Apps are taking over the mobile ecosystem; it is neither a revelation nor a noble insight. It is a fact, supported by astronomical trends every year. The people who have caught on the trend a couple of years ago are millionaires today and with the extent of the untapped market out there, those who would catch the trend today will be millionaires tomorrow.
We always question our ideas whenever they knock – is it something somebody has never done? I assert, it’s the wrong question. Instead, we should ask ourselves – Can I do it better than somebody has ever done it before?
Creativity is seeing what everyone else has seen, and thinking what no one else has thought
– Albert Einstein
If you are among the tech savvy and app enthusiasts of the world, chances are that you must have heard about Uber and the revolution it brought in the cab hire market. If you are among the people who believe they can do better than what Uber did or do something like what Uber did, but in a different market/ industry, I think you should read on.
Uber – in a nutshell
We have been hearing praises from in and out of the company about the app for sometime now. It was high time we split it apart to know what Uber really has.
As you already know, Uber is a Smartphone app that connects passengers to drivers with vehicles for hire. Passengers select the class of car they want to ride, the location they want to be picked up from and the location they want to be dropped.
Uber provides five different categories of cars, viz; The Black Car, The Uber Taxi, UberX, SUV, and LUX. The names pretty much are self-explanatory.
Uber’s App
Through the analysis we did of Uber, we came to know some interesting insights about the app and also about how Uber functions as a business. One of the facts that marries Uber as an app and Uber as a business is the dual app structure the company follows for the customers and drivers.
Uber functions on the basis of two apps, one is for the customer which we get at the app stores and the other one is for the drivers, pre-installed in the iPhones that Uber gives to the cab drivers registered with Uber.
Uber’s customer app
The customer’s app or the app ‘we’ see has a plethora of features, most of which get unnoticed but still making our lives easier. There is a sign-up/login feature along with a link to your payment methods (credit cards), map view, pick-up/drop location choice, fare quote and many others.
The features that stand out to me are the Uber Pool, Split fare and share my ETA.
With UberPool, users can share a ride—and split the cost—with another person who just happens to be requesting a ride along a similar route, saving up to 50% off your regular uber ride. Using split fare, you can split the fare among their friends. Users can share their ETA (Estimated time of arrival) with their friends using the share my ETA option.
Uber’s driver app
Uber’s driver app has all the necessary features that ensure a safe and seamless ride to the customer. Apart from the login, the drivers have to create a full profile to start operating. They have an option to accept a trip, request for a trip and order cancellation with reasons. They even have an option to rate the rider, making it even and enriched experience for both the drivers and the customers using Uber.
Other outstanding features
Uber is currently valued at a whopping $ 18.2 billion, which compels us to believe that there are quite a few things the company is doing right and better than everybody else. While every feature of Uber mesmerizes the user, I have tried to list down a few notable ones for you.
The location fetching of Uber is excellent with a minimal utilization of power in the background. The integration of maps into use, without hampering the flow of the app and the latest option of surge pricing through which Uber tries to provide us with rides even on the busiest days, albeit at a higher price.
With the deluge of features that Uber offers within a seamlessly functioning and beautifully designed app, it makes us wonder how much money would it cost to build another Uber today?
Our panel of experts at OpenXcell have developed more than 500 apps till date and they sliced down Uber for you this time. We have created a well-researched white paper, accounting even for the latest features, calculating the cost you would incur if you try to build Uber, today with us. I urge you to have a look at the whitepaper.
