I am the creator of the iPhone Reddit app (Alien Blue, not iReddit). AMA

lobster280zx

I'm responding to you using Alien Blue from an iphone4 and I love your program. I've been using it about a month now and absolutely love it. I use it in night mode all of the time, I find it visually pleasant. Thank you for your time and commitment, you made one helluvan app.

pobody

I was not aware of this app until I saw this post. I downloaded it to check it out, and I'm very impressed with the interface. You had me at the comment collapse.

I'll play with it a bit more but at this point I expect to shell out for the Pro version.

wombtotombillwhinge

Hey I downloaded your app today after reading this AMA. Just wanted to say I've already deleted ireddit as I find your app to be super functional, and it's use intuitive. Also, the way you appear to be listening to feedback is mighty impressive. Those of us who aren't so techno-savvy need more devs like you!

covercash

I'd love the 'pull page down to manually refresh' option like Twitter for iPhone (formerly Tweetie) has

SingleDad23

I just wanted to say I really enjoy your app. I've used it most of the day today to post replies to my IAMA and it's worked flawlessly. I also have iReddit installed but I prefer this.

TheBlahrg

What's the difference between ireddit and your app? Why is your app better?

whychromosome

Fuck, I've had my 2G for two years and I've been using iReddit. Now that I'm about to switch to Android, I find this incredible iPhone app?

PhanTom74

Thank you

slap_bet

I just wanted to say that after reading this thread, I went out and upgraded to pro. Have 2 dollars! You've earned it!

hypnoguy1

Just downloaded the free app. Dude, holy awesome. Why am I only finding out about this now? great work.

BorderlineAmazing

Other than your wife and maybe a coworker or two, does anyone IRL know that you made this app? Even better, have you ever heard someone discuss the app without knowing that you developed it?

isaystupidstuff

Bought it at work today and love it. I have used iReddit for a long time now, wish I knew about this earlier.

mocean64

Major props, love the app.

InsightfulLemon

AlienBlue was the first reddit app I found for the iPhone, and only one i've needed.

omdoks

blah.... it sounds like you are gonna stick around for awhile.

guess i'll go pro.

ratbastid

As an iPhone developer full time for the last three months, I'm always curious on a professional level when I use apps.

What third party frameworks do you use? I assume you use Stig Brautaset's JSON framework? Do you use (the staggeringly brilliant) ASIHTTPRequest library? I just discovered the userInfo property of the ASIHTTPRequest object--saved me a BUNCH of trouble when I've got more than one type of request happening in a single UIViewController.

J-mak

You should consider adding the little animated reddit alien to your app, it's the only reason I still use iReddit.

zingbat

Thank you. I never heard of this App. So far I had been using the iReddit app for the past year. Its Ok, but it has some issues.

Now that I found your app, I'm a happy user. Thanks again!

doublementh

Why is your app millions of times better than the official one? I absolutely love it. Can't wait for the retina display updates.

marry me?

robotthink

Where did you learn Objective C and iPhone app development? I'd be curious if there are resources you would recommend.

Divergence

Sir you are my hero

conceptualworm

Is alien blue your first app? If so what was it like learning how to develop for the iphone.

Will7357

This is a wonderful app! I use it on my phone everyday. It's nice to "meet you". Glad to see wonderful devs make a solid app!

chriscrowder

Hi-res icon and menu for iPhone 4 users?

just_lurkin_here

oh my god this is effin awesome! i've been suffering with the crappy ireddit app lately, I was trying to swith to the reddit web app but it lacked some features, but this is great!

I'm trying this for a couple of days, and I'm definitely upgrading to Pro if it pleases me.

sirreally

Replying from your app which I just downloaded. It's incredible - thanks and congratulations!

Xentreos

Just bought the pro because you impressed me by being very responsive to everyone's suggestions :). I have had one or two crashes in the past, I'd be happy to email you the log.

The tilt-scrolling is quite nice actually, I like it. My only complaint I can think of is that if you're reading and scrolling through with it, the screen can turn off. I'm not sure if it's possible to have the scrolling reset the screen dimming timer or not, but if it is that would be great.

herropoobear

hooray, it rocks!!

AwkwardQuestionGuy

So... Are you going to make a Reddit app for the Palm Pre?

jonnysuave

Love this app. What is your background as far as programming goes, and how did you get into iPhone dev? Sorry if this has been asked already, about to peruse this thread right now.

hudsonshell

I just saw it yesterday on my buddy's phone and it looks really really great. I love the "night mode". I wish i could change it to look like that on my laptop. So yeah, well done!

infinite

Any tips for someone who has done some android coding but wants to dive into ipad/iphone development? I know c/c++ well, and in 29 minutes I should have OS X installed on my laptop.

ditoa

I installed Alien Blue the other day after reading another post. Before then I had used iReddit and was happy but Alien Blue has a nicer overall user experience IMHO. I bought it after one day :)

Catatafish

Thank you for making Alien Blue!

roger_sterling

TIL there's another reddit app called Alien Blue it's awesome. Great work.

ibah

technically the Alien is white... soo

wufather

First off I have to say I love AlienBlue and the updates you did blew my mind! I use it everyday and it has been a pleasure doing so. I don't really have any complaints but I do have a feature request if I may.

When entering in a subreddit name, would it be possible to have a list of previous entries created for quick retrieval? This would be a tremendous help as I don't keep most of the reddits I visit in my home screen list.

Also, is it possible to save an image from the app or do we have to open them up in safari every time?

punkdigerati

I just tried it out because of this post. And I don't think I will use it again. My grievances are as follows:

No way to tell which links I had visited, no color change or mark
No way to be sure I had clicked a link, no animation or color change when I had pressed on any button or link. Made it difficult to tell if I had hit the right thing with my fat fingers

Other than that it's a gorgeous app, it's clean looking, fast and has features that I wish were in iReddit. But I can't use it to browse reddit effectively, at least for me. Really need the interactive feedback on a touch screen device

InsightfulLemon

How do you view your Karma by the way? :)

smpx

Is there any kind of competition or animosity between you and the iReddit folks? There was a call for arms with iReddit a few days ago asking for people to pitch in, do you predict that there might be tension down the road?

How have the new multi-tasking options affected your work?

Did you have to develop a new version for iPhone 4 (resolution difference)?

kazamm

How much money did you make out of the pro version? How many hours did you put into it? Is this your main source of income?

SuperficialJerk

I've been meaning to get in touch with you. I have used your app before...works very well, except for one thing: what I don't like about it is that if there is an external link it doesn't show that it's going to imgur.com or cnn.com, etc....like reddit does.

So its a bit of a toss up when I click on a link...not sure where it'll take me.

Can you please add that functionality?

iOutcast

How much is the pro version? it says I cant make posts without the pro version =/ what does it cost? I am poor, so I need to know

Can you just make an ad supported version of the pro free?

AwesoMeme

Do you have any idea how much I hate "free" apps that have "In App Purchases?"

Nice program but I'm so sick of that unclever marketing ploy.

alienblue

[deleted]

InsightfulLemon

Just wondering how AlienBlue HD is coming along and if it will get the Pro upgrade from normal AlienBlue? :)

alienblue

[deleted]

fliptonic

Have you ever thought about making a blackberry app?

bluesmojo

How does Alien Blue get its information from Reddit? Is there an API that you call? If you wanted to create an iPhone app for, say, 4Chan or the SomethingAwful forums, would that be possible? I've always wondered who those websites don't have an iPhone app, as they're a pain in the ass to navigate from a phone.

Edalgo

Awesome job with Alien Blue. This is what a reddit app would function like if Apple made a reddit app. My only complaint is that you have to pay for the upgrade in order post topics. Not that big a deal, but I don't like the idea of paying to use reddit. However it is only $1.99, but I wonder if you could possibly throw in some ads on the free version to allow those who haven't upgraded to post topics. Maybe three levels (free, w/ ads, upgrade without ads). Anyways great job man.

wowbobwow

I just had to join the ranks of folks who've been using iReddit for months, noticed this thread, downloaded Alien Blue, and have now dumped iReddit. Awesome job!

duke420

Alien blue is amazing i use it all the time. best reddit app out there.

ChrisDN

I was initially not a fan and posted some of the things I considered flaws along with many others in your first or second post about it. When I saw how serious you were taking the suggestions and tried it again, my word, so great to actually be listened to.

I've been using it ever since.

As this is an AMA, I have one further question/suggestion. When I'm browsing around and then read a post, when I go back to the main list, it always takes me back to the top and I have to scroll my way back down to find where I was. Any chance you could consider having it save where you were?

madmosche

I am using Alien Blue on an iPhone on Edge network (crappy area, no 3G) and it is still fast! I love your app! Thank you so much for putting in the time to develop this great app. I recommend it over the other reddit app or the reddit mobile site.

adelz7

Thank You Very Much Good Sir

mispelt

I'm posting from Alien Blue right now! Just came to say thanks for the app!

ehsteve23

I just want to say that it's a great app, i paid for the pro version. I love the multiple account handling, subreddit switcher, pretty much everything.
I haven't tried iReddit to compare, but AB is good enough that i don't have to.

Oh right... question, what is your favourite colour?

MyDoppelganger

I just downloaded Alien Blue and from now on, it will be my primary reddit app. It's a very sexy looking app, indeed.

alienblue

[deleted]

angrybearD

Please please please make an android app that is better than reddit is fun.

fourletterword

I've just played around with it a bit, and it seems really good.

I don't think I understand it entirely yet, a small help would be good (I know, no one likes writing help files...).

Also, how do you log out of reddit once you've entered your account? I couldn't find how to do this.

Otherwise, give it a search function for the current page and it's perfect.

funk_king

Very well done. Excellent job. What kind of event queueing did you use for upvoting, comments, etc. I love how at no point does the network data block the GUi.

iOutcast

possible for any other color schemes other than stock and dark?

Tendeafears

The only problem I've had with that app is that the times on comments usually just say 0 mins ago, and that drives me nuts. Otherwise, great app. Thanks.

florinandrei

Do I absolutely have to own an Apple computer to try my hand at writing iPhone apps? If yes, what's the best way to get one (eBay?) and how much would it cost? (assuming it's not a piece of junk worthless for learning iPhone development and it will not be used for anything else)

If no, what are the alternatives? OS X in VirtualBox on Linux?

What's a standard minimal dev environment (software)? Does it cost anything?

Nidorino

First of all, thank you very much for making this wonderful app. I'm a pro-user.

I do have some suggestions for future releases:

It would be awesome if alienblue stored the subreddit pictures so they didn't have to reload every time.
When you're looking at the frontpage, it'd be nice to have the subreddit name and submitter in a slightly different color.

For example, first thing on the page:

Your life is empty (5 hours)

[477] funny by dontvote

It'd be nice if "funny" was one color, and the next submission, say, something from r/pics, "pics" in a different color. That way I could scroll down the page and everything from the same subreddit is easily picked out.

strawcat

Just wanted to say, keep up the good work. Your app is awesome and it makes browsing reddit on my phone a breeze. Thanks!

i_was_like_um

I really like the app and use it all the time. Thanks! Is it possible to add a screen lock so the screen doesn't flip around all the time when you're not sitting up and still? I like to browse reddit from my hammock.

SaladFork

When will we see an iPad version? :D

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