New Website!

Just added a new website that will hopefully help people find Reader+ for Gmail. Pretty basic right now, will have to do a bit of work to make it not look totally terrible! Anyway, here it is:

http://www.readerplusforgmail.com

First Ever $9.99 App Store Sale!

Imagine my excitement this evening when I signed into iTunes and found out that someone bought the "ad-free" version of Reader+ for Gmail yesterday for $9.99 US! A few days ago I had raised the price from $1.99 US to $9.99 US, in the hope that my meager number of sales would not be greatly reduced. Too early to say for sure yet (previously averaging maybe one $1.99 sale per 20 downloads) but this gives me hope.

In other news, version 2.01 with the date header fix is now approved and available:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reader+-for-gmail/id959397919?ls=1&mt=8

Date Header Bug

Encountered a strange bug this morning... email messages were sometimes not sorted in the correct order! The issue seemed more apparent when I used my personal Gmail account. Turned out the issue was that the date in some email headers used just a single digit for the day field, ex: 1 Nov, 2016 instead of 01 Nov, 2016. So Reader+ for Gmail now reads these single digit days in properly and version 2.01 is waiting to be reviewed...

Version 2.00 Approved!

Version 2.00 was approved today, yay!!! Today I also happened to have an eye doctor appointment, and got prescribed "progressive" lenses for the first time, boo!!! So this app might prove particularly useful to me in the coming years :-P. Here is the link for downloading version 2.00 with VOICE COMMANDS:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/reader+-for-gmail/id959397919?ls=1&mt=8


If you decide to use the voice commands feature, you will definitely want to be wearing a pair of headphones. Otherwise the voice recognition routines pick up every word uttered by the automated voice reading the messages... it sometimes offers creative re-interpretations of the original email.

Another nice feature that made it into this version was the ability to skip or go back one email on the playback screen by doing a short swipe with your finger left or right respectively.

Version 2.00 Submitted for review...

Just finished testing today, updated screenshots, modified the descriptive text and text for the new features, and now waiting for the app review process to complete. It's so nice now that Apple is able to review your app in a day or two. The week-long process that it used to be was pretty annoying. Especially when they found a problem that needed some minor correction and then made you wait another week!

Adding Voice Recognition Feature

Lately I've been doing some work with the new iOS 10 voice recognition feature, adding capability to the app to allow users to speak simple commands such as "next", "skip", "back", "previous", "play", "pause", "download", "start", "stop", etc. My wife loves listening to me repeat these words over and over again in our basement :-P.  Hopefully I'll be releasing version 2.0 of Reader+ for Gmail soon, with these new voice commands, maybe a few days after Halloween. I think this feature could go a long way towards making the app more use-able for people with visual impairments.

iPhone & iPad Apps MARKETING by Jeffrey Hughes

For my birthday, my brother bought me the book "iPhone & iPad Apps MARKETING" by Jeffrey Hughes. I started reading it recently, and already gleaned a pretty good tip, which should have been pretty obvious, but I had missed it:  near the top of your App Store description, include some positive reviews. Duh! So I compiled the best reviews that I've gotten over the last 50 days or so, and when you look at them altogether, I have to say they do look pretty impressive :-) I've added them to my App Store description, so hopefully they will be posted up there in the next day or two.

Reader for Gmail Download / App Store Link: https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=959397919&mt=8

Awesome app (5 stars)
This update was really great and this app has earned a place on my home screen.

Awesome  (5 stars)
This is great! Love it.
It works well and reads all my messages to me whilst I'm driving. Very handy app.

Useful (5 stars)
Great for long mails when you are driving or walking. The filtering works surprisingly
well. Better than the alternatives.

Listen to your email out loud (5 stars)
Unique and creative app that lets you hear your Gmail out loud. Useful for those who
need assistance this way.

Useful (5 stars)
This app is really useful for me. It makes it easier for me to read my email.

Nice (5 stars)
Little useful app. I spent a lot less time reading gmails.

Good app (5 stars)
A very creative concept. It is the perfect app for busy people and who contact like
read all emails. Great concept!!

Great app (5 stars)
I use it whenever I need to do something and don't have time to read. I just open the app
and hear the mail. Very useful!

Excellent (5 stars)
Great reader for all you gmail people. It's great!

Awesome of emails (5 stars)
This app will read your email back to you. Great for if you're busy.

Smart! (5 stars)
Very smart app, I love the functionality! Plus it looks clean and nice.

Excellent (5 stars)
A must have tool. Very good. Thanks to the developer. Keep up the good work.


Like most people, I tend to feel much worse about 1 or 2 negative reviews than I feel good about 15 positive reviews. I don't know why that is! Just human nature I guess.