Baidu Betting Big on Augmented Reality as Mainstream Feature

Baidu has announced that they’ll soon be launching DuSee, an augmented reality platform, to join their fleet of mobile services. While Baidu’s image recognition software is known for being somewhat rough around the edges and early previews of DuSee have some rough edges of their own, the fact that a major Chinese company is launching […]

Video Could Be the next Disruptive Force in Mobile Ecommerce

MikMak, a video shopping service for mobile, just closed a $3.2 million seed round — and it’s got the attention of mobile app developers looking for the “next big thing” in ecommerce trends. Since launching last year, the disruptive app has gained an impressive following among younger demographics through a blend of custom content and […]

Outsourcing App Development: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

“Go ahead and outsource.” People are always surprised when we tell them this. We get dozens of questions about offshoring every week, and the people asking always expect us to steer them away from it. After all, we’re an LA-based app development company — why would we encourage someone not to work with us? The […]

What Are the Alternatives to SMS Codes for Digital Security?

Well, it’s happened — the hackers have gotten into the text messages. According to a new report from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, SMS codes are no longer sufficiently safe for use in two-factor authentication. This is big news for web and app developers alike, as the symbiotic relationship between our phones and […]

Will the Erosion of Online Advertising Hurt Apple & Google?

Apple and Google couldn’t be more different. On the one side, premium hardware with an emphasis on encryption, security, and brand quality. On the other, cloud services, budget hardware, and a suite of free services that rely on data marketing. Most of us, and certainly most iPhone and Android app developers, use a combination of […]

Should Startup Founders Split Equity Equally?

Equity feels imaginary for some early stage startups. Far from splitting up potential shares, the prospect of turning a profit is daunting enough. Many founders opt to avoid conflict and simply split equity evenly, allowing them to commit 100% of their talent to the project without feeling cheated or left out. The question for iPhone […]

Internet of Things Will Bring UX Principles to Public

Self-driving cars. Wearable MedTech devices. IoT appliances that communicate and react to users. UX design isn’t just applicable to mobile app development anymore — increasingly, as mobile app developers tackle “real-world” applications and physical interactions, UX design will grow to encompass civic design and urban planning. Are app developers ready? When it enters the public […]

When Will ‘The Next Big Thing’ Arrive on the Tech Scene?

Mobile and web app platforms have been relatively stable recently, fostering a golden age of functional apps and short runways to startup success. Stability, however, isn’t always the best for tech, which thrives on novelty and innovation. The sentiment among Boston iPhone app developers seems to be that “something” is coming up on the horizon. […]

Data Shows Generation Z Could Solve Tech’s Gender Imbalance

Tech has long been a predominantly masculine endeavor. Female startup founders face challenges getting capital (and getting taken seriously), something most techies realize but feel powerless to change. Part of the problem is simply the high demand for a scarcity of tech talent. Many companies are left scrambling for app developers and technical employees, offering […]

Asian Chat Apps Suggest Mobile Environments Trump Interfaces

Line, a massively popular mobile messaging app from Japan, went public last week, jumping over 50% in it’s first day on the market. Mobile app developers are looking at the Asian messaging titans (Line and WeChat) with renewed curiosity and many questions. Are immersive, all-encompassing social messaging apps the future? In five years, will apps […]