TheAppBuilder Churns Out Apps For All Platforms
TheAppBuilder is a useful application creation tool for nonprogrammers. It's one of the few in its category that supports Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Mobile, and HTML5.
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TheAppBuilder is a free Web-based application that lets anyone create simple apps without knowing how to program. Developed by JamPot Technologies Ltd., TheAppBuilder is not the first of its kind and won't be the last. But at a recent SF New Tech event, it stood out from the competition in several ways.
First, it's one of the only services of its kind that supports every conceivable platform: Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Mobile, and HTML5. Second, even the free version of TheAppBuilder is ad free. That's huge for me. Third, TheAppBuilder doesn't restrict adding custom graphics, like some of its competitors do. That alone puts it on a level above the rest.
There are just a few qualifications. One: If you use the free version, all apps you create include one tab in the main menu that advertises TheAppBuilder. The tab is the last one, and it's unobtrusive. Although it's not listed on the pricing page, there is an option to get rid of TheAppBuilder's ad for $5 a month.
Message alerts popped under the current window, where I couldn't see them.
Second annoyance: TheAppBuilder is a bit buggy. For instance, in my tests all of the system messages, such as "App saved", appeared like the image nearby (click for a larger version). The message popped up under the current window in which I was working, making it impossible to read. I checked it in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox and had the same problem.
The free version of TheAppBuilder is generous in features. What it doesn't include is the ability to create native apps or upload apps to an app store. Gaining the ability to do either of these costs a hefty $499, plus applicable app store fees, which range from a $25 one-time fee for Google Play to a minimum $99 a year for Windows 8. The paid TheAppBuilder includes native app creation, download statistics, and the ability to charge for your apps. There is also a private option for corporations.
Name: TheAppBuilder
TheAppBuilder is a useful tool for building simple apps. It's one of the few services of its kind that supports so many platforms: Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Mobile, and HTML5. On the downside, if its templates and modules don't offer a certain functionality, and you don't know HTML5, you're out of luck.
Price: Free version; $499 for ability to create native apps or upload to a public app store (app store fees are separate).
Pro:
Easy to make simple apps.
Cost effective for small businesses.
Free option has few restrictions and no ads.
More complex applications can be created using HTML5.
Con:
Buggy. I couldn't get maps to work, and the interface messages don't display properly.
The only viable video option is YouTube.
All apps essentially are re-packaged HTML5 pages.
My mission: To build a portfolio app for the digital videos I've created. I selected video because it can sometimes be a challenge for developers, and I thought it might be helpful for showing my work.
The first few steps were simple. I chose the type of app I wanted to create from an extensive drop-down list of templates. Then TheAppBuilder dropped me into the editing, customizing, publishing, and marketing screen.
Now you wait for TheAppBuilder to do some building magic.
TheAppBuilder gives app creators 13 different editing modules from which to choose. They include HTML5, which adds many possibilities but also the additional challenge of complexity, if you aren't already familiar with HTML5. For my video portfolio app, YouTube and HTML 5 were the only options I had to display my content. Vimeo--not YouTube--hosts my portfolio. So I had no choice but to go with HTML5.
The HTML5 didn't look right on my first attempt. Even when I followed the directions in this JamPot video tutorial explaining how to add HTML5, I still couldn't get it to work. First, there was the annoying problem that whenever the preview window loaded the Vimeo page, it automatically redirected the whole browser window to the Vimeo page I linked to. That meant I couldn't edit the link, title, or icon anymore. I tried it in two other browsers with the same result. When I tried a beta build of my app on my Android phone, the video still wouldn't play.
I guess it's technically Vimeo's fault that it doesn't work on my phone, or maybe it's my Samsung phone's fault--I'm not sure. But it didn't work, and the error message just told me there was a problem and not how to fix it. Here's my Android test app, if you'd like to try it yourself. Click the link from your Android phone and follow the instructions.
Interestingly, I tried it on iOS and the video worked. But that's no surprise considering Apple's embrace of HTML5 and the "app" on an iPhone is an HTML5 page anchored to one of the iOS home screens.
One last thing: when you use the HTML5 editing module, every clip has to live in its own tab. No way around it. I tried the YouTube module and it was much better. On Android it's easy to browse video content, which opens in Google's YouTube App. After this experience I know that if I want to use TheAppBuilder for a digital video portfolio, I have no choice but to move my portfolio to YouTube. That's annoying but not the end of the world.
So, for video, TheAppBuilder has some issues. What about the rest of the modules? Facebook and Twitter feeds are simple to integrate. Just type in the user name you'd like to display, and you're ready to go. Read on for more module experiences.
For image galleries, TheAppBuilder requires photos to have dimensions of 1024 X 1024 pixels. Most people don't take square pictures, so that means you'll either have to squeeze your wide photos or do some serious photo editing to make them fit. In a separate issue, above, you can mostly ignore what photos look like in the upload preview. As you can see, the final product looks a lot better.
Inputting events, news and lists is simple and straightforward. All use the same interface--essentially a simplified version of what you'd expect to see running underneath a content management system like Wordpress.
I didn't need a mapping capability in my video portfolio app, but I thought I'd try to add this feature anyway. Unfortunately, even after following the instructions to the letter, I couldn't get a map to display in the HTML5 preview. I also tried it on iOS and Android, but no luck. Too bad, because I really wanted to try the "augmented reality" map view.
TheAppBuilder stands out from the competition in graphics customization. It's pretty comprehensive, letting you change the icon, splash screen, banner image, colors, and the app description.
TheAppBuilder stands out from the competition in graphics customization. It's pretty comprehensive, letting you change the icon, splash screen, banner image, colors, and the app description.
TheAppBuilder is a free Web-based application that lets anyone create simple apps without knowing how to program. Developed by JamPot Technologies Ltd., TheAppBuilder is not the first of its kind and won't be the last. But at a recent SF New Tech event, it stood out from the competition in several ways.
First, it's one of the only services of its kind that supports every conceivable platform: Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Mobile, and HTML5. Second, even the free version of TheAppBuilder is ad free. That's huge for me. Third, TheAppBuilder doesn't restrict adding custom graphics, like some of its competitors do. That alone puts it on a level above the rest.
There are just a few qualifications. One: If you use the free version, all apps you create include one tab in the main menu that advertises TheAppBuilder. The tab is the last one, and it's unobtrusive. Although it's not listed on the pricing page, there is an option to get rid of TheAppBuilder's ad for $5 a month.
Message alerts popped under the current window, where I couldn't see them.
Second annoyance: TheAppBuilder is a bit buggy. For instance, in my tests all of the system messages, such as "App saved", appeared like the image nearby (click for a larger version). The message popped up under the current window in which I was working, making it impossible to read. I checked it in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox and had the same problem.
The free version of TheAppBuilder is generous in features. What it doesn't include is the ability to create native apps or upload apps to an app store. Gaining the ability to do either of these costs a hefty $499, plus applicable app store fees, which range from a $25 one-time fee for Google Play to a minimum $99 a year for Windows 8. The paid TheAppBuilder includes native app creation, download statistics, and the ability to charge for your apps. There is also a private option for corporations.
Name: TheAppBuilder
TheAppBuilder is a useful tool for building simple apps. It's one of the few services of its kind that supports so many platforms: Android, iOS, Windows 8, Windows Mobile, and HTML5. On the downside, if its templates and modules don't offer a certain functionality, and you don't know HTML5, you're out of luck.
Price: Free version; $499 for ability to create native apps or upload to a public app store (app store fees are separate).
Pro:
Easy to make simple apps.
Cost effective for small businesses.
Free option has few restrictions and no ads.
More complex applications can be created using HTML5.
Con:
Buggy. I couldn't get maps to work, and the interface messages don't display properly.
The only viable video option is YouTube.
All apps essentially are re-packaged HTML5 pages.
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