Softpedia Interview: Marketcircle CEO Shares His iPhone SDK Impressions

Everyone is excited that Apple finally rolled out the iPhone SDK. Small developers, big developers, and even programming-skilled folks sitting at home in front of their PC, trying to work some code magic, they all realize what the SDK's potential is (added to theirs). But this is just an assumption. We needed solid proof that this was the case, and so we asked Marketcircle CEO Alykhan Jetha to provide some insight on Apple's new iPhone SDK and what it means to independent software developers.

Marketcircle, as some of you may already know, is responsible for two clever business apps for Mac: Daylite and Billings. But why don't I let AJ tell you what it is they do and what they're offering to Mac users.

Softpedia: Please share a bit of information about Marketcircle with our readers.

AJ: Marketcircle is based just outside of Toronto, Canada. We are focused on the Mac small business market with about 25 people and a large number of consulting partners around the World . Our two main applications are Daylite, a multi-user business productivity manager and Billings, a time-billing and invoicing application. Both are award winning and have been developed for Mac OS X from the ground up.

Softpedia: With Daylite starting to use Apple's Sync Services last September, users are now able to share calendar and contact information on the iPhone. Do you plan on bringing all the Daylite features to the iPhone?

AJ: The reason the iPhone is successful is because Apple wisely created a new form of interaction that works well with the device. They didn't take the Mac OS X desktop and shrink it, yet you still have a lot of the same functionality. In the same way, any major desktop application shouldn't try to bring the entire set of functionality to this new medium.

Softpedia: With version 2.0 of the iPhone software now supporting Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync, and Salesforce.com bringing its software to the platform too, how much competition is Marketcircle looking at exactly?

AJ: Both of those require a larger investment by the user (either up front plus maintenance with Exchange or monthly with Salesforce). Not only does Daylite address different needs, it is also much more cost effective. Many of the features that our customers love and that differentiate us, are neither in Exchange nor in Salesforce, so I'm not too worried about those.

Softpedia: Have you had a go with the SDK? What are your impressions?

AJ: Yes, we've had a go at it and we are very impressed. The integration with Xcode, the debugger and the simulator are all very, very impressive. The simulator alone blew me away.

Softpedia: One of Apple's latest announcements concerns a number of requested enterprise features that are now heading the iPhone's way. The company run by Steve Jobs also showed off demos of better apps and games such as Will Right's Spore. Do your plans include sticking to the business app model, or will you refocus your strategy now that the iPhone SDK is out? Either way, what could we expect from Marketcircle in the future?

AJ: We don't talk about future products, but as a company, our aim is to stick to the small business market.

Softpedia: In your opinion, does Apple need to focus more on promoting Mac OS, as it does with its i-products, or will its line of touchscreen portables pave the way for everyone to understand and ultimately embrace Macs?

AJ: I think they need to promote both. The iPhone and Mac are in a similar predicament. Until you've used [them], you really don't know what you are missing. I constantly hear "I didn't know it was easy", "I didn't know the Mac was that cool". I'm hearing the same thing with the iPhone: "words or videos can't tell you how cool this thing is", "this is way better than I expected" etc... This is why I think Apple's retail strategy is brilliant. People can go the mall, touch, feel and be sold on the benefits. So they need to promote both and use the retail stores to help people make that final decision.

Softpedia: I've read an old blog post of yours dated January 10, 2007. You mentioned that picking up a new Nokia phone model for Sync Services testing, at the time, kept the excitement on for mere days over at Marketcircle, as a result of getting a glimpse at the iPhone in action, through a demo. So the question is obvious: do you see the same thing happening to the iPhone, if say... a new, better equipped smartphone was released today, or do you consider Apple's device a long runner?

AJ: There are vendors out there with better features on their phones - better cameras are a good example. However all the other vendors lack one very important thing - software and design savvy! And Apple has that in droves. It's the software that makes the difference. The software stack on the iPhone is very advanced and it will be a while before other vendors can catch up. Once I used the iPhone, other phones instantly became obsolete to me. Their paradigm is just old. Apple has totally raised the bar here. And now with third party apps and the creative energy of the Mac community, we are going to see some incredible things and that's going to make it even harder for the other vendors to catch up.

We thank Mr. Alykhan Jetha for sharing his impressions with us and we hope that iPhone users will benefit from Marketcircle's vision of business productivity management even more with the arrival of Apple's SDK.

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