Nine-year old writes iPhone app, hates vegetables
By Laura June 
posted Feb 5th 2009 11:01AM
posted Feb 5th 2009 11:01AM
We've seen plenty of remarkable kids -- the world is just bursting with them -- and Lim Ding Wen, a nine-year-old from Singapore is no exception. Like his father, Wen enjoys writing iPhone apps in his spare time. His application, called Doodle Kids, is a drawing application for children that he wrote for his two younger sisters, who enjoy drawing, and it's already been downloaded over 4,000 times (we just checked in the App Store and it does indeed appear to be quite popular) since its release on February 1st. Wen, who is fluent in six programming languages and enjoys reading books about -- you guessed it -- computer programming, is already hard at work on his next app, a game called "Invader Wars." We can't wait to see that one!
Sounds like quite the ladies man!
oh, yes, Micro$oft sucks...
Not really. This application developer still thinks girls have coodies.
I'm no American, but isn't it "cooties"?
I stand corrected.
Sadly, there is a wikipedia entry for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooties
Fortunately Canada has developed a treatment:
"Canadian children acknowledge there is very little that can be done to infect a friend with cooties if he/she has the "cootie lock" effectively in place."
Ahh.... never trust Wikipedia? Not really a reliable source you know.
lol
"One catches cooties through any form of bodily contact, proximity, square-dancing, contact with an infected person's possessions, or third-party transmission."-Wikipedia
Square Dancing???
Wikipedia is actually very accurate for the vast majority of topics.... Controversial stuff is a different story..
I... feel... so dumb all of a sudden.
AMAZING!!!
Yes indeed. When I grow up I want to be like him.
when i was 9 I had a yellow metal Tonka Truck. I would put my knee in it and ride it down the hill. This is before kids had to wear helmets to go get the mail, of course.
Damn... Like I didn't feel inadequate enough already...
You can do anything you desire as long as you set your mind to do it.
-- Your Mother
At least you needn't have any genital insecurities...until he grows up.
@ Kurion & Nelson:
Firstly genital size only matters to chicks if it's either way to0 big (like the GM guys in pr0n) - or way too small (google micropenis) - everything in the middle will work just fine - plus your pen0r size has nothing to do with how good you are in bed or how meaningful your relationship will be (whenever you get one).
Secondly don't feel intimidated by this kids skillz - there are BILLIONS of people on this planet - I'm sure that plenty of em could do everything I do 100x better but do I feel inadequate? NO. Every soul on this beautiful earth is unique and wonderful - if we all had the same skills, same looks, same penis size, same taste in music - things would be tres tres uber boring.
In closing - it's a pure miracle (whether theistic or not) that we are here, have a conscious brain capable of all sorts of wonderus things like art / music / comedy - we can milk our bodies natural reactions to things - so stop wasting what precious, brief moments you have - stop caring wtf other people thing and enjoy your body, enjoy your life and enjoy teh gadgetz.
Peacecakes & snowflakes,
Leo
Leo-
If it pleases and sparkles, while I do appreciate your sentiment, I actually never brought up genetalia size -- That was Kurian's doing. I've been happily married for 15 years with two beautiful kids. Everything on my end (Or on my front, I guess) seems to work.
I was merely using the more general definition of inadequate in a slightly ironic, humorous, self-depricating way.
It's always good to be reminded of one's inadequacies... It keeps you humble.
Sunshine,
Nelson
@Leo: I don't come to engadget expecting particularly insightful comments, but I think yours was pretty good on that front. Love the peacecakes haha.
Whoa, this is some real feel-good shit right here.
I feel better about myself...because I read the Engadget comments today. Sweet.
9 year-olds have iPhones now? Rich kids these days...
if the kid sold that app for $5, he would've made $20k since Feb 1st. I think the kid deserves an iPhone.
@yuj: $5 * 70% (Developer's cut) = $3.50
$3.50 * 4k = $14,000.
Still a lot, but not $20k.
I wanted to develop iPhone apps but couldn't afford one as test device (here in Canada, though I blame my university for ripping us off). This kid had one to test his codes on before he earned any money. Plus I remember when I was 9 years old, my parents didn't even let me touch cool gadgets. Guess I was feeling a little jealous.
excuses, excuses.
I didn't get a PHONE till I was 13....
Although to be fair I did get an HTC Kaiser at 15.... far superior to an iPhone anyway :P
I bought my first cell phone when I was 23.
You don't require an actual iPhone to develop iPhone apps. The SDK comes with a software simulator.
@Swackhammer1, when I looked it up, I thought aspects involving the accelerometer need to be tested and adjusted with a real device.
Anyways, that's one amazing kid. There's no way I can come close to him even if none of my complains were true.
@Swackhammer
Does the SDK also come with a Mac emulator too or is that separate.
I've never bought a phone...
(I just get peoples castoffs as I don't care for phone capabilities as long as it does the basics)
Just in case you didn't noticed, we Singaporeans on the average is better off than most people in the world. But a boring bunch we are.
WOAH
I can barely do math.
Is anyone really surprised here?
That kid is definitely smarter than a 5th grader!
Tell me about it man, I work with kids - one of whom is 8 years old - regularly, her greatest achievement in a days work is sh*tting in her pants...
...Still, she's got a year to learn to pre-empt those feelings & spend her time reading "Java: For Dummies" on the loo instead of spending that time getting cleaned up.
Leo... what kind of 'kids' you work with? ... are they special?
WOW.
I remember I once wanted to start learning how to code and create iPhone applications :P
I guess some people are actually smart :P
but yea i agree with yuj, if he made it like 10$ which is ok for a good application, he wud have gotten rich
I thought about it at one point until I found out that you have to buy a Mac to use the SDK. I wasn't that dedicated, so I went with Android instead.
Just as long as there are Llamas and...and...
AND ULTRALORD SUPER GALAXY SET FEATURING FLASHING GIZMO BELT!!
What?
lolz, I love that movie.
this kid, Ring a Ding Ding has the greatest name to do a abbot and Costello routine
@webon
Dude, I keep reading & re-reading your post and chuckling harder & harder...
Ring a Ding Ding -- too funny!
LIES! LIES I TELL YOU!
"Nine-year old writes iPhone app, hates vegetables"
In fact it is a lie. I developer for iphone and some concepts are too hard for a 9-year old kid, for example the signing process.
@Magallanes
My guess is his father, who also develops for the iPhone (according to the article) could help with the signing process.
@Magallanes - so, you are assuming that because you had a hard time with it this kid did?