10 Excellent Platforms for Building Mobile Apps

If you’ve ever wanted to build an app for your business, blog, product or service, but the heavy investment of both time and money put you off, you’re not alone.

The good news is that entering the mobile market no longer necessarily requires thousands of dollars and months of work. There are many mobile platforms available to help you build an app on a budget — quickly, and with no coding knowledge required.

With a small investment, you can create and manage your mobile site or application using one of the platforms listed below, and start reaping the advantages of offering your customers a dedicated mobile experience, including increased awareness, engagement and revenue.

• 1. Appery

  Appery is a cloud-based mobile app builder that you can use to create apps for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, and includes Apache Cordova (Phone Gap) with access to its built-in components.

  Since the builder runs in the cloud, there’s nothing to install or download, and it’s easy to get started quickly. It includes a visual editor using drag and drop components to build the UI. You can connect to any REST API and use it in your app, and instantly add a cloud database and backend to your app if you need to store data.

  You can add powerful functionality with the Appery plugin catalog, or create your own custom private plugins to use in your apps. Collaboration is simple, allowing you to share your mobile project with development teams, business users and customers in real time.

  Price: Plans start at Free and go up to $180 per month for Premium

• 2. Mobile Roadie

• 

  Mobile Roadie is an app creator that allows anyone to create and manage their own iOS or Android app. The platform supports all media types, with automatic importing of RSS, Twitter or Google News keywords, and an auto-refreshing fan wall through which users can chat with each other in real time.

  You can use the free Mobile Roadie Connect app to preview your app accurately, just as your users would on their devices. The app also guides you through the submission process, with Mobile Roadie checking the quality and appropriateness of your content.

  You can push content straight to your app and pull content from it to your own site or blog. The API is language agnostic, so you can pull data in a variety of formats, including XML, JSON, PHP, CSV and HTML. You can easily craft a custom look and feel for your app and apply that to all platforms, and use the suite of marketing tools once your app is launched.

  Price: Plans start at $125 per month (Core) and go up to $667 per month (Pro).

• 3. TheAppBuilder

  TheAppBuilder provides a suite of apps to suit employees, clients, events and brochures, with two different approaches available. You can build the app using the online toolkit, and either the training provided or TheAppBuilder itself will work with you to define and build the structure of the app and populate it with initial content.

  Using the dedicated AppLibrary, you can provide your users with a window into multiple apps and even customize it with your own branding. You can protect both public and private apps with usernames and passwords, and distribute them via the app store, making use of TheAppBuilder’s Active Directory integration to enable login with existing credentials and user groups.

  Updating the structure and content of your apps is easy, even after you go live, because you can make unlimited updates and publish on multiple mobile platforms in one click. The platform supports native iPhone, iPad and Android, with updates going live within 60 seconds of submitting a change.

  Price: Pricing available upon request

• 4. Good Barber

  Good Barber provides a platform to build iPhone and Android apps, allowing you to take control of every detail of your app without producing a single line of code. Nine colorful, highly customizable design templates are available to get started, with 350 beautiful icons and access to over 600 Google Fonts.

  Along with native iPhone and Android apps, you have a free web mobile version, which users access from their phones’ browsers. You can also link this to your domain name, if you want it to become the official mobile version of your website.

  You receive immediate visual feedback every time you adjust any parameters in your app. Send unique, actionable push notifications and convert your readers into contributors by letting them submit articles, photos and videos. You can also organize your app and add sections ranging from videos, photos, sounds, live events and more.

  Price: Plans start at $16 per month and go up to $32 per month for the Full Plan

  5. Appy Pie

Appy Pie is a cloud-based DIY mobile app creation tool that allows users without programming skills to create an app for Windows, Android and iOS, and publish it to Google Play or iTunes. There’s nothing to install or download — just drag and drop pages to create your own mobile app online. Once it’s complete, you receive an HTML5-based hybrid app that works with all platforms, including Blackberry. All revisions are in real time, with the ability to send push notifications, monetize with ads, see live analytics, and track location with GPS. You can also integrate social media feeds, blogs, websites, audio, radio and more.

• The appointment scheduler is especially useful for businesses such as Doctors, Salons or Spas with contact features such as one touch call, QR codes included. Using the code page you can embed custom code and embed iframes.

  Price: Plans start at Free and go up to $33 per month for Platinum

• 6. AppMachine

• 

  AppMachine is an easy-to-use platform to build and design professional native apps for both iOS and Android. Using the drag-and-drop interface, you can combine different building blocks that offer a variety of features, such as information, photos and video. The building blocks also let you link your app to Facebook, Twitter, or online stores. You can design the app in your own unique style and choose your navigation paths, colors, fonts and icons, taking complete control of layout and watching your progress using the Previewer.

  Test your app as you build it and check its progress on your computer, mobile or tablet. Once your app is fully tested and ready to go, you can publish and promote your app, and analyze the user data. AppMachine takes care of everything you need to get your app into Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

  Price: Plans are one-time fee only, and start at $499 (Gorgeous) and go up to $899 (Designer). A $1299 option (Developer) will be available soon.

• 7. GameSalad

• 

  GameSalad allows you to create and publish games for a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, HTML5 and OS X. Its drag-and-drop interface allows you to get started quickly, without the need for any programming knowledge.

  The game creator features a scene and actor editor, where you spend most of your game creation time, setting up actors in a scene and creating attributes, images, sounds and navigating between actors. The active community forum is a huge plus, with access to help and advice from fellow independent game designers.

  GameSalad recently teamed up with Amazon to offer access to development options specifically optimized for the Kindle Fire platform, including drag-and-drop integration with in-app purchase and GameCircle APIs.

  Price: Plans start at Free and go up to $299 per year for Pro

• 8. BiznessApps

• 

  BiznessApps provides a platform to help create mobile apps for businesses a very simple process. It provides a wealth of features, including food ordering, shopping cart, loyalty programs, dynamic content, third party integrations, push notifications, comprehensive analytics and more.

  The easy-to-use content management system allows you to create an app in minutes, and customize everything using pre-built designs or your own. There are also real-time previews to check your progress as you design and develop your app.

  You can instantly update your app online, and modify everything inside, without having to send your app for a lengthy update with Apple or Google. There are weekly webinars on how to build beautiful mobile apps using the BiznessApps platform, along with access to hundreds of tutorial articles, to help make the process even easier.

  Price: Plans start at $29 per month for mobile website and go up to $59 per month for mobile app

• 9. AppMakr

• AppMakr is a DIY app creation platform that lets anyone craft iOS, Android and HTML5 apps, with no coding knowledge required. It was founded in 2009, and recently acquired by Infinite Monkeys, to now form one of the largest DIY app publishing platforms worldwide.

  You can make as many apps as you want, with unlimited updates, and utilize a number of features, including push notifications, high resolution photo galleries, live updates, music and video streaming, chat rooms, Google Maps integration, shared events calendars, in-app shopping, and much more.

  You keep track of all your apps through the Dashboard, easily customize your app’s looks and functionality, add content with tabs, preview your app in real time and publish it to the markets with a single click.

  Price: Plans start at Free and go up to a $99 one-time fee for Self-Publish

• 10. ShoutEm

  

  ShoutEm offers an app builder with complete content management, powerful user engagement tools and monetization options, coupled with a seamless publishing process, to provide a robust solution for most requirements. The interface builder offers many customization options, and each app can be tightly integrated with existing content sources such as WordPress, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud and more. The multiple monetization options means you can quickly create a revenue stream from your app, providing an e-commerce experience, in-app subscriptions, deals and coupons, with support for all major ad networks included.

  You can publish your apps under your developer account to both iTunes and Google Play, and update your app or content in real-time. ShoutEm also offers regular auto-updates, to ensure your app is always ahead of new iOS and Android updates.

  Price: Plans start at $19.90 per month and go up to $119.90 per month for Unlimited

Apple’s IWATCH!!!

Wearable technology is a new thing in this world and if anyone can make this wearable technology then it is apple. Apple’s iWatch is a big project. For making this iWatch a team of 100 designers are working on it. This innovative wrist watch will be capable of performing tasks which are handled by iPad and iPhone. The team of 100 designers include engineers from all parts of Apple i.e. marketers, software developers, managers, iPhone engineers and iPad engineers. This innovative project will be completed under the guidance of Sir Johnny Ive. In an investor meeting in February 2013, CEO of Apple hinted that they are going to launch iWatch soon. He also told that they are focusing on some new category which is related to iWatch.

Contribution of Gorilla Glass in Apple’s iWatch:

 

As we know a glass cover is necessary for completing the design of wrist watch. So for the outer glass cover Apple has experimented with curved glass. This glass can cover human body and will corn by just announcing Willow Glass. Willow Glass has the ability to flop easily like a piece of floating paper without breaking. 

 

Design of iWatch:

 

Technology editor, Charles Aruthur is working hard to make this watch look better for both males and females. They will not look like Omega Seamaster or G-Shock. For giving it a perfect look Apple has done various mock-ups. They are trying to design something that will look good on both genders. The Apple’s iWatch will be classier than G-Shock and I am sure you will be agree on it.

 

Features in Apple’s iWatch:

 

Apple’s iWatch is facilitated with a screen of 1.5 inch. On this screen some selected information is displayed. This screen is not designed to display complete menu because it can create mess on the screen and it will also be difficult for the owner to select a particular option.

 

Bluetooth is a communication device and it is essential for establishing communication between iPhone, iPod and iWatch. In iWatch this communication can be done on very low frequency Bluetooth. 

Bruce Tognazzini says that his ideas for Apple’s iWatch are not based on any inside information. They are predicted to include weather features, replacing cash, organizing your life, monitoring steps of life, making passbook and fixing Apple Maps. 

 

Some good points are also made about the release date of Apple’s iWatch. When you will look back then it is not the first. Apple’s always do the things which are experimented by some others and after their defeat they try out it and make a new product with lots of cool features.      

 

In March 2013 it is revealed that Apple’s iWatch will also include figure print scanning technique for the reason of NFC based security. It is also rumored that Apple is also working on fingerprint sensors for iOS devices and when it is the matter of Apple’s iWatch then Apple is ready to do anything.

 

It is also rumored that Apple iWatch will work on biometrics concept and deep integration with existing iOS devices. The wearable design of this watch will help in offering secure biometrics functionality and user identification. Instead of OLED panels this gadgets is rumored to function on GF2 technology which is similar to the technology used in iPod nano and iPad mini. Basically is a format which is well suitable for small screened devices. 

 

Because of biometrics functionality, this device does not allow unwanted user access. The device is also believed to work on some latest operating system but with little modification. iWatch is now become the Dick Tracy watch of 2013. Stream music is also featured in this watch but instead of pluggable ear buds a set of Bluetooth headphones is recommended.

 

Facility of health monitoring, Maps and SIRI:

 

This is a big question that Apple’s iWatch will be facilitated with health monitoring software for monitoring daily health status, a version of Apple’s map software(for getting assistance of real- time directions), support of text messages and SIRI, the voice support system. 

SIRI is needed for controlling iOS by voice recognition method. If this facility is not provided in Apple’s iWatch then there will be no difference in iPhone, iPad and Apple’s iWatch. This device will actually functions on nano software system. 

 

iWatch don’t have the capability to do everything:

 

Like iPhone and iPad, Apple’s watch is not programmed to do everything. Facility of Bluetooth means it does not need to perform all activities. So it will function more like a pebble smartwatch. On the other hand many people like CRAIG GRANNEL are expecting to experience every function on this iWatch.

 

Apple’s iWatch will face serious competition:

 

In the battlefield of technology Apple’s wearable watch is a next big thing. Samsung confirmed that this is the smartwatch of next generation. Apple’s iWatch is planning to give a big competition of Google’s devices which has filed a smartwatch of this year. 

One of the most large imaginary bandwagon is LG. instead of launching a disappointing phone’s watch in 200- LG begins to delay it and now finally Apple is going to launch same watch with innovative ideas in near future. 

iWatch is not only a wearable computer. Google Glass also swims in the same pool. Co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey says that soon Apple’s watch will win over Google Glass but in actual it will be estimated after the launch of this innovative watch. It is also rumored that iWatch can win over Google Glasses because they will be cheaper than Google Glasses and will hit the main stream.

 

Release date and price mystery:

 

Do you remember that before the launch of Apple’s iPad we thought that it will be of $1,000. Now, how we laugh on our thinking. Same as it, until we have a clear idea about Apple’s iWatch and of shipping date we can’t estimate its price. 

For its release data we have a little idea that Apple claimed it to launch in 2013 for sure. In the month of April also Apple announced to launch an exciting product category in 2013 or in 2014. Technologies which can be wear on wrist.