Archives for the Mobile category

In the last few weeks, Google Glass has rolled out to a limited number of developers and beta testers known as ‘explorers’.

Because of this, we’ve begun to see more and more photos and videos emerge on social media giving us (non-explorers) some idea of what life through Glass is like.

Us non-explorers are still very much attached to our smartphones though and with a booming app market, coming on our Android App Development Training and learning how to make apps would be a smart move.

Much of the skills learnt will be transferable to Glass too!

With fascinating new apps mooted by the day and many wearers waxing lyrical over its epochal potential, but also pervading concerns over privacy, it’s clear (pun intended) that Glass is going to dominate tech news for quite a while.

Read the rest of "The Best Google Glass Photos and Videos So Far"

Posted by Jackson Rawlings in Mobile, News on May 3rd, 2013| No Comments »

Skeuomorphism is, according to Wikipedia, “a physical ornament or design on an object made to resemble another material or technique.” It’s a somewhat controversial design technique that has been around for centuries.

In terms of web and mobile design, skeuomorphism is most commonly referred to in terms of icons or even apps and software which use representational design elements that possess little or no functionality. You can learn all about skeuomorphism on our InDesign Training.

An example of it would be the notepad on Apple iOS devices which has been designed to look like a traditional paper notepad. There’s no need for it to be designed like this, from a functionality perspective, but the way it looks makes its purpose easily identifiable. The skeuomorphic philosophy employed by Apple is a big part of their approach to making tech simple and ultra-user-friendly.

It’s not just Apple that uses this technique though; it has been in use in the tech industry for years, especially with regard to buttons and icons.

But is it a good thing? Should we really be using symbols that don’t mean anything  in terms of the app or software? Read the rest of "Classic Icon Designs – Time for a Change?"

Posted by Aaron Charlie in Mobile, News, Web Design on April 29th, 2013| 1 Comment »

It’s the latest social media craze that’s getting marketers excited – Vine, the 6-second video app. It’s done for video what Instagram did for photos, and like Instagram it has been bought by one of the biggest players in social – Twitter.

What we find absolutely brilliant about Vine (and similar apps) is that is gives marketers with limited budget and technical skill the chance to do something creative.

What you don’t need:

A massive marketing budget, full camera crew, expensive video editing software, the technical skill to operate camera equipment and software

What you do need:

A great idea, an iPhone or iPad (Vine isn’t on Android yet, but there are plenty of alternatives!)

You also need to be clued up on social media! Unfortunately, it’s not as easy as just posting some videos and watching the money roll in. Our social media courses will help you market your brand through social channels using tools such as Vine. Combined with content marketing training you will be ready to make the most of social video.

You may think that 6 seconds is restricting, but that restriction forces you to think – What can I fit in 6 seconds? Think of it as the video version of an elevator pitch.

A 6 second video is a viable way of getting your message across in today’s crowded social networks. It’s easier to convince a passer by to stop for 6 seconds than for 6 minutes. Read the rest of "Getting Creative with Video Marketing on Vine"

Posted by Craig Charley in Blogging & Content Marketing, Mobile, News, Social Media on April 26th, 2013| No Comments »

Mobile search is big business. In fact, it’s set to overtake desktop search by the end of this year.

Whether it’s finding your nearest pub or finding out what’s on TV, mobile search is increasingly becoming a ubiquitous feature in our lives. It’s essential then for SEOs to work with mobile in mind, which requires added considerations.

Regardless of whether you opt for a mobile or responsive site, two of those considerations that do have an impact on your SEO efforts are the loading speed of the site and how easy it is to navigate, both of which we emphasise on our 1-day Mobile SEO Training.

These factors are essential as a means to providing the sort of quality experience your users expect. According to a Google Study, 81% of mobile searches are driven by speed and convenience. In that sense, if your site isn’t quick and easy for the user, then you’re not providing what they want and they’ll move on.

On the other hand, if the site is fast to load and simple to use, you’ll be keeping your users happy. And if your users are happy, you’re (generally) going to be keeping Google happy.

So what can you do to help speed up your site and improve the way users access it?

Make It Accessible

This first tip is less about the technical minutiae of your site than it is about good customer service.

Most devices these days have a touchscreen interface, so having a text-heavy site with tiny buttons that are suited to a mouse-click rather than a tap is probably not the best idea. This goes for responsive and mobile-only sites.

Read the rest of "3 Tips to Improve Your Site For Mobile"

Posted by Aaron Charlie in Mobile, News, SEO on April 17th, 2013| No Comments »

So here comes yet another bit of major news from Facebook HQ, following on from the recent announcements of Graph Search and a News Feed redesign (and rumours of them adopting hashtags).

With so many recent developments it can be hard to keep up. Luckily our 2 day Social Media Workshop is always kept up to date, so you can be sure you’ll be learning about the latest and most relevant topics, including all these updates from Facebook.

This time it’s the long awaited release of the Facebook phone (with a bit of a twist); a move which has been mooted for at least the last 18 months.

With the confirmation of its own device (called the HTC First) and ‘Home’ screen that can be added to most android devices, comes questions about the direction Facebook is headed. The potential for a whole new era of 24/7 connectivity is beginning to look more and more likely (if we’re not almost there already).

But what exactly does the phone (and Home) do and what makes it so intriguing?

Read the rest of "Facebook Phones ‘Home’ – Facebook App Takes Over Android"

Posted by Aaron Charlie in Mobile, News, Social Media on April 5th, 2013| No Comments »

I fancy a pint (not a rare occurrence) but I just don’t know where to go. Perhaps I’ve just moved to the area or I’m just looking to go somewhere new.

10 or 20 years ago, my best bet would be to accost local passers-by and ask for recommendations and directions.

Well, that’s no longer the case!

Thanks to my handy iPhone (I could have an Android device but for the purposes of this I don’t) I can now download a smorgasbord of apps that will tell me everything from where the local is to what beer they sell to whether or not they’re showing the England game.

I’m using pubs as an example but you can use geo-location apps to find pretty much anything. You could be designing the next big one after coming on our iOS App Development Training.

Geo-location apps are this decade’s answer to tour guides and indecision and come in variety of shapes, styles and sensibilities.

I’m going to try as many as possible to work out which one is best for finding my way to a decent boozer, for telling everyone that I’m at a decent boozer (with an obligatory sepia-toned snap of my beverage as an accompaniment) and for various other decent boozer-related information and activity.

I’d like to point out that there are plenty of other things you could be doing with some of these apps aside from abusing your liver; like eating or dancing or something else constructive, it’s just that I chose an activity close to my heart.

So for each app I’m going to rate it out of 5 for Usability (how easy it is to use), Choice (how many options it provides), Information (like opening times, WiFi connection etc) and Review System (how good the system for leaving/reading a review is, if there is one at all).

Read the rest of "27 Location Apps for iPhone Reviewed – Finding Your Way to the Pub"

Posted by Jackson Rawlings in Mobile, News on March 28th, 2013| No Comments »

All we hear at the moment is how high street retail is dead, that with everyone buying things online, bricks and mortar stores are losing major business.

Certainly since Blockbuster and HMV went under, things have looked bleak for chains and franchises like them who are struggling to keep up with the advances in modern technology like mobile.

In the tech and gadget industry especially, it is said that consumers are becoming more and more likely to engage in a practice known as showrooming, whereby a customer will enter a shop and browse and test the products but then later purchase it for less online.

Do you want to make an app, for retail or for anything else? Come on iOS App Training to learn everything you need to be able to create amazing apps for iPhone and iPad.

In fact, showrooming is not as widespread as some would believe and there are reasons to be optimistic when it comes to bricks and mortar retail. Far from destroying the industry, mobile could be its saviour. From before leaving the house through in-store to leaving with a purchase, mobile is gradually transforming the way we shop.

So we thought we’d follow a customer through the various stages of purchase and see how mobile can be harnessed for the benefit of the retailer and the customer.

It’s not just retail that has been drastically changed by mobile; see how mobile has transformed TV too.

Before the Purchase

Pre-Planned Search

Imagine a customer who wants a particular pair of shoes – some Adidas Originals for example. They have that planned purchase in mind but they haven’t yet decided how and where they’ll be buying it.

While out on a shopping trip for a different product, the customer remembers he/she wants the trainers and so decides to do a quick search for the Adidas store on his/her mobile.

Read the rest of "Driving High Street Sales With Mobile"

Posted by Aaron Charlie in Mobile, News on March 18th, 2013| No Comments »

The way in which we consume televised media has been changed forever by the boom in smartphone and tablet adoption. No longer do we watch one of four channels on one screen in one room.

In fact, it’s even changed since the ‘Sky years’ of the late 90s/early 2000s when we were subject to a plethora of channels, but still with a focus on one screen.

Today, we not only use our phones and tabs for watching TV programmes, we use them whilst we watch TV programmes on a bigger (and often more traditional) screen.

With 36 million smartphones and 5.87 million tablets in the UK alone, the television industry has started to stand up and take notice.

With that in mind, I thought I’d take a look at the ways in which that little (or slightly larger than little) device in your hand is transforming the way in which you watch shows.

Got a great idea for an iPhone app to further change how people consume TV but don’t know how to code? We run an iOS App Course for Non Developers.

Catch-up TV

With catch-up apps from pre-existing channels like BBC’s iPlayer and Channel 4′s 4oD, people are no longer limited to watching programmes according to the set schedule.

Want to watch ‘Africa’ in your lunch hour? iPlayer is at hand – literally.  Apple recently announced that the iPlayer app for iPads is the top free app of all time in the UK.

Read the rest of "How Mobile is Transforming TV"

Posted by Jackson Rawlings in Mobile, News on February 19th, 2013| 1 Comment »