One of the reasons Brain Tuner, Whiteboard, and Flashlight 4 are seeing so much success on the App Store: they lack features.

I noticed this at Saigon Mobile DevCamp 2010. The easiest, most straightforward question to ask is: “Does your app do (x)?”

“Does your app find the user’s location inside a building?”

“Does your app integrate with Facebook and Twitter?”

If you say no, there’s a perception that your app is lacking in some way. It creates an assumption that you haven’t thought the idea through. It perpetuates the idea that whoever comes up with the most features, wins.

In other words: saying no, while it could actually be the better answer, sounds downright awful.

In June of 2003, Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Store to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hand saying, “Does it do (x)?”, “Do you plan to add (y)?”. Finally Jobs said, “Wait wait – put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don’t want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.“

I’ve worked on dozens of projects that have essentially killed themselves with kindness: piling on feature after feature trying to be all things to all users. This rarely ends well.

After a few years in the trenches, I think many software developers begin to internalize the Just Say No philosophy. Both extremes are dangerous, but I think Yes To Everything has a greater potential to fail the entire project. If you’re going to err on either side, try to err on the side of simplicity. Keep a laser-like focus on doing a few things, and doing them exceptionally well.

Source: Just Say No by Jeff Atwood

Well, they don’t use Skyhook anymore in all new devices. Since iOS 3.2 in April 2010, Apple has been using its own database of cell towers and Wi-Fi hotspots. They’re building it automatically with their iOS devices.

“For devices running the iPhone OS versions 1.1.3 to 3.1, Apple relied on (and still relies on) databases maintained by Google and Skyhook Wireless (“Skyhook”) to provide location-based services. Beginning with the iPhone OS version 3.2 released in April 2010, Apple relies on its own databases to provide location-based services and for diagnostic purposes.”

“To provide location-based services, Apple must be able to determine quickly and precisely where a device is located. To do this, Apple maintains a secure database containing information regarding known locations of cell towers and Wi-Fi access points.”

“Information about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi access points is collected and sent to Apple with the GPS coordinates of the device, if available: (1) when a customer requests current location information and (2) automatically, in some cases, to update and maintain databases with known location information.”

“…the device intermittently and anonymously collects Cell Tower and Wi-Fi Access Point Information from the cell towers and Wi-Fi access points that it can “see,” along with the device’s GPS coordinates, if available. This information is batched and then encrypted and transmitted to Apple over a Wi-Fi Internet connection every twelve house (or later if the device does not have Wi-Fi Internet access at that time).

from the Apple response to Markey and Barton

Greengar’s newest app has just launched on the iTunes App Store:

Flashlight 4: LED Light for iPhone 4

It’s the first Flashlight app that gives you the option of a 100% completely black screen!

And the reviews are rolling in:

Light ★★★★★
by Todd okc

This light is better than the other one for the iPhone 4. This app gives you options and you can change views on your phone where you can see the clock or make it where nothing shows on your screen

Get this one! ★★★★★
by look before leaping!!

This had exactly the feature I wished for from the others, A BLACK SCREEN! It turns on the LED and then you can make the screen black. All the other apps I tried had art or white (iPhone 1-3 flashlight) screens. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t need a flashlight pointed at my eyes in a dark room while I’m using a real flashlight. Great and simple and free… What more could you need?

Have an iPhone 4? Grab the free app now: Flashlight 4: LED Light for iPhone 4

(If you like the app, don’t forget to leave us a review on the iTunes App Store! Thanks.)