Mark Jardine and Paul Haddad of Tapbots are the breakout designers and engineers behind Weightbot (iTunes link), one of the most original user experiences released on the iPhone App Store to date. Continuing the iPhone blog’s behind-the-scenes look at iPhone application development, Mark and Paul were kind enough to take time and discuss their ideas on interface and interactivity, and how what more we might expect from Apple’s next generation mobile platform.
TiPb: How was approaching the iPhone interface for this App different than how you would have approached an interface for another platform?
Mark: It was really different coming from a web design background. 320×460 isn’t a lot of space to work with and then you have to factor in the huge difference in input devices. A person’s finger is a lot less accurate than a mouse cursor. At the same time, I wasn’t designing a website so I was freed from a lot of rules and conventions I’ve been following over the past 8 years. So my initial approach was pretty simple. If Weightbot was an actual physical device, how could I make it usable and fun at the same time?
Paul: The thing I found challenging about dealing with the iPhone interface is that users want a silky smooth and yet the iPhone and iPod touch are both very slow compared to any modern Mac. I spent a lot of time juggling things around in order to get a consistent 60 fps for all the various animations within Weightbot. Coming from our current Multi Gigahertz, Multi Gigabyte and Multi Core world where for the most part you don’t have to worry about performance to a platform like the iPhone where every cycle and byte counts is a big change.
November 4th is only one day away, and it’s time for you to get out and vote. And if voting for the next President of the United States is not enough, head on into our forums over and get your vote on… TiPb style!
I am not one to complain but… I will admit there are some things that I would like Apple to add and change with the iPhone. Then again, there is not a single device out there that is perfect. That just does not exist. None the less, you have to give Apple credit for giving us frequent firmware updates to improve the phone. (Ask a Palm OS user how often they would receive major updates…) So what exactly are you looking for Apple to add to the iPhone in the next firmware release?
Is your iPhone getting old and boring? Or are you so in love with your phone that there is nothing that would separate you? What would it take for you to leave the iPhone and move onto something else?
How has your reception been lately with your iPhone 3G? Who really is to blame for the reception issues that you may be experiencing right now? Well head on over and let us know if you think it’s Apple or AT&T!
Next up, we have a thread from forum member Dizzy, he’s having a little problem with his iPhone 3G USB cable tearing. Anyone else have a cable that is tearing? None of us here at TiPb have had that happen. Hopefully it stays that way!
Last but not least, here is a thread that revolves around the iPhone and gaming. The most wanted killer iPhone game is…? You decide on this one. What would a sure fire hit for Apple and the iPhone? Let us know!
In order to vote for the next President of the United States, you had to register… well you have to register here as well! It’s fast, simple, and can be done right here!
Since our last Apps for Less post, price drops worth mentioning have been far and few between. Well today we finally have a notable mention for you. Especially if you are a fan of IM clients…
Today is the final day to get the best IM application available on the iPhone, BeejiveIM (iTunes Link), on sale for $3.00 off the normal price for $12.99. While that is still not the price you’d like to pick it up at, it’s better than the normal price of $15.99. So if you were waiting for a price drop be sure to head into the App Store today!
Once again, the sale ends TODAY! This is the IM client to get, you get what you pay for and you won’t be disappointed with this app. And if you are still on the fence, be sure to check out Dieter’s first look and Casey’s BeeJive vs. Palringo review showdown.
James Thomson is the acclaimed developer behind DragThing for Mac OS X and PCalc RPN Calculator for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Following up on his recent blog postings about the challenges involved navigating the still-nascent App Store business model for developers, and TiPb’s own look at whether or not there’s a “long tail” potential for the market, James was gracious enough to sit down (virtually) and share his thoughts with us about the issues facing 3rd party iPhone developers going forward.
TiPb: James, you recently blogged about PCalc in the context of a “postmortem”. What was the reaction like to that article, and did it bring about any changes in your current thinking or how you plan to proceed with PCalc going forward?
James Thomson: Reaction was interesting. Many iPhone developers contacted me privately, and via the blog, to say they had encountered similar problems with sales after the recent changes to the App Store.
Some pointed out the “Availability Trick” to change the App Store release date for your software when you do an update, to make it sort higher up in the listings. I talked about that a bit in a follow-up post here. It’s unclear whether it really is a trick, or just what you are supposed to do, but it does seem to work.
I’ve also tried a few other suggestions, like renaming the app to “PCalc RPN Calculator” to make sure it appears during searches for the word “calculator” which it didn’t before. So far, there has been a relatively small boost to sales, but I’m not sure how much of that is due to my changes, and how much is just down to the overall publicity that the article generated.
I’m working on a small 1.1.1 update at the moment to fix a few things, and I’ll likely add some more layouts and themes. The real question is what will happen to sales then. If they remain flat, with all the other changes, then I’m going to have to try some more traditional marketing beyond the Google AdWords adverts we are already running. To a certain extent, the blog itself /is/ a form of marketing - I don’t think I can really deny that, given it is raising the profile of our software.
[Here's a bonus TiPb of the Iceberg for you this week, courtesy of the humongous news coming out of Apple's Quarterly Conference Call]
Tuesday’s news that the iPhone has been selling well stupendously well, in case you weren’t paying attention, was really big. It’s tough to express how big. Some of the bullet points:
They exceeded their sales goal of 10 million iPhones in 2008 already, with the holiday season still ahead of them
They sold nearly 7 million iPhones in three months.
They sold more iPhones than RIM sold BlackBerrys (yes, that’s the proper plural spelling)
Based on revenue from iPhones, Apple was the #3 cellphone maker last quarter, behind only Nokia and Samsung.
They achieved all this in 15 months.
Now, there are caveats to these numbers: there was pent-up demand for the iPhone 3G so these numbers almost surely won’t hold; RIM’s sales were depressed because of delays releasing the BlackBerry Bold. Don’t let these caveats mislead you, though, what Apple did with the iPhone 3G in the past three months is unprecedented in the mobile industry, it was pretty much unprecedented in any industry.
Our iPhone Forums have been busy as of late, so lets get things going…
Jailbreaking has been a very popular topic lately here on TiPb. So, it’s fitting that everyone interested in that topic check out the thread and click on the link. There are a few pieces of software out there today that allow you to Jailbreak. Personally and for most of the TiPb Team QuickPwn is the popular choice, and we tend to avoid “others” out there. This must-read link for iPhone jailbreakers will tell you why.
Forum member HymerSchmid, started an interesting thread a while ago wondering about a attachable keyboard for the iPhone? Or an iPhone with a physical keyboard? I don’t see it happening, but look at RIM and their new Blackberry Storm. (Thought they were all about the physical keyboards…)
Next up we have a fresh thread just started the other day. All iPhone owners are always craving a new updated firmware fix, so… when do you think the next firmware, 2.2, will actually be released? Next month? December - just in time for the holidays? In the new year? Will be interesting to see just how this all pans out won’t it? Make your voice heard and get in on the vote!
Ever need to copy music from your iPhone to your computer? I personally have not had that need but some of you may, so Wegmans brought it up in his own thread. Check that one out and get some answers!
Curious about a certain iPhone application? Have no idea if it is any good or not? Well if you really want to hear a quality review let cjvitek or msbaylor, our new TiPb iPhone Forum Reviewers, know about it right in the review request thread! If you app is reviewed you can be sure to check it out right here in the iPhone Apps forum!
Like I said, it has been busy in the forums… if you want in on the action, be sure to register here! You can do so here and it will only take a quick minute.
It’s time for App Avalanche 14, and this week we’re taking a look at the Finance category in the App Store and at what’s Good, Better, Best, and, of course, the CrApp. If you are looking for some good finance apps, there are a load of apps in the App Store in this category. Unfortunately, there seem to be a ton of very mediocre apps (according to reviews left by App Store visitors), and it takes a bit of sifting through the coal dust to find some diamonds. Read on to learn about some Finance apps you may want to try for yourself!
[Introducing TiPb of the Iceberg, our new, bi-weekly column from TiPb Senior Editor, and all-around Smartphone Expert, Dieter Bohn.]
The recent news that development house Tap Tap Tap is breaking up has me thinking about the App Store and developers again. Partially it’s because Tap Tap Tap has previously been mentioned here at TiPb as an example of developers raking in the cash and as an example of developers being open about how much they’re making and what they think of the industry. The break-up is interesting for a few reasons in this context.
After the break, some ruminations and thoughts on the State of the Apps from this layman’s point of view. Warning: as you can see from the title, this post includes hackneyed references to the Long Tail
The iPhone Blog merged with the Phone different site in May of 2008. Both sites were founded on a premise that comes one from one of Apple's old slogans: Think different. The iPhone Blog: for people who dare to phone different.
"
