Spotlight on local iPhone app developers

AP Photo / Paul Sakuma

I've been talking to developers this week. New Zealand has a strong development community like Australia, for PC, Mac and iPhone ... and probably for other platforms, too.

I've talked to Kent Lendrum, who developed a package that NZ schools increasingly use for keeping track of students, marks and more (more on that in another blog), a couple of guys at Renaissance who tailored solutions for a big installation at Maori Television (and more on that later), and to Peter Watling who developed the popular and free BubbleWrap game for iPhone (not to be confused with BubbleWrap! by Lima Sky, $1.29).

Peter's firm is called Orsome (yes, as in David Tua 'O for orsome!') and I use a couple of his other apps. I've had his great WeatherNZ App for six months, for keeping a check of the weather in Auckland and around the country. It's good for a soccer coach, I can tell you, and I use his cool tvGuide 2.5 which shows the programs on any channel I choose in NZ for a couple of days ahead.

Orsome is based in Christchurch, and this is a case for jealousy. Yes, really - because there you can get his bus application MetroInfo ($1.29) that shows you the closest stop to your location. Best of all, it taps the Christchurch Metro Bus GPS system to actually track buses around that fine flat city so you can see how far away they are, and lets you browse all stops for any route and save favourites.

Peter's working on versions for areas of the UK, Australia and the US - but hey, what about Auckland? Our buses, too, have GPS - and we need all the help we can get to use public transport.

BubbleWrap's an interesting case, actually. It won the 2008 iPhone Excellence Awards and has been an iTunes' Favourite pick. You just basically pop bubbles against the clock, on your iPhone or iPod touch touch-screen. And for the really obsessed, you can move up to the $1.29 BubblePRO.

People get so involved you can beat records and win cash prizes. That's US dollar cash prizes. You can read all about this at the company's website

It must be fun - four million people have downloaded the free version.

MyTrades is another app for Kiwis - it even has the Buzzy Bee as an icon. It keeps track of current auctions on TradeMe, showing the closing time, thumbnail and bid status for everything you're keeping track of. This is currently of more use to sellers than buyers, says Peter.

Another interesting one is OurSpace, another freebie that let's you put yourself into NZ scenes. Good for the tourists, and for us just for fun.

Peter's excited about the push notifications that will be available to developers in iPhone OS 3. This will open up more opportunities to do even more interesting things - and crikey, his range of apps has been pretty diverse already. Watch his space (just search on Orsome in the App Store in iTunes).

By the way, I know all this because I have several of his apps and because I took part in a Australian Mac-centric podcast this week.

This is for a new venture called MacTheMag by the former editor of Australian Macworld magazine Matthew JC Powell. Matthew has a Mac blog going and has just started podcasting. He will feature notable Australian Mac scenesters and occasionally Kiwi ones too. Matthew's a Sydney-sider with a Canadian accent, by the way, thanks to his upbringing there.

You can get this podcast shortly and follow Matthew's new venture at his site. There you can download the podcasts and follow Mac forums. And the mag? It's coming ...

By the way, an Auckland iPhone game developer, Jon Dow, is looking for a student or someone who wants some exposure to add some graphics work on two games he has under development. They should be submitted to the iTunes store in the next few months. Payment would be once sales start, but if you're looking for opportunity, why don't you contact Jon?

I'm always fascinated by what people are creating, so if you're doing something for Mac or iPhone development or you know something about it, why don't you tell me?

Mark Webster mac.nz

AP Photo / Paul Sakuma