A Faraday Cage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage) blocks electromagnetic waves from passing through it. A Microwave uses this concept (to stop said micro waves from hitting the user), and aluminium foil has also been used as a shield (hence the gag with conspiracy theorists wearing them as helmets). I have a background in robotics and mechatronics engineering and can go into greater detail or assist you in designing a product which could incorporate such a shield if you would like to give me a call. A while ago, I was researching the difficulty of extracting data from RFID cards and found it incredibly easy. Thus, I think such a shield could have quite a few valuable applications.

You could try an online search like http://www.appbooker.com/, or look around your local area if you would prefer to interact with the app developer and designer in person. In order to create a Mobile App, you will want to hire a developer (the fellow who writes all the code) and a designer (the fellow who makes the UI/ icon/ aesthetics of the app). Communication is very important between you and the developer/ designer. Make up your mind about what you want the app to do, don't present a half baked idea to the developer and expect him to fill in the gaps. Even if you aren't a programmer, do some research into the capabilities of smartphones so that you don't try to hire someone to do something impossible (or at least needlessly difficult). Regarding pricing, you are probably looking at a few thousand dollars (minimum) for a very, very simple app. $5,000 - $10,000 for a more complex app and if your idea is a mobile game, then you might need to break your piggy bank, I read Angry Birds cost ~$140,000 to make. I am an Android developer with connections to designers and iOS developers, feel free to give me a call if you have any other questions.

It really depends on the developer/designer combo and the app itself. Are these questions hard coded in the app? Are they dynamically retrieved from an online data base? Will you be providing all the text in all languages or will the developer have to do that? It it is very simple, price would start at ~ $1500 at the very minimum. I am an Android developer; it is possible to cross develop iOS and Android apps at the same time using certain programs like phonegap. I also have connections with iOS developers (if you want a native iOS app) and designers, please give me a call if you would like to follow up.

If you already know of a developer and you trust them, a verbal agreement might suffice. If you want to be more "formal" (and protect yourself in case things get a little hairy), then you might want to consider forming an LLC or other type of organization and having a formal agreement in place with your developer. If you are looking for iOS developers (Personally, I am an Android Developer), give me a call. I know some rather skilled ones (and designers) which I could recommend to you.

If you want to learn programming yourself, I have aggregated a ton of free resources and online guides: http://www.jordanrejaud.com/learning.html I find that there is a high quantity of very useful/ high quality programming/engineering information on the internet but the "order" of which you learn things and how the different subjects interact with each other isn't very well enunciated. My list of guides tries to serve as a "repo" to centralize high quality learning material.

If you create a website and use responsive web design (the website automatically changes the way it looks on different screen sizes), you can have your cake and eat it too. :) The website would be usable from a large screened device (like a laptop) and if it is accessed via a small screen (like a smartphone), it will "reformat" the way it looks to make it usable on a small screen. You can go one step further and create a mobile app which will create a "webview" of the website. Thus, when people open the mobile app, they "see" the website and interact with it the way they would with an app. I have experience in responsive web design, smartphone development, and implementing webviews in smartphone apps. Please give me a call if you would like more information about these subjects. Cheers, Jordan

Android 4.4 KitKat contains contains APIs which handle the more "difficult"/low level programming of a step counter for you (assuming the phone in question has that hardware). From what I have read about the Optimus 34C, it doesn't seem to come with that step counter hardware so you will indeed need to code it yourself. I am currently working on an app for Android Wear in which I am using the accelerometer of the watch to trigger a method. Since I found that programming this accelerometer code wasn't too difficult and, in my experience, my watch's pedometer is rather accurate, I think you will probably be able to code a decent pedometer for your app on your own.