Sponsors
Are you developing a mobile app? Get anything from icons and buttons to your entire mobile app designed at 99designs! You can start your next graphic design project for as low as $199. Visit 99designs.com/Chat and get a $99 Power Pack of services for free.
PreApps provides an outlet for developers to harness early exposure, access beta testers, generate critical user feedback, and most importantly rapid downloads upon release. Get 10% off on ALL PreApps marketing services by using promo code AppMasters!
Subscribe to the Show
Subscribe via iTunes
Subscribe via Stitcher
Subscribe via RSS
About the Episode
Are you interested in building apps for emerging markets? Well today’s guest shares a few key elements that you should know when developing for these regions. Also, listen to the part of the show where he reveals the tools he uses to rapidly prototype his apps. And there’s a bonus segment full of awesome PR tips.
Sergey Lossev is the Head of Product, Opera Max at Opera.
Caroline Gennaro is the Senior Communications Specialist at Opera.
Show Notes
Key Elements in Developing an App for Emerging Markets
All emerging markets have anuntapped potential that number in the millions. India or Indonesia alone has almost limitless untapped potential. If an app builder wants to tap this limitless potential, he must make sure that his app is relevant. Cultural context is a great way to make an app popular and relevant. When Opera, for example, was trying to make it in Indonesia, the browser was translated to Arabic.
Opera also made sure that the advertising economy is given attention. The app is free, for example,but Sergey tries to boot up mobile advertising economies.
Lastly, make sure the product is relevant and speaks a language the audience can understand. Megabytes might be completely understandable to Americans, but is it to the Spaniards? In Barcelona, one of the apps that Sergei helped develop gives the exact number of hours, minutes, right down to the seconds, a user may still have on Facebook.
Tools to Rapidly Prototype Apps
Sergey has three favorite tools to quickly create a prototype app. He uses Fluid UI, Flintoand Invision. Fluid UI because a person who has an idea for an app can literally have a designer sit down , use Fluid UI and in a matter of hours, build a prototype on a desktop, send it to an android or iPhone and have friends test the app. The whole experience of using the app can be done in a matter of hours!
Flinto is another favorite tool. He uses this for less complicated apps because he finds it really effective for smaller scale apps.
Sergey finds Invision particularly useful when he has to work with different people from different parts of the world because it allows for collaborative feedback. It has this page for interactive feedback and makes discussions possible quickly and in real time.
PR Tips from Caroline
PR is defined by Caroline Gennaro as talking directly to your audience, getting the users’ feedback and knowing how your apps are affecting their lives. She advises that PR is all about focusing on what matters to your audience and if you do that, you can never go wrong. She has a tried and true formula for getting feedback by asking the question, “We think this app matters, but you tell me why it matters?”
What advice would you give to anyone looking to build a mobile app?
Don’t overthink it. Use rapid prototyping tools and then just ship it. The best feedback will come from the people who are the real users of the apps.
Show Mentions
– Fluid UI
– Flinto
– Invision
– Fav app: Healthmate (activi): (iTunes)