Developer Spotlight: Shabbir Vijapura

Earlier this month I had the chance to catch up with up one of our long time readers and upcoming iPhone developer Shabbir Vijapura. Although Shabbir has only been developing apps for the last few months, he already has 6 apps in the App Store including the popular ‘Face The Music’.

The Interview

What inspired you to start learning to program and make apps for the iPhone?

I think the inspiration to take part in building iPhone Applications came from the essence of the SDK itself. Everything an aspiring developer could need is readily available. Other aspects include the amount of ideas I had that I felt people would really enjoy.

For anyone reading this article that would like to start developing for the iPhone platform, do you have any advice, words of wisdom?

Like I said before, aspiring developers really have no excuse to not try out the SDK. The tools you need are available free from Apple with the only string being attached is the lack of ability to test your app on a physical device. The basis of Objective-C may seem overwhelming in the beginning for those who have never used it before, but don’t give up on it. Once you get the hang of it, everything will come pretty easy. Another thing to note is, if you are having problems when you start I can guarantee you someone else has had the same problem. I’m sure you can find a solution from myself or many other experienced iPhone Developers on the net.

What are your thoughts on Apple changing the rules regarding In App purchases, making In App purchases available in free applications?

In App purchases in free apps is a huge step to the extermination of lite version of Apps. I’m not saying lite version of Apps are bad, but why not have the lite/full version of the app all-in-one? This makes it easier for the customer to get what they want without having to even exit out of the owners Application. This could also open the window for developers to charge for updates. Now, I know for a customer this isn’t good news, but sometimes an update really should come with a new price tag.

What changes would you most like to see in the App Store and the process of submitting apps?

Among all of the iPhone Developers out there I’m positive there has been a time where an update for their app was issued and lo and behold a bug is found. All of the loyal customers are regretting updating and your inbox is full of support mail. It’s hard to expect that your users will be patient while Apple takes 2-3 weeks to review an update to fix the bug. I feel that this wait time is ridiculous. An app should only be reviewed rigorously when it is first submitted, I think after that the developer can take responsibility. If the app becomes overwhelmingly different then the users of the application can report it.

Where do you stand with other mobile platforms, Will we ever see any of your work ported to the Palm Pre or Android Platforms in the future?

The time for unique apps on the App Store is quickly closing. There truly is an App for everything and when one store gets too cluttered there are always new stores to populate. I think for any developer porting apps to different platforms is a great idea. I’m sure Pre and Android developers are looking at successful apps in the iPhone App Store to add to their own store.

Out of the thousands of applications in the store, which are your favourite and most used five right now?

Boxcar and PushMail
Tweetie 2
Facebook
Face the Music (not trying to be biased :] )
Rowmote Pro

One question that has to be asked; If Apple had never launched the iPhone, what handset do you think you’d be using right now?

I’d probably still be using my Samsung BlackJack.

Do you have any projects currently in the pipeline that you can tell us about?

I’m currently working on a different app that should be helpful during the Holiday Season.

Thank you very much for your time Shabbir.
Thank you James and I’d like to thank the whole Razorianfly team for giving me the chance to take part in this interview. It truly is an honor.

Questions published by RazorianFly editor James; answered by developer Shabbir Vijapura.

Face The Music

Face The Music is the best way to share what you’re listening to on your iPhone and iPod Touch to your friends on Twitter and FaceBook, simply at the tap of a button! Not only does the application allow you to post your music up to Twitter and FaceBook but you can also comfortably control your music and change track without having to leave the application.

Current Status: Highly Recommended
Download size: 2.6MB
Retails for: £0.59 / $0.99

Follow Friday Generator

No more searching through your timeline on Twitter, Follow Friday Generator does all the hard work for you in compiling your #FollowFriday tweets! You also have the ability to edit your generated Follow Friday tweet before it hits your timeline, this is fantastic as it allows you to add/subtract people before posting.

Current Status: Recommended
Download size: 1.3MB
Retails for: £0.59 / $0.99

Feel The Tweet

Using a similar concept to ‘Face The Music’, Feel The Tweet takes what your currently listening to on your iPhone or iPod Touch and tweets it using twt.fm providing not only the track information but also a YouTube video, if the application can’t find the video on YouTube, it’ll allow you to search through and pick one out yourself!

Current Status: Recommended
Download size: 0.9MB
Retails for: £0.59 / $0.99

Text Vision

Text Vision does what it says on the tin. Using the iPhone’s camera, Text Vision supplies a video feed to the iPhone while your writing texts or mails, giving you the ability to see around you, whether your sat at home or walking around a busy shopping mall.

Current Status: Recommended
Download size: 0.7MB
Retails for: £0.59 / $0.99