Comment by mirthlab | Hacker News Reader

Comment by mirthlab | Hacker News Reader

This is actually eerily similar to a site I launched a couple of months ago called Aptly: http://apt.ly/

I've described it to people as "Instapaper for Apps" but it seems like AppQuu may even fit that description better than Aptly. (I haven't finished the companion iPhone app yet, but feel free to try it. I'd love to hear what you think.)

I really like how simple and elegant AppQuu is. Being able to send the user an SMS is a great idea. It makes it feel a little magical. (Though, it's a little strange that I can't get to the list just by browsing to the site on my phone.)

I was definitely hesitant about putting in my phone number. That's actually why I went with email instead of phone numbers for login on Aptly. Talking with people made me realize it was a huge barrier of entry. I guess emails feel less valuable and are more commonly used for signing up with sites that you're not sure about.

How do you find or determine the app on the page? What happens if there are multiple apps linked on the page? Does it just add all of them? Also, what happens if someone enters a number that isn't theirs? Maybe you could send a confirmation SMS that requires the user to respond in order to verify their account.

Also, I'd love your feedback on Aptly since it's such a similar concept, but with a completely different execution. Well done!

P.s. Let me know if you have any questions. I've probably run across a few of the same ones myself. Cheers!

@ mirthlab - thanks a lot for your feedback.

we tried to make it as simple as possible, thanks :)

reg phone/email: we're learning the same thing. we opted to keep it phone only so it felt "magical" for the people that did sign up. we should probably allow email sign up.

reg app: for now we take the first app that is found on the page. we could just as easily put all the apps in your Quu if multiple ones were found... or ask the user which ones they want to add. i guess we'll see how often/where/why that comes up.

reg fake #: yup, on it.

reg Apt.ly: really cool! i love how you're showing the details of the app right there for the user to see. i guess there's a balance between quick/effective.

where are you based? we should def talk in more depth off HN.

thanks again for the feedback - satjot (satjot at appquu)

That "we" is painful to read. I had a similar service earlier this year, initial reaction was positive, but everyone signed up and never used it again.

Me included.

My take on it? it's easier to pull up the app store and search for whatever than it is to open safari, load the webpage, then click and wait for the app store to load anyway.

Long lists would work? I thought so too, but then people don't like the back and forth between safari and app store.

Saying that, SMS was a feature I didn't have.

Good luck all the same, and do make a 1 month later update if you have time!

thanks for the feedback!

"That "we" is painful to read." - what do you mean?

it would be cool to followup in more depth if you have some time. i'm at satjot at geemail - you?

Maybe for the phone number you can wait until they hit the "Send me a Text Message" button, then ask for it there. Since it's something they want to do at that moment it makes sense. Then you can attach the number to their account. They might be more apt to do it if it's obvious why you need the number.

I'm based out of Honolulu, Hawaii but I'm also in California every few months for work. Feel free to hit me up anytime: mark [at] mirthlab.com.

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