Developing Apps for Mobile Phones

Hi Folks,

Where do you start?

I have good html, css and javascript experience.

Sorry for such a vaigue question.

Thanks

There are different kinds of mobile apps. Often they are specific to a particular OS, thus coded in a language that the OS understands. A native app for iOS, for example, is written in a completely different language from one for Android.

The alternative is to write cross-platform apps with standard web technologies like HTML, CSS and JS. The advantage is that they work cross-platform. The disadvantage is that they can’t access as many of the device’s core functions. Apps written in web languages are normally folded in a wrapper like PhoneGap.

Here’s an article on the various kinds of app:

Are you able to create an app composed of just HTML, CSS, and JS? If so, you can build a “web app,” which is a mini website that was designed for small screens (rather than just the desktop screen), and people navigate to it through their mobile browser.

Or you can build a “hybrid app,” in which you use your skills to build the app, then use PhoneGap or other tool to use the phone’s features, such as camera and geolocation.

It won’t be easy. For instance, if you go the hybrid way to make iPhone apps to sell on the App Store, you’ll need to download and learn PhoneGap, download and learn Xcode, and understand how the App Store upload process works.

My sig gives several articles on step-by-step instructions to creating and uploading apps to Google Play and iTunes App Store.

To develop apps for mobile phones is not an easy task …It requires R&D in deep … As we know now a days there are lots of apps for mobile devices available in the market … So before we start to develop we just need to focus on market, competitions etc .Say like Apps can be divided into two parts

Those that are meant to directly generate income, and

Those that are built for purposes of marketing, branding, or customer service.

Then you need to focus on basic things like

Basics design
Keep data entry to a minimum
Design for a smaller screen
Don’t waste data
Don’t count on upgrades
Realize user expectations
The new browser wars

You need to be very clear about what kind of app you want to build

Thanks for all the great replies.

Cheers

[font=verdana]Another thing to consider is what benefits you can offer from having an app to having a website.

I’ll say up front that I’m someone who just doesn’t “get” apps for things that can be accessed through a regular (mobile) website. I prefer to go to the news or weather pages of a website whether I’m at my computer or my phone, I access Facebook and Twitter through my browser rather than through their apps. So I might be the wrong person to answer this, given that the current fad seems to be to have an app for absolutely everything. (On the other hand, I may be just the right person, depending on if the app bubble bursts any time soon). I’ve seen apps that do nothing but display a series of 12 static pages that few people are likely to refer to more than once … why was this presented as an app rather than a web page? Because they could … because making it as an app gives them street cred, it’s the in thing to do … expecting people to, like, go to a website, that’s, like, sooooooo yesterday. But this app had no value at all, it had no staying power, it had reason to exist. And I’m guessing that if it ever was updated, the people who had already downloaded the app wouldn’t see the new stuff unless they consciously looked to update the app.

And that’s the trap that you don’t want to fall into. If your content is suited to having an app then great, go for it! But you need to think about what makes the app worthwhile, what it can offer people that they can’t get on a regular website.[/font]