CategoryApps

January 10, 2014 — This is the second in a series of four articles covering four ways to develop mobile applications. Today, Peter Traeg will look at how to build the same sort of application using native Android tools. This simple tip calculator contains two screens: a main view and a settings view. The settings view persists the default tip percentage to local storage using Android’s SDK support. Read more…

December 9, 2013 — Businesses are learning new ways to leverage data to improve themselves on a daily basis. They’re realizing that data collection and data analysis have a measurable return on investment, and decision-makers are asking to see them. Google Tag Manager is a relatively new system in which all of the different Google code snippets for a website or mobile application can be organized and controlled through a drag-and-drop interface in a Web browser. For this article, Drew Thomas will talk about adding Google Analytics to a mobile application, using the very future-proof Google Tag Manager to implement it. Read more…

November 28, 2013 — 95% of downloaded apps are abandoned within a month and 26% of apps are only used once, and depending on the user, these abandoned apps are deleted or ignored, never to be opened again. Lyndon Cerejo’s app graveyard is the final resting place for apps that he has downloaded but have since left neglected. The following are lessons from his app graveyard that he keeps in mind when designing apps, and they might help you, too. Read more…

November 22, 2013 — In this article, Peter Traeg provides an overview of how to build a simple mobile application using each of the following approaches. Few developers have had the opportunity to develop for mobile using a variety of tools, and this series is intended to broaden your scope. Hopefully you will be in a better position to choose the right development tools for your mobile application’s needs! Read more…

October 17, 2013 — Developing an application in HTML5 is a way to leverage code across multiple platforms, rather than having to write the application from scratch for each platform. As such, much of the user interface would be done in HTML. It’s important to understand the benefits each potential development strategy affords. As an app developer you have the ultimate decision on what strategy best suits the needs of your application. Test early, and test often, across a variety of devices. Keep your technology choices open and flexible to reap the rewards of a hybrid experience. Read more…

October 11, 2013 — In part one of this series, we got a customized magazine app for Windows 8 up and running. In this second and last part, we will look at how our magazine app obtains the articles to be shown, examine the transport protocol and set up a live content host. When done, our HTML5-based magazine app will essentially be ready to submit to the Windows Store. Read more…

September 19, 2013 — In 2010, Microsoft shifted its focus from propriety Web technology to open Web technology. This refocus materialized a few years later — in Internet Explorer, the Windows operating system, its developer tools and its cloud software and things have changed for the better so far. Across the board, Web developers should see significant improvements, making Windows an HTML5-friendly platform. Read more…

August 19, 2013 — A viral app is the best case scenario for an app developer because word of mouth is far more powerful than any paid advertising. No one trusts ads, and they cost too much for developers anyway. But humans have shared stories since we’ve been using rocks as tools. We’re naturally built for viral sharing. But getting your app to spread faster than celebrity gossip requires strategizing a world of social interaction inside your app. Read more…

August 14, 2013 — What’s the point in creating a beautiful, valuable app if no one knows about it? Today we’ll focus on how to get a head start with email marketing by wrangling testers, staying in touch with users and successfully building hype for your app. Then, we’ll move on to how to announce the launch and measure results. While this article isn’t heavy on coding and development, you’ll find an assortment of practical suggestions that you can apply to your projects. Read more…

July 12, 2013 — Part two of our journey is all about marketing. Even the coolest app in the world is doomed to swiftly descend into the abyss of obscurity if no one knows about it, but it turns out that you don’t need a huge marketing budget to get into the top 10 in the App Store. Get out there and build something great! Read more…