Common Mistakes While Developing Mobile Applications

If someone asks me to describe mobile development, I would say it is the process of making portable devices which are as useful as computers and may get better than them as time progresses. That is exactly what is happening. Recent studies show that there are about 112 million users in India that is a 13% growth from last year. Research organization also predicts that, there can be an addition of 11 million until the end of this year.

But the interesting news in this research is that in 2010, there were only 1% people using Internet on their mobiles which went to 3% in 2011 and 8% in 2012. Looking at these trends and the exponential growth it is predicted that, there will be about 600 million Internet users on mobile worldwide.

All these survey sums up that mobile development has become one of the fastest growing and competitive market. Mobile phones have become the center of the world, given the fact that businesses and individuals cannot survive without them with all the communication and social networking possible through it. Smart phones are particularly getting the kind of attention which once upon a time declining computers used to get. Laptops and desktops have become impractical choices for quite obvious reason that they cannot be kept in pockets. So we have many reasons that this generation will like to do everything on a mobile platform.

Although there are enough mobile development platforms available, but there are few common and popular one. Some of these are:

- Symbian OS is one of the favorite platform among the developers for its fast real-time response. It is designed and maintained by Nokia.

- Android is another platform based on the modified version of LINUX Kernel which has revolutionized the mobile market. The Java based application of Android are most user-friendly.

- Blackberry OS, as its name suggests is a proprietary platform for the use of Blackberry devices. Research in Motion (RIM) also allows third party developers to write their own software using Blackberry Application Programming Interface (API).

- Apple is a development platform to create applications for iPhones and iPad. It is a UNIX based operating system derived from Macintosh OS.

- Windows Phone is the latest platform coming from the computer giant Microsoft. It uses a design language called Metro which allows developers to integrate the OS with third party services.

Of course, with so many available platforms there are thousands or maybe millions of apps which can be created. Everyone is trying to make their own app by their own, but the learning process is never complete without the understanding of common pitfalls related to it. These days I see so many applications with features which are not really important. There are few common mistakes which I would suggest avoid while in the process of mobile development.

Stuffing too many feature-

This is one of the most common mistake usually committed by new mobile developers or many times experienced developers who cannot resist the temptation of adding all the stuff they got. As a developer, you must understand what you want your app to do, what must be its unique features and how is it going to benefit and serve its users.

It is very important that the first version of your app should only target the immediate requirements of the user or the company you are developing app for. Addition of further features can always be done in the upcoming versions of your app. Constant update of your app also makes you look professional and popular among users.

Creating complicated User Interfaces-

The first version of your app should be intuitive and easy to use. A perfect interface should be such that user learns it simply by using it without referring the user manual. The average mobile user may not be very tech savvy. He or she just wants to enjoy the features your device has to offer. So keep in mind that every aspect, screen, buttons and functions of your app must be well defined to make their lives simpler and enjoyable.

Of course, there are some apps with complicated interfaces which have been a great success among users. But it would be better to start slow with simple apps and go for the groundbreaking apps once you have a name in the market. It is important to provide a manual with detailed how-to section in case of apps with complicated user interface.

Working on too many mobile platforms-

It is important that mobile developers do not start creating apps for all mobile platforms. Adding too many feature and platforms to your single version will raise your initial costs high. You have to do a thorough research and plan out your strategies in advance if you want to develop your app for different platforms like Blackberry, Android, Apple altogether.


Article Source: Anupam Janwasia