This document discusses the benefits of building mobile apps for businesses using Rhomobile, an open source framework that allows developing apps that run on all major smartphones. Rhomobile includes Rhodes, which enables leveraging web skills to build native apps using Ruby, and RhoSync for syncing web service data when offline. The document provides tips for effective business mobile apps like focusing on single tasks, using device capabilities like GPS, and delivering features through rapid iterations. Examples of successfully implemented Rhomobile apps are provided.

1. Adam Blum, adam@rhomobile.com

2. Background
 iPhone has changed the game
 All users now want to run real apps on their
smartphones
 It’s a huge win for businesses
 Workers are productive everywhere, anytime
 Smartphones are cheaper than laptops
 They have senses (sight, hearing, touch) that laptops
never had
 But
 Its difficult to write apps for all smartphones that
your people have (without a smartphone app
framework)
 Good smartphone apps are different than good web

3. What’s Different v.
Consumer iPhone Apps?
 get users information quickly
 make the information always available
 usually tie into some larger backend
system
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4. What’s Different v. Web Apps
 focus on single tasks
 less data types
 leverage the device
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5. Context Sensitivity
 take users right to the data
 common metaphor: list of records at top level
 or a map with objects
 using location, time, user info to select
 but no top level lists to select the right
object type/function
 settings as an option on the tab bar
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6. iPivotal
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7. TrackR (Koombea)
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8. Limit Objects/Functions
 ideally one main object types
 no more than two or three “dependent
objects”
 limit features/functions/actions on objects
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9. What Not To Do: KinitoPro
all of this just to get to your
accounts? why not just use
reasonable defaults?
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10. What To Do: Open Health
(written with Rhodes)
take people to their objects right away. summarize data on
the device with dashboards
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11. Local Data
 make it possible to use the app without
connectivity
 insure that user’s work on transactions
(Create/Update/Delete) is never lost
 automatically cache (through database or
otherwise) frequently used data
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12. IFusion
no local data (sync so you can access contacts
when offline)? no save to local PIM contacts?
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13. InfusionSoft
written with Rhodes.
data is synced and
available offline. robust
set of capabilities on
each contact (tags,
followup sequence,
history, action set). save
to PIM (address book)
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14. Device Capabilities
 smartphones have senses: sight, hearing,
touch
 don’t do myopic web ports
 you can probably use:
 GPS
 mapping
 PIM contacts
 camera
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15. What To Do:
Nationwide Claims App
great use of device
capabilities (GPS,
camera) to record
accident info. free on App
Store
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16. Rapid Iterations
 deliver small identifiable features
frequently
 use a toolset that enables rapid iteration
 Objective C might not be the best one for that
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17. MiniBooks for FreshBooks
not a bad app, but fairly
flat. but could use more
device capabilities.
mapping, GPS to show
close clients. could load/
save from PIM.
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18. RhoFresh for FreshBooks
 build on RhoHub
 run on emulator
 RhoFresh project open sourced at
adamb.rhohub.com
 userid “adam”, password “password”
show how quick and easy it is to
create an app with Rhodes on
RhoHub. you can take this app nd
extend and sell it. there are no
Android apps for FreshBooks and no
smartphone apps with GPS and
mapping
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19. The Rhomobile
Components
 http://github.com/rhomobile
 Rhodes
 “microframework” for locally executing native
smartphone apps with device capabilities
 leverage your web skills to build native apps
 Contains first mobile Ruby implementation
 RhoSync
 Sync focused on web service data (needed in
the age of SaaS)
 Allows users to have their dasta local when
offline

20. Rhodes Architecture

21. Why Rhomobile?
 only smartphone app framework with sync
 runs on all major smartphones
 first mobile Ruby
 first development as a service for mobile -
RhoHub.com.
 signup for beta now. Production release
November 3rd
 Questions?
 http://rhomobile.com
 adam@rhomobile.com
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