How To Create A Minimum Viable Product

Minimum_Viable_Product_-_old_GROUThere's been a lot of talk on the concept of minimum viable product lately, but not much has been written on how to actually implement one. Having gone through the process of developing one of the earliest social software mashups (GROU.PS) in PHP six years ago, and LoveBucks, a node.js Javascript app that is the Facebook “Like” Button for online content monetization (both alone), I want to describe to you a little bit what has really changed in web application development in recent years and the beauty of minimum viable product.

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Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Best alternative browser for iPhone shootout!

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury alternative browser for iphone shootout

The iPhone offers one of the best mobile browsing experiences on any smartphone platform. The built in Safari browser is great, and will only get better with iOS 6 features like iCloud tabs, image uploads, and smart banners. Still, it isn't, won't, and will never be for everyone. That why alternatives like Chrome, Atomic, and Mercury are so popular. But which one is the best? And which one is the best for you?

That's what we're here to find out!

Note 1: App Store browsers can't use their own HTML or JavaScript rendering engines. For security and control reasons, all App Store apps have to use Apple's UIWebView to render pages, and they don't have access to the faster, yet less secure, Nitro JavaScript engine Safari uses. This means App Store web browsers will all display websites pretty much the same, and none of them will load JavaScript pages faster than Safari. However, the interfaces and features they offer can make them compelling anyway.

Note 2: We're only looking at full, native alternate browsers in this shootout. Proxy browsers like Skyfire and Opera render content on their own servers and then send that content to your iPhone. There are pros and cons to both approaches, but they're different enough that we'll look at them separately, in their own shootout.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Interface and usability

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury Interface and Design

Google's Chrome for iPhone is just like its Mac and Windows counterpart when it comes to look and feel. There's nothing complicated to confuse you, and everything you need to move around and navigate is right there. Just start typing an address in the search bar or type in a search term to search Google and your on your way. Unfortunately, If you want to access a JavaScript bookmarklet (like Instapaper) you'll have to start typing it in the omnibar as well.

Chrome for iPhone user interface

Along the top you'll find a back button, address bar, options button, and tabs button. Tap the option button to add a bookmark, refresh the page, access existing bookmarks, open a new tab, view opened pages on other synced devices, and more.

Tap the tabs button next to the option button to view all currently open tabs or add a new one by tapping the new tab option in the upper left. Tabs will show up in a clean list view. Scroll through all open tabs and just tap on the one you'd like to re-open. You can click the little "x" in the corner of a tab to completely close it out.

Chrome for iPhone doesn't have any overwhelming menus to fiddle around with. The options most users need regularly are easy to find.

Atomic for iPhone user interface

Atomic browser for iPhone isn't as simple as Chrome but it does manage to pack quite a punch. Upon launching the app you'll notice you have a lot more buttons and options to work with.

While more buttons in some apps means confusion, this isn't the case with Atomic. All options are well labeled and explained so even beginner users will know what they're looking at. Unlike Chrome which has no buttons along the bottom, this is where you'll find most of your options in Atomic.

By default you'll see a button for tabs, add/share/print, downloads, settings/advanced features, and toggle fullscreen. You can edit these buttons within settings and choose what buttons you'd like to appear along the bottom. If you never use the downloads section, just remove it within settings and replace it with an option you find more useful.

The nice thing about Atomic is that it offers the features that advanced users will want but does it in a way that isn't confusing to mainstream users. Everything is accessible enough that anyone that manages to stumble across a setting will know what it does, but if you don't choose to use advanced settings, they stay out of your way.

Mercury for iPhone user interface

Mercury browser for iPhone is strikingly similar to Atomic browser and that isn't a bad thing. Just like Atomic, you'll find most of your toggles and settings along the bottom of the screen. The top of the screen will show your address and search bar as well as your tabs. From the top you can do things like add a bookmark to favorites by tapping the star icon, refresh the page, or open existing bookmarks.

Anything else you need to do can be done via the bottom bar. You've got your standard share/browser options button, a settings button, a fullscreen toggle button, and a button that gives you an almost fullscreen browser which replaces the button bar with a subtler set of controls and only shows tabs along the top instead of a full address bar.

Overall, Mercury does a very nice job of laying out toggles and settings. The ability to toggle between a couple different view modes is a nice option for when you're frequently changing web pages and want some options present but still want to enjoy browsing with as much screen real estate as possible.

If you've become accustomed to the sleek design and interface you get with the desktop version of Chrome you'll love the iPhone version. While Mercury and Atomic both provide great interfaces, Chrome is still a step ahead.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Tabbed browsing

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury Tabbed Browsing

Chrome, Mercury, and Atomic all allow you to enjoy a tabbed browsing experience on your iPhone. The challenge with tabs is to make them accessible without wasting any of the precious, tiny screen real estate.

While Atomic and Mercury approach tabs the same way the classic desktop app approaches them, Chrome does things differently and makes a completely separate section for tabs. Instead of having to scroll horizontally through tabs or use what little screen space there is to work with, Google has managed to not only make great use of space a fun, interactive, eye-pleasing experience for using tabs.

Chrome for iPhone tabbed browsing

Once you tap into the tab section in Chrome you'll see a card-style layout that presents a preview of the web page and the title. You can flip between tabs, scroll through them horizontally, and close them out quickly and fluidly. Being able to see a preview of a page is awesome for times when you've got multiple pages open on the same website. A cramped tab view doesn't allow you to see enough of the title to know which one is which but the way Chrome handles tabs solves that problem via the preview feature.

When it comes to tabbed browsing on the iPhone, Chrome does it the best.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Bookmark syncing

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury Bookmark Syncing

Most users will probably have quite a few bookmarks saved within their desktop browsers. While Safari offers native sync for bookmarks through iCloud, it doesn't really help you much if you use other browsers on your desktop such as Chrome or Firefox (unless you use a 3rd party service such as Xmarks to fill in the gap). This is where some of our alternate browsers can better fit your workflow.

Chrome for iPhone syncing

Chrome allows you to sync up with your Google account to bring bookmarks down from your desktop Mac or Windows PC fairly easily. Under sync, simply sign into your Google account and all your bookmarks will be zapped down to your iPhone pretty much instantly. If you use Chrome as your main browser on your desktop computer, this process will be painless, quick, and super simple. If you don't, you can still use Xmarks or another type of service to bring them into Chrome.

Chrome for iPhone actually takes bookmark syncing one step further and adds page syncing as well. If you've got Chrome open on one of your computers you can actually sync those same tabs to your iPhone. If you want Chrome to open your desktop tabs from your computer on your iPhone automagically you can do this by enabling the Chrome to Mobile option within sync settings. I've used this feature numerous times if I had a bunch of tabs open on my computer at home or in the office and needed to head out. I can quickly pick back up what I was doing on the go effortlessly. It's a great feature and something that a lot of multitaskers will really enjoy.

(Safari will be getting this feature with iOS 6.)

Atomic for iPhone syncing

Atomic also will allow you to sync bookmarks through their own process, but it's not nearly as clean and easy as what Chrome offers. You'll need to create a password and navigate to an Atomic-specific website on your computer and upload your bookmarks for syncing.

Mercury for iPhone syncing

Mercury offers better support when it comes to bookmarks syncing than Atomic, but it's still not as painless as Chrome. Through settings in Mercury, you can choose to import bookmarks manually or you can use Firefox Sync in order to bring down your Firefox bookmarks. You'll still need to access them on your computer and enable Firefox Sync in order to add your device but after that it's pretty painless.

Chrome has a much better syncing solution when it comes to bookmarks than both Atomic and Mercury.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Gesture support

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury Gesture Support

When it comes to gesture support both Atomic and Mercury give you tons of options for setting gestures based controls. Chrome doesn't offer any at all.

Multitouch support for Atomic and Mercury for iPhone

You can access gesture options in the settings panel of both Mercury and Atomic. You can choose between two-finger gestures, shake gestures, and more. With the iPhone's limited screen real estate I don't really see gestures being a huge advantage -- or deal-breaker -- for most.

However, both Atomic and Mercury are universal apps that also run on the iPad, and that's where the multitasking gestures really make navigating the web much easier. If you plan on using either of these browsers on your iPad as well, you should weigh in gesture support and the fact that Chrome doesn't have any.

Tie between Mercury and Atomic as they both offer great gesture support.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Additional features

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury Additional Features

The ability to sync and view open tabs in Chrome, and access them between desktop and iPhone, is a great feature. Another great feature of Chrome is the voice search. Just tap the microphone in the URL box to start dictating instead of typing. Voice search supports multiple languages so odds are whatever language you need will probably be there.

Chrome also offers an Incognito mode for browsing, which is basically a private browsing session. So if you need that feature, Chrome will have you covered. Chrome will also cover all the basics like searching a page, viewing the desktop version of a site, e-mailing and sharing a page.

Atomic and Mercury both offer a ton of extra features for advanced users such as ad blocking, browser identification, download abilities, and more. If you're looking for something that will give you tons of options and you don't mind giving up a bit of ease of use, Atomic or Mercury will be a better choice.

Atomic also offers Dropbox integration so if you're looking for something with that feature, Atomic is currently the only alternative browser out of the three that will offer it.

When it comes to additional features, Atomic and Mercury both offer roughly the same feature set, but Atomic offers more in terms of advanced settings.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Cost

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury

A higher price tag doesn't always mean a better app or experience, and cheap or free are sometimes worth even less than you pay for them. When it comes to alternative browsers, however, it's hard to compete with free-as-in-Google.

Chrome is a great app and it's available for free in the App Store. Atomic and Mercury will both cost you $0.99 for the Pro versions. All three apps offer iPad support without an additional purchase as well. If you aren't sure which one is right for you yet, Atomic and Mercury also offer free lite versions so you can grab those and take them for a test drive before deciding.

Given the fact that the full version of Chrome is free and universally compatible with iPhone and iPad, Chrome will be the best option for users who want the cheapest solution.

Chrome vs. Atomic vs. Mercury: Conclusion

Chrome vs Atomic vs Mercury Conclusion

Chrome, Atomic, and Mercury are all great alternative solutions to Safari, but they're aimed at completely different users.

If you want complete control over your browser like you do on a desktop computer, you'll want to check out either Atomic or Mercury. Both offer tons of options and allow you to customize your browsing experience exactly the way you'd like. For Dropbox users, however, Atomic's Dropbox integration puts it ahead.

If you want a browser that has a better layout than Safari and allows you easy access to bookmarks and other open tabs across all your desktop computers, Chrome is it. There may not be gesture support or a ton of customization options, but it works flawlessly and has a beautiful interface.

That, and the free price tag, make Google Chrome our favorite alternate browser for iPhone.

Chrome - Free - Download Now

Atomic - $0.99 - Download Now

Mercury - $0.99 - Download Now

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iTunes Wish List belongs on the iPhone and iPad App Store

iTunes has a Wish List. If you use the desktop version of iTunes, you may know this already. If you mostly use the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad App Store, however, you'll be forgiven if you have no idea it exists at all. Because "add to Wish List", one of the features that makes the most sense on mobile, doesn't exist in the on-device App Store at all. And it really should.

Case in point, last weekend I received a text message from a friend who told me in no uncertain terms that Apple needed to add a "Wish List" feature to the App Store. She was out and about and came across something she didn't want to buy immediately, but really wanted to remember to buy -- or be gifted! -- at some later point. And not only couldn't she add it to her Wish List on the iPhone, the lack of functionality made her think iTunes lacked the feature entirely.

That's the perplexing thing about the Wish List, if you visit the App Store (or any other iTunes Store) on the desktop version of iTunes, you can click the little arrow next to the price of the app and click "Add to Wish List". If you visit the App Store on the iPhone or iPad, you're simply out of luck. The iOS version has no such counterpart.

Clearly, Apple has recognized a need for a Wish List, otherwise they wouldn't have included it in their desktop app, but for some reason they've decided not to include it in any of the iOS Stores. Your Wish List cannot be accessed from the App Store, iTunes Store, or iBooks Store on the iPhone or iPad.

Apple doesn't release metrics on where or how people buy apps, but I can't help but assume most people actually shop for iOS apps on iOS devices, and for them the current Wish List implementation is practically useless. We need the Wish List on the the devices we're shopping with -- our iPhones and iPads.

I use My Wish List all the time for Movies on the Apple TV. There are many movies I want to own, but don't have the money needed to purchase them all at once. Instead, I occasionally browse through movies in the iTunes Movies Store and add several movies to my Wish List at a time. Then once a month, I visit My Wish List and purchase one or two movies from the list.

I'm sure there are many people who would love to do the same with apps. Most people live their lives on a budget and don't have the means to buy every app they want whenever they want it. Teenagers who get an iTunes allowance or buy gift cards to add money to their account would also greatly benefit from a Wish List.

So let this be another plea to sit beside my request for a Kids category in the App Store -- please, Apple, give us Wish Lists in the App Store on our iPhones and iPads.

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Researchers use off-the-shelf parts to let you write emails with your eyes (video)

Researchers use offtheshelf parts to let you write emails with your eye movements, play Pong

There's a lot of research to help the spinal cord or stroke-injured become more self-sufficient, but it often takes some exotic paraphernalia. To buck that trend, scientists from Imperial College London showed that subjects could perform relatively hard tasks like writing messages and playing Pong using eye movement -- with a mere $35-worth of parts. They even showed how well the system worked, with subjects scoring within 20 percent of an able-bodied person after a scant 10 minutes of practice. The tracker works with two video console cameras and a pair of eyeglasses that, after calibration, can precisely track the pupils -- allowing them to control a cursor or move a paddle. The researchers also figured out how to "click" the eye-mouse by winking, and can even use more precise adjustments to calculate gaze depth -- meaning subjects will be able to perform more complex tasks in the future, like guide a motorized wheelchair. While by no means the first eye-tracking system we've seen, it's by far the most economical. Check the video after the break to see how it works.

Continue reading Researchers use off-the-shelf parts to let you write emails with your eyes (video)

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Researchers use off-the-shelf parts to let you write emails with your eyes (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Jul 2012 08:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pink and blue Sony Xperia S may include faster CPU, sell as Xperia SL

Android Central

Rumors have been circulating for a while concerning the Sony LT26ii, said to be an Xperia S (LT26i) with slightly updated internals. And today we might have our first glimpse of the device, as the render above made its way out on notorious Sony-leaking Chinese site IT168. On the face of it, the chassis is identical to the older Xperia S, only the device now comes in a couple of new colors. The internal changes are what's really new -- there's allegedly a 1.7GHz dual-core Snapdragon S3 powering the SL, up from 1.5GHz in the Xperia S. On the software side, we'd certainly hope that this thing would ship with at Android 4.0 or later, rather than the Gingerbread-based firmware that was on Xperias S, P and U out of the box.

If these reports are accurate, this turn of events would perfectly mirror last year's late Q3 bump from the Xperia Arc to the Arc S. Announced at IFA 2012, the Arc S gave Sony's 2011 flagship gain a couple of new colors and a slightly faster CPU. This time around, though, Sony faces tougher competition than ever, so we're sure it'll want to push out new high-end hardware wherever it can, following a somewhat lackluster early 2012 line-up. Our money's on an announcement at the IFA show in Berlin next month.

Source: IT168; via: XperiaBlog

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The Dark Knight Rises landing in the App Store on July 20th, Batman fans rejoice

The Dark Knight Rises landing in the App Store on July 20th, Batman fans rejoiceGameloft has announced that it will be releasing its highly anticipated game, The Dark Knight Rises on July 20th. The game is based on the upcoming Batman film with the same name and will be the only official game based on this movie; the information comes from Pocket Gamer.

Featuring dozens of missions and random events like jail breaks, car chases, and hostage situations, The Dark Knight Rises aims to completely immerse its players in Gotham City.

As players navigate Batman through the levels of the game, they will need to master a complex and cinematic combat system in addition to the Dark Knight’s customary gadget goody bag.

When the time for punches and Batarang tossing has passed, players will also have the chance to drive the Batpod across the streets of Gotham or take to its skies in The Bat.

There are now two trailers showing how the game looks and they're both worth watching; we have embedded them below. If you’re a Batman fan, you are going to love playing this game. There is no information on pricing but we would assume that it will be similarly priced to Gameloft’s last movie based game, The Amazing Spiderman. That hit the App Store last month for $6.99 and was a universal app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Sometimes games based on movie franchises don't live up to expectations as they use the name to disguise poor gameplay. Gameloft appears to have addressed this complaint as its last game has an average rating of over four and a half stars from nearly three thousand reviews; hopefully The Dark Knight Rises will be just as good.

Source: Pocket Gamer

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The Downsides to Apple’s iPad

When Apple’s iPad was launched, there were queues of people waiting to get their hands on one. The revolutionary tablet iPad was going to offer people a new device that was going to change their lives. However, a lot of people shrugged at the idea with clear indifference. Many people announced their disappointment at the fact the iPad could not deliver on it’s promises. The two opposing views show just how divided opinions are about the device. First we need [...]

Source: http://tabletbuzzblog.com/the-downsides-to-apples-ipad/

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The First Nexus 7 Is Shipping Today [Android]

Surprise! The Google Nexus 7 tablet—aka the best way to spend $200—is shipping today. If you are looking for a tablet of this size, you should be cheering right now. It got a four-star GizRank in our review: More »


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Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game

letitslide
I have a thing for physics games, and I've been known to post the occasional platformer or action game here and there. But Let it Slide is one of the brainiest games I've posted to date.

The idea is very simple, and far from original: You get a board with pieces arranged in a particular pattern; you have to slide those around until you get the special piece into its target location.

It's not even about finding out where the target location is - you can just hover over "dim tiles" and instantly see where you're supposed to bring the special piece. But getting it there is a whole different story.

There are five tutorial levels, which I strongly recommend you do. Then there are twenty "beginner" levels, but that's really a misnomer. If those are the beginner levels, I don't want to know what the intermediate and advanced levels look like!

Every time you finish a level you get a score based on how many clicks it took you - each level has a "par" (the minimum number of clicks it could be completed in), and your performance is compared to that gold standard. Because it's such a brainy game, getting it right is quite satisfying. I was downright proud of myself when I managed to finish a few levels. All in all, quite recommended, especially if you've got a few minutes of quiet. It might actually help you focus better later on.

Let it Slide is an engaging, difficult puzzle game originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 23 Feb 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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