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Category: iPhone

No-name iPhone agency starts with two big names: Raven Zachary and James Keller

Rick Turoczy on February 5, 2009

Why is the Brady Bunch theme song running through my head?

Maybe it’s because I’ve just heard the story of a man named Raven and a woman named James who’ve decided to combine their incredible talents.

Raven Zachary started his own iPhone consultancy last year. And he’s been overwhelmingly successful. Being involved in the Obama iPhone app can do that to you. And helping with something like iPhorest only continues the momentum.

So, he decided it was time to do something more.

“Since the Obama app, I’ve encountered some amazing brands and amazing opportunities,” said Raven. “And they were affecting my ability to remain an independent advisor in the iPhone community. It became very clear to me that there was the opportunity to build an iPhone agency.”

Enter James “@semaphoria” Keller, a wizard at Interaction Design, Information Architecture, and User Experience with a rich agency history. Her most recent gig? Serving as Interactive Strategist at Wieden + Kennedy.

“I love technology and how companies communicate with their community,” said James. “Getting to really dig deep and find a place for that within such a new—and gorgeous—platform is really a dream come true. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime, follow-your-heart pursuit.”

Now, they’re joining forces to form a strategic iPhone agency.

James Keller on the new gig

Why an agency model instead of pure app development? Raven and James are both interested in helping people develop and interact with their communities. The iPhone platform is a means to that end—albeit an incredibly creative platform for doing so.

The agency will also likely build apps of their own—Andrew Pouliot and Jonathan Wight, the lead dev on the Obama app, help round out the team—but it’s the strategy on which they will focus the majority of their time and effort.

Not only is this big for all of them, it’s big for Portland and its continued place in the mobile space.

“I think it’s a great fit for Portland because of the long history of creative services and technology,” said Raven. “We’re focusing on both. It’s really more of an agency than a development shop. But it’s really a small, small boutique agency.”

“I think you can be creative and strategic and develop well,” James said. “It’s a uniquely Portland thing.”

So what’s it called? Well, they don’t know yet. But you can find them at Raven.me.

“Maybe instead of Raven.me [Raven’s current consultancy], we can call it Raven.us?” said James.

At the very least, Todd gets his wish.

TiEsQue on Raven and James

iPhorest: New iPhone app launching at TED has Portland connection

Rick Turoczy on February 4, 2009

iPhorestIf you’re in Portland and involved in a the Web and mobile startup scene, any mention of “iPhone” is usually immediately followed by a mention of “Raven Zachary.”

Portland isn’t alone in that regard, the iPhone consultant—who helped create iPhoneDevCamp before there was even such a thing as iPhone development—has seen more and more attention for his services as the burgeoning iPhone market has come into being.

And it’s thanks in no small part to his involvement in a little iPhone that played a role in putting Barack Obama in office. The other part is that he’s one of the most intelligent and well-spoken people I know. And of course the final part is that he’s one of the nicest guys you’ll get the chance to meet.

Well, now Raven has his hand in another app that’s sure to increase the iPhone limelight for him. Meet iPhorest, a new iPhone app launching this week at TED, the premiere “cool leading edge technology thinking and stuff” conference.

Raven Zachary on iPhorest

And Raven isn’t the only one excited about it. There’s this guy you may have heard of named Kevin Rose who told his 98,700 (and counting) Twitter followers about it.

Kevin Rose on iPhorest

And then there’s Ashton Kutcher’s wife. She likes it, too.

Demi Moore on iPhorest

It’s clear that iPhorest is on to something.

What’s not so clear is exactly what iPhorest does—since it’s not yet available in the App Store. But it has something to do with planting trees. On the iPhone.

By downloading the app, the user activates a seedling both virtually and physically. As the seedling on their phone grows, users can also send seeds to other phones, starting a new forest.

For each virtual tree planted, The Conservation Fund will plant a native tree in real life – starting with restoration of vulnerable wildlife habitats along the Gulf Coast. They will work with the nation’s leading public natural resource agencies to ensure the long-term protection of each iPhorest.

iPhones and sustainability? What could be more Portland-y than that? [UPDATE] More Portland people of course! Raven adds:

The lead developer and designer, Andrew Pouliot @andpoul, is in Portland, as is the 3D modeler, Alex Jetter. Thanks to Bram Pitoyo for the recommendation for Alex.

It’s a very cool concept. I’m looking forward to getting the opportunity to test drive it—and help a few flowers bloom trees grow.

As soon as I know more, you’ll know more. But I wanted to congratulate Raven on iPhorest as soon as I could.

iPhone-based Fieldrunners named one of Time’s top 10 video games of 2008

Rick Turoczy on December 8, 2008

FieldrunnersPortland’s mobile development chops continue to gain attention. This time it’s an addictive iPhone app built by Portland-based Subatomic Studios.

It seems that almost everyone who plays Fieldrunners—a strategic tower defense game—gets a little bit addicted to it. Even the writers at Time Magazine. So much so, in fact, that—even though the app was only released a little over two months ago—it has been named one of Time’s top 10 video games for 2008.

Not iPhone games, mind you. Video games. Period.

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Why do they like it?

With the opening of the App Store and the release of development tools, third-party developers have converted the iPhone and the iPod Touch into handheld gaming devices that will soon be serious competition for the Nintendo DS and Sony’s PSP. The pick of the first litter is Fieldrunners, a fast and furious tower defense game that looks great on those super-bright, super-crisp screens and seamlessly integrates the famous touchscreen as a game controller.

Pretty high praise—and definitely mainstream exposure—for some great development happening here in Portland. Now, if we can just get them to look up from the game long enough to see the other cool stuff that’s happening here.

To download the app for your iPhone or iPod Touch, go to Fieldrunners in the App Store.

(Hat tip to Steven Osborn)

Is that Strands in your pocket or are you…? Oh it’s Strands

Rick Turoczy on November 4, 2008

StrandsToday, Corvallis-based Strands—the lifestreaming service that’s friendlier than FriendFeed—got even more friendly for Apple iPhone and iPod Touch users.

[HTML2]How? Much in the same way they took the time to clean up their Web-based UI, the Strands folks announced that they have put their design ingenuity into optimizing the Strands mobile site for the popular Apple products.

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And it’s looking really good. What’s more, it’s much easier to deal with than loading the old Web UI.

But don’t just take my word for it. There are much more reputable types chiming in on the release (and I’m not just saying that because I appear in their screenshots).

Louis Gray finds the interface making definite strides forward:

Back in August, when I first discussed the lifestreaming site’s beta offering, I found myself fairly critical of its user interface, saying it minimized some of the best features, including the actual feeds from your friends’ activity. In the last few months, thanks to feedback from its growing user base, the team has doubled down efforts to simplify the UI, and they managed to do well enough that the site works well, even in my 3.5″ wide iPhone.

And Duncan Riley agreed:

Lifestreaming service Strands continues to impress with its rapid growth in features, with a new mobile interface being launched targeted at iPhone users.

I remain a fan of Strands and their, um, strides. And I can’t hardly wait for the next big leap forward, when their recommender technology enters the picture. That, my friends, is when we’ll see the true power of this platform.

What’s that? You’ve somehow missed out on trying Strands? Have no fear, gentle reader. Simply leave a comment below with a valid email address, and I’ll make sure that you get in to try it out.

I can’t help you with the iPhone, though.

Obama for iPhone: Portland plays a huge role in mobile app development

Rick Turoczy on October 2, 2008

McCain may have invented the Blackberry, but today Obama owns the iPhone. Thanks to a team of talented developers—half of whom are here in Portland.

Obama ’08 is your official, comprehensive connection to the heart of Barack Obama and Joe Biden’s campaign, giving you the tools you need to make an impact and stay in the know.

Making a difference takes only moments using the Call a Friend feature. Want to do more? Find your local Obama for America HQ or look up local campaign events.

Creating this politically savvy iPhone app was a wholly volunteer effort. An effort that featured five Portland folks on the team: Raven Zachary, Jason Grigsby, Lyza Danger Gardner, John Keith, and Aileen Jeffries.

Aside from being beautiful, it’s a feature rich application designed to get individuals more involved in the political process. (In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if the opponents of the Obama campaign rival the proponents in downloads.)

The application has a “Call Your Friends” tool that helps you organize your contacts by key battleground states — a feature we’re hoping will generate thousands of additional personal contacts. You can also easily mark reminder notes to yourself on which friends you have called, who they are supporting and who wants a reminder call on Election Day. The information does not leave your phone (so your friends’ and your own privacy are protected) but the total amount of calls the application makes are tallied, so you can keep track of your progress as we close in on November 4th.

As Grigsby says on the Cloud Four blog:

Leaving politics aside for the moment, it’s a pretty impressive display of what is possible using the iPhone and iPod Touch platform.

[UPDATE] I just heard that the Obama ’08 for iPhone folks will be holding a launch party for the app during the next presidential debates. Head on over to the Mission Theater on Tuesday, October 7 to congratulate the team and watch some politicking. To RSVP, see the Obama ’08 iPhone App Launch Party and Presidential Debate Party on Upcoming.

Is Portland beginning to take center stage in mobile app development?

So yes, the app is super cool. (And if you agree, you may want to digg it.) But, I think—in my Silicon-Forest-centric frame of mind—that’s not the only cool thing happening in this story.

There’s something else that’s going on here. And when I say “here,” I literally mean here.

While the application is an impressive feat for a volunteer effort (or any effort for that matter) what I think may be even more interesting—and Zachary, arguably the premiere consultant for all things iPhone, agrees—is the underlying story about mobile app development in general—a development effort that, more and more, seems to be centered around talent right here in the Silicon Forest.

“This speaks to a growing trend in Portland toward mobile app development,” said Zachary. “We’ve really got something starting here.”

Grigsby echoes a similar sentiment about the creation of the Obama iPhone app:

I’m terribly proud of this application. I’m also honored to have been part of making it happen. It’s not simply that we built something that we believe will empower people to bring change to Washington, but it is also the fact that we assembled an exceptional team.

As does, Gardner:

The amount of energy that went into this was fun to be around. Raven Zachary and Jason Grigsby’s strategy genius, Jonathan Wight’s very powerful development fu, Mike Lee and Tristan O’Tierney’s hacking support, Louie Manta’s visual-zing-wow aesthetics, Aileen Jeffries and John Keith’s many-faceted support, and Dom Sagolla’s tireless testing work. Phew. That’s the lot of us.

We all hear, time and time again, how mobile is the next big thing. Wouldn’t it be nice if that big thing were happening right here in Portland?

I think it would. And I think it has the potential to happen.

And with efforts like this—and the growing ranks of mobile developers here in town—I’d say we’re well on our way.

Congratulations to the whole team—but especially the Portland folks—on launching an amazing app that’s sure to step on to a national, if not worldwide, stage.

For more, visit the Obama iPhone app page or to download it for yourself, head over to the App Store.

Air Sharing: Vancouver iPhone app gets more than 700,000 downloads in one week

Rick Turoczy on September 15, 2008

Air Sharing iPhone appEven the iPhone critics have to admit that there may something to the iPhone app thing. I mean, if the results Vancouver-based Avatron Software is producing are any indication.

Last Monday at 5 PM Pacific time, Avatron released Air Sharing, a temporarily free iPhone app that lets you treat your iPhone as a wireless hard drive. Not earth shattering news, I grant you.

But fast forward to today. And as of this writing—a few minutes shy of one week—they’re approaching nearly three-quarters of a million downloads.

That’s right more than 700,000 little versions of the Avatron apps are walking around on iPhones.

“It’s just amazing,” said Dave Howell, CEO of Avatron. “It’s way beyond what we thought would happen.”

And the reviews are looking quite positive, too. Even donpdonp might be happy with this little app, considering:

Best app in the app store. It’s incredibly useful and works with my Ubuntu desktop!… This is seriously the best app around. Worked out [of] the box, almost zero config.

Using Bonjour and the standard WebDAV interface, Air Sharing allows iPhone and iPod Touch users to mount the devices as a wireless drive on any Mac, Windows, or Linux computer; drag and drop files between the device and computers, and view documents in many common formats.

Basically, it’s like working with any other drive. Wirelessly.

But there are also some other interesting features that could extend the use of the Air Sharing app. What are those features? Well, Dave will be my guest on the next Silicon Florist podcast, so tune in to find out.

Interested in trying Air Sharing? Well, it’s free to try for one more week. After that the price will go up to $6.99.

For more information, visit the Air Sharing area on Avatron’s site. Or to see what others are saying and to try it for yourself, head on over to the Air Sharing page in the app store.

(Hat tip Raven Zachary)

Raven Zachary chairs iPhoneLive, a new iPhone conference for O’Reilly

Rick Turoczy on September 4, 2008

Raven Zachary Apple iPhoneThat’s right. Portland’s master of all things iPhone, Raven Zachary, has been tapped by O’Reilly to lead its latest conference, iPhoneLive.

And while this event is not going to be held in Portland (don’t get me started), I still chalk this up as a major win for both Raven and the Portland tech scene, as a whole. Anytime we have a local chairing a cutting-edge technology event, that’s a win. No matter where they hold it.

And it leads me to wonder… could Portland become more iPhoney than other technology hubs? It’s too early to tell, but let’s wait and see.

One thing is for sure: with Raven’s focus on this eyes-on-ubiquity Apple device, the interest in events like the Raven-founded iPhoneDevCamp, and Portland’s proclivity for the little bugger, it may only be a matter of time.

So, what’s iPhoneLive?

iPhoneLive will be a gathering of the best and brightest participants in the iPhone ecosystem today. Whether you’re already building apps for the iPhone or are a developer who wants to make a move to the iPhone platform; if you’re an entrepreneur or simply an enthusiast of the emerging iPhone industry, this is the event for you. It’s going to be a mind-blowing day filled with information that you just can’t get anywhere else. We’ll cover development issues from coding to release, as well as general market information and lessons learned from leading iPhone developers and entrepreneurs.

And, truly, what’s an Apple-oriented conference without some top-secret launch activity?

iPhoneLive will also feature Launch Pad, a showcase for the coolest, not-yet-public apps and startups. The iPhoneLive Launch Pad presents an opportunity for iPhone developers and entrepreneurs to unveil new applications and startups at a major event. There are a limited number of slots available for iPhoneLive Launch Pad, and there is no cost to participate. The deadline for submitting a proposal to participate is September 30th.

iPhoneLive will be held in San Jose, California, on November 18. For more information on the conference, see Raven’s post on the O’Reilly Radar. Already sold? Hit the iPhoneLive conference site to figure out how you can participate.

Raven Zachary’s Apple iPhone obsession now his full-time gig

Rick Turoczy on August 18, 2008

Raven Zachary Apple iPhoneWithout a doubt, one of the busiest people in Portland—when he’s actually on the ground here in Portland—is Raven Zachary. Working with Legion of Tech. Founding iPhoneDevCamp. Running around consulting on Open Source. Standing in line waiting for iPhones. And helping folks with all things iPhone.

Yeah, you caught that, didn’t you?

It’s no secret that Raven’s interest has definitely been leaning more and more toward the iPhone, as of late. And you know what they always say? Follow your passion.

So now, Raven is taking the opportunity to do exactly that, turning his iPhone obsession passion into full-time gig.

For those of you who know me as the founder of iPhoneDevCamp, this will probably not come as much of a surprise. Over the past few weeks, a number of professional opportunities relating to the iPhone have emerged that are too compelling to pass up. Some of these project I can’t talk about just yet, but I am looking forward to sharing them with you as soon as I able to.

Well, sort of.

Raven will still be supporting some of his consulting clients for The 451 Group. But instead of being a full-time analyst, he’ll move into the part-time role of contributing analyst.

So, he’ll still be crazy busy. Just with a different priority ranking on his efforts.

I, for one, couldn’t be happier for Raven. His passion is infectious. And this opportunity to channel his energy into this gig will be a delight to see.

And it looks like I’m not the only one. Twitter is running rampant with congratulations for Raven, this morning. Including a retweet from none other than Tim O’Reilly, himself:

Tim O’Reilly on Raven Zachary

Raven’s new venture can be found at raven.me or you can follow him on Twitter at ravenme.

raven.me is an iPhone site. It serves two functions – to provide interesting iPhone content to the general public and to promote my iPhone advisory business and other iPhone-related pursuits.

Again, best of luck to Raven. I know he’s going to be a phenomenal success. And that bodes well for all us here in the Silicon Forest.

Reminder: Mobile Portland on the iPhone App Store

Rick Turoczy on July 28, 2008

iPhoneEveryone is still all gaga over the newest release of the Apple iPhone 3G. We can’t seem to stop talking about it.

And while 3G battery life seems to be the biggest complaint, the biggest win—without a doubt—has been the release of iPhone Apps and the Apple App Store.

And tonight at Mobile Portland, long-time Apple proponent and founding organizer of iPhoneDevCamp, Raven Zachary, will be discussing the “iPhone App Store Opportunity,” providing his insights into this new vehicle for interacting with the Apple platform and its users:

In his talk, Raven will provide a basic overview of the process of developing and distributing software for the iPhone and iPod touch, and share some key findings and metrics gathered in the two weeks since the launch of the App Store. What does the App Store mean for third party mobile developers?

The event will be held at the AboutUs offices in Portland’s Olympic Mills Commerce Center, 107 SE Washington St., Suite 520. Things get started around 6:00 PM.

For more information on the event or to RSVP, visit Mobile Portland on Upcoming. For more on the organization behind these events, visit Mobile Portland.

 

 

Geek Bat signal: iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland needs your help

Rick Turoczy on July 23, 2008

iPhoneI recently posted a link to the iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland event (and I believe there will be another one when the ma.gnolia links post fires off). This differs from the original iPhoneDevCamp, because this time around Portland will have a satellite event so that Portland folks can participate without having to spend the cash—and the carbon—to make it to the main event down in San Francisco.

Very cool idea. And a great way to keep the community involved.

Except for one thing. Doug Coleman and Dean Martindale are reporting they’ve hit a snag:

Enthusiasm is high about an iPhone DevCamp 2 satellite event being held in Portland. However, PCC Cascade informed us today that we will not be able to use their facilities to host DevCamp 2 PDX without paying almost $1000 in security and overtime fees. Disappointing news, because plans have been in the works for weeks now and we have already announced it to the world. This leaves us without a venue to host this event that is only a week and a half away.

So, I’m throwing up a “Geek Bat signal.” If anyone has the ability to host the event or to help these smart folks find somewhere to muck around with their iPhone apps, please comment below.

Even if you can’t help, please spread the word that they need help.

For more information on the event, see iPhoneDevCamp 2 Portland on Upcoming.

[Update] Even as I compose this post, a number of folks are pitching in with possible venues, but the problem hasn’t been solved yet.

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