Silicon Labs has announced a new initiative for developers to create HomeKit accessories. HomeKit, Apple’s connected home platform, is very popular and Silicon Lab’s custom software and a Bluetooth-enabled hardware module will help developers to create solutions for the HomeKit platform. #Developer #Sillicon #Tech
Microsoft had been working on a to-do list app and it is now in private beta. The project was announced back in May but Thurrott recently reported that Project Cheshire is now in private beta. Microsoft also acquired Wunderlist, another to-do list app sometime ago. Far too many to-do list apps around? #app
Back in March 2014, a study conducted by online advertising platform Marin Software revealed that more than 50% of all paid search links would arrive from mobile devices by the end of December, 2015. Jessica Lee wrote that cost per click (CPC) on mobile devices increased at an incredible rate, when compared with CPC on desktops in 2013. Moreover, tablet CPCs outranked desktop CPCs. A lot of naysayers had predicted that tablets would be irrelevant. Throughout 2014, we have only seen people purchasing more tablets and cellphones with which most people access the Internet today. In fact, a majority of search queries come from mobile devices, as opposed to desktops. This fundamental change in the way people access the Internet has contributed to a paradigm shift within SEO circles. Today, SEO professionals understand that the money is in mobile devices. People simply do not use computers anymore, especially, in developing countries where large computers are more expensive and unaffordable for a large number of people. Thus, mobile devices have given the power of using Internet to many people who, otherwise, would not be privileged enough to be online. It is not just the poor who access the Internet using mobile devices. Most affluent people use mobile devices to conduct searches, look for products and also to simply browse. This change in user habits is mostly because of increased screen sizes of mobile devices. In this article, let us take a look at how mobile devices are driving the future of search. What is the status of mobile Internet usage today? Today, it is no longer relevant to describe how important mobile devices are and why we need to focus our SEO strategies on mobile devices. What is important is to understand the statistics so that we are in a position to create targeted search campaigns, which help us to create SEO strategies that are effective and useful. Danyl Bosomworth wrote that a whopping 80% of people used smartphones to search the Internet, whereas, another 47% of those interviewed used tablets as well. 91% of those interviewed still used a PC or a laptop to search the Internet. What this really tells us is, mobile devices cannot be ignored anymore. They are an important part of the search ecosystem and it is crucial to understand how people use their mobile devices when they search so that we can build better websites and come up with more targeted SEO campaigns. Searching begins on search engines but mobile apps are not far behind Danyl also wrote that 48% of them start searching on search engines. Another 33% start searching on branded websites, whereas, 26% of those interviewed searched on branded apps. This piece of data gives us a very valuable piece of information. People have already begun to use branded applications to search for products. For instance, people would download Macy’s application to check which products are available because they trust Macy to sell the best. Likewise, it is becoming increasingly clear that people now use applications to search for not only products but also trivia, information, news and many other things. We have already moved towards an app-centric world, where the browser is slowly losing its significance. This is not really a bad thing to happen. It is just that we need to get used to the new way of browsing and searching for information. The future is the mobile app Mobile apps are going to get bigger this year and this will partly be the reason why it is important to focus our SEO strategies on optimizing applications for search. This will help us to guide users to arrive at information that they want and also help clients in increasing sales. Applications will continue to take precedence over websites in the near future. He also continued to write that 89% of time spent on media by users was through mobile apps. People spent only 11% of their time viewing media on mobile browsers. This leads us to believe that if people are going to look for images or videos on their mobile devices, it is mostly through applications. If you have an e-commerce store, it makes more sense to make it app-friendly, rather than having a completely new mobile website. This also brings us to the topic of responsive websites. Responsive web design for better mobile search With mobile devices coming in different screen sizes, designers need to focus on various screen resolutions. This impacts the way online search takes place. If websites are not optimized for a mobile experience, they will receive very few visitors and search traffic. Responsive design ensures that a website looks good on all screen sizes, thereby, enhancing the stickiness of a website. Responsive design is also SEO-friendly and is a great method to ensure that mobile websites are SEO-friendly too. It also removes the need to design separate mobile websites. Local search and geo-location data If you have ever used one of those taxi-hailing applications, you will know the importance of geo-location data. Dating applications have mushroomed over recent years, thanks to GPS and the ability to locate like-minded people nearby. Searching on mobile phones is more local than ever. In fact, local search is the singular most unique feature of mobile search. Businesses can now optimize their physical stores to appear in the search results of mobile users who are in the vicinity. If you run a restaurant that sells Thai food and someone who likes Thai food is nearby, you will probably end up in the search results. All that you need to do is optimize your store locator pages in order to help the searcher locate you. GPS has, in fact, changed the way we search completely. Searching has truly gone local, thanks to geo-location information. One does not need to describe one’s physical presence in detail. Turning on the GPS needs to be enough to help customers locate your office or store. Moreover, a mobile user’s geo-location data gives you
Until Android gained the wide spectrum of mobile consumers it has today, Apple’s iOS and BlackBerry OS were the major operating systems used to run Smartphones. In early 2012, one could safely conclude that Android has not only moved ahead of BlackBerry, but is also more widely used than iOS devices. Thus, app developers have a lot to gain if they learned how to develop applications for Android devices. Introducing Android Environment to App Developers Android is based on Linux V2.6 kernel and is a complete OS ecosystem. While initially it was meant to be a low-cost OS for smartphones and flip-phone devices, it has grown into a mobile OS juggernaut that has practically gobbled a huge market share. Android offers rich functional support and a full range of computing services which allow devices that run on Android to do much more than stripped down-versions of mobile operating systems. Android Can Play Both Ways: Consumer and Enterprise-centric Devices Android has the capacity to please both consumers who like to play and enterprise users who need a lot of work done efficiently and securely. The first smartphone to run on Android was G1, manufactured by HTC with T-Mobile serving as the carrier. The Android platform is much more complicated than iOS and features layered environment built upon Linux kernel. Android’s UI subsystem features windows, views and widgets for displaying drop-down lists, edit boxes etc. Faster Connectivity and Rich Graphics Android phones offer excellent connectivity options and there already are many Android-running smartphones that support LTE-4G networks. Thanks to the built in 2D and 3D graphics, playing video games and running media-rich applications are easier, when compared to other platforms which rely on text more than graphics. What One Needs to Know Before Development Developing Android applications requires knowledge of Java along with other software skills. Android applications run within the Dalvik Virtual Machine. Activities are begun when a user launches an application from the home screen or app launcher, thanks to the visible UI. Android also checks for updates and monitors your network as part of its services. Android can handle multi-tasking and switch between applications with relative ease. In order to develop Android applications one would need to download the Android SDK and the Eclipse IDE. One can use Linux, Windows or Mac computers to develop applications. Android Is Versatile Some of the advantages of the Android platforms are room for customization, rich features, security and ability to debug easily, and a complex and layered environment that allows innovation in development of applications. Android also runs on non-mobile household devices like ovens, Air-conditioners and even refrigerators for which applications can be developed. These Android apps can be used to control a device and the way it functions with the help of touchscreens. Android is increasingly being used on such household devices and when these devices connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi, they offer increased interaction and customizability. What Is Unique about Android OS While Android is Google’s flagship OS and is well received by enterprises and consumers, it lacks the simplicity, minimalist and intuitiveness offered by iOS 5. Nevertheless, being an open source OS, it is easier for developers to design applications for the Android ecosystem than for BlackBerry OS or for iOS. The very fact that an Android application which has just been developed cannot be reviewed by specialists leaves room for errors. Nevertheless, by sticking to well-accepted protocols and by adapting stringent quality controls, Android applications can prove to be more interactive and feature-rich than apps that run on other OS. Developing for Android Smartphones and Tablets As more people begun to replace their tablets, laptops and even desktops with smartphones, it becomes increasingly important for developers to have a presence on all the important mobile operating systems. Moreover, the tablet market is growing too, and applications designed for smartphones should be able to run on tablets as well. Android tablets have begun to carve out a niche for themselves, and many enterprise users have begun to use them too. Thus, app developers must keep both smartphones and tablets in mind. Thus, the future looks bright for Android developers as the market share of Android devices will only increase. Note: Indus Net Technologies Mobile Development team works on Android. If you want to develop an app from scratch or port an existing iOS or BlackBerry app to Android platform to take advantage of its explosive growth, drop us an email to info@indusnet.co.in or visit http://www.indusnet.co.in/mobile/
