New Testing Toy

New Testing Toy

https://instagram.com/p/0HApaTQPxU/

Army of "Be-Bot" Android robots the twins asked me to draw for them on the dry erase board.

Army of "Be-Bot" Android robots the twins asked me to draw for them on the dry erase board.

http://instagram.com/p/ot78tzQP1W/

Goodnight Gadgets

Goodnight Gadgets

http://instagram.com/p/iVYd4HwP2r/

Dongle Streaming

Dongle Streaming

http://instagram.com/p/eJIOnRwP_R/

Android Update Day

Android Update Day

http://instagram.com/p/cXarSuQPwM/

If I Want To Build An iPhone App & Android App, Will It Cost Twice As Much?

(Cross-posted from the ChaiONE Blog)

Here at ChaiONE, we're often approached by individuals & companies looking for guidance on their mobile initiatives. One issue that frequently surfaces concerns addressing a user base that may consist of a mixture of iOS & Android users. This is common when the software will be consumer-facing where Android has a large market share, or in BYOD (bring your own device) scenarios where a company won't be issuing a standard device across its workforce.

In cases where the user base platform landscape will be heterogeneous, many organizations consider building a cross-platform app using technologies such as HTML5 or Titanium. Depending on the type of app desired, this may be an economic option. For simpler apps where access to the device's more advanced capabilities aren't needed, a cross-platform app can sometimes get your software into the hands of users for less upfront development cash outlay.

While ChaiONE's Director of Development, Ben Scheirman, will discuss in detail in an upcoming blog post about the many advantages of developing native apps instead of cross-platform apps, for the remainder of this article let us just assume that there are indeed compelling reasons to build individual native apps for each platform instead of a write-once, deploy everywhere approach. If you're considering building a native app for iOS, and a native version for Android, will this cost you twice as much? The short answer is no. Let me explain why.

During the course of an app development project, there are several types of activities that must occur. Usually a period of user research will precede all other activities to ensure the yet-to-be-built app will in fact meet the needs or fulfill the desires of the individuals who will actually be using the software. Once that is validated, an app development team will then begin designing the app, both in the context of user experience paired with visual design and foundational technical architecture. Notice that I haven't mentioned anything specific to iOS development or Android development yet. This is important.

Apps rarely exist in isolation. By that I mean most modern mobile software isn't self-contained. Instead, it's more common that an app will frequently communicate with the outside world, pulling in new data from different sources or pushing out data created in the app to other servers. This communication with the outside world is accomplished via Application Programming Interfaces, or APIs. While the concept of APIs are beyond the scope of this article, at a high-level it's a structured way for two software entities to consume & transmit data between each other. If the APIs your app will utilize already exist, the app development team will just need to document the structure and plan to build the app in such a way that can interact with them. If the APIs your app needs don't currently exist, then the development team will need to define and subsequently build them so the app can eventually utilize them.

All of the activities I have outlined so far are mostly platform agnostic. Regardless of the platform you target, these efforts would need take place. These efforts are also foundational, meaning they need to take place before the team begins development on the app itself in earnest. Depending on the nature of the app, these efforts can often be time-consuming, especially when you'll be creating your own APIs. However, once these activities are complete, the outcomes can be leveraged across multiple platforms in a near-trivial manner.

Let's say it took somewhere between 25% & 50% of an overall single-platform project budget to accomplish the tasks described above. If you opted to build an iOS app first, you wouldn't have to allocate the same amount of time if you then decided to build an Android app, too. You can make whatever minor adjustments from a design perspective that are necessary for the new platform, but you don't have to rethink the overall structure or technical foundations that you've previously defined. And that's why it won't cost you twice as much to build for two platforms.

As a final consideration, I'd like to highlight one approach that I've observed to work well. If you do opt to natively develop for two or more platforms, consider staggering the development efforts. For instance, let the Android development efforts lag a few weeks behind the features being developed in the iOS app, or vice versa. The advantage of this approach is that it allows new problems or challenges to be solved on one platform before they're encountered on the others. This way, if business logic or other considerations must be unclogged, you're not delaying progress on multiple platforms at the same time.

Android 4.2 Is Here

Android 4.2 Is Here

http://instagr.am/p/SECe_DwP24/

Android Update Day

Android Update Day

http://instagr.am/p/QsRNEnQPwK/

Houston App Aficionados Meetup - September 2012: Awesome Football Apps Recap

Juston Western presents at the Houston App Aficionados Meetup held at START Houston on September 26, 2012.  The theme was great apps for football.


Below is a list of the apps discussed, with direct links to download them in the iTunes App Store or Google Play Stores, and deep links to the specific times in the video where each was demo'd:

Nintendo TVii
Get The App:  http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu/features/#/features-tvii
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=00m53s

FREEdi YouTube Player
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/freedi-youtube-player/id471259804?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=08m01s

Video Playlist LITE
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/video-playlist-lite/id416580216?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=10m31s

AirParrot
Get The App:  http://airparrot.com/
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=11m46s

Maps
Get The App:  http://www.apple.com/ios/maps/
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=13m34s

ESPN College Football
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/espn-college-football/id399071885?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=20m48s

NFL '12
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nfl-12/id389781154?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=24m47s

ESPN ScoreCenter
Get The App:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.espn.score_center
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=28m04s

CFStats
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cfstats/id436440443?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=31m36s

Sports Illustrated Football Rivals
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sports-illustrated-football/id461800539?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=35m35s

YellowFlag
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/yellowflag/id552600426?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=37m03s

iOS 6 Panorama Camera
Get The App:  http://www.apple.com/iphone/built-in-apps/
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=41m26s

TiVo
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tivo/id401673976?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=45m13s

NFL Sunday Ticket Online
Get The App:  http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/content/nflstonline/overview
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=49m57s

NFL Game Rewind
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nfl-game-rewind/id548213544?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=56m32s

WatchESPN
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/watchespn/id429009175?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h01m23s

DirecTV NFL SundayTicket
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sunday-ticket/id390577714?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h06m00s

SportsYapper
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sportsyapper/id515057611?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h19m09s

SportStream
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sportstream/id530282846?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h20m08s

Team Stream HD
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/team-stream-hd/id484725748?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h21m02s

College Football Radio & Live Scores
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/college-football-radio-live/id458903975?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h22m00s

NFL Mobile
Get The App:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nfl-mobile/id432015643?mt=8
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h23m00s

ESPN Fantasy Football 2012
Get The App:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.espn.espnfantasyfootball
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h25m57s

ScoreMobile
Get The App:  https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fivemobile.thescore
Watch The Demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40-AYwVuTrs#t=01h30m53s

Third Screen For Evening Olympics Viewing

Third Screen For Evening Olympics Viewing

http://instagr.am/p/N7Uq3EQP-3/

Motorola Xoom

Motorola Xoom
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
Test drove this new Android Honeycomb tablet at Best Buy. Heavier than I expected & a little confusing from a UI/UX standpoint, but the powerful hardware made navigation smooth as butter.

Tech Tuesday - The App Habit

Recently, many of my coworkers have begun to purchase Android devices.  While several of them expressed initial interest in the iPhone, the prospect of signing a 2 year contract with AT&T was enough of a deterrent to seek out other options.  Most end up choosing the cost-conscious Sprint option, or devices on the widely praised as reliable Verizon network.

Generally speaking, these individuals seem to be satisfied with their phone purchases.  However, I was surprised to find out the reluctance that nearly all of them expressed towards buying apps.  While some had purchased one or two apps at a cost of $1 to $5, most had never paid for an app on their device, despite owning the phone for several months.

As an iPhone owner, this aversion towards purchasing third party software struck me as odd.  Since buying my iPhone 3G back in 2008, I never felt a hesitancy in springing a dollar or two on an app.  In fact, I visit the App Store on a regular basis to see if any useful apps are in the Top 25 charts.

These observations led me to the next logical questions: exactly how many apps have I purchased over the past 2 years, and at what cost?  Well, I spent about half an hour cross-referencing my iTunes library with my Gmail e-mail receipts of App Store purchases, and found out the answers.

From October 2008 to September 2010, I paid for 51 iPhone apps at a cost of $185.  This averages out to just shy of $3.63 per app.  The most I've paid is $14.99 (for the MLB At Bat 2010 app), while most were $0.99.  For as frequently as I use my iPhone, these figures don't give me any buyer's remorse.

While my observations on app buying habits are clearly anecdotal, I think they probably raise a valid question:  why are iPhone owners seemingly so much more willing to pay for third party software on their devices relative to those who own Android devices?

Kevin Fox proposes that it's a deficiency in the Android Marketplace implementation of a store model.  There's probably a lot of truth in that.  If the buying experience isn't pleasurable, what incentive does a software consumer have to go out and actively seek new applications?

I didn't buy a lot of third-party software for my computers over the past 15 years.  The biggest reason was that software was expensive.  Paying $500 for Microsoft Office is a tougher pill to swallow as a college student than paying $3 for a Google Voice application.

The keys in cultivating a successful (and large) marketplace for applications are keeping prices low and making the buying experience pleasurable.  I seriously doubt I would've dropped almost $200 in iPhone apps over the past two years unless both elements were present.

Droid Does Display Defects

Droid Does Display Defects
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
My coworker Brandon's new Droid X experiencing screen problems after less than a month in service. Verizon is sending him a replacement device.

Sprint HTC EVO 4G

Sprint HTC EVO 4G
Originally uploaded by Juston Western
The microwave meal-esque packaging of my buddy Evan's new Android super phone.