Today, if you intend to make a living, it's not enough to simply have a job. You'll need at the very least 2 or 3 different sources of income to ensure you can pay all your bills in case something unfortunate happens. Technology has evolved so much that in the past few years many individuals have found another solution to earn money: they develop mobile applications. Many entrepreneurs have made a name for themselves by developing mobile apps, and if you're interested in learning how to produce mobile apps yourself, keep reading this article.
Mobile app development is a rapidly growing industry because people are finding more ways to earn money through their smartphones. Every single day the amount of active users keeps growing. Below are a few numbers that'll illustrate just how big the industry is now:
- The number of smartphone users worldwide is expected to reach 1 billion in 2014 ( source ).
- Based on statistics there were nearly 35 million iPhone developers by December 2010 ( source ). This figure shows a rise of 25% over the prior year's figures!
If you intend to develop mobile apps then you'll need several things before you start. This will additionally apply to any kind of development, however, you especially need the next:
- Skills and knowledge – You'll need to find out how exactly to code, and you'll also should try to learn about design concepts like UX (User Experience) and HCI (Human Computer Interaction).
- Some type of computer – Needless to say! Ideally it should be a laptop/netbook that runs Windows or Mac OSX because most computers nowadays run one of these operating systems. However, if your skills are good enough then you might be able to produce an application on Linux as well.
- A smartphone – It's not required for developing apps, Deniz Guney but it will certainly help since you can test them on your device. If you don't have a smartphone then you might always make use of a friend's or a family group member's device.
- An IDE – A software development kit (or IDE - Integrated Development Environment) is essential to create applications for Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms. Popular IDEs include Xcode , Eclipse and Visual Studio.
- The developer license – You can develop apps without paying anything, but when you wish to publish them on app stores then you'll need to pay the annual fee which can be currently $99 for Apple App Store and Google Play Developer Console. Several payment methods can be found, including credit cards, PayPal and wire transfer from your own bank account.
Mobile app development is a rapidly growing industry because people are finding more ways to earn money through their smartphones. Every single day the amount of active users keeps growing. Below are a few numbers that'll illustrate just how big the industry is now:
- The number of smartphone users worldwide is expected to reach 1 billion in 2014 ( source ).
- Based on statistics there were nearly 35 million iPhone developers by December 2010 ( source ). This figure shows a rise of 25% over the prior year's figures!
If you intend to develop mobile apps then you'll need several things before you start. This will additionally apply to any kind of development, however, you especially need the next:
- Skills and knowledge – You'll need to find out how exactly to code, and you'll also should try to learn about design concepts like UX (User Experience) and HCI (Human Computer Interaction).
- Some type of computer – Needless to say! Ideally it should be a laptop/netbook that runs Windows or Mac OSX because most computers nowadays run one of these operating systems. However, if your skills are good enough then you might be able to produce an application on Linux as well.
- A smartphone – It's not required for developing apps, Deniz Guney but it will certainly help since you can test them on your device. If you don't have a smartphone then you might always make use of a friend's or a family group member's device.
- An IDE – A software development kit (or IDE - Integrated Development Environment) is essential to create applications for Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms. Popular IDEs include Xcode , Eclipse and Visual Studio.
- The developer license – You can develop apps without paying anything, but when you wish to publish them on app stores then you'll need to pay the annual fee which can be currently $99 for Apple App Store and Google Play Developer Console. Several payment methods can be found, including credit cards, PayPal and wire transfer from your own bank account.