When doing UI testing you normally just ask the tester to accomplish a certain task and observe how easily and quickly they are able to accomplish it. Today I deviated and interacted with the group. They wanted to know how to enable multi tasking. I explained that on a 3G multitasking was not enabled. Another asked how to change the home page wallpaper. Once again I explained that this was not possible on the 3G. I could see the frustration on their faces.

So what exactly did the new OS bring to the 3G platform? Not much. One participant explained that their friends jailbroken iPhone was seemed to be more capable. Now I personally haven’t spent much time on a jailbroken iPhone but from what I recall, it does seem that even with the IOS4 upgrade, Black Rain was a better choose for 3G users.

So why would Apple choose to disappoint rather than thrill? Well I honestly can’t speak for Apple but it seems as though they of course want you to buy a new phone. But is this really what is going to happen? Or are they going to drive users to jailbreak their devices.

At this point I think its time for a little head to head competition. So give a little time to get the group together with the two different Operating Systems and see if a group of hackers can out perform Apple’s engineers.

I’d love to hear you thoughts especially if you have already compared the two.

I’ve kind of been taking a break from developing apps for the iPhone and have been focusing on web apps and “mobilizing” web sites. My background is in web site design and development. After I sold my business in 2005 I had to take a break from web design because of a non competitive agreement. That agreement expired a couple of months ago and I’m now able to return to web development. I can’t believe how much I missed designing for the web.

I really hadn’t planned on returning to web site design but a friend of mine asked me if I would develop a site for him. It was like opening a flood gate or maybe more like a wildfire. Practically every other day I’m being asked to work on another project.

What has me the most excited are the tools that are now available to a web developer and the possibilities that HTML5 brings to the web and mobile devices. I’ve been so focused on app development that I’ve overlooked what is now possible. Admittedly HTML5 has not been standardized but its now practical to do some really wild stuff.

I realize that many iPhone developers are focusing on creating their next great app but I think you may need to take a walk out of the forrest and take another look at them there trees. What I’m trying to tell you is to take a break. Not a long one. But take a look at HTML5 and have a coffee or lunch with a web developer and see whats going on in their worlds and what has them excited. This just may bring a new perspective to your apps.

I’m not sure if I’m just becoming jaded or is the supposed new iPhone not living up to the A+ update that was promised by Mr. Jobs. Sure a front facing camera is great, a more powerful processor is always a good thing and who doesn’t want better battery life. So what am I missing?

I’m suddenly flashing back to the early ‘90s when the Apple Lisa was rocking the computer industry with it’s GUI interface. There was nothing like it. Microsoft even then was the largest software producer but Apple had a great opportunity to close the gap. Unfortunately, that never happened.

The release of the iPhone in 2007 changed everything. Sure there were smart phones before then but there was nothing like the iPhone. In 2010 there are countless phones with similar form factors and some would even say with similar function.

So what am I missing? Sure iPhone sales are going to continue to grow but what is going to prevent other platforms from closing the gap?

A few months ago I discovered PhoneGap. PhoneGap is a third party tool that enables apps to be written in Java and HTML5 and to be ported over to the various mobile platforms. This is the holy grail of app development, especially for those like me who’s background is in web development. Before I spent too much time exploring the use of PhoneGap, I wanted to make sure that there were no problems getting apps approved that used this tool. Sure enough there are dozen of apps approved using this tool. I tested many of these apps and found them to have no problems running on the iPhone. I then found that the developers of this open source tool had taken the time to get it approved by Apple.

Since then I’ve put together workflows using this tool and have began writing several apps using PhoneGap. Fast-forward to the OS4 developer agreement and now I have had to seemingly agree to not use this tool. So am I to abandon these apps and the work put into them? I for one am going to role the dice and continue to use this particular tool. I do so in the hope that Apple is more concerned Flash based apps being ported to the iPhone.

For me the risk is well worth the reward. If I can continue to use this tool, I can bring on more web developers and make our apps available on most of the mobile platforms.

I had planned on suggesting that developers take a look at PhoneGap, but cannot do  so because of the new developer agreement. I’d really like to hear from other developers that are either using PhoneGap or other third party tools and how the new agreement will affect you.

So who exactly is this banning of third party tools good for? Surely not for developers. Is it good for Apple? Probably not. So what would drive Apple to take these tools away from developers? In one word, ego.

I have thousands of dollars worth of Apple products, but in no way would I consider myself a fanboy. I find their products aesthetically pleasing but most of all I choose them because they work, usually flawlessly. I can live without Flash on the iPhone because I am aware of the security and other problems associated with it. I also believe that HTML 5 has the potential to be a better technology than proprietary Flash could ever be. The problem is that Apple doesn’t allow Flash because many developers would just create web based games and Apple makes a lot of money off of the 30% that we willingly share with them through our app sales.  I have no problem with any company doing what it thinks is necessary to protect their business model.

The bottom line is that the banning of these third party tools have nothing to do with protecting Apple’s business model. It has very thing to do with the battle between Apple and Adobe.

What frustrates me the most is that everyone, including Apple, knows that the iPhone’s success is based on the apps that mostly indie developers have created for their platform.

So what’s the next developer agreement going to bring? I haven’t given up on developing for the iPhone but I am really starting to hope Android’s market share increases.

I’d really like for you to share your thoughts and in particular what it would take for you to give up on developing for the iPhone.

The iPad isn’t for geeks, it’s for my mom. All she wants is something that always works, gets on the internet and can play some games on. Sure every early adapter hipster you know will have one but the iPad is more for the casual computer user. When developing for the iPad less is more. Power users love more features, iPad users will appreciate simplicity. The key to designing successful apps for the iPad is to make sure your apps are simple, intuitive and uncomplicated. Don’t be concerned that your app doesn’t do everything, make sure your app does one thing and does it beautifully.

I’d really like to hear your thoughts as well as who you plan to target with your iPad apps.

So what’s with all the interest? Well it seems that app development is very sheik and investors want in on the action. I’ve never thought of writing code as being cool but what do I know.

I admit that at this point I was taken a little aback. Then I got to thinking about my own experience with developing and in particular why I chose this platform. You see before I was a developer I ran a small if not boutique web design company. Looking at the certificate on my wall, that was over ten years ago. I sold the business about 4 years ago, it was doing as much business as we could handle and we dominated our chosen area of expertise. So why did I sell out and what does this have to do with app development? Well truth be told, I could no longer run my business because I became homeless as did many of my clients. Not due to not having money but to actually not having a home. A little lady named Katrina (the storm) had big plans for me and my family. This isn’t going to be a sob story, no far from it. It’s just that I was more concerned with making sure my family was safe and was able to get back to normal as soon as possible. We lived in a beautiful beachfront condo in Florida for 6 months while I did everything I could to return some normalcy to my clients, most of whom were never able to recover their business losses. So how did I go from designing web sites to app development? Well the thing is that I’m not a site designer or an app developer. I’m an entrepreneur.

The graduate students my friend was speaking with want to work for large companies where they can be coffee runners and not risk takers. I think indie app developer want to control their own destiny and work where they can be truly creative, not just a coder responsible for a subroutine. This is why there are so many indie developers today and in particular iPhone developers. Never before have developers been able to be so creative. Not all will be successful, but all will be able to experience what it is to be an entrepreneur.

I’d really like to hear your story of why you became or want to become an indie developer. I think we all have much more in common than we think.

Why not consult those your app is targeting and get ideas from them? With all the ways to connect through the different social platforms, you have great resources available right at your finger tips. Sometimes it’s just as simple as asking. This preforms two invaluable tasks. First, it creates interest in an app before it is even completed. Those that participate will feel as though the app was created just for them. This dialogue makes sure that your app will fulfill their needs and performs in a logical manner.

Perhaps the most important thing crowd sourcing will do is encourage legitimate 5 star reviews. I am sure some unscrupulous developers have attempted to game the review process by submitting reviews by friends or team members. If it is a good app this isn’t always apparent. On poorly written apps it becomes more than obvious as there is a tremendous difference between early reviews and those written by those who are not involved in the review farce. The best way to have encourage favorable reviews is to reward those that participated in the development of the app with a free copy. Simply thank them for their help in developing the app and ask that they post an honest review. If you have been paying attention tho their feedback, there should be no surprises in their reviews.

Would the team be interested in going “all in” on the first app that could have production costs in the millions? We were on a conference call and it sounded as though the call had dropped. Complete silence. No one bit on the idea. After making sure we were all connected, I explained the idea. Of course I cannot discuss specifics but it is directly related to a Twitter post I recently made. Keep in mind I’m not trying to be something I am not. We don’t have huge budgets and we haven’t gotten rich off of fart apps. What I was trying to do is get the team to start thinking differently about the future of mobile apps.

My initial interest in developing “mobile” apps wasn’t in creating simple apps. I’ve always been more interested in creating enterprise level apps. The enterprise appeals to me because of the budget businesses have and my experiences working with a Fortune 100 company for the past 2o years. I know how important good tools are to these companies and the value they place upon them. There is also a higher percentage of revenue as these apps are distributed ad hoc through the companies own web servers so there is no profit sharing with Apple. I think most developers have not given this approach adequate consideration. Why would you concentrate your efforts to compete with 150,000 other 99 cent apps when you could be one of few offering premium apps to fulfill a very specific need. Sure your market is smaller but so is your competition.

Admittedly the adoption of the iPhone in the enterprise is not where I would like it to be but it is growing everyday. More importantly the adoption is often coming from the decision makers in these companies. I’ve talked to quite a few IT professionals who have been asked by their senior management to configure their iPhone for use on company infrastructure and servers. While most of their company is still using the more than functional Blackberry platform, these CEOs want and sometimes demand the iPhone. CEOs aren’t typically known as early adapters but many have had their iPhones for a year or more and understand the phone’s capabilities as well as the possibilities.

With the upcoming release of the Ipad I had a vision of what it can bring to the enterprise. First there is the reduced cost of the data plans. Most companies just can’t afford the additional costs of iPhone plans over those of the Blackberry. There is also the cost of the phone itself. Depending on your relationship with AT&T a replacement phone can cost up to $900. Now comes the iPad. For $629 and $29.995 a month you have an always connected device that has the potential to change the way business people stay connected. This isn’t the first time that we’ve considered the possibilities of a device with a similar form factor. When the Kindle was released we explored using the device in business. Basically free communication via Whispernet was quite appealing until they changed their cost of document delivery. I still believe there is still a niche business application using this device but that was a deal breaker for me.

So are we going to develop an app with a muti-million dollar budget? No, but I can see a company with the necessary infrastructure and resources creating one for the iPad. For my team, I’m going to continue to push towards the enterprise model as this is where I think their is the least competition and potential is the greatest.