Mobile Evolution - Thoughts, insight, and experiences related to the mobile software industry

Today and tomorrow are the last days left to vote for our blog in the Top Tech Moms over at Circle of Moms. Placing in the top blogs helps us get more exposure, which helps our sales, which allows us more time to work on our apps (rather than contract), so it's a win-win situation if you can take a moment to vote for us: Circle of moms--Top 25 Tech Moms

If you vote before 4 PM PST today, you can also vote again tomorrow, March 6th (voting ends March 6th at 4 PM PST). We're neck and neck with a few blogs, so every vote counts. Your support is very much appreciated! THANKS!!!!

Right now voting for the Top 25 Tech Moms is in progress over at Circle of Moms for top tech mom bloggers. Last year I placed #7 in the top 25 list, thanks to my readers, our customers, friends, and family. It was an exciting ride. Placing helps our business because we get a lot of exposure from Circle of Moms, as they feature the winners. We also get to do a write up about what our blog is about, and mention our products/apps, which helps as well. As I wrote in my last post, the more sales we have of our apps, the more time we have to devote to improving the existing apps, rather than resort to contract work to meet our bills. So it's a win-win for us and our customers. That said, hopefully you'll take a few minutes to click this voting link (or the one to the right - Circle of Moms - Top 25 - Vote for Me) and then click the heart button to vote. If you've got even more time, you can vote every 24 hrs thru March 6th. Thank you for your support, as always!

I've been frustrated for the last week or so, which I'll get to the details on, but it all boils down to this: Too many ideas, too little time and resources. Story of our lives as indie devs, right? It's one thing when it's personal time, but quite another when it's your livelihood. Independent developers have to do all the tasks to run a company. Not only do we have to code, but we also have to test, design the app and user interface, create graphics, create websites, market the app, answer customer service, plan and strategize the apps and updates to tackle, do the accounting, manage social networking, prepare taxes, and more.

We are pleased to announce that two of our apps made the finals in The Best App Ever awards. Voting is open through January 31st. Our app, Recipe Cards with Serving Sizer for iPad (formerly named Serving Sizer Recipe Cards) has made the finals for Best Cooking App and Best Parenting App. Trip Boss Expense and Budget made the finals for Best Financial App. Now we need your votes to place! Don't wait too long, as voting closes tomorrow. I've put links below to make it easy to vote for our apps who make the finals. Thanks for your support! Click on links provided below.

The Best App Ever nominations are open until December 31st. Our app, Recipe Cards with Serving Sizer for iPad (formerly named Serving Sizer Recipe Cards) has made the finals for the past two years, thanks to your support. We hope we can count on it again, so we're asking for your nominations! If we make finalist, we'll again ask for your vote. You can vote for multiple apps in multiple categories, so please feel free to click as many combinations as you feel are warranted. Don't wait too long, as nominations close tomorrow. I've put links below to make it easy to nominate our apps in various categories. Thanks for your support! Click on links provided below.

We've been working hard to update our apps for the new iPhone 5 screen size. These apps also support iOS6, fixing any bugs. The next one that has been released is Trip Boss Itinerary travel manager:

More updates on our apps for the new iPhone 5 screen size and iOS6 support. The next one that has been released is Journal : Trip Boss travel manager:

We're working hard to update our apps for the new iPhone 5 screen size. These apps also support iOS6, fixing any bugs. The next one that has been released is Trip Boss Expense & Budget travel manager:

The new AppStore, redesigned for iOS6, has been out for just over a week now. Speaking recently at 360iDev, I stressed the importance of great shelf design in the AppStore as part of your marketing plan. Getting to know the new design is key to understanding how it will affect browsing, discovery, and buying habits, especially for developers, but also for consumers. I've been playing with the store all week, on several devices, including the new iPhone5, the iPad, and my old iPhone4. I've found, sales-wise, that some things have improved, some have been unaffected. The new AppStore was obviously designed with the iPad in mind—the cards work/look so much better on the iPad—there's more screen real estate, especially in landscape, so the the side scrolling is a plus. The iPhone5's speed was most likely a huge consideration—the new store screams on the iPhone5, but is slow and kludgy on the iPhone4. (I shudder to think how it is on the 3GS.) On older devices, the icons are slow to load; it reminds me of surfing the web on dial-up (well maybe not THAT slow). The new AppStore includes a few areas only previously exposed and featured on the desktop iTunes store—the “What's New?” and “What's Hot?” per category. We've been featured in this area with each of our new releases, but alas these apps have had little exposure because who shops via iTunes desktop any more? This post will cover details on what's new, what's missing, how it affects our app shopping experiences, and how as a developer we can maximize our sales potential by redesigning and focusing on certain areas of our shelf space.

We're working hard to update our apps for the new iPhone 5 screen size. These apps also support iOS6, fixing any bugs. The next one that has been released is Trip Boss travel manager - Itinerary, Expense & Budget edition: