To boldly go where no app has gone before?

Ironically, there’s probably hundreds if not thousands of content providers secretly squirreling away on AR apps, bound tightly by NDAs, rarely seeing the light of day and developing a prison-like waxy pallor in the process.

Clearly this description is a bit over imaginative and  the race is on for the first tranche of market-busting AR mobile apps.

However, over imagination in the mobile apps industry is a definite and positive boon. Call it creativity, inspiration or even dreaming, the ability to come up with something unique, different and possibly puerile is often what marks one app for stellar stardom, however briefly, and others for anonymous obscurity.

Bubble Ball is a case in point. This physics puzzle game may not have the best design graphics but that’s beside the point. It’s an intriguing challenging game that gets you thinking as you progress through the levels; from the laughably simple to the teeth gnashingly difficult. It also knocked Angry Birds of its popularity perch.

But original apps don’t need to be grindingly challenging. The simplest can do the trick. Think of that app that replicates the varying sounds of the human body as it emits natural gases (the app that dare not speak its name). It’s very juvenile but absolutely hilarious - and original. No wonder it took to the skies in terms of downloads.

But how do you come up with something original? Stand out ideas often come by turning the everyday and mundane on its head. Look at this video posted on You Tube and this website. You’ll get the picture.

But what happens if management frowns on your great idea? You could always tell them that some of the world’s greatest thinkers, ranging from Emerson to Shakespeare and Einstein, have placed great emphasis on unrestrained imagination. It’s true.

Of course there’s also the chance that your unique idea leads to your colleagues or bosses putting you in the cuckoo bracket.

There’s a blog that describes originality as follows: ‘Original ideas are like UFOs: They attract attention, the pilots are often assumed to be from another planet, and they usually have rounded corners.’ Very nicely put.

The Intel AppUp Center has got some great unique apps. A favourite is Van Gogh on the Go. Van Gogh used to see things as shining hence his art work. It’s great app to dip into when the world stops shimmering. It’s not going to get 20 billion downloads but it’s hitting a niche market and it’s a clever idea.

Let’s wrap up with a pithy saying from the original (there’s that word again) title sequence of the once groundbreaking Star Trek: ‘To boldly go where no man has gone before.’ It might be easy to say that applying this credo of courage to mobile content development will bring results. But you can bet a billion downloads that if you do, people will sit up and download rather than yawn at another imitation.

Try your hand at developing for the Intel AppUp Developer Program – simply click here