Why Can’t Facebook Build A Good Mobile App?
I’m genuinely confused.
Mark Zuckerberg dropped a billion dollars on Instagram, and has a small army of top development talent at his disposal. Why the hell can’t Facebook put out a good mobile application on any platform? Their apps are clunky and painfully slow.
I thought that maybe their database wasn’t playing well with mobile, but then I downloaded the Fast Facebook Beta, and it’s quick, does what I want it to, and it even looks nice. Zuckerberg should buy up Team2Soft.
Fast Facebook Beta
What really gets me is that Facebook has had years to build these apps and they still suck.
Can anyone explain why? I can’t.
Power Outage Preparation Tip
If you live on the East Coast of the United States, you are no doubt bracing for hurricane Irene.
In addition to all of the precautions that your local news is broadcasting on a loop, you might want to think about your gadgets.
In the event of a power outage, I can live without pretty much everything, but I do want to keep my mobile functional so I can maintain communication with loved ones. My plan is to charge up the two batteries I have, which is obvious. My less obvious precaution is that I am charging up old laptops so I can plug my phone into them should I need additional power.
The Rules Mobile App Design
Over and over I have the same conversations about the principles and difficulties of mobile design. Here are a few simple rules to keep in mind:
Focus your app
The best apps do one thing really well.
Let me repeat that.
The best apps do one thing really well.
Mobile devices don’t have a lot of screen space, and you can’t really do more than one task at a time on them. If you peruse the iTunes or Android App Stores and look at the top rated applications in each category you will notice a trend. The 4.5 & 5 star apps tend to be laser focused on doing one thing incredibly well. This isn’t by accident.
Start with one OS
Developing great mobile apps is neither cheap nor easy.
Simultaneously developing a great mobile application for iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry is a monumental undertaking. Each of these platforms has different strengths and weaknesses which complicates simultaneous development.
Pick a single operating system. If you must do two at once, go with iPhone and iPad, at least they run on the same operating system.
Unless you are targeting a very specific audience that primarily uses Blackberry, don’t bother with it at all.
Money & time
As I said before developing great mobile apps is neither cheap nor easy.
Designing a great app takes a lot of thought and planning.
Developing a great app takes a lot of work.
Don’t expect this to happen overnight or on a shoestring budget.
If you want to do this inexpensively, you’re probably going to have to learn how to code.
Wrap-up
A well-executed app can be an awesome thing.
Great apps can build business, solve problems or be plain old fun.
Just remember that they don’t appear out of thin air.
(Image: PickMore)
Questioning the Premise of Angry Birds
Angry Birds may be oddly compelling, but it’s also ridiculous.
(Source: Dorkly)
Angry Birds Seasons – Android App Review
The mobile game phenomenon Angry Birds has over 30 million downloads across a number of platforms. Five million of those downloads come from Android.
Angry Birds on Android is a free download, that is completely supported by ads. Rovio, the creator of Angry Birds predicts that the game will bring in over $1 million by year-end. Pretty damn impressive.
Much of that ad revenue is due to the new version of the game, Angry Birds Seasons. Seasons is a compilation of Halloween and Christmas levels.
Everyday from now until Christmas, a new level will unlock in Seasons, encouraging players to return daily, triggering more ad revenue. It’s a clever idea, and it works because of the extremely large user base.
All of the good things I said about Angry Birds holds true for Seasons. It’s the same Birds you know and love, just with 70 new themed levels. How can you go wrong?
(Source – TechCrunch)
The Future of Credit Cards
Credit cards haven’t changed a whole lot over the years. The largest advancement was the addition of a magnetic dump on the back for swipe payment.
In the very near-future we are going to see some big changes to the credit card.
Advancement 1 – PoweredCards:
This tech is really cool. I imagine that many of the components could improve other items as well.
Advancement 2 – Mobile phones as credit cards:
Google Android will be adding support for near-field communications. This means that Android phones will be able to function as a credit card.
Once Android can do it, I’m fairly certain the iPhone will follow.
Wrap-up
Both of these options can improve credit card security and usability.
The big question is will PoweredCards, mobile phones, or some unknown option become the dominant credit card tech?
My money is on both becoming established, but long-term, phones will win the war because everyone will already have them in their pockets. I wouldn’t be shocked if mobiles replace wallets entirely.
(Source: Engadget)
(Image: Android)
Can You Hear the Bell Toll For Blackberry?
Bank of America and Citigroup are testing iPhones for corporate use according to Bloomberg.
In my experience, financial institutions are among the most stodgy when it comes to adopting new technology for internal use. At this point, Blackberry’s bread and butter are gigantic corporations who are unwilling to try new things. If huge banks start making the switch, then Blackberry is in deep trouble.
(Via Bloomberg Businessweek)
