Re: App Development

I would personally look at what the individual has done and pay attention to both their technical and creative side. I wouldn't waste ALL my time on a piece they were given during training (Many developers that make iPhone apps haven't even used ObjC or worked on an Apple platform before and it shows). I've seen good and bad apps from both professionals and amateurs. It tends to be that one group focuses on the code base and the other goes for looks and the user interface. What you want is the middle ground, something that looks great and fits with the iPod / iPhone, while at the same time has a great structure underneath that holds it together.

I would look for a hybrid person that works well technically and creatively, and sadly most "pros" that don't developed on the Mac platform or make interactive software like video games, tend to be all about the technical side and forget about the user interface. No matter how many features are crammed into an product, if it can't function properly on the user side your going to get complaints and the customers on the iTunes store are brutal (They always want more than you can deliver).