Creating a Mobile prototype is key to the success of any Mobile App, it helps us iterate our designs and qualify our approach through usability testing.
Things have moved on since the days of Visio and OmniGraffle, we now have a larger variety of tools at our disposal for Wireframing and designing web sites and applications. The likes of Axure, Balsamiq and others help demonstrate the rich interactive behaviour we expect to see in the end product.
When it comes to designing Mobile Apps it's so important to be able to demonstrate how the app will actually behave on the mobile device. We need to see how certain transitions and animations can be tailored to act as waypoints and help enrich the experience.
We've listed a number of useful tools that can be used effectively to prototype your Mobile Apps. These range from simple tools that allow a collection of images to be linked together via tap zones, to more complex applications that help you wireframe a design using a host of native app interfaces.
1. App Cooker
An iPad app for prototyping iOS apps, this app is a kitbag of tools, From capturing your apps definition statement, Icon creation guides, mock-up creation tools, Price guidance and an App Store submission checklist.
- Prototyping: iOS Apps
- Create: iPad
- View: iPad
- Share: No
- Private share: No
- Capture feedback/comments: No
- Widget library: Yes
- Simulate transitions: No
- Hosted service: No
- Price: £17.99
2. App in Seconds
Create a simple tap-through from your uploaded images, linking via hotspots
- Prototyping: Mobile Apps
- Create:Via Web interface
- View: Mobile Web
- Share: Yes (via email link)
- Private share: No
- Capture feedback/comments: No
- Widget library: No
- Simulate transitions: Yes
- Hosted service: Yes
- Price: £6.99/Month
3. Axure
Present your wireframes via AxShare - Mobile Website Tutorial
- Prototyping: Mobile Apps
- Create: Windows or Mac
- View: AxShare
- Share: Yes (Via AxShare)
- Private share: Yes
- Capture feedback/comments: No
- Widget library: Yes
- Simulate transitions: Yes
- Hosted service: No
- Price: £379
3. Blueprint
- Prototyping: iOS Apps
- Create: iPad
- View: iOS Blueprint viewer
- Share: Yes (Via DropBox)
- Private share: Yes
- Capture feedback/comments: No
- Widget library: Yes
- Simulate transitions: Yes
- Hosted service: No
- Price: £17.99
4. Codiqa
This Web app allows you to actually produce the Mobile Web App through a range of pre-designed UI Widgets.
- Prototyping: Mobile Web Apps (Actual app)
- Create: Via web interface
- View: iOS Blueprint viewer
- Share: Yes (via invitation list)
- Private share: Yes
- Capture feedback/comments: No
- Widget library: Yes
- Simulate transitions: Yes
- Hosted service: Yes
- Price: A range of tiered price plans including a 1 Free Project (10MB only)
5. Dapp
Create mock-ups, generate pdf wireframes and actually export a skeleton Xcode project to start developing from.
- Prototyping: iPhone Apps
- Create: iPad/iPhone
- View: iPad/iPhone
- Share: Yes (via emailed PDF)
- Private share: No
- Capture feedback/comments: No
- Widget library: Yes
- Simulate transitions: Yes
- Hosted service: Yes
- Price: £6.99 or free lite version
6. Field Test App
7. Fluid
8. iMockups
9. interface2
10. invisionapp
11. irise
12. justinmind
13. mockabilly
14. protoio
15. protoshare
16. prototypes
17. realizerapp
18. mockingbot
19. Pop App
Paper prototyping made easy - this app is specifically for Paper prototyping, use the app to take pictures of your sketches and scamps and then string them together to make a working mock-up.
- Filed under:
- Mobile
- Mobile
- Mobile Web
- Posted by:
- James Griffin
- Dated:
- July 15, 2012
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