Proximity Screenshot - Interview with the developer of a fantastic app

Did you have any prior development or coding experience?

Actually I am a coding enthusiast and have authored several software hobby projects. 'Proximity Screenshot' is the first app that I have published on the Play Store.

What was the most challenging aspect of developing mobile app?

Screen capture on Android is bit frowned upon due to some security concerns. So coding the screen-capture part of the app was little challenging. Also, formatting the captured image around the screen's resolution was a bit tricky.

_{Vaibhav Murkute}

A coding enthusiast, authored over 17 software hobby projects. Active Linux Kernel Contributor, primarily focused towards System-Programming(with C). Worked as a System Engineer at an IT Consultancy Firm, for more than 2 years. Has a Bachelor's degree in Electronics & currently pursuing Masters in Computer Science.

Name a few of your favorite apps and reason you love them.

Being a compulsive note taker, I like 'Evernote' app. It helps me organize all my notes and jot down all my ideas while I can safely preserve them offline or online with app's cloud storage.

How long have you been working on this app?

I worked on this app in my free time, while attending college. It took me around two weeks to code this app with all the graphics and image assets.

What need of the user did you have in mind when developing this app?

We all watch a lot of video lectures or online video tutorials. Everytime something important shows up in the video, we have to pause the video first, and then write everything down or manually press the Power and Volume key together to take the screenshot. It's a tedious and time consuming process. So I thought: what if there is a button, specially dedicated to capture desired video frames, without having to pause the video or manually press the hardware buttons. That is where Proximity Sensor comes in handy. 'Proximity Screenshot' app introduces an easy and quick way to capture screenshots. Not just videos, you can capture screens from any app or game. Most importantly, you have already paid for every single hardware, present there in your Android phone. So why not get the most out of it by putting these sensors to some extra use!

In what way do you think your app is better than similar apps on the market? Please describe in detail what innovation you think you bring and what you are proud of in your app.

This app was built focusing more on the ease of use and quick response. It really comes in handy when you need to take screenshots in bulk, without stopping or pausing the current screen. Once started, you can even close this app and continue taking screenshots. The screenshot service runs in background, so it doesn't disturb the current UI. This gives an advantage over other screenshot apps that rely on overlay buttons on the screen that disturb the current UI screen.

What are your future plans and expected features of the coming new versions of this app?

This app stores all the captured screenshots into 'ProximityScreenshots' folder in Internal Storage, so that users can view them with their favorite Image Viewer or File Manager. In next upgrade, I am thinking of providing a preview of captured screenshots in the app itself - just like a gallery app. Also, next upgrade might put our Proximity Sensor to some extra use! Because you know, getting the most out of your phone is always a good idea!

Assuming new users of your app are reading this page. What do you want to ask them to do (contact you about X, Share the app, etc.)?

I have built this app as a hobby project. So there could still be a lot of scope for improvements. Please feel free to let me know about any new feature you would like to see in the app. This app also has a 'Feedback' option in the menu. Any kind of feedback is highly appreciated!