Mobile News

Solid Works 2012 Launched in App Store

SolidWorks2012Since 2010, the SolidWorks team has turned to Raizlabs for developing the mobile application for their anual Solid Works World event. This year, Raizlabs extended the application by adding support for iPad and Android platforms in addition to the iPhone. Attendees of the conference will now be able to interact with a greater amount of people and connect better than ever.

Last year the conference app was a huge hit and we wanted to bring it to an even larger audience. The new app extends the experience from last year with new functionality.

Features of the app include social media integration, schedule and panel listings, speaker bios and a map of the conference center. Users can look up panels by the room they are located in. In addition, this year’s app includes the ability to scan the QR codes on attendee’s badges. The code will include attendee contact information, making it much easier for conference goers to network.

Last year the application was well received by attendees. Industry press praised the quality of the app. Jon Randall of Graphic Speak noted, “This app is simply brilliant in design and execution… The information is well organized. SolidWorks raises the bar for what conference attendees should expect from their hosts.” The additional platform support and QR code integration for this year’s 2012 conference again puts SolidWorks ahead of the curve in giving conference goers a more complete user experience. The application is expected to improve year-over-year with additional enhancements for attendees.

 

 


About Raizlabs

Founded in 2003 by Gregory Raiz, Raizlabs is a leader in mobile application design and technology. Raizlabs provides solutions in design and software to companies worldwide.

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Six Tips for Creating Mobile Apps

In the last week of 2011 alone, a record 1.2 billion apps were downloaded. The mobile app business is growing exponentially. CEO and Founder of Raizlabs, Greg Raiz, recently helped present an online mobile marketing seminar at Hubspot, slides from the webinar can be viewed online. Here are some tips and considerations when diving into the business of mobile app development.

Haiti11. It Takes More Than a Great Idea- Focus on ideas that will help your core business succeed. Being in a position to execute an idea better than others is more pivotal than coming up with one “great” idea. Ability to excecute your idea is critical. Unique partnerships, original content, better design and stronger brand are a few key areas that will enable you to execute better then your competition.

2. Sales vs. Value- First ask yourself, are you creating an app or starting a business? An app should be part of a business strategy, not THE strategy. Paid app revenue will vary up and down, your business should not.

3. Free vs. Paid- Assess the value in making your app free. What does your business gain. Generally, an app is considered “viral” after five consecutive days of 500+ downloads. The ranking system in the app store is a weighted function of sales over time. If you’re going to be a paid app, are you going to be viral? How about if you’re a free app?

4. Building an App is Half the Battle- Get the message out about your app is the other half. Build up potential energy with newsletters, screenshots, e-mail, telling potential customers, before the app launches. That way when it does launch the app is more likely to be a success.

5. Don’t settle for OK – There are over 500,000 apps in the App Store. You will have a hard time getting noticed for something that is merely Ok.

6. Think beyond the iPhone– Think Mobile.

    • Android – While iPhone is the preferred smartphone for many, the Android market is growing. We recommend proving your business on one platform and then considering a second platform.
    • HTML5 – Another solution is utilizing HTML 5 as a resource to create apps. This method works across many phones and may be a simpler solution for many sites. The downside is that HTML5 apps are harder to monetize and there is no “app store.” Web apps have some limitations in functionality and performance.
    • iPad/Tablet – Lastly, the iPad and tablets are growing in business. They are ideally positioned as a field data collection/field sales tool. For consumers, the device serves as an optimal platform for gaming and an enhanced TV experiences.

About Raizlabs

Founded in 2003 by Gregory Raiz, Raizlabs is a leader in mobile application design and technology. Raizlabs builds awesome solutions and apps for companies worldwide.

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Sketch Pad HD Reaches Kids in Haiti

Haiti1Recently, we received an e-mail in our inbox from Bob Olwig, Vice President at World Wide Technology,. Last week, he traveled to Haiti on a humanitarian trip. Bob found himself in the remote village of Belle Vie on the island of La Gonave, where technology rarely is seen by the island’s almost 80,000 residents. The trip was organized by a charity that operates a school for about 150 kids in the small village. They help run educational programs and provide medical services to those residing in Belle Vie. Bob brought his iPhone and iPad with him on the trip and gave the kids an opportunity to use a few apps, including Sketch Pad, developed by Raizlabs.

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Bzz About A New BzzAgent App

BOSTON, MA (October 2011) - BzzAgent, a leader in word of mouth marketing wanted an iPhone app that would put put their marketing information and tools at people’s fingertips.  The new app, developed by Raizlabs, does just that by bringing the core BzzAgent experience to the iPhone.  Agents no longer need to be sitting at a computer to share their experiences about a product with the world. Posting reviews, photos and videos to Facebook and Twitter, and submitting BzzReports now happen on location and instantaneously.

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Easier Assessments for Educators


NORTH BILLERICA, MA (October 2011) – Early development educators have a new tool. Curriculum Associates, worked with Raizlabs to develop a new iPad application that provides users of the BRIGANCE Early Development and Online Management System an easy and convenient way to assess and report scores directly using the iPad.

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AppCorner: Episode #3

In this week’s episode of AppCorner the team discusses “getting in the zone”, Apple’s tendency/foresight to hold back on features, how to hide a body (with Siri’s help), and everyone’s favorite app of the week.

AppCorner is hosted by Ben Johnson (@scoober). The usual crew includes Greg Raiz (@graiz), Justin Kaufman (@j_kauf), Dave Counts (@davecounts) and Joe Goullaud (@jgoullaud). This week Michele Titolo (@micheletitolo) joined us so that Joe could “stay in the zone”.

AppCorner: Episode #3

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Ten Tools For Every iOS Designer and Developer

There are a lot of great tools out there for iOS Designers and Developers. At Raizlabs, there is no shortage of them since we make apps all day everyday. Some of these we couldn’t live without, so check out the list and let us know about others in the comments.

Slow Motion Animations in the iOS Simulator

SlowMoNext time you’re running an app in Simulator, check out the Hardware Dropdown, select Simulate Hardware Keyboard, and press Shift 3 times quickly. You should see “Simulator slow-motion animations are now on”. With slow motion animations enabled, you can more easily see how your animations transition. Awesome!

LiveView

Mocking up an interface but just don’t know if it will feel right on a device? Sick of exporting PNG’s, emailing them to yourself, opening it on device, saving it to photos, etc etc. Enter LiveView from Nicholas Zambetti.

LiveView is a specialized remote screen viewing application intended as a tool to help designers create graphics for mobile applications.

Install the Mac App on your Mac, download the free app for your iPhone or iPad, then simply open both apps. You’ll see a draggable depiction of an iPhone or iPad on your Mac and whatever is beneath the device will show up on your mobile device!

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Episode #2: How the iPhone 4S Helps You Find Your Ex-Girlfriend

In this episode of AppCorner we discuss Apple’s iPhone 4S Announcement aka the iPhone 4Sorry you’re on the off cycle, iCards, the new “Find My Ex-Girlfriend” feature, and why talking to your phone will always feel awkward and “Siri” could become the new Microsoft Paperclip.

AppCorner Episode #2

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App Corner: Episode #1

Click to Play

In this episode of AppCorner (our brand new podcast) the crew discusses the departure of Steve Jobs and its apparently positive effects on Apple’s stock, Netflix’s Qwikster spinoff and whether or not it is inherently evil, how to podcast while police sirens and fire trucks go by the window, and our favorite apps of the week.

Every other week we’ll get together for a half hour to talk about what’s going on in the world of mobile today, and what might be happening tomorrow. Let us know what you think in the comments!

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AppBlade.com Released

We’re excited to announce the release of a new service for companies doing application development and deployment. The new service, called AppBlade, was launched today allowing companies to manage, test and deploy applications for iPhone, Android and other mobile devices.

Traditionally, companies trying to deploy applications, especially iPhone, had to use a number of complex steps to get an application from a developer to a tester or enterprise customer. The process was confusing and involved too many steps. We set out to simplify the process and centralize the management.

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Real-Time Medicine with iConsult

Sermo AppCAMBRIDGE, MA (July 2011) – Sermo revolutionizes the way physicians collaborate across the United States. Raizlabs recently designed and developed an iPhone mobile app for Sermo. The application allows physicians to take a photo can get instant consultations from other physicians.  

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Raizlabs.com re-launched

Raizlabs Logo

It’s been over over 8 months in various stages of production but we’re happy to have finally updated our website design and look.

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Wireframe toolkit for Keynote and Powerpoint


Our wireframe tool for creating PowerPoint and Keynote user interfaces is a simple and complete collection of iPhone assets and design patterns. The collection has been amassed through the development of close to 50 apps and assembled for easy use in the most commonly used design and layout patterns.   Designed for use in both PowerPoint and Keynote.

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Swap.com launches to rave reviews

Swap.com iPhone appRaizlabs worked with the leader in swapping, Swap.com to design, develop and launch the Swap iPhone app. The app released last week has been a hit with users giving the application an initial 5 star average rating in its first week.

Swap.com has over a million members who will now be able to scan, books, CD’s, games & DVD’s. Users of Swap trade items they want for items they have.

Founder of Raizlabs, Gregory Raiz, said: “We wanted to take a great service and make it even better. Mobile is the perfect tool to scan bar-codes and initiate trades. I couldn’t be happier with the initial launch. This is going to really revolutionize the Swap.com business.”

The application is available for free for on the Apple iTunes Store.

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