So About That Fire

The fireplace at Adams Street has been inactive since my parents lived here in 1983.  But, tonight, thanks to the Brothers Laan, we have a fire brewing on a sleeting night.  Brothers Laan, a.k.a CC and Jason and the brothers of Nicole, have been developing computer software since 2009 and were one of the first application developers for Apple’s iPhone platform.  Our sweet new fire place, iFirePlace, can be played on any Mac computer. 

While bringing back to life an inactive fireplace is tres cool, what is of greater note is Brothers Laan, more formerly known as Laan Labs, recently released a smart phone application, Tap DJ, which has quickly become the top selling app in Japan and Australia, and among the top five in the US, UK and Germany.

Tap DJ enables users to mix songs from their iTunes libraries, add special effects and blend multiple tracks; turning their mobile phone in to a sophisticated turntable. The application, available for $1.99 via Apple’s iTunes, utilizes technology previously found only with costly computer-based DJ programs.

Laan Labs’ self-described business plan “making cool stuff for all of your favorite toys.” They have created numerous top 100 apps for smartphones and Apple’s iPhone/iPad/iPod and Mac line, including iVideoCamera, Lightwriter, Sonar Ruler, Remote Sound Box.

iVideoCamera has been their biggest hit yet and was the top selling app in the US & UK for over 3 weeks. Initially developed to enable video recording on 2G/3G iPhones, a feature which Apple did not include until the release of the 3GS model, it now also allows any phone to record videos with real-time special effects.

And since we all know my love of history, here's a little history on the mobile phone app market: 

 
As smart phone applications grow in popularity, established shops with long development cycles and large marketing budgets are slowly beginning to dominate the industry. Despite the competition, a few small agencies such as Laan Labs continue to churn out fresh ideas and popular apps.

When asked what most technologically challenged folks would be surprised to know, Jason Laan responds “How much work goes into an app. There are all these stories about people building a little iFart app and making a millions dollars - yeah that does happen but it’s very rare. Most of the apps out there have a great deal of work behind them. Making a hit app is about getting all the ingredients right: idea, name, aesthetics, usefulness and then marketing it properly.”

Following an often lengthy approval process by Apple, apps are marketed and sold through itunes and creators take home roughly 70% of the listed price (the rest goes to Apple).

Making a popular app is always the challenge. Jason compares the app market to that of the music business saying, “Just as people have a constant desire for new music, customers are always wanting the newest app. It may be difficult to predict a hit, but the desire continues to exist.”

When the brothers are not making apps for themselves they also do client work for such notables as NBC Universal, TweetDeck, and SCVNGR (recent Google investment).