Interview: Achim

This interview is done with Achim Fischer. So Achim:

1. Tell us a little bit about your average Android development day or your work day

There really is nothing special. I start with some internet-surfing to check out the latest news. Then I look what my todo-list shows for the day. I start Android Studio and all the tools I need e.g. Tower (Git) and Paw (API-GUI) and I start coding. Oh wait, there’s one more thing 😉 Music! Nothing goes without music. Metal or some kind of Techno or Dark-Pop get me through the day.

2. What would you say are the ingredients for a successful app?

I would say: a) The idea. Don’t just copy another app. b) Marketing. There are trillions of apps out there. It’s hard to get some attention, even for good apps. c) Of course it should do it’s job, has an up to date UI and shouldn’t crash all the time

3. What is your favorite part about working as an Android developer?

I like how easy it is to get an app on a device (development) and later on Google Play (production). In the past I had an iOS-App in the Apple store and to get it there was very complicated compared to the process on Android. Very cool is the availability of the Android source code (AOSP). It’s fun to be able to build your own Android image and put it on your device.

4. What your talk at Droidcon Greece will be about? What is the audience level?

The talk is about Google Cloud Messaging (GCM) and how to use it in an Android App. It starts with an overview (beginners) up to an implementation (experienced). It’s not too complicated and I will offer example apps on my GitHub account. I would say it’s for everyone.

5. What are you most looking forward to at Droidcon Greece?

That’s easy: I’m looking forward to meet new people. For me, events are mostly about people. That’s why I don’t understand those who say “I don’t need to attend an event. I can watch the videos on YouTube or the slides on Slideshare”. Sure, you can but an event like a droidcon is so much more than just the presentations!

Find out more about Achim & his session here.