Important Things to Consider Before Creating iPad Apps

Posted on March 23, 2023 by schatzi

iPads are arguably the most popular tablet in the world. Be the design or the performance or simply the brand of Apple, it has gained immense acceptance. To tap the growing market of iPad users, many business owners are developing their own native iPad applications. This has given birth to a thriving iPad application development industry. Many companies are jumping into this development business and some of them are actually doing pretty well. However, there are few things which much be considered before going for development of such applications.

Capability: iPad applications can have a bigger variety than you imagine. This is why it is very important to know what you can develop as a programmer. Few programmers can really build varied types of applications. Identifying what you can do is the first step of building a great app.

Demand: The company you are developing for can be called your primary client while the end user can be called your secondary client. You must be aware of what your primary company wants to gain from this app while making sure that your secondary clients are happy with the application. The happiness comprises many aspects including ease of use, layout, need etc.

Interface: As iPad is a touch based device, the buttons should be placed prominently yet not creating obstacles in normal use of the application. To add a better experience, think beyond normal touch and swipe actions which are too common. Get the users engaged in the application and the application will get popularity in almost no time.

File support: some of the common file extensions in iPad are.doc,.pdf,.txt,.rtf,.xls,.ppt,.html,.vdcf etc. The application must support these extensions to ensure smooth operation of the application. Nobody would like to install additional things to install and run an application. Having support for these files can be considered a must for a successful application.

Aesthetics: People will surely check the screenshots before downloading and installing any application and thus, the screenshots must be attractive enough to lure the customer into it. The screenshots also must have the needed theme according to the purpose of the application. For example, a fun application like “love calculator” may have a pink theme but surely a black-&-grey theme is a turn off for many users. The descriptive text which accompanies the screenshot must explain what the app can do and why this app was developed in clear words.

Once all these are done, you may proceed to promotional campaigning using various popular methods available today.

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Cell Phone Reviews: The LG Ally Smartphone

Posted on March 22, 2023 by schatzi

Although it’s considered a low-end smart-phone, the LG Ally boasts some impressive specs for a lower priced device. The phone features a 3.2-inch capacitive TFT display that supports 262,000 colors and an 800×400 resolution. While not as nice as a Super AMOLED display, the screen’s images appear very crisp and is easy to view in direct sunlight. In addition, the display is very responsive when scrolling through home screens and registering other touch input.

Unlike other OEMs who add their own skin on top of the Android OS, the Ally uses stock Android, which isn’t a bad thing as it tends to run a little snappier than phones that are loaded with a custom UI. Users can have up to 5 screens that can be customized with widgets to give them social networking updates, weather updates and application shortcuts.

One feature of the Ally that will please those who hate capacitive buttons is the inclusion of physical keys on the front that give you access to your dialer, your home screen, menu and end call/power.

People who hate typing on virtual keyboards will be happy with the Ally’s slide out QWERTY keyboard. Typing on this is a pleasure thanks to the large keys that have enough separation between to accommodate all but the largest of hands.

The Ally also comes with a rear-facing 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, which is a nice inclusion on a lower end phone. Picture quality is acceptable, but not stunning, and the flash does a decent job of illuminating low light scenes.

What makes this phone a worthy purchase, however, is the price. At just $99.99 with a two-year contract on Verizon, you get a solid Android device that lets you surf the web, get e-mail, stay up-to-date with your social networks and comes with a better physical keyboard than many of the higher end phones such as the Motorola Droid.

It’s easy to overlook the Ally with all the new Android smartphones coming out, but if your budget doesn’t allow for a $200+ phone, the LG Ally will give you all that Android goodness without emptying your wallet.

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Nikon Professional SLR Camera Multi Compartment Gadget Bag Review

Posted on March 1, 2023 by schatzi

Every photographer especially those who are professionals always look for equipments that exceed the expectations they have in mind. This Nikon Professional SLR Gadget bag will prove that it can be one of the best DSLR bags by means of enhance functionality and security features.

With a carrying capacity of one DSLR body, 3-5 lenses and accessories this bag is designed to hold all your invaluable items in photography. Its main compartment has padded walls, and is customizable on your preferences. It is also a tool to prevent them from scraping each other which may result damages in your precious DSLR gears. It also has a built in memory card installed on the lid of the bag, perfect to store your small and easy to misplace part of your DSLR camera. In addition to that, it has an integrated LCD/lens cleaning cloth on the cover of the bag just right to make sure all your fragile items are protected from dirt and dust.

To maximize its protecting ability Nikon have included an All Weather Cover to safeguard not only your gadgets but also the whole bag, free from extreme weather hazards. They have made the shoulder strap of the bag removable for added comfort and to have variation in carrying the DSLR bag.

The Nikon Professional SLR Camera Multi Compartment Gadget Bag can accommodate most of the Nikon DSLR Products and is available at a purchase price of $ 69.99. If you are looking for a discount, you can buy it on Amazon for only $ 44.95, a big 36% off for you.

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What Product Managers Need To Know About Going Mobile

Posted on December 31, 2022 by schatzi

If you have been out to a mall, driving in traffic, or attended a sporting event lately then you’ve seen that just about everyone had their faces planted into a mobile device of some sort. From a product manager point-of-view, this sure seems to be telling us that we need to find a way to get information about our product onto everyone’s mobile phones. But how?

Why Product Managers Have To Go Mobile

Clearly, trying to add a mobile marketing channel to your product communication program is going to cause more time, effort, and expense for you. Is it going to be worth it? The answer is almost assuredly “yes”.

The new reality is that people always have their mobile devices with them and they are almost always turned on. This is a product manager’s dream. If we can figure out how to make information on our product part of our customer’s mobile platform, then we’ll always be in their thoughts. Creating a mobile app for your product should almost become part of the product development definition.

Careful now. Nobody wants to have an ad for your product taking up space on their mobile device – space is limited and your app will be quickly deleted if it is not providing value. This is where your real product manager creativity is going to have to come into play.

Whatever application you create for your customers to download to their mobile devices, it’s going to have to either entertain them or provide valuable information to them. This means that you’re not going to be able to make an application that talks about your product directly, rather you’re going to have to deal with the problem that your product solves and somehow associate your product with that. Figure out how to do this correctly and you’ll have something to add to your product manager resume.

How Product Managers Can Create Their Own Mobile Apps

Once you’ve figured out what kind of application your customers would be willing to download and not delete, then the real work starts. Although I’m sure that your company’s IT department would be more than willing to help you out, if they don’t have any experience in this area, you might want to look elsewhere.

The simpler your application is, the easier it will be for you to do most of the design work. There are a number of online firms that are willing to provide you with templates that are designed for the market that your product addresses. No programming knowledge is required – you just change the text and specify when the various screens should appear.

As product features change over time, the product manager can return to these sites and edit the app’s content and republish an updated version of the application. A couple of firms that provide this service include Bizness Apps and Red Foundry.

Getting Someone Else To Do It For You

In some cases, who’s got the time to sit down and design their own mobile app? Alternatively, simple templates may not do it for you – you may need custom mobile app design work.

In this case, you’re going to need to hire a developer to create your new mobile app. As you might well imagine, prices for this kind of work are all over the map. However, if you need a planning price then you can assume that it could run you up to US$10,000 – $20,000.

For this price you will get to control all aspects of the app. This includes using custom photos and artwork. The nice thing about spending all of this money up front is that most of the time it’s a one-time fee. That means that if after the app is developed you start to sell it to your customers and potential customers, then you will have created a new source of revenue for your product that you will get to keep 100% of.

What All Of This Means For You

Part of the joy of being a product manager is that the job is always changing. Right now we’re seeing one of those changes show up and start to knock on our door – the arrival of mobile applications. I’m willing to bet that we’re going to see the ability to add these apps to a product become a part of every product manager job description in the future.

Every product manager needs to be taking a close look at the world of mobile applications and trying to determine how you can use them to boost sales of your product. You need to see if you can create an app that will either entertain or provide value to your customers. In order to create the app you have many choices: you can design it yourself or you can hire a developer to do it for you.

One of my customers runs their product management department with the slogan “fail early, fail often”. I think that applies to the world of mobile apps. It won’t cost you that much to get started so give it a try and who knows, you may have just created the next “Angry Birds” app for your product!

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