The Online Magazine Focused on App Design, Branding & Marketing

Mobile phone unlocking will soon not only be ill advised, but also be illegal. When I first saw the news, I had to take moment to consider how I felt about this decision. As someone who has never owned an “unlocked” smartphone, this news doesn’t directly affect me, but I know it will probably come up at the water cooler.

There are two issues to consider: 1) Do I agree with the rights of a business to limit the devices they sell in this way or do I think that the law needs to be appealed/modified, and 2) Was it a good move from a PR standpoint?

More after the JUMP…

PipClock is a “post-atomic” clock. Actually, it’s just an atomic clock, but it’s been themed after the Fallout video game series, which takes place in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by nuclear war. It goes without saying that I’m a huge fan of this series — I found this app because I was searching the app store for any Fallout-related apps available for my iPhone and it popped up! The app is a recreation of the game’s “Pip Boy” device, which stores all of your in-game information and assists you in navigation. For the initiated, it’s very cool.

More after the JUMP…

Last month, our own Q Manning wrote a post called “The Start-Up Survival Guide.” Consider this a continuation of that post!

I have an idea for a new business. What should be the very first thing I do before anything else?

The first step would be to have a plan. Of course, there are many levels to this. Start by working out what income you expect to come in and how big your market is. Once you’ve done your research and taken educated guesses on that, you can start to planning to build a team and an infrastructure that can support and bring in that expected income and cater to your market. It’s important to know your market — even if you’re working in a new field and have no idea what your expectations should be, it’s important to set a goal that you can attempt to hit.

More after the JUMP…

The Mint app is an extension of the equally exceptional online service. Over the past three years, it has become my go-to tool for personal budgeting and finances, which was something my life desperately needed. Before I found Mint, I had all of my finances in a huge spreadsheet and I would track my spending every month by looking at my bank statements. I’d write everything I spent into the spreadsheet, dividing everything into categories as I went. It was all very cumbersome and if often took all weekend to get it organized. I figured there had to be a better way.

Then I found Mint and it solved everything.

More after the JUMP…

My name is Peter Yoder and I’m a COO.

That’s Chief Operating Officer if you’re not familiar with business jargon. My job at Rocksauce Studios can be summed up rather succinctly: I make everything run.

Naturally, there are qualifiers to that statement. I have to make everything run smoothly. I have to make everything run on time. Most importantly, I have to keep everything running smoothly and on time while making sure that our apps are the absolute best in the market (but I’m biased). That may sound like an obvious statement, but it’s not always easy when you’re trying to manage a team of designers and creative types!

More after the JUMP…

Protecting your application is very important. Nobody wants to see a copycat steal all the time, energy, and money you spent to get your idea onto the store. Having an app that stands out is one part of the equation, but every developer would do well to also look into the ways available to protect his or her intellectual property (IP).

In this article, I would like to address some of those strategies for IP protection, and give you some of my thoughts. This is meant to steer you in the right direction, and not as legal advice. The extent of my advice is that you get a solid IP and/or technology attorney on your team. Which strategy you choose to employ should depend on your ultimate goals for your application and the company you are building around it.

More after the JUMP… More after the JUMP…

We were excited to hear last week about our fellow Austin developers, Tabbedout™ completing Series A Funding for their business. We have been watching this company for a while now and are glad to see a great idea take legs.

The success of this startup presents an interesting case study for entrepreneurs heading into this space, namely, Making an App That Can Change the World Isn’t Cheap. It is important to understand that the app world, like any other tool for investment, is about creating businesses, not just about making products.

Read more after the jump… More after the JUMP…

Here’s the scenerio: designers have dolled up your app and developers have built it to work – what’s next? Pricing. It’s hard enough that there’s already similar apps out there (as Apple says, “There’s an app for that”), which in turn means you have to fight for a position in the top apps in the App store, but selecting the right price isn’t going to be easy. The best step is to first browse prices of apps similar to yours – you don’t want to short change yourself if you don’t have to; get a feel of what’s out there and why identical apps are priced they way they are. More after the JUMP…