Created my first serious iPhone app, featured by Apple a few days later

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/border-delay-u.s.-canadian/id545526764?ls=1&mt=8

by bgilham • 14 years ago

8 13 14 years ago

itunes.apple.com

releod• 14 years ago

Awesome, and congrats Brian!

bgilham7• 14 years ago

Thanks buddy!

ComputerGuru• 14 years ago

I'm sorry to be so blunt, but that has to be the most useless short description field I've ever read of an app on the App Store (and there are some really bad ones on there). I realize your title is pretty descriptive ("Border Delay"), but take advantage of the description field! That's valuable marketing space!

"Border Delay is the most useful utility for frequent travellers on the App Store. It has all the information you need, and none of the junk you don't. Check it out and see for yourself."

This does not qualify as a description! That said, I wish I had this 10 years ago when I was going back and forth on the border by car.

bgilham7• 14 years ago

Hey CG, thanks for checking it out. There's actually a pretty well fleshed-out description. Unfortunately, the app store hides all but the first few sentences by default.

kennywinker• 14 years ago

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggests that most people don't click that "more..." button. Not much you can do about it, but with an app like yours he's probably right you could include what the app actually _does_ right at the top.

bgilham7• 14 years ago

That said, I think I'm going to re-think the first sentence. Any tips? I appreciate the feedback.

bgilham7• 14 years ago

The app is currently at #12 in the top travel apps in Canada, and has held near that spot for the last few weeks. It's interesting to see how few sales it takes to jump up that chart -- I imagine it takes a lot more in the U.S. store.

bgilham7• 14 years ago

In response to feedback here, I've changed the first sentence to "The latest wait times at almost every U.S.-Canadian border crossing. Quick. Easy. Check it out for yourself."

I think it will do better with those who miss the "More..." button. Thoughts?

soulashell• 14 years ago

Do you use CBP.gov data?

bgilham7• 14 years ago

I do, along with data from U.S. border services. When possible, I automatically correct it to be more accurate. For example, "no delay" actually means <= 15 minutes or so.

reaktivo• 14 years ago

I'm interested in your other data source. I wrote a web app for the U.S-México border a while ago and been using data from the CBP but have found it to not be reliable at all.

http://garitas-tijuana.com

rantony• 14 years ago

Awesome!. This would have been my favorite app a year ago. its been a year since I moved out from that small border town.

bgilham7• 14 years ago

It does end up being a bit of a niche product, but thanks for checking it out!

Created my first serious iPhone app, featured by Apple a few days later

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