Google Launches Hardware Initiative to Teach Kids Code
Google just launched a new hardware initiative, Project Bloks, with the aim of expanding youth exposure to coding principles through “tangible coding.” Unlike the software-based coding systems mobile app developers who work with kids might be familiar with, tangible coding systems represent coding concepts — objects, binaries, if/then statements — as physical objects that can […]
How Much Does it Cost to Develop an App?
Short answer: anywhere from $25,000–500,000. Long answer: building an app is like building a house. Who is it for? Bricks or beams? What’s the neighborhood like? Tree houses and penthouses are both “houses,” but serve radically different purposes at radically different price points. The team here at Dogtown has launched over 100 mobile app […]
Uber Trying to Win Back Their Most Valued Resource: Drivers
Uber, like any sharing-economy mobile app developer, has two main resources: workers and customers. This may sound simplistic, but it’s actually a tricky and unique balance in the on-demand startup industry, compared with worker and consumer relations in more traditional companies. When a mobile app becomes the interface between employer and employee, efficiency increases — […]
Apple Says App Store Ad Changes Won’t Hurt Small Developers
iPhone app developers have been voicing concerns about Apple’s new App Store app-install advertising proposal, after an email to developers announcing the beta program went out to the development community. According to Apple, Search Ads will be similar to Google Adwords in that users will place bids on relevant keywords in order to appear at […]
Facebook Promotes fbStart at Global Entrepreneurship Summit
President Obama and Mark Zuckerburg shared the stage at last week’s Global Entrepreneurship Summit to draw attention to tech and small business in the American economy. While the thrust of the talk was aimed at increasing support and diversity among startups and mobile app developers, Zuckerburg used the stage time to promote a little-known but […]
Twilio Defies Brexit to Blaze Trail for Tech IPOs
Communication software startup Twilio’s decision to launch their IPO the day before Brexit was one of the more mysterious financial moves in tech this quarter. Depending on your perspective, it was either brilliant or deranged — particularly given the pressure on the company to perform after last season’s disappointing crop of tech IPOs. On the […]
Brexit Vote Sends Shockwaves Through Startup Community
The United Kingdom’s Brexit vote in favor of leaving the European Union (EU) has sent shockwaves through the business world, and tech is no exception. Surging stock prices only 24 hours before the historic vote saw Wall Street place their bets against the UK’s departure, making Friday’s 52:48 near-tie all the more bitter a pill […]
Dogtown Works for Edtech at First Youth Technology Town Hall
Dogtown Media joined Microsoft, Facebook, Pandora, and other leading tech companies in Chicago last week (June 17) for a historic first Youth Technology Town Hall. Congressman Danny K. Davis and community leaders organized the event to promote STEM and computer science education in the Chicago area, tapping the expertise of technologists and iPhone app developers […]
Apple App Store Tops $50 Billion in Developer Revenue
Apple recently announced that developer payouts on their app platform passed the $50 billion mark, with a record-setting 2 million apps live and 130 billion downloads. The announcement comes at an interesting time in the mobile revolution as the advancing popularity of app alternatives like voice, bots, and integrated assistants begins to chip away some […]
Research Shows Huge Growth in Millennial use of Mobile Apps
Research firm comScore recently released their annual report on mobile app use. The results? Millennials still love mobile apps, to the tune of a whopping 90 hours per month spent on smartphone apps alone. Don’t worry, they love tablets too. Just not as much. Of usage growth across all platforms, mobile represented 65 percent, followed […]