While there were some significant product announcements such as Google+ Hangouts—which launched on Chrome, Android, and iOS simultaneously—I’m going to highlight the interesting Android developments that caught my eye. For further details, check out Google’s wrap-up of the Android announcements on their blog.

Google Play Services

The big three here were new location services, Google+ sign-in across devices, and improvements to Google Cloud Messaging. Having worked on applications that heavily rely on location, I’m pretty excited about the low battery consumption aspect, along with the new activity monitoring that can detect movement type (e.g., walking versus running).

Making Google+ immediately more relevant as an identity provider, is the automatic sign-in to an app that’s been downloaded across your Android devices. This update is something that is extremely difficult to execute if you’re Facebook or Apple, without having to rely on one another.

On the Google Cloud Messaging side, there are some goodies for developers like upstream messaging and persistent connections. As a consumer, however, I’m looking forward to the fact that notifications are now synced across devices. Dismiss a notification on one device and that’s respected across your Android devices.

Google Play Developer Console

Thankfully, we’ve found a great localization partner in Applingua and they’ve helped us localize about a half-dozen iOS and Android apps. I believe that has definitely increased our success, which is why it’s surprising that more developers don’t take the time to localize their apps. That’s likely going to change with how easy Google’s making it to localize apps by submitting the strings file through their developer console to approved localization vendors.

I am initially concerned with this approach providing the right context to the translators, as a strings file alone won’t do that. We always give a build to Applingua and even when doing that, we sometimes have to tweak strings after a release. Provided that there is some level of interaction or quality checks involved, it’s a great addition.

Another welcomed update is the ability to do alpha and beta distribution via the console. I don’t love, however, that this seems wrapped up in Google+ itself by sharing with specific people or Circles. Hopefully it won’t be. In any case, we’ll still be using Hockey for the foreseeable future since it’s a one-stop shop for doing distribution across platforms.

One strategy mobile game developers have done for the last few years, is to initially launch an app in Canada to see how it performs, make revisions, and then tackle the U.S. market. With Google’s new “staged” rollouts, that might be a thing of the past on Android. Along with referral tracking, optimization to do’s, and the new revenue reports coming to the console, Google is finally bringing its algorithmic DNA to mobile app developers.

Android Studio

If you have spent any time around developers, you know they regularly complain about all and any IDEs. Thus it wasn’t surprising that my Android team members were immediately skeptical at this announcement. But within 10 seconds (literally) of Android Studio being demoed, they became very interested in it.

The verdict is still out obviously but Android Studio appears promising. Having an IDE specifically focused on Android is going to reinforce Android as a platform and at least in theory, reduce the learning curve and speed the development of Android apps. It’s a smart move by Google and the Android team.

What I like about Listacular thus far, aside from its clean design, is that it’s not overly focused on being a task manager. In particular, each entry on a list can actually just be a note or a bullet—instead of a to do—without the need to “complete” it. To accomplish that, there’s a very clever formatting toolbar to define item types, create headers to separate items, and control indentation.

I’m giving Listacular a chance in my dock. If it sounds interesting to you, check out Christine Chan’s full review on AppAdvice.

Link ↗

I’m looking forward to see what Apple has in store for the Lock screen in iOS 7.

Link ↗

Historically, there’s been little more than anecdotes to highlight less visible changes, when it comes to shifts in the ranking algorithms themselves. That’s why MobileDevHQ’s “Sonar” caught my eye last week,

Sonar is a fascinating and incredibly valuable look into each of the app stores’ algorithms. Sonar allows you to see large-scale algorithm changes to an app store’s search algorithm. As an app marketer, you can use this data to find out when an algorithm has changed and how it might impact your app.

I’ve been bouncing between SearchMan and AppStoreRankings but Sonar is prompting me to give MobileDevHQ another look.

Link ↗

Android in China (or an estimate thereof) plus Samsung (excluding its sales in China to avoid double-counting) adds up to 60% of all Android unit sales. ​Samsung never mentions Google services; China, by and large, doesn’t have them.

With Android Chief Andy Rubin stepping down and Android being subsumed by the OEMs, the brand “Android” may very well become a historical reference only.

Link ↗

But since I have been an Apple fanboy for so long I have Apple TV’s everywhere and even our video switcher has AirPlay built in (which lets me push video from my phone onto my TV). I really miss this, and I’ve already reached for my iPad a couple of times because of this.

There are many things I like about Android but I haven’t used an Android device as my main device since early last summer because of iMessage and AirPlay. In particular, iMessage has also been integrated into our workflow at savvy apps, which allows people to get a hold of me even when I’m not at my desk via my iPhone. iMessage is now the singular reason I no longer switch back and forth between other handsets.

Link ↗

What this research tells app designers and developers, is that it’s important to know what kinds of other apps are placed around your app, because it can speak to your users’ needs. For example, if users have put your photo editing app next to Instagram or Facebook, maybe you should add “share with…” functionality to your app. (This is a basic example, of course – most photo-editing apps have sharing built-in.)

I’m particularly interested in customers who fall into the first three categories because they’re the most engaged: usage-based, relatedness, or usability-based arrangements. These are the customers where you fight to get your app on their Home screen. For example, I know that Ben Brooks has discussed his usability arrangement on a couple of occasions.

I personally am a mix of usage-based and usability arrangements, and would think there’s significant overlap between these two groups. Also, for some time now, I have not kept folders on my Home screen. About six months ago, I basically eliminated using folders entirely. My Home screen now contains apps I either use regularly or need fast access to (e.g., Maps) while my second screen has all my work apps, etc.

Link ↗

The good news is that to survive on the App Store (or in app stores in general), it’s not necessary to be on the overall top grossing chart. And at least to this point, the freemium model is largely unproven in the non-game market. Thus, a better title would have been,

Paid Game Apps Are History

Link ↗

Unfortunately, I couldn’t actually be there this year due to a last minute family emergency. But from the tweets I see coming out of the conference (check out the #renio hashtag), it looks like Tim Burks and Bill Dudney have done a fantastic job.

Now, to start with, I spent the better part of 2012 continually seeing this product but never purchasing it. That was the result of two things: thinking the “solar” element was a bit of a gimmick but more importantly, that it would be ugly. I really wanted to reduce the wires on my desk this year though. Up to this point, I had been using Apple’s wired keyboard because they continue to not make a wireless keyboard with a numeric keypad. There are almost no options on the market that meet this specific set of criteria: being Mac-specific, wireless and with a numeric keypad. The Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard does and to my knowledge, may be the only one that includes all three.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised with this keyboard. First, it looks great. That’s not important from a functional standpoint but it was one of my concerns. In fact, most people who come into my office never even notice the solar panels on it. Secondly, it feels like an Apple keyboard. Logitech keyboards have always been fantastic, so this shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise. But at this point, I do actually prefer typing on this keyboard over my wired Apple keyboard. And finally, since this is solar powered and my office has a good amount of light, I won’t have to worry about swapping batteries any time soon. Logitech claims it runs three months in total darkness and there’s an indicator button to check the remaining power.

The bottom line: if you’re looking for a Mac-specific keyboard that looks like it was made by Apple, is great for typing, and is wireless, give the Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard for Mac a chance.

Link ↗

Link ↗

Link ↗

Update: Also check out Blake’s iOS Device Specifications Grid.

Link ↗

Link ↗

The new Basecamp launched with an entirely different API though, meaning all mobile Basecamp clients became obsolete. Thankfully, there are now more than a handful of iPhone apps available on the App Store, which are built against the new API. Considering the importance of being able to quickly participate in discussions or track updates while on the go, I’ve given about six options a try with Carabiner, Rappel, and Lodge bubbling to the top.

While each app has their own merits—and in particular, Lodge and Rappel are nicely designed (although I’m not a fan of Rappel’s app icon)—I prefer Carabiner for four reasons:

1. Latest Activity

   Carabiner provides a decent overview of everything happening in a project. In my opinion though, Rappel has the best project “Overview” screen. I prefer its layout and design to Carabiner’s but it comes up short in other areas.

   

   Comparatively, Lodge doesn’t have any activity information, which results in having to visit multiple tabs to check for and subsequently view updates.

2. Scroll to Latest Comment

   My favorite feature in Carabiner is a real time saver; when selecting any “Discussions” item, the screen will automatically scroll down to the latest comment. Carabiner also includes a “+” button in the navigation bar, which allows a comment to be added independent of the current thread position.

   Similarly, Rappel has a permanent way to add comments and its approach reminds me of Campfire for iPhone. Lodge requires scrolling all the way to the bottom of the thread to add a comment, which is particularly tedious for length discussions.

3. Viewing File Attachments

   Related to the last point, of these three iPhone apps, Carabiner is the only one that allows quick viewing of file attachments. Specifically, it will provide a visual cue when files are attached to a comment. To view a file, Carabiner only requires a simple, single tap on the file icon to view it right then and there. Rappel includes a visual indicator as well but requires a tap to initiate a download first. Once the download is complete, another tap is needed to view the file. As far as I can tell, Carabiner combines both steps into one.

   Lodge is the worst offender on this front. In the “Discussions” item, there’s no information about file attachments. Thus, it is very easy to miss that a comment had a screenshot posted with it unless the commenter mentioned that in the comment itself, such “Here’s an updated version of the screen attached…”

   

4. Full Featured

   Even though it’s read-only right now, all “Text documents” are viewable in Carabiner. Lodge goes a step further, allowing editing as well. Rappel doesn’t include “Text documents” at this time. In general, Lodge and Carabiner appear to support the most Basecamp features right now.

Concluding Note

I had been using Lodge as my main iPhone client until last week but continued to struggle with the issues above. Additionally, Lodge never seemed to remember the last view I was in and is the most unstable of these three options. Carabiner does have at least one nasty bug too, which is that I’ve infrequently seen “Discussions” sometimes show as empty or blank.

Even though I’m not regularly using Rappel right now, if it handled file attachments like Carabiner and offered a way to quickly jump to the bottom of a thread, I would likely replace Carabiner. That’s despite the fact that I’m not a huge fan of Rappel’s icon; it just seems odd relative to the interface of the app. I could get over the icon because I really like Rappel’s “Overview” screen for projects (shown above), their global activity views across projects, and how they approach threading comments on “Discussions.”

In the meantime, Carabiner is the way I’m using Basecamp on the iPhone. I’ve kept Lodge and Rappel installed though, as they both have proven to receive regular updates. The good news it that Basecamp clients are again alive and well on the iPhone and elsewhere. Give these options a try and see which one makes the most sense for your own workflow.

SNL writers have cracked the inner geek circles with this one.

It’s a bit like Minority report. Just raise your hand and your computer responds with an action. Motion-based controls with your hands, now more common with modern gaming consoles (PlayStation Move and XBOX Kinect), still feels a bit futuristic.

…

Flutter is a small tool for recognizing motion gestures on OS X, which recognizes you via a webcam (iSight or external) to control your favorite music player. After downloading it, you have work through a tutorial to get to become familiar with the hand gestures. Flutter then sits in the background, with your Mac’s iSight camera on (obviously required for running Flutter) and awaits your actions.

Related: See this video interview from Robert Scoble with John Underkoffler, chief scientist at Oblong Industries. Oblong was the company that did the actual UI for the Minority Report.

Link ↗

Fast forward to it now being available in iOS 6…as I mentioned on Twitter, the best example I’ve seen it put to use it where it actually is not that bad is Jasmine.

Link ↗

We receive these kinds of notifications through Campfire but I can see many cases where Committed will be useful for developers.

Link ↗