When we reviewed Pouch – a Windows Phone Pocket client app – last week, we were impressed by just how slick the app is, how easy it is to use, and how great it looks on Windows Phone. So it’s surprising to find out that Pouch is actually the first app that developer Joshua Grzybowski has created. We’ve been talking to Joshua to find out more.
[do action=”boxout”]Download Pouch
- Press the Search button on your Nokia Lumia and then tap Vision
- Scan the QR code
- Tap on the link when it appears on the screen
- Install the application from the Windows Phone Store
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“I wanted to get started in app development for a long time,” Joshua tells us, “but I always struggled to find an idea. Finally, one day I notice somebody on Twitter making a Tweet about Pocket on mobile phones. I looked on the Windows Phone Store, and noticed that at the time there were no apps available for Pocket.”
That led Joshua to creating his own Pocket client, but the fact it was his first foray into mobile phone apps means it was far from simple:
“This was my first attempt, and surprisingly it succeeded. It was an extremely daunting task, and the Internet was definitely my friend. I was looking all over MSDN and Microsoft’s documentation to help put something together.”
“First I had to figure out how to make requests to the API (Application Programming Interface) over the network,” says Joshua, “then I had to figure out how Pocket’s authentication worked, but thankfully it got slightly easier as I got used to it and time went on.”
Designing a new application
Inspiration for the design of Pouch came from Microsoft itself, rather than other apps on the Windows Phone Store. “I wanted the design to be similar to Windows 8 and Windows Phone,” Joshua explains. “I stuck closely to what Microsoft was doing, and if you compare it to other official apps it’s very similar.”
“I really like the Panorama control in Windows Phone, although I’m not a fan of Pivot – I don’t know why. I like the idea of having a list, and then being able to swipe to the right and see the next list you have.”
The slick, cohesive design of Pouch is no accident, and Joshua explains: “I’m particularly proud of the design. I’ve always stressed – and maybe too far – design over functionality. Right from the start my app looked really good, but it was missing a few features at the time.”
“I’ve been adding to it all the time though, from version 1, 1.1, 1.2 all the way to 1.9. I’ve literally just submitted version 2.0, which will introduce a load of new features. The UI has been updated a bit, and I’ve listened to feedback where people wanted different colours (they didn’t like the original pink colour that both Pocket and Pouch uses).”
“I’ve also done a lot of work on the offline mode, so people will be able to access their cache when they’re on the subway or underground, and the app will also offer new Live Tiles and Lock Screens.”
It’s a fantastic first attempt and we can’t help but feel Pouch is a huge success. Whether it’s the first of many remains to be seen though: “I’d like to continue developing apps, but my big problem is coming up with an idea for an application,” says Joshua. “If there’s already something out there I’m not sure I want to bother creating an application that does the same thing. It depends on whether I could do something so much better or not.”