iPhone App Developers

[8mpg]

How do you go about finding out if they will approve something? I have a second idea for an app but it's questionable.

You can run it against their standard terms of what is appropriate and not appropriate, but honestly, they can still deny it if they dont like it.

[BajaBob]

This is why most of us do not write iPhone apps. Approval process is a money losing time frame you could be in the market generating revenue.

Android is bigger than iPhone anyways.

[8mpg]

This is why most of us do not write iPhone apps. Approval process is a money losing time frame you could be in the market generating revenue.

Android is bigger than iPhone anyways.

Id like to see some real world numbers. While Android is on the rise, I do not think it is even close to iphone app sales.

[BajaBob]

Id like to see some real world numbers. While Android is on the rise, I do not think it is even close to iphone app sales.

Lemme find the research, I had to do this evaluation a while back when I first got into mobile app programming. The numbers are there.

Also, Android apps now run on BlackBerry playbooks. BlackBerry is doing a great job at keeping security a priority while allowing users to "have fun on the side". I assume they will be moving Android apps to their entire line of phones as soon as they are done integrating their new OS based on the same used in missile guidance systems.

I remember when I was looking at the numbers, and at the time a year ago or so the Android Market was already selling more, just because it's a whore of an OS... Anyone who has hardware can adapt it to utilize Android, unlike Apple's typical unified single device single license structure.

[goofygrin]

My clients (ie. the ones that would pay me to develop an app) ONLY want iPhone. Never even consider Android.

So while if I was to develop an app for myself I'd develop both, it's interesting how people with actual money to fund a venture think.

[CJ]

My clients (ie. the ones that would pay me to develop an app) ONLY want iPhone. Never even consider Android.

So while if I was to develop an app for myself I'd develop both, it's interesting how people with actual money to fund a venture think.

Sounds like your clients don't want 50%+ of the customer base.

[BajaBob]

My clients (ie. the ones that would pay me to develop an app) ONLY want iPhone. Never even consider Android.

So while if I was to develop an app for myself I'd develop both, it's interesting how people with actual money to fund a venture think.

Technology in mainstream industry is always ages behind the curve. This is typical.

[Pewter Y2K Z28]

My clients (ie. the ones that would pay me to develop an app) ONLY want iPhone. Never even consider Android.

So while if I was to develop an app for myself I'd develop both, it's interesting how people with actual money to fund a venture think.

The thought crossed my mind for both platforms but I had NO idea that the Andriod platform was that popular. I will certainly look at something that I can do across both.

[goofygrin]

app/apk theft is rampant on android devices if that matters to you (those people wouldn't have purchased your app anyway).

Sounds like your clients don't want 50%+ of the customer base.

They foot the bill they can build shit in fortran on a vax for all I care. I will tell them the reality of the situation, but once they've made up their mind they're done.

Hence the use of Titanium... write once, multi-compile.

[BajaBob]

The thought crossed my mind for both platforms but I had NO idea that the Andriod platform was that popular. I will certainly look at something that I can do across both.

When you target both, you have to consider two options. One (the quickest) allows you to develop one project and deploy to multiple platforms. This requires a licence with a large development framework and they range from a couple hundred bucks (the crappy ones) to a couple thousand bucks (20k+).

The second is pay to have two separate projects developed. But updates and features are harder to implement down the road because you now have two separate projects to maintain. The initial cost of going this route is less expensive typically... but like I mentioned a PITA.

If you are looking to develop a game, it depends on the features. Do you require a database and web connection? BC you now have to levy server costs and yet another project for managing server requests and data transactions.

Graphics/Artwork. Depending can be cheap or very expensive. 2D vs. 3D. 2d is very easy to program and implement. 3d is a beast and very expensive and will require one of those expensive toolkits like mentioned above. 3D looks better though, and really engages the user... the trade offs are there, you just need to decide.

Storyboard. No one ever thinks about this. But you need more than just an idea. You have to know exactly how the user will interact with your game. It has to be intuitive, yet challenging while not frustrating. Angry Birds is a great example on how each level is different even when you play the same level over and over. You also need to figure out how to "hook" the user. A game does not sell unless you have a hook. Something that gets the user to keep playing and coming back. A simple recipe I employ very regularly is a system of upgrades and purchases. Require the user to work for money or XP so they can unlock new features/weapons/upgrades so they can complete more challenging levels.

All for your consideration.

[BajaBob]

app/apk theft is rampant on android devices if that matters to you (those people wouldn't have purchased your app anyway).

Also on iPhone.

I spent nearly a month learning how to hack my own games and haven't found a hacked copy of my work since. In the end though, I did it to learn how it all works, and utilize my own authentication methods against my server and not Google's.