Developer Mike Cole joined Metova this year after graduating from Tennessee Technological University with a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and a mathematics minor. While in college, he designed and developed the Tennessee Tech Schedule app and completed a research internship at the University of Tennessee Space Institute.
We recently sat down with Mike to ask him a few questions about his work, responsive apps and college football. Read on to learn more.
Tell us what you do here at Metova.
I am a software developer at Metova working on mobile applications. So far I have worked on iOS and Blackberry 10 apps.
How would you say that working with Metova is different from other development firms?
Metova is truly a unique place to work. Developers work on anything from client work to internal products on both Web and mobile platforms. Developers have the freedom to move between platforms if they want to learn a new language.
What’s one feature that you feel is essential to a great mobile app?
A great app is fast and responsive. People don’t want to use an app that is slowing them down.
What’s one piece of advice you’d tell a young developer looking to get into the mobile app industry?
Get experience writing mobile applications. There are thousands of tutorials out there and many of those concepts carry over from one platform to another.
What technological advancement/shift should app developers pay attention to this year?
I think the most important thing is to keep up with the current hardware. Faster processors with additional cores allow developers to speed up apps as well as include additional functionality with a diminished impact on performance.
What’s your favorite app?
I like the design of the Facebook app. The sliding navigation menus on the left and messaging menus on the right are very useful and easy to use. The app I use the most is probably the reddit is fun app for Android.
Favorite hobbies?
I’m a big college football fan (Go Gators) and sports fan in general. I’m really excited for this football season.
Most prized possession?
I have a Tim Tebow autographed football that I’m pretty fond of.
What would you like to cross off you “bucket list” next?
I’ve always wanted to visit every SEC football stadium for a big game. I’ve got a few under my belt already, but I’d like to start working my way down the list.
