MacDirectory Magazine

MacDirectory magazine is the premiere creative lifestyle magazine for Apple enthusiasts featuring interviews, in-depth tech reviews, Apple news, insights, latest Apple patents, apps, market analysis, entertainment and more.

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CLOSER LOOK NO TIE SOFTWARE > MAKING ITS NAME THROUGH APPS WORDS BY MATTHEW SCHILDROTH There are more than 40,000 developers for Apple's iOS App Store. There are also more 750,000 apps in the App Store. With these kinds of figures, how does one produce apps competitively? When Apple says, "There's an app for that," they really mean it. The App Store is an incredibly competitive market. There are a few ways you can enter a market like that: produce a lame app (and fail), produce several decent apps, produce one rock- solid app, or make like No Tie Software and produce several rock-solid apps. No Tie Software is about as old as the App Store itself. It launched in December 2008, just a few months after the iPhone 3G was released with iPhone OS 2.0.1 alongside the App Store in July. No Tie Software currently has more 70 apps on iOS, Mac OS, Android, Windows Phone, and even Samsung Bada. While No Tie Software has many successful apps on these platforms, I wanted to highlight their two most acclaimed apps, Ringtones Uncensored and AutoVerbal. The most popular app, Ringtones Uncensored, allows you to set a custom ringtone for every contact in your phone, and powered by a Premium text-to-speech system, the Pro edition features dozens of both casual and professional voices. This app has millions of downloads between its free and paid versions, and reviews on the App Store have been positive. Variations of Ringtones Uncensored have been voted as two of the three top ringtone apps by in 2011. It has also received nods from 148apps, AppCraver, TUAW, and Adam Curry's Big App Show. The best part is that even the Pro version is only 99 cents right now, so there is really no reason not to get it and at least have some fun with the ringtone for when your in-laws call, right? Ringtones Uncensored is also available on Android and even for your Mac if you prefer to create ringtones there and transfer them. Why pay a per-ringtone charge? No Tie Software's apps are not all about fun and games, however, and they have won several awards in other categories as well. One of their more humanitarian apps, AutoVerbal, is designed to help children with autism as well as non-verbal adults. The app works by presenting the user with a scrollable interface of images that when tapped play a specific phrase or word. For example, after setting it up, if I tap on the name tag image, it will say, "Hello, my name is Matthew," for example. You can also put in custom images and messages, type a message and have it played using text-to-speech, and customize the first row of buttons to feature your most frequently used buttons. If you are connected to the Internet, you can even use Premium text- to-speech voices, making it even more authentic. For how helpful it has been, this app was voted the #1 iPad and #2 iPhone app in the Medical category in June 2010. It also received an award for Relationship & Family Caregiving at the AARP Silvers Summit in January 2012 at CES in Las Vegas. The app is universal, so it can be purchased once and used on your iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. Apps like these are the reason No Tie Software has been so successful. They run the gamut from ringtones and sound effects to information lookup to verbal assistance. If you want to know more about their apps, feel free to check out their website, notiesoftware.com, download some of their apps, or check out their YouTube channel for video demos. Visit for more information. 97 MacDirectory

Spring-Summer 2012

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