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January 31, 2014

Naming your mobile app: hard decisions

Being a programmer, I find myself out of touch with the more artistic capabilities the designer here at Atomic has. To be honest, I don’t have a creative bone in my body. One could argue that programming is just as creative, but I am talking about expressive creativity.

Forget about me designing a web layout or coming up with a great logo. It’s just not happening. I know my limitations and do not tend to deceive myself. I rely on our designer here for any artistic work. So when it comes to coming up with something as simple as a name for a new app, I find myself lost in thinking up a short descriptive word to define the app and it’s functionality.

If you have the same problem, or even if you don’t, I’ve found a nice and short article that is definitely worth the read. Top 10 tips for naming your app makes some great points without being too preachy. Everyone is different and gives different levels of importance to everything there is to consider when coming up with the perfect name, but these 10 tips Dan Rose mentions gave me great insight into what I should consider the next time I am stuck thinking up a name for my next app.

January 20, 2014

Google Updates Play Services

Atomic Development mobile, programming, spotlight

Google rolls out it’s updated Play Services with features such as Google+ integration for customizing user expreience, in-app purchases, multi-player gaming, and more. Big news for the Android world it would seem, but I must say that I am not impressed. They are all definitely “must-have’s” for the Android world, but these are all things that Apple has done for years.

I’ve used both Apple and Android devices for years. There are things about both types of devices that I like and do not like. However, I must say I’m surprised to see all of the hype surrounding Google’s latest Play Services update. Am I misinterpreting all of the fuss being made? Is it not hype but more of a, “It’s about time!”? It’s hard to tell.

One thing about the new update that I do like is that you will be able to access your Google Docs from any app that takes advantage of the new Google Drive API, update your docs, work offline on them, and have them automatically sync with your online files once an internet conenction is made again. I don’t personally use Google Docs just because I have no need for it, but I can definitely see where this would be a huge bonus for those users who do.

All-in-all, any Google app developer will be happy about the update in general, and the update appears to have lots of updated features to improve upon current apps or allow you to make that app you’ve been wanting to make but just didn’t have the functionality to do so. So head on over to developer.android.com and check out all of the services available to you.