Google Cloud Messaging for Android (GCM) is a service that allows you to send data from your server to your users' Android-powered device, and also to receive messages from devices on the same connection. The GCM service handles all aspects of queueing of messages and delivery to the target Android application running on the target device. GCM is completely free no matter how big your messaging needs are, and there are no quotas.
Google Cloud Messaging for Android (GCM) is a service that allows you to send data from your server to your users' Android-powered device, and also to receive messages from devices on the same connection. The GCM service handles all aspects of queueing of messages and delivery to the target Android application running on the target device. GCM is completely free no matter how big your messaging needs are, and there are no quotas.
Although some mobile apps are conceived by the person who then does the coding, our experience is this is usually not the case and that most app entrepreneurs will find someone else to do their app development. Even those with the ability (or personnel) to code will often times outsource app development, for a variety of reasons. Outsourcing in and of itself is not a bad thing (provided you keep in mind the difference between outsourcing and offshoring mobile app development). Of course, outsourcing mobile app development comes with some baggage – entrepreneurs may have to sacrifice control over the project, the quality of the final product, and legal recourse should the outsourcer not deliver the goods as promised. Still, outsourcing your mobile app development may be necessary and/or desirable. If so, you should definitely check out the list of red flags compiled by the folks at CIO before outsourcing development of your mobile app. Today, we’re going to take a look at some of those red flags and simplify them for you.
Discounts
If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Be wary of outsourcers whose bids are conspicuously lower than their competitors; chances are they’re either trying to buy your business or simply don’t understand the scope of your product.
Settle on a fixed price
The profit-sharing option can seem tempting if you’re short on capital, but there are often pitfalls in such arrangements. The conditions of the agreement might be vague, the goals of the project might not be shared by both sides, et cetera.
Beware Yes Men
If your outsourcer agrees too quickly to your proposals, tread lightly. Raising questions and objections is the sign of a developer who’s committed to your project and who cares enough about it to make sure you’re getting what you’re asking for.
Expect Punctuality
If your outsourced developer doesn’t respect your time commitments when it comes to making a bid, how likely is it they’ll do so when it comes time to deliver the project?
In short, outsourcing a mobile app development project is an attractive option for entrepreneurs who don’t have enough capital to see a project through domestically. With lower front-end costs come higher risks, however, so make sure you know what you’re getting before you sign over your money. Of course, before you make any decisions at all, contact us first; we’ll put you in touch with three skilled, reputable developers who will provide you with free quotes for your mobile app project.
Microsoft gave a valuable lesson to any company relying on old data on user acceptance of old design on Android. Yesterday, they released a new app for their outlook.com on Android. Well, when I say "new app" I mean they changed few strings in the strings files and replaced couple of icons and released the old hotmail app as a outlook.com app.
What makes this interesting is the difference in reception of the app by the users. The hotmail app seems to be generally liked by the users and has a OK 4.2 rating average at the time of writing this.
The new outlook.com app is a whole different story. At the time of writing this it has a very poor 2.0 rating average.
Let's take a look at the two apps. How do they differ?
The apps are identical, what has changed?
As we see from the screenshots, the apps are identical. There is no difference in user experience and no difference in the visuals either (other than the icon). Why are the users rejecting the new app while they like the old one?
The reason is simple. Android has changed. Post 4.0 Android has clear design guidelines and app style, holo. New apps look great and very different from what they used to look on Android 2.3. The old style looks very much out of place on the newer devices. And that is exactly what's going on here. The outlook.com app (as well as the hotmail app) are styled with the old 2.3 style.
This happens if you bring a new app to the market with old styling. Users are more forgiving if your app is old and they've been using it before the Android 4.0 guide and style gained momentum.
CONCLUSION
The bottom line here is that if you have an existing app on the Google Play and are planning to publish a new app using the old app as reference to define success of your existing design, well don't! Times have changed in the Android world. New apps need to follow the design guidelines to be successful. Don't bring old 2.3 design to new apps. Take the time to figure out how apps should look and go with that. In fact, implementing the new design is often easier than the old. Libraries like the ActionBarSherlock will help you by giving a lot of functionality to you for free.
It used to be extremely difficult for a small business to be able to accept credit cards. This is no longer the case because anyone can now accept a credit card using a smartphone credit card payment system. The credit card payment system plugs into any smartphone and allows you to swipe any credit card. It then uses the internet connection on the smartphone to send the money directly to your bank account. While there are several great smartphone credit card payment systems, these three will give you the most options at the cheapest cost. Intuit Go Payment
The Intuit Go Payment credit card payment system will work on the iPhone and most Android smartphones. The Intuit Go Payment smartphone credit card reader is free when you start an account with Intuit. There is a $13 monthly charge for the system, and you will also have to pay a small fee on each transactions to Intuit. The fee is 1.7% of the total amount of the transaction. If you have a lot of customers that are wanting to pay with a credit card, then it is well worth the small fee.
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All of the money will go directly into the bank account that you set up with Intuit instantly after the payment is accepted. There is also a free smartphone app that must be downloaded to use this system. The app allows you to enter the items purchased and the total price. The customer must also enter their pin number or sign their name with their finger on the phone to allow for the payment to be processed. Square
Square is very similar to Intuit Go Payment, but the credit card reader is much smaller. The Square credit card reader plugs directly into the audio jack of the iPhone and most Android smartphones. Square also comes with a free credit card reader and smartphone application. There is not a monthly fee to use Square, but they will charge you 2.75% of every transaction completed using the system. Square also allows you to issue refunds directly on the app. If you pull up the transaction on the app and choose the refund option, then the money will be automatically transferred from your bank account to the customer’s credit card. Roam Pay
If you have a Blackberry, then you may have to use the Roam Pay smartphone credit card payment system. Roam Pay is the only major smartphone credit card payment system that can be used on any Blackberry. Roam Pay will also work on several other phones that the other systems do not support. Roam Pay will also take a small percentage of every transaction completed using the system. If your business can not currently accept credit cards, then you should sign up with one of these smartphone credit card payment systems. While you are going to be charged a small fee on each transaction, being able to accept credit cards will bring you more business. There is no reason to be behind the times when accepting credit cards can be this easy.
Andrew Bennett is a finance writer who offers information regarding credit card to repair credit when your credit score has been damaged.
5 Android apps to help with last-minute holiday shopping
PANIC!!11! You have a tree sitting in the back yard waiting to be decorated, in-laws coming into town tomorrow, cookies to finish baking for the office gift swap, and you still have three people to buy for - at least two of whom can make your daily life miserable if they don’t like what you get them. While your phone might not be able to help with everything on that list, it can definitely help you get your shopping done. Here are five Android apps to help get your holiday shopping done quickly so you can focus on handling the rest of the holiday insanity.
As it turns out, you can still get stuff from Amazon on two-day shipping until Friday, which is free if you’re an Amazon Prime subscriber. Even if you’re cutting it close, you can get one-day shipping on Saturday. Amazon’s Android app has the full range of shopping functions that you would expect: categorized browsing, search, and the ability to check the status of current orders. There are some handy advanced features too, such as barcode scanning if you want to do some quick price comparisons, and notifications of lightning deals.
With shipping times being what they are and not much time to spare, you can’t afford to lose any important eBay auctions. Myibidder Sniper is built specifically to make sure you get the last bid in at the very last moment. Sure, it might be fighting dirty, but Christmas shopping is a dirty business. The Pro version allows you to place snipes on groups of items, so that as soon as you’ve won as many of them as you like, the snipes on the remainders are canceled.
Of course, leaving the fate of your holiday gifts to the fickle Gods of Shipping may cause a bit more stress than you can bear at this point. For local bargain hunting, ShopSavvy continues to be a popular app. Originally, ShopSavvy was simply a product barcode scanning app, but now it rakes in local deals from Groupon, Best Buy, Staples, Walmart, and other sources. For good measure, ShopSavvy also offers plain-jane manual product searches both for local and online stores. Their latest new feature is something called ShopSavvy Live which allows users to share what they're shopping around for, allowing the community at large to comment on the product in question.
Google’s own Shopper app is highly polished, and has a lot of curated categories for gifts to help you find something just right. You can find goods through text, voice, or barcode search, or cruise through local deals to see what’s available on the cheap. Individual product entries include reviews, images, and the ability to share out to Facebook, e-mail, and whatever else is available through the system menu.
Sometimes the biggest challenge isn’t finding something and getting, but rather knowing what to look for in the first place. The Fancy is similar to Pinterest, in that users post pictures and links to cool stuff in themed collections, but there’s a more direct path to actual shopping. As soon as you log into the app, you’re offered a spot where you can e-mail Fancy’s experts for gift ideas, and they’ll try to find stuff closest to your criteria. Once you find something you like, you can mark it as something you like, or visit the online store where the thingamagic is available. Fancy does a great job of surfacing particularly unique items, and even if you can’t quite get your hands on one, odds are good that you’ll get some great ideas of what to look for.
Honorable Mentions: ShopAdvisor, PriceGrabber, Google Maps (to find your stores, of course)
So, do you still have holiday shopping to do? Which apps do you use to get all of your presents sorted? Do you prefer hitting the brick and mortar stores, or ordering online?
