Starting an iPhone® Application Business For Dummies®

Chapter 4. Coming Up with a Winning Idea

In This Chapter

• Analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of existing applications

• Comparing similar applications to gain insight

• Generating new ideas for your application

• Creating barriers of entry for competitors

• Protecting your ideas through copyrights, trademarks, and patents

After you create an app idea, as described in Chapter 1, you have to describe it in detail so that you can evaluate whether it can be successful and decide how to go about creating the application.

In this chapter, we drill down into specific app categories, show you how to approach the process of creating an idea for an application, and start you thinking about which idea would make a great iPhone App. After you come up with an idea, you have to create some form of competitive advantage, of course, by thinking of ways to make it harder for the competition to battle you. Finally, you should know which legal safeguards can help you protect your idea as you move toward assembling your team of developers and artists to turn your idea into a working iPhone app.

Analyzing Your Competition

To start developing specific ideas about what features and capabilities to include in your application, simply get hold of every app in the category where your iPhone app idea would fall, and use it. As you do, keep notes about these items for each app:

• Features you wish it had

• Features that are superfluous or annoying

• Design elements that keep you engaged

• Design elements that turn you off

As you develop ...