According to Emarketer.com, “The global smartphone audience surpassed the 1 billion mark in 2012 and will total 1.75 billion in 2014. eMarketer expects smartphone adoption to continue on a fast-paced trajectory through 2017. Nearly two-fifths of all mobile phone users—close to one-quarter of the worldwide population—will use a smartphone at least monthly in 2014.” The rapidly growing smartphone adoption has resulted in the surge in mobile application development.According to a number of recent reports, Android has already captured 78% share of global smartphone market. So no wonder, both enterprises and developers want to build mobile apps by targeting the mobile platform with largest market share to get higher returns. However, there are also a number of factors that contribute towards the surge in Android application development, in addition to the market share of the Google’s mobile operating system. Factors Contributing Towards the Surge in Android App Development Wide Distribution Channels: Unlike Apple, Google does not exercise tight control over mobile app distribution. So process of getting mobile apps becomes more open and versatile. An enterprise also has option to distribute Android apps by creating subsidiary distribution channels. Further, the business can decide the most appropriate way to publish its Android applications. Open Source Nature: Unlike iOS and Windows Phone, Android is open source and free. Thus, the low entry barriers encourage many companies to invest in Android app development. The open source nature of the mobile platform further reduces the cost of development tools and licensing. A small enterprise or freelance mobile app developer can launch Android apps without investing a substantial amount of money. The affordable nature of development requires businesses to incur only development and marketing expenses. Easy Development: To create Android mobile apps, the developer needs to be familiar with Java. As Java is accessible to developers across the world, it becomes easier for companies to hire experienced developers. Also, the comprehensive Android platform documentation makes it easier for Java programmers to develop mobile applications. So the developers can invest their existing skills to shorten the development time and make the process versatile. Strong Inter-Platform Integration: The Android app developers also have option to access a strong inter-platform integration framework. The framework makes it easier for them to promote the apps across multiple platforms. They can even refer to the Android SDK to understand how to use the robust development architecture to develop and promote apps across multiple platforms. Also, the feature makes it easier for programmers to create apps that deliver tightly-knit user experience. Reduced Development Cost: To beat competition, it has becomes essential for each business to keep mobile app development cost under control. Many enterprises even opt for open source platforms like Android to avoid paying hefty licensing fees. The open source nature of Android further makes it hugely popular among handset manufacturers and wireless service providers. So the developers have option to avail these features and services to make the app deliver richer user experience. Open Source Development: Many businesses even prefer developing mobile apps using open source technologies to reduce development costs. The developers have option to use a variety of open source tools and frameworks to create applications by targeting Android. In addition to curtailing the app development cost, these open source tools further make it easier for developers to bring down the development time drastically. Higher ROI: Many companies prefer developing Android apps to get higher returns. As the mobile platform is open source, they are not required to pay heft licensing fees and royalty. Also, a company can create feature-rich and interactive apps by hiring an experienced Java programmer. The reduced cost of development results in higher ROI. Likewise, the app can also be marketed by targeting the huge base of Android users to earn huge profit without investing a huge sum of money. A constant increase is also noted in the number of open source developers launching Android apps. The trend will indicates the use of open source technologies to curtail Android mobile applicator development cost. The reduced development cost will further encourage many businesses invest in Android app development projects. If you are planning to hire service of Android development company India, you must evaluate them to see if they are sufficiently agile or not! We provide Android apps development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified Android application developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.
Smartphones have become an integral part of our lives. In fact, it is hard to imagine our lives without a healthy dose of smartphone applications. There are many people who do not have iPhones but the number of Android app users is certainly high. So the attention of most businesses has been on the development of Android apps instead of iPhone apps. Besides, the development of such apps is easy as well as cost-effective. But to take full advantage of this, it must be ensured that the perfect developer has been hired. There are many essential features and elements to be considered while doing this. Here are some must-have factors that you must give some attention to while hiring an Android developer.Good knowledge- Android has released several versions and each of the versions has a different set of capabilities as well as APIs. The developer hired must have a thorough knowledge of them so that he or she can handle each of them. Here, even you have a major role to play as you have to decide which platform should be targeted. Experience- After knowledge come the experience factor. For every field, experience counts a great deal. If the developer has developed a few applications then he or she would have a clear idea about the requirements and what will ensure a successful app. It is best to go for experienced people instead of novices; after all it will be the ultimate app for your business so it makes no sense for you to pay and then experiment with your brand image or business. Portfolio- Portfolio is the best way to verify their credentials as well as check out their work- whether they are apt enough or will be able to fulfil your requirements or not. Genuine candidates will provide a list of developed apps. You will also be to gauge the quality of their work through this. Client list- After checking out their work, the next step would be to check out their client list and have a chat with them. This way you will be able to get a sneak peek in to their claims, the actual work done as well as their behaviour. The ex-clients will be able to inform whether the projects delivered were up to their standard or not as well as whether the project had been delivered within the deadlines or had been crossed. Charges- After analyzing the standard as well as quality of work from all angles, it is time to come to the financial factor. Generally with application development, there can be no fixed charges. Each app requires varied costs. The key here is to maintain a balance. In fact, most times since nothing can be fixed in such development work, the cost should preferably be on an hourly basis instead of fixed. Mostly, while starting the work 50% of estimated cost must be paid in advance. Some may request full payment in advance, but in those cases be very careful. Additionally, the project must be reviewed and approved before the final payment is made. Communication- Whatever language you may be speaking, you must ensure that the communication between you and your to-be hired developer is excellent. The chosen language must be spoken well on both sides. If in the initial stages the communication is not perfect then later on the same thing will definitely be continued. Other services- It always helps if your hired Android developer can provide you with extra services such as publishing, distribution, creation of promotional materials, etc. If you can select the apt Android developer then your business may be on the verge of a profitable relationship which will benefit you in the long run. It may be a challenging proposition, but make sure that the above mentioned factors are kept in mind while hiring. These will enable you to make a decision that will be prove to be highly beneficiala. To get maximum benefits of android apps, you may consider hiring services of a custom android development company. We provide Android mobile application development services. If you would like to hire Android application developers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.
Android smartphones have managed to dazzle mobile users all across the world. The popularity of these phones has surged which has resulted in increasing demand among customers. The development of Android apps is really easy; just the Android software development kit has to be used which is easily downloadable from the developer website. This operating system has copious possibilities and developers can make use of it to develop applications which can be sold in mobile app stores. In fact, Android app development is preferred by most developers due to many factors. Some of the factors have been discussed here. Great graphic support- The platform has great built-in support for 3D as well as 2D graphics which help business organizations attract the most number of users to the mobile applications by leaving a great impression on their minds. On top of that developers can expand applications with many features easily. Low barrier entry- Android needs very low investment since its entry is low barrier. Unlike other platforms, the SDK or Software Development Kit is provided to the developers for free; this helps minimize the development as well as licensing costs. In fact, development costs come in three instalments- application development, buying testing devices as well as deploying the app or royalty fees in short. This ensures that the ROI is high. Varied distribution mechanisms- Compared to other platforms, distribution of Android applications can be done in many varied ways. Any third-party app store such as Android Market of Google can be used but a separate distribution channel can be created as well. After building it, it can be published anywhere anyhow. The third party stores may impose their rules but you can easily reach end-users by the variety of options available from several stores. Easy adoption for even new companies- Building these applications is very easy even if the developer is unfamiliar with it; all he needs is a working knowledge of Java and he can easily build a great app. This is because they are based on Java and has a huge set of libraries. The current market boasts of a number of efficient Java programmers; on top of that they are aided by the excellent documentation of Android platform. Great syndication- Development of Android applications can be done through many techniques. Android syndication program allows the spreading of varied applications to different retailers. Several solutions allow the building of advanced versions of the apps. Open source- The platform is open source which prohibits the need for spending a large amount of money to get license for working on it. The license is free and the platform can be used without any restrictions. Medium as well as small sized companies especially find this platform to be a blessing in disguise which helps them boost the business on a global basis. The platform can be easily customized according to individual requirements so that the final app suites the business needs. Inter-application integration- This platform is perfect for inter-process as well as inter-application architectures. You can perfectly integrate a number of applications and cross promote them effortlessly. When compared to other platforms which just offer background processes Android allows the development of trust relationships between the applications so that users get a better knit experience. Easy marketing- A huge number of fans allows easier marketing since there is no need for creation of niche messages for catering to particular sects of people. The app maybe marketed through various kinds of media as well as generalized messages that can reach the masses. According to recently published data, 700 million activations in this platform have been created in 2013 and according to predictions by 2014’s end the figure will cross the 1 billion mark. This only shows the extreme popularity of its apps; so it is best to take full advantage of the opportunities that Android offers to its developers. To get maximum benefits of android apps, you may consider hiring services of a custom android development company. We provide Android app development services. If you would like to hire Android application developers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.