Android app development is Google’s priority

Google IO has been a great success for Google and its being hailed by every tech analyst. Not only did Google succeed in pleasing the android app development brigade but it has also secured its future in the mobile with meticulous planning. The signs have been positive and it is reflect by the share prices which have touched a 52 week high and closed at $915 last day. Google’s core focus on Android and android app development is showing the positive signs and Google is determined to ride high on the success.

Dealing with the issue of multiple devices

Google IO has been a delight for Android app development experts as it rolled out its Android Studio. A full scale android development kit that is surgically directed to solve problems of a cross device performance of app is what every android developer has thoroughly rejoiced. The android studio has a catchy interface that can display the resolution sizes of all the screen sizes at one. Hence, there is no need of testing each layout separately. The screen densities can be set and in a single go and compatible screen resolution of the application can be easily tested.

Apart from these Google has also promoted universal reach of the developers. It often happens that android app development experts want to create application in a foreign language. This was not possible before but with Google linking developers directly to translators, all translation tasks can be done within the android studio dashboard itself.

With IO Google has given a clear signal that android will remain as the strongest competitor to Apple and will remain as its core focus this year.

Unity 3d for free-Mobile game development India will boom with a dose of chaos

Android, BB and iPhone development India developers are rejoicing as Unity game engine has gone free for the basic tier of the engine. If you talk about Mobile game development India is definitely one of the most trending destinations which is bagging a lot of game development outsourcing requests these days. Despite this, preferred mobile game development platform such as Unity et. al. remained expensive till date. With a subscription fee of $800 it was not within the reach of everyone. But now with prices slashed many freelancers will be able to build their games on unity3d.

With iPhone development India going strong at the moment, it is an indication that more talent in game development will come out. Coding and game development talent is omnipresent but the hindrance for developers living in developing countries like India has been the hefty subscription charges.

While mobile game development India will flourish as the basal levels now, the development pool will also become chaotic. Free access to the tool will attract inexperienced developers who might not live up to the standards of the professional game development companies. Unity has been around in the market for quite some time now and the developers who are working on the platform have been seasoned with the application of the framework. Hence, while the free version of unity might attract new developers for lower development costs, the quality of the development will remain questionable. On the other hand while professional game development companies might charge higher, development standard of these companies will still be reliable at this moment.

Android app development will fly with cloud

With increasing internet speed and progressive nature of internet technologies, major tech companies have set their course to utilize its potential to the maximum. Microsoft and Apple have been working hard toward their respective cloud based services and now Google seems to be upping its ante too. Google has remained a key player providing utility cloud services but it seems that with android, the giant is aiming for a higher stature than anticipated.

After the IO, it has been absolutely clear that Android is one of the major focus of Google at this moment. And if it is android, user based cloud services that are casual in nature will also have to be bundled in. To please its users and keep the momentum of android app development on, Google is coming with Google music that will be served to users on a $10/month subscription service. Google has majorly remained and perceived as a provider of services that are mostly utility based in nature but riding high on the wagon of android and android app development it can capitalize the business of online music streaming and make substantial profits out of it. While Apple has been a key player in this sector Google’s own services is set to challenge the same.

iOS users have been enjoying these services with consistent experience and now as android smells maturity, these cloud based services makes a lot of sense for Google. Climbing up the cloud is the latest the trend which is assured to secure the future of these tech giants.

Android app developers might get rocking with Android Studio

Android has been in the focus this IO and this should not come as a surprise as most of the user computing is getting accumulated into the Smartphone. While android leads in market share, Apple has been dominant with revenues. Apple’s consistency in user experience coupled with a stable app development environment was something that android app developers always craved till date. But not anymore as Android app developers are going have their hands on Android studio very soon.

It solves many issues

The android studio is a critical upgrade for android developers as it promises to bring many lingering issues imperative to android app development. The foremost is the cross device compatibility of the UI elements which is now solved to a great degree as the Android Studio interface will be able to flash varying screen sizes and densities at the same time. This will save a lot of time and would also check errors that happen between screen density and icon size.

The new framework also executes real-time changes in codes and hence saves time that’s spent switching between the API and app interface which is currently under development.

The best thing that came out of Android Studio is its ability to provide beta testing services for android app developer. The apps can be put to test and the entire monitoring can be done from the framework itself. Apart from testing, Google also ensured that the language barrier in applications be thinned and provided translation services in the framework as well. Developers can search for translators and the entire process is controlled from the console itself.

Amidst a thin brawl Google and Microsoft come a little closer

It has been recently announced by Microsoft that Outlook users can now access their Gmail friends within the outlook interface. According to an article published in Techcrunch, Product manager of Outlook Dharmesh Mehta has expressed that people did find the newer version of the outlook interesting but the overwhelming numbers of friends logged onto Gmail was a downer for them.

It comes as a strange step as Microsoft which is struggling with mobile app development and possibly concerned about Google’s expansion into the office paradigm in mobile has announced such a thing. In the last few weeks Microsoft has been criticized by a lot of experts and commentators for overtly negative scroogled ads that criticized Google for reading the email content of its users. MS has also created an ad which highlights the inconsistencies of Google docs. One of the major concerns that MS must be facing is the integration of quick office into the mobile version of Google docs. While MS office is undoubtedly the champ, free access to Google docs along with androids rapid expansion might pose a great challenge for MS to attract the mobile app development fraternity towards windows.

Meanwhile MS has also stated that that the chat feature will be accessible across inbox, calendar, address book and Sky Drive. To enable the chat feature, users need to simply connect to the standard OAuth system to give Microsoft access to their accounts. Despite this being great news for many Outlook lovers; the chat feature does not feature group chats as of now but would surely get the upgrade in future.

Smart watches will work in an integrated manner with the Smartphone

The focus is on disruption this decade and more and more devices are aimed to be presented with a brand new perspective. We have been listening to Google glass and its potential across the blogs. But the idea of glass is accompanied by various barriers, other companies including Google itself getting ready to jump into the smartwatch race. While we already have a smartwatch from Sony in the market, the efforts are not enthusiastic for the mobile app developers who have their eyes laid on this upcoming market of smartwatch.

The smartwatch brigade

All the leading companies in the Smartphone biz have stepped up their ante in developing their own version of smart watches. While the rumors of Apple’s I-watch is quite strong (thanks to the various patents obtained by the company); the android team is in no mood to leave this upcoming trend and initiate the next wave of innovation. Mobile app developers working for android are likely to be flooded with devices from various manufacturers. Infact it is reported that Google’s own smartwatch running on android will be developed by Motorola.

Watches will increase the applicability of smart phones

Smart watches will work in an integrated manner with the smartphones. Receiving messages, receiving calls and monitoring other stats; the watch will be able to perform these tasks while generating a lot of app development potential for mobile app developer.

There is stagnation in the Smartphone market as a result of which companies shall surely be spending some bucks on the smartwatch to keep the momentum going.

Chrome and Android app development will be the focus of Google IO. Pichai

Rumors have been high for Google IO as tech bloggers are trying to chew every piece of the event in advance and making predictions about the next Nexus in store. However, Sundar Pichai; holding the helm of both Android and Chrome downplayed the rumors and stated that the IO will be completely aimed towards chrome and android app developers. It is certain that these are the biggest platform and Google is banking huge on both.

The problem of being Open

Pichai has expressed his will to provide equal user satisfaction across each and every android device. He however cited the challenges of an open source operating system while also mentioning the advantages as well. It was clear that Pichai acknowledged the challenge of cross device performance issues of android that often worries the android app development companies. Being mentioned a lot of times, it is certain that Google has laid some serious thoughts on addressing the issue of consistent performance across devices. Sure, it cannot go the Apple way but Google can try and streamline its android development plans to make OEMs adapt to a single version of the OS.

Android app development is one of the most critical jobs available in the entire IT domain. As the size of android user base becomes massive with, the platform becomes more valuable than before. Android plays by user count for sure. Most of the apps are free hence a large audience for ads are exclusive to the android ecosystem. However if Google has acknowledged the challenges of uniform experience, the upcoming Google IO can become an important milestone.

Google can break the office dominance of MS

Google IO is just round the corner and hopes are high across a lot of new Google product and upgrades are expected be launched in the meet. In midst of this a war of advertisements between Microsoft and Google has started to take shape. After the Scroogled ad, MS is back at Google docs for its inconsistency in document layout and other features. It must also be taken into notice that android app developer at Google have integrated Google docs in the browser which allows users to easily edit and share files with the help of their mobile devices. While Microsoft office still leads being the best office suite for documents and spreadsheets, Google’s integration of quick office features into Google docs can be worrying for Microsoft in the long run.

Android app development is moving fast and Microsoft is already lagging behind in mobile devices. While MS office dominates the ground, Google’s continuous efforts could provide users with a substantial version of docs that is entirely cloud based and outperforms MS office. In fact at present, while Google docs supports real time content saving, MS’s Skydrive still needs manual saving commands to save your files. Thus in case of a power outage or a long signal drop, it will be much safer to use Google rather than using MS.

With android invading a plethora of communication devices android app development is set to become even more valuable in the future. Given that, Google will be ready to take on MS office with docs with full power.

Magento developers for any ecommerce project

Magento has remained as developers favorite and has been able to create a large army of magento developers many of whom have turned to become magento evangelists. Magento ecommerce development has become one of the most trusted ways to get an ecommerce site done. Big or small, companies of any size can depend on magento ecommerce development to build their ecommerce site. But what are the advantages that make magento an indispensible tool to create a desired ecommerce site?

A rich plethora of plug-ins

Just sneak into the magento store for once and you will understand yourself. Magento developers have the choice to choose from thousands of magento extensions. Depending on the criticality of the need, a magento developer can select either a paid or free extension to add a particular feature in your e-store. If the feature is highly important to your e-store then paid extensions with better features can be used or vice versa. In addition to it the extensions can be customized to get the desired results. This makes magento ecommerce development a preferred route to build the ecommerce site of your choice.

Magento go

Adobe has recently moved its products up in the cloud but magento built its cloud platform a long time ago. Anticipating the thin budget and limited features of small scale e-stores, magento go offers easy customizable e-store on cloud. Magento developers can create the store on magento cloud servers and this cuts an enormous amount of fixed cost that is otherwise hard for small businesses to shell out. Small retailers have extensively used magento go and made fortunes out of it.

Ecommerce has become a necessary component and touch point for businesses and tools like magento makes it affordable to small businesses as well.

Facebook home set for a new design

Facebook’s home app has been rated down by thousands of users. Really the app isn’t cool and takes away the native android experience away from the users. People who spend a lot of customizing their home screen can feel offended by the intrusive nature of the application and this is what exactly happened after users installed the app.  Seeing this Facebook has now decided to rope in its mobile app developer again to create a layered form of application that does not intrude the android experience of users. It is important for Facebook to create a substantial application as it has to create its dominance in the mobile.

Facebook has been facing competition from messenger apps like whatsapp which are always online and challenge facebook’s dominance on the mobile platform. If the application can be adjusted according to the likes and dislikes of users, Facebook’s overall usage time on Smartphone can increase drastically.

What’s in for users?
Obviously, better mobile experience for Facebook and their favorite apps.  But along with users, mobile game development experts and Facebook itself gains a lot from making a native app which is online every time.  It has been observed that Facebook home increases the online time for FB users by 30% and if it accelerates, then Facebook can increase its revenues from app installs in smart phones.  Hence, following this strategy Facebook can generate a lot of revenues and also become a lot more valuable for mobile app developers too.

iPhone app developers wait for the iPhone 5S

iPhone app development companies now have their anticipations running high. As sharp along with other LCD makers gear up for massive productions of LCD screens rumors are high on the arrival of the cheap iPhone. It has been recently reported that Sharp along with Japan display and LG display has been offered by Apple to produce screens for its iPhone.

Sharp which has remained as one of the largest electronic maker of Japan has been suffering a rough patch with a low demand. Given this situation a massive contract of this nature might put its fortunes back on track. Sharp’s Kameyama LCD plant is most probably be the place where the screens of iPhone 5S will be manufactured.  The plant has a maximum production capacity of 600m units a day but its currently operating at 60% of its total efficiency.

The massive production of screens has also increased the likeliness of the cheap iPhone that is creating a lot of rumors across the world. The cheap iPhone which is supposed to come with a plastic chassis and a smaller screen will target the developing nations competing Apple’s archrival Samsung and other android phones.

In the meantime, the iPhone 5s is supposed to pack in some more utility features that can rope in the interest of iPhone app development companies. One of the major additions includes a fingerprint sensor. If apple provides a fingerprint authentication mechanism then, the iPhone 5s will become the first Smartphone ever to provide substantial biometric authentication.

Android app developers have more devices and more work now!

Android is all over the market. From Smartphone to cameras they have now invaded into portable gaming console and set top box as well. This aggressive expansion of android platform has made android a great platform for android app developer to test their app development skills while monetizing the same. Let’s look at a couple of low price android devices that have appeared in the market.

Ouya gaming console
This mini gaming console can be grabbed for less than $100 and runs on android operating system. The console does not match the depths of a PS or Xbox but costs 20% of what Xbox or PS would cost you. Based on Android it’s obvious that it will support all the android games. But the most interesting part with Ouya is its ability to allow gamers to turn game developers for the console. Yes, users can create their own games and can host it on the Ouya store.

The gaming console is not for die hard gamers but for a small price tag access to the entire android world of games is not a bad deal at all.

G-Box mid night MX2 Set Top Box
This set top box is also powered by android operating system and is equipped with a cortex A9 processor. The set top box supports hardware accelerated playback and can also run services from Amazon and others.  One of the best things of the Gbox MX2 is its availability with a rooted version of android. Thus there is nothing to hack while allowing full developer privilege as well.

Android happens to be one of the most popular opensource software ever built. And with its invasion into other devices too, things look a lot interesting for consumers and android app developers.

Good cam in Lumia appreciable but mobile app developers need to acknowledge Windows

Nokia is coming with the Lumia 928 and the rounds of rumors, leaks are flowing in at a constant rate.  In the same line a recent video that has surfaced in the US shows the superior camera of the Lumia 928. The result as usual is staggering as compared to the iPhone 5. The photos taken in dark conditions are great and beat the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S3 by miles. But wait a minute! Aren’t these phones more than a year old now? Yes, the galaxy is more than a year old and iPhone is just a few months short of that.

Obviously the comparison does not make sense and if Nokia wants to become significant; it better compete the swelling number of iPhone and Android mobile app developers. Windows phone developers still do not bear a significant identity and that is one of the major factors that have shaped the Smartphone market. Comparing its new flagship to year old Android and iOS phones won’t get much affirmative gestures from mobile app developer. It has been already debated in detail that the apps are driving the market and if you do not have them you don’t have the user base.   For example, a popular health and fitness application called Runtastic has many versions in which some are paid while the rest are free. From over a dozen of apps, the Windows store features a single paid version of the application.

The reception of Lumia has been lukewarm till date and if it wants to gain momentum it needs to rope in the likeliness of mobile app developers.

Apple disallows app recommendation through applications in its app stores

iPhone app developers must take a note as Apple has further tightened its app store submission norms. It has come to notice that recently Apple has disallowed publishing a particular application as it had the option to recommend applications developed by other iPhone developers. According to one of the major rules of the Apple iTunes store, if an iPhone developer develops an app then they might recommend other applications made by them in the past. However, the developer cannot recommend apps from other developers. The developer which has received a mail from Apple seems to have violated the App store. However the mailer does not cite any references to bookmarking, filtering, social sharing of applications developed by other iPhone app developers.

The reason
A little thinking in this direction can easily suggest that Apple has been infact very thoughtful about this particular decision. Apple values its app store as it has become a golden laying egg for Apple. It’s due to the app store only, that despite having a lower market share, Apple still leads in revenues. Apple cannot afford to break the momentum.

If Apple allows apps to recommend apps developed by other developers then mobile app development companies with popular apps might become the opinion leaders in the app store. Anyone can then pay them to get their apps on the tops even when the applications might not deserve that much of attention. This will create an unfair environment for the talented iPhone app developer who expect a fair treatment on the app store based solely on talent and quality of the application developed.

Apple still has the ball in its court as it has the best app store that rates high in quality of applications. And in order to maintain that, it needs to take a few decisions that might be a little unpleasant.

Galaxy S4 lag is a touchwiz bug, says Samsung!

According to many bloggers, there has been a trending term in the android/Samsung forums. It is called S Lag. This has caused Android app developer to worry as it relates to a lag problem imperative to the galaxy S4. The international version of the Samsung flagship that is shipped with the Exynos octa core processor seems to be the main convict of problem. The processor which is said to be based on a big little format is not performing to its best. The major problem lies with the idea of an octacore being slow. This is one a major drawback as it was one of the major advantages that have put the phone above the other android flagships on paper.

The early adopters of the galaxy S4 have reported that the phone lags and are tuning to forums. Many of these happen to be android app development experts who have had moderate experience with the phone till now. Many suggest that the Exynos octacore processor does not function as an octacore every time. As the processor is composed of 2 quad core processors (a quad core A7 and quad core A15) the tasks are divided among the two processors. It seems that the lighter tasks, such as mail, internet browsing etc. are executed by the A7 while intensive tasks such as videos, games employs the A15 processor. But it is understandable that the lighter tasks occupy most of the runtime on any Smartphone. Given that, it is understandable that the A7 processor remains active most of the time. Android app developers testing games on the device did not seem to have many issues but the normal users had.

Samsung on the other hand has downplayed the issue and has reported it as a touchwiz bug and the company is going to roll out a bug fix very soon.

Mobile app development can expect some excitement from IO and WWDC

Apple’s WWDC and Google’s IO, both are approaching fast and expectations from all quarters of Smartphone users and mobile app development experts are growing on. Apple has been lagging behind the spec count while the top end android phones will be looking towards cloud based capabilities. Apple has been putting a lot of money behind i-cloud and it’s committed to play larger on user experience through its major competitive factor, Software.

The awaited iPhone 6 loaded with iOS 7 will definitely be packed with features for Apple enthusiasts and iPhone app development companies. Mobile app development has come to a lull at the moment as innovative features in the Smartphone have stagnated. While android OEMs have been pushing with higher configurations, many OEMs have also decided to bundle in special features to beat the conventionality prevailing in the market at this moment. These Smartphone are expected to do a good share of business. However to keep the demand intact, both Apple and Android OEM need to come out with something innovative this time. Even the S4 from Samsung does not sport substantial add on from its predecessor to excite mobile app development experts. There is an innovation gap in the Smartphone market and that must be overcome by both android OEM manufacturers and Apple.

There are a lot of exciting products and ideas that can go live within a few weeks of time. The only thing that matters is whether these new products can put in some momentum to a sluggish Smartphone market.

iOS 7 to get major design overhaul

It has been reported that the iOS 7 will bring a totally new interface to the users which will mark a significant visual differentiation from the previous versions of iOSs. From the inception of the first iPhone, mobile app developers and Apple customers have been enjoying the same minimal UI of iOS and have passively developed an affinity for a design overhaul.

Why the iOS needs a design overhaul?

The reason is android. Android has been able to give a flexible widget clad UI to the users that has advantages over the iOS user interface. Users can easily customize their home screens with the necessary widgets and group similar applications together. Since it is open source, OEMs can also give customization options such as stacking icons etc. which makes the UI enjoyable further. Mobile app developer also cite advantages pertaining to flexibility and make android a better product in look and feel, if not performance and consistency. The rapid developments of android have infact made a few tech commentators brand the iOS as ‘boring’ when compared to android.

iOS 7 may sport a UI with flat graphics and sleek design-

iOS 7 is likely to sport a thin UI with flat graphics that will do away with the real looking 3d icons present in the user interface now. The finalization of the style is based on the idea of creating a design that looks modern and updated. And since Apple has a long history of aesthetically pleasing designs, the iOS 7 interface is undoubtedly going to offer a lot to the users and the iPhone app developer.

Sources said that the iOS7 project was running late than scheduled, however it is now confirmed that the project is right on time.

Is the iPhone inspired from Sony?

The brilliance of Sony has remained unquestioned. While Apple recycled and integrated technologies that revolutionized end user computing, Sony on the other hand has revolutionized the entire entertainment and music industry and continue do so today. With a design heritage of numerous marvelous products, Sony has infact remained to be an inspiration for Steve Jobs himself. During his days as a youngster, Steve always admired the way Sony used to build its products and seems like Steve has also taken inspiration from Sony to build the iPhone. It really comes as a shock for mobile app developer and fans. Some of the leaks that appeared on Xperia blog have posted many pictures from a confidential mail circulated within apple.

Actually, the revelation has come as a result of the ongoing fight between Samsung and Apple. The infringement violations charges put on Samsung has the company come out in its own defense with this leak. It argues that if it has copied a few aspects from Apple’s iPhone, then Apple has also done the same in the past and this has remained as a trend in the electronic industry from a long time.

It seems that an Apple designer, Shin Nishibori, was asked by Steve Jobs to create Sony like designs for an upcoming mobile phone and compliment it with a logo of Sony and Jony. The design in the picture resembles the iPhone 4 type flat design. 
  
Sony and Apple enjoy a good relationship and have not dragged each other in the court for any patent infringement issues. In the mean time mobile app developers have hailed the great aesthetic built of the Xperia Z and are also excited about the designs of the next round of Xperia phablets from Sony.

Sony got bigger with Xperia Z and set to fly further

Sony divorced from Ericson last year and seems like the company is blooming with enthusiasm since then. With the start of the year it launched the Xperia Z and has been running high since then. The Xperia Z has already sold more than 5 million units and has contributed to a net of 8.7m Xperia shipments in the first quarter. If you think that’s not bad it might go up further as Sony is working on something big again.

According a post that appeared on Xperia blog it seems Sony is creating a device with 6.4 inches of screen that carries a 20megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss lens and CMOS sensor. The device is known as C680X and according to the blog it is also mentioned that the device will carry a walkman chip coupled with an S-Master digital amplifier. Yes if it makes the android fanboys drool then there is nothing abnormal about it. Even android app development companies might roll in enthusiasm as another OEM is getting bigger and it can also please Google by the way which was worried on the expansion patterns of Samsung.

With Samsung announcing the galaxy mega and now with Sony’s C680X it is sure that a different breed of 6+ screens are on the horizon this year for android app development experts and android enthusiasts. However as the software innovations come to a halt, would Sony’s Hardware specs continue the winning spree of the Xperia Z?

Android app developer stay tuned for android 5.0

Android has travelled a long way in developing into a stable and the most popular mobile operating system in the world.  The first version of android was basic and did not stir up much excitement for android app developers. However, after 3-4 years of rigorous improvements Google is now eying the 5th version of android in couple of months which would further strengthen the dominance of Android fetching more android app developers to create apps for the platform.

Android had a great run with its 2nd and 4th version which occupies more than 90% of the total number of android users. After gingerbread, ice-cream sandwich and jelly bean made it to the top, the 5th version of android is anticipated to deliver even a better user interface and feature a closed loop of Google services i.e. chat, email, Google plus etc. A closer association of these critical services would mean that android users would use Google services more often and increase the valuability of Google for advertisers. The 5th version is also supposed to overcome some of the key performance issues that include increasing the smoothness of the interface as well. The new version will be equipped with higher refresh rates to produce a life like touch experience. Critically improving the UI performance can make android app developer happier as it would guarantee better game apps bundled with a responsive UI.

Android app developers are eagerly waiting for the 5th version of the android. It is certain that the next batch of android flagship devices will run the 5th android and offer great functionalities in the coming times.  

iPhone app developer can expect exciting technologies in future

According to Apple insider Apple has registered a number of patents from the USPTO and one of them includes a technology for enabling blinds live a better life. The patent will enable people with vision disability to use an iPhone or other touch screen iOS devices. The news spins in a lot of excitement for iPhone app developers as it produces a whole new possibility to create dedicated apps and make blind people use them.

The patent highlights a non capacitive device most probably a joystick control integrated closely with the UI of the touch screen device. The entire technology is guided by a system of voice over installed in the touch device. As the joy stick is moved by the user, the software installed in the device can suggest parameters to the user though voice. Iterations might end up with 2 or more parameters or the final result. The final result or output may be transferred through voice commands or Braille data.  The accessory devices connected to the touch screen device is stored and analyzed each time it is used by the user. This makes the device more user friendly and relevant with time.

The mobile app development companies are suffering an innovation vacuum at present and this can be a critical announcement for iPhone app developer to look forward to. Not only dedicated apps, but a plethora of existing applications can be fine tuned and made applicable to the visually challenged people using an iPhone.