iManila jumps to #1 Top Paid iPhone App

Q: Key Point 1: First reported over at PTB, the iManila iPhone App has...

First reported over at PTB, the iManila iPhone App has jumped to #1 spot as the Top Paid iPhone App for about a week now.

Abe Olandres January 18, 2009 · 1 min read

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First reported over at PTB, the iManila iPhone App has jumped to #1 spot as the Top Paid iPhone App for about a week now.

“iManila gives you easy access to an online phone â€œYellow Pages Directoryâ€ for finding shops, businesses, restaurants and bars in the Philippines.â€ The iManila app was developed by MangoCode, one of the few apps deveoped specifically for the Philippines (and uses DPC’s Luk4.com as source of data).

imanila-iphone

It is estimated that in order to be on the top spot for paid iPhone Apps, you need at least 10,000 downloads (I have this hunch though the the Top Apps are listed by country of origin of registered users. If so, iManila is the #1 Paid App downloaded in the Philippines).

The iManila app allegedly started out as a free app, then was labeled as a paid app for $0.99. It is now priced at $1.99 in the Apple App Store. It’s possible the developers have already earned several thousands of dollars from iManila alone. If that’s the case, there’s hope that more and more Filipino iPhone developers can make good money out of this.

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Abe Olandres

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Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

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58 Comments

Greg Reichow · 16 years ago

netmonitor- sorry to hear that your disappointed with iManila. It was not intended to be a map application like google maps. (I just don’t have access to the GPS data for the businesses) It is intended to help provide easy access to the Philippine yellow pages as Google continues to be incomplete for the Philippines. Unfortunately, not all businesses are listed in the Yellow Pages either and possibly this is why it was not finding what you were looking for. If you can send me the searches you tried, I can work with the data provider to understand why it was missing. Sorry again that iManila did not meet your expectations. I can be contacted at support //you know the symbol// mangocode.com

netmonitor · 16 years ago

a USELESS APP! i downloaded it and it doesnt seem to give me the info I need. WASTE OF MONEY if i may say so. Not even a map to use. To claim its the top paid app in the Phils is just a worthless effort into marketing it. Dont buy this app!

emokatorse · 17 years ago

im just wondering if it is for the world or in the phil. only?

avisala · 17 years ago

Guys, check this out.

Another pinoy app “The Filipino News” is currently in the Top 20 Paid Apps under News category.

tops · 17 years ago

Hindi ba ma-sue sila for copyright dahil sa name? Mayroong iManila of the same name na IT company dito sa Pinas. I used to work there as a tech, and un din ang product name ng services ng company such as prepaid, internet at technical services.

Miguel · 17 years ago

Here’s another Pinoy made web app: Flash Me from PiKitchen.

Patrick · 17 years ago

Nope, i don’t think it’s hard to be successful. Working with integrity – that’s difficult. To be fair with Greg, he did take down the app and he recognized his fault. While his intentions were noble, the method he used was really flawed. EYP owns the data and he should’ve asked for their permission. There are a number of local web publishers out there investing a lot of time, money and effort in maintaining their websites and their work needs to be protected at the least. We’re looking forward to your next app Greg.

Edward · 17 years ago

If Greg’s IManila app didn’t reach No.1, would all these have happened? It’s hard to be “successful” in the Philippines.

Greg Reichow · 17 years ago

Andre-

I am 100% in agreement with your earlier post. I am a big supporter of not using DRM to protect content. DRM punishes the honest (makes it cumbersome) and does not really affect the dishonest (they will always find a way). Your point is very correct that I should not have used their data without their permission. Legal or not, it is not ethical. I screwed up and it is clear to me now. I made the error of thinking I was using “free data” and just selling the application. Yet, obviously upon reflection, the code has no value without the data! This was why I pulled the application immediately after some reflection after reading the earlier posts and coming to this conclusion.

The idea of integrating maps is very good. I guess one good thing that has come from this is that I have received a significant amount of information on other sources of data I can use to get maps + addresses. If I can work out an up-front arrangement with one of these services, I hope to continue to develop this application and possibly put back on the app store.

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 17 years ago

typo *create* a better GPS

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 17 years ago

anyway here’s a thought, use openstreetmap.org.ph data, and great a better GPS iphone app of metro manila, combine that with a search form that brings users to the EYP website where they can view the search results and then make some way to capture the address from there at the option of the user and send them back to the streetmap to show where exactly on the map is the place located. There are probably still some legal issues there but atleast you’re not scraping the data.

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 17 years ago

its not about protecting the data, its about legal use and fair use. greg is profiting off data he didnt collect himself and data which is not free to sell, while it is freely available on the EYP website, it is not free to sell. You cant just take anything you see and sell it, its like piracy. Anyway its true DPC could shut down greg at any time via legal action or whatever, I think it is safest to take it down, work with DPC, or give it away for free, still then theres the issue with the legality of that. In this age of information technology we cant go about protecting all our data from theft by rootkits and DRM and what not, its just too impossible. Thats why its better that they focus on implementing the laws of IP and teaching people the ethics of IP.

Ceasar · 17 years ago

Luk4, Eyp and other online accessible database has chosen to make their database available online exposing it to all possible use and exploits. They need to protect their data if they don’t want unwarranted access.

Greg here had the talent to make this database useful to mobile users at super bargain cost and most of all giving us Filipinos something to be proud of.

Greg R · 17 years ago

I am working on establishing collaboration through an update to the application.

My original post was not to complain about the piracy. It was intended to make the point that some people may find value, and pay for that value, and I would be there to support them.

While I may disagree that using a web browser to open a page and reformat the data into an easier to use display with easier integration (which is what iManila does) is different than software piracy, I do recognize your point. While iManila access the data in the exact same way (and with the same page hits recorded) as an end user using a standard browser, there is the loss advertisement visibility. To your point, they have not agreed to this.

I will be requesting the application be removed from iTunes tonight. If and when the collaboration with luk4 or another online service provider is complete, I will re-consider putting it back for sale.

Thanks for your frank and honest feedback.

Greg

Greg · 17 years ago

Patrick & AhmedF-

I am working on establishing collaboration through an update to the application.

My original post was not to complain about the piracy. It was intended to make the point that some people may find value, and pay for that value, and I would be there to support them.

Thanks for your frank and honest feedback.

Greg

AhmedF · 17 years ago

Hehe – evidently in Greg’s world, Luk4’s acquisition of data (and the continuation of this acquisition) does not take any real time (especially away from their family or work).

I find it rather convenient that you gripe about unauthorized distribution of software, and yet you perform unauthorized distribution of data. Even more telling is the fact that distributors rarely ever make money from what they do – and yet you are more than happy to charge $1.99.

Sweet!

Patrick · 17 years ago

Scraping data without the publisher’s knowledge or permission is just the same as piracy. I’m pretty sure that the guys at Luk4 are also working hard in maintaining/updating their listings and directories. Why didn’t you consider collaborating with them instead?

Greg Reichow · 17 years ago

The iPhone Paid top ranking is done by the individual iPhone store. In this case it is just #1 on the iPhone Philippines store and not overall. As a result, sales are far less than 10,000. I know, I am the developer.

Yes, the data as indicated on the web page does just simply come from luk4.com. And yes, you can save your $1.99 and just browse to that web page. Yet, while doing this myself, I found that what I really wanted was a streamlined native application to this data. I also wanted an easier method to save directly into the address book. Hence, this was the reason I made this application. I initially made this just for my own use, but decided to offer it on the iTunes store to see if others would like the same tool.

And as for the cracks (thanks Jiro for posting), it is your integrity that will drive this decision. Developing this application further (and continuing to do so) takes real time away from my family and work. Piracy is an unfortunate part of the software business and is a strong motivation to stop developing further applications. Yet, I intend to support the honest users that do have the integrity to purchase the application. So, I will not be stopping the development.

If you have other feedback or suggestions for this application, please let me know. I can be reached at su****@mangocode.com. Thanks.

Miguel · 17 years ago

Better, LUK4 and other portals should develop their own apps.

AhmedF · 17 years ago

This site does nothing more than scrape Luk4.com – those guys could shut this app down in 24 hours if they wanted to.

Andre Marcelo-Tanner · 17 years ago

why not just use the iphone browser and access eyp.ph? i assume the imanila app also does searches online

JIRO YAN · 17 years ago

You can download iManila for FREE at ******* for jailbroken iPhone.

***
Link removed per request of developer. – yuga

TopAsianWoman · 17 years ago

great app for my iphone!

Huan22 · 17 years ago

Sorry, i typed 42 instead of 46. My bad

Huan22 · 17 years ago

Considering how much the iManila costs, it is quite a bargain. For just PhP92(assuming the exchange rate is PhP42==$1) you could access a lot of information, from where to dine to the place where to buy that exotic plant.