Re: Android Development for the IBM i -- WEB400

Publishing an app to the Android Market developed with PhoneGap is simple
enough that it shouldn't be a reason to not pursue that vein. I do know
that not everybody wants/needs an app on the market (i.e. we developed an
inventory lookup app for a small internal sales staff. They didn't want
the app on the market because it was for internal/remote use only)

One thing I realized while doing mobile development is that we shouldn't
necessarily be looking to only transfer traditional ERP functions to the
mobile device but instead realize what NEW apps we can create that weren't
possible before.

The latest mobile devices all have cameras (still shot and video) and GPS
capabilies - what could a company use those capabilities for to make a
customer experience better?

I recently learned that Lowes (or HomeDepot, I don't remember) is working
on a mobile app that customers can download and it shows a complete layout
of the store. It shows where you are currently located (using GPS) and
allows you to quickly query for a product and gives directions to the exact
isle/shelf and inventory status.

Or what about turning every smart phone into a credit card machine (
https://squareup.com). Imagine how this changes the farmers market or
tupperware parties? I recently learned of an IBM i shop that converted all
of their POS devices to iPad's (not to mention their RPG developers to
Macs). I don't know what drove the decision, but the "coolness" factor is
definitely there for the

We live in a very exciting time and are only limited by our own creativity
as to how much we can help existing IBM i shops.

Aaron Bartell
www.MowYourLawn.com/blog
www.OpenRPGUI.com
www.SoftwareSavesLives.com

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 10:20 AM, Henrik Rützou <hr@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Aaron,

I do agree if you are in the APP business, but how many IBM I shops are in
the APP business? I do believe that most in general are running B2B ERP
solutions and their use of the platform thereby reflects their business
needs.

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 4:58 PM, Aaron Bartell <aaronbartell@xxxxxxxxx

wrote:

That is the first question that should be asked.

Very good question.

The two huge reasons for an app is user convenience and your apps ability
to be found.

On the note of user convenience, it is sooo easy to install apps from
Android Market or Apple App Store and for the user to subsequently use

the

accompanying icons of the app to create short cuts on their home screen.
We live in a day and age where a simple inconvenience can cause you to
lose business to a competitor (genX and genY are particularly inclined to
do this and that is the next generation with money to spend). Which of

the

two statements at a social gathering will more likely end up with your

app

being downloaded/installed:

"Hey friend, check out EverNote. Just search for it in the app store"

or

"Hey friend, check out Evernote. Just go to evernote.com, click on
download mobile app, select ...."

On the "ability to be found note", I have yet to do a search for new
Android apps outside of searching in Google's Android Market or Amazon's
market (though I don't even think I loaded that on my most recent Android
phone yet). If you have an app as your primary selling point (i.e.
EverNote) then it is imperative you are in the App Market/Store. If you
are adding customer interaction to an existing business (i.e. Lowes has a
mobile version of their website) then the web app route is definitely a
good route. But even with that said, if I were Lowes I would still

create

an app for the App Market/Store because that is one more additional way
your customers can get at you.

Note I am still fairly fresh to the mobile dev scene so my comments are

not

flavored as much as somebody that's been doing it since 2007 (when

Android

came to Google).

Aaron Bartell
www.MowYourLawn.com/blog
www.OpenRPGUI.com
www.SoftwareSavesLives.com

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 9:24 AM, Mike Wills <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Sorry, I haven't read every post in this thread. But why create an app?
That is the first question that should be asked. If it is just because,
well, have fun. If you are looking at it for business, take a serious

look

at why you want an app vs. a mobile web site. I can write a mobile web
application once and not care if you are on Android, iPhone, or

Windows 7

(I admit Blackberry may be harder but could work). If I need GPS, I can
access that though the web app easily. If I need offline, depending on

what

you need, this can work in a web app. If I need access to the camera or
other features I can't access though a web app, then I would have to

create

an application.

One good example of this is Trello (https://trello.com). It is a basic
project management site focused towards giving a manager a high-level
overview of a project. Their desktop web app works slick. Their mobile
website works pretty good. Their iOS app sucks (the last time I tried

it).

In fact the web app when added to my home screen (on my iPod Touch),

now

looks and works like a native application.

Maybe instead of mobile applications, take a look a responsive design.

Then

you can create the web application once and have it work on phones,
tablets, AND PCs and they all have their own look. One example is one

of

my

websites (http://bizdevtalk.mikewills.me). I did not create the theme,

but

has a responsive design.

I am not saying that apps are worthless, but in the realm of business,

I

think you need to think beyond the buzzwords and seriously think about

why

you need an app when a web app might work just as well and saves the
headaches of dealing with 3rd party sellers and approval workflows.

Just

simply push out the changes to the web server and your bugs are fixed

and

new features added.

--
Mike Wills
http://mikewills.me

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 8:39 AM, Michael Ryan <michaelrtr@xxxxxxxxx>

wrote:

One of the big differences between service bureaus and the 'cloud'

is

that you essentially moved your processing to a service bureau. You
virtualized your processing someplace else, but it was still atomic.
The 'cloud' concept should enable many different processes to be made
available. You don't know or care where these processes exist - they
just provide information when requested.

On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 9:25 AM, Mike Pavlak <mike.p@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

And I was musing at the fact that we are simultaneously repeating

history in two directions:

1) Service Bureau's are back as "The Cloud"
2) Client Server is back as mobile applications on small devices!

Centralize...decentralize...centralize...decentralize...Oh hell,

why

not

do both at the same time!!! After all, we are a lot smarter now,

aren't

we?

The more things change, the more they stay the same!

Happy New year, all!!!

Mike
Office Phone: (708)233-5880 Cell: (408)679-1011

-----Original Message-----
From: web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:

web400-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

On Behalf Of Jim Oberholtzer

Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2012 8:07 AM
To: Web Enabling the AS400 / iSeries
Subject: Re: [WEB400] Android Development for the IBM i

Funny, as I read Joe's post and Pete's reply I could not help but

think

of the things that were said about AS/400 and OS/400 back in the

day.

Same tune, different company. While I am not a big fan of the way

Apple

has rolled out its products from a developers perspective, it is

now

up

to the corporate customer base to demand the types of APIs that

have

built into IBM i over time. The GenX and GenY crowd will never

demand

them since all they care about is finding a restaurant, texting,

and

exposing their lives and secrets to the world at any chance. Real
business will have to demand them.

That's primarily why I carry an Android based phone, although

Google

has

some learning to do too.

Jim Oberholtzer
Chief Technical Architect
Agile Technology Architects

On 1/2/2012 7:47 PM, Pete Helgren wrote:

Nicely said, Joe. Choosing where to leverage your strengths is a
survival skill in this business. I have bet wrong a couple of

times

but

since 2001 learning Java has had the greatest positive impact on

my

ability to stay afloat financially as a solo developer.

Pete Helgren
Value Added Software, Inc
www.petesworkshop.com
GIAC Secure Software Programmer-Java

On 1/2/2012 5:06 PM, Joe Pluta wrote:

But if it comes down to having to learn individual languages

and

platforms to support different platforms, I'll gladly support

Android

and drop support for iPhone. Android: open platform, open

language

(Java), open API. iPhone: closed platform, closed hardware,

closed

language, closed API. Not a tough decision.

--

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Regards,
Henrik Rützou

http://powerEXT.com <http://powerext.com/>
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