Putting the App in Happy Birthday

How can a delectable, enjoyable, tempting, birthday cupcake be completely calorie free? When it’s an iKandl™, that’s how! 

Harlan J. Brothers, of Brothers Technology LLC, in Branford, has created an innovative, interactive, eco-friendly multimedia birthday app for the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Described by Brothers as “The ultimate electronic birthday greeting,” the iKandl allows users to select, send and receive unlimited cupcake greetings to friends, family, and loved ones.

“Cupcakes are incredibly popular,” says Brothers. “Our app currently boasts 23 beautiful cupcakes and allows users to record an infinite variety of personalized voice messages, including language support for French, Japanese, and Spanish.”

Create a rap with your app? Recite an Elizabethan ode? Whether you strum a birthday ballad, compose an anniversary aria or record a simple, heartfelt message of good cheer, iKandl users can whip up cupcake greetings by simply clicking the send button on their portable device or home computer. Faster than you can say “make a wish,” the unique cupcake creation arrives within moments to a designated email address.  That lucky recipient then listens to your greeting, (makes that wish), and blows out the animated birthday candle, while celebratory applause plays in the background.

These eye-catching confections– each and every one topped with a lit candle, are currently available in a colorful assortment of flavors and frostings and decorated with your choice of whimsical toppings: flowers, sprinkles, fruits, assorted candy shapes or goofy faces. Some are even shaped to resemble adorable puppies and fanciful unicorns. 

“The app also has a built in birthday calendar that will pull birthday info from your iPhone contact list and Facebook account,” says Brothers. No more belated birthday cards!  iKandl greetings can be archived, shared, or forwarded to anyone’s  iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and the iKandl player is available for a free download directly from the iTunes Store. With this free player, one can receive greetings, choose cupcakes, record voice messages, and play with the candle flame by blowing on, moving, or touching the device.  For a fee of just $2.99– the price of a traditional birthday card states Brothers– users can upgrade, to purchase the iKandl Messenger, which allows users to compose and send an unlimited number of virtual cupcakes.  A future release will allow anyone with an e-mail address to receive a greeting.

Currently employed as the Director of Technology at The Country School in Madison, Brothers truly fits the description of a modern-day Renaissance man.  An East Haven resident grew up who grew up in Manhattan, he majored in composition and guitar in Boston’s Berkee College of Music.“I identified myself early on, and was subsequently trained as a musician,” he offers.

In addition to being a bona-fide inventor, (he holds five US patents), Brothers is an accomplished composer, mathematician, and educator– widely recognized for his academic work in the cutting edge field of fractal music.  Fractal what– you might say? In simple terms, this discipline merges elements of mathematics and music theory with basic structural patterns found in nature. “Fractal objects looks the same when magnified,” he explains. “Like a head of broccoli, they are in some sense composed of smaller copies of themselves.” He integrates many of these concepts in his classroom, where his middle school students’ grasp of technology is constantly expanding.

“Everything has moved to an interactive an online experience, and the children are leading that,” he says. “There has been a huge shift– not just in terms of research but in programming, instruction and information.”

Much in the same way, Brothers is interested in the increasing impact of technology upon our daily lives.  “It was about a year and a half ago, I saw that how immensely popular the iPhone was,” he shares, “as an important development tool with a great deal of functionality.”  He began exploring several fun app ideas and eventually arrived at the iKandl concept.  “I worked with my friends and software engineer, Chris Genly, and we agreed that the iKandl was an obvious choice. Having universal appeal, it was fun, interactive and uniquely personal.”  The adorable cupcake graphics were created by his wife, Elina Flit. Things fell into place and the rest, as they say was, icing on the cake.

Since the iKandl’s launch on August 17, people have downloaded this app in 66 different countries, including Armenia and Botswana. “It’s growing steadily,” Brothers notes.  He looks forward to delivering many more thousands of cupcake greetings.  “People are finding this all over the world.” For more info: www.ikandl.com

    App-creating tips (courtesy, Harlan Brothers)

•  Research it. Find out if it’s been (or being) done already.  You don’t want to spend time building something that already exists.
•  Program it. If you need some help here, there are companies that will develop your app for you.
• Refine it. Make sure that the features you envision can be reasonably implemented.  Will your e-devices (hardware) support your nifty idea?  If so, then proceed.
• Create it. (‘Nuff said).
• Test it. Round up some beta- testers (hopefully, eager friends and family), and give them a chance to try out your app. The feedback you get from them will be invaluable.
• Revise it– if necessary.
• Done! Now, go out and market your wonderful new product!