iPhone News Updated

Consumers speaking well of Yowza iPhone app

Consumers speaking well of Yowza iPhone app

Joe Hummrich, the brains behind 10th Wonder, the No. 1 fan podcast of the TV show “Heroes” (heroespodcast.com), admits he was impressed when he saved money on a microphone purchase by downloading the Yowza iPhone application.

“I’m not a coupon clipper, but it appealed to me because it was so easy,” said Hummrich, a Schaumberg resident, of the Yowza app.

Hummrich learned of Yowza by following tweets from the app’s co-creator, none other than “Heroes” TV star Greg Grunberg. The new season of “Heroes” starts Sept. 21 at 8 p.m. on NBC-TV.

The Yowza app searches stores in the shopper’s vicinity or as far as 50 miles away, and identifies coupons and savings. While Hummrich was on his way to buy the new microphone for his podcast, the app showed a couple coupons nearby. Hummrich said a 10-percent-off coupon at the Guitar Center store in Arlington Heights “was the most ideal for me.”

The coupon showed up on the iPhone, and the store clerk scanned it. Two people sitting behind Hummrich near the check-out overheard the transaction and started downloading the app to their phones.

Hummrich prefers applications that aggregate news, facilitate social networking and provide weather and other location-based tips.

“I like to know right away what’s going on,” he said.

The Yowza app shows off deals and lets shoppers keep tabs on their favorite bargains at a variety of local Chicago and national retail partners, including Manny’s Deli, Finish Line, Guitar Center, Kiehl’s, Loehmann’s, Sears and Sports Authority.

The Apple iPhone is credited with having more than 50,000 choices in its iTunes App Stores because Apple founder Steve Jobs allowed software developers to create applications. Smartphone applications for all types of phones, including the Blackberry and the Google Android, are believed to total more than 75,000 — some free, others requiring payment. Apps range from migraine diagnoses (iHeadache) to beer buying (BeerTime from MillerCoors) to grocery-shopping help (iFood Assistant from Northfield-based Kraft Foods) to booking restaurant reservations (OpenTable.com).

At the same time, mobile coupons — usually cell-phone text messages with discount codes — are becoming increasingly popular, with about 10 million digital coupons redeemed in the first half of the year, according to promotions-logistics firm Inmar, based in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Chicago-based start-up Appolicious Inc., launched Sept. 1 by Alan Warms, founder of RealClearPolitics.com and news aggregation site BuzzTracker and a former general manager of Yahoo News, helps people find the mobile applications that will be most useful to them. People who create a profile at Appolicious.com will get recommendations based on the apps they’ve already stored on their iPhone or iPod Touch, as well as on friends’ handhelds.

The site also offers user reviews, professional reviews, video demonstrations of apps, and a “hot” news feed of stories about apps.

Grunberg, who previously starred in TV shows “Alias” and “Felicity,” came up with the idea of the money-saving app because he and wife Elizabeth, parents of three sons ages 13 and under, are “budget conscious.”

“We never seemed to have the coupons with us or the time to clip them” when shopping, he said. The couple’s sons are Jake, 13; Ben, 9, and Sammy, “5 and three-quarters.”

Grunberg decided to mention his idea to two “rock stars” of the app world who he had met on Twitter — August Trometer and Rick Yaeger.

The app took four to six months to develop. Grunberg advises would-be app creators to make the app easy to use and works quickly.

Applications aren’t cheap. Grunberg’s cost “many tens of thousands of dollars” to bring to life.

Grunberg, a Los Angeles resident, has a soft spot for Chicago — his eldest son, who has epilepsy, had brain surgery last year at Rush University Medical Center that Grunberg said saved Jake’s life.

“Jake is 90 percent better. He’s a kid again,” Grunberg said, noting that his son had started having seizures prior to the surgery.

Grunberg leads a band of TV stars who play gigs to raise money for their favorite charities, including the charity for which he serves as national spokesman, the Epilepsy Foundation of America. Grunberg started a Web site for people dealing with epilepsy at TalkAboutIt.org. The band includes Grunberg on drums; “House” star Hugh Laurie on keyboards, and “Desperate Housewives” star James Denton on guitar. Singers include “Desperate Housewives” star Teri Hatcher and “Lost’s” Jorge “Hurley” Garcia.

“We’ve raised more than $2 million for charity,” he said.

Neil Strother, interactive marketing analyst at Forrester Research, said “app” users are still a fraction of iPhone and smart-device owners so there’s plenty of room for growth.

“It comes down to the experience. People can have fun, get things done and find benefits from these apps,” he said.

Strother said as smart phones gain greater speeds and capabilities, he foresees people surfing the Web on their phones as well as downloading apps, with both working to complement the other.

[Thanks: http://www.suntimes.com]