The iPhone app that I plan to develop is a Travel app (what else?). As you may have noticed, more and more Filipinos are bitten by the travel bug thanks to discounted airfares, travel package coupons and cheap accommodations. So I think that one of the remaining concerns that travelers would want to be addressed to is the tourist visa application. More often than not, first timers don’t know where the embassy of the country they plan to visit is, the visa requirements, cost of application, travel advisory if there is, etc. I know they’re all available online and travel agencies may provide assistance (with a cost) but wouldn’t it be very convenient if you can check out all embassies in the Philippines on your iPhone?

The app will provide the embassy’s contact number, website, email add, office hours and will allow users to see location and direction through maps.

It will also feature a visa requirement list which is designed like a checklist where you can tick those you have done already. You can even add more based on your experience. Best of all, you can email it to your travel buddies or anybody who plans to apply in the future. The app will be FREE but I will provide space for advertisers. What do you think?

We were asked to design the UI. Below are some of the screen shots. They are just draft and will be greatly improved especially if I submit it to App Store (forgive me for my lack of creativity) but basically it will function as shown. Resolution, alignment and text also changed when I saved it from keynote to powerpoint.

I was so scared that the panelists who I’ll be presenting to would think that my idea is junk. Thank God they did not and even congratulated me for a good job. Whew!

I’ve always been good at programming, modesty aside. So good that I would almost always top our programming exams in high school and compete with our (then running for) Summa Cum Laude in college. I know it has been more than a decade the last time I did codes and designed algorithms but language, concepts and syntax may have changed, I believe that logic stays the same. I am not saying that IOS application development will be a piece of cake, but I am just confident that I can finish the course obtaining my objective of learning the how-to’s. I even asked the person in charge and made sure that I will be starting from scratch because I have zero knowledge of these things, else I wouldn’t have enrolled myself despite my husband’s protest.

So there, starting Nov 7, I’ll be attending iOS Application Development for iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch – for 2 hours, 3 times a week at MINT College. Hopefully I’ll do less of our company’s Admin and Acctg work (though I still don’t have anybody to delegate it to, not to mention my difficulty in delegating tasks because of control issues) so that I can not only develop mobile applications but also become a Project Lead.

My husband also made sure I won’t have ANY reason to lose my motivation, so he bought me this new toy, I mean tool. Sweet!