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Project Overview

OzTV is the best selling TV guide for iPhone/iPod and, recently, iPad too.

Created by Melbourne based designer/developer duo Apps Perhaps, OzTV is designed to quickly show you what’s on while still providing a full TV Guide and taking advantage of the gestures and functionality provided by the iPhone/iPad.

Organisation

Apps Perhaps

Team

Alex Johnston- UX Designer
Jeff Tan Ang - Developer

Project Brief

Create a fast, intuitive, beautiful TV guide optimised for the iPhone/iPad and focused on showing whats on, right now!

We wanted to make it a fun and visual experience with custom graphics and transitions that are familiar but put a twist on iPhone conventions. Additionally the app was to take advantage of new functionality such as reminders, suggesting shows via SMS and the iPhone 4 Retina Display.

OzTV for iPhone launched in September 2010 and became the #1 Lifestyle App for over 7 months, reaching #6 in Overall Paid Apps.

OzTV for iPad launched in July 2011, immediately became the #1 Lifestyle App and reached #2 in Overall Paid Apps, where it is still in the top 10.

Project Innovation / Need

Existing TV guides on iPhone/iPad were slow to load, cluttered, often required several interactions before actually showing you what's on and failed to take full advantage of the functionality of the devices.

OzTV provides a full TV guide including search, numerous customisation options, one click reminders, links to more info and send via SMS/Email but nothing gets in the way of the guide.

The iPhone and iPad feature a fast loading and smooth Grid view designed specifically for each device, simplifying the grid into half hour slots, repeating show titles to make sure you can always see what's on each channel amongst other optimisations make it the best way to view the complete TV schedule on a mobile device.

The iPhone version additionally offers Flow view, a completely new way to view a TV guide, stripping away the complexity even further and providing casual TV viewers a way to browse what's currently on air and coming up next in a fun, gestural and visual manner.

The apps take advantage of gestural interactions with the horizontal and vertical navigation in flow view (iPhone), free form scrolling in Grid View and the "swipe to dismiss" panels (iPad).

User Experience

OzTV provides a full free-to-air TV Guide for your region displaying what's on, or your preferred time-slot, as soon as the app is loaded.

Apart from the two different guide view modes (Grid and flow), You can also:
- quickly load any other day or view another timeslot
- customise your channels and channel numbers,
- set reminders for shows with just one press,
- bring up info from Wikipedia,
- suggest shows to friends via sms and email
- find upcoming episodes,
- search the entire guide for movies, sports or by keyword.

Customer feedback and support has always been a focus of the team with almost every one of the thousands of emails replied to and feedback noted. This has helped evolve the iPhone app with several major updates extending functionality and improving the app which has a 4 Star average across 610 ratings.

Additionally it has created a loyal and engaged user based as demonstrated by the recent iPad app reaching top 10 without any app store promotion and currently having a 4.5 Star average across 64 ratings.

Project Marketing

Promotion for the apps has focused across 3 areas:

- Social with active Twitter/Facebook accounts and an email newsletter offering competitions, support and general updates. Additionally the company blog keeps everyone up to date with current work and other happenings at Apps Perhaps.

- App Store promotion with OzTV featured across iPhone & iPad in New & Noteworthy, What's Hot, Staff Favourites, Made in Australia and iTunes rewind 2010 (Top Apps).

- Support and reviews from the Austrlian Mac/App publishing community:

"OzTV is the undisputed king of Australian TV guide apps."- Delimiter AU

"the perfect device for checking out the TV guide. Thanks to Apps Perhaps‘ OzTV, it’s remarkably simple... a joy to use" - Australian Macworld

"an exceptionally clean user interface and concise and detailed information about FTA TV programming" - Gizmodo Australia