Best mobile tablet app programmer you know

[simmer2]

I am looking at partnering with someone who excels at mobile apps, or mobile web development. I don't know where to start looking so any guidance would be a huge help.

[Rathji]

What platform?

[kermitology]

Are you looking for contractors? Someone to do a startup with? iOS, Android.. I'm personally a pretty accomplished mobile dev, but I'm not really available right now. I do know a lot of people though.

[simmer2]

Android initially...but both would be necessary (iOS and Droid).

The one idea would be a contractor position, the other would be a business partnership...just want to find the right fit.

[kermitology]

Android is going to be a little bit tougher IMO. I know a tonne of iOS people, but comparatively few Android devs.

[KTrain]

You can check out http://www.yycapps.com for a nice list of mobile developers in Calgary. Though, like kermitology said, most are iOS developers.

You might also want to go to some of the local events like Demo Camp Calgary (happening this Wednesday) to meet some of the devs in Calgary and see what they're working on.

Also, not to be rude, but I don't know any devs who wants to work with solely "idea guys". You either have to bring your idea with a fleshed out design/strategy/business model or your idea with cash.

At least once every couple months we'll get an email or a phone call from someone with an "amazing" idea for an app. They'd love to partner with us on the project and will pay us a percentage of the earnings if it takes off (no up front cash). It would also be great exposure for our company as there's a huge market for it. They don't bring any skills to the table other than their idea and perhaps experience in the field related to their idea.

App developers are in huge demand right now and the good ones are working on cool projects. If you're going to get the attention of the good developers you're going to need money and a great idea.

[Russic]

I was going to basically say what KTrain mentioned. I had a project come to me recently and I am now tasked with finding somebody with the skills necessary to tackle it. There are 2 issues that I feel will kill the project outright:

1. Everybody who can do the work is literally up to their ass in work already.
2. Because of the workload, to find somebody with adequate talent you'll want an impressive stockpile of capital (probably in the tens of thousands).

Starting with Android presents a few problems. I've only ever talked to somebody in the business of app development about this, but their points were pretty strong. Their agency took on some Android projects but has since dropped them as an option for a few reasons that could be pertinent to you.

The main one is troubleshooting. Because there are so many variations of android devices (both in physical form and function), finding out the cause of a user problem can turn into a massive time dump.

I don't say this as an Android vs. iOS debate, but rather something to keep in the back of your mind when thinking about your budget. Developing an Android app could prove quite costly.

[simmer2]

All great points guys. As a result, I may look at starting with iOS. And I completely understand the points from a capital standpoint...

The one idea we have is flushed out in a business plan and is an extension of a business we already own and run so that one we are prepared to fork out a significant chunk of capital. Ideally I would like to hire a person full-time, but I don't know if developers only want to do contract work?

The other idea is more building a relationship with someone and seeing if the idea has legs or not.

[chemgear]

Originally Posted by Russic

Starting with Android presents a few problems. I've only ever talked to somebody in the business of app development about this, but their points were pretty strong. Their agency took on some Android projects but has since dropped them as an option for a few reasons that could be pertinent to you.

The main one is troubleshooting. Because there are so many variations of android devices (both in physical form and function), finding out the cause of a user problem can turn into a massive time dump.

I don't say this as an Android vs. iOS debate, but rather something to keep in the back of your mind when thinking about your budget. Developing an Android app could prove quite costly.

Interesting, I always wondered how much the whole "fragmentation" of the android OS was affecting the app/software ecospace.

[Russic]

Originally Posted by chemgear

Interesting, I always wondered how much the whole "fragmentation" of the android OS was affecting the app/software ecospace.

Like I said, I have only spoken to 1 guy who works at 1 agency. He said it's something they'd like to get into, but the apps they've done end up making them look bad because they don't work across the board.

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by Russic

Like I said, I have only spoken to 1 guy who works at 1 agency. He said it's something they'd like to get into, but the apps they've done end up making them look bad because they don't work across the board.

You basically have to pick a list of devices you want to support, the dominant OS for that device and build for it. Its amazing how different they can be and how you can develop an app that works for like 90% of devices, but fails spectacularly on the rest.

[chemgear]

Small sample size, fair enough. Regardless, thanks for the info.

[photon]

It's still a dream compared to how it used to be for mobile applications.

Heck even just sticking with J2ME devices we'd make a mobile app, then spend weeks to months porting it to all the devices we wanted to support, and that was usually just for one carrier!

Anyone remember Device Anywhere.. like remote PC control, except for phones, and they'd have hundreds of different devices so you could validate the app.

There's a reason I went for server development. So I could laugh at the handset guys having to rewrite the network code because that specific handset couldn't transmit and receive at the same time. HAHAHAHAHAAAA!!

/wants you off my lawn