Nine-Banded: App Edition

Earlier this month, “we officially launched our very first iPhone App”:https://www.armadillostudios.ca/the-people-power-app-hits-the-market/. Of course this was cause for much jubilation and celebration around the Team Armadillo offices. After almost three years on the sidelines of the app industry and “promoting the local app development community within Calgary”:http://www.yycapps.com, it was great to finally dip our toe into the playing field.

So in honour of first foray into the world of iOS App development, we are dedicating this week’s edition of *Nine Banded* to our some recent apps that have really caught our eye and one app that we’re incredibly excited to see launched.

1. Swackett

*Swackett* is an app that we stumbled upon during the “UX Ottawa Design conference”:https://www.armadillostudios.ca/armadillo-studios-takes-in-ux-camp-ottawa-iii/ earlier in October.

“Swackett is an iOS/Mac weather app”:http://www.swackett.com/ that visually tells users how to dress for the weather outside. Unlike many similar weather apps, Swackett uses a pretty basic (and somewhat humorous) visual design to get right to the point of the eternal question – _what is the weather like outside and do I need a coat_. Simplicity, versatility and a great user experience make this a must have for all our friends trapped in the Great White North.

2. Setlist

“Setlist”:http://www.gosetlist.com/ is an app developed by our good friends at “Medium Rare”:http://mrare.ca/mrare_cuts/setlist. The app which when tied into the ever popular social music app “Rdio”:http://rdio.com/ will pull your favourite artists and give you a list of upcoming concerts in a city based on your musical tastes.

Given how busy our lives are and how difficult it is to keep on top of the music scene on a daily basis, Setlist is a god send. Not only is it beautifully designed and simple, but the app is a great tool when looking for shows while traveling. If you’re heading to a city for a bit of a visit and wondering if there will be a show when you’re there, just fire up Setlist and add the new city – presto a list of shows that you might catch.

3. iHunter

Although we’re not avid hunters ourselves the guys at “iHunter”:http://www.ihunterapp.com/ have released a fantastic new app to help Alberta based hunters navigate the outdoors on that quest for the big prize.

Created by two really close friends of the company, Mark Stenroos and Gareth Burke, iHunter is a beautifully designed app that allows Alberta hunters access to a wealth of information and geodata to help in their excursions. The app has a received some great feedback recently and strong sales since launching a few weeks ago, so to honour such an impressive first run we thought we’d give them an epic shout out.

4. Castle Conflicts

It’s no secret that Team Armadillo is a sucker for some old school RPG action (“Kingdom of Loathing”:http://www.kingdomofloathing.com/login.php?loginid=dbbbe193ba2e40c99f3bfa614b0ed327 anyone?). It’s also not a secret that we are massive fans of the work of “Calgary iPhone game developer Broken Kings”:https://www.facebook.com/brokenkingsinc. So by that logic, it’s also no secret that we’re giddy with excitement for the release of Broken King’s sequel to their smash hit Castle Conflicts.

The team at Broken Kings have been leaking gorgeous screen art for the game on their Facebook page and because of which we’re sitting on pins and needles waiting for an official release date. The first Castle Conflicts was an exceptional game built on a shoe string budget, so we can only image what this rendition is going to be like.