Berlin – The app capital

Posted by Mr. Startup on Nov 28, 2011 in Startup | 5 comments

Sure, designers from across Europe create very attractive apps, but in many cases they lack that extra sheen and attention to detail that helps make apps from Silicon Valley look that little bit ‘better’, even if functionally there may not be much difference, regardless of where the app was made.

Many apps from Berlin seem to have that extra something, and even though you may not have heard of many of the latest generation of startups based in the city yet, if you try their products, you’ll see a flair for design shine through

I asked some members of Berlin’s tech startup scene for their favourite examples of the kind of design flair I’m talking about. Here are a few names that commonly cropped up.

EyeEm is a photo sharing app that takes a little bit of Instagram, a pinch of Color and a sprinkling of Photovine and creates a new way of sharing photos that automatically adds context based on who you’re with, where you are and what you’re photographing. A beautifully simple interface makes some powerful behind-the-scenes technology easy to understand for anyone. While its location-centric approach to photo sharing might not be for everyone, there’s no denying that it’s a beautiful app to look at and use.
WahWah.fm is an app that allows you to share the music you’re listening to on your iPhone with other people, so that they listen to exactly the same thing as you. It’s something of a Turntable.fm for people on the go, creating a radio station right from your phone. The design flair in the interface is stunning.
Wunderlist from 6Wunderkinder is a cross-platform to-do list service that shuns the usual functional look of the genre for something a lot more stylish.
SoundCloud is perhaps the best known Berlin startup right now, and the UI for its social audio platform is a thing of beauty. Just look at these example shots from its iPhone app, for example.
There are many more examples out there, Readmill, which we praised for its looks just this week, for example. There are others which we can’t mention yet, as they want to keep below the radar. However, Amen and Gidsy (both yet to officially launch) are getting tongues wagging in the cafes of Berlin amongst those who have used them.
Why do apps from Berlin look so good, check berlinstartup.com and watch out for Berlin history of Design and Art in general, things were changing so fast. In no time they built this unique culture of artsy bars, clubs and galleries that is still somewhat there.
Berlin even compares favourably to London as a European startup capital in some way London (and especially east London) has a thriving creative scene, but there’s so much money there and that changes the game completely. Offices and wages are many times more expensive than in Berlin and that is a fundamental problem when it comes to low-cost, high quality creative work..
So, look out London, you’ve got an ambitious, creative and business city, we will come over soon…:-)