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iOS vs. Android Development

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The two headliners of the smartphone platform are Android and iOS. These two have reached ahead of the competition for numerous reasons and are the most sought after in the market. Moreover, numerous Apps are available for both these platforms. Although, between the two of them, it is not that difficult to find a winner.  Let us explore the different development features of both platforms:

Apps Writing

To develop apps for iOS and list them on the App store is very expensive. It costs about $99 per year and you have to adhere to some strict rules and regulation put in place by Apple. Your app also has to pass a screening process before it can be released Developing apps for the Android Phone is comparatively cheaper and less restricted by rules. Google simple takes a $25 flat fee to shelf your apps, plus an extra $20 if you plan to charge for its usage. Android has a larger market, meaning other app stores are visible for you to display your wares. [Read more…]

3 Must-Have Android Applications for Aviators

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You might be an experienced pilot or you might be studying to become one very soon, either way, there is an Android smartphone application that will make your life as an aviator an easier and a more enjoyable one.

The Android application market is fast busy catering for every available market out there and this includes the aviation industry as well. Here are some of the 3 more practical Android apps for pilots that you will currently find.

Study Buddy (Commercial Pilot)

When you are studying to be a commercial pilot and you are busy preparing for the FAA written tests, the Study Buddy (Commercial Pilot) will help you with your preparations. It is like no other study tool that you have ever seen. It has three modes that you can operate with, which is Learning mode, Flashcards and Simulated tests. [Read more…]

Android Ice Cream Sandwich vs BlackBerry OS 7

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In the near future both Google and RIM will each offer new versions of their portable device operating systems. Google will introduce Android Ice Cream, an OS that integrates all the best features from previous builds into one powerful software. RIM, meanwhile, will update its BlackBerry OS to version 7, an update that many believe will be able to stand toe to toe with the popular Android. In order to separate truth from conjecture, we decided to compare the two operating systems to see which comes out ahead.

Web Experience
No longer content with keeping pace with its competitors, RIM has fully upgraded its browser with support for HTML5 and Flash. Furthermore, the tailored made Just in Time javascript engine renders HTML much faster than its predecessors. In fact, benchmarks have shown that the BlackBerry OS 7 outperforms the iOS, Windows Phone 7, and Android in loading web pages.

Android Ice Cream also provides a faster experience than its predecessor, Gingerbread. Flash and HTML5 content load quickly, with easily manageable tabs. The fact that it still runs slower than the BlackBerry OS 7 is a testament to RIM’s development team. [Read more…]

Four Must Have Solutions Your Internet Marketing Consultant Should Provide

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Internet MarketingIf you’re running a website and choose to hire an Internet Marketing Consultant to help grow your user base there are several must have solutions you should request from that consultant. These solutions will not only provide you with more information about your campaigns, they can help ensure that future campaigns for your website are optimized for the best possible ROI (Return on Investment).

Campaign Split Testing

Split testing consists of testing various CPM (cost per thousand pageviews), CPC (cost per click) and CPA (cost per action) campaigns at various times of the day, week and even month versus secondary ads. It’s a known fact that internet users tend to follow certain buying trends based on the type of product you are attempting to sell, a good internet marketing consultant will understand how to test different wording and other types of campaigns at different times of the day while tracking what works and when. For example they may place “Free Weight Loss Program for Men” against the ad “Acai Berry Weight Loss for Men” to determine which ad converts the best during the morning hours (that’s a very simple split test example). As the name suggests, you are “splitting” your advertising into several campaigns to track their efficacy. While split testing could provide your company with loses at the start of a campaign, once optimized the benefits should far outweigh the loses.

Split Testing

Heat Map Tracking

When I work with outside consultants I not only want to see results, I want to see where my conversion process is failing. Heat maps show exactly where users on a website are clicking, for example do a majority of users click on the upper left hand side of the page? This information then allows me to understand where I should place my highest converting products, affiliate links and general pages. By knowing where a user clicks internet marketers can help you not only bring users to your site, but also get them to view more pages and buy more products using simple human behavior solutions.  If you are using a banner advertising platform such as Google Ads you can even choose to display different products and affiliate links at different times based off where users tend to click on your website during certain times of the day, week or month.

 

Real-Time Keyword Reporting

The ability to monitor your most successful keywords based on campaigns you have launched with an internet marketing consultant is important not only to determine why your visitors are coming to your site, but also so you can understand what aspects of your site need more work. For example if you are an etailer you may have noticed a significant drop in one of your old product lines, that drop could be due to search engine placement, a lack of split testing focus or other variables. While you hire a marketer to market your products, you can help strengthen the success of those same products or information pages on your own by understanding which pages on your website need optimization.

 

Social Media Management

If your internet marketing consultant works for a specific number of hours on your behalf having them manage your social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, etc) could not only help take some work off your hands, it may allow them to better understand your audience through engagement, which in turn should help your third party helper better optimize future marketing campaigns on your behalf. Even just having your social media pages optimized by a marketer while you take care of engagement could be of great help.

An experienced internet marketing consultant will not only provide the services listed above, they will more than likely suggest many of the steps before you even ask. Proper marketing engagement requires not only placing ads on various publisher networks, it requires understanding your website and how to engage with your users. If you can afford to have a marketer act on your behalf for all of the solutions listed above you should be able to receive a well rounded marketing experience.