Updated July 3, 2023
Introduction to Mobile App Design Software
In the age of mobile phones and Smartphones, ‘Mobile app design software’ is a commonly heard term. A mobile app design software is a small software application that runs on mobile phones or other mobile devices and serves some specific function or provides information on a particular topic. Some examples of mobile Apps that usually every smartphone comes preloaded with are a calendar, calculator, e-mail, clock, and weather information. Additional mobile apps can be downloaded through a mobile app store native to your phone’s Operating System, such as Apple’s App Store, Google Play, Windows Phone Store, and BlackBerry App World, the distribution platforms for these apps.
The Popularity of Mobile Apps Design Software
Thirty-six percent of smartphone and 45 percent of tablet users purchased at least one App in 2014.
Over 100 billion mobile app design software pieces were downloaded from the Apple App Store in June 2015.
We have seen the popularity of mobile phones growing over the last decade. Mobile phones have now been replaced by smartphones that are full of apps. An app can directly target its user base and absorb the consumer. Therefore, the demand for various apps has risen over the last few years.
Apps Make Your Phone a Multi-Purpose Device
Mobile messaging app WhatsApp boasts more than 900 million active users per month!
Mobile phone trends have caught up with consumers because the various apps make it a multi-purpose device. This small gadget single-handedly acts as a phone, a camera, an organizer, a personal assistant who informs you about your schedule and appointments, an instant messenger, a navigator to guide you on your journey, your personal trainer who tells you how much more work-out is required to burn a specific amount of calories to keep you fit, a dictionary, a music player, a movie player, a gaming zone and numerous other utilities.
App development tools
Conventionally, a layperson like you or me cannot even deem it possible to create an app on his own. After all, mobile app design software is not everybody’s cup of tea. It requires some engineering knowledge, extensive work hours, and trials. But now, an amateur like you or me can develop our very own App. Many Mobile App development tools are now available that can guide you through each step of mobile app development.
Features of App Development Tools
These software or mobile app tools can help you create or design your App in a matter of seconds and at a fraction of the cost or sometimes without any cost.
Mobile app design software can have the following features:
- They have all the tools required to design an app:- integrated notifications, functionality with various programming languages, built-in photo galleries with high-resolution images, location-aware GeoRSS, custom CSS, personalized branding & designing, etc.
- No more working twice as hard for the same App. A single App development tool lets you develop a mobile app for Android, and Apple does its cross-functional feature.
- These tools allow you to publish your App directly to the google play store, and it’s an iPhone app version to the iTunes App Store – with a single click.
- There is no limit on the number of apps you can develop and publish
- They provide an excellent platform for ambitious developers to display their talent and target the right audience
Let us now learn about some of the most popular and efficient tools to help you develop your own App.
1. RhoMobile
RhoMobile offers Rhodes, an open-source framework based on the programming language Ruby.
You can create apps on various mobile Operating Systems, including Android, Windows Mobile, iPhone, Symbian, and RIM. This tool can be downloaded from http://rhomobile.com/download/
Features
- You can program your App on Rhomobile with coding and programming languages like Java, HTML5, and CSS3.
- Native apps developed on Rhomobile are compatible with available hardware, offering excellent speed and precision.
USPs
- You will require code once in Rho mobile framework and can use the same code to create apps.
- It has excellent widgets, effects, and styling libraries to help improve the utility and look of the apps.
- It has RhoHub, a hosted development environment, and RhoSync, an individual server so users can conveniently access all the app data.
2. Appcelerator
It powers over 1,000 native apps per month.
Appcelerator, one of the most popular app development tools, offers a Titanium development platform that helps to develop a native app for smartphones, tablets, and desktops. It uses web programming languages such as HTML, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, and Python.
You can start using Appcelerator by signing up at http://www.appcelerator.com/signup/
Main Features
- It allows cross-platform native mobile app design software
- You can program your App on Appcelerator with the programming language JavaScript.
- You will find mobile App design software such as mobile backend as a service(MBaaS), mobile test automation, crash detection, performance management, and mobile analytics.
USPs
- You can access over 300 APIs and location information.
- Develops through and through hardware-based apps.
- You can store app data either in a virtual private cloud or on the device
Shortfalls
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- UI Development portability across various platforms produces unreliable or irregular LCD (lowest common denominator) design.
3. AppMakr
A fantastic tool that will help you develop your App for iPhone, Android, or Windows, and lets you create HTML5 mobile formatted websites and share your content with a much larger audience.
This tool is free of cost and can be downloaded from http://appmaker.en.softonic.com/. However, if you purchase a premium version for $79 per month, you can access other advanced features also.
Main Features
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- It is a browser-based platform.
- You will find mobile Appss design software such as push notifications, location-aware GeoRSS, customizable CSS, and JavaScript aptitudes.
USPs
- The best part about using Appmakr is that no coding is required for mobile app development.
- It follows a DIY (do-it-yourself) approach that makes the user very comfortable and completely at ease, even if he is designing an app for the first time.
- It allows you to use any content you may have and even social networking feeds to create various facets of your App.
- Excellent UI abstraction without forcing an LCD design.
Shortfalls
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- Not-so-excellent Native performance
4. Xamarin
Xamarin web development tool helps you to develop apps in C# with Microsoft’s Visual Studio using APIs and data frameworks on iPhone, Android, and Windows platforms. It also supports cross-platform mobile app development.
Main Features
- You will find class libraries, a C# compiler, and a virtual machine in Xamarin.
- Xamarin uses the Mono-based toolchain.
USPs
- Excellent native performance quality and performance
Weaknesses
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- It does not allow complete User Interface (UI) portability across iOS and Android. As a result, you need to code APIs, widgets, event logic, etc., separately for both platforms, consuming a lot of time.
- In-built Xamarin overhead significantly increases its download time and takes up larger storage space.
5. PhoneGap
PhoneGap has to its credit the ‘Web 2.0 Expo San Francisco’s 2009 LaunchPad event’ award.
It offers the FOSS environment and uses distributed systems technology that helps to develop active mobile app analytics for Android, Palm, Symbian, BlackBerry, and, most importantly, iOS. This mobile app platform uses common web programming languages like HTML, CSS3, and JavaScript.
It lets app developers design native mobile app analytics and also provides hassle-free access to native APIs. You can easily use other hardware features such as GPS/location, camera, and the accelerometer on your phone with PhoneGap-developed apps.
This tool can be downloaded from https://phonegap.com/
Main Features
- For platforms like Android, iOS, and others, it employs standardized web APIs.
- It is an open-source platform that can be downloaded free of cost.
It is now owned by Adobe
USPs
- You can take online training courses with its Adobe AIR app to guide the developer using native APIs and designing mobile app analytics on PhoneGap.
6. WidgetPad
The credit for launching WidgetPad goes to Satoshi Nakajima,
WidgetPad is a free, web-based, open-source mobile development environment. It lets you create your apps using HTML5, CSS, and Javascript web technologies for iPhone, Android, and WebOS.
This tool is also available free of cost and can be downloaded from http://widgetpad.soft112.com/
Main Features
- WidgetPad uses a hosted SaaS (Software as a Service) model.
- App development tools such as source code editing, collaboration, debugging, and project management will be available.
- WidgetPad allows you to distribute your applications to app stores.
USPs
- It allows you to easily port these applications to smartphone devices such as the Palm Pre and Blackberry.
7. MoSync
Like PhoneGap, MoSync is also FOSS multi-platform mobile app design software that can help you create mobile app analytics with standard web programming languages, namely C/C++, HTML5 for Windows Mobile, Android, Symbian, iPhone OS, BlackBerry, and Moblin.
Main Features
- It has App development tools such as integrated compilers, libraries, runtimes, device profiles, etc.
USPs
- MoSync includes Eclipse-based IDE for C/C++ programming.
8. Sencha
You can develop HTML5 apps on Sencha with the help of included resources such as Sencha Animator and Sencha Architect. Apps developed on Sencha are also compatible with various platforms.
Main Features
- It has unique tools such as a layout engine, fluid animations, and smooth scrolling to develop mobile applications with quick response time.
USPs
- Drag and drop insertion for different smartphone platforms, namely: iPhone, Blackberry, Kindle, and Microsoft, is also a unique feature of Sencha.
- It has over 50 built-in UI components and themes that look native.
- Its Touch feature makes mobile app tool creation a cakewalk.
9. Mippin
More than 100,000 apps have been released by Mippin to different app marketplaces.
Mippin App Factory is a cross-device app builder tool that helps you design live archetypes capable of using all iOS, Windows, and Android device attributes. These prototypes can be published to iTunes, Google Play Store, Windows Store, and Amazon. It is a platform-independent engine.
It is a boon for small businesses, which can have their App for all types of smartphones. It’s a three-step technique that doesn’t require any technical knowledge. Click on http://www.mippin.com/appfactory/ to start creating your own App.
Main Features
- It is known for its high speed.
- It does not require coding, so no development skills are needed to create your mobile app tools.
- Mippin is free of cost. However, you can purchase their App Pack for $99 per year to improve your experience. Furthermore, you can upgrade by paying $999 per year. , Forach Native App.
- It has automatic updates.
USPs
- Mippin’s user-friendly features provide flexibility in creating iPhone and Android apps.
Shortfalls
- Its high cost is its weak point. You may have to pay as much as $999 per year for native apps.
10. GENWI
Yet another platform that helps you develop, publish and manage HTML5 apps and other apps on iPhone, Android smartphones, and tablets. It offers superior media such as graphics, photos, audio, and videos.
Use a three-month free trial to
Main Features
- It is also a cross-platform tool, meaning you create mobile app tools only once, and the tool duplicates it flawlessly for all other platforms.
- You can edit your App limitlessly.
- It does not require coding.
- Various options will help your App earn revenue. You can use ads, coupons, and subscriptions.
- Regular updates to improve your apps. for
USPs
- It uses cloud-based technology, which is safe & consistent
- GenWi provides reliable data about consumer behavior to help you improve your App.
You can also check out these mobile app tools.
MyAppBuilder:
No technical know-how is needed. Trouble-free uploading to App stores
ShoutEm:
Perfect for bloggers, students, sports lovers, news sites, and local publishers. No coding is required. It also offers trouble-free uploading to App stores.
Kony:
It uses JavaScript and has to drag-and-drop widgets. It also has a feature that helps import existing or third-party libraries.
Conclusion
The tools mentioned above are just a few of tens of other app development tools, some used for creating a specific type of App. One such example is Mobicart, which helps you to create an e-shopping app. Another tool called MobBase provides users with information on events and allows them to buy tickets.
Similarly, there are apps for creating blogging apps, music apps, promoting businesses, publishing apps, etc. In short, you can create mobile app tools for anything you wish to share with many people.
Creating mobile app tools for your business gives your product or brand its identity, increasing your customer base and enhancing your revenue channels. It is the best way to stay at your customers’ fingertips.
Recommended Articles
This has been a guide to Mobile App Design Software. Here we have discussed different apps that run on mobile phones and serve some specific function or provide information on a particular topic. These are the following external link related to mobile app design software.
