Creating the Virtual iPhone OS 4.0 Springboard
The Springboard Application on the iPhone is the home screen or main menu from which you launch all other applications. A screenshot of the iPhone OS 4.0 springboard is below:
As you can see from the screenshot, there are a few different parts to the springboard. First, there is the dock. It is at the bottom of the screen and can hold anywhere from 0 to 4 icons.
Second there is the pages that hold all the icons. Each page holds up to 16 icons and one can have at most 11 pages:
Finally at the top is the status bar which shows the time, battery, and signal strength among other items.
iPod Touch with 2MP Camera Leaked (Video)
The New iPod Touch with a camera has made an appearance. The website that has brought leaks from the new iPhone to the new Macbook has done it again with the new iPod Touch. A first glance it looks identical to the iPod Touch and the 3rd generation iPod Touch that has the same camera had been posted for sale on eBay. This iPod has the specifications listed on the back, the 64G perhaps means a 64GB capacity. It is currently running iPhone OS 3.1 and when it is connected to the computer, it is reported as running iPhone OS 3.1. They don’t know if Apple will introduce this at the coming WWDC 2010 or not, but we will see soon. Enjoy the pictures and video below.
This iPod Touch features a 2-megapixel camera with a light sensor or something and it was manufactured by Foxconn and The "DVT-1" stamp on the back makes it clear that this is an early design verification test unit in the evolution of product testing.
via Tinhte
via iPod touch with 2 megapixel camera leaked in Vietnam - Engadget
via New iPod Touch With A Camera Caught On “Camera” In Vietnam - Soft Sailor
What’s New in the iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4
iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4 has been released by Apple and everyone is tearing it apart to find out what's new in this release. Here's what has been discovered so far:
The default home screen has been changed. Apple has now placed the apps: Clock, Calculator, Compass, and Voice Memos in a folder called "Utilities". The reasoning for this isn't really clear since it would take two clicks to start these apps now. I figure that Apple doesn't think these apps are used very often so they can be placed in a folder. I would have also placed Settings and Contacts into the Utilities folder, but then it might need to called something else.
There is also some new wallpapers that aren't busy or distracting and could actually serve as decent home screen wallpapers. I don't see the new wallpapers are being very significant since you can use any picture or photo on the iPhone and you are restricted to just the wallpapers provided by Apple.
Aside from those new wallpapers and an option to toggle off the ability to send group messages, there don't appear to be any major differences in the settings for this beta except for tethering! It is still yet to be seen if AT&T will actually allow tethering since it was introduced by Apple last year. Their network probably still isn't able to handle the current traffic, so I doubt we will see tethering any time soon.
There's a tiny change to the Photo app in that you can finally view your Photo Roll in a different orientation unless you have Orientation Lock turned on. I always thought this was always possible, but I guess it was an oversight by Apple.
There are some very bug fixes too since the last beta: There isn't an odd silent pause when you pick up a phone call now and the Maps app seems snappier and more precise than ever. I had the Maps crash pretty consistently under beta 3 so the bug fixes are welcome. Overall, all the apps somehow feel faster and more responsive, but we always say that when there is a new update.
If there are any other changes, l will update as I find any others and I invite you to leave a comment with screenshots and descriptions of what you find.
via Here's What's New In iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4 - Gizmodo.
via Apple Releases iPhone OS 4 Beta 4 and SDK to Developers - MacRumors.
via iPhone OS 4 beta 4 drops in - Engadget.
Using jQuery to Create the Virtual iPhone & Virtual iPad
While it may be educational and fun to write all the JavaScript code for the Virtual iPhone & Virtual iPad from scratch, it would be extremely time consuming. An article by Oliver Mezquita Prieto really sums up the reasons to use a JavaScript framework:
1. Saves you time. Even if you really love programming in Javascript, you will save a bunch of time doing your work with one these frameworks.
2. Has much of your work already done. Don’t reinvent the wheel. Don’t waste time in doing something it has already been done and tested and re-tested by thousands of users.
3. Makes you use less code. With less code you get a smaller file size, better maintenance and less development time.
4. Makes your code more readable. Which also aids in better maintenance and less development time.
5. Makes your web application execute faster. These frameworks are really fast in performing their tasks and most of them have been optimized for really fast execution.
6. Makes your web application run in most modern browsers. If you dealt with Javascript a bit, you’ll have realized how different browsers have different ways of the doing the same exact stuff. Handcrafted cross-browser development can get annoying and irritating. These frameworks have already taken care of that and will just work in most browsers.
Fortunately, there are many JavaScript libraries available to streamline the coding process. There is a comparison list that I used to try and decide which framework would be best. I started to use Yahoo! UI Library but I quickly found the code to be cumbersome and not intuitive. So I went back and looked at a few others. In the end, I decided to go with jQuery for the reason mentioned on their website:
jQuery is a fast and concise JavaScript Library that simplifies HTML document traversing, event handling, animating, and Ajax interactions for rapid web development. jQuery is designed to change the way that you write JavaScript.
via jQuery
New iPhone to have 960×640 Resolution
According to Digitimes Research, the new iPhone, dubbed the iPhone 4G, will have a much higher screen resolution
The new device will adopt IPS in-plane switching panels with FFS fringe-field switching technology and a 960×640 resolution, Kuo said, noting that LG Display and Prime View International are the panel suppliers.
Compare the new iPhone's 960 by 640 resolution to the iPad's 1024 by 768 resolution.
9.7-inch (diagonal) LED-backlit glossy widescreen Multi-Touch display with IPS technology
1024-by-768-pixel resolution at 132 pixels per inch (ppi)
Why Apple didn't maintain the same aspect ratio between the devices is beyond my understanding. Both the iPhone & iPad will be running the same apps so I think it would be much easier if the resolutions scaled properly. Of course, that is not the case. So it looks like we will still have some incompatibilities between the two devices for the foreseeable future. Take a look for yourself:
- iPhone Aspect Ratio 3:2
- iPad Aspect Ratio 4:3
David Goldman Attacks Apple
David Goldman wrote a scathing article condemning Apple and their practices as it relates to the iPhone. While he is free to say whatever he wishes. I feel his article needs a repsonse. Here are his three main accusation lobed at Apple:
In late February, Apple purged 6,000 apps it deemed "too sexy." Late last month, Jobs posted a scathing 1,700-word essay on Apple's Web site about why he hates Adobe Flash.
More recently, the company made Ellen Degeneres apologize on national TV for airing a spoof commercial that suggested the iPhone was difficult to use. And Apple threw an epic hissy fit when a Gizmodo blogger leaked photos of a new iPhone prototype.
I must say that David Goldman's arguments are off base.
- Apple is well within its right to limit the apps that it carries based on content. This no different than Netflix not carrying any mature titles, and no one complains about Netflix. There is plenty of mature content that can be found on the internet with the iPhone. If Apple makes a business decision not to carry it in their App Store, then they have the right to do so.
- I think Apple did over react about the Ellen Degeneres ad by requesting an apology, but also the commercial spoof was pretty stupid and it did fasely represent how an iPhone operates.
- As for the Gizmodo blogger, it has become clear that he knowingly paid for stolen goods. The guy who stole the iPhone in the first place knew he broke then law and tried to dispose of the evidence. Just read the iPhone Affidavit and you will see the truth. The police were well in their right to search Chen's house.
I would think if Steve Jobs was reply to David Goldman, he would say something like this:
By the way, what have you done that's so great? Do you create anything, or just criticize others work and belittle their motivations?
via Gawker
Why no one will buy your iPhone App idea
You have a great iPhone idea, and you know it will make millions! All you need is for someone to take your idea and develop it, while you sit back and wait for the end result. Then you can sell your app and make some easy money, right?
Forget that right now, it's not going to happen.
No one is going to write an app with you if all you have to contribute is an idea!
Pretend for a moment that you have a great idea for a book, not an app. How would you go about getting it written and published? Would you go to a forum and advertise looking for an author to write it for you? No, you would have to get off your butt and write it yourself. I have heard that a friend of Frank Herbert (author of Dune) asked Herbert to author the friend's idea and split the profits 50/50. Herbert refused, even though the guy was a good friend -- Herbert's reply was basically that ideas are easy; the writing is the hard part. Think about it for a minute -- would YOU want to have a friend come up to you, tell you a few sentences, then have you spend months hunched over a keyboard turning his few sentences into the Great American Novel? I doubt it. If you /did/ spend months writing that book, would you want to give half of the money to that guy? I don't think so.
Now pretend for a moment that you have a great idea for a movie, not a game. How would you go about getting it made into a movie? You would have to begin by becoming a movie industry professional, get several movies under your belt, become a producer or studio executive, and off you go! That's the "Do It From The Inside". There's also the "Do It Yourself" route: spend a lot of money (tens of thousands at the cheapest), write and direct it yourself, with the help of actors and technicians you hire. The end result may never get into theaters everywhere but could well prove your worth to a real studio. Either way, by the time you're done, you're in the movie biz. And you earned it by hard work, not by waving your arms for a few minutes in front of a cigar smoker who then throws wads of cash at you -- it doesn't work that way.
Okay, enough pretending. Your idea is not for a novel or a movie -- it's for a app. How do you go about getting it made?
First step: write the app design yourself.
Second Step: Develop the app yourself or pay someone else to develop the app for you.
That is all it takes!
Find iPhone App & Game Developers
Have a great idea for an iPhone App?
Don't have any programming experience?
Are you having a hard time finding an iPhone Developer?
Well, Red Rome is here to help. We have a large network of quality developers waiting to help you bring your idea to life.
Send us a quick message with a short description and we will pair you with a developer that can help.
Contact: developer@redrome.com
iPhone story in Vietnam
This time it's not a crazy story about a guy who left a phone in a Silicon Valley bar. The latest clamor over a possible next-generation iPhone prototype has erupted in an unlikely place -- Vietnam.
Mobile phone accessory salesman Tran Manh Hiep rushed to a cafe in southern Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday when word on the street spread that someone was there flashing the newest iPhone.
Hiep said he inspected the device, recorded it and posted the video on the Tinhte.com forum website, for which he is an administrator.
"It's a real iPhone because when I plugged it into a Mac, it recognized it as an Apple product," Hiep said Thursday, declining to give any details about the phone's owner.
via No guy-in-a-bar iPhone story in Vietnam - Yahoo! Finance.
Additional Apps that Don’t Have an Icon
In addition to the 22 applications that are shown on the iPhone Home Screen, there are a few more applications that are not shown. First, there is the home screen itself. This is called Springboard by Apple.
There is also the lock screen which is shown when the iPhone is turned on and requires the user to "slide to unlock". This application could be part of springboard but I am going to place it in a separate directory called lockscreen. The main reason for placing the lock screen in a different directory is to separate different types of code from each other to simplify development and updates.
A newer application that is only available on the iPhone 3GS is Voice Control. This app is started by holding down the home button for a few seconds, then when the screen appears, you can say a command. If Voice Control recognizes the command, it will start the appropriate application. This application will be placed in the directory voicecontrol.
There also needs to be a directory for other parts of the iPhone OS that aren't true applications. The main two types are the Status Bar and the Pop-up. The status bar is located at the top of every application and the popup could be located over any application that is open. These will also be placed in separate directories to separate their code.
Those are the major applications that will need to be separate. If there are any additions needed, I will update this post accordingly.