Ran across this super interesting article today. Hopefully it's not been posted before. http://mobile.smashingmagazine.com/2012/11/07/succeed-with-your-app/ There's some really solid advice here, and a few things I'm going to incorporate into my app updates! Mark

Great read thanks! This is an awesome list of reminders:)

Thanks Mark, Really great article and thanks for sharing. I like this quote: "Apple’s culture revolves around design excellence. It’s no coincidence the apps Apple showcases are always well designed. Design is the most critical component in building a successful app." That's what I try to accomplish for everyone with my plugins: Easy way to implement a nice design to your app. Best Regards, Danny

Lots of good nuggets there. I like this one: "Usable isn’t good enough any more. The best apps go the extra thousand miles to pay attention to the details that make an app enjoyable." I'll bail super quickly on an app that isn't fun to use, except maybe a news app. And, with respect to your quote, Danny, I think that's where Android has a lot of work and catching up to do. Mark

You're absolutely right Mark!! Best Regards, Danny

Thanks for posting this...

I'd say the top 50/100 apps in every free gplay category would be a close match to iOS in terms of design, usability and user retention, and it's almost certain that most will be from professional studios. I hate to say it but many 'average' or below average apps that need to prevent people bailing are built with app building services - "anybody can build an app". The services just can't keep up with the rapid Android advances.

Totally true, @raveyd. Fortunately buzztouch has the awesomeness of a community that can extend the excellent framework David has built! That's one thing that I think separates buzztouch from the others.

I agree Mark, bt is second to none, but, when we started a short while ago, we were building for android 1.6, now we're building to 2.2 for devices that can run 4.whatever it is. Most of my installs are now ics+ and what we can produce looks outdated on those devices. It's not a complaint, it's just the reality. Unless/Until some great developers come on board with 3rd party plugins for Android, by the time spinning circular menu's, split screens on tablets, action bars and all the rest are available, Android will have moved on to something else. I'm not complaining, buzztouch is great, but we're unable, at the moment, to keep up with android innovation.

What about some partnerships between iOS and Android developers so we can get more plugins out there? I am trying to learn both, and it is a lot to learn.

Yep. It's a tough call. The fragmentation in Android is so huge that it's a daunting task to keep up with it all. I run Jelly Bean on my tablet, and I've still not seen an app...from anybody...that rivals iOS for the interface. I'm sure it'll come, but I'm not sure it's quite there yet. And, until Google puts together some quality control, we'll continue to get what we get! Either way, some awesome, relevant tips in the article for both platforms!

Thanks Mark, interesting contribution... indeed, I'm into this, more or less for this: "Any successful app rests on the foundation of a solid idea". Kind regards!

I'm not so sure quality control would be such a good thing at the moment. Who knows what sort of criteria they'll set? Or how they enforce it? Or who will suffer. Google being google expect many damaging, apparently arbitrary decisions with no explanations..

Thanks Mark, some great tips there, and I just wanted to thank you for your find.