Hope Caton, writer of the world famous video game TombRaider IV: The Last Revelation along with her business partner Robin Bell developed a mobile game named “Cigbreak” to help smokers to quit smoking.
This game replicates the game- “Fruit Ninja” as the players have to break cigarettes to achieve game rewards.
This is the first smoking cessation app in UK, which is in the form of game. It motivates the players to quit smoking.
It is also clear from the research that 52% of players are smokers.
This game app is now available on Apple iTunes and Google Play.
iPhone app development, like any other mobile application development is a complex and tedious process. It is not uncommon for developers to miss out one thing or the other. Even a single unattended error or a careless mistake can turn out to be a severe concern later on. That is why proper planning is said to be necessary and crucial for trouble-free development.
Making a checklist will be of immense help when you are on a hectic schedule. Here is the Redbytes checklist for design and localization for iPhone app development that will keep you on the right track.
Here are the most important design aspects that you must keep an eye on while iPhone app development.
Check that there are no broken internal or external links in the iPhone application.
Check that the word “beta” had been removed from all places including any documentation.
Make sure that the accessories that have to be used along with the application are authorized by Apple.
Check that the user interface of the application follows all the design guidelines laid down in the “Apple Human Interface Guidelines”.
Make sure that the application does not have very long loading time.
Check whether an animation or a graphical loading image is provided to signify the loading process.
Confirm that the resource utilization is planned well and stays within bounds. It should not make the platform sluggish.
Ensure that your application is not abnormally influenced by pre-existing applications and that there is sufficient difference to make it distinct from other apps.
Any apps that even remotely duplicate the functionality of Apple applications will be immediately rejected by the Apple review team. So ensure that your app is in a safe place.
Confirm that the application doesn’t use the trademarks and intellectual properties of other companies like logos, brand names etc.
Test that your application does not interfere with the normal functioning of the iPhone. Battery draining apps are uninstalled soon by its users.
Name checklist for iPhone application
The name that you choose is definitely something that can influence the success of your app. You should always try to select names that are persuasive. Here are some points to remember:
Check if it’s possible to find the app while searching by its name.
Ensure that the name is not longer than 20 characters.
There should not be any version number in the app name.
Confirm that there are no third party brand names in your app.
Ensure that your app name is simple, catchy, and suitable.
A lot of games are targeting foreign markets nowadays. The following tips will help you to inspect your localized app thoroughly before approaching those markets.
Confirm that the localization language matches with the language of the target market.
Check that the application name is localized.
Check that the application description is localized.
Check that the application URL is localized.
Check that the support URL is localized.
Check that the support email is localized.
Check that the screen shots are localized.
Check that the app binary is localized.
Ensure that the localization is professionally done and is not just a word-for-word translation.
Ensure that the app doesn’t contain elements that are unfit for the culture of the targeted market.
Ensure that the app contains maximum number of cultural elements that will attract the local customers.
If you use apps or know about android app development or iPhone app development, then you have definitely viewed or heard of app preview videos. Google and Apple app stores are maxing out at almost 2 million apps each and new apps stand out because they infuse bright colours with bold designs or simply because they are developed by reputed organizations. In a sea of developers and designers, each with their own unique ideas, mobile app preview videos help your product stand apart from the crowd.
What an app preview video does is it increases the chances of your iPhone or Android app being downloaded and it does this by simply allowing prospective users to take a look at what your app offers and how it works. We can tell you off-hand that a paid app has a higher chance of being downloaded if buyers can preview what your app does before investing their money.
Here is an example for an app video:
App stores are the battleground where iPhone and Android apps compete for downloads regardless of the effort that has went into android app development or iPhone app development, budgets or marketing strategies. The best apps as well as the obscure ones are given equal opportunities to strut their stuff in elaborate app descriptions, screenshots, ratings and reviews.
User Psychology
The only thing standing between your app and a million downloads are the users. Unfortunately, users are lazy. Studies have shown that more than 60 percent of iPhone or Android app store visitors don’t even look at the two most effective means of describing what an app does – screenshots and descriptions. This means that 60 percent of prospective users won’t even bother to check what your app does. App preview videos are the next best thing in these situations because almost everyone will tap a play button instead of scrolling through text.
Image courtesy: Apple
StoreMaven reports that adding preview videos increases conversions by 20 percent for App Store and 35 percent for Play Store. In other words, people are more likely to download your app if they watch a video of it first. Did you know that app preview videos can affect the ratings of your app? Tune conducted a survey which revealed that apps with preview videos were generally given a higher rating than apps without them. The average rating for apps without a preview video is 3.81 stars, almost half a star lower than the average rating for apps with a video: 4.24 stars.
Image courtesy: Tune
In App Store and Play Store, higher ratings help new apps move up in app rankings and app rank is the default sorting filter applied in both stores when people are browsing. Newly released apps don’t have a tonne of reviews which prospective users can read so unless there are other pointers, like preview videos, users will classify the app as suspicious and move on to other options.
Ankit Jain, former head of Google Play search said at a recent Google I/O conference “Video previews are the next level of screenshots. With a short video, you’re able to show the user really what it’s like to play with your app. Giving potential users an accurate impression of what your app is all about is an approach that keeps on giving… developers have told us that uploading a video can really help gain user adoption, and users in a lot of studies have told us that video previews are amongst the most convincing features of an app details page.”
Image courtesy: Tune
If you have spent your time, effort and money for android app development or iPhone app development, then you want it to have higher ratings. Almost 60 percent of the ratings are achieved through app descriptions and user reviews but where can you find that extra edge to push your app in front of the competition? 40 percent of smartphone users consider app preview videos among the top three deciding factors for a download.
To sum it up here’s why preview videos are essential for your mobile app:
1. It engages users more directly than text or screenshots.
2. Videos are easy to share and have the potential to become viral, unlike text.
3. Users prefer watching videos to scrolling and reading.
4. Videos communicate ideas more clearly and effectively in very little time.
5. It provides a demo of your app so users know what to expect.
So if you are confident that your iPhone or Android app is sure to hit the top-10 list, give the users a preview of your app because if there’s one thing we know, it’s that people like to tap play buttons on their smartphone screens.
5 Simple Tips To Make Mobile App Videos
Now that you know why app preview videos are important, let’s get on with understanding how to make them and ensure the efforts of your android app development or iPhone app development team doesn’t get wasted.
1. Define a script. On Apple’s App Store your preview video has 30 seconds to tell users about your app and convey its usefulness. While Google’s Play Store does not have a time limit, studies show that the average viewer will look at a video for two minutes before moving on. This sort of constraint implies that you need to brainstorm ideas to highlight the most compelling features of your app and write a script which will effectively showcase each of them. Unlike Play Store, App Store does not allow localisation of videos. This means that for an iPhone app, the same preview video is viewed all over the world so including text or narration is not the best idea since you are limited to one language.
2. Capture the video. Apple’s app preview guidelines state that absolutely no real-world footage should be included in the video, unless you have developed a camera app. Your preview video should contain only animation and in-app features. We suggest using expanding dots to convey taps and moving arrows for gestures. Of course, if your app works on only one or a few screens, a preview video won’t really get you anywhere. Play Store, on the other hand, provides a set of loose guidelines/suggestions which, if followed, will ensure that your preview video effectively communicates the usability of your Android or iPhone app.
3. Add music. Including a sound track in your preview video will make it livelier but, for legal and moral reasons, you are limited to using audio tracks for which you have acquired licensing rights. Let’s just say Beethoven wouldn’t like his compositions to be used in an app without his knowledge. For this reason, several app developers source audio from SoundCloud and look for royalty-free tracks. If you are showcasing your Android or iPhone app being used then it is a good idea to include the UI sound effects to give a sense of continuity to viewers.
4. Format your video. Apple’s guidelines are very particular when it comes to preview video resolution, file type and even pixel shape. Your video has to be shot at the native resolution of devices on which it will be viewed. This means that for iPhone 6 users your video should have a resolution of 750 x 1334 and for iPhone 6 Plus: 1080 x 1920, any other resolution and your video is rejected. A tool called FFMPEG will help you easily reformat preview videos.
5. Upload your video. Play Store allows you to link promo videos from YouTube so post your preview video on YouTube and then link to it. Be sure to make the video Play Store specific, for example – don’t include an end slide that says “Download from App Store and Google Play”. App Store is more specific when it comes to preview videos – you need to upload the video using Safari, Apple’s web browser. Apple rejects videos which have non-square pixels but luckily, there are several online tools which will convert your video into a square-pixel format.
So, you are armed with valuable video making knowledge. You can go ahead and make an app preview video that will make your Android/iPhone app shine brighter than the competition! Do you have experience creating an app preview video? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below.
A skilled enterprise mobility app developer with relevant experience in offering mobility services is what you require to successfully launch a mobile app that suits your business.
With the increasing use of smartphones, tablets or any other mobile devices, mobile apps have also grown in importance. Apps have brought about remarkable growth in business operations and customer services. Most businesses as well as, other industries including healthcare now have both- customer-centric and employee-centric mobile apps. B2B apps are also attaining popularity as much as B2C mobile apps.
According to a recent study by Criteria, the U.S. mobile shopping market, by the end of 2015, mobile, retail transaction is forecast to reach 33% in the U.S. and 40% globally. The report states that mobile transactions, in the U.S. have grown 10% in the last three months. Also search engines like Google and Bing are launching search models that enhance engagement with mobile app content.
Designing and implementing user-centric applications are crucial to make the best possible use of mobile devices. Business professionals need not necessarily have the time, skill and knowledge to create a wonderful app. So, it is ideal to employ a team of enterprise mobile app developers to do the job. Choosing the right enterprise mobility app developer that suits your business requirement is not an easy task. A right partner can add value to your business as well as maximize revenue.
If you are planning on hiring mobile application development services, then you should keep the following tips in mind:-
Do an Online Search – Consider choosing some of the trust worthy developers, experienced in your work area. The very first thing is to create a list of these developers whom you think will suit your work.
Focus on Quality than on Price – Cheap option will not work always. Remember that cost of a project often depends on its complexities. If your requirement is to develop a games app, understand that it will be expensive since they involve complex coding. Quality should be the major priority. Ensure that apps that you sell isn’t of low quality and is user-friendly. Otherwise, it can turn out to be more expensive in the long run.
Benefit from Past Clients Reference – Do a background check of the developer, whom you choose to be ideal for your work. Check the types of app they have developed in the past and assess how successful they are at their work. Also check their past clients and get references and know about their experience with the developer from them.
Consider Experience –With an experienced developer, there will be lower chances of mistakes and they will understand your needs more efficiently. It is ideal to verify the experience & work of the developer whom you are going to hire for App development. An expert enterprise mobility app developer will always be ready to provide you with apps they’ve developed including those that aren’t in their portfolio. The right developer can also address the entire range of challenges involved in making your mobile move a success.
Focus on Building Strong and Long Relationship – As your requirement is not a one-time activity, it is recommended to choose a developer who will stay with you through the entire development cycle of your product. Take time to choose a vendor with whom you can build a good, long-term relationship.
Assess the Right Skills – Developers can code using different languages. But it is not ideal. Make sure the chosen partner will be able to write code that links to the services you choose. The most popular mobile languages include Objective-C (for Apple’s iOS), and Java (for Android), which are much harder to master than common web languages like PHP and Ruby.
Along with mobile app development, enterprise mobility solutions offered by reliable companies will also include mobile website design and a wide range of services for ongoing application maintenance. Industries they serve include – retail, finance and banking, media and healthcare.
Dr. Ahjoku Amadi-Obi, Nigerian doctor introduced a mobile app named “HUDIBIA” to provide health care solutions to people all over the world.
This app helps the people to connect with registered medical practitioners all over the world, resulting in increasing access to health care. With this, physicians and patients can communicate with each other in local languages of Nigeria and also in English, Arabic and French.
It will deliver cost-effective and high quality health care solutions to people across the world as it uses several emerging technologies.
Users can pay their medical bills, monitor the health of their family and friends and can also seek professional clarifications regarding any health issue with the help of disease alert function in the pipeline.
Apps selection is a task that requires patience and the right knowledge. One shouldn’t jump head first into installation of a kids educational apps that has been found interesting. At first, you should ask several questions to yourself about the particular app at hand.
Here are 9 questions to aid you in the selection process of a kids educational app.
1. Does the app have the right content that you want students to learn?
Check whether your new app have the right information that you want your kids to learn. If you want an app that should focus on reading comprehension, installing an app that teaches grammar lessons would be inappropriate.
2. Which skills do you want your students to practice or refine by using the app?
Like the appropriate content, you may also have specific skills that you want the kids to develop. Each of the kids educational app will be designed to focus on developing single or multiple skills in the users. Select one that suits your need carefully.
3. Will the app try to sell to your students?
Many publishers try to advertise and offer in-app s through the educational app. This is a tendency that will hurt your child’s learning progress and focus. You should double check and confirm that the app does not come from vendors indulging in such practices.
4. Will the app cater to my students’ needs?
Not every student is alike. Each has their own learning pace and learning requirements. Choose an app which has an approach that suits the learning techniques of individual students, even if it means using multiple number of apps for teaching the same concepts.
5. Are there finer apps that could achieve the same purpose?
It is commonly known that an app is not developed by a single publisher alone. For example, there are hundreds of apps that teaches basic mathematical functions. When there are two apps available for fulfilling the same purpose, always go for the best.
6. Is there any other app that is available at a cheaper price?
Some people believe that apps that cost higher are of superior quality and can meet your expectations better. Well, there is not much truth in this. Yet, you should be careful not to compromise by choosing an app that is of a deteriorated quality.
7. Do you already have a similar app with you?
Apps come in a variety of titles and themes. Sometimes even the descriptions may not give you a fair and accurate idea about the function that it performs. Therefore, it is easy to get confused and misled. Be sure to check the reviews on the app store thoroughly, especially when you are going for a paid app.
8. Does the app inculcate positive values in students?
Many a times, misguidance can come in the form of apps too. You should instantly dismiss apps that are going against your school’s and even your culture’s values. Apps should promote good qualities in students and not bad behaviours. An app that glorifies an act of theft or an evil character is definitely not the right one for young children.
9. Can you talk with the app creators?
You should check if you are able to contact the app’s creators directly. You might need this when your app gets stuck, crashes, or when you lose some data stored in it.
There are a lot of marketing and buzz surrounding almost every app found out there, which makes decision taking very difficult. Apps that meet the needs of teachers and students are very rare. Using this checklist you can select apps that would actually improve learning outcomes and that are not merely all flash.
Now, its been more than one week of demonetisation, but still people are struggling because of it. Due to unavailability of cash to long queues, common people are facing lots of problems.
Here comes a solution for this issue- “WALNUT”.
Walnut, a financial management company introduced a new feature with which users can find the working ATM, #ATMwithCash. It can track the ATM usage of its more than 1.8 million users.
Educational apps help a great deal in laying the foundation about the basic concepts in every field of education even for very small children. They can instigate the passion to learn.
Here are the top learning apps for kids between the ages five and eight.
1. Crazy Gears
Crazy gears is a free game, which will train young minds in problem solving and critical thinking areas. The STEM-themed learning app for kids will introduce them to early physics lessons and other STEM based topics.
Disney Animated app is a fail-proof way of engaging kids, as every kid is typically attracted to Disney characters and movies. Kids can get an in depth knowledge about the history of Disney animation studios; right from early hand drawing practices to today’s computer animations.
3. DragonBox Algebra 5+
DragonBox Algebra 5+ is an app developed for kids who had begun learning how to solve algebraic equations. The concepts are made clear through innovative games and fun learning methods.
4. Faces iMake – Right Brain Creativity
Faces iMake helps kids enhance their creativity. Children can create different faces using the collage materials provided. They can then share them with friends, family, and other users through the service’s gallery, FaceWorld, via mail and social media.
5. Handwriting Without Tears: Wet-Dry-Try Suite for Capitals, Numbers, & Lowercase
“Handwriting Without Tears: Wet-Dry-Try Suite for Capitals, Numbers, & Lowercase” is an app version of the popular program of the same name. The app is modelled for beginners and has a three step system to teach handwriting.
6. LOOPIMAL by YATATOY
LOOPIMAL will teach your kids to create music loops with music blocks, thereby teaching the basic lessons of rhythm and melody in music. There are cute animal characters with movements attached to each music block. They will dance based on the music sequences that will add fun to the whole activity.
7. Monkey Word School Adventure
Monkey Word School Adventure is an early reading game app for preschoolers and elementary students. A cute monkey will guide the young learners through the adventure. Kids have to recognise letters and basic words to begin using this app.
Kids can use the Plum’s Creaturizer app to create funny and amazing creatures and then take pictures after placing them in various habitats. They can take up to four pictures of a single creature and save them in their device’s gallery. From there, the images can be shared with whomever you choose.
9. Princess Fairy Tale Maker – by Duck Duck Moose
Princess Fairy Tale Maker learning app for kids will shape the young storyteller in your kid. There are features like audio, coloring, drawing, writing, and animation which will make creating fairy tales amusing. Kids can use their own photos and background images along with the characters and stickers provided in the app.
10. Barefoot World Atlas
Barefoot World Atlas gives your kid the first introduction to the animals, indigenous people, and more interesting things from around the world through descriptions and photos.
11. The Earth by Tinybop
The Earth is a geology learning app from Tinybop. The interactive model teaches various concepts related to the Earth’s history and changing landforms such as, volcanoes, glaciers, etc. The app is also available in various other languages apart from English.
12. Angry Birds Space
Angry Birds Space features the same challenge and fun as the original version of the game and can be used as a learning app for kids. The entire game now takes place in a new scenario – the outer space. The game makes physics puzzles come alive by controlling objects through gravitational pull.
Christy Byrd, professor at the university of California, Santa Cruz created an app to solve the issue of microaggressions in college.
This app helps you to collect all the details of microaggressions happening on campus. With this app, a total of 477 reports of microaggressions from more than 250 students.
Independent research shows that between 2009 and 2017, the projected number of mobile app downloads will be over 102 billion.
As a business owner, you might take these numbers as proof enough to start with iOS or Android app development. But don’t let the numbers alone steer your decision. Your customers may or may not want to download an iOS or Android app for your business just yet.
Ask yourself these 6 questions before you invest the time and money in Android or iOS app development:
1. Would your business offerings fit into a mobile app design?
Several B2C businesses have found success in mobile apps, especially in the e-commerce domain. Buoyed by this success, the interest in Android app development or iOS mobile app development has surged in other industry verticals as well. Even so, it’s imperative to assess and evaluate the mobile experience. It can be a challenge to develop the right mobile app experience and design for enterprises operating in niche areas such as heavy engineering, manufacturing, and the automobile industry.
2. How are you going to acquire customers?
Getting customers to download your application for Android or iOS can be difficult – irrespective of whether it is a paid or free app download. Factoring in the various user acquisition channels suited to your area of operation can help enhance acquisition. When doing so, measuring the lifetime value of your app against basic parameters such as the cost per install (CPI) is important as well.
3. Will your app really solve a problem?
Be sure to identify your customers’ pain points before you chart out a development plan for your mobile app. An app should go someplace your existing customer acquisition plans cannot reach. If you’re a business that wants to stay connected with customers and be available to meet their needs at any hour of the day, then you most likely need an app.
4. Are you prepared to foot the costs – before and after?
App development, deployment, and maintenance is an enduring process in that it needs both time and money. Experts recommend that you test a beta version on a smaller sample before you plunge head-on into an Android or iOS app. This approach will give you a fair idea about the funds your mobile app strategy will consume in the long term.
5. How aware are you of your customers’ preferences?
Before you show your mobile app developers the green light, take a step back and get into your customers’ shoes. Be sure to have a clear idea of why your customers would want to use your Android or iOS app. Also ask yourself whether the app will directly solve a problem for customers. Evaluate the benefits of a paid app versus a free app download. Keep your customers’ preferences in mind all through your app building process to keep it as close to their needs as possible.
6. Do you have the right mobile app development team to fuel your dream?
There are several skilled individuals who need to work together to build a mobile app for Android or iOS. These include front-end and back-end developers, UX designers, and QA engineers. As a large company, you might have the resources to foot the costs of developing an Android or iOS app. But if you’re not in the big league yet, outsourcing an app would offer more value.
Got something to add to these points? We’re eager to hear about it. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
