The iBeer app is an example of how an ingenious idea can make an app developer a millionaire in no time. His idea of simulating that we drink beer thanks to the iPhone’s accelerometer caused a stir in 2008.
On a technical level, iBeer is very simple: the accelerometer detects the inclination that the beer should show , and even if we shake the mobile, to generate foam. Something that is not surprising today, but when the original iPhone came out it was very striking.
The idea came from Steve Sheraton, who was really a professional magician, but had already experimented with apps, such as one that simulated having a coffee on a Palm Pilot mobile . Using beer was more fun, and with the iPhone’s big screen it looked better.
Before the App Store opened, I was already selling $2.99 videos that simulated drinking beer on mobile, although they weren’t interactive, so they required synchronization. Sheraton had also done special effects in the past, so the result was very eye-catching.
The surprise is that Apple itself wanted to have iBeer in the app store , and contacted Sheraton. iBeer was very viral, and it helped to show that the capabilities of the iPhone went far beyond other phones of the time.
The beer-drinking app launched for $2.99 at the time, with its creator earning between $10,000 and $20,000 a day from downloads. Currently iBeer is free, it generates income with ads, but you can pay to change the drink for milk, soft drinks, or wine, among others.
Sheraton became a millionaire, and his expensive lifestyle helped make iBeer more popular. However, he now admits that things were not going as well as they seemed: he was an alcoholic at the time , spending the money he earned on unnecessary luxuries.
He even started a legal battle with iPint, another app that mimicked his idea of drinking beer on the iPhone. He no longer works directly at iBeer, and has licensed the rights to Hottrix. Sheraton’s company was the one that managed all of its success, but its founder is no longer directly involved.
On the contrary, the American has moved to a small town in Spain , and does not act as a professional magician anymore. He is dedicated to developing apps for wizards, a small niche where it is very unlikely that he will achieve big totals again.
The history of iBeer demonstrates the potential and risks of a good idea , something as simple as drinking beer on the mobile made its creator a millionaire, but it did not help him much in his personal life.
- Download iBeer for iPhone / iPad
Via: Mel
