Samuel Kogan
PlayJapan
1. http://www.google.com/profiles/playboyp
Just the good stuff
A mobile application which connects Android phone owners to their representatives in the U.S. Congress has just been released by the non-profit, non-partisan organization Sunlight Labs, a group dedicated to government transparency. After months of public beta testing, the newly finished application is now a comprehensive toolset that helps you stay on top of congressional activity, voting records, new bills and laws, and more. It even provides one-touch access to your Congressional representatives, allowing to you to call their office directly from within the application, watch their YouTube videos or read their latest updates on the microblogging social network, Twitter.
The Android application is similar in some ways to its iPhone counterpart, Real Time Congress, released at the beginning of the year. Like the the Apple version, the Android app makes it easy to see what's happening inside Congress in a timely fashion.
However, unlike the iPhone app, the Android version offers a greater focus on your representatives and their activity. This is something which iPhone users already had access to, explained Sunlight Lab's Clay Johnson back in January: there are "at least a half-dozen" third party applications for iPhone that do the same, he said . But in the Android Marketplace, there's only the one: Congress.
From the app's main screen, Android users can enter in their location, either by tapping into the phone's GPS or by manually entering a State or zip code. Search functions for finding a particular representative or committee are also present and, at the top, there are sections for tracking votes and nominations.
Each representative has an easy-to-use profile page where their office's phone number is prominently featured. Here, you're also one tap away from voting records, sponsored bills, committee details, news articles, Twitter updates and YouTube videos, assuming your rep participates on social media. The rep's own webpage is also linked by way of an icon found next to their profile picture.
For mainstream users who don't try software in beta (aka "we're still testing it") format, Congress for Android may be their first peek into the power of mobile combined with the power of open data, specifically open governmental data. The application was built using the Sunlight Congress API and GovTrack.us, the former a tool to programmatically access basic information on members of Congress, and the latter a civic project for tracking Congressional activity.
Like all Sunlight projects, Congress is open source software, meaning other developers can view and reuse the code, stored here on Github.
Since the app's launch into public beta late last year, over 250,000 Android owners have downloaded it. Now that the app has officially and publicly launched, that number is sure to rise.
In the future, the app will be updated to support real-time notifications and other "exciting features," says Sunlight Labs. Those interested in downloading the app can do so now from the Android Market: just search for "Congress."
Google is launching a new tool on Monday that lets anyone create an app for Android phones.
Google App Inventor claims to enable non-coders to develop complete, working Android apps by connecting a series of “blocks.” Google has been testing App Inventor in schools for a year, reports The New York Times. At the time of writing, App Inventor is only available to those who apply via a form.
It’s a smart concept. Not only is the Android Market an open platform for developers (with no approval process, a la Apple’s App Store), but now we’ll likely see a vast array of specialized apps built by non-developers. This could radically increase the volume of apps in the Market versus the App Store.
The expansion may, of course, come at the cost of quality. We’ll see thousands of new Android apps, but will they be of a “cookie cutter” nature, offering very little value? There is, however, an upside in the long term: If App Inventor is so simple that schoolchildren can make apps, some those same children will soon become coders themselves and perhaps choose to develop apps for Android rather than iOS.
Google and Apple are currently in a heated battle to win the hearts and minds of developers. Google, it seems, wants to win over the non-developers too.
What do you think? Is App Inventor a winning play on Google’s part?
Google’s official Android app store is getting some competition as upstart, independent challengers create their own app stores to lure users with the promise of more freedom, better access to apps and increased revenue.
But it’s all kosher because, unlike Apple, Google allows for multiple app stores to exist on the Android operating system.
A new Android app store called AndSpot plans to coax developers and users to try an alternative Android app store with better search and app-recommendation features.
“Google’s Android Market is slow and not as user friendly as it can be,” says Ash Kheramand, one of the co-founders of AndSpot. ”You don’t leave the Market thinking ‘this is great.’ Instead you are thinking, this is slow, clunky, and if you are a developer, ‘my app is not getting much exposure.’”
Over the next few weeks, Kheradmand and his co-founder Faisal Abid are hoping to unveil a snazzy new app store that they say will have better design and a better way to discover apps.
“We want to bring a level of personalization to the marketplace,” says Kheradmand. AndSpot is currently in private beta with its features available only to a small group of developers and users. (Two hundred Gadget Lab readers can check out Andspot using the invite code: WIRED3R5TY.)
Andspot is not the only one trying to take on the official Google app store. Larger publishers such as Handango and GetJar have distributed a number of apps through their stores across multiple platforms — though on the iPhone they just publish individual apps.
But now smaller Android exclusive startups such as Andspot, SlideMe and AndAppStore are getting into the fray. Why develop just an app when you can build an app store, they say.
Similar to the official Google app store, these startups are hoping to become a central distribution platform for developers who want to get their apps out. The difference, they say, is they will go where Android Market has failed to tread.
“It’s all about promising more attention for apps,” says Vincent Hoogsteder, co-founder and CEO of Distimo, an apps analytics company. “If you are a developer targeting a specific market, it is easier to put your app in a store focusing on that, instead of losing yourself in the Android Market. If you are a consumer, then the idea is to help you find better apps.”
Google launched Android, an open, free, mobile operating system, in 2008. And like Apple, which pioneered the app-store idea, the Android OS also allows independent software applications through its Android Market. But that’s where the comparison ends.
Apple approves every app that makes it to its App Store. And it allows for just one app store, the Apple App Store. Rejects from Apple’s app store have the option of going to an underground store called Cydia. But Cydia apps are available to only jailbroken iPhones.
Google hopes to avoid that with Android. Multiple app stores can exist on the Android phone and apps don’t have to be approved before they hit the official Android app store.
In an intensely crowded app world, getting noticed is the big challenge. Finding Facebook, Shazam or Pandora on the Android Market is easy. But for smaller apps like Time Lapse or Zum Zum, the key to survival is finding enough eyeballs.
“There are 50,000 apps in the Android Market, while your phone lists only 50 apps at a time,” says Hoogsteder. “You are seeing just a fraction of what’s out there.”
That’s why many new Android app stores such as AndroLib and AppBrain have focused on being meta-stores, places that aggregate and let you search Android apps. But to actually download the apps, users have to go to the Android Market.
AndSpot and SlideMe are a step ahead. They are trying to convince enough developers to publish apps directly to their stores, in addition to offering them on the official Google Market. So users who have SlideMe or AndSpot will never have to go to the Android Market, if they don’t want to. Developers don’t have to make any changes to their apps intended for the Google Android Market before they list it on AndSpot or SlideMe.
SlideMe, which launched in April 2008, doesn’t take a cut of the revenue from app sales. When apps are sold through its store, SlideMe subtracts a payment-processing fee required by the credit card company (which usually is about 3.5 percent) and any applicable tax, and lets developers keep the rest. Apple and Google both allow developers to keep just 70 percent of the revenue they get from their sales.
Instead, SlideMe makes money by licensing its entire app store to gadget manufacturers. That also means SlideMe’s app store will come pre-loaded on a phone similar to Google’s Android Market.
Last year, SlideMe landed its first deal with Vodafone Egypt to pre-load its app store on the HTC Magic. The SlideMe app store will also be on Sony Ericsson’s Xperia X10 phones sold in the Middle East.
“Not all manufacturers can comply with the requirements of Google, so Google can’t give them the app store,” says Christopoulos. “That’s why SlideMe can be on more than just phones. We are thinking netbooks and in-car infotainment systems.”
AndSpot says, for now, it plans to offer developers an 80 percent cut of the revenues from its app store. But Kheradmand is not sure AndSpot can sustain the pace. “We are operating on very thin margins here,” he says.
Offering developers more revenue by finding ways to make money off their apps is key to the survival of these independent app stores.
Google’s Android Market lags behind its peers when it comes to paid apps. Distimo’s analytics show almost 75 percent of apps in the Apple App Store are paid, compared to just under 43 percent in the Android Market.
Only nine countries are allowed to distribute Android paid apps currently because of Google checkout restrictions, points out Hoogsteder. Consumers from only 13 countries can get access to paid content.
That cuts out a lot of international developers and users, says Christopoulos. For instance, a Polish developer created a game called Speed Forge 3D that couldn’t be sold through the Android app store in many countries because of restrictions around Google Checkout. The app is listed on SlideMe for approximately $3.
SlideMe will also focus on localized apps and tailor its app store by country.
“You might be from a country in the Middle East and not speak English. We can help you find apps in your local language,” says Christopoulos.
AndSpot says both users and developers will find the independent Android-focused app stores a sweet deal.
“Users will go where the apps are, and developers will be attracted because they have nothing to lose,” says Kheradmand.
Via:Mashable
Ever since Apple launched the iPhone app store, the company has been pushing its apps to get all of the attention. But when was the last time you read a review about a new mobile website? Thousands of apps and billions of downloads consistently steal the headlines, while the mobile web is largely ignored by everyone but the consumer. Yet, despite what the marketing would lead you to believe, consumers use the mobile web just as much as apps.
At my company, we raced down the same road, putting pedal to the metal on our apps while leaving our mobile website on cruise control. Our iPhone app has been a Top 10 iPhone reference application for almost two years with almost six million downloads, and even with all of the great chart positions and visibility – just as many iPhone consumers use our mobile website as the application. We are not alone; Comscore reported in April that 72 million mobile users accessed a website compared to 69 million users who used an application. Both are showing more than 25% year-to-year growth.
When the app store first launched, only apps could use and access the device’s location. Last July, Apple launched OS 3.0 which provided Safari with GPS/location functionality. Apple’s HTML5 agenda continues to advance the mobile web browsing experience with video, audio, and a limited amount of caching or offline storage of data. The lines between apps and mobile web are blurring and converging.
Here’s a quick comparison of capabilities offered by applications and the mobile web:
Apps make more money because iTunes makes it easier for consumers to pay. Similar to Amazon’s one-click check-out, iTunes is a virtual wallet used by 125 million consumers. But a mobile website can’t integrate with iTunes billing — you need an app for that: We tested a premium offer via our iPhone app which achieved a 50% higher conversion rate than the same offer on the mobile web.
However, for advertising revenue, the rates we receive on the mobile web are similar to in-app advertising. In terms of performance, a study on the mobile web versus app for a major travel advertiser showed the mobile web out-performing advertising on the application. Apple does place restrictions on in-app advertising and has the right to block out ad networks they deem competitive. There are no such restrictions on the mobile web.
So which should you choose for your business: A mobile web site, or a mobile application?
Even if an app is still the right choice for you, consider building a mobile website first since it will allow you to build and refine a great consumer experience, optimizing touch screen navigation. Mobile search provider Taptu has highlighted the importance of this through its listings of “touch-friendly” mobile sites.
Another benefit of the mobile web is that you can write once to be read everywhere. With the mobile web, you can reach more devices with a single development effort. Unfortunately, mobile app platforms are fragmented, meaning you have to build specific apps for iPhone, Android, RIM, and Palm Pre. A mobile website can be built to standards that works on all these devices. There are also some fairly easy implementations that allow you to manage device profiles and optimize for different screen sizes.
One of the most satisfying benefits of the mobile web is the freedom to rapidly innovate and refine without approval or requiring the user to update and download. When Google could not get its voice application approved, for example, it responded by building a web version that required no approval process and used HTML5 for audio playback and SMS/Email for alerting.
Once you’ve optimized the experience, you can use your mobile website to graduate users to a more robust native app.
One of the most important differences between a popular app and the thousands you’ve never heard of is the merchandising from the iTunes App chart. Hitting the Top 4 on the Free App chart drove over 250,000 downloads for the WhitePages Mobile App. Download volume and positive ratings are important factors needed to get onto the chart. We achieved first week download velocity by promoting the app on our mobile website, which we had steadily built an audience for. Learning and optimizing our mobile website helped us create a better app that led to better reviews and ratings. It helps to think of the mobile web as a beta, and the app as gold.
On-device placement is also important, and a bookmarked site gets the same favicon placement on your iPhone as a downloaded app. Social media will continue to be an important distribution engine, and sharing the URL for a mobile website provides one-click gratification.
Whether you are just starting to put your mobile strategy together or have been at it for some time, don’t just chase the shiny lure of an app before catching the mobile users that are already surfing your site. Let me know about your experience and best practices for building a mobile website in the comment section below.
As smartphones and the applications that run on them take off, businesses and consumers are beginning to confront a budding dark side of the wireless Web.
Online stores run by Apple Inc., Google Inc. and others now offer more than 250,000 applications such as games and financial tools. The apps have been a key selling point for devices like Apple's iPhone. But concerns are growing among security researchers and government officials that efforts to keep out malicious software aren't keeping up with the apps craze.
In one incident, Google pulled dozens of unauthorized mobile-banking apps from its Android Market in December. The apps, priced at $1.50, were made by a developer named "09Droid" and claimed to offer access to accounts at many of the world's banks. Google said it pulled the apps because they violated its trademark policy.
The apps were more useless than malicious, but could have been updated to capture customers' banking credentials, said John Hering, chief executive of Lookout, a mobile security provider. "It is becoming easier for the bad guys to use the app stores," Mr. Hering said.
Unlike Apple or BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd., Google doesn't have employees dedicated to vetting applications submitted to its Android store. Google said it removes apps that violate its policies, but largely relies on users to alert it to bad software. "We check reactively," said a Google spokesman. "There is no manual bottleneck."
As more companies, governments and consumers use wireless gadgets to conduct commerce and share private information, computer bad guys are beginning to target them, according to government officials and security researchers.
"Mobile phones are a huge source of vulnerability," said Gordon Snow, assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Cyber Division. "We are definitely seeing an increase in criminal activity."
The FBI's Cyber Division recently began working on a number of cases based on tips about malicious programs in app stores, Mr. Snow said. The cases involve apps designed to compromise banking on cellphones, as well as mobile "malware" used for espionage by foreign nations, said a person familiar with the matter. To protect its own operations, the FBI bars its employees from downloading apps on FBI-issued smartphones.
The vulnerability of mobile computing is also a concern for the U.S. Air Force, which worries about theft of military information or the use of personal details to scam or extort airmen and women.
In March, the Air Force barred users of all service-issued BlackBerrys from downloading apps. Research In Motion said its technology allows customers to enforce such group-wide security measures.
The move followed a sharp rise in questionable activity aimed at Air Force smartphones, including attacks that tried to exploit mobile Web browsers, said a military official who helps oversee the defense of the Air Force's networks.
About a year ago, the Air Force saw fewer than a dozen attacks targeting its phones each month. In May, the Air Force saw more than 500, the official said, though none of the probes was successful.
"We all see this tipping point coming," said Peter Tippett, who oversees an investigative-response team that studies computer crime at Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. that serves corporations. "There is a lot of activity to figure out how to make it less likely that a financial transaction would be exploited" on a mobile phone, he said.
The financial services industry says it is working with app-store operators to ensure mobile-banking apps are authentic. "Customers should be able to know who they are dealing with," said Leigh Williams, president of BITS, an arm of the Financial Services Roundtable, a banking industry advocacy group
Some security experts believe Google's Android Market is more vulnerable than other app stores since Google doesn't examine all apps before they are available for users to download.
A Google spokesman said the company has put in place security measures, such as remotely disabling apps found to be malicious and requiring developers to register with its Checkout payment service, and argued there's no evidence for claims that its store poses a greater risk than others.
Apple vets applications before they appear in its App Store, but risks still exist. In July 2008, Apple pulled a popular game called Aurora Feint from its store after it was discovered to be uploading users' contact lists to the game maker's servers. More recently, it yanked hundreds of apps it said violated its policies, some out of security concerns.
"Consumers should be aware that iPhone security is far from perfect and that a piece of software downloaded from the App Store may still be harmful," wrote software engineer Nicolas Seriot in a research paper detailing iPhone security holes that he presented at a computer security conference in February.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs, speaking at the All Things D conference this week, said his company's employees carefully curate the store. "We have a few rules: has to do what it's advertised to do, it has to not crash, it can't use private APIs," or application programming interfaces, he said, adding that 95% of submissions are approved.
"Apple takes security very seriously," a spokeswoman said. "We have a very thorough approval process and review every app. We also check the identities of every developer."
Apple's iPhone itself isn't immune to mobile threats, either. Since 2008, security experts have identified at least 36 security holes in the phone's software, according to a review of the National Vulnerability Database maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. One, identified in September 2009, could have allowed hackers to learn someone's username and password from messages sent to servers when browsing the Web.
Some victims are now more cautious. Sara Dellabella, a car saleswoman in Cuba City, Wisc., said she doesn't download as many apps on her Motorola Inc. Droid phone, which uses Google's Android software, after a malicious game her son downloaded from the Android Market wiped out all of her text messages and personal notes. "It just rips your heart out," she said. "I am being more vigilant now."
Hungry to earn a buck, many programmers are making apps for the two leading mobile platforms: Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android OS. But a few developers say they feel luckier playing with the underdog: Palm.
“I made some of the crappiest apps for the Pre, and Palm is giving me $1,000 for each,” software programmer Pete Ma (right) bragged to Wired.com last week during a developer conference, adding that each of his five apps took less than an hour to code.
Ma submitted five apps to Palm’s Hot Apps challenge, a contest designed to attract developers to the comparatively diminutive WebOS platform serving apps to Pre and Pixi customers. The incentive? A $1 million prize pool rewarding up to 221 apps based on their ranking. The top-ranked app will win $100,000, the next 20 apps will earn a $20,000 reward, and the subsequent 200 apps will win $1,000 each. Currently, the top-ranked app in the competition is Pandora, a popular music-streaming service. Ma says his apps are in the running for the smallest of the awards.
Though many credit Palm for pioneering the smartphone, the company has struggled in the mobile space for the past few years. And as an app platform, Palm’s WebOS barely registers. Apple’s iPhone currently leads the app race with a massive 200,000 apps, and Google’s Android platform follows with 50,000 apps. Palm’s WebOS App Catalog, by comparison, serves about 2,800 apps.
A Palm spokesman estimates that there are more than 1 million WebOS users total. That number is pitiful compared to the 90 million iPhone OS users (iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad customers). Meanwhile, Google says 100,000 Android phones are activated every day.
Given Palm’s smaller customer base, it’s unlikely we’ll hear phenomenal success stories where WebOS developers generate six-figure incomes with a hot-selling app. By contrast, a few lucky iPhone App Store developers have struck it rich. However, HP’s acquisition of Palm may lay the groundwork for a bigger customer base, which could eventually lead to more serious dough. An HP exec recently said the company is working on a WebOS-based tablet due out in October.
Before the platform gets bigger, Ma encourages developers to get an early start on WebOS, when there’s less competition. In fact, Ma laughed at the admittedly poor quality of his apps. One app called Fantasy Chat, a jokey program to chat with a robot, is ranked number 211, putting Ma in range to win $1,000. Another app, Playboy Covers, currently ranked 240, is on track to win Ma cash by next week. Three other apps will likely hit the top 221 soon as well, according to Ma’s estimations, based on average downloads.
The cash prizes are only a temporary incentive, as the contest ends June 30, but Ma said the quick escalation of his apps in the WebOS App Catalog are a testament to the potential to succeed in a store with fewer competitors.
“People should give WebOS a chance,” Ma said. “It’s a great platform if they’re lacking downloads on either Android or iPhone. Nobody was downloading my Android app.”
A Palm representative said the purpose of the Hot Apps challenge was not only to increase visibility of the WebOS platform, but also to raise awareness of the flexible tools that Palm developers can use. For example, the Palm’s Plug-in Development Kit allows people who have already coded iPhone apps with C++ to easily port their apps over to WebOS. So even if coders are already invested in the iPhone OS platform, they can make a simple tweak to their app and share it with the WebOS audience as well.
Palm offers a 70-percent cut to developers for each app sale — the same as the App Store’s model. Also, developers have the choice between serving their apps through the official WebOS App Catalog, which involves undergoing an approval process similar to the App Store’s, or they can self-publish their apps on the web.
“What we’re hoping to do is give developers a choice in how they develop and a choice in how they distribute their application,” the spokesman said.
The Los Angeles Times offers a news app for WebOS, and developer Ken Schwencke said he enjoyed the simplicity of the platform. However, he said he was wary of investing more in the WebOS app in the near term, despite HP’s pending acquisition of Palm.
“I’m excited to see what HP has in store for WebOS, but honestly, I’m cautious about spending more development time on the app right now given the uncertainty surrounding WebOS’s future,” Schwencke said. “I’d say if you’re developing a suite of apps on other platforms, it’s worth it — if nothing else for the exposure and the good will it will generate with users.”
Location-based applications are all the rage right now, but anyone who uses them knows that current GPS technology only allows for a certain amount of accuracy. If you pull up Foursquare, Gowalla or any other social check-in app while in a dense business area, chances are the place you're looking for is not at the top of the list. This is because current GPS chips and satellites are only accurate to roughly 20 feet at best, but this number could shrink significantly with the recent launch of the first of several new GPS satellites.
Late last Thursday, the U.S. Air Force launched the GPS IIF SV-1 satellite from Cape Canaveral (see video below), the first in a series of new satellites designed to overhaul the existing network that has been providing GPS data for nearly two decades. Boeing has been contracted to build 12 GPS Block IIF satellites, part of an $8 billion government project to replace the 24 existing GPS satellites over the next ten years.
According to Boeing, the Block IIF series of satellites include a host of enhanced features and functionality that will improve GPS signal strength, quality and accuracy. Boeing says the new satellites will have "two times greater predicted signal accuracy" than the previous ones, as well as improved signals for aviation and military use. Additionally, this new fleet of satellites should improve the overall accuracy of GPS signals from the rough estimates of 20 feet to a tighter radius of between two and three feet.
For mobile location-based applications, these improvements could be monumental. Not only would location apps as we know them today be greatly improved, but increased power and accuracy could create entirely new breeds of applications. By boosting the signal, the possibility of having GPS function in large indoor facilities, like malls or convention centers, is significantly increased. Mobile apps could be developed to help stranded cave divers, rock climbers or even victims of landslides and earthquakes be located by rescue personnel. In fact, NASA already has plans to continually improve on the GPS satellites for the purpose of creating a better search and rescue system.
Mobile augmented reality, a field that relies heavily on GPS data, would also see large improvements with increased accuracy. With the current limited accuracy of GPS, mobile AR apps can only give users a rough estimate of where locations are relative to their position; these new satellites could make it much easier for an app like Layar or Wikitude to point users directly to the nearest ATM or subway entrance. Combine this with enhanced visual recognition technology and AR could quickly evolve to recognize our surroundings and help us navigate the world.
But what about privacy? With increased accuracy, users' homes could be identified by their location data, not just what area of town they are in. Location-based applications may need to implement privacy controls that limit the amount of data shared with other users. I wouldn't mind if an app used as much data as it needed to find me and provide relevant information, but once that is complete, I should have the option of what level of location to share with other users.
The Block IIF satellites are the first step in creating a highly accurate GPS network for consumers. The second step is creating smaller, more capable GPS chips for mobile devices, and the third is updating databases of location data to reflect more accurate results. It's not good enough anymore to just know the address of an establishment, especially if it is in a mall or shopping center. In the near future, our GPS devices won't simply drop us off at the block a business is on, they will walk us right through the front door.
Having your own iPhone app for your website or blog is becoming an increasingly common way to promote and extend your brand. However, actually creating that application and getting it into the App Store can be a lengthy and expensive process, especially if you have little development experience. Today PointAbout is launching a new product called AppMakr, which is designed to make creating your own iPhone app simple and inexpensive.
AppMakr is a streamlined system that creates a native iPhone application out of your existing RSS feeds. You can customize elements of the app and the artwork and then submit it directly to the App Store. You can even embed ads from places like AdMob directly into the app.
AppMakr made this demo video showing off how fast it was to create an app for Mac|Life.
The evolution of music is, in essence, a study of how human culture, tastes and technology have evolved over the course of thousands of years. From ancient Indian music to Beethoven to Lady GaGa, music has embraced new instruments and scientific advances in the search for the perfect harmony and melody.
While most of society thinks of music in terms of voices, pianos and woodwinds, perhaps the world should get ready for the rise of a new instrument: the iPhone. While composing computer-generated music is nothing new, the iPhone’s unique mobile capabilities, accelerometer, compass, GPS and hardware have already made it a musical instrument (e.g. the Smule Ocarina iPhone App). But that’s nothing compared to what’s in store for us in the future; a recent concert at Stanford University pushed the limits and our perception of what is possible with music.
On Thursday, December 3, a small group of students and faculty performed as the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra (MoPhO). Wearing gloves that act as speakers and only wielding iPhones as instruments, the orchestra put on a show before a packed room. i, MoPhO was an exploration of not only musical melodies, but of how far mobile technology has come.
The musical tones were unique, and while some harmonies didn’t match, others blew the audience away. They did things that no orchestra on Earth can do, such as “passing” musical sounds to one another and using the iPhone’s directional capabilities to provide a truly surround sound musical experience. While it was clear that iPhones won’t be replacing the London Philharmonic Orchestra anytime soon, it was also apparent that this small team from Stanford was just scratching the surface of the possibilities of mobile phone and musical technology.
I had the distinct honor of attending, and while I did not record all of the compositions, I did record HD video of five of the pieces. I have included each, along with the name of the compositions, below. Please let us know what you think of this concert and, more importantly, the convergence of music and technology in the comments.
What if you had a nickle for every time you heard: "I have the perfect idea for a great application!"? It’s the buzz on the street. The iPhone has created unprecedented excitement and innovation from people both inside and outside the software development community. Still for those outside the development world, the process is a bit of a mystery.
This how-to guide is supposed to walk you through the steps to make your idea for an iPhone app a reality. This post presents various ideas, techniques, tips, and resources that may come in handy if you are planning on creating your first iPhone application.
How do you know if your idea is a good one? The first step is to even care if your idea is solid; and the second step is to answer the question does it have at least one of the indicators of success?
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Does your app solve a unique problem? Before the light bulb was invented, somebody had to shout out “Man, reading by candlelight sucks!” Figure out what sucks, and how your app can make the life of its user more comfortable. |
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Does the app serve a specific niche? Though there aren’t any stats on the App Store search, the usage of applications is certainly growing with the explosion of App Store inventory. Find a niche with ardent fans (pet lovers, for example) and create an app that caters to a specific audience. |
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Does it make people laugh? This is a no-brainer. If you can come up with something funny, you are definitely on the right track and your idea may be the golden one. Heck, I hit a red “do not press” button for 5 minutes yesterday. |
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Are you building a better wheel? Are there existing successful apps that lack significant feature enhancements? Don’t be satisfied with just a wine list, give sommeliers a way to talk to their fans! |
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Will the app be highly interactive? Let’s face it, most of us have the attention span of a flea. Successful games and utilities engage the user by requiring action! |
Action: Does your app fall in to one of these categories? If yes, it’s just about time to prepare the necessary tools.
Below is a list of items you’ll need (*starred items are required, the rest are nice-to-have’s):
Action: Load up on your required supplies.
What skills do you bring to the table? Are you a designer whose brain objects to Objective C? A developer who can’t design their way out of a paper sack? Or maybe you are neither, but an individual with an idea you’d like to take to the market? Designing a successful iPhone application is a lot like starting a small business. You play the role of Researcher, Project Manager, Accountant, Information Architect, Designer, Developer, Marketer and Advertiser – all rolled into one.
Remember what all good entrepreneurs know – it takes a team to make a product successful. Don’t get me wrong, you certainly can do it all. But you can also waste a lot of time, energy and sanity in the process. Don’t go crazy, reference the checklist below and ask yourself: What roles are the best fit for you to lead? Then find other talented people to fill in the gaps. The infusion of additional ideas can only enrich the product!
Remember to have contractors sign your non-disclosure agreement. Having a contract in place tells your contractor "I’m a professional that takes my business and this project seriously. Now don’t go runnin’ off with this idea."
Action: Select skills that are a good fit for you to lead. For those roles where you cannot lead, hire professionals.
Market research is a fancy way of saying "Look at what other people are doing and don’t make the same mistakes." Learn from the good, bad and ugly in the App Store. Coming up with creative solutions in the app concept development and design starts with analyzing other (maybe similar) applications. Even if you encounter a lot of poorly designed apps, your mind will reference these examples of what not to do.
Action: Answer these questions:
If you want to create an iPhone app, you need to understand the capabilities of the iPhone and its interface. Can you shoot a .45 caliber bullet out of your iPhone? No. Can you shoot videos? Yes!
The good news is that you don’t have to memorize the encyclopedic Apple User Interface Guidelines to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t in iPhone Apps. Download and play with as many apps as you can, and think about what functionality you want to include in your product.
Take note of:
Action: Download the Top 10 apps in every category and play with all of them. Review the Apple Guidelines for UI design and list at least 5 features you’d like to incorporate into your app.
We assume here that you’ve already determined that your app will bring value and that you will have a raging audience for your app. Well, fine, they are raging fans, but who are they really? What actions will they take to achieve their goals within the app?
If it’s a game, maybe they want to beat their high score. Or perhaps they are a first time player – how will their experience differ from someone who is getting a nice case of brain-rot playing your game all day?
If it’s a utility app, and your audience wants to find a coffee shop quickly, what actions will they take within the app to find that coffee shop? Where are they when they’re looking for coffee? Usually in the car! Do present an interface that requires multiple taps, reading and referencing a lot? Probably not! This is how thinking about how real-life intersects design.
Action: Line item out the different types of people who will use your app. You can even name them if you want to make the scenarios you draw out as real as possible.
And by "sketch" I mean literally sketch. Line out a 9-rectangle grid on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and get to sketching!
Ask yourself:
Thumbnailing your ideas on paper can push your creativity far beyond where your imagination might stagnate working in an sketching application! You can also buy the iPhone Stencil Kit to quickly sketch out iPhone UI prototypes on paper.
Action: Create at least one thumbnail page of your application per screen. Experiment with various navigational schemes, the text you put on buttons, and how screens connect. If you want to transfer your sketches into digital format, iPlotz is a good tool to check out.
If you are a designer, download the iPhone GUI Photoshop template or iPhone PSD Vector Kit. Both are collections of iPhone GUI elements that will save you a lot of time in getting started. If you’ve solidified your layout during sketching, drawing up the screens will be less of a layout exercise and more about the actual design of the app.
If you are not a designer, hire one! It’s like hiring an electrician to do electrical work. You can go to Home Depot and buy tools to try it yourself, but who wants to risk getting zapped? If you’ve followed steps 1–3, you’ll have everything you need for a designer to get started.
When looking for a designer, try to find someone who has experience designing for mobile devices. They may have some good feedback and suggested improvements for your sketches. A few places to look for designers: Coroflot, Crowdspring, eLance. When posting your job offer, be very specific about your requirements, and also be ready to review a lot of portfolios.
Action: If you are a designer, get started in Photoshop. If you are not a designer, start interviewing designers for your job.
Even though this how-to is sequential, it’s a good idea to get a developer on board at the same time when you line up design resources. Talking with a developer sooner than later will help you scope out a project that is technically feasible and within your budget.
If you are a Objective C/Cocoa developer crack, open Xcode and get started! A few forums to join if you haven’t already:
If you are not a developer, you know what to do – find one! Specify the type of app you want to produce – whether it is a game, utility or anything else. Each type usually requires a different coding skill set. A few places to look for developers: Odesk, iPhoneFreelancer, eLance and any of the forums listed above.
OK, so how do you submit your application to Apple Store now? The process of compiling your application and publishing the binary for iTunes Connect can be difficult for anyone unfamiliar with XCode. If you are working with a developer, ask them to help you:
Action: If you are a developer, map out a development timeline and get started. If you are not a developer, start interviewing devs for your job.
If a tree falls in the middle of the woods and nobody was around to hear it does it make a sound? Apps can sit in the store unnoticed very easily. Don’t let this happen to you. Be ready with a plan to market your app. In fact, be ready with many plans to market your app. Be ready to experiment, some ideas will work, others won’t.
Action: Make a list of 20 promotional strategies that target the audience for your app. Take action on them yourself or hire someone who can!
It’s easy when you are working on your first app to get all AppHappy, dreaming up a zillion new app-ideas. Dream, but don’t get sidetracked by new ideas. Your first app needs to make a big splash and getting involved in too many projects at once can dilute your passion for making your first application a success.
Action: Get out there and go kick some app!
1. http://www.google.com/profiles/playboyp
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