Queue for the first iPhones at a store in SoHo. Image by Johnny Vulcan
The new ‘build an app’ service offered by iSites promises to democratise the app industry in the way that early build-your-own-website online software opened up the internet in the nineties to, well, all kinds of nutters. I decided to jump right in and turn my wordpress blog into an iphone app pronto.
Signing up and logging in was a simple, friendly, and pleasant experience, and I was launched straight into their ‘build your own iphone app’ function. Their promise? Instant, simple iPhone or Android app.
It’s actually a pretty cool site. The dashboard is simple, functional and intuitive, and you can customise the design of your app. Functions include a nifty exact shade colour selector for banners and text, although for splash screens you have to submit all the artwork to the correct dimensions, colour settings etc. You can also go back and tweak your design until you’re happy.
In fact, it is possible to have spent a fair while on the site before you click ‘publish’ and get the following message:
Temporary hold on new apps activation and payment
Thank you for choosing iSites to build your self-managed App. We want to remain the preferred choice for building professional quality apps at a very affordable price.
Currently we have been inundated with new app requests. Hence we have decided to temporarily stop activating and accepting payments for new apps until all currently paid apps are submitted to Apple for final review. Please note that you can continue to create new apps and publish – but will not be able to activate and submit it for review.
Thank you for trusting GENWI to help you self-manage an App via iSites. We also thank you for your patience and encourage your continued feedback to help us create the best app making and revision system any of us could imagine!”
Too Popular For Its Own Good
It turns out that everyone and their mum wants to build their own iPhone or Android app for $25, and the owners, GENWI, have had to temporarily shut down under the sheer weight of their own popularity. Who knows how long they mean by ‘temporary’, or why they couldn’t tell you this at the beginning of the process rather than right at the end, or how many eager, novice, mobile app developers like me were disappointed by the lack of instant results. But I’m willing to hang around a wee while in the queue to find out.
Has anyone else completed the process? Let me know what you thought of the end result.
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