WEARABLE TECH – WEARABLE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY

Embracing the pleasant transition from desktop/laptop to smartphones, internet users have explored ample number of possibilities available with the mobile apps. With dozens of mobile app development technologies making their way to becoming the number one choice of app developers, Wearable Application Development is a technology that has just entered into the app development world.
Developing apps for wearable tech has served as a great challenge for app developers, offering them access to a limited collection of tools and methodologies. In this blog, I’ll be discussing everything about WearableApplication Development technology and feedback received for the same from the industry biggies.

Wearable Tech – What exactly is Wearable Application Development Technology?

With several prominent wearable devices hitting the gadget market in the past few years, app developershave built a brand new technology that is used for creating apps which can run on these devices. This technology has been named as Wearable Tech. Popular wearable devices such as Samsung Galaxy Gear, Explorer version of Google Glass and the Pebble Smartwatch have witnessed the creation of apps that serve different purposes of regular device users. It goes without saying that wearables without apps aren’t worth a purchase.

Some key insights on Wearables

Technical similarity with the hand-held devices

Well, considering the fundamental aspects, wearables aren’t technically different from the hand-held devices.To put in simple words, a lot of technical challenges faced by hand-held devices are absolutely similar to the one encountered for the wearable devices. Some vital statistics that make handheld devices similar to wearables include: less computing power, smaller screen size and battery life.

The significance of prototyping

Well, during wearable application development process, it is crucial to follow a prototype for testing all the innovative ideas and real-life use cases. The sole reason for this being that not all wearable app development platforms are well-suited for meeting varied app development requirements.

Handling software fragmentation challenges

One of the main challenges faced by wearable app developers is software fragmentation. With an incredible count of mobile operating systems available in the market, these app developers don’t have any access to an app development platform that can be used for building apps that can run on multiple mobile platforms.

Usage dissimilarity between wearable and hand-held devices

Although wearables and handheld devices don’t show any dissimilarity when it comes to the technical aspects, the two are quite different in terms of usability.  While the handheld devices display less interactive information, the wearables are known for rendering quicker interactions in addition to presenting a “glanceable” information.

Application Architecture

Architecture of a typical wearable application is bound by several hardware constraints such as battery life, screen size etc.The architectural approach of designing wearable apps is entirely different from the one followed for building handheld apps. Since the standalone applications entirely reside on the device, they actually don’t require a companion handheld application.

Similarity in terms of Notifications

One of the key similarities between different wearable and handheld app development platforms is the significant placement of notifications. Serving as an awesome means of adding wearable functionality into an existing app, notifications are a must-have feature of every wearable app development project.

A glimpse of wearable apps current state

• A highly fragmented state of the wearable apps ecosystem is the prime reason behind the existence of fewer wearable applications. With a majority of wearable devices running on different platforms, it has become difficult for app developers to create apps for the same.
• With a greater focus on developing apps for wrist-worn devices, app developers are all geared up for the wearable app market. Also, it is being believed that smart wrist wear will make up 70% of the wearable shipments over the next five years.
• Google and Apple are all set to dominate the wearable app market. The two companies are working on translating their smartphone/tablet apps into wearable apps. Google has already made its debut by launching Android Wear, an amazing platform for developing wearable applications.
• Wearable apps would take special care of health and fitness freaks. It is being forecasted that the wearable app development technology will give birth to killer apps that will fit the health and fitness category. Right from advanced health monitoring sensors and dieting apps to the medical and workout apps, wearable app developers will put in their best towards delivering apps that can meet the varying needs of the health conscious population.
• Wearable app developers will break the traditional model of extending smartphone/tablet experiences. To put in simple words, wearable app developers will be engaged in developing apps that would allow users to perform activities that can’t be undertaken with the help of any other smartphone app. One of the finest examples of wearable apps designed for Android users is the Allthecooks Google Glass app, which allows users to get indulged in hands-free cooking while keeping the recipe instructions at the eye-level.

A quick peep into the future of Wearable Apps

Predicting the future of wearable apps at this stage is a bit early. Considering the ease of use for prototyping, all we can do is simply hope that the wearable app development tools will improve in the forthcoming years. We also hope to witness the introduction of cross-platform development tools, which will serve handy for developing cross-platform compatible wearable apps. And not to forget, we’re even eager to see how the app development market settles down after encountering a flood of wearable apps, being released on a regular basis.

Final Words

The wearable realm is surely going to emerge as a ‘pleasant surprise’ for everyone who’s in love with apps. Here’s hoping the above post would’ve helped you learn a lot about wearable app development and its varied pros.
If you know of any other detail pertaining to Wearable App Development that you’d like to share with the readers, please don’t hesitate in using the comments box provided right under this post. I’d also love to hear your feedback on the above write-up.


Source Thecrazyprogrammer.com

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Nigerian OEM To Lunch Two Smartphone In 2017

Trying out Kosmos Mobile, a relatively new smartphone brand by a Nigerian company

Smartphones have come a long way since Apple introduced the original iPhone in 2007.

The advent of the iPhone undoubtedly ushered in the age of the modern smartphone. When the Android platform surfaced a year later in 2008, its open-sourced nature set the course for the inevitable commoditization of the smartphone. Nowadays, the barrier to entry is so low that all you need to startup are design references and a reliable network of manufacturers.

A young Nigerian entrepreneur has chosen to take advantage of this very phenomenon  to fulfill his dream of building “Nigeria’s top mobile phone product”. His name is Chris Ombeh and he is the founder and CEO of Kosmos Innovation International.

Chris Ombeh

Asides building mobile apps and other related software, his company has also ventured into a new brand of mobile phones they call Kosmos Mobile.

“I have always been fascinated by mobile phone technology”, Chris tells me,”for me, this is an opportunity to play an active part in its evolution”.

A couple of Google searches after he made his decision to enter the business, Chris began consuming all the material he could find on mobile phone design. Soon enough, he made a trip to China, where he hooked up with the manufacturers who would eventually produce his designs.

So far, Kosmos mobile has built 2 major prototypes, the second of which I had about a week to play around with.

L-R: The first and second prototypes of Kosmos Mobile

Without getting into too much detail (as it would be unfair to subject a prototype smartphone to a full review) here’s a rundown of the key feedback I have for the Kosmos Mobile team.

Hardware and design

The Kosmos Mobile has all the makings of a mid to high range device targeted at emerging markets. At 7.2mm, it is slightly thinner than the iPhone 7 Plus, yet it manages to pack a 5.5 inch FHD 1080p display. I didn’t get official figures on the weight but, seeing as it feels reasonably light to handle, I would wager at sub-180g.

As expected, it has Dual SIM (LTE) capability. There’s also 3GB RAM, 32GB internal memory (expandable) and an octa-core processor, all powered by a 2600 mAh non-removable battery.

At the back of the device you’ll find the 13MP  main camera, powered by SONY. Just below that is the fingerprint sensor

Placing the fingerprint sensor behind, rather than in front, is the more logical option, as it aids one-handed unlocking. However, I feel it was a misguided design choice to make it square-shaped, as opposed to being round. Or maybe it’s the pronounced edges, I don’t know. Whatever it is has translated into poor contact which leads to many failed attempts to unlock the device. This is one major part of the design that needs to be reviewed. Thankfully, there’s a PIN unlock backup.

On all edges of the device are the usual suspects;

The volume rocker and power button (to the right)

The headphone jack at the top

The speakers and charging port at the bottom

And the SIM tray to the left

Now, the SIM tray is perhaps the most fascinating thing about Kosmos Mobile for me.

You see, there’s a rather annoying trend with most non-removable battery smartphones, where they ship with hybrid SIM trays that limit you to 2 usage scenarios —  you either get to use one SIM and one microSD or two SIMs and no microSD. So you literally can’t eat your cake and have it. The original Infinix Zero and Infinix Zero 2 are the only phones I know that addressed this by including SIM trays on either side.

The Infinix Zero 2

What Kosmos Mobile has is a niftier solution to the problem. They managed to fit both SIMs and microSD into one tray. This is only best explained in a GIF.

It’s a miracle!

Battery

With an octa-core processor and 1080p HD display to contend with, I wasn’t expecting the 2600 mAh battery to hold its own. I was right. With a little over average use (a few calls, 30 minutes of gaming, social media hopping, WhatsApp IMing and both SIMs active),  I only managed to average about 4 hours, which is pretty disappointing. Not only that; power management appears to be a bit erratic. One time, the phone was fully charged and then switched off. 4 hours later when I tried to turn it on, the battery was flat. That only happened once though.

The battery size is no doubt one of the biggest determinants of final pricing. So without being greedy, I think it’d be a great idea to give it a 400 mAh bump (that’s 3000 mAh) whilst fine-tuning power management.

Other than my two major issues with the design (fingerprint sensor to be specific) and battery, my impression of every other element ranges from “I can live with it” to “pretty much satisfactory”.

Yes, the WiFi does go off intermittently, especially when screen is inactive, I can’t see icons of relevant notifications on the lock screen, I always have to unlock the phone to know which sound that was, and the earbuds of the bundled earphone are always pulling off. But these are things I can live with. You still have to remind yourself it’s just a prototype.

Concluding thoughts

In all fairness, the Kosmos Mobile (unnamed model 2) is a pretty decent phone all round, that you easily forget it’s still in the prototype phase. My verdict is that, despite some UX and design flaws, it holds a lot of promise.

With a planned public release for 2017, there’s ample time to make all the necessary tweaks. All that’s left now is the funding to make mass production a reality. Up to this stage, Kosmos Mobile has been fully bootstrapped. But Chris tells me Kosmos  Mobile is currently on the lookout for investors. So far, they’ve managed to garner interest from a Nigerian investor who might be willing to invest seed funding into the parent company, i.e Kosmos Innovation International

The plan is to launch 3 models in 2017 — this one I reviewed, which will cater to the high end at 70k and 2 other models priced 26k and 45k.

Chris’ long term plan is to have Kosmos Mobile “become the top mobile phone product in Nigerian and around Africa”. From all indications, he is in for the long haul. Having never really been in paid employment for a single day in his life, Chris left the UK, following completion of his first degree in Business Information, for Malaysia. There he co-founded two companies before moving back to Nigeria to found Kosmos Innovation Limited.

“I have always had ideas which I would love to share with the world”, Chris says, “and the only way to do that is having the freedom which entrepreneurship brings.”

With such huge ambitions for Kosmos Mobile, one can only patiently wait to observe how they deliver in 2017.

Source; Tech Point

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