Mobile App 101

Developing a mobile app? Consider some of these mobile app key functions that you should have in the app you are developing, regardless of whether you are developing on the iOS or Android platform.

1) Location-based Services

What could be better than knowing where the user is and deliver features or functions that caters to the needs and wants of the user? Location-based services are striving to offer a better user-experience by providing intelligent information according to the user’s context.

2) Social Networking

With the mobile social networking apps right at your fingertips, sharing of information to your friends and contacts are a breeze. From texts, to pictures, to videos, to games and even commerce, social networking apps have become an enormous portal of data traffic.

3) Mobile Search

Instead of doing the search on the laptop, using a mobile search through your smartphone is more convenient. Comparison of product specs, prices, or even making reservations and purchases could be done with greater ease.

4) Mobile Commerce

Imagining stepping into a store, then buying the items you like by scanning their code using your phone. Mobile commerce is an up-coming trend to enhance the shopper’s experience. It allows the stores to interact with the users on a more personal basis, like “checking-in” when you step into the store, or earning rewards while shopping.

5) Mobile Payment

Although yet to become mainstream, the Near Field Communication (NFC) payment system will soon provide a greater ease-of-use for users.

6) Context-aware Services

By keeping track of the user’s preference and interest. Context-aware services will provide anticipate the user’s intention, and proactively suggests the user on the most appropriate content, product, or services available.

7) Object Recognition

Using the camera or other device sensors, like a QR code scanner, users get to identify or share specific objects of interest, which can provide a higher level of entertainment or searching capabilities when used with other mobile apps, like Pinterest.

8) Mobile Communications

The primary function has never stopped evolving to higher levels. From calls to SMS, and then to emails and even videos, developers have always been researching ways to bring mobile communication to greater platforms. With the current trends in HD and 3D, we should be expecting to see video contents of that caliber to be available in most smartphones soon.