
Show HN: landing pages for iOS apps with interactive, usable demos - edowling
http://kickfolio.com
======
steve8918
Very interesting, but one big flaw is that the app look like a video, with the
Play button on it. I clicked on it and was waiting for the video to play and
then I realized that I was supposed to interact with it with my mouse. I would
consider changing the icon, or having a bubble that pops up and tells you that
you can interact with it like an app.

~~~
chrisnolet
Good feedback, thanks mate. I'm just wondering what kind of an icon we could
implement - maybe a small iPhone-shaped watermark, perhaps even with a play
button or cursor pointer inside of it?

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chime
My portfolio looks different when I'm logged in vs. when I open up the URL in
incognito window. That's ok (HN does it too) but you should give me some way
of previewing the guest-view. E.g. <https://kickfolio.com/chirag?preview> or
something.

Bug: When I'm logged in, <https://kickfolio.com/chirag/tip-of-my-tongue> and
<https://kickfolio.com/chirag/ktype> show "We're sorry, but something went
wrong."

Also, is there any way for someone to claim their own app? I test added 'Angry
Birds' to my portfolio and it worked. What if someone else adds my app?

~~~
edowling
Thanks for the feedback! I've just spotted your error in the logs so will work
to fix it today.

Preview view is a good idea - will see about how we can implement it.

We're planning on adding a dispute resolution process for apps. One of the use
cases we've identified is that a business might want to feature an app as a
marketing tool, while the freelancer who made it might want it as a portfolio
tool. Automatic verification doesn't seem possible, so we're currently
building a manual dispute resolution process.

~~~
jonny_eh
Maybe there's some way for you to generate a special key/phrase that the app
owner can embed in their app store listing to prove that they own the app.

~~~
edowling
That gave me an idea - to resolve disputes, we could simply send a link to the
iTunes-listed support email and have people verify through that.

Don't want to make it mandatory, but in cases where it becomes an issue, it
could work well.

Thanks!

~~~
chime
Email to support would be a great idea. Maybe you can show a
confirmed/verified icon for apps that have been verified in this manner.

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MaxGabriel
You do a much better job that app.net at demoing your service. I can't even
see what an app.net site looks like, whereas I've seen your service and am
already really excited about it.

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robomartin
This is more of a Pieceable comment/question rather than kickfolio.

One concern I would have would be that apps are now usable outside of the
device. If you have a paid app are you opening the door to free usage? Say you
have a specialized calculator of some sort. Now anyone can use it for free
through a browser.

I realize that there's a cost associated with the number of simultaneous
users. Maybe that's the limiting mechanism.

Also:

<https://www.pieceable.com/facebook>

"We will be winding down the Pieceable service at the end of the year so we
can focus on the new challenges and opportunities at Facebook. Facebook is not
acquiring the company, technology, or customer data. We know many of you have
come to rely on the Pieceable service, and we want to make sure that you can
continue to do so even after we shut down our hosted service on December 31,
2012. In a few months, we'll be releasing an open source version of Pieceable
Viewer that you'll be able to run on your own Mac hardware - we'll have more
details on that soon."

Which is potentially good news long-term.

~~~
chrisnolet
We limit the app demos to a 1 minute maximum, then the simulator resets. We
figure this is probably enough to prevent people from abusing the free time.
Also, if the developer has a data-driven app that could be exploited in under
a minute, they don't necessarily need to upload a demo and could just stick
with the screenshots to showcase their app. Do you think that's a good
solution?

We've been in close touch with the Pieceable guys. We've been talking to them
about how we can continue to run with the technology beyond the end of the
year and we don't foresee any issues with continuing that integration or
providing something similar. Good pick-up!

~~~
robomartin
Sounds good. How about sound? This is particularly important for games. We are
on track to publish several games. Without sound the demos would not be
appealing at all. For example, there are times when the player would hear a
spoken prompt. Without it he/she would not know what to do.

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duiker101
it looks nice and not expensive but i did not understand the "demo" part,
where are they? also what are the main differeces with other similar services?
i rember seeing one some time ago that so a lot similar, something like
app.net but i am not sure, but another example is limelightapp.com

good job anyway it looks really nice!

Oh one last thing, will the bar be always stick to the top of my page? that's
something i would prefer not to be on my app's page. Users do not know i use
your service and i think it might be confusing. I can understand if it might
stay there with the free plan but with the paid ones it must go away IMHO.
that said, Good Luck. ;)

~~~
edowling
The demo's are an optional extra. You can check out a demo here:
<http://www.edwarddowling.com/victorian-opera>

or here: <http://kickfolio.com/examples/modest>

Just click play twice and away you go!

(Tech is from the great guys at Pieceable).

The bar is only there if you are logged in, so users won't see it.

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gozman
Hey guys, great use of Pieceable to innovate the app feedback piece. I like
your templates too!

How are you guarding against other upstarts in this space like ooomf
(<http://ooomf.com>) that are also bringing great design to mobile app landing
pages (where launchrock et. al. don't shine as much?)

Also, any hope to solve the app preview problem in a way that doesn't use
Flash so that it can run on Mobile Safarai?

~~~
edowling
Thanks. We'd love to have the demos not require Flash but it is how Pieceable
works. With the team moving to Facebook, we have a few options to explore
about the future of the tech.

Thanks for pointing out ooomf. I hadn't seen them before. I like to think
every new service in this space is great validation for us. I think there is
enough room in this niche for several players to exist to cater to different
needs.

~~~
gozman
I agree. You guys are definitely onto something. App discovery sucks right
now. I can't wait to see it fixed!

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epaga
Extremely impressive right off the bat. Signed up right after seeing the
positive app reviews be fetched. But how do I sort the apps once I've added
them? See here: <http://kickfolio.com/epaga> I'd like to have EmptyInbox be
the one at the top.

~~~
edowling
At the moment it sorted by most recent. Would love to have them jiggle like
the home screen so you could move them around! Would be a fun bit of jQuery.

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pasalot
Just a small comment from me. Checked out one of the folios and noticed
clicking on a demo says it requires flash. Disappointing as I am on an iPad.
Surely many potential app users will. E browsing on their iOS devices? Did I
miss something?

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l4u
I don't think white apple products can be used according to the marketing
guideline.

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apitaru
I've just posted a couple of projects and love the way it looks. As for the
live-demo part, I haven't uploaded the apps yet, wondering if you'll be
streaming audio, as my apps are sound-centric (Sonic Wire Sculptor, Numby)

Great job!

~~~
chrisnolet
We don't stream sound at the moment but it's a good idea. We're looking at
ways we can extend the tech to incorporate sound, thanks for your feedback!
<http://kickfolio.com/apitaru>

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mamatta
Great idea! I can really see this taking over this growing "marketplace"
space. How do you render these demos/simulations on the browser

~~~
chrisnolet
Thanks, much appreciated. We've integrated the live apps via Pieceable, who
run an iOS simulator in the cloud and stream video back to the browser.

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Smudge
I enjoy the concept and the snappiness of the app previws. But, to me, the
layout's use of subtlepatterns.com seems a bit gratuitous.

~~~
edowling
Fair comment. Custom CSS is available for pro and unlimited plans, so you can
customise how it looks. Ultimately, we'd love to have several themes and
templates available.

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mbenjaminsmith
Please consider adding Android as well as Mac apps. I'd sign up for an
unlimited account today if you handled Mac apps.

~~~
edowling
Great to hear! Definitely coming soon - if you have signed up for a free
account, you'll be the first to know when we add it.

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RileyJames
Kickfolio is an awesome product. Can't wait for a gem/api so we can
incorporate kickfolio's into Dragonfly.

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xoail
just trying to understand how is this different from app.net? which also helps
in creating app micro sites.

~~~
chrisnolet
Two things:

1\. We focus on the folio element, so you build a profile rather than
marketing one app at a time. You can also explore other developers' work:
<http://kickfolio.com/explore>

2\. You can run live, interactive demos:
<http://kickfolio.com/examples/modest>

Thanks for your feedback - it's a good reminder that we need to keep clear
differentiators.

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mattberg
very impressed. a couple of questions:

is it possible to change the url of the app? for example my app title was
pretty long and would be nice if the url was shorter.

how often do you check for updates on the screenshots and description, etc? i
have an update releasing in the next week or so.

android???

~~~
edowling
Not yet possible to change app url. Definitely coming soon, along with
Android.

We don't check for updates to screenshots and reviews yet - you can remove the
app and add it again. We don't like the idea of updating someone else's
website if they don't want us to, but being able to opt-in to auto-update is
probably the way forward.

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savories
"Get a great looking, reponsive website with zero effort." typo found

~~~
edowling
Thanks! I'll fix it now and push it later today.

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nbclark
Is this using the same type of tech as Pieceable?

(Just saw the other comment: Yes)

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taphangum
This is really good!

do you have a personal email i can contact you on?

~~~
duiker101
hello@kickfolio.com ?

~~~
edowling
Yep - thats the best one.

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frankdenbow
looks good, but how is this better than App.net (what I used most recently)?

~~~
edowling
I touched on this with this reply:
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4196850>

In short, we're focusing on a folio element and also the interactive app
demos, allowing visitors to actually try and app before the download it.

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Rodeoclash
Looks awesome

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chrisnolet
Love it!

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dr42
I liked it until I clicked the Modest demo and it said my iPad needs Flash
installed :(

Wouldn't that be a not-so-great idea for an iOS centric audience?

~~~
chrisnolet
We're trying to find a non-Flash solution for this. Might fall back to the
screenshots for iOS for now. Good pick-up, thanks.

We are putting a big emphasis on responsive design and we want to do the best
job possible of displaying apps on the iPhone and iPad.

