Post 7: Mobile app progress

It’s been a while since my lats post on the subject…sounds like the start of a teenage journal or diary entry….but in any case, it has been a while.  Which I think is to be expected while this project remains a hobby more than a business.

But the important thing is, I think, progress has been made.  And I am here to report it!

To set the progress in context, I recap the basics of the progress.  My friends and I are working on a mobile app.  Our lead off platform for the mobile app will be the iPhone, however since starting on this project, Android has really become an interesting player in the market and BlackBerry is never to be discounted.  Plus, as we consider the use case for our app, as well as the target market, we expect to need to provide it in all three platforms.

But first is iPhone, of course.

As the the lead off iPhone app, the basics of the mobile app are written.  I can login to the app on the iPhone and perform some basic functions that are the foundation to the app’s value proposition.  That’s about it for today.  But it’s a good start!  I think with these sorts of side projects, just getting some code down that actually works is a huge first step.  It’s the first step that then provides a driver for future steps in that you think, “since I allready did the first step, I can’t let that go to waste!”  But if you don’t do the first step, then you never commit to any real degree, and nothing ever gets started.

So, we have our first step.

Maybe more exciting is the progress we’ve made with graphic design.  My buddy Matt Rhodes, of Denver Colorado is working on that side of the project for us.  Matt was my roommate in college.  Honestly, I had no idea he was such an artist in college.  I mean I saw the doodling in the margins of his notebooks from time to time, but didn’t have a concept for how he would be making a living off that talent when we grew up.  Well, I’m stoked he’s working with us on this one, because he’s pretty good at it!  I thought I’d share the app logo here…for the first time….tada!

Now, the logo may raise a lot of questions about what kind of app we’re building.  Well, for the purposes of remaining sufficiently ambiguous at this point (acknowledging there is really no technical barrier to entry on this one ) let’s just say, we’re building a mobile app that facilitates micro financial transactions between peers in small social networks while incorporating some elements of game design to make it fun.

The other big news for this project is the inclusion of Don Canoy.  Don is going to be working on the web side of the app, while Tim continues to tackle the mobile side.  Don worked with me on Famplosion, and so I’m very excited to be working together on this project going forward!  For those who are curious, the web side, including the components accessed by the app on the web are being built using Ruby on Rails…just like Famplosion.  The iPhone app is native Objective C, which I understand Apple announce last week that the native part is now a requirement as they continue to position against Adobe and Flash.  Apple’s interest in limiting the flexibility available to developing mobile apps is a little frustrating, but hey, it’s their ecosystem, we’re just trying to live in it, right…