Before launching into a native app, start with the functional requirements to see if what you want to accomplish could be done in a well designed mobile web site, or if you actually need the advanced features that native development would make available.

For example, there is a _lot_ that you can do in jQuery Mobile backed by a strong AJAX backend that looks like a native app, yet does not subject you to the stringent requirements of having to do multi-platform development and worry about submitting to multiple vendors for approval.  

There is already some support for media capture for photos/video/sound in HTML5 on some devices that you can use for interactive experiences like snapping a photo, sending it to the server for processing, and having the server send back something relevant.  See http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/getusermedia/intro/ for some information on what is possible currently, and then imagine what you could do with book covers, bar codes, maybe even tapping into the NFC chips in smartphones to tickle those RFID chips everyone is talking about this week.

As a data point, I have seen estimates that put mobile app development costs between $5,000 and $50,000, depending on their complexity, amount of UI/UX design and testing, graphics development, etc, so if you are operating without a budget and are having to scrounge for devices just to test with, a smart mobile web site may be a better starting point anyway.  It’s less of an unknown, using familiar tools, doesn’t require testing hardware, and doesn’t have an onerous vendor approval step to deal with.

-- 
Andrew Anderson, Director of Development, Library and Information Resources Network, Inc.
http://www.lirn.net/ | http://www.twitter.com/LIRNnotes | http://www.facebook.com/LIRNnotes

On Oct 7, 2014, at 14:51, Will Martin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> My boss has directed me to start looking into producing a phone app for the library, or better yet finding a way to integrate with the existing campus-wide app.  Could I pick the list's brains?
> 
> 1) Is there some tolerably decent cross-platform app language, or am I going to be learning 3 different languages for iOS, Android, and Windows phone?  I've dabbled in all kinds of things, but my bread-and-butter work has been PHP on a LAMP stack.  Apps aren't written in that, so new language time.
> 
> 2) The library's selection of mobile devices consists of 2 iPads and a Galaxy tablet.  We don't have phones for testing.  My personal phone is a 12-year-old flip phone which doesn't run apps.  Can I get by with emulators?  What are some good ones?  The budget for the project is zero, so I don't think dedicated testing devices are in the cards unless I upgrade my own phone, which I probably ought to anyway.
> 
> 3) What are some best practices for library app design?  We were thinking the key functionality would be personal account management (what have I got checked out, renew my stuff, etc), hours, lab availability, search the catalog, and ask a librarian.  Anything missing?  Too much stuff?
> 
> Will Martin
> 
> Web Services Librarian
> Chester Fritz Library
> 
> P.S.  I sent this a couple days ago and wondered why it hadn't shown up -- only to realize I accidently sent it to [log in to unmask] rather than the actual list serv address.  Whoops, embarrassing!