To Copy Or Not To Copy Is Not The Question For Mobile Developers

It isn’t just the software industry facing a dilemma post Apple-Samsung case, but the lawmakers are just as muddled, especially when it comes to patent infringement over app development. No sooner was the verdict passed, with Apple awarded USD 1 billion dollars by Samsung for patent infringement – comes another gigantic clash. This time from Electronic Arts (EA) Inc have recently sued Zynga for plagiarizing their game ‘The Sims Social’ and creating ‘The Ville’ as replica. Zynga has imitated the “game design choices, animations, visual arrangements and character motions and actions” Fox News reported.

Plagiarism in mobile gaming is all too common. Zynga is reputed to be ‘a highly competitive company’ that invests heavily on tracking their progress, so it’s unlikely how they overlooked this major aspect. Also, this wasn’t the first time they were accused either; some cases were settled out of court.

Drawing inspiration is one thing, downright copying is another. That’s as much of black and white as it gets. In between are they grey areas, especially for app developers. When an RPG game concept becomes popular, other developers vie their way into doing the same, sometimes unaware. Considering the vast quantity of mobile apps in the market, it can become hard to assess the originality.

When giant corporations such as Samsung and Zynga could not hide from the law, do small-time developers think they stand a chance? Some of those whose conscience pricked withdrew their apps during the course of the Apple-Samsung trial. But that does not protect their apps from being sued. Not with the increasing number of patent trolls who are out looking for vulnerable companies to attack. There are many companies out there looking to buy patents, especially from those who are bankrupt.

A year ago, BBC reported an infamous practice by Lodsys who sues app developers for infringement, including Apple and Android. Apple and Google are no legal experts either when it comes to facing Lodsys and so far have ignored the company thus far. One Android app developer who was Lodsys’s victim took a long while to figure exactly what he did wrong, among the large volume of legal documents and diction. He is now pretty discouraged about creating any more apps. Not because he copies, but because of the legal intricacies he is unsure of treading over.

So the question is no longer about what is fair. Because in such cases the patent is not with the rightful owner, but the one with enough time and money and who would rather spend them looking to frame inventors than invent something themselves.

Right now, the only recommendation for mobile app developers is to change the way they develop future apps. In best practices guides on mobile app development, there is rarely a mention of plagiarism check. Just as writing requires tools to detect plagiarism prior to publishing, so should app developers be provided with software to determine the app’s legitimacy, prior to its release in app stores.

Finally, despite the time consumption, it is worth gaining legal awareness that is becoming a priority in the technology sector. Because someone out there may be copying an app right now.

Seemi Munir Originally Found this Post on SocialJitney

Seemi Munir was Born leader,Inspires others to work to their highest potential.Seemi is Expert at Business Development,Financial Strategic Planning, and Profit growth.

Celebrities Score With Apps

If you think all celebrities do is take home their winnings, you’re wrong — they have taken the plunge into the tech world to do more than sing and play—they are letting you do the playing…

A celebrity’s popularity is directly related to the app’s popularity. That is the newest strategy that mobile application developers in USA have lately adopted to market their apps.

By working with celebrities during the development process, developers create celebrity-centered apps. ‘Bolt!’ stars the fastest runner in the world. Two-time Olympics gold medalist Usain Bolt aka Lightning Bolt helped develop and launch the game app. It was intentionally set to coincide with his triumphant win at the London 2012 event. The game now ranks as the 25^th most popular app.

Other celebrities have also previously left their imprint on the app stores. These include famed boxer’s ‘Mike Tyson: Main Event,’ Wide receiver Chad Ochocinco’s ‘Mad Chad’ and Portuguese soccer player’s ‘Heads Up with Cristiano Ronaldo.’ Companies too have invested in mobile platforms for sports and entertainment. Mobile content developer Babelgum offers free ad-based video content on iTunes through which they have recently launched a game app featuring musical band Coldplay on the iOS. The app also contains newsfeed, catalogue and contests for fans where winners get free tickets to Coldplay’s concerts.  ESPN runs their own ‘Developer Center’ to connect with other platforms. In house as well as third party developers can use their APIs to build sports apps. This open up new avenues for sports fans and celebrities to come together, just as their motto relays “Where geeks and jocks stand united.”

Another initiative involved singer/actor Jon Bon Jovi pitched in on the government’s cause to provide care to homeless veterans. The joint project Reach (Real-time Electronic Access for Caregivers and the Homeless) invited software developers to an open challenge to create “an online and web application that would provide real-time info to connect service providers who aid the homeless” from which five finalists were selected.

Why celebrities? Applications are also an excellent tool for fan engagement and celebrities consider mobile platform a way through which they can gain a wider international audience. Users prefer real-life personalities more than they do imaginary ones whom they can relate to, or pretend to be! For developers, besides successful marketing, it has opened a window of job opportunities. As one website rightly confirmed “This could be the start of a big trend on iPhone, and a big new source of income for developers.”

Seemi Munir Originally Found this Post on SocialJitney

Seemi Munir was Born leader; inspires others to work to their highest potential.Seemi is Expert at business development, financial strategic planning, and profit growth.

Can A Beautiful App Commit To User Privacy?

Interesting times we live in, Conan O’Brien repeatedly remarks on his daily show. Anything is possible. While social networks are switching from desktops to mobiles, mobile services in turn are attempting to be more social. Google+ is up and running as an android application and is receiving rave reviews since. Not that it’s a new app. It was earlier launched as an iPhone app too. But feeling more at home with their own cellular device, they have gone a step further in their latest release android application released on Google Play.

As Google themselves boasted, ‘it is a simpler, more beautiful’ app, with improved image size and navigation far superior to the former version. Its most distinctive feature is the multi-functional social ‘Hang out’ and exclusively for Android. With a simple click to start, the app offers live video calling with upto nine friends all together on Messenger. It is also location-based, where you can check out your outer circle within your neighborhood. Another great asset is its photo service, in quality and capacity that can post upto 250 photo uploads. What is more important to the user, however is that he or she can choose privacy options so they are not accessible to all.

Mentioning photos will probably bring out an unpleasant reminder when The New York Times reported two months earlier how Android apps, like iOS apps were copying users’ photographs from their private collection through location based data without the user being aware. What followed in the news was a disturbing revelation when Google confirmed that they do not require seeking user permission to access their information. Google, by way of explanation, stated that the former Android devices that used SD cards for backup would have made restrictions to data access difficult even for the user to backup and so Google simply continued with the open for all system to date, where just any app developer could gain access and upload it on any site they wished. This was strongly criticized, since users are not aware of technical workings behind the apps for them to even report to the company.

But some things need to be clearly spelled out rather than provide a verbal assurance which Google did. The state of California addressed the issue and pressed developers to ‘strengthen privacy protection for Smartphone owners who download mobile applications.’ So with Hangout, here’s hoping that Google’s excellence in user experience clears the air on the privacy aspect as well.

Seemi Munir Originally Found this Post on SocialJitney

Seemi Munir was Born leader; inspires others to work to their highest potential.Seemi is Expert at business development, financial strategic planning, and profit growth.

Lost? Let Android Find You

Android applications have been using 3D technology for sometime now and, like other 3D smartphones, have caught the attention of users on the mobile platform compared with others. The main reason is because they do not require wearing any special glasses to view, as is needed for 3D tablets and bigger screens such as 3D television. This advantage has resulted in enhanced user experience, especially in game applications. Very soon, it is location based applications such as Google Earth and Google Maps that will be viewed in 3D. Lately, Google Maps is also available offline on Android phones, which comes as a blessing when present in areas where connectivity is either weak or absent.

The aerial photography of Street View on Google Maps and Goggle Earth requires taking pictures from air and land, transport that include car mounted cameras to tricycles, then walking with backpacks–all around the globe– in narrow lanes, down ski slopes on snowmobiles and trekking over mountains  and valleys. The photographs are then intrinsically ‘stitched’ to appear as connected paths. The camera lens turns in nine different directions to capture various angle shots.

A few months ago, Google initiated underwater photography as well, and now intends to cover beneath all five oceans. To ensure that no human faces appeared accidentally in their photographs, they used face-blurring technology before they featured the view. The features keep improving with high quality imagery and now, 3D visuals.

Considering the investment that went into creating one of the world’s most popular technology applications, namely a high level of expertise, millions of dollars in cost, over five years duration and immeasurable amount of effort, instead of appreciating this invaluable service, it is the second time media has targeted their mapping applications.  It is very unfortunate indeed. Is it so that their competitors can monetize through the exact services? Maybe.
But while obtaining passwords via Wi-Fi from their Street View cars are proven as deliberate attempt accidental remains to be seen, it is not stopping them in their path as they continue to venture forth and spanning every corner of the world.

Seemi Munir found this Post on SocialJitney.Com

Seemi Munir is a Client Service Manager at SocialJitney INC.Aspiring to work with a team of professionals in a challenging environment, where My skills are utilized and honed further.I am a Expert at business development, financial strategic planning, and profit growth.Born leader; inspires others to work to their highest potential.

Can Brands Trend On Twitter?

Well, yes, as a matter of fact they can. There are certain things we need to keep in mind while planning our social media strategy for Twitter. And it all starts with how well you have managed your company’s profile and how often you interact with your followers. As we all know, this platform caters to a niche with an element of personalization so it’s better to hire a person who would spend all day interacting with the people on Twitter.


 Once you have established a decent fan base for your brand, here is what you can do:

1 – Find the most influential Twitter users who are not any real life celebrities but have managed to become famous on Twitter with their micro-blogging skills.

2 – Get in touch with those influential users on Twitter and try to get them to follow you without actually asking them to flow you back. You can do that by regularly replying to their tweets and posting interesting stuff on your own Twitter.

3 – When you are working on a campaign, get these important users involved and tell them you’ll need their help to lift the Hashtag. Also discuss with them before finagling the hash tag.

4 – Ask some of your friends who are on twitter to support your hashtag and post random-funny tweets with that hashtag. It doesn’t matter if the tweets are not completely relevant. You just need to make people start talking about it. They should know something is going on.

5 – Go to the hashtag and reply to peoples tweets with that Hashtag. Tell them what it means and what the campaign all about. Keep a semi-formal tone with a little touch of wit, if you can.

Next time when you plan to setup a Twitter profile for a brand or an organization, keep these easy steps in mind. I hope these 5 easy steps help you get people talking about your brand.

Play It Right With Video Games

It is common knowledge that video games, like any other form of entertainment, have both positive and negative influences. But the effect depends to an extent on the inherent traits of the player and is not as easily determined.  Sometimes, this realization comes tragically late. As with the Norwegian ‘mass murderer,’ Anders Behring Breivik, who spent 16 hours learning to use the rifle through video games. And who subsequently shot dead a total of 77 people a year ago. While Breivik is currently undergoing trial and psychiatric evaluation, the outside world has been deeply affected. In addition to the suffering caused to grieving families of the victims, the games industry is facing a round of backlash by media and public for being the root cause of the incident.

Incidentally one of the games that Breivik played most often happens to be the world’s most popular MMORPG game by the Guinness World Records, World of Warcraft.  And not everyone is going around causing mayhem.

To look for an outlet is understandable. But misdirected blame means taking the responsibility away from the criminal act. A person with a disturbed personality will use any medium to draw inspiration. History shows how suicides and murder have been triggered by music, movies and even books.

What should it be then–control content or control people? Ideally, it should be a blend of both. You may use child-lock controls for the younger age group but how can you possibly prevent a seemingly normal 33-year-old like Breivik, who calculatingly spent a decade in planning to kill?

Games that heal

On the brighter side, video games improve mental and physical well-being. Certain game mechanics improve skills such as strategic thinking, problem solving, hand and eye coordination, research and creativity. They help discipline through good sportsmanship and strengthens social bond when playing multiplayer games with friends and family.

With the mobile platform increasingly more popular than the PC, app developers are working hard to reduce the tarnished reputation of video games by bringing in wholesome and healthy content. For instance, recent news reports have been raving about a new mobile game application SuperBetter launched on the iOS platform. The game was created during the game developer’s personal experience while suffering an illness and thus created the game as a means to heal. The game is recommended to help counter against general health problems.

The gist of the issue is: self-awareness and self control play a crucial role in gaming. Whatever the platform one chooses, effects of video games are conditional to what I call the ‘3 Rights’: Right games, Right amount of time and Right environment. The ‘right’ factor is situational as well as individualistic and depends on personality type as mentioned earlier.

If you are prone to any form of addiction, avoid highly engaging games that will take you away from your regular routine and the resultant effects could cause social withdrawal, improper sleep and even job instability.

So if you know when to draw the line, then the very same games that another misuses, you could put to good use.

Originally Posted By SocialJitney.Com

The Innovation Connection

The way Apple Inc’s Q3 financial report has been announced brings to mind those school overachievers crying over an A-. Their revenue this quarter is USD 35 billion with a net profit of USD 8.8 billion, according to their press release. They still surpass all other competitors in terms of revenue. Yet not ‘enough’ according to their own and Wall Street’s expectations.



Could it be the creative destruction by other competitors that contributes to their ‘limited’ sales? Maybe. Competition is sky high and the added pressure comes from the fast pace of innovation in the software industry. This means that businesses like Apple’s cannot afford maintaining a steady pace of success. It is crucial for them to keep climbing up and quickly before someone else passes them by.

Innovation can either be a process, a product or both, as in the case of software technology. Mostly innovation will either bring about a whole new technology or improve on existing products. It doesn’t always have to be breakthrough technology but more a creative process. It may be big or small, simple or complex. R&D is a major driving force in innovation projects and requires investing plenty of time and money. And it’s equally important to remember that as there are rewards there are risks.



So while mobile devices serve as basic utility, it is the user experience that adds value in the product. Apple has adhered to their high standards in quality devices.

So what can they work on? For starters, on their iPhone applications. Why? The World Bank’s IC4D 2012 report discusses the global effects of the ‘app economy.’ With three quarters of the world’s population who possess mobiles, there are 30 billion mobile application downloads. These numbers are a clear direction of exactly where technology processes must head.

The report aptly communicates: “Mobile applications not only empower individual users, they enrich their lifestyles and livelihoods, and boost the economy as a whole. Indeed, mobile applications now make phones immensely powerful as portals to the online world. A new wave of ‘apps,’ or smartphone applications, and ‘mashups’ of services, driven by high-speed networks, social networking, online crowdsourcing, and innovation, is helping mobile phones transform the lives of people in developed and developing countries alike.”

This is significant to technology industry to understand that innovation is not the end product, but what is within the product that carries more weight. If Apple gets the message, perhaps their Q4 and future results may meet or exceed expectations.

Originally Posted By SocialJitney

The Smartphone Phone Rises But Facebook Worried!

Facebook has been worried with the expansion of the mobile ecosystem. The leading mobile browsers have not been powered by HTML5 and the facebook application literally sucks. In midst of this, as users increasingly become addicted to smartphones, facebook has reasons to worry.

HTML5
When it comes to apps, HTML5 gives the best user experience on mobiles. Facebook desperately needs itself to be accessed through browsers that are HTML5 compatible. However, the leading mobile browsers including chrome has not seen much of HTML5 updates. Thanks to the social network rivalry between facebook and google.

Remember that facebook earns a major chunk of revenues through applications and if users are shifting to smartphones stuffed with browsers which have weak HTML5 support , it might end up losing a lot of money.    

7ads for PC while occasional sponsored stories for mobile

PC/laptop users are able to see 7 ads targeted according to the details of the facebook users. However, in smartphones facebook has chosen to go for occasional sponsored stories. These sponsored stories can be business pages that are liked by a number of people in your facebook friend list. Although sponsored stories are said to draw more attention as compared to the 7 ad format on PCs, their frequency remains a big concern.

There is a cluster of analysts who argue that the business model of facebook is flawed and unsustainable. Infact with respect to the aforesaid facts, its ability to generate revenue is questionable in the future.

Mobile devices with advanced hardware and software functionalities will rise in the coming times and facebook needs to churn out something to keep its social media dominance going.

OpenXcell is a leading iPhone application development company specialized in mobile app development for iPhone and iPad. Hire iPhone developer at OpenXcell to materialize your app idea. For more details visit- www.openxcell.com

Originally Posted By Weebly

The Mobile Map War Between Apple And Google

Apple is planning to launch new mobile map for iPad and iPhone instead of Google maps. And Google has decided to improve in the Google maps and Google Earth. This has led to a cold war between Google and Apple for Mobile maps.

The iPhone and iPad has been using Google Map by default. It has been pre-installed with its operating system, iOS. As per Wall Street Journal, 90 percent of US phone users use Google map for finding the exact location. This makes mobile map a critical asset for Apple.  That’s why it decided to move from Google Map’s mapping system and instead build their own. It is very difficult for Apple to purchase license of the technology for mobile maps from the Google and Google isn’t either interested in giving the license to Apple. So Apple decided to offer its customers better service for Map with unique and better features than Google’s. This is expected to give iPhone and iPad app developer new ways of developing GPS tracking apps.

The cold war doesn’t end here. It’s no secret that Google’s android and Apple’s iOS are the two fiercest competitors in the mobile space. In order to make android ‘more’ feature-rich Google maps powered by Android has street view capabilities. This feature was not passed down for Apple’s iOS. So Apple has been working hard to create its own mapping software and service. iPad app developer will benefit the most by leveraging Apple’s all-new mobile mapping system.  

As per Journal, Apple needed more data for the final step of Mobile map: building its “geocoder”. It is the code that translates longitudes and latitudes into actual addresses. Apple has also purchased Poly9, C3 Technologies and Placebase to boost its mapping capabilities. Apple quietly launched its geocoder in the latest iPhone software. In this while the iPhone users open its map application, it translate their position as per Apple technology. Its new technology for map may have the zoomable 3D features.

OpenXcell Technolabs is a premier iPad app development company having deep expertise in developing customized and feature-rich apps for its multi-national clientele. We also provide hire iPad app developer facility at affordable prices. View our portfolio on http://www.openxcell.com/

Originally Posted By Weebly

iPhone Application Development Will Get Complex As Apple Leads The Enterprise App Market

Mobile applications are undergoing a metamorphosis today which is marked by their expansion into the enterprise market. While, both  Android and iOS remain as the market favorite, iOS seems to have gained an upper hand in the enterprise market of mobile devices. Mobile app developers and experts have suggested that Apple has worked to fix its security loopholes and is now all set to enter into the enterprise market with its full force. Android on the other hand is perceived to be  oriented for the masses and its security vulnerabilities are making it hard for enterprises to rely on the platform. In the face of this two things have started to occur.

iPhone application development-
The patterns of iPhone applications development have changed a lot. Apart from interesting games and generic apps, individuals are now investing in enterprise level mobile app development, many of them exclusively focused over the iPad. In Fact the apple app store has more than 200k apps meant specifically for the iPad of which enterprise app contribute to a large chunk. Mobile app developers are positive about the growth of enterprise level apps and are also hiring large number of mobile app development experts to run the show. iPhone application development companies are now looking forward for an organized pattern of software outsourcing for the mobile iOS in future. They predict that with each year, iPads will see updates with its hardware configuration and more complicated forms of applications will be made by the leading app developers. To handle the whole scenario, they will have to outsource parts of application coding to countries like India. 

Mobile app developers in India are also expecting a positive change with the development of enterprise market for mobile devices.     

The strengthening of the iOS ecosystem-
The large screen of an iPad with effortless touch navigations works absolutely great which makes it optimum choice to be used for organizational purposes. Apple has always emphasized upon creating the best possible software for its devices that were aimed at giving a strong aesthetic feel coupled with simplicity in usage. These features are so basic and fundamental to human senses that they are catalysing the growth of enterprise usage of iOS apps and devices single handedly. Apple is also topping up its entire ecosystem with iCloud and it could also prove to be a critical link to its journey into the enterprise market.

Apple is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to dominate the mobile enterprise market. It's probable that android will follow suit. However Apple was done with its homework quite early and its efforts are already paying off.       
             
OpenXcell Technolabs is a top notch mobile app developer. Hire Openxcell for your iPhone application development needs. Visit-www.openxcell.com for more details.

Originally Posted by Weebly

With iPhone app development, utilize the iPhone platform for your business

 

iphone App Development

AniPhone app is an essential part of your business now. Read on to know more. 

iPhone is the hot stuff at the moment that has created a new phenomenon of iPhone app development across the globe.  Apple has phrased “there is an app for that” as a punch line for its app store. With so many iPhone app development companies springing up it is affirmative that iPhone provides an important medium to brand your product and services. People across industries have shown immense seriousness to the iPhone that has invaded the pockets of many with a set of advanced technologies.

Globally more than 1 billion Smartphones will be put into use that will comprise of the iOS and android operating systems basically. The huge potential of this user base which is equipped with technologies like GPS, QR code reading etc. must be utilized to their fullest. Tech pundits are predicting that real time offerings especially services and events will be directed and coordinated with the help of dedicated mobile applications. Coming back to iPhone, the tech world sees this device as the trend setter. Infact most of the apps that are inspired by new ideas are always launched for the iPhone and then optimized for android and other mobile platforms. Deploying an app for iPhone means instant profits. It also strengthens the brand and creates a direct connection through the iPhone.

With the mobile internet usage increasing day-by-day, it becomes necessary to carve a niche in the world of Smartphones and iPhone app development can provide you with an optimal iPhone application for your business to go mobile. 

Openxcell Technolabs is a world class iPhone app development company. To know more about the company visit, http://www.openxcell.com/

 

Originally Posted By Weebly

Changing Trends In Online Economy

Online retailers have shown tremendous growth over the last 3 years. Although the industry is growing, it’s getting more challenging to discover and understand the changing trends of commerce in this unconventional mode of economy. For anyone entering the online retailing business, it is essential to understand how to manage multiple customer touch-points, latest shopping trends and changing customers’ preferences.

The current generation of online shopper has been termed as ‘Smart Customers’, which is because of the smart choices they make. They are a lot more tech-savvy compared to older generations, they know what exactly they want and where to get it, they know their options, they know if you are selling a genuine product, they know how to get the best product at the best price, and they know how to not let the seller fool them. All those qualities started appearing in the shoppers mainly due to the widespread use of internet. People are reading more, researching more and understanding better.

Now when you enter the world of online retailing and start selling a product or service, there is every likelihood that someone in a different part of the world is selling the same product or service and even at cheaper rates. Unless you have positioned your product in a way that is in coherence with the current fashions and trends, you are not likely to make it big in this industry.

Many online retailers are investing heavily into this business and creating websites and applications to enhance the customer experience and increase engagement. Initiatives such a mobile shopping apps, that were a no more than a blip on the radar a few years back, have now taken the center stage in the industry. With the growing use of Smart phones, people now prefer to log on to the net via their mobile device. And it is the platform where the element of customer engagement is at its peak. If the business has an attractive and user-friendly app that customers can use to make purchases via their iPhones, Android phones or tablets, they have a much greater chance to capture a bigger market share and wallet share of the customer a well.

So in the end, it all boils down to how customer focused your company is. The more time you spend understand the customer needs, the better solutions you could offer. And of course, mobile applications are one of them. So if you are an online business and you have not launched a mobile app yet, you my friend are seriously lacking behind. Hire a top grade developer and get on with it now!

 

Why Location-Based Services are Striking Out

What was initially welcomed as a convenient travel planning and navigation tool is now cause for concern. Location based mobile service are lately being viewed with suspicion, fueled by security alert that iOS apps are tracking and recording geodata since the past several months without obtaining user consent. Another alarm sounded off when some apps were discovered to have been dispersing location data for unethical use. Although these apps were immediately removed from the mobile app stores, people are still doubtful about how many of such apps exist.

While mobile companies promise strict monitoring, a study of 1000 Americans revealed that majority use location based services despite concerns because of the invaluable information provided. It may be for entertainment purposes such as shopping and gaming. You know exactly where to go if you are in a new locality. From the business perspective, users can expand their network locally.  Corporate events can be tracked by distance of location.

Locations are tracked by linking apps to the Core Location Framework, which comprises different location services via WiFi, GPS or built-in cellular information. If users do not wish to reveal their location, they have the option to disable the service from the settings or switch to ‘Airplane mode’ to prevent location identification.

From their end, Apple officially announced that location based apps are not allowed in their iOS store solely designed for targeted advertising. App developers have been warned to observe this policy or their app will be barred from their store.

For secure use and to save battery power, Apple recommends users should switch off the service when not in use, opt for the ‘significant-change location service’ rather than the standard location service on the iOS and to maintain low resolution values.

Users are also advised to read the agreement prior to installing the app, which should spell out exactly how their personal data will be used.

Forbes suggests that there should be global standard for users to use color signals that inform and authorize app developers about the extent of location data that can be obtained.  Imaginative, but tricky.

For now, mobile companies need to work on providing better coverage and power. App developers need to give users a strong incentive to obtain location data in apps. Similarly, businesses need to work in cohesion with mobile companies to optimize location based apps that will benefit the user, the developer, and their firm.

 This post originally appeared on Socialjitney.

New Cookery Apps for The iPhone

Mobiles provide a rich store of cookery apps and recipes from around the world. It doesn’t matter whether you are a super chef or a novice, easy do-it-yourself techniques have made life convenient for the food savvy, the busy professional. The following selection of cookery apps is extracted from various favorable reviews for the iPhone:
Dessert delights: iChocolate by Mark David
No cuisine is complete without a dessert to satiate the sweet tooth. And very few people resist chocolates, which makes it a safe bet to include it when you have gusts over for dinner. The app comprises recipes of various kinds of desserts that include cakes and ice cream.  Besides that, it also provides a history and other relevant facts about chocolate, along with tips, index and measurement and cooking guide.
Quick and healthy fixes: Trufflehead by ADITK, LLC
The fact that these organic recipes have been the innovation of a mother is enough to assure they are healthy recipes. The app comprises 270 easy or moderately easy recipes and includes nutritional information about each item. Nearly half the recipes are ready within half an hour. The ingredients are reasonably priced and details of their components are provided through hyperlinks. There is an option to simply provide 3 ingredients you wish to cook with, and the app will furnish a recipe containing them or add the ones you require to purchase into a shopping list. The app also provides video viewing and photo sharing to aid instruction that make the experience enjoyable rather than a chore.
A Kitchen aide: KitchenPad™ Timer by Prativo Group Inc.
A total of 9 timers, 4 for the overn and 5 for the stove-top for you to cook multiple dishes and without having to constantly reset one at . All you require is to enter the food item information on the screen under ‘What’s on the stove.’ The app tells you the time settings and the extent of heat or temperature required for cooking.
A cooking game: Cooking Queen by Wachirawoot Tacommie
The simply designed 3 D multiplayer game is available in two versions:  ‘Cooking Game Free’ and ‘Cooking Queen’ that is purchased.  Although the app just contains 10 recipes, more are in the pipeline.  The game starts with the Queen giving instruction of the recipe. For instance, to prepare a California roll, the screen displays the instruction ‘Peel the avocado’ or ‘Cut the cucumber into strips’ or match shadow icons provided against the food items. All the while the screen will inform the player to touch or rotate the phone to maneuver the objects. When the recipe is complete, the player can view his/her score.
This post originally appeared on Socialjitney. 

Android apps running on Windows and Linux...

We highlighted recently improved x86 native support for the Android SDK, better integrating the emulator with Windows PCs. Well, here are reports of Android integration going a step further...

Agam Shah, of IDG News, reports that  a software company called Bluestacks is "trying to close the gap between Microsoft's Windows and Google's Android OS with its App Player application". This was released in beta on Tuesday.

He writes:

App Player is an emulator that allows Android applications to run on Windows 7, Vista and XP OSes. Users can install the software in Windows and then run around 450,000 Android applications, including Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, the company said in a statement.

Read the full article >>

Same integration, different platform - also check out this story on Datamation.com - Android Apps in Linux Changes Everything

We reported recently that Android support was back in the Linux Kernel, and in a recent post Matt Hartley considers "how Android compatibility might affect the desktop Linux and what we might see happening in the near future as well"...

"When the news of Android compatibility was announced, I immediately heard from Android developers who saw this as an opportunity for their applications to run on the Linux desktop.

Obviously, there's going to be plenty of applications designed for Android that won't run on Linux because of the X window system. In the long run, however, I think that there'll be plenty of cool Android applications that will run on Linux without much tweaking at all."

Read the full article >>

Are we all agreed that this is the inevitable future - Android apps running on a variety of platforms, keen to make the most of available application functionality? The concept of Widgets on the desktop is already here, so this could be the logical development.

Why not iOS apps, too, you may ask? Well, this would be where the open nature of Android comes into play, with Apple's equivalent app pool always likely to remain proprietarily closed to an Apple world.
This post originally appeared on Electronics Weekly.

How to Get Your Mobile App Approved for the Apple App Store

One of the biggest worries of App Developers is that an app intended for the Apple App Store will be rejected. The App Store is the largest repository of mobile apps in the world, and it’s the quickest path to app success – but only if you do everything right. While it’s the most populous App Store in the marketplace, it also holds the reputation as one of the most difficult markets to get into and recognized.
Here are some tips you need to keep in mind if you want your app to sail through the Apple App Store approval process:

• Be error-free. The most common reason for an app to be rejected by the Apple App Store is that Apple runs the app and finds some form of technical error or problem. This can come from any number of sources, from developer carelessness, human error, or even mis-keying of the app’s version number. Make sure whoever is developing your Mobile App not only is diligent about dealing with potential errors in the software, make sure that you have a decent testing process in place before the app ever heads off to the App Store.
• Provide Apple with all of the required details. You need to make sure you’re giving all of that identifying information that Apple wants. Include information about which APIs are used, and a short description of exactly how they are being used in your app. Note which images and icons are being used, and how they are used in your app and others.
• Make it basic. Start out with the simplest possible version of your mobile app. Hold off on implementing all of the extra bells and whistles. It’s that initial app approval for the App Store that’s going to take the longest. You can always add features and functionality later on. That doesn’t mean, of course, that you should present some kind of beta or test version of your app to the App store; just hold off on the more advanced features of the app until it’s been accepted into the App Store.
• Follow Apple’s rules. Apple has some very rigid rules. That’s their prerogative; if you’re not willing to play by Apple’s rules, they you shouldn’t be developing on that platform. Follow rules exactly as they are stated. Be meticulous about this; even rules that don’t seem all that significant still have to be followed. You can’t use violent naming conventions, for example. You can’t misspell technical jargon. You can’t use APIs that aren’t yet published.
• Read up on Apple’s previous denials. Dig around to find out some information from other developers. Ask others about their apps, and about what apps were rejected and why. By getting a handle on some real case histories of these rejections, you’ll have a better understanding of how Apple approaches the app store.
• Be creative. There are hundreds of thousands of apps out there. Yours needs to stand out. Not only does it need to stand out to your potential customers, of course, it also needs to stand out to Apple. Try to identify a niche that already very saturated. Find new and exciting ways for your target audience to use the app, or for them to engage with the app. If your app doesn’t seem unique, it’s not going to make it through approval.
• Be professional. The app store gets hundreds – sometimes thousands – of app submissions every week. It’s up to you to handle the entire process in a professional manner. Be polite in all of your correspondence. Be clear in all of your language. When you create your cover letter, make sure it’s approach is entirely professional and gives them everything that they have asked for.
• Be patient. The typical length of time that you can expect approval to take in the app store is about 1-4 weeks. That being said, it can often take longer. There are no guarantees about how long approval is going to take.
• Be prepared to be rejected. Even with your best efforts, it’s possible that you’re going to face a rejection. Understand that it’s not personal, and that it doesn’t mean the end of the world. Apple is great about being specific as to why apps are rejected, and you can count on a thorough response. Make the kinds of changes that they ask for, and try again.

While following these tips won’t guarantee approval of your app, if you carefully implement all of them there is a good chance you’ll be able to get your app in within the first one to three attempts.

This post originally appeared on Socialjitney.