About this project
The 1001 story has come a long way since the first 1001 Before You Die book was released in 2006. First there were the spreadsheets. Then, in 2013, we released the official 1001 Books App for iPhone. We followed that up shortly afterwards with the 1001 Movies App for iPhone.
Ever since, Android users have been bugging me for their own version. Quite rightly so. Android users amount for nearly 80% of the market and, hey, guess what. I'm one of them!
This project is about getting Android 1001 fans the products they need to track their progress with both 1001 Books and 1001 Movies until they die. We're in this for the long haul and, as anyone who's travelled long distances knows, that takes some investment up front.
The iPhone app was entirely self-funded. I burned through a whole load of my own cash to get that to the market. I'll break even in about another 20 years ... maybe.
So, for Android, I'm testing the waters in advance. I've been told that there is "huge potential" for these apps among Android users and that the Android 1001 fan base is waaaaaay bigger than the Apple group. Well, now it's time to see if that's true. Here's your chance!
Risks and challenges
I've never given up on a product and have successfully had 1001 products selling online since 2010. That said, it would be foolish to pretend there are no risks. Only yesterday, a Bengal tiger nearly got me on the way to work.
I want to be honest with you. That's why I'm now confessing that the story about the Bengal tiger isn't actually true. What is true, however, is that I'm going to be working with an experienced app developer who I know personally and trust. This guy has a track record and he delivers for companies all over the region.
We met today, in fact, to set up the basics of the project. He tells me that he can deliver this in three months IF we get the funding. We have a few hurdles to overcome but nothing technical that we haven't solved before on other projects. We'll get it done, although it's possible that it may take longer than the three months we estimate.
One thing we have going for us is that we have a head start. We already have a fully functioning iPhone app and have a track record of supporting this over four years. We're not starting from scratch here. We're building on a foundation of success.
Throughout the project, I'll be keeping everyone posted each step of the way on the Facebook pages for each app as we ride the highs and lows of the journey towards our goal.
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