Create Incrdible Apps.

3.7
3 reviews
Made for

Open-source; drag and drop building

Not for

Certain UI elements, eg image-based lists

 
Free version
 
$20/mo
Pricing details

Features

Pricing

Basic info

 
Free version
 
$20/mo
 
Monthly subscription
  • Ionic Platform currently being scaled out and moving to Ionic Creator
Vendor Pricing

Reviews

3.7
3 reviews
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Client Interview
Dec 04 2015

Using Ionic to Develop and Deploy Mobile Apps Quickly

3.0

Features: 
3.0
Ease of use: 
3.0
Support: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
3.0
See More
the reviewer
 
Information Technology
 
11-50 Employees
 
Kiev, Ukraine
Java Developer, Sannacode
1
 
Verified
The Review
Recommendations

The user is Sannacode, a mobile application development studio based in Kiev, Ukraine. Sannacode employs Ionic when working with clients who have a limited budget and timeline and are not looking for an extremely feature-rich app. Sannacode's developers were particularly impressed with Ionic's command-line interface that greatly reduced the time spent developing individual projects.

BACKGROUND

Could you provide a brief description of your company and the role you play there?

Sannacode is an experienced team of 12 Android and iOS developers, testers, and designers. We develop applications with different levels of complexity for mobile and web platforms. For example, we are currently developing an iOS app for a startup project that allows tracking vital indicators. We are exploring new technologies constantly and applying them in our projects, so we are always using the cutting-edge technologies in the field of mobile app development.

How long have you partnered with Ionic?

We have not been working with it all that long. Actually, I am working on only our third Ionic-based project right now.

OPPORTUNITY/CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address when you began considering Ionic?

We needed a cross-platform framework that would allow us to build interactive mobile apps.

Are you familiar with any other cross-platform solutions? In your opinion, how does Ionic compare to these solutions?

We were considering several cross-platform solutions, including Appcelerator Titanium, PhoneGap, IBM Worklight, Xamarin, and Ionic. And we decided to go ahead and try Titanium and Ionic. Most of our past experience was applicable for working with these two frameworks. Both of these frameworks use JavaScript. We used Titanium's Alloy framework to create native UIs [user interfaces] for iOS and Android, but this led to a very complicated development. In addition,  with Alloy, we experienced memory leaks that were difficult to fix.

But, the Ionic framework looks great. It is based on Angular.JS and provides both flexibility and power. Ionic provides many different samples, components, and comprehensive documentation that make a developer's life easier. I think it has the potential to become the standard for hybrid app development.

What would you recommend to someone who is trying to decide whether to develop natively or in a cross platform?

It would be better to develop natively for more experienced developers, for technology projects that require deep native functionality, or for big projects where functionality requires many device features or a high level of customization. Ionic is a great choice for people who already have experience in web development as well as in the development of small informational or light-featured social apps.

What cost factors should customers be aware of when working with Ionic?

Development using cross-platform solutions decreases costs for light-featured apps. The more complicated the app becomes the more chance there is to run into serious bugs – like memory leaks – that would take too much time and money to fix. Therefore, in my opinion, a complicated app should be developed natively. But, the line between complicated and "better for cross platform" is certainly blurred.

SOLUTION

Are there any of Ionic's features or tools you were really impressed by?

I like the Ionic CLI [command-line interface], which allows a developer to start, build, run, and emulate Ionic apps easier. I also like Genymotion as it is a very fast Android emulator based on VirtualBox.

Looking back, are there any areas of the software upon which you feel could be added or improved?

I think Ionic is a great platform, but there are nevertheless some areas for improvement. The performance of the app and the behavior of some components on certain phones could be improved. For example, when we use images in "collection-repeat," we experience delays in moving list items with images

Have you had a positive or negative experience utilizing the tool's support resources?

I have primarily had positive experiences using Ionic's support resources with an occasional negative blip.

Finally, we have a few quick questions and, for each question, we ask you to rate Ionic on a scale of one to five, where five is the best score. What grade would you give Ionic for the functionality of the features available?

Three.

What grade would you give Ionic for ease of use or ease of implementation?

Three.

For support, as in the responsiveness of the team or helpfulness of the resources available?

Four.

Overall, what is your level of satisfaction with Ionic?

Three. But for the smallest apps, ones with two or three screens, Ionic works all right.

How likely are you to recommend Ionic to a colleague or similar business?

Three.

3.0
Overall Score
  • 3.0 Features
  • 3.0 Ease of Use
  • 4.0 Support
  • 3.0 Willing to Refer
 
Client Interview
Nov 04 2015

Using Ionic to Build an Internal Business App

4.0

Features: 
4.0
Ease of use: 
4.0
Support: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
4.0
See More
the reviewer
 
Information Technology
 
50-200 Employees
 
Wellington, New Zealand
Cofounder at Crystalnix
Dmitry Lyfar
1
 
Verified
The Review
Recommendations

The client is Crystalnix, an end-to-end mobility studio based in Wellington, New Zealand. While the client typically develops on a native platform, it will use hybrid platforms when it fits their customers' needs. Recently, Crystalnix developed an internal business application to be used by the employees of a retail chain. Cost, speed, and reliability were the most important features the client was looking for, and Crystalnix was able to cut the development time down from one month to two weeks using Ionic. Overall, Crystalnix is very satisfied with their use of Ionic.

OPPORTUNITY/CHALLENGE

What was the challenge you were facing that caused you to begin using Ionic?

We implemented Ionic for a mobile client from a retail chain. The app is run on the Android tablets and is used by the client's administrative personnel. We did not have any significant challenges working with Ionic, apart from the framework's debugging capabilities, which are poor in comparison to the native frameworks, and felt that Ionic fits very well for this type of business applications.

SOLUTION

Was your company considering other platforms? Why Ionic?

Outside of native development, the primary other hybrid platform we were considering was Xamarin. We ended up going with Ionic because of lower learning curve and its licensing process – no vendor lock-in.

Do you utilize a premium version of this product? If so, what is a general estimate of your monthly spend?

Ionic is available for free. Their pricing is based on your use of the app.

RESULTS

Can you share any success, metrics, or overall results related your implementation of Ionic?

We saved a significant amount of time using Ionic compared to what it would take to build the application using a native framework, such as Android Studio. The application was implemented for Android platform within two weeks. Our estimation for the native version was about a month. Our experience was described at http://crystalnix.com/blog/2015/08/08/hybrid-mobile-apps-does-ionic-framework-cut-dev-costs/

FEATURES

What are the features or tools that have most impressed you?

It was a variety of available UX [user experience] components allowing rapid prototyping. These would have to be built from scratch on a native platform.

Are there any areas of the software that are not as strong, and could be added or improved upon?

The debugging tools, documentation, and some UI [user interface] components could be improved.

Overall, have you had a positive or negative experience utilizing Ionic's support resources?

We are satisfied by the experience and plan to continue leveraging this framework.

OVERVIEW

We have a few quick questions and, for each question, we ask you to rate the software on a scale of one to five, with five being the best. What would you give the software for functionality of the features available?

Four.

What would you give the software for ease of use or ease of implementation into your business?

Four.

For support, as in responsiveness of the team or helpfulness of the resources available?

Four.

For overall satisfaction with the platform?

Four.

How likely are you to recommend the software to a colleague or similar business?

Four.

4.0
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Features
  • 4.0 Ease of Use
  • 4.0 Support
  • 4.0 Willing to Refer
 
Client Interview
Oct 19 2015

Implementation of Ionic by Dotinum

4.0

Features: 
4.0
Ease of use: 
4.0
Support: 
4.0
Willing to refer: 
5.0
See More
the reviewer
 
IT Services
 
2-10 Employees
 
Wroclaw, Poland
Lead Developer, Dotinum
1
The Review
Recommendations

The client is Dotinum, a creative development agency based in Wroclaw, Poland. The client was contracted to build a mobile application for one of their customers. The primary requirements were that it be cheap, cross-platform, and have better than average user experience. After working with Apache Cordova on several former mobile app projects, the client decided to try Ionic. The client is pleased with their decision, primarily because Ionic offered them more opportunities for plug-ins than Apache Cordova, and enabled them to build a simple user-friendly app. The client highly recommends Ionic to others.

BACKGROUND

Can you please provide a brief description of your company and the role that you play there?

I am a lead developer at Dotinum, a software house and creative agency based in Wroclaw, Poland. We provide quality IT [information technology] services for both domestic and international clients.

OPPORTUNITY/CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge you or your clients were facing that created a need for a app development platform?

One of our clients asked us to create a mobile application for their company. In order to complete the project rapidly and reduce the costs, we decided to use a free app development platform.

SOLUTION

Was your company considering other tools? Why this one?

We had previously used Apache Cordova to create an app and we were satisfied with it. However, this time we went for the Ionic platform because it's built on top of AngularJS, and it seemed more powerful and offered better UI [user interface]. Plus, it offered much more plug-ins than Apache Cordova.

On an annual or monthly basis, how much does your company spend to utilize the platform? 

We didn't spend anything on using Ionic since it's free.

RESULTS

Can you share any success, metrics, or overall results of your implementation of this tool?

With no budget, we were able to build a simple, functional app with a very nice user interface. Since we are familiar with AngularJS, creating an app using Ionic was very intuitive, and thus, we were able to deliver the app very quickly and with minimal effort.

FEATURES

Were there any software features or tools that really impressed you?  

We appreciated the fact that Ionic is built on top of AngularJS, thus providing a complete solution for developing applications that are both well architected and native feeling. We were also impressed by how easy it was to use widgets.

Looking back, are there any areas of the software upon which you feel could be added or improved?

No. I can't see any.

Have you had a positive or negative experience utilizing the tool's support resources?

I didn't have any contact with the tool's support resources. It was so intuitive that they were not necessary.

OVERVIEW

We have a few quick questions and, for each question, we ask you to rate the software on a scale of one to five, with five being the best. What would you give the software for functionality of the features available?

Four.

What would you give the software for ease of use or ease of implementation into your business?

Four.

For support, as in responsiveness of the team or helpfulness of the resources available? 

Four.

For overall satisfaction with the platform?

Four.

How likely are you to recommend the software to a colleague or similar business?

Five.

4.0
Overall Score
  • 4.0 Features
  • 4.0 Ease of Use
  • 4.0 Support
  • 5.0 Willing to Refer