TapLynx

Here at TapLynx, we keep throwing out the thought that TapLynx would be the perfect tool to get apps out there that help people better navigate their communities. Whether they’re neighborhood or city centric, we love the idea of an app that tracks what is going on nearby. Recently, we discovered inSW1, a perfect example of a beautifully built neighborhood app featuring the Victoria neighborhood of London. Last week we spoke with Gareth Creaney, the designer of inSW1, to hear more about one of our new TapLynx favorites:

What inspired the idea behind inSW1?

London and the SW1 area are steeped in history and culture. Businesses have collaborated as the London Victoria Partnership to protect, enhance and promote the area. 2012 is the year of The London Olympics and Queens Diamond Jubilee where London will see a huge increase in visitors and media attention. The inSW1.com aspires to provide information & support to help improve the area and assist growth through a wide range of business and visitor support services. London starts here!

What’s your favorite place in the Victoria neighborhood?

I’m from a small village in Ireland which is worlds apart from the hustle & bustle of one of the world’s busiest cities. I do get to travel to London frequently though. Victoria is at the heart of London’s numerous tourist attractions. You can see major London musicals including Wicked and Billy Elliot at theatres in Victoria. London Victoria Station, the Victoria tube line and the area of Victoria in London were all named after Queen Victoria, the longest-reigning British monarch.

There’s also The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, Changing the Guard, Westminster Abbey but my most recent favourite has to be a visit to the Churchill War Rooms where the books and charts have remained exactly where they were left at the end of World War II in 1945. My granny also witnessed the bombing raids on Belfast from the house where i grew up which became known locally as The Belfast Blitz.

Why did you choose to build your app on TapLynx?

The decision was easy really: I reviewed a number of products and online services over a couple of weeks. The way in which TapLynx consumes RSS feeds really complemented our website content management system incontrolCMS. As our customers updated their website the app was also pulling down this new information in real-time. We could also connect all their social media outlets through the app incorporating latest news, audio, video and image galleries. We built the app in a few days and submission through the appStore was painless.

The app is native and can be extended through plugins which I’ve also incorporated. For example, A feedback tab where the user can email a pic from their phone to the team @inSW1, an audio player for streaming radio & mp3, a web view which enables us to call web pages directly within the app & the list goes on ….

I’m really looking forward to the latest release which includes iAd support and we’re working on an iPad app right now using the TapLynx framework for iPad. With TapLynx, so much can be achieved in a very short space of time.