I would like to bring some clarity about the app.  Lots of information is being thrown around that is not accurate. 

First, there is not one app, there are two.  One is being written for Android and the other in iOS, so there are two teams, working in two languages for two different platforms and having to coordinate to make this a cross platform set of apps.   

Second, NEM is 100% new code.  If NEM was a Bitcoin clone, we could also clone some previously made Bitcoin app and rebrand it as our own.  That is not the case.  These apps are being written from scratch too and are doing a pretty amazing job of working with the system that is also new. 

Third, these apps will be open-sourced, so they aren't just an app, they will be a tool for third party devs to fork and build on NEM.  We are doing the hard part so that in the future others can get their specialized NEM app done for cheap. 

Additionally, during the course of making these apps, Apple upgraded to Swift 2, so then the iOS app was upgraded to this language.  This is a great thing because Swift 2 as a language will not just be used to make iOS apps, but also apps for the Mac app store. Likewise a Windows app store will enable porting of Android apps into Windows at some point.  While there is no plans to get these apps on the Mac app store or Windows app store at this time, that is a longer range possibility.  First we are just looking at getting them launched on iOS and Android. 

Fourth, due to the scope of these apps and the work involved building new apps for a new blockchain, we actually got a good deal.  There were many different professional app companies contacted and other estimates were a lot higher.  (In hindsight, had we taken the higher priced devs, we would already have the app by now, but that is how it goes.)

Lastly, the app costs just over 20k and is mostly paid off.