hello i want some opinion :D

[ipphone]

Guys, Hi!

I'm new here but I thought you'd be the best people to ask about this.
I am trying to get a iphone app built. I've been getting bids and
quotes from people overseas that seems low but i don't know if they
are any good or if it will cause any trouble to work with someone
who's a iphone or android app programmer in a totally different time
zone!!! So i started looking up american developers and I found this
video that kind of scares me:
Android / IPhone App Programmer Reveals How to Build an Iphone Android App Fast - YouTube it says that an app can
cost $50,000?!?!?! Is that the cost of a new car???

Do you guys know any good programmers who are in the usa that won't
make me have to mortgage my house???

Thanks in advance!!

[Meredi86]

An app could cost WAY WAY over 50k or it could cost WAY WAY less than 50k. It all depends on who you get to do the job, the going rate in the location that they are in - i would assume American and British coders would command a higher rate as they have higher living costs etc etc.

It depends on how long that job will take that person - is it a simple table view app that displays some data from a website? Thats about a weeks work max to a high standard, including a few back and forths for changes that you and the developer decide on. Or is it a Game that will give 40+ hours of gameplay with 10 Classes to play all that have their own talent specs, upgradeable weaponry etc etc that would take more like a team a few months to complete to the required standard. the difference in cost between those two types of app would be huge, just in the wages of the people involved let alone any other costs that may pop up on the way through the development.

I don't think that overseas is a big issue, but personally i am not sure i would hire someone i havnt met - to me that is just a trust thing, but other people do hire from overseas and don't have problems. Just make sure you set up the contract properly and don't pay them all in advance. The business section here would be a good place to go and find some details on how to keep you and your idea safe from code theft or something similar.

My first app (now on the UK app store) only cost the wages for me for the time it took in development, as have the 2nd and 3rd that i am developing. I see it in the way of if i make it its free to make, obviously t the moment though its not free to the company i work for as they need to hire me to do the job.

Don't get disheartened by some youtube video telling you its going to cost the earth - every app, every piece of software is completely different whether its the difference between business apps and games or whether someone is just ripping off angry birds, at the end of the day the development will differ drastically as coders have their own methods, and that can alter time frames, the need to hire or not hire extra people. So basically no two apps are going to be comparable in development cost. One thing i learnt from uni was that the development of software is not a science its just guess wok that can be planned well or badly, but just because ATM software cost Bank A 1Million doesn't mean that Bank B will spend the same on similar software from another developer.

Hope this helps

[RickSDK]

my first app took about a year to develop and probably about 400 hours of work. if someone was paying me $50/hr, that would have cost them $20k.

But then again, the app is clearly not worth $20k and a lot of that time was spent on the learning curve.

My second app took about 200-300 hours crammed into a 7 week period, and that app is currently in review.

Pretty much your only choices are to pay a lot of money, or find someone willing to take it on as something of a "hobby", but keep in mind you are attempting to find someone willing to spend literally hundreds of hours working for you. that's not easy.