Magento developers brace the close integration of eBay and magento with PayPal

Magento ecommerce development is the best way to get your ecommerce site up and running within no time. Magento has remained the most popular e commerce development framework and is now set to become even better.  This is because eBay’s PayPal and magento will now provide mobile payment service to the 150000 merchants using magento as their primary ecommerce tool. PayPal is offering two new extensions that will allow the merchants to set up shops in PayPal’s mobile app and support payment anywhere in their stores. 

After acquiring magento, E bay allowed it to grow as a separate entity but now to offer better services to huge merchant base of magento; the company has decided to go ahead with the plan of integrating them both. The two plug ins named as In-Aisle Selling and Order Ahead are equally important and add critically to the upgrade. The in-aisle connects EBay’s point of sale mobile payments to the merchant store. The user data are pulled by Magento’s ordering and Inventory management system while the triangular PayPal magnetic reader read the credit/debit card payment details. The other plug-in allows magento merchants set up shops in PayPal’s mobile app. Merchants who have set up their stores can get back to their magento developer and make them work on specialized templates to create menus and catalogues and sync their opening hours and locations with PayPal’s ordering system.

Magento ecommerce development companies working on various projects are excited about the close collaboration. The association would not only help eBay’s dominance grow in the sphere of online payment but also increase the merchant base for magento too. This would indirectly bring more business for magento developers and keep the dominance of magento alive as a preferred ecommerce development framework in peppered with critical advantages.

Android app development is hopeful with 64% share of the total market

 

Android has done it yet again. Yes, it has emerged as the top operating system selling the most number of Smartphone. According to a survey conducted by WPP group, it has been observed that Android accounted for 64% of the total Smartphone sales globally. Apple’s iOS trailed at the second spot but still remained to stay significant due to the popularity of the iPhone. Overall this has come as great news for android app development experts.  Overall, mobile app development experts around the world must cite this as favorable news and the trend will continue this year on android as well.

Android app development firms have their eyes fixed on the android flagship devices this year.  With Xperia Z selling 5m handsets within a short span of 40 days and now HTC one and galaxy S4 out in the market, android app development companies are hoping to see an increase in mobile app development demand from the previous year. Last year, it was an open ground for Samsung as with no completion for its S3 how ever with so many makers making a 5 inch phone this year competition is going to be tough for OEMs. On the other hand android app development teams are already hoping a surge in demand this year with more emphasis on graphic intensive apps and games.

While the android ruled most of the countries, in Japan; iOS managed to topple android and continue its lead. Apple has also recognized the urgency to expand its market share and is concentrating its sales efforts into countries like India to gain better sales stats.

Facebook’s buyout of Parse can help mobile app developers find relevant users

Facebook has recently acquired Parse which happens to be one of the favorite development mobile app development platform based on cloud. With mobile app development tools based on the cloud, Parse has been used by a lot of mobile app developers to create cross platform applications on iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows. The platform has been quite popular with app developers and has lead to the creation of more than 60000 apps. Facebook hiring Parse clearly indicated that it wanted to be more valuable with respect to remaining a social layer between people and the various OS environment.

So how does acquiring Parse help Facebook?

Many analysts thought over the possibility of seeing a brand new ecosystem beside iOS and Android. This is what a matured and stable cloud platform for mobile app development would generally mean. But going head on with a mobile OS will not be a very good thing for Facebook. The company does not make devices and do not have free services like Google to pull it off. Rather this acquisition is based on getting even closer to the mobile app development world and helps them find the right customer from day one. The apps are cool but not even the android play store has a built in search function which is substantial. Select a particular category and only handful apps are doing well at a time. It really needs sheer amount of luck and patience to see your app becoming a hit. But now with a standing crowed of mobile app developers, Facebook can channelize the banner ads of apps according to various demographic variables.  Thus before the app is ready, app developers can strategize whom to target and how the app should feel like. After the completion of any project, systematic targeting can be done which can make Facebook a valuable tool for app discovery.

Another advantage can be the close association of developers with FB and an FB version of an app. This can further generate more awareness about the apps developed for mobile OSs and people can be redirected to the app store to install the same.

The idea of acquiring Parse might help Facebook become more valuable for mobile app developers as well as for a regular facebooker.

Mobile app developers and the mobile ecosystem are segregating social interaction and making it specialized

The social space is going exclusive these days. Pertaining to the nature of the content, each and every site is engineering itself to create a unique environment driven by user generated data. The exclusivity is also catalyzed by the increasing magnitude of mobile internet usage. At the deepest level of it, one can infer that the app driven ecosystem is highly exclusive and function specific. Some of the top mobile app developers such as Facebook also realized this and hence there are a plethora of apps for user engagement. Mobile internet has changed the way of social interactions and making it more specialized day by day.

The pintresting story

Social networks have evolved from friendster and MySpace to become Facebook but there have been limitations with each and every format in some way or the other. When people thought FB to be the perfect photo sharing medium, we got Pinterest that allowed users to easily upload and present the images in their original sizes. Thus, long inforgraphics that appears tiny in Facebook were easily visible in Pinterest with each and every detail. In the heat of the moment that was driven by mobile apps, mobile app developer at Pinterest went mobile and created a fascinating application that kept its utility alive in the Smartphone as well.

The wandering mind’s quest ends at Quora

Quora, another exclusive place to for social interaction! However, it serves a purpose in answering a question posed by a user. The mobile application identifies your interests and serves relevant questions that have been answered and trending. Users can rate an answer up or down and making an answer more valuable and appear at the top. The answers also need citations and references which further makes it a valuable platform to gain and share knowledge. Due to its exclusiveness, the mobile app developers at Quora did not have challenges to reach a 1m download mark. The feed is not noisy with everything but just the trending questions that may have been voted by your friends.

Mobile internet usage has increased and contributes to almost half of the total internet usage. The smart phones are built around apps and exclusivity is one of the dominating factors now. Just the way Pinterest and Quora made it big, there can be other potential ideas waiting on the horizon to shine under the light of an app driven mobile ecosystem.

Unity stops support for flash. But is flash really going to die?

Unity 3d developers constitute one of the most significant lot of game developers in today mobile app development scenario. Its connection to flash has remained critical since inception but recently the Unity team has decided to end its support for flash. Unity 2d and Unity 3d developers are in great demand these days. Temple run2, bad piggies and many popular games have been framed in Unity recently and the company has announced to work on its own player.

The major reason that justifies this step is Adobe’s lack of attention towards upgrading flash on mobile platform. Mobile app development companies have also acknowledged the lethargy of the company which has been keeping the platform lousy on mobile devices. Another factor that Unity 3d developers cite is the revenue sharing model for using flash player to run Unity games. For long, Unity 3d developers have been porting their games to an SWF format and this has become inherent to the android based games made by majority of the mobile app development companies.

However, apart from what CEOs said about the flash many years ago, truth is Falsh’s dominance is still apparent and powers the web. The web however is in a brick of a radical change catalyzed by the usage of mobile internet and Adobe avoiding to upgrade the flash would only lead to something else playing the multimedia files. We are in no mood to justify the extinction of desktops here as they won’t, but the mobile internet usage would have to be served with something else for multimedia, if not flash.

Backward integration for happy customers and iPhone app developers

Samsung has set its Galaxy S4 on for sale and is expected to register some hefty sales figures. With more and more online discussions done on S4, the cliché of Apple’s death has also become overused. Agreed, Samsung is selling more phones than Apple but the idea of Apple dying seems to be amateurish.  The fact that software content/apps are the heart of the Smartphone makes it absolutely clear as to why Apple still generates more revenue than the leading OEMs.

The revolution of backward integration
We all know that apps and touch screen were already there but were not good enough. Steve Jobs integrated them in a beautiful package called iPhone. But the most important thing which he realized was to control or have curation rights over the content created for the iPhone. This way, the iTunes not only controls quality of the apps submitted by any iPhone app developer, but it also ensures that the users get the best apps without any malware. Apple claims 30% of the total revenue generated from an app and the rest goes to the iPhone app developer. It won’t be irrational to say that the Apple app store is the golden egg laying hen for the company. Steve Jobs cemented the App store with the iOS ecosystem and promised good revenues for Apple, iPhone app developers and quality for Apple users.

It is not easy for Samsung to do the same. The S4 seems to be inclining itself towards its own ecosystem. But its dependability on Android cannot be sidelined. Samsung may sell a large number of S4 again in this year. But to match the profitability of Apple, it needs to provide services.

Mobile app development is about leveraging customer touch points

India is the centre of mobile app development. There are numerous off-shore mobile app development companies situated in India and all promise to give quality output to their clients. However, more or less the talent hired by these companies does not differ to great degrees.  The key factor that ensures a great application is the customer touch points and how well they are utilized by a mobile app development company. If you are essentially focusing on quality of development then going for a flexible Hire developer model can add to the benefits leading to a great application in the end.

The idea of seamless communication
Many mobile app developers providing hire schemes for app development peruse their clients on the basis of daily reporting through skype or Phone calls. But one must understand that an app idea needs refinement. The first version of the app idea is not the one that comes out in the end. And to refine an idea the developers and the client needs to be connected to a single platform that facilitates interaction in a commonplace. Hence, once the developers start working on an idea, the clients can immediately see it on their end and suggest changes. The development timeline of the app thus refines the overall quality of the application and makes the mobile app development project a success in the end.

Flexible team
Other than leveraging on touch points, a flexible hire iPhone developer or hire android developer model can also be looked into. Hiring a flexible team allows the developers to work dedicatedly for your project and produce a quality app in the end. In case a client is dissatisfied, they can always opt to swipe a few developers during the project.

Apple looks beyond the US

Apple has changed its overall sales strategy and is focusing on some of the other markets it has not yet touched.  India, which happens to be the hub of iPhone app developers, is one of the destinations that have shown some substantial enthusiasm pertaining to the iPhone in the last quarter. Apple had to look beyond the US market as a large share of market was taken over by Samsung.  Thus the company is now emphasizing upon developing nations to gain market share on global basis.

In September 2012, Apple started advertising the iPhone through leading print and electronic media and launched an EMI scheme under which users could pay easy installments for an iPhone they purchase. Unlike the US market which is dominated by contract between OEM and carriers; in India, Apple remained a little flexible and gave users the freedom to use their preferred carriers with specific data and voice plans. On the sales side, Apple tied up with retailers to make their iPhones available to a large number of prospective buyers in the metro cities of India. Along with these the overall increase of dedicated Apple stores in India has lead to an increase in the brand familiarity which also helped the company in overall sales. 

Apart from these, Apple is also allowing people to exchange their old mobiles to get a 7000 off on their new iPhones. iPhone app development companies would definitely rejoice as this step would not only lead to more iPhones while subtracting many android users.

iPhone app developers have been overwhelmed by the ruthless rise of android. In the midst of this, exploring new markets for the iOS could be the only thing Apple can do to remain at the top.  

Xperia Z nears a 5million mark. But can it override GS4 and HTC One?

It has been reported that Sony has sold nearly 5 million of Xperia Z Smartphone in just 40 days. It’s quite a feat as last year galaxy S3 sold 10m within 2 months of its launch. In the mean time android app development firms are happy as a competition between the flagships will sustain the market for android this year as well. The Xperia generated a lot of good reviews but was overlooked in the mean time after its launch. However the waterproof glass clad Xperia has broken the lull with its stormy sales figures. The phone features a 5 inch shatterproof screen which hides an S4 snapdragon quad core processor based on KRAIT architecture. The screen features a stunning 443 ppi that flaunts the Bravia engine 2 technology.

The figure is impressive but Sony has been the lone runner in the android flagship race. Soon, the HTC and Galaxy S4 will be available in the market world over. These would definitely take out a chunk of sales from the Sony flagship but given the fact that its tested by users for more than a month, buying a Z would not likely to give unknown problems compared to the ONE and S4 which are yet to get into the hands of people. Android app development experts also frame it as an advantage as people are aware about the shortfall of the Z but not the other two as of now.

On the other hand many analysts have suggested that Xperia Z might continue to lead as it is already sold in large numbers. There are also speculations that its sleek design, waterproof body and great build quality might get an advantage over the other two in the coming times.

The brilliant HTC One out for sales in US. Likely to face a tough competition

HTC has released its much awaited flagship device of the year the HTC One. The phone has already drawn rave reviews from the critics across the globe as being a competitive device that bears the potential to become the number one Android flagship phone this year.  With a dwindling business, the company did not register encouraging sales for its One and Desire series of phones last year and suffers a blur brand identity like Sony. The HTC One however is expected to draw a large chunk of sale among the two flagships S4 and Xperia Z from Samsung and Sony respectively.

Given the evident hard work gone behind the HTC one, it can capture a large Pie in the android flagship race. Mobile app development companies have also praised the handset to be highly performing with a quad core S4 processor. The custom UI, ultra pixel camera and a great aluminum body are some of the striking features that will have people buy this masterpiece from HTC.

However, as mentioned it is not the only device running the marathon. The android juggernaut Samsung will also have its GS4 rolled out in the market very soon. Sony on the other hand has moved fast this time and has reportedly sold almost 4.6 million Xperia Z within 40 days. The Sony flagship has been reported by people and mobile app development experts to have a few flaws but these days as mobile OS becomes more and more complex it’s impossible to deliver a 100% bug free firmware. Infact this can work as an advantage for Sony to fix the loopholes before the HTC one gains momentum and S4 arrives to the market. If they turn out to have some bugs as well (which they will have) then Sony might have a stable device of them all.

All the devices pack great features and vary with their own advantages. However, for HTC it is going to be an uphill climb to make their business profitable.

The HTC One is available for $199.99 and $299.99 for 32 GB and 64 GB respectively on ATNT.

With more active users than twitter, the whatsapp story is fascinating

Technology must make our life easier. The more closely companies adhere to this philosophy, the better products they make that become non substitutable over a period of time. Whatsapp messenger exemplifies this approach as the mobile app developers at whatsapp enjoy their sheer size which has now surpassed that of Twitter. The company claims that the app generates 12 billion outbound messages and the owners are in no mood of entertaining any merger and acquisition. The application has now become a utility app for users that is simply impossible to replace.

The gaps in SMS and the smarts of whatsapp mobile app developers-
Threaded view messaging is conceptualized by the iPhone but mobile app developers at Whatsapp saw the potential in it. They also kept in mind the international boundaries that hindered SMS communication.  Hence the developers employed the XMPP protocol that supports real time data transfer, signaling through VoIP, Video, file transfer etc.  Using the XMPP protocol a particular phone number (which is always unique) is saved on the whatsapp database as a user ID in the form of [phone number]@s.whatsapp.net. Thus each user has a unique ID (as two users cannot have the same number in the entire world after adding the country code) and every time a new user creates his ID, he is automatically presented with the existing phone contact registered on whatsapp.

This creates a web based platform to transfer messages and files across the globe with no charges paid to the carrier (except for a few Kbs of data used to send the messages each time). Mobile app developers at Whatsapp took the utility factor to another level by enabling picture and video sending option to its users. The developers employed the Base64 encoded thumbnails and that was it. A full scale, robust application for communication and data sharing was born.

The best thing about the application is that that phone contacts are highly valuable than an e mail id or Facebook connection. Hence the users are likely to engage in conversation in an app which in 24by7 online.

Android app development and free apps

Android app development is a lucrative option for developers who bank on the potential of the platform. With the largest user base, mobile app development experts can exploit its potential by deploying free apps in the beginning. Yes, the freemium model is the first best thing an android developer can follow to get their apps up and running on the App store and wait.

It takes a lot to sell software
Apps are nothing but software content and needs the same passion and patience as desktop applications to promote them. The first version must be free of cost and must be allowed to prove the superiority of the app idea the superiority of the code from the competition. For a single purpose there are tonnes of applications available in the market but the few which become the bestsellers are those which have been executed properly. However after a free version becomes a hit, it gains a potential cluster of buyers who buy the paid version supplied with substantial features over its predecessor.

Similar trends in mobile software content
The trends are similar for mobile applications as well. Infact the figures can be more polarized here. A popular game application can be downloaded millions of times from a registered account and could make way for a lot of revenues in its next version of paid deployment. Developers might argue about the dominating free app environment of android but they must remember that the android ecosystem is the biggest and significantly bigger than iOS. A successful app will find more potential buyers and can allow the android app development experts to harness a massive earning potential.

Another major succession that is shaping the mobile app industry is the professionalization of the entire mobile app development process. What will be the implication on the existing pattern of app deployment? It will be interesting to see in future.

Specialty features is the trend in Smartphone market

Mobile app development experts might be witnessing a dusk when more powerful cameras take the center stage. With the Waterproof feature of Xperia Z to the wireless charging of Lumia 920, exclusive features in mobiles are pumping in and making headlines. Recently Nokia has announced a 41 megapixel camera phone in the Lumia series which might revolutionize the mobile cameras forever.

Why is this happening?
After the iPhone was conceptualized, the innovation spree halted after a while. The first iPhone had almost everything that revolutionized the phone and created an entire army of mobile app development experts. Other manufacturers followed the trend but differentiation and exclusiveness are also on the charts for these device makers. Especially in Android, the sheer no of OEMs are huge and one needs clear differentiating features to get attention. The Xperia Z from Sony was a similar effort that drew a lot of attention and likability from android lovers across the whole world. In Japan alone, 140000 Xperia Z were sold in the first week of its launch with positive market reception from other countries as well. In the same line if Nokia can gather rave reviews and awareness for a high end camera mobile, it can be a breather for the struggling company.

These days new OEMs are making their way into the market with their own Android powered devices. In countries like India these manufacturers are selling android phones in exceptionally low prices. Hence the renowned names are now going towards making specialty based android devices and leverage their brand.

Android app developers get the Glassware API

Android app developers have been waiting for the glass and it seems it is going to arrive soon. Recently Google has announced the guidelines for the developers who would kick start the app development process for Google glass.  According to the guidelines published by Google it is clear that the various functions of the apps will not take place in the device but at the Google servers. Thus, the glass will act more like a command device with its brain placed in the cloud servers of Google.  The developer API for Glass also suggests a number of best practices for android app developers. The guidelines suggest that the apps must be built keeping the glassware in mind. The android app developers should thoroughly test the apps while resisting addition of loud notifications that might annoy the users.

The implication of the glassware technology tilts the balance towards Google by a huge magnitude. If Google succeeds to get it across a substantial base of users, it will be able to generate a lot of data in 3d street view mapping. Not only that, users using the glassware would use their Google account information and help in verifying every nook and corner of streets across any country. Thus the accuracy and value of Google map services would be unfathomable.

On the other better maps would further increase the value of android as android apps will have a better mapping service if Google choose to ditch Apple. If not, Apple might contribute to a few billion dollars for the Google map services for running them in the iOS apps.

The idea of Google glass is exciting but we will have to wait weather people embrace the idea of wearable computers. 

Mobile app development can benefit from smartwatch

Mobile app development might see a boom in the coming days with every major company working behind their own version of smartwatch. With Sony already having its watch in the market with Apple and Samsung working fast to launch their devices; Microsoft has also been reported to work on their windows watch. The smartwatch would basically perform some of the simpler task which will be coordinated with your Smartphone. Mobile app development companies are also eying the progression and anticipate an increase in the app development demand in the market.

After the phone revolutionized, companies are looking beyond the Phone to other mobile devices that come with some minimal technical contribution to a user’s daily life. Mobile app development companies say that the integration of the watch with the Smartphone will be a great thing. The watch can be synced with the phone and various activities such as listening to the music, text messages etc. The watch has a great potential to rope in various functionalities of the Smartphone in a compact minimal design at the same time. It will really be a great addition if majority of the utility apps can be accessed from the watch itself.

Another important factor that increases the likelihood of using a smartwatch can be its constant physical association with the body. A smartwatch with an inbuilt collection of sensors can easily become a personal health assistant to the user in no time. Mobile app development experts can exploit this particular feature of the device and can build health apps with unmatched utility till date.

After the arch lights have dimmed and the buzz faded away, applicability of the technology will rule!

There are a couple of tech companies that are going ga-ga over the video pause technology. As you might have guessed the first one is Samsung which has bundled the smart pause technology in its flagship S4 and the second one is Microsoft. Microsoft is packing its next Xbox with a video pause feature. It might look cool in the beginning but the technology adds nothing substantial to the experience and might even deteriorate the user experience if not done properly. 

Not so useful-
Android app developers who have been programming applications for the platform say that, these features are good and generate a lot of buzz however the need of such a technology has been minimal. Even if attention spans are to be considered, some of the videos, say an engaging action scene or a pornographic video clip would get the maximum attention span. The reason is, watching videos are generally a casual process with relatively low attention. It is like a background noise that people prefer to live while giving attention in small bursts. Android app developers also argue that the same argument for the smart stay technology which did not find much attention from any android developer to employ it in an application.

Hitting an innovation block-
It has become a norm and a strict regime to build the next version and there is a time allotted for it. If companies don’t come out with new versions then their stocks tumble and give the news hungry media a lot to talk about.  May be the major tech companies have hit an innovation roadblock now. The iPhone and the iPad was the last thing that happened and after that it was mostly incremental innovation that followed. However to keep a pace and to show the world that companies are innovating, these are some of the features on which the money is getting spent.
 
New versions of successful devices will be rolled out every year. They will create a lot of sound and light. But after the arch lights have dimmed and the buzz faded away, the applicability of the technology will rule. 

Samsung launching 6.3 inch galaxy. Anything entropic for android app developers?

Samsung is coming up with bigger screens yet again. The company is launching two models with 6.3 and 5.8 inches screens which are collectively called Galaxy mega.  The mega series is targeted to users who want bigger screens with decent (if not the best) processing power as compared to the high end Samsung devices. While many blame the company for lack of innovation, it has created an inflation of screen size in the android market since it launched the galaxy note. Is there another round of screen explosion waiting this year? What good will it do, to android app developers?

The perfect size-

As far as screen size is concerned a website called phondog.com features a poll for the perfect screen size. According to that, although 52% say a screen size of 4.3-4.8 is ideal; people show an affinity towards a 5 incher phone as well. Sadly, the website does not provide an option for 6.3 inches. Thus it may be clearly seen that although people consider a 3.5 inch screen to be small now, their likability towards a screen size decreases as it goes beyond 4.8 inches. Given that, the idea of a 6.3 inch screen would not stand a good chance. As fitting a 5 inch in pocket is a difficult task, the mobility factor of a 6+ screen could be a deal breaker.

An alternate Point of View-

Android app developers have seen the perception of people changing withy galaxy note. The standard size benchmark of a 3.5 screen is no more an axiom. Can we expect user perception to brace even larger screens yet again? May be the current idea of 4.5 inch being perfect might increase by another 1 inch after the mega series become successful in the market.

Introduction of bigger screens is exciting as it gives users a lot of freedom to enjoy mobile internet on the go. But at the same time the uncertainty of the maximum screen size still remains under evolution. 

Google goes the Apple way for playstore content. Cuts 60000 apps!

Just making a great mobile device is not enough and Steve Jobs knew it quite well. This is one of the major reasons Jobs launched a complete package that consisted an app store along with a great mobile device. Since then Apple’s dedicated efforts to keep its App store valuable and free from malwares has paid off.

Referring to a recent news report, the company Q1 results for its app store were 74% of the total revenues earned by all the app stores combined. Although Android stood second with more than 30%; the margin was huge given the fact that both the stores have almost the same number of apps. However it is obvious that Apple app store has more stringent guidelines which tends to punish spam and offers more quality apps than android.  

In an effort to bridge this asymmetry, Google has decided to improve the quality of the applications submitted in its app store and has cut away some 60,000 apps from its app store. Many applications belonging to the ‘MP3 player’ and ‘ringtone maker’ category have been called off from the app stores by the android app developers themselves but such a massive scale down cannot happen without Google initiating it from their end. The sole purpose of this curation seems to do away with the potential spammy applications submitted by many android app development experts over a period of time.

Till date Google used to penalize mobile app development companies who used to violate the terms and conditions of the app store. However, the recent move suggests that lame applications that do not provide much utility to the user will be put under a tight scrutiny and most probably be deleted from the play store.

In the course of last 2-3 years, the android ecosystem has matured and apps have become the most critical link in the entire system. Google understands that in the coming times app experience will contribute as an essential variable which will directly affect the magnitude of revenues that comes from android.  Hence, leveraging on the app experience is the best thing to do now.

iPhone app development remains valuable

The first quarter results for mobile app revenues are out and it says a lot about the choice and faith of mobile app development experts. While Android and iOS again emerged out at the top with, Blackberry with its 100k+ figure looks substantial enough but remained within the single digit number in total number of apps download. Despite android registering 51% of the total content download, the revenues still incline towards the iOS ecosystem. This clearly depicts the stronghold of the iOS ecosystem and dependability of iPhone app development experts upon the Platform.

According to the report released by canalys, out of $2.2b paid app sales Apple generated a whopping $1.6b alone while not really lagging in number of downloads as well. While android is generally based on the idea of providing free content, Apple beats android in overall experience. The iPhone app development companies agree that the app experience on iPhone is still the best and that makes people buy things on the Apple app store.

Apple also provides high level curation of the content posted by iPhone app developers. Thus, the iTunes store is stuffed with more reliable and quality applications as compared to android. This further makes people to buy apps from iTunes store while with Google play this affinity is significantly lesser.

Emphasizing on content, concerted efforts towards bringing popular application in their respective platforms is also going on strong and the recent efforts from Nokia to bring Instagram to WP exemplified it.

The app store of an ecosystem is turning out to be the bread and butter for it. While Apple has championed the art of content with Google trailing at the second spot; the struggle is likely to continue for the laggards.

Is there business potential in Vine or is it just a trend?

In less than 6 months Vine has topped the iTunes chart to become the most downloaded application. We all know that there are always trends in the app store. Couple of year’s back it was the angry birds and then came the fruit slasher etc. On the other side we have the utility apps created by mobile app developers that relate to more serious tasks such as health and fitness, education etc. However when we talk of Vine, we the distinguishing lines have not yet been drawn.

Content sharing-
Vine allows users to share video snippets of 6 sec.  Given the huge platform of the application, it becomes a great platform for businesses to create engaging snippets of 6 seconds to lure a specific set of consumer. With so many users on it the business potential is certainly there. Rich media is always evolving and mobile app developers of Vine want to take advantage of the fact. After instagram why not build an app that allows users to share small video clips which will be more exciting and useful than static Photos.

The nature of the content-
Unlike instagram, altering saturation and hue for a video is not that exciting. Viral videos of animals, plane crashes and others have been captured by passerby with sheer luck. And if one wants to create a creative viral video then it becomes a Nerd job. Thus unlike instagram where an image of a fruit salad topped with an effect could put it in editor’s choice, things might not be easy in Vine.
 
In general, videos need a more focused and professional attempt from the creators side to go viral. With this drawback users sticking to the platform might ultimately reduce and hence the overall audience of the app too. Despite the fact that Vine deals with an important aspect of content, it could well turn out to be a mere trend.   

With the best app store Apple makes iPhone app development preferable

Recently Apple has presented another example that explains, as to why Apple still leads all figures when it comes to overall revenues in Smartphone. The company has recently pulled the app rating on the top of the application which allows parents to easily recognize the content maturity of a particular application. This probably comes as an after effect of pornographic videos posted by a recent video sharing app called Vine. Apple clearly understands the importance of encouraging quality content which is served following the best app submissions and review guidelines. Many iPhone app developers love the curation as submitting an app in iTunes brands it with hallmark of trust. Let’s delve a little deeper.  

The most popular cliché-

With every new launch from Samsung, Samsung fan boys happily condole; “final nail in the iPhone coffin”. However even after putting dozens of nails in the last couple of years; Apple’s lead in the revenues remains unchallenged by Samsung or any other Android device maker. And the foremost reason is Apple’s golden egg laying hen which is definitely the iTunes. The closed loop built around the device and the app store is the major catalyst that shot Apple to success and the company maintained that the app store remains free from malware apps, nudity, and restricts useless applications. The recent app rating is yet another effort to stick to the idea of giving the best content to the iPhone users and making the iOS a preferred choice for iPhone App developers.

Infact Samsung seems to be interested towards building its own OS and ecosystem but leaving android could be difficult for the company now.

Phone built around apps-

Smartphone are built around apps. The accelerometer, gyroscope, GPS navigation; they are integrated to the applications and help users to optimize and share their world of activities. Apps are defining the features of smartphone and hence a good experience cannot rest upon making a good device alone. Quality matters and Apple leads in keeping up with quality of the apps. This in-turn makes it a customer’s favorite and also attract the best talent for iPhone app development.

Android app development looks towards JB

The idea of developing a stable operating system pays off and android developers at Google have learnt it with their development timeline of the various operating systems. We are talking about gingerbread here which despite completing more than 2 years into the market dominates almost half of the market. It is true that jellybean and ICS have taken a large share out of the Pie, but gingerbread’s success speaks volumes about nourishing an OS version that lead to its stability across the android ecosystem. It might not matter for an android app development while they are developing applications but the large number of users still using gingerbread multiplies their revenues.

Gingerbread is a great platform
Gingerbread is similar to windows XP. Most of us must be familiar with the simplicity and efficiency of windows XP operating system. XP went on to become the largest selling and the most favorite OS in the history of Microsoft. The reason; simple easy to use and excellent with basic functions. The same applies to gingerbread. Users find it clutter less, simple and excellent with its basic functionalities. Copy pasting text derived from cognitive computer skills applies flawlessly and does a great job in leveraging the user experience in GB. In short flawless experience delivered with simplicity.

Planting the jellybean
Android developers are now doing the same with jellybean. The functionalities are again simple and topped up with great visual and audio output this time. The results can be clearly seen with a fast adoption of Jelly bean as compared to ICS. There will be no surprise if jellybean goes the GB way and dominates the android OS penetration. 

Can Facebook phone pose a challenge to Google?

One of the major reason for which android was created it’s due to the fact that Google was quick to sense the potential in the Smartphone and developed its own OS against Apple. With the iPhone, Apple tried to get even closer to its customers. It was not only the device but a great way to access quality content and software. In the same way Google strengthened its presence in the mobile with android. But with the few FB skin made entirely over android, isn’t it allowing Facebook to take advantage of a fully baked platform to literally understand usage patterns and other details?

The hunger for data
It is really important to be able to have in-depth information about users to specifically build applications. The Facebook phone is built around an idea of people and not apps. With a FB skin over android, FB will be easily able to track your location, your preferences and phone numbers to target its ads in the mobile. Mobile app development companies that build apps might have a chance to integrate their apps to the FB skin but that won’t be too exciting. The freedom of Facebook accessing all the data can pose a challenge for Google. Google which is already suffering with low involvement in G+ might create an FB that might challenge Google with its own OS in the future.

On the other hand many mobile app development companies like Openxcell, feel that the idea of a phone build entirely around Facebook is not really a driving factor. People love a broad configuration in their phones which is stuffed with apps and none is provided by FB at time moment.

Samsung experience centers coming soon!

Samsung is going to open brick and mortar experience retail boutiques in the 1400 best buy stores. They will be called Samsung experience shops and would provide experience to the customers directly. The stores will start popping up around the time when galaxy S4 is launched in US, thus accelerating the brand and possibly leading to more sales of the flagship handset.

Why does Samsung need dedicated stores?
Samsung has been a prime brand for the consumers as well as mobile app developers. Leading android app development from the front, Samsung is a direct competitor to Apple. Both Smartphone manufacturers have been marketing aggressively however Apple remained very instrumental with its experience stores. The experience stores drew a strong visual identity towards the brand and served as a catalyst to drive sales. In the same manner, the experience centers of Samsung will provide the buyers an opportunity to use the product and experience its features. The staffs present in the experience boutiques will be able to show the customers as to how various devices such as Smartphone, TVs, laptops etc can work together in a synchronized manner. This can also lead to bundling of products or might also boost the sales of Samsung’s peripheral electronic devices as well.

These experience centers are suggested to be bigger than Apple’s and provide easy purchase experience as well.

It is really interesting to watch the competition get fierce on each and every level possible. Not only it is good for the consumers, mobile app developers can also eye an increasing market for their mobile applications. 

How far can Samsung play on the bigger screens? Share prices are already falling!

Samsung’s share has reportedly fallen after the S4 release. A number of news dailies from South Korea and other countries as well have reported that the share of the company fell by a whopping 1.7 percent on the early trade on Friday. So, have people lost faith over the innovative streak of the company or the lack of innovation has started to creep into its line of galaxy phones? Let’s look at a few instances.

The new S4 and the processor debate

Android app development experts who constantly test apps on galaxy models believe that if any company that has proved the phrase ‘seeing is believing’ then it must be Samsung. Their AMOLED produce inaccurate colors but appeal to the general eye of the public due to its vividness. The swipe actions feel very smooth but again the lower response time of AMOLED plays a critical role here. Unlike an iPhone which derives the smoothness from efficient software and processing, the galaxies still manage to come neck to neck visually to the iPhone. However as products travel through a timeline, they must evolve. And despite the plastic chassis being pointed out by so many analysts, the S4 again sported one. To add to the woes, it looked exactly like the S3.

Agreed, there has been a lot about the processing power of the S4 but at the same time but again why the company chooses to offer the snapdragon instead of the Exynos? Despite the fact that these are potential markets; the 8 core processor remained a fantasy for these users. Although the snapdragon s4 based on KRAIT architecture is also highly advanced, the idea of 8 cores is more fascinating to hear and hold.

The mega galaxies

Yes, they are getting even bigger now. From 5 inchers, the mega galaxies (to be launched by the company) will now go beyond 6 inches. The increasing screen size has become imperative in the last couple of year as breakthrough and revolutionary ideas have taken the backseat. After Jobs died, Apple faced a storm of marketing from Samsung that made a horde of passionate buyers for the galaxy s2s. The bigger screen and advanced hardware were the prime driving factors. The trend continued with S3, bigger processor, bigger screen, bigger camera and some technologies that were worth talking about such as the smart stay. However users figured out that these are not really useful.

In the S4 launch however, people were expecting a lot more than the device offered. “So basically a bigger screen and hardware, NOT AGAIN”. Even competitors like HTC and Sony launched substantial features like a great UI with maps integrated into the gallery in HTC while SONY gave a 100% waterproof phone with great specs. Android application development companies are also maintaining a close watch regarding the performance of these devices.

Samsung has been the leading brand in the android flagship race. But with a narrow idea of beefing up only the specs, (especially the screen size) the company’s potential to innovate has come under scrutiny. People have adapted to the fun of bigger screen as it was natural. But now it’s over. If Samsung chooses to continue this strategy, they may have to peruse the consumers to buy separate bags to store their phones because at this rate, we might have to hold a 14 inch screen with both the hands to make a call or you might just want to lay your head over it while making a call.

Provide the advantage of flexible hire scheme to your Android app development project

 Android application development gets better with dedicated hire developer model. The possibilities of android are limitless and hence the customization in codes is more fruitful and imperative to the ecosystem. This results in better application performance and advanced functionalities of the android app. However, to enjoy the benefits of this advantageous development pattern, one must look for android app development companies that offer flexible hire model along with engaging ways to report on the project status.

The flexible model of hiring android developers allows you to choose from a pool of developers. You can interview them, contemplate your team size and choose them according to your project needs. If your project requires good UI then you might want to stress on hiring an experienced designer while saving some money on the coders. The best thing about this model is; at anytime you can easily increase or downsize the team if you feel so. You can also change developers in an event of dissatisfaction. The developers work entirely on your project and report daily on the development in a visually perfect CMS.

The CMS is a great place that brings everything together. It is a common meeting place where you (as a client) can see the progress of the project. It is much better and fruitful to a telephone or a Skype call as it provides a visual space to barnstorm your ideas with the team. Android application development projects that have gone through our CMS have often been upgraded by a large degree from the initial idea of the application presented by the client. The CMS allows the user to log in with his Facebook ID and hence makes it accessible every time.

Android application development is a potential deal when it comes to the revenue latent of the apps. However execution of a great app needs exclusive focus and a dedicated team to make it come alive.

Do people or android app developers need the Facebook Phone?

The utility of a Facebook phone has been put under a lot of speculation. The importance of a phone which is crafted with a singular idea of social interaction is nether finding positive critical acclaim not it’s destined to become a hit with many sections of buyers. As social networking is classified as a casual activity on internet, the idea of a dedicated Facebook phone with custom made android UI is not a magnet at all. Although it might stir up a few android app developers and their thinking; the idea of apps and its features integrated to social media as core utility of a device is not exciting.

According to a report it is likely that the Facebook phone is a mid range HTC device. Even If a moderate price point is selected for the purpose of attracting masses, it is likely face tough competition from other android phones.

Idea of a Facebook phone is not convincing

It has been clearly identified that social networking is a part of the daily Smartphone activity and its nature is casual. Hence applying the logic of engagement; the affinity of users towards having a Facebook phone is feeble. Moreover, in midst of the noisy handset market, exclusive features in other android phones might motivate users to look past what Facebook has to offer in their phone.

The idea of paying advanced Facebook users

Although it might seem like that the Facebook phone will not find a lot of users; it might offer a few exclusive features that can only be accessed by the advanced Facebook users. As Facebook suggests that it might pay 3% of its total users who have intense and popular Facebook activity. If Facebook’s plan gains popularity, then there might be a scenario that will be different altogether. People might buy the Facebook phone as their second handset while sharing content through it throughout the day.

Facebook has not proved so important that it can influence the Smartphone users to remain on the platform forever. Given that the idea might need a push which can involve paying its users as well.

Mobile app development might have to consider the Smartwatch in near future

Apple reinvented the phone and one of the major factors that the company took into account is considering the accessory value the phone. Just look at the first version of iOS. Why do we need those animations? , how important is the beautiful typography? It’s really important. And with so many companies now focused on reinventing the watch; the accessory quotient is much higher and needs to be taken care by the companies wanting to make the next big thing.

Why reinvent the watch?

The watch is a great mobile accessory that has the potential to perform some of the basic tasks like navigation, time related functions and most interestingly connect to the phone to sync all the activities. Basically, the smartwatch would act as a layer over the Smartphone to organize and enjoy the daily chores while turning your timepiece into a super watch with advanced functionalities that would come with app support too. Just the way Google is working on the glass project; the focus has now shifted to revolutionize most of the wearable and personal accessories, fire them up with technology and make them even more useful than before.

The prospects for mobile app development

Android app developers and iPhone app developers can expect a lot of app development in the coming times for smart watches. Since the watches will be coupled with a load of sensors, such as barometer, thermometer along with the contemporary accelerometer and gyroscope, it will open up a lot of scope of in app development. Imagine a smartwatch that is always touching your skin and updates you on your body temperature. In the event of fever, an app integrated with the phone can instruct you on medication and may even automatically send a message to your loved one instantly. Won’t that be great?

Almost all the major companies have been working towards making their own smartwatch. As innovation in the Smartphone seems to coagulate a bit, interconnecting mobile accessories is pacing up rapidly. Would these devices work? Is the idea substantial?

Optical zoom in iPhone 6 to challenge the SLRs on picture quality. Also identifies real life objects and instant cloud storage

iPhone lovers are destined to feel proud once again. Time has been shaky with Apple as android stormed the market in the last few years but here we are; ready to witness the path breaking abilities of Apple that shakes up the market. iPhone app development companies must be waiting for the next year when the iPhone 6 finally comes out in the market. So what’s so special about the iPhone 6.

Bundled with an iOS7, Apple’s iPhone 6 is speculated to feature a camera that will be coupled with a photocell type of a device. The camera will have an expandable focus with two lenses that will be work as a single lens in normal photo taking mode but would be able to stretch and provide jaw dropping picture clarity of distant objects. In short you can expect optical zoom in your iPhone 6 that will also reduce the noise and poor image quality imperative to the digital zoom we have today. The photo cell sensor speculated to be paired with the 12mpgx ultra pixel camera, will be provided with a smart firmware that would interact with the camera firmware and allow controlling the light intensity, contrast, saturation of the images with respect to the environment. However the massive feature of the photocell will be able to directly scan a real life object, capture it with amazing details and store it real-time in iCloud. Yes the memory will be now up there and accessible through LTE. As we already know that Apple is working hard towards the iCloud; the photocell paired with the camera can easily identify the real life object and can search them over the internet as well. This has literally shaken up the entire iPhone app development experts who are already running their imaginations to make the maximum of this feature.

The announcement also suggests that the iPhone 6 will be launched on first of April 2014.

Mobile app development companies will have to look into the processor dilemma of galaxy s4

There is a stiff competition between android flagship devices this year. Unlike 2012 where S3 had a clear ground; the s4 will face Xperia Z and One X which have both capitalized on the weakest area of Samsung. The build quality! However, evaluating the benchmark tests the S4 scores little higher over the two due to its Exynos processor which comes with an 8 core processing unit. However, the UK and US variant is likely to be powered with the same s4 quadcore processor that runs on Z and One. One of the probable explanations is that that the S4 quadcore gives outstanding performance in LTE and the octa core will not match it. However it has been revealed later that the octa core does support LTE but the US and UK buyers will not be able to claim that their phone is powered by an octa core processor. Why so?

Shortage of Exynos?

It might be possible that Samsung has not been able to pile up its inventory of the octa core processor and hence it has decided to power its American and British handsets with a snapdragon s4. However, it’s not convincing to think that, as US is one of the most potential markets for Samsung to outsell Apple once again with its flagship device.

Dilemma of mobile app development companies

Along with developed countries like US, Android devices are also popular in developing countries and hence the Google app store as well. As of now developers do not have substantial data on difference in performance of the two processors. However, creating an app that runs equally on both the processors will be a thing to look out for.