Wednesday
Apr282010

Revisiting Native App Versus Web App

DateWednesday, April 28, 2010 at 10:43PM

This question is the one that causes endless debates amongst mobile technology vendors.  Mobile Tech just published a great article, analyzing pro's and cons:  http://www.mobiletech.mobi/blog/mobile-web-vs-native-apps-revisited/11672/ 

In summary, you can provide a better user experience (interface, performance) and offer better integration with device API's such as GPS, contacts, calendars with a native app.  HOWEVER, this line is becoming increasing blurred as more devices hit the market with support for HTML5 which allows developers to create web based apps that behave like native apps.  Not to mention the fact that the development and maintenance cost can be HUGE if you choose the native app route as you will need an app for the iPhone, the iPad, and potentially several different apps for the Google Android, not to mention BlackBerry, Windows Mobile 7, and Palm.  And then there's the discoverability factor.  As the article states, you need a solid strategy and big $$ to get and keep your app in the top ranking for your category in the app store, otherwise it will be quickly buried underneath hundreds and thousands of other apps.  

Very interesting to see how the landscape is changing and evolving by the day.  For now, we're betting on the world's biggest app store - the mobile web.  Our position remains the same: Kurio, with a single code base able to run on ANY Web capable phone, is the killer app for real estate agents and home buying consumers.

 

 

AuthorKurio Admin | Comment1 Comment |
Friday
Jan082010

Holy Toledo, it's MOBILE Toledo.

DateFriday, January 8, 2010 at 3:23PM

Congratulations!  NORIS - the Northwest Ohio Real Estate Information System, a subsidiary of the Toledo Board of REALTORS® has successfully launched their new mobile MLS service,  MarketLinx Wireless, to their subscribers this week.

Toledo area REALTORS® can now search the entire MLS allowing them to quickly retrieve listing information, view property photos, maps, roster information, get daily market updates and much more, all from the convenience of their mobile phone.  

No more looking through windows, or taking the JEEP back to the office, NORIS subscribers can search the MLS, from wherever they are, keeping them always connected to the market.

Welcome NORIS & the Toledo Board of REALTORS®, we're excited to have you with us.  What a great way to start the new year by expanding the suite of MLS services that you provide to your subscribers.

AuthorKurio Admin | Comment1 Comment |
tagged , , , , in
Monday
Jan042010

Kurio Overview - A Video Experience

DateMonday, January 4, 2010 at 12:07PM

Happy New Year!

To get things started we thought we'd show you our latest 2 minute video overview of Kurio.  Let the Oscar nominations begin.

KurioPromovid
AuthorKurio Admin | CommentPost a Comment |
tagged , , in ,
Thursday
Nov192009

Mobile is not a device. It's a lifestyle.

DateThursday, November 19, 2009 at 4:01PM

Excellent article by Sam McMillan, a San Francisco Bay Area based writer, teacher and producer of interactive multimedia projects.  He's singing my tune!  

You can call it a platform.  You can call it a lifestyle.  You can call it a personal shopper.   You can call it a gaming platform.  You can call it a tour guide.  You can call it a channel for content delivery and distribution.  You can call it a connection tool between people, places, and experiences.  But JUST DON'T CALL IT A PHONE!

http://www.commarts.com/columns/dont-call-phone.html

AuthorKurio Admin | CommentPost a Comment |
tagged in
Thursday
Sep102009

A small tweak makes a big difference.

DateThursday, September 10, 2009 at 5:44PM

Apparently, the iPhone is a popular device.  So popular in fact, that nearly 105% of our wireless users are accessing their mobile mls service via the iPhone.  Okay, maybe there's a bit of hyperbole there, but still the trend is only going up, and as such we needed to address a display problem for iPhone users.

The issue is that a certain meta tag was missing, making the user experience on the iPhone, well, less than ideal.  - Tiny font, tiny forms, tiny everything.  (See highly informative screenshot below).  

The solution is simple really: To eliminate the "finger pinch strain" users were experiencing, we simply needed to  add a "viewport" Meta Tag to all our existing mobile mls sites, which will force the viewport to render the mobile pages properly.

Here's the magic meta tag which makes things right in the world.

<meta name='viewport' content='width=device-width;initial-scale=1.4;user-scalable=1' />

Without going into tedious, and perhaps obvious, detail, adding this meta tag tells the iPhone to render the browser pages at 320px wide, rather than default 980px and zooms in slightly, thus eliminating eye strain and finger strain.

The viewport meta tag is not new by any stretch and Kurio has had this implemented from the fore.  It was our legacy, white label mobile mls product that needed the update, and we're happy to say as of this post, all market areas have been updated with the magic meta  tag. 

Happy mobile-mls-surfing-on-your-iPhone day. 

AuthorKurio Admin | CommentPost a Comment |
tagged , , in
Page 1 2 3 Next 5 Entries »