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I must be crazy

splinter.com.au

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Re: I must be crazy

#101

Post by porsupah »

stevenwei wrote: post #89
cageface wrote: post #14

I’m going to make, market, and hustle my iPhone apps like my life depends on it. I've been doing exactly this for the last year and I'm very close to switching my focus back to web development. From what I can tell the easy money in the app store is long gone and conditions do not favor the lone developer now. I have two iPad apps that frequently appear in the "What's Hot" list for music and if the revenue they gener…

I've been doing this full-time for about 2 years now, with some products that have taken off and others that have entirely flopped. I agree that the "easy money" (e.g. air horns and flashlights) is entirely gone, but there is still a ton of opportunity available if you're willing to put in the work. The type of work necessary now is 1) different than it was 3 years ago and 2) different than what would be required of…

"Traditional advertising methods (e.g. AdWords) typically don't work cause app prices are too low."

Have you gauged the efficacy of advertising on directly applicable sites, such as (for games) TouchArcade?

I can easily see the low unit pricing being a hindrance - I suppose therein lies the temptation to bolt on IAPs, which opens an entirely different can of worms.

Re: I must be crazy

#102

Post by chubs »

patio11 wrote: post #49

Free advice: should there ever be a gap between the present revenues of your apps and your family's immediate financial needs, a week or six of freelancing iOS development will plug it very quickly indeed. It isn't my market, but I-heard-it-on-the-grapevine hourly rates are in the US$150~$200+ region.

Thanks for the tip! Good tactic. I'll certainly try that. I was also thinking of running local iOS training workshops too.

Re: I must be crazy

#103

Post by minikites »

bignoggins wrote: post #98
dpcan wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "What's Hot" list is on the device. When you go to the Featured apps, it's a gray button at the top.

that's the global list, but the per category list that OP was talking about is on iTunes desktop only. So pretty much worthless.

Nope, press "Categories" at the bottom and select a category to see the "What's Hot" for said category.

Re: I must be crazy

#104

Post by marcins »

prisonguard wrote: post #87
chubs wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're totally right. And also, some have pointed out (quite correctly) that amy and patrick recommend starting out on the side, so let me explain further: * I have enough savings to last a few months if i sell my motorbike * I'm reasonably well connected and, if all goes badly, getting an ios contract/job in a few months time won't be hard * I already have a dozen apps on the app store, bringing in between $100-$150…

> i'm unable to code on the train any more which used to be brilliant i imagine the train ride would be full of interrupts, maybe you could convince me otherwise about your commute system

Commuter trains in Sydney (where the poster & I are both from) are double-decker where most people sit (except when it gets crowded). If his commute was anything like mine I get on when there's still plenty of seats next to a window and I can get out my laptop, pop in some headphones and get 45-50 minutes of solid hacking done without interruption.

Re: I must be crazy

#105

Post by Schwolop »

tocomment wrote: post #9
Schwolop wrote: post #7

Good on ya mate! I'm a fellow Aussie who's just done the same thing - six days to go until I can build my robots full time.

Whoah Robots? Tell us more please.

Yeah, robots! I'm a mechatronic engineer with a Ph.D. in robotics from Sydney Uni. I'm entirely sick of the academic rat race, so I've quit to start Triple Point Robotics (www.triplepointrobotics.com) with another colleague from my work, and an old high school friend.

Ultimately, we want to be the Apple of consumer robotics, and to have our robots in your homes and offices. That's a big ask, so we're starting out by using robotic technologies to solve various problems. Our first product line will be a combination of augmented reality, computer vision, and SLAM* - we're calling it Augmented Reality over IP. It lets a remote operator draw things in your local environment, and we think this is useful for training, helping the less tech-savvy, tele-medicine, and a bunch of other stuff.

One of the coolest parts of our five year plan is that this first product is essentially one component of the head of our ultimate mobile robot. So we get a nice product and some revenue early on, but also solve a bunch of the problems that we'd have to solve later anyway.

If you want to know more, ask here, on Quora (there's a TPR topic), or by email to tom@jugglethis.net. I've got HN's noprocrast turned on, so I don't get around to responding here much more than once a day.

[*] Simultaneous Localisation And Mapping; an algorithm that is traditionally used to let a robot build a map of its environment at the same time as using the features of this map to work out where it is. We're using it to work out where a camera took a picture from, so that we can stabilise augmented reality overlays projected on the real world.

Re: I must be crazy

#107

Post by [deleted] »

cageface wrote: post #57
patio11 wrote: post #49

Free advice: should there ever be a gap between the present revenues of your apps and your family's immediate financial needs, a week or six of freelancing iOS development will plug it very quickly indeed. It isn't my market, but I-heard-it-on-the-grapevine hourly rates are in the US$150~$200+ region.

Like every other software market, outsourcing firms are eating up the bottom end of the iOS development market at rates far below that. But I imagine if you can cultivate the right kind of local clients you can do well. Since you mention it, if anybody needs some freelance help with an app I'm available. As a self-outsourced American currently living in Vietnam I can significantly undercut $150/hr. ;)

[deleted]

Re: I must be crazy

#108

Post by orangethirty »

patio11 wrote: post #75
cageface wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I figure the awkward time zone difference for most U.S. clients has to count for some kind of haircut. But your point is well taken. If I do decide to shift my focus from my own products to consulting I'm not going to do it at too high a discount.

Try not giving the discount on your next 3 quotes. See if it meaningfully increases client resistance. It probably won't. Can I tell you a story of something stupid I once did which nonetheless does not constrain me to always acting stupidly in the future? A particular prospect asked for a quote of my rate. I quoted my then-going rate and then, because I could not stop my fingers, said "But since we're Internet buddi…

Good lesson. I'm always selling myself for cheap because somehow I feel bad about charging for my code. I'll try it outside.

Re: I must be crazy

#109

Post by dools »

Not sure which city you're in but if you're starting out in business then the one thing I can tell you that I wish someone had told me 7 years ago is: networking is not for losers.

Networking is the most valuable thing you can do in business.

Some great networking hubs are @inspire9 in Melbourne (tweet at them they're really responsive), the York Butter Factory also in Melbourne and Fishburners.org in Sydney (they have co-working spaces in Ultimo and urr, Darlinghurst I think?).

I know there's a good place in Brisbane, too but I can't remember the name. If you tweet @pc0 he'll tell you :) He visited recently (and is one of the foundational members of the Fishburners community).

Re: I must be crazy

#110

Post by cageface »

mikeryan wrote: post #91
cageface wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I figure the awkward time zone difference for most U.S. clients has to count for some kind of haircut. But your point is well taken. If I do decide to shift my focus from my own products to consulting I'm not going to do it at too high a discount.

I figure the awkward time zone difference for most U.S. clients has to count for some kind of haircut. To be fair I hire a lot of developers on a contract basis. If you were in Vietnam (which is pretty much always off when we're on in SF) I would expect a discount. If I'm paying SF rates I'd rather have you in SF. There's a very real communication and feedback loop in design and dev that is difficult to deal with whe…

That makes sense. Essentially you're paying a premium for somebody that can afford to be in close proximity in a very expensive city. It only makes sense that somebody that can only work remotely and at inconvenient times for you isn't worth as much.

But the going Elance rates are ridiculous. I can make more money here with way less hassle as an English teacher.

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