What could be the best methods for wireframing iOS apps

Wireframing is a critical step into realizing any potential application idea to reality. Mobile app developers are in constant search for tools that create wireframes for applications with minimal efforts. There are various methods and tools by which one can create wireframes. And the category is basically determined by the nature of the user creating the wire frame.

Wireframes may be created by either an artist or the person who is coming up with an app idea of his own. Fundamentally wireframes have been associated with professionals who are on the creation part but recently many mobile applications have sprung up that provides an opportunity for the general user to create their own wireframe for the mobile apps they would like to create.

Wireframe tools designers. There are various tools to create wireframes for mobile applications. It depends on the comfort of the designer. He may use Photoshop, coraldraw or illustrator to create the wireframe according to his convenience. Most of the expert designers who like to create everything from scratch, like this method. However, there are other tools for computers that could do the same task with ease. These software are pre loaded with options that might reduce the flexibility working with a basic tool such as illustrator. But on the other hand it makes the task simpler and easy for designers to create the wireframes quickly. See some of the tools for designers to create wireframes on computer. http://mashable.com/2010/07/15/wireframing-tools/

While designers create their stuff on conventional tools most of the time, app owners also need tools that can allow them to create quick wireframes. An app owner can be an ameture when it comes to designing aspects and designing tools altogether. Hence, It is better for them if they can create the wireframe on the mobile device itself with a perfect visual approximation.

However, these tools are also helpful for designers as they allow them to create navigations as it is conceptualized. Some of the apps in this category are app cooker, Kynotopia, pop app etc.

Wire framing is an important thing in the SDLC of a mobile application and it not restrained till the designers only. It has evolved as a two way process benefiting the mobile app developers and the app owners at the same time.

Understanding the Apple's math equation : App Stores algorithms

Apple is all about user experience. User experience has remained at the core of the company that made it the best consumer brand in the word. Continuing its legacy, Apple is trying to do the same with app stores as well coz it is now focused on giving their users the best application with respect to any keyword typed in iTunes. The math is as simple as that. Your application must be the best among all and you could top the charts. But how does apple determine that and how is app store optimization helps?

Number of installs is not the deciding factor-

Yes, it is true to think that number of install has direct influence on the ranking but the latest change in app rankings in iTunes suggest that a larger influence has been placed upon the rating that users have given to an app. For example, for any given keyword if there are two application with similar functionalities and have same number of reviews. The one with more 5 stars would get the top slot. It simply means that the highest rated apps have more chances of making at the top. Even if there are substantial difference in the total number of ratings obtained, the one with higher average rating is bound to get a higher ranking than the rest of the apps in the competition.

However the algorithm is also considerate of a minimum base rating that an app must carry in order to appear in the list among other popular apps. Ask any iPhone app development company and they will ultimately tell you that the app is the only thing that can make itself work in the end.

A changed attitude

This is again derived from the idea of giving the most appropriate and the best app to the user. Earlier keywords such as gasoline or car tyre would have landed you to a  popular game app but now they are most likely to land you to apps that can find gas stations or tyre repair shops etc. This eliminates the possibility of a biased app suggestions of popular apps and presents all the categories to the users evenly.

App store optimization practices has positive effects on iTunes but note that the ultimate ranking will be decided by the number of good or bad ratings. Even if your app has half the ratings compared to your competitor app, it might show up in the top slot.

Will apple's new mobile wallet passbook jolt other mobile wallets

The digital wallet war is all around the tech industry and everyone has been putting their bet on digital currency transaction. There are various ways one can transact through digital wallets but a quick comparison would reveal that Apple’s passbook steals the show here. Apple and google stand as the heavyweight in the digital transaction space but Apple has various advantages when it comes to Passbook.

Unlike relying on NFC, Passbook lets you use your passes based on location based services. Google’s wallet is suffering with this huge drawback that does not allow users to go beyond the NFC technology. Most of the stores or places where wallet can be used does not have the supporting infrastructure to carry on with the transactions. The NFC technology has kept many innovations on halt when it comes to the smartphone manufacturers too. The technology is revolutionary but has remained broken till now. There has been a lot written about the dormant development on NFC and there is not much happening in there right now. Although mobile app developers are very keen to utilize this feature in the coming times, it has remained broken till date.

On the other hand Apple’s Passbook relies simply on the location of the user. It requires a lot less of an effort to transact through passbook. Unlike NFC, passbook relies on geo location based services and provides suggestions to the user. For example, if a user is passing by a starbucks outlet, their geolocation would alert the application to provide them with a notification. The user can immediately decide to visit the coffee shop and buy stuff with Passbook. This looks more natural than the way NFC devices work. The application also allows user to redeem the passes without unlocking the screen.

Digital transaction is really posed as a potential segment that would see a lot of investment in the coming times. It will be interesting to see whether the industry goes the apple way as and accepts Passbook’s way of working as a standardised norm or comes up with something better.

What are the best things making iOS shine over android?

iOS and Android have traveled a long distance to become the dominant operating systems in the market today. There are advantages that both bring to their respective users. While android remains a more flexible OS with respect to customization and appearance, iOS scores over many features that android does not provide. However, seasoned iPhone app development companies cite two basic advantages that makes it superior to android.

1. Consistency of the OS

2. Better tools for enterprise segment

Consistency of the OS:

One of the major advantages of Apple mobile devices is their consistency. Unlike an android app development expert who goes through app compatibility nightmares, iPhone app development on the other hand are much comfortable. There is consistency among all the devices and it does not take much of a work to turn an iPhone app to an iPad application. The third party APIs also work well with iOS and creates fewer glitches. There is no abnormal drainage of battery or other similar problems. This is one of the reasons iPhone app development companies love the device as it provides consistent experience.

Better tools for addressing the challenges of enterprise mobile:

After delving and exploiting many areas, the iPhone is finally looking into enterprise mobile data management as a potential area where the company can grow and add value to the businesses. In iOS7, Apple provided some simple yet highly effective solutions for separate enterprise data management. These days when users are increasingly bringing their own device to work, it has become important to manage both corporate and personal data separately. Features like per app VPN, Open in management, single sign-in credential for all enterprise apps etc. Android lacks behind by ages  when we compare these features with iOS.

There are advantages with both operating systems but considering stability, iOS looks much better than android.

What mobile app do people want that doesn't exist yet ?

Each one of us at some point of time must have experienced the advantages of using an app and would have felt blessed while indulging in those unique offerings. It was in the year 2008 when Apple launched its App store, allowing the term ‘App’ to become a global word that eventually was listed as the “Word of the Year” in the year 2010 by the American Dialect Society. It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that it is the mere existence of these billions of apps that keeps the smartphones and tablets going. 

Does the presence of billions of applications lower down the possibility of launching new apps derived from out of the box concepts that can serve the needful to the users? Certainly not, as a forecast by the International Data Corporation (IDC) in 2010 reveal, the market for mobile applications will continue to accelerate as the number of downloaded apps is expected to increase to 76.9 billion in 2014. The scenario is such that a large mass is waiting to gulp down more and more realistic apps and this creates an alarming opportunity for the Mobile App Developers and widens the scope of mobile app store marketing altogether.

Here, we have come up with 5 app ideas that are yet not explored but can make a whole lot of difference once developed as a realistic app.

A reminder App that tracks your habits:  It is high time for the app developers to delegate ideas into strategies to generate an intelligent app that can keep a track of your daily rituals. Once it is familiar with your routine and learns your habits, it should serve the facility of reminding your schedule.

An App that save your time: It sounds amazing isn’t it? It would feel even better when experienced. How about congregating an app that can help you in finishing up your tasks which would indirectly save your time. Then it would be even more satisfying to utilize those hours in doing other productive work.

The “Free Download App’: This app is certainly a dream come true. There is a definite requirement of creating an app that would let you download music directly into your music library, and all you would need to do is to click on a single button. Life would be easier and people would be happier.

App that lets you connect with God: Sounds crazy? Well, let us come to the point. Morgan Freeman is widely popular for his God like voice which is considered to be the most magical voices of all time. It wouldn’t get better if an app would navigate you to an unfamiliar place in ‘his’ voice. Ah! ecstasy.

Now you know what the app stores are missing out on; wait no more and create those apps in real with the assistance of mobile app development services offered by Openxcell Technolabs. The company also offers foremost Mobile Application Optimization and App Promotion Service. OpenXcell Technolabs is a trusted mobile app development company and holds the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 certification and also a member of NASSCOM.

Image Source:-weevermedia.com

Is Samsung thinking to replace Android with Tizen?

Samsung has remained as the biggest player in the android ecosystem and has sold more smartphones than Apple making android app development valuable . But despite that Apple’s own ecosystem has been able to put a large pile of money directly into its pocket and that is something samsung has always wished it had too. The company made an attempt during the initial stages of the touch phone era but failed with BADA. Now it is again contemplating in the same line and planning a brand new operating system called Tizen. Tizen is a joint venture that includes many companies but samsung is the one that has funded and leading the steering committee. So where does Tizen goes? Can it become another successful operating system?

The answer is obviously, NO. Everybody knows that the touch screen operating system is already saturated. Even if we consider windows phone OS that entered late into the market is still struggling to attract a considerable userbase as compared to iOS and Android. One of the basic principles with software is adaptation. iOS and android has been able to do that concentrating upon differing strata and demographics. But at the same time, windows could not offer anything special as compared to android and iPhone. While tech experts liked lumia devices for its superior hardware and fluid UI, its limited success says it is not easy for a user to leave an ecosystem and join another when the perceived benefits are not not apparent. People will not simply change their ecosystem for rotating tiles.

Yes it is agreed that windows might have better security and enterprise features but then in a world where casual smartphone still dominates, the perceived value of these offered features and services have not been able to win many users. If samsung comes out with tizen will it be able to dodge these circumstances and offer something unique? Will it be able to converge the huge tema of android app development experts towards tizen? Is it more about the enterprise based mobile operating system that the market has not yet seen? If not it better come out with something substantial that can differentiate its platform from android and iOS which have undergone a lot of evolution and hence the most stable too.

The incomplete story of knox

Knox did not really take off to become a significant enterprise mobile security solution. Read more!

Knox has been around for quite a while which is one of the prominent mobile security solution based on android. Recently Apple has added a number of enterprise features that are brilliantly done and looks promising for the future. But on the other end Knox was out before Apple published their enterprise features with iOS7. Knox has been able to generate a lot of attention for android app developers and the enterprise market. However, till date the knox ecosystem has not really expanded on a considerable scale. There are various reasons for it.

One of the most important factor that lead to a limited distribution of Knox is the direct control of carriers to enable the service or not. This creates a significant threshold for both enterprise and users to have the service at their convenience. On to is the carriers would also determine the devices that would be allowed to run Knox. Till date only a handful of samsung devices have been added into the list and samsung is not the only android smartphone seller in the market. There are other seller in the market too and this creates an asymmetry and unwillingness for corporations and service providers.

In addition to this one cannot simply employ the EAS protocol to run the show here. Knox requires its own mobile server and that does not come for free. One has to pay for every device connected to the system. Moreover most of the MDMs have not really teamed up with samsung which indicates a serious activity in this direction.

The problem increased since last fiscal as samsung did not register an enthusiastic growth. While in the US it lost the race to apple this year, in countries like india, local brands along with Sony and HTC have taken a considerable part of the market. In such a scenario, knox cannot fill up samsung’s pocket alone. But on the other hand google can surely think of coming up with something that takes into account a large number of android devices.

Pros and cons of development on iOS7

iOS7 is out with some exciting features but what are the pros and cons of iOS7. Read more! 

iOS 7 has come with many critical changes and it has shaken up the iOS development community as well. For iPhone app developers, there are thousands of new APIs to work with and that is an enthusiastic thing for them. However, despite advantages there are a lot of challenges that iPhone app development companies are facing as they are shifting their development standards to iOS7. Here are some of the advantages and disadvantages of development on iOS7.

Advantages of iOS7

• The user interface of iOS 7 is simple and looks clean and vivid. Navigation is better as compared to iOS6.
  
  

• Makes developers more efficient while making apps. Avoiding skeuomorphic design lays emphasis upon the idea of the app and the the design. Development is much faster than its previous versions.
  
  

• iOS 7 comes with better processing power that enhances the performance of the device. Developers can surely churn out a lot for their apps too. 
   

• iOS7 has better GL rendering facility that gives it better graphic processing speed which is obviously advantageous to graphic intensive apps.
  
  

• iOS7 comes with pathbreaking enterprise features that can trigger massive enterprise app development for iOS. Separate management of general and enterprise apps is great and could help developers explore this domain with ease. 
   

• iOS7 comes with the best security features will date which is valuable for users and app development companies too. 
   

Disadvantages of developing for iOS7

• iOS 7 has included a fundamental change pertaining to the resolution of the screen. The iOS7 interface has done away with the black bar for notifications and hence the resolution of the screen has changed too. it creates issues while creating apps for iOS7.
   

• Although a large number of users with older Apple devices have shifted to iOS7, a lot of people might still choose to remain happy with the older OS only. The reason is iOS7 is not fluid on iPhone 4. 
   

• App migration from earlier version of iOS to iOS7 is difficult and need a little rework. 
   

• Many APIs supplied with iOS7 are not yet complete with their documentation which hinders development process. 
   

• The shift from skeuomorphic design has actually challenged the visualization skills of designers who have are adapted to real life design for previous versions of iOS.

Take a comprehensive look on who's leading the phone market iOS or Android?

iOS or Android? Which one outshines the other and why? This is the most hyped up debate prevailing within the wireless industry today. Undeniably, both iOS and Android are grand mobile platforms. They both tend to have quite a room for improvement and different takes on what matters to the consumers. However, there are separate clusters of people who feel one surpasses the other. Now without creating ruckus, let us find out the meaningful differences between prominent features of iOS7 and Android by paying attention to informative factual data that will rationally assist you in deciding which one weighs higher.

Interface: Touch interfaces are a common thing between both iOS and Android with features like swiping, tapping and pinch-and-zoom. iOS and Android when rebooted, show up the homescreen just like the computer desktop. An Android lets you use widgets that display auto-updating information such as weather and email while the iOS homescreen only contains rows of app icons. Yet, the iOS user interface features a doc where users are allowed to pin their regularly used applications.

User experience: Now this count majorly, hence a factual data will direct us better. According to Pfeiffer Report released in September 2013 iOS rates significantly better than Android on cognitive load and user friction. The report reveals that iOS 7 rates as high as 73.25, iOS 6 is rated at 70 followed by Android (Samsung) at 57.25.

Apps available on iOS v/s Android: If we compare the quantity of the apps on both the platforms they end up being same and equally impressive. Currently both the operating systems claim to have more than 800,000 third-party programs for their respective platform. This suggests iPhone app development and Android app development are prospering at a fast pace in their respective operating systems. The next question arises is who serves better apps? This is a bit tricky one as app quality is inherently subjective. However, in data published in a readwrite story in January, it said that the average iOS app, with a score of 68.5, is superior to the average Android app, at 63.3.

Software upgrades: Even though Google claims to update Android frequently, it may have happened that users might not have received the updates on their phones. The phone manufacturers decide whether and when to offer software upgrades. Even when an upgrade is offered, it happens to be generally after several months after the release of the new version of Android. On the other hand, iOS users have an advantage as the updates are usually available to all iOS devices excluding exceptional devices older than three years.

Platform selling maximum smartphones: According to a research carried out by Kantar Worldpanel Comtech during mid- November to mid- February shows Android phones outshining the iPhone by a hefty margin of 52.1 percent to 43.5 percent.

Web Browsing: While android uses Google Chrome as its web-browser, iOS uses safari. Both Internet browsers are alike in quality and abilities and while Google Chrome is also available for iOS, Safari is not available for Android.  The monthly stats published by NetMarketShare on which browsers and operating systems are being used on the Net has given a report for March 2013 which says that among mobile devices, iOS rules with 60.1 percent share. While, Android lands at 24.9 percent. Considering that there are more Android devices out there, the data denotes that iOS users are excessively active online.

Security: This factor holds a lot of importance at the user-end. The Android applications are inaccessible from the rest of the system’s resources, unless a user specifically grants an application access to other features. However, for Android there exists a much extensive malware where text messages are sent to premium rate numbers without the knowledge of the user. While for iOS malware writers are less likely to write apps, due to Apple's review of all the apps and verification of the identity of app publishers.

To conclude every individual of course, are entitled to come to a different conclusion according to their personal experience and choices. The truth is both OS have their own pros and cons and each OS tends to outshine the other on different factors, which still leads the debate further.

iPhone5 more App friendly then 5S, reports more app crash than ever

iPhone5S twice more prone to app crashes compared to iPhone 5 and iPhone 5C due to hardware problems, However app developers are now trying to catch up. 

The iPhone5S has been widely acclaimed by iPhone App development Companies and iPhone App developers for its pathbreaking features as the Touch ID and phenomenal 64-bit A7 processor and M7 coprocessor. However latest reports by Critterism has literally revealed serious chinks in the armor. The iPhone 5S although acclaimed to be the latest, fastest and greatest iPhone ever, has been experiencing its fair of serious issues of bugs and app crashes. The iPhone 5S reportedly faces more app crash than its predecessor iPhone 5 or older models of the tech giant’s flagship product. While app crashes are a common occurrence when there’s an up gradation, the higher rate of app crashes in iPhone 5S has indeed made everybody stand and take notice.

According to research released by Crittercism, A leading mobile app performance monitoring company, where-in it monitored hundreds of millions of apps launched since iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S became available. The apps running on iPhone 5S crash twice as often as the same apps on iPhone5, Iphone5C or other models. Critterscism claims that the Apple iPhone 5S has a crash rate that is twice that on iPhone 5 and iphone 5C. Thus while the usual rate for app crashes on iPhone is a little under 1 percent, the rate on the iPhone 5S is closer to 2 percent. Another common issue reported has been linked to multitasking on the iPhone 5S is the frequent occurrence of the bug called ‘blue screen of death’ (BSOD) that appears on the iPhone screen. The iPhone app developers at Openxcell, The leading Off-Shore iPhone app development Company too tested apps on both iPhone 5S and iPhone 5 and found noticeable amount of crashes. In some cases there were springboard crashes that were absolutely annoying. It was also noticed on multiple occasions that iPhone 5S crashed and booted itself randomly.  At times it just crashed to give the blue screen of death (BSOD) when our developers attempted multi tasking.

A major reason to the issue is attributed to the fact that while the developers just had the iOS 7 software to check the apps for compatibility during the several months of beta testing, but they had no clue about the latest iPhone 5S hardware of 64- bit A7 chip and M7 co-processor that powers the iPhone 5S. The developers were indeed taken by surprise with the launch of the 64-bit architecture A7 processor and the M7 coprocessor. Since iPhone 5C and iPhone5 share the same A6 chip and are nearly identical, internally, the two flagship models performed the same and continue to offer a seamless experience. Thus because the developers were unable to check compatibility with the new 64-bit A7 processor on the latest iPhone 5S and its new 64 bit processor ahead of its launch even though testing for iOS 7 on 32-bit chips had been possible since the first beta was released at the Apple’ Annual worldwide developers Conference in June, There have emerged certain transition challenges which shall be soon resolved.

Crittercism CEO Andrew Levy also has reassured iPhone app developers and iPhone App development companies that “The good news is that Apple is certainly aware of issues. They’ve pushed out two iOS updates for iOS7…Apple is dong a really old job of addressing these issues as they come up.” The Cupertino based giant has since the iPhone 5S launch last month redesigned and optimized a number of noteworthy apps, and the trends is set to follow.  Although this is an inevitable problem with each release of hardware or new operating system, it has been surprising to see app crash at such a higher rate. While Apple has already released two new updates to the iOS, iPhone app developers and iPhone app development company eagerly look forward to the launch of iOS 7.0.3 expected on November 22   to overcome the transition challenge.

Fifth generation iPad air gives more processing muscles to iPhone app developers

ImageCredit: apple.com

The fifth generation iPad air is here and it has again given enough reasons to iOS app development companies to make apps for it. The 5th generation iPad is bundled with a lot of great features packaged in a rectangle weighing just a pound. There are so many other tablets in android including the high-end Xperia but an iPad’s utility and magic is simply unmatched and the fifth generation iPad air takes it further.

Retina display-

iPad app development experts will now work with a cluster of 3.1m pixels spread across a resolution of 2048by1536 compared to a standard 1024by768 of its predecessors. The retina display makes the fonts, graphics and other detail life like and stands out valuable for app makers.

More processing power and M7 co processing-

The new iPad air is packed with a powerful a7 chip as compared to an a5 that its predecessor carried. But the 5th generation iPad is also installed with an m7 co processing unit for separate buffering and processing of graphic details. Game developers are going to love the M7 as it will allow them to add advanced graphic details which will be executed with fluidity and zero lag.

The light weight advantage for people-

The iPad air is just a pound heavy which means all that power and performance is packed in a 9.7 inch glass and aluminum plate that is not even half a kilogram in weight. It leverages the accessorial likeliness of the device and makes is sellable to the common crowd.

Upto 300mbps wifi with many utility apps preinstalled-

The new iPad boasts wifi speed upto 300 mbps with multi location LTE connectivity. It also comes with some essential iPad application that makes it ready to use from the first moment itself.

The iOS 7 advantage and iCloud-

iPad air lets user manage their files over iCloud and makes it extremely easy to manage and access their files irrespective of their location of access. The iOS7 interface is undoubtedly the best Apple users have ever used for multitasking and experience.

Essential 5 tips on last minute usability testing (testing)

Usability Testing serves as a major phenomenon in the field of Quality Assurance. When your software is about to be launched online or if it already has its presence online, it literally requires to fulfill the requirements of its expected clients or its existing customers respectively; to establish its presence in the market. Every aspect of usability testing is strictly client centric and it makes sure that the features are accurate from the user’s point of view.

Similar to the other tests, Usability Testing requires to be conducted early in the development process, before the launch and post launch, that too on frequent basis. Particularly when the software is undergoing some changes it becomes essential to keep a tab on the alterations and rectify them to assure that they fit in the user friendly criteria.

For instance, Mobile App Usability Testing and mobile app performance testing especially of an iPhone or Android applications is must. The launching moment for the applications can be associated with a do or die situation for any company.  At this very moment the testers have to be sure that the basic as well as major functioning are fixed and hence a last minute testing becomes must and holds a vital place in the entire QA process.Hence, these five tips ensure the efficiency of the software when carried out at the crucial moment before releasing the software.

Create consistent Testing environment: A reliable environment for testing lets the testers conduct the tests at a faster pace of three to four tests in a row which works in the favor of last minute testing. Rather than having to coordinate in-person usability testing, which takes days to plan and conduct, a focus on remote testing comes in handy because it speeds things up considerably.  

Definable Actions: Any application that is new to the user requires being logical and easy on browsing. If the user lands on the application but finds no upright instructions to move ahead then there are chances of them leaving the application promptly or they might just keep wandering uselessly.

Logical Layout: The testers need to ensure at the final moment that the layout of the pages of software is according to the predicted layout during development stage. Before making it live, it becomes vital to place the related links together. Hence, these factors should be sorted out at the moment.

Have best users on your side: To obtain a genuine feedback on your software it is an excellent idea to keep authentic users on your side. These customers in usability testing database are ready to help at a moment’s notice, so the process is quick and painless. By creating a database of the best, easily-accessible users the QA team can cut off lots of time from the testing process.

Togetherness of the team: A last minute testing requires the entire team to come together and make a successful usability testing possible. The team consists of product managers, interface designers and front-end developers. While the testers make necessary changes at the last moment, these professionals can guide them accurately at various stages which consequently increases the efficiency of the usability testing.  

However the area of testing is so vast that there is always a room for improvising the process of Usability testing. Having a successful process in place and knowing how to manipulate it when under pressure becomes the key to grant the customers a better user experience. The QA professionals at Openxcell Technolabs with an immense of experience have unlocked the key and are providing the foremost testing services.