A musical hit for the iPhone

March 26, 2009 By John Boudreau

The iPhone is many things - business device, gaming console, instant-messenger buddy. Ge Wang turned it into a flute.

The Stanford University assistant professor, who specializes in music and computer science, co-founded Smule, a Menlo Park, Calif., apps development startup with his friend Jeff Smith. Wang, 31, whose passion is "laptop orchestra," an ensemble that creates music from computers, said he has his dream job.

But last year, he and Smith, a successful entrepreneur who is getting his doctoral degree in music at Stanford, decided to launch a startup after Apple announced it was going to open an iPhone .

One of the 99-cent programs the company created hit iPhone pay dirt. Ocarina, a virtual flute - users blow into the device's microphone - has garnered nearly $1 million. It was an instant hit, becoming the No. 1 paid program on the App Store four days after it was offered in early November. Three weeks later, it held the top spot in 20 other countries.

Such success stories, though, are rare, said Jeff Scott, founder of 148Apps.com, a San Francisco Web site that reviews iPhone apps.

"I talk to a lot of developers," he said. "Some of them who have three or four apps on the store are thinking they can make a living at it. But they aren't going to get rich. They get a chance to do something they enjoy and work for themselves."

And as the store gets more crowded - Scott reports there are now 27,000 programs listed on the App Store - it's exceedingly difficult for an unknown developer to get noticed.

Wang, though, helped create a global sensation. Smule markets the virtual flute with a video of Ocarina players performing "Stairway to Heaven." Fans post their own Ocarina performance videos on .

"It's just people expressing themselves," he said. "I'm trying to unlock their creativity."

The accidental entrepreneur added, "If there had been no iPhone or App Store, there would be no Smule."

___

(c) 2009, San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.).
Visit Mercury Center, the World Wide Web site of the Mercury News, at http://www.bayarea … /mercurynews
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.


Rank 5 /5 (1 vote)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • How to tilt a object
    created13 hours ago
  • How to calculate total compressibility in liquid porous solid system
    created18 hours ago
  • Need help reading 3-D
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • A way to send and receive wireless data
    createdFeb 11, 2012
  • Calling function with no input argument
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • Force free body diagram problem on gym equipment
    createdFeb 10, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

Ethanol mandate not the best option

Many people are willing to pay a premium for ethanol, but not enough to justify the government mandate for the corn-based fuel, a Michigan State University economist argues.

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created 51 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Teaching teens safety in the virtual world

A new cyber safety program on the dangers of social networking is being developed by Flinders University, in light of an alarming report which shows children as young as 12 are meeting internet strangers in ...

Technology / Internet

created 29 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Darpa to develop mobile millimeter-wave backhaul networks

Providing high-bandwidth communications for troops in remote forward operating locations is not only critical but also challenging because a reliable infrastructure optimized for remote geographic areas does ...

Technology / Telecom

created 43 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Building a 'blind-friendly' Internet

Rakesh Babu demonstrates how a blind person uses the Internet.

Technology / Internet

created 1 hour ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Microsoft India retail site down after 'cyber attack'

Microsoft said Monday it was investigating an attack by hackers on its Indian retail website, reportedly carried out by a Chinese group called the "Evil Shadow Team."

Technology / Internet

created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Transforming galaxies

(PhysOrg.com) -- Many of the Universe's galaxies are like our own, displaying beautiful spiral arms wrapping around a bright nucleus. Examples in this stunning image, taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 on ...

'Smart' microcapsules in a single step

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new, single-step method of fabricating microcapsules, which have potential commercial applications in industries including medicine, agriculture and diagnostics, has been developed by researchers ...

A continent ablaze in auroral and manmade light

The North American continent is literally set ablaze in a confluence of Auroral and Manmade light captured in spectacular new videos snapped by the astronauts serving aboard the International Space Station ...

Nanostructured electrodes for rechargeable sodium-Ion batteries

Highly efficient 3V cathodes for rechargeable sodium-ion batteries have been developed by users from Argonne National Laboratory's Materials Science, Chemical Sciences & Engineering, and X-ray Sciences Divisions, ...

New tumor suppressor gene identified

A recent study published in Clinical Cancer Research suggests that the protein hVps37A suppresses tumor growth in ovarian cancer. The work, which was funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF, shows, for th ...

A lost world? How zooarchaeology can inform biodiversity conservation

A new study of tropical forests will provide a 50,000-year perspective on how animal biodiversity has changed, explored through an archaeological investigation of animal bones.