App-Scoop

In this stress induced corporate world, our bodies are as exerted as our mind. Sitting on the chair for hours, staring at the computer screen would earn us some money but it sure won’t keep us healthy. In today’s world, we all know that a balanced life is a healthy life. Social media has played a huge role in making people realize the benefits of exercising, giving them convenient options to workout at home and valuable diet tips that help you stay fit. This has also led to a digital fitness revolution in the app industry. There are several apps in the store that allow you to keep a track of your daily calorie intake, tell you how many steps you’ve taken each day and also store medical health information.

Since wearable technology is the next IT thing, software developers and healthcare professionals are ensuring that every person is able to track their health in the most convenient way possible. Apple and Google are both front runners for coming up with their own solutions to accumulate health and fitness data. Apple introduced HealthKit and Google introduced Google Fit. Each of them has their own strong points in their own segment of services. Let’s understand what each of these platforms has to offer. ​

Google Fit
When launched, the Google Fit software was designed to log health-care information. Not much coding was done to build the app. As the new trend of wearable technology emerged in the markets, Google Fit has developed to become a mobile app that records any health-related activity which is triggered off when the person is walking, riding a bicycle or exercising. With the user’s consent, the app stores all the fitness data of the user in Google Fit.

HealthKit
HealthKit, developed by Apple is a toolkit that accumulates all the data linked with your health with the help of activity trackers synchronized with the standard health application (which is a default program for modern iOS devices). 

Differences and Similarities between Google Fit and HealthKit
​
Now, let’s understand the key difference between both these platforms – Google Fit focuses on standard fitness indicators whereas, HealthKit is more about health issues. The iOS platform offers a more comprehensive and detailed approach to analyzing data whereas, Google offers a more flexible set of tools.

Collection of Data 

Both these apps collect fitness data but Apple can collect a bigger amount of data than Google. Let’s take a look at the kind of user data collected by both of them:

Activity: The physical activity of the user; the number of steps taken, the time the user has taken for mindfulness practice, etc.

Sleep: It also records sleep data (the iPhone goes in sleep mode and from third party fitness apps)

Nutrition: It can also track the number of calories consumed by combining data of third party food control applications and selected healthcare platforms.

Google Fit also collects similar information as the Health app but it cannot pass medical information between apps. Hence, it isn’t suitable for medical purposes. HealthKit can record medical data such as heartbeat rate and body statistics. It can also store lab results, medications (prescription alerts and notes) and vitals (pulse, blood pressure and body temperature).
All of the data for Google Fit is recorded in Cloud and HealthKit records all its data on iCloud.
​
Design

Both Apple and Google made sure that they have simple and easy to use interfaces. They are well thought of and structured but there is a major difference between the both of them.
The Health app allows the user to compare data without activating multiple screens at a time. Users can view all the data on one screen based on a few parameters set. The system prompts which devices and fitness apps for iPhone can interact with HealthKit.
On the other hand, Google Fit doesn’t allow the user to view the data on one single screen which leads him/her to keep swiping between screens to compare or view the data. But instead a customizable widget allows the user to transfer all the information to the desktop of the smartphone. Google Fit also uses graphics and cards to make the application work even clearer.

Security

Imagine what a nightmare it would be for the user if he/she lost all their health data! One of the most important things for platforms like Google Fit and HealthKit is to safeguard all the technical data stored on the app. It requires a serious level of in-built protection. Privacy of data is another aspect of security.
Google Fit has mentioned in its Terms of Service that the data stored in the app is not a medical device and hence, it does not require additional security measures that are essential for medical apps and wearables.
On the other hand, HealthKit has well-designed security features. One of the major benefits is that it only works on iPhones which have security features such as finger print or face recognition which means that the data can only be accessed by the user.

How can the HealthKit and Google Fit platforms be used for medical and fitness app development?

The established health ecosystem is changing with the introduction of the Google it and Apple HealthKit platform. Both these platforms have similar functions in the general sense but there is a still a difference between the type of data that is recorded by each of them. The main expectation is that the user should be able to store their data in standardized format and also be able to share health data from different apps. HealthKit helps the user collate all of this data in the app. Google Fit can help the user integrate the user’s activity tracker app with the Google Fitness API (the native API for Android or the REST API for building a web client) to enjoy the benefits.

Points to Remember

A few things to remember to create a good user experience are:

• Do not ask for data unless required or essential. This helps you gain user trust.

 

• Explain to the users how their data will be used for the app. For instance, a weight loss app will need to ask the users about their weight at regular intervals.

 

• Take advantage of the system user interface when requesting the personal data. The user expects the app to optimize on all the information and use it for their benefit and display relevant data.

The right time to join the market and get a fitness and healthcare app is now! All you need is an app that is well-planned and executed health mobile application. ​

Development of Transit Mobile Applications
​
To match the increase in demand for public transit, there has been growth in Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) development. It looks to integrate multiple sources of transportation including public transit, ride sharing services like Modo, and bikeshare services like Mobi in a single application to create an application that provides the fastest and most cost-efficient journey for the customer. People who use TaaS are expected to save around $3000 a year, and that number will only grow as financial incentives to use public transport increase (source). In addition to integrating multiple sources of data, applications today need to be user friendly and innovate.
 
What is Augmented Reality 

​Augmented Reality (AR) is technology that allows users to add digital layers of information and data on top of the physical world. AR appears directly on top of an existing environment and adds unique digital effects like images or sounds to create an engaging experience.
 
AR starts with the user’s camera and takes the live image from it identify and classify certain scenes and objects. Once it has done that, its retrieves information from the context while rendering 3D graphics to overlay on the screen. In the end, all those points of data are used together to provide an accurate model of the graphics and physical world onto the users display.
 
As of now, nearly 50% of smartphone users are ‘familiar with’ AR technology, meaning there is a high potential to capture the market (source). Currently, businesses are exploring AR across multiple industries including education, industrial manufacturing, gaming, and in the case of App-Scoop, physical world mapping. AR is expected to be a $50 billion industry by 2025 and approximately $3 billion of that will be towards applications like TransAR (source).

Benefits of Augmented Reality in Transit
Augmented Reality (AR) is helping apps become disruptive by leveraging smartphone technology to create unique user experiences that solve multiple pain points. AT&T see’s the user of AR in smart city mobile applications as an area with large potential to change preferences and increase the use of public transit (source).
 
Marker-less recognition allows users to identify key points of interest using their smart phone camera with high accuracy. This identification makes the user experience immersive and dynamic as they can move their camera around to physically locate buses and stops in real time. 
 
TransAR Application
Here at App-Scoop, we have used TransLink’s open API and innovative technology to create a mobile transit application called TransAR that leverages AR to improve user experience by having accurate bus and stop locations and information.
 
For people who are using transit in an unfamiliar location, the use of TransAR makes finding information regarding buses and stops even easier than current transit applications.’

Stop Identification
All users need to do is identify the bus stop they want to find, open AR view, and follow the on-screen icon to reach their stop.
 
Users can also tap on a stop to find out key points of data including: the bus arriving there, the time of arrival, and distance from user’s current location.
 
This is better than a 2D map as the user’s current location is often inaccurate by a few meters, and this can confuse users. The inaccuracy can confuse users in terms of which side of the road they need to wait on.

​ 
Furthermore, if they are at a location with many bus stops, like a bus-loop or Skytrain station, the stop identifier will let them know where they need to go in a matter of seconds.
 
This helps provide a better user experience as people who have issues finding a stop will end up having to walk and search less for a stop, especially if it’s their first time at that location (for tourists).

​Bus Locations
One of the largest pain points of transit users today is inaccurate bus information. According to Forbes, wrong real-time bus information is one of the main reasons people do not use public transit. People miss buses as they arrive early or late, and are uniformed of this change in arrival time, which makes the bus system unreliable.
 
TransAR solved this issue by finding an innovative way to use TransLink’s data to provide accurate bus locations with only a two-second margin of error. Now, users have a more accurate picture of where buses are and are less prone to miss one due to a difference in timing. 

Moreover, users can select the bus they would like to track and open the AR view. This will allow them to see real time location of the bus and get an estimated arrival time to their stop. Users can also tap on a particular bus to see where its last stop was, and what time it arrived there.
 
These features help reduce the inaccuracy of information, and keep the user informed, improving their user experience.
 

​
​
Conclusion
AR technology is going to revolutionize how we use public transportation. The demand for bus services is only increasing, and mobile apps need to adapt to the trends taking place in the industry to solve the main pain points users are facing which are issues finding stops and inaccurate real time information. TransAR solves these issues while still providing the users with an easy to use app, making it a one of a kind application for public transit users in Vancouver.
Download the application on iOS now!

The Blockchain technology has triumphed in the Bitcoin market making it the most sought after technology for web-based and mobile applications. One of the biggest merits of Blockchain is that it is a peer-to-peer network, which means that no third party is involved and that you are in control of your own data.
​A public Blockchain becomes convenient when the goal is to develop a decentralized, interoperated and independent security channel of data as it helps create trust in the minds of citizens. It becomes a competitive advantage for public services or the government by creating an intelligent Blockchain strategy at a national and local level. ​

​Reasons why public services should adopt Blockchain technology: 

• Transparency of data allows transactions to be verified. This ensures less corruption in the system.

• By building a decentralized application, one can manage information and transfer values in a fast and secured manner.

• Security of data cannot be breached – the hackers would need to hack thousands of computers or systems at the same time to obtain a single data source.
• Deleting official data or files to create loopholes becomes impossible. In order to delete any content all the nodes need to be deleted from more than a thousand systems. This is also beneficial in case of a natural disaster – important official information would always be secured.  

​Use of Blockchain in Public Services

Maintaining Public Records
The government can manage its digital records such as birth, death, personal information of citizens, educational records in a quick, secure and effective manner.
Furthermore, financial transactions, government contracts, public assets, supply chain information can all be recorded in an online, real-time ledger with the use of Blockchain technology. Also, all the information fed into the system would remain secure and infringement of data won’t be possible unless the user decides to retrieve information.

Transparency in the Voting Process
Blockchain technology is a medium through which we can significantly reduce election fraud. The platform Voatz can “ensure tamper-proof record keeping, identity verification and proper auditing by incorporating a secure, immutable blockchain.” This means that the citizens on this platform will have virtual certainty of the accuracy of their internet-based voting results.
Voatz co-founder and CEO Nimit Sawhney told Bitcoin Magazine that this platform can be accessed by people from any geographical location. He further said, “Aside from major government-issued IDs such as driver’s licenses, state IDs or passports, Voatz has experience using the ten different kinds of official documents for the purposes of verifying a voter’s identity.”
https://bitcoinmagazine.com/articles/making-voting-elections-both-secure-and-accessible-blockchain-technology/

Administrative Processes
There are many administrative processes that require a lot of paperwork and records of information. For instance, in a real estate transaction, the broker can be replaced by the Blockchain technology saving both parties income. Peer-to-peer transactions between the buyer and the seller can be recorded and approved in a fool-proof system. The data cannot be deleted but there can be edits and additions to the data. The paper trail decreased and a secured digital file can be maintained for the transaction.

Paper files to Digital Files
Making the big leap from paper based trails to digital records is a huge step to making things easier and convenient for the public. Smart contracts can be issued, automated corporate voting procedures can take place and compliance of investment can be ensured with the help of Blockchain technology.

Federal Services
Federal services such as federal taxes, issuance of passports, filing of patents, receiving social security and veteran’s benefits are taken care of by local government centres with minimal staff. With the incorporation of Blockchain technology, one can streamline processes.
For instance, there a few governments deliver social welfare benefits in cash because a few rural areas (in US and other countries) do not support digital distribution of cash. This is a highly inefficient process that can support money laundering or fraud. This can be repaired by creating these transactions in a secured system such as Blockchain. 

How does Blockchain technology for public services benefit ordinary citizens?
Ordinary citizens have to interact with government offices for a birth or death certificate of a person, exchange of property title, bestowal of an academic degree or any document that requires a timestamp. Mundane transactions like these can be leveraged by Blockchain technologies. For example, if you wish to change the name of the car owner or the title of the real estate owner, you would need to carry a whole lot of documentation. With the help of the Blockchain technology, it would be as simple as showing up in the office with a cryptographic key which is unique to you and getting the whole process done without a hassle.

Adoption of Blockchain by the US Government
The US has been one of the proactive countries that has adopted the Blockchain technology to gain a competitive advantage. Delaware announced its Delaware Blockchain Initiative in 2016. Illinois recently announced a similar initiative. Illinois is attempting to provide an environment that is very welcoming to Bitcoin — and Blockchain-based start-ups.
Among other aims, the Delaware Blockchain Initiative aims to create an appropriate legal infrastructure for distributed ledger shares to increase efficiency and speed of incorporation services. This is important, given that half of all publicly traded companies in the US and 65% of the Fortune 500 are incorporated in Delaware.
https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2017/03/16/delaware-blockchain-initiative-transforming-the-foundational-infrastructure-of-corporate-finance/

Key to Building the Blockchain Foundation
To take the first step towards incorporating the Blockchain technology is education. Educating the people on how to operate is the biggest challenge before adopting this technology for the masses. It is important to educate the public – get the right people at the city, state and federal government levels and get them engaged and excited about Blockchain is important.
In developed countries, it is much easier to educate and make people understand how Blockchain can make their lives easier – that their existing problems can be solved in a better way than the current system. Once this challenge is surpassed, the next step is attracting the right partners to help think through, build and deliver the solutions.

The Promise of a Better Future 
Blockchain-based solutions would create a system with responsive open data. For example, you would be able to do a government transaction from the ease of your home with the help of a unique cryptographic key. This transaction with the government will be government certified. This means that no waiting in line for hours at a government office – how convenient would that be!
Interacting with the government would become easy for the users with the help of interfaces that would be built by developers and entrepreneurs. The citizens will be empowered with this technology and would trust the government and the services. Commercial industries such as education, manufacturing, banking and retail are influencing the government on the benefits of the Blockchain technology. A few technological companies are already creating a relationship with government offices by assisting them to create a platform for secure, transparent and efficient transactions.

App-Scoop blockchain developers can help you create blockchain solution for your business.
Contact app-scoop team – https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

​Humans are not very far from making you realise that you might be living in the magical world of Harry Potter. Technology is reaching new heights especially since the last decade. Augmented Reality is one such spectrum of technology that is transforming the user’s experience like never before. This transformation started a few years back with Virtual Reality 

​So what’s the difference or similarity between VR and AR? Let’s find out!

Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
​
Virtual Reality (VR) is basically, a three-dimensional experience which is generated by the computer which makes you feel like the environment you are in is real. For instance, watching a 3D movie makes you feel like you are amidst the scene. VR puts a user in an isolated reality, i.e. it creates a fantasy world for the user.
Augmented Reality (AR) is also a three-dimensional experience that combines digital information with your own environment. AR uses the existing surroundings to create a 3D reality user experience. The computer algorithm in AR uses sensors and markers to spot a real-time position of an object and determine the location of a stimulated one. 

For example, a GPS with the help of AR can locate a spot that you wish to reach and then show you the fastest route to reach that spot, along with giving information about the spot or even translate the signs on the street in case you are not savvy with the local language.

Benefits of Using Augmented Reality

Now, let’s take a look at the advantages of AR in business.

The New FAD
Augmented Reality (AR) is in its infancy stage and hence, is the new craze amongst the generation. Everyone wants to enjoy a piece of this new experience. This was seen when the Pokémon Go game took over the masses. Because of its uniqueness, you can create a buzz amongst your users, something that your competitors might not have.
​
Repeat Engagement
For users to keep coming back to get updates on your product or business, repetitive engagement is of key importance. With the help of an AR platform, the users can keep coming back to your website or app, which allows repetitive advertisements. This exposes the brand again and again, thus lodging itself in the minds of the user. 

​​Again taking the example of Pokémon Go; this game became very popular, very quickly. It motivated players to locate hidden Pokemon characters in the real world. The physical settings were real, while the cartoon characters were digital, and could only be seen through a digital device. These characters were strategically located close to a certain sponsored brand or a place that wanted to become popular. 

Three-dimensional Thinking
​

AR can be used to create a 3D effect of the product to give the user an experience that they won’t be able to stop thinking about. For instance, the Android or iOS platform can create an unforgettable AR experience for shoppers online and offline. Virtual fitting rooms can help the user to choose the right size. The same is applicable for a car colour or your room colour.

Allows Content Personalization

Personalization in an app or a product automatically scores goody points with the users. A standard photograph or video is boring. AR can play a big role in personalizing content. This makes it a valuable marketing tool.

Experiencing Product in a New E-Commerce Setting

Users can experience e-commerce products in a virtual environment. For example, with the help of a virtual mirror, you can try on glasses and choose the frame that best suits your face. The app asks you take a picture of yourself and then choose frames that you think best suit you. Isn’t that wonderful?

Upgrading the Education and Training Experience

AR offers unlimited possibilities of transforming the teaching and learning experience. AR can offer a unique cognition path with immersive real-life simulations. It can offer a real psychological and physical experience and gives an authentic virtual experience that can be implemented in real life scenarios.
For example, a student of dentistry can operate on a tooth and perform a root canal surgery without injuring patients and at the same time get a real feel of the experience.
 
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Revenue Forecast

As per MediaPost, the VR revenue in 2017 was $1.6 billion which is forecasted to reach $11.5 billion in 2021. Meanwhile, AR has collected $975 million in 2017 and it’s forecasted to reach $15.8 billion by 2021.
Last year VR comprised 56% of revenue compared to 44% for AR. By 2021, it will be the reverse, with VR accounting for only 20% of revenue and AR 80%.
Reference site: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/311078/vr-ar-revenue-forecast-79-billion-in-4-years.html

Cost of an AR Application

If you wish to build an AR application, you need to determine three components to understand the costing:

• Place where additional reality should appear
• Information that the user is supposed to get
• Medium through which you are going to provide this experience

You need to determine the presentation of the information, i.e. text, picture, video or audio and how you would incorporate a 3D effect to receive the desired effect.
​
Present and Future of Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality offers the user a more real and authentic experience. It is highly entertaining if you compare it to a normal video or audio. It could give your business the ‘viral’ effect which can really benefit your income and thereby, become successful.
AR plays a key role in driving customer engagements over time, especially in business sectors. With the increasing number of phones and tabs and the hardware to support this functionality, AR is the next big hit with expanding businesses.
​
At the moment, AR allows you to use your visual and auditory sense, but in the near future it will offer sensors such as smelling, touching and feeling. AR will be found in all business market spheres; commerce, manufacturing, travel and tourism, healthcare, real estate and banking. 

There are more people using smartphones than laptops, desktops and tablets to access the internet in this day and age. Since the growing millennial use the smartphone more than any other device to access the internet, it is relatively important to ensure that your business site is compatible for mobile users.
A mobile app analytic tool is the key to this lock! Mobile analytics tool support data such as the location of your customers, apps and services that they use, feedback about your website, number of times they visit the site and how many utilise it through the mobile application. These tools make you aware of the where the app is lacking and give you appropriate solutions to solve the issue.

Many mobile analytic tools are available in the market today. Let’s take a look at 10 mobile app analytic tools to track your application’s performance.

Flurry Analytics
Flurry is one of the most used analytic tool that is used to track the performance of an app. Flurry has an ad network, which means that the user can get information about how the advertisements are being viewed on the app and detailed user acquisition reports.
This tool is compatible with iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows phone and mobile web. It gives you information about frequency, number of users, number of active users, session length, etc. On the top side, Flurry is absolutely free.
The advantages are: it is detailed and extensive and you can create up to 10 custom dashboards. On the other hand the disadvantages are: it can be complex to reach the information. The user will have to click many times to get information. In case of a bug, it is difficult to find what the error is. 

Google Mobile Analytics
This platform offered to you by Google measures all downloads to in-app purchases. It collects data across all the key stages. It doesn’t matter what kind of app you are making, it will help you achieve all your business goals and increase the chances of your success.
Google mobile analytics is compatible with iOS and Android. It is absolutely free of cost. The advantages are: it comprises of many features and you can integrate it with Google Play store for conversion tracking. The disadvantage is that iTunes cannot be integrated for conversion.

Apple App Analytics
Apple released its own analytical tool in the year 2015 for all iOS compatible mobile apps. This tool is able to measure user engagement and the performance of iOS applications. It is much easier now to track information such as the number of views received by app users, retention rates, etc.
This tool all helps you to see insights of your iOS mobile app which helps you to increase your overall mobile app ROI. Apple app analytics tool is free of cost.

Apsalar – App Science
Apsalar came into being in the year 2010. This analytical tool was built keeping in mind that it will be the best app to deliver results to app marketers and developers i.e. providing in-depth ROI metrics.
The key reasons that you should use Apsalar is to track user analytics, get accurate results on app advertising as it is more focussed on advertising distribution and recognise marketing campaigns that work and do not work. It also creates events and funnels and has a customisable dashboard that gives you the data you require.
This tool is available free of cost. It is compatible on iOS and Android platforms only. 

Appsee
Appsee is a paid iOS analytical tool that provides better data about the app to maximise the customer’s engagement. It comes with different features such as playback, session recording, crash recordings and in-app analytics. Appsee SDK is simple, easy to set up and integrate and displays the performance of your app on the dashboard for easy accessibility.
It is compatible with iOS and Android. You can download a free limited version but it is recommended you pay to ensure you can use all the features it offers.

Countly
Countly is a real-time, open source mobile app and game analytical tool that can be hosted on the server. It’s easy to use, gives you all the information you require about new users, time spent, etc. It supports SDK, Unity3D SDKs and Appcelerator Titanium – these are the world’s leading cross-platform mobile application platforms.
This tools is available free of cost. It is compatible on iOS, Android, Blackberry and Windows phone. Since it is open source, you can host it on your server but the cloud version is on its way to make a release.

Localytics
Localytics is installed on more than 2.8 billion devices and is the leading analytic tool. This tool can help you to make a stronger user base. Some of the features it offers are users and session views, app usage information, A/B testing, funnel and segments. This analytical tool is used by businesses such as ESPN, Marvel, Temple Run and eBay.
On the hindsight, this tool doesn’t have funnels, filters or session length analytics in the free version. 
Localytics is compatible with Android, iOS, Blackberry and Windows phone. It is free for 10,000 monthly active users and then the prices start from $200 onwards per month. 

MixPanel
MixPanel tool is focused on helping app owners understand their user’s behaviour by tracking their actions. It offers both, web and mobile analytics – this link allows you to understand the retention statistics of your website. With this tool, you can track the interaction of your visitors, offers you real-time data, funnel analysis, in-depth analysis and cohort analysis to track retention.
It is compatible with iOS and Android platform. It has a free version but to ensure that it works as intended a paid version is much better. The pricing of this app is a little different – it is based on the engagement plan and people plan.

App Annie Analytics
App Annie provides real-time data on what goes on in the app store. This tool helps you identify opportunities and enhance download rates, track app downloads, revenues and their ranking and reviews. App Annie is a good platform for monitoring, visualising and analysing important trends.
It is compatible with iOS, Android and Windows. There is a free limited version and a paid version available.
​
Upsight
Upsight is an analytical tool that helps understanding user segmentation, in-app marketing, funnel analysis and unlimited data storage. This tool will help you understand user behaviour, retention, re-engagement and monetization campaigns.
The advantages are: offers custom dashboards, unlimited data storage, free trial, marketing automation and growth factor measuring.
Upsight is compatible on iOS and Android. It has both free and paid version.
 
Conclusion

​​So which tool are you going to use to check your app’s performance? In our opinion, your choice should be based on your mobile app and the budget. It is imperative that you analyse all the advantages and disadvantages of the tool and then settle based on your requirement. 

​Blockchain is changing how businesses function, providing them with a secure and efficient technology to replace current practices. While it may have an impact on the company financially, it affects various other areas of businesses that are not traditionally associated with finance too, including security, logistics, and transactions.

​While these breaches may be common, a business can adapt and leverage blockchain technologies to improve digital security. With the system of a distributed public ledger that is encrypted, various aspects of the business from identities of employees to software updates can be secured using blockchain. 

​Assuming someone were to breach the update, and add malicious software to one computer, its operating system hash would change. Then, when it compares its hash to the other computers hash codes, its hash code will differ from the copies on the other two computers.
 
Through this method, each computer can periodically compare its ledger with the other ledgers on the network, and if any one software were to be breached, it could be reported.
 
This is a simplified example with just three nodes, but a business network with hundreds of computers across multiple organizations would make it almost impossible for any malicious software to be installed on any one computer. The process is also completely automated, allowing threats to be detected seconds after a breach has occurred.  

Supply Chain Tracking
​

​Technologies such as the Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Sawtooth are making this a reality. With the power of blockchain, smart sensors, and the Internet of Things, each piece of inventory can be tracked, allowing all parties to be aware of the condition its kept in.
 
Back to the example of food – Let’s say a farmer has just harvested some crop. He will attach a sensor to this crop, allowing data such as the time and location it was harvested, the humidity and temperature the crop was stored at, and other key points of information to be tracked securely by the necessary parties. This will allow each party, from the farmer to the retailer, to trust the other as there is technical data to prove the integrity of the inventory being purchased.
 
Tracking data using these technologies can help prevent malicious parties to sell goods that were not acquired according to the right standards, improving quality for every member in the supply chain. 

Transactions and Contracts
​

​To understand how contracts can be impacted by blockchain, one needs to first be familiar with the concept of smart contracts. The idea was first developed in 1993 but has since grown in popularity with the development of Ethereum smart contracts. The basic idea involves the submission of a transaction involving two or more parties onto the blockchain with an expiry date, and at that time, a certain condition will be checked, and the transaction will proceed.
 
To provide a simple example, let’s say someone had to purchase a house. A smart contract involving a buyer and seller would be created, and it would expire on the day the sale would take place. The seller needs to release the key to the house, and the buyer needs to release the funds to purchase the house. These are the two conditions of the contract. At the time of expiry, if both of these conditions are not met, the contract will not go through. For example, if the buyer releases the funds, but the seller does not send the key, the funds would be returned back to the buyer at the time of expiry. On the other hand, if the seller releases the key early, the blockchain will hold it until the buyer sends the funds.

Another company, called Storj is creating cloud storage by leveraging unused hard-drive space on different computers. A file would be uploaded to this cloud, and encrypted and distributed to each node, creating decentralized storage that is much more secure than saving data on a single server. This would also allow everyday laptop users to leverage their computers as another source of income.
 
Impact on Financial Sector
 
Blockchain is going to impact the banking industry in many different ways, allowing the industry to benefit the most from the technology. Its main advantages are reduced costs and increased security, and faster transaction time, which is what every bank wants its processes to benefit from. 

​The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) is also moving towards Blockchain by replacing their current Clearing House Electronic Sub Register System. They have been testing the transition for the last two years and have seen how migrating to blockchain can help simplify and cut costs of back-office processes. It is one of the first large financial markets to implement this change, and others are following. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) is planning on following the ASX’s footsteps and migrating to blockchain technologies as well.
 
Conclusion
 
Blockchain is going to change the way business function. Companies should adapt to this rapid change and leverage this technology to improve security, supply chain management, and transactions that take place on their business network. 

​

What are the first few logical steps after your roll out your mobile application? Let’s take a look:

1. User downloads the application
2. User opens the application
3. User looks at the various features and operating tabs to use the app

Here, the third stage is the giveaway if you have created a successful mobile application. It determines if the user (who has downloaded the app) is going to be an avid user of your app or is simply going to uninstall it because he/she doesn’t understand it. This is largely based on the design of your UI or UX. Let’s understand the ‘why’ behind that reason.

User Interface (UI)
​
User Interface (UI) basically refers to the look and feel of an app. The basic presentation of the buttons/tabs on the screen and its design falls under the UI. The mobile should be visually attractive and easy to use. For example, Instagram; the layout of the app is simple and the interface is easy to manage. The functionality is quite simple, and every time there is an upgrade a notification is sent to the user. 

User Experience (UX)
User Experience (UX) basically refers to user experience. The usability of the app, its user friendly functionalities and its seamless experience is what keeps user and motivates them to use the app. For example, Whatsapp; it is a mobile app that is easy to use and allows trouble-free navigation.

Why is it important to have an efficient UI and UX?

A mobile application is only successful when the user is active and doesn’t uninstall the app in a few hours or days because of its complex structure and confusing UI. A brand image can only be excelled when the app generates traffic and revenues. A qualitative feedback from the user, helps the app improve and reinvent itself on a timely basis.
Flipboard, a mobile app for digital magazines, offers a seamless UX design that boosts conversion performance. The look and feel of the app is similar to a magazine. The user is able to flip the pages just like in the magazine which gives it a design quality. The UI is simple and is relevant to the necessary functions needed while flipping the magazine.

Important aspects of the UI and UX design

Fonts and Colours
There are two most important design aspects in a mobile app – the fonts and colours used in the app. If you are a known brand, ensure that the colour scheme and font is in alignment with your company policies and design document. This is important so that the user can recognize your brain, also brownie points for looking authentic.
In other cases, it is necessary to determine the correct font and font size for the app. Sometimes, it gets difficult if the font is too fancy or too small or intimidating if it is too big or worse capitalized. Also, the colour scheme of the app is important. The designer must never have light font colours on a light background or dark font colours in a dark background. This becomes very hard to read visually, thereby annoying your user and forcing him/her to uninstall the app.

Language and Visuals
The language (in case of instructions or the back story in a game) should be simple to understand. Remember, the user might only have basic knowledge of the language and may not understand the words that need a dictionary.
The visuals also tell a story in your app. It is always better when you can visually explain your app to the users. The design of your icon should be easily relatable.

Notifications
An adept UI/UX should always display notifications for the user during an activity such as while updating the app, installing the app or new features introduced in the app. These notifications keep the user updated about what is happening and also motivates them to learn about the new features and using them. Value your user’s time and ensure that contents of an app load fast while designing the app.

App Flow
Along with a great UI and UX, ensure that the flow of your app is seamless. The content and actions are very important and makes your app credible. A great UI design of an app that doesn’t solve any pain points of the user is of no use.

Uniformity
There should be uniformity in your app; that is your app should have a similar colour theme and fonts throughout. The goal is to create a brand with the app that people can relate to. For example, the users will relate to HDFC bank, if the app uses the red, blue and white colour scheme.

Button size
The most important aspect of the UX is the button size. If the button size is too small or too big, the functionality of the app can go for a toss. Apple recommends that the average size of the buttons must 44 pixels square for an appropriate finger touch. This makes toggling and navigating on the app easy.

Shadows and Gradients
While designing the buttons, it is important to add a little design aspect that enhances the look and feel of the button. Shadows and gradients make the UI attractive and easy to use. It gives the buttons a three dimensional feel and a good looking form.

Key Takeaways

After downloading a mobile app, the user expects that the UI and UX designs are so intuitive that the learner doesn’t really need to learn how to use the app. In today’s world, the world has little patience and wants things to be simple and fast.

Going through a list of features and not knowing how to use them is a complete turn off. Hence, while designing the UI/UX always keep the user in mind and what they need. It’s not necessary to use every feature and design element in your mobile app, but it is necessary that it solves a pain point of the user.

Always prototype your mobile app before rolling it out in the market and collect feedback. Testing should be conducted early and often. This ensures that everything goes on the right track. 
The UI/UX design is always an on-going process; you need to keep updating your apps with the current features or design elements. To ensure that your app is frequently visited by the user, an update and new features are of utmost importance.
​
A mobile app design has to be user-centric – this ensures that your mobile app succeeds and features in the top 10 apps list. To make this dream a reality, look for the best mobile app development companies that are known for its good UI/UX designs for mobile applications. 

​You’ve got an amazing idea to build a mobile application, what is the next step? Logically, it is to start planning the development stage and releasing a fully functional app. But the success of a good mobile app is when a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) is in the hands of the user 

What is an MVP?

​As per the concept that has been popularized by Eric Reis, “A minimum viable product (MVP) is a development technique in which a new product or website is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters. The final, complete set of features is only designed and developed after considering feedback from the product’s initial users.”
Source: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/27809/minimum-viable-product-mvp
​

What are the benefits of an MVP?

An MVP allows you to understand the acceptance level of your mobile app from the horses’ mouth, i.e. from your real user base. As per the CB insights report, 42% of the companies rolled out mobile apps that did not serve any purpose, i.e. they did not solve any requirements of the user.
Source: https://www.cbinsights.com/blog/startup-failure-reasons-top/
An MVP is the best way to get a reality check – to test the assumptions and learn from your app’s own core findings. An MVP is generally designed to have minimum important features that solve a core problem for the users.

3 Examples of Successful Mobile App MVPs

Let’s take a look at a few apps that followed this rule of thumb and became successful apps.
​
Facebook

The worldwide number of monthly active Facebook users as of the first quarter of 2018 had 2.19 billion monthly users, 47% of which access this app from the mobile.
Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/ 

The app that started out as a directory for students studying at Harvard University expanded to the other top American Universities – Stanford, Columbia and Yale. In 2005, it included universities in the UK, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Australia and New Zealand, as well as more than 25,000 schools in various countries.
Zuckerberg rolled out an MVP which was completely revised to a new product with new technology and features. The app was rolled out to a small bunch of users to collect feedback. All of this feedback was consolidated and strategic business moves were made to upgrade this social media platform. Today, Facebook is a social media and social networking service company that is worth more than a billion dollars.
 
Instagram

Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger exclusively on iOS. Basically, this app allowed users to share photos with a limited number of filters. But there were already a lot of apps that allowed to use these same features of photo editing, so what was different? Well, the difference was that Instagram allowed photo sharing and editing at that time. This was a unique value proposition of this app. The MVP was launched and based on the user feedback several other features were added to the app.
Over the course, Instagram has added video editing, added new filters, Boomerang videos, eature stories and introduced direct messaging. There was a growth from 10 million users in 2010 to 800 million by September 2017. Instagram that launched as a MVP grew from a caterpillar to beautiful butterfly.

Dropbox
​

​
A Silicon Valley startup, Dropbox was introduced in the market as a cloud-storage service in the market; it was a safe and secure solution focussed on simplicity. Even before rolling out the app in the market, Drew Houston built a 30-second video demonstrating the product. This video received thousands of feedback comments from the audience that was interested in this kind of product. Dropbox was able to capture email addresses of over 70,000 email addresses of their future user base.
Dropbox released its final product with basic functionalities and incorporating the feedback they had received from the user base. Now, it has over 50 million users with a growing rate of one new user per second.

Takeaways

A few takeaways to create successful mobile app MVPs:

Prioritize the features, starting with one feature that provides most value, as in the case of Dropbox, the basic feature was that it was a cloud-storage service.

Craft out the persona of the audience that you are aiming to target; for example, Uber was targeting middle class customers who need regular commute for work. Determining the persona will help you make user-centred decisions that solve a genuine problem faced by the user.

When the MVP is rolled out in the market, you will get an idea of what your app’s user base is actually looking out for. It is important that you document all the comments and feedback that you receive and respond accordingly to the market demands.
​
Remember, building an MVP is not about introducing the product in the market, but building a technically feasible mobile app that works seamlessly. It is basically the perfect way to validate if it is solving the user’s problems and if not, then take an emergency exit or carve a different road map by prioritizing the feature that your mobile app needs to be.

​When you introduce a product in the market, the success of that product is directionally proportional to the strategies used while creating it. Defining a product pre-production makes it easier for the development team to approach the needs of the customer more accurately.
Let’s take a look at a typical product strategy mistake and how to avoid them:

Starting the Development of the Product at the Right Time

Have you ever thought of an idea for a product and then procrastinated to an extent that the idea never saw the light of day? Once you get an idea of the product that you are going to roll out, don’t take too long to ponder. Sometimes waiting for too long a product is never realized and new competitors can gain an upper hand and release a product better than yours.
​
How do you avoid this issue?

 Create a rapid prototype and release a MVP. You can then keep upgrading it to higher versions with the feedback you receive.
Although, one must remember that starting the development of a product without a clear plan could lead to a strategic pitfall. 

Understanding Product Requirements

In order to map a project, it is imperative for the team to understand the product requirement rather than the customer requirement. The customer has an idea of the product that he/she wants to make but doesn’t necessarily understand what the product requires. The product requirement is of key importance because it’s the hero of the entire project. If you get that wrong, your product will not survive in this market for very long.
Also, have you ever come across a customer who talks about a product in the abstract and doesn’t really have any idea what goes in technically? You would be surprised but this does happen a lot! Most times customers do not know the latest developments and technical possibilities that can be used for the product.
​
How do you avoid this issue?

The marketing people try to understand the customer’s requirement and they pass it on to the Product Manager. While understanding the product requirement, the entire team should be present. The entire team with their different levels of expertise can contribute during the planning stage to ensure that the product is well-defined.
Product developers can also visualize what the product needs and the opportunities of the future. They are the ones that understand the target market and create products that solve a user’s problem. 

Offering Real Value

It is necessary that the product that you introduce to the market solves a problem. Innovating a product for the sake of it or when there are other dozen products offering the same, doesn’t really add any value from the user’s perspective. It’s like offering a pack of chips in a different packet with no extra zing or flavour. Do you want your product to be competing with several other mediocre products? Of course not!

How do you avoid this issue?
​
Offering real value in your product is necessary. Also, engineers enjoy creating a product when there is a different technology involved so that they can learn and use it. If the engineers actually understand the kind of product that the customer wants to build, they can come up with breakthrough solutions and offer real value to a product. 

Understanding Your User Base

You could come up with a great product but at the end it’s just doesn’t match up to the user’s expectation or worse, doesn’t solve any problem. For an organisation, the product can be like their baby, but for the target customer, it may be just another app in the market that doesn’t solve any real problem. So before you even begin drawing an outline for your product, the question that you must ask is that, “What is my user base?”

How do you avoid this issue?
​
It is most often recommended that there is a usability testing done with a few target customers. Their feedback will determine how the product will be perceived when it is rolled out in the market.
This activity is ideally postponed by most companies because the costing gets higher. Also, building a product only for usability testing disrupts the schedule/timelines set for the product to be completed. Instead, the use of prototypes could be a good idea to solve this problem. The users can get an idea of the product and also give the company feedback which can be added as improvements in the product. 

Limiting Features and Increasing Benefits

Sometimes you might get so attached to the product that you would want to make it the “to go” product by adding every feature that you can imagine. Have you ever wondered the user’s reaction to several thousand features? Or have you ever imagined a complex UI? At times the product creators want to provide so many features in their products that it doesn’t solve the core problem of the user.

How do you avoid this issue?
​
Product creators need to focus on the benefit of the product that they are going to offer instead. By increasing the benefits of the product the end user can understand the problem that your product is solving. Sometimes the product message is so complex that the target customers leave disinterested. A good product that offers benefits is the one where the target customer understands the product in less than a minute. 

​Focusing on a Good Business Model 
Building a good product is not enough in today’s times that has every new product coming up solving the same problem. Thinking about how this business model needs to thrive in the competitive world is of utmost importance. You can’t make a product that is independent of a good business model.

How do you avoid this issue?

The key is to focus on a good business model that aligns with the company’s business model. The company needs to be able to sell the product in the market and get the response that they are hoping for. 

Product Launch is not Success for the Product

After launching the product, you may see that the end users are giving good reviews; there are a couple of user estimates download met; the product installs correctly and there are big checks that are coming along but this doesn’t mean that you have a hit product on your hand.

How do you avoid this issue?

Once the product is launched, the success of the product depends on how it copes-up with the competition in the market and keeps reinventing itself. The user shouldn’t get bored or distracted and uninstall it. There should be a team that continuously strives to reinvent the product as per the current trends in the market.
​
Conclusion
While carrying out all the above steps might be the best recipe for the market success but it does give the product a greater chance to be successful. The team is yet another factor that can make or break the product. Now, that you know the strategy, isn’t it time to introduce your product in the market? 

You could be working in any sector or industry or organization, everyone is talking about Blockchain technology. In the world of finance and financial technology, Blockchain apps are turnkey. But the technology has many other uses as well. These include banking and finance, insurance, fintech, jewellery business, healthcare, medical services, eLearning, travel industry, gaming, smart assets, online shopping portals, digital voting, digital identity management, distributed cloud storage, transport and logistics.

Developers that know Blockchain are most sought after, especially in financial organisations that are into developing new cryptocurrencies. “Blockchain developers ranked second among the top 20 fastest-growing job skills in 2017, showing a 200% growth from the second to third quarter of the year.  That demand continues to see rapid development in 2018 as technology changes because the Blockchain code is used in more and more applications.”
https://www.forbes.com/

​For the ones who are not too familiar with this upcoming technology of hashes, Blockchains and cryptocurrencies, let’s take an overview of the advantages it offers and if it is feasible for mobile apps to adopt this framework.

Advantages of Blockchain Technology

The first advantage that it has is that it tracks the transaction between parties like a ledger. Think of the whole set up as a digital ledger tracked by different parties. The interconnected nature between stakeholders every user has a unique digital signature and every transaction is verified and applied to the Blockchain.
Blockchains are immutable digital ledger systems implemented in a distributed fashion (i.e., without a central repository) and usually without a central authority. At its most basic level, they enable a community of users to record transactions in a ledger public to that community such that no transaction can be changed once published (NIST Blockchain Technology Overview Draft NISTIR8202, January 23, 2018)

The second advantage is that is offers total transparency of the transaction to see who sent what and when but without giving out any kind of personal information or leaking private data. The transparency of data also ensures that there are no false transactions that take place. Every node has a copy of the entire Blockchain which is verified by other nodes and because of this decentralised nature, no one entity can alter the transaction.

Digital Identity

“Blockchain technologies make tracking and managing digital identities both secure and efficient, resulting in seamless sign-on and reduced fraud,” said Ameer Rosic, founder of Blocgeeks.
“Blockchain technology offers a solution to many digital identity issues, where identity can be uniquely authenticated in an irrefutable, immutable, and secure manner,” says Rosic. “Current methods use problematic password-based systems of shared secrets exchanged and stored on insecure systems. Blockchain-based authentication systems are based on irrefutable identity verification using digital signatures based on public key cryptography.”
With Blockchain identity authentication, “the only check performed is whether or not the transaction was signed by the correct private key. It is inferred that whoever has access to the private key is the owner and the exact identity of the owner is deemed irrelevant.”
https://ameerrosic.com/5-Blockchain-applications-that-will-transform-society-what-is-the-future-of-Blockchain/

Supply-Chain Communications and Proof-of-Provenance

Most of the things we buy aren’t made by a single entity, but by a chain of suppliers who sell their components to a company that assembles and markets the final product. The problem with this system is that if one of these components fails “the brand takes the brunt of the backlash,” says Phil Gomes of Edelman Digital.
By utilizing Blockchain technology Mr Gomes states, “a company could proactively provide digitally permanent, auditable records that show stakeholders the state of the product at each value-added step.”
https://www.edelman.com/post/Blockchain-technology/

Blockchain App Options

This technology has brought about amazing opportunities for app developers to revolutionize the mobile app economy. As we know Blockchain protects the user’s anonymity during a transaction and protects the transaction too. Some of the apps that can be created include:

• A social media app can use their community to share and promote their app to their friends, and reward them with coins that can be used later inside the app, in other apps, or even be exchanged for fiat money.

• An role playing game would like to allow players to interact with each other  and do business transactions such as selling second hand virtual good, so both the players and the App publisher benefit from this transaction and the retention is being increased.

• A restaurant chain that will reward you with branded cryptocurrency coins every time you visit their physical store, through their app.

Blockchain Open Source Platform

It is however difficult to find a skilled Blockchain developer, and hence one can turn to quick Blockchain app development by deploying open source platforms that need minimal experience to start off. Various open source Blockchain platforms are available for facilitating the development of such apps Like Eris, HydraChain, MultiChain, OpenChain, OpenZeppelin, BigChainDB, Ethereum, Elements Blockchain Platform, Quorum, Stellar, Hyperledger. Other Blockchain platforms include Chain Core, Corda, Lisk, Credits, Domus Tower Blockchain, Symbiont Assembly, Chain, IOTA, Microsoft Azure BaaS.

Features of Popular Blockchain App Development Platforms

Eris
•    Big time free software
•    Allows the app to be created and run, secure, low-cost applications from anywhere
•    Features can be turned on and off
•    Helps to directly develop a group of a permission chain for the individuals.
•    Can analyse the complete action in a step by step manner
 
HydraChain
•    Most compatible with the Ethereum Protocol
•    Helps create a Permission app which is attached to the
 
MultiChain
•    Helps companies design, implement, and operate Distributed ledgers instantly
•    Supervised with the support of permission
•    Deployment in this chain is instant
•    Bitcoin compatible and extendable
 
OpenChain
•    Open source distributed ledger technology
•    Real-time ledger providing free transactions with a high scalability
•    Suited for companies that want to manage their digital assets in a robust and flexible manner
•    Instantized within seconds
•    Administrator of an Openchain instance defines the rules of the ledger for end users
•    Every transaction on the ledger is valid through a digital signature
•    Stands alone and maintains its privacy due to decentralisation
•    Secure platform with unified API
 
OpenZeppelin
•    Open-source framework
•    Provides secure, tested and audited code
•    Developers can use its vetted modules to build secure smart contracts
•    Modules issue tokens and define the rules of underlying systems
 
Reference site: https://datafloq.com/
 
 
Conclusion
​
The advantages of Blockchain development are only brushing the surface as the world uncovers its capabilities. From quality assurance and smart contracts to the stock exchange and global transactions; mobile app development will continue to rise as startups use Blockchain technology to interact with customers from many different devices.
At the current moment, the Blockchain technology exists in dealing with cryptocurrency. New cryptocurrencies are being created almost every day and all of them utilize Blockchain in one form or another. Also, if your app depends on peer-to-peer currency transactions, it is best recommended to adopt Blockchain. It also helps you maintain records without them being altered.
 
App-Scoop blockchain mobile developers can help you create blockchain mobile solution for your business.
Contact app-scoop team – https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html