Unlike a computer the mobile phone or the tablet are the only devices that can capture a consumer at the point of their inspiration.
iPhone and iPad application programming, development and deployment
Welcome to the world of portable application programming, development and design on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and mobile devices. Putting your business tools and content in the pocket of your customers. The iPhone and iPad are the central devices for the next stage of web design and application development of the mobile web.
Unlike a computer, digital video camera, or microphone, the mobile phone, iPhone, and iPad has become part of our wardrobes, an accessory for our clothing, permanently stuck to our every movement. It is the only device that can capture a consumer at the point of their inspiration. From purchasing a concert ticket from a billboard advertisement you see from your car window, to checking the live updates of current news and events in your local area wirelessly. Mobile Web and mobile application development is set to change the way we find information and communicate.
This transformation of the mobile web is largely due to the accelerated technical capacity and growth in storage and bandwidth that a mobile phone now possess. It has enabled current mobile phones and iPhones to run applications and handle all forms of data, from Video (MMS), text messaging (SMS), sound bytes and photos. The release of 2G phones (14kbps data transfer), 2.5G phones (64kb/s - 144kb/s data transfer), 3G phones (384kb/s - 2Mb/s) and fourth generation (4G) phones and beyond have enabled people to be able to broadcast video off a website on their phone. An increase in screen size from old mobile phones to the newest technology such as the iPad and iPhone and the ability to connect from your iPad and iPhone to a wireless connection mean that iPad and iPhone applications are here to stay.
What applications should be displayed on an iPad and iPhone or mobile phone?
So we have established that having an application targeted to the mobile phone and mobile device is not only one of the coolest things to do but also one of the most functional and beneficial things your company can invest in for future growth and client flexibility. The next step is to determine what content to display on a small and medium screened device essentially important to your customers.
Simplicity and ease of use are the most fundemental principles for delivering business content to a small screen mobile/iPhone and medium screen iPad device. An iPhone/mobile phone user or iPad user is more than likely doing other things while they are simultaneously viewing your iPhone or iPad application. Having a navigational system and layout that enables a customer to quickly figure out how to navigate your content on a small device is essential in keeping your customer interested.
The design and flow of small screen device content should adhere to the following guidelines:
- Make it user friendly and obvious how to use your application, otherwise people won't download it.
- Avoid iPhone and iPad unhappiness with avoiding clutter and disgustingly busy backgrounds, think minimalist, employ white space.
- Minimise required user input, unnessesary finger tap dancing isn't an olympic sport just yet, so relax.
- Express essential business content concisely and functionally, your customers will praise the efficiency of accurate speed of light data that's easy to read and understand.
- Being at the fingertips of your customers literally means to provide functional fingertip sized target areas for all of your navigation. In an increasingly larger sized Australian population, catering for the fast food fingers is essential.
- Unnecessary interactivity is moistness in all the wrong places, keep interactivity to a functional level, think western and how quickly you can draw your guns.
If you require to be at the wired edge of technology and see that Web Applications on the iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch and Mobile Devices has arrived.
