We here at MacTrast are big believers in encouraging young programmers who are getting their feet wet in the iOS App Store ecosystem. So, when a new iPhone weather app that was written by a 17-year old student in Brooklyn, NY came to our attention, we knew we’d have to find out more about both the app, and the programmer.
Michael Mamiye recently graduated High School, and is starting his first year of college this fall. While he has always loved technology, he only recently got interested in iOS app development. He used a combination of YouTube videos, Google searches, and good old fashioned diligence to teach himself how to develop his first app.
Michael started out with simple apps, like any new programmer does, but early on he felt the need to challenge himself. He decided to learn how to build a quality app that could use a 3rd-party API to pull information from a source and display it in the app.
The resulting app is “Forecast – Beautifully Simple Weather“. Michael’s app is a simple, yet beautifully designed weather app that does one thing, and one thing well, it tells you the current and upcoming weather conditions for the locales you select from within the app.
I know what you’re thinking, there are hundreds of weather apps available via the App Store, in addition to the perfectly serviceable one that comes built-in to iOS. This is true. However Michael’s app is an amazingly solid effort from a first time developer.
Forecast is a simple and elegant app that presents the weather information for your area in an easy to read, quickly referenced format.
If this was a full review, we’d be giving a rating on the app, and I’d have to lean towards 3.5 out of 5 stars. While performing the same utility as numerous other apps, the information supplied is presented in a simple and beautiful manner.
I’ll be keeping Forecast on my iPhone for the near future, which is about as long as any app remains on my device, app crazed fiend that I am.
At $0.99, Forecast is perfectly acceptable as an impulse purchase, even if you already have a favorite iOS weather app. And who knows, maybe your dollar will contribute to this young man’s college education, and could lead to who know’s what great apps in the future.
Michael says he’s working on a new project that he claims is really pushing his limits, and promises to share it with MacTrast readers as soon as it’s ready for prime time.
If you’d like to follow Michael’s progress, his Twitter handle is: @MCM_Apps.
We can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.
Forecast – Beautifully Simple Weather is available for the iPhone in the App Store for $0.99. [DIRECT LINK]
If you’re an app developer who recently got an app approved for the App Store, be sure to contact me at chris@mactrast.com. Tell me all about your app, and yourself. Perhaps we can feature you on MacTrast sometime in the near future.
