Mobile app development and how to resources

10 Great Tablet PC App Development How To Resources

08/29/2011 Comments Off on 10 Great Tablet PC App Development How To Resources Android Apps, iOS Apps Like

So you are well aware of the booming and highly lucrative tablet PC app development market, and perhaps you have one or more ideas for a new mobile app, but you have no idea how to develop your own app, how much it will cost or where to get started. If you can relate to this then I urge you to continue reading!

First of all, before I get started with providing a helpful list of tablet PC app development resources, please allow me to present you with a few fun facts and statistics about the mind boggling growth of the tablet computer app development industry.

Tablet Computer Mobile App Market Statistics

The very first app became available for smartphones back in 2008, to be more exact apps for the iPhone from the newly launched Apple App Store. By the end of 2008 there were roughly 10,000 apps developed and available to consumers. These numbers continued to grow at a rapid rate and of course exploded even more with the introduction of the iPad and Android tablets.

Fast forward to today, less than 3 years later, and the number of available iOS apps has increased to over a whopping 500,000 in total. Not to mention, the amount of Android tablet apps is also booming. By the end of 2010 the iOS app market became a $6.8 billion dollar industry. At the rate the app market is growing it’s expected that by the year 2013 apps will generate an annual amount of nearly $30 billion dollars in revenue which is quite mind boggling to say the least.

It’s projected that 20 billion iOS apps will be downloaded this year alone, give or take. Estimated revenue growth mentioned above is for iOS app purchases only and does not include the expected $860+ million in-app ad revenue that is likely to be the case by 2014.

Check out the following mobile app infographics based on legit sources and in-depth research for more details and statistics on the growth of this massive market:

500k Apple iOS Apps Infographic
Attack of the In-App Ad Infographic

Now that you’re even more pumped about creating and distributing apps let’s get down to business with some of the most useful app development resources to help you get started!

Android Tablet App Development Resources

Optimizing Apps for Android 3.0

This is the official Android development website. Here you’ll find out how to set up your SDK (software development kit) for Android 3.0, how to optimize Android apps for Honeycomb 3.0. and much more! It’s a great place to get started.

How to Optimize Apps for Android 3.0

XDA Developers

A large and helpful community where you can ask questions about anything related to Android app development and hacking and find the answers you need.

Android Development & Hacking Forum

Droid Draw

Droid Draw is a nifty little Android app GUI generator and it’s absolutely free to use. For the most part it’s pretty straight forward, but of course could be a little tricky or confusing at first, so if you are having troubles using Droid Draw or getting started you might want to check out this guide to creating a UI using Droid Draw to help you get started.

Droid Draw

How to Customize Android App Fonts

A free tutorial on how to code and customize fonts for Android apps. Includes some really good in-depth information on how to define your typeface, text style, text size, text color, text shadowing, and using custom fonts. A very helpful resource especially for beginners.

Quick Tip: Customize Android Fonts

Helpful Books On Android Tablet App Development

Android Tablet Application Development For Dummies
Beginning Android Tablet Application Development

Apple iPad & iOS App Development Resources

Appcelerator

Making apps compatible across multiple different platforms including the iPad and iPad 2 doesn’t get any easier than this, seriously! Using web technologies such as Javascript, CSS3 and HTML5 Appcelerator helps you quickly develop native mobile and tablet PC applications.

Appcelerator Titanium Platform

Apple iPad iOS Dev Center

It’s required and also essential to join the iOS Dev Center in order to submit your apps for consideration to be listed in the Apple App Store. It costs $99 per year but if you’re serious about getting even just one app listed it’s worth every penny and then some. That price also includes 2 support calls just in case you get stuck, Apple is there to help guide you through the process if need be.

Here you’ll also find access to download the necessary and most up-to-date iOS software developer kit (SDK) for the iPad platform.

There’s also a developers forum where you’ll find comprehensive help, tips and information no matter what level you are at in regards to app development.

Apple iOS Dev Center

MacRumors iPad Programming & Developer Forum

MacRumors is a massive site with multiple different forums, including their iPad Programming forum where you can ask questions regarding anything related to iPad app development and quickly get the answers you need. I’m not joking when I say quickly either, this is one of the most active forums I have personally ever used.

iPad Programming & Developer Forum

iPad App Design Tips

A comprehensive tutorial on how to make custom iPad apps which includes UI tips, multiple browser options, layout orientation tips and other goodies.

Top 5 Tips for Designing iPad Apps

Helpful Books On iPad App Development

Professional iPhone and iPad Database Application Programming
iPad Application Development For Dummies

BlackBerry Tablet OS Application Development Resources

BlackBerry Tablet OS Application Development

This is the official BlackBerry OS application development and resource site, the perfect place to get started and also where you’ll find information and download links for BlackBerry Native SDK for Tablet OS Beta, BlackBerry Tablet OS SDK for Adobe AIR and BlackBerry WebWorks SDK for Tablet OS as well as BlackBerry Tablet OS key details.

Official BlackBerry Tablet OS Application Development Site

CrackBerry – BlackBerry Tablet OS Forum

A general forum which is quite active where you can ask questions and engage in all discussions related to developing applications for BlackBerry PlayBook OS platforms.

BlackBerry Tablet OS Discussion Forum

Helpful Books On BlackBerry Tablet OS Application Development

Developing Blackberry Tablet Applications with Flex 4.5