Is it an overhyped mobile phone? A lot of press coverage everytime a big company launches an iPhone app, but probably only around 130,000 owners in The Netherlands, amounting to less than 1% of the mobile phone market. For companies with customers accross the entire population definetely not a platform to dedicate all their attention. But fact is that the iPhone offers a great test bed for things to come and a playground to try things out.
Since the launch of the 3G version in July 2008 (less than a year ago!) that offered the possibility to develop applications for it, more than 35,000 applications have been launched in the App Store. With the exception of news corporations, very few of them are based on existing services. That’s a shame in a time where large companies are desperately trying to reach their customers in a more direct way. What could be more direct than a mobile phone which resides in every customer’s pocket?
Building an application for the iPhone is actually not a very complex undertaking. Building an application that will run on almost all mobile phones out there is! Restricting an app to the iPhone means targeting only a small group of customers. But it prepares the ground ideally for a future where more customers will own smart phones that are constantly online. A good application for the iPhone can be built in a matter of weeks if you keep the following in mind:
- Keep the application simple, focus on one main task it should perform. The best applications are good at one thing and don’t try to offer a myriad of functions to encompass all the company’s offering.
- Base it on standard User Interface (UI) elements from Apple. Except for games, most applications can be designed using the existing UI framework. It will only make the application more easy to use if it’s following the same principles as most other applications.
- Test early, even if it only exists on paper. Let people try it out at every stage of the development. Give them sketches and see how they react to them. Go back to the drawing board if need. Give away early versions to get feedback while developing.
- It doesn’t have to be released in the App Store if it’s mainly aimed at being a test case. Apple also allows ad-hoc distribution of applications. You need to be in direct touch with the customer in order to get the app on his phone but it will also make it easier to request feedback.
So why not try a new communication tool with your customers? See it as an experiment! With the high feel-good atmosphere around Apple and the iPhone it can only lead to positive reactions.