So How Easy Is It to Develop an App? - Windows Phone 7 Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

With the NHL season coming up, as well as Mango, I was wondering how easy would it be to develop an app?
Would like to do something simple (in theory) with schedule, favourite team: live score/stats. Score Push/Toast/Tile notification. Maybe team news, or league news.
Heres is the stupid part, I have no experience ever developing an app, nor have any programming knowledge.
Thanks in advance for any help.

I assume you will need Visual Studio 2010 and will have to know .Net 4 and use VB or C# as a choice of language.
Not really sure about anything else past that.

there are plenty of tutorials around which will help you with that. the designing bit is not difficult at all: it's very intuitive in fact. you'll need to go through some basics of coding though. I recommend the dev education resources in the app hub (create.msdn.com). Best of luck with the app!

Thanks for the replies. I look around and yes as mentioned the designing process is a pretty intuitive and the coding seems like something I can probably find help with.
Question that I have now, is how would be able to get the actual data? Are there services to which I can connect to have live scores, stats, news, etc?
I know these are newbie questions, and I know I can probably just find the info on various websites, but I am the type that like to get a conversation going and perhaps find someone that can help out..... in return I promise to make an awesome app!

N0MN0M said:
Question that I have now, is how would be able to get the actual data? Are there services to which I can connect to have live scores, stats, news, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's the hard part. I considered doing something similar previously but there don't appear to be any free services for sports scores. I remember stumbling upon FanFeedr but didn't really look to deep into it.
I kind of figured ESPN would just update SportsCenter with Mango features that add everything I had in mind eventually.

Best of luck with your NHL app! I can help if you have any questions I’ve already written a multi-league football app that does the things you mention (and a few things you didn’t )
Probably the best way to start is to try and write some code that reads RSS feeds; that way you’ll be writing your team and league news functionality which will immediately make the app useful. You could then e.g. have a page that displays news for each NHL team such as using the following RSS feeds:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/rss
(note the terms and conditions on the Yahoo one say not for commercial use; but if you’re looking to make it a paid app there will still be plenty of sites that let you use their RSS feeds for free).
To start coding it there’s a tutorial video on how to write a simple RSS reader using visual studio and expression blend here:
http://www.windowsphonegeek.com/videos/creating-an-rss-reader-for-windows-phone-7-in-5-minutes
For getting the live scores data (e.g. as an xml feed) you’re most likely going to have to pay for it (and people who provide it charge wildly different prices so have a good shop around). E.g. these people seem to be popular and do NHL (although they’re not the company I use so can’t comment on what they are like – mine only do football)
http://www.xmlteam.com
http://showcase.xmlteam.com/index.php/samples/showfixtures/8/l.nhl.com
Also note that getting access to data from a provider is only the first step – you’ll also need to write some code on a web server somewhere that transmits the scores and other data out to users of your app. Most sports data providers will not want each individual app user to download from them; so they’ll expect just you to download from them, and your users to download from you (i.e. for that you need to write a ‘web service’ on your web server/hosting company, probably attached to a database).
If that all sounds too scary, and/or you’re not looking to spend any money yet (which is probably wise) why not make the main focus something other than the live scores? e.g. perhaps you could make the news reporting better than other apps out there - e.g. lots of different news feeds for each team - really in-depth background on each team, perhaps a way for fans to talk to each other, ability to post things on Facebook about their team, tv schedules, toast messages for news headlines as they come out, player profiles, pictures… etc. etc. You could even type the scores in yourself if you still want them or just provide links to websites from within the app. Have a hunt around though as you sometimes find fan sites that put live scores and stats into free RSS’s.
You asked how easy it is; mine took about 3 months (and I’m a developer with 14 years’ experience of Microsoft technologies) but it all depends how many features you’re trying to write, and how professionally (I wanted to write the best). There’s so many great forums and examples of code out there you’ll be up and running in no time.
Hope that helps,
Ian

Related

Essay about Android

Taking a speech class and had a chance to write about the Android platform. Figured I'd share here. Enjoy and comment as you will.
I wish to start off by saying welcome to the future. A bold proclamation yes, but with such experiments and ongoing research by numerous scientists today, technological breakthroughs are vast and epic. One of the many platforms so to speak that is having phenomenal breakthroughs is in the mobile systems department. Here lays a couple companies with R&D plans that carter towards certain parties promising slick user interfaces, application channels, and a complete web experience. Couple that with feature rich phones that allow one to text, call, global positioning (GPS), and well, you have a product to sell. Google has done just that. Taking bits and pieces of everything one could ever ask for, and merging it all into its mobile operating system titled Android. Represented by a green round-headed robot figure, Android is passing its two year anniversary, and has surpassed other prominent mobile architectures like Apple’s iPhone software. But what exactly is Android? Why would one desire to chuck away their limited iPhone, or stray away from the Blackberry Enterprise lineup? One word: Open source. Couple that with the experience (the art of customizing your device), and the synchronization aspects of the device for virtually any account you have on the net, and you have a total package.
Having a total package within arm’s reach, and inside your pocket is quite a powerful tool. With Google’s Android platform, there is never a point where you can say No. Any and every idea can and could be coded into the device if you have the means to do so. Open source is the ticket. Asking yourself what this means is actually a very simple question. Open source is the definition of computer code that is freely available to anyone who wishes to find it. Google has opened up the software to all who have a spirit to create and provide applications (Apps) and programs to others. Hackers, coders, and all techy guros have created a plethora of net-libraries ranging from support groups, forums and websites to further help noobies in the process. Sounds like a lot, but in reality, the experience is quite easy going. Competitors like Apple and Blackberry have limited their system to developers by safekeeping some of its computer code. This limits creativity, as it puts restrictions and limitations as to what exactly what one can create. Add to the fact that companies like Apple also screen apps to a much higher caliber, halting smaller apps without much bang in the beginning to be choked to death. It seems as if anything is available for pleasure with Android though. If it doesn’t exist, pop into a forum and jot down a reply on a thread. If that’s not enough, I’m sure you have one friend that has already found solutions in the “Green-Guy”. There is always someone there who has the tools necessary to create it, or rather has already created it in the first place.
From forums and coders who have the know-how and tools to create a mind-blowing experience, the customization factor of Android is truly one of its largest selling points. To be quite honest, each and every android device could be considered a work of art. It’s all in how the user desires it for themselves…how deep the user wants to venture; how deep goes their rabbit? From changing backgrounds and wallpapers, to adding widgets to your home screen, the android spectrum allows one to make the phone their own, morph it into how they see fitting. But how is this different from other products? Surely other phones allow their users to alter what they see on screen. Yet I assert, the android experience is different. Almost, if not every aspect of android is customizable. Icons can be altered, the font can be changed, dates, times, anything can be tweaked. Sites like XDA, AndroidSpin, and AndroidandMe provide great reviews, heads up, and forums to browse through numerous applications, both beta and final. The options are endless, and it’s open in the air to anyone who desires a bit of change. Many new phones come preinstalled with newer software, as you might here Froyo, Éclair or Gingerbread tossed around. These are simply codenames for newer versions of software from Google. If your carrier doesn’t support the newer software, chances are a coder has already made it available for you. Convenience without a price attached!
Free in price is seemingly synonymous with freedom. Freedom to choose. Freedom to enjoy. Freedom to experience. Freedom from a stationary computer. Android is a thriving system that allows you to constantly stay on the up and up. Synchronization appears a mystery as your Facebook, Twitter, email, and numerous other accounts are integrated into the system via apps or at stock. With live widgets that monitor in real time your accounts, any and all social networks, social feeds, and business/personal accounts are updated instantly. No more carrying around a tiring laptop, or waiting to login the networks at any given campus. 3G speeds and now 4G on some carriers are making mobile devices the in crowd, as speeds are comparable to standard net speeds. As many people day are on the up and up, or rather, out and about, a mobile system that constantly allows access to ones desired feeds is grand. Couple that with ability to alter documents on the fly, listen to your favorite music (via Pandora, or from the Phones Internal Memory…think iPod), you have a complete package. It’s not just a Media Device, a Business Device, a Cell Phone, as it truly lives up to the name of Smart Phone.
For me the choice was easy. I thrive off customization, the ability to make my phone a tad different, even faster, or more efficient then what the original company did for me. But as Android ages, everything looks bright and promising. To proclaim dark clouds linger would be insanity. From its initial creation of being open-sourced, to customizing features and its ability to be versatile, Android has shattered the mobile systems realm. As it races to the top, Android allows users to update on the go, with synchronization from virtually every social feed. When people ask me about phones and what should be right for them, there is no question for me. It’s never been a question about what Android can’t do, but what Android does.
<- Laughing Out Loud.
It's full of grammar faux pas, by the way.
Still very well written *only read first paragraph* but I was impressed, not bad Also maybe a bit many commas...
BTW, shouldve been posted in the off topic section
Nice Speech. I Enjoyed reading it.
Sent from Conical. 07

Confessions of a Google junkie (or, Privacy? What privacy?)

the original link.....http://www.zdnet.com/blog/google/confessions-of-a-google-junkie-or-privacy-what-privacy/3553
Summary: A lot has been made of Google’s new privacy policy and terms of use. I say bring it on.
There are very few aspects of my life that don’t somehow involve Google. My phone runs on Android, my favorite tablet just got an OTA update to Ice Cream Sandwich (!!!), I use Chrome across all of my computers, I develop AdWords campaigns, I use Analytics to develop metrics for the day job and dive into SEO, I handle many of the CBS Interactive Google webcasts, I use Google Docs almost exclusively for productivity, and my wife doesn’t know where I am half the time until she checks my Google Calendar (which, in fact, aggregate two other Google Calendars).
I’m increasingly turning to Google+ as my source of relevant information and opinions, a function previously reserved for Twitter, and I’ve even dispensed with bookmarks, instead using Google Sites to organize important pages and resources.
I live, eat, breathe, work, and play Google and there aren’t many people more aware of Google’s business model and the amount of data it collects than I. So is it just sheer stupidity and naiveté that has me utterly embracing the Google ecosystem and relatively unconcerned about newly announced privacy policies that have caused so much consternation this week? Before you jump down to the talkbacks to tell me how stupid I really am, read on for another couple paragraphs.
As Larry Dignan pointed out in his post about the new policies last night,
Google noted that it already has all that data, but it’s now integrating that information across products. It’s a change in how Google will use the data not what it collects. In other words, Google already knows more about you than your wife.
From my perspective, though, I can live with Google knowing a lot about me. It knows, for example, that I’ve recently developed an obsession with the electric guitar and have been researching inexpensive models that I might just be able to justify as a birthday present to myself. It doesn’t judge, it just shows me the best deals in display ads on the three models of guitar and 2 models of amps I’ve been reading about the most. My wife isn’t aware of this obsession and her take on it would be judgmental (God love her!): “When will you have time to play guitar? And we’re supposed to be saving money! And what’s wrong with your acoustic guitar?”
Taking this a step further, as Google’s new privacy policies and terms of use do, I should expect to start seeing guitar-related apps in my suggestions in the Google Market and the Chrome Marketplace. Guitarists on Google+ should start appearing in suggested people to add to my circles and Google Reader should offer to download Guitar Player Magazine feeds for me. And, more likely than not, I’ll start seeing more guitar-related ads as well.
Google’s goal, of course, is to sell advertising. That’s about 97% of their revenue. By pulling people like me into their increasingly unified ecosystem, they can demonstrate very high click-through rates to potential advertisers and charge a premium to reach highly targeted and yet incredibly vast audiences.
They need to give me something in return
For me to buy into this, they need to give me something in return. Something to make all things Google really sticky. Like a wide array of free tools from Google Docs to Google Music to Google Voice. And cheap tools that I buy for my business like Google Apps and AdWords. Their new policies are designed to be more transparent, but also to pave the way for these tools to talk to each other better, making them even stickier through a unified experience and more relevant services.
Back to the wife comparison that Larry brought up. My wife knows that every Friday night is pizza night in our house. So does Google, since every Friday around 4:30 I pull out my Android and use Google Voice Search to find the number of whatever pizza joint we decide to patronize that week. Fine. Google, however, can actually do something more useful with that information than my wife can (”Where should I order pizza, sweetheart?” “Wherever, just not that place down the road. Or that other place. And make sure they’re having a deal!”).
Come Friday morning, the ads I see on Gmail or Google search should start being pretty pizza-heavy: Dominos, Papa Johns, and a place or two that has an active Google Offer. As I’m driving home that evening, the GPS on my phone should set off an alert when I drive past a well-reviewed pizza place (assuming I’ve set location-based preferences to alert me to destinations with at least four-star average reviews). And the minute I type a P in my mobile browser, Google Instant should leap into action and display nearby pizza places and a news story about a new place to get pizza in the next town.
We’re not quite there yet, but this is the sort of integration and experience that Google is covering in its new policies and terms of use. I know that my privacy red flags should probably be going off. Google has gigabytes of information about me and is using that information to help its advertisers sell products. That’s bad, right?
Guess what, folks? This is the semantic web
And yet, I don’t think it is. Many of the same techies who cry foul over these new policies have also been pushing for the development of the semantic web to make it easier to find what we actually need in the trillions of web pages floating around the Internet. Guess what, folks? This is the semantic web. When our search engines know what we actually mean, when data on the web automagically becomes information we can use easily and quickly, we’ve arrived.
And the semantic web can’t exist without “the web” (whatever that is) knowing a lot about us. It takes data for a computer to understand our needs and process natural language efficiently. Some of those data will necessarily be fairly personal.
Now, if I start getting spam from pizza places or calls on my Google Voice number from Dominos because Google has sold my contact information and preferences to advertisers, we have a problem and I’ll be waving my privacy flag as high as anyone else. However, when I opt in by opening a Google account and staying logged in as I surf the web, I’m not only consenting to the collection and aggregation of data about me, I’m asking that it be done so that the web and related tools can be more useful to me. This sort of data mining lets me work faster, play easier, and find the best pizza in a 20-mile radius.
For its part, Google needs to remain the trusted broker of these data. No, I don’t like the idea that our government could brand me a terrorist and seize these gigabytes of data under the Patriot Act. The alternative, though, is an ever-growing morass of web sites and tools that I get to dig through manually.
And, by the way, even if I’m not logged in to my Google account as I’m doing it, my ISP knows the sites I’ve visited, too, and could just as easily (if not more so) be compelled to turn over this information to the real Big Brother in all of this.
Far more trust in Google than the Feds
Honestly, I have far more trust in Google than I do in the Feds. Google is motivated by money: they need my trust to keep collecting those data to keep making it easier for me to buy things from Google’s paying advertisers. If that trust is broken by inappropriate sharing of data, then my eyeballs go elsewhere and so do the advertisers who target me via AdWords and AdSense. Our government has no such financial motivation. Money talks.
The fact that the speech recognition on my phone kicks ass because I use Google Voice all the time and it’s learned how I talk might be a little creepy, but it’s far more important that I can do a Google search or send a text while I’m driving without taking my eyes off the road.
Welcome to 2012, folks. The semantic web has arrived. Use it well and let’s keep Google’s new policies in perspective. And Google? Don’t be evil. I have a lot of colleagues who will be pointing, laughing, and saying I told you so if you ever are.
Nice article.
I think the key for Google's continued success is to keep the advertising passive, suggestions when you're searching etc. aren't in your face but they work.
You see a lot of people complaining that they've been searching for something online and then all of the adverts on the websites they visit contain something pertaining to that, and they grumble that it's annoying. Personally, I'd much rather see an advert to something that's relevant to me rather than a cluttered webpage of irrelevant information.
By targeting adverts and increasing their relevance to the individual, they are far more likely to be successful. This means that the revenue per advert is going to improve and websites aren't going to need to cover their website in adverts (at the cost of the user experience) to make it profitable.
Plus given the huge amount of free stuff that google gives you, it's a bit rich for somebody to complain that they're trying to get something back off you.
I too would much rather see things directly targeted towards me then just random ads. And everyone is up in arms about google recording what you do. Well i think of it this way, i'm fine with them getting to know me and my behavior and what i do, as long as they keep providing FREE products for me.
Ahh the good old "If they are going to screw me without consent, I would much rather they knew my name, stroked my hair and whispered sweet nothings into my ear while they did it."
I prefer to treat my online habbits like the strange neighbour a few doors down. Say "hi" in passing, and realise that while they probrobly know more than I would want them to from when I've invited them over for coffee and from peeking in my windows as they walk past, know that I don't actually have to put up with their $#!+ if they become too creepy.
Thats why its important there are alternitives and competition, and that we as consumers don't put our eggs all in one basket and be prepared to protest or move on if they stretch the friendship too far.
I know privacy is impossible in this day and age but that doent mean you have to lie back and take it. "because you know it means well and it does give you nice gifts once in a while"
My suggestion is cut your reliance on any one brand and spread out the load.
hungry81 said:
My suggestion is cut your reliance on any one brand and spread out the load.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the author am reliant on Google these days. I'd be happy to look at alternatives. Granted they work on the platforms I needs them to, Android 2.X and 3.2, Linux+chrome, windows XP + chrome, and windows 7 + firefox or chrome. The linux requirement cuts out a lot of things, iTunes/iCloud for example.
Have any suggestions who/where i could go for:
Music
Docs
G+
Gmail
Needs a slick webUI, and the searching ability of gmail
Calendar
I need delegation and the ability for my wife to add me to events and share calendars.
Reader
works on all my devices, and syncs between them
I would very much like my phone to know when I leave work. Now i could do this with some sort of timer, but I end up working somewhat flexible hours, and have a leaving time of anywhere within an hour and a half. I would like it to know that since I now have "buy bread, milk, and eggs" on my to-do list (thanks hun!), that it needs to remind me of that on the way home. Even better if it can just direct me to a store with a deal on one or all of those things.
I like that the first hit in Google I get for cookies is the wikipedia page for http cookies and the second is to pythons cookielib module. Where as I bet my grandmother gets, chocolate chip cookies. The ability for Google search to know that I have a particular artist in my collection, and show me the bind's page near the top of the results without me having to add "band" to my search terms.
Anyways, if and when Google starts selling my data to 3rd parties, I'll export my data and move. Google makes it fairly painless to do that.

How would I go about making an app like this? (Not Commercial)

For my school, I am planning to create an app that will allow people to be aware of upcoming events and general information about the school for new students and parents.
My IST (Information and Software Technology) teacher said that if it was successful, we will be able to publish it as the school's app and thus awarding be brownie points and overall a beneficiary. My school is not a dodgy one in terms of behavior etc and most people have smartphones, and not retards with iPhones with like #SWAG#YOLO#INSTAGRAM#FACEBOOK.'
Basically it's supposed to display stuff like a map of the school, things like upcoming exams and events like carnivals. I am hoping to add something that will allow you to put your grade as preference and thus only notify you of things that concern you. Basically like a news feed but for your school life.
Will it be able to be pulled off? If it is I will start with Android and move on from there.
I don't see why it would be impossible, but it seems you are taking the difficult road for something that could be done simply.
If there's planned events, you simply need to maintain a calendar/agenda one can sync to. With Google Agenda/Calendar, you can do just that. Share one or multiple agendas people can sync with. The upside is that people can use a multitude of apps, whether on their smartphone or computer to sync with that calendar instead of using a closed app.
The downside, is that its meant to manage a calendar/agenda, thus not really usable for the other part of your project, posts with general informations and news.

[Q] JAVA/PHP: Should I build an APP or a Website?

Hello everyone! I am new to the forum. Been thinking of joining for a while but my current issue has been the push I needed to join. I have looked high and low for the answer but to be completely honest I am not entirely sure what to look for. Not sure what my question is. I have also looked around this forum for a a good little while stopping on this thread to ask my question. I hope it's the right place to start. I will try to ask this in a way that is understandable and relevant. In your answer please take into consideration that I am new-ish to Android Development. =) (I can do the basics, Root, hack, crack, etc,.) I know enough though I think to follow your answerer and understand it.
** Question: For my Project should I go with a full Android App, go with a website that can be viewed on a mobile phone, or should I build the back-end on a web server and have an android app that delivers the front-end? (Front-end being the login, the styling of the pages, where the interaction between users take place, etc,. ) I'll elaborate on my question below. **
Alright. I started building a website. Conceptual anyway. I have been designing it on paper, white board, Photoshop etc,. The website is going to be a social site of sorts. Unique in it's own way. At first I was going to do just a website. Then I realized as my creation grew that I wanted it to be an App. Then decided, due to all the back-end server programming and functionality required, I would most likely have to build it as a website or web application. To give a brief summery of the site. There will be a login system with profiles, instant messaging. video chats, group chats, ability to play simple games like cards, chess, and more. I will also need to be able to control sessions. Write new session information on the fly based on certain actions the users take.
My problem, I think, is that i'm not sure the most efficient or effective way to go about doing this. If it was going to be on a computer I would write it up in PHP and obviously display the site with HTML/CSS. The display part I think is where I am at a loss. At least one of my issues. Since I would like for this to be an app for Android I may need a new way to display the 'site' if that's what It will even be called once it's an app. If I'm going to shoot for it to be on mobile phones then I'm thinking I can get the cosmetics looking good as well as using it to my advantage. I prefer the 'app-like-interface' rather than scroll with mouse and click on the page as if it were a website. ( 'app-like-interface': I am referring to buttons, and menus, and a overall 'pretty' interface. touch screen etc,.)
So should I write it as a website in it's entirety and just display it as a mobile site?
Should I completely trash the idea of doing this for mobile phones?
Should I (if it's possible) write everything on the back-end with PHP but create an app with java to display the styling and build the interface?
Or should I do something else entirely that I've not mentioned?
My apologies if this question was a bit to long. Tried to be thorough. Thanks so much in advance as well. This answer is something I need before I can even consider continuing. Thanks!
Az Tek

Would Unity be the best for myself? Or another route?

Hello,
I've been doing some research on the many, many different routes I can go with Android development, and I'm hoping someone might be able to help narrow down my choice. My experience is currently web related, PHP/HTML/CSS, with knowledge of intermediate Javascript, etc.
I'd like to create a very similar game to Football Manager, but less ambitious. For those that aren't aware, it's a simulation game where you're the manager of a soccer team.
My ambition is to keep it very simple, dumbed down. No need to watch the games, pretty much all text with simple graphics for some things.
My issue is, trying to find a place to start. There's literally a lot of different routes, and I'm overwhelmed. Do I use HTML5? Java? One of the programs like Unity, Construct? PhoneGap?
For my specific game, and idea, what would be your best suggestion on what to use?
Thanks in advance.
you can try CocoonJS. it's easy.
It's html5 fraemwork.
CocoonJS is a technology that helps HTML5 developers publish their web-based games and apps in the most important mobile and web stores with no code changes and with all the advantages of native development.
Using CocoonJS, a single code base is enough to publish a game or app natively on more than 10 stores. Best of all, with no installations thanks to our cloud-based platform.
HTML5 is finally ready for cross-platform app and game development!
Learn more: http://ludei.com
But now it's in open beta.
All free, but all Extension only for premium users.
Premium account granted for free, if you have nice idia/project.
The answer is "it depends"
A couple of questions...
1. Will it only be for Android? or are you also planning to push it to iPhone?
2. Will the interface be more like a app (eg. gmail, calendar, utility apps) or more like a game (immersive, completely different interface) ?
3. Will there be a lot of interaction? or mainly consuming information?
pyko said:
The answer is "it depends"
A couple of questions...
1. Will it only be for Android? or are you also planning to push it to iPhone?
2. Will the interface be more like a app (eg. gmail, calendar, utility apps) or more like a game (immersive, completely different interface) ?
3. Will there be a lot of interaction? or mainly consuming information?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. Android to start, possibility of iPhone in the future.
2. Straight forward, more like an app, nothing too pretty, more statistical.
3. Mainly consuming information, lots of behind the scenes work.
In that case, I would say go for a mobile friendly web-based app, as opposed to a native app. So this would mean HTML/CSS/JavaScript.
Reasons are:
You want to eventually be on both Android and iPhone. Since you're app is more "app like" if you go native, you'll essentially have to write 2 separate apps to have good user experience (Android and iPhone have vastly different experience guidelines). WIth a mobile-friendly website, you'll satisfy both with one code base
You've already got experience in HTML/CSS/Javascript - definitely a big win!
Since your app will mainly be information consumption, it sounds suitable for a website.
When done correctly, a mobile-friendly website can still be a great experience to use
A couple of things to be aware of...
Don't try and imitate the native UI on the mobile-friendly website. It is a website, not a native app! Users are fine if it doesn't behave like a native app (afterall, they would've just reached your site via the browser). In fact, if you make the website behave sorta like a native app, it might confuse users more. Best direction is to have a good, solid ,easy to use and understand UI. (Be wary of the Uncanny Valley)
Unlike laptops/desktops, mobiles generally are less powerful, so you'll need/want to optimise performance. Make sure the website runs fast & smoothly (ie. optimise resource downloading, minimise/optimise javascript animations etc). Be aware that most phones have a 'click delay' (to detect swipes/drags etc) so you'll want to use something like fastclick to eliminate this.
Remember that on a mobile device your user will be using their fingers (and not a mouse) to click/interact with your website. So make sure tap targets are nice and large.
Finally .... test on a real device! Chrome dev tools etc to simulate phone screens is great for dev, but actually using your website on a mobile will reveal many design decisions that might need to change.
This might sound like a lot to think about, but I think given what you've said about your idea, in the long run, it will be more time efficient. (there is probably a equally long list of things to think about when developing a native app!)
Good luck with your idea
pyko said:
In that case, I would say go for a mobile friendly web-based app, as opposed to a native app. So this would mean HTML/CSS/JavaScript.
Reasons are:
You want to eventually be on both Android and iPhone. Since you're app is more "app like" if you go native, you'll essentially have to write 2 separate apps to have good user experience (Android and iPhone have vastly different experience guidelines). WIth a mobile-friendly website, you'll satisfy both with one code base
You've already got experience in HTML/CSS/Javascript - definitely a big win!
Since your app will mainly be information consumption, it sounds suitable for a website.
When done correctly, a mobile-friendly website can still be a great experience to use
A couple of things to be aware of...
Don't try and imitate the native UI on the mobile-friendly website. It is a website, not a native app! Users are fine if it doesn't behave like a native app (afterall, they would've just reached your site via the browser). In fact, if you make the website behave sorta like a native app, it might confuse users more. Best direction is to have a good, solid ,easy to use and understand UI. (Be wary of the Uncanny Valley)
Unlike laptops/desktops, mobiles generally are less powerful, so you'll need/want to optimise performance. Make sure the website runs fast & smoothly (ie. optimise resource downloading, minimise/optimise javascript animations etc). Be aware that most phones have a 'click delay' (to detect swipes/drags etc) so you'll want to use something like fastclick to eliminate this.
Remember that on a mobile device your user will be using their fingers (and not a mouse) to click/interact with your website. So make sure tap targets are nice and large.
Finally .... test on a real device! Chrome dev tools etc to simulate phone screens is great for dev, but actually using your website on a mobile will reveal many design decisions that might need to change.
This might sound like a lot to think about, but I think given what you've said about your idea, in the long run, it will be more time efficient. (there is probably a equally long list of things to think about when developing a native app!)
Good luck with your idea
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Thank you very much for your help, I appreciate all the information. One last question on my end.
I'm assuming the development tools would be the same as a usual website (ie. In my case, Dreamweaver?). If you're familiar with Game Dev Tycoon, would a layout /similar style of interaction game b, e capable using only Dreamweaver, or is something else needed?
No worries, more than happy to help
I would actually suggest not using Dreamweaver as for the mobile website, you'll really want to be as lean and minimal as possible. From what I recall, Dreamweaver can add quite a bit of 'cruft' to your code.
I would suggest a standard text editor (recommend: http://www.sublimetext.com/) as that would allow you to have complete control over your code, what you include/exclude, what goes where etc. The mobile site will require that extra attention as you really want to make sure it runs smoothly on the mobile.
In terms of quick dev iteration (making sure the site looks correct) you can use the chrome developer tools (https://developers.google.com/chrome-developer-tools/) which allows you to fake the user agent/screen size etc on your browser. Though nothing beats occasional testing on a real device - just to make sure you're on the right track.
Had a look at Game Dev Tycoon and I would say for something as involved as that (lots of interaction, animations etc) it's better to go down the native route.
pyko said:
No worries, more than happy to help
I would actually suggest not using Dreamweaver as for the mobile website, you'll really want to be as lean and minimal as possible. From what I recall, Dreamweaver can add quite a bit of 'cruft' to your code.
I would suggest a standard text editor (recommend: http://www.sublimetext.com/) as that would allow you to have complete control over your code, what you include/exclude, what goes where etc. The mobile site will require that extra attention as you really want to make sure it runs smoothly on the mobile.
In terms of quick dev iteration (making sure the site looks correct) you can use the chrome developer tools (https://developers.google.com/chrome-developer-tools/) which allows you to fake the user agent/screen size etc on your browser. Though nothing beats occasional testing on a real device - just to make sure you're on the right track.
Had a look at Game Dev Tycoon and I would say for something as involved as that (lots of interaction, animations etc) it's better to go down the native route.
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Thank you again. I appreciate all your help.

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