Club builds iPhone application for Saratoga students

Ever wanted to pull up a teacher’s website right from your phone or read the latest school announcements on the go? This year, the Application Developers club built its first free iPhone application, called “The SHS App,” that does just that and more.

“It was an idea that floated around SHS App Dev for a while, but I decided to execute the idea over the summer,” said the club’s president Sujay Khandekar, a senior. “I wanted it to be something that made life easier for students on campus.”

Khandekar, who was new to the process of building iPhone applications, was persistent on building the best application without a strong foundation.

“Since I was fairly new to the coding, it took me around two to three weeks to fully build it. I had to design the images myself and I had stumbles along the way so that took a while,” Khandekar said.

The project started in mid-June and was finished at the end of August. They published the application to iTunes on Sept. 27.

Features of the app include a homepage that contains links to the school website and Aeries, maps of the school and an option to call the administration. The home page has a 4-square layout with a simple design. Users click on a certain square to take them to a featured website or map.

Perhaps the most useful feature is the teacher directory. Students can browse through a list of teachers, pull up their website and view all their teaching information.

The free application reached over 200 downloads in its first week of sales.

According to Khandekar, the app has gotten reviews on iTunes, most of which were positive.

Junior David Ball actively uses the app, but finds it quite different from the website itself.

“I thought that the app has a good foundation and some cool features, such as the bell schedule page, which I use frequently in class instead of looking at my planner,” Ball said. “But currently there is too much emphasis on links to the saratogahigh.org website.”

Many find the application intuitive and fun to use.
“I think the design was simple. The navigation of the features were easy to follow as well,” junior Justin Lee said. 

The Application Developers club hopes to continue to adding features to the application. Features like a live Twitter feed that updates users on school bulletins, according to Khandekar, are on the way.

The club also cares about the iOS counterpart, the Android OS. Since many students on campus carry Android phones, the Android version of the SHS application has been a top priority. In addition, Khandekar is looking to create applications that will fit other clubs’ standards and needs.

According to Khandekar, the Apple process for publishing an application requires a $99 annual fee and an application with an appealing design.

“Apple's process is very sophisticated and organized,” Khandekar said. “I like their user interfaces a lot. It did take a long time to get approved but they have very high standards and that's what makes AppStore apps so good.”