How to select the best platform for your first mobile app?

With the current surge in the number of mobile users across the world, there is a great deal of interest in owning and operating mobile applications today. But just the sheer amount of technical jargon and the stifling competition in these circles can leave a new app owner or developer with a world of questions. A very important question you should ask before you hire app developers in Malaysia should revolve around the most suitable platform on which to go about developing the first mobile app.

Here are a few smart strategies to choose between Android and iOS as the preferred platform for developing your first mobile app:

Go by market share
 
This is a great filtering point to help you make the choice easier, as Android serves around 85% of mobile apps, while the other 15 % are built on IoS. In addition, the former dominates geographies of Asia and Africa, while iOS users are predominantly based in US, Europe, and Australia. Depending on the intended target audience of your app, you can make the choice to go with either.

Choosing based on demographics

If you try and make the choice from a demographics standpoint, Android users come on an average from slightly lower income strata, while iOS users are some of the high earners and spenders. Even the level of engagement is higher in the case of the latter.

Mobile App Development

Market Niche
 
iOS users have been seen to explore and download applications from all niches – sports, gaming, entertainment, education etc., while Android users have generally historically shown the preference for social engagement applications.

A probability of revenue generation
 
Historically, it has been the iOS users and not the Android ones who have shown the greatest probability to make app purchases on the store and this is why the chances of revenue generations for mobile app owners fare considerably better on iOS.

Perhaps the above strategies would have helped you establish the platform of your choice for your mobile application. If you want to make the best use of the platform and develop lucrative applications, then Openwave’s proven mobile app development services can add great value to your cause. Get to know about our service offerings today by contacting us!

Cutting-Edge Mobile App Development Trends We're Likely to see in 2017

Smartphones these days have very powerful processors and huge RAM – good enough to run programs that only desktop computers could run a few years ago. Smartphone software can have very advanced features these days, thanks to this heightened processing power. 2017 is going to be a great year for smartphone users – apps are going to have some amazing new features that everyone will love.

Here are some revolutionary trends you can incorporate into your app next year if you are planning to make one:

Space saving features

People are complaining about the space apps require, and many simply don’t have the patience to download apps on their phones. Developers are coming up with streaming and on-demand resources in response – users can just stream some apps online now!

Interactive push notifications

Push notifications are becoming an integral feature of newer apps. If you want to interact with app users without draining the battery on their phones, this feature is the something you need to have. You will also be able to keep your business on their radar through regular notifications.

Mobile app development Malaysia

Inter-app communication

You can expect apps in 2017 to talk with each other, as the IoT trend continues to hold strong. Are you chatting with your friend on your Facebook app and want to go where they are? You will soon be able to book a Uber car from within the social media app!

Virtual reality technology

Virtual reality and augmented reality are going to be a big thing shortly. They are especially of significance to travel, healthcare, game, and entertainment apps. Not only do they engage users, but they also make some application features easier to access.

Self-learning apps

Finally, you can expect personalised services from your application, based on your taste, preferences, and past activity history. Self-learning apps will also use LBS (location based services) to churn out results.

The easiest way to integrate all these features into your software is to hire mobileapp developers to do it for you. Make sure the team is experienced, and is familiar with the stringent development requirements for the iOS or Android platforms.

Pros and Cons of Wearable Tech You Should Know

Wearable technology has been making waves globally since Apple introduced its first generation Apple Watch in 2015. While there were several wearable devices introduced in the market before the Apple Watch (like Fitbit HR), the device has become a global phenomenon and remains the most popular piece of wearable technology in the market.  

Mobile app development

Many people and organizations worldwide are on the fence about purchasing wearable technology, though. If you are planning to purchase some wearable tech in the future, here are some interesting facts we thought you should know:

Pros
 
1. Hands-free access to information: Wearable tech devices are designed to give you access to information without the constant need to tap buttons like you do with your smartphone. You can get access to information – like message notifications or a review about the place you are visiting – automatically or with a gesture. 

2. Healthcare Benefits: Wearable technology is being adopted by healthcare providers worldwide to make it easier to diagnose and treat diseases, as well as to help users keep track of their health needs.
3. They look good: Some wearables devices make a great fashion statement and can complement your regular casual or business look. 

Cons
 
1. Radiation and health care: While wearables can help you keep track of your health, some of them may emit heat and radiation that may hurt your body with prolonged use. 

2. They are harder to use because they are small: It’s harder to make accurate taps on or read content on the tiny screens most wearable devices have. Some are also positioned awkwardly, which makes it hard for them to be used conveniently. 

3. Low battery life at the moment: Wearable devices tend to have a short battery life. Manufacturers are doing their best to address this problem though by introducing solar panels for solar charging, or movement-based charging.  

As wearable technology advances, we expect the cons listed here to become irrelevant at some point in the future. Wearable technology is clearly here to stay – and, if you’re an entrepreneur or health care service provider, this is perhaps the best time to enter the market with a wearable product or an app. Consult Openwave to know more!

Here’s what you should keep in Mind While Building your Mobile App

App downloads on the Apple’s store crossed the 160 billion mark recently, and we’re likely to see a two hundred percent increase in app downloads over the next four years. Clearly, mobile apps are very popular at the moment and are only going to get more so. As a startup, this is the perfect time to make a mobile app for your business and take advantage of the mobile phenomenon.

To help make the process easier, here are some factors you should keep in mind while building your mobile app:

Do you know what your app is going to do?

Can you answer this question? If you’re taking too long to answer it, chances are you need to take a closer look at why you’re building a mobile app. Apps are supposed to provide a useful or unique service to customers and make life easier for them. Keep a clear goal in mind before starting work on it.

Adapt it to different screen sizes

You need to remember that people will use apps on smartphones as well as tablets, with big differences in screen sizes. Your app has to be accessible and look good on a variety of screen sizes. Also, communication apps tend to work better on smartphones and shopping apps on tablets.

Mobile app development

Do your developers know what they are doing?

If you’ve hired a development team, make sure they have experience in building apps. Some people hire developers who have experience building apps on Android but not iOS and ask them to build iOS apps, which sometimes end badly.

Use analytics tools to modify your app

You need to use analytics tools to find out how customers are using your app and make changes to it accordingly.

Promote your app as much as possible

Making an app is only the first step of the process – people need to know your app exists if you want them to download it. You need to spend some serious time promoting and marketing your app.

There are some app builders you can use for creating your app. However, it won’t be as polished compared to getting professional developers in Malaysia to do it for you.

Top Ways to Use Mobile App Marketing for Social Media

The effort that you put into marketing your app is just as important as the effort you put into designing it. Nobody is going to use your app - no matter how good it is - if they don’t know it exists, after all. 

Social media is a great marketing platform for app developers, being cheap, global and instant. It is a great way to put your app out there, get user feedback for your app, and to drive up demand and retention rates.
 
What can you do with social media? 
 
Social media is a great tool for marketing, even if you have no marketing experience. You can use human connection elements to build a relationship with your customers and get them to see you as a person selling a product, and not just a product.
 
Apart from building a relationship with your customers, you should also use social media to provide useful information about your app. Write or hire someone to create content for you, including blogs, infographics, videos, and articles. 

Mobile app development Malaysia

 
Here are the top social media platforms and how to get the most out of them:

Twitter

The maximum post length on Twitter is 140 characters, so your posts on Twitter have to be concise and to the point. If possible, leave space for re-tweeting, which will enable users to share your posts with their friends.  Twitter is mainly used by mobile users, so it’s perfect for app developers.  

Facebook
 
Facebook can be very effective if you’re willing to pay for ads, as the platform allows you to target users most likely to try out or buy your app. It takes less than 5 minutes to design an ad, too. Apart from paid ads, Facebook will let you post photos, videos, and informative content. 

Instagram
 
A picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. Instagram is a great tool for visual marketing- use photos to tell your story.
 
There are over 3 million apps on the Google Play Store at the moment, in direct competition with your app. Only a minor percentage of these apps make any money. If you’re struggling with getting users for your app, it might be worthwhile to consult professional developers in Malaysia from Openwave.

5 Ways in Which a Mobile App Can Help a Restaurant Business Grow

Restaurant owners often have to deal with fluctuating customer attendance, especially during holidays or the weekends. Sometimes customer numbers can be very high, outnumbering staff members and making it very hard for the servers to keep up with orders. 

Mobile technology can help in such cases. Not only is it easy to implement, but it also provides a range of advantages like streamlined service and reduced waiting time for both customers and restaurant staff.
 

Almost everyone carries a smartphone these days. In fact, over by the year 2020, over 6 billion smartphones are expected to be active in the world. Here are 5 ways why getting a mobile app developed for a restaurant is good for business:

1)    Reservations at the touch of a button:

Instead of calling ahead, customers can instead use the restaurant app to check for places and reserve places accordingly.
 

2)    Automated advertising to lure more customers:

It was typical for restaurant flyers and coupons to make their way to a potential client’s mailbox. These days, a significant amount of this promotion is carried out through apps and online social media instead. It is convenient for customers and cost-effective for restaurants. 

Mobile app for Restaurant

3)    Convenient billing options for fast service:

Restaurant Billing is a very complex process, as commonly there are at least a dozen tables occupied at one time by a moderately popular restaurant and each table places a unique order. Last minute additions to a bill are also very common. A restaurant app takes out a lot of the hassle involved in billing by making the process semi-automated. It can also calculate a tip to make things even easier for customers.
 

4)    Ramp up online orders and home delivery:

Customers can place orders for their favorite foods through their smartphones, remotely and conveniently.
 

5)    Drive business growth:

A well-designed restaurant mobileapp made by a competent developer can give a significant edge to any restaurant business. A restaurant app not only helps with the running of a restaurant business, but it can also be utilized for promotion and distribution of a product. Apart from that, it is a good way for a typical restaurant business to keep a tab on its competitors.

Start writing your restaurant’s success story today with a mobile app!

Why your Business needs Mobile Commerce to maximize online sales?

From shopping to business, everything has turned online at the moment. Today, shopkeepers and retailers can quickly check their catalogs online through mobile. Isn’t it interesting?

With the development of the Internet and smartphones, mobiles continue to bring progression in B2B commerce. Over 3 billion users are using the Internet worldwide. The figure clearly indicates that mobiles are turning the face of B2B industry.

Here’s why your business needs a mobile strategy to survive the growing competition:

Keep Mobile-ready to grow your Business:

It is very true that these days most of the B2B happens on the phone, either through online chat or calls.  This process surpasses the PC technology and makes entrepreneurs to switch to smartphones for improving their business.

24 hours Connectivity makes the Difference:

For customers, round the clock connectivity makes all the difference. Seamless transitions from searching for a service/ product to buying it happens at any time. So, B2B commerce should provide 24 hours mobile experience to their customers to enhance their business growth.

Handiness plays a success factor:

It’s no secret that you can’t carry your laptop or desktop everywhere. So, shopkeepers and retailers prefer mobile devices than PCs.

Mobile commerce is on trend right now:

More and more traffic is coming to the website and other online portals via phones. So, there is no surprise that B2B marketers are utilizing the latest trend to increase traffic. Today, 50% of B2B commerce has mobile channels, which register around 40% of their sales through phones.

Planning to enter into B2B industry? Mobile apps are the perfect solution for your business. Get in touch with an expert developer for building your M-commerce app right now.

Top three Business Benefits of Building an Android Application

Today, Smartphones have made deep inroads into our daily lives. From reading the newspaper to shopping and entertainment, mobiles have become a personalized source of information and entertainment. With regular features and upgrades, today's Smartphones offer more advanced features. If you are planning to capitalize on its overwhelming popularity through mobile apps, Android should top your list. 

Here’s why:

Cost-effective and Easy-to-build Application:

Android, being an open source platform, is available at free of cost. Further, being a Javascript-based platform, it is easy to master and execute. 

With the support of robust Software Development Kit, developers are finding easy to build apps for gaming, businesses, and entertainment. Further, the SDK helps to minimize the cost of development. 

Multiple Network Distribution Channels:

While Apple has tight control over its applications, Android is a bit versatile and open. Apart from Google play, Android apps can be distributed through multiple channels to suit any business. This allows entrepreneurs to reach out to a large set of people and increase the market penetration. 

Strong Inter-platform Integration: 

Android is recognized as the best framework for inter-platform integration. The SDK exhibits the most robust development architecture that works out to a big leverage in achieving an efficient end-user experience, particularly on cross-platforms. 

The benefits of Android Application development go far and wide. Every small and large firm needs to keep up with the latest trends to stay on top of the game. Among all the platforms, including Windows, Blackberry, iOS, etc., Android manages to stand out with its myriad of attractive benefits and unique features and is sure to help your business gain a competitive edge.

Want to build a mobile application within your budget and schedule? Contact a professional developer from reputed Android app development company today!

5 Awesome Cross Platform Tools for Mobile App Developers

Mobile app developers often spend most of their time figuring out the right OS for which they should develop their application. IOS, Windows, and Android are a few platforms that are most popular. In order to reap the utmost benefit and reach out to more people, it is unwise to build an app that targets only a particular platform. The best solution is to create a multi-platform application- an app which can be accessed in varying operating systems.

While not everyone is adept at building cross-platform apps, these top cross-platform tools will certainly make your job easier:

1. Appcelerator

Appcelerator is the favorite of developers. This platform works perfectly for developing native apps for mobile, desktop, and the web by using simple coding languages such as JavaScript, Python, Ruby, and HTML. One of the best offerings of Appcelerator is its virtual private cloud option which allows you to deal well with sensitive information. A few other features of this tool are performance management, analytics, and rooted infrastructure.

2. PhoneGap

PhoneGap was the winning pitch in the year 2009 at Web 2.0 Expo held in San Francisco. This tool allows you to build mobile applications that would work seamlessly on Android, IOS, Blackberry, Symbian and Palm. You can develop your apps using web development languages such as Java, HTML, etc. The company also offers a cross-platform simulator and beneficial training sessions.

3. MoSync

This development tool is a highly appreciated one due to its ease of usability. MoSync is an advanced cross-platform tool with using conventional technologies that are imperative to building an excellent app. One of the biggest advantages of this tool is that you can develop your app using development languages such as JavaScript, Ruby, etc. and the native apps can be easily accessed in Android, IOS, Symbian, Windows and other devices.

4. RhoMobile

RhoMobile is a platform developed based on Ruby and assists in developing native apps for Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, RIM, and IOS. The platform is smooth to use for amateur app developers and has an excellent set of add-on features reserved for its users, which will give the developer an added advantage.

5. Widgetpad

Widgetpad is an open source cross-platform tool that is now in its private beta stage. It uses web technologies such HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. Some of the offerings of this tool are project management, source code editing, debugging, distribution, versioning, and collaboration.