Andy Jordan, Editor and Producer, Tech Diary, The Wall Street Journal

The Trucker Hats of iPhone Apps

May 8, 2009 at 8:52 am PT

A classical piano player in Christchurch, New Zealand decided to see how quickly he could make an app for Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. Reuben Bijl, 22 years old, took 30 minutes and came up with a pointless one called “Sound Grenade.”

It then made him more than $100,000 in a few months, he says, through advertising on the free version and a $1.99 pro version. It emits a harsh squeal that irritates anyone within earshot, even in a crowded restaurant (I tried this–evil looks abounded).

These apps appeal to everybody, Mr. Bijl says. His frustration that “Sound Grenade” has flourished, compared to the tepid response to some of his more useful apps, is palpable.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Tagged with: Andy Jordan, Apple, digital, frontpage, hardware, iPhone app, iPhone App Store, Reuben Bijl, software, Sound Grendae, Tech Diary, The Wall Street Journal

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