Chapter: 2 Diving into Mobile: App or Website?

App or Website? Mobile applications are the hottest technology since websites became popular in the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. In the late 1990s the toy was the Internet, and today it’s the IDevice. IDevices like the iPad and iPhone are making their way into upper-management hands; They like the ease of use, and feel that every application should be developed with a user interface that is as easy to use as the iDevices. It’s just a matter of convincing upper management that they really don’t need that new shiny app. Before dismissing the brilliant idea of the person who signs your paychecks, the following sections compare when it makes sense to create a mobile application, and when a mobile website will suffice.

MOBILE WEB PRESENCE FIGURE 2-1: The increase in the number of mobile Internet users

Mobile Content A mobile website experience is significantly different from the desktop view. With a limited screen size, new usability techniques have been developed to help people view and navigate data. Mobile web browsers do the best job they can, providing rich tools for panning and zooming through a website, but commonly used, complex drop-down menus make mobile navigation troublesome. Navigation is one of the most important. It’s common to present users with thinned-down content they can access on a mobile device.

Mobile Content

Mobile Browsers

Mobile Browsers

Mobile User Browsing Behavior In order to create a great mobile interface, you should spend time identifying behaviors of mobile users. The following list gives a few reasons why users might need access to your mobile content: Repetition: It’s possible they are sitting on the page and hitting refresh to see new content. Is site content changing frequently enough that users would come back and check for updates? Sports scores, weather reports, and stock quotes are types of content that need to be available, and fast, on mobile devices. Boredom: Maybe users are trying to pass time in the lobby of a doctor’s office. They are surfing the web like they do in the comfort of their own home, but in public. Urgency: Users are out and about and suddenly have the urge for a hamburger. They need to find the nearest open burger joint.

MOBILE APPLICATIONS

You’re a Mobile App If . . . If you require graphics and processing power If you require the use of the device’s camera If you need to use the device’s microphone If you require access to the device’s address book If you require access to the device’s media library If you will be using the market for payment If you require use of push notifications If you need to run as a background service If you want to design a game

You’re a Mobile App If . . . If you require graphics and processing power If you require the use of the device’s camera If you need to use the device’s microphone If you require access to the device’s address book If you require access to the device’s media library If you will be using the market for payment If you require use of push notifications If you need to run as a background service If you want to design a game

You’re a Mobile App If . . . If you require graphics and processing power If you require the use of the device’s camera If you need to use the device’s microphone If you require access to the device’s address book If you require access to the device’s media library If you will be using the market for payment If you require use of push notifications If you need to run as a background service If you want to design a game

When to Create an App New Revenue Sources Types of Mobile Apps Do People Really Want to Put Your App on Their Mobile Device? Resources Development of Your Mobile Solution

1. New Revenue Sources In-App Purchasing for mobile applications has revolutionized digital commerce. Print Media People started purchasing digital content

2. Types of Mobile Apps

3. Do people Really want to put your App on their Mobile Device? A study from Nielsen (http://blog.nielsen .com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/gamesdominate-americas-growing-appetite-formobile-apps/) across a wide range of phone users have found that iPhone users install the most applications, coming in at 40 apps, as shown in Figure 2-8.

MARKETING why you are developing mobile apps Advertising is not personal and directed toward the general public Marketing is a process.

1. Quick Response Codes Quick response (QR) codes provide a means for users to scan an image with their mobile device. (QR) codes originally created for use in the automobile industry in the early 1990s. A Microsoft Tag is a high capacity color barcode (HCCB), developed by Microsoft.

2. The Advertising You Get from the App Market The App Store (iOS), Market (Android), Market Place (Windows Phone), and App World (BlackBerry) give apps Discoverability.

3. Featured Apps Featured sections are the first areas users see when they access the market, and people are inclined to download what other people are downloading.

4. Description Your app description may arguably be the most important marketing tool within the market.

5. User Reviews

6. Track your app sales

7. Knowing Where Your Users Are

8. Third-Party Markets

9. YOUR APP AS A MOBILE WEB APP

9. YOUR APP AS A MOBILE WEB APP

9. YOUR APP AS A MOBILE WEB APP

9. YOUR APP AS A MOBILE WEB APP Easier to get started: Easier cross-platform development HTML5 offers rich features Easier updates: No approval process: