To begin the Android app development journey, I need an idea and usually the best place to start is to scratch your own itch.
When I moved to Dubai, I was frustrated at the lack of unit pricing in supermarkets which is mandatory in Australia where I grew up. In fact, what made this so much of an issue was seeing package deals where you could buy 2 bottles of oil as a pack for more than if you had paid for 2 individual bottles! Quite bizarre but also quite common in this region.
I had initially searched for unit pricing apps but most were buggy, full of ads or just very complex with more features than I needed. I feel that a unit pricing app should really be a lot more simpler in execution. You’re in a supermarket on a grocery run, you usually want to get in and out as quickly as possible and want to compare prices just as quickly. Ease of use should be paramount.
I eventually found an app I liked however it was not perfect, despite doing the job. It did not allow me to compare items of different measurements which is a big issue in Dubai where many products use the Metric system (ounces, pounds) whilst others use the Imperial system (kilograms, litres) which I’m more accustomed to. Some items did show weights in both systems but this was not always the case so I would have to try and convert numbers and then do extra math. It wasn’t convenient.
The app also started to keep a record of each comparison done which took up valuable space at the bottom of the app and the data did not clear each time the app was closed. It also did not allow for easy clearing of all fields if you wished to run a new comparison. And there’s often an annoying ad in the bottom pane which is never relevant, and feels intrusive. When it comes to app monetisation, I know that this is the easiest path to choose and I don’t blame the developer however I would prefer if this ad wasn’t shown at all or was at least shown sporadically. I understand that this app perhaps does not offer enough to warrant a paid version and that’s something for me to consider.
So the TL;DR version of this post is this:
develop a mobile app for android that allows for easy unit pricing comparisons.
