The increasing popularity of iPads and iPhones within the past year has led to a demand for applications– for entertainment and for business purposes. The great thing about these applications is that they are inexpensive to download.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Barcroft, CEO of Sprightly Software, an independent software programming company. Barcroft has one employee, Paul Atkinson who is also a software programmer. Their specialty is in the development of software for iPads and iPhones.
Here is what Barcroft has to say about his business and about the apps that he and Atkinson create.
P. What inspired you to get into the business of software development?
B. Ever since I was a child, I’ve had a fascination with computers and video games. At the age of 10, I started programming on my first computer and I really enjoyed it. The excitement of getting those first few lines of code running had me instantly hooked. I continued to dabble in writing software, but it wasn’t until after high school that I started programming professionally.
P. Why only for iPads and iPhones?
B. We think that Apple is the clear technological leader in the mobile space. We believe that its ability to drive down the cost of high-end electronics through massive economies of scale make Apple’s mobile platform very compelling. Sales of iOS devices (which includes iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch) are on an exponential growth curve, which means there are always new users looking for software in addition to users that already have iOS devices.
Tablet computers are not a new thing. In the 1990s, Microsoft tried to convince us that we should be using them when they developed a series of so-called pen computers which failed to launch. But it wasn’t until Apple released its iPad tablet in 2010–with its multi touch capabilities, long battery life, and an easy to use operating system–that things got interesting.
Recently, we’ve also started writing software for the Mac. The similarities of the development environment for iOS and Mac OS X have allowed us to leverage our existing knowledge to create great apps on the Mac as well for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.
P. Which one of your apps is your best seller?
B. Currently our best selling app is the Screen Ruler for Mac. It was originally developed based on our internal need for a simple, efficient screen pixel measuring tool. It has been a break-out success probably because it allows you to measure the width and height (in pixels) of something on your computer’s screen. For instance, if you’re working on designing a web site and need to fill a blank space with an image, you can, with this application, measure the blank space to determine what size of image will be needed to fill it. Take a look at the YouTube demonstration video at: http://sprightly.ca/ytsr
TurnTables is our best selling app for iPad and it was also our first app. It features a two record DJ mixing setup, allowing users to forward and reverse through songs by rotating records in the same way a DJ would with real turntables.
P. Tell me more about your newest app, the Trip Journal App. How can business people benefit from this app?
B. Trip Journal for Business is a first of its kind, business travel journal app for small and medium sized businesses. It is designed to run on both the iPhone and the iPad. It keeps track of almost every aspect of business vehicle use. It allows you to record extensive trip information, including dates and times, starting points, destinations, starting and ending odometer readings, vehicle information, purpose of the trips, comments, and reimbursements.
Users can easily export the information to a spreadsheet for accounting, income tax, and client billing. Its ease of use makes it a compelling app for business people.
P. What’s next for Sprightly Software after the Trip Journal App is released? What other kinds of apps do you want to develop?
B. We have some planned updates to enhance our solitaire games, then we’ll be working on a new budget app that helps people manage their personal finances.
P. Do you think that iPads will eventually replace laptops?
B. What we’re seeing right now is that iPad sales are essentially cannibalizing notebook sales. Notebooks are basically low-end laptops that lack a full sized keyboard and are priced similarly to the iPad. Because notebooks lack many of the features of a normal laptop, iPads are a natural alternative.
Currently there are many things that you can do on laptop and desktop computers that you can’t do on an iPad. So, laptop and desktop computers will continue to have a role in content creation, and iPad and other tablets will fill a need primarily in content consumption.
P. What do you think the future has in store for technology, ie, will everyone eventually rely on iPads and iPhones for communication in the near future?
B. Many people already depend on their mobile phones to stay in contact with friends and family, take pictures, film short events, read e-mails, locate destinations via Google Maps, and to find other information. It does seem that the benefits of having a smart phone or tablet will increasingly play a role in our ever more connected planet.
If readers would like to learn more about our software, they can visit our web site at http://sprightly.ca.
Deanna Proach is the author of two novels–Day of Revengeand To be Maria. Day of Revenge (Inkwater Press) is a historical fiction set in Revolutionary France and To be Maria is a YA suspense that is about two teenage girls who seek acceptance only to find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.