The Kuwait International Airport released their official iPhone App earlier today. I have no idea why they bothered since it’s not a real application, it’s just a browser that loads up the actual web page. Check out the photo above, can you tell which is the app and which is the actual website? There is absolutely no benefit to the app over their mobile website, you don’t get flight notifications or any sort of added value features. So save yourself the trouble and just bookmark the actual airport website, it’s literally the EXACT same thing. I wonder how much the developers charged them for this… [Link]
Update: According to Frankom, the app cost KD17,850 to develop! [Link]
Update2: Turns out you actually do get flight notifications. So thats the only difference over the website as far as I can tell.
19 replies on “Official Kuwait International Airport App”
I just downloaded the app and found that it allows you to set notifications for flights as well as has native social media sharing features. No offences, however I suggest you do a little bit of research rather than simply copying/pasting from other sources.
Two things.
First of all I don’t understand why you’re being rude and accusing me of copying and pasting my post from another source. Could you please let me know where you think I copied this post from?
Secondly you are right about the fact that the app actually does have notification but the sharing feature is available in the app and the website.
I not being rude but rather trying to put facts here. Also there is a different in the way sharing works from the mobile website v/s the app. The app takes advantage of iOS’s built-in Facebook & Twitter integration (if you know what I mean) whereas the mobile website requires you to enter your credentials for Facebook/Twitter for sharing.
So where do you think I copied and pasted my post from?
Your blog post is nothing more than a translation of Frankom’s post (copy/translate/paste).
Then maybe you should talk to him since I posted before him at 11:32AM while he posted at 12:30PM.
Unfortunately neither of the two blogs show the actual time of the blog post (except for the comments).
Well beside the fact that he actually credits me in his post, you can check the time of the posts in the RSS feeds.
Hello sir
Thanks for your comment actually I have copied the article and referred to him as mentioned in my blog as (mark) has all the credit, I have added the fact of the cost which is around 18K kd
Thanks
Frankom
Frankom,
Are you being silly?
Or are you bragging of your coding skill?
Or are you simply naive?
The “cost” you posted is a contract value… it is not the cost of the coding itself. The cost of coding varies depending on how much the programming company labor cost. A more complicated software/app would require higher skills… thus higher labor costs.
A contract… would normally have different components in it. I am not an expert of coding and app marketing or buying… but a little common sense would tell you that a programming company or app creator would do the following:
1. plan/draft the app
2. code the app
3. run it
4. maintain it
Some companies would charge you for the plan itself (what the app/software does… and how it will work).
Other companies, especially those from abroad that are doing business in the region now aday, would do the software/app for you… and then you’d have your own IT to install it and run it on your system.
And finally of course… this is where probably most of the cost comes from…. maintaining the software. I don’t know about this contract, but most definitely there is a minimum of one year of maintenance agreement. It doesn’t matter if you say this is an up nothing can go wrong… this is a government body and they will always require technical support from the software provider in case something goes wrong. So 18,000 dinars is 1,500 dinars a month for the support/maintenance not that big especially if this software is the crown jewel which everyone is going to see and handle.
3azeez, thing is this isn’t an app in the sense that there wasn’t anything programmed here, it’s just the web page being displayed inside a window. So for 18,000 they didn’t really create anything and any maintenance would have to be done on the website not the app since the app just displays whatever is on the website.
3azeez,
i have replied to your comment in my blog 🙂 have a good day.
Regards,
Frankom
Hi mark. I’m pretty sure the 17K is the cost of developing the entire web app (the web page basically) and not just the iOS app itself as that wouldn’t make sense. I’m not sure though.
that would make more sense if that was the case
What I think happened was that the Scope of Work that the airport people put together said something and contractually it meant something else. You see, contracts are governed by their Scope of Works (SOW). If the SOW is detailed then the contractor hired is strapped and knows exactly what he is asked of to do for the price he’s bid. BUT…if the SOW is weak and just says something like “Make nice app.” and the details aren’t specified in the contract in writing. The contractor can be like “Ok listening to what you’re saying and what I understand you want…it’ll cost you 17k”. Emphasis on the word listening.
Now, the contractor isn’t stupid. Words don’t mean jack if they ain’t in writing. Maybe (just maybe) the contractor could of seen the weak contract/scope then giggled and facepalmed a little. And put this little gem of an app together for the price of what they failed to ask for in the SOW.
This is a hypothetical scenario of course. But not impossible. We have a saying, “Your project is only as good as your scope”. Poor unspecific SOW = Poor expensive late project.
tl;dr: the app looks better than the airport.
There is nothing wrong with how they went about creating the app. In the long run it is much more practical for daily operational updates. Lets not turn this into an FWP and enjoy it for what it is.
As for the 18k price tag, this is fairly reasonable if it includes support & maintenance. I get to review contracts 3 folds that amount for similar work in the region for larger corporates and gov bodies.
Hybrid apps (HTML5 + a wrapper) are becoming the norm for enterprise applications. For sure, native apps are so much smoother and nicer looking, but they are too time consuming to maintain, because there are too many devices with different specifications and screen sizes.
The other complaint is the cost of the app. 18k KD is very reasonable, but uninformed people expect that IT companies run a baqqala, ignoring the fact that they have to pay for office spaces, pay salaries for IT and non IT staff, constantly train their people, and keep their shareholders happy. So no, it’s not simply a matter of paying a couple of Indian programmers 500kd and they will get the job done. People who actually believe this have a very shallow understanding of how to run an IT business.
I have to disagree with you here, there aren’t too many devices, iOS is iOS and what runs on an iphone 3G will run on a 5S its not the same as Android. Secondly if the cost is actually 18,000KD then it’s 18,000KD for just a wrapper which is absurdly expensive. Doesn’t matter if they have salaries and rent, you can’t expect to make it all back with one job and a simple one at that. You don’t need to even build a wrapper there are templates you can download and edit, takes no time at all to get it setup.
The app was also released on Android
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dgca.gov.kw&hl=en
The challenge with any multiplatform app is to have a consistent look across all screen sizes. If one is making an app for the iOS only, this would not be an issue, but the days of iOS dominance are over, and if you want to maximise your reach, then you have to make apps for all devices and all screen sizes. HTML5 with responsive design does a good job at this, thus you are seeing more apps that are HTML5 in a wrapper.
Regarding the cost, you are still thinking in terms of some freelancer doing some job for a fixed amount. This is not the case when it comes to dealing with government entities. First, government entities must deal with companies through a long tendering process. They cannot simply ask a freelancer to do a job. It’s illegal. Bidding companies must write proposals, do presentations and be reference checked before they win a contract. The actual development might be only a small part of project. During the project, companies must do things like setup development environments, write status reports, write documentations and design documents, perform rigorous testing, attend meetings, make presentation after presentation to management, expect that management might ask for changes and new features, and of course, provide support… and in the meantime, pay for all the logistical things I mentioned in my original post… and these are only things from the top of my head.
So, don’t expect companies to bid for government tenders for anything less, because it then becomes not worth it.