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Many of those familiar with the world of smartphones and other handheld computers will have daydreamed of inventing a killer app, one of the simple and often brilliantly useful little programs that run on touchscreen phones and tablet computers like the iPad. Perhaps we imagine our idea will become part of the zeitgeist, be downloaded millions of times and generate unfathomable profits, spawning lucrative toys, T-shirts and other merchandise.
As I stroll along Oxford Street to the head offices of Grapple Mobile, I think of a couple of my own money-spinning ideas: a football stadium app telling you where in the ground your seat is, local amenities and the ability to message other fans. Or how about an app that could tell you the real-time gender mix in a bar or club? But it doesn't take much time chatting to Justin James, head of development at Grapple, for me to realise I have no chance of turning my app fantasies into reality.
Although they are often minimalist in design and function, apps have become big business – according to research firm Gartner, global sales will reach 17.7bn downloads in 2011, worth around £5.8bn. Angry Birds – in which players catapult small fowl at pigs, and which is one of the most successful apps ever, having sold over 10m copies – was created by three Helsinki technology graduates already highly experienced in mobile game development. On the other hand, I am a journalist with no IT skills and less idea how apps are made.
Though he is far from an archetypal IT nerd, James is one such experienced app builder. He works in a trendy office in the West End of London, dresses smartly and enjoys travel and fine dining with his partner. The fact that he can rattle off a Star Trek reference is perhaps the only outward pointer to a life immersed in computing.
An Australian by birth, James began a management and finance degree at the University of Perth in 2000 but lasted only two years before deciding it wasn't exciting enough. He "bailed out" and began playing around with computers while working in a cinema. "I had always messed about with them," he says, "but it was at this point that I finally realised I could make a job out of my love of computers."
That epiphany came at a fortuitous time. While studying for a computer science degree, also in Perth, he did a module on software programming for mobile phones and realised he could become part of a new wave of technology. "While I was growing up, computers took off in popularity, then later the web exploded and now mobiles are too. The rolling stone is gathering moss and it's exciting to be a part of it."
Armed with this knowledge, James set about creating a future for himself. He knew he had to leave Perth to pursue his dream of working in the mobile tech sector, but like many residents of one of the world's most isolated cities, he had lifestyle reasons for leaving, too. "I'd never seen snow in my life," he laughs.
He went travelling before arriving in the UK, taking in jobs as a laboratory assistant at a school in Neasden, at a ski resort in Meribel and as a chef. He took trips all over Europe – even to Eurodisney, specifically to ride a rollercoaster. "I went on Space Mountain," he says, his eyes lighting up. "I love rollercoasters."
With the travel bug temporarily sated, James got a job with Apple computers in London before joining Grapple in August 2010 – the fledgling company had only launched seven months earlier. James started as a multi-platform developer (building apps that work on different types of phone) and instantly enjoyed his work. "As well as building the app a client wants, there is so much scope for experimentation," he marvels. "You can just grab an iPad and reinvent LCARS, the computer operating system from Star Trek. And I get to play with all the latest devices."
James impressed the Grapple bosses enough to become head of development after just four and a half months, having worked on successful launches such as a multi-platform app for wine magazine Decanter, as well as client pitches. "We often get asked to build something speculatively for a client and it's great fun to let your imagination run wild, especially if the app ends up being given the green light," he explains.
It is the experimentation that James clearly savours. He also enjoys working on apps that can run on iPhones and BlackBerries as well as Nokia phones and devices running the Android operating system. Indeed, much of Grapple's success has been because it allows programmers to use standard HTML coding (used by website designers) to produce mobile apps, allowing it to recruit from a larger, more talented pool than that offered by mobile-only developers.
Grapple is based on Great Marlborough Street, close to Carnaby Street's fashion boutiques and the flagship Apple store on Regent Street. Inside, things are equally lively. The office is decorated in fluorescent purple, orange and green and the workforce looks young, inspired and global. At a developers' meeting, James is bombarded with questions and comments from his team – accents are flung at him from across Europe, the US, and even Brazil.
During the meeting, James seems very keen on ensuring a couple of new developers are getting along OK, and implores everyone to help them out, especially "if they are looking blank". There is much chatter about anyone being able to pick up someone else's work and continue where they left off and I sense a collegiate, collaborative atmosphere that is rare among large groups of staff.
The number of people in the room (I count at least 30) belies Grapple's humble origins. The firm began with three people but now, only a year later, there are almost 60 staff.
In total the firm has created over 70 apps across five different mobile platforms in less than a year of trading, going from an initial two apps a month to 35-40 per month.
Watching James at work, I note him moving tiny replicas of iPhones and BlackBerries around on his computer screen as he tests an app in development. But I am equally distracted by his colleagues' screens, noting apps under construction for a major sportswear manufacturer, a popular global fashion house, a vehicle rental agency and even a rival newspaper group that has contracted Grapple to build it a Royal Wedding app.
James tells me what his job is all about. "It often involves taking large chunks of data and making it work for the user. It's about coming up with different solutions to the same problems. You're building on stuff all the time, taking what has worked with something else and applying it to a new app."
Most often, a corporate client will approach Grapple with what they want from an app, Grapple will take that idea, cost it out, produce wireframes (walkthroughs of how the app will work) and a design aesthetic (if needed) and build the app for as many different types of mobile platform as the client needs. Grapple has completed fistfuls of popular, recognisable app including BT's Phone Book and the XBox Kingmaker – an innovative geo-location-based social gaming experience.
James's job is to take a brief from the client, create the app and deliver it on time and on budget. It is easier said than done: "It can be straightforward or it can be difficult. With the Decanter wine app, we had a huge database of wines and regions that the user had to be able to access. We had to find a way of displaying that information quickly and we decided to force the app to access the internet to do it. Even then, that's a large chunk of data for a mobile phone to process so we had to find ways to slow the user down and stop them getting angry if it took too long to find what they wanted."
James calls the solution to these problems "the twist", as in: "The client owns the app, but we bring the twist." And clients pay handsomely for it, too. Apps can cost a corporate client around £30,000, even more for a quick turnaround – at one point I note James asking: "Is the end-date critical, like the Britain's Got Talent app?"
So while some apps can be built in days, others can take a fortnight or up to a month. It depends on the level of complexity; Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps and even email integration will take longer. Grapple has in-house testers to ensure the finished product ticks all the boxes and, most importantly, is exactly what the client wanted.
This is mobile app development in 2011; it is no longer the domain of IT nerds knocking up games in their bedrooms, but an industry worth billions of pounds and employing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. It's nothing short of a revolution, offering new revenue streams to all sorts of industries (including the Guardian).
I leave James with his colleagues as they discuss their work schedules for the week and as I saunter along Oxford Street once again, my head quickly becomes full of more app possibilities. It's not long before I've got another cracking idea – the one that could make me a fortune. All I need is £30,000 and someone like James to build it for me.
Pay Junior developers get around £20,000 pa, with James one step up from there.
Hours 9am-6pm most days.
Work-life balance Fine. "I got into computers because I was working with them in my spare time anyway. You could say my hobby is my job."
Best thing "Getting to play with the whole range of mobile devices out there and be part of the new explosion in technology."
Worst thing Judging when to stop. "I don't have forever to build an app, so I have to stop myself from running wild. It means I have to stop myself from over-complicating things. But it sucks, as the potential for creativity and how far you can go is endless."
Justin is a big travel fan and loves visiting rollercoasters. "My next trip will be to the Six Flags Great Adventure park in New Jersey to ride Kingda Ka – the tallest coaster in the world and the fastest in North America." Justin also loves cooking and attends "most of the food fairs" in London, including the Taste of Summer and Real Food Fair. "My favourite restaurant ever is Herb Farm, just outside Seattle, which serves incredible food – we had a seven-course meal there and there were five different wine glasses on the table to go with it.
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