Electric Butterfly Blog

October 1st NovelRank.com Maintenance

2011-09-30T10:15:00.000-07:00

For all of you who use our NovelRank iPhone app, please be aware that NovelRank.com will be down for bimonthly maintenance starting at 2:00pm GMT (7:00am Pacific, 10:00am Eastern) on Saturday, October 1, 2011 for approximately 8 hours.

Since the NovelRank iPhone app retrieves data from the NovelRank.com servers, this means that the NovelRank iPhone app will not be able to fetch your book data during that October 1st maintenance window.

As soon as the NovelRank.com October 1st maintenance is completed, both NovelRank.com and the NovelRank iPhone app should be fully operational again.

Thanks for using NovelRank!

NovelRank 1.0 Now Available in the iOS App Store

2011-07-06T00:10:00.000-07:00

The Popular Amazon Sales Rank Tracking Service for Printed and Kindle Edition Books is Now Available as an iPhone App

Electric Butterfly, Inc. and NovelRank.com proudly announce the immediate worldwide availability of the official NovelRank app on Apple's iOS App Store. NovelRank 1.0 brings international Amazon sales rank tracking for multiple books to the iPhone and iPod touch as a free app download.

The NovelRank app enables authors, publishers, and book marketers to track and compare the Amazon sales rank statistics for multiple titles across the most popular Amazon region specific online stores. The app supports tracking through the user's free NovelRank accounts, which can sort books by title, sales rank or last sale. Along with the current and recent sales rank statistics of the user's tracked books, the app also provides a graphical history of daily sales estimates and hourly sales rankings.

"As a huge fan of NovelRank.com, I've long wanted a NovelRank-powered iPhone app," said Dave Wooldridge, author and founder of Electric Butterfly, Inc. "Working closely with NovelRank.com, we designed and developed this native app from the ground-up, providing NovelRank.com's core features in a convenient, mobile solution optimized for iOS devices."

"Users wanted an iPhone app before it was even a remote possibility in my eyes," said Mario Lurig, author and creator of NovelRank.com. "Partnering with Electric Butterfly, Inc. made the application a reality. It included redesigning the NovelRank infrastructure to provide a very fast mobile experience for the app."

NovelRank 1.0 is available as a free app download on Apple's iOS App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, running iOS 3.1 or higher.

App Store URL: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/novelrank-amazon-sales-rank/id423938573?mt=8

For more information, please visit: http://www.ebutterfly.com/novelrank/

About Electric Butterfly, Inc.
Electric Butterfly, Inc. has been developing award-winning web and software apps since 1995, currently specializing in iOS app development. Founder and lead developer, Dave Wooldridge, is the author of The Business of iPhone and iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed (Apress) and other best-selling books.

About NovelRank.com
NovelRank.com was created by Mario Lurig as an outlet for authors to be more involved in the success of their books. Mario is also the author of PHP Reference: Beginner to Intermediate PHP5 and 50 Conversation Starters for the Modern Age.

NovelRank 1.0 Available July 6 in the iOS App Store

2011-06-23T17:20:00.000-07:00

After receiving word that our NovelRank app has been approved by Apple, the release date is now set for the app to debut in the iOS App Store on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 as a FREE download!

As many of you may know, it's the official iPhone app for NovelRank.com users. Like the popular web site, the NovelRank app enables authors and marketers to track and compare the Amazon sales rank statistics for printed books and Kindle Edition ebooks across several Amazon country sites.

For more app info, check out: http://www.ebutterfly.com/novelrank/

Electric Butterfly at WWDC 2011

2011-06-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

Electric Butterfly's Dave Wooldridge will be at WWDC (Apple's annual developer conference in San Francisco) all next week, so if you plan on attending and want to meet up to say hello and chat about app development or his Apress books, send Dave a tweet during the conference. He'll be reachable via Twitter at @ebutterfly.

Submitted NovelRank 1.0 to the iOS App Store!

2011-05-25T18:29:00.000-07:00

After months of development and testing, we finally finished NovelRank 1.0 and like any proud programming team, lovingly pushed it out the door to hopefully prosper out there in the big world of iPhone apps. As of this blog post, the app submission is "Waiting For Review" but our fingers are crossed that the app review process goes quickly and smoothly...

What is it, you ask? It is the official iPhone app for NovelRank.com users! Like the popular web site, the NovelRank app enables authors and marketers to track and compare the Amazon sales rank statistics for printed books and Kindle Edition ebooks across several Amazon country sites.

For more app info, check out: http://www.ebutterfly.com/novelrank/

The best part is that the NovelRank app will be offered as a FREE download once it becomes available in the App Store!

This free app is ad-supported, and as soon as Apple resolves the Lodsys patent issue over "upgrade" buttons, the plan is to eventually roll out a future app update with a Pro upgrade option via In-App Purchase that unlocks additional features and removes the ads.

Stay tuned... As soon as NovelRank's available in the App Store, you know we'll be blogging and tweeting about it!

Best Regards,
Dave Wooldridge

New Updated & Expanded 2nd Edition of Bestselling iOS App Marketing Book Now Available

2011-03-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

The updated and expanded second edition of The Business of iPhone and iPad App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed (Apress, 2011) from Electric Butterfly's Dave Wooldridge is now available. This bestselling book shows iOS app developers how to incorporate marketing and business savvy into every aspect of the design, development, and release stages, giving their apps the best possible chance of succeeding in the App Store.

The new second edition is packed with winning marketing solutions and effective business strategies on the very latest opportunities in the iOS world, including extensive new coverage of iPhone and iPad app marketing, universal applications, iAd, In-App Purchase updates, recent App Store submission policy changes, in-app cross-promotion, social media and sharing, and much more!

The PDF eBook is now available for purchase from Apress at:
http://www.apress.com/book/view/9781430233008

The Printed book will be available through Amazon.com and all major bookstores by March 30, so place your pre-order today:
http://www.amazon.com/Business-iPhone-iPad-App-Development/dp/1430233001/

Code examples from the book can be downloaded from the author's official book site at: http://iphonebusinessbook.com/

If you prefer learning in classes and workshops, there are still a few seats left for Dave Wooldridge's upcoming March 22 online course based on his book. Enroll now at: http://www.scps.nyu.edu/course-detail/X52.9706/20111/the-business-side-of-iphone-and-ipad-app-development

Still a Few Seats Available for the March 22 Online Course on iOS App Marketing

2011-03-10T12:50:00.000-08:00

Electric Butterfly's Dave Wooldridge is teaching an online course for NYU School of Continuing and Professional Studies, called The Business Side of iPhone and iPad App Development.

Based on his bestselling Apress book, The Business of iPhone and iPad App Development, Dave will show attendees how to incorporate marketing and business savvy into every aspect of the design, development, and release stages, giving their apps the best possible chance of succeeding in the App Store.

The live online classroom includes 8 weekly sessions on Tuesdays at 6:00pm - 8:30pm EST. The course begins March 22 and runs until May 10.

Anyone can enroll in this online course. Space is limited, but there are a few spots left, so ENROLL NOW!

HelpLogic 1.6.1 is Now Available!

2010-04-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Electric Butterfly, Inc. proudly announces the immediate availability of HelpLogic 1.6.1, the award-winning help authoring solution for Mac OS X developers.

Easily create help systems for your software and web sites from a single source! HelpLogic's innovative design removes the development headaches usually associated with help authoring, providing an ideal solution for Mac software developers, web site designers, and documentation writers. Save time with the integrated Workshop, Visual TOC Builder, HTML Editor, and Link Manager to quickly generate Web-based Help, Apple Help, Microsoft HTML Help, UniHelp, and PDF.

This new 1.6.1 version adds improved Snow Leopard compatibility, new publishing enhancements, a few new features, and several minor bug fixes! This recommended update is a free upgrade for all existing HelpLogic customers. And if you're not yet a customer, download the free trial of HelpLogic and take it for a test drive! A single user license of HelpLogic (Mac OS X Edition) is only $99.00 US.

Download Now:
http://www.ebutterfly.com/helplogic/

New Developer Sketchbook for iPad Apps

2010-04-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

Electric Butterfly, Inc. proudly announces the publication of The Developer Sketchbook for iPad Apps by Dave Wooldridge, now available at Amazon.com. As the second book in the popular Developer Sketchbook series, it enables iPad developers to quickly mock-up their next iPad app. This time-saving sketchbook is packed with more than 250 pages, which includes:

* 100 pages of 768 x 1024 grids for Portrait user interface design
* 100 pages of 1024 x 768 grids for Landscape user interface design
* 50 pages of enlarged grids for App Icon design

The unique grid-based design templates provide visual guidelines for the accurate size and placement of commonly used elements, such as:

* Status Bar
* Navigation Controller
* Toolbar
* Tab Bar Controller
* Portrait Keyboard
* Landscape Keyboard
* Split View Column (Landscape)
* Rounded Corners (App Icon)
* Glossy Bevel (App Icon)
* Horizontal and Vertical Center

"Like most developers, when I have a new idea for an iPad app, I like to first sketch the initial user interface design on paper before building the app in Xcode," said CEO Dave Wooldridge. "I was tired of constantly calculating the height measurements of commonly used interface components for every screen I drew on grid paper, so I created my own design templates with unique iPad-specific visual markers. Since it's typically not practical to carry around a book that's larger than an actual iPad, the Portrait and Landscape templates have been conveniently scaled down to fit within this compact, portable sketchbook."

The Developer Sketchbook for iPad Apps
258 pages - List Price: $15.99

ISBN-10: 1451544537
ISBN-13: 978-1451544534

For Details and Screenshots:
http://www.developersketchbook.com/

Now Available at Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Developer-Sketchbook-iPad-Apps/dp/1451544537/

Unboxing My Apress iPhone App Marketing Book

2010-03-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

Guess what just arrived on my front door step this morning? A box from Apress containing author copies of The Business of iPhone App Development, direct from the printer!

Writing a book is a very long and tedious process. After it was finished and the publisher had sent the final manuscript off to the printer, it still felt very surreal. Even when the eBook was released last week, it still didn't yet seem real. But now holding the printed edition in my hands, I finally feel like a published book author! And it feels good.

I hope all of you find as much value in reading the book as I did in writing the book. I know contributing author, Michael Schneider, shares my sentiments.

And for those of you who pre-ordered the book, this box delivery is a good sign that retailers like Amazon.com should be receiving their stock inventory shipments of the book very soon now for fulfilling those pre-orders!

Best Regards,
Dave Wooldridge

Apress Book Update for Amazon Canada Customers

2010-03-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

A couple days ago, some Canadian customers who had pre-ordered The Business of iPhone App Development from Amazon.ca had received emails stating that their pre-order had been cancelled. This was due to some sort of system glitch where Amazon.ca was listing the book as unavailable, even though the book had already been released by Apress, the publisher. I believe the problem was that Amazon.ca did not yet have the book in stock, so the listing was incorrectly changed to the wrong availability status.

If you are one of those Canadian customers whose Amazon.ca pre-order was accidentally cancelled, it appears that the book listing has been fixed, so please try placing another order for the book at:

http://www.amazon.ca/Business-iPhone-App-Development-Marketing/dp/1430227338/

If Amazon.ca states that it may be between 1 to 4 months until the book is in stock, then please disregard that default message. Since the book has already been released in the U.S., I would imagine that Amazon Canada will receive stock shipments of the book very soon.

If you continue to have problems ordering the book via Amazon Canada, then please let me know (via Email or Twitter) or contact the publisher Apress directly at support@apress.com, so that the issue can be addressed.

An alternative solution is to order the book from Amazon.com or purchase the eBook from Apress.com.

Big thanks to our Canadian customers for your patience and support the last few days as Apress worked to resolve the book listing issue with Amazon.ca.

Best Regards,
Dave Wooldridge

iPhone Insights: Learn iPhone App Marketing!

2010-02-26T16:51:00.000-08:00

At long last, my new book The Business of iPhone App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed was just published by Apress and is now available!

For those of you who have been waiting patiently for the book's release, it's now available as an eBook and Printed edition:

eBook:
http://www.apress.com/book/view/9781430227335

Print:
http://www.amazon.com/Business-iPhone-App-Development-Marketing/dp/1430227338/

The book's code examples can be downloaded from:
http://www.iphonebusinessbook.com/

Over the course of the next few months, I plan on blogging short excerpts and helpful iPhone marketing tips, so be sure to stay tuned....

Please help spread the word about the book! If you enjoy the book, please consider posting a customer review on Amazon.com to help others find it. Thanks, everyone, for your support!

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

New Open Source WSL-Amazon 3 for REAL Studio

2010-02-23T11:05:00.000-08:00

Electric Butterfly, Inc. proudly announces the free open source release of WSL-Amazon 3, the award-winning, cross-platform REALbasic class library for accessing the Amazon Product Advertising API. Version 3 has been updated to work with Amazon's new authentication signature requirement.

This HTTPSocket subclass wraps the Amazon Product Advertising API into an easy-to-use library of more than 30 powerful methods and 150 properties with support for their US, UK, German, French, Canadian, and Japanese Amazon stores. Includes extensive search and information retrieval capabilities -- all from within your REALbasic applications! This free open source class library also comes with the project source code for a fully-functional Amazon-powered application, which you can reuse in your own REALbasic projects!

Even though REALbasic supports XML and SOAP, the extensive Amazon Product Advertising API can seem daunting and extremely time-consuming to implement, especially with the complexity of Amazon's new authentication signature scheme. WSL-Amazon changes all that with object-oriented REALbasic classes that wrap this large API into time-saving methods and properties. No knowledge of XML or SOAP is needed! WSL-Amazon provides an easy-to-use REALbasic framework for easily accessing the Amazon Product Advertising API.

"Why has WSL-Amazon been open sourced? Due to restrictions added to the Amazon Product Advertising API License Agreement back in May 2009, we could no longer offer WSL-Amazon as a commercial add-on, so at the time, we opted to discontinue it," says Electric Butterfly's Dave Wooldridge. "Since then, we've received quite a few emails from developers who were interested in WSL-Amazon because they were having trouble implementing the complicated authentication signature scheme that Amazon.com recently added to their API. Since there seems to be a demand for this code, we decided to update WSL-Amazon to work with Amazon's authentication signature requirement and release this new version as a free open source download for the REALbasic community to enjoy!"

Download:
http://www.ebutterfly.com/rb/wslamazon.php

Requirements:
-- REALbasic 2006r3 or higher.
-- Einhugur e-CryptIt plugin (for encrypting the authentication signature).
-- An Access Key ID and Secret Key from Amazon.com.
-- Compatible with Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, and Linux.

iPhone Insights: Coming Up for Air

2010-02-20T13:09:00.000-08:00

It's been quite awhile since I last posted a blog entry, and for that, I apologize. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that for the past several months, I've been hard at work writing a book for Apress called The Business of iPhone App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed.

The good news is that the book is now finished and should be arriving in bookstores within the next couple weeks. Writing more than 350 pages in only a few months is no small feat, especially when the fast-paced world of iPhone development continues to evolve so quickly. I had to go back several times and update chapters to ensure they contained the latest up-to-date information before going to print.

Unlike writing short blog posts or magazine articles, writing a book is quite a different beast. Although each chapter focuses on a specific topic, the goal is to tie all of the chapters together into a cohesive thread that makes the book (as a whole) fun to read and the information easy to digest.

I'm very happy and proud of how the book turned out. It was a long journey, but ultimately a very rewarding one that I would gladly do again and again. I really enjoy writing and the folks at Apress made the entire process very pleasant. They are a great team that definitely go out of their way to treat their authors like family. At least that was my experience. I also enjoyed working with Michael Schneider who contributed a brilliant Chapter 3. And the ever-talented Mark Johnson provided his valuable feedback and expertise as the book's technical reviewer. Fellow iPhone developer, Dan Burcaw, was even kind enough to write a foreword for the book.

The Business of iPhone App Development: Making and Marketing Apps that Succeed represents a truly comprehensive guide, consisting of almost six months of extensive research and planning. This book will show you how to incorporate marketing and business savvy into every aspect of the design and development process, giving your iPhone app the best possible chance of succeeding in the App Store. Check out the Table of Contents, and if the subject matter interests you, then consider showing your support by pre-ordering the book at Amazon.com.

I plan to blog more about the book over the course of the next few months, posting short excerpts and helpful tips, so be sure to stay tuned....

Now that the book is done, I'm just now coming up for air again, hoping to finally shower some much needed attention on my own software products and a few client projects. HelpLogic is long overdue for a few updates, so a new HelpLogic version is in the works and should be available soon. I also have two iPhone app projects that I had to place on the backburner to write the book, so hopefully, I'll now have the time to finish the apps and eventually release them in the App Store.

But as fate would have it, I won't have too much time on my hands for actual development, because I've been invited to participate in another exciting book project. I'll be able to post more details on that in the near future. For now, I better take advantage of this short interim and start coding...

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

Developer Sketchbook Giveaway Winners Announced!

2009-10-16T10:13:00.000-07:00

The 5 Winners from our Twitter and Facebook Giveaway of The Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps are:

* Kimberly Black - http://twitter.com/kimberlyblack
* Pav - http://twitter.com/alyerin
* Patrick Gilbert - http://twitter.com/smartmobile
* Rob Terrell - http://twitter.com/robterrell
* Richard & Trisha Duke - http://www.facebook.com/richard.n.trisha.duke

Congratulations!!! The winners were picked at random from eligible entries and will be directly notified.

And a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who participated! Your support in continuing to follow us on Twitter and Facebook is much appreciated.

iPhone Insights: Your Chance to WIN a Copy of The Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps!

2009-10-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the release of The Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps, we're giving away 5 copies of this time-saving book!

To enter the drawing on TWITTER, simply perform these 2 easy steps:

* Step 1 - Follow Us on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ebutterfly
* Step 2 - Tweet the following message:
RT @ebutterfly Chance to Win The Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps at http://bit.ly/Fa5fn

To enter the drawing on FACEBOOK, simply:

* Become a Fan at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Electric-Butterfly-Inc/153346672650

Hurry and enter today! The drawing will be held on Friday, October 16th at 10:00 am PST. Winners will be notified via a Direct Message. If a winner entered the drawing via Twitter, then they will receive a Direct Message from us if they are following us. If a winner entered the drawing via Facebook, then they will receive a Message from us in their Facebook account if they have become a Fan.

For Book Details and Screenshots, Visit:
http://developersketchbook.com/

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

iPhone Insights: New Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps

2009-09-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

Like most developers, when I have a new idea for an iPhone app, I like to first sketch the initial user interface design on paper. This process enables me to jot down my thoughts quickly, experimenting with different UI concepts and mapping out the navigational flow between the app's various screens. Once I'm satisfied with an optimized design, then I'll launch Xcode and create the actual UI in Interface Builder.

While a few design templates have already been contributed to the developer community, I was unable to find one that suited my specific needs, so I created my own. The result is The Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps, which includes:

* 100 Pages of 320 x 480 Grids for Portrait User Interface Design
* 100 Pages of 480 x 320 Grids for Landscape User Interface Design
* 200 Pages of Flowcharts for Outlining an App's Navigation
* 100 Pages of Square Grids for App Icon Design
* Dedicated Space on Every Page for Detailed Notes

I was tired of constantly calculating the height measurements of commonly used interface components - over and over again - for every screen I drew on grid paper, so the pre-formatted design templates in my new sketchbook include unique visual markers and lines along the sides. Without interfering with my own sketches, these time-saving guidelines indicate the accurate size and placement of the:

* Status Bar
* Navigation Controller
* Toolbar
* Tab Bar Controller
* Portrait Keyboard
* Landscape Keyboard
* Rounded Corners (App Icon)
* Glossy Bevel (App Icon)
* Horizontal and Vertical Center

These templates have saved me countless hours by streamlining my own user interface design efforts, so I decided to make them available in a compact, portable sketchbook to benefit other iPhone developers. Enjoy!

For Details and Screenshots, Visit:
http://developersketchbook.com/

Now Available at:
Amazon.com

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

iPhone Insights: Learning from the UI Design Decisions of Others

2009-08-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

Looking back at the weeks you slaved away designing the user interface for your next killer iPhone app, you may be shocked by the countless design versions you burned through before finally settling on the UI that works. Then after development is done, you hand off the app to a group of beta testers who complain about specific elements not being intuitive enough... and the UI design changes continue.

If UI design is not one of your strengths, then it can be a long and often frustrating process. But designing a beautiful, visually enticing user interface that's easy to use is one of the most important keys to your app's success.

it's always nice to see that other developers go through the same tough design decisions. Often they're making just as many modifications to the UI as you do, constantly tweaking various parts of the design throughout the development process until they're happy with the user experience it provides.

Below are a few links from iPhone developers who have shared their journey through user interface design. As a developer, it's always fascinating (and inspiring) to see how others solve unique design problems.

The UI Design Evolution of Tap Tap Tap's Convert App:
http://www.taptaptap.com/blog/convert-design-evolution/

Cultured Code - Designing the UI of Things for iPhone:
http://culturedcode.com/things/iphone/makingof/

Creating the Interface for the Beats App:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwpQX12Km54

Tapbots - Designing the Convertbot App:
http://tapbots.com/blog/design/designing-convertbot

Matt Gemmell's UI Design Journal for the Favorites App:
http://mattgemmell.com/2008/10/29/favorites-ui-design

The Making of the NPR News iPhone App:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/inside/2009/08/
the_making_of_the_npr_news_iph.html

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

iPhone Insights: Apple's Transparency Effect

2009-08-22T17:59:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Apple posted their official response to the FCC's questions regarding the removal of Google Voice enabled iPhone apps from the App Store. That afternoon, the news spread like wildfire with countless tweets, blog entries, and news articles on the subject.

For the moment, let's put aside the fact that a lot of people are still upset about the unavailability of Google Voice apps on the iPhone. This subject has been discussed ad nauseam in so many other blog posts and news stories, that I won't bother rehashing it again here. Suffice it to say, while I too am unhappy about it, I do understand Apple's decision to protect their core phone functionality. As developers, we do often forget that the iPhone is Apple's product, not ours. Google Voice's Message Inbox IS almost identical to the iPhone's Visual Voicemail feature, with the exception that Google Voice actually goes one step further by also including text transcriptions of the voicemail messages. The Google Mobile iPhone app simply links to web-based versions of its services (such as Gmail), so I'm sure there'll soon be a mobile web version of Google Voice that we'll be able to access the same way (via Mobile Safari). But enough about that. There's obviously pros and cons on both sides of this fence. Back to Apple's FCC response...

At first glance, many iPhone developers applauded Apple's letter, since it provided a deeper look behind the magic curtain of the App Store. In recent weeks, Apple's Phil Schiller has made a valiant PR effort to improve the App Store for iPhone developers, so by posting their letter to the FCC online, was this yet another example of Apple revealing a new level of transparency on the inner workings of the app approval process?

While this new transparancy should be making iPhone developers happy, it ended up having an adverse effect. In their letter, Apple stated:

"There are more than 40 full-time trained reviewers, and at least two different reviewers study each application so that the review process is applied uniformly."

Doesn't that sound great? I thought so. Then Apple goes on to say:

"We receive about 8,500 new applications and updates every week..."

This is where iPhone developers started doing the math, tweeting and blogging about their startling revelation. 8,500 apps submitted every week and only 40 full-time reviewers to handle all those submissions? And if each app is reviewed twice (by at least 2 separate employees), then that's really more like 17,000 reviews a week. If you divide 17,000 by 40 reviewers, then each reviewer is responsible for reviewing approximately 425 apps per week. Now most of the posts I've seen are assuming that these reviewers are working only 5 days a week, clocking in at a typical 40 hour work week. With that in mind, that gives each reviewer only 5 or 6 minutes to review each app in order to get through all of the weekly submissions.

So after spending months slaving away on your iPhone app masterpiece, your app's entry through the pearly gates of the App Store depends upon an Apple reviewer's 5 minute experience with it. Obviously, when you look at it that way, it sounds devastating and unfair. Macworld's Jason Snell likened it to Lucy and Ethel's hilarious attempt to wrap chocolates on a rapidly accelerating conveyor belt. And while Jason was joking, it does seems like an appropriate comparision.

But before we get too riled up over those numbers and turn into an angry lynch mob, we all need to remember that they are comprised of too many assumptions. We can only assume the reviewers are working a 5 day, 40 hour work week, but knowing Apple's ambitious drive, they may work many more hours than that. They may also work staggered shifts, so that there are reviewers on duty 7 days a week. There may also be interns and part-time employees that help as well. The point is that we really have no idea how long an average app review lasts. Some updates may get approved within a couple minutes if the developer only fixed a minor bug, while some new 1.0 apps may take hours (even days) to review.

The truth of the matter is that Apple's new found transparancy may not be that transparent after all. We simply don't have all the facts yet. I for one remain optimistic that Phil Schiller's current crusade to improve the App Store will continue. If the number of weekly app submissions keeps growing at such an alarming rate, my fingers are crossed that Apple's planned App Store improvements are coming sooner rather than later.

And hiring a few more app reviewers wouldn't hurt either...

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

New Version of UniHelp for REALbasic 2009r3

2009-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

We've just released a special new version of UniHelp 4 for REALbasic 2009r3, which is now available for download at:
http://www.ebutterfly.com/rb/unihelp.php

This separate download includes the exact same feature set as the original UniHelp 4. The only difference is that UniHelp's "Search" and "Index" EditFields have been converted to the new TextField control to be compatible with the new REALbasic 2009r3.

For those of you still using an older version of REALbasic (2006r3 - 2009r2), the original version of UniHelp 4 is also still available for download as well.

New UniHelp Update Coming Soon

2009-07-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are now using the new REALbasic 2009r3, we'll soon be releasing a compatible version of UniHelp. The new REALbasic 2009r3 deprecated EditField, replacing it with the new TextField, which breaks any third-party components that rely on the older EditField. UniHelp 4.0 currently utilizes the EditField for its Index and Search tabs, so this forthcoming new UniHelp version will be updated to use the new TextField instead for those 2 elements. Stay tuned...

iPhone Insights: The Curious Case of Rolando

2009-06-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Twitter and the various iPhone-related web sites (such as TouchArcade's Forums) have been buzzing non-stop the last few days about Ngmoco's weekend announcement to remove Rolando 1 from the App Store to "make room" for the new Rolando 2 on July 1. Rolando 2 features all new levels and game play, so its not being offered as a free update for existing Rolando 1 users. Rolando 2 is being marketed as a brand new, separate product. For those still interested in playing Rolando 1, Ngmoco encouraged people to buy a copy of it before it disappears. Ngmoco had stated that they would continue to provide support for Rolando 1, so nothing would change for existing users, only new sales would be discontinued after July 1.

Due to the public uproar that ensued, Ngmoco announced yesterday that they've reversed their decision and plan to keep Rolando 1 in the App Store, but for the sake of exploring new business models, let's take a moment to dive a little deeper into Ngmoco's original experiment.

Rolando 1's retirement announcement left many fans scratching their heads, wondering why the removal. From a business perspective, it makes perfect sense for several reasons. For one, the announcement not only escalates Rolando 1 sales (get it before its gone), but it also heavily promotes the forthcoming release of Rolando 2. And two, if Rolando 2 is released with a higher price tag than Rolando 1, then the fear is that users will simply gravitate toward the cheaper original game. Unfortunately, based on the impulse buy nature of the current App Store architecture, price is often the key factor in app sales. Many angry fans asked Ngmoco to rethink their decision and keep Rolando 1 in the App Store with a reduced price of 99 cents, but honestly, that just makes the issue worse. At 99 cents, new sales from Rolando 1 would probably cannablize much of Rolando 2's potential sales.

The development of a sophisticated new game is a serious investment of time and money, so Ngmoco's focus on Rolando 2 sales is understandable. I can't blame them for wanting to have a successful new product launch -- its what all commercial developers strive for. They didn't want the sales of Rolando 2 being diluted by the original Rolando 1, since that could possibly negatively impact the future chart position of the new Rolando 2. And any iPhone developer knows that getting into the App Store's top sales charts equals valuable exposure, increased sales, and extended product longevity.

When placed in a business perspective, Ngmoco's move seems completely justifiable. So why were so many Rolando fans upset?

Even though CD-based console video games are frequently taken out of print (often replaced with new editions), that's a scenario that has been happening for decades now, so consumers are familiar with this physical product cycle. But users tend to view digital distribution as a totally different animal. Since there's no cost of goods or physical shipping, why would a game be discontinued? If the publisher is still in business and the related platform/device is still active, then their games should continue to be available for as long as there is a demand for them. Right? Well, if you're a user of that game, you'd probably high-five your friends with a "Hell, yes!", but I'm not sure the answer is that simple.

We've all come to love the App Store for being a reliable digital distribution system -- our little mobile safety net in the sky for re-downloading apps directly to our iPhones and iPod touches if we're away from our computer's backup iTunes Library. But we have to remember that the App Store is merely that: a storefront. We can't assume or expect all publishers to use the same business model, especially on a platform that's still so young. The App Store has only been open for one year and yet its already overflowing with more than 50,000 apps. Its getting so difficult for new apps to shine in such a crowded marketplace that developers are forced to try new marketing and sales strategies in the hopes of finding a big enough audience. Because without sufficient sales to support development, the future of those apps die.

The real issue here is a psychological one -- no one likes having something they treasure being taken away from them (even if a simple iTunes backup would prevent that problem). And Ngmoco's tactic is a relatively new one for the App Store ecosystem, so it seemed to have caught users off-guard.

While Ngmoco did change their minds and will keep Rolando 1 in the App Store, I will admit that I was genuinely curious to see how their original plan would have played out, but now we'll never know (at least not until another publisher tries it). Obviously, the folks at Ngmoco weighed the potential ill will of their existing customers against the sales strategy of Rolando 2... and maintaining happy loyal customers won out in the end.

Hopefully, Ngmoco's kind gesture will be rewarded with a boost in Rolando 2 sales.

Ngmoco's initial plan to retire Rolando 1 could have ultimately proven to be a successful sales experiment. But Ngmoco has just put a smile back on a lot of faces with the return of Rolando 1, and that's never a bad thing, especially when many of their existing customers will probably buy more of their iPhone games in the future.

iPhone Insights by Dave Wooldridge

iPhone Insights: Subscribe to Free RSS Feed or Email News

2009-06-30T17:24:00.000-07:00

As we mentioned previously, iPhone Insights will be a new series of blog posts that discusses interesting iPhone app business news and marketing strategies. If you're a professional iPhone developer or hope to someday publish your own iPhone apps in Apple's App Store, then you won't want to miss these forthcoming iPhone Insights blog posts.

If you already subscribe to Electric Butterfly's Blog, RSS Feed, or Email Alerts at http://www.ebutterfly.com/, then you'll automatically receive iPhone Insights blog posts.

But if you're interested in receiving ONLY the iPhone Insights blog posts, we've set up special filtered options just for you!

Subscribe to iPhone Insights RSS Feed:
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Of course, for all the latest iPhone Insights and Electric Butterfly news, you can also follow us on Twitter at:
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Introducing iPhone Insights!

2009-06-30T11:52:00.000-07:00

Electric Butterfly's Dave Wooldridge will be posting blog entries related to the business of iPhone development, including interesting iPhone app business news and marketing strategies. If you're a professional iPhone developer or hope to someday publish your own iPhone apps in Apple's App Store, then you won't want to miss these forthcoming iPhone Insights blog posts.

If you already subscribe to Electric Butterfly's Blog, RSS Feed, or Email Alerts, then you'll automatically receive Dave's iPhone Insights blog posts.

If you're an iPhone developer whose interested in reading ONLY the iPhone Insights blog posts, then stay tuned... we'll soon be announcing a special filtered RSS Feed and Email Alerts service for iPhone Insights.

Save 50% on the New Stimulus 4.5 for Mac OS X

2009-04-27T23:18:00.000-07:00

Major Update Includes a New Image Effects Editor and Enhanced Interface!

Electric Butterfly, Inc. proudly announces the release of Stimulus 4.5 for Mac OS X, the popular media browser that provides an easy way to manage and enjoy your personal collection of digital music, photos, and video clips.

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Tired of importing your media files into proprietary photo album and catalog formats? Tired of juggling between multiple applications just to enjoy your library of digital media files? Discouraged by the expensive prices of media management software? Stimulus is your solution! With support for 27 popular file formats, Stimulus works intuitively like a file browser, allowing you to select and view/play all of your favorite images, audio files, and video clips from where they reside on your hard drive. Rename, move, and delete files to organize your digital life. Play slideshows, add favorites to custom lists, adjust audio bass & treble settings, search, print, zoom, rotate, convert/save images, add image effects, and much more!

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For a limited time only, purchase a single user license for only $9.95 US -- that's 50% off (regularly $19.95). Stimulus 4.5 is a free update for all registered Stimulus customers.