise. Many relatively serious confessions have taken place during mobile conversations – by people who have fallen for pranks being played on them.

 

The ‘Always Out Of Space’ Smartphone User

 

The ones who are always too eager to download every app released by leading Android and iPhone app development companies. They will fill up the internal memory of the phone in about 3 days, get external microSD cards, and won’t take long to fill that up either. In the end, you’ll hear them whining about how nothing useful can be stored on their phone!

 

The ‘Forgetful’ Smartphone User

 

They are not absent-minded in general, they are not new smartphone users – they have simply got hold of a handset that has too many complicated features. Making the store attendant explain all the features and button functions is all very nice – but it is (naturally!) mighty difficult for them to remember everything, after a couple of days. The result? An embarrassed face in front of friends and a frantic search for the user-manual.

 

The ‘Frustrated’ Smartphone User

Everything they try to do with their smartphone is only just off the mark – or so they feel. They get irritated when ‘lol’ changes to ‘LOL’ by autocorrect while typing, when the video streaming of a live match is just a little slow, and other such trivial matters. Oh, and don’t even ask them about the experience of trying to tap on small-sized links!

 

The ‘Forever On Facebook’ Smartphone User

 

Living life out of the spotlight is simply not an option for them. They might or might not have enough balance to talk on phone, but are always logged on to Facebook – and forever sharing details on where they are at, what they are doing, and tagging other unfortunate people with these posts. They are generally big fans of asking questions on Facebook too. Who bothers asking actual human beings nearby – when there is FB on mobile?

 

The ‘Selfie’ Smartphone User

 

Almost everyone has one of these people in their friends’ circles. Irrespective of whether the time is appropriate or not, they will jump at the chance of capturing their own images by the front camera of their phones (which often come out to be hideous or weird or plain uninteresting) – and sharing them on Facebook and Twitter. If the mobile camera malfunctions for a day or so, they go into bouts of depression.

 

Quick trivia: Do you know ‘selfie’s’ cousins ‘welfie’, ‘helfie’ and ‘selfeye’? If not, contact a selfie-addict, now!

 

The ‘New-Age Student’ Smartphone User

 

Thanks to lightning-fast internet access on smartphones and zillions of free educational apps for kids, smartphones have replaced textbooks for many contemporary teens. According to them, what’s the point in buying books or spending a day scouring through library catalogs – when all the information can be obtained in an instant on their phones. Ask them anything, and they will be ready with the answer – provided that their phones have web connectivity.

 

There is also the group of ‘rude smartphone users’ – who will enjoy the safety that distance automatically provides, to hurl abuses and insults via text messages through their smartphones. For the ‘neurotic smartphone user’, not finding their handset for even a couple of minutes is nothing short of a nightmare. They say that the choice of mobile phones tell a lot about our personalities – and how we use smartphones reflect on our characteristic traits too!

 

Have a great weekend, everyone…

 

The Flipkart-Myntra Deal: Looking Beyond The Figures

In what was the biggest corporate acquisition in the history of the Indian ecommerce sector, Flipkart completed the takeover of Myntra – an online fashion shopping portal – yesterday. From capturing a larger market share and staying ahead of other competitors, to combining business synergies – there seems to be a host of advantages for both parties from this deal.

It’s the business acquisition deal that has been in the news for many months now. The deal was finally done and dusted yesterday – with Flipkart taking over Myntra for an estimated sum of $300 million. According to Sachin Bansal and Mukesh Bansal – CEOs of Flipkart and Myntra.com respectively – the deal has every potential of generating additional business synergies of the two hiterto competing shopping portals. The acquisition was formally completed yesterday, and we here take a look at some vital aspects about it:

 

  1. Largest ecommerce acquisition in India – With Myntra being valued at more than $300 million, this deal is easily the biggest ever acquisition in the Indian ecommerce sector. The actual price of the takeover is yet to be confirmed, but it is likely to be upwards of Rs. 2000 crores. Mukesh Bansal himself is going to make a cool Rs 430 crores (might be slightly more).
  2. Need to stave off competition – Flipkart has not issued any official statement on this, but clearly it was getting worried about the growing competition in India. Well within a year of opening retail operations in the country, Amazon has garnered a mighty impressive overall sales value – and could have posed a serious threat to Flipkart’s leadership position in the near future. Snapdeal, a domestic rival company, was also catching up fast. The acquisition offers Flipkart a more solid base to stay ahead of its rivals.
  3. Myntra will continue to operate independently – Although the Flipkart-Myntra deal is a 100% takeover, there will be no immediate merger of the two companies. Mukesh Bansal will be moving over to the Board of Directors of Flipkart, and would head the fashion department. All other employees of Myntra are likely to be offered stock options. An initial public offering (IPO) might be announced, but not within the next few weeks.
  4. Huge growth potential of the online retail sector – Ecommerce in India is a $600 billion sector, with trends suggesting a rapid increase in this value in the next few years. In fact, out of the 160 million web users (approximately) in India, only around 20 million shop online. Flipkart and Myntra have joined hands to tap this ‘addressable’ market more effectively. The two companies will together have over 52% of the total market share – and as the sector grows further, revenues will soar too.
  5. Mutual benefits on offer – Flipkart might be the present leader in online retail shopping in India, but it does not come close to rivalling the fashion apparel collection of Myntra. According to experts, more than 30% of the income of average Indians go towards buying fashion apparel. The takeover, hence, would give Flipkart automatic access to this potential revenue source. Myntra, on the other hand, would benefit from the technical expertise of Flipkart (right from backend operations, to packaging and delivery). Together, they can become a much stronger brand than each on their own.
  6. No exodus of employees – Most mergers/takeovers between software agencies, mobile app companies, and other firms in the tech domain are accompanied with a mass exit of employees from one or both companies. The Flipkart-Myntra deal is not going to be anything of the sort though – since both companies have the same set of principal investors, Accel Partners and Tiger Global. Since Myntra would remain an independent entity, it can hire and expand its own workforce as well.
  7. $100 million being pumped in – Amazon is not going to challenge the superiority of Myntra in the fashion apparel sector – and this is something the owners of Flipkart wish to build on. Sachin Bansal has categorically stated that Flipkart intends to go really big on its apparel collections on sale. As an initial thrust, $100 million will be pumped into this department, with more cash forthcoming as the business expands.
  8. Successful track record of acquisitions – Having two major common investors has not only blocked off risks of loss of manpower – it has also helped both Flipkart and Myntra approach the deal with greater confidence. Previously too, Flipkart had taken over Letsbuy, while Shersingh had been bought by Myntra (both with the backing of Accel Partners). These deals worked out perfectly, and chances are high that this $300 billion acquisition will also reap rich rewards over the long-run.
  9. Following the Alibaba model – Six years back, Sachin Bansal and his team were a fan of the Amazon model of business growth, but not any more. After several visits to China and interactions with business heads over there, he has come to the conclusion that the overall online behavior of customers and the market size makes the option of following the Alibaba growth model more sensible. With the Chinese ecommerce giant also in the news for an upcoming IPO in the US, it will be interesting to see what further inspirations Flipkart can take from its strategies.
  10. Technological synergies – Online shopping in India has come a long way from sitting in front of computers and buying products. To target the burgeoning volume of mobile web users, both Flipkart and Myntra have their own mobile apps. As the two come together, they would have more consumer data to analyse than before – and their apps and online promotional drives would become more effective. Better segmentation, targeting and positioning of products means only one thing. Higher sales!
  11. Cutting down on losses – For a site like Flipkart, which has a daily visitor count in the range of 3.5 million, the concept of ‘loss-minimization’ does not immediately come to mind. However, the fact remains that – in 2013 alone, Flipkart lost out on around Rs. 282 crores (something that was sidelined by the high overall revenue figures). The scenario with Myntra was the same, albeit on a lower scale. The acquisition deal will help the companies to chase big margins now, instead of only revenues.
  12. Lesser domestic competition and more choice for customers – While the Indian ecommerce market is large enough to accommodate startups, the Myntra takeover will reduce unhealthy competition among the companies. Already, portals like Jabong, Snapdeal and Naaptol are competing with Flipkart for grabbing the eyeballs of prospective buyers. Since Flipkart’s relatively sizeable fashion department will be merging with Myntra’s apparel collection – all the sale proceeds would accrue to a single entity. Myntra will remain the fashion leader, while Flipkart will continue to head the country’s online retail sector.

 

The impending entry of Walmart is yet another probable cause for Flipkart to loosen the purse strings for taking over Myntra. The two companies will remain operating their own websites – with no immediate plans for complete consolidation. Flipkart launched its fashion division a couple of years back – and it seems that Sachin Bansal and his team has understood that this is the sector which would keep its dominance in the Indian market intact!

 

Alibaba IPO – Get All The Facts Related to the Biggest Public Offering Ever

If you think you are updated on all the latest Wall Street news but do not have much idea about the IPO announcement by Alibaba, you have not been paying attention. Don’t worry though – in this discourse, we have highlighted some salient points about the company, its owner, and of course the IPO.

Every year, hundreds of companies go public on the US stock exchanges. In 2014, already more than 80 companies (including a fair share of tech firms) have filed for their initial public offerings (IPOs). So, why has the upcoming IPO by Alibaba Group Holding – a Chinese e-commerce company – created such a buzz in the Wall Street circles? Let’s look at the reasons:

 

  • Alibaba is big – No, scratch that – it’s huge. In fact, Alibaba makes US e-commerce giants like Amazon and eBay look miniscule in comparison with its own scale of business. The company reached a total sales volume of almost $240 billion in the last year. For the same period, the transaction volume on Amazon was about half, and that on eBay was only about one-third.
  • Jack Ma founded Alibaba – And by now, it is evident that he has a big money-spinner on his hand. The stupendous popularity of Alibaba in China (it practically wiped off eBay from the Chinese markets) has raised the net worth of Ma to around $12.5 billion. A self-confessed Elton John fan, Jack Ma is known to be the owner of a pretty big charitable trust as well. A perfect businessman, who can definitely taste success in the US markets.
  • Potentially humungous sale value after day one of trading – When Facebook raked in $105 billion in value on the first day after going public, few would have thought that it would ever be possible for any other tech firm, consumer agency, or mobile app company to surpass that figure. Alibaba, however, seems poised to overtake that figure – and set a much higher benchmark. According to Wall Street analysts, the valuation might even touch $200 billion.

  • How big will be the IPO? – Although in its IPO filing, Alibaba has mentioned that it is going for a $1 billion listing, the hype around the company is likely to push this figure much higher. If the present trends persist – the value of the listing (on either NASDAQ or NYSE) would be somewhere in the range of $17-$20 billion. The IPO record set by Visa ($17.9 billion) can well be under threat.
  • Sources of revenue – Given the sheer volume of Alibaba’s annual earnings, it is only natural to wonder what its principal business channels are. The Taobo marketplace and its sister shopping portal Taobo Mall are the principal sources of revenue for the company – contributing for almost 85% of Alibaba’s yearly sale proceeds. Cloud computing, international infrastructure and international commerce also come under the domain of activities of Alibaba – albeit on a smaller scale.
  • Yahoo might emerge as a big winner – Say what you will about Marissa Mayer’s acquisition strategies, this is one instance where her planning has clicked, big-time. Yahoo currently owns approximately 40% of Alibaba’s total stocks, and the payoff when the latter goes public will be a really large figure. It would be fascinating to see how Mayer uses these funds to strengthen her bid to make Yahoo a solid competitor of Google in the online search and mobile sectors.
  • Aliplay will get a significant boost – It’s not yet known for sure how Alibaba will manage Aliplay – its mobile payments channel after the IPO. One thing is for certain though, it will make massive inroads in this segment too. At present, over 70% of all mobile financial transactions in China are conducted via Aliplay, which gives a fair idea of how dominant the channel is in the mobile sector. Third-party app development companies might suffer.
  • Jack Ma already has plans for post-IPO growth – Ma had created Alibaba in 1999, and over the years, has gained more than adequate experience on how to grab a foothold in a new market. He has already bought stocks from American companies like 1stDibs, and forked out nearly $4 billion to take over a cable television company and a mapping agency. When Alibaba started buying shares in instant messaging app Tango and retail shopping website Shoprunner – it became clear that it has plans to replicate its e-commerce success in the US markets too.
  • The Single’s Day success – The buzz that Alibaba can outperform its counterparts in the United States was confirmed on Single’s Day (the Chinese version of Cyber Monday) in 2013. The total sales figure at Alibaba during that 1-day window was a stunning $5.75 million. This was about two times of what all the US retail companies managed to haul in on Cyber Monday, together.
  • The classic rags-to-riches story – Oh well, Jack Ma was not quite poverty-stricken before Alibaba was founded – but you get the drift. He reportedly had to arrange for $60000 from his close friends to launch the money-minting ecommerce site. The hefty initial investment from Yahoo also helped. If Ma had not managed to come up with Alibaba, he might well have become a small-time professor in English. After all, that was his initial career ambition!
  • The profit margins have kept increasing – Unlike many other Silicon Valley companies, the margins of Alibaba have not shown any form of decline over the years. In 2013, the margin was almost 67% – well over the forecasts of business analysts in China. At $3.8 billion, the adjusted EBITDA figure of Alibaba Group Holding is exceptionally high too. The success story has every chance to continue after the IPO.
  • Will Alibaba’s performance live up to the hype? – That, quite literally, is a million-dollar question. For all its financial strength and business prominence, Alibaba’s foray in the US won’t have history on its side. This year alone, all the four Chinese companies that have announced IPOs in America have flopped badly – with Weibo (billed to be China’s answer to Twitter) being the most noteworthy among them. There have been security concerns about Alibaba’s online business in the past too. Whether Yahoo will be able to remain sustainable without being propped up by Alibaba (in the long-term) also remains a question.

If all things go well, Alibaba Group Holding looks set on its way to challenging Walmart for the position of the biggest retailer worldwide. Jack Ma had once revealed during an International Herald Tribune interview that  his company’s name was derived from the name of a popular Arabian Nights story (‘Alibaba and the Forty Thieves’). When this company goes public in the US, it will probably account for more than the combined business of Amazon and eBay – and that will be quite a sensational story.

 

So, is the Alibaba IPO indeed worth the hype?

 

Very much so!

 

AppBoard Tuesday – It’s Not About Mobile Apps This Time!

It’s stiflingly hot outside, there’s a lot of work-pressure, and it’s understandable if you have not had the time to check out what some of your colleagues had been doing last week. In this edition of AppBoard Tuesday, we’ll be bringing our mobile app development experts up to date with…nopes…not the latest apps – but with our Story Time department. That’s right – no apps this time, we are going to talk about kids’ books this week.

Story Time printed books are now available

So, What’s New?

Around The World In 80 Days cover

The team’s the same, the Story Time mobile app for kids is still doing great at iTunes and Play Store – but things have progressed a lot beyond that. You may or may not have noticed (ideally, you should!) several colorful storybooks – paper ones, not your digital e-books – lying about at office. Those are the Story Time books, released earlier this month. For everyone outside Teknowledge reading this – yupp, the books are up for sale!

 

What Titles Are Available?

Puss In Boots cover

To start off with, the Story Time team has gone with eight popular classic fairy tales. The following books are available at present:

 

  • The Wizard Of Oz
  • Simon In Space
  • Aladdin
  • Alibaba and the Forty Thieves
  • The Jungle Book
  • Puss in Boots
  • Around The World In 80 Days
  • Peter Pan

 

Trivia question here – Can you name the authors of these stories?

 

What Format Are The Books In?

The Jungle Book cover

 

They are colorful, they are glossy, and they are very high on quality. Two out of the eight books are in hardcover (‘Aladdin’ and ‘Alibaba and the Forty Thieves’) are in hardcover – while the rest are in classy paperback format. After all, kids will be handling them, and the Story Time team has made sure that the books do not get damaged easily!

 

Where Can You Get The Books?

Story Time books are available on eBay

 

If you are a part of the Teks mobile app developers’ team, hop over to the Story Time desk (if you don’t know where that is, shame on you!) – and check out the storybooks. External readers can buy books online directly from eBay. The team is also working on creating a dedicated ecommerce website which would serve as a great online bookstore. It’s not quite ready yet – but it will be in a few weeks.

 

What’s The Price?

Aladdin cover

 

Aha, the question that every buyer (of everything – not necessarily books!) are most concerned with. Although it’s not printed (yet) on the book covers, each of the Story Time books are priced between Rs. 120 to Rs. 175. Purchase these books online, come over to our office and grab a couple – the price will remain the same. Oh, and for our internal members – there are cool discounts. After all, you are family!

 

Reaching Out To Kindergartens & Play Schools

The Wizard Of Oz cover

If you were wondering why the Story Time team was coming in rather late at office last week – there you have the answer. Our content creators and UI/UX designers had been off to a 3-day promotional drive at Park English School, Kolkata. There were storytelling sessions, contests, chocolate distribution, and stalls had been set up for the display of the books to kids and their parents (after all, the latter decides to buy or not!). You will be pleased to learn that the response among the little ones was overwhelmingly positive – and sales were, to put it mildly, above expectations. There are quite a few similar programs scheduled at other leading junior schools in the city over the next few weeks. Wish the Story Time team luck!

 

What’s Special About These Books?

Alibaba cover

You might be thinking about what’s so special about the Story Time books – and what sets them apart from other similar books for children, right? Fair enough, little readers won’t find Jim Carrey smiling ‘The Mask’ face (or similar such ho-hum fun stuff) in the storybooks. What they’ll get is an opportunity to give expression to their creative side. Every book is bundled with loads of interactive activities and fun games/trivia. If you haven’t had a chance to look at the Story Time books yet – here’s a teaser of what they contain (in addition to the stories, that is!):

 

  • Aladdin – Treasure Hunt, Coloring games (who won’t love to paint Abu and Genie?), Crossword puzzle, Word games, Spot-the-difference and Quiz questions. Kids can get into the shoes of Aladdin (metaphorically, of course!) and jot down their own story. For the little fans of paper art, there’s origami instructions for creating wombats too!
  • Simon In Space – One of the more informative storybooks in our online book catalog. As kids will read about Simon and Toby zooming through space, they’ll find fun facts and tidbits about each planet in the solar system. Reading fun meets general knowledge in this book.

 A shout out to all of you: How many moons does Venus have?

  • Puss In Boots – It’s the story of the classic talking cat – and the Story Time team decided against putting in any additional games and activities in this book. The illustrations and the story-narration are more than enough to keep young readers hooked though.
  • The Jungle Book – Mask-making. Something that children from practically every age-group would enjoy. The book comes with an innovative two-in-one readymade mask (one side’s a tiger, the other is a bear). All that kids need to do is follow the three-step instructions provided next to the mask.
  • The Wizard Of Oz – Meet the characters – right from Dorothy and Toto, to Scarecrow and Tin Man. There are several fun facts about the original book – by L. Frank Baum – in the Story Time publication as well. After all, children should know about the main classics too!
  • Around The World In 80 Days – Kids can become Phileas Fogg, and frame their very own unique stories. There are coloring games, treasure hunts, word puzzles, crossword, spot-the-difference and message-decoding challenges. Oh, and readers can make their own origami fan as well.
  • Peter Pan – Five fun facts about Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. For the origami lovers (yes, the Story Time books focus on fostering creativity in kids), there are step-by-step instructions to make a Peter Pan hat (with feathers and all!). Of course, children can also color Peter – in shades of their choice!
  • Alibaba and the Forty Thieves – Along with Aladdin, this was one of the biggest draws at the interaction program at Park English school. The book has captivating pieces of information on Arabian Nights, along with a slightly tricky treasure hunt.

Got the gist by now? There is no way in the world that a kid will feel bored, if (s)he is handed these books. They look nice, the stories are interesting, and they get readers involved!

 

Are The Stories Same?

Simon in Space cover

 

Almost, but not quite. The Story Time team has revamped each of the fairy tales in a bid to make them more engaging. The essence of the stories are, of course, the same – but there is a fresh new feel about each of them. If you thought that the Story Time Android/iPhone app for kids was good, you will love these storybooks too (by ‘you’, we mean ‘you’ and ‘your kid’!).

 

Spread The Word

Peter Pan cover

 

The initial response to the Story Time books at kindergartens as well as on eBay has been good, but the sales have not yet set the world alight. We are confident that things will pick up within a matter of weeks (c’mon, it has only been a few days since the printed books arrived) – and it would be great if each of our mobile app developers did their bit to spread awareness about these books. Write about them on your Facebook and Twitter timelines, tell about them to your friends – and recommend them to parents of young ‘uns. To all those who are planning to buy these books online, do give us a feedback. We promise to come up with many more books in future!

 

That’s about it for this week’s AppBoard Tuesday. As promised, we have not mentioned any mobile app in this edition. We’ll make up for it next time around, of course. Till then, stay zapped with…not apps this time…but storybooks!

 

Android KitKat – Too Many Problems To Become Really Popular?

After nearly eight months of its release, Android KitKat is yet to become even half as popular as most of its predecessors. This clearly suggests that not all is well with the Android 4.4 platform, and its further updates. We here present some factors that have stood in the way of a faster adoption rate of KitKat.

An official report released by Google in March highlighted a slightly strange scenario. While Android Jelly Bean was still being used by nearly 65% of mobile-users, the adoption rate of version 4.4 (Android KitKat) had barely touched 2.5%. The popularity of Ice Cream Sandwich (v. 4.0) and even Gingerbread (v.2.3) remained way higher than that of KitKat. Given the excellent initial reviews the latter got from experts, there must surely be something wrong with its usability? Let us here pick out some common problems with Android Kitkat:

 

  1. Poor video-streaming properties – This is a problem that has been voiced particularly by owners of the latest Google Nexus handsets. Once the OTA update for KitKat is installed, the speed and/or video playback almost invariably go down. There have been reports that certain Kitkat-powered Nexus 7 devices even fail to render 60 fps videos. High-end Android phones should offer seamless video-streaming properties – and Jelly Bean is streets ahead of KitKat in this regard.
  2. Connection drops – Using KitKat on Moto G handsets has not been a pleasant experience for users. After thorough analysis, experts from several mobile app development companies found that the frequency of call/connection drops was unnaturally high on these phones. After being upgraded to KitKat, several handsets tend to automatically switch over to the Airplane mode. That adds to the inconvenience of users.
  3. Unstable wi-fi support – Reliability of wireless connectivity – a high point of the Android platform – has suffered after the arrival of KitKat. According to reports, the platform often aborts wi-fi networks, which adds to the overall consumption of carrier data. Many users who have recently upgraded to KitKat have been facing problems to connect with wi-fi networks at home too.
  4. Adverse effects on battery life – Smartphones in general, and Android devices in particular, do not offer long battery back-up. With Android KitKat though, battery reliability has hit an all-new low. People using KitKat on various phone models have registered complaints that, after charging, the device battery gets fully drained within as little as three hours! The time taken to recharge a handset has also become longer. Mobile app developers do suggest using Battery Calibration for getting a bit of extra battery juice – but wouldn’t it be better if Google found a way to get rid of this problem altogether?
  5. Does KitKat make devices slow? – It does, if the available evidences are anything to go by. Right from downloading a file and listening to music, to typing on virtual keypads – everything requires a ‘longer-than-average’ response time, on mobiles running on Android KitKat. Smartphones are meant to offer high-speed functionality to users – and people have not taken kindly to the troublesome screen lags of KitKat phones.
  6. Typing has become problematic – Even for long-time Android fans, this has come as a shocker. Installation of the KitKat mobile OS has become almost synonymous with bringing forth typing problems to a device. The virtual keypads become less accurate and appear cluttered – with the touch features being far from satisfactory. Composing even text messages or group chat messages often become troublesome, long-drawn affairs. Such issues never cropped up in Android Gingerbread or Jelly Bean.
  7. Non-compatibility with older apps – Another problem that has been most commonly noticed in Nexus 5 and 7 devices. After a person upgrades his/her phone, the existing apps on the device either become too slow, or require manual updates, or become prone to random crashes. Analysts from Android and iPhone app companies have confirmed that applications that use external microSD cards were the worst affected by the KitKat update. The file manager system is also made a lot more confusing by Android’s latest version.
  8. The heat factor – While there are users who have not faced this problem, most Android-users feel that installation of KitKat leads to devices getting heated up much quicker than usual. That, in turn, increases the chance of phone crashes, software problems, and other related issues. Even on Android 4.4.2, this problem has persisted. Smartphones do become warm with prolonged usage (long voice calls, for example) – and KitKat has apparently accelerated this issue.
  9. Lock screen problems – If you own a Samsung Galaxy S4 or S5 (powered by KitKat), you have probably already faced lock screen troubles. The screen often freezes when users swipe to open the camera app, or activate home screen widgets. While adjusting the lock screen settings is an option to remove such problems, it would have been better if the screen and the phone dialer offered more user-friendliness in the first place.
  10. Presence of a camera bug? – Once again, an indication that Google Nexus and Android KitKat simply do not go well together. In fact, there have been reports that Google is working on a special software fix to iron out this camera bug. The malware tends to put extra burden on the phone’s battery resources – which, in any case, are not very strong. Let’s just hope Android Silver won’t have so many problems as the Nexus series of phones.
  11. KitKat makes home screen customization difficult – If you are trying to remove a widget or a mobile app from the home screen of a KitKat phone – be prepared for a bit of a struggle. You will be able to navigate to the ‘X Remove’ screen – after which there is every chance that the display will freeze. Better customization had been the key factor behind the edge that Android enjoys over iOS – but the arrival of KitKat has not strengthened this advantage at all.

Reports have also come in from Android-users all over that the KitKat platform messes up the default contact list syncing features of handsets. There have been cases where the speakerphone has become automatically activated on phones running on this version. There is a buzz about the Android 4.4.3 update which will soon be commercially available. If Google ensures that it would have none of the above problems, KitKat might finally be able to challenge the popularity of Jelly Bean. Till then, it will remain a mild disappointment!

14 Wearable Smart Devices You Should Watch Out For

Wearable smart devices are the new in-things, in the domain of mobile technology. As techies all over wait for the final verdict on Google Glass and the arrival of iWatch, we do a roundup of the wearable gadgets that have already been commercially launched in the market.

There is considerable buzz at present over the probable success (or otherwise!) of the Google Glass. As far as Apple is concerned, it is being said that the fortunes of CEO Tim Cook hinges on whether the soon-to-release iWatch becomes a hit worldwide. iWatch and Google are, however, far from being the only two wearable smart devices of note. There are many other types of such sophisticated, web-enabled tools and gadgets. In this piece, we take a look at some of them:

Garmin Vivofit

Dedicated to monitor personal fitness and activity levels on a real-time basis, Garmin Vivofit comes with enhanced GPS support features. On the device, you can set your ‘goal countdown’ for burning calories, and keep track of the distance covered by you at any time of the day. Alarms can be set, to remind you that it’s time to get up and do your exercises. If you stay curled up on the couch for over an hour, a red bar (which grows with time) appears on the curved display screen of Vivofit. The pocket pinch for this smart fitness accessory is a reasonable $130.

Basis Health & Heart Rate Monitor

Disturbed sleep leads to lingering feelings of tiredness, and, in the long-run, an overall deterioration of health conditions. You can now get an early pointer about the duration and quality of sleep you are catching up on every day, with Basis. The device has multi-feature sensors, to monitor heartbeats and calorie figures – when you are taking a nap. In short, it’s a tool to ease you into a healthier, better lifestyle.

Space FPS Gaming Vest

Contemporary mobile application developers and gaming software experts regularly churn out exciting video games – and this gaming vest is perfect for enjoying these games to the fullest. The vest has as many as eight active zones, which lets users actually ‘feel’ the impact of first-person shooting and explosion games. It is priced at $139, and is just ideal if you are looking for that additional adrenalin rush while gaming!

Razer Nabu

The appearance of Nabu has some resemblance with Samsung Gear Fit – but the similarities end here. Razer has come up with this smart device to help people keep track of their phone calls and messages on the move. There are two separate screens on the device, meant for getting message notifications and for reading them. If you do not want to receive an incoming call, shaking your wrist is all that you need to do. Oh, and you can even exchange phone data with fellow-users – via a simple handshake! Cool, ain’t it?

Misfit Shine Activity Tracker

The brand name might be ‘Misfit’, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more sleek-looking mobile health device. Irrespective of whether you are walking, jogging, swimming, or even cycling – Misfit Shine will keep offering updated stats on your activity/workout levels. All the reports can be seamlessly synced with your smartphone too. The full-metal body of the tracker adds to its longevity.

Novero Bluetooth Pendant Necklace

When a call arrives, it allows you to engage in hands-free conversation – and at all other times, it serves as a lovely fashion accessory! This one-of-a-kind pendant necklace has won rave reviews from device analysts and app development companies worldwide. Apart from the Bluetooth 2.1 support, the device offers a whopping 4 hours of continuous talk time – and comes with a Micro USB charger too. The price ($348) ain’t the lowest – but the convenience factor offered by this Novero device definitely makes it a good buy.

Qualcomm Toq

While the Android-powered Qualcomm Toq smartwatch is not lacking in innovativeness, its overall sales figures remain lukewarm till date (the makers even had to announce a discount offer during CES 2014). There are chances that the device will pick up though – since touchscreen features of the Mirasol color display screen are excellent, and it boasts of a wide range of interesting, useful features. If the prices are permanently slashed by a bit, Toq can become more popular than wearables with OLED screens.

Nike Fuelband SE

Most iPhone app development experts have singled out SE (the second iteration of the Nike Fuelband series) to be the most user-friendly wearable pedometer at present. The SE is available in multiple colors, and can be automatically synced with iOS devices (without any manual actions). The connection is established via the built-in Bluetooth 4.0 of the device. Nike has improved the waterproof features of the Fuelband SE as well. At $149, it’s competitively priced too.

Lumoback

Don’t quite trust yourself to follow regular exercise routines? Get the Lumoback wearable fitness device, strap it on to your lower back – and keep getting reminders! Lumoback automatically vibrates when you remain static for a couple of hours – so that you know it’s time to get up and burn some calories. The health reports (activity charts, calorie counts, etc.) can be seamlessly transferred to iPad and/or iPhone too. Lumoback isn’t just another smart device – it’s almost like a caring guardian!

Acoustic Sheep RunPhone

If you fancy listening to music on the go, you’ll absolutely love these headphones. Two alternative brands – the Intensity and the Wireless – are available, at $150 and $100 respectively. The former model has an in-built WAV music player, while the standout feature of the latter is its wire-free headphones. The earplugs are embedded in thick, sporty headbands and even offers exclusive ‘pace-setting’ options. RunPhones bagged the prestigious Design award at CES 2014.

Sync Burn

Until we manage to get a first-hand feel of the Healthbook app on iPhone 6, Sync Burn will remain the external fitness tracking device with the most reasonable price tag ($99). Both motion intensity levels as well as cardiac rates are monitored constantly by this smartwatch, which also has Bluetooth 4.0 connectivity options. Thanks to the reversible straps of Sync Burn, it fits easily on wrists of all sizes as well.

Cute Circuit K-Dress

Oh well, this stunningly beautiful taffeta and silk chiffon smart dress does not perform any specific function, other than to, well, make the wearer look lovely. The dress has a large number of built-in LED lights, which can be switched on/off via a one-touch controller. The battery is relatively long-lasting, and recharging the dress is easy. If you don’t mind splurging a bit to look pretty, get this dress. Katy Perry was spotted in it, and she looked like a million bucks!

Magellan Echo

Yet another smartwatch (looks like iWatch will have a fair bit of competitors to deal with!), and this is an award-winning one as well. Right from streaming data to and from your smartphone handset, to letting you keep track of health metrics (heart rates, running speeds, etc.) – Echo is a smartwatch that brings to users an awesome range of functionality. You can even enjoy mobile music through the device. Sports-based mobile apps, like Strava and iSmoothRun, can be easily used with the Magellan Echo.

Vuzix Wrap 920AR

Priced at $1499, this gadget is likely to be the chief rival of Google Glass. The near-eye view of the Vuzix Wrap makes it ideal to be used with Windows computers. Pictures in both two and three-dimensional (stereoscopic) formats can be captured via the device, along with high-quality (HQ) videos. The AR feature ensures that connecting with PCs remains a glitch-free process.

 

Pebble Steel, another smartwatch which can work in collaboration with multiple Android and iPhone applications, is gradually becoming popular among users across the globe. Jawbone UP is a top-notch fitness-related wearable device, while Silicon Micro Display ST 1080 makes video-watching a richer experience than ever before. Some of these smart devices will be successful, while a few would fade away – but each of them are contributing their bit to the worldwide evolution in mobile technology.

Happy Birthday, Mark Zuckerberg! We Know These Little-Known Facts About You

‘Zuck’ to friends and ‘Princely’ to his mother, Mark Zuckerberg is one of the most talked-about entrepreneurs in the entire planet. On the occasion of his thirtieth birthday, we look up some intriguing facts about the life and works of the chief founder of Facebook.

Facebook founder MArk Zuckerberg

Any discussion about ‘young achievers’ across the globe would inevitably feature the name of Mark Zuckerberg. The man was not yet 20 years of age, when he conceptualised Facebook – by far the most popular social networking site in the world. The inspiring tale of Zuckerberg has even been spun in the form of a Hollywood blockbuster, ‘The Social Network’ (2010). Yesterday, Zuckerberg celebrated his 30th birthday – and we mark the occasion by sharing these interesting yet little-known tidbits about him:

Mark, the prankster 

Zuckerberg was a prankster in his teenage years

He might be one of the top entrepreneurs at present – but during childhood, Zuckerberg was the very epitome of ‘naughtiness’. Exactly at midnight on the 31st of December 1999, he and his sister switched off the main power connection at home, plunging the house to darkness. Everyone was tricked into thinking that the Y2K bug had finally arrived, and it was doomsday!

Zuckerberg’s presence on Twitter

Zuckerberg is highly popular on Twitter

Researchers from web as well as mobile app companies would agree that Facebook and Twitter are bitter rivals. That does not mean the founder of the former does not have an account on the latter though. He has – and what’s more, Zuckerberg’s Twitter account has well over 300000 followers. Zuckerberg tweets very rarely, however.

What is a television?

Mark Zuckerberg does not have a TV at home

Mark Zuckerberg, of course, knows what a television is – but he does not own one. The self-proclaimed atheist can’t care less about television programs, and prefers spending more time on the web (no surprises there!) instead. Incidentally, Zuckerberg is of Jewish origin, but is not interested in religious beliefs.

Facebook’s predecessors

Facemash preceded Facebook

Facebook did not always look like the way it does now. When Zuckerberg was a psychology sophomore at Harvard University, he came up with an inter-institute site called Facemash. Through it, students could anonymously rate their peers’ attractiveness. The site received scathing criticisms from teachers as well as many students. Zuckerberg followed it up with thefacebook.com – another profile-collection website for the university students. It was made open for the general public in 2006.

Elliot is the middle name

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is his full name

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is the full-name of the father of Facebook. He is part Bulgarian by birth, and was named after Marco – his maternal grandfather. Zuckerberg’s current abode? At White Plains in New York.

Blue is the warmest color

Mark Zuckerberg has red-green color blindness

Nopes, we are not quoting the name of the award-winning French movie. The vision of Zuckerberg, in the literary sense, can be summed up by this phrase. He suffers from red-green color-blindness – and has publicly stated that he can see ‘all of blue’. It’s not coincidence that the default design of Facebook has a predominantly blue theme.

Lack of interest in dressing up

Zuckerberg is probably one of the worst dressed entrepreneurs ever!

For a man of net worth more than $26.5 billion, Zuckerberg’s reluctance to experiment (or at least, vary) with his dressing style is remarkable. His day-to-day ‘Facebook t-shirt, hoodie and jeans’ combination earned him the dubious distinction of featuring in a list of ‘Worst-dressed people in Silicon Valley’ (published by GQ). To be fair, in 2009, Zuckerberg was mostly spotted wearing ties – via which he wished to convey how important it was for Facebook to tide over the worldwide recession that was raging then.

His first innovation was Zucknet

Zucknet was created to help family-members stay in touch

If you are not aware of Zucknet, you can’t be blamed. It was a messaging tool that Mark Zuckerberg came up with (at a tender age too), only for his family. His parents could send/receive messages through Zucknet – which was really handy for everyday communication requirements.

The roaring success of Synapse

Synapse Media Player was Zuckerberg's earliest successes

While still studying at high-school, Zuckerberg developed the Synapse Media Player app. From app development experts and software analysts, Synapse got positive reviews – and corporate hotshots like AOL and Microsoft came forward with lucrative job-offers to procure Zuckerberg’s services. Thank goodness he rejected these offers. Otherwise, we might not have had Facebook!

Love at the washroom

Priscilla Chan is Zuckerberg's wife

Don’t take this in the wrong sense. The founder of FB met his sweetheart, Priscilla Chan, while waiting at a queue to the loo (during a private party). The two hitched up and moved together in late-2010. A doting husband, Zuckerberg gifted his lady love $25000 worth marriage ring – to mark the special occasion. He even learned Mandarin/Chinese to communicate with his in-laws better. Understandably, Chan was one of the very first to have a Facebook profile.

Zuckerberg did not have the capital to start Facebook

Eduardo Sarvin provided the startup capital for Facebook

He currently features in the list of top-20 richest people in the world (by Forbes) – but back in the day, he did not have the capital to kickstart Facebook on his own. The social networking site received the necessary startup capital from Eduardo Saverin – a roommate of Zuckerberg’s at college. Dustin Moskovitz, another Harvard student, was the third co-founder of FB

The $1 annual salary

Mark Zuckerberg draws an annual salary of $1

This is something that Zuckerberg has in common with Bill Gates, the late Steve Jobs, and several other top-ranked tech entrepreneurs. Instead, he owns Facebook shares worth nearly $26 billion. The man used to draw a $500000+ salary till 2012, and decided to join the $1 annual salary bandwagon from the next year.

The popularity of Beast

Beast is Zuckerberg's much-loved Hungarian Shepherd

Let alone Mark Zuckerberg – even his pet Hungarian sheepdog (a Puli) has a separate profile page on Facebook, with over 1.8 million followers. The page is regularly updated with fun pictures of and posts related to the evidently much-pampered animal. Beast is quite a celebrity himself!

The youngest billionaire ever

MArk Zuckerberg became a billionaire when he was 23!

Few CEOs or even senior mobile app developers can hope to match the glittering finances of Mark Zuckerberg. He became a billionaire at the age of 23, thereby setting a record. He had started displaying his knack for creating user-friendly, innovative computer programs since he was 11, and earning big money was something that came to him easy.

Not impressed by the biopic on him

The Social Network did not impress Zuckerberg

‘The Social Network’ wowed audiences and critics all over, but the movie did not impress the man on whom it was based. After attending a screening in 2010, Zuckerberg expressed his dislike of the way in which the film showed that Facebook had been invented to earn social recognition for him. The man clearly had bigger plans even when the site was in its nascent stage.

The cheating allegation

Zuckerberg was accused of cheating at Harvard

Zuckerberg was never quite the person who always played by the rule-book. He took an independent decision to create thefacebook.com – when he was assigned to develop a site called HarvardConnection. A ‘cease and desist’ letter duly arrived from Divya Narenya and Cameron Winklevoss – the students helming the HarvardConnection project. The issue was later settled via Facebook.

Vegetarian, but with a condition

Zuckerberg follows a strict vegan diet

Mark Zuckerberg is a vegetarian, but is not dead against having meat. There is only one condition though. He will eat only the meat of animals that he kills on his own. That, understandably, hardly ever happens – and Zuckerberg manages to stay away from non-veg preparations. Strangely though, he ‘likes’ McDonald’s on Facebook!

Has special security sponsored by Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg gets special security

Zuckerberg is the life-and-blood of Facebook, and he fully deserves the additional special security he receives. Right from the security system at his home, to his personal guards – everything is paid for from the Facebook funds. Officially, the security is given due to the importance of the company, and the relevance of Mark Zuckerberg to it.

The man and his vehicle

Zuckerberg presently drives an Acura TSX car

A suave Subaru Forester was the very first vehicle that Zuckerberg owned. He currently drives around in a smart Acura TSX (black). As Zuckerberg himself said, he prefers comfy, spacious cars over those that sport flashy appearances. We are guessing that he will never think about buying a flaming red Ferrari!

Zuckerberg, the music lover

Zuckerberg lists Lady Gaga as one of his favorite singers

Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Beyonce are listed on Facebook as Zuckerberg’s favorite music stars. Daft Punk is mentioned too. In comparison, he is probably not a vociferous reader – with only ‘Ender’s Game’ listed as his favorite book.

Going one up on Google

Zuckerberg has many followers on Google Plus

Mark Zuckerberg has emerged as a more than worthy competitor of Sergey Brin and Larry Page, if popularity figures on social media are anything to go by. In 2011, Zuckerberg’s follower count on Google Plus overtook those of the latter duo. Having more followers on G-Plus than the founders of that site – now that’s something!

Dedication to work

Zuckerberg's business card has a bit of fun!

Like every successful entrepreneur, software company head, or even mobile apps expert, Zuckerberg is a hard taskmaster. Many of his colleagues recount the way in which he rebukes anyone who asks to be excused for a bit – during meetings. During the early years of FB, Zuckerberg gloated on the fact that he was a CEO, and even typed out business cards that proclaimed – ‘I’m CEO, B****.’

C++ For Dummies was given by Edward Zuckerberg to his son

For all his professionalism, Mark Zuckerberg has still remained a fun-lover at heart. He programmed Facebook in a way that, whenever someone types @[4:0] in a comment, his name is displayed. You cannot, of course, ‘block’ his own FB account. Zuckerberg’s dad, Edward deserves credit for piquing his son’s interest in programming, by gifting him a book titled ‘C++ for Dummies’. Here’s a man who has fully lived up to his promise, and then some more.

Mark Zuckerberg's tale of success is truly amazing

There’s only one thing left to say: ‘Way to go, Zuck!’

 

Android Silver – 14 Things You Should Be Aware About It

The Android Silver program is being billed as the next big thing to be churned out by Google, for strengthening its position in the worldwide smartphone sector. In the following piece, some key likely features and aspects of Silver have been highlighted upon.

Initially touted to be a supplementary program to the Google Nexus series of devices, Android Silver currently seems to be a much bigger initiative than that. If reports from the Android Police blog and The Information are to be believed, Google is planning to completely replace Nexus with Silver – in a bid to offer premium-grade Android experience to users. We will here acquaint fans of the Android OS with some vital tidbits related to Android Silver:

 

  1. Presence of a dedicated anti-mobile theft software – Many mobile app development companies have already released anti-theft tracking applications – but Silver would have such a software embedded in the system. It would be named ‘Never Lost’, and would literally rule out the possibilities of a handset getting lost. Tracking down your misplaced/stolen device would become easier than ever.
  2. Greater support for device manufacturers – With Silver, Google will be able to extend support to a large number of device manufacturers. The latter would be helped to manage their production, marketing as well as distribution expenses. Whenever an update would be released on the software, the handsets produced by these participating companies would be given special treatment.
  3. More consistent performance – Those up top at Google probably feel that a mobile program that adheres closely to the company’s tech specifications is required – and it is customizing Android Silver accordingly. In addition to releasing software updates at regular, frequent intervals – Silver would also boast of high-end hardware architecture. In all probability, Google will be promoting its Silver platform exclusively to the wealthier segment of Android’s worldwide customer base.
  4. Silver will reduce unnecessary competition in the market – Many software developers and mobile application development experts feel that Nexus – although qualitatively fine – stands out as a competitor to HTC, Samsung and other Android-powered phones churned out by renowned brands. Since the fight for market share between Android and iOS (the former leads by a fair distance at present) will rage on, Google is opting for the sensible option of taking down Nexus, and removing the competition between Android devices. Sure, there will be Samsung Silver jostling with HTC Silver to grab buyers’ eyeballs – but in the end, the new program will be the winner.
  5. Smooth data transition options – What if you have a Google Nexus phone, or any other old handset – and wish to transfer data from it to your new Silver device? Google will be making sure that this will never be an issue. Right from documents and files stored in the old phone, to mobile apps installed in it – almost everything can be seamlessly migrated to Android Silver devices. The data security on the Silver line of phones will also be top-notch.
  6. Better promotion support – As per reports and rumors, Google is really loosening its purse strings, to make Android Silver a big hit. Over $1 billion will reportedly be spent, to set up Silver stalls and kiosks. In-store ad displays would include video tutorials for prospective buyers (just like the ones at Amazon stores). Company personnel are also being given special training to promote the new program in the best possible manner.
  7. Android would help Google retain control over device specs – Both the hardware and the software of Nexus phones are pre-specified by Google. With the new line of Silver handsets, Google would, once again, have the final say on the design and system specifications. Individual manufacturers would have to work with similar, customized mobile development frameworks – as specified under the Silver program. Mobile development and marketing companies won’t get much scope to really differentiate their products from that of their rivals.
  8. Compatibility with third party apps – There is a buzz among Android app developers regarding this. Google has plans to pre-install a wide range of native applications in Silver – along with a selection of non-Google apps too. People would have the option of removing bloatware and/or any of these default apps as well. Android is, in any case, a more customizable OS than Apple iOS, and Silver would build on this factor.
  9. Silver would probably be rolled out sometime in 2015 – It can happen earlier, but chances for that seem unlikely. Google has already announced the Nexus 10 device – and is almost certain to not hurt its chances of success, by releasing Android Silver immediately after that. It seems like the new mobile program will make its debut in the first or second quarter next year.
  10. Silver will have the best features from Nexus and Play editions – Researchers from almost every mobile apps company feel that Silver would replace the popular Google Play Edition (which supports multiple versions of same devices) as well. There will be devices specifically designed for Silver, while simultaneous support will be provided to multiple devices. This, in essence, would mean that Silver would be an improved version of both Google Play and Nexus.
  11. Availability of more essential features – Android Silver will not be ‘just another’ replacement program scheduled to be rolled out by Google. It will have several features and controls – which are not available in existing Nexus devices, and even certain high-end iPhones. The new line of phones would have reliable waterproof properties, and would come with voice recognition software. Silver is for that ‘premium Android experience’ – and Google is trying to ensure that it lives up to the hype.
  12. Samsung might come up as a competitor – There have been telltale indications in the recent past that Samsung might be looking beyond Android as the default OS on its devices. Silver would serve as a buffer against such a scenario too. Motorola and LG have already been brought onboard for developing and marketing Android Silver phones. Even if Samsung does not part ways with Android, a strong presence of Silver would reduce the former’s overwhelming market dominance to some extent.
  13. The price factor – No concrete information is yet available regarding this issue. It might well be that Android Silver would be available at relatively low off-contract prices, like the Nexus devices. Google is presently in talks with carrier companies, and a pricing decision is expected to be reached soon. In any case, Google will be roping in multiple carriers for Silver – to ensure that device availability is never a problem.
  14. Presentation of the mobile program – The newly released Samsung Galaxy S5 bootup screen bears the words ‘powered by Android’ – and it is almost certain that devices that would come with Android Silver will have similar messages in their startup screens. That way – the brand presence of Google’s mobile OS will be strengthened. The Silver program has been designed to help OEM companies get maximum visibility for their devices too.

Android Silver, as its name itself suggests, would have a nice-looking silver case (instead of the boring plastic ones). If Google succeeds with Silver, it will not only sync the overall Android market under a common set of specifications – but would also help it maintain its edge over Apple, at least in terms of market share. From forums, blog reports and tech magazine publications, Android Silver indeed seems to be a more than worthy successor of Nexus. The actual word-of-mouth feedback would determine its final fate though!

 

AppBoard Tuesday – How to Create Great Mobile Applications?

Howdy, everyone!

It’s time for another edition of AppBoard Tuesday, and this time we are covering a topic that all of us are interested in. Now, all of you mobile app developers (and others who are reading this) might be aware of the technicalities involved in creating smartphone applications. However, making a useful and easy-to-operate app is not as easy as it seems at first – and getting it approved at iTunes/Play Store at the first go is a bit tricky as well. This edition of our newsletter would be focused on addressing all the queries you might have, regarding effective, successful (and financially rewarding!) mobile application development:

 

Keep the design simple and systematic

 

You guys are experienced enough in customized mobile app designing – but newbies often mess up on this factor. From the very outset, a developer needs to keep in mind that the mobile screen is way smaller than a computer – and hence, what works great on a general website is likely to appear cluttered in an app. Whatever might be the features and controls put into a smartphone application, the design has to be simple and you should never include too much of text/images/graphics in it. A slow app never works!

 

Make use of icons

While focusing on putting in visual branding elements in the splash screen and other tabs of a mobile app, the importance of icons often take a backseat. Remember, smart usage of mobile app icons serves two purposes. Firstly, if you choose well-designed, colorful ones, they can attract the attention of new users. Also, icons with pictures on them minimize the need for putting text on the app display screens. Everyone would get what an icon is about, if it has the image of a video camera on it, right?

 

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words!

 

What’s the purpose of the app?

We organize workshops regularly at Teknowledge Software, and they are attended by representatives from several other mobile app development companies. It’s surprising to note how many new developers are solely concerned with showing off their programming skills by developing complicated apps – which do not have any clearly specified function. At the end of the day, your app has to be saleable – and for that, people have to feel a need for it. Clearly specify what each of your apps is supposed to do, and do not put in too many functionalities within a single application. A confused user won’t take long to uninstall an app from his/her phone!

 

Don’t make users work/think too much

Another often overlooked point. Surprising as it may sound, an average smartphone user is too reluctant to tap their way through multiple screens (no matter how creatively they are designed), to arrive at the page they are interested in. Keep the navigation simple, and make sure that all the key features of an app are accessible within a maximum of 3 taps/clicks. You can use the enormously popular Angry Birds app, or our very own Story Time For Kids application for reference.

 

Make your app customized for all devices

There are smartphones of various models. And tablets. And phablets. And feature phones. If you create a static mobile app and lie back, thinking that it would work like a charm on all devices – you are sadly mistaken. Research about the popular mobile devices in the market, their screen sizes, display resolution levels, and other such important features. Make sure that your app has custom features – so that the version displayed varies correctly with the device on which it is installed. An iPhone app that does not work on an Android handset (or vice versa) has only limited profitability scopes.

 

Use images and graphics that go with the flow

It’s a fine line between making an attractive mobile app and going overboard with high-end graphics and images that take an eternity to load. This is precisely where the importance of having an expert UI/UX designer comes into the picture (our designing team is, thankfully, world-class – according to client-reviews!). The pictures included in the app display should never distract users and/or disrupt the navigation flow of the application. Similarly, the app development graphics used should never affect its speed. Pictures that go with the flow of an application make the latter charming – while those which distract make the task of using it an absolute pain!

 

Choose the text fonts carefully

You wish to create apps that would keep users engaged, right? Well, that’s not going to happen – if the poor souls have to squint to make out what messages, instructions and other stuff that are written on the display screens. Too curvy, ornate fonts are an absolute ‘no-no’, as are fonts that are very small or stylized in any other way. Large, clear, plain fonts always work best in a mobile application – since people do not (understandably) have the patience to spend minutes to read single lines of text on their mobile.

 

Do not use too many colors

This is a factor where you need to tread with care. You do not want to create a ho-hum black-n-white app (no one would be interested to download boring apps!) – but it’s equally important to not make mobile applications a total riot of colors either. You should ideally pick and implement a main color theme (for business apps, kindly choose sober colors), and not introduce too many other color shades/motifs. Using too many colors in a single app reeks of amateurishness on the part of the developer.

 

Note: On mobile apps for kids or select gaming apps, you will have to use more colors than that on a serious business application. The onus is on you to judge the extent of color variations that would be apt for different categories of apps.

 

Avoid Flash files & Bitmaps

If you are a specialized iOS app developer, pay particular attention to this point. iPhones/iPads do not support Flash (yeah, okay, that’s a shortcoming of the OS – but what can you do?) – which makes it imperative that you do not use Flash on the splash screen or the internal display panels of your application. On Android/Blackberry apps too, do not put heavy flash files which might slow down the software. In addition, avoid using bitmaps, which do not have scalable properties. On a mobile app, vector graphics work much better.

 

Be aware of the difference between mobile websites & mobile apps

A mobile website is a customized version of a main website, meant to be viewed on the go – via the built-in browser of mobile handsets. On the other hand, an app is supposed to help users perform specific tasks/get particular information, irrespective of where they might be. As such, it would be a folly to adopt a run-of-the-mill fluid website design theme for mobile applications. Your app may or may not require online connectivity – but it is not something that is meant to be ‘viewed’ on the World Wide Web.

 

The index fingers of every individual are not of the same size, which makes it essential to design relatively wide buttons and tabs (so that those with relatively thicker fingers do not face any difficulty). Keep keyboard input options minimal – since typing on virtual or QWERTY keypads for operating an app is not a particularly attractive idea. At the start of this newsletter, we had said that making a user-friendly app is not very easy. If you follow these basic guidelines, the task ain’t difficult either!

 

That’s about it for this week’s AppBoard Tuesday. You guys have already churned out well over 500 apps – so it’s likely that you are familiar with many of these points. Still, doesn’t hurt to take another look, right?

 

Do let us know if you want any specific topic to be covered in the next edition of AppBoard Tuesday. Till we meet again, stay zapped with…you know it…apps!