Cost of iPhone/Android Application Development

[Critical]

My company has a sponsor who does chuckwagon racing and they are looking for a mobile app to integrate all their videos, news, events and races into one place (From Wordpress, Twitter etc..) with notifications to the fans when something new is posted.

I've called over 10 different places, met up with around 5 for a detailed discussion on what we need for the app but we get quotes that fluctuate from $30,000 to $3,000 and even one developer saying $1,000.

Two part question:
1. Any tips for someone seeking an app being built? I definitely don't want to go to the $1,000 guy and get screwed over.. then again we don't want to overpay for such a simple app.

2. Does anyone have a positive experience with a mobile app developing company or know someone who can do this?

[Mar]

My company develops mobile applications, rightfully I'd say a simple Android application would probably be between $5000 - $10,.000. Adding the ability to update through an administrative interface and push notifications to subscribers would add another couple of grand.

iOS applications I quote double just for the headache and pain in the ass that is everything Macintosh. So $25,000 for both doesn't sound like a stretch.