Check out our latest release, ShipWizz Lite and ShipWizz Pro – both available now on the App Store in the Productivity category.
ShipWizz is a shipping rate calculator for the iPhone – an app that displays major couriers’ shipping quotes side by side. Quotes are sorted by service levels: same day, next day, 2 days, 3-5 days, week+. This is a useful app for someone who needs to send out a parcel or an envelope and does not want to overpay by blindly going with a single carrier.
Shipping companies usually are not too keen to display their competitor’s rates side by side with their own. And that’s understandable – they want to get your dollars. ShipWizz gives you the power to make an educated decision that will save you time and money.
ShipWizz Lite is a free version of the application that offers basic functionality and is available for a download at: http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id338568589?mt=8
ShipWizz Pro has all the features of ShipWizz Lite plus support for multiple currencies, postal code lookup for USA and Canada and a feature to enter carrier specific discounts. It is available for a download at http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/id338788447?mt=8 for a fee. The cost of the application can be easily recovered by using it only a couple of times and selecting the cheapest shipping option.
ShipWizz iPhone app is brought to you by http://www.shipwizz.com/. Check out their website for a desktop size shipping calculator.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Why did I decide to make an iPhone application?
iPhone and the App Store is the first marketplace of its kind, that allows a programmer to distribute own software to millions of people. Making money on ads, getting paid per download or giving away your creation for free is a personal choice that a single developer never had. Well, not exactly. You could do it before, but the exposure cannot be compared to anything we've seen. Overnight, a simple, but original application can make thousands of dollars on the App Store. So I decided to experience it for myself. I bought a MacBook, iPhone Developer License and a couple of books available at the time.
Thanks to formal computer science education and years of experience I was able to grasp the concepts and produced my first app quickly. Since then I did not develop a single application by myself. Why?
Today I manage the portfolio of projects at SourceWizz. Even though I am a programmer by heart, education and many years of experience, I am extremely happy to have my name on all applications we develop, without writing a single line of code.
Thanks to all the clients of SourceWizz for giving us the opportunity to do what we love – produce useful, usable and reliable software for public and enterprise use.
Daniil Gromov
www.sourcewizz.com
Thanks to formal computer science education and years of experience I was able to grasp the concepts and produced my first app quickly. Since then I did not develop a single application by myself. Why?
Today I manage the portfolio of projects at SourceWizz. Even though I am a programmer by heart, education and many years of experience, I am extremely happy to have my name on all applications we develop, without writing a single line of code.
Thanks to all the clients of SourceWizz for giving us the opportunity to do what we love – produce useful, usable and reliable software for public and enterprise use.
Daniil Gromov
www.sourcewizz.com
Monday, October 19, 2009
iPhone Development Training Seminar
We will be conducting a training seminar dedicated to iPhone application development in November 2009 in Toronto, Ontario and want to know what you want to learn about. Your comments are important as it will allow us to structure our training to give the participants the maximum amount of benefits.
So what is it that you want to learn about?
Visit us at www.sourcewizz.com to learn more about our company.
So what is it that you want to learn about?
Visit us at www.sourcewizz.com to learn more about our company.
iPhone Tech Talk World Tour 2009
Expert Advice. Coming to a city near you.
Apple technology evangelists are coming to a city near you with expert advice on how you can maximize the innovative technologies of iPhone OS within your apps.
Advanced content for advanced developers
The iPhone Tech Talk World Tour features a range of sessions for advanced developers who want to enhance the capability, functionality, and usability of their iPhone apps. You'll dive deep into coding and design techniques that will help you take your apps to the next level.
Don't miss this unique opportunity available only to members of the iPhone Developer Program. The event is free, but space is limited. Register for an iPhone Tech Talk today.
Visit http://developer.apple.com/events/iphone/techtalks/ for the exact tour dates and registration information.
Visit us at SourceWizz for more information on iPhone application development.
Apple technology evangelists are coming to a city near you with expert advice on how you can maximize the innovative technologies of iPhone OS within your apps.
Advanced content for advanced developers
The iPhone Tech Talk World Tour features a range of sessions for advanced developers who want to enhance the capability, functionality, and usability of their iPhone apps. You'll dive deep into coding and design techniques that will help you take your apps to the next level.
Don't miss this unique opportunity available only to members of the iPhone Developer Program. The event is free, but space is limited. Register for an iPhone Tech Talk today.
Visit http://developer.apple.com/events/iphone/techtalks/ for the exact tour dates and registration information.
Visit us at SourceWizz for more information on iPhone application development.
In App Purchase Now Available for Free Apps
In App Purchase is being rapidly adopted by developers in their paid apps. Now iPhone developers can use In App Purchase in their free apps to sell content, subscriptions, and digital services.
Companies can also simplify their development by creating a single version of the app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of the app. Using In App Purchase in the application can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing the developer to verify In App Purchases.
More information can be found in the App Store Resource Center.
Visit us at SourceWizz for more information on iPhone application development.
Companies can also simplify their development by creating a single version of the app that uses In App Purchase to unlock additional functionality, eliminating the need to create Lite versions of the app. Using In App Purchase in the application can also help combat some of the problems of software piracy by allowing the developer to verify In App Purchases.
More information can be found in the App Store Resource Center.
Visit us at SourceWizz for more information on iPhone application development.
Web Site Tune-Up: Common Web Site Problems
Here is a checklist of common issues, problems, ideas, and improvements that are often overlooked.
Testimonials–don’t leave home without them
Something that should never be missing from a business web site are testimonials. I’d sooner forget my kid at a public swimming pool as forget testimonials on my web site (well…almost).Testimonials are simple yet powerful. They are quotes from past clients and happy customers telling future site visitors that doing business with you is a smart move. Unfortunately most web sites I’ve visited don’t have them.
Testimonial pages are often the most frequently visited pages on a web site. If people praise you, get in the habit of asking them if you can quote them on your web site.
Try to have the testimonials address concerns that first-time visitors might have, or highlight the main benefits visitors may be looking for in your company. There’s nothing wrong with coaching your happy customers on what kind of quote would benefit your business, but be sure to post the quote in their own words and style of talking.
If possible, have a testimonial signed such that future clients could verify the information in the testimonial. For example, a testimonial signed “Richard Jones, President XYZ Inc.” or “Emma Richards, Pasadena CA” carries more weight than a testimonial from “Bob T.”
Beware of errors
Nothing hurts web site credibility as an obvious mistake sitting right there on your web site. Here are some of the common problems (and some you may not have thought about).Sounds obvious, but we’ve all seen broken links, grammatical errors, and misspelled words, all of which act as negative points against a web site. Errors will erode your credibility. Spell-checking is a good start, but everything published on your web site should first be read by someone besides the author for clarity and continuity as well as errors and mistakes. This practice has saved me a lot of grief.
Different Browsers
One other thing you may not realize: It is very possible your site will look fine in one browser but not in another. Your site should work correctly in all major browsers. If your site looks good in Internet Explorer, but not Firefox, a good percentage of your visitors may have a bad impression of your site.
Here are the latest numbers on what browsers are most popular.
Unfortunately, if you do find something wrong on one browser and not another, it will probably take a knowledgeable web designer to fix the problem.
Keeping the site up to date
If the year is 2009, and a web site says “Copyright 2002″ at the bottom, I assume the company has gone out of business and someone forgot to take the site down.It is well worth looking over your web site on an annual basis to make sure there isn’t dated or outdated information causing visitors to question the relevance of the information they’ve read elsewhere on the site. Having a site with fresh updated content is not only a draw for site visitors, it helps with your search engine rankings as well.
One helpful thing, when keeping dates up-to-date, is a handy bit of javascript you can put on your site that will automatically take the current day, month, or year and display that on your web site. So if you want your copyright date at the bottom of your page to always display the current year, search for “javascript today’s date” in a search engine and you’ll find snippets of code that you can place on your web site to do things like this.
(this is also used to create urgency when selling something–”This deal ends midnight on !!” although most people aren’t fooled by that anymore)
In this way blogs, articles, and up-to-date announcements about company and industry news do much to show that you’re open for business and thriving.
Effective “About Us” or “Company” pages
Most sites already have a page that talks about the company, but many don’t allow site visitors to get to know the company through this page. If this page simply restates the services your business provides, it’s a lost opportunity to add a personal touch to the cold, vast void of the Internet.This page could also be titled “About Us” or “Who We Are”. Site visitors who go to these pages are looking for something that tells them what the company is like on the inside.
Tell your visitors about the people who make the business what it is. Let them know how the owner built the company on hard work and integrity, describe the charitable work the CEO is spearheading, or that the company hosts daycare for their employees. Feel free to let people get to know your company from the inside as long as–and this is the key–you can supply this information in such a way that it supports the impression your trying to give site visitors (see Site Flow and Focus).
You can get fancy like Saturn, simple like Google, or funny and conversational like Ben and Jerry’s.
Evogear’s “About Us” page is a great example of a company page that speaks to their target market.
Remember: many of your customers are just as interested in what kind of business you are as they are interested in the products or services you provide.
Visit us at SourceWizz for more information on Web as well as mobile development.
Testimonials–don’t leave home without them
Something that should never be missing from a business web site are testimonials. I’d sooner forget my kid at a public swimming pool as forget testimonials on my web site (well…almost).Testimonials are simple yet powerful. They are quotes from past clients and happy customers telling future site visitors that doing business with you is a smart move. Unfortunately most web sites I’ve visited don’t have them.
Testimonial pages are often the most frequently visited pages on a web site. If people praise you, get in the habit of asking them if you can quote them on your web site.
Try to have the testimonials address concerns that first-time visitors might have, or highlight the main benefits visitors may be looking for in your company. There’s nothing wrong with coaching your happy customers on what kind of quote would benefit your business, but be sure to post the quote in their own words and style of talking.
If possible, have a testimonial signed such that future clients could verify the information in the testimonial. For example, a testimonial signed “Richard Jones, President XYZ Inc.” or “Emma Richards, Pasadena CA” carries more weight than a testimonial from “Bob T.”
Beware of errors
Nothing hurts web site credibility as an obvious mistake sitting right there on your web site. Here are some of the common problems (and some you may not have thought about).Sounds obvious, but we’ve all seen broken links, grammatical errors, and misspelled words, all of which act as negative points against a web site. Errors will erode your credibility. Spell-checking is a good start, but everything published on your web site should first be read by someone besides the author for clarity and continuity as well as errors and mistakes. This practice has saved me a lot of grief.
Different Browsers
One other thing you may not realize: It is very possible your site will look fine in one browser but not in another. Your site should work correctly in all major browsers. If your site looks good in Internet Explorer, but not Firefox, a good percentage of your visitors may have a bad impression of your site.
Here are the latest numbers on what browsers are most popular.
Unfortunately, if you do find something wrong on one browser and not another, it will probably take a knowledgeable web designer to fix the problem.
Keeping the site up to date
If the year is 2009, and a web site says “Copyright 2002″ at the bottom, I assume the company has gone out of business and someone forgot to take the site down.It is well worth looking over your web site on an annual basis to make sure there isn’t dated or outdated information causing visitors to question the relevance of the information they’ve read elsewhere on the site. Having a site with fresh updated content is not only a draw for site visitors, it helps with your search engine rankings as well.
One helpful thing, when keeping dates up-to-date, is a handy bit of javascript you can put on your site that will automatically take the current day, month, or year and display that on your web site. So if you want your copyright date at the bottom of your page to always display the current year, search for “javascript today’s date” in a search engine and you’ll find snippets of code that you can place on your web site to do things like this.
(this is also used to create urgency when selling something–”This deal ends midnight on !!” although most people aren’t fooled by that anymore)
In this way blogs, articles, and up-to-date announcements about company and industry news do much to show that you’re open for business and thriving.
Effective “About Us” or “Company” pages
Most sites already have a page that talks about the company, but many don’t allow site visitors to get to know the company through this page. If this page simply restates the services your business provides, it’s a lost opportunity to add a personal touch to the cold, vast void of the Internet.This page could also be titled “About Us” or “Who We Are”. Site visitors who go to these pages are looking for something that tells them what the company is like on the inside.
Tell your visitors about the people who make the business what it is. Let them know how the owner built the company on hard work and integrity, describe the charitable work the CEO is spearheading, or that the company hosts daycare for their employees. Feel free to let people get to know your company from the inside as long as–and this is the key–you can supply this information in such a way that it supports the impression your trying to give site visitors (see Site Flow and Focus).
You can get fancy like Saturn, simple like Google, or funny and conversational like Ben and Jerry’s.
Evogear’s “About Us” page is a great example of a company page that speaks to their target market.
Remember: many of your customers are just as interested in what kind of business you are as they are interested in the products or services you provide.
Visit us at SourceWizz for more information on Web as well as mobile development.
How to Kick-Start Your Apple iPhone Application Project
The iPhone is an amazing device that invites creativity. If you’re an iPhone owner I’m sure you’ve said to yourself: ‘I wish I could do that on my iPhone, or I have a great idea for an iPhone application’.With the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), programmers can make your ideas reality – even if you yourself don’t know the difference between a C-pointer and a SQLite database. Here are some pointers to get your project kick-started:
Study the MastersApple has already spent a lot of time thinking about how to present information and build interactive applications on the iPhone. The applications that come with the iPhone are the results of this research. Study them in great detail and try to apply as many of the user interface metaphors as possible to your application.
Not only will Apple be flattered if you imitate the user interface in their applications, but they actually mandate it to a great level of detail as described in their Human Interface Guidelines.
Dream in Color ScreensMost applications for the iPhone will be very visual. Therefore it makes sense to provide your requirements as screen images or sketches. You don’t have to be a graphics artist to do this effectively. An iPhone programmer is looking for the following information:
- The type of layout each screen should have- The buttons on the screens- The actions associated with each button
The exact shape and format of your screen sketches is secondary. As long as they are readable, it’s a great way to communicate your application design to a programmer.
Be Realistic About Your BudgetLook at other iPhone project to get a sense for the bid amounts on these projects. Read the descriptions of these projects to see if they seem to be larger or smaller projects than what you have in mind. If you set your budget to under $500 for something that is realistically going to take a programmer two months to implement, you are not likely to attract many bidders.
From a programming perspective, some things are easy to do on the iPhone, while other seemingly simple things are very time consuming. For example the beautiful cover-flow animation used in the music application on the iPhone should be simple to use in other applications. Unfortunately you can’t. If you want this animation within your application it will have to be written from scratch, probably costing a one month of work.
If you talk to an approved iPhone developer early in your application design process you can learn how to get most out of your budget by avoiding the things that are really difficult to do on the iPhone.
Don’t Be Too OriginaliPhone users already know how to do certain tasks on their phones by convention. For example, if you tap an item in a list that has a > icon next to it, you expect to be taken to another screen with more information about that item. If your application needs similar functionality, don’t be creative and come up with a new way to solve the same problem. Use the conventions already established by Apple.
New conventions are difficult to establish especially with the touch interface because there is no way to discover how your application works on the iPhone. Unlike a website where you can hover with the mouse pointer over areas that look like you can interact with them and a tool tip or the status bar will reveal some clues to you.
Know Your LimitationsThe current version of the iPhone SDK, which is used to write applications for the iPhone, has many restrictions and limitations. Some of them are common sense, e.g. you can’t send text messages from an application. Imagine an application that sends out thousands of text messages without your knowledge, who is going to pay the phone bill for that?
Other restrictions are maddening: applications cannot access the log of phone calls, or interact in any way with the calendar or the music stored on the iPhone.
To Apple’s credit, the iPhone SDK is an amazing piece of software especially given that it was publicly released as a Beta just three months ago. Some of the shortcomings listed above will likely be addressed in future releases of the SDK.
As a buyer with an idea for an iPhone application, you should educate yourself about these limitations before you spend too much time designing an application that is impossible to implement. Talk to a developer or company like SourceWizz that specializes in iPhone development and they can help you get on the right track from the start.
Author: Nick Dalton
Study the MastersApple has already spent a lot of time thinking about how to present information and build interactive applications on the iPhone. The applications that come with the iPhone are the results of this research. Study them in great detail and try to apply as many of the user interface metaphors as possible to your application.
Not only will Apple be flattered if you imitate the user interface in their applications, but they actually mandate it to a great level of detail as described in their Human Interface Guidelines.
Dream in Color ScreensMost applications for the iPhone will be very visual. Therefore it makes sense to provide your requirements as screen images or sketches. You don’t have to be a graphics artist to do this effectively. An iPhone programmer is looking for the following information:
- The type of layout each screen should have- The buttons on the screens- The actions associated with each button
The exact shape and format of your screen sketches is secondary. As long as they are readable, it’s a great way to communicate your application design to a programmer.
Be Realistic About Your BudgetLook at other iPhone project to get a sense for the bid amounts on these projects. Read the descriptions of these projects to see if they seem to be larger or smaller projects than what you have in mind. If you set your budget to under $500 for something that is realistically going to take a programmer two months to implement, you are not likely to attract many bidders.
From a programming perspective, some things are easy to do on the iPhone, while other seemingly simple things are very time consuming. For example the beautiful cover-flow animation used in the music application on the iPhone should be simple to use in other applications. Unfortunately you can’t. If you want this animation within your application it will have to be written from scratch, probably costing a one month of work.
If you talk to an approved iPhone developer early in your application design process you can learn how to get most out of your budget by avoiding the things that are really difficult to do on the iPhone.
Don’t Be Too OriginaliPhone users already know how to do certain tasks on their phones by convention. For example, if you tap an item in a list that has a > icon next to it, you expect to be taken to another screen with more information about that item. If your application needs similar functionality, don’t be creative and come up with a new way to solve the same problem. Use the conventions already established by Apple.
New conventions are difficult to establish especially with the touch interface because there is no way to discover how your application works on the iPhone. Unlike a website where you can hover with the mouse pointer over areas that look like you can interact with them and a tool tip or the status bar will reveal some clues to you.
Know Your LimitationsThe current version of the iPhone SDK, which is used to write applications for the iPhone, has many restrictions and limitations. Some of them are common sense, e.g. you can’t send text messages from an application. Imagine an application that sends out thousands of text messages without your knowledge, who is going to pay the phone bill for that?
Other restrictions are maddening: applications cannot access the log of phone calls, or interact in any way with the calendar or the music stored on the iPhone.
To Apple’s credit, the iPhone SDK is an amazing piece of software especially given that it was publicly released as a Beta just three months ago. Some of the shortcomings listed above will likely be addressed in future releases of the SDK.
As a buyer with an idea for an iPhone application, you should educate yourself about these limitations before you spend too much time designing an application that is impossible to implement. Talk to a developer or company like SourceWizz that specializes in iPhone development and they can help you get on the right track from the start.
Author: Nick Dalton
How to Create Your First iPhone Application
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.
1. Have an idea – a Good Idea
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?
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
2. Tools Checklist
Below is a list of items you’ll need (*starred items are required, the rest are nice-to-have’s):
join the Apple iPhone Developer Program ($99) *
get iPhone or iPod Touch *
get an Intel-based Mac computer with Mac OS X 10.5.5,
prepare a Non-Disclosure Agreement (here’s a sample) *
download and install the latest version of the iPhone SDK if you don’t already have it.
a spiral bound notebook*
Action: Load up on your required supplies.
3. What Are You Really Good At?
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!
Skills Checklist
Ability to Discern what works/doesn’t work in existing iPhone Apps
Market research
Outlining App Functionality (Sitemap Creation)
Sketching
GUI Design
Programming (Objective C, Cocoa) (we assume here that we are creating a native application)
App Promotion and Marketing
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.
4. Do Your Homework: Market Research
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.
Action: Answer these questions:
What problem does your app solve?
What products have you seen that perform a similar task?
How do successful apps present information to users?
How can you build on what works and make it unique?
What value does your app bring to your audience?
5. Know the iPhone/iPod Touch UI
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:
How do well-designed apps navigate from screen to screen?
How do they organize information?
How MUCH information do they present to the user?
How do they take advantage of the iPhone’s unique characteristics: the accelerometer, swiping features, pinch, expand and rotate functions?
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.
6. Determine "Who will use 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.
7. Sketch Out Your Idea
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:
What information does each screen need to present?
How can we take the user from point A to point B to point C?
How should elements on the screen be proportioned or sized in relation to each other (i.e. is this thing even tap-able?)
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.
8. Time for Design
If you are a designer, download the iPhone GUI Photoshop template or our 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.
9. Programming
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:
Apple Dev Forum
iPhoneSDK (moderated by Erica Sadun)
iPhoneSDKForum
iPhoneDev Forums
iPhoneSB
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.
10. Submit your application to Apple Store
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:
Create your Certificates
Define your App ID’s
Create your Distribution Provisioning Profile
Compile the application
Upload to iTunes Connect
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.
11. Promote Your App
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.
Strategies for maintaining/boosting app sales:
Incorporating social media. If your users make the high score on his or her favorite game, it is a good idea to make it easy for the user to post it to Facebook or Twitter. Think about how your app can incorporate social media and build that functionality into your app. At a minimum, set up a fan page for your app on Facebook and Twitter and use them as platforms to communicate with your users and get feedback on your app.
Pre-launch promotion. Start building buzz about your app before it has launched. E-mail people who write about things that relate to your app and see if they will talk up the upcoming release of your app.
Plan for multiple releases. Don’t pack your app with every single feature you want to offer in the very first release. Make your dream list for the app and make sure that the app is designed to incorporate all of the features at some time in the future. Then periodically drop new versions of the app to boost app store sales.
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!
11. Stay Focused and Don’t Give Up!
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!
Author: Jen Gordon
Visit us at http://www.sourcewizz.com for more information on iPhone application development.
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.
1. Have an idea – a Good Idea
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?
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
2. Tools Checklist
Below is a list of items you’ll need (*starred items are required, the rest are nice-to-have’s):
join the Apple iPhone Developer Program ($99) *
get iPhone or iPod Touch *
get an Intel-based Mac computer with Mac OS X 10.5.5,
prepare a Non-Disclosure Agreement (here’s a sample) *
download and install the latest version of the iPhone SDK if you don’t already have it.
a spiral bound notebook*
Action: Load up on your required supplies.
3. What Are You Really Good At?
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!
Skills Checklist
Ability to Discern what works/doesn’t work in existing iPhone Apps
Market research
Outlining App Functionality (Sitemap Creation)
Sketching
GUI Design
Programming (Objective C, Cocoa) (we assume here that we are creating a native application)
App Promotion and Marketing
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.
4. Do Your Homework: Market Research
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.
Action: Answer these questions:
What problem does your app solve?
What products have you seen that perform a similar task?
How do successful apps present information to users?
How can you build on what works and make it unique?
What value does your app bring to your audience?
5. Know the iPhone/iPod Touch UI
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:
How do well-designed apps navigate from screen to screen?
How do they organize information?
How MUCH information do they present to the user?
How do they take advantage of the iPhone’s unique characteristics: the accelerometer, swiping features, pinch, expand and rotate functions?
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.
6. Determine "Who will use 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.
7. Sketch Out Your Idea
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:
What information does each screen need to present?
How can we take the user from point A to point B to point C?
How should elements on the screen be proportioned or sized in relation to each other (i.e. is this thing even tap-able?)
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.
8. Time for Design
If you are a designer, download the iPhone GUI Photoshop template or our 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.
9. Programming
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:
Apple Dev Forum
iPhoneSDK (moderated by Erica Sadun)
iPhoneSDKForum
iPhoneDev Forums
iPhoneSB
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.
10. Submit your application to Apple Store
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:
Create your Certificates
Define your App ID’s
Create your Distribution Provisioning Profile
Compile the application
Upload to iTunes Connect
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.
11. Promote Your App
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.
Strategies for maintaining/boosting app sales:
Incorporating social media. If your users make the high score on his or her favorite game, it is a good idea to make it easy for the user to post it to Facebook or Twitter. Think about how your app can incorporate social media and build that functionality into your app. At a minimum, set up a fan page for your app on Facebook and Twitter and use them as platforms to communicate with your users and get feedback on your app.
Pre-launch promotion. Start building buzz about your app before it has launched. E-mail people who write about things that relate to your app and see if they will talk up the upcoming release of your app.
Plan for multiple releases. Don’t pack your app with every single feature you want to offer in the very first release. Make your dream list for the app and make sure that the app is designed to incorporate all of the features at some time in the future. Then periodically drop new versions of the app to boost app store sales.
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!
11. Stay Focused and Don’t Give Up!
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!
Author: Jen Gordon
Visit us at http://www.sourcewizz.com for more information on iPhone application development.
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