From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks • Hacker News Board

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#11

Post by Kurtz79 » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:02 PM UTC

sgottit wrote: post #10

Kurtz79 wrote: post #8

I'm really curious about that. There are about half dozen similar applications on the Appstore, for free. I tried a few, and most of them did the job they were suppose to do fairly well. How did you convince people to choose yours as opposed to the other ones that already existed ? Clearly the Metro article is what pushed people (that possibly didn't know that those apps existed) to actually get and download your app…

Thanks! I knew that there were a lot of similar apps on the AppStore but I went with my conviction that less is more. Nearly all the apps are multifunctional and include journey planners, maps, alerts etc etc. As a Londoner, I know my way around, the only thing I want to know is if the tube is even working – this is how Lines was born. I've tried to make the app's simplicity it's main selling point and hope I've achi…

Again, congratulations for your conviction.

I actually was doing something similar (well, the very same actually) a few months ago, got to a working version, but then saw that there were already plenty of options, got discouraged, and suddenly lost all interest in polishing/publishing it...

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#12

Post by mgkimsal » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:11 PM UTC

riklomas wrote: post #6

mgkimsal wrote: post #2

Might just be the fonts, but this looks like a Windows 8 app. Congrats on the launch!

The font, called Johnston, is from the London Underground design style and the colours are those of the lines http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnston_(typeface)

I knew it looked familiar but couldn't place my finger on it - yes, london underground. thanks :)

I may have been misread - to clarify, I wasn't knocking the app or saying it was bad - it has a distinctive style (or really, is borrowing from the LU) and I wish the author success.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#13

Post by robomartin » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:21 PM UTC

> earning me enough pennies to buy some Dominos pizza.

To a large extent this has been the real problem in the iOS app domain for a while. Apps are far more likely to make you enough to buy a small pizza than even approach earning you a reasonable salary.

Part of it, I think, are the mechanics of the App Store itself. Search has been broken for years. When compared to searching on the 'net the difference is stark. This is unfortunate because developers who do a little financial math will, without a doubt, walk away. You are far more likely to make money with a good website than on the App Store. That's why people hesitate to spend $200 on Ruby Motion...you simply won't get your money back unless you use it to write apps for others and earn money for your work rather than from your apps.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#14

Post by thetrumanshow » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:25 PM UTC

Kurtz79 wrote: post #8

I'm really curious about that. There are about half dozen similar applications on the Appstore, for free. I tried a few, and most of them did the job they were suppose to do fairly well. How did you convince people to choose yours as opposed to the other ones that already existed ? Clearly the Metro article is what pushed people (that possibly didn't know that those apps existed) to actually get and download your app…

Never underestimate the value of giving an idea a fresh coat of paint.

Implementations age. They stop getting updates. They are missing little things that new incumbents will add by default. They become boring if they're not constantly being reinvented. And they stop being supported by their makers.

Things that people build and give away for free, if its not a true point of pride, will eventually show their age as the makers lose interest...

That's when its time for the second, less-tired wave of makers to come in and stake a claim.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#15

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:29 PM UTC

robomartin wrote: post #13

> earning me enough pennies to buy some Dominos pizza. To a large extent this has been the real problem in the iOS app domain for a while. Apps are far more likely to make you enough to buy a small pizza than even approach earning you a reasonable salary. Part of it, I think, are the mechanics of the App Store itself. Search has been broken for years. When compared to searching on the 'net the difference is stark. Th…

[deleted]

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#16

Post by AlexeyBrin » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:38 PM UTC

I'm curious if the author was able to earn the initial investment in the tools: 200$ RubyMotion + 100$ iOS Developer.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#17

Post by drd » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:41 PM UTC

sgottit wrote: post #10

Kurtz79 wrote: post #8

I'm really curious about that. There are about half dozen similar applications on the Appstore, for free. I tried a few, and most of them did the job they were suppose to do fairly well. How did you convince people to choose yours as opposed to the other ones that already existed ? Clearly the Metro article is what pushed people (that possibly didn't know that those apps existed) to actually get and download your app…

Thanks! I knew that there were a lot of similar apps on the AppStore but I went with my conviction that less is more. Nearly all the apps are multifunctional and include journey planners, maps, alerts etc etc. As a Londoner, I know my way around, the only thing I want to know is if the tube is even working – this is how Lines was born. I've tried to make the app's simplicity it's main selling point and hope I've achi…

Actually, it is a very useful function. It has usefulness and simplicity. Would you mind to give ROI analysis for your project? This will be helpful to the audience here.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#18

Post by AlexeyBrin » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:43 PM UTC

If you know and enjoy coding in Ruby, you intend to target only iOS, and you don't know Objective-C, C or C++ than RubyMotion is a good investment.

On the other hand, if you want to target iOS and Android you'd better learn Objective-C and Java. An interesting alternative is to use HTML5 and JavaScript if you already have a good background as a web developer.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#19

Post by sgottit » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:43 PM UTC

AlexeyBrin wrote: post #16

I'm curious if the author was able to earn the initial investment in the tools: 200$ RubyMotion + 100$ iOS Developer .

Yes – as of writing I've sold enough units to pay for the costs a few times over as well as server costs for the custom API I built. Some profits will be reserved for London based charities.

Re: From idea to AppStore in 2 weeks

#20

Post by AlexeyBrin » Thu, Mar 07, 2013, 2:45 PM UTC

sgottit wrote: post #19

AlexeyBrin wrote: post #16

I'm curious if the author was able to earn the initial investment in the tools: 200$ RubyMotion + 100$ iOS Developer .

Yes – as of writing I've sold enough units to pay for the costs a few times over as well as server costs for the custom API I built. Some profits will be reserved for London based charities.

Well done.