Designing A Cigar App....

[WYPirate]

My friend and I are going to be building a Web-based application for use on the iPod/iPhone that will database cigars, Habanos, and Non-Habanos. It will be web-based so PC/Mac users will also be able to benefit from it. What we are going to try to do is have first, a general database on cigars (ring size, gauge, country of origin, origin of filler, wrapper, binder, etc, with an image of a band (genuine band in the case of Habanos)). We'd also like to have a feature to allow the user to rate their own cigars on a 100pt scale, and add notes that could be uploaded to a server that could be read by others.

An online, private "vHumi" would also be a considered feature. The user would have the ability enter the cigars in their humidor into the online database. One could then keep track of what's in their humi, along with scores, notes, etc.

We realize there is no way we can do this all on our own. We are planning on building a foundation of cigars into the app's database, and allow users to contribute, growing the database. Here is where FOH members can help.

What would you like to see in such an app?

If cost is kept low, would you use this app?

Any input is welcomed and appreciated. Post it to this topic, or PM me.

[n2advnture]

Check this out:

http://www.cigarregister.com/

[Tampa1257]

Sounds like Mark has already answered your question; but if not, then I believe you are trying to re-invent the same application that cigarregister has already covered.

As to cost, when a good application is already free to use, why would someone spend money they don't need to spend when they could spend it on additional cigars?

[WYPirate]

Good points. As to cigarregister.com, it is not an iPod/iPhone app, and the software won't run on them. What we propose will. As to cost, .99 is pretty much the price point we were shooting for.

[El Presidente]

Gut feel is that you would have a product which would be taken up by about 2% of the cigar web community. Almost impossible to determine the size of that community but I would factor in about 50,000 active members(it is growing at around 15% per annum). Growth markets will be China, India, Middle East. Personally I believe that to take full advantage to market growth it will need to be multilingual covering Spanish, English, German, Italian, French, Simplified/traditional Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, Hindi, Arabic.

Just my 2 cents

[craigos]

Not to mention the limited market pentration of the iPhone. It may appear 'popular' but it owns very little of the mobile device (3-5%). And you need to know how many cigar smokers own iPhones -- the opportunity shrinks to an uninteresting one.

Consider Robs point of localization - each language you gotta factor in 10-25K to translate and rebuild/test.

Gut feel - not real feasible. Am in Microsoft so look at this stuff all the time.

[craigos]

Oh by the way - how does the customer get the software? Only way to get software onto an iphone is via the apple store - they take 70% of revenue (standard contract) and it doesnt matter - they wont approve a cigar app - they are way too politically correct.

[SamuraiJack]

Make the database platform agnostic, then write apps on top of it for any platform, start with web interface that has templates for mobile browsers.

[WYPirate]

Make the database platform agnostic, then write apps on top of it for any platform, start with web interface that has templates for mobile browsers.

That's what we're looking at. We didn't want the make the app solely for the iPhone/iPod Touch. We wanted to make it iPod capable, otherwise the app would be too "fat and clunky" if it ran only on the device. It would work similar to iphone.foodnetwork.com

[GoSteelers]

Good luck, I love me some aps.

[SethG]

Good luck, I love me some aps.

Hmmmm.... first of all make it free and put the Google banner on top or create your own ad banner and sell to all of the legitimate sources. You'll get more revenue from that then charging, check out AroundMe to see that people are now refusing money in exchange for advertising.

Second, it's a mobility app, don't try and keep a list of someones cigars because they'll already know what they have, that's a lot of work to require the user to do a lot of work and then you'll need to constantly update the available cigar types.

Use multiple tabs, on the first do a news feed on the latest Habanos products plus domestics (based on settings).

On the second tab do a list of all the available cigars on the markets along with MSRP's or cigarcyclopedia average pricing. In settings you can eliminate certain brands. Use pictures.

Third tab have current specials by source, they all have them, pull them from their website and encourage them to send you the specials as RSS feeds in the future. (you might want to restrict this to approved members I suppose if you're afraid of overpublicizing sources). You can also make this on by default in all foreign countries and then off without permission for the US. That'll keep the Customs from getting pissy, Apple divides products by country if you need.

Fourth tab, do a google maps connector to LCDH stores worldwide, you can store the locations locally and update them through the normal process, that will make them work in countries with no phone access.

Fifth tab, known good box codes, plus official vitola sizes and pictures of each official band close up (good for amateurs in foreign cities)

Sixth tab, links to the main forums, clicky and opens up in safari.

Add a feature to email a news article, special or specific cigar listing so you can send them to friends.

I've been toying around with the idea of making a simple device to monitor the temp/humidity of a few different humidor probes and then post it continually to a web site. Something cheap, think 20-50 bucks in parts that I could give out to my buddies and/or give them the schematics to get produced by those companies that do students kits (i.e. I'm looking for a new FPGA project, not something I want to be selling) If you want I could probably build the thing to post to your application site with the username so that you could add a different tab for users to continually check their humidty when bored and track max/min values.

[WYPirate]

SethG, excellent post! This is what we are looking for, definitely to be added to the whiteboard. Charles (the web dev), and I will be doing some sit downs over CCs and scotch to start hammering out more of the planning stages soon. Thanks all!

[SethG]

No Problem,

I was thinking that you might also want a tab for user-nominated good spots to smoke. Checkout the way trapster let's you drop pins for the four types of speedtraps. Do the same thing with places you can smoke and let the guy name it (i.e. the name of the spot) and then throw in a few lines like a review.

Example: drops a pin in old town San Diego and titles it "Churchills" then description is: cigar shop with a patio, they are cool with you bringing in your own smokes and you can order a glass of wine (advised). It's outdoor with good views of local talent.

Then code them a color by how many people "agree" with this statement.

I always find the hardest thing when I'm away from home is finding a place to sit down and smoke a cigar with my buddies. Even in Vegas, I ended up heading back to Casa Fuente twice just because all the Casinos were cracking down and I couldn't find an okay lounge to smoke at. And that place is nowhere you want to smoke regularly anyway, because it's in a mall.