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Volume I, Issue 4
Early August, 2009
Greetings!
Thank you for your purchasing our software and for opening our newsletter. In this issue, we introduce our new Texas and Wisconsin applications and our partners, highlight our thoughts on improving the App Store, welcome new clients for our BlackBerry service, and share some great reviews from AppReview.
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Texas and Wisconsin Available Now
Two great state applications served by two good friends
Were proud to announce that the Great State of Texas and wonderful cheese factory that is the State of Wisconsin are now available in the App Store and directly from us for your BlackBerry. So far, Apple has approved
Texas+,
TexasPro, and WisconsinPro+. Wisconsin+ will be released "soon" according to Apple. What makes the release of these two sets of apps interesting is the people behind them: René (Texas) and Concetta (Wisconsin). They're great friends who met in college in St. Louis. They heard about what we're doing from their professor and decided it would be neat to participate in this effort. We appreciate their hard work and are proud to have them on our team. Remember, if you want a version of your state, please visit our
map to see if we're already working on it. If not, please send us an
email and we'll begin working with you to get it in the App Store. We share revenue and we handle all of the techie and marketing of the apps so you have no out-of-pocket expenses. In this difficult economy, it's a great way to earn extra money and offer a way for citizens of your state to participate in our democracy. |
A Better App Store
We're all are starting to think about how to improve it
Over the past few months, customers and developers have begun talking, suggesting, and yes, griping about Apple's App Store. The proliferation of fart apps even led Jon Stewart's show to do this hilarious send-up of competing fart developers.
We are concerned about one issue: quality. We have nothing against fart apps or games -- we own them too. We just want applications that are really great at whatever they do. We know customers want better options and applaud Apple for adding keywords so that users can find what they are looking for faster. Here are some ideas:
Reward Quality Applications
- Apple should only feature applications in their New and Noteworthy section that rate 3 1/2 stars or above.
- Modify the criteria for rankings, such as the Top 25, to include user scores: 50% sales, 50% user ratings (above 10 ratings).
- Allow users to view apps within a category sorted by price range so that people who are willing to pay for quality can find it.
We also propose a number of improvements for developers. To read the entire white paper, please click on this link to download the
PDF, which was also picked up in the UK by The Guardian newspaper. Again, please send us not only your feedback on our applications but on your experiences in the App Store so we can share them with Apple. Please remember to follow our Twitter feed as we have been having conversations with users and developers on this topic.
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AppReview Accolades
Two Apps Get Top Ratings From Leading Website
President In Your Pocket and
Congress+
received top honors from
AppReview, one of the top websites that evaluate Apple iPhone and iPod Touch applications.
On President: "This app is a perfect companion for it's predecessor Congress+ and
essential for anyone keeping track of this nation's political
proceedings." Full review
On Congress+: "... the perfect app for political activists, aspiring activists and really anyone who just wants to know what that
candidate they voted for six months ago is doing now ... Any iPhone
user looking to become more politically involved needs this app." Full review
Here is a link to our website for more media reviews.
We continue to be amazed by the ratings you have given us in
iTunes. Our team works very hard everyday to earn that kind of
praise. Please keep rating your all of applications and providing us
valuable feedback so we can improve. The upcoming features (e.g.
search, notes, committee search, etc.) are all due to your
suggestions.
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Database Fix Submitted
We found a way to fix Apple's database issue
Our ace iPhone developer, Sean, has figured out a way to workaround the continuing issue of databases not becoming current when you attempt to update our applications. This results in weirdness like "Sen. Barack Obama" (yes, we know he's the president) for some folks who bought our Congress apps.
The workaround, which works every time, is to delete the app in iTunes and on your device, then re-purchase the app and sync. iTunes recognizes that you already bought it so you are not charged again. This effectively clears out the database from your hidden "documents" folder and you get the new database.
Frankly, we hate workarounds and so do you. In a perfect world, we submit an update to Apple and it simply works. You should get the latest and greatest information from our team as well as the function upgrades. Apparently, it's an issue that many applications like ours have for a number of technical reasons. We've written to Apple but they haven't been helpful other to point out that yes, it's an issue.
We submitted the fix to Apple for one of our smaller state applications and are awaiting Apple's response. We've been sent weekly apologies for the delays (now four weeks) in approving it. As soon as it goes live, we'll let you know. We will likely bundle that fix with a number of new features that will be free for all users of every app we offer.
Again, we apologize for this but you should know we are, hopefully, almost there in getting it resolved.
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Free Promo Codes
Thinking of upgrading to Plus or Pro? Would you like to try out one of our state applications? Email us at promo@congressinyourpocket.com with the app name and we will send a free four-week trial. Feel free to pass it along to a friend or colleague!
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Thanks again for reading this newsletter and supporting our applications. As always, I'm here if you have any questions, comments, or feedback on any of our applications. We answer every single email and appreciate your business very much.
Sincerely,
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Michael D. Cohen, Ph.D.
Congress In Your Pocket
Founder & CEO
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