Alternatives
Products that do what I hacked up a hybrid android / iphone app in a week... does
Last week I decided to have a go at building a location based app, using native APIs for both android and iphone, but using a webview to display the content. It came together pretty well I think, still waiting for the ios app store to approve or reject the app. The app sends messages to anyone within 100 metres of you: http://herenow.nolanconsul.com/ I blogged a bit about it here: http://bennolan.com/2014/05/27/herenow-retrospective.html
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- 3PMProject Maya▲88
Project Maya has started! For those who haven't read about Maya, please look here: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4103344 Our goal is to build an open source application that can run in your browser and on iOS/Android without being dependent on app stores. We currently have a working "sneak preview" version viewable over here: http://frontend2.com Want to dig into the source? https://github.com/SchizoDuckie/project-maya We recommend you to check it out in Google Chrome/iOS/Android. Our team currently consists of 5 people. If you think you'd be a good addition, please shoot me an email,…
2012
- 4MF
Hi all! I'm a 17-year old self-taught developer just starting to tap into the mobile world! :3 This summer, I've worked on a minimalist distance-based alarm clock app that wakes you up before you miss your stop! Check it out here! http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/commuter-buddy/cb9b5107-41e0-4d2b-b0d6-110fe555fc3b Feedback and comments are welcome, thanks :)
2014
- 5IA
Hi! I've been building this app over the course of the last year or so, and we've finally gotten it polished and cleaned up to the point where we feel pretty good about it. The goal of this app is to replace the lists that people keep of all the places they want to go, movies they've had friends mention, and books they want to read. Our goal is to try and make those lists a lot more actionable so people will actually do these things instead of just writing them down. Would love any feedback! https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/onmylist/id561225528?ls=1&mt=8
2012
- 6IO
2014 · github.com
- 7AF
I actually started it June 2011 to learn iOS, launched it in September, and have been steadily adding features and making improvements. It's something I use every day and I hope other people find it useful. Enjoy!
2012 · itunes.apple.com
- 8NM
Raising my hand as someone who's checked Settings > General > Software Update way too many times. I got tired of finding out about iOS updates from Twitter 6 hours after they dropped, so I built EarlyNotify. It's dead simple: the system watches Apple's firmware servers, and when a new iOS/iPadOS/macOS/watchOS/tvOS update hits, you get an email within 15 minutes. That's it. No app to install. No account dashboard. Just an email saying "hey, iOS 26.1 just dropped." It's free, open-source, no upsells, just notifications. Would love any feedback! Happy to answer questions…
Nov 2025 · earlynotify.com
- 9SI
Hey HN, one of the co-founders of Upmate here! We kicked off Upmate to scratch our own itch: keeping mobile app users in the loop about new features without messing around with native code. Our inspiration? The awesome WhatsNewKit [https://github.com/SvenTiigi/WhatsNewKit]. But we needed something more flexible—something that could be updated remotely. As mobile startup veterans, we've been burned too many times by ridiculous pricing plans and limitations. We were fed up with all the overpriced, restrictive options out there for in-app messaging. So, we built Upmate. Why?…
2024 · upmate.app
- 10IS
i built a heart rate zone training app for runners. ios + apple watch. custom zones, real-time haptics, post-run graphs. all the “smart” stuff you’d expect. but i never talked to a single runner before building it. not even myself lol. started as a thesis → kept building → added features → added a paywall (€4/month!) → launched it → and yeah… no one cared. zero feedback. zero users. just code in the void. i recently made the whole thing free. not trying to “sell” anything now — just seeing if it’s actually useful, and listening this time. curious how others handle this. ever build…
2025 · basamasa.github.io
- 11BA
It's created by two students from my town. They showed it to me and I thought it was pretty neat. I tried it out and helped them with their copy a bit and it seems to be an app that can do well. I'll pass your critique and praises to the founders when I see them this weekend. The website is http://buzzerping.com/
2016
- 12MT
Hi HN. I am not new to programming but very new to react-native. I thought I would share my first react-native application ever with HN for your comments. I have a day job as an enterprise developer and every day for 2 weeks I worked on my 60 minute bus ride in to work on this application from the front end to the back end. The biggest challenge was my relative inexperience with mobile development and my lack of design / ux creativity. The Android Play store submission was really easy however the Apple App Store submission took about 3 versions before it was accepted. Link to app on…
2015
- 13PN
We are excited to announce the launch of DealUps (www.dealups.mobi), a free iPhone app that lets you find deals you can use right here, right now. DealUps delivers hyperlocal, geographically targeted deals for over 18,000 restaurants and daily deal sites such as Groupon based on your current location. We leverage your current location and deliver passive notifications of relevant nearby deals, regardless of what you happen to be doing on your phone at the time. Download DealUps for free here: http://bit.ly/dealups In conjunction with our launch, we're giving away $250,000 in Restaurant.com…
2011
- 14SH
Hello, here's my first app on the App Store, a week end project I've made with a friend. I had the idea - questionable - and did the UI. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/instatus/id622077531?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D2 (there's also the free version) The concept it's pretty simple, share your thoughts on Instagram, only words on white background so it will seems that your words will float into your friends feed - I suggest to not use any filter! - got already some ideas for future upgrades. I'm giving away 3 code to get the full version, if you want one, just ask! Best, Filippo p.s. This message…
2013
- 15MN
I've spent around a year building a Facebook, Twitter, MySpace & LinkedIn iPhone app, which aside from the API hell, has been a pretty fun experience! I think it's turned out really nice. It's been a technical challenge to sync not only a single address book, but also your address books on all the social networks, but in hindsight, I'd do it all again. I'd love to know what HN think's of it, the app URL is: http://itunes.apple.com/app/friends-plus-facebook-twitter/id407846513?mt=8&ls=1 Here are some promo codes, not sure how long they will last: WPTA4M99L3YF MR39LWPTKNYT ME346Y3TPNY9…
2011
- 16LG
Hi! I'm a long-time Android dev and shorter-time iOS dev. I work on this cool project called Literal (https://www.literal.ai/devs). Demo available without any signup requirement: https://literal.ai/hn You can upload your own app recording or use a sample of the Calm app. Literal will map out the screens on an interactive canvas. I built Literal, because I often field a lot of questions from PMs and other folks about what the new app release looks like. I used to send out screenshots in Slack and manually document analytics events as well as what APIs were hit.…
2022 · literal.ai
- 17IG
Hey, I'm an iOS engineer who took on the seemingly mad task of creating a new grocery app in this day and age. Yes, there are plenty out there, but I promise there's a method to my madness. It's born out of a personal need – my wife would rattle off a list of things to buy, and I'd struggle to remember them all. She's not a fan of typing into apps or shared notes, and honestly, neither am I when it's about speed. The epiphany was that all existing grocery apps have an input problem. They're not catering to the way real people communicate about errands. So, I built HoneyDo to solve my own…
2024 · apps.apple.com
- 18IM
Hi, Sometimes I want to wrap an existing website into an Android app quickly so I made a service that does just that https://html2apk.com/ If you find it useful I'll be happy to hear about that, if you have any other comments/suggestions I'll be happy to hear about that too. 10x, Gilad
2019
- 19A2
Hi y'all! I am full stack web developer, and recently I started to mess around with Swift. I've been having a lot of fun and I actually build little Countdown app ( I know, how original..), but I just wanted to share it with the world!
2024
- 20IW
Hi everyone, after months of hard-working, I'm glad to have something to show HN. It's an iOS app to help you directly capture and intercept HTTP/HTTPS Traffic from your iPhone/iPad with ease. It's suitable for any developers who would debug iOS without needing a computer. You can also share all traffic to Proxyman macOS via AirDrop for better previewing. - Please join a beta in TestFlight (iOS 14+): https://testflight.apple.com/join/nQ69eb35 - How it works if you don't have any devices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpzpoTN8efM&feature=youtu.be…
2021
- 21QC
Hi, We are officially launched in pilot mode, with a couple local venues, but someone in the St. Louis area might get some use out of our app, and hopefully the rest of the world in a few short weeks. It is iphone only right now, but we will have the droid up and running in a week or so. This all started for us over a few drinks at a local bar's happy hour, our group was trying to decide where to go next, not having any ideas, and hearing someone blurt out "everyone knows that we are either going to X Y or Z, so lets just pick one and be on our way" just wasn't good enough. This got the…
2011
- 22IW
Hi all! Joe Masilotti here. After 2+ years my book, "Hotwire Native for Rails Developers", is finally available for sale. It contains everything I know about building, shipping, and maintaining iOS and Android apps with Ruby on Rails and Hotwire Native. Always with one simple goal in mind: making it easier for Rails developers to build mobile apps. The book teaches you how to: - Build your first Hotwire Native apps on iOS & Android - Add navigation, modals, and native tab bars - Mix in native screens and components - Send and route push notifications - Ship to physical devices via TestFlight…
Sep 2025 · amazon.com
- 23IC
Hi Everyone, I created a mobile app called Accumoo, and I would appreciate it if y'all can have a look, download and give me a favorable review. Lots of blood, sweat, tears and love went into this app, and I hope you LOVE it as much as I do - it's the app I always needed and wanted. Anyhow, I've been a Rails developer and Software Engineer for a long time, and this is my first stab at a mobile app. It's a "habit tracker" app on steroids that's just fun to use - syncs across devices, local-first architecture - and an easter egg game for good measure. Help a disabled vet out and give it a go.…
Jan 2026 · apps.apple.com
- 24RM
Hello HN! I just launched a new social iPhone game called "unun". It's like drawsomething but in a puzzle way. You can also animate your puzzle and message your friend during the game. Would definitely enjoy any feedback so I can make it better! Feel free to check out the demo video and download it from appstore. Demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8aPmDej65s Download: https://itunes.apple.com/hk/app/unun/id555254223?mt=8
2013
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