iPhone Apps and Smartphone App Development

16 Interactive can harness a number of technologies for different devices. There are two approaches here:

1. Build a mobile-phone-optimised website or web service, which is a mini website designed for phones.

Pros:

• You don't need to meet any approvals or experience delays caused by them.
• Your app/site can be made once, without being revised or distributed in different versions for different devices.
• Works on any device with a standard touch-screen web interface.
• Updates can be rolled-out to all devices with one update.
• Also works on PCs, or other systems, such as some game consoles or a Facebook business page.

Cons:

• Requires a constant Wi-Fi, 3G, Edge or GPRS connection to function
• Lack of App store testing could mean a less reliable product/service
• Slower as data is not stored locally (on the device)
• Speed dependent on quality of connection
• something else??

2. Build an app, and then distribute different versions to Apple, and other App stores for specific devices.

Pros:

• No data connection required
• App store testing could mean a more reliable product/service
• Faster as data is stored locally (on the device)
• Guaranteed speed of use, as this is not governed by the quality of connection
• Ability to integrate with other apps on the device such as Contacts, Notes, Maps, etc.
• Ability to use integrated features of the device, such as the iPhone's 3-Axis Gyro, Accelerometer, Proximity Sensor, GPS, Compass, Camera and Ambient Light Sensor.

Cons:

• You need to meet any App-store approvals or experience delays caused by them.
• Your app/site can't be made once, instead distributed in different versions for different devices.
• Revisions to an App's functionality exacerbate the above problem
• Works on only a handful of devices with a selection of operating systems
• Features may need to be dumbed-down for lesser handsets
• Can't be used with other systems, such as some game consoles or a Facebook business page.

Things to consider when embarking on an Apple-specific (iPhone, iPad and iPod) app development project:

• Spec - a detailed spec will speed-up the development process and make it more cost effective.
• App Store approval - approval of Apps through the Apple App Store takes approximately three months.
• App Store disapproval - if for whatever reason Apple decide to reject the app, the approval process must be re-started.
• Fast-track approval - For a premium, Apple will fast-track the approval process, but even then there is no guarantee of successful inclusion.

Here are the main app stores which we can develop for: iPhone App Store, iPad App Store, Android Market, Blackberry App World and Windows Phone Applications Marketplace.