Mobile
17 Nov 2009
Occipital is the company behind RedLaser (iTunes link), a hugely-successful barcode scanning app for the iPhone that is one of the top-selling and highest-grossing apps on the App Store.
Beyond that, however, Occipital is a Value Adder, just like Joe Hewitt.
Why, hello there! I couldn't help but notice you smiling at me across the room. Oh, you're a mobile platform?
How interesting.
Before I start, for those of you who don't know me (or haven't attended any of my talks on User Experience), let me reiterate that I have the utmost admiration for Apple's focus on UX. A strong focus on UX necessitates saying "no" many more times than "yes". It appears, however, that this "no" culture can also permeate into other parts of a company's psyche, and create a certain arrogance that can damage a company's relations with its developer community.
The company in question, of course, is Apple and the issue I'm writing about is the App Store review process. (more...)
Apple is losing its iPhone Value Adders
How many more prominent developers and Value Adders have to quit the iPhone platform before Apple starts listening? It's time for Apple to at least address the App Store review process issue and tell us what they are planning to do about it. Preferably before all we're left with on the platform are fart app developers.
Cooling off after a purchase makes for happier users and devs. Photo by Kyle May.
Yesterday morning, I woke up and – as I do every morning – reached for my iPhone to turn off my alarm. Still in bed (and still on my iPhone), I skimmed Twitter, Facebook, and my email where I found a message that made me want to check something on my notebook. It being the grey, rainy, and horrible day that it was, I didn't want to get up and go downstairs just yet.
The App Store needs to implement a 1-hour cooling off period
The App Store currently suffers from several usability issues that make it possible for users to make erroneous purchases. Its current policy of "no refunds" only works to hurt users, developers, and ultimately Apple itself. The solution to all these is for Apple to implement a 1-hour cooling period for app purchases.
OK, so I caved in and got an iPhone 3G S approximately half-a-day after it was released and not before bitching up a storm on Twitter about o2's upgrade policies (I finally ponied up for the pay-as-you-go version which means that I'm approximately £450 poorer now and will be living on beans for the rest of the month!) But you know what? It's totally worth it because with the iPhone 3G S I've found the ultimate video blogging tool that I'd been searching for for ages.