Propeller
Dev tools
mobile app builder
SHOW HN2012
126points
37comments
#156of 1,677 in 2012
Top 10%of 2012 by points
How HN took it
DebatedReal support and real criticism
8 positive, 8 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 9 critical, out of 28 comments about the project. Thread score +0.04.
Idea: 3 for, 2 againstDesign: 3 for, 1 againstDocs: 0 for, 3 againstExecution: 0 for, 2 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Landing page and demo are clear and easy to understand
From 3 comments
This is probably the best landing landing page for any product I've seen in a while, if not ever. I immediately had a good idea of what the product does, how it works and how…
tikhonj on HNThe signup page is indeed Very Good, and I didn't even realize that I could actually drag and drop things until I read this comment and went back. So, for that, thanks! If any of…
bmelton on HNI love the short effective intro copy and animation. To nitpick a bit though, the font-size animation on your h2 heading is a bit clunky in Chrome, since Webkit rounds font-size…
peterjmag on HN
Useful for small businesses and DIY users
From 1 comment
Small Biz is screaming for this type of thing. A lot of diy'ers that will learn how to use a tool, but not how to code. nice one, signed up for the beta, can't wait to try it.
nickler on HN
Objections
Limited to iOS; no Android or Windows support
From 4 comments
I think I know the answer to this already but, just to be sure, can this be used to create Android apps, or is this IOS-only?
zupreme on HNI found it pretty strange that there was no mention at all of the OS this targeted.
andybak on HNThanks for the feedback! We want (and plan) to have some type of free tier, but we don't have enough data to announce anything concrete yet. It's probably better to wait on that…
10char on HNI would use a free version with ads for yourselves after a certain amount of elements are used. Also, is there any way these apps will compile on a Windows machine? I don't need…
coolnow on HN
Claims of native apps overreach what the tool can build
From 1 comment
I wish the overreaching claims were more honest. In reality tools like this are focussed on a particular subset of application types. For example you couldn't make space invaders…
rogerbinns on HN
Crowded market with many competitors
From 2 comments
I signed up and will be eager to try. However, you have a lot of competition, so I'll really be looking for some big differentiators. Good luck!…
binxbolling on HNGood luck but beware - there are quite a few of these products, and so far none are successful. I think this is because they are trying to solve the "lowering the barrier to…
haihaibye on HN
Signup form broken in some browsers
From 2 comments
The email sign-up doesn't work on IE 8 :-(
gadders on HNIt didn't work for me on Firefox as well kept saying: Something went wrong :( Refresh and try again Refreshed, tried again, same thing.
lem72 on HN
Requests
Clarify pricing and target platforms on the landing page
From 2 comments
The landing page IMO is missing a few important pieces of information: - this will not be free post-beta but there's no mention of pricing at all - the text says 'native' but not…
BillSaysThis on HNI found it pretty strange that there was no mention at all of the OS this targeted.
andybak on HN
Show that the demo is limited relative to the full builder
From 1 comment
You might want to consider making it clear that there is more than the demo shows. The demo is great but I was under the impression that I was looking at the full version and…
todd3834 on HN
Add Android support
From 1 comment
I think I know the answer to this already but, just to be sure, can this be used to create Android apps, or is this IOS-only?
zupreme on HN
Add tab bar support
From 1 comment
This looks very cool, I'm not seeing any TabBar support though.
tehwebguy on HN
Questions
How does a native app update instantly when edited
From 2 comments
How it is native, yet instantly shows any changes you make to all of your users?
miles_matthias on HNI'm betting everyone gets basically the same vanilla app and then the interface you're using generates a property list (similar to XML) that provides the configuration that the…
jackhlaw on HN
What is the business model and how far along is it
From 2 comments
Tons of questions: 1) How far along are you? 2) Pricing Ideas? 3) Target Market? 4) Funded at all? 5) Any available apps built with it yet? 6) "Store the data you care about".…
lbotos on HNYou have only a couple elements to drag on your landing page (killer landing page demo BTW) -- but how many more elements will you have? Transitions/new pages/ maps? etc... The…
samstave on HN
Alternatives named
Appsify.me
From 1 comment
Well done! I signed up for your beta. I am on the verge of paying $99 for Appsify.me. They have a web based builder tool and claim to generate code for XCode to compile while…
ablefire on HN
ShoutEm
From 1 comment
ShoutEm [1], a Croatian startup, is doing pretty well in this area. And it's actually quite powerful when you dig into it. [1] http://www.shoutem.com/
dsirijus on HN