Monday 3 December 2012

How to outsource mobile development


So you've decided to outsource your mobile development independently or after reading our blog on Pros and Cons of outsourcing mobile development.

Start by defining the scope and objectives of your project
The detail of your scope will depend on your skills, available time and resources and development partner. The scope can range from a one page description of the concept to 100 page specifications including use cases, wireframes, mockups and functional and non-functional requirements. It doesn't matter who does the work (you or your development partner) and it doesn't have to be super detailed but these are items you should always have:
  • Objectives / Success factors
  • Target devices (e.g. iPhone 4 and 5 and iOS5+), Smartphones only or include tablets?
  • Core use cases
  • Wireframes
  • Design Mock-ups
  • Non-functional requirements incl e.g. the number of users, expected response times, etc
In some cases you may also want to create a prototype of the app or site for a smartphone to be able to test the concept directly with users.
The level of detail will also depend a lot on your development partner. Offshoring companies usually require extremely detailed requirements whereas a mobile developer that knows the culture of your country and understands the service you're developing might prefer less detail as this allows them to help you shape the service based on their knowledge.

So how do you chose a development partner
We've previously written an extensive blog about this so rather than repeating ourselves read "What is the cost of developing a mobile app or site?"
Since we wrote this article we've noted a couple of things:
  • Mobile is becoming more and more business critical to most companies and therefore it's even more important to chose a long term partner.
  • Many businesses want the flexibility of bringing the development in-house which means higher demands on the developer in terms of system design and code quality and that businesses want to avoid proprietary platforms that tie them in.
  • The number of offshoring developers and small developers have continued to rapidly increase
  • HTML5 adoption continues to grow but faced a backlash when Facebook announced they are switching focus to native apps
  • With the increase in HTML5 adoption almost every web agency now believes they can do mobile development without realising the differences in technology, fragmentation and user experience
Agree on the best technology together with your development partner
Mobile website in XHTML, HTML5 web app, Native apps or hybrid apps? Backend requirements such as middleware, content management, eCommerce, customer databases, logging and reporting and more. There is no right or wrong when it comes to choosing the technology for your project. Every project benefits from an open discussion about the technology.
We've previously written about how every app needs a mobile website and HTML5 vs native. Forget about the technology as such and focus on delivering a solution that is available where you're customers are with a user experience that will make them come back. Discuss the pros and cons of different solutions with your development partner and hopefully you will agree.

How to do agile development with your outsourcing partner?
You will never know exactly what you need until you start developing your mobile solution and see the first results. Over time you will realise that some wireframes were wrong, use cases need to be updated and that the mockups are no longer aligned with the final service. Part of your success is therefore dependent on flexibility to changes throughout the project referred to as agility.
We have spent the past 6 years perfecting how to work with agile in fixed price outsourcing projects. See our previous article on this subject.

What to think about during the project?
You've defined the requirements for the project, chosen a mobile partner and agreed to a certain amount of agility in the project. So time for me to relax and wait for the final delivery? No. Most mobile services will never have a final delivery. Popular services such as Facebook, Foursquare, Youtube, Instagram, etc do updates of their service every month to enhance it, fix bugs and as response to user feedback.
Start testing of the service as soon as possible even if the design is not completed, all features have not been implemented or the developers don't want to share it with you yet.
Be prepared to launch a service that is great but not perfect from day one. Usually it's more important that you get it out there, start listening to the user feedback then that it's perfect. If your project is delayed try to launch with less features instead of delaying the launch.

Fragmentation, fragmentation, fragmentation...
Depending on the platform you're developing for there will be more or less fragmentation but be prepared. A mobile web user interface that works great on the iPhone 5 may be slow and unusable on the iPhone 4 and the differences are even more obvious on Android devices ranging from slow processing power on low resolution screens to super high specification phones. You will never know how you're mobile website or app performs until you test it on each of the target devices. and once you've done this plan for at least 2 weeks of additional optimisation and development for Android whereas iOS or Windows Phone could be just a few days. In some cases it could take a month. Make sure that your development partner has planned for this as part of the QA and Acceptance process.
That brings us nicely on to the next subject which is quality assurance and acceptance.

Quality Assurance (QA) and Acceptance
There will inevitably be some disputes during the acceptance of the project so make sure you've agreed on acceptance criteria before you start development. Ideally the acceptance criteria are described as use cases which are also used for development and QA. A couple of tips before you start final acceptance:
  • Make sure you get the complete test report for QA from the development partner. It's their responsibility and not yours to find all obvious bugs.
  • Dedicate sufficient time for the acceptance testing and plan for 3 rounds as there will be some feedback / mistakes even if you've got great developers
  • Don't just e-mail your feedback, make sure you have a call to go through your feedback
Appstore distribution
Finally, you've approved the app and it's time to upload it to the appstores. There are a couple of things to consider:
  • Start early to prepare to set up appstore accounts and get certificates
  • You cannot change the certificates later so make sure you get them right from the beginning. The certificates should be owned by your business and not the developer.
  • Plan for at least 10 working days for approval of the iPhone app
  • Consider distributing your Android app outside of Google Play and your iOS app virtually (links) outside of iTunes using appstores such as Getjar, Amazon, Samsung Apps, Mobango, etc.
Is that all?
No. This is just a very short overview. We've spent the past 7 years developing mobile services and we are still learning every day. Feel free to contact us for more information through our website at http://www.goldengekko.com

Wednesday 11 July 2012

Who are the top mobile app development companies in the world?

There’s a pizza restaurant in Stockholm which claims to have the second best pizzas in Sweden. To me this has credibility because it clearly shows that they’ve done their research if they acknowledge that there is one place that is better. We claim to be one of the top 10 mobile app developers in the world today although it’s for others to decide our position on the list.

When customers, investors and partners asked me who our main competitors are a few years ago my answer was that I honestly don’t know. We seldom compete with the same companies more than once or twice as there are so many small development companies and freelance developers.

Today it’s a different story with mobile becoming a business critical channel for most brands. Brands acknowledge that they need to invest in proportion to the expected returns and want to work with partners that have done it before. Therefore we believe that the leaders in the industry have begun to crystallise based on track record, experience and references.

We are of course completely biased but here’s our list of the top mobile app developers in the world 2012 in no particular order. The list is based on our own experience, what our customers and partners are saying, reports in media and other sites such as Quora with a short motivation.
1. AKQA – one of the leading digital agencies in the world with a long history of award winning apps for big brands
2. Y Media Labs – pure mobile app developers based in San Francisco with a great track record
3. Ustwo - London based mobile UX and app development agency specialised in banks and retail
4. Tigerspike – Originally founded in Australia but now has app development offices across the world’
5. MIG (now part of Velti) – London based mobile agency with a smaller team focused on creating high quality apps
6. LBi – Originally a web agency but today has a good portfolio of mobile app development as well
7. Kony Solutions – US and India based with a mix of bespoke mobile development and providing tools to partners
8. Razorfish – One of the pioneers in digital and more recently extending this into mobile for their clients
9. R/GA – Strong NY office with strategy, UX and development capabilities for major clients
10. and of course Golden Gekko

All of these companies have a great reputation of understanding mobile, making honest and fair recommendations based on the clients objectives, great UE/UI teams, quality and reliable solutions.

Monday 7 May 2012

Why Google and Apple are not fully supporting HTML5


Facebook recently made several announcements on initiatives to support HTML5 as the future standard for mobile development. In conjunction with this their head of mobile developer relations also criticized Apple and Google for not doing more to support HTML5 in their browsers. This may be somewhat surprising since Steve Jobs was one of the first big proponents of HTML5 and Google has been an early supporter but the conflict of interest is quite obvious.

The reasons why they do not want HTML5 replacing native apps any time soon are:

  • With native apps Google and Apple can make a 30% revenue share on paid downloads and in-app purchases whereas with HTML5 they can easily be bypassed
  • Google and Android currently don’t need to compete with e.g. Opera and Firefox which both have better HTML5 support since almost everyone uses the preinstalled browser
  • Native SDKs and Apps allow Google and Apple to continue differentiate versus other operating systems thanks to their much larger catalogues of apps. With mobile web they cannot claim more services than e.g. Microsoft and Blackberry
  • Reliance on native apps will make it more difficult for a customer to change OS. I.e. if you rely on native apps only available for one or a few platforms then users are not as likely to switch to another OS. In addition to this switching is still difficult when it comes to syncing contacts and content
So why is Facebook so keen to make HTML5 work for them?

  • The Facebook platform was designed for web and not apps. The architecture struggles to cope with web services that have to support lots of different applications.
  • This leads on to the second point which is that Facebook’s native apps today are unstable and slow. Facebook probably has the worst average ratings and reviews of any major online brand.
  • Facebook currently struggles to monitise mobile as Apple doesn’t allow them to take a cut on mobile games and other apps delivered through the native iOS apps. Through HTML5 mobile web they can make a 30% cut on all games and apps.
  • The resources and expertise required to maintain native apps across multiple platforms are a challenge even for a big company like Facebook.


How does this impact you?
Despite Facebook’s criticism, Safari on iOS is still one of the best mobile HTML5 compatible browsers. Therefore most mobile websites will be well served on the Safari browser today and Google will most probably catch up with this in the near future with Chrome (if they have not already). However, if you are waiting for more native functionality such as photo upload, access to media, contacts and messaging services on the device and other native enablers such as push notifications, local notifications, etc then you may need to wait for a long time. Hybrids can be one alternative but to date most companies taking a hybrid approach have failed.

The story continues…
Read more about Facebook’s HTML5 initiatives at http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/20/facebook-google-apple-html5/

Update: Facebook later the same week clarified that the number one priority right is to grow the apps available for mobile with monitisation through ads rather than premium revenue in the short term. Read more at http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/24/facebook-revenue-share-apps/

Friday 4 May 2012

Top Mobile Enterprise Apps for iPad and Android Tablets


As a world leading mobile app developer we always try to optimise our productivity with sales and business tools for our business. Here’s a list of those we find being the most useful mobile enterprise tools for iOS and Android (as of April 2012).

1. Linkedin (Free)
Every employee that is in contact with customers or other employers (e.g. for HR/Recruitment) should have Linkedin on their smartphone or tablet. With the latest iPad and Android updates it’s a truly beautiful app.

http://www.linkedin.com/static?key=mobile

2. Evernote (Free)
Easy to use.  One account.  Many devices.  Cool features such as clip web pages including text, links and images; Search for text within snapshots and images. We often write the notes for the blog using Evernote.

https://www.evernote.com/about/intl/en/download/

3. Omnifocus (79.99 USD)
Beautiful UI, powerful location-aware task display and sync’s with your desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet device.

http://www.omnigroup.com/products/omnifocus-ipad

4. Salesforce (Free)
Not the greatest mobile app, but ensures you have your CRM info on hand at any time and allows you to update opportunity status on the road.

http://www.salesforce.com/mobile/apps/

5. GoodReader (4.99 USD)
Mashable describes it as “a Swiss Army knife of awesome!”  Read virtually anything, anywhere: books, movies, maps, pictures.

6. Pages (9.99 USD)
Pages lets you create beautiful letters, reports, flyers, and more on your iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. No matter which device you’re on, iCloud keeps your Pages documents up to date across them all — automatically.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pages/id361309726?mt=8&ls=1&v0=www-naus-ipad-appstore-apple-pages

7. Box.net (Free)
Access all your Box content directly from your device, keeping you connected while away from the office. Once you upload files and folders to your Box account, you can view, search and edit directly from your device for productivity on-the-go.

http://www.box.com/services/browse/official

8. Mindjet for Android (Free)
Previously Thinking Space, Mindjet allows users to easily enter ideas, tasks and meeting notes into intuitive visual maps that help you quickly organise concepts and prioritise action items.

http://www.mindjet.com/products/mindmanager#mmMobiApp

9. Locale (4.99 Euro)
Locale’s advanced artificial intelligence manges device settings automatically.  Imagine arriving at work and instantly your ringer silences, your wallpaper snaps to that scenic Caribbean photo, and Wi-Fi switches on.

http://www.twofortyfouram.com/product.html

10. Dragon Dictation (Free)
Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application powered by Dragon® NaturallySpeaking® that allows you to easily speak and instantly see your text or email messages.

http://itunes.apple.com/es/app/dragon-dictation/id341446764?mt=8

Other great apps:
Other great apps that didn’t make the top 10 list include Google Docs, PDF Expert, Hourstracker, Slideshark and Bloom

Sunday 19 February 2012

Guest Post from Magnus Jern, CEO Golden Gekko - What is the cost of mobile app development?

Our CEO Magnus Jern is well known in the mobile marketing space and this is a great article on the cost of mobile app development. Quora, blogs and forums are floodedA with questions and answers about mobile app development costs...

Read the full story on GoMo News

Thursday 12 January 2012

News from CES and Mobile 2012

Without exception, CES generates a lot of exciting news for the mobile app space. Here’s a quick summary of the key announcements in mobile this year.


Thinnest tablet ever
The Toshiba Excite X10 tablet is the thinnest tablet ever made with a 10.1 inch screen, 0.3 inch thin and 1.2 ibs weight.

Our take:
The Toshiba Excite X10 tablet is an alternative for the iPad2 and this could be Apple’s real competition. However it is unlikely that it can compete with Apple’s iPad3 which is expected in the next couple of months


Intel in partnership with Motorola Mobility
Being in partnership with Intel allows Motorola to use Intel’s Atom processors on their mobile computing devices. This includes smartphones and tablets for consumers and businesses during the next couple of years.

Our take:
Currently, Qualcomm and ARM dominate the mobile processor market and more competition is needed. This should lead to more innovation in the mobile processing space including better battery life and increased processing power.

Smartphone news



LTE devices across all price points
Most of the major device manufacturers announced LTE devices together with the carriers in the US including LG, HTC, Nokia and Samsung but also Huawei, ZTE and Pantech.

Our take:
Although LTE is important from a network capacity perspective an transition to GSM technology in the US the technology will not have much impact on consumers right now as 3G speeds are adequate for most smartphone usage. Nevertheless, the speed of the transition is impressive.

Nokia Lumia and Windows Phone
AT&T is launching the Nokia Lumia 900 in the US with LTE and stands firmly behind Windows Phone.

Our take:
This will bring positive media echo for Nokia Luma and Windows Phone devices.  Uniqueness and differentiation is good news as it shows there is still room for innovation in the OS space. Thanks to this, Apple has not been able to steal the show like they did last year.

Sony Xperia S
Sony launches the first device without the Ericsson brand as a game focused device with Android.

Our take:
The device looks great with nice specs but we don’t believe it’s unique enough to compete against the top Android devices from Samsung and HTC.

Waterproof phones
Will waterproofing treatment make smartphones ruined by water damage history? The company HzO thinks so and announced a new technology for waterproofing that they want to license to phone manufacturers.

Our take:
This is probably one of the most exciting news for consumers coming out of CES. Many of us have dropped their  phone in water or gotten it ruined by rain or water splashes. If the waterproofing works without having to turn the phone into a piece of rubber like previous attempts then this could be a big trend in the future.

Apps, apps and more apps
With over 100 great apps submitted for Mobile App Showdown here are 3 of our favorites:

CIA: Operation Ajax Amazes!
An app delivering a graphic novel with interactive sounds and animations, which seems like a unique way of mobile story telling.

SkyQ
SkyQ is an easy to use astronomy application that locates and identifies virtually any celestial object visible in the night sky with portable convenience right from the palm of your hand.

Swakker
Swakker lets you personalize your mobile messaging. Communicate in creative ways, like drawing in a chat and writing messages in the sky.

Biggest news of all

No show would be worthwhile without an app by Golden Gekko of course and to avoid disappointment Qualcomm showed off Golden Gekko’s augmented reality app for the National Guard. More about this later…