Mobile Apps and the Connected Home

By John Houghton on January 3, 2013

I just read an article on AllThingsD.com about the Connected Home and what we can expect to see at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week.  The Connected Home is a big and mostly unexploited area for software and hardware developers – the idea of making apps that can control objects in the home with an iPhone, iPad, or Android device, such as lights, appliances, or your thermostat.

Not only is this an area of intense interest for myself, but if you’ve kept an eye out, you’ve watched the shelves of your local Apple store fill with these smart controllers.  Here are some of the things I would love to see:

A refrigerator that knows what’s […]

App Design: Moving from iPhone to iPad

By John Houghton on January 2, 2013

So, you have an iPhone app and now you want to make it work for iPad.  A lot of people think they can just expand the size of the user interface and they’re done, but to make a successful iPad app you need to mold your app design to the iPad’s interface.

Designing for the iPad is Different

According to Apple, “If you’re planning to develop an app that runs on iPhone and iPad, you need to adapt your design to each device.” (Apple iOS Human Interface Guidelines, December 17, 2012).  In the case of the iPad, this means that you need to model the user interface to match the screen size, aspect ratio, and user conventions […]

Using the iPad as a Sales Tool to Increase Revenue

By John Houghton on December 7, 2012

Modern companies are finding that the iPad can be a great tool for increasing sales effectiveness.  Because of its compact form factor, ease of use, and ability to supplement the sales process, the iPad is making its way into the average sales rep’s arsenal.

Seeing is Believing

It’s a new way of presenting that combines two of the strongest sales tools: the personal meeting, and visuals.  Many of us know that we’re much better off having a conversation with the chief influencer rather than engaging a group in a one-way PowerPoint presentation.  The only downside of a conversational meeting has been that we couldn’t easily show our prospect visuals that cement our sales points.  Enter the iPad.  […]

The Four Top iPhone and Android App Development Best Practices

By John Houghton on December 6, 2012

Let’s face it, of the over one million iPhone, iPad and Android (phone and tablet) apps available, many are of sub-standard design and quality.  As the app development frenzy has pushed non-software developers into software roles, their inexperience has resulted in low quality apps.  Follow these four best practices to improve your odds of success.

Involve Users – You should run the app idea by a set of users and involve them in the initial planning phase and user acceptance testing.  This can be simple or elaborate.  As an example of a simple user test, I gave a prototype app to my friend to try, and I could see in the first few seconds that he […]

Improve Time to Market with Mobile Procurement

By John Houghton on December 4, 2012

Mobility empowers organizations to improve time-to-market, especially for 24/7 operations.  Employees frequently don’t mind working on-the-go, as long as the process is easy and helps them move their projects and careers forward.  If processes are difficult, they won’t get done, but if companies design processes to be straightforward, things get accomplished more efficiently.  Simply put, going mobile makes things easier.

Much project work involves ordering new products and services, and the quicker we can receive these, the faster our organizations can move.  Procurement performed on mobile devices such as iOS or Android, whether it’s phones or tablets, helps organizations move forward.

Faster Time to Utilization – Employees often need to order items to keep projects moving, but […]

4 Tips for Building a Powerful Investor Relations App

By John Houghton on June 15, 2012

Thanks to the boom in sales of mobile devices, there is continuing demand for all types of apps to serve content, and investor relations (IR) apps are no exception.  Peter Warne, Head of Nestlé IR Communications Services, offers four tips for making your investor relations app a success.

1. Stay ahead of the game

In Nestlé’s case, they were one of the first companies with an investor relations iPhone app.  In addition to the 40,000–50,000 app downloads, they received a lot of recognition for being one of the first companies to utilize such media channels to reach their investors.  Ok, so you can’t be the first with an IR app because that’s already been done, but you […]

Video: Stopping In at the Informal iPhone Developer Meetup

By John Houghton on May 25, 2012

For those who can’t come to Silicon Valley Meetups, I thought I would drop by the Informal iPhone Developer Meetup and see what’s going on.  I spoke with Carl Baltrunas an iPhone developer, who has come up with an innovative idea for visualizing iPhone applications.

This Meetup meets every Thursday from 7PM -10PM at the Red Rock Cafe in Mountain View, California.

Video: After Heart Surgery, Entrepreneur Builds App For Improved Emergency Response

By John Houghton on May 23, 2012

After heart surgery, Joseph Ekman was given a card to place in his wallet to instruct future emergency responders that he had a heart monitor.  Being very nervous about such responders finding this card, he decided to create an app to make sure his responders would know about his condition.  In order for it to work, he would have to create a nationwide network of processes and systems for emergency responders.  The net result is that everyone can benefit.

Joseph is now CEO and Founder of Emergency Standard.  Using the phone’s accelerometer, his company can detect a serious accident and dispatch emergency responders.  Not only that, he’s partnered with the GPS and Analytics company Alohar Mobile […]

Video: The City of Palo Alto Embraces Apps

By John Houghton on May 23, 2012

Find out how one California city connected with the local university with a hackathon to build a utility app to measure the condition of their local roads.  The prototype was built in 24 hours and the whole project was free for the City.  Jonathan Reichental, Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the City of Palo Alto provides perspective on the issues faced by cities and discusses how Palo Alto is embracing apps:

– Emergency services such as police dispatch and earthquake protection
– Ideas for parking apps
– Augmented reality for business locators and city history

Below – CIO of Palo Alto, Jonathan Reichental, discusses how they are using technology, specifically apps, to solve problems.

Video was recorded at the Silicon Valley iOS Developers’ […]

How to Make an iPhone App for Your Company

By John Houghton on May 17, 2012

Creating an iPhone app for your company has many benefits, and can even be the holy grail for some, but there are misunderstandings about what it takes to do it right.  We’re concerned here with the process for creating a high-quality enterprise app.  There is a lot of information out there on how to create an app in 5 minutes, or for as little as $99, but we aren’t concerned with that here.  You can also create a web page in 5 minutes, but this level of effort ultimately won’t help your company, and neither will cranking out a cheap app.  If you are putting your brand on an app, it has to be good.  […]