Technology

What is a “Freemium” App?

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Article written by GigaTech

A “freemium” app is a free download that rather than charging users a flat rate, uses in-app purchases to generate revenue.

There are usually a few tiers to an app. The first tier is always free. That’s what is referred to as “freemium”. You obtain the word “freemium” when you combine “free” and “premium”.

Mobile app developers Los Angeles—or any other city—offering freemium apps or services, bank on the idea that 1 or 2 percent of users will choose to pay for the full-featured app or service. More often than not, paying users cover the cost of freemium users. For any given app, power users pay for more functions or space.

The Pitfall

What if the app doesn’t attract 2 percent of users, who pay for the premium version? Or what if the charges aren’t enough to cover all costs? The owner of the app has two choices: get consumed in freemium flames, or charge everybody.

The Upside

As an iPhone app development company Los Angeles, you want your iPhone apps to generate at least some revenue. Here’s what you can do to realize success in your company: give the business enough time and more free users may just decide pay for your services.

Today, mobile app development Los Angeles has become more popular than ever. Companies looking to succeed in this industry need to know that a free app is downloaded more, compared to a paid app. Consequently, the number of in-app purchases exceed what a premium version could make.

Halcyon Innovation is a group of Android and iPhone app developers from Los Angeles. Halcyon makes applications for businesses around the globe.

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Top Android Tablets

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There is an amazing number of new Android tablets paving their way in the market. With all these choices, consumers might be confounded when it comes to buying their new device. The list below depicts some of the best 8-inch Android tablets of this year.

Google Nexus 9
This is the first tablet that will be sold with Android 5.0 Lollipop straight out of the box. The 9 is the successor of the Nexus 7. It is known to be one of the toughest rivals to the iPad. This tablet is manufactured by HTC and its touchscreen comes in 8.9 inches. It comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 protection. The resolution is 1536 x 2048. The main factor that brings an edge to this tablet is the fact that it has been designed with particular consideration for the latest OS release.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S
The Galaxy Tab S comes in 2 versions, the 10.5 inches screen and the other one is 8.4 inches. The screen features the AMOLED technology and the tablet is quite lightweight and extremely slim. Features and performance are some of the key strengths of this tablet.

Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2
This tablet has an 8-inch LCD screen. The resolution is of 1920 x 1200 and the density is at 283 ppi. The Wi-Fi version is quite lightweight at around 419g. The tablet comes with a quad-core processor and clocks at 1.33 GHz. It comprises of a 3GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. This is a good affordable tablet.

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Samsung Galaxy Note Edge review

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The Note Edge, very much like its predecessor, is a large thin phablet. The screen dimension is of 5.6 inch. Users will also be able to experience the Amoled Quad HD+ on this device. The highest HD resolution of its screen is 524 ppi. The size and weight do not differ much from the Note 4, only that the Note Edge is slightly longer, thinner and lighter by a few grams. Among the features of the Note Edge there are the heart sensor, fingerprint ID sensor and the popular S-Pen which can be slotted to the side.

Screen
The right side of the phablet’s screen curves around its side. This extension is not part of the main screen though. It constitutes of a second screen for other menus and alerts. The smaller screen has a resolution of 2560 x 160 px. The information featured on this screen can be customised.

Software & Processor
The Note Edge’s processor consists of a 2.7 GHz quad-core along with a 3GB RAM. For Operating System, quite surprisingly, rather than the most updated Android version, users will have the Android 4.4.4 KitKat. However, software upgrades might be on the way.

Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 4, the Galaxy Note Edge does not offer much of an improvement. The main noticeable feature on the Note Edge is the curved alert panels found on its side. This feature, apart from being aesthetically pleasing, is also genuinely useful. The phablet still does not bear waterproof features, which might be a let-down for the price.

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Could 3D Printing Disrupt the Froyo Business?

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Imagine visiting your favorite ice cream shop, and because they have a promotional deal with Marvel you can order custom printed cups designed with your child’s favorite superheroes. Sound like a dream? 3-D printing might make that reality come sooner than you think. There are already retail operations set up to 3-D print everything. Materials are becoming cheaper too, so the days of a business like Baskin Robbins custom printing everything from spoons to cups might be coming soon.

3D Printing Advances

Frozen yogurt seems like an unlikely candidate for disruption, but we’re already experimenting with 3D printed foods. These foods are made of natural ingredients too, so startups are springing up frequently around the idea that customers will take a bite. Frozen Yogurt might be a good entry point. We are used to the familiar routine of soft serve at a buffet: ice cream cups stacked atop one another, a pull lever dispensing chocolate or vanilla.

Now imagine that concept with any flavor you want, all made of dairy-based ingredients as natural ice cream or frozen yogurt should be. That’s not too hard to swallow.

What’s Next

There aren’t any specific initiatives yet aimed at disrupting the ice, but MIT students have already created 3D printed ice cream. By hacking a 3D printer together with a Cuisinart ice cream maker, the trio of students managed to create a device that can serve ice cream on demand. For fun, it even prints shapes and adds texture.

Would you eat 3D printed froyo?

 

Gelato Products is North America’s largest supplier of ice cream shop supplies, including personalized ice cream cups. Order now for free shipping on all items.

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Punch-Time Clocks Can Harm Your Company’s Finances

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Read below to see how new-age technology has led to the exit of older time clock models.

The century-old punch-card time clocks are a staple system in many businesses today. Their simplicity and cost-efficiency has led to many business owners to employ these machines in their workplace. However, its minimalistic design has led to employees finding “loopholes” around the system in order to get paid slightly more.

One of the most frequently used methods that is still a problem today is the “buddy punching” scheme where an employee punches the card of another that is either late or absent. The end result is an unknown figure that’s being paid out to those that wholly do not deserve it. As a result, more companies opt to use the biometric time clock instead, which eliminates buddy punching.

There have been rising concern however, over the information that someone inputs through a fingerprint time clock. Despite its appearance, any information that’s logged in the system like a personal fingerprint won’t be used for any criminal background check or anything of the sort. Its sole purpose lies in tracking time and attendance. The fingerprint itself is just a numerical value that the computer recognizes and identifies through its algorithms.

Through the use of these systems, businesses and companies, especially ones with a high turnover rate, are experiencing much more success accurately tracking their employees’ time and attendance. Most time clocks also include the ability to compile reports that managers and payroll administrators can open up and look into on their computers. At each pay period’s end, a computerized report of each employee will be delivered to the administrator for further verification.

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Understanding the Various Metallization Methods

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Metallization has become an industry standard. Its purposes are not only mechanical but for aesthetic reasons as well. The process of metallization is used to coat an object with a metal or an alloy to protect it from corrosion and wear and tear. It’s also used to create a shiny gloss and add properties that are gained through the process that it normally doesn’t possess such as electrical conductivity and abrasion resistance. Metallization isn’t a process on its own but is broken down in a variety of different methods.

Vacuum Metallization

The process of vacuum metalizing requires a metallic coating material to be placed within a vacuum chamber. The chamber then heats the material until it can be placed on the product as a very thin film. This process takes place inside a vacuum chamber for the entire duration to prevent any oxidation from occurring.

If you’re familiar with the process of sputter deposition, then you can likely relate it to the process of vacuum metallization. Similar in a way that sputter deposition is used to apply thin film on a substrate within a controlled environment; vacuum metallization utilizes the same approach.

Metal Spraying

Also known as “flame coating”, this process requires molten metal to be sprayed over the surface of a product to either help repair any damages or to provide an additional protective coating layer. This type of metallization is fairly easy to perform and is a simple process but provides a high porosity on the coating when performed.

Thermal Spraying

Thermal spraying utilizes either wire or powder materials being melted down into droplets. This process also sprays the coating onto the product but what differentiates this from flame coating is that droplets are produced out of the reaction, which bond to the surface of the selected substrate. This type of metallization also has different processes which include: electric arc spray, plasma spray, combustion flame spray, and high velocity oxy-fuel. Similar to metal spraying, this also provides a high porosity on the surface of the product.

Electroless Plating

Electroless plating has been known to be a more effective solution to metallization than by vacuum. This is because of its higher adhesion upon completion of the coating. Electroless plating deposits copper or nickel metal onto plastic substrates. The process begins by ridding the plastic surface of the product through oxidation methods. Because the oxidizing solution increases the rate of hydrogen bonding, a higher rate of adhesion occurs when the plastic is coated with the metallic materials.
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Denton Vacuum, LLC manufactures state-of-the-art production systems such as: optical coating systems, sputter coater systems, and high volume magnetron sputtering systems.

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