Tips For Developing Mobile Applications On Androids

Developing smartphone apps for the Android platform would allow you access to a wide range of smartphones in a broad and rising market. Android is probably the most common app for mobile devices in the world today. Android connects owners of smart phones, laptops, and other electronic devices to Google and the whole Internet. In the process, how we interact with each other changes. Android is an open platform for application developers that provides exciting opportunities for virtually any app imaginable to be developed. 

Android is everywhere, in our home, at the office, in cameras and watches, in cars and TVs. Android also has an open marketplace built-in for new app distribution, with a user base that continues to grow every day. Android gives you unparalleled ways to take advantage of the potential of mobile connectivity, whether you have hundreds of apps or not. Android is highlighted by Java, so Java programmers can use their current vast Java tools to build applications that function flawlessly on Android phones and other smartphones. Customers will be able to enjoy full pleasure from the apps running smoothly.

Android App Distribution & Monetization

Android applications have ready access to a leading open delivery marketplace: Google Play. You have access to millions of Android users around the world as soon as your company releases a new version on Google Play. You stay in charge at the same time, because Google Play lets you decide how to market your games. When or how many apps you will post, there are no restrictions, and you keep ownership over the groups of clients you reach out to. There are no delays with Google Play and customers can almost immediately download and begin using your apps. 

When publishing on Google Play, users are allowed to decide whether to distribute it free of charge, sell it at a set price, or pack it with in-app product sales. In app product sales are often the best way to maximize revenues and engage customers. 

If you are interested in developing your own mobile application or just want to learn more, contact us today!

6 Benefits of MVP Product Development

You must be thinking, MVP? I thought that was just a term for the most valuable player in sports. This is true, however MVP meaning Minimum Viable Product began when one man couldn’t find a pair of shoes he was looking for in the store, so his solution was online shopping. MVP was born in 1990.

Instead of investigating the market, he dove right in and created a website from scratch. His approach to an online store was looking at a shoe store, clicking on the images of shoes then posting them on his site. When he received an order, he would purchase the shoes from the one website and then ship them.

There’s no doubt that he lost a lot of money on each sale, but regardless it was a method to test a business idea. Once he had inquired that customers were actually interested in purchasing shoes online, he turned it into a fully functional legal business.

Nick Swinmurn is the master behind the company Zappos, it was eventually attained by Amazon for $1.2 Billion.

The approach to create Zappos, by Swinmurn, is known today as MVP Development.

Now, what is the MVP Development process?

Minimum Viable Product, otherwise known in short as MVP, means that the smallest product, with the least features, just includes the basics and those functions that demonstrate your product.

Within mobile app development, MVP is a basic interpretation of a mobile application. MVP is the action of creating a new product with base function and important minimal features to test how the main audience will respond. Once that’s developed the full version of the product will take place.

MVP assists with testing, designing, and delivering the final product. MVP development holds a crucial task of web development and designing. A countless number of businesses have run into major drawbacks when trying to launch a Minimum Viable Product for mobile app or web.  This is why it is crucial to understand the question: How to develop a minimum viable product?

But, what’s the purpose of an MVP?

The purpose of creating an MVP is to release a product in an efficient time frame, that is based on your idea with a limited budget. This method enables the business owner to collect users’ feedback for the main product and include it in future iterations. Using MVP will help you find the right audience while looking for ideas that are only based on experience which saves time.

Creating an MVP means ensuring you have a balance between what you’re offering and what your customers actually need. An MVP also helps minimize the number of errors that may occur.

Here are the top Benefits of MVP Product Development

1. Focus on Building the Core

Using an MVP directs the attention onto one idea. The concept that MVP belongs to is similar to a lean start-up, such that you can build a product with a limited budget in a specific time frame. There are some tasks that could be higher priority, but with having limited features it can reduce the time and cost.

2. Early Testing Opportunity

This provides us the chance to investigate if an idea will work from step one, without having to invest your entire budget to testing.

3. User Intelligence and Gathering Feedback

The MVP provides you with the opportunity to get the prospective users’ opinions on how they want to see the final product.

4. Allows Market Validation

Utilizing an MVP helps you develop an understanding of if your app is in the correct target market. It should be able to demonstrate your brand well to the users, and allow them to visualize how unique your product is, in comparison to others on the market.

5. Takes Less Time to Develop your App

Having the ability to develop an app efficiently in less time than previously means lower development costs. As well, the quicker your app can be launched the faster there will be feedback.

6. Budget Friendly

Another crucial advantage to using MVP, as it minimizes spending all of the resources immediately, especially on components that may or may not work.  

Surprisingly enough, but very few apps were actually downloaded out of all that are available on iOS and Android, and this is because of problems with the user interface or overall poor performance.

It is recommended to create an MVP as it is an efficient method to boost your mobile development strategy.

If you’ve launched a new product or business, it’s more than likely you’ve thought about the amount of time invested through the initial idea approval. If the answer is yes, then the MVP development process is the perfect solution for your idea.

Stats Emphasizing the Need to Build an MVP

• 29% of start-ups fail due to running out of cash

• Start-ups that scale properly will grow 20x faster than those that scale prematurely

These stats precisely demonstrate the requirement to create an MVP, however, here are the more specific reasons to build a Minimum Viable Product.

• Creating an initial model

• Conducting initial idea approval

• Preparing to start your journey

The whole concept of building a mobile app has been broken into two major sections:

Business and Marketing, because of the MVP you’ll have the ability to create a survey to gather feedback for the best approaches. The surveys will also improve the advertising platforms.

Proof of Concept, the technical aspect. With an MVP you’ll be able to efficiently execute the crucial programming and designing the minimum features, which will eventually make your app unique.

Now, How Do You Build a Minimum Viable Product?

1. Start with Market Research

Understand the market you are getting yourself into, before you initiate an idea and start the MVP process. A good way to gather market research is to conduct many surveys. The more the merrier, or in this case the more you have the better chance of success.

2. Ideate on Value Addition

Ask yourself: What value does your product offer to its users? How can it be beneficial? and Why would they purchase your product?

These questions will help you get a clear understanding of the mandatory predictions of your product. MVP encourages you to introduce the value to consumers when it’s just an idea, because it will help create a better MVP.

3. Plan out the User Flow

This is the Design Process stage, and it is very important. This stage is crucial to make sure that your app is convenient, while also designing it around the consumer’s perspective.

User flow is also a crucial aspect when designing because it ensures that you won’t leave anything important out.

4. Prioritize the MVP features 

It’s inevitable, but it is important to ensure all the MVP features are included, since this is an MVP.

5. Launch the MVP

Once you’ve established the main features and have knowledge on the market needs, you can develop your MVP. You need to understand that the MVP is not a lower quality to the final product, it still needs to satisfy your customer’s needs. 

6. Exercise and Utilize – Build, Measure, Learn

Everything is a part of a process: define the scope of work, work with the product in the development stage, and then quality assurance. 

Review the feedback after the product has launched so you know how to grow and do better on future products.

5 Developer Mistakes to Avoid When Building an MVP

1. Solving the wrong problem

Before getting started on an idea you need to make sure that your product is worth it or not and it won’t waste time or resources.

You can ask yourself: Who is this for? What problem do I want to solve? Is my proposal an effective solution to the problem?

If your goal is to target every market, there’s a chance you won’t get anywhere. Once you’ve established the correct audience, the second question should have an excellent solution and the third a confirmed yes.

2. Bypassing the prototype phase

Think of if you submit an assignment without proofreading it, then get it back and have a bunch of grammar mistakes.

If you launch an MVP without testing it, more likely than not the feedback is going to come back with several flagged problems.

Learn your lesson and don’t bypass the prototype phase, you’ll thank yourself later.

3. Targeting the wrong segment group

Once you have a ready MVP prototype, it’s time to go test it out and gather feedback from your chosen target audience.

This is the stage where you could learn if you chose the right audience, or if you’ve made a mistake and need to make adjustments. Don’t ask relatives because their feedback could be biased, or just provide you the wrong feedback.

4. Wrong development method

If you dive right into the process of MVP development without knowing the right method, that’s calling for a lot of mistakes. This is one of the reasons why start-ups will start giving up in the middle, because they rush into things even if it’s wrong.

5. Confusion between qualitative and quantitative feedback

Qualitative Feedback provides you with feedback that corresponds with the user-friendliness of features in the product or service. It is a direct assessment of usability, that helps developers to analyze specific problems that may arise.

Quantitative Feedback provides the metrics that point out whether a task was easy or difficult to pursue. It is an indirect approach to the usability of the design.

Top tips for how to target the correct market when building an MVP

1. Analyze the competition

2. Geographically map out the customer base

3. Find new motivation behind a purchase

How to measure the success of your MVP

1. Word of Mouth

2. Engagement

3. Sign-up

4. Thorough Client Appraisals from the feedback

5. Percentage of active users

6. Client acquisition cost

7. Number of paying users

8. Client Lifetime value

9. Churn Rate

4 tips for the transition between Minimum Viable Product to Full Scale

1. Gather Feedback

2. Prepare to scale

3. Perfect your pricing

4. Don’t shy away from marketing

Wow, that was a lot of information to consume, but now you are ready to endure a journey of your first MVP development. A key to remember is that you don’t need to be perfect, and if you have any questions, reach out to one of our experts at ISU Corp!

2020 BREAKDOWN OF THE TOP 12 MOBILE APP DEVELOPMENT TRENDS

This year has been a year of change, and to help adapt, we have found comfort in our mobile devices. So, it is no surprise that the evolving mobile app development industry is bigger than ever.

The major downside to such a digital era, is keeping up with all of the ever-changing trends, not only externally, but internally within the development of apps.

As of today, the mobile environment has been fundamentally transforming business and operating models at a surprising rate. Supposedly, by 2021 the revenue of the mobile app market will be an estimated $693 billion.

Now here are the top 12 mobile app trends of 2020

1. Creating apps for foldables

The inclusion of foldables in app development has sparked necessity with the new “foldable phones” from Samsung. They allow for a larger screen, which gives an immersive experience.

2. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

With all trending ‘Face App’ that makes you look older or younger, it brought instant popularity to the techniques that come with Artificial Intelligence. The most popular AI and machine learning are the ones involving a virtual assistant like Siri, Cortana or Google Assistant.

3. The Rise of Chatbots

Having most things being virtual in 2020, the rise for online purchasing grew exponentially. Which meant customer service needed to be accessible somehow, this is what Chatbots were developed for. To help create a virtual customer relationship.

4. Wearable app integration

Beginning years ago, with pedometers that only counted your steps, to now having a plethora of smart watches to choose from, wearable technology is more popular than ever and continuing to grow around the globe. From 2017 to 2021 the number of connected wearable devices is expected to double.

5. IoT-Enabled mobile apps

Known as an interconnected set of smart gadgets often referred to as the Internet of things. Most commonly we know this technology being used in the Amazon Echo Dot / Alexa line up, or the Google Home line up. The Internet of Things devices is what makes your home a smart home.

6. Augmented reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR)

Most commonly known for ‘Pokémon GO’ the augmented reality app that got Pokémon fans up and moving. Nowadays, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality have been integrated into many programs and softwares like Google Maps and Snapchat.

AR integration is one of the most essential mobile app trends of 2020, because it is what is shaping the mobile industry to what it is today.

7. Mobile Wallets

Living through a pandemic has made contactless payments favoured greatly. Also, in general not having to carry a normal wallet and just your phone makes going out that much more convenient.

The most popular brands for mobile wallets are Apple Pay, Google Wallet, and Samsung Pay.

8. Mobile App Security

With having your credit card information on your mobile device makes for the need to have a good security system for your device. Moreover, from that, companies started buckling down on their security when Uber came out of the metaphorical closet from accepting a hacking scandal. This forced several businesses to invest more in cybersecurity.

9. Beacons Technology

Utilizing Beacon’s technology in 2020 will make your presence in the app world even more powerful. Integrating notifications from Beacon are becoming increasingly more popular for businesses and industries to connect with their customers.

This technology also helps with creating virtual tours that are more personalized.

10. Instant Apps

As it states in the title, it’s an app that can be used immediately without having to download anything. They have not just grown in popularity from users but both IOS and ANDROID developers because they help with a better conversion rate as opposed to other mobile apps.

11. Plethora of On Demand Apps

Uber was one of the very first companies to offer demand-based pricing, which improved the User Experience for so many other apps. From ride-sharing to food, healthcare and travel.

As of currently approximately 42% of the adult population use a minimum of one on-demand service.

12. Cloud Storage development

Now, having all of these apps comes the need for storage. Cloud technology however is not just used for storage as it plays a crucial role in instant Android apps. As well as iOS devices for some apps.

Integrating cloud computing assists mobile apps with storing large amounts of information and data efficiently, and cost effectively.

Common cloud apps we know include: Twitter, PayPal, Dropbox, Google Drive, and more.

To conclude, there are a ton of apps out there, as well as app trends and sometimes it can be hard to keep up with this ever-changing market. We hope this list of the top 2020 trends helps you understand what’s best, but if you need help, reach out to one of our experts at ISU Corp!