Amazing. Effortless. Magical.
![WALTR [Detail]](/assets/waltr.png)
If you’re an iOS user you’ve probably struggled to get media (music, films and other content) onto your devices. iTunes has long been in need of a substantial overhaul, growing ever more unwieldy with every version. What you’re really looking for is a simple, intuitive interface that allows you to drag and drop content onto your device.
Sadly, iTunes stopped being simple and intuitive a long, long time ago. It’s a shame, given Apple’s long history of making hardware and software that, “Just works.” The confusing complexity of Apple’s software and services is in desperate need of a complete rethink, rebuilding from the ground up, putting users at the heart of the process.
All is not lost, however.
WALTR 2 bills itself as, “A magic drop area for your Apple device.” Its intuitive and uncomplicated interface is what Apple should have designed, and it’s telling that it’s taken a third party developer – Softorino – to show it a thing or two about what ease of use really looks like.
The bold claims Softorino make – that WALTR 2 is, “Amazing. Effortless. Magical.” – are fully founded in fact. The application is amazing, effortless and magical.
Connect your iOS device (via USB or wirelessly) and drag anything onto WALTR 2’s ‘drop area’ and magic happens. Using ‘Automatic Content Recognition’, you can push music and movies to your device simply using drag and drop. What’s so impressive is that everything just works.
WALTR 2 seamlessly converts non-native files, for example FLAC audio files or AVI video files, and routes them to the right applications on your device, smartening up their metadata en route. Simple.
You might think that $40 for an application is expensive (especially when you can use Apple’s own workflows, in conjunction with third party tools for conversion), but try it – free – for a day, and you’ll see the value and I’m sure won’t look back.
As Ryan Singer, of Basecamp, puts it:
The best marketing trick: make an awesome product that does something people really care about.
WALTR 2 is a great example of this thinking and I think there are lessons we can learn from its marketing, and Softorino’s overall approach. Find a problem that people really care about and solve it.
If you can sweat the details so that your solution is delightful into the bargain, all the better. It’s easy for me to part with $40 when the problem that is solved is something that I can see will deliver long-term value. Find a pain point and remove it and you’ll find your potential customers value your work more highly.
If you’re struggling with iTunes, struggle no more, take a look at WALTR 2. I think you’ll like it.