Tom Cheredar

Below is an article I did after interviewing the folks at Sitening. Its a follow up from my earlier post when they launched their first iPhone app. My efforts to have it published elsewhere were unsuccessful, so I thought I’d share it on the blog.

A local business is taking their love for apple’s iPhone to new heights by creating an application that mimics the purring of an affectionate kitten.

“We’ve been joking around the office that we can now ‘pet our pet,’” said Alison Groves, an employee at Sitening, the company that produced the “Purr” application, which in some cases can seem like an electronic pet with all the fun and none of the responsibility.

The application works by stroking the phone’s sensitive touch screen to invoke both the familiar kitty sound and the vibration mechanism. By default, the screen features a picture of a cat propped upright with its belly exposed, however, users have the option of uploading their own picture. In future updates, the company plans to add the ability to record your own sound as well.

It’s the first application published by the Nashville-based Sitening, although not the first they’ve made according to founding partner Jon Henshaw.

“When the xCode was released (which is sort of a make-your-own-app starter kit from apple) we made a few different programs,” including one involving Haikus and another that served as a simple flashlight, he said. “In the end we chose to do the Purr app over others because it was fun but didn’t require a lot of resources.”

Beyond its sheer entertainment value, the Purr app doesn’t sever any other purpose for the typical person. It’s is offered as a free download at the apple store yet, the company did have a motive in releasing it despite the lack of revenue it will bring in.

“We all like to make things, and at the same time we like to devote a small percentage of our time to making things that aren’t business related, but just fun,” said Henshaw, who added that the company doesn’t plan to turn a profit on the app.

“It’s something fun that promotes Sitening as a company and allows us to demonstrate are range of skills to clients,” he said.

While Sitening does offer application development to its clients, its focus is Internet strategy and consulting services. The exact type of work depends on the client, but many include applications developed for the iPhone or other popular platforms such as the social networking site Facebook, according to Henshaw, who primarily works on the company’s suite of Internet strategy programs called Raven.

Other Nashville-based developers like Firefly Logic and Griffin Technology have also produced iPhone applications that are now available to download for free.

Check back soon for an interview with Dave Delaney about Griffin’s iPhone development efforts.