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The iPhone Development Environment and the Android Development Environment - A Comparison
18/09/2012 11:09
iPhone and Android are the most popular smartphone platforms of the generation. The apps created on these platforms have made life comfortable and smooth. Working with the environments, developers find that there are few kinks with each of them. The comparison between Android and iPhone application development has been endless and nearly all boards of controversial comparison articles are trolled or flamed.
With regards to the programming language, the iPhone app development language is Objective-C which is based on C and consists of various extensions including interfaces, dynamic typing, messages and many more. On the other hand, Android revolves around Java. Many feel that Java is a total no-brainer programming tool. That is precisely the reason why coders opt for iPhone application development which they would find more exciting than Android app development.
It is very difficult to find the different functionalities in the iPhone but Android platform is much more transparent about its functionalities.
The iPhone apps are stringent in quality and are of closed nature. Android apps on the other hand are based on an open source platform and easy to tweak. The iPhone source code is available through the web but downloading Android source code of any app is easier and faster. Android apps are pretty much consistent too if one is considering the overall layout. It is also easy for beginners to venture into Android App development instead of iPhone development.
If there is a comparison between iPhone and Android application development on the basis of its programming model, the winner is obviously iPhone since it is based on the popular MVC design pattern. It is useful and easy to make the UI based on the design pattern since the coding patterns are structured well in the source code.
On the other hand, Android supports multiple processes simultaneously which makes it a little complicated. Both platforms enlist user preferences set in XML. Android's XML pattern allows for customized user interface components. But with an iPhone, the UI job is extensive and tedious.
As an iPhone developer, one can have various resources at one's disposal. Developers can resort to watching videos carefully for learning certain processes and coding techniques. Android too offers proper guidance related to API preferences. Android resources are more organized in this sense. Also, Apple developers do not have access to open source tools for developing iPhone apps.
The tooling systems of both platforms are basically similar and quite simple. Both the platforms have a debugger, profiler, IDE, UI, and code builder. There are no clear favorites in between iPhone and Android application development since both the platforms have advantages as well as disadvantages. It depends on the type of developers and their choice of platform. Both platforms offer tremendous growth opportunities. Additionally, with the every passing year, the complexity of apps is increasing at break-neck speeds. It is important to be clear about each of the pros and the cons of both platforms before opting for one of them for mobile application development.
The Current Market of iPhone and Android Surging Ahead!
06/09/2012 14:09
iPhone is one of the best tech wonders of the world because of its features and ability to create greatness out of the routine. It is easy to manage content, play smart music options, shoot with a better camera than its counterparts and work on the best UI around.
The iPhone is very well built and the most innovative apps reside in the App Store for iPhone users to make the most of the features. iPhone application development has ravaged the market with diverse set of applications especially great business apps and easy to use entertaining games. There are millions of users in the iPhone market and it is a craze worldwide to be an iPhone user. One can create output through enterprise apps in real-time which helps in integration with external third-party systems. One can easily interact with the ERP especially if he or she is an authenticated user. One can even transact remotely. There are various iPhone developer who have managed to enhance their skills with experience and the resultant apps in recent times have huge quality and innovation embedded in them. There are various utilities which are offered in recent times too.
Apple‘s App Store is just becoming larger than ever with a huge inflow of apps day in and day out. With the advent of new iPads, the latest being iPad 3, there are many apps which are perfect for the features offered. They capitalize well with the latest tweaks of the iPad 3 and this has made it possible for developers to respond to the demand and most have been delivered too!
One can say that the new Siri is efficiently working as the intelligent assistant and with iOS 6 expected to arrive in a month or two or maybe later, there are changes which might improve its working drastically which can help you manage tasks efficiently. The iPhone boasts of best in class location-based alerts and a drastically superior notification center than any of the smartphone platform offerings. There are enhanced Mail features which are perfect for every business along with a comprehensive Calendar which has inbuilt reminders and the seamless, efficient Safari browser. The iPhone can be synced easily with a PC or a laptop even with an online account.
At the same time, Android is making the right waves with the newest entrant Android 4.0, the IceCream Sandwich version which is now available in tablets too. Android 3.0, known as Honeycomb is also compatible with the previously launched Android-powered tablets.
The Icecream Sandwich is a great improvement over the Honeycomb version and boasts of a large number of features including with a better memory and better utilization of Android smartphone features and functions. The Android phone can now boast of even better smooth and seamless transitions and you can witness that in the latest ones: the Samsung Galaxy S3 and the Galaxy Note which house the new version quite well.
The Android applications have increased their number in the store and the new apps are thoroughly advanced and powerful laced with multiple features. With a variety of smartphones in its arsenal, Android has a huge scope for innovation. One can even work around mobile app development to get tailored apps for both iOS and Android platforms if one needs a perfect fit the for the needs of a business.
For more information about Android Application Development and Offshore iPhone App Development visit: www.elantechnologies.com
An overview of the Android app market and its demarcating features
21/08/2012 11:31
The use of Android based smartphones has increased reasonably well with time and now boasts of an incredible number of apps. The market is growing at the rate of 32 per cent every month and there is no end to the number of smartphones which are coming in the market related to every price range which gives the users with a huge number of options. The rise in interest is mostly attributed to the great sale of Samsung S II and due to the advent of Samsung S3 which has got released recently. There are certain HTC models along with Sony Ericsson who have been impressive with the slew of smartphones that they have released in recent months. Android is open source and hence there are many Android developers who are interested in creating innovative apps.
Android also presents an open market place for developers who create third party apps and they are allowed to publish and rate too. Android app development can be done using any platform: Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.
Here are some of the best-known apps which have a large fan following:
- Google Voice
- Advanced Task Killer
- Evernote
- Documents To Go
- Amazon Kindle
- Astro File Manager
- Pandora
- Shazam
- Dial Zero
- Google Goggles
- Google Sky Map
- Tricorder
- Bump
Cloud based service integration and its related apps have companies that control IT to expand their operations. Mobile apps have extended the overall reach and location based apps can easily find out the location of the mobile as well as the customer via GPS. These apps give out detailed information related to different places, things and facts. It is said that in the future the Android-based phones will be used as smart cards to swipe and withdraw money. E-commerce companies are looking to leverage this feature on smartphones and so that they can easily attract people for easy sales. It would also make shopping easy and fun for all.
Android is always in demand and the field of mobile application development space comprises of many other players. But Android is very popular because of its easy-to-use software development kit, Android Media APIs, Location–based feature and Wi–Fi feature.
For more information about iPhone Application Development and Offshore Android Development visit: www.elantechnologies.com
Have You Seen Jelly Bean Features Yet? Android 4.1 is here!
08/08/2012 13:58
Android 4.1 version which is nicknamed the Jelly Bean is here with exciting new features. It is expected to create a storm in the coming months too. Google announced Jelly Bean recently and the new operating system brings new and smart features which include a faster interface, a brand new Camera app, voice typing offline, notifications with few enhancements, a voice search tool, and many more. The changes made to the new OS were mentioned as "Project Butter" during the Google I/O developers’ conference which referred to the under-the-hood improvements in progress. There are a lot of buffering tweaks, and increased frame rates which the new Android version boasts of which will help in the overall touch input events in sync better. Jelly Bean also has the new ability of touch prediction which actually means that it tries to predict where you're going to touch the screen next. With the Nexus 7 tablet running Jelly Bean, it is expected that the so-called project is sure to make it run more smoothly than any of the previous Android versions. It is possible that Google will take some time here for finishing the version. One of the other features in the spotlight is offline voice typing. The new version allows users to dictate something to your phone without the need of a cellular or Wi-Fi data connection. Offline voice typing is the latest entrant in the features introduced by the Android version.
Until now, every device which had poor data connection faced the problem of not being able to handle voice-to-text tasks. According to the first previews of the feature, analysts say that the feature is good enough and quick too. Voice recognition is basically controlled in the cloud in the first place since it is easy to match a voice with thousands of samples at the snap of your fingers. So it can be expected that the offline voice-to-text version is less accurate than the previous version, which is actually a minor issue. Google Now is expected to be the future of the tech giant. Google is going to predict what the user will need and will also get it for you easily. The device is expected to know and learn your interests and inclinations and then work up relevant traffic and even minor point-of-interest information. At the start, Google Now is not expected to give much information since it has to know what the user’s interests are. One needs to use it a lot more for actually getting the device accustomed to the user but surely, this is a feature which is one of Jelly Bean's best attributes and has extreme potential in the future. Voice search was revolutionized by Apple’s Siri but Android makes it better with the S-Voice, the Siri competitor which is included in the latest Samsung smartphone, the Galaxy S III. The feature is going to be getting some new add-ons too.
Google's voice search feature is being handled by Knowledge Graph which would depend on Google’s ability to predict answers to your query and the relevant web results follow next. Google's voice search is certainly better than Siri. There are many more features which are offered by Google’s newest Android version, but that is for later, when the real things arrive!
For more information about Offshore Android Apps Development and Jelly Bean Features visit: www.elantechnologies.com
Android or iPhone: The competition is still on!
19/07/2012 13:34
The competition between the world’s biggest mobile platforms has always been intense. Even though Windows Phone is picking up and Blackberry has its boys, it is Android and iPhone Development show all the way!
The iPhone: The one and only
When people talk about features of the iPhone, they are referring to the iOS mobile platform. The speed of the software is great across the board and there has always been one iPhone even though we have several versions every year. One can just choose the storage that it boasts of: 16 GB to 64 GB.
The many looks of Android
Android is Google's mobile operating system and many smartphones run on this platform. Android owners refer to their smartphones as a "Droid" even though the carriers differ from one another. Android phones are found of all shapes and sizes.
The App Store vs. the Android Market
Now this is the most important part that constitutes both platforms: apps. Apps are cited as the primary reason why people opt for smartphones these days. Apple's App Store includes a huge list of downloadable games, tools and is the biggest market of apps in the world closely followed by Android. Apple is relatively strict in its choice of apps in the market and takes critical judgment of the apps that pass through its scanner. The App Store though is the king here.
Alternatively, Android emphasizes on "openness" and does not have a strict app approval process for its own app market. This is the main reason why malware cannot be fixed, but Android followers are happy about the approach.
The iPhone OS has been in the market for long now and hence boasts of good quality apps and more apps compared to Android market. But there are new apps being developed in both platforms and hence both iOS and Android have their own share of hits and misses.
iPhone vs. Android
A unique advantage with Android Application Development is its seamless integration with Google and its services. Everyone can benefit from Android's superior native Gmail app. Google Maps feature in Android include Google's Navigation, GPS navigation app for the car. On the whole, Android is a flexible OS which helps you to tweak some phone features if it bugs you. All simple settings can be controlled too. There are slick design and theme apps which can easily modify the look and feel of the smartphone.
But there is a huge issue of "fragmentation” with Android since there are multiple versions of Android available. The latest version of Android is 4.0 or Ice cream Sandwich but there are many new devices which are still running an old version of the OS. Additionally, phone manufacturers come up with their own “skins” which rests on top of the Android platform. These “skins” have their own look and own apps that cannot run on any other phone of any other manufacturer. Only the Galaxy Nexus offers a vanilla Android experience and are always first updated before any other smartphone.
Now coming to the iPhone advantage, Apple has always been able to offer the best possible experience for its customers and hence seamless experience is guaranteed on all levels. With its latest Retina display technology, iPhone has the best pixel-rich display in a phone and presents a superb UI for web browsing and multimedia. Apple's FaceTime app makes video chatting seamless between Apple devices. Siri is the best phone assistant till date too.
The iPhone is less customizable which might be a huge turn-off for some users. Also there are problems with its support for 4G capability. This is a huge minus in terms of speed when Android 4G phones are around.
For more information about iPhone Application Development and Offshore Android Application Development visit: www.elantechnologies.com
iPhone Application Development
iPhone, Apple’s most popular product has made its users swarm in bees in the rush for more and more apps as the demand is far exceeding the supply!
Apple‘s App Store just got bigger and bigger. Interest has surged with the advent of the iPad and iPad 2 and the apps just seem to strengthen and add to the company’s bottom line. iPhone App Development is making the growth possible and also managing to please its hard-to-please customers!
Do you have any idea how much it costs to make customized apps for the iPhone? It all depends on the reputation of the provider, the monthly charges or even hourly rates of iPhone developers for developing innovative apps. But one thing is for sure, with the rising demand, although most of the apps are replicated and are coming in cheap, the original ones are way pricier. iPhone has a plethora of exciting features and various inbuilt apps for Music & Video, sound recording, GPS , social networking site widgets, Calendars and business planners.
A recent trend in the creation of the app is the making of Beer apps. There are thousands of beer apps which can be found in the App store created by brilliant iPhone App Developers. These beer apps are specifically for enthusiasts who can use them to quench their lager-inducing desires. One can trace out beer taps or even get to know if their favorite beer is available or not. Do not be surprised if you find apps that can actually measure how drunk you are! Burrp to that!
For More Information about iPhone App Development Company visit: www.elantechnologies.com