Mall Maps is one of the latest excellent and incredibly practical iPhone apps to be released from the MEDL Mobile stable. You may already be aware of their app incubator which brought us such previous apps as Rob Shoesmith’s Problem Halved which has been very succesful indeed.
The man behind Mall Maps, Shayne Faerber, kindly offered to fill us in on what exactly we can expect from his offering.

In case it isn’t immediately obvious from the title, what is Mall Maps and how does it work?
Mall Maps is an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch that contains over 1,000 U.S. Malls complete with their phone number, address, website, store list and floor plan map all in an easy to operate user interface that allows you to find out any information on the mall without leaving the application. Essentially, when fully complete, it will be every paper directory for every mall in the U.S. in your pocket. 

Why should anyone purchase Mall Maps?
Mall Maps is perfect for those who travel during the holiday season, or travel any time. There is no need to bring all your gifts on the plane with you. You can find a shopping location where you’re traveling to and plan out your shopping in advance. People who travel weekly for business can see shopping and dining destinations in unfamiliar cities. I’ve even heard from users who found a mall miles away from them that they didn’t even know existed. With Mall Maps you won’t have to wonder the malls aimlessly, walking back and forth many times to find all the stores you want to visit. And you won’t look like a tourist with a big paper directory opened up as you walk or standing behind a group of people who are all blocking the main directory.

How much does the app cost?
Mall Maps costs $2.99 in the iTunes AppStore.

How did you come up with the idea?
I would hate to go into a mall only to find that I am on the exact opposite of the side where I need to be. I like to be in and out with my purchase as fast as possible most of the time. And for the times when I do want to browse, I at least want to know a direction to go in. With Mall Maps I always know where to park, which entry to take and where to walk exactly to make my purchases.

Was it the first app idea you submitted to MEDL?
This is the first, of many, ideas that I submitted to MEDL Mobile. Initially they thought it was a great idea but were going to have to pass on it because they couldn’t commit enough time from their team to build the database as they are working on many apps. I told Dave Swartz (Medl MD) that I would take the time to build the database if my app would come to effect. Little did I know it would take me 6 months… I would like to work with MEDL more whether it’s another AppIncubator App or as a contracted App that I put the money up for myself.

How long did it take before you heard your app had been selected for development?
Luckily I submitted my idea to the AppIncubator soon after it’s launch in April 2009. I was immediately contacted regarding the database and after I showed my commitment to compile the data it was put into pre-development. It took MEDL about 19 days to code my App, but since I needed to build it’s database everything wasn’t complete until October 2009.

How have you been marketing the app?
I’ve created online social accounts such as Twitter and Facebook to acquire attention. I have also, along with MEDL Mobile, been emailing as many people as I can my story to have a chance to share it on some form of press. I’ve had about 30 unique pieces of press since Mall Maps has launched. It has all been very exciting! We are looking into creating viral videos to get some more exposure and currently I am trying to reach out to media on a national level.

Mall Maps is currently number one in the app store charts, can you say exactly how many purchases there have been?
We are the number one app in our category of reference apps. Apple does supply download and sales information but I have chosen to wait until the end of this current period to see the final numbers.

Do you have plans for any future versions, updates etc?
I already have an extensive list of great new features to include in an update. I do hope popularity continues to grow and we can make enough to re-invest into the App. I would also like to build a relationship with the major mall companies to allow us to share great exclusive deals for the users while keeping the database as up to date as possible.

FEATURES

• More than 1,000 Shopping centers across all 50 states
• GPS Location-based search – find all the malls around you
• Browse malls by state
• Detailed floor plan of every mall
• Store list with corresponding map numbers
• Favorites: Choose your favorite stores for quick access—automatically categorizes to their respective malls
• Address, phone number and URL of every mall
• Phone number of every store within mall profile
• Google Maps directions to every location

BENEFITS

• The mall’s entire floor plan and store list in the palm of your hand
• No more wasted trips
• Visiting friends or family for the holidays? Find the nearest plaza and arrive with the perfect gift!

Check TouchscreenFones again for more news on Mall Maps and other Medl Mobile applications…

We’re told by Rob that everyday brings increased attention and there are more media features on the way. You can follow Rob’s progress by checking back here at Touchscreen Fones and by following him on Twitter where his username is shoesmith81.

The Bin Man’s Bright Ideas…
 
My name is Robert Shoesmith and I’m a binman from Coventry, England, with bright ideas. I have a keen interest in iPhone apps and my series of blogs will outline my journey from bin man to having an app published in the iTunes app store.
So how did I get into this?  One day I was browsing the Apple app store on my iPhone and noticed a free app under the name of the app incubator. A company called Medlmobile had developed an application where you could think of an iPhone application idea and submit the idea to them.  If the idea is good enough they will build it and you will receive a 25% share of the profits.
Over a period of a few weeks I submitted some ideas to them.  To my amazement I received an email to say  they liked one of my ideas. The app idea then had to pass a series of tests before they gave me the green light to say my app was being passed to their development team to build.
In a little over 4 weeks I will see my app idea featured in the app store.  I’m so happy to think that there will be users out there who will want to use the application that I designed!
The Guardian newspaper, who are based in the United Kingdom were so keen on the whole concept that they contacted me requesting an interview.  This was featured in Thursday’s Guardian.
I have had a keen interest in web promotion for a number of years now but due to personal circumstances I had to take any job that was going.  In my case I have been working for Coventry City Council as a bin man (or refuse collector!) for about 5 years.
I can’t reveal the name of the app just yet as it’s still being built and feel that it’s such an original idea for the iTunes app store that I don’t want anyone to copy it before its release!  I will let everyone know what the app is very soon though.  It should be released within 4 weeks.
I have created a twitter account where you can also follow my journey with daily updates (follow me at shoesmith82) in addition to my blog .  I will be posting audio tweets and links to newspaper and online publications who have featured my story.

Yours

Robert Shoesmith 

Twitter:  shoesmith81
Guardian Article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/may/28/apple-iphone-app-developers
Blog: http://shoesmith81.xanga.com/weblog/

 So there you have it. It is possible to get an app into the iStore with no development knowledge at all! Don’t forget to check out Rob’s blog which will detail his journey and experiences of his exciting venture. Also keep checking back at TSF for more guest posts from Rob and indeed other worthy contributors!