Developing a Mobile Application for Enterprise; Things to Consider

Developing a Mobile Application for Enterprise; Things to Consider from Copper Mobile, Inc.

iPad Mini; The Monetary Performance So Far

There were various price presumptions before the launch of iPad Mini. While some thought new tablet to compete with Amazon Kindle Fire HD, thus to be priced at $199, others guessed the device to be available for $299. When the device was finally introduced, Apple Inc. priced it at $329.

Research firm IHS carried the teardown analysis of the iPad Mini and made a cost estimation of all the components used in the tablet. It reveals that chip and battery, display, and other parts of the base model of iPad Mini cost around $188 to Apple.

 

If we calculate the cost of the components, it is 57 percent of the retail price, which means that Apple is getting a gross margin of 43 percent on the iPad Mini.

 

What is Taking up the Margin Part?

 

The iPad Mini is coming with GF2 technology, which reduces the thickness of the display. Since, the technology is in early stage, there might be some glitches. There are chances of Apple getting higher margins once it overcomes problem areas.

 

What Adds Up to the Margin?

 

It is the iPad Mini models with higher memory, which are generating higher profits for Apple. The company is selling Wi-Fi only 32GB and 64GB models at price of $429 and $529 respectively. The price of flash memory is significantly low. Adding flash memory of 32GB and 64GB is costing Apple $8 to $24, but it is making profit of $90 and $162 per unit. So, higher the sales of 32GB and 64GB versions of iPad Mini, better the profit margins of Apple.

 

What are Other Tablet Makers Getting?

 

IHS has also looked at the Surface tablet priced at $499 for the base model. As per the estimation, the cost of components in the 32GB model is $271. Microsoft is also selling Touch Cover at $120, which might be costing $16 to the company and is adding significantly to profit share.

 

Amazon is however focusing more on increasing its customer base instead of profit percent. The base model of Kindle Fire HD is priced at $199 however, the total cost of the components is said to be $165.

 

Apple iPad Mini is a recent launch but its aggressive cannibalization might add 3 million tablets to Apple's kitty at the end of the last quarter of 2012. Price is one of the major criteria for people preferring iPad Mini over the iPad. Another research firm IDC in its just-released 2013 predictions has revealed that devices with 8 inch or smaller screens will capture 60 percent of the tablet market, which indicates higher profit margin for Apple iPad Mini.

 

This post comes to you from Copper Mobile, one of the top iPhone developers and iPad application development companies providing enterprise app development solutions.

Deliver the Best of Android Experience; Here are 5 Design Tips

When the Linux-based operating system, Android was launched, it had to compete with some of the already popular platforms namely iOS, Symbian, and RIM. The open source mobile OS lacked consistency in early years. The mobile market was so fragmented that Android had to offer something unique to stand out amongst competitors.

Android development was considered to be a mobile platform with little appeal. But, things have considerably changed after the launch of Ice Cream Sandwich. Android had 75% worldwide market share in the third quarter of 2012, which is a great growth for an OS launched couple of years ago.

 

One of the major factors where Android lacked in was an appealing interface. ICS and Jelly Bean however have a beautiful interface.

 

Developers love to work on Android because of the immense popularity of the mobile platform. And when you are creating something for the new Android phones, here are design tips to help you.

 

Deliver User-centric Experience with Simplified Designs

 

When the navigational structure will go hand-in-hand with the presentation, users wouldn't find it difficult to move between the content.

 

How you can achieve a simple design?

• Use animations
• Rely more on images instead of text
• Simplify the UI pattern

Gestures & Transitions are Important

 

Google's "Project Butter" has resolved the issues of choppy performance in Android devices. The improved speed of 60 frames per second have resulted in smoother transitions and enhanced animations. Designers can leverage on the recent transformations to deliver more fluidic and gesture based engaging experience to users.

 

Utilizing Intents

 

Applications like Facebook or Twitter require you to hard code the communication for iOS. In case of Android, two apps can share the information if they have the ability to utilize the intents. Designers can use this positive aspect of Android to create a shared network between apps.

 

Understand the Difference Between iOS and Android

 

Designers have to keep this in mind that UI and navigation patterns for users are different in iOS and Android. Try to move the unnecessary actions to the action bar.

 

Also:

• Use gesture based navigation instead of tab-like buckets.
• Do not mix up the visual paradigms of iOS with Android such as heavily designed UI elements or button arrays.

 

Design for Flexibility

 

The best part of new Android platforms is that they are able to run on all the devices. Therefore, try to consider the layout of phone and tablet in your application designing.

 

What else to do?

• Use 9patching, the technique of Android for creating stretchable bitmap images.
• The naming conventions of Android are ideal to manage assets on the basis of screen size and density.

 

Follow the design guidelines to deliver a refined and beautiful Android experience to users.

 

This article has been posted by Copper Mobile, an eminent Android & iPhone developer providing enterprise app development solutions.