iPads at Work – App Developer

As we move along in our iPads at Work series, we thought it would be interesting to cover the iPad from an App Developer’s point of view.  If you develop apps for a living, it goes without saying, the platform you develop for (iPhone, iPad, etc.) becomes an important tool.

Mark, an App Developer from La Jolla, CA, has developed a number of apps for the iPhone and iPad and uses his iPad in and out of the office on a daily basis.

Thanks for taking the time to send us your input Mark.  Now let’s see how an actual app developer uses his iPad at work.

• Name:  Mark Helmuth
• Location:  La Jolla, CA
• Employer:  TouchGrove LLC
• Profession:  Owner/Developer

My iPad was delivered on April 3rd and honestly, I don’t think I could have waited another day.

I ordered the iPad early and Apple said it would be delivered on the 3rd. I woke up at 6:00 AM April 3rd thinking, “What if the iPad does not show up today? How am I going to test our new iPad Apps without this device?” We had just spent the past month building 3 new Apps for the iPad, yet we had never tested them on an actual device. This was a problem – people would be able to buy our apps before we had even tested them on the iPad. I knew when we were building these, that it was crazy to be doing it without a device.  That morning I was neurotic with thoughts like, “What if the iPad does not show up for some reason?”  and ultimately propelling me to go stand in line for 3 hours in front of my local Apple Store waiting to get my iPad.  I was so glad I did, as FedEx didn’t show up until 5:30 PM that day to deliver the second one. When we finally saw the Apps actually working the way they were supposed to, to say that I was relieved, is putting it mildly.

Those first few days with the iPad were frenzied. We discovered that Air Harp had low-end audio distortion caused by limitations in the iPad speaker, so that needed to be resolved. We had 2 iPads in the office that first week and both were enslaved in development hell. By the next week the dust had settled, so I grabbed the 32GB and started to make it my own. Well, it didn’t take long – and now my iPad has become an integral part of my business. I need to be able to jump into my work basically any time, and the iPad has been awesome allowing me to just pick-up and go. It took me a few weeks, but now, I am carrying it every where I go.  I find myself using it more often and in more places. Of course my MacBook Pro still fills the top spot, but who knows within a couple of months the iPad could take over. One of the things I really enjoy about the iPad is learning the new interface. It’s awesome what Apple has done with the iPad. I truly believe we are looking at the future of the user experience, and like the iPhone itself, the iPad is going to fundamentally change the way we interact with the digital world.

I find myself grabbing my iPad first thing in the morning, sometimes before I have even had coffee. The first thing I usually do is check my email.  If nothing is too pressing, I open Safari and check the sales on our apps in iTunesconnect. Then I go to one of the analytical sites I use, AppAnnie.com or Applyzer.com (I still have not found an App that works as well as these).  I also like to check out the App Store on the iPad to see who is on top, and check out the newest releases. Then I open the calendar, oh the calendar! Apple really did a good job on this. It is an elegant piece of software. Apple recreated the experience of using a well-designed leather-bound address book, but it goes one better and offers multiple views by month, week, day, and a to-do list, plus it syncs with the iPhone and desktop calendars so alerts are coordinated.  I can easily scan it and see what’s in store for the day. The navigation is intuitive, everything about it just works. This is one iPad app that makes the iPhone feel a bit like a toy. The iPad lets me check weather quickly and easily (I am obsessed with Weather Bug HD). I like sailing, even just thinking and talking about it, so even if I am not going out that day I must know what the conditions are “just in case”. You never know! I usually spend a few minutes checking either Windfinder or TideGraph which are packed with detailed info for wanna-be sailors like me.

When I am in the office I always keep my iPad on my desk, right next to my Macbook Pro. It’s great just having my email open and available on a second device. I just plug my iPad in and configure Auto-lock so it never shuts itself down. My MacBook is usually pretty busy crunching/downloading files or some such business, so having this little guy around to browse the web or check email is great. For years my iPhone served this same purpose, but the iPad is a much improved experience. Not only is it considerably faster with a much bigger screen than my iPhone, it’s also more stable. I find it incredible that Apple has introduced a first-gen break-through device that not only works, but works perfectly. I have put my iPad through some hardcore development over the last several weeks, and it has always come through shining. I think I have hard restarted maybe three times. I sure can’t say the same for my iPhone, I am rebooting that guy constantly.

One of the places I have been really using the iPad is in meetings, either on location or at the office. I was never one to bring a laptop into a meeting, so the iPad is perfect for me. I use the notes app to keep track of the discussion, but my new favorite is Adobe Ideas. This is an incredibly simple app that works so well, that… well I am just crazy about it. It works on so many levels, for sketching up ideas it has an unlimited color pallet and all the brush sizes you will ever need. It’s great for making quick drawings to show your team members a new design, and it is all Adobe compatible, genius! Several programmers on our team work remotely. With the iPad I can quickly sketch out an idea, pass it around the room for everyone there to see. Then send it off to the team members during the meeting and by the time we have finished our discussion everyone is on the same page. The coolest part is how effortless it all seems, and that is really important when you are trying to get an idea across to someone. The iPad just cuts a swath through all the “I can’t figure this out” stuff and it just works, no more excuses! I love that.