DISQUS

the blog of j. paul arterburn: tipTapp - tip calculator for the iPhone/iPod Touch

  • Aaron Gustafson · 1 year ago
    Did you get the palindrome idea from Tipr?
  • Paul · 1 year ago
    The idea of using a palindrome to check for tip thieves isn't new [1 | 2]. The Tipr web-app you designed was much too limiting for different scenarios (and you never knew just how much you were actually tipping after the rounding was done).
  • Aaron Gustafson · 1 year ago
    For what it's worth, Tipr (which launched 5 July 2007) predated both links, but I'm not trying to say you're infringing or anything; palindromes just happen to be my thing and I just found it interesting that you had decided to incorporate that particular functionality into your app.

    Out of curiosity, what do you mean by "you never knew just how much you were actually tipping after the rounding was done"? Tipr clearly states the check total, tip total and then the grand total. Or are you talking about percentage-wise? As for "limiting," perhaps it is, but it is also dead simple. I could have added a lot of bells and whistles, but didn't see the point in cluttering up the interface. Plus, Tipr supports a number of other means of using the service, including via Twitter and text messaging. Keeping it simple meant also making it easy to open up the app to those alternate interfaces.
  • Paul · 1 year ago
    While we both like the idea of having some sort of check for totals, it's
    not the most popular choice among tipTapp users (<1% have that calc type
    saved). Based on that information it shows that while I completely agree
    with you regarding simplicity (KISS) from a reach standpoint you have to
    give users some options.

    I'm talking percents...you could think you were tipping 15% all the time,
    but because of the round-up functionality you have incorporated it could be
    closer to 20% a lot of the time. I applaud your use of Twitter - it's
    popularity is definitely growing and is a great tool that opens up the reach
    to non-smartphone users. I would question the number of potential users that
    would prefer a Twitter interface over the web-app, because I bet the
    userbases overlap a great deal.
  • wwittman · 1 year ago
    This is still the best iphone tip calculator (mostly because you included a separate field ofr optional TAX)...
    you really should port it over to an offline app and offer it on the apple AppStore
  • ejh · 1 year ago
    Waiting for a version of TipTapp on the app store. Will buy.
  • Paul · 1 year ago
    I'm not able to create an app for the App Store, because it requires that you have a Mac in order to develop them.