Raven, you've nailed it. The idea economy has evaporated and it's now about execution. I remain open to new ideas, and am still on the hunt for the Killer iPhone App.

If I wasn't so highly motivated to execute on my own ideas, I could support myself on contract or consulting. The truth is right now, some of the best ideas are coming from developers themselves!

If you're feeling entrepreneurial, the Dollar App razor is a great way to bootstrap. Bring your idea down to one feature, work on it for just one month, and ship it for a dollar ($0.99). Use the money to hire others and do more.

Brilliant post. Thanks.

Raven's right on with the notice that development costs money - but I think it's worth pointing out that ideas for applications have been worth $0 for quite a number of years now. Coming out the tail end of the dot.com bust in 2001, it was and still is the ability to execute on an idea that has merit - wether it's iPhone development or knocking together a web application in PHP. The idea is just a multiplier to the effort - the effort itself is key and indispensable.

Raven, thanks again for taking the time to speak to me about the current state of affairs surrounding iPhone application development. Our conversation helped me put into perspective just where I needed to go on the design end. You're absolutely right about the current value of iPhone application ideas being equal to zero. But, with that said, restraints like those you've mentioned are an effective catalyst for redirecting energies toward broader approaches. What you helped me understand was that I had to find a larger audience for what my ideas meant relative to issues of sustainability and how our society deals with paratransit matters as a whole. Renewed with that understanding, I'm certain I can more clearly define my goals and, in doing, give greater depth to what had started out as little more than a simply notion. In situations like this, going back to the proverbial drawing board actually provides a chance to return greater user value at some point in the future.

It's always been about execution, not ideas. Ideas are a dime a dozen. It's figure out which ones will pay and which ones to develop and market. That's where real money is made.

Elia

This reminds me of the though I had the other day. If I were to start developing an iPhone app today I would not try to come up with a great new idea.

I'd scour the App Store for good ideas that were not well executed and go out and create a better implementation.

iPhone Apps are like early Mac/Windows apps. When there is just one choice for each good idea that app wins but as the market matures the companies that can execute best will win that segment of the market.

Yes, in the end it's always about execution, and not ideas. But, those who can execute, do not always have the best ideas, or insight in what makes a great app. Those who do have insight and have great ideas usually don't have the skills to execute. That's why great apps are rare, because great apps are made by people who have both skills, or work together with people who have the other set of skills. It is rare, though, that these two different kind of people come together to develop an app with a common goal.

The many bad apps out there tell me that there are a lot of pure programmers. They think that they can manage on their own. They cannot think outside their own box. Yet it takes someone special, with some vision and esthetic feeling to make something special and even revolutionary. Like there are script doctors for screenwriters, there should be something like UI and idea doctors for apps. And these doctors can come from many backgrounds. They don't have to be UI designers.

Interesting. I have only been charging $50 an hour for my iPhone consulting and contract work. How can I find some of these people willing to pay $100 an hour or more?

I've already got several apps up on the App Store and I've been a member of the iPhone beta developer program since April and a full time Mac developer for the last 10 years.

Excellent blog post. The best way to stretch your development dollars is to find an offshore development organization who has the necessary mobility platform design and development skills. They should also be willing to undertake proof of concepts and pilots for you to get applications developed quickly for the appstore, as well develop trust and confidence in the abilities of your offshore partner organization. I will be glad to help and advise anyone who is interested in the process to get this started.

Raghu

I find it hard to believe in this day and age (especially when looking at gas prices) that someone is surprised about the fact that the relationship of demand and supply dictate the price for goods and services. In other words: this is perfectly normal for *any* growing market (not just the iPhone) and IMHO really nothing to be surprised about... It's simply how competitive markets work.

--th

I seem to remember Joel on Software doing an article about this very topic, but as a general software development thing, not iPhone. I can't find the article, however. (Anyone?)

Like Gary said, though, I too would like to know where these $125 contracts are! I'm currently charging $55.

Great article Raven, however a few additional thoughts:

i) $30,000 as a starting price for an iPhone application doesn't seem expensive at all. I've spent the past decade working at and for mid-sized interactive agencies. Frankly, I can't recall a project [even a small application development project] that had a price tag near the 30k mark. Experienced and proven engineers, project managers, art directors all come with a pretty hefty price tag and usually don't spare any detail. If you find a team or developer that follows "best practices" such as sound development process that involves, R&D, information architecture, use cases, focus groups, Q&A, stress testing, unit testing, code reviews, and dare I say items such as version control, said developer or team is expected to be monetarily compensated for their experience and due diligence.

ii) For those who wonder how to increase your hourly rate or find clients willing to pay market-rate I'd suggest creating a extensive portfolio and make sure it gets exposure. If you indeed have the "skills" ensure the industry considers you an "expert." Writing articles and providing quotes to PR folks is a step in the right direction. This is a referral business -- make sure you are networking.

iii) Besides almost dead on agreeing with Raven's post [*note he's much more of an expert than me], I predict the cost for non-standalone iPhone development vastly exceeds the 30k mark. The reason being is that iPhone applications that are client server will require an additional level of effort with the possibility of a separate engineering team with skills suited to "back-end" development, deployment, and maintenance.

Even a cursory glance at history tells us that in 12 months time, we'll get paid the same as "normal" developers. Thank Apple for the pay increase but don't get used to it.

We do iPhone development at Amoph.com and do not have enough work at the moment. Maybe we need to advertise more.

Implementation is always going to be expensive, because that's where the real value is added to an idea. Ideas are cheap - but even a poor idea implemented well is worth more than a great idea implemented poorly....

...and if anybody else contacts you wanting iPhone development work at that rate, please feel free to send them my way (I had an app on the App store on day #1) ;-) !!

I have a great idea for an app and a little experience with iPhone app development but just haven't been able to dedicate the time and energy to it. That, and having next to zero graphics experience have kept me from pursuing my idea. There's currently no other app in the store that would compete with it either. I'm pretty sure it could sell at a $20-30 level. Competitors in other mobile markets are charging $50. I'd be interested in hearing from other experienced developers reading this that might be interested in partnering.

Winston, I'll partner with you; given the amount of time, energy and expertise you'll bring, I think a fair split would be 100% for me, 0% for you.

Or did you miss the point of the article?

You'll have a dud application without a decent idea AND execution. I think Derek Sivers sums up my thoughts perfectly: "ideas are just a multiplier of execution".

As iSlayer (and now BJango), we get about 5 "OMG, I have the best idea for an iPhone app/widget" emails a week. Thankfully, we have enough ideas of our own to keep us busy, so we usually thank the emailer and try not to find out what they're after (don't want to be accused of stealing in the unlikely chance we end up doing the same thing).

Ideas are mostly easy, it's the 100s of hours of development and the difficult decision making that follows where the real value is.

Multiplier of execution blog post:
http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/2005/08/ideas_are_just_a_multiplier_of.html

Our iPhone apps: http://bjango.com/

"Developers rule! Ideas are ten a penny!"

It's actually the fleshing out and designing of ideas that makes great apps - the actual design of a complete user experience, one that works for normal people, that does the stuff they want to do, in ways they can understand and enjoy, with not one misunderstanding or confusion or jargon term along the way sabotaging the whole thing.

The actual programming - hey, there's a million of you monkeys out there. But in five years I've yet to meet *one* of you who has a clue about designing apps for *normal people*, rather than for yourselves.

Amanda

"Developers rule! Ideas are ten a penny!"
It's actually the fleshing out and designing of ideas that makes great apps

Agreed. But the thing is that the two are not mutually exclusive. iPhone developers; not code monkeys but good Cocoa developers that have a history of Mac programming, know that the code is the last thing to happen, and only after you've got your idea and implementation to go along with the grain of the API. It's a very zen thing.

And by the nature of indie Mac development, with companies of less than a handful, the developer must become a renaissance man. Take a look at Mike Lee, Scott Stevenson, Wil Shipley et al. They understand that only the very smallest part of making a good app happens with fingers on a keyboard.

And that's why a seasoned cocoa dev commands more than the hordes of gold-rush style contractors, and why they add so much more beyond an 'I've got an idea!'.

Raven, great post and I totally agree with this as we saw the exact same thing happen in the Ruby/Rails space in the last 2-3 years. Even today its tough to find good Rails programmers who know a thing or two about product development. iPhone developers are definitely going to be more scarce than this. At BetterLabs we have a core team for iPhone development and we incubate early stage product ideas and would love to talk to entrepreneurs to see if there is a fit.

Hi all,
I represent a China-based consultancy and we have a professional team who are able to turn your ideas into iPhone applications with their expertise. Frankly speaking, our engineers' experience may be a bit less than those who charge over $125/hour as Raven mentioned. But I believe they are surely capable to turn your ideas into applications. Our senior iPhone engineers usually have more than 3 years experience in Mac & Cocoa and just transitioned to iPhone once its SDK launched.
What people can gain from us is more than development. Our team do project management, design and quality assurance (including but not limiting to testing). Like Brian Jeremy Kupetz said, we have sound development processes involving R&D, architecture, use cases, risk management, QA, stress testing, unit testing, code reviews, version control, even change management. We continuously improve our processes to be more efficient because iPhone projects' term is usually shorter than that of regular software projects.
Also considering user experience is critical for iPhone app, we employ design expert experienced in mac to do user experience design. I believe this capability will also add much value to our service and worth our clients pay more than pure programming service.
And our team adopts 2 best practices for iPhone projects - iterative development and prototyping. We use prototype to reach agreement with clients on user experience and functionalities before we dive into concrete implementation.
Based in China, our charge rate would be very flexible. Even though, developers here don't need to worry about the competition at all. As Raven said, the demand for iPhone developers exceeds the supply and I don't see that changing anytime soon. And we are just the few companies in China who are capable to do iPhone projects. So just take it easy. :)
If people here ask me why we don't develop and ship to app store by ourselves, I would say we are not marketing experts and don't understand iPhone market in US and Europe.
I hope we can work with passionate entrepreneurs to create mutual success together. I really enjoy that feeling of success. Anyone interested pls drop me an email at:ming.zhou_at_roylead_dot_com
Our website is: www.roylead.com
Thanks for your patience..

Thanks for this post. These thoughts cover exactly the same thoughts we made. We started a branch of our company to make iphone projects. But it is quite difficult to convince the customers that developing of such a "tiny" app costs so much. We've heard some custormers speaking: "Our designer made it in two days with Flash!?!" So now we are focussing on our own projects for the app store as well. We are open for new projects or new ideas, but the transaction costs for convincing people of the potential of iphone apps are to high ...

Awesome post - definitely helps consolidate my ideas about this nascent industry. Also goes a little way to confirming that we're not mad developing iPhone apps for free; knowing that your income only comes from revenue-sharing certainly focuses you mind on only doing quality projects with quality teams!!!

There's more about the rev-sharing on my blog: http://jofarnold.com Won't name the company here as I need to save my shilling Karma for if we run out of money ;-)

As a developer I find that my limiting step is getting the graphics done, I just can't find graphics artists who are interested in iPhone size projects, they are snowed under dong larger projects. In my case I have four apps done and waiting for a graphics guy to finish. I pay cash, not participation in a timely fashion, money is not the problem.

I found it difficult to agree that iPhone developers are scarce.

Maybe because I never been in the position of a contractor or entrepreneur, as I'm a developer, and I see the iPhone developer communities are big.
There are many good developers and great app out there.

What's wrong with what I saw, compared to opinion in this post ?

I have a idea that may be simple to execute--currently it is a pain in the butt trying to organize all my applications (I have 8 screens of them)--I have tried several times ot organize them by usage (how many times I use the App and functionality (what the App does)--but this is way too laborious and time consuming.

What is needed is an application that makes it easier to organize applications (perhaps listing the Apps and allowing you to drag them where you want them placed).

I would love to develop programs for the iPhone--but I am a PC user :( I wish there was an SDK for PCs!)

I'm not sure that kind of app organization could be done through official SDK.

App organization currently could only be done through manual user input. If there's something hidden in the undocumented frameworks, I don't know about that.

Anyway just get over it, Windows is just not the platform for official development, for a device made by "Apple"

Though, you can install cygwin to use unofficial toolchain, but it's not that easy.

The students in the iphone boot camp NYC http://iphonebootcampnyc.com usually earn about $125/hour developing iPhone Apps although some get quite a bit more.

Compared to the going rate for other types of development it's fairly high due to far more demand than supply, as developing for the iPhone is difficult and there aren't that many developers who can handle it.

In this economy being an iPhone developer is the place to be right now.

Varying rates aren't just common in the iPhone world -- I have have met US-based sysadmins and web programmers, some of whom charge $150/hour and some who charge $30/hour. I suspect that iPhone rates are already drifting down into that range, and as other commenters have noted, the fact that you can build an iPhone app already doesn't mean you can instantly charge anyone $125/hour. I have come across a number of clients who turned us down because they found someone willing to build them an iPhone app for $3000 flat. Did they end up with a crappy, late app? Maybe, maybe not.

Even in our experience building mobile & social apps, we've found clients who have healthy budgets for whom we're a true bargain, while also finding clients with no capital looking for a $500 application. We've even gotten a few calls from offshore firms looking to outsource mobile development to us (we're in Portland, OR).

It's my belief that you can charge a lot per hour if 1) you are good, and 2) you can find clients willing and able to afford decent rates in exchange for reliable quality development.

#1 isn't always required, although if you can explain to your client that paying an experienced developer $100/hour for 10 hours of work is more effective than paying a junior developer $30/hour for 40 hours of work, then you're halfway there. Unfortunately, some clients only see the hourly rate (and not the total cost), while others have a certain budget or rate expectation already built in.

#2 is about networking, advertising, sales, careful client selection, and offering something worth the extra fee (because you're seen as an "expert" or have specialized skills). Getting a decent influx of clients and finding the ones that fit your offering is important. For us, we try to find clients that have established budgets and for whom on-time, quality, experienced, creative execution is worth the extra expense. It's no surprise that a few of our clients found us after being "burned" by other developers who were cheaper but either didn't deliver or went AWOL.

Also, I think #2 is sometimes difficult for developers, as it's full of soft skills, so a lot of excellent coders find themselves struggling to find clients willing to pay $50/hour while reading with some amazement about other programmers turning away work at $125/hour.

Wow this was a long comment -- I'll also put it up on the blog: http://www.developmentnow.com/blog

Great article. I'm also a programmer who have decided to go at it on my own instead of contracting out my skills. For me, even more than the money, it's the fun aspect of being able to sell my own ideas come to fruition as an iPhone application.

Nice Article. My question is if we can trust over seas developers say on oDesk that charge as low as $16/hour. Estimating marketing costs is what I'm stuck on now.

Ditto great article. The market should pay the experts a top rate. The problem with software development is everyone thinks they can do it, even people with no software experience whatsoever. It's a field crowded with amateurs. Imagine if college students built houses in their free time, thinking they could get rich quick! Funny that didn't happen during the housing bubble. Ideas without execution are worth $0.00. Always have been.

Value-added resellers (VARs) who are interested in iPhone application development have ample opportunities in the upcoming iPhone 3G and 2.0 version of the iPhone software.

If you want to develop either client/server or Web-based iPhone applications but don't have the skills or staff to do the work, you could partner with a local independent software vendor (ISV)

This San Francisco based iphone developers has done a great job.

http://ymedialabs.com/iphone-application-developer.htm

Thank you for the brilliant article. Actually I found it while thinking about the right equity stake we should take in the application we build on an equity basis.

Also I was rather surprised with the hourly rates mentioned. We are located in Eastern Europe (Belarus) have a track record building Iphone apps and one app of ours was even featured by Apple as a top app. The rates that we charge are $18/h. We welcome additional jobs as well since we have a big pool of resources onsite.

Hello,

I have read all the post and seems quite interesting to me to discuss about the main issue of Iphone programming rates. I have worked on 3 successful iPhone Applications and I did it a cheap rate as compare to $200 per hour. I will be happy to discuss about such high rate projects. Please feel free to call me at 212 397 7481.

Hey Everyone! I made some really quick easy money with my iPhone apps on the app store. Those folks at Apple were pretty quick approving my iPhone applications. But now it's taking them a little longer, I'm not sure why. Anyway, if you have any questions, just email me: sam.shaw123@gmail.com, or call me: +1.847.380.4181. You can also visit my website at www.dreamworldsol.com

Sam Shaw
www.dreamworldsol.com

The website is http://www.dreamworldsol.com

I am trying to find iphone developers to do something really tricky, capture and e-mail web history, like x3watch.com does for the mac. How do I find an expert to hire?

Hi Michael, you might want to get in touch with me for that. Please feel free to call me on +1-847-380-4181 or email me at sam.shaw123@gmail.com. You can also go to my website at http://www.dreamworldsol.com

Sam Shaw

My buddy and I have been creating Iphone application for a while. We are looking to make some more cash and we will work for cheaper than anyone else. We do all of the graphical user interface and GD work for free as well.

If you would like to discuss your application further please email: We ARE interested in equity deals!

iphonesdkguys@gmail.com

i am very worry about my iphone which is not working well and if i want to sale it then its price is very low in market.what should i do?

I think all these comments are very interesting, but as someone who thinks he has a brilliant iphone app idea and some money to have it developed, what could i expect it to be earn me if it were downloaded thousands of times. How do you earn money from the applications?

I have a great idea for an app. however it involves using bluetooth and will have to correlate with several other apps. that I will also have to create. I have no clue how to develop anything but minute rice so I am not even sure my idea will work as an app. or if I will have to contact someone at apple directly. And prior to doing that should I figure out copyright laws before I do that? What should I do?

This is a great post and really insightful.

We at Wirkle (www.wirkle.com) are a mobile software development company based out of New Delhi, India and specialize in iPhone development, infact, we were the one of the first companies in the New Delhi area to be registered with Apple as a certified developer and to have an app at the app-store for one of our clients.

As of date, we have built several iphone apps, also, our billing rates a significantly lower than those mentioned in the post above.

If you are looking for iphone developers to build an iphone app, please give us a ping at info@wirkle.com. We'd be happy to help.

cheers,
the Wirkle Team.
Web: www.wirkle.com
Email: info@wirkle.com

As an "idea guy" in the US currently developing a project in Eastern Europe I must say that everyone seems to be ignoring just how practical of a solution this can be. While there can be issues of a language barrier and time differences, I have managed to find a very competent and talented team for much less than US quotes. Granted this approach, to do it well, requires super thorough specs and documentation. If you want tips on how to find good developers abroad as well as legal and contractual tips I learned through the process visit my blog at http://www.icombatgame.com

Getting back to the idea versus execution argument though posted throughout these comments I would have to say that the ideal solution is somewhere in between. I think it is naive to think that a developer can push out apps and not follow through on marketing and have their apps do anything better than average (after all it is time consuming as hell to get your product known on the web). Similarly, dumping a half baked idea into a developer's lap is also not going to get anywhere. First off, if you can't be bothered to do the heavy lifting for your own idea (doing mock-ups and usage scenarios for example) then why would anyone else decide to work with you. The ideal scenario would be a partnership in my opinion, where both the "idea guy" and the developer work on what they are experienced and best at.

Great article!

I have also been contacted on a weekly basis with the "I have a great idea for the iPhone but do not know how to program" speech. I believe that there are occasions where it makes sense to partner up, but the non-programmer must bring something more to the table than an idea.

I wrote an extensive blog post about this topic here:

http://howtomakeiphoneapps.com/2009/02/dude-i-outsourced-my-iphone-app/

To Miguel -

Are those Eastern European iPhone rock stars you talk about from Apalon.com??

They released a kick-ass app already for me and are working on a number of new ideas too

Tim, I am working with a team in the Ukraine. I see Apalon is from Belarus...I did speak with a few very solid guys from there and think I would have chosen them second. I see Apalon did iGirl.

And Matt, I agree that the "idea person" should bring more to the table (money, marketing experience, design skills) but think there is quite a bit in terms of solving questions around execution that can be done without being a programmer. I think you are right people use the "not being a programmer" argument to get out of doing any of the heavy lifting around execution.

You should be able to make an application as a scale...using the sensitive screen to weight out grams, carots, etc...

Hi,
It is all understandable.
But what if I have many ideas, concerning new features and tools for mobile itself, which can be developed within application.
Whom I should contact to share them?

Sorry, previous was mistakable.

Hi,
It is all understandable.
But what if I have many ideas, concerning new features and tools for mobile itself, which can be developed within application.
Whom I should contact to share them?

Hi,
It is all understandable.
But what if I have many ideas, concerning new features and tools for mobile itself, which can NOT be developed within application.
Whom I should contact to share them?

Thank you for the excellent article. I would have probably been one of the thousands with the "I have a great idea but cant program" question and this article really put things in perspective.

I guess since all I have are ideas then I should just give up on trying to accomplish the goal of developing an iphone app. Ideas, really, are useless. Maybe all of us with ideas should just stop thinking all together. There is no one out there who will help us or value our ideas because they have their own ideas and no time for others. The value of ideas in this market are zero! ZERO! (WTF???)

I have read the whole entire article and all the comments to the blog, I am just an every day guy with some great ideas (I think). Now I am really lost, I have more than an idea for an application but something to change the actual phone forever. I have no clue to where to start and how do I explain to someone my idea to see if they like it, with out them stealing it? And do developers have that many ideas that they are too busy to partner with someone if the love the concept? Any help or advise would be helpful. This is not something simple as an application, I am going to need a company with experince and probably a few patients.
Gain48152@aol.com Keith 703-258-4178

I've had this idea for this invention that the iphone makes easier and now with the open borders on apps, the clear choice is through the iphone. This is just the launch pad to the next bigger idea. I need some help from an individual or company the can produce top of the line.

I've had this idea for this invention that the iphone makes easier and now with the open borders on apps, the clear choice is through the iphone. This is just the launch pad to the next bigger idea. I need some help from an individual or company the can produce a top of the line product.
info@agapelifenetworks.com

So your saying that even if we have an amazing idea for an application for the iphone. We can't create it unless we pay someone.

There is a widespread need for an Application for the iPhone for River Stages throughout the U.S. A great number of people work or are affected by the water levels in our Nations rivers.

There is a widespread need for an Application for the iPhone for River Stages throughout the U.S. A great number of people work or are affected by the water levels in our Nations rivers.

Yea, I have a great app idea, but its worthless, because I don't know how to execute it, so I'm trying to learn Cocoa now, and Obj. C. I wonder how hard those are to learn?

Dear all,
I would like to inform you about an iPhone application that will be sent in short time to Apple, to be placed in the Apple Store.
The reference website is http://www.aseparateworld.com
It is about an innovative product entirely developed by an Italian team.
If you are interested in it, you can take a look at the website to ask for more information material.
In the meantime, I would like to compliment you on your work.
Best Regards
The Editorial Staff

I'm one of the "I have an idea" guys with zero development experience *dodges rotten tomatoes*. But I've recently reached out to one of my developer friends about an app idea, and I think I actually used that exact phrase, "I've got an idea." He stays pretty busy, but we're set to meet next week.

First, I'm trying to learn whether someone like me, a complete developer novice, can learn Cocoa and Objective-C. The app I want to develop is relatively simple and has almost no graphics, and there are zero movable graphics.

Is it something a novice with little development experience can learn? Do you need years of training? Do you need a Mac? If so, will a Macbook Pro suffice? I know my way around a computer and have a general design sense....but I fully realize there is much more to the development process.

I appreciate any help you guys can provide. Very useful article, by the way. Thanks.

Great article, I am Creative Director for a marketing agency…been creating for over 25 years. I have read this post on “zero value ideas” and developing skill value. Maybe I am missing something? Since when are technical skills more valuable then ideas? Nonsense! Where does one come off demeaning “ideas”! concepts are the core ingredient to any endeavor, ideas or should I say great ideas far exceed developing or code skills on any level, on this planet anyway. “Ideas” will always pay more. I think some of these posts tend to generalize the word “ideas” and dilute the power and significance. “Thinkers” are far more valuable than on hands production skills…even if it’s highly skilled. Yes, there are poor ideas and there are cliché ideas and frankly just bad ideas in this over polluted communications field…the same can be said about any profession, there are bad, good, medioca, and brilliant. Smart entrepreneurs know the value of “concept” and will always find means to develop his or her idea, regardless if you’re clueless about CODE. There is no shortage of production skills only shortage of great minds. I can have a brilliant idea, only for some production guru to (F-U) it’s execution. Today we tend to focus greatly on technical skills; schools tend to teach technical skills beyond “conceptual skills”. Students graduate having technical software knowledge but lack creativity. It’s this word “creativity” or “ideas” that should be put on a pedestal. If you have skills in more than one capacity, then granted you are truly valuable. Take a look at the web world, developers started producing websites solely on their own. What has this taught us? lack of design and aesthetics, end result, poor website design or a site that looks like a “template”. I just want to say whatever your strength… you will always need third parties..a third eye. Anyone going around saying ideas are a dime a dozen and developers rule, is just naïve or inexperienced in the market. Without ideas there is no need for developers. (ideas are powerful they can shape and change the world!) don’t let anyone fool you.

Hi! Well, I'm one of those insignificant people with an idea and no know-how. That said, it's a GREAT idea and could be very lucrative. While I'm willing to invest some capital, I'd want to partner up with an app-developer who'd get a piece of the large pie, thus giving him (her) impetus to work passionately on executing my concept.

I need someone who can develop an app with touch screen capabilities and graphics...

If you're interested and have the skill sets and/or a great portfolio, please contact me at IdeaFete-at-gmail-dot-com

Thank you,
Jenny

if i have the money to create one who do i need to talk to about getting it done?

I have a good idea for an APP and would like to work with a developer on creating the APP.

Please contact me at LSUjv20@gmail.com

Great post and blog! Kosta, I agree with you! I think ideas are definitely just as valuable as implementation. The post that are jacking up rates are definitely developers inflated the market. 100-150 per hr that is crazy and I would rather sit on my idea and do my research before I make a wrong decision and partner up with some hack. Good thing my wife is in IT project management and I can prevent myself from being swindled. I've booked mark all the App development websites and offshore companies to do some further research. I've got the expertise in marketing and some funds to bring it to market but there's no way I'm paying 30,000!

Tyler

I guess I'm pretty much screwed then... From what I've been reading, even if you had a killer idea for an iPhone app...which in my opinion, I do. I wouldn't be able to ever see it in the app store. Based on whay you guys are saying and this damn economy, I don't have the money for engineers and software developers. I've had this idea 15 years ago and was trying to get funding to "build" a protoype, but never got enough money or programming expertise to do it. I also went to 10's of stores (I won't tell what kind) to see if they would be interested in selling my idea once I had massed produced it and ALL of them...I mean ALL of them said, "if you can get this thing built, it'll fly off the shelves". But, I gave up because I couldn't get the funding to get it done. After 15 years, along comes the iPhone...Wah-Lah. An epiphany...!!! Why not use my idea, drawings and research to put it into a software only application for the iPhone. The perfect solution...!!!...I didn't have to build anything, program it or burn it into an eprom. But...after I read these articles, I thought, here we go...possible thoughts and dreams of riches...evaporated...once again. Thanks guys for blowing up my dream. It's always about money and never about fulfilling a golden opportunity. My idea is not a game, its about a pastime. Its about putting an application that people can use as a tool for that pastime. If there's anyone out there willing to dream like me and help me build this unique application and get it to market, we will sell millions, if not billions of downloads. Ahhh dreams...aren't they wonderful..??? Oh well...I guess I'll try the college route. Maybe there's a young Bill Gates out there looking to make a name for himself.

Hi there,

Thanks for the info, it has been fairly educational.

I have an idea that will change the iphone/pod forever. I really would like to discuss this further as ive been thinking about it for a while but cant motivate myself to find out who to contact!

drop me an e-mail d_h_allan@hotmail.com

Bigbobv we could team up...I have financial backing and reasonable developer. let me know if you want to chat...

Are people still getting $125 an hour to develop applications ?

How would one go about becoming an APP Developer? Im based in Melbourne Australia - hurricanedane@gmail.com

Why don't you upload your ideas at www.auctionurideas.com?

I love my iPhone but iPhone will never be complete without video recording. people who unlock the iphone and use it with tmobile are recording video!!!
I am very unsatisfied with apple and ATT about this.
something must be done.

WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEMAND THIS!
PAYING TON OF MONEY FOR CRAPPY, STATIC ATT SERVICE
in chicago

raise your voice
join me

IWMV (I WANT MY VIDEO)

If the end goal is to make money... go day trade. Less Risk, mo' money.

I am looking for iPhone app developer who has experience developing iPhone apps dealing with images and database searching.

We have an existing prototype, and I have coding and database experience in non-Mac languages. If you are interested, please contact me via email: jeannie.stamberger@gmail.com

Cheers,
Jeannie

I agree Gokhan. I found a site where you can download an unlimited amount of iPhone apps for like 50 bucks. I think they have a discount going right now and its only 35 bucks. Crazy huh?! Just pay the the one time fee and you can download as many apps as you want forever. This is the site.
www.smartappsdownloader.com/78848

Fascinating reading. I happen to be one of those people who's both tech-literate and artistic. I have created a Keynote sample of my app idea's possible graphics, so it's beyond "just" an idea. Ideas do need execution, but technicians often need creativity. I love the offshore options... there's no monopoly on US brainpower! Just how hard is cocoa?

I'm guilty like half of the posters on the blog. I'VE GOT A GREAT IDEA for a Cell Phone APP in general and the idea goes a little further as a web-site app. I've tried to learn how to design an app but I'm not very tech savy and really don't know where to start, anyone willing to work together on an app I've got a really good idea for an app, that far surpasses the iphone and can earn a constant revenue monthly. I've already emailed some of the foreign posters here to know there rates or if they work deals. Thanks for the informative post, anyone willing to work together can email me at fharripaul@gmail.com

If your looking for a simple way to get a iPhone application for your blog or business I found Rhino Apps really useful. http://www.RhinoApps.com. They take your RSS feed and create an iPhone application around it. You design it with your own custom colors and logos. Worth taking a look at.

If you have great ideas for websites rather than iPhone apps, you might want to check out www.othernet.com (I built the site).

Developers too. The way I structured the site is that profits are shared between those with ideas, the architects who plan out those ideas and the builders who build the ideas.

Register an win new iphone 3g here
http://www.valuebux.com/?ref=homepage

Hey I have a great idea and really hope I can make it happen while the iPhone market is still hot, the idea I thought of would b in high demand and there is nothing like it out right now

Great post! i Phone applications can really make your day, especially when boredom gets you:)

If you are seriously interested in an Iphone App, please contact me at stevel@sagarsoft.net and we will discuss different options. We are an onshore/offshore developer that is interested in developmnet options. Regards,Steve

Iphone Application Development Center - A right place to develop iphone applications in India.

This is a fascinating comment thread and it keeps turning up in searches. It kind of sums up customer expectations you run into when doing iPhone development. That said I'm curious to know the following and I think a small segment of the readers will get exactly what I mean. Where do the grown ups look for iPhone contracts?

I just had a question and don't know were to start.. I was wondering were or who do I contact with marketing ideas... Like if I have an idea for a comercial or advertising,??

Things have changed on the app store since this post was originally written. Last year, everyone would simply produce their own apps and it was a gold-rush. Now, with 50,000+ apps on the store indy developer are having a more difficult time getting noticed. The $150/hr + price point for US developers time seems unrealistic to me.

Off-shoring - a friend of mine successfully sent his development work overseas and essentially got a decent iPhone app made for $5,000 or so and it took about 6 weeks. This is the reality of the market most of us will be competing in these days.

All that being said - it could be the time for idea people who have really big ideas (not just the next gold score keeper app) to partner up with technical people. What could be fair is if you agree to split equity and make the company a real startup.

If not, then you will need to consider hiring programmers to implement your ideas.