realitycrazy2017-blog

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Google's Android Phones Challenge Apple iPhone For Smartphone Market Share

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Google's Android Phones Challenge Apple iPhone For Smartphone Market Share

At a media forum on Thursday, July eight, 2010 on the Allen & Co’s Sun Valley conference, Google executives Larry Web page and Sergey Brin knowledgeable Newshounds that Steve Jobs changed into re-writing Android’s history to align with Apple’s pastimes. They argued that opposite to Steve Jobs claims Google were working on Android lengthy earlier than the Apple  iPhone was launched in 2007.

According to Mr. Web page: “We were working on Android for a completely long term, with the belief of producing Phones that are net-enabled and have correct browsers and all that because that did not exist in the Market region. I suppose that the characterization of us as getting into after the iPhone turned into added isn’t always honestly reasonable. ” Google co-founder Larry Page opined that Mr. Jobs declare that Google went into the cellphone enterprise in order to Task Apple iPhone became false.

But, a review of Phone records will show that Google received Android in 2005 and commenced making telephone prototypes quickly in a while. knowledgeable resources say the model of the Android Telephones that Mr. Jobs noticed at that point appeared extra like the Blackberry. This indicates that Google’s initial concept won’t have been to make Telephones that appear like the iPhone. Now the query maximum enterprise watchers are asking is that if Google were running on an Android-powered smartphone why they did wait till September 2008 a 12 months after the iPhone became launched to introduce the G1 telephone? Similarly, the statistics endorse that it changed into because of tensions over Google’s entry into the telephone commercial enterprise which could contribute to the exit of Mr. Eric Schmidt from the Apple board. Analysts believe that Google may also have been running on an Android-powered phone before the iPhone became added but the iPhone appeared to have given them better insights as to how to perfect their own Cellphone. That is especially authentic given the resemblance of the Nexus one to the iPhone.

An in addition confirmation of Google’s motive for launching the Android Telephones might be gleaned from remarks they made on the Google I/O convention held remaining may additionally. at the occasion, Google defined that they brought Android to purchasers so that Apple could now not collect huge effect that would grow to be draconian.

Further, the statistics seem to signify that Google went into the telephone business following the realization that future of computing could be in portable gadgets like Telephones and tablet computer systems. As an end result, they went into the cellphone enterprise with the aim of dominating Internet search on that platform much like they had performed on the laptop. This perception is supported through Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google in published remarks he made in an interview with the United Kingdom Mother or father newspaper on June twenty-fifth, 2010. In that interview, Mr. Schmidt suggested that he needs Android to be the Windows of Cell.

Also in that equal interview Mr. Schmidt made critical comments approximately Microsoft Home windows and said: “You have to ask how on the planet Windows telephone – so that it will have a paid-for licence – is ever going to draw any handset makers, however, it need to be loudest for builders considering whether the shrinking, forwards-incompatible pool of Home windows Mobile Phones is genuinely worth bothering with”.

In the evaluation, Apple appears to have long past into the telephone commercial enterprise as a re-positioning method and with a purpose to make large sales from the sale of the smart smartphone hardware itself. Also with the arrival of the smart Telephones, Apple realized that there was a big potential within the location of Cell Advertising and marketing. This changed into why they sought to gather Admob. Even as Apple changed into negotiating to buy Admob that is a Mobile Marketing enterprise Google quick stepped in and purchased Admob. As a result, Apple went beforehand to collect Quatro wireless that’s Admob’s biggest competitor. In reaction to Google’s acquisition of Admob Apple has re-written the rules of its Mobile Advertising platform called the iAd consequently shutting out Admob, which had been received by Google.

Because the smart phone battle rages on Bloomberg, information reviews that Apple has offered more than 50 million iPhones in view that its creation. In keeping with Apple CEO, Steve Jobs the modern model, iPhone four has offered more than 3 million units considering the fact that its June 24, 2010, debut. Analysts agree with iPhones account for almost 35 percent of Apples $forty-two. nine billion revenue. Also, the iPhone has over two hundred, 000 packages with over five billion downloads till date.

The speedy boom of programs on Apple’s environment might be traced to the preliminary incentive the enterprise offered to builders. For instance at the beginning, so that it will encourage packages so as to run on the iPhone, Apple made an indirect funding by way of the virtue of a $one hundred million venture-capital fund installation by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Today Apple has paid over one thousand million bucks to developers on account that inception.

Apple’s achievement has spurred different players inside the Cellphone Marketplace like HP, LG, RIM, Google, Palm, Nokia, and Microsoft to expand Mobile stores where customers with Mobile structures will pay and download applications.

just like Apple, Google has been, reaching fulfillment with its Android-powered smartphones as sales have continued to rise dramatically. A confirmation of Android’s growth can be gleaned from the fine comments made via Google’s Senior Vp of Product Management, Jonathan Rosenberg in July 2010. Consistent with Mr. Rosenberg there are one hundred sixty, 000 Android-based totally devices being activated each day. He said that Android search grew through three hundred percent in the first 1/2 of 2010, with robust boom anticipated to maintain within the 2nd half.

Mr. Rosenberg introduced that overall sales jumped through 24 percentage year-on-year and earnings accelerated through 19 percent, as nicely. knowledgeable reports display that as at can also 2010, there were 50, 000 Android Apps, however, These days they may be over 70, 000 and through the quiet of the yr they must reach a hundred, 000. In addition, Google has tried to encourage builders of packages for the Android operating device via a competition. Also In step with facts made available through Andro Lib, Android customers have downloaded a couple of billion application till date.

Curiously, every other measure of the fulfillment of Google Android cell phone might be seen from fine figures posted by using HTC the Taiwanese Cellphone manufacturer within the 2d area of 2010. The employer in July 2010 announced that its net profits rose by using 33 percentage for the second one-quarter, and general revenue was fifty-eight percent extra than ultimate years figures. In step with the Wall Avenue Magazine for the second one sector of 2010, HTC made earnings of $268 million.

The upward push within the income of HTC is a mirrored image of the achievement of Google because analysts accept as true with that its miles Android Phones which might be riding the organization’s growth. The extensive recognition HTC’s Google Android-powered Telephones like Evo 4G, the Droid Remarkable, the Google Nexus One, and T-Mobile-My Touch three are helping to position HTC as the main Cellphone manufacturer.

A pointer to the rapid increase of Google’s Android can be discerned from the fact that Comscore stated on July eight 2010 that Google’s Android platform grew with the aid of forty-four percentage from February to can also. According to Comscore within the 3 three-month time body from December to February, Android had a mean Marketplace Proportion of about 9 percent of Cellphones inside the United States of America. But, in the following three-month time body, from March to may additionally, Android Marketplace Proportion grew to approximately 13 percentage.

Remarkably even with the increase in Android’s Market Share, Comscore document showed that as at July 2010 that RIM turned into primary with 41. 7 Percentage Share of U. S. Smartphone subscribers, accompanied by Apple with 24.four percentage Proportion. Microsoft turned into third with a 13.2 percent Percentage; Google’s Android changed into 4th with thirteen percentage and Palm changed into fifth with 4.eight percentage Market Percentage. Market analysts say a evaluate of the totality of the Marketplace will tend to indicate that Android is growing at a rate in order to see it outpace all its competitors.

The Google -Apple face off within the smart cellphone Marketplace is transforming into like Apple -Microsoft conflict of the 80’s and ninety’s. inside the Apple-Microsoft war of the 90’s, Microsoft gained an aggressive advantage over Apple due to the fact Whilst Microsoft was forming partnerships with Pc companies, Apple kept its operating device closed for use in only its personal PC structures. In that kind of association, Microsoft Home windows soared in Marketplace Percentage Even as Apple stagnated.

inside the present case, Google’s Android platform is developing rapidly because it’s far loose so many handset manufacturers are showing a choice for it. Also and is available on multiple companies like AT&T, Dash, Verizon, and T-Mobile. But, the Apple iPhone Os runs simplest on an unmarried tool -the Apple iPhone and on one carrier ATT. Professionals accept as true with if this fashion continues it which could cause the slow increase for the iPhone in future.

enterprise sources say it can most effective be fair to make comparisons among Apple iPhone and different smartphones going for walks on Android on an individual basis to decide how properly everyone stacks up in opposition to the iPhone. Experts accept as true with that together the smartphones strolling on Android may additionally subsequently have greater Market Proportion than the Apple iPhone Phone that is an unmarried device, however personally not one of the Android Telephones could in all likelihood outsell the iPhone that’s appeared As the fastest promoting smartphone in records.

A pointer to what the future of the Cellphone Market will appear to be is contained in the latest file posted via IDC, a Marketplace intelligence enterprise. In line with IDC’s analysis via 2013 Symbian may be primary Cellular OS worldwide, While Android might be the No. 2. IDC predicts that Android may also probably reap the quickest increase of any Mobile working device ever.

This newsletter became written by means of Henry Radium, the CEO/President of Energy, a purchaser electronics enterprise primarily based in Houston, Texas.

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11 Ways to Market Your iPhone and iPod Touch App

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11 Ways to Market Your iPhone and iPod Touch App

While there is no magic formula or single marketing action that may do the trick for you, these strategies can provide you with a framework to help you increase company exposure, sales, and profit. Marketing your iPhone/Touch app is definitely a process that can take time.

I will let you know that we have not found price reductions to be the best strategy. We initially thought this might be very effective as the App store structure is set up to rank applications by the number of total downloads. Higher total sales and total downloads by price category are not currently recognized by Apple’s system.

Keep in mind for instance that if your app was $5 and you decided to lower it to $0.99, you’d have to tell sell five times as many just to break even. Now you might temporarily increase exposure this way but at the expense of maximizing your profit margins when you are most apt to do well at the beginning of your product life cycle. Customer support issues may increase by a factor of five as well.

That being said, there’s nothing wrong with adjusting your app’s price in the beginning to find its best market price (which might change over time).

There are 24,455 apps and counting, so let’s jump in and get started!

1. The World (iTunes App Store) Is Flat

Consider your potential international market right from the moment of conceptualization. There are people all over the planet eager to use and benefit from quality applications. Initially, we intended to include the metric system and local currency in our app but decided to push it back until version 1.1. We were so eager to start the submission process with Apple and this ended up negatively affected our sales without question. I recommend taking that extra time to make your app useful to the international community, or even a few key markets (China, Russia, Central and South America, Japan, and Germany come to mind).

What does this mean? If currencies are used, auto-detect the user’s local currency under their device’s general settings; and if applicable handle currency conversions. Make your website, instructions, and sales pages easy to understand and use images to support your text. Consider that for many people, English may be their second or third language. Make your software more intuitive by choosing symbols over text wherever possible. Reach out to bloggers for your niche market in Europe and Asia. Include a complimentary promo code in your correspondence. It can’t hurt.

Consider this: we received nearly $1,000 in sales from Italy because of a single online post was written in Italian! Now you could go further with this and have your sales page and help instructions translated into major languages like Spanish or Chinese. Prices for quality work vary and you’ll need to get someone fluent in the language to double check their work.

Remember there are 65 different versions of iTunes around the world and counting. Single apps can be developed for use on the iPhone and the iPod Touch. How big is the market for both? Apple does not break down sales of individual product lines. A conservative estimate of 4.4 million iPhone sales and 22.7 million iPod sales for last quarter would be about 7 million in three months. That’s an average of 78,000 new devices coming online daily. Incredible and almost scary. It can’t last forever, but wow!

2. Create a Lite or Demo Version

Apple lets developers offer both a free and paid version of the same app, and a free sample is probably the most successful marketing strategy ever. People want to try things. There are plenty of Crapps (crappy apps) out there, so why should people risk money on an app they know nothing about from a company they know even less about? If you can give people a taste that is just enough, they’ll buy the whole meal from you! This way you take away much of the risk.

There are numerous strategies for this, but make sure the lite version sales page is clear in its limitations vs. the paid or full version. If you truncate the app too much, people may think it’s a complete dud and see no value in paying you anything for the premium release. Give people a clear idea of what they’re getting into and this strategy could make you rich. Developer Ethan Nicholas offers motivation to go this route in a recent Wired piece:

When iShoot launched in October, business was slow for a while. And then Nicholas found some spare time to code a free version of the app – iShoot Lite, which he released January. Here’s how that helped: Inside iShoot Lite he advertised the $3, the full version of iShoot. Users downloaded the free version 2.4 million times. And that led 320,000 satisfied iShoot Lite players to pay for iShoot.

3. Go Free

Now, this is something that can be considered for different reasons. Right now “in-app” advertising lacks sophistication. When I say that, I mean we don’t have Google AdSense yet. I’m sure it’s coming, but embedded advertising that does not relate to the content in any manner is really intrusive in my personal opinion. I still read about certain developers making tons of money with embedded app advertising, but it’s hard enough to get people to click on ads if they’re relevant. When they’re not, the click-through rate is pretty low. If your app is something that people use, again and again, advertising can still work. We personally did not find it successful as it’s much easier to make about 70 cents off of a 99 cent app than to earn the same amount with ads. You could also add a PayPal donation button as AppCubby did, but this probably won’t work for you unless you have a large pre-existing customer or fan base.

You could also introduce your app for free. Get people using it, talking about it, and receive positive feedback. Then start charging people. Perfectly acceptable with Apple.

Looking at it from a long-term perspective, you might completely give away the first app to get people talking, create a base and build your brand. After all, nothing spreads like free (especially good free). You can use this to gather contact info and feedback from your initial users and turn them into customers for your next app or product. Be sure to include a “share” feature inside your free app (inside all of your apps!). Make sharing as easy as possible.

4. Send Out a Press Release

PRMac, a free (or almost free) press release distribution service, and the MacNN (Macintosh News Network) syndicate (free to submit) are definitely worth the price of submission. Competing services can charge over $600 for distribution within the United States alone, so these are valuable and less costly alternatives. They say the press release is dead, but these offerings directly targeted your potential customers. You never know who you might reach, and it’s vital to provide a press release when soliciting all forms of media.

5. Contact the Top 100 Blogs

Technorati can provide you with the current list. Use a conversational style, get right to the point and include a promo code. Figure out what could sell them on your company. If there’s an interesting angle or story around your app, this could increase your chances. Ask them if you could do a guest post. Who knows? When you have sites like Gizmodo that get 3 million page views per day, this can absolutely turbocharge sales!

6. Constantly Improve Your Sales Page

This one is pretty basic but often overlooked. Look at the sales pages of other top apps. What are they doing? Emulate what works and keep researching to spark ideas. You can display up to five images as of this writing, so use them! Use the images that sell your product best. Ask other people what grabs their attention. Use quotes from reviewers; share benefits first and foremost. Customers are not always logical, so don’t bore them with statistics. How will your application make their lives better?

7. Use Customer Feedback to Build a Better Product

This is two parts. First, timely respond to customer emails and realize that every interaction with customers, whether good or bad, is a marketing opportunity. When you get feedback via email or through your customer reviews, consider and incorporate these improvements. You can’t please everyone all of the time, and you may have limited resources, so you won’t be able to add everything. Some great ideas are bound to come your way. First-time users can also let you see how your software is being used from a beginner’s perspective.

The second way to receive customer feedback is to embed analytics code in your application. Flurry Analytics and Pinch Media both offer to track software that will provide insight into how customers are interacting with your application, including real-time download information, all for free. This can be especially useful if 90% of your customers are not using a particular feature. Maybe they don’t know it’s even there!

8. Continually Update Your Application

Here’s a great feature of the App Store. New versions move back to the top of what’s new in your category. Incorporating features your customers want, thereby making your product better, coupled with maintaining visibility, can help increase or at least maintain steady sales. Don’t abuse this by changing a few words in your help section and then resubmitting or you could ruin this for everybody. If you are working hard to make your product better, the distribution channel can reward you with increased exposure, because you are renewing.

9. Advertise

Google AdWords and AdMob are possible options. I believe we’re not there yet, but we’re pretty close. AdWords does offer the ability to advertise on mobile devices with a full internet browser, but that doesn’t just include the iPhone and Touch. You’ll get Androids and more depending on which territory you advertise. Right now they haven’t developed conversion tracking for apps either, and without this, you can just burn through cash with little results to show for your efforts. You won’t know which keywords are working or aren’t working. There is one way to track sales using this method: become an iTunes affiliate by joining LinkShare. You can create a link to your sales page in the App store and receive a 5% commission on qualifying purchases.

AdMob has app advertising down better than Google so far. You are able to track your conversions and target relevant Apple devices. You can even target those that are either on or off the WiFi network, which is pretty cool. The downside to this is that you are paying at least 10 cents a click to send someone to your App store sales page. No guarantee of sales here and depending on the price of your application, this leaves a very little margin to spend on advertising. It can take a hundred clicks just to get an actual sale, so keep that in mind. Also, since AdMob doesn’t target your ads very well, the people clicking are not actually seeking what you’re offering as they would on a Google search.

Here are a few examples of Google AdWords ads below from companies with money to burn; this luxury is not something everyone can afford and it may not be worthwhile anyway.

GOOGLE ADWORDS ADS:

EXAMPLE #1

Kraft iPhone Application

No-Hassle Cooking w/Recipes And

Shopping Lists At Your Fingertips.

EXAMPLE #2

Free iPhone Download

Get Local Search Power On Your

iPhone Today! Find. Map. Save. Go.

One last consideration: even if you break even from your advertising, you could increase your ranking in the store, and thereby receive more sales from the increased exposure. If you are popular, sales can feed off themselves. iTunes is a distribution channel, but so is Walmart. If you are featured next to the register, you’re gonna get more sales. If you’re at the bottom of the shelf on aisle 34, good luck!

10. Use Social Networks

Facebook Fan pages, online forums, and quality comments on top blogs and news sites can help you get conversations started about your company. Comments are even crawled and tracked by the major search engines. Be part of the discussion and actually share something relevant or this could work against you. You could quickly end up being considered spam (and despised or banished by your fellow netizens). The subtlety here will carry you far. Also, create profiles to further your cause.

11. Get Featured in the App Store

This one is tricky obviously because how do you make it a part of your marketing plan? You do not choose but are chosen. I will say this for what it’s worth. I contacted iTunes about a month ago and asked to be featured Today we are. It never hurts to ask and it can be worth quite a bundle! You never know who you’re going to reach. Someone may say something to someone else. That’s how it happens.

Thus far, we’ve increased our average daily sales almost tenfold. We are currently (2/23/09-3/9/09) featured on the front page of the App Store in iTunes under “New And Noteworthy” and #7 in “What’s New” on the iPhone/Touch.

Every time I contact media, even if nothing comes of it, I’m sharing my company and my product with powerful people (or people in contact with powerful people) and I never know directly or indirectly where this can lead.

Keep plugging away and please share your ideas and experiences with me. I’d love to hear about them. I wish you the greatest success!

John R. Haigh recently collaborated on the interior design book, “What Would You Do With This Room? My 10 Foolproof Commandments to Great Interior Design” by Mark Lewison and written by Sherri Houtz. He also co-developed the iPhone and iPod Touch virtual interior designer app, “Mark On Call”. He shares the latest beneficial and intriguing information from a variety of sectors (i.e. arts & entertainment, business, science, and technology to name a few) on his personal “Friends With Strangers” blog.

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Fun and Practical Tablet Apps for Seniors

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Fun and Practical Tablet Apps for Seniors

Traditionally, we tend to associate technology with the younger generation, yet, older adults are surprisingly proficient with a range of modern technology. For example, 59% of Americans aged 65 and above go online and 77% of this population use cell phones.

In fact, 23% of this population actively play games using cellphones, computers or gaming systems.

Not only do these figures indicate significant technology use, but the numbers are also continuing to grow.

In particular, tablets are an example of modern technology that many seniors can use very effectively.

The term tablet refers to touchscreen-based computers that tend to be light and easily portable. The iPad is one of the more well-known examples of these, although there are many others.

Because they are a type of computer, tablets have their own operating system and can run a large number of applications (apps), including many different games.

Tablets may range from a screen size of around 5 inches all the way up to around 10 inches, with screen sizes from 7 to 10 inches being the most common.

Most tablets will run either an Apple or an Android operating system. Many apps will be present in the stores for both types of tablets, but some will only be offered by one of the stores. Most of the apps I’m discussing here are present in both stores, and I specify the cases where this isn’t true.

The touch screen interface of these devices tends to be relatively easy for seniors to learn and many of them tend to pick up on what to do very easily. Larger tablets work best for seniors, especially those with poor eyesight, as these have larger font sizes and the onscreen buttons tend to be bigger.

Many people try to find the best Apple or Android apps for seniors, but with so many options out there, it can be a pretty confusing task.

THE APPEAL OF TABLETS

For caregivers and for seniors, tablets can be appealing in a number of ways.

One important aspect is that the games on tablets can keep seniors mentally active, especially as some games can be challenging. Research has indicated that cognitive activity may be one key component in helping to decrease the negative effects of aging on cognition. Another appeal is that tablet games can give seniors something to do with their spare time, keeping them entertained and engaged.

With so many different types of games available for tablets, you should be able to find games that work for any senior, with a little bit of searching. This can be particularly important for caregivers who want a little bit of a break.

In some cases, tablet apps can even be a way of keeping seniors socially engaged, as some games allow for multiple online players or support communication between individuals.Likewise, seniors may play the same games as one another, offering them the chance to talk to each other about the games.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

As you might expect, there is a bit of a learning curve with tablets.

Some seniors will be able to pick up on how to use tablets and games easily. Others will need more teaching.

The main thing that you may need to teach seniors is the basics of interacting with a tablet.

Tablets use touch screens, which are easy to understand. However, seniors do need to learn how to touch the screen to get the desired outcome and learn the impacts that their actions have on the device.

Seniors often learn to use the touch screen relatively easily, but may sometimes find specific tasks challenging.

For example, one elderly woman I know can use a tablet for a number of games without any assistance, but still, has trouble unlocking the tablet.

Likewise, you may find that you have to teach some concepts multiple times.

Some seniors may be able to figure out games intuitively, but others may need to be taught how to play specific games. This may be a matter of sitting down with them and stepping them through any new game they start.

At the end of the day, this is something you’ll have to figure out on a case-by-case basis. As seniors get better at using tablets, you’ll find that they pick up new games more easily and need less help in general.

PICKING TABLET APPS AND GAMES

The range of apps and games for tablets can be daunting.

For example, some of the categories include puzzle, word, casual, card and board games – and that isn’t even counting the more practical apps, like audiobook players and eBook readers.

This can be pretty overwhelming even if you only want to find a few suitable apps. The recommendations in this article come from talking to seniors and their families, and also from looking online, to figure out which apps are most suitable for seniors.

While many seniors can play any game, the emphasis here is on apps that are relatively easy to pick up and learn – to accommodate seniors who may struggle with some elements of using a tablet.

This post will present a number of different entertainment and practical apps for Android and Apple devices, and also discuss the various features that make some apps more suitable than others for the senior in your family. All apps discussed are free unless otherwise noted.

While there are many other apps out there, this list can act as a good jumping point for getting seniors into tablets.

CASUAL GAMES

Angry Birds Rio (for Apple and Android) is a puzzle game, but the simple controls and fun graphics make it a good pick for seniors. The basic aim of the game is to use a slingshot and knock down buildings and there are many other games in the Angry Birds range, and they are all pretty similar. As with many games, this app is hit or miss, some seniors will love it, others won’t be interested at all.

Farmville 2: Country Escape (for Apple and Android) is a farm game with an emphasis on growing crops and earning money. Farmville has attracted large audiences through Facebook and this particular app is Farmville’s tablet offering. It is a game that requires strategy, reading, and planning, so it might not be suitable for all seniors. However, I know a number of seniors who enjoy the game and like the way that it keeps them thinking. Additionally, this game has a social element, allowing players to join a co-op, where they can help one another and chat to one another. I’ve seen players get so caught up in the chat that they barely touch the rest of the game.

Peggle Blast (for Apple and Android) is hard to explain, but the game basically involves using a ball to knock out pegs. Peggle looks complicated at first, but the game is easy to pick up and can be a lot of fun without being confusing. Peggle Blast is the free version of the game and has in-app purchases. The original game and its sequel (Peggle and Peggle Nights) are both also available on Android and Apple. These versions cost to purchase but are better in the long-run.

The Sims Freeplay (for Apple and Android) is a version of the Sims franchise, although most seniors probably haven’t heard of the franchise. This is a task-based game where users build families and send characters (Sims) on tasks. It requires less strategy than Farmville, but both games require waiting for tasks to finish. This is a common approach in many similar games and makes for relaxing gameplay, where you set it up and come back later.

BRAIN GAMES AND PUZZLES

Block Puzzle (for Android) is is a puzzle game where users have to fit blocks within a shape. It is simple to understand but can get challenging as people progress through the game. While this specific app seems to be Android only, there are many similar apps in both Android and Apple stores.

Clevermind ($2.99 for Apple) is specifically designed for people with Alzheimer’s disease. It includes a range of functions for entertainment, including games, trivia and a journal. Additionally, the app allows for voice interaction and can be used to browse the internet in a more user-friendly manner.

Jigsaw Puzzles Epic (for Apple and Android) is a good tablet choice for puzzles, although there are many similar apps out there. Jigsaw puzzles are a fantastic option for seniors, and doing them on the tablet is an easier option than taking up the living room with a puzzle. Jigsaw Puzzles Epic is a free app that comes with a large number of puzzles. Users can choose how many pieces their puzzle is (from 4 to 400) and also whether the pieces of the puzzle can rotate or not. More puzzles can be purchased from the in-game store, but the free puzzles should last most users for a long time.

Word Search Puzzles (for Apple and Android) is one of many word search apps out there. It has large text and is easy to use, making it a good option for seniors. However, it does not have a setting for difficulty, so it might not work for everyone.

Words With Friends (for Apple and Android) is a turn-based social game that plays like Scrabble. The social element of the game comes from the way that you play against other people, taking turns with them. The game also gives you the ability to chat to the people you are playing against, which can be good if seniors are playing against friends. The free version has ads, which can be a pain, but the social aspect of the game can be appealing to seniors.

ENTERTAINMENT APPS

Kindle (for Apple and Android) is one example of an eBook reader, although there are many other apps with similar functions. Kindle can be a good choice, as buying books through the app (or online) is relatively simple and the prices are often reasonable. In fact, you can buy Kindle apps from the Amazon store. Most apps for eBook reading have options to make the book easier to read, such as increasing font size or altering the contrast. Using this type of app can be a great way for seniors to read and the app gives you the ability to make any book into a large-print book.

Audible (for Apple and Android) is one of many apps for playing audiobooks. As with Kindle, this app makes it easy to buy books, and both Kindle and Audible are tied into Amazon. The books can be a bit on the expensive side, but Audible offers a monthly plan that gives users one audiobook per month and 30% off all other audiobooks. This is a great option for seniors who have trouble reading (or don’t want to).

Although it’s membership based ($7.99/month), Netflix is a great way for seniors to watch movies and television shows. Its competitor Hulu is also a good option ($7.99/month for Hulu Plus, free for basic Hulu), as Hulu often has more classic shows than Netflix offers. If you have network subscription, you may be able to access other apps, like HBO Go, which let you stream content from specific networks. Both of these apps are for Apple and Android devices.

OTHER APPS

Big Launcher ($10.00 for Android) creates a new home screen for Android devices which much larger icons. This can enhance readability for seniors who struggle to see icons on devices, particularly on smaller devices. A demo version of the app is also available. This is one of the relatively few Apple or Android apps for seniors that has actually specifically been designed for this population, with CleverMind (above) being another one.

PICKING APPS

We’ve talked about a number of different apps here, but we’ve only scratched the surface.

Both Apple and Android have immense stores that are constantly updated with new apps. This means the options for Apple and Android apps for seniors are pretty much endless.

LOOK AT CATEGORIES AND INTERESTS

One of the first things to look at when picking apps is to explore the type of app the senior may enjoy.

For example, some seniors enjoy games, while others enjoy apps that challenge them mentally.

Knowing the type (or types) of the app to look for can help you to narrow down what you need. This may take trial and error, and patience.

Additionally, if you know the type of app, you can often use the search function within the store itself to find what you are looking for. For example, you might choose to search ‘card games’ or ‘word search’, which would give you a list of apps that fall under these terms. The approach isn’t precise, as it is looking for words in the title of the app, but it works well for general categories of apps.

You can also look at categories and subcategories of apps.

For example, in the Google Play store (Android’s app store), games is one category and some of its subcategories include board, card, casual, puzzle, and word.

When deciding on apps, the star rating can also give an indication of app quality.

Typically four or five-star apps are worth trying while anything three stars or under is questionable.

In many cases though, it may be a case of downloading apps and trying them out.

I don’t recommend this for paid apps, but there is a huge number of free apps in the apps stores that you can choose from.

CONSIDER PHYSICAL AND MENTAL LIMITATIONS

Many seniors will be limited in what apps they can enjoy because of physical or mental issues.

Thinking about these limitations can help you to figure out what types of apps might be most suited for them.

For example, seniors who have problems with their eyesight might benefit from audiobooks instead of eBooks. Seniors who have failing hearing can use a headset with the tablet (which makes things less annoying for you too). This makes it easier for them to hear what is going on.

From the mental perspective, some seniors will struggle with games that are complex or challenging mentally, while others won’t have an issue.

This means that you may have to look for games that are simple to play.

This is particularly true for people with dementia, as they can become frustrated easily. Yet, they can enjoy simple games. For example, one study found that bingo could increase mental functioning in participants with Alzheimer’s disease.

Other types of games that can work include puzzle games, simple matching games and games like the Clevermind app I discussed earlier.

At present, there are few apps available that were specifically developed for seniors, but this is changing. Research is beginning to focus on developing games for seniors. Hopefully, this means that more games will be available in the future.

Nevertheless, many of the games designed for other age groups are still very suitable for seniors.

Certainly, seniors really can enjoy games on tablets, even though their skill levels can vary dramatically.

For example, an elderly woman I know plays Angry Birds, because the controls are relatively easy to use. Although she enjoys the game, she doesn’t fully understand the physics or strategy behind it, so ends up repeating levels frequently.

In contrast, my dad has dementia, yet he is still able to play blackjack online (quite successfully too, I might add), which continues to surprise the family. It must be because of years spent playing blackjack in real casinos – but it’s a strong indication that seniors can be capable of more than we imagine.

GAMES AND THEIR MODELS

Many tablet games use a model called freemium.

This means that the game itself is free, but some things within it may cost. A common example is items to speed up time in games like The Sims Freeplay and Farmville Country Escape.

If this is likely to be an issue, it is possible to turn off in-app purchasing on your device to make sure no one accidentally spends money in games.

Alternatively, you can make sure apps always ask for a password when any purchase is made.

You will also find some free games support themselves through ads – which can get annoying fast.

In some cases, you can pay to have the ads removed, but not all games support this.

I’ve found that in general, paid games are often better because they aren’t trying as hard to get money out of users (they already got paid when you bought the game). So, if you find a paid game with good reviews that looks promising, don’t write it off just because it costs.

FINDING A TABLET

Most of the games that seniors will play on tablets aren’t particularly intensive in terms of graphics or processing power.

Because of this, getting a good tablet for a senior doesn’t have to be an expensive investment.

In fact, if you have technically minded people in your extended family, you may be able to get one as a hand-me-down.

For example, I know a couple who recently upgraded to newer and faster tablets for personal use.

Their previous tablets ended up being gifted to their mothers. This provided a fantastic introduction into tablets for the seniors, without costing anyone any money.

Additionally, most of the apps discussed here can also be found on Android and Apple smartphones. Smartphones tend to have a much smaller screen, so aren’t suitable for all seniors, but they do offer an alternative to tablets for seniors who have good eyesight.

IN THE END

Tablets can be a wonderful way of keeping seniors entertained, and there are so many different apps available.

In this post, I’ve focused mostly on apps that I have had experience with and have seen seniors using, but there are much more out there. If you have other ideas for apps for seniors, please let me know in the comments below.

More than anything, the trick to finding the perfect apps for seniors is to engage them in the selection process.

This will let you see what they are most interested in and what type of games they enjoy the most.

Kapok Multicultural Senior Care Services, LLC  offers caregiver coaching that can help with many the challenges of caregiving, and geriatric care management can be a key process in developing a plan of care that meets the needs of your family member. You can also visit the Ask the Expert section to get quick answers to specific concerns from a qualified Gerontologist / Care Manager about aging services and caregiving.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Android Smartphone Security: Today and Tomorrow

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Android Smartphone Security: Today and Tomorrow

With the smartphone industry growing larger every day, there is a growing concern for the security of data on said mobile devices. The power of these devices is always increasing, as is the amount of software that can be installed on them. With the advent of these different types of software, including financial software and personal identification software, the need for more security is a must. Most of these types of devices come with some type of security built-in, but is this really enough for today’s world?

For most people nowadays, their whole life is on their smartphone. It includes a plethora of personal information and data, such as:

personal/work documents, notes, pictures, and emails that can contain sensitive information

full access to Wi-Fi networks that you connect to at work or at home

calendar appointments and contacts

access to various sites/information through apps, such as social networking apps, bill paying apps, movie apps, shopping apps, and etcetera

With all this information on our smartphones, it makes it a goldmine for potential thieves. The risk of your phone being lost, stolen, or even being rummaged through by your IT guy is only the half of the security problem with them. Smartphones can also leak other kinds of data through sniffing of your internet traffic when connected to open Wi-Fi networks. Your passwords to unencrypted websites and services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Web-based e-mail sites, POP3 e-mail services, etcetera could be easily be sniffed by someone else on the network. There is also the issue of viruses, malware, SMS/MMS exploits, and Bluetooth exploits; these exploits can manipulate your phone settings and prevent you from using certain features, send information to or call contacts in your phone, steal and/or destroy personal information on your phone, or render your phone completely unusable.

Though the biggest concerns, for now, should be more focused on protecting your phone from theft or loss or sniffing over Wi-Fi, the issues of malicious software and hacking are becoming more and more prevalent every day. These issues could become more of a concern in the not so distant future due to the lack of integrated active security systems, such as firewalls, anti-virus programs, and anti-malware programs into our phones.

To set a bit of background for the importance of securing your mobile phone, Juniper Networks conducted a study of more than 6,000 smartphone and tablet users in 16 countries about mobile security threats. They found the following:

250% increase in the amount of mobile malware over the past year

a Fortune 15 company discovered that 1,250 of its 25,000 devices were infected with malware

44% of respondents to the survey use their devices for both business and personal use

80% admit to using their devices to access their work network without the employer’s knowledge or permission

one out of every twenty apps in the Android marketplace requests permissions that could allow the app to place a call without the user knowing

nine of ten mobile devices have little or no security protection

more than 60% of reported smartphone infections are spyware and 17% are text message trojans that can rack up fees that are charged to the device owner’s account

As clearly evidenced by Juniper’s findings, there is an inherent need for more mobile phone security. Fortunately, there are several options to help secure your phone that is built-in to the operating system and several third-party programs as well. Even the most basic of security measures can help you protect your personal information. To begin, we will start with some of the simpler defense mechanisms.

While this first one may seem pretty obvious and straightforward, do not lose your phone! If you are in a public place, do not sit it down or put it in your pocket or an open bag, where it can be easily grabbed. This is actually the most common way that phones get lost or stolen.

You should also set your phone to lock or timeout after a certain period of time (recommend thirty seconds or less), especially if you happen to leave your phone out on your desk at work or in other public areas. All major smartphones come with this functionality built-in. You will want to make sure that you choose something that is not easy for anyone to guess, but easy for you to remember. It should not be something as simple as your address, name, phone number, etcetera. Here is how to easily set timeout settings and passwords on your phone:

Android:

Beginning with Android 2.2 (Froyo), users have the ability to set a pattern lock, PIN code, or password on their device. Users of earlier versions of Android can only set a pattern lock. How to set the screen timeout and locks mentioned above can vary depending on the manufacturer of the phone you have. The option is generally found by pressing the Menu button from the home screen, going to Settings, Location & Security, and Set up screen lock. From there, you should be able to easily setup the different types of screen locks. (Word of caution: Make sure that you have your Gmail account linked to your phone so that you will be able to gain access to your phone in the event that you forget your password. I highly recommend this if you set up a pattern lock, as it can be very easy to forget your pattern). You may also want to be careful with setting a pattern lock, as unlocking your phone this way leaves the oily residue on the screen that can remain even if you wipe it. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania on the Google Nexus One and HTC, G1 showed that taking photos of the phone’s screen with a standard camera and doing simple manipulations of the images within photo-editing software revealed the pattern more than 90% of the time.

BlackBerry:

Press the BlackBerry button, go to Options and Password. From there, select Enable Password. Set the number of password attempts to what you consider a suitable amount (recommend four minutes). After the specified amount of attempts has been exceeded, it will completely lock you out of your phone for the time interval specified in the Security Timeout field. You can also set it to where it will lock upon placing your BlackBerry in a holster. This will only work with a magnetized holster. To set the screen timeout, go back to the Options screen and select Screen/Keyboard. From there, select the specified timeout period by Backlight Timeout.

iPhone:

Beginning with iOS 4, Apple introduced the ability to setup a password in addition to the standard 4-digit PIN code. To set a passcode, go to Settings, General, and Passcode Lock. From there, set the password or PIN code that you would like, as well as adjust the screen timeout through the Auto-Lock option. You may also select the Erase Data option to erase all data on the phone after 10 failed passcode attempts.

While password protecting your phone can greatly decrease the risk of your information being stolen, it is always good to take even more precautions. There are several different types of security suites out there from different vendors, as well as built-in software that can perform a “remote wipe” on your phone in the event that it is lost or stolen. Remote wipe means that you can completely remove all of your data from the phone, including e-mails, texts, documents, contacts, etcetera over the internet. For those corporate users who have a Microsoft Exchange e-mail account, this can easily be accomplished without any third-party software. You can either do it yourself through the Options panel in Outlook Web Access or have someone in the IT department initiate the wipe. For those who are personal users, or for those that do not have an Exchange account, there are several other options from third-party vendors.

Android/BlackBerry:

There are several different third-party applications that allow for you to remotely wipe your device, as well as provide several other security features. The most popular application out now is the Lookout Mobile Security suite. It not only allows you to remotely wipe your device, but also incorporates additional features that allow you to track your device via GPS, back up your contacts over the internet, and scan for viruses. The features mentioned above (minus remote wipe) are available through their free version of the program. The premium version of the program incorporates all of the above features, plus backup support for call history and pictures, remote locking, and includes a privacy advisor. The privacy advisor gives you insight into which apps can access private data on your phone, as well as scan every app that you download to see what data it accesses. The premium version is $2.99/month or $30/year. Some competitors to Lookout Mobile Security also offer protection from web threats by scanning apps before they are installed, scanning links for phishing URLs and other malware, and blocking unwanted calls and text messages. AVG Anti-Virus, McAfee WaveSecure, and Webroot Mobile Security are some of the other big name competitors.

iPhone:

The iPhone does not have quite as many options as other platforms. The only option available is to track your phone using MobileMe. If your iPhone has iOS 4.2 or higher, you can simply download the Find My Phone app from the App Store and enable it online through MobileMe. If you lose your phone, you can log in to the MobileMe website and track your phone. If you have an older version of iOS, you will need to have a paid MobileMe account, which costs $99/year.

As far as anti-virus protection on the iPhone, there are none currently available on the consumer level. Apple relies strictly on the App Store’s stringent review process to keep out any malicious software. While this sounds good in theory, it is not foolproof. With so many apps going through the approval process, there are bound to be some malicious ones that get through. The only other sort of protection available for the iPhone is Trend Smart Surfing, which blocks access to web pages with malicious content and helps circumvent phishing attacks.

However, Juniper Networks is currently working on the Juno Pulse Mobile Security suite that includes anti-virus, firewall, anti-spam, and remote monitoring/control services. It also remotely backs up and restores data and can locate lost devices. Juno Pulse is currently available to enterprise customers only, but they are looking to move into the consumer market.

Some other general security measures that you can take to protect yourself are to make sure that when installing third-party apps, you pay attention to the privileges that you are granting to them. Some of these privileges can include access to your GPS location, access to your contacts, access to your text messages, and other personal data. With BlackBerry App World and the Apple App Store, most of these problems are handled at the application store level before they are released to the masses. However, the Android Marketplace is a bit different, as Google does not screen all apps that come with it. It gives the end user more freedom, where the app asks you for specific permissions when installing and updating them. In short, it is best to use common sense and pay attention to what you are installing before you install it read the reviews and make sure that it has a good number of users beforehand. Also, make sure that you only download apps from trusted sources. It is no different than the precautions you should use when installing programs on your computer.

Other aspects of securing your device that you should pay attention to are that when logging into a website, ensure that the connection is encrypted using SSL or HTTPS. You should also use secured Wi-Fi hotspots that will encrypt your traffic from others that utilize the hotspot. If you are unable to do this, you should opt into using the cellular data connection instead, as it is typically encrypted by the network provider. You could also use VPN to secure all your internet traffic, as there are several free providers out there, including Hotspot Shield or WiTopia.

Device encryption is also a must for any mobile users, as it will secure your personal information and data from being recovered by a hacker or any other advanced user. Entire device encryption is currently supported on BlackBerry, iPhone, and Android 3.0 tablets.

BlackBerry:

Most of the newer BlackBerry devices support encryption on the entire device and on removable storage (microSD cards)-this will protect your pictures, documents, and other files in case you lose your BlackBerry or have someone take your card out when you are not looking. When encrypting your device, you may want to leave your contacts unencrypted, as encrypting them will cause caller names to not display when your phone is locked. To setup encryption on the device and/or removable storage, press the BlackBerry button, go to Options, Security, andEncryption. From there you will able to specify what you would like to be encrypted.

iPhone:

Encryption on the iPhone is automatically turned on when you set a passcode on your device. However, it is only available on the iPhone 3GS and later it is unavailable on earlier iPhone models. To ensure that encryption is enabled, verify that Data protection is enabled is displayed in the Passcode Lock screen in the Settings.

Android:

Unfortunately, Android does not currently support any device-level encryption for smartphones. If you would like to encrypt your emails, calendar, and contact info from your company’s Exchange account, you may do so using a third-party Exchange client called Touchdown. However, device-level encryption is currently available as part of Android 3.0 (Honeycomb), which is targeted for tablet devices. It should make its way onto their smartphone operating systems sometime in the near future.

After taking a look at some of these common smartphone security issues, you should have some sort of idea on how to best protect yourself from loss or theft of your device and loss of any personal information from your device. With smartphones becoming more and more popular, more security issues will be sure to arise and Android smartphone manufacturers will continue to adapt their operating systems to best combat these issues. At some point, these mobile security suites may even be integrated into the operating system or pre-installed by your network provider.

Eddie Burkett

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Purchasing a Pinnacle Android Phone is a good Choice

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Purchasing a Pinnacle Android Phone is a good Choice

How do you make a decision on the best phone for you? With such a huge variety of cell phones to choose from it is really hard to make a decision. The Google phones have recently become incredibly popular, thanks to Google’s Android operating system. Several cell phone producers are incorporating the Android operating system into their cell phones. Here are some of the top Android phones on the market today.These days, most people have a cell phone. Even people who swore that they would never ever find a cell phone useful have acquiesced to the convenience of mobile phones and technology. What would another way you explain the trend of the pay as you go cell phone? One of the most popular cell phones models available on the market is Google’s Android phone.

By having smartphone technology, its competition has a lot to contend with. With such a huge selection of Android Phones, how do you know which phones are the leading Android Phones? Here are some of the phones that got the best reviews.What are your wants from your cell phone? When it comes time to upgrade their cell phone this is something every purchaser should ask him or herself. Making phone calls was the original purpose of a cell phone. As the cell phone evolved, people began wanting to take pictures, send text messages, listen to their music and access the Internet. You can do all that and some by choosing a smartphone. Playing games, checking the weather report and making phone calls are only a few of the countless things you will be able to do on this phone. Before choosing one of the top Android phones, you should consider what you want the phone to be able to do for you. Here are some of the top Android phones available right now.

Among the top Android phones is the Acer BeTouch E110. This is only one of the Acer BeTouch phones out on the market. The E110 is a smartphone running with the Android 1.5 software set. It is not the latest edition from Acer’s technology, but the BeTouch E110 is capable of almost everything the other smartphones are. Acer has their own interface that assists users in operating their phones. This phone has a little touch screen that is powered by a 416 MHz processor. The touch screen is less than three inches in size! The touch screen is not even three inches large!The Motorola Quench is one of the top Android phones. The Quench, a later model of Motorola has been enhanced with the Android operating system. This phone is one of eight Motorola models that uses the Android system. The phone has a screen that is only slightly larger than three inches, however, the screen has high definition (320 x 480). This phone uses Motoblur technology, which will allow social networking users a better experience. It uses the Android 1.5 operating system and offers Wi-Fi capability, GPS, a camera that is five megapixels and several apps the user will absolutely adore.The Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini is one of the most highly respected Android phones on the market. This phone is built on a slightly different model with no name change. The mini is basically the more compact version of the phone that it is modeled after. This phone works with Google’s Android 1.6 operating system and is paired with the UX interface by Ericsson.

The touch screen is only two and a half inches large and the phone doesn’t even weigh 100 grams. Even though it is small, it packs quite a punch. The phones come with a camera that is five megapixels, along with a 3.5mm headphone jack that makes it possible to listen to music already on your phone.The HTC Legend is very popular. It is rating on the website Knows Your Mobile dot com was number one. The HTC Legend is not the first Android phone but is rather high in demand. This might have to do with the conjunction between the HTC user interface and the Android 2.1 operating system. The screen is a touch screen and is a hair larger than three inches in size. One of its most popular features is the control it offers. It is likened to a trackpad or joystick style of control. Also, it has Wi-Fi capability and GPS.

On the market today, the LG InTouch Max GW620 is among the top rated Android phones. Many consumers who purchase this phone tell everyone they know. They insist that the phone is almost perfect. It features a great five-megapixel digital camera and purchasers rave about how simple the interface is to use. You can talk for eight hours before you need to start thinking about the battery. This is the phone for someone who enjoys making phone calls and is appreciative of being able to access things are only available on smartphones. Our only complaint is the cost. It is fairly expensive. One Motorola phone that functions with the Android operating system is the Motorola Cliq. This phone is for sale through T-Mobile. It has a keyboard that slides out. One of the things that make this phone so popular is that it allows the user to keep long logs of e-mails, text messages, and social networking updates. You can utilize this phone for keeping your Twitter and Facebook pages up-to-date. You are able to remotely access the data on the phone.

An Android phone that is very popular is the T-Mobile Pulse Mini. This phone is designed for the money conscious consumer who wants all the bells and whistles of an Android phone but does not want to pay an astronomical price. The size of the touchscreen on this phone is less than three inches. It comes with a 3.2-megapixel camera that has a LED Flash that helps the photographer snap even better photos. The phone runs Android 2.1 software. The difference between this is and the regular Pulse phone is it had a jack for a headphone.

Another popular phone is the Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 Mini Pro. It is one of the cell phones on the Xperia X10 line. This phone adds on to the X10 Mini phone by adding a keyboard, which slides out from the screen.

This phone uses the Android 1.6 operating system and has a display that is less than three inches in size. Even so, the phone is still easy to use and does everything that its larger counterparts can do.

One highly favored Android phone is the HTC Desire. The Nexus One handset, produced by Google, is available with this Android phone. In fact, the HTC Desire is pretty much an enhancement of its original model. It has a display screen that is nearly four inches big and uses an AMOLED WVGA display. It utilizes a Snapdragon processor that functions on the Android 2.1 operating system. Also, this phone manipulates the use of Adobe Flash (v. 10.1). The screen is a touch screen and utilizes joystick and trackpad technology to aid the user in operating the system.Being one of the top Android phones available, the HTC Hero has gotten a lot of hype. Using the user interface is simple. It has a smooth exterior and is able to do just about everything the other smartphones can do With an ability to access the Internet, make phone calls, and snap photos, this phone is the bomb. A major problem with this phone is the size, as it is quite difficult to put the phone in your pocket without a major bulge showing in your pants pocket. Also, it does not run the latest version of the Android Operation system. Still, it is a good phone and well worth the asking price.

T-Mobiles G2 Touch is the next phone after the G1, which was the first Android phone with Google. This model is better than the former model, which featured a slide out keyboard and was rather cumbersome to carry. There is no longer a keyboard, as the favored touch screen is now an opponent to the iPhone. The camera possesses five-megapixel capabilities and you can chat for eight hours before it comes time to recharge a dead battery. It is a good idea to take note of the model being based just as much on the HTC Hero as it is on the G1, so if T-Mobile is not your cell phone provider of choice, you can find an equivalent cell phone with a different service provider.

A popular choice among cell phones that runs the Android software is the Acer BeTouch E400. This phone utilizes the 2.1 Android software platforms. If you want to get technical, it is essentially a smartphone. Users benefit from a touch screen that is more than three inches (3.2 to be precise). The width is no less than twelve millimeters. In addition to GPS, a 600MHz processor, and Wi-Fi capabilities, the Acer Company has also installed their own user interface to parlay the Android system. This phone is still fairly new so not many users have contributed their reviews.With countless cell phones to choose from, the Acer Liquid e cell phone is often times overlooked. Little is known about Acer phones, compared to the computers and monitors they offer. The Android 2.1 operating system powers this phone.

It has a Snapdragon processor. The screen is three and a half inches big and uses touch screen technology. This phone is multi-faceted with Wi-Fi capability, GPS, a 5-megapixel camera, standard 3.5mm headphone jack for listening to music, as well as plugging in an earpiece and microphone to give you the freedom of making hand free cell phone calls.An Android phone receiving rave reviews is the Samsung Beam i8520. The phone uses Android technology for its operating system and it features a pico projector. This means that the phone user can use his phone to project pretty much anything in his phone onto a wall. It makes bringing a portable projector a simple convenience. Furthermore, it has smartphone technology inside – the previously mentioned Android operating system and the Touch Wiz skin, which was designed by Samsung.

This phone comes with an 8-megapixel camera, which makes it even better than other handheld digital cameras!An Android phone designed specifically for the budget conscious consumer is the Samsung Galaxy Portal. The camera is a minimal three-megapixel digital camera, but other than that it is a great phone – especially for the price. The capabilities of this phone include video, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The phone has about seven hours worth of talk time. It has a rather bulky build, but if you want a smartphone at an excellent price, this one is for you. When upgrading time rolls around, some cell phone companies offer the phone for free to their customers. Google came up with the Android system and it is making it possible for cell phone manufacturers to compete the iPhone from Apple. Noticeably, the Android is a big time competitor with Apple and has now allowed other cell phone companies an opportunity to provide comparable smartphones to people who want to upgrade from their current phone to something more wise and cultivated. In actuality, cell phones are no longer used solely for making calls. Now they allow you to snap photos, play your tunes and connect to the Internet. If you desire an upgrade for your cell phone but are uncertain if the iPhone is suited for you, the Android-powered phone is a viable alternative.

When it comes time to make a decision about one of the top Android phones, it is smart to consider what you’ll be using your cell phone for. If your main goal is being able to make phone calls, you probably don’t need a phone with so many bells and whistles. If, however, your goal is to utilize your phone for mobile entertainment and contacts, you’ll need smartphone technology to stay in the know with your family, friends, and hobbies. Think about your choice!

Cell phones have certainly evolved from the days when they were built like giant breaks and could barely fit in briefcases.

Now they are able to help you check your e-mail, do video conferencing and even play complicated games all while you are away from home (or are too lazy to move off of your couch). If you have made the decision to go with a smartphone, the top rated Android phones are all worth taking a look at.

Making a decision about which cell phone to purchase can be a trying effort. There are tons of options out there! When cell phones first became mainstream, most people took advantage of the free upgrade offers from their cell phone providers. Though, that was back when cell phones were only meant for making phone calls. Nowadays cell phones are tiny computers that allow users to access the Internet, make phone calls, snaps photos, take videos and tons of other stuff. The top Android phones are some of the best phones on the market.Finding the right cell phone can take many long hours of researching. You need to ask yourself what you want your phone to be capable of. When figuring out which top Android phone is worth your money, it is beneficial for you to do already know what you want from your phone.

Tom Darden knows what he is writing about. He belongs to the majority of people who owns a cell phone so he is a pretty normal guy. Writing about subjects that interest him is his passion. Sharing these stories even more. Tom started a new blog at Bearden. where he shares his recommendations for people looking for a beard and mustache trimmer.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Apple iPads, Android Windows and the Rest of the World

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Apple iPads, Android Windows and the Rest of the World

A truly tectonic shift in how we use computers is happening right now, and I’ll bet it’s happening within 30 feet of where you are while you read this.

What is this shift? Powerful, portable, user-friendly mobile computing in the form of a touch screen tablet PC. You can bet that no matter where you are in a developed country you’ll be no more than 30 feet away from someone with a touch screen device of some description.

And what’s more, given the recent advances in hardware and software, those people may actually be able to use their devices for something useful!

You see, it’s all about the power. well ‘power consumption’ to be more exact

Early attempts at true mobile touch screen computing were rather lacked luster. The Windows Operating system was used almost exclusively, and whilst touchscreen support was added to later versions there were two MAJOR problems.

1) The Windows desktop OS was a huge power-hungry monster… OK so maybe that is a little harsh. But the truth of the matter was that when you combined the Windows OS with the X86 platform it is tied too, you could not produce a thin, light and powerful device that could:

a. Provide decent video playback, let alone play HD video. b. Play any kind of proper 3D game.

This meant that most early attempts were either heavy, chunky hot slabs of processing power or they were completely underpowered and almost unusable.

2) Windows was never designed from the start as a touch screen OS for mobile devices. No matter how hard you tried it always felt that you were using an OS that had been forced onto a tablet PC, and had then had touch screen support bolted on like an oversized exhaust from you local motorist discount center.

The situation looked pretty grim and it was set to continue in this manner until the first iPad hit the shelves.

Apple had created a masterpiece. By not using the x86 platform (ARM Risk processors were used instead) and by designing an OS from the ground up, Apple had created a device that could do almost everything anyone could want on a mobile device.

You could browse the web, read your emails, watch a film, almost anything the average user could want to do they could now do on a handheld device that didn’t need it own portable nuclear reactor to power.

What’s more, the device was built to high standards and had a user-friendly and easy to understand interface. It was almost as if the device actually wanted you to use it. It was certainly years ahead of the previous attempts based on Windows.

The fact that it didn’t run windows would have been a problem for just about anyone other than Apple. Apple already had its own ‘Apple Universe’ thing going on and it could integrate the iPad into that universe. This universe has existed for years without needing to be compromised to work with Windows and its x86 architecture (although granted Mac OS can now run on x86 hardware).

The iPad represented a way for Apple to hook people into the Apple universe. The iPod, the iPhone, these devices too were all a way to hook people into the Apple universe.

For several years the iPad had been THE choice for a mobile touch screen device, with a slick front end and a quality feel.

The iPad owes it success largely to the fact that the platform is the sealed, tightly controlled and polished product of one organization. The whole platform is tightly controlled by Apple from the hardware spec, to the OS build and even to a degree the Apps that third parties write for it (via control of the SDK with a refusal to support any other runtimes like Adobe Flash).

But this is where the problems start; this control ends up restricting the platform. There is a reason one of the iPads catch phrases is ‘There’s an App for that’. It’s because there has to be an app for everything. If you want to watch BBC I-player you can’t do it through a browser, you have to use an App. The same is true of ITV Catchup service among others.

You can’t use any browser-based flash games, and you can’t access YouTube through the browser.

This control has also been turning software developers off of the platform in recent times, although the significant revenue’s that people can earn writing software of the iPad has kept this in check for the moment.

Into this picture emerges a very unlikely combination, one whose vague happening could have been predicted several years ago, but its specific form could not have been foreseen.

For years I have been saying that no one is ever going to break the dominance of Microsoft by tackling them head on. Apple has tried for years and they have hardly dented Microsoft’s revenues. In fact, Apple has probably helped Microsoft by giving Microsoft someone to hold up as an example of competition every time they are threatened with a break-up because they are too big.

Any rival will have to grow up in a parallel technology sector and then combine with others in the same position to generate the ‘critical mass’ required to take on Microsoft in its dominant markets.

Well, this is happening now, and who are these new players..? Google, Nvidia and about a thousand manufacturers of all different sizes and shapes.

For several years Nvidia has been working on a new hardware platform called Tegra 2. The Tegra platform has always been aimed at mobile hand-held devices with a slant on video performance. However, after seeing the success of the iPad and the potential for hand-held touch screen computing Nvidia shifted the Tegra platform up a few gears.

Nvidia teamed up with ARM to create an ultra low power, yet powerful processing platform.

The Tegra 2 platform is basically a dual-core version the iPad processor which has been advanced a generation on. In addition, it has been combined with an advanced graphics accelerator designed by Nvidia especially for the platform, as well as other specially designed processors to handle tasks like HD video encoding/decoding.

As a hardware platform, it blows all previous attempts at mobile touch screen computing out of the water… literally. It’s so far ahead that if the Tegra 2 platform was taking part in an Olympic race with the other offerings (Windows+X86 ,Android and Apple) then after the event it would be forced to take a test for performance enhancing drugs and have its gender verified.

Even the iPad 2 cannot compete on raw power with a Tegra 2 device.

What’s more, Tegra 3 has already completed design and it is ready to go into manufacturing, plus Tegra 4 is apparently in an advanced design phase. Tegra 3 (quad-core anyone?) is going to make Tegra 2 look seriously underpowered (even though it isn’t), and Tegra 4 seems to be verging on the edge of science fiction.

So surely that’s it then, any device based on a Tegra 2 platform is the best mobile device going and no one should bother buying anything else?? Well no, it’s not quite that simple.

Why isn’t it that simple? Well for starters Tegra 2, 3 and 4 are just hardware platforms, you need software to run on them.

That’s where Google and the Android OS come in… rise oh slayer of Microsoft! (A bit too ahead of the curve on that prediction? Let’s wait and see on that one then, but the potential is there).

Android started as an OS for Mobile phones. So it was designed (like the OS on the iPad) with as small a footprint as possible and touch screens in mind. It is also VERY flexible as it was designed to run on a huge variety of devices.

Unlike the iPad OS, it is also very open, with the source code being released to the public (otherwise known as ‘open source’). This flexibility has one big downside and one big upside.

On the downside, the Android OS is not as slick as the OS on the iPad. It’s a little harder to use and it always feels a bit cruder. In certain areas, it may even be a little slower to respond even though the hardware is hugely superior when running on Tegra 2.

On the plus side, the openness has strapped a big rocket to the development of the Android OS and the last 2 months has lit the touch-paper.

We now see a huge Android community growing up around Tegra-powered Android devices from all manner of manufacturers. We are going to see some major game releases for the Tegra + Android platform really soon (including direct ports of several PS3 titles), and there are quite a number of game studios that are backing Tegra + Android.

What’s more, there are a huge number of Apps available for both Android and iPad now through their respective markets. You can be fairly certain that no matter which one you buy, there is an app to do whatever it is you are looking for an app to do.

So what does all this mean? How could you fairly sum up the current state of mobile touch screen computing? Which device is best now? Which has the most promise and future potential?

If you want to recommend a device for your parents who just want a quality device to browse the web, read emails and play solitaire on, tell them to go and get an iPad. Its ease of use, solid quality and reliable performance just can’t be beaten at the moment.

If you are on a budget and you want a powerful and flexible device and you don’t mind a few rough edges then go and get a Tegra 2+Android 2.2 tablet like the Advent Vega or the Point of View Mobii. If you are willing to do some reading and explore what the android community offers to get the most from these devices (custom software including the Cyanogen ROM (android 2.3)and resources like you will end up with a device that is FAR more capable and polished than its price tag suggests.

If you don’t want an iPad, but you still want something slick with a quality feel, then don’t buy anything now. Wait until the new generation of Android 3.0 tablets are properly released and have been out for a few months, then go and spend around 450 on one with a Tegra 2 chipset.

And if you want an iPad 2..? I honestly cannot think of any reason why you would spend that much money on an iPad 2, seriously I can’t. Unless perhaps you were just a huge Apple fan.

As for the future? Those of us old enough to remember the battle between Microsoft and Apple already know what’s coming. I firmly predict that Apple will make all the same mistakes again. They will put the ideology of the ‘Apple Universe’ and the perfection they aim for above openness and they will get left behind in the great tablet race.

For those that are too young to remember the Microsoft vs. Apple battle, watch this closely and you are about to see history repeating itself.

This will be a big shame because when it comes to ergonomics and ease of use apple is currently ahead, although this lead is shrinking a little each.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

20 Must-Do Push Notification Best Practices For Ecommerce mobile Marketers

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/20-must-do-push-notification-best-practices-for-ecommerce-marketers/

20 Must-Do Push Notification Best Practices For Ecommerce mobile Marketers

mobile phone marketing is the recent buzzword and push notification is definitely an indispensable part of this promotional journey. Reaching the users out of the app usage was not an easy task but the push notifications have made it possible. It has the power to stay apart without getting lost in the colossal crowd of unread messages. Although push notifications are the ideal way of grabbing user attention, they can be easily manipulated – if, in wrong hands, it has more influence to do wrong than anything right.

Problems

According to a report published a year ago, people find push notifications really annoying. The fact is push messages are nothing but attention seekers. They like to grab user’s response being a direct communicating line between the customer and the app. It is important that only relevant messages reach the app user without infuriating them. The problems that usually arise in case of push notifications are-

· When the user is giving consent for push notifications, marketers must ensure only the relevant updates are reaching the customer by knowing their set of preferences.

· It must be realized soon that push notification is a privileged tool that must not be used for spamming users with all day frequent messages.

· Wrong timing can annoy a user and make them instinctively delete the app. To avoid any such thing set the timer right for relevant alerts.

· Before sending any push messages certain criteria like age, time, basically all user info is must because otherwise you are bound to send wrong messages to wrong people.

· Push ads through notifications are a complete no for any user who wishes to stay with you and likes your app.

· Late messages can annoy people to the core.

· Marketers must ensure that opting out of push messages must be as easy as opting in for notifications. Easy settings can stop the customers from deleting the app completely.

Industry Overview

The year 2015 was considered as the game changer for push notification industry. From general push messages, the focus shifted to segmented notifications to target users based on their preferences. The changeover from spammy, unrelated push messages to planned tactical ones significantly enhanced consumer engagement, retention, and experience. Every industry must be flexible enough to remain in the forefront of the varying flows of customer needs. The fashionistas and creators struggle to imagine the subsequent popular trend, whereas, the medical scholars try to retort to nature’s hardest queries. To become a leader in a particular industry setting trends is more important than just following them blindly.

Push notifications are the most economical and best way to drive app retention and engage your customers. But, often it is applied in a thoughtless, insensitive, and honestly indecorous manner. A new report from Acreage that is based on more than 38 billion push messages suggests, if such notifications are applied and used fittingly, push messages can be very influential on Android (until the launch of Android M OS), with 100% opt-in rate.

20 Interesting Solutions

The Push Notifications are as important as the user experience (UX) of your app because the researchers believe that more than 71% of the app uninstallations are usually triggered by the push messages. The bottom line is bad push practices can be harmful as push notifications directly hit the users and not the devices. So let’s check out few of the best push practices to hit the bull’s eye.

1. Respect to the Specific Local Timezone

It is quite easy to think and act according to your own time zone like “its 8 p.m. in India so let’s start circulating the push messages”. The push notification doesn’t work that way. When your customers are involved it becomes vital that your messages hit the user at the right time when they are ready to receive it according to their time zone. A decent push service will definitely reduce the server load and stagger the messages over a window if required.

2. Internally Prioritize a Message

What is prioritizing a message? The marketers often think, the more, the better. Right? It is not the same in all cases. Many times, more can reduce your revenue, your users, usage, feedback, and everything. Sending 23-50 pushes a day to the customers can not only irritate them but also make them uninstall an app. Thus, internally prioritizing a message to 5-10 maximum per day can help and suit most of the applications.

3. Avoid Generic Pushes

Considering a hard limit to multiple pushes per day can be an effective practice. You might be thinking of sending various services that can help your app interact with the user, inform them and gain user preference knowledge. But, generic pushes can be termed as bad practice. Giving preference to the transactional messages can grab more attention of the user.

4. Value Your User’s Sleep

As far as night is concerned, people usually want a good night’s sleep in order to start a fresh day. mobile phones are usually put on silent or do not disturb mode while people are asleep. Considering this, do you really think people really have time to go through all the push messages pouring in throughout the night or in the early morning? So, marketers must also value the user’s sleep and limit the notifications till day time. Maybe a summary push notification in the morning can be more effective than 10 odd messages at night.

5. Personalise Content For Users

The push messages can be personalised and sent to the users to make it more valuable. Except for junk and irrelevant messages, news alerts, deals, and chats based on user preferences can create a positive impact. Numerous marketing automation are possible with some very basic data inputs. Like how long the app is installed on your device, what level of the game you are at present, your last usage, and many such small things can help in personalizing push messages for the users.

6. Favour the Transactional Pushes

The 1:1 push messages that are usually directed to the single user and are not commonly unique with audience division, is termed as a transactional push. For instance, their package is being shipped or there’s a new like, and more. Such notifications are seamlessly bespoke as per the definition. Yet, timeliness is one of the best practices that one must adhere to.

7. Personalize with User Name

When a message is purely meant for a user and is indicated with the user’s name in the push messages, like Ronit, it is time for your doctor’s visit in another 4 hours; people take it more seriously and truly like such notifications.

8. Make it Simple and Short within 10 words

To create impact in minds of the users, 10 words are more than enough to convey the right message what you wish to let your user know.

9. Correct Implementation of the Technology

To keep the 71% stats shown above at bay, implementing the notifications rightly is very important. It is not just about certificates and provisioning.

10. Seeking Permission is Indeed Vital

The pop-up alert appearing at the beginning of installing an app seeking permission is ideally the most vital checkpoint. Without the permission of the user notifications cannot be pushed.

11. Seek a 3rd Party Service

Setting up push notifications is not an easy task to do it on your own. Seeking help from the 3rd party service is the best option in terms of topping, consistency and good features.

12. Opt Content Preload

If you are directed to some in-app content by a push message, preloading it with available API is most likely to do. This can delay the push by few seconds but you get the ready to go UI, without waiting for the irritating loading screen.

13. Easy Availability of the Notification Settings

Difficulty in locating the notification configurations can be annoying for the customers. Easy availability of the setting to turn off or on the notification is vital.

14. Personalize Message as per Location

Appropriate location-based significant messages will develop engagement with the customers. Personalizing messages according to the location of the user can be a great practice.

15. Out of the Box Thinking

It is important that you deliver specific value and unique content to end users while incorporating the push notifications in your planning strategies. This requires out-of-the-box thinking. The push ads are not just a slice of your communication approach; it is a portion of customer’s mobile phone involvement with your brand.

16. Smart Segmentation

The CRM software or the in-app behaviour must be the intelligent factors for smart segmentations. The user behaviour and profiles are both required for a solid division planning.

17. Defining KPI

The mobile phone key performance indicator can help you understand the real engagements, long-term retention or conversion, and lifetime or revenue value of the product whereas, the click and conversion rates just helps in understanding the preliminary achievement of a campaign.

18. Content plays a Major Role

The content of your message creates a strong impact on the success of push notifications. Such as, “off”, “discounts”, “promo code”, etc. have a strong interest of the consumers.

19. Rich Pushes

Apart from the text content, the Android forever lol and iOS 10 brings forward rich pushes. Now, your push previews can include GIF images and videos. For arbitrary views from your iOS 10, you can study in detail.

20. Expired Message Removal

Once the message loses its relevance, it must be automatically removed. For instance, 50% off on shoes was an offer valid a week ago but at present is of no use to the user, so it must be removed automatically.

Why is Beta out All In One Ecommerce Marketing Automation?

Betaout empowers the E-Commerce businesses to upsurge conversions and identify with the user engagement procedure using real-time user personality and committed data. It offers a tailored set of tools that the marketers of e-commerce businesses can utilize to distinguish themselves and thus address precise client needs. The hassle free Beta out tool is an easy-to-use marketing solution that enables the e-commerce companies to bring their marketing efforts into a strict line, offering them the much required edge over the competitors.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus This Is What Android Was Meant To Be

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/buying-a-top-android-telephone-is-a-superb-decision/

Verizon Samsung Galaxy Nexus This Is What Android Was Meant To Be

After months of waiting for Verizon to launch the Samsung Galaxy Nexus, it finally landed last week (after a few delays). The internet hype for the Galaxy Nexus had basically made this device out to be the unicorn of Android, it would do and be everything that everyone could have ever wanted in a phone. Then when it launched, Verizon had staff that was not prepared, not enough inventory, and a few service hiccups to make things more difficult. But even with all of the challenges the device has made its way into the hands of eager buyers, and bloggers and the reviews are starting to come in and everyone has their opinion. Some of those opinions are based on what buyers expected the device to be, some are based on what buyers wanted the device to be. After two weeks with the Galaxy Nexus as our daily driver, we felt that it was finally time to throw our hat into the ring and let you know definitively what we our impression of the pure Google Galaxy Nexus phone is.

Unboxing: The Verizon Galaxy Nexus comes in a plain white box (vanilla even). Inside the box itself is simple red lining, and of course the device itself. Accompanying the device is an 1850 batter, standard micro-USB charger, headphones, and of course instruction manual.

Initial Impressions: Upon opening the box you see what you’ve been waiting for all these many months. The Verizon version of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Just looking at the device your initial impression is WOW that screen is HUGE. You take it out of the box and feel it in your hands and just can’t wait to see what’s lurking underneath its curved exterior.

Once you turn the device on you’re greeted with a new boot sequence, that takes some of the queues from the Honeycomb boot sequence. The boot sequence itself shows off the capabilities of the Super Amoled Screen. The blacks are black, the colors are bright and vibrant. After the booting is completed you get your first taste of Ice Cream Sandwich and how the Android OS is going to handle your experience from now on.

Hardware: After you get passed the screen size, and colors, the first thing you notice is just how light the Galaxy Nexus is in your hands. It’s not light in a cheap feeling way, but in an, I can’t believe how light this is in my hands. The phone also fits in your hand better than you would expect, knowing that it has a 4.65″ screen I was expecting it to feel large and awkward but, without having to have space for hard keys the phone isn’t bigger than it needs to be and the curved design makes it feel just right in the hand.

The screen and weight of the phone are just two aspects of the phone that make up a device that feels like Samsungs designers went above and beyond to deliver a hardware experience that hasn’t been seen or felt before. The Frame:

There are two simple hard buttons on the sides of the device, on the left side the standard volume rocker, and the right has the power/standby button. The bottom of the device has the Micro-USB port and the headphone jack, other than that the device is clean lines all around the lining of the device. The Back:

The back panel is something of a bit of debate right now. It’s not a traditional hard plastic (or kevlar) shield piece, it’s a flexible snap-in piece that off the device feels almost flimsy. Once the SIM card and battery are in place and you snap the back in place, it feels more solid than you could imagine on its own. Also, the back has slight diamond ridges in it that keep it from feeling slippery or week. Against the palm of your hand you know it’s there, and in your fingers you know it’s not going to slip or slide out like some of the “smooth” backs on phones like the Thunderbolt or the original Droid.

You also have the 5MP rear facing camera with LED flash, we’ll do a full camera write up separately but suffice to say that coming from the 8MP shooter in the HTC Thunderbolt I was initially concerned with what my shots were going to look like, after a week with the phone, I have no reason to carry around a point and shoot camera anymore. The Front:

The front of the Galaxy Nexus is dominated by its 4.65″ curved glass screen. At the top of the device is the in call speaker (which is the only break in the smooth surface) the proximity sensor (below the glass) and the front facing camera. At the bottom of the face, hidden below the glass is a notification LED, which takes a bit of getting used to as it is a departure from the standard top right notification indicator. Right now it lights up white when you get any notification (e-mail, text, missed a call, etc) but I can see developers trying their notifications to the led and hopefully change the color, or the blink rate.

Overall the front just looks sleek and stylish and just showing it to people makes them stop and pay attention. The Guts:

The Galaxy Nexus is powered by a dual-core 1.2GHz, with 1GB of RAM and 32GB of onboard storage. It does not feature an SD or Micro-SD card slot so there is no option for expandable memory. Google is betting that users will utilize cloud storage for a lot of their needs, and since the Galaxy Nexus syncs nicely with Google Music, Google Docs, and Picasa, most of your high volume needs are covered.

The processor is snappy and performs tasks with seemingly little effort, switching through apps, screens, multitasking all function without any hiccups. Even running games like the newly released Modern Combat 3 doesn’t take a toll on the performance of the device.

One hardware feature in the device that has been getting a lot of press is the NFC chip. This is only the second phone in the US to have an NFC chip built in (the Sprint Galaxy S being the first). Unfortunately, Google Wallet is not enabled on the device and other than Google Beam there isn’t anything available to take advantage of this new addition. It is going to be some time before developers start building apps that make use of NFC due to the lack of devices supporting it right now but the possibilities for it are endless.

Software:

This is where the real beauty of the device starts to shine, with the first taste of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich (ICS). Everything feels like this is what Google intended when the initially launched Android. Gone are the greens that have accompanied Android since launch and income the new softer blue that just makes it feel more inviting. The responsiveness of the software is unbelievable, some if this is thanks to the dual-core 1.2GHz processor and 1GB of RAM, but the software itself just feels more solid and more worked out than previous versions of Android even Honeycomb.

ICS has made the feel and use of Android more intuitive and cleaner, without taking away any of the abilities or “power” that users have had from the beginning. Switching through screens and apps are done by swiping. Moving and uninstalling apps works the same as on other Android versions, but now you can group apps together into folders by simply dropping them on top of one another. Within folders, you can re-arrange apps as you would like and interact with apps, but the folder floats over the home screen, you still know where you are and you don’t feel like you’re diving too deep to get to anything.

Individual apps open quickly and you can manage the apps that you have running at any time by clicking on the menu button. This pulls up a sidebar that shows all of your recent and running applications similar to the experience on Honeycomb. From this sidebar, you can switch between apps easily or close them by simply swiping them. The ability to close apps from within this sidebar is a new and very welcome addition to ICS, I can’t tell you how many times on Honeycomb I saw an app and just wanted to close it, but couldn’t.

Also knowing that your device is going to be pushed updates from Google so you’re going to be on the latest and greatest builds for at least 12 months makes it that much sweeter.

Real World Usage:

What most people want to know is “should I buy the Verizon Galaxy Nexus” and one of the main questions they have is “what about the battery life” well I’ve been using the device as my daily driver for a week now and felt I could comfortably answer these questions. First and foremost if you’re in the market for a new phone or upgrade eligible I recommend that you buy the Galaxy Nexus without even hesitating. This device is everything I was expecting and more, it has made me stop worrying if I was going to run out of battery life, or if I needed to uninstall apps or root my device to make it run smoother and faster.

Day 1: Day 1 usage was pretty much standard for any new device, initial set up, downloading most used apps (Facebook, Social Scope, Reader etc.), setting up syncing and normal scheduled events. Like all new devices, the battery came with a roughly 40% charge to get started, and you can see from the screenshots below how it performed.

Day 2: Day 2 usage got a little more intense, a lot more app use, web browsing, basically putting the device through the paces to see what it could do. Battery usage was better than Day 1 but it still wasn’t phenomenal.

Day 3: Day 3 was more of standard usage, calls, emails, browsing, app use, downloading apps and more tweaks to settings. Battery use with the device switching automatically between 3G/4G and utilizing WiFi when needed was pretty impressive especially considering the screen and the processor.

Day 4: Day 4 continued with standard use and no real changes to settings. Again utilizing standard 3G/4G setting with the device automatically detecting the strongest signal and utilizing WiFi when needed.

Day 5: Day 5 we ran into a bit of a hiccup with Google Currents, it was constantly running and constantly trying to sync and stay active, it used a lot of battery and put a big drain on the device. Once Currents was un-installed everything turned back to normal and we feel comfortable with the battery life. We’re seeing 14 hours of battery life on a regular basis with standard d usage.

Overall Impressions: My overall impression of the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is that this is everything that Google intended Android to be. The hardware is great, light, and responsive. The OS, Ice Cream Sandwich is fluid and smooth it’s intuitive and user-friendly more consumer-facing than any other version of Android to date and definitely takes the fight to Apple in terms of simplicity and “just working.”

There are a few bugs to iron out and we’ll get into some of those in other posts but this device is a definite buy if you’re in the market for a new smartphone. Even if you weren’t on Android before this is a device that you should seriously consider switching for. Besides the bells and whistles of it being a pure Google experience device, you get the benefit of Verizon 4G network (where available) which is faster than anything on the market and makes living mobile an actual reality.

Ryan Carroll is a technology enthusiast interested who shares his opinions and insights of technology through his blog. He founded his blog after seeing other technology blogs and feeling that they did not provide the insight that he was looking for when it came to technology, video games, and phones.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Finance, Credit score, Investments - Inexpensive Classes

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/finance-credit-score-investments-inexpensive-classes/

Finance, Credit score, Investments - Inexpensive Classes

Scientific works within the theories of price range and Credit, in keeping with the specification of the research object, are characterized to be many-sided and plenty of-leveled.

The definition of the totality of the Low-budget relations fashioned within the process of formation, distribution, and usage of the budget, as money assets are widely unfolded. For example, in “the general theory of budget” there are definitions of price range:

1) “…price range reflects Economic relations, the formation of the budget of cash resources, within the method of distribution and redistribution of country wide receipts in step with the distribution and usage”. This definition is given highly to the situations of Capitalism when cash-commodity family members benefit general person;

2) “budget represent the formation of centralized advert decentralized money assets, Low-cost family members fantastically with the distribution and usage, which serve for the achievement of the state features and responsibilities and also provision of the situations of the widened similarly production”. This definition is delivered without showing the environment of its action. We share partially such explanation of budget and assume expedient to make some specification.

First, price range conquers the bounds of distribution and redistribution carrier of the national earnings, even though it’s miles a simple foundation of the price range. also, formation and usage of the depreciation fund that is the part of the economic area, belongs not to the distribution and redistribution of the countrywide income (of newly formed fee for the duration of a yr), however to the distribution of already developed fee.

This contemporary first seems to be a part of the value of most important commercial funds, later it’s miles moved to the feed rate of a equipped product (that is to the cost too) and after its cognizance, and it is set the melancholy fund. Its source is taken into account earlier than hand as a depression type within the consistency of the prepared products cost price.

2d, the important intention of the price range is lots wider than “success of the state features and obligations and provision of situations for the widened further production”. price range exists at the country stage and additionally at the manufactures and branches’ stage too, and in such conditions, while the most a part of the manufacturers is not a kingdom.

V. M. Rodionova has a specific function about this challenge: “real formation of the economic resources begins on the level of distribution, whilst the price is found out and urban Cost-efficient kinds of the found out value are separated from the consistency of the earnings”. V. M. Rodionova makes an accessory of the price range, as distributing family members, while D. S. Moliakov underlines business basis of budget. although both of them supply pretty substantiate discussion of budget, as a machine of formation, distribution, and usage of the price range of cash resources, that comes out of the following definition of the finances: “monetary cash family members, which bureaucracy within the method of distribution and redistribution of the partial value of the country-wide wealth and total social product, is related to the topics of the economy and formation and utilization of the nation coins earning and financial savings in the widened further production, inside the cloth simulation of the employees for pleasure of the society social and other requests”.

within the manuals of the political economy we meet with the subsequent definitions of finances: “price range of the socialistic nation constitute Cost effective (cash) members of the family, with the assist of which, inside the way of planned distribution of the earning and savings the finances of money resources of the kingdom and socialistic manufacturers are formed for making certain the increase of the manufacturing, growing the cloth and cultural degree of the humans and for pleasant different preferred society requests”. “The system of advent and usage of the necessary price range of coins resources for guarantying socialistic widened in addition manufacturing represent precisely the price range of the socialistic society. And the totality of Low-cost members of the family arisen among state, manufacturers and organizations, branches, regions and separate citizen in line with the movement of coins funds make economic family members”. As we have seen, definitions of price range made by way of financiers and political economists do no longer differ greatly. In each discussed role there are:

1) expression of essence and phenomenon inside the definition of budget;

2) the definition of the price range, because of the device of the advent and usage of the budget of cash sources on the extent of the phenomenon.

3) Distribution of price range as the social product and the cost of country wide profits, the definition of the distributions deliberate person, fundamental desires of the economic system and Cost-effective family members, for servicing of which it’s far used.

If refuse the proposition “socialistic” in the definition of budget, we may additionally say, that it nonetheless continues actuality. We meet with such conventional definitions of finances, without an adjective “socialistic”, in the modern Economic literature. We can also provide such an elucidation: “finances constitute coins sources of production and usage, additionally coins relations seemed within the technique of distributing values of formed In your price range product and national wealth for formation and further manufacturing of the cash earning and savings of the Within your budget subjects and country, profitable of the people and delight of the social requests”. in this elucidation of price range like D. S. Moliakov and V. M. Rodionov’s definitions, following the traditional inheritance, we meet with the widening of the economic basis. They issue “distribution and redistribution of the cost of created Low-budget product, also the partial distribution of the value of country wide wealth”. This modern may be very real, surprisingly to the process of privatization and the transition to privateness and is periodically used in practice in unique international locations, For instance, Super Britain and France.

“budget – are cash assets, economic assets, their advent and motion, distribution and redistribution, usage, additionally Inexpensive members of the family, that are conditioned by way of entering calculations between the Low-cost topics, the motion of coins resources, money stream and usage”. “price range are the gadget of Good value members of the family, which might be connected with company advent, distribution, and utilization of economic assets”.

We meet with simply innovational definitions of the price range in Z. Body and R. Merton’s foundation manuals. “Finance – it’s miles the technology approximately how the people lead spending `the deficit coins assets and incomes within the definite period of time. The monetary selections are characterized by the expenses and incomes which are 1) separated in time, and a pair of) most of the time, it’s miles impossible to take them into account ahead neither through folks who get choices nor another man or woman” . “economic theory includes numbers of the conceptions… Which learns systematically the topics of distribution of the cash assets surprisingly to the time issue; it additionally considers quantitative fashions, with the assist of which the estimation, putting into practice and recognition of the alternative versions of every financial choice take vicinity”.

Those fundamental conceptions and quantitative fashions are used at every stage of getting financial selections, however within the cutting-edge definition of budget, we meet with the subsequent doctrine of the economic basis: the main function of the budget is the pride of the human beings’s requests; the subjects of Reasonably-priced sports of any type (firms, additionally state organs of each level) are directed closer to pleasing this basic function.

a few researcher thing that Credit is the consisting a part of the price range if it’s far mentioned from the placement of essence and class. The other, greater several institutions proves, that a cost-effective class of Credit score exists parallel to the Within your means class of price range, by means of which it underlines impossibility of the Credit’s existence inside the consistency of price range.

N. Okay. Kuchukova underlined the independence of the class of Credit and notes that it’s far best its “feature function the became movement of the cost, which isn’t associated with transmission of the loan opportunities collectively with the proprietors’ rights”.

N. D. Barkovski replies that functioning of money created a cost-effective basis for apportioning price range and Credit score as an unbiased category and gave upward push to the Credit and financial relations. He noticed the Gnoseological roots of science in cash and Credit score because the science about the budget has a commercial enterprise with the studies of such Within your means family members, which lean upon cash flow and Credit score. Let’s speak the maximum unfold definitions of Credit score. inside the present day publications Credit appeared to be “luckier”, then price range. For instance, we meet the following definition of Credit score inside the finance-Least expensive dictionary: “Credit score is the mortgage inside the form of coins and commodity with the conditions of returning, commonly, by paying a percentage. A credit score represents a shape of movement of the loan capital and expresses Low-cost family members between the creditor and borrower”.

That is the traditional definition of Credit score. In the sooner dictionary of the economy, we examine: “Credit score is the gadget of Not pricey family members, which is shaped at the same time as the transmission of coins and fabric method into the temporal utilization, mostly below the conditions of returning and paying percentage”. in the manual of the political economy published under discount of V. A. Medvedev the following definition is given: “Credit, as a cost-effective class, expresses the created relations between the society, labour collective and workers at some point of formation and usage of the loan budget, under the phrases of paying gift and returning, during transmission of resources for the temporal usage and accumulation”.

Credit is discussed in the following manner in the earlier schooling-methodological manuals of political economy: “Credit score is the machine of money members of the family, that is created within the procedure of the usage of and mobilization of briefly free cash way of the state finances, unions, manufacturers, businesses and populace. Credit has an objective man or woman. it’s far used for providing widened in addition production of the kingdom and other wishes. Credit score differs from price range with the aid of the returning person, even as the financing of manufacturers and organizations with the aid of the kingdom is fulfilled without this circumstance”.

We meet with the subsequent definition if “the course of the economy”: “Credit score is a cheap category, which represents family members, whilst the separate industrial agencies or persons transmit cash means to every different for temporal usage underneath the conditions of returning. the introduction of Credit is conditioned by means of an ancient technique of enjoyable the Reasonable and cash family members, the form of that is the cash relation”.

Following scientists supply slightly one-of-a-kind definitions of a Credit score: “Credit score – is a loan in the form of cash or commodity, which is given to the borrower by using a creditor under the situations of returning and paying the proportion fee by using the borrower”. A credit score is giving the temporally unfastened cash resources or commodity as a debt for the described terms by means of the fee of a constant percent. As a consequence, a Credit score is a mortgage within the shape of cash or commodity. inside the process of this loan’s movement, definite members of the family are formed between a creditor (the loan is given by using a juridical of a physical person, who offers sure cash as a debt) and the debtor. Combining each definition named above, we come to a concept, that Credit score is giving cash capital of commodity as a debt, for sure terms and material provision underneath the fee of company percent price. It expresses specific Affordable relations between the individuals of the method of capital formation. The necessity of the Credit score relations is conditioned, from one aspect, via gathering the solid amount of briefly loose money sources, and from the second side, the life of requests of them.

although, on the equal time we should distinguish two similar to standards: mortgage and Credit score. the mortgage is characterized via:

Right here, the dialogue might also touch upon transmission of money and additionally matters shape one aspect (loaner) to every other (borrower): a)below the proudly owning of the borrower and, at the same time, b) under the conditions of returning identical amount or equal quantity and pleasant of the things;

The loaning of cash might also bear no interest;

 Any individual may additionally participate in it. With the difference with mortgage, Credit score, that’s by some means a non-public event of the loan, represents:

 One side (loaner) gives to the second one (borrower) best money, and _ for temporal utilization;

 It may now endure no hobby (if the task does not foresee something);

 In it creditor is not any man or woman, however a Credit employer (at the first location, banks). So, a Credit score is the financial institution Credit score. To our mind, it is not accurate to apply “Credit score” and “loan” because of the synonyms. Banking crediting is the union of family members among financial institution (as a creditor) and its borrower. Those family members comment on:

a) Giving a certain amount of cash to the borrower for specific purpose (although, we meet with the so-called unfastened credits, ambitions, and items of crediting aren’t appointed to the task);

b) It is opportune returning;

c) Getting percent rate from the borrower for the use of the sources under his/her disposal. The vital basis of the Credit essence and its essential element is the existence of considering between the two facets (in Latin “credo”, from which comes the phrase “Credit”, means “accept as true with”). From the location of circulating of cash bureaucracy (inside the abstraction, the historical system of formation Low-cost family members and social budget and banking systems expressed with the aid of them) evaluating unique definitions of price range and Credit, the paradox conclusion seems: Credit is the private occasion of finances. And without a doubt, from the placement of motion of the money bureaucracy, budget represent the procedure of formation and usage of the funds of coins approach. Very frequently such movements are fulfilled without returning, but every now and then, it’s miles feasible to give loans from the price range for the investment tasks of different desires. also, when a manufacturer or businesses use their cash finances and we mean the budget of the industrial problem, such usage can be found out as within the manufacturer or agency (there’s no challenge about returning or not returning of the usage), so free of charge under situations of returning. This latest is called industrial shape due to transmitting the resources to others, however even in this event, it is the element of a monetary machine of the manufacturer and employer.

From the point of cash method movement, the important character of Credit score is the procedure of formation and utilization of the price range of cash method beneath the situations of returning and, probably, taking the cost percentage. If gating the Credit score fee does not take location (even inside the amazing events), according to the motion shape, Credit becomes a personal invesments of finances, as from the net economic budget (consequently from the state finances) the loans which undergo no hobbies may be used. If gating Credit score fee takes area, by the appearance shape, Credit is discussed to be financial change.

From the ancient factor of view, budget (specifically inside the sort of the kingdom finances) and Credit score (beginning with usury, later industrial and banking) were developing differently for thinking about Credit score to be a part of the price range. although from the genetic-historical factor of view, preceding loaners, earlier than giving a mortgage, wanted to amass the everlasting capital now not returning, that is the net financial foundation. The banks analogously needed awareness of the crucial own capital for influx the customers’ means and for buying higher percent charge below the conditions of returning. Herewith, exactly on the monetary foundation, inside the sort of financial fund (which later in part becomes mortgage fund) part of the financial institution capital seems to be the reservation (coverage) part of the fund, which via nature is economic and not mortgage. So notwithstanding the vital differences between price range and Credit score from the genetic-historic point of view, Credit appears to be fashioned from the budget and represent their amendment.

From the important function of expressing Reasonably-priced relations of finances and Credit score, we meet with cardinal differences between These Categories. Which basically expressed by using the difference of the motion bureaucracy however they’re returnable or no longer. price range expresses family members inside the aspects of distribution and redistribution of social product and a part of the countrywide wealth. Credit expresses the distribution of the precise cost most effective within the section of percentage given for the loan, while according to the mortgage itself, a most effective a temporal distribution of cash sources takes the region. Herewith, there is a lot of common among the finances and Credit as from the important factor of view, so according to the shape of the movement. at the same time, there is a sizeable distinction among budget and Credit as in the essence, so in the shape too. according to this, there must be a kind of generally Low-budget class, on the way to take into account finances and Credit as a complete solidarity, and in the bounds of this class itself, the separation of the unique essence of the budget and Credit score could take place.

Funding of the cash method is commonplace to the researched Affordable Categories. It takes vicinity in any separate machine of budget and Credit, which have been touched upon at some stage in the analyses of defining budget and Credit score. phrase mixture “Funding of the coins resources (fund formation)” reflects and defines exactly essence and form of Good value class of greater preferred individual, the ones of finances and Credit score Categories. although within the in Low-budget texts and exercise, it’s miles very uncomfortable to apply a terminus, which consists of 3 phrases. also, “unloading” with acts hardens substantially it’s influxing into the movement even within the conditions of its strict substantiation and thoroughness. within the discussing context we take into account:

1) extensive and slim expertise of Comparatively cheap category of the price range;

2) discussing finances in slender information beneath popular traditional which means;

3) discussing price range, as Funding of the coins approach, in huge information, which concerns price range – in slim that means and Credit – in the whole which means. Termini “Investment” and its equal “fund formation” are utilized by us because the practical structuring of cash approach, that is primarily based on poles – accumulation of money resources (accumulating) and its usage for precise purpose in the way of financing and crediting. We’ve established a new terminus – “finance-investment sphere” (FIS). Analyses approximately interrelation of finances and Credit score made by using us deliver us an opportunity of proving, that inside the given termini, the word “financial” is used with the that means of Funding cash resources, its purposeful structuring. on this technique, we bear in mind at the same time financial, Credit and investments’ Cost effective Categories.

Let’s sum up middle consequences of discussing new concept – “finance-investment sphere” and discuss its funding consisting parts.

The concept “investments” was introduced into the local Comparatively cheap technological know-how from the West. in the Soviet Low in cost science they for a long term used in the place “investments” the termini “capital placement”, which expressed using the industrial factors within the sphere of real business sports at some stage in awareness of capital initiatives. From one glance, this terminus in its idea are identical to the “investments”, therefore it is possible to use them as synonyms. even though the termini “investments” and “investing” have the benefit closer to the termini “capital placement” from linguistic and philological factors of view, due to the fact they’re expressed with one word. This isn’t always handiest Reasonable and secure in the manner of operating with the termini “funding” itself, however, also it gives a possibility of termini formation. more concretely: “investment system”, “investment area”, “finance-funding sphere” – some of these termini are much more ideal. Converting native Affordable termini with foreign ones is purposeful if it in reality matters (by keeping parallel usage of the native termini for the inheritance). although we ought to no longer trade native In your price range termini into foreign ones altogether, whilst with the aid of ordinal traditional language easy to give an explanation for personal and slim concrete tactics and elements get their personal termini. The “motion” of these termini is accredited within the slim expert bounds, however, their “spitting out” into the Within your means science may also flip Cost effective language into the tangled slang.

Allow’s talk termini – “investment” and “capital placement’s” utilization inside the Least expensive literature. Investments are the placement of budget into the principle and circulation capital for the reason of having profit. “Investments in fabric property – are the placements of funds into the cell and actual estate (land, homes, furniture and so on). Investments in monetary assets are the placements of price range into the securities financial institution debts and other economic contraptions”.

We do not meet with the termini “investments” in the earlier Cost effective dictionary, however we meet the combined termini “investment coverage” – the union of the commercial choices, which guarantee main guidelines of the capital investments, the sports in their concentration within the determinant suburbs, on which the attaining of deliberate fees of improvement of the society manufacturing is depended, balancing and effectiveness, getting increasingly production and earnings of the countrywide earnings for every lost Ruble”. For nowadays, in the maximum actual definitions, the capital investments are bounded best by means of the economic way, when no longer most effective economic, however also the funding of natural, fabric-technical and informational resources takes area. Labour sources take an actual location within the funding procedure. They themselves fulfill this or that investment system.

A nice facet of the mentioned definitions is they connect funding coverage and capital placements (investments):

– Low-priced development in line with the important thing instructions to the awareness;

– offering excessive costs of Reasonable growth;

– elevating a cost-effective effectiveness, which is expressed:

a) by developing the throw off of the manufacturing and country wide earnings for every misplaced Ruble;

b) by means of fulfilling the department structure of the investments;

c) by way of enhancing their technological structure;

d) with the aid of optimization in their in addition manufacturing shape.

As compared with such definition of the investments (capital placement) the definition of investments in the dictionary attaching the “Economics” seems to be unimproved: “investments – the expenses of collecting manufacturing and industrial method and growing material reserve”. on this definition modern costs (manufacturing prices) are mixed with the investment (capital) cost. also, not the funding fees, however (though the investments are followed by using the best fees) precisely advancing. It differs from the prices by that the approach (method) are placed by returning the advanced values, also, underneath the situations of growth, to which the concept-superior capital is corresponding. The advancing may be realized in the money, herbal-cloth and informational bureaucracy.

Except the termini “investments”, there are two greater termini related with the funding. they are shown beneath.

“Human capital investment” – any hobby provided for growing the workers labor productiveness (inside the way of developing their qualification and growing their skills); on the charges of improving the people’ training, fitness and elevating the mobility of the running forces”. it’s far very beneficial to apply the stated termini, although it wishes one correction: the human capital investments do not concern most effective workers, however also the servants, representatives of every sort of labor. “funding commodity, capital items – a capital.”

within the respectable manuals of political financial system of the reformation time the capital investments are discussed as “charges for developing new predominant budget and widening, reconstruction and renewing the active ones”. on this definition the investments (capital placements) throughout separation of the paperwork (sorts) of further production of the main budget are bounded best by means of most important funds (without increases of the movement price range and insurance reserves):

a) growing new ones;

b) widening;

c) reconstruction;

d) renewing.

additionally, the idea of the commercial amassing appears, at the expenses of the widening of simple, circulate finances and also coverage reserves takes region”.

You will meet underneath the definitions of investments from “the direction of economy”: the investments are referred to as “placements of fund into the fundamental capital (basic method of production), reserves, also different Reasonably priced gadgets and strategies, which request lengthy-termed influx of material and cash manner. “consistent with the division of capital into physical and cash forms, the investments to have to be divided into cloth and coins investments”.

They apportion funding commodity, to which belong industrial and nonindustrial constructing items, cars purposed for Changing or widened technical park and the fixtures, growing reserves, and others.

“They name the total investments of manufacturing and funding product, which is directed in the direction of maintaining and growing the basic capital (fundamental way) and reserve. overall investments include parts. One in every of them is referred to as the depreciation; it represents important investment resources for repayment of renewal till the level of before business utilization, sporting out and repairing of the fundamental means. 2nd consisting a part of the total investments is represented by net investments – capital investments for the reason of growing basic method”. Depreciation is not a compensation aid of carrying the simple price range out, however, it’s far the practical economic supply of such assets. Human capital funding is “a specific kind of investments, by and large in education and health safety”.

“real investments are the investments in the Low-priced branches and additionally, they’re types of Within your budget activities, which provide influx the will increase of real capital, that is increasing material values of the industrial means”. We will trust such definition with one specification that material and nonmaterial values to belong to the actual capital (wealth), therefore science-gaining knowledge of experimental construction effects, various statistics, schooling of the workers and others. Such service as a company of the excitable video games, also the service of redistribution social wealth from one private person to some other (Except charity).

“monetary investments constitute placement of funds into the shares, duties, promissory notes, different securities and gadgets. Such investments, of course, do no longer deliver increases of the real fabric capital, however, they assist getting income, therefore at the costs of Changing the route of the securities within the time of speculation, or distinguishing the path in extraordinary places of sale and buying”. We share thoroughly such definition, for this reason, it follows that monetary investments (if it is not followed by using real investments as a result) do now not boom real fabric wealth and actual nonmaterial wealth. according to this context, the expression under is very crucial: “we must distinguish financial investments, which constitute placement of the finances in the approaches of promoting and purchasing the securities for the motive of getting income and monetary investments, which end up coins and actual, moved to the real bodily capital.”

inside the “Budget friendly path” quoted earlier than lengthy and quick-termed investments are separated. Recognizing the lifestyles of the limits among them, the authors ascribe short-termed investments to “one month or extra” investments. If we get such conditioned criteria, that We are able to name the investments which conquer the terms of a few months, lengthy-termed ones, which could be very doubtful and we don’t consider it. A protracted-termed individual of the fund placement is a massive function of the investments (quick-time period doesn’t combine with the concept of investments). Basically, it would be better to point out brief compensative, center termed compensative and long-termed compensative investments:

– much less than 6 months – brief compensative;

– from 6 months up to the yr and a half – center termed compensatively;

– greater than the year and a half of – long termed compensative.

We stopped at the definition of the investments within the capital work “Cost-efficient course” for the unique reason, as, in it, the writer attempted to speak about the concept of investments systemically and pretty absolutely, herewith the e-book is posted simply now.

We’re going to return to the discussion the definition Within your means category of “investments” in distinct publications in the following chapter. The definitions given Right here are pretty sufficient for having a notion of the extent of lights up the given category inside the Reasonable literature. What conclusions may be made in accordance the definition of the referred to Reasonable class inside the published works, Besides the made notions and specs?

there is pretty deeply, concretely and punctiliously defined the concept of “investments”, exclusive definitions inside the Good value literature; but commonly in every works approximately the investments discussed with the aid of us till now, there isn’t opened the essence of investments as an economic category. In each monograph, although it has a name funding, as a cheap category, there may be given handiest the definition, the concept of investments. however, as the Academician Vasil Chantladze explains, “a concept is a dialogue, which proves something about the distinguishing characteristic of the researched item. A concept out of plenty crucial feature features represents handiest one, and important in it’s far simplest – definition”.

But the Classes are plenty wider; it’s far “a key, an essential idea of each technology”. Cost effective Categories theoretically represent real, objectively existed effective members of the family. A category is the defining of activities of existed characters, connections, members of the family of the objective international. typically, any instructional manner is fulfilled by means of the categories, which provide possibilities for dividing the processes and occasions semantically, for expressing the definitions of a topic and recognize their particular peculiarities and Reasonably-priced family members of a cloth world. Our goal is precise to substantiate investments – as a cost-effective category and also, as a financial category inside the narrow understanding.

Right here we follow for another manual thesis made by the academician Vasil Chantladze: “every monetary relation is a cost-effective one and every monetary category is and Low-budget one, however now not every Reasonably-priced relation and Reasonably-priced class is an economic relation and economic class”. within the system of defining the investments, it is crucial to take in thoughts the perimeters of resources, fees and incomes, because funding, from one aspect, is the end result of the manufacture’s activity, and, from any other one, – a part of profits, which, in this situation, is not used for usage. another occasion: its miles beneficial to talk about investments in factors: as A category of reserve and float, as a way to reflect exactly the connection between “placement of funds” and “investments”.

As we’ve noted above, now not lengthy in the past, in the 9aaf3f374c58e8c9dcdd1ebf10256fa5 Soviet literature the ideas of “the placement of budget” and “investments” were every day to be the synonyms and worried to be funding of sources for in addition manufacturing of the principle budget and formation of the turnover budget. We meet with such knowledge of the idea of “funding” (Here, they separate three sorts of the funding charges: investments in the primary capital of investments, investments inside the residence constructing and investments within the reserves) inside the present day Reasonably priced courses and it is broadly speaking used on the macro level in the course of a statistical analyze of Affordable methods. in this concrete occasion, investment is the category of the reserve.

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First-rate in Elegance Finance Features For Police Forces

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First-rate in Elegance Finance Features For Police Forces

Heritage

Police investment has risen by £four.eight billion and seventy-seven percent (39 according to cent in real phrases) considering the fact that 1997. But the days where forces have loved such stages of funding are over.

Chief Constables and senior management understand that the yearly cycle of searching out efficiencies 12 months-on-year isn’t always sustainable, and could no longer deal with the cash shortfall in future years. Facing slower funding increase and real cash deficits of their budgets, the Police Provider should adopt innovative techniques which generate the productivity and performance gains needed to deliver high satisfactory policing to the public.

The step-alternate in performance required to fulfill this assignment will handiest be carried out if the police Carrier absolutely embraces effective useful resource management and makes efficient and effective use of its era, partnerships and those.

The finance characteristic has an essential position to play in addressing those challenges and assisting Forces’ objectives economically and efficiently.

venture

Police Forces generally tend to nurture a divisional and departmental way of life in preference to a company one, with individual procurement activities that do not exploit economies of scale. This is in element the result of over a decade of devolving Features from the center to the.Divisions.

That allows you to lessen charges, enhance efficiency and mitigate in opposition to the hazard of “pinnacle down” obligatory, centrally-driven tasks, Police Forces need to installation a company again office and result in a behavioral exchange. This alteration ought to contain compliance with a company way of life instead of a sequence of silos going for walks through the corporation.

Growing a Quality in Magnificence personal finance characteristic

Historically finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid. With a renewed recognition on efficiencies, there’s now a pressing want for Historically finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid. departments to convert As a way to add more value to the pressure but with minimum prices.

1) Aligning to pressure Approach

As Police Forces need Historically personal finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid. to feature, it is vital that personal finance and operations are carefully aligned. This collaboration can be very effective and assist supply extensive improvements to a pressure, however With a purpose to acquire this version, there are many barriers to triumph over. Finance Directors need to observe whether their force is ready for this collaboration, but more importantly, they have to consider whether the pressure itself can continue to exist without it.

Finance requires a clear imaginative and prescient that centers around its position as a balanced business partner. However to obtain this vision a massive attempt is needed from the bottom as much as understand the widespread complexity in underlying systems and approaches and to devise a way ahead that may paintings for that unique agency.

The fulfillment of any trade control application is depending on its execution. trade is difficult and steeply-priced to execute efficiently, and regularly, Police Forces lack the relevant revel in to achieve such alternate. Although Historically personal finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid.  Administrators are required to preserve appropriate expert qualifications (in place of being former cops as was the case a few years in the past) many have progressed in the Public Region with restricted possibilities for learning from and interplay with Pleasant in Magnificence methodologies. In addition, cultural problems around self-preservation can present barriers to alternate.

While it is extraordinarily clean to get the message of Historically finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid. transformation across, securing commitment to embark on formidable alternate can be difficult. commercial enterprise instances frequently lack the fine required to power through change and even in which they’re of notable first-rate senior law enforcement officials regularly lack the economic focus to accept as true with them.

2) helping force Decisions

Many personal finance Administrators are keen to develop their personal finance Capabilities. The undertaking they face is convincing the rest of the force that the finance function can upload price – by way of devoting extra effort and time to economic evaluation and imparting senior control with the gear to recognize the monetary implications of major strategic Decisions.

Keeping economic Controls and Handling Risk

Sarbanes-Oxley, International monetary Reporting Requirements (IFRS), Basel II and person Capital Exams (ICA) have all placed economic controls and reporting underneath the highlight in the private Zone. This in flip is growing the spotlight on monetary controls within the public Quarter.

A ‘High-quality in Elegance’ Police pressure Historically personal finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid. feature will now not simply have the minimal controls to satisfy the regulatory necessities but will examine how the legislation and policies that the Historically finance Features inside Police Forces have focused on transactional processing with a most effective restrained guide for control records and business choice aid. feature are required to conform with, can be leveraged to offer value to the corporation. imparting strategic information in order to allow the force to meet its targets is a key undertaking for the main finance feature.

3) value to the force

The drive for development during the last decade or so has moved choice making to the Divisions and has led to an increase in prices in the finance function. via utilizing a number of projects in a program of transformation, a pressure can leverage as much as 40% off savings at the fee of finance collectively with improving the responsiveness of finance groups and the nice of financial statistics. these projects consist of:

Centralization

through centralizing the finance feature, a Police pressure can create facilities of excellence wherein industry Fine practice may be advanced and shared. This could not most effective re-empower the department, creating greater independence and objectivity in assessing initiatives and performance, however additionally result in more regular control statistics and a better degree of control. A Police force can also increase a business companion group to behave as strategic liaisons to departments and divisions. The enterprise companions might, as an example, endorse on how the departmental and divisional commanders can meet the budget in future months instead of simply advising that the finances have been overlooked for the previous month.

With the mundane variety crunching being finished in a shared Carrier middle, finance experts will discover they now have time to behave as business companions to divisions and departments and awareness on the strategic troubles.

The cultural effect on the departments and divisional commanders need to not be underestimated. Commanders could be worried that:

 Their budgets will be centralized

 Workloads could increase

 There can be limited get right of entry to finance individuals

 There will now not be on web site aid

But, if the centralized shared Carrier middle is designed as it should be not one of the above have to observe. In fact from centralization below a Fine practice model, leaders must accrue the following advantages:

 Strategic recommendation supplied by way of business companions

 Multiplied flexibility

 Progressed control facts

 Quicker transactions

 Reduced range of unresolved queries

 more clarity on Service and fee of provision

 Forum for finance to be strategically aligned to the needs of the force

A pressure that moves from a decentralized to a centralized system must try to ensure that the finance characteristic does now not lose touch with the Chief Constable and Divisional Commanders. Forces need to have a strong commercial enterprise case for finance transformation combined with a governance shape that spans operational, tactical and strategic necessities. there is a Threat that capability benefits of enforcing any such trade might not be found out if the program isn’t always carefully controlled. Investment is wanted to create aa hit centralized finance characteristic. Usually, the destiny capability blessings of extra visibility and control, consistent methods, standardized management facts, economies of scale, lengthy-term price financial savings and an empowered organization of proud finance professionals, should outweigh the ones initial costs.

To reduce the economic, operational and capability risks, the finance Functions can be absolutely outsourced or in part outsourced to 1/3 events. This can provide assured cost blessings and might provide the opportunity to leverage relationships with companies that provide Satisfactory practice techniques.

Procedure Efficiencies

Commonly for Police Forces, the focal point of development has advanced a silo-based totally subculture with disparate tactics. As a result, huge possibilities exist for standardization and simplification of techniques which offer scalability, reduce guide attempt and deliver commercial enterprise gain. From virtually rationalizing methods, a force can Generally accrue a forty% reduction inside the number of techniques. An instance of That is using electronic bank statements instead of the usage of the guide financial institution declaration for bank reconciliation and bills receivable strategies. This will shop huge effort that is involved in studying the facts, moving the data onto a specific spreadsheet and inputting the statistics into the economic systems.

Agencies that own a silo operating model generally tend to have significant inefficiencies and duplication in their tactics, as an instance in HR and Payroll. This is essentially due to the group’s concerned assembly their own dreams but now not aligning to the corporate objectives of an agency. Police Forces have some of the unbiased groups which might be reliant on one another for facts with finance in departments, divisions, and headquarters sending and receiving facts from each different in addition to from the relaxation of the force. The silo model ends in useless records being acquired by means of the teams that then need to carry out extra work to reap the information required.

While the argument for development has been well made within the context of transferring choice making closer to operational Provider transport, the brought price in terms of sources, duplication and misaligned tactics has rarely featured in the debate. inside the contemporary monetary climate, these costs want to be diagnosed.

the way of life

inside transactional techniques, a leading finance feature will set up targets for the body of workers members on an each day foundation. This goal putting is a detail of the metric based totally lifestyle that leading finance Functions broaden. If the appropriate metrics of productiveness and fine are applied and while these goals are tough however no longer impossible, This is confirmed to result in upgrades to productivity and nice.

A ‘First-class in Magnificence’ finance feature in Police Forces can have a Carrier focused culture, with the number one goals of supplying a high stage of satisfaction for its customers (departments, divisions, personnel & suppliers). A ‘Great in Magnificence’ finance characteristic will measure consumer delight on a timely foundation thru a metric primarily based technique. This can be blended with a team extensive consciousness on Manner improvement, with Technique proprietors, on the way to now not necessarily be the team leads, owning force-extensive development to every of the finance processes.

Organizational upgrades

Organizational structures inside Police Forces are Usually made of supervisors main groups of 1 to four team members. thru centralizing and consolidating the finance feature, an opportunity exists to growth the span of manipulating to First-rate practice levels of 6 to eight team individuals to one group lead/supervisor. through adjusting the organizational shape and increasing the span of control, Police Forces can accrue enormous cashable advantage from a reduction inside the quantity of team leads and group leads can accrue higher control experience from Dealing with larger teams.

technology Enabled upgrades

There are a massively wide variety of era upgrades that a Police force may want to put into effect to help develop a ‘High-quality in Magnificence’ finance function.

these consist of:

A) Scanning and workflow

via adopting a scanning and workflow way to update manual tactics, Improved visibility, transparency and efficiencies may be reaped.

B) Call logging, monitoring, and workflow device

Police Forces usually have some of the people responding to inner and provider queries. those queries are neither logged nor tracked. The consequence of That is dual:

o Queries devour huge attempt inside a particular finance group. there’s a high Danger of duplicated attempt from the shortage of logging of queries. as an instance, a query might be answered to for half-hour with the aid of individual A inside the finance group. due to this query no longer being logged, if the person that raised the query referred to as up once more and spoke to an exclusive man or woman then only for one additional question, this could absorb to twenty mins to make sure that the History was appropriately explained.

O Queries may have several interfaces with the business. An unresolved question may be answered against with the aid of up to four separate groups with the widespread delay in supplying a clean answer for the supplier.

The implementation of a Call logging, tracking and workflow device to record, degree and close inner and supplier queries mixed with the set up of a central queries crew, might extensively lessen the effort involved in responding to queries inside the finance departments and divisions, in addition to inside the actual divisions and departments, and procurement.

C) Database solution

In the course of finance departments, there are a giant variety of spreadsheets utilized prior to entering into the economic machine. there is a tendency to transfer data manually from one spreadsheet to another to satisfy the needs of various teams.

Changing the spreadsheets with a database answer would rationalize the wide variety of inputs and result in effort financial savings for the front line law enforcement officials as well as Police group of workers.

D) Personalize reviews

In acquiring management data from the economic systems, police staff run a chain of stories, import these into excel, use lookups to in shape the information and implement pivots to illustrate the records as required. there’s sizable guide effort that is involved in sorting out this painting. through customizing reviews the outputs from the monetary gadget can be an installation to provide the statistics in the codecs required thru the clicking of a button. This will have the advantage of Reduced attempt and Improved motivation for team members that previously carried out these mundane tasks.

In designing, procuring and imposing new technology allowing equipment, a Police pressure will face some of demanding situations along with Investment approval; IT capability; functionality; and procurement.

those challenges may be mitigated via partnering with a 3rd birthday celebration Provider organization with whom the Investment can be shared, the competencies may be supplied and the procurement cycle can be minimized.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

InCred, backed via Anshu Jain, disburses Rs one hundred cr loans to SME

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/incred-backed-via-anshu-jain-disburses-rs-one-hundred-cr-loans-to-sme-housing-segments/

InCred, backed via Anshu Jain, disburses Rs one hundred cr loans to SME

InCred, a non-banking finance agency which started operations in February 2017, has allotted Rs 100 crore loans to approximately 1000 clients in much less than one hundred days. “Bulk of the disbursements have occurred inside the housing and small business segment which could be very encouraging due to the fact InCred turned into set up to promote financial inclusion for India’s underserved phase. via leveraging generation, we were able to fulfill our customers’ requirements very quickly in a problem-loose way,” stated Bhupinder Singh, Founder, and CEO, InCred.

The startup has been subsidized via a slew of enterprise veterans consisting of Anshu Jain, former Co-CEO, Deutsche Financial institution, Ranjan Pai – coping with director and CEO, Manipal Training and Clinical Organization, and Gaurav Dalmia, founder, and chairman of Landmark Holdings (Dalmia Organization) have backed the non-banking finance employer with strategic investments.

InCred has distributed loans throughout a huge range of price ticket sizes from Rs. 50,000 to Rs.10 crores. “At the same time as we’re developing, and expanding our loan e-book throughout numerous sectors and product categories, we are very centered on product design and innovation to supply products catering to the particular wishes of our clients. We are also committed to turning in a superior enjoy to our customers throughout their mortgage journeys with us” Singh introduced.

customers can get right of entry to InCred merchandise on multiple channels via its growing network of branches besides very handy net and cell structures. InCred has also installed strategic partnerships with companies which can be capable of enhancing consumer reach.

InCred offers loans in four categories: — SME loans, wherein it helps budding marketers and small agencies with the aid of providing them loans for his or her running capital and increase capital wishes except, bespoke financing answers; Patron loans — goals to offer unsecured loans to purchasers; home loans – in the inexpensive housing segment (loans of Rs 10-30 lakhs); and Training loans — for college kids in search of Schooling beyond K-12, each in India as well as remote places.

InCred disburses Rs100 car loans in less than a hundred days of launch: economic offerings enterprise InCred, which started out operations in February 2017, has disbursed Rs. a hundred crore loans to about 1000 clients in much less than 100 days, in line with a business enterprise announcement.

Bhupinder Singh, Founder, and CEO, InCred, said “Bulk of the disbursements have taken place within the housing and small business section.

“…with the aid of leveraging technology, we were capable of fulfilling our clients’ necessities in no time in a trouble-free manner.”

InCred has disbursed loans throughout a large variety of price ticket sizes from Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 10 crores. It gives loans to four classes — SME, Consumer, domestic and Education.

The agency has been set up via Bhupinder Singh, former Co-Head, Funding Banking & Securities, Deutsche Bank APAC. It has obtained strategic investments from Anshu Jain, former Co-Chief of Deutsche Financial institution, Manipal Institution’s coping with Director and CEO Ranjan R Pai and Gaurav Dalmia, founder and chairman of Landmark Holdings (Dalmia Organization) along si

de IDFC PE, Alpha Capital, and Paragon Companions stated the assertion.

InCred, the non-banking economic corporation (NBFC) floated by means of former Deutsche Financial institution senior executive Bhupinder Singh, has garnered excessive-profile backers consisting of the Financial institution’s former co-leader Anshu Jain. It’s going to start operations quickly with a capital base of Rs 500-six hundred crores.

The NBFC has created its fair proportion of media buzz thinking about Jain’s involvement. Jain has invested approximately Rs 50 crore and would be the chairperson of the advisory board, stated Singh in an interview with Enterprise Preferred.

Singh and Manipal Group’s handling director and CEO Ranjan R Pai have contributed approximately Rs one hundred fifty crores every.

The NBFC, which would recognition on financing to small and medium organizations (SMEs), low-price housing, training, and healthcare sectors have additionally garnered strategic investments from Gaurav Dalmia, founder, and chairman of Landmark Holdings (Dalmia Organization), IDFC PE and Alpha Capital. Dalmia and IDFC PE have also invested Rs 50 crore each within the assignment. Singh, the promoter of the corporation, also reached out to his buddies and accumulated “plenty of small cheques”. The NBFC will start Business with SME financing and three retail-focused ventures – unsecured client finance, mortgages, and training loans. The Business model of the NBFC is quite particular in India, however an established one nevertheless globally. Singh is banking of the “goodness of the debtors,” and the aversion to being labeled a defaulter. While Singh has spent a maximum of his career outdoor India, the Bhopal-born Indian Institute of Management (Ahmedabad) graduate is deeply acquainted with the center magnificence Indian sensibilities.

The basic premise of banking at the integrity of the borrowers might be based totally on rigorous analytic by means of his group and can be pursued by means of the gentle follow-u.S.A.on occasion as soon as a mortgage is dispensed. “We’ll maintain a tab on the pupil’s development and would need her on each a success milestone. It would be a personal contact, much like a family affair,” stated Singh.

The dad and mom of the students will now not want to supply any collateral, however, may be required to face as a guarantor for the mortgage amount. Singh doesn’t see a risk of default except the entire aim is to defraud.

Earlier than disbursing a mortgage, the NBFC will see the have a look at the file of the student, the group he’s becoming a member of, and the even the past placement report of the institution and the stream the pupil has selected. In the case of SME financing, the employer may be some distance more careful. It will take first lien at the cash float by using tying up with the service provider Bank and could disburse loans primarily based on the drift generated from transactions through the factor of income machines.

The margin of the Business could clearly beat the better aspect, thinking about the unsecured nature of the loans being disbursed, stated Gaurav Dalmia. Traders gained hesitate to pump extra money if the Business does well. “If Business is doing well, money is not going to be a problem,” stated Dalmia, who become one of the key Investors in Indiabulls lower back in 2000. Other Investors are assured that the Commercial enterprise will scale up extensively.

“We’ve constantly looked for funding opportunities in this space and we seized it while we met Bhupinder Singh and the high first-class crew he has put together,” stated Ranjan R Pai, dealing with director and CEO of Manipal education and Scientific Organization.

Manipal Institution has had very a success legacy inside the banking space as founders of the Syndicate Bank. Dalmia sees big potential for the monetary area and sees the financial sector outperforming mixture Enterprise zone if the Indian economic system does properly.

“The dangers on this quarter come from leverage, falling underwriting requirements in the quest for increased or market share, and for Traders there is an additional danger due to excessive and frequently unrealistic valuations which generally tend to anticipate near-best Enterprise conditions going ahead,” said Dalmia, a veteran of making an investment in the monetary sector for the past 15 years, which includes in area of interest NBFCs.

Singh, a banking veteran of about twenty years, he has no plan to use for a banking license. His purpose is to make InCred certainly one of its type success version in India. He’s willing to examine from hooked up players in the segments he is venturing into.

For instance, his education model has borrowed factors from Credila financial Offerings and InCred has even hired Prashant Bhonsle, former chief of Credila, to go the training vertical. The company’s consumer vertical might be run through Nikhil Sama, founding the father of Instapaisa — a peer-to-peer platform which Singh obtained. The chief running officer and leader architect for generation are Nitin Agarwal.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Zoho bets big on finance software program to force growth

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/zoho-bets-big-on-finance-software-program-to-force-growth/

Zoho bets big on finance software program to force growth

Product software maker Zoho is bunching collectively its economic era applications along with a layer of GST-related compliance software to permit small corporations to address the tax reform because it kicks on this year. The organization produces software that helps commercial enterprise run their accounting, manipulate human resources, cope with client relationships and even write emails and make spreadsheets. The new launch, packaged Finance Plus, is predicted to bring in a 5th of Zoho’s revenues in three years.

“Accounting software want now not be approximately just counting numbers. business can get the complete photo from imparting a quote to income orders to invoicing all the way up to filing tax returns,” the organization’s founder and CEO Sridhar Vembu instructed reporters at a press conference. Vembu, an avowed dissenter to the subculture of challenge-capital sponsored increase pursuit seen in current era companies, believes the market for tax compliance approximately a 5th of the corporation’s sales will stem from its finance software merchandise in three years. Presently, it makes approximately a 12th of its sales from its accounting and price managing software program.

The Finance Plus software package is being advertised as an integrated software so as to permit businesses to observe not simply accounting, but its operations too. Users also can expand its capability by means of adding software in a Do-It-Yourself format made available on a patented software program platform known as the Deluge. Created with the aid of Vembu, Deluge is a programming language by way of itself. He Zoho Finance Plus is available at Rs 2,999 a month for a small business of 10 Users, with a small rate for each additional consumer. GoFrugal Technologies, founded by Vembu’s brother Kumar Vembu, may be the GST Suvidha Provider, an approved 1/3 celebration provider Provider for GST-associated services, could be the node for Zoho to offer the GST related compliance services. With the GST regime predicted to kick in soon, Vembu is confident of the formalization of the small commercial enterprise network in India, which will result in wider adoption of his software.

Vembu recently surprised the era network through starting an improvement center in Tenkasi, a metropolis in South Tamil Nadu. about a hundred and twenty engineers paintings from a workplace that become once a mango pulp factory. Vembu is now expanding the offices there to house greater engineers to take the headcount over four hundred.

He Zoho Finance Plus is up to date at Rs 2,999 a month for a small commercial enterprise of 10 up-to-date, with a small fee for each extra up to date. GoFrugal Technologies, founded by Vembu’s brother Kumar Vembu, may be the GST Suvidha Company, an approved 1/three birthday party Provider Issuer for GST-associated offerings, may be the node for Zoho up to date provide the GST associated compliance offerings.

With the GST regime expected an up-to-date kick in soon, Vembu is assured of the formalization of the small business organization community in India, up-to-date bring about wider adoption of his software.

Vembu recently surprised the generation network via starting an improvement center in Tenkasi, an up-to-date in South Tamil Nadu. approximately one hundred and twenty engineers artwork from a place of business that grows updated once a mango pulp updated. Vembu is now expanding the offices there updated house greater engineers updated take the headcount over 4 hundred. Zoho Takes Purpose At Fragmented Again-workplaces:-

SMBs essentially have the arena at their fingertips. In current years, novel opportunities for growth, new business fashions, and sales channels have sprung up with a newfound virtual energy.

To deal with the current requirements of maintaining a business, online productiveness up-to-date and SaaS Issuer Zoho has observed that SMBs are with the aid of and huge willingly and hastily adopting cloud-up-to-date internet and cell applications up to date enable them up-to-date effectively run their agencies.

but many in the end run right into a barrier when it comes time up-to-date create a complete up to date updated of operations.

“What SMBs at the moment are waking as much as,” stated Zoho President Raj Sabhlok, “is the reality that they’ve followed all of those applications up-to-date solve numerous commercial enterprise problems. but now they want up to date integrate the records from these programs. And that’s a tall undertaking.”

no longer relatively, groups can up-to-date beaten by the complexity of working and coping with a large extent of disintegrated packages. Given the proliferation of channels and fashions of selling up to date up-to-date SMBs up to date, in conjunction with an increasingly virtual body of workers, integration among finance and other Again-workplace programs is key updated offering a holistic view of operations.

To cope with the good sized fragmentation throughout Again-workplace operations, Zoho just lately announced Finance Plus, an updated integrated suite of five cloud-up-to-date economic and accounting programs: Books, Invoicing, Fee, Invenupupdated, and Subscription. along with updated allowing the fundamental monetary responsibilities it takes up to date maintain a commercial enterprise going for walks, the suite addresses some of the subsequent problems that exacerbate Lower back-office fragmentation.

“Many organizations up to date nowadays are leveraging Amazon updated sell, or eBay, Etsy. And that they’re the use of purchasing carts like Shopify,” said Sabhlok, noting that during many instances, those operations run out of doors of the attain in their present finance and accounting packages. but it’s now not simply the finances. up-to-date tracking throughout more than one warehouses and up to data vendors can get messy in a rush.

Likewise, the staff at massive is an increasing number of the cell. not just in phrases of enterprise journeys, but in how they rack up business prices. The conventional Cost-reporting procedure, typically on spreadsheets or email, stated Sabhlok, can’t constantly account for the growing variety of fee methods obtainable, up to date mention updated the type of approaches receipts are added — in-app, via email, paper or none at all.

but there are large modifications in a trade that up to date fragmentation. Namely, the recent rise of subscription up to date fashions.

“Many agencies have moved or are transferring up-to-date subscription economy. It, in reality, upends conventional accounting methods and metrics,” Sabhlok said, noting one essential distinction: At the same time as a whole lot of accounting seems at up-to-date records, the subscription commerce version calls for attention updated future projections.

Even as corporations is probably up to date updated adapt up-to-date growing consumer hobby inside the subscription area, conventional accounting applications can’t account for the change in attention. Given that subscription commerce is forward-targeted, agencies soak up an awful lot of the cost up front. Key metrics which include up to date lifetime values or monthly routine revenue, meanwhile, are left untracked.

“If I’m selling a $10-consistent with-month subscription, but it price me $100 up-to-date get that updated via marketing, selling, what have you ever,” Sabhlok said, “when I put it up-to-date and accounting software, it basically seems like I’m dropping $ninety.”

At the same time as standalone applications address the needs up to date control multichannel, cellular and subscription-up-to-date operations for SMBs, all of that facts sites one after the other — both from the others in addition updated from traditional accounting and bookkeeping packages. moving and matching that facts up to date for an overarching view can up to date updated a mission for companies. Occasionally, the system can require yet some other application To deal with, stated Sabhlok.

across its Finance Plus suite of applications, Zoho software up updated a common database. On up to the date of the intrinsic integration, this affords up-to-date, Zoho can leverage this database up to date quick create new applications.

Currently, Sabhlok stated Zoho has 4 programs deliberate updated release on the Finance Plus suite this year — along with Zoho Checkout and Zoho Payroll — updated deliver extra Again-office duties out updated the light.

What all of those integrations upload as much as is a holistic view of an enterprise’ financial operations and cash flow, a key detail for groups as they enlarge throughout channels, adopt new fashions, price strategies and techniques up to date keep pace with the converting face of trade. Now up to date be had inside the Zoho Market, the Nexmo Extension for Zoho permits Cusupupdated up-to-date or prospects without leaving the CRM platform interface. For organizations using Zoho CRM up-to-date streamline their management of up to date and purchaser interactions, the seamless, contextual communications enabled by way of the Nexmo API Extension similarly complements the way they do business. This integration affords updated with the ability up to date reach contacts anywhere they’re – via voice or SMS – enabling richer consumer connections for deeper relationships and extra meaningful engagement. “Whether it’s a hectic up to date updated’s workplace sending billing or appointment reminders via SMS updated sufferers, or a income professional making bulk voice calls up to date key possibilities, the integration of Nexmo APIs up to date Zoho CRM enriches and improves the person revel in for expanded productivity and more desirable up to date usu updated connections,” stated Tony James, President of Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform. Mr. Jamous endured, “Extending Vonage’s present partnership with Zoho up-to-date consist of Nexmo APIs is the ideal complement updated our sturdy imparting of cloud communications solutions for business. We are thrilled up to date continue up-to-date collaborate with Zoho on new and progressive methods updated assist organizations live connected.” Unified Communications as-a-Carrier (UCaaS) and Communications Platform as-a-Provider (CPaaS) are converging. As the mixing of APIs up-to-date existing enterprise packages, updated Zoho CRM, maintains up to date develop and notice mass adoption, agencies may be up to date raise their communications up-to-date streamline the manner they connect and collaborate with every different and with their up-to-date. “providing the first-class person revel in has always been our aim. To enhance the updated enjoy, we’ve partnered with Nexmo and built SMS, voice name and IVR features for Zoho CRM up to date which might be now up-to-date as an Extension within the Zoho Marketplace,” said Mani Vembu, COO, Zoho. “In this period of mobile telephones and handheld devices, SMS and voice calls reach up to date easily, And that they have excessive visibility. the use of the Nexmo Extension for Zoho CRM, a business’ up-to-date going through departments can now contemporize the way they reach up to date usu updated.” With the Nexmo Extension for Zoho CRM, up to date also can: Make voice calls updated contacts from within the Zoho CRM Tune outbound call up to date iso updated with name status Create/manipulate up-to-date voice templates manipulate connections with contacts via an interactive dashboard Ship up to date updated voice calls thru CRM workflows Set IVR for outgoing and incoming calls

about Vonage:

Vonage (NYSE: VG) is the main Provider of cloud communications offerings for business. Vonage transforms the manner people work and organizations perform through a portfolio of cloud up to date communications solutions that enable internal collaboration amongst personnel, While also keeping businesses closely related to their up to date usu updated, across any mode of the communique, on any up-to-date. Nexmo, the Vonage API Platform, affords up-to-date for voice, messaging and contact verification services, permitting builders updated to embed contextual, programmable communications up-to-date mobile apps, websites and enterprise systems, allowing establishments updated without difficulty talk applicable information up-to-date their up-to-date in real time, anywhere in the world, thru textual content messaging, chat, social media and voice. The Organisation additionally offers a strong suite of characteristic-wealthy residential communique solutions. In 2015 and 2016, Vonage became named a Visionary in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as-a-Carrier, International. Vonage has also earned Frost & Sullivan’s 2015 increase Excellence Leadership Award for Hosted IP and Unified Communications and Collaboration (UCC) offerings and the 2016 North American Cloud Communications Product Line Method Leadership Award.

approximately Zoho

Zoho is THE operating system for enterprise – an unmarried cloud platform with all of the important programs up to date run a commercial enterprise up to date from the cloud. corporations can acquire and manipulate up to dates using Zoho’s advertising, sales and up to date me support updated packages – Campaigns, CRM and Table – and might then empower employees up to date create, up-to-date and distribute content at the cloud with Zoho’s productiveness and collaboration packages – office, Mail, and Docs. Additionally, corporations can run their very own operations on Zoho’s finance and human assets packages – Books, humans, and Recruit. greater than 20 million up-to-date round up-to-date across hundreds of hundreds of businesses rely upon Zoho every day up-to-date run their groups – such as Zoho itself. A business can pick out updated run on the whole Zoho suite, or use only a single utility. Zoho packages are available updated immediately via zoho.Com, or through an ecosystem of masses of global Zoho partners. Zoho is a division of Zoho Corp., a privately-held and always profitable Enterprise, with extra than 3,500 personnel. Zoho is situated in Pleasant to date, CA with global headquarters in Chennai, India, and offices in Austin, London, Yokohama, and Beijing.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Building A Mobile App Using Flash Builder 4.5

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/building-a-mobile-app-using-flash-builder-4-5/

Building A Mobile App Using Flash Builder 4.5

Adobe has recently released Flash Builder 4.5. This release enables developers to build “Mobile Apps” for a number of mobile device platforms, in addition to developing web applications and desktop applications using MXML and Actionscript 3.

This release seems squarely targeted at dealing with the recent comments from Steve Jobs and others, and the ensuing debate over whether Flash is dead, given the capabilities of HTML 5 and other technological developments.

Since this is quite a major release for Adobe and an important new capability for us Flex developers we thought we would go through the process of developing a smallish App and implementing it on a number of devices. The concept of being able to develop Mobile Apps for a wide range of mobile devices using a single code base is definitely an appealing one.

Overall, the developer experience that Adobe has delivered with Flash Builder 4.5 is pretty impressive, although there are one or two quite fundamental omissions. Given the differences in Operating System, screen size, screen resolution, and handset functionality deploying a Mobile App for a range of devices is a daunting task. Whilst it doesn’t solve all problems, Flash Builder 4.5 is definitely an excellent start.

Target Market

Flash Builder 4.5 doesn’t target every mobile device on the market. It targets mobile devices running Android 2.2 and upwards, iOS (iPhone 3G, iPhone 4 and iPad) and QNX (Blackberry Playbook Tablet). These are basically the high functionality modern Operating Systems for Smartphones and Tablet PCs. That covers around 50% of the existing mobile device installed base and quite possibly a much higher percentage of recent mobile device sales. The important omissions to the target platforms available are Symbian, Blackberry Smartphones and Windows Mobile 7.

Development Environment and Experience

Overall, using Flash Builder 4.5 to develop Mobile Apps is broadly similar to using it to develop desktop applications for Adobe Air or web applications running in the Flash Player. The Flash Builder development environment is nicely integrated with the rest of Adobe’s offerings such as Creative Suite 5.5 and Flash Catalyst so you can develop assets in those programs and import them into Flash Builder easily. Developers use MXML and Actionscript to develop the App, however, there is a more restricted range of user controls. Importantly there is the same connectivity to data services using Web Services, AMF, HTTP and similar.

Differences in Developing an Air or Web Application

The ViewNavigatorApplication Tag

The first difference you notice with developing Mobile Apps is that instead of an Application tag which is used for developing Air and web applications, you have a ViewNavigatorApplication tag. With the Application tag, you usually place a navigation control and then place child components (effectively the different views) within the navigator control. This gives developers the ability to know what components are being used no matter how deep they are buried within the document hierarchy. With ViewNavigator however when you navigate to a different View you “pop” a different View onto the screen by name. You can then pop other views later in response to events and user actions. You must go back to the home screen via the same view order but in reverse.

With the Application tag since you are aware of what components constitute your child screens, you can configure the application to pass any required data from the main application to the child components. Since properties are usually strongly typed, Flash Builder will give build time errors if you are trying to access or pass a property that doesn’t exist. With Mobile Apps and the ViewNavigator tag, the compiler doesn’t actually see the other Views that are part of the application until runtime thus the developer loses an important level of error checking before runtime. In addition, Views only have a single “Data” property. The Data property can be any object, so you can pass a collection of all the data you require but build time error checking is lost on whether properties within the data being passed actually exist.

No Drop Down List

There isn’t a drop down list in Flash Builder Mobile. No, there really isn’t. To me, this seems the biggest oversight and I expect in Flash Builder 5, or hopefully, before that, they will fix it. However, for now, the workaround is to have a button that looks like a drop down list (has a skin with a drop down list icon) and then when the user clicks the button, to pop up a component based around the “SkinnablePopUpContainer” with a list of your items inside it. So you can end up with something that looks to the user like a drop down list but is actually a button that calls a pop up with a list of items.

No MX Components Except Charts

No MX components will work except charts. The MX namespace is not available in Mobile Apps so most of the MX components are not available in the drop-down menu in the IntelliSense editor. In addition, some of the Spark components (eg dropdown list) are “Not Mobile Optimized” which is Adobe’s way of saying they probably won’t work. In general, however, there are enough controls to create the screen you need.

Styling and Sizing for Different Devices

When developing a Mobile App there are several issues that make styling for a range of devices difficult. In no particular order they are:

Different screen sizes;

  Different screen density. This is measured in dpi. Since an iPhone 4 has double the dpi of the iPad, any button of the same pixel measurements will be half the size on the iPhone 4;

  Different device specific gestures and built-in features For instance in the iPhone email client a swipe gesture results in a delete button popping up, and some devices have a back button always available as part of the machine.

From the look of it then, being able to come up with something that will look good on each screen seems like mission impossible. However, Flash Builder comes with built-in features that help considerably. Firstly, you can say what screen density you are targeting and then when the App loads if the device being used has a different screen density, the App will shrink and expand buttons and other components as required. Flash Builder categories each device as having one of three screen densities, either 160, 240 or 320 dpi.

Bitmap images however shrink and grow very poorly so the above method is not suitable. To handle this, Adobe has provided the “MultiDpiBitmapSource”. This is where if you are using a bitmap as the icon for a button, you can provide 3 different versions of the same bitmap to the button, each sized to target screen density 160, 240 or 320. Flash Builder will then detect what the device is and use the appropriate bitmap as the icon.

Finally, you can also provide different settings in your CSS file that enable you to change settings for different screen densities, and also different Operating System.

The result is that you can code once and then and then after spending some effort making sure it looks as good as possible in various situations, it will look pretty good on most devices. If you are targeting the full spectrum of devices you will have to have some sort of trade-off between time spent on styling v the payback for each device. Some research into the audience size for each device and then prioritization will enable you to make appropriate decisions on what the main device should be and then how much time should be spent styling for the other devices.

Testing the App in Flash Builder

Flash Builder comes with a good method of being able to see what your screen will look like on different devices. Firstly at design time you can choose from a drop down list of devices and see the results. Then by choosing different run configurations by Operating System and device, you can run the application and see the results on each device.

Other than styling issues there didn’t seem to be any differences in how the App behaved on each device in terms of runtime errors.

Testing Your App on A Device

Once you have developed and styled your App using Flash Builder you will probably want to test it on the actual machines themselves prior to deploying it to the marketplace. The simulator within Flash Builder gives a reasonable approximation of how the App will look on each device but it’s not the same as using it on the actual device.

There are a large number of smartphones available so rather than buying each individual device and testing it on each, you will probably prefer to test on one of each of the three operating systems which are Android, iOS (iPhone and iPad) and QNX (Blackberry Tablet). With Android devices, the process is quite simple. Essentially you create a dummy certificate using Flash Builder and then you can connect and download your App to your device.

Apple devices are considerably more difficult to test on. You have to apply to Apple to get a developer license which provides you with a developer key, then get a key for your device and use the two keys to deploy it to iTunes and then use iTunes to install it on your device.

The Blackberry Playbook is still quite new and has not had demonstrably rave reviews so the number of your users that will actually install your App on a Blackberry Playbook is probably at this point quite small. A practical alternative to buying the actual machine is to test it on the Blackberry Playbook Simulator which runs through VMWare. This gives a more advanced representation of what the App will look and feel like compared to the simulator in Flash Builder.

Deploying the App

Once your App is ready for deployment you must go to the various App stores and go through their individual processes of deployment.

Summary

Adobe has recognized the challenge and opportunity that mobile devices represent and have devoted a considerable amount of marketing, development and promotional muscle to getting the release into the market. For experienced Flash Builder developers, creating a working version of a Mobile App is a very similar process to what they are used to in creating a web or desktop application since the development environment is very similar.

Styling the App for all devices, however, can take up a lot of time and development effort should be prioritized according to the devices expected for each project. However, the task that Adobe has set themselves in being able to build mobile Apps for a multitude of devices using Flash Builder is an ambitious one that they have largely achieved.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Mobile Apps For Business - The Power Is in the PUSH

New Post has been published on https://realitycrazy.com/mobile-apps-for-business-the-power-is-in-the-push/

Mobile Apps For Business - The Power Is in the PUSH

Thinking about launching a Mobile App for your business? If not now, when?

Now is the time to ride this wave of opportunity.

We all know as Entrepreneurs and Business Owners that in order to stay competitive in today’s marketplace, you need to position your business to take advantage of emerging trends. Mobile Marketing is NOT in the future, it’s NOW!

Did you know that statistics show mobile consumers have their phone or mobile devices within 3 feet of them 23 hours a day? Just think about the opportunity you have before you to have YOUR business on your clients or prospects mobile device 23 hours a day / 365 days out of the year? Now that my friends are what I call OPPORTUNITY! I don’t know any other marketing medium that has the same power to instantly get the attention of your target market.

What do you think the average response or open rate is today with email marketing? Unless you have a super responsive and active list, you will only see 4% – 9% open rates within the first 24-48 hours of you pushing the send button. Mobile push or text messages are seen and opened 97% of the time within the first 4 minutes. Now that is impressive! Just think about your own mobile behavior, or heck just looks around you.

Consumer expectation is that every “Brand” has an app they can download and access on their mobile device.

We are often asked the question, “Why should I have a mobile app?” Here are just a few reasons why you should have one:

Builds customer loyalty. Everyone likes to feel included in something special, so make customers feel like VIPs by offering discounts, coupons, and promotions just for using and downloading the app.

Creates a viral buzz. Encourage customers to use the mobile app to quickly tell all of their friends about the business using the built-in sharing capabilities of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your blog, SMS, and Email.

Grow customer lists. A mobile app can gather names and email addresses from directly within the app and easily export them into the top email marketing campaign services to be used in additional emails.

Get instant feedback. Mobile apps allow customers to leave feedback on fan walls, share photos, and send comments in a variety of ways.

What is an App? An App is an application that has to be downloaded and installed on a mobile device, rather than being rendered within a browser. Users visit device-specific portals such as Apple’s App Store, and the Android Google Play Market in order to find and download apps for a given operating system. An app provides an interactive engagement with users and works more like a computer program than a website.

The app may pull content and data from the Internet, in a similar fashion to a website, or it may download the content so that it can be accessed without an Internet connection.

It is expected that by mid-2012 more people will be accessing the internet on their mobile devices than on PCs. With that in mind, it cannot be emphasized enough the importance of having one’s business or service seen properly across all the different mobile platforms otherwise you will lose business.

What better way for your business to stay in touch with your customers than with your own customized mobile application!

Do you have clients and customers that you want to communicate and stay in touch with? If so, what is the best way to do that and get responsive results? The clear choice is through Mobile Apps.

I’ve put together my top ten tips to ensure your app success:

1. Determine your Objective

Are you looking for sales, brand awareness, social media engagement or to stay in constant contact and in front of your clients and prospects?

As Entrepreneurs and Business Owners, it’s easy for us to get distracted and become overwhelmed with all our responsibilities and otherwise great ideas. Be sure when developing your mobile marketing strategy that it aligns with your core message, and resonates with your viewing audience.

2. Integrate Social Sharing Features

We all know and understand the power of social engagement, and social sharing features of our information. All of your social sites can be integrated into your Mobile App which will ensure and increase your brand awareness.

3. Keep Your App and its content up to date

Just as important as updating a blog, your app must be updated with relevant and engaging content. You need to keep the end user engaged, or just as quickly as they downloaded your app, they can remove it.

4. Integrate interactive and events features

Provide up-to-date information about all of your business events and specials by creating an events calendar. Whether you conduct live events or virtual events online, you will want to keep your new users engaged and in-the-know of what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, and how they can participate. We are social creatures by nature, and want this information available at our fingertips..literally!

5. Create Loyalty / VIP Programs

You will want to incentivize your subscribers and give them a reason not only to download your app but to also keep it on their mobile device. It’s very simple to create Loyalty or VIP programs, and your clients and prospects will LOVE you for it.

6. Develop an effective Mobile Marketing Strategy

It’s not if you build it they will come… You need to prepare your marketing plan prior to the launch of your new App in the App Stores. This will include, but is definitely not limited to:

Be sure to send an email notification to your subscribers with URL links to the Apple and Android (Google Play) Marketplaces. So they can download it. Don’t forget to incentivize them in some way for doing so!

Create QR Codes that link directly to your App (QR Codes are 2-dimensional black and white squares that contain an URL or specially coded message that your phone’s camera along with QR Scanner Software will decode for you.)

Social Network promotions… oh this can be a great tool!!!

Keyword research for your App is just as important as for your website. As you build your App or have a developer do it for you, determine what your keywords will be as well as the description for your App. These are both extremely important as they are two of the more permanent features of your App and will immediately assist you in generating new clients and leads when done correctly.

7. Create Raving Fans

It’s very important to create an opportunity for your App users to feel as though they are part of your community. Remember the Social Sharing feature? Well, this is just as important. What if at your next event, you gave your App users the ability to upload their photos from the event, or even write on your App fan wall? We have seen it time and time again on Social Networks how important this is, in fact, it’s a must!

8. Track your progress with in-App Analytics

You want to be sure you have a way to track the downloads of your App in the App Stores/Markets. Tracking the number of downloads is important as you prepare for future promotions, as well as revenue streams from advertising opportunities. The more downloads you have, the more valuable you are to advertising partners. This is a great way to help monetize your app!

9. YES… The Power IS in the PUSH!!!!

Here’s the most important feature of all… PUSH Notifications! This is very similar to sending out an email notification but is much more effective. Remember you will have a 97% open rate within the first few minutes of sending it. You can send out notices immediately, or schedule them to go out on a particular day, and time you set.

The push notification will show up on a mobile device just like a text message would. These are delivered to everyone who has downloaded your app on their mobile device. They are displayed on smartphones and iPads/Tablets. The message will be displayed on the home screen of the phone or tablet literally the moment you press “Send”.

One word of caution though… Do NOT overuse the Push Notification feature. This can be interpreted at SPAM, so please don’t abuse it. Treat your new App Subscribers just like you would your email list and provide value first, then create the hunger and desire for your products and services and the sales will naturally follow.

10. Promote, Promote, Promote!

Once your App is completed and published in the App Stores, you will need to get busy promoting your new marketing tool! Your app will not download itself to other mobile devices, so you will need to be proactive in the marketing and promotion of your new App. Now is the time to get in front of potential clients and customers.

Enroll the help of marketing partners to promote your new App, and yes even your friends and family, and most importantly don’t forget about your existing client base. They are already your RAVING FANS!

In order for your App to be successful and provide you a great new way to market to your audience, you must be willing to follow the steps listed above.

Don’t forget the golden rule of marketing: People buy from People, and those they Know, Like and Trust! Having a mobile app for your business will help expand your “Brand!”

Isn’t it time to share your expertise and reach your mobile consumers before your competition? It’s your responsibility to make it easy for them to connect with you!

The possibilities for your Mobile App are endless.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

The Top iPhone Apps - What's the Secret of Their Success?

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The Top iPhone Apps - What's the Secret of Their Success?

Earlier this year, Apple released its list of top iPhone apps at the one billion download mark. Downloads just hit two billion, making Apple’s “All-Time” Top Apps label even sillier than it was at the time — but that aside, it’s a very interesting list and there are a lot of good lessons to be learned from it.

We know that developers of some top apps have earned from $350,000 (Pocket God) to $800,000 (iShoot). Some have probably earned much more. It’s difficult to estimate income even if the number of downloads is known because app pricing bounces around a lot. Koi Pond has been downloaded about 900,000 times and Enigmo over 800,000. Even at, say, a dollar a time, that’s very good money.

How to get access to this giant cash cow? Here are some tips, based on our analysis of Apple’s twenty top paid apps:

Get in early

The iPhone 3G came out in July 2008. Almost half of the top apps had been released by August. The rest were all out by the end of 2008, except one that came out in January 2009.

Timing is everything. Of course, some of this is just a matter of physical reality — if you sell 5,000 apps a day for 100 days, that’s 500,000 sales; if you only have 5 days, you can only reach 25,000. But there’s more to it than that. There are simply so many apps now (over 50,000) that it’s very difficult to be seen. Apps that came out early, and gained traction, had a huge advantage over competitors, and that kind of advantage is often maintained long-term.

Entertain the masses

If you want to save the planet, enlighten humanity or improve people’s health, you’ll get your reward in heaven, but you won’t have a winning iPhone app. Every one of the top paid apps is a toy of some kind. Fourteen are in the Games category, 4 Entertainment and 2 Music.

Interestingly, this entertainment is generally not mindless. Most of the games are complex, requiring skill and concentration, and quite a few have many permutations or constant updates (Pocket God). Complex games include Pocket God, Fieldrunners, Texas Hold’em Poker and Monopoly. The simpler games, like the memory matching game Bejeweled 2 or the skateboard app Touchgrind, still require skill and concentration.

Only a few, like Koi Pond, require little mental effort, but even this one has many options and constant movement. Nearly all the apps have great graphics and plenty of movement.

There were only 2 entirely silly and pointless apps, namely the simulated beer app, iBeer, and the self-explanatory iFart Mobile.

There’s a surprise in every package

Ocarina, the ancient flute simulation, is a real surprise. Who would have thought an obscure musical instrument would have ranked so high? The app developers are just as interesting — a high-flying crowd of musicians and computer scientists from places like Stanford and Princeton. Could it be that there is still a place for real quality and innovation on the Internet? Happy thought.

Develop for the device

Using the accelerometer seems to increase an app’s chances of success. Most of the top paid apps are accelerometer-intensive or use other novel or unique iPhone features.

The message here is that successful app developers take advantage of the device’s novel or unique functionality. The iPhone is mobile, it has a touchscreen, it has an accelerometer. Develop for the device! Apps that act as though they’re on a regular desktop computer are likely to be less successful.

Have the right background

It really helps to be an experienced software developer, preferably with a background in Internet games. Most of the companies and individuals who distinguished themselves have a long track record in this market. In some cases, it was just a matter of taking an existing business model and making the logical leap to iPhone apps. In others, the app was the start of the business and in some cases, it could also be the end of the road.

Don’t be a one-hit wonder

Four of the top paid apps were orphans or close, with only 1 to 2 apps per developer. Far more common, though, were developers with tables of 3 to 10 apps. Only 1 developer had more than 10 apps. Successful developers leveraged existing products and apps, building on one to create others – but adapting an app to make very similar spin-offs (iBeer, iMilk, iSoda, Magic Wallet), while smart, seems a little too opportunistic. The app developers that have developed several unique, compelling games are far more likely to have multiple successes.

In fact, 3 companies (Freeverse, Pangea Software, Electronic Arts) each had 2 top twenty apps. All 3 are big or biggish companies, implying that it takes significant resources to product a winning app.

Don’t be too hung up on price

The de facto standard iPhone app price is $0.99. This level was quickly established in the App Store as the place where most buyers seemed happy. Possibly it’s due to the standard cost of iTunes music.

In any case, most of the winning apps command better prices, with 13 of the 20 priced from $1.99 up, and 4 of them commanding the majestic (for iPhone apps) price of $4.99 on the day we did the analysis.

You don’t need Lite or Free teaser apps

Here’s a very interesting factoid. Only 2 of the top twenty apps (iHunt and iShoot) have a free or lite version, at least at the time of writing. Both developers are individuals rather than companies, and it’s interesting that the bigger outfits don’t see the need for teasers. The implication is that if it’s worth buying, people will pay for it.

The freebie iShoot Lite had 2.4 million downloads in January, and there were 320,000 paid downloads. So it’s quite possible that the free app drove sales of the paid app — but it’s also possible that there might have been more paid downloads had the free app not been available.

You don’t have to be a huge company (although it helps)

Could it be that success in iPhone apps depends on having massive, sophisticated, expensive marketing strategies? Not necessarily.

There’s no question that it helps to be Internet savvy and have deep pockets, but the winning app developers were an encouraging mix of sizes and types.

Four of the 17 developers are big multinational companies — Apple itself (Texas Hold’em), Electronic Arts (TETRIS, Monopoly), Activision (Crash Bandicoot) and SEGA (Super Monkey Ball). Then there are a bunch of mid-sized companies and, happily, also 7 small groups and 4 individuals.

iFart Mobile is an interesting story. It was developed by an Internet marketing guru who understood how to work the system and get incredible publicity by producing a pointless app that he must have known would easily generate controversy, laughter, and interest.

The Internet mythology of smart guys working evenings or weekends, or out of the garage, and hitting the jackpot, lives on. The little guys in this group are John Moffett (iHunt), Ethan Nicholas (iShoot) and, so far as we can tell, Shinya Kasatani (Pocket Guitar). These guys might not be the next Steve Jobs, but they have been successful to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, just a dollar or two at a time. Pretty impressive.

Controversy is useful, but by no means essential

iFart Mobile in particular, and to a lesser extent iBeer and iHunt, are quite controversial and almost certainly gained a lot of publicity because of this. You can almost view the controversy in the ratings — while most of the 20 top apps have a dominant rating of 5 stars, gradually dropping down, these 3 controversial apps had large numbers of ratings for both 5 stars and 1 star. So this distribution of rating might not hurt an app and might show a developer that the app has a lot of potentials to create buzz.

The other top apps did not seem designed to attract controversy and this obviously didn’t hurt them.

Five-star ratings are neither essential nor possible for top apps

You can’t please all of the people all of the time — so the more ratings there are, the lower the odds of a 5 or even 4.5-star average. None of the top apps had 5 stars and most had 3 to 4 stars. iHunt had only 2.5 stars because a lot of people hated it.

It takes a LOT of downloads to develop a lot of ratings

Although probably millions of people collectively downloaded the 20 top apps, the highest number of ratings (Fieldrunners) was 1,479 and the lowest (Pocket God) was 226. Most users don’t provide ratings, and even fewer write reviews.

Given that people like to be part of a happy herd, it’s almost certain that savvy developers actively promote positive ratings and reviews.

The theme doesn’t have to be classic or familiar

Classics like Texas Hold’em, Monopoly and TETRIS (all developed by public companies) did feature in the 20 top apps. The other apps were sometimes familiar, sometimes not, but none of them really adapted a big-name, well-known game. Pocket Guitar, of course, used a well-loved instrument with great success. But to balance that, Ocarina catapulted an obscure ancient flute to fame.

Quality counts

There are many, many, many iPhone games with themes not dissimilar to the top games. There are dozens of guitar simulations. There are 5 other iFart apps. So just having a good idea isn’t enough.

The iFart apps are an interesting illustration. Almost uniformly, they have not developed a following, and the comments are mainly negative — not because they’re vulgar and silly, but because they’re not very well executed and users don’t like them.

Now you know some of the secrets. Happy programming!

Find an app is a simple, searchable database of all the iPhone apps we can lay our hands on. Our site has details of over 59,690 apps and counting.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

10 Ways to Market Your Mobile App

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10 Ways to Market Your Mobile App

1. App Store Optimization

App Store Optimization (ASO) requires many of the same factors that go into great SEO tactics. Things like keywords, titles, and descriptions play a role in the app store listings, so leveraging the right tool to understand these variables can really set your app for a path to a top-tier ranking.

Optimizing the keyword tags in the App or Google Play store can really benefit how your app is found. The keyword field allows you to associate your app with certain terms. The key here is to not repeat or use too many variations of the same word which could be portrayed as spam. A good tip is to conduct SEO type test to figure out the best keyword tags to use. You should ask yourself questions like “Which words describe my app?” and “Which words are my competitors using?” Once you get a feel for what words work best for you, be sure to be creative in your choices. Being unique could possibly help you drive traffic your competitors aren’t getting.

Titles are also an important aspect to take into consideration. Much like a title page for SEO purposes, the app name serves as a relevancy signal that the app store algorithms can pull search results from. Many companies include keywords into their main title to help pull their app to the top of search results within their category. A common mistake is to not include the actual name of the app into the title. The overall goal is to have a strong presence as a brand, therefore people need to know your name and not just what your app does.

When you have everything above figured out, it’s now time to write the description for your app. This should not be a painful task. The key here is to keep it short and sweet. You have to keep in mind that when someone is reading this they are not going to spend a lot of time looking at the description on their phone. Leave plenty of white space so that it is pleasing to the reader’s eyes and less cumbersome. Bullet points or asterisks are commonly used to list benefits of which your app brings to the end user. Sentences should be broken up with a mixture of long and short (5 words or less) sentences to keep the reader engaged. If you want to learn more, we have previously written extensively on the importance of good keywords in the app store.

2. Social Media Integration

Social media integration in an application has been emerging in popularity among many app developers. Giving users the ability to invite others, share gameplay, and view leaderboards is a popular and useful aspect for increasing virality. Essentially it is free marketing for your app. When a user shares their recent high score or fitness goal on their social media pages they are then spreading the word of the app to their friends. This increases the number of views and in turn, raises awareness of your application. All of which happens without you lifting a finger. Another side effect from this is that it implements a type of competitive atmosphere amongst friends to outdo the other person’s high score or have a longer run tracked.

3. Press Kit

Having a press kit readily available is a proactive move to help expedite your marketing efforts further down the line. Once you have an established microsite for your application you may get a couple of reviews, but to really market your newly developed app, you need to be able to provide quality material that other people can utilize. If people want to write about you, they may not always have the time to contact you to receive useful materials for them to use.

Materials that should be included in your press kit include a high-quality icon of your app along with screenshots of the app in use. These will help expedite those bloggers or journalist that wish to write about your app to have official high-quality visuals that can be used in their articles or blogs.

Another essential part of your press kit should be all of your relevant press releases. This helps individuals know the “history” of your mobile app and keeps them in the loop on upcoming updates or other company news. By doing this it will also establish a rapport with your audience because they will have a better understanding of you and your mobile app.

If you really want to go above and beyond you can add a company profile page. This can detail your company history and your staff. Links to your social accounts is also beneficial so that people can learn more about you and read what other people are saying.

4. Forum and Discussion Board Outreach

Identifying where your desired audience or key demographic congregates online is an important marketing aspect of identifying. There are many technologies and mobile applications blogs filled with individuals that read and keep up with news on mobile applications. This is especially helpful if your app is designed for a specific group. For example, if your app is designed to assist joggers in tracking their daily runs, then posting relevant topics about your application on fitness discussion boards or blogs can be beneficial.

When reaching out to these forums the key is to not spam the blog with your business. Many blog and discussion boards ban users who post promotional material in their comment sections. Posting beneficial information and answering any questions is a good way to start. After you have built a rapport as a thought leader then you can start backlinking information to your site or post an article about your product.

5. App Profiles

When it comes to marketing a new appraising awareness is an important aspect to increasing downloads. The creation of app profiles on sites such as Appolicious and others like it is beneficial to do. With these profiles, you can add a description of your app along with a link to the App or Google Play store that allows the user to download it. This is a simple and easy way to increase the awareness to your desired target audience.

6. Influencer Outreach

Along with reaching out to forums and other relevant blogs, contacting industry thought leaders or influencers for reviews is another avenue to market your mobile app. Having reviews of your app is good, having reviews written by a respected thought leader in the industry and posted on a respectable site is even better. Many of the popular influencers in an industry have millions of engaged followers that read their material daily. So to have a review written on your app by an influencer in the mobile application industry will give you an increased amount of awareness and possibly downloads (as long as you receive a positive review.)

You can go about this by identifying them (you already know who they are) and contacting them about a potential review. You can provide a promo code or demo to access your app for free. This is where the press kit would come into play. In your request you can attach your press release with all the relevant information we talked about above, therefore accommodating them with all the information and resources they may need.

7. Social Media

It is no secret that social media is a popular medium and can be utilized as an effective marketing tool. Creating pages specifically designed for your app on all social media channels is something that is strongly recommended to really engage your target audience and see their discussions. With a plethora of possible outlets that include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, to name a few, you have access to a vast population and you have the ability to find which ones work best for you. Keep in mind that these pages should compliment your overall company social accounts. Just like the app store, make sure your company name is on these social pages so that you increase your overall brand awareness.

Managing these accounts is another aspect of social media. Making sure you devote time and effort to monitor your different pages is crucial to really benefit from social media. Think of it as a window into viewing your consumer’s thoughts and concerns. The better you monitor and all the comments and questions the better you can learn how to improve your product which in turn will increase brand loyalty.

8. Teaser Campaign

Whether it be creating hype over a potential release date or providing an incentive to a promotional campaign, a teaser campaign is a good way to get your audience excited and engaged. This can be done as simple as producing a short teaser trailer paired with a “Coming Soon” animation on your microsite. If you have the resources you can also run a promotional contest or giveaway. To manage this you may even collect email addresses to keep people informed on updates. The more people you drive to your site and social media accounts the bigger the engagement and therefore building a community of followers.

9. Set Up Google Alerts

Setting up Google alerts can be beneficial to track what people are saying about your product. This beats visiting each individual site separately to see if there is a new review of your app. These alerts can also help you research the app industry or competitors. Instead of doing extensive research across different sites to keep tabs on your competitors, you can simply set up an alert to advise you when any relevant news surfaces about your search query. All this information is easily emailed to you with the latest relevant Google results (the web, news, etc… ) based on your queries.

10. App Discounts

Lastly, individuals like to get things for free or for a discount. By providing discounts on specific days related to your application is a good way to get your followers engaged and excited. The key is to be creative. For example, if you have a zombie based mobile game, a good time to provide a promotional offer would be in October – around Halloween time.

There you have it. A complete top 10 lists of ways to market your app. Of course there are hundreds of potential ways to market your mobile app, however, this is a solid start. Stay tuned for more updates to come on how to get the most out of your mobile marketing efforts.

[realitycrazy2017-blog]

Internet Connected TVs - The Idiot Box Smartens Up

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Internet Connected TVs - The Idiot Box Smartens Up

Smart TV evolution

The expectation of our TVs have changed – we now expect our set to do a lot more than just flicking through broadcast TV channels. Consumers have been given a taste of a vast array of online content made available through TV sets, allowing the viewing of programs that may have been missed through free apps such as Plus7 and I-View, and “renting” of new release streaming video straight from the TV channels from free apps such as Bigpond TV. Content that we traditionally only accessed on our PC is now made available to us through our TV sets, Blu-Ray players, and Home Theatre systems – closing the gap between internet and TV.

Movies

One of the most attractive capabilities of Smart Televisions is the ability to stream movies via the internet straight onto our big screen. This has revolutionized the manner in how a lot of people are accessing their movies, with the video store rental industry starting to really feel the pressure. In fact, Samsung has just announced they have signed a deal with a blockbuster to bring more movies to Samsung devices. The new Blockbuster streaming service is expected to land in the US and Europe in early 2012, and in Australia by September.

Bigpond Movies has been available on Samsung and LG TV’s for a couple of years now, and this represents a collection of thousands of new release and back catalog titles which are streamed to your TV via the internet. No more leaving the house to go to the video store, or amassing late fees for that disc you forgot to return.

Quickflix has been available on Sony TVs and Blu-Ray players previously, and thanks to a recent deal Samsung join Sony in partnering with the online DVD subscription service and developing an free apps that will allow Australian users to stream video content to their Samsung Smart TVs.

Sony also brings us their own streaming service – Video on Demand, offering late release movies in the option of HD or a cheaper SD version – for those of us who don’t have the fastest internet speeds available or just tightening our wallets.

Consumers are also beginning to take up services such as Telstra’s T-box and Optus’ similar service FetchTV, over traditional cable or satellite connections from Foxtel and Austar. This has developed into a billion dollar industry in Australia – with nothing but growth forecast into the near future.

There is also a plethora of Multimedia devices available on the market such as Apple TV, Boxee, and WD Live so we now have the widest option of internet content made available for us to watch on our TV screens than we have ever had before. Two of the more powerful Media centers have emerged from Sony’s PlayStation and Microsoft’s Xbox, with the latter also recently able to stream a wide selection of Foxtel channels including movies and sports via the internet. Both also have movie streaming services available.

Television

Smart connectivity also opens up many options for us with regards to television channels. Almost every major television manufacturer has ABC’s popular I-View free apps pre-loaded into their menus. ABC view is a catch-up service featuring the best of ABC TV. You can watch your favorite programs in full screen at your leisure. Most shows are available to watch for 14 days and new programs are added every day.

Another ever present free apps in any Smart TV’s arsenal is PLUS7. Plus7, from Yahoo and Channel 7, offers video streaming of full-length episodes as seen on Seven, 7mate and other content partners. High quality, full-screen videos are available for immediate streaming. New episodes are added daily and are available for up to 28 days after the air. You can pause, forward and rewind programs, and all available to watch on your TV in full screen. PLUS7 also includes an email reminder service so you don’t miss out on watching shows before they expire. There is also the option to share videos with friends via email and Facebook.

BBC’s Iplayer is another Video On Demand service which provides access to the bulk of the BBC’s massive television archives, with over 1000 hours being available at launch and “hours” of additional footage being “regularly added”. Content available includes BBC News, Documentaries, Entertainment, Drama, Science, and Nature, as well as Family and Kids, Music and Culture and Comedy and Lifestyle. There is also a collection of the BBCs best experts such as Dr. Who, Little Britain, A Bit of Fry and Laurie, Absolutely Fabulous and more.

Bigpond TV is available through LG Smart TVs and Samsungs connected TVs (with the internet at TV function). This is also the same service made available through Telstra’s T-Box. Bigpond TV is a TV channel streaming service which provides us with channels like AFL TV, NRL TV, Bigpond News, Bigpond Sport and Bigpond music and more. According to a study undertaken by independent telecoms research company Telsyte, One in ten subscription TV services in Australia are delivered via broadband, and they predict that by 2015, one-third of all Pay TV services will be over broadband networks.

This is an obvious concern for cable subscription companies Foxtel and Austar. Austar, in particular, has had a big dip in fortune as it faces increasing competition from cheaper Internet TV rivals like FetchTV, iiNet, and Internode – available from as little as $10 a month. With the streamed Internet TV content available from Smart TVs like movies and new release TV shows, as well as many new free-to-air digital channels – compared to a cable subscription which starts at $45 a month plus possible fees for the box, consumers are voting with their wallets en masse.

Music

Television giants Sony and Samsung will both have music streaming services available on their Smart TVs, with Samsungs soon to be released “Music Hub” set to revolutionize the connection between our music and our devices like never before.

Samsung’s Music Hub gives us access to shared music without the need to download and transfer content from one device to another, with the service becoming available on Samsung smart TVs, Samsung smart home theaters and smart Blu-rays by mid-December. The music hub offers owners of Smart TVs, Smart Home Theatre, and Smart Blu-Ray players access to more than 10,000 music videos with the premium subscription.

The technology stores music playlists in a cloud and music can be accessed from individual devices anywhere in Australia where there is an internet connection available. A neat function is the “follow me” feature, which allows users to begin listening to stored music through a mobile phone, before picking up the same playlist again when they get home through their TV.

Sony’s Music unlimited has been available for a couple of seasons now, on phones, Bravia Smart TVs, PlayStation 3, and Sony PCs and tablets. Over 10 million songs are available on demand, from independent artists to blockbusting superstars. Thousands of new songs are added weekly, and you can create and edit an unlimited number of playlists, as well as listen to any song you want as often as you want. There are internet radio channels categorized by Genre, Era or Mood. You can “Like” or “Dislike” tracks to customize channels to your personal taste, and you also have the ability to create new channels based on your favorite artists.

How Smarter will Smart TVs be this year?

Viewers will be able to control their TV using face recognition, plus gesture and voice controls and move away from the traditional TV remote control – in a similar vain to Microsoft’s XBox Kinect. LG and Samsung both demonstrated Voice and gesture controls in their next generation televisions at CES 2012.

Samsung’s new 8 series TV, the ES8000, has gesture recognition integrated – via a camera which recognizes hand gestures prompting it to change the channel, adjust volume, move an onscreen cursor and more.

Samsung and LG both introduce voice control in some models in their 2012 line up. Current LG Smart TV owners may be familiar with the Magic Motion Remote, which allows you to control a cursor on the screen in a similar fashion to how a Nintendo Wii controller works. This year will see an upgrade to the Magic Motion remote which now delivers voice recognition functionality. A microphone in the remote sends your voice to your Smart TV – allowing the user to web-search, tweet and make Facebook posts all with spoken words.

Panasonic has developed a new “flick” technology, and they believe it will open up brand new ways of displaying content from our mobile devices in perfect picture quality on a Viera TV. This will revolutionize the connectivity between our devices, allowing us to simply “flick” content to remotely transmit photos, videos, and web pages from Android or Apple products directly to the TV.

Another important feature coming is the ability to upgrade your TV with future functionality, without the need to buy a new TV. This will basically be in the form of an upgrade slot at the back of the TV and you will be able to purchase upgrade “kits” as they become needed and available.

Google have announced that LG, Sony, and Vizio will be parading Google TV devices at CES 2012, with Samsung coming out with Google TV later in the year, with Apple also rumoured to be manufacturing TVs ranging from 37″ – 50″, and reported iTV features such as Siri-powered controls, iOS app support, AirPlay, iCloud support and deep iTunes integration.

Sony has announced two Google TV add-on boxes in the form of a Blu-ray player and a network media player. These will ship in America and Europe shortly, and other parts of the world can expect them to roll out afterward. Both boxes have a completely new remote, featuring a backlit QWERTY keyboard with touchpad. The remote can also work as a universal remote for other devices, while the Blu-ray player also supports voice search.

Death of the idiot box

The aim and vision of television manufacturers have now progressed far beyond just delivering us a great picture quality. The ability to seamlessly link our media, whether it be on our phones, tablets or computers, with our Home Televisions has become of paramount importance. A plethora of new content, in the form of applications brimming with Movies, Television and Music is shifting us away from the traditional way we consume such content – placing heavy pressure on industries such as the traditional Video and Music Stores, and Cable / Pay TV companies like Foxtel and Austar. What we used to have to leave the house for, we now have the wave of our hand. The days of the missing remote are fast disappearing, in fact, the days of using a remote control are disappearing altogether. The idiot box has finally smartened up!

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