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.
Swift, the innovative programming language of Apple is the result of four years of hard work as well as dedication of developers. It is touted to replace Objective-C so that it becomes the main language for the development of apps on OSX as well as iOS platforms. Swift boasts of incorporating features from several modern languages such as Haskell, C# and Python so that the end result proves to be appealing to young developers. There is full binary compatibility between the language and the current Objective-C libraries; it also works well with Cocoa frameworks. Some distinctive features of the language are given here.Accessibility- New programmers found it really hard to master the notorious Objective-C which is a far-cry from Swift. The coding is easy as well as interactive with expressive but concise syntax. APIs are easily legible as well as maintainable. The code is cleaner with fewer tendencies for mistakes. Headers are eliminated by modules which provide namespaces. Memory can be managed automatically with no need for typing of semi-colons. Functions- With functions almost every imaginable feature can be incorporated such as default types, optional types, optional arguments, named arguments, varargs along with awkward parameters which may be altered from the function’s inside. Functions may be used as substitutes for types as well as variables. Safe designing- With Swift, if the code is unsafe then the entire class will be eliminated. Before the variables are used they are initialized, memory management is done automatically with integers as well as arrays checked for overflow. The safe patterns are minutely tuned. It is really easy to understand and handle cases with nil objects properly. The compiler can stop bugs that are type-related so that certain sites are optimized. The use of vtable dispatch makes a faster running code. All these make the building of apps not only easy but safe as well. Interactive playgrounds- With playgrounds, writing of Swift code becomes fun as well as simple. Just by typing a single line of code you will get the result immediately. In case, the running of a code is over time like through loops, its progress may be observed in timeline assistant which displays each step with details as well as precision. Playgrounds help in designing of new algorithm and creating new tests which can be verified before they are promoted in the test suite; you can also experiment with APIs so that the coding skills can be honed. String templating- The templating system of the language becomes sleek with escaped open parenthesis which is then followed by an expression for evaluation. A closed parenthesis is what follows it after. This functionality is in fact offered by just a few keystrokes. This feature is reminiscent of templating system of JSP as well as Cold Fusion. Extensions- Extensions are quite similar to prototypes in C# or Javascript extension since an existing class can be retrofit with new properties or methods. Switch statement- The zero default fall through makes switch statement really powerful. This statement can help developers switch on several kinds of conditions that include list of elements, enums, ranges, Boolean expression, etc. Generics- The feature named by Apple as Generics is a really powerful one that allows the creation of functions which perform generic tasks that may work for several variable types. The programmer can now have a piece of generic code that performs same operation no matter what the type of variable is passed to it; the function is not limited to accept a single variable type. Since the language has been unleashed recently, the features are still very new to most developers. But since Apple has worked very hard to ensure that developers find everything smooth and easy, adopting it should not pose much problem. Overall, the new methods and tools incorporated in the language certainly allow easy performance of actions with more concise, shorter codes. To get maximum benefits of mobile apps, you may consider hiring services of a certified iPhone app development company. We provide iPhone app development services. Companies hire iPhone developer India from us at Mindfire Solutions. If you are ready to take on challenges, contact us today.
With mobiles as well as smartphones becoming an indispensible part of our lives, so has the concept of mobile apps. This software application is so designed that it can function on hand-held devices such as mobiles, smartphones, tablets, etc. Most of these devices operate on platforms like iOS, Android and Windows OS.There are two ways to provide several business solutions through the devices- mobile applications as well as WAP or mobile browser. However, according to the recent surveys, it has been seen that most users prefer using native apps instead of the browser. In fact, it is also been seen that each day users spend 2 hours 42 minutes on their smartphones with 2 hours 19 minutes been spent on the applications. The web usage has drastically dropped to 22 minutes. Some of the reasons for which this usage has increased are given here.
- Apps work offline; there is no need for active data connection unlike WAP sites.
- An app provides a much better as well as more powerful experience when compared to the others; it is free from the worries like data connection speed, sizes of various mobile screens and limited storage space.
- Close connectivity is maintained with users through notifications on the release of updated versions. Also since such apps make users stick to the applications, it results in high levels of engagement.
Now most developers when developing mobile applications have to decide which one of the three platforms they have to cater to. These days, the trend is more towards Android. Some reasons for this trend are given here. Open source- One huge reason for the extreme popularity of Android is that the platform is open source. Thus neither its development can be restricted nor any changes can be introduced that may prove to hamper your interests. Developers can fully access the functionality of the phone including receiving or sending texts, handling phones calls or using cameras. All the brand new technologies can be introduced by several developers working on it. More users meaning more market share- Each day, thousands of people buy Android phones which are cost-effective and easily accessible. In fact, the number of users is increasing steadily. This means that with more users, when developers address the platform they can tap a larger market share. If the market is larger, then more people can be reached; more people will buy and use your applications and products. Developers may be sure that whatever product they have developed will not remain unused if the platform for which it has been developed loses popularity and Android will not be losing its popularity so soon. In fact, it will only rise due to the cost effectiveness. The amazing price points will only lead to the growth of the market share of Android. Cheaper app submission- From the developer’s point of view, submitting apps to Android Market is definitely cheaper. The cost for submission to Android Market is just a onetime $25 fee while for the iOS platform it will set you back by an annual fee of $99. Multiple stores- Android gives you easy access to several app stores; this means you can submit to various markets including China, Korea, etc. Easy development procedure- By virtue of AppsGeyser you can easily make full native apps within a matter of minutes. This removes a lot of headache from the point of view of the developers. Mobile apps, especially Android apps are big steps when the innovation angle is being considered. Android acts as the perfect ground for testing so that their apps can be honed as well as refined. In fact even the app store of Amazon is based on Android which makes it easier for developers to submit things to Amazon. If you are planning to hire service of Android development services company India, you must evaluate them to see if they are sufficiently agile or not! We provide Android mobile app development services. If you would like to talk to one of our certified Android developers, please get in touch with us at Mindfire Solutions.
The term ‘mobile app development’ can be defined as development of applications or apps (as they are called), which are actually nothing but some additional or add-on features in a particular handheld or mobile device. The end users can easily download these apps and use them in various mobile platforms that are available in the market. While some of these applications are free, others are paid.
At present, the market is agog with various Android applications that are available. It is mainly because of the reliability as well as usability of these applications along with efficacy, that they come up with. Let us discuss some of the Android development trends that are expected to come up in the near as well as ‘not-so-near’ future.
A majority of these applications is available on open source systems. This means that the developers building these Android applications do not need to pay for downloading. Naturally, these applications are extremely cost effective from the users’ point of view. Hence, choosing these apps pay off immensely.
Let us discuss some of the emerging trends of Android App development that are going to set the market ablaze in the future.
Advertising
No one can deny the fact that the art of advertising makes a world of difference when it comes to marketing products or service. Particularly, at present advertising techniques hold the key for any business, so far as surviving the cut-throat competition in the market is concerned. Experts are of the opinion that the advertising fraternity is going to directly depend upon the development of Android apps. Probably, in response to that opinion of the experts, more and more advertising Android apps are coming up.
To be frank, emergence of advertising techniques via Android apps has transformed the very concept or style of advertisement or marketing. An increasing number of Android applications are being designed keeping in mind the advertising functionality, thus opening up new facets of competition in the market. The future of these advertising apps looks extremely bright with new products with additional value added features likely to come up in the days to come.
Location-based services
Experts are of the opinion that location-based services are likely to become more popular in the days to come as they show more promise along with potential. Functionality of this type of applications generally focuses on bringing together the people who have common platform of interest. Naturally, location-based services are extremely useful for social media sites. With the popularity of social media sites increasing in leaps and bounds, Android apps designed to deliver this type of services are more likely to come up and become more important in near future.
Cloud-based Services
This particular class of services has got a certain extent of similarity with the ones that are location-based. These applications help the end users to share resources between various devices used. Hence, they are extremely useful in the business fraternity. Apps that deliver cloud-based services provide constant connectivity. It helps various devices to access data from mobile based internet and share the information with other devices. Thus, applications which are designed to provide cloud-based services hold a lot of prospects and are likely to emerge in the near future.
Entertainment-related services
We can never ignore the fact that Android apps are already having a significant influence in entertainment based services. Various types of educational games are being designed as well as developed and they are becoming immensely popular these days. Now experts are of the opinion that more of these Android applications are going to come up in the near future. Again, these applications are also likely to help in the promotion of business. They also help businesses to enjoy profit through various types of educational games.
Various business sectors such as advertisement, banking, cloud-based services, marketing, and promotion of products and so on are benefited immensely from the emergence of Android applications. A majority of businesses is now opting for these apps with a view to make the most use of them. Under the circumstances, new forms of apps are coming up every now and then and the trend is likely to continue in the near future as well. To get maximum benefits of android apps, you may consider hiring services of a custom android development company.
We provide android widget development services. All of our developers have cleared industry certifications in Android apps. If you would like to hire android developers from us, we would be glad to assist you at Mindfire Solutions.
According to a number of recent reports, Android continues to storm the smartphone market across the world. During Q4 2013, the market share of the mobile operating system climbed in every major market. The rapidly growing popularity and market share of the mobile platform will encourage many businesses to invest in Android application development. But each business must know a number of important facts about Android to take more realistic reports.
Important Facts about Android Every Business Should Know
The OS was not Originally Google’s Idea
Nowadays, Android is popularly referred across the world as Google’s OS. But the hugely popular mobile operating system was the brainchild of Andy Rubin. Rubin founded Android Inc in October 2013 with the intention of providing an innovative mobile operating system to users. The company was acquired by Google in 2005. After acquisition, the team led by Rubin developed a new mobile operating system based on Linux kernel. Google was responsible for marketing the platform to handset makers and mobile carriers.
Latest Update
The beta version of Android was released on 5th November 2007. Since its inception, Google has released several versions of the OS including Android 1.5 Cupcake, Android 1.6 Donut, Android 2.0 Eclair, Android 2.2–2.2.3 Froyo, Android 2.3–2.3.2 Gingerbread, Android 3.0 Honeycomb, Android 4.0–4.0.2 Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, and Android 4.4 KitKat. The most recent version of the operating system is Android 4.4 KitKat that is developed with API level 19 support.
Number of Apps and Downloads
According to AppBrain.com, more than 1,184,000 Android apps are recently available at the Google Play Store. However, 21% of these applications are marked as low quality apps, whereas the remaining 79% are considered to be regular apps. The Google Play Store also has over 971,000 free apps, against more than 214,000 paid apps. The download number of the free apps also exceeds that of paid apps by a substantial margin.
Android Applications
The Android apps and games also contribute towards the growing popularity of the OS. As many reports have highlighted, 4 out of 5 people access Facebook for Android. The Instagram app for Android also got over six millions downloads just in six days of its release. However, 25% of the apps available at the Google Play Store accesses users’ personal information. Google Maps and Google Translator apps are also used by millions of users on a daily basis for both personal and professional purposes.
Provides Loads of Options to Customize Smartphones
In comparison to other mobile operating systems, Android provides more customization options to users. Each user has option to choose from loads of themes and wallpapers without paying any charges. Some users even love to apply iOS and Windows Phone themes on their Android devices. Unlike iOS, Android allows users to share content through any installed app with sharing capabilities. At the same time, the users also have options to replace the default Android keypad with any third-party alternatives.
Not the First Choice of Many Application Developers
Despite being hugely popular among users and handset makers, Android is not the first choice of mobile application developers. Each app developer wants to target the mobile operating system that gets higher ROI. Many reports have highlighted that Android is more popular among men due to its apps and functionality. But most people prefer using free apps. Also, the number of free apps at the Google Play Store exceeds the number of paid apps by a large margin. That is why; mobile app developers prefer building iOS apps to get more revenue and returns.
Despite its consistently growing popularity across major markets, Android is, nowadays, coming under real pressure. Businesses have been developing Android applications in order to lure the huge Android customer base. But, the market share of the platform is expected to be impacted due to the emergence of new mobile operating systems during next few months. So Google’s OS must be updated more frequently to retain its huge popularity and market share.
We provide Android application development services. We have expert mobile apps development team with 100% certification ratio. To hire Android developer from us, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.
Mobile development has come a long way and still surprising users with its smart features and functions. Looks like technology promises to introduce new and more innovative products at a rapid pace, there by creating room for many developers to make huge mistakes which could harm their product or even their entire business. After all programmers are humans and humans are prone to making errors.
Designing a mobile app is very challenging. One has to keep in mind lot of things in order to develop a mobile app. First of all should have easy layout so that users find it easy to use the app in their Smartphones. Usability is an important factor for an android app development. The more it is handy and easy to use, more number of customers will be attracted. Easy navigation, displaying neat messages and laying out useful rules of how to use an app is very important so that it will keep the users glued of using any app for a longer time.
There are various reasons why a company may want to create an app. For example, some businesses use apps as an extension of their business. Others may want to develop an app as a main product or service. Whatever the reason, here are twelve critical app development mistakes every small business owner should avoid. They are as follows:
1. Varied Users Varied Smartphones – Apps should meet compatibility: It is not that android users are being favored, but at the same time one should ask the developer to create apps which matches with the existing features of several mobile phones. For example an Apple's iPhone has allowed certain apps which can be freely downloaded from Blackberry and Android. An android app developer needs to choose the best software which can be suitable for even the mobile used by common men and not only for expensive models.
2. Users advise is needed at each step of building an app: Interaction with user-flows is very important while developing critical business applications. The decisions made at the design stage can ultimately determine an app's success or failure. Every business app should meet its requirement.
3. Inadequate knowledge of mobile development: Understand the software development tools, without having an in-depth understanding & knowledge about the Android SDK and similar other tools, one will not be able to create even a simple mobile app leave alone a powerful android application. There are tons of resources available on the web, which offer complete guidance for developing a mobile application for Android devices. The very first version of an app should use an easy-to-operate, intuitive, user interface. The UI should preferably be such that the user learns to use it quickly, without having to refer to the user manual. The UI needs to be simple and precise and well-laid-out.
Every users with any age group should be able to enjoy the basic features of their mobile device. Hence, most users are not looking for a UI that is over-the-top and very difficult to understand. Users prefer apps where every aspect, including each screen, each button and each function is well defined and rendered on screen in such a way as to make their lives simple for them.
4. Non consistent user interfaces: There are many ground-breaking apps with complicated UIs and multi-touch gestures, which have become the craze amongst the latest generation of mobile device users. In case one wants to develop such an app, it would be a good idea to also include a detailed requirements and how to section in an app. An app must have UI consistent and homogeneous through all the future versions of app, so that end users need not be adjusting to different types of UIs in the coming app updates. They should be confusing and where they can easily leave the apps in no time.
5. Fail to understand the needs of common users may fail your business: As a developer must understand what an app should do, its unique functions and in what particular way one wants to serve its business users. Simply building an app that tries to take advantage of all these multiple functions will not help an app in any way. At least the very first version of an app should only focus to meet the immediate needs of the user or the company that one is developing the app for. Focus sharply on target audience while initially creating an app. Adding more features in the upcoming versions of the app, like constantly updating an app. This itself will make it more popular among the users.
6. Not Focusing on Security: Security is very important for any business application irrespective of whether one is developing an android or iphone app. An enterprise app provides users access to sensitive business information, couple this with the fact that mobile devices can get lost easily or stolen and a mobile app needs to stand up to the most stringent standards of scrutiny. App usability and security must be the main focus of attention while developing an app for enterprise. All passwords should be encrypted form.
7. Overthinking the Development: Mobile apps need to be designed in a simple way. While developing a mobile app, it needs to be developed in precisely the same way that one develops any other app. The stages of app development remain the same, if you over think, you are liable to make mistakes. If you focus on the app’s objectives and take it through a development life cycle whose sole purpose is to cater to these objectives, one will have a great app on your hands.
8. Neglecting social media: Integrating Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, etc. in an app is important today. Social media enhances power to spread the word about an app. Any money spent here is money one can save in marketing. Social recognition is very important for any successful business app be it for small mid-size or large business owners.
9. Unclear on app monetization: An app is a basic need for any business application today. A business owner should have a clear idea about how an app is going to help business make money, then only make a decision to create an app. Will it be free app with an ad-based model, or will it be a paid app? Will free app be made available with an in-app purchase? One should be aware of the monetization before one gets started.
10. Neglecting app testing: Applications be it desktop or mobile should be tested thoroughly. Always a tester should look into users perspective and test the application. Every developer should do a unit testing, before he sends it to quality analyst, to troubleshoot and resolve most bugs.
11. Minimizing the value of marketing: An app should be appealing, there are almost a million other apps available on the market and how your app should stand unique. This is where marketing comes into play. You shouldn’t expect your brilliant app to do well without marketing. Your job does not end with creating that beautiful app. You must market it as well or you will end up losing your investment.
12. Failing the dumb user test: Test an app through a dumbest person one knows and watch how they use it. An app should be ridiculously easy and intuitive in order to succeed in the market. Tons of app features are useless if users do not know how to use them. To aid with usability, add a starting instructions overlay on how to use the app. This can educate users on how to use the app. Short videos and help section are useful too.
The above critical mistakes are very important and every good programmer should be aware of it and keep these things in mind and try to deliver a good designed, easy app. Designing a beautiful app is as important as designing a useful app. Keeping all required functionalities in mind one must design a successful business app. To get maximum benefits of Android apps, you may consider hiring services of a Android development company India.
We provide Android application development services. If you would like like an Android developer for hire, please get in touch with Mindfire Solutions.
