Saturday, October 31, 2009
Lesson from the School of Hard Knocks
If you've got an App in the App Store, or are planning to sell an app there, it might be a good idea to learn from somebody else's mistake.
SmartPhone Comparison
I found this comparison of the current generation of smart phones to be interesting. Droid is shaping up to be a heck of a phone. I don't think it's going to pull a lot of people away from the iPhone, but I think it will do well and will probably be the biggest boost for the Android platform to date.
Are there really 10,000 applications on the Android Market now? I'm somewhat surprised that it's that high. I think even if that number's true (Googling finds me a lot of people regurgitating this same estimate from an unofficial source, but I can't find an authoritative source for the actual number of apps in the store), that comparison doesn't really represent the true differential between the App Store and the Android Market. Not even 1% of the applications in the Android Market have been downloaded over 250,000 times (including free ones!), and less than a quarter of them have even been downloaded even 5,000 times. By App Store standards, almost every app in the Android Market is a failure, including the best selling paid apps. That will change, but it hasn't yet and it's definitely a factor in comparing the phones. The App Store is, to put it simply, far more than 10x better than the Android Market.
My concerns about Droid's battery life don't appear to be true if the numbers in this comparison chart are accurate. Although the standby time for the Droid is noticeably shorter than the iPhone, the talk time is greater by a comparable margin. I'm also wondering if these are manufacturer's claims, or real world results. I'm especially curious to see how the Android's battery holds up when playing games or video on that big, beautiful screen. I really wish I could get my hands on one of these for a few weeks. Actually, at some point, I may buy a developer phone just to try and do a real comparison of the platforms from a developer's perspective and also to see if there are any good procedures for developing apps for both platforms simultaneously. I probably won't do that until I'm sure Android has secured the #2 spot, though, and the Android Market starts showing more commercial potential.
One thing I've heard from a few people, and the videos I've seen seem to support it, is that Droid's use of hardware acceleration is really inconsistent. Certain things like video must be leveraging the GPU to work as well as they do, but many other aspect of the UI don't seem to use it at all, which means things like scrolling or zooming often seem sluggish, at least compared to the experience on the iPhone. It's a subtle thing, but the iPhone's ubiquitous ability to leverage hardware acceleration really is a big deal, and one that's not often mentioned in phone comparisons.
Also, I'm hearing mixed things about multitouch on the Droid. The best I can figure is that it does support multitouch, but doesn't make very extensive use of it. It seems to be at least the case that the default browser doesn't support multi-touch gestures like pinch-zoom, which I would find annoying. If anyone can clarify this for me, I'll be happy to correct the post with the right information.
Other than the bigger screen, the iPhone and Droid are surprisingly comparable. In a way, that's bad, though. I'm not sure that having a higher-resolution screen (which I've heard looks nice, but isn't really noticeable unless you put the screens next to each other) and a higher-megapixel camera is enough. I was kind of hoping that Android would kick the iPhone's ass in a few more categories, because that would be a great motivator for Apple. If the Droid is really trying to be an "iPhone Killer", it won't be enough to be as good as the iPhone. But, the smartphone space is big and growing, and the Droid doesn't have to be an iPhone Killer to succeed. It certainly looks to be better than what Palm is offering, or any of the Windows Mobile devices that are available.
I will admit that Droid does look to be a pretty darn nice piece of hardware. If Motorola were willing to invest some time and resources into making Android's interface more intuitive and less designed-by-committee and also was willing to throw some resources at implementing system-wide use of that big GPU they've got in the phone, they could have a real winner on their hands. They've got the hardware in place to challenge the iPhone, but it looks like they're still falling short on software. Even though they are falling less short than others, Software is still king, and until they get that right, they're going to continue to be bridesmaids, and never the bride.
One row in this chart that I want to niggle with a bit with is the multitasking row. First of all, the iPhone does have muli-tasking. It has a very good preemptive multitasking kernel very similar to the one in our Macs. The ability to use it just isn't exposed to third-party developers through the SDK. And, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
In the early days of the iPhone SDK, I was one of the loudest proponents of adding multitasking and background tasks to the iPhone SDK. There are whole classes of applications that would become possible if Apple did, and that's all I was concerned about as a developer. But, you know what? Now that I've spent twenty months with the SDK and know more about the current state of embedded hardware, I've come to realize Apple was right on this call. The time isn't quite right yet. The tradeoff is such that you are doing most of your customers a disservice if you allow multiple applications to run. I've seen multitasking on the HTC Hero, the Palm Pre, and on a few models of Windows Mobile phones, and having multiple background apps running can really kill your performance and your battery life.
Sure, you can just quit those apps if performance suffers, right. Yeah, if you're reading this blog, sure. But the iPhone isn't a device targeted only or even primarily at tech-savvy people like developer. I'm reminded of when I would sit down at a certain family member's computer and he would have every application he had opened since he last booted his computer. It never occurred to him to quit programs he wasn't using. I suspect that there are more people like this family member than like you and me in the pool of potential customers. On a modern computer with virtual memory, who cares if there's a bunch of unused applications open, since they don't really have much of an impact. But on a phone? It still matters.
At some point in the near future, it will make sense on phones, too. But for now, given the hardware limitations, more people will have a better experience if they don't let developers write background processes or let users have more than one app running at a time. Battery life will be longer in real world use, performance will be better, and there are relatively few applications that can't get by without this ability.
Frankly, I'll be honest. I hope Droid fails for a completely selfish reason. I want to see Verizon get the iPhone. Of all the cell phone companies I've used, they were the least obnoxious and had the best service. If they got the iPhone, I'd go back to them in a heartbeat, even if I had to pay a termination fee to cancel my AT&T contract. At present, I just don't see the Droid betting better by enough to lure me away from the iPhone as either a consumer or a developer.
Ah, enough Saturday night rambling. I've got to go finish Chapter 10 which needs to be finished by the end of the day tomorrow.
Are there really 10,000 applications on the Android Market now? I'm somewhat surprised that it's that high. I think even if that number's true (Googling finds me a lot of people regurgitating this same estimate from an unofficial source, but I can't find an authoritative source for the actual number of apps in the store), that comparison doesn't really represent the true differential between the App Store and the Android Market. Not even 1% of the applications in the Android Market have been downloaded over 250,000 times (including free ones!), and less than a quarter of them have even been downloaded even 5,000 times. By App Store standards, almost every app in the Android Market is a failure, including the best selling paid apps. That will change, but it hasn't yet and it's definitely a factor in comparing the phones. The App Store is, to put it simply, far more than 10x better than the Android Market.
My concerns about Droid's battery life don't appear to be true if the numbers in this comparison chart are accurate. Although the standby time for the Droid is noticeably shorter than the iPhone, the talk time is greater by a comparable margin. I'm also wondering if these are manufacturer's claims, or real world results. I'm especially curious to see how the Android's battery holds up when playing games or video on that big, beautiful screen. I really wish I could get my hands on one of these for a few weeks. Actually, at some point, I may buy a developer phone just to try and do a real comparison of the platforms from a developer's perspective and also to see if there are any good procedures for developing apps for both platforms simultaneously. I probably won't do that until I'm sure Android has secured the #2 spot, though, and the Android Market starts showing more commercial potential.
One thing I've heard from a few people, and the videos I've seen seem to support it, is that Droid's use of hardware acceleration is really inconsistent. Certain things like video must be leveraging the GPU to work as well as they do, but many other aspect of the UI don't seem to use it at all, which means things like scrolling or zooming often seem sluggish, at least compared to the experience on the iPhone. It's a subtle thing, but the iPhone's ubiquitous ability to leverage hardware acceleration really is a big deal, and one that's not often mentioned in phone comparisons.
Also, I'm hearing mixed things about multitouch on the Droid. The best I can figure is that it does support multitouch, but doesn't make very extensive use of it. It seems to be at least the case that the default browser doesn't support multi-touch gestures like pinch-zoom, which I would find annoying. If anyone can clarify this for me, I'll be happy to correct the post with the right information.
Other than the bigger screen, the iPhone and Droid are surprisingly comparable. In a way, that's bad, though. I'm not sure that having a higher-resolution screen (which I've heard looks nice, but isn't really noticeable unless you put the screens next to each other) and a higher-megapixel camera is enough. I was kind of hoping that Android would kick the iPhone's ass in a few more categories, because that would be a great motivator for Apple. If the Droid is really trying to be an "iPhone Killer", it won't be enough to be as good as the iPhone. But, the smartphone space is big and growing, and the Droid doesn't have to be an iPhone Killer to succeed. It certainly looks to be better than what Palm is offering, or any of the Windows Mobile devices that are available.
I will admit that Droid does look to be a pretty darn nice piece of hardware. If Motorola were willing to invest some time and resources into making Android's interface more intuitive and less designed-by-committee and also was willing to throw some resources at implementing system-wide use of that big GPU they've got in the phone, they could have a real winner on their hands. They've got the hardware in place to challenge the iPhone, but it looks like they're still falling short on software. Even though they are falling less short than others, Software is still king, and until they get that right, they're going to continue to be bridesmaids, and never the bride.
One row in this chart that I want to niggle with a bit with is the multitasking row. First of all, the iPhone does have muli-tasking. It has a very good preemptive multitasking kernel very similar to the one in our Macs. The ability to use it just isn't exposed to third-party developers through the SDK. And, that's not necessarily a bad thing.
In the early days of the iPhone SDK, I was one of the loudest proponents of adding multitasking and background tasks to the iPhone SDK. There are whole classes of applications that would become possible if Apple did, and that's all I was concerned about as a developer. But, you know what? Now that I've spent twenty months with the SDK and know more about the current state of embedded hardware, I've come to realize Apple was right on this call. The time isn't quite right yet. The tradeoff is such that you are doing most of your customers a disservice if you allow multiple applications to run. I've seen multitasking on the HTC Hero, the Palm Pre, and on a few models of Windows Mobile phones, and having multiple background apps running can really kill your performance and your battery life.
Sure, you can just quit those apps if performance suffers, right. Yeah, if you're reading this blog, sure. But the iPhone isn't a device targeted only or even primarily at tech-savvy people like developer. I'm reminded of when I would sit down at a certain family member's computer and he would have every application he had opened since he last booted his computer. It never occurred to him to quit programs he wasn't using. I suspect that there are more people like this family member than like you and me in the pool of potential customers. On a modern computer with virtual memory, who cares if there's a bunch of unused applications open, since they don't really have much of an impact. But on a phone? It still matters.
At some point in the near future, it will make sense on phones, too. But for now, given the hardware limitations, more people will have a better experience if they don't let developers write background processes or let users have more than one app running at a time. Battery life will be longer in real world use, performance will be better, and there are relatively few applications that can't get by without this ability.
Frankly, I'll be honest. I hope Droid fails for a completely selfish reason. I want to see Verizon get the iPhone. Of all the cell phone companies I've used, they were the least obnoxious and had the best service. If they got the iPhone, I'd go back to them in a heartbeat, even if I had to pay a termination fee to cancel my AT&T contract. At present, I just don't see the Droid betting better by enough to lure me away from the iPhone as either a consumer or a developer.
Ah, enough Saturday night rambling. I've got to go finish Chapter 10 which needs to be finished by the end of the day tomorrow.
iPhone Tech Talk Hamburg
I've heard from a handful of people that the Hamburg Tech Talk acceptance e-mails have started. Good luck to everyone who applied.
Friday, October 30, 2009
iPhone Comes to China Without Key Feature
The world's most crowded mobile phone market includes a new product, Apple's iPhone is already lounched in China. China Unicom Ltd. Is official partner of apple company. It started selling iPhones equipped for third-generation service Friday night at 2,000 stores in areas as farflung as Tibet. Chinese news reports say Unicom hopes to sell 5 million in three years, but the company declined to confirm that.
Unicom's first iPhones lack WiFi, a possible handicap with sophisticated, demanding Chinese buyers. The technology, a key part of the iPhone's appeal, allows the phones in other markets to use free wireless networks in cafes and offices to download e-mail and the latest applications. Apple Inc. and Unicom also could face competition from an unusual source: unlocked iPhones brought in from abroad that have WiFi.
There are already an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million such phones using China Mobile 3G service that allows Internet access and other features. Unicom's prices range from 4,999 yuan ($730) to 6,999 yuan ($1,025) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. That is 20 percent above the 5,700 yuan ($835) charged by merchants at Chinese street markets for a 3GS with WiFi.
The iPhone's awkward, delayed entry into China reflects the regulatory and technical hurdles of a fast-changing market where other global technology companies have struggled to establish themselves. Unicom's iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, according to BDA. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun.
China has more than 650 million mobile phone accounts, despite an average annual income of $3,000 per person. Some users trade in phones several times a year to get the latest features. China Unicom has 143 million mobile accounts, which would be an impressive figure in any other market but lags far behind China's Mobile's 508 million accounts.
Unicom, China Mobile and the third company, China Telecom Ltd., all emerged with mobile and fixed-line services. The lack of WiFi means Unicom iPhone customers will have to pay to connect to the phone network for every function. BDA's Clark said that could alienate users if it leads to high monthly bills.
Reference:
http://cut.io/dpY9
Unicom's first iPhones lack WiFi, a possible handicap with sophisticated, demanding Chinese buyers. The technology, a key part of the iPhone's appeal, allows the phones in other markets to use free wireless networks in cafes and offices to download e-mail and the latest applications. Apple Inc. and Unicom also could face competition from an unusual source: unlocked iPhones brought in from abroad that have WiFi.
There are already an estimated 1.5 million to 2 million such phones using China Mobile 3G service that allows Internet access and other features. Unicom's prices range from 4,999 yuan ($730) to 6,999 yuan ($1,025) for the high-end, 32-gigabyte iPhone 3GS. That is 20 percent above the 5,700 yuan ($835) charged by merchants at Chinese street markets for a 3GS with WiFi.
The iPhone's awkward, delayed entry into China reflects the regulatory and technical hurdles of a fast-changing market where other global technology companies have struggled to establish themselves. Unicom's iPhones lack WiFi because it was temporarily banned by Beijing, which was promoting a rival Chinese system, according to BDA. The ban was relaxed in May after manufacturing had begun.
China has more than 650 million mobile phone accounts, despite an average annual income of $3,000 per person. Some users trade in phones several times a year to get the latest features. China Unicom has 143 million mobile accounts, which would be an impressive figure in any other market but lags far behind China's Mobile's 508 million accounts. Unicom, China Mobile and the third company, China Telecom Ltd., all emerged with mobile and fixed-line services. The lack of WiFi means Unicom iPhone customers will have to pay to connect to the phone network for every function. BDA's Clark said that could alienate users if it leads to high monthly bills.
Reference:
http://cut.io/dpY9
More iPhone 3 Development Mini-Update
Our original belief that a chapter on supporting online play with GameKit would be long turned out to be accurate. The first draft of the online play chapter just knocked the last Core Data chapter off of its pedestal. Clocking in at 56 pages, this chapter goes through the process of creating re-usable objects to listen for network connections and to exchange information with other devices using streams. We also show you how to use Bonjour to find and connect to peers on your local network.
It's been a bear to write, but I think it's good addition to the book. I could be wrong, but I think this will be the most comprehensive step-by-step guide to adding online play to a GameKit application that's available and, frankly, most of the hard work was in writing the two reusable classes that you'll be able to just copy into other projects and use.
It's been a bear to write, but I think it's good addition to the book. I could be wrong, but I think this will be the most comprehensive step-by-step guide to adding online play to a GameKit application that's available and, frankly, most of the hard work was in writing the two reusable classes that you'll be able to just copy into other projects and use.
Tech Talk London
Sounds like the London Tech Talk World Tour acceptances have started to seep out of Cupertino. That's almost a month before NYC, so it may be a few weeks before the NYC ones start escaping from One Infinite Loop. That's a long time to keep fingers crossed.
Free Disney App Available for iPhone
Disney.com has launched free Disney.com App for iPhone and iPod touch on the App Store featuring areas dedicated to Characters, Music, Video and Games. Content in the app will be updated regularly, providing kids and families with instant access to the latest Disney news and entertainment.The app allows users to photograph a movie poster to receive related video content or wallpaper images for a cellphone screen. In the future, the company reckons that the bonus content could be linked to location, established via GPS. This could mean special offers from local stores or cinemas.
The new Disney App will also offer innovative features including “Click2Life” which allows iPhone users to snap a picture of a Disney image on a television or poster to receive special content such as animated images or product offers.
Available for free download via the iTunes App Store, Disney.com requires iPhone OS 3.0 and an iPhone for the picture-taking feature.
Reference:
http://cut.io/dvw6
Thursday, October 29, 2009
On Private APIs
I'm hearing from a couple of different sources that Apple's App Store reviewers now have some way to scan submitted applications to detect the use of private APIs. I've never been an advocate of using Private APIs, and Dave and I strictly avoid them for the book examples, but I always thought it strange that Apple left to the honor system any use of private APIs that couldn't be easily discerned.
Looks like you need to step more carefully now if you have used any private framework APIs.
I know this step will annoy some developers, but in the long run, it's for the best. Private APIs add fragility to an application, and they also discourage people from submitting enhancement requests, which are how Apple gauges whether a currently private API should be made public.
Looks like you need to step more carefully now if you have used any private framework APIs.
I know this step will annoy some developers, but in the long run, it's for the best. Private APIs add fragility to an application, and they also discourage people from submitting enhancement requests, which are how Apple gauges whether a currently private API should be made public.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Unity Indie Now Free
The 3D game-making toolset called Unity is now available for free to independent developers who gross less than $100k on products made with the tools. This is an interesting move on the part of Unity3D. I haven't used the tool myself, but I've heard mostly good things about it. Now that it's free for indie use, there's no excuse for not checking it out.
DevDays
If you want to see some interesting chatter, take a look at the Dev Days backchannel on Twitter. It's very amusing. There's lots of ignorant hyperbole, including claims that Apple is the most evil thing on the planet because they chose to use Objective-C along with the typical complaints that it's not what they're used to, so it's bad, or ugly.
There's also a fair amount of positive chatter as well. It's interesting to see just how different people's opinions can be.
Most of the negative comments are just people expressing their honest (though sometimes ignorant or ill-informed) opinions, but some are just downright snarky as well as being ignorant.
I know most of my readers know this, but Objective-C has a garbage collector. A really, really good garbage collector. Apple chose not to use it for the iPhone SDK (yet) because the iPhone is an embedded device with processor and memory constraints. It was felt that the benefit to the programmer of not having to do some basic memory management was simply not worth the overhead cost. Unlike languages like Java or C#, we have the flexibility to do memory management manually when there's a performance reason to do so.
There's a reason why GC didn't become popular earlier than it did. On slower, single-core machines (especially ones with limited memory or without virtual memory), the overhead of GC is non-trivial. Discarding a technique because it's no longer popular is idiotic. Discarding it because it's no longer valuable makes sense, but understanding memory management always has value, and in this case, using it very much has value.
There's also a fair amount of positive chatter as well. It's interesting to see just how different people's opinions can be.
Most of the negative comments are just people expressing their honest (though sometimes ignorant or ill-informed) opinions, but some are just downright snarky as well as being ignorant.
I know most of my readers know this, but Objective-C has a garbage collector. A really, really good garbage collector. Apple chose not to use it for the iPhone SDK (yet) because the iPhone is an embedded device with processor and memory constraints. It was felt that the benefit to the programmer of not having to do some basic memory management was simply not worth the overhead cost. Unlike languages like Java or C#, we have the flexibility to do memory management manually when there's a performance reason to do so.
There's a reason why GC didn't become popular earlier than it did. On slower, single-core machines (especially ones with limited memory or without virtual memory), the overhead of GC is non-trivial. Discarding a technique because it's no longer popular is idiotic. Discarding it because it's no longer valuable makes sense, but understanding memory management always has value, and in this case, using it very much has value.
Droid Looks Nice
Here's a breif article on Droid with some nice pictures. The keyboard doesn't appeal to me, but to people who want a physical keyboard, this should have a lot of appeal, since they've put a decent-size keyboard on a phone that's almost as thin as the iPhone. I'd really like to check one of these out. I honestly do not think it's an iPhone Killer. To be that, the Android 2.0 OS would have to take a quantum leap forward in usability. It wouldn't be enough to become as-good or even a little better than the iPhone. To become an iPhone killer, a phone has to be significantly better than the iPhone. On the hardware side, though, there's some stuff that looks great on paper.
The screen has a much higher resolution than existing iPhones at 854x480 pixels. I'm curious about this item, though. It's one of those things that we geeks like to salivate over. Look at all those extra pixels! But, I wonder how much of a difference that will make to the end user and what the tradeoff will be. That's a very high PPI. It might be one of those things where they've pumped up the resolution to have a better spec for advertising purposes, but that having the extra resolution doesn't offer much real benefit to the user.
Plus, it seems like it would have to be more of a drain on the battery than a lower-resolution screen. That's an awful lot more pixels to push (roughly 300% of the iPhone), which means much more work for the GPU, which also means a drain on the battery. The iPhone's 320x480 screen already has a higher PPI than most computer screens, so I'm curious if the higher-resolution screen is really a good idea in practice, or if it's just geek-pr0n for people who get off on having better specs than their neighbor, sort of like the MHz processor wars a few years back when Intel started increasing clock speed by reducing the amount of work done per cycle because the clock speed had become the main marketing point for processors.
I'm not saying that's the case. I don't have access to a Droid so don't have the ability to form an opinion of the Droid. This is all just conjecture at this point. I'm curious, though: Do most people's eyes need significantly more than 150 points per inch, when each point is capable of displaying a range of millions of colors.
If I had to predict, I'd guess that the difference as far as the end-user is concerned will be very little. Fonts and images will be drawn a tiny bit smoother. But, I also predict that it will have an impact on battery life and game performance because there are so many more pixels to push.
But I could definitely be wrong. I would actually love to be wrong this time. If they've really managed to make a significantly better screen without sacrificing battery life or performance, it would be a truly awesome thing, especially if they can combine it with a version of Android that, to the end-user, is nearly as good as the iPhone. I can't think of anything that would push Apple more than having someone nipping at their heels with something that is truly better than the iPhone in some respects and as good (or nearly so) in all others. My fear, however, is that this resolution touting is just another case of trying to compete with the iPhone based on a feature list or spec sheets. If you try to compete on either of those, it shows that you completely fail to grasp what it is that makes the iPhone so popular and indicates that you aren't yet capable of producing an iPhone competitor, let alone an iPhone killer.
I have my fingers crossed that the Droid will live up to the hype, but I'm not betting any money on it.
The screen has a much higher resolution than existing iPhones at 854x480 pixels. I'm curious about this item, though. It's one of those things that we geeks like to salivate over. Look at all those extra pixels! But, I wonder how much of a difference that will make to the end user and what the tradeoff will be. That's a very high PPI. It might be one of those things where they've pumped up the resolution to have a better spec for advertising purposes, but that having the extra resolution doesn't offer much real benefit to the user.
Plus, it seems like it would have to be more of a drain on the battery than a lower-resolution screen. That's an awful lot more pixels to push (roughly 300% of the iPhone), which means much more work for the GPU, which also means a drain on the battery. The iPhone's 320x480 screen already has a higher PPI than most computer screens, so I'm curious if the higher-resolution screen is really a good idea in practice, or if it's just geek-pr0n for people who get off on having better specs than their neighbor, sort of like the MHz processor wars a few years back when Intel started increasing clock speed by reducing the amount of work done per cycle because the clock speed had become the main marketing point for processors.
I'm not saying that's the case. I don't have access to a Droid so don't have the ability to form an opinion of the Droid. This is all just conjecture at this point. I'm curious, though: Do most people's eyes need significantly more than 150 points per inch, when each point is capable of displaying a range of millions of colors.
If I had to predict, I'd guess that the difference as far as the end-user is concerned will be very little. Fonts and images will be drawn a tiny bit smoother. But, I also predict that it will have an impact on battery life and game performance because there are so many more pixels to push.
But I could definitely be wrong. I would actually love to be wrong this time. If they've really managed to make a significantly better screen without sacrificing battery life or performance, it would be a truly awesome thing, especially if they can combine it with a version of Android that, to the end-user, is nearly as good as the iPhone. I can't think of anything that would push Apple more than having someone nipping at their heels with something that is truly better than the iPhone in some respects and as good (or nearly so) in all others. My fear, however, is that this resolution touting is just another case of trying to compete with the iPhone based on a feature list or spec sheets. If you try to compete on either of those, it shows that you completely fail to grasp what it is that makes the iPhone so popular and indicates that you aren't yet capable of producing an iPhone competitor, let alone an iPhone killer.
I have my fingers crossed that the Droid will live up to the hype, but I'm not betting any money on it.
More iPhone 3 Development Update
The writing of More iPhone 3 Development is starting to move faster now, at least in terms of the number of pages we're churning out. It's not going as fast as we'd like, and nowhere near as fast as Apress would like, unfortunately, but it is going faster. The good news is that we're really happy with what we've written so far. More iPhone 3 Development is not just more of what was in Beginning iPhone 3 Development. We have a much greater focus in this book on application design and on writing code for maximum reuse. Many of the objects we write can be used unmodified in your own applications. We assume that the reader has done some development and is ready to take things to another level.
We're just finishing up the networked applications chapters. Our original plan was to just cover GameKit networking over Bluetooth, which is relatively straightforward since Apple provides high-level objects that handle all the gnarley aspects for you. We were originally not going to cover online play over regular network connections. Our original thinking was that because there's no high-level objects yet for sending and receiving over the network that are suitable to network play, that to do an online play chapter well would require a really long chapter. Long both in terms of number of pages, and in terms of how long it would take us to write, and we didn't feel like we could afford another long chapter in light of our schedule.
To be perfectly honest, I had hoped that GameKit would add support for online play and then the whole thing would become a moot point since the GameKit chapter would be all you needed. Apple may still add that functionality to GameKit at some point (there are certainly hints in GameKit), but they haven't yet, and frankly, there just isn't a good place to go and find out how to do online play. All the information is out there, but nobody's put all the steps together in a single, easy, comprehensive place, at least as far as I've been able to find.
So, after some back and forth discussions with Dave, we came to the conclusion that we needed to cover online play in addition to the straight GameKit chapter in our original Table of Contents. We decided to do it as a follow-on chapter to the GameKit chapter. We take the game that we created in the GameKit chapter and add online play to it. We show how to use Bonjour to let the user find other peers (pretty much the same way GameKit does over Bluetooth) and show how to connect to them and exchange data in a similar manner to GameKit so we don't have to substantially rewrite the application's logic. The use of Bonjour limits play to opponents on the same network subnet (basically, phones connected to the same router or WiFi base station), but the techniques are the same for play over the internet, and we're going to have a sidebar that shows how to connect to remote machines based on a DNS name or IP number and port. The other thing this offers over GameKit is that the code can be used on a Mac, so you can write code that lets an application on a Mac talk to one on an iPhone, which opens up a whole slew of possibilities.
As with the Core Data chapters, our focus has been on writing code generically to maximize reuse, and I think we've done a good job as far as the online play stuff is concerned. We've created a class that works very similarly to GameKit's GKSession class. You pass it NSData instances to send, and it takes care of sending and receiving the data, re-assembling the packets, and making sure its delegate receives the data in the same order it was sent in.
You should be able to just drop this class (along with another supporting class) into your other projects and use them as-is, making it relatively easy to implement network play. To add online play to an existing GameKit app with this should also be relatively trivial since that's what we do in the chapter.
For those who have asked what fruit will be on the new book, it'll be a blood orange.
I don't know if the cover to the left is final, but it's what is on Amazon right now, so I figure it's okay to share. Until it's approved, it definitely could change, but this is the cover image you'll see if you pull it up on Amazon. Note that the description on Amazon definitely isn't final, either.
We're just finishing up the networked applications chapters. Our original plan was to just cover GameKit networking over Bluetooth, which is relatively straightforward since Apple provides high-level objects that handle all the gnarley aspects for you. We were originally not going to cover online play over regular network connections. Our original thinking was that because there's no high-level objects yet for sending and receiving over the network that are suitable to network play, that to do an online play chapter well would require a really long chapter. Long both in terms of number of pages, and in terms of how long it would take us to write, and we didn't feel like we could afford another long chapter in light of our schedule.
To be perfectly honest, I had hoped that GameKit would add support for online play and then the whole thing would become a moot point since the GameKit chapter would be all you needed. Apple may still add that functionality to GameKit at some point (there are certainly hints in GameKit), but they haven't yet, and frankly, there just isn't a good place to go and find out how to do online play. All the information is out there, but nobody's put all the steps together in a single, easy, comprehensive place, at least as far as I've been able to find.
So, after some back and forth discussions with Dave, we came to the conclusion that we needed to cover online play in addition to the straight GameKit chapter in our original Table of Contents. We decided to do it as a follow-on chapter to the GameKit chapter. We take the game that we created in the GameKit chapter and add online play to it. We show how to use Bonjour to let the user find other peers (pretty much the same way GameKit does over Bluetooth) and show how to connect to them and exchange data in a similar manner to GameKit so we don't have to substantially rewrite the application's logic. The use of Bonjour limits play to opponents on the same network subnet (basically, phones connected to the same router or WiFi base station), but the techniques are the same for play over the internet, and we're going to have a sidebar that shows how to connect to remote machines based on a DNS name or IP number and port. The other thing this offers over GameKit is that the code can be used on a Mac, so you can write code that lets an application on a Mac talk to one on an iPhone, which opens up a whole slew of possibilities.
As with the Core Data chapters, our focus has been on writing code generically to maximize reuse, and I think we've done a good job as far as the online play stuff is concerned. We've created a class that works very similarly to GameKit's GKSession class. You pass it NSData instances to send, and it takes care of sending and receiving the data, re-assembling the packets, and making sure its delegate receives the data in the same order it was sent in.
You should be able to just drop this class (along with another supporting class) into your other projects and use them as-is, making it relatively easy to implement network play. To add online play to an existing GameKit app with this should also be relatively trivial since that's what we do in the chapter.For those who have asked what fruit will be on the new book, it'll be a blood orange.
I don't know if the cover to the left is final, but it's what is on Amazon right now, so I figure it's okay to share. Until it's approved, it definitely could change, but this is the cover image you'll see if you pull it up on Amazon. Note that the description on Amazon definitely isn't final, either.
The Historic Earth Application for Real Geography Maniacs
Geography manila is getting easier with the new iPhone App - The Historic Earth that is based on Old Map App, an earlier prototype. Drawing on the archives of Historic Map Works, the world’s largest online collection of geo-coded historic maps, Historic Earth allows you to virtually travel back through time in many U.S. cities and states. Geo-coding allows the maps to closely overlay a modern map, so that the same locations can be compared in various periods.Launching with 32,000 high-resolution maps covering several cities and states (including NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington DC, Maine, and most of the Midwest) the collection will be expanding to 130,000 soon after launch as more of the Historic Map Works archive is made available.
Here are some features:
Map My Location: Searches and displays historical maps of your current location.
Featured Locations: Explore historical maps from a variety of highlighted locations.Search: Search for a location by address, city, or ZIP code to explore maps from that area.
Geographic Search: Pan and Zoom to any location on the map and make a new search for maps at that location.
Compass Rotates Map: For iPhone 3GS users, the maps can rotate to your current orientation.
The app costs $5.99 (in the US) for a limited time.
Reference:
http://cut.io/ERY5
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Worldwide Popular iPhone Free Apps - Real Racing GTI, Fling
Uncountable number of iPhone applications is available worldwide but not all of them are as popular as these, which are presented in our review. Fast growing demand brings the popularity not only to the applications but also to their developer companies. So which free applications are mostly downloaded by worldwide iPhone users? Here we present the top free application by country* for the week, by number of downloads, recorded on October 26:
1. US - Photoshop.com Mobile (photography)
It is a free download and has been designed to offer mainstream users with easy-to-use, on-the-go photo-editing tools. Photoshop.com Mobile enables users to crop, rotate, flip or add special effect filters to their images using gesture-based editing. Photo saturation, tint, exposure, and vibrancy can also be enhanced before photos are uploaded to the 2GB provided of free online photo storage available at photoshop.com (sign-up required). The application is only available in the US and Canada App Stores.
2. Germany - Real Racing GTI (games)
Real Racing GTI is a fast-paced racing application designed by Firemint in collaboration with car manufacturer Volkswagen to celebrate the upcoming release of the 2010 model GTI. The accelerometer-controlled racing game puts players in the driver's seat of the new GTI. Depending on the choice of game mode, players can race against opponents or try to beat the clock. Great graphics and "real-feel" racing make Real Racing GTI one of the best free racing games in the app store.
3. France - SNCF Direct (travel)
SNCF Direct is an application designed by the French national railway company, SNCF. Users can use the application to look up train schedules in over 600 stations located in France. Real-time arrival and departure times are also provided and users can stay informed with up-to-the-minute notifications about delays and impending train departures. A geo-location feature enables users to pinpoint the closest station to them. A map view provides users with directions to the station from their current location. Travellers can also use the application to find out information about station opening times and to view a list of amenities located within the station.
4. UK - Fling (free) (games)
Fling is a strategy-based puzzle game where users have to plan their gameplay to pass to the next level. In each level cute, furry characters are positioned on the grass-covered game board. Players slide their finger over a character to "fling" it into an adjacent character, pushing it off the edge of the board. To win the game and move onto the next level all but one character must be eliminated from the board. Players can choose from three game modes: free play, arcade or challenge.
5. Canada - Fling (free) (games)
6. Australia -Fling (free) (games)
7. Japan - Real Racing GTI (games)
8. Italy - Real Racing GTI (games)
9. Switzerland - Inhale Helium Here (light) (entertainment)
"Inhale Helium Here" transforms your iPhone into a "helium balloon." Users "suck" on their microphone to inhale helium from the balloon on screen. As the air is inhaled, the displayed balloon gets smaller. The user then speaks into the phone's microphone. The application records the user's voice before playing it back as a warped, high-pitched helium-sounding version.
10. Russia - Real Racing GTI (games)
Reference:
http://cut.io/nopA
http://cut.io/kqIX
1. US - Photoshop.com Mobile (photography) It is a free download and has been designed to offer mainstream users with easy-to-use, on-the-go photo-editing tools. Photoshop.com Mobile enables users to crop, rotate, flip or add special effect filters to their images using gesture-based editing. Photo saturation, tint, exposure, and vibrancy can also be enhanced before photos are uploaded to the 2GB provided of free online photo storage available at photoshop.com (sign-up required). The application is only available in the US and Canada App Stores.
2. Germany - Real Racing GTI (games)
Real Racing GTI is a fast-paced racing application designed by Firemint in collaboration with car manufacturer Volkswagen to celebrate the upcoming release of the 2010 model GTI. The accelerometer-controlled racing game puts players in the driver's seat of the new GTI. Depending on the choice of game mode, players can race against opponents or try to beat the clock. Great graphics and "real-feel" racing make Real Racing GTI one of the best free racing games in the app store.
3. France - SNCF Direct (travel)
SNCF Direct is an application designed by the French national railway company, SNCF. Users can use the application to look up train schedules in over 600 stations located in France. Real-time arrival and departure times are also provided and users can stay informed with up-to-the-minute notifications about delays and impending train departures. A geo-location feature enables users to pinpoint the closest station to them. A map view provides users with directions to the station from their current location. Travellers can also use the application to find out information about station opening times and to view a list of amenities located within the station.
4. UK - Fling (free) (games) Fling is a strategy-based puzzle game where users have to plan their gameplay to pass to the next level. In each level cute, furry characters are positioned on the grass-covered game board. Players slide their finger over a character to "fling" it into an adjacent character, pushing it off the edge of the board. To win the game and move onto the next level all but one character must be eliminated from the board. Players can choose from three game modes: free play, arcade or challenge.
5. Canada - Fling (free) (games)
6. Australia -Fling (free) (games)
7. Japan - Real Racing GTI (games)
8. Italy - Real Racing GTI (games)
9. Switzerland - Inhale Helium Here (light) (entertainment)
"Inhale Helium Here" transforms your iPhone into a "helium balloon." Users "suck" on their microphone to inhale helium from the balloon on screen. As the air is inhaled, the displayed balloon gets smaller. The user then speaks into the phone's microphone. The application records the user's voice before playing it back as a warped, high-pitched helium-sounding version.
10. Russia - Real Racing GTI (games)
Reference:
http://cut.io/nopA
http://cut.io/kqIX
Gmail Helps iPhone Users to Create Long e-mails Easier
Google released new feature for long-winded iPhone e-mail authors that makes typing lengthy Gmail messages easier on the iPhone and iPod Touch.Verbose e-mailers will see blank lines appear below the cursor as you reach the bottom of the window. It is not yet clear, if there’s a limit to how many lines you can add in a Gmail message. To review your message just swipe up and down to scroll.
At this point, Gmail’s composition window won’t contract when you delete lines; expansion alone is the name of the game.
The expanding Gmail composition box is part of Google's iterative Web project for slowly introducing new features to Gmail mobile one at a time. The composition feature is available to iPhone and iPod users who reach Gmail via Gmail.com from the Safari browser.
Google's Gmail-for-mobile project began in April 2009.
Reference:
http://cut.io/dqTV
Monday, October 26, 2009
Two More iPhone Boot Camp Workshops
I'll be teaching the iPhone Boot Camp in New York City again on December 5-7. Like last time, I'll be teaching one half of a six-day workshop, with Steve Kochan doing the other half, so the full dates are December 2-7, and it's downtown, about two blocks from Penn Station, so it's easy to get there. Steve will be doing three days in Objective-C, and I'll follow with three days of iPhone development, and you can choose to take either class separately or both together.
We're also going to do the same format in Chicago on December 11-16, with the iPhone portion of the workshop that I'll be teaching happening on December 14, 15, and 16.
I'll post links to the signup page once I've received them from the iPhone Boot Camp folks.
We're also going to do the same format in Chicago on December 11-16, with the iPhone portion of the workshop that I'll be teaching happening on December 14, 15, and 16.
I'll post links to the signup page once I've received them from the iPhone Boot Camp folks.
Pet Sematary Comes to The iPhone
As Halloween is coming, Paramount Digital Entertainment released “Pet Sematary” for the iPhone and iPod touch, a top-down, tap-to-kill arcade game inspired by the classic horror film. The game costs only $.99.In “Pet Sematary,” a grief-stricken father buries his son in an ancient animal burial ground, where it is said everything laid to rest there will come back to life. But the burial ground is for animals only; when the animals and his son rise from the grave – they have a new hunger for human flesh.
Players in Pet Sematary take on the role of a lone hero uninterested in becoming cat food. Perched on the rooftops, players will shoot down undead animals by tapping them one to four times as they race across the screen to feast on innocent townspeople.
Each level lasts less than a minute and naturally things get more difficult as the game progresses, with more and more baddies invading the screen at the same time. In-game pickups score you bonus points, replenish your health, and provide temporary weapon upgrades
Pet Sematary also includes built-in social networking features that allow players to post their high scores directly to their Facebook pages
Reference:
http://cut.io/KLS8
Sunday, October 25, 2009
My Christmas Gift List 1.0 Released for iPhone and iPod Touch
PRG Consulting announced the latest ultimate application called My Christmas Gift List 1.0, for iPhone and iPod Touch. My Christmas Gift List was specially designed to help you organize your Christmas shopping. This shopping list manager is the perfect tool to take care of all your shopping for the Holiday season: starting from contacts, budget to ideas and gifts, organize your Christmas shopping in the most efficient and enjoyable way.
My Christmas Gifts exists in 9 languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Portugese, Dutch, Czech and Polish.
The application runs on all Apple iPhone, 3G, 3GS and all Apple iPod Touch devices running iPhone OS 3.0 or newer.
My Christmas Gift List 1.0 is only $0.99 USD (or the equivalent in local price) and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Lifestyle category.
Reference:
http://cut.io/xzAB
Saturday, October 24, 2009
NASA Application for iPhone Users
The U.S. space agency NASA with the New Media Team has released the first NASA iPhone application that enables users to stay on top of the latest NASA news. It is to deliver up-to-the-minute NASA content directly from Agency sources in one easy-to-use mobile platform. The application offers access to up-to-the-minutes news, videos, and photos from NASA missions. Users can also track the orbital locations of various NASA spacecraft in real-time.
The Application Features four Screens:
The missions home screen - shows all current NASA missions in a table view to skim. Any item in the list of missions can be selected, which opens a detailed view.
The images home screen - gives the user two image gallery options, the NASA Image of the Day and the Astronomy Picture of the Day. The user clicks on an image to see a zoomed in version with the ability to read the photo description, and can toggle between the two sources. The images are displayed in thumbnail format.
The video home screen - allows the user to browse, select and watch videos posted to YouTube by NASA. Videos are presented in a tabular format and are searchable via keywords. Users can also select from a list of YouTube channels to narrow or widen the scope of their video browsing.
The updates home screen - displays updates from various NASA Twitter feeds. These "tweets" are searchable and the users can select from a list of NASA Twitter feeds to narrow or widen the scope of their browsing.
The NASA App is available free of charge on the App Store from Apple directly to the iPhone and iPod Touch or within iTunes.
Reference:
http://cut.io/gqrR
The Application Features four Screens:
The missions home screen - shows all current NASA missions in a table view to skim. Any item in the list of missions can be selected, which opens a detailed view. 
The images home screen - gives the user two image gallery options, the NASA Image of the Day and the Astronomy Picture of the Day. The user clicks on an image to see a zoomed in version with the ability to read the photo description, and can toggle between the two sources. The images are displayed in thumbnail format.
The video home screen - allows the user to browse, select and watch videos posted to YouTube by NASA. Videos are presented in a tabular format and are searchable via keywords. Users can also select from a list of YouTube channels to narrow or widen the scope of their video browsing.
The updates home screen - displays updates from various NASA Twitter feeds. These "tweets" are searchable and the users can select from a list of NASA Twitter feeds to narrow or widen the scope of their browsing.The NASA App is available free of charge on the App Store from Apple directly to the iPhone and iPod Touch or within iTunes.
Reference:
http://cut.io/gqrR
Friday, October 23, 2009
NYC Tech Talk Update
If, like me, you've signed up for the New York City Tech Talk, do not fret if you haven't received confirmation yet. According to Apple's Graphics Technologies Evangelist, Allan Schaffer, they haven't processed the NYC ones yet.
Meet Me, NYC, Nov. 5th
On November 5th, I'll be speaking at the Apple Store SoHo in New York City. I'll be speaking at the MetroMac meeting. The meeting is from 6:00 to 9:00, but I won't be speaking for the entire meeting. I believe I've been given roughly between ninety minutes and two hours, though, which is probably longer than anyone should have to listen to me.
I've been given fairly free reign in terms of what I speak about, as long as it's relevant to the audience (iPhone, Mac, etc), however be aware that MetroMac is not a developer group and the audience will run the gamut from consumer to total gearhead. As a result, the talk will not be particularly technical (at least not hardcore developer-type technical). I'll be leaving about twenty minutes to a half hour for questions, and will be happy to answer questions and chat even after the meeting is done.
Although I've been to the Flagship 5th Avenue store a few times, I've never been to the SoHo store, so I'm really looking forward to the talk, though it'll be the first time I'll have given a non-technical presentation in… well, years, so if I make a fool of myself, pretend I didn't, 'kay?
Because of how far away I live and how late the talk is, I'm also in the city for the night, so I could probably be talked into having a beer or three after the meeting with any City Geeks who are allowed to stay out after curfew.
Live in or near NYC? Stop by and say hi.
I've been given fairly free reign in terms of what I speak about, as long as it's relevant to the audience (iPhone, Mac, etc), however be aware that MetroMac is not a developer group and the audience will run the gamut from consumer to total gearhead. As a result, the talk will not be particularly technical (at least not hardcore developer-type technical). I'll be leaving about twenty minutes to a half hour for questions, and will be happy to answer questions and chat even after the meeting is done.
Although I've been to the Flagship 5th Avenue store a few times, I've never been to the SoHo store, so I'm really looking forward to the talk, though it'll be the first time I'll have given a non-technical presentation in… well, years, so if I make a fool of myself, pretend I didn't, 'kay?
Because of how far away I live and how late the talk is, I'm also in the city for the night, so I could probably be talked into having a beer or three after the meeting with any City Geeks who are allowed to stay out after curfew.
Live in or near NYC? Stop by and say hi.
Marble Madness?
The developer of Stone Loops, a marble game that used to be available in the App Store, has a very discouraging tale to tell in his blog today. Obviously, this is only one side of the story, but it does seem very suspicious to me that MumboJumbo only made these hefty claims of improper and illegal activity to Apple and not in any other forum (like, say, legal proceedings) nor have they leveled the same complaint about the multitude of previously existing platform version of Stone Loops. If Code Minions had really stolen code (among the things alleged from MumboJumbo), it seems like they would be taking more serious action than just complaining to Apple, that is, unless they don't have sufficient evidence to meet the standard of proof anywhere else, but if that's the case, then Apple shouldn't have removed a competitor's application without being shown proof.
I'll refrain from judgment until I hear the other side of the story, but if things are as laid out in Maciej's blog, then Stone Loops should be restored to the App Store immediately. On top of that, Luxor should be pulled from the store just as immediately, as punishment for making unfounded allegations about a competitor. I'd even go so far as to consider pulling MumboJumbo's developer privileges if this is true, and it were my call to make. I have no tolerance for underhanded tactics, especially when resorted to by companies failing to compete on their merits (I'm looking at you, Nokia).
Again, we don't know the whole story now, because neither Luxor nor Apple has addressed Maciej's allegations yet, so let's not pull out the torches and pitch forks just yet. You might want to sharpen the pitch forks, though, just in case. Apple is unlikely to make a public statement about this; it's just not their style, but MumboJumbo, at very least, should respond.
Personally, I think Apple should impose a new policy. When someone makes an allegation of impropriety about a competitor, they should pull both apps until it's resolved. After resolution, the prevailing party's app goes back on the store, the other does not. This may seem harsh, but it would make people think twice about leveling accusations unless they have substantial proof to back up their claims. Of course, this only works if Apple also puts in a mechanism to expedite resolution of conflicts and they may just not want to get into that business. But, as sole gatekeeper of the sole way to sell iPhone applications, they should have expected conflicts of this nature to arise and should be willing to deal with them in a fair and expeditious manner.
I'll refrain from judgment until I hear the other side of the story, but if things are as laid out in Maciej's blog, then Stone Loops should be restored to the App Store immediately. On top of that, Luxor should be pulled from the store just as immediately, as punishment for making unfounded allegations about a competitor. I'd even go so far as to consider pulling MumboJumbo's developer privileges if this is true, and it were my call to make. I have no tolerance for underhanded tactics, especially when resorted to by companies failing to compete on their merits (I'm looking at you, Nokia).
Again, we don't know the whole story now, because neither Luxor nor Apple has addressed Maciej's allegations yet, so let's not pull out the torches and pitch forks just yet. You might want to sharpen the pitch forks, though, just in case. Apple is unlikely to make a public statement about this; it's just not their style, but MumboJumbo, at very least, should respond.
Personally, I think Apple should impose a new policy. When someone makes an allegation of impropriety about a competitor, they should pull both apps until it's resolved. After resolution, the prevailing party's app goes back on the store, the other does not. This may seem harsh, but it would make people think twice about leveling accusations unless they have substantial proof to back up their claims. Of course, this only works if Apple also puts in a mechanism to expedite resolution of conflicts and they may just not want to get into that business. But, as sole gatekeeper of the sole way to sell iPhone applications, they should have expected conflicts of this nature to arise and should be willing to deal with them in a fair and expeditious manner.
SQLitePersistentObjects Lives. It LIVES!
I know that some people were understandably upset and annoyed when I decided to stop new development on SQLitePersistentObjects. Although it's a project that I really enjoyed working on, I just couldn't justify spending more time on it in light of Apple's release of the far more mature Core Data in the iPhone SDK 3.0.
Although I like certain things about the approach I took in SQLitePersistentObjects better than Core Data (like not having a data model file separate from the data model classes), it would have taken literally hundreds of hours (at least, maybe thousands) to get it to the point where the performance and feature set were comparable to what Core Data already has. Even if we got the performance and features to a comparable point, there's just not enough compelling advantages over Core Data to justify spending more time on it. At least, that's the case for me.
But, I must say, that I'm happy to hear that development on SQLitePersistentObjects continues! You can read more here. I wish Andrew the best of luck with this project. It's nice to see the code I abandoned was adopted by new loving parent. So, if you're using SQLitePersistentObjects and have been dreading the move to Core Data, check the new version out.
Although I like certain things about the approach I took in SQLitePersistentObjects better than Core Data (like not having a data model file separate from the data model classes), it would have taken literally hundreds of hours (at least, maybe thousands) to get it to the point where the performance and feature set were comparable to what Core Data already has. Even if we got the performance and features to a comparable point, there's just not enough compelling advantages over Core Data to justify spending more time on it. At least, that's the case for me.
But, I must say, that I'm happy to hear that development on SQLitePersistentObjects continues! You can read more here. I wish Andrew the best of luck with this project. It's nice to see the code I abandoned was adopted by new loving parent. So, if you're using SQLitePersistentObjects and have been dreading the move to Core Data, check the new version out.
Nokia Sues Apple iPhone For Patent Infringement
Nokia has just announced that it has filed a complaint against Apple with the Federal District Court in Delaware, alleging that Apple's iPhone infringes Nokia patents for cellular-wireless networking and Wi-Fi standards.Nokia claims that Apple has violated 10 of Nokia's wireless technology patents. The company says the patents "relate to technologies fundamental to making devices," that are compatible with the GSM, UMTS, or 3G WCDMA, and wireless LAN standards. The claims involve cover wireless data, speech coding, security and encryption technologies. Nokia says Apple has been in violation of these patents since the iPhone launched in 2007.
Although the amount of money involved hasn’t been disclosed, CNET News quoted Apple analyst Gene Munster as saying that Nokia would be looking for a royalty payment close to 1-2 per cent ($6-$12) of every iPhone sold. With 34 million iPhones sold to date, that comes to about $204-$408 million in damages.
"The basic principle in the mobile industry is that those companies who contribute in technology development to establish standards create intellectual property, which others then need to compensate for," said Ilkka Rahnasto, Vice President, Legal & Intellectual Property at Nokia. "Apple is also expected to follow this principle. By refusing to agree appropriate terms for Nokia's intellectual property, Apple is attempting to get a free ride on the back of Nokia's innovation."
During the last two decades, Nokia has invested approximately EUR 40 billion in research and development and built one of the wireless industry's strongest and broadest IPR portfolios, with over 10,000 patent families. Nokia is a world leader in the development of GSM technologies and its evolution to UMTS / 3G WCDMA as well as wireless LAN, which is also demonstrated by Nokia's strong patent position in these technologies.
References:
http://cut.io/fjlv
http://cut.io/fFVY
GameFly Released “GameCenter” Free iPhone App
GameFly has released its free “GameCenter” iPhone app.This free application gives iPhone and iPod touch users access to data on over 5,000 video games, as well as news, videos, screen shots, release dates, user reviews, and cheats.“We designed GameCenter to provide iPhone and iPod touch users with a complete one-stop destination for video game information,” said Sean Spector, GameFly's co-founder and SVP of business development and content.
The current version of the GameCenter app features news and information for several platforms including the PC, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and PSP.
The GameCenter app is designed to be easily navigable. Tapping the Games tab will give you a list of platforms on the top. By tapping a platform name you can immediately view the most popular games complete with images, user rating, and release dates.
References:
http://cut.io/kJO3
http://cut.io/inps
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Tech Talk World Tour
I didn't blog about this year's iPhone Tech Talk World Tour when it was announced. Many of the locations filled up so fast, it seemed like it would be just a tease to tell people about it when it was too late to actually do anything about it.
If you did sign up, I've gotten word from a handful of people that acceptance e-mails have started to trickle out of Cupertino. I signed up for the NYC Tech Talk, but haven't received word either way yet. Fingers crossed.
If you did sign up, I've gotten word from a handful of people that acceptance e-mails have started to trickle out of Cupertino. I signed up for the NYC Tech Talk, but haven't received word either way yet. Fingers crossed.
Nice One, Microsoft
Microsoft opened their first Apple Store today. Wait, no. What I mean to say is that Microsoft opened their first Microsoft Store. That's the ticket. And it's very unique. I can't even imagine where they got the idea for the layout, decor, uniforms or grand opening welcome line. I also can't fathom where they got their inspiration for opening a boutique-style retail store in the first place.
Hey, Redmond? Need a new tagline? How about?
If it's blatant, it's Microsoft.
or, maybe
We do shameless better.
I think either of those would work well, and both would be accurate and honest. Although, in Microsoft's defense, Apple grand openings never have guys in suits at the end of the welcome line golf clapping. That's original.
Hey, Redmond? Need a new tagline? How about?
If it's blatant, it's Microsoft.
or, maybe
We do shameless better.
I think either of those would work well, and both would be accurate and honest. Although, in Microsoft's defense, Apple grand openings never have guys in suits at the end of the welcome line golf clapping. That's original.
Patent Lawsuits: the Last Resort of the Mediocre
Nokia today announced they are suing Apple . Right in the press release, Nokia states that they are suing over patents that cover implementations of standards (GSM, WCDMA, WLAN, UMTS).
WTF? That kind of misses the point of having an open standard in the first place. There's only so much difference between different implementations of the same protocol or standard. Jeebus! The problem with these cases, though, is that the judges are experts in law, but not in technology, so they rarely have the knowledge and/or cojones to issue summary judgment even in cases with no merits. Like this one. So, Nokia will, at very least, cause Apple to spend millions of dollars to defend themselve.
Apple's release of the iPhone pretty much meant I'd never buy another Nokia phone again for myself, but now I will actively avoid their products. I won't recommend them to others and I won't buy them for family members. If this is how they hope to succeed in the future, I hope Nokia dies a quick and painful corporate death.
WTF? That kind of misses the point of having an open standard in the first place. There's only so much difference between different implementations of the same protocol or standard. Jeebus! The problem with these cases, though, is that the judges are experts in law, but not in technology, so they rarely have the knowledge and/or cojones to issue summary judgment even in cases with no merits. Like this one. So, Nokia will, at very least, cause Apple to spend millions of dollars to defend themselve.
Apple's release of the iPhone pretty much meant I'd never buy another Nokia phone again for myself, but now I will actively avoid their products. I won't recommend them to others and I won't buy them for family members. If this is how they hope to succeed in the future, I hope Nokia dies a quick and painful corporate death.
SE115m+ iPhone Headset Detailed Review
SE115m+ in-ear headphones with an integrated remote control is already launched. New product announced on Wednesday by Audio vendor company Shure. Using an in-ear-canal (canalphone) design, the SE115m+'s earpieces fit into your ear canals to block external noise. Unlike the SE115, the Headset includes an inline microphone and three-button remote control.Music and mobility never sounded so good. The SE115m+ delivers superior sound quality and features a remote and microphone, bringing together music and mobile in one integrated device. Here are details:
SE115m+ iPhone Headset | ||
Features | Included Components | Compability |
SE115m+ is compatible with Apple Voice Control and Voice Over technology | SE115m+ Sound Isolating™ Headset | iPhone 3GS |
Dynamic MicroSpeaker II offers superior sound quality with improved bass | Built-in remote control and microphone | iPhod touch 2nd generation |
Sound isolating sleeves in multiple shapes and sizes effectively block outside noise | Foam sleeves in S, M, L | iPhod classic 120/160GB (2009) |
Ergonomic earphone design ensures a customized, secure fit | Grey flex sleeves in S, M, L | iPhod nano 5th generation |
Integrated three-button remote and mic allows you to adjust the volume, control music and video playback, record voice memos, and answer or end calls | Soft, zippered carrying case | iPhod nano 4th generation (video) |
Two-year warranty | iPhod shuffle 3rd generation | |
Technical Specifications | ||
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he SE115m+ will be available later this month for $120. It will initially be available exclusively at Apple retail and online stores; availability will expand to other Shure retailers in January 2010.
Reference:
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
SkyMall Free App for iPhone
SkyMall has announced the release of a free iPhone app. The application allows consumers to use their iPhones to shop the SkyMall catalog.Features of the application include a built-in gift finder, search and browsing capabilities, interactive games and a check out process which is convenient and safe. The application even allows the catalog to be browsed without a network connection.
“We are very pleased to provide this free iPhone app to our customers. It not only gives them a simple way to shop, but also provides fun games and a cool gift finder,” said SkyMall President Christine Aguilera. “Customers that shop while on the plane, can place products in the cart and checkout as soon as they have a connection. If they are on a WiFi enabled aircraft, they can place the order immediately. This is the perfect complement to the SkyMall in-flight catalog.”
The free app is available on the iTunes app store.
Reference:
http://cut.io/enO8
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Wil Shipley on Internationalization and Localization
Words of wisdom and free code from the Godfather of Cocoa, Wil Shipley. Go read now. Nuff said.
Good Day for Android, Bad Day for Pre
The Palm Pre lost a high profile developer today (Jamie Zawinski, a notable contributor to many open source projects include Mozilla and XEmacs). He took some pretty harsh parting shots on his way out the door.
Having an App Store that's more open than Apple's is one way to compete, but it's not enough. If consumers don't have a good experience with your phone, developers are not going to want to develop for it.
Having an App Store that's more open than Apple's is one way to compete, but it's not enough. If consumers don't have a good experience with your phone, developers are not going to want to develop for it.
The Nook
For whatever reason, Amazon's Kindle has never really appealed to me. Though I read a fair amount, and am not opposed to the idea of an e-reader, I've just never had any techno-lust for it. It's not because of the DRM, though I'd rather they didn't have it. It's just that it's not that exciting. It's basically a one-trick pony. No matter how thin they make it, or how many books it can hold, it will only every serve the very limited purposes of reading books and doing some light web browsing. Boring. I can do both of those things on my phone, albeit on less than an ideal screen size, or on my laptop.
Today, Barnes & Noble announced their competitor, the Nook. The Nook is based on Android. Now, people who read this blog know that my opinion of Android is that it's not as good as the iPhone in most respects, both from the point of view of a consumer and from the point of view of a developer. Obviously, that's subjective, but it's my honest opinion of where things stand right now.
However, I see the Nook as possibly a game changer for Android, much more so than the much-touted Verizon Droid, which might be a good phone, but it doesn't strike me as a game changer as much as being a not-totally-horrible-like-the-Voyager ersatz iPhone for people unwilling to switch to AT&T. I'm not quite ready to say it IS a game changer, but it definitely could be. It's a book reader that can be more. It's a tablet device that can be programmed. It's bigger than a phone, but still portable. This device, in my opinion, is every so much more techno-lustworthy than the Kindle. It also raises the bar for Android. Here's a whole new audience of devices that will be able to buy Android apps.
Of course, we'll have to see how it actually performs and how people like it. But assuming it delivers on its promises, then I'd say that Android just pulled out a tiny bit from the pack and its odds are looking better. There's a long ways to go in the race, but this could be a turning point. This could be the thing Android needs to achieve critical mass for their App Store, which is the one thing that they absolutely must have if they're ever going to challenge the iPhone's dominance.
I can't wait to see where this goes from here, and I can't wait for Apple to introduce some kind of new iPhone OS device, whether it's a tablet, or something completely new. I don't have any idea what Apple is going to do, but I'm sure they are not going to stand still.
Today, Barnes & Noble announced their competitor, the Nook. The Nook is based on Android. Now, people who read this blog know that my opinion of Android is that it's not as good as the iPhone in most respects, both from the point of view of a consumer and from the point of view of a developer. Obviously, that's subjective, but it's my honest opinion of where things stand right now.
However, I see the Nook as possibly a game changer for Android, much more so than the much-touted Verizon Droid, which might be a good phone, but it doesn't strike me as a game changer as much as being a not-totally-horrible-like-the-Voyager ersatz iPhone for people unwilling to switch to AT&T. I'm not quite ready to say it IS a game changer, but it definitely could be. It's a book reader that can be more. It's a tablet device that can be programmed. It's bigger than a phone, but still portable. This device, in my opinion, is every so much more techno-lustworthy than the Kindle. It also raises the bar for Android. Here's a whole new audience of devices that will be able to buy Android apps.
Of course, we'll have to see how it actually performs and how people like it. But assuming it delivers on its promises, then I'd say that Android just pulled out a tiny bit from the pack and its odds are looking better. There's a long ways to go in the race, but this could be a turning point. This could be the thing Android needs to achieve critical mass for their App Store, which is the one thing that they absolutely must have if they're ever going to challenge the iPhone's dominance.
I can't wait to see where this goes from here, and I can't wait for Apple to introduce some kind of new iPhone OS device, whether it's a tablet, or something completely new. I don't have any idea what Apple is going to do, but I'm sure they are not going to stand still.
iPhone Tech Talk World Tour
Apple has announced an iPhone Tech Talk World Tour, which presented as expert advice, coming to a city near you. Apple technology evangelists are coming to a city near you with expert advice on how you can maximize the innovative technologies of iPhone OS within your apps.
The iPhone Tech Talk World Tour features a range of sessions for advanced developers who want to enhance the capability, functionality, and usability of their iPhone apps. You will dive deep into coding and design techniques that will help you take your apps to the next level.The event is free, but space is limited. Register for an iPhone Tech Talk today.
iPhone Tech Talk World Tour Dates | ||
North America | Europe | Asia |
October 29—San Jose Hyatt Regency Santa Clara | November 9—Paris Maison Internationale | December 2—Beijing Grand Millennium Beijing |
November 2—Seattle Renaissance Seattle Hotel | November 11—London Congress Centre | December 15—Tokyo FULL Academyhills |
December 1—New York New York Marriott Marquis | November 13—Hamburg Theatre Neue Flora | |
December 3—Toronto Hyatt Regency Toronto on King | ||
Reference:
Keep Memories with The MRK e-Locket™, an iPhone application by Monica Rich Kosann
If you want to express your feelings to your loved one or loved ones there are thousands of ways to do so. But for those who are the fun and exceptionally exclusiveness lovers can use the MRK e-Locket™, an iPhone application by Designer/Photographer Monica Rich Kosann. Choose a person, put your favorite pictures into a digital version of one of our beautiful lockets, and share customized locket with your this person, family or friends via email right from your iPhone.The MRK e-Locket is also available as a Facebook application. We are abile to customize locket with a photo from your Facebook photo gallery, as well as with an “engraved” message on the back of the locket, and share.
According to the MRK Fine Arts, LLC, “Monica Rich Kosann lockets, whether MRK e-Lockets™, Sterling Silver or 18K Gold lockets, are designed to hold what is most precious to us all; the images of our family, friends, pets and those we love. The distinctive style of our jewelry evokes the tradition of timeless elegance and heirloom quality workmanship from another era.“
Features
• Add photos to your MRK e-Locket™ from your iPhone camera roll or Facebook photo gallery
• Move and scale photos for a perfect fit
• Type an “engraved” message on the back of each locket you send
• No limit on the number of lockets to create!
• E-mail and share a locket with anyone you’d like
• Save your favorite locket created in Facebook to your profile page
Sources:
http://cut.io/MR16
http://cut.io/ghN6
Monday, October 19, 2009
Oh, My. Fiscal Results.
Today, Apple announced their Fiscal 2009 Q4 and boy, what a quarter it was. Funny, it's been a while since I heard someone predict the death of Apple. It's hard to believe just how common a practice that was among pundits only a decade ago.
Apple sold more iPhones and more Macs last quarter than in any previous quarter in history, and they have the largest percentage of the market share they've had since 1994. That's true whether you take the lower Gartner number of 8.8% market share, or the higher IDC number of 9.4%.
Apple sold more iPhones and more Macs last quarter than in any previous quarter in history, and they have the largest percentage of the market share they've had since 1994. That's true whether you take the lower Gartner number of 8.8% market share, or the higher IDC number of 9.4%.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
UDR Apartments on your iPhone and iPod Touch
UDR Inc. has released its first augmented-reality (AR) apartment-search application for the iPhone (3GS) Google Android. In keeping with UDR, augmented reality revolves around a technology that uses the iPhone’s built-in “spatial awareness components.” Those include the GPS, the accelerometer, and the compass. Together, the hardware parts superimpose digital information on top of what is viewed through the phone camera’s viewfinder. Utilizing Layar, an augmented-reality browser, UDR’s AR applications enable users to point their smartphone in any direction to locate and view available apartments that are within a ten-mile radius from their current location. Additional abilities include viewing apartment pricing, seeing how many of them are available for rent, as well as the distance to an apartment building with pinpoint accuracy, placing a hold on their favorite apartment and even locating nearby museums, restaurants, and theaters.
Apartment Search App Features:Search for UDR apartment locations by State, region, city, price, bedrooms and bathrooms
GPS activation – the apartment search app knows where you are located
Put the apartment properties into your “Favorites" folder for easier access later on
The largest assortment of apartment photos, amenities and floor plans
Robust mapping and directions to your favorite apartments
Reserve an apartment anywhere around the world
Check apartment pricing that is updated daily
Ability to call any apartment location 24/7
The app is already in iTunes store.
Reference:
http://cut.io/flx8
Friday, October 16, 2009
Accessorizer 1.5
I've posted about Accessorizer before. It's just been updated to version 1.5, incorporating a new feature that sprang out of a feature request that was made by yours truly. Actually, it was more of an off-hand comment then a feature request, but Kevin Callahan, the brains behind Accessorizer liked the request and jumped on it with gusto.
The new feature? Accessorizer now has the ability to auto-detect classes that are commonly used as outlets and, if you want it to, will add the IBOutlet keyword automatically to the generated property statements. I've been beta testing this new functionality, and works pretty darn well.
If you do any significant amount of Objective-C programming and haven't tried Accessorizer, I'd really suggest giving it a try. In the application I wrote today for More iPhone 3 Development, I'd estimate that Accessorizer saved me at least five minutes of typing (not to mention greatly reduced the chances of mistakes and typos). I typed in only my instance variables, then a few short keystrokes and about twenty seconds later, I had my property declarations complete with IBOutlet keyword where needed, @synthesize declarations, and both NSCoding methods. You don't have to write too many classes for it to pay for itself if you do this for a living. If you're a hobbyist then, in a way, your time is even more valuable.
And if you're not sure how to use it, or why you would use it, check out the Accessorizer videos in the lower right of the home page.
The new feature? Accessorizer now has the ability to auto-detect classes that are commonly used as outlets and, if you want it to, will add the IBOutlet keyword automatically to the generated property statements. I've been beta testing this new functionality, and works pretty darn well.
If you do any significant amount of Objective-C programming and haven't tried Accessorizer, I'd really suggest giving it a try. In the application I wrote today for More iPhone 3 Development, I'd estimate that Accessorizer saved me at least five minutes of typing (not to mention greatly reduced the chances of mistakes and typos). I typed in only my instance variables, then a few short keystrokes and about twenty seconds later, I had my property declarations complete with IBOutlet keyword where needed, @synthesize declarations, and both NSCoding methods. You don't have to write too many classes for it to pay for itself if you do this for a living. If you're a hobbyist then, in a way, your time is even more valuable.
And if you're not sure how to use it, or why you would use it, check out the Accessorizer videos in the lower right of the home page.
iApplicate.tv Episode: Lingopal, the Multi-lingual Phrase Book
Lingopal, the multi lingual phrase book app released by Longopal Holdings, comes in handy for trips to foreign countries! There are tons of languages to choose from! This episode features Dear and the Headlights with their song "Talk About".
Device Detection Redux
A while back, I posted some code by Max Horáth to detect the device your program was running on. That script dates from the pre-3Gs days, so won't identify that model. I'm not sure if Max has updated his script, but I found this class on Stack Overflow by Jason Goldberg. In addition to adding the more recent hardware, it uses a really efficient approach implemented in relatively few lines of code. I like that a lot.
The one thing I don't like is the way the class is implemented. There's no reason to use instance methods like this and incur the overhead of object creation to. The object has no state, just behavior, so either of these methods could have been written either as C functions or as class methods, thus avoiding the need to create an object and manage its memory. At very least, this class should have been implemented as a singleton.
Anyone who's been reading my blog probably knows where I'm going here. In my ever-so-humble opinion, the best approach for this functionality have been to write it as a category on UIDevice, like so:
UIDevice-Platform.h
UIDevice-Platform.m
The one thing I don't like is the way the class is implemented. There's no reason to use instance methods like this and incur the overhead of object creation to. The object has no state, just behavior, so either of these methods could have been written either as C functions or as class methods, thus avoiding the need to create an object and manage its memory. At very least, this class should have been implemented as a singleton.
Anyone who's been reading my blog probably knows where I'm going here. In my ever-so-humble opinion, the best approach for this functionality have been to write it as a category on UIDevice, like so:
UIDevice-Platform.h
UIDevice-Platform.m
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