Top 10 Dos and Don’ts For UX Approach in Mobile App Development (2018)

Mobile app developers across the globe will agree with the fact that the development of user friendly mobile apps calls for a lot of forethought. It is through this farsightedness that you can create apps that can rank high on their user experience. Here is a rundown of do’s and don’ts that you must consider while designing your mobile app. Once you keep these pointers in mind, you will be able to attract the attention of app users in more ways than you can imagine.

Firstly, let us shed light on what you should do to churn out a user-friendly and appealing mobile app.

The Do’s

1. Research – A Data Collation Spadework

Most of the apps fail because the developer does not research before designing them. Hence you should resist the temptation of skipping the most important task of researching and abstain yourself from jumping straight to the designing process. Researching includes that you spend time conducting a competitive analysis.

Researching supports you to work in the direction of a blueprint that you have come up with, keeping user experience as your mission statement.

2. Enlist Crucial Mobile App Characteristics

The next thing that you should do is to come up with priority features. It is a matter of excitement for developers to add many features to their apps. However, this clogs the basic intention behind a clean user experience.

You will have to decide and stick to important features that will better impact your users while doing away with such features which are good-to-have.

3. Support Every Click With Feedback

For every user input, it is important that you provide some feedback so as to direct your users to a state of process completion. Only when your app provides feedback will your users be rest assured that the desired action was performed. Without feedback, your app will keep your user guessing whether the intended process is complete or unsuccessful.

4. Do Away With Unnecessary Clutter

Too much information can spoil and complicate user experience. Cluttering does more harm to mobiles with smaller screen space when compared to desktops which have wider screens. Here, your aim is to stick to minimalism. It is best to include content that can impact your users, discarding all those elements (unnecessary images, buttons and texts) which clog the mobile screen.

5. Legible Text Drives Usability and Readability

Content is what drives your users to pick your app. The text that appears on your app is part of the content that demands attention. You should hence ensure that your text is legible so as to come up with a user-friendly mobile interface. Choosing a legible font size is a recommendation that should be given serious thought.

6. Navigation Should Be An In-Built Feature

The compelling content in your mobile app should be evident so that users locate it without any additional efforts. In view of this feature, it is important to come up with navigation patterns that are familiar to your target audience.

7. The Lesser the Typing, The Better It Is

You as a mobile user will agree with the fact that, typing on a mobile is a tiring and error-making process. Hence, the smartest tip is to minimize the typing on a small mobile screen. Removing unnecessary fields will be an intelligent move in the direction of allowing users to give you the information that you need to know.

8. Offer A Seamless User Experience Across Multiple Devices

You should not go by the idea that mobile apps offer stand-alone experiences. For a user handling multiple devices including tablets, desktop or mobile phone, he/she expects your app to provide a seamless experience across all devices.

9. The Use of Finger-Friendly Taps

It should be your objective to come up with ample touch targets for all interactive mobile desiogn elements. By doing away with smaller touch targets which lead to mistaken taps, you will be able to address the most common problem faced by mobile app users. Thus it is recommended that you include targets that are big enough for users to tap.

10. Test Your Design

A real world implementation of your mobile app will help you come up with unseen flaws that were masked during app development. Hence the trick is to test your design with multiple real users so as to work on their feedback. Their pointers will thus become your guiding light to come up with an app that only appeals to users but is also effective.

Let us now move on to the don’ts that dampen the mobile app user experience.

1. Don’t Strive to Get It Right The First Time Around

Try and try till you succeed. In line with this common adage, it is important to keep in mind that it is difficult to come up with a perfect experience with your first attempt. Even after meeting all you mobile design requirements, there is every possibility that you will step on a new set of requirements that have emerged after testing the app. Hence it is advisable to adhere to an iterative designing pattern and test your app early on.

2. Don’t Drift Away from Customer Needs

Once you start focusing on meeting customer needs, you will not get carried away by an idea that looks lucrative on the face of it but fails to deliver any benefit to users. Only when you spend time validating your design theories based on what your target audience wants, you will be in a position to work around a feedback loop that permits a solid mobile app design.

3. Jargon – A Big “No”

User interface which is devoid of jargon appeals to users. When your app starts conversing with users in the language they are comfortable with, the interaction between the interface and the users is simplified. Here, you should abstain from using words that are beyond the understanding of users.

4. Avoid Seeking User Permissions Right At The Start

It is a common phenomenon with many apps that were just downloaded to seek user permissions in the beginning itself. Such questions can discourage and confuse users who will in all probability deny such a request.

5. Abstain from Using Custom Gestures As a Primary Means to Interact With Your App

Instead of offering custom gestures to interact with your app, it pays to come up with standard gestures for shortcuts. Since users are familiar with standard gestures, they need not expend any effort to learn or recall them.

6. Users Should Not Be Kept Waiting for Content

Users’ reactions like unrest and frustration will set in when they are kept waiting for content. A black screen that pops up when the content is loading can dampen the user experience, giving an impression that the app is stalled.

7. Dead End Pages Are Best Avoided

You should be mindful of the design flow concerning user experience. Your app, with every action should move in the direction of accomplishing a goal. In this regard, you should avoid creating dead-end app pages that hamper the user flowassuch pages not only confuse users but also lead to unnecessary actions.

8. Avoid Tagging the Web Experience on Apps

If you noticed, web browsers work through links. On the flipside, it is buttons that drive mobile experiences. In line with what users expect with regard to interface elements and interaction patterns in mobile apps, you should avoid underlined links in mobile apps.

9. Don’t Lead Users to a Browser

It can be terribly frustrating for a user if the app leads him/her to a web browser, during instances requiring to either complete a task or those that seek additional content. Such an occurrence will reduce conversion rates.

10. Seeking User Feedback During Their First Experience – A Strict “No”

mobile app development company

Notwithstanding the fact that user reviews and ratings are the important data points for the success of your app, it is through such feedback that users will either choose to download or skip an app. At times, the frequency with which the app seeks user reviews can also annoy the users when they are interrupted while performing an important function.

Closing Thoughts

With new mobile apps mushrooming with each passing day, the expectations about user experiences are increasing manifold. In an attempt to sustain competition and meet the varying needs of users, you should come up with an app that is not only useful but also valuable and relevant to your target audience. Hence, the above 10 do’s and don’ts will help you attain the objective of a promising mobile app that ranks high on usability and user experience.

Swift vs Objective-C: Which Is Better For iOS App Development?

Objective-C has gained a predominant place as a primary language in the world of mobile app development for many years. Used extensively for developing successful iOS and OS mobile applications, Objective-C is a compound of C language with object-oriented features and efficient runtime. Objective-C run its regime before Apple launched a unique programming language in 2014 called Swift.

Swift is safe, concise and more sophisticated than Objective-C and encourages interactive development system. It offers several commendable features like generics, short syntax, closures and type interface that further simplify the coding and eliminate complicated patterns experienced in Objective-C.

Despite all new capabilities of Swift for app development, developers are still in dilemma as to which one is better for iOS app development.

The discussion below penetrates the subject in more depth:

Swift at a Glance

Introduced by Apple, the main purpose of Swift was to liberate developers from excessive efforts involved in Objective-C coding format and provide maximum agility, faster run time and simplicity. It has combination of C and Objective-C without legacy constraints and challenging conventions often faced in Objective-C language.

Swift has enough potential to act as a logical alternative to Objective-C and can work alongside Objective-C while using Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks in iOS, WatchOS, OS X and tvOS. Therefore, iOS developers can go confidently go for Swift.

Due to its potent benefits, developers are compelled to run analogy between Objective-C and Swift and think of Swift to build highly engaging iOS apps. Let’s compare both languages technically to make the decision as to which language is better.

Swift vs. Objective-C

Apple’s claims that Swift is better, faster and smarter than Objective-C have made the language a famous point of discussion among world’s community of developers. Swift has also gained the reputation of being more direct and able to establish smooth connection between iOS developers and consumers.

The following points elaborate on the comparison:

1)  Readability and Concision

Arguably enough, Swift is more advantageous when it comes to enjoying the clarity of syntax while coding iOS mobile apps. Due to ease in writing and reading, developers find it much more convenient to develop apps with complicated functions. With Swift, same action can be implemented in limited code lines compared to Objective-C.  This means concise codes and reduction in legacy practices that earlier involved semicolons and parenthesis while forming conditional if/else expressions.

2) Intuitive Language and Cleanliness

In Swift, unlike Objective-C, method and function calls do not create confusing mess and look more organized due to the list of parameters elegantly separated by comma. This ability of the language results in clean, simplified syntax.

Moreover, as Swift looks like plain English, developers find written codes more natural and light, and they don’t have to spend much time searching error-ridden codes. Due to intuitive coding experience and enhanced readability, any programmer with expertise in JavaScript, Python, C++, Java can adopt it for fast-paced programming.

3) Ease of Maintenance

Objective-C is greatly dependent on C when it comes to absorbing changes and evolving the language. This implies that Objective-C will require programmers to maintain two code files to boost efficiency and reduce build time. Swift, however, is free from such interdependencies because it eliminates two-file requirement with a single code file (.swift) which combines Objective-C header (.h) and implementation file (.m).

Therefore, Swift is comparatively easier to maintain. In Objective-C, method names and comments are synchronized with human efforts. Swift allows developers to avoid this hassle and spare more time for more important aspects of programming such as code quality, features and app logic, etc.

4) Rational Code With Minimal Strings

Objective-C provokes issues that create errors or app crashes. Swift language has less scope of error because it allows programmers to manipulate text strings. Objective-C makes combining two strings lengthy whereas Swift enables joining two strings with ‘+’ sign.

Furthermore, Swift involves less code density when writing repetitive statements. In Swift, classes are not divided into interface and implementation. This eventually depletes the number of files through the development process, increasing ease of handling it.

5) Safety and Security

Developing a secure app is not just a necessity, but to emerge successful in the tight market competition and ensure impressive user experience, security should be a first priority. Swift language has syntax that is free from common mistakes as possible with Objective-C. In the event of nil code, Swift indirectly alerts programmers with compiler error suggesting that a bad code is written.

Thus, programmers can avoid mistakes while writing iOS apps. Less amount of mistakes and problematic code means high stability and low app crash incidents and high quality of iOS app.

6) Speed

Speed is an essential factor in determining the adoption of any programming language in mobile app development routine since any business would benefit the most from high speed programming. Swift enables any complex object to run 3.9 times faster than Python and is way faster than implementation of code in Objective-C. Swift has proven to be the language swimmingly faster and consistent in its performance than Objective-C or any other language used for iOS app development.

7) Dynamic iOS Libraries

Dynamic iOS Swift libraries are flexible to allow apps to update to newer, evolved version of Swift language. The dynamic libraries are executable codes. In Swift, dynamic libraries are loaded directly to the memory, optimizing the original size and performance of the app.

Such dynamic updates ensure the applications built with Swift are most updated and the language receives updates faster than iOS platform.

8) Open-Source

Swift was made open source in 2015, which allows programmers to use the full potential of the language with various platforms. The open-source also indicates that Apple will be able to come close to the community of independent developers and process their feedback in order to implement meaningful improvements consistently.

Although Objective-C has its own success stories, Swift as a fresh revolution in iOS app development can have impactful support from developers. Thus, Swift as an open source phenomenon has better scope to convert suggestions into superior actions and create much more evolved code architecture and mobile apps design.

9) The Promise of Consistent Performance

Swift as Apple has implied is likely to imbibe more changes and show improvements in terms of language performance, speed and time consumption. Based on tests run on Swift so far, it could be said that app logic can be fast-processed with clean Swift code lines. Swift is also believed to exhibit performance that appears close to C++ while running certain arithmetic algorithms, which is not achievable in case of Objective-C.

Additionally, developers can leverage the fact that Swift is a young, flourishing programming language by Apple, which implies that programmers can expect it to get better in near future.

Major Drawbacks of Swift Programming

 Even though Swift is widely seen as one of the respectable and convenient programming languages for iOS app development, it has the following drawbacks:

  • Due to limited compatibility, Swift imposes on iOS developers frequent rewriting of language, making it difficult to write an app that functions perfectly with new version demanding heavy rewrite
  • There is a chance that without a stable version, developers may compromise proper functioning of certain iOS app functionality
  • Developers often encounter the vague problems due to lack of IDEs and proper Swift support

Should You Learn and Opt For Swift in iOS development?

After considering both pros and cons of Apple’s Swift in comparison with Objective-C, we can say that developers have little to lose when it comes to adopting Swift for their next iOS app development project. Opting for Swift will not only enhance the learning curve, but the awareness of Swift programming language can put developers in the most competitive spot for future iOS projects.

Due to its burgeoning popularity, a lot of reference tutorials and online resources are generated for Swift programmers to develop iOS mobile apps. Some of the big names that have leveraged Swift for building iOS apps are Lyft, Clear, Sky Guide, LinkedIn, Yahoo Weather.

The scenario for Swift looks positive in 2018. Hence, we can argue that Swift may replace Objective-C in future.

Concluding Thoughts

There is no doubt that Swift is built with the futuristic vision to enhance the iOS app development process for iOS developers. From above comparison, it is also evident that Swift surpasses Objective-C in so many ways frequently winning the debate in the giant domain of iOS mobile app development. However, the ultimate choice between Swift and Objective-C depends on the app size, team strengths, technical awareness and project deadline.

How To Build An Angular 5 Project With Bootstrap 4 and Firebase?

Are you looking to set up your first ever Angular 5 application? Getting such a project up and running is a lot easier than you think. Angular version 5 is quite new in the industry with amazing features and this version was rolled just a few months ago. Ahead of Time compiler, optimization with boosted speed and smaller bundles, and lighter and faster Http Client module are among the notable updates with the new version. Setting up an Angular 5 project has become the dream of many programming enthusiasts now. Adding the other technological advancements of the time, Bootstrap 4 and Firebase to the project can really make a difference in the final outcome.

Here you can see an overview of how to set up an Angular 5 Project with Bootstrap 4 and Firebase.

Set up Angular 5 Project

First let us see how to set up an Angular 5 project without much hassles:

  • The very first step is to setup an Angular project which is performed using Angular CLI. See that the installation of command line interface is done in case Angular CLI is not available in your system.
  • Now you can use the ‘ng’ command to commence a new Angular project. An application that works already will be created then. A single command generates components, services, routes and pipes.
  • The command line parameter ‘new’ has to be used and the new project’s name should be specified.
  • The development web server can be launched by executing the command ‘ng serve’ in the project folder.
  • Following this, the server will get started and you can now access the application. You can see a ‘welcome to app’ screen with some support links to help you with the journey.

Set up Firebase Project

Once you set up the Angular 5 project, you can move to the phase of setting up the Firebase project.

  • In the Firebase back-end, you are supposed to create a new Firebase project. After that the related project settings need to be transferred inside the Angular application.
  • Followed by that, the Angular project and Firebase libraries need to be linked to the project
  • Now you can visit the Firebase website in order to set up a new Firebase project
  • There you can easily set up a new account and use your Google credentials to sign in.
  • Once you have logged in, the link ‘Go To Console’ has to be clicked for getting the Firebase back-end.
  • In this place, the ‘Add project’ has to be clicked to link a new Firebase project or simply choose from your existing projects.
  • Now you can see the project console. There the link ‘Add Firebase to your web app’ can be clicked.
  • Now you will see the JavaScript code that guides you to the initialization of the Firebase project for the particular website.
  • However, for making this Firebase configuration a part of your Angular project, only a section of that code snippet is required. The key-value pairs within the config object has to be copied at first and those pairs has to be inserted within the file.

How to Add Bootstrap 4?

Finally, you can add the Bootstrap 4 to the already set up Angular 5 project. See the steps:

  • Use the NPM command for the installation of Bootstrap 4 into the project folder
  • Include the Bootstrap CSS file also in the project folder in order to access Bootstrap CSS classes for the project components
  • Use the Bootstrap Starter Template to include a Bootstrap user interface in the project application.
  • A starter template website gets opened in another browser window when you click on Starter template.
  • While opening the source code view of the browser, the starter template’s HTML markup code can be accessed.
  • The necessary code parts can be copied and then paste into your project application.
  • Use the Angular CLI again for including a new component to the project as you need to add the starter template’s navigation bar now.
  • Use Bootstrap 4 Angular directives in order to give Angular framework the complete control for updating DOM elements.

This is just a rough idea for building an Angular 5 project from scratch and adding Bootstrap 4 and Firebase to it. However, for a comprehensive project that has an unparalleled performance, you have to bring in advance features and customize it to your actual requirements. A dedicated effort from an enthusiast with a sound knowledge about the technical whereabouts is needed to set up a final project that is error free and that meets the specific requirements.

In fact, Angular 5 was designed with people’s need in mind and so utilizing its possibilities in the right way is the key. Unlike conventional options, offline experience and push notifications are far better with this latest version. By avoiding unnecessary run time code, the application has now become faster and lighter. With Angular 6 and 7 expected to get released in the upcoming years, the technology world have a lot to hope for. This amazing JavaScript framework was built with the aim to satisfy both users as well as developers.

9 Tips To Make Your Mobile App Beautiful

Whether you have a start-up or an established firm, mobile app becomes a necessity for all.  Basically, making your mobile app attractive is one of the key elements that compels users to embrace it. So what all you need to consider while designing an app to get a good look and feel?

Right from the beginning you think of an app idea, be specific about your design and how you want your app to look like. As soon as the mock-up part of the app gets ready, allow the designing team to discuss with developers to understand the actual functions of the app, so that the designer will be able to focus on the elements that have needed to take the app beyond function and into an attractive form. Including features like attractive icons, unique title, informative image/videos, attractive animations, UI/UX interface etc. can make a simple app better and beautiful.

Mobile app design is quite challenging but can offer big deals to your brand if you do it in the right way.

Curious to see how to make your app beautiful? Checkout this info graphic and learn more about the tips to follow:

tips to make your app beautiful

Essential iOS App Development Tools 2021

iOS is a well-known operating system developed by Apple Incorporation to run exclusively on Apple hardware products that include iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Initially, the idea behind developing this OS was to make it compatible to run applications on small screens of the phones. Soon, it began to draw a wider picture and began to come up with its own applications.

Similar to any other mobile operating system, iPhone also offers a wide variety of apps to be used by the user. While the programming languages used in the earlier app development were C and C++, these days the languages have been replaced with their advanced versions like Objective-C and Swift.

No doubt, programming languages play an important role in the development of useful and effective iOS applications; there are a number of other tools that can be used for this purpose. While the market is currently flooded with these tools, there are a certain few that are expected to rule the market in 2018. Some of these are as mentioned below:

1. Hotfix Native iOS Apps

This is one of the most exclusive tools available to develop iOS applications. Using this tool allows one to push code levels immediately to the native Objective-C apps. Allowing one an easy and direct access to the app methods and this tool also patches these by providing the app alert messages.

2. Qordoba

This allows one to localize, optimize as well as promote the app in international market. A local software development kit (SDK), Qordoba works with local files and assets. The tool’s main aim is to allow parsing which, in simple terms, mean establishing connectivity between the app and the related database.\

3. Charter

Provided by the Swift language, Charter is considered to be an excellent tool for iOS app development. Keeping up with the Swift programming language mailing list on iPhones or iPads, the tool allows its user to have both online and offline view as well as supports the message threading for the conversation.

4. Swift Express

A simple and powerful web application tool, this app is written in Swift programming language and contains a framework and simple routing mechanism. Using it enables one to easily manage the project dependencies as well as swiftly running the app.

5. Gitter

Built on GitHub, which is one of the largest software development platforms at a global level, Gitter is an open source instant messaging platform that allows one to use it for public and private chats. Used commonly by developers, this tool allows for rigid collaboration within  organizations.

6. Crayons

This one is an interesting plug-in that makes working with colors in a project much interesting. Along with the predefined colors available, this tool also provides access to custom colors that are defined in the code. Apart from this, the tool also allows one to share color pallet in the file by writing the suitable methods as per the requirements.

Conclusion

Apart from the ones mentioned above, there are a number of other effective tools and platforms to develop iOS applications. Using these frameworks makes it easier to develop iOS applications as these provide an integrated environment for a smooth and easy development process.

24 Best Android Games Available in 2020

The Google Play Store is a haven for a number of best android games. But the trick is to pick and choose the ones which are entertaining. Here, we shed light on 24 such captivating best android games that will attract the attention of Android phone users to play just for entertainment or to transform themselves into hardcore gamers.

Check out this long list of games that are worthy of installation on your Android-powered devices and also the most patronized ones in 2020.

Table Tennis Touch Crash Lands Hearthstone Monumentvalley 1 & 2
Minecraft Eternium Golf Cash Realm Defence
Pokeman Go Sky Dancer Epic Staker The Room Series
Dead Trigger 2 Riptide GP Series Implosion Rollercoaster Tycoon
Micromachines PubG Mobile Brawl Stars Holeday
HQ Trivia Asphalt 9 Altos Odyssey Harry Potter

 

1.Table Tennis Touch

True to its name, Table Tennis Touch is one of the top class ping pong games that is listed on Google Play Store. In spite of attracting a download fee of $2.99, you will be thrilled to notice simple controls along with a superior level of accuracy that will enable you to hit accurate shots.

You can demonstrate your mettle with the racket and ball swinging your wrist to powerful smash shots like side-spin, topspin and backspin.

Download : Android

2. Crashlands

Crashlands is a yet another addictive Android game that helps you knock out your enemies while you are busy building your base. Being an inhabitant of a dangerous planet, you will wage wars with your opponents only to escape back into space.

The ease which with the fighting system is designed enhances the excitement of the game.

The fun element is kept alive through a collection of inventory that helps you harvest items while you are busy establishing your base camp.

If you are a gamer who is attracted to jokes, then this game which offers excitement draped in humor can become your top bet.

Download : Android

3. Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft

Although launched in 2014, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has been captivating mobile gamers until 2018. Very similar to the games of Magic:

The Gathering and Pokemon, Hearthstone allows you to collect cards to help you build decks. Along with multi-player features, you will be in a position to seamlessly toggle between playing this game on your mobile or the PC.

Download : Android

4. Monument Valley 1 and 2

Monument Valley 1 along with its latest 2nd addition are top hits with Android gamers. Offering a similar user interface with identical game mechanics and graphics, you can never get enough with these two mobile games.

Featuring a host of puzzles, you as a gamer will have to move from one level to another and complete a path using illusions. That completes the game.

Download : Android

5. Minecraft

Another popular Android game that will make waves in 2020 is Minecraft. Tagged as an entertaining game meant for gamers of different ages, all those gamers who have played it in the past will vouch for the pleasure Minecraft bestows on them.

The game allows you to become a part of a gigantic territory which prompts you to mine items, build them and do whatever you want. You also need to put up a brave front while fighting your opponents.

Download : Android

6. Eternium

Eternium is another Android game that can be played offline after it is completely downloaded and installed. This is a mobile game free from all types of restrictions imposed in the form of parting with diamonds or coins.

You don’t have to sweat out with power gauges or to build your stamina. You simply play it to enjoy it. Supported by a huge artillery, you have the company of many characters (some of which you can create yourself).

Download : Android

7. Golf Clash

Golf enthusiasts have lots to cheer for through the Golf Clash Android game. Here, winning and losing the game are linked to benefits and punishments.

If you win, you will gain coins and trophy points. In the event you lose, you will have to part with your pricey trophy points. Although Golf Clash does not come with a Tournament mode, you can expect the update soon.

Download : Android

8. Realm Defense: Hero Legends TD

Notwithstanding the fact that Realm Defense is a beginners’-friendly Android game, there are a number of advantages up its sleeve.

Not letting down the expectations of experienced tower defense gamers, Realm Defense does not fleece you off your money to proceed to the next level. The trick is to exercise patience and stay in the game till the last minute.

Download : Android

9. Pokemon Go

There is no gamer who hasn’t experienced the fun with Pokemon Go Android game. This game which made heads turn in 2016 is one of the strong contenders for popular Android games in 2018 as well.

Tagged as a game of Augmented Reality, Pokemon Go allows you to catch Pokemon while you are walking around in your own locality.

You can also head to the Pokestops; pit stops to replenish your gaming items. This game ranks high on its popularity for the simple reason that it comes up with frequent updates.

Download : Android

10. Sky Dancer

Check out the entertaining and addictive Android game called Sky Dancer; a game with a similar look and feel of Temple Run. However, you will be thrilled to play around with simple options and power-ups. The challenge posed by the game is to land perfectly on a 3D setting as you run.

In doing so, you need to tap the left and right sides of your gaming screen. These are your gaming controls that will enable you to perform actions like jumping or to move in a particular direction.

Download : Android

11. Epic Skater

True to its name, Epic Skater is a captivating Android game that can help you demonstrate your skating skills. The aim of the game is to reach your destination as fast as you can, by accumulating points all along the way.

A kickflip, a grind and an Ollie are the instruments that will help you complete the game. You can use all these tools and tread different paths as you start completing one level after another.

Supported by a coin system that permits you to alter your appearance and the skate board you are using, you will be able to accumulate game boosts or bonus coins as you play.

Download : Android

12. The Room Series

Recognized as one of the best Android games in 2018, The Room is a collection of escape puzzle games. The game places you in a room full of strange objects which pose challenges to you. All you need to do is to solve these puzzles as your gate pass to leave the room.

There is another room waiting for you which is loaded with some more mysterious objects. You will again have to crack the puzzles so as to ultimately win the game.

Download : Android

13. Dead Trigger 2 – Zombies FPS Survival Shooter Game

It will not be an overstatement to quote that there is no dearth for excitement when it comes to playing Dead Trigger 2. You need to wage wars against zombies with a huge artillery.

These game missions present various types of enemies that can be attacked with different types of attacking skills. So, if you wish to demonstrate your attacking moves through blasts, you can download the Dead Trigger 2 game from the Play Store.

You will also stand to gain by learning new hacks that can counter the attacks of your enemies.

Download : Android

14. Riptide GP Series (Renegade)

An ardent racer like you can make the most of the Riptide GP Series Android game. The premise behind this game is that you as a racer will lose your credibility after becoming a part of an unlawful street race. It is from here that you will struggle to reach the top.

Featuring a host of easy-to-use controls supported by superior graphics, this racing game presents a plethora of funny tricks while playing.

Download : Android

15. Implosion – Never Lose Hope

True to the tagline of the Implosion Android game, you will have umpteen opportunities to fight your enemies and demonstrate your grit; without losing hope.

Through a number of long shot and short-distanced fighting options, you will be in a strong position to fight strange enemies.

You can weaken your enemies by responsive and intuitive game controls along with a collection of dashing and shooting attacks.

Download : Android

16. Rollercoaster Tycoon

Available for download by shelling down $5.99, the Rollercoaster Tycoon is a popular Android game of 2018 that allows you to design and build amusement parks. Every park should have a rollercoaster.

You need to put your efforts and establish shops in the entertainment zones which will bring a smile on the faces of fun-loving people who come to visit your park.

The aim of the game is to encourage your visitors to spend money on the fun-filled options that your parks offer.

Download : Android

17. Micro Machines

Micro Machines is another Android game of 2018 that has racing enthusiasts enjoy the thrill of being at the wheel. You can choose a car while you pick a racing mode.

After making these two selections, you will become a part of an exhilarating race that presents opponents as if they are a part of the real world.

To zoom past the finish line of the car race, you have the support of pickups and weapons that can be accumulated en-route.

Download : Android

18.  PUBG Mobile

After the addiction time of Fornite, the latest Android mobile game seems to have taken off the mind of gamers, being one of the most popular battle royale mobile games available in the market now.

With a lot of gameplay tweaks, ‘Pub G’ feels to be more real to users in its mobile version & can be used in PC or Xbox as well.

In this game, a mercenary is dropped to an island where he/she needs to play with other players across the globe and search for supplies that are necessary for survival.

The main feature of this shooting game is that you can play it with your friends or family anytime, anywhere or even select your own teammates.

Other features include high-quality graphics, realistic weapons, voice chat for communication, etc.

Download : Android

19.  Brawl Stars

Brawl Stars is a colourful game with a set of an amazing cast of characters, called Brawlers. The entire look and sound of the game are well polished.

Overall this is a mobile twin-stick shooter that includes a variety of Brawlers players where you can choose from the different game modes to play in.

Download : Android

20.  Holedown

Even though the game was made to bring in a new touch to the traditional brick making games, this highlights to be more user-centric and colourful from the users’ point of view.

In this game, the user needs to knock down as much as blocks possible and at the same time collect a number of crystals for upgrades or to get close to the surface.

Download : Android

21.  HQ Trivia

Everyone loves to play Trivia games and this is one among them which is actually a live game-show app, may be much alike to jeopardy.

The only difference is that you need not to have a TV studio to get the action on the play. Users can watch and play right from their phone in real-time along with thousands of other players.

Download : Android

22.  Asphalt 9

People who love the high-octane racing action need to check out the game Asphalt 9. The game is all about racing on some of the exotic cars worldwide by playing and collecting them.

Altogether this car racing game is a visual experience delivered with top racing action & high-end graphics.

Download : Android

23.  Alto’s Odyssey

If you are a person who loves adventures, then you must try this free to play an adventure game that showcases the story of Alto’s.

This seems to be a very interesting endless runner game that gets you dashing down the deserts, riding through the rock formations, exploring ancient ruins, etc.

With its gorgeous designs, soothing soundtracks and shifting colour palette, this game keep users wanting for more.

Download : Android

24.  Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

This is one of the first Harry Potter games to reach smartphones He has done it in a big way, having your own story in Hogwarts, where you can live your own adventure in the magical world.

Other features include choose your story, learn spells and fight duels with your opponents, explore unseen halls of Hogwarts Castle, learn powerful spells etc.

Download : Android

Closing Thoughts

With so many games available for Android users, 2018 will be the perfect time to make the most of the excitement that these games have in store for you.

With most of the games promising regular updates, you as a gamer will always be at the receiving end of unparalleled excitement with every new version of the game.

So what are you waiting for? Pick up any one title that appeals to you and revel in the excitement of awesome games that will thrill you in more ways than you can imagine. 

Everything You Need To Know About ‘Android Pie’

Hey, your so well performing Android phone is now obsolete. Because Google has just released its recent version of the mobile operating system and it’s called Android 9 Pie. Yep, you read that right. With super cool new features and functionalities, this new mobile operating system is already increasing the users’ excitement levels.

Of course, this is just a sort of preview of the new mobile operating system and we will definitely see more exciting features added to it in the future.

The new version the Android 9 Pie, or just Android 9 is now available in giant Pixel’s smartphone the Pixel and Pixel 2 devices which includes: Pixel, Pixel XL, Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL.

Also the fact that the number of Android users are more, Android app development has always been in the trending list for companies across the globe.

And here is everything that you should know about Android Pie:

1. Enhanced Notifications:

Notifications are highly important to every smartphone user. Specifically, Google wants to improve the user experience at this point. This means that users will be able to perform more without even opening the full application.

Now for notifications, Android Pie will suggest smart replies, lets you attach images and stickers, and type your own replies. This is all possible because of the Google’s new “Messaging style” notification.

2. Navigation is Now Stepping into the Indoors:

No matter what city or country we live in, Google Maps is one of the most loved and used navigation applications so far and now in Android Pie, it is even far better. Wondering how? Well, so far this navigation map has been working only outside the doors such as route to restaurants, malls, etc.

But now it is about to change. This new feature in Android Pie includes additional support for “Wi-Fi round trip time” that leads to more particular positioning via Wi-Fi. In fact, this indoor positioning in public places like shopping malls is about to get more detail.

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3. Powered by AI for Smarter and Adaptive Use:

So far, Google Assistant has been one of the essential parts of Android operating system. With the launch of Android Pie, AI is baked into your Android smartphone in a much better way to make it smarter, simpler, adaptive, approachable and it also has features to learn from users and totally adapts to you life to perform tasks.

4. Battery life:

Just like we anticipated, Google has been working to make the new version, Android Pie, a little more power efficient. It has rolled out with a new feature- ‘Adaptive Battery’ that tends to make Android phones more smarter and efficient. The main advantage of this feature is that it prioritizes the app that you use the most and uses less battery power for app you use less

5. Adaptive Brightness: 

According to Google, current auto-brightness feature isn’t that good and so in the new version they have rolled out a more powerful way to calibrate the phone brightness based on learned behavior and environment.

6. App Actions: 

With Android Pie, Google makes use of more prediction tools which thinks a step further to predict what you’ll do next. Its like Pie starts to read up your mind.

7. Improved security:

Android Pie brings several changes to normal security features. It consists of new privacy protection features like:

  • Google requests developers to use HTTPS connections in apps instead of HTTP
  • Back-up feature in Android Pie is now encrypted, so users must enter password, pattern, pin for restoring the device
  • Support standardized look, feel and placement of fingerprint authentication dialog
  • It has introduced a new option for power menu- Lockdown Mode
  • It also has new privacy settings to protect users from malicious activities from other sensors

8. Better Privacy:

Now Android Pie will limit the access to the user’s phone’s camera, microphone, and the other sensors. Whenever the application itself is idle then it won’t be able to access those features, making sure they cannot just creep on users without their permission.

9. Gesture Navigation: 

With the introduction of Android Pie, now you have the option to ditch the old 3 button navigation of Android to the latest feature of gesture navigation. This feature isn’t turned on by default , once its turned on, the navigation change to a pill-shaped icon. And whenever required you can turn off the feature to the old mode.

10. Taking a Screenshot is now Simple:

Easier screenshots are now easy with Android Pie. You can still use the old version of the power + volume down button but now in the new version you just need to open the power window and tap on the screen shot icon. Yes, you head it right its that simple.

This also has an additional feature where you get a notification of the screenshot taken which has the option to ‘edit’ the screenshot.

11. Warning Sound for your Call:

This is another effective privacy addition that gives a warning sound whenever the user’s phone call is being recorded. The new operating system’s improvement is there for carriers to activate and a short music will be played every 15 seconds via a call that is being recorded.

However, this amazing feature has to be supported by the network and the point that is not still clear so far is that whether it will apply to the customer service calls which will be recorded for training reasons or the third party recording apps alone.

Other changes:

Other than the above-mentioned, there are other important changes that we will see in Android P such as HDR VP9 video, enhanced JobScheduler, etc. that must help all applications in general work in a little more effective way.

Lately, Google is also going to launch another feature called ‘App Slices’ which will display relevant information from your favorite apps when you need them. For example. if you type Uber in Google search, you’ll see a slice of the Uber app with prices for your ride so that the action becomes more quick and easy.

Users will get to experience some more new features in camera, audio and also graphics.

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And its there in devices near you: 

From now, Android Pie is live on Pixel phones and with plenty of new features, the latest flavor from Google looks so appealing.

Are you excited about to finally have the feature on your Android smartphone? It won’t take much time because soon it will roll out to other devices as well.

A Tutorial on Firebase Hosting

If you are looking to host your NextGen web app safely, Firebase from Google can put you at ease by providing fast, reliable and secure static hosting for your web app. Offering production-grade web content hosting, Google Firebase enables you to effortlessly deploy web apps and static web page content and connect to CDN (content-delivery network) with single command.

Furthermore, with all-in-one Firebase hosting solution, you are exempted from sizing up various available cloud based hosting service providers.

The prerequisite you need to do to get started with Firebase hosting is:

  • Install the latest version of nodejs
  • Secure an uninterrupted Data connection
  • Create a Google Firebase account

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Here is the brief tutorial on Firebase hosting for you.

Features That Make Firebase a Reliable Choice:

Before opting for Google Firebase, you may wish to clear your doubts about whether or not it is a great choice. Hence, here are all the features of Firebase hosting from Google for you to learn.

1) Content security

Firebase hosting is served over a secure connection using modern web. It has a built-in SSL which requires no further configuration, ensuring that the content is always delivered with un-compromised security standard at any point of time.

2) Speedy content delivery

Since each file you upload is on SSDs as cached at CDN edges, you can be sure your web app content is delivered fast to users around the world.

3) Quick deployment

Firebase comes with CLI which deploys your app in a few seconds. Due to CLI, you can easily upload your files from local directory to hosting server and add deployment targets into your build process.

4) One-click roll backs

Any mistakes or error made during the hosting process is undoable as Firebase Hosting enables you to manage the full version and release with one-click rollbacks.

How Does it Work?

Built with the idea of modern web development, Firebase console makes deploying the simple landing page or scalable and complex web app quite simple. The successful hosting gives your app the feel-good features, defined infrastructure and incredible tools designed to manage static websites.

WithFirebase CLI, you are able to deploy files from local directory to hosting server that has SSL configuration on global CDN. The project is given a sub-domain of firebaseapp.com. Its lightweight configuration options enable you to build sophisticated progressive web apps. Developers can easily rewrite URLs or set-up custom headers.

When site is ready for production, you can connect your own domain name to Google Firebase Hosting and also get SSL certificate for enhanced content security.

Why to leverage Google Firebase hosting?

For business-grade apps, it is important to choose a robust, scalable, and flexible framework for web application development. Google’s Firebase promises the most integrated platform for dynamic mobile apps. Some of its pros are:

1. Competitive analytics

Google Firebase comes with a free analytics dashboard that has innovative qualities and capacity to report up to as many as 500 event types. Due to its ability to provide you with crystal clear insight for understanding user behaviour, it is easy to optimize your application for better performance, scalability and personalization. Some of the crucial features of Firebase analytics are:

  • Streamlined segmentation of users
  • Unlimited reporting
  • Integration with other essential services.

2. High-quality and interactive applications

With Firebase, developers can enjoy ample space to create unique, interactive and high-quality apps using its incredible features and functions. Some of the remarkable, innovative features of Google Firebase are:

  • Authentication
  • Crash reporting
  • Storage and data syncing
  • Remote configuring
  • Real-time database
  • Cloud messaging
  • Test Lab

With these features, you can store, sync, add and integrate important data in real-time, which in turn makes user experience even more gratifying.

3. App Marketing Feature: Invites

After developing your business-focused app, you can walk an extra mile to compel users to consider and install your app. Firebase contains a feature called ‘invites’ which enables word-of-mouth advertising. Invites empowers your marketing efforts such as sending personalized invitations messages and email to prospects and existing clients, thereby advertising your app.

4. Better User engagement

You definitely want your app to do well and impress users with its scalable features and secure usage. Some of the built-in features of Google Firebase that satisfy this purpose for you are:

  • App indexing
  • Dynamic Links
  • Integrating Adwords
  • Real-time Notifications

How to get started with Hosting?

With Firebase, app development process gets simple as your app’s static assets (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.) can be easily deployed and hosted with Google Firebase over HTTPS and backed by a global CDN.

Step-1 Install the Firebase CLI

To install Firebase hosting, the CLI requires you to first install Node.js(version 5.10.0 or greater) and npm. To install them both, follow the instructions given on.

After getting Node.js and npm installed, you can go ahead and install the Firebase CLI via npm:

npm install -g firebase-tools

And then, you can re-run the above command in order to update to the latest version.

Step-2 Initialize your app

If you have your Firebase app ready to deploy, you can go inside the project directory to run the command:

$ firebase init

This action creates a firebase.json settings file in the root of your project directory.

Step-3 Add a file

After following step 2, upon initializing your app, you will be asked to use the directory as the public root by default. This is helpful when you don’t have a valid index.html file in your public root directory.

Step-4 Deploy your website

At this stage, you are able to deploy your website, which you can do by running:

$ firebase deploy

In the end, you will see your app deployed at the domain<YOUR-FIREBASE-APP>.firebaseapp.com

Step-5 Manage and rollback deploys

From the Hostingpanel in the Firebase Console you can see a full history of your deploys. To roll back to a previous deploy, hover over its entry in the list, click the overflow menu icon, then click “Rollback”.

Now your app is ready to share with the world! Next up, check out how to customize hosting behavior, connect a custom domain, or take a look at the full documentation for the Firebase CLI.

Conclusion:

With these many benefits and easy-to-install process, Google Firebase console incontrovertibly emerges as the most viable option especially for business apps. Equally appealing to start-ups and big brands, Firebase is a great choice for business app development. Everybody wants their business to grow exponentially, which is where Firebase framework can be leveraged to gain optimal results.

How To Develop An App Like Viber For Android?

In 2015 only, nearly 75% of mobile users preferred to use instant messaging apps for quick communication. Because of this, the soaring demand to create a chat app has emerged. One such app that has enhanced the quality of interpersonal communication is Viber. Used by people from all walks of life, Viber is a social networking phenomenon and has amazing features which has made it one of the most celebrated chat apps in the world.

communication app cost

Many businesses and companies crave apps like Viber in order to deliver messages conveniently, without any time delay. People who loved Viber want more of such sophisticated experience in their daily life to make their personal conversations more delightful and spontaneous. Since the launch of Viber, the technology to create a chat app for Android users has improved in many ways.

Viber’s History of Making

In later days of 2010, Viber was first launched for iPhone, as competition for Skype. Founded by four Israeli partners (Talmon Marco, Igor Megzinik, Sani Maroli and Ofer Smocha), as a part of an Android app development project, the first Android version of Viber was released in May 2011. This was the restricted version, though, with a limited group of users. After receiving the positive response, Viber was then launched for Blackberry and Windows phone in mid 2012. In July, 2012, the first ever unrestricted version was out.

The Success Factors of Viber: Features and Functionality

Viber’s functionality varies depending on the platform where it is installed. Upon installing, it asks to make a user account where phone number is a username. After the installation process, Viber interacts with phone’s local address book, creating a synchronized organization of contacts.

Viber doesn’t require users to log in to the app to communicate through messages, images or voice calls over 3G/4G and Wi-Fi networks. The software works across various popular mobile and desktop platforms, including Mac OS and Microsoft Windows. The software also supports as many as 30 languages.

Developing apps like Viber for Android

The need for real time communication has inspired the growth of Android app development for Android users. Any chat application must be enriched with stunning features to ensure intuitive messaging and sharing experience. Ever since Viber’s launch, technologies have transformed a lot and now enables spontaneous conversations as expected by today’s users.

As more and more creative updates are introduced in chat apps, it is possible for developers to develop similar apps that improve chat communication standards every time. Each app that ends up in app store has unique attributes and personalized architecture made to amaze its users.

Technologies for Instant Messaging Apps

ERLANG:

It is the superiors programming language used by many high-rated real-time chat apps (Whatsapp, Wechat, etc). It is a general purpose language that enables Android app development for instant messaging apps with great usability and intuitive user experience.

Cassandra:

It is the best easily available chat app creator with reliable scalability. One can replicate multiple datacentres using it and it provides ease to restrict local data outage instances.

Amazon Simple Storage Service:

Amazon cloud storage instils true power to real-time instant messaging apps. Amazon S3 offers secure and scalable cloud storage for data objects and makes the app accessible from everywhere.

Ideal Features of Most Desirable Chat App

The success mantra behind real-time instant chat app lies in its ability to serve users something they desire or something they never really expected. Touching the right sentiment and creating a finest appeal of chat communication is what makes such apps special among users. To create a chat app like Viber, one must make sure it will not just be about serving the purpose of text messages since these users have mature tastes and love surprises in form of unforeseen features and unique approach.

Some of the ideal traits that can make your chat app perform best would be:

Connectivity:

Real-time chat app is the most preferable communication option among today’s folks because of its prompt message delivery. Therefore the app must offer instant connectivity for users.

Quality conversations:

One-on-one and group conversations must be enabled in any modern instant messaging app. The group talk should have the capability to offer quality conversations and convenience to share documents, multimedia files, location details, audio message, and contacts.

Security standards:

Android app development team must focus on providing high security in chat application so that users can rely on the app without having concerns about losing their privacy or data to any third party.

Voice and video calling:

Viber, WhatsApp and Skype lets users avail voice calling services; skype had video calling since the beginning. Team video/voice call, conference talk are some of the features that set business standards in the app and enhance communication experience, making it scalable and more usable.

Presence and availability:

The chat must be laced with clear presence indicators, which is the requirement for any instant communication chat. The different presence status that signal the availability of users are: Online, offline, away, On Break, Busy, In meeting, Be back in, etc.

Search options:

The presence of search functionality enables users to look for conversations of recent past. It gives easy access to specific contacts or their conversations based on shared numbers and facts.

Favourite list:

To create a chat app means giving the users power to do more. By adding an option of gathering friends in favourite list, users can enjoy even more personalized experience.

Profile:

this is the most prominent feature of any instant chat app as it allows users to create their virtual profile with personal details, image and an elaborate stylish status.

Conclusion:

When it comes to creating an instant messaging chat app like Viber, the ideas can be endless. You can do as much as you think in your app. You can find the best Android app development team that understands the concept of developing a real-time chat app thoroughly and have proven experience in the area. It can be a business purpose app or an app that is intended for personal/social conversations with elaborate features and high-quality functionality. You can also make it a fusion of both. No matter what your approach is, the app must turn out to be an intuitive experience for users and engage them in fastest and most personalized communication ever.

9 Reasons To Choose Xamarin For Cross-platform Mobile App Development [Infographic]

As the global market share of mobile app is increasing frequently, use of cross-platform mobile app development has been essential for businesses. When compared with native mobile app development, cross-platform development turns out to be more cost efficient and time saving.

In such a situation, Xamarin is incredibly the best platform or framework for developers to create mobile apps using a single code i.e. C# which can be shared in multiple platforms. With a powerful IDE, Xamarin helps developers to create a comprehensive environment for development, where if required the users can further integrate the app to Xamarin Studio or Microsoft Visual Studio. Other features of Xamarin like high compiled code, options to use the native UI across various platforms, Xamarin test suite, benefits of programming language C# also makes Xamarin an extensively preferred platform.

After checking out all the advantages of Xamarin, it becomes one of the best tool set that allows us to support multiple platforms with less or no amount of code change. Checkout this info graphic and learn about Xamarin a little more.

reasons to choose xamarin app development