Next were lightning talks on mobile trends involving Android, iOS and Windows Phones.

On Android, Evan Dale Aromin shared what’s happening in the Android world. Of course, the biggest trend is the newest OS version Lollipop. The design changes on lollipop, flat vs material design. Other trends are Android Wear, Mobile Payment and the shift of Development tools from Eclipse ADT to Android Studio which has support from Google.

Evan Dale Aromin on Android Trends

On iOS, Allen Tan talked about the newest OS, iOS 8. This covers the newest development libraries like HealthKit, HomeKit, etc. He also shared the additional screens that we need for support because of the release of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Lastly, he gave his sentiments on Swift, the programming language Apple has released for iOS.

Allen Tan on iOS Trends

On Windows Phone, Alvine Aurelio shared his experience on Windows Phone app development. You need Visual Studio to start working on Windows Phone apps. Also, you can make equivalent app found on Android and iOS in Windows Phone. You will be paid for the apps you upload, which is sweet.

Alvine Aurelio on Windows Phone Trends

Next were Web Lightning Talks.

First up was Alex Pantola. He showed how you can create web apps using bluemix. You just need to register on the bluemix site to start creating web apps fast. He showed demos for rapid apps development, sentiment analysis, Internet of Things and Watson. Sentiment analysis is finding out the sentiments of people regarding certain topics using social media. It’s not perfect yet since bluemix can’t detect sarcasms. Internet of things utilizes hardware to find out the status of a particular place. It can detect humidity and water levels. It can turn on lights and motors by accessing the bluemix portal. Last is Watson, which is like AI because it gathers information and gives answers to questions if it reaches a certain confidence.

Alex Pantola on Bluemix

Matias Cascallares shared his expertise on NoSQL. NoSQL stands for Not Only SQL. Data nowadays are not consistent in form compared to other data. Some are unstructured data that SQL may not handle easily as it is a relational database. He shared to us the different NoSQL families like Key-Value Store, Document database, big table and search engines.

Matias Cascallares on NoSQL

Another panel discussion regarding Web Development Best Practices was initiated. Developers must keep in mind that in order to be better in development, some practices need to be followed. Some key notes were to find the best management process your team is most comfortable with, to use tools to keep track of development, to establish mentoring on the team and to accept constructive criticisms.

Panel Discussion on Web Development Best Practices

Calvin Kim of Facebook talked about opportunities found on Facebook. Aside from the incredible reach and engagements you can achieve on Facebook, developers can also pitch their ideas to Facebook’s program: Facebook Start. This programs aims to help developers turn their ideas to businesses by providing tools, connections and funding. Calvin also introduced how to succeed in the gaming industry through Facebook Games.

Calvin Kim on Oppotunities on Facebook

JV Cuevas enlightened us with the use of automated software testing during development. Being a good tester is a great asset to have as a developer because you aren’t just assuring quality of the software, but are also making the business a success by limiting technical debt.

JV Cuevas on Automated Software Testing

Lastly, Sim Domingo shared his knowledge regarding Git and GitHub’s best practices. Git is a subversioning tool to aid in the development of software while Github is a tool that helps developers use git with an interface.

Sim Domingo on Git and Github Best Practices

At the end of the day, Devcon and their partners started drawing the winners for the raffle. The grand prize was a brand new Samsung Galaxy Note 3! I wish I hadwon.

Congratulations Erol! Sweet Galaxy Note 3 there!

After the long talks, we got a chance to mingle and chat with other attendees over some drinks and snacks. It was a really great event for developers! Once again, thank you Devcon PH, for having an event like this! See you again next year!