I just read the wonderful article about student and alumni apps for the iPhone (Alumni Scene,   Nov. 4). What a lovely surprise to learn that two very well known apps — and some of my personal favorites — in the iTunes store, Bump and Ocarina, were designed by fellow Princeton graduates.  

I also am an iPhone developer, having designed four apps in the last year, and a Princeton alumnus. My company, Vaya Broqui (Puerto Rican slang for “hey dude”), has concentrated on creating musical apps that highlight some of my country’s traditional music and instrumentation. Our first app, Parranda, has been a modest hit in the iTunes Store (more than 10,000 downloads) and led us to work on Parranda Cuatro and Parranda Plena Libre — two additions to our musical app family that debuted in time for the holiday season. We also developed an indie music compilation app featuring bands from Puerto Rico to benefit a local nonprofit organization that rescues stray animals from the island’s streets (SaveASato.org). Vaya Broqui’s new Web site, www.vayabroqui.com, features demo videos, descriptions, and our blog.

José Richner ’03