Search Results for "compass" | iPhone, iOS 5, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips

Search Results for: compass

3 Very Useful Accelerometer And Vibration Code Snippets

The accelerometer can be one of the more confusing iPhone features to program. The input generally to be filtered, generally needs quite a bit of tweaking, and I’ve found that many people simply want too much out of the accelerometer.

The compass addition allows you to take it to a level beyond the original iPhone, but reliable reading of complex gestures are still out of the question. That being said it is a cool feature, and can add another level of interactivity to your apps. Kevin Bomberry from Able Pear Software has written a great post with some very useful code snippets for those wishing to add simple accelerometer usage, and vibration to their apps.

The snippets allow you to easily implement shaking, vibration, and a combination of the two in your apps. The article can be found here entitled: iPhone SDK Shake, Rattle, and Roll.

Thanks for reading, please leave any comments below.

. Tags: compass, code snippets, vibration, accelerometer

iPhone for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach – Book Review

I have to admit to having a bias against the Deitel books primarily due to using the 1100+ page How To Program In C++ as a textbook in college. So when I first saw that Deitel had written iPhone for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach I waited awhile before checking it out since I had expected it to be another bible-sized reference book and not overly useful to self-learners. It turns out that this book was nothing like my expectations.

As the title suggests, the book teaches through the creation of several example apps. Now this is nothing new for a programming book, but with the advantage of coming out later than many other iPhone books, you can tell Deitel has learned what app features programmers are looking for. You can view which apps are included by clicking here and using the search inside the book function. The selection of apps is very good, and included are apps featuring the mapkit, and core data functionality that was added in iPhone OS 3.0. The layout is very good making this a useful reference book. The examples are a step above most other iPhone books and not only teach you the SDK syntax, but also teach you specific design patterns

Pros

Very nice progression of lessons, eases you from one to the next
Strong coding examples that use specific design patterns
Covers non-programming basics like uploading to the app store, and setting your app price
Covers many iPhone OS 3.0 features such as core data, the Map Kit and compass
Goes through creation of a simple game
No time wasted, just content
Chapters labeled in a manner making it easy to find specific sections
Good length (454 pages)

Cons

Not for absolute beginners to Object-Oriented Programming. You will need to know an OO language.
May be too light on the details for some

My Conclusion

Overall, I’d say this is a very good book if you are looking to learn how to program a wide variety of the iPhone’s features and already understand Objective-C. Many of us learn better through examples, and while most books use examples, I would say that the examples are a notch above most other books both in the implementation and in the progression. This is a very straightforward text, and the authors have skipped through on any anecdotes and jump straight into the heart of the matter. The way things are labeled in chapters is also a bonus (with numbered sub-labels everywhere) making it easy to use this as a reference or textbook.

The book can be ordered here at $13.60 off the retail price.

If you’ve purchased this book please post your opinion on it below. Thanks.

. Tags: iphone sdk book, deitel, iphone development book, book review

The Apple iPad – Is it just a big iPhone?

Now that the Apple iPad has officially been announced, it’s time to look at what sort of opportunities for app development have arisen because of this new hardware. If the name is making you giggle, that’s a natural reaction. At first glance the iPad looks like a big iPhone, here’s a rundown of the essential specs.

Apple iPad Hardware Specs (Known so far):

9.7″ Screen
1.5 lbs. weight
0.5″ Thick
16-64GB Storage
Capacitative Multi-Touch Screen
Custom 1gHz A4 chip (custom Apple chip)
Accelerometer
Compass
Microphone
30-Pin Connector
10 hour battery (this seems kind of weak)

Noticeably missing: A camera. So we can’t use the power for more cool augmented reality apps.

Cost: Starting at $499 (probably the best thing in the announcement)

Now, looking at the hardware, we don’t know exactly how quick the graphics will be, but the gaming displays looked very good, and considering the larger size of the screen it appears that there is enough extra juice in the iPad to handle larger games.

Conclusion

While it looks great, I can’t help but really think this is just an iPod Touch with a bigger screen. We have Kindle on the touch and I hope this better looking iBooks app lets me load in my Kindle books.

I see the larger screen pretty much putting an end to the “iPhone vs. PSP” type arguments. This is now THE portable gaming device. Developers now have the room to put custom controls.

As far as software improvements go we don’t know yet until we see all the features in the new OS, but I have to admit that this really does just seem to be little more than a bigger iPhone. That being said I plan to get one, since i want a bigger iPhone.

The new iPhone SDK update supports the iPad, complete with simulator you will be able to get it at http://developer.apple.com

The official iPad page:
http://www.apple.com/ipad

. Tags: islate, iPhone, apple ipad, ipad, ipod touch

Create App Trailers That Don’t Suck Without Jailbreaking

I’ve seen alot of crummy app trailers out there usually taken with a camera held or on a tripod, and thumbs in the way so I thought I’d mention this app. There’s been solutions to record the screen of a jailbroken iPhone for awhile, but this is a great "legit" solution. For those hobbyists that don’t want to spend the $99 to test their apps this is also a great tool.

The excellent article that pointed me back to this app to me can be found here:
iSimulate Article

Essentially all you need to do is downlaod the app from the app store, add the libraries they specify into your app, run your app, and through wifi you can control the app in the iPhone simulator with your iPhone. Also you get to see some cool onscreen feedback that will help you in creating your app especially if it makes extensive use of the accelerometer. This solution has been around for a bit, before it was "ok", but this latest version adds some cool new features like video streaming (so you can see your app actually running on the iPhone even without paying the $99 – this is limited by your network speed), compass usage and full UIKit compatibility making it a really great app.

Watch this video to see it in action:

If you’re interested in more information or buying the app you can check it out on the homepage at:
Get iSimulate

Would be nice if the price came down a bit ($15), but nevertheless it’s a great tool.

Please post any comments below.

. Tags: isimulate, app trailers, app marketing

iPhone 3GS Could Shape Up As Killer Gaming Device

As a developer I’ve been salivating over the released iPhone 3GS specs, here’s what we know so far:

2x the memory at 256MB (This itself is huge.)
Approx. 40% Faster processor (I didn’t really find this to be that big an issue but everything helps.)
OpenGL ES 2.0 support (Huge as this adds programmable shaders)
Compass (makes for much better accelerometer based controls)
Video (sometime support will apparently be added in the sdk)
PowerVR SGX chip (don’t know which one yet)

The original PSP was estimated to produce about 30 million polygons/second while the iPhone is currently estimated to be able to push out in the neighborhood of 4 million polygons/second. Depending on which PowerVR SGX chip is in the new iPhone it could push out in the neighborhood of 90 million polygons/second (unlikely, but possible with the SGX 555) most likely it will be a PowerVR 540 capable of pushing out 40 million polygons/second. With programmable shaders this will make a huge difference in the graphical quality of the games iPhone developers are able to create.

A gamepad that the device sits in is now inevitable with the added device support of iPhone OS 3.0.

All this being said though, one thing is still needed to make the 3GS a killer gaming device.. a store that makes it worthwhile for developers to spend the resources to create games that take full advantage of the iPhone 3GS’ graphical potential.

. Tags: psp, gaming, iPhone, 2.0, 3gs, gamepad, opengl es

iPhone 3GS Will Be All About The Apps

There have been alot of complaints about the new iPhone being too expensive for what seems like a small incremental update. While the camera update may be a large factor to the buying decision in the European/Asian markets many who already have iPhones feel there really aren’t any new features worth the money. There is already some excellent voice control provided by apps in the app store.

So with the 3GS it’s really all about the apps.

It was stated that on average the new iPhone is about twice as fast, and while the compass may seem useless it will be integral to creating improved gaming controls. Right now tilting the phone forward and back has the same effect as turning (try it in your favorite driving game). An improvement in speed will have a dramatic increase in the quality of released apps. As of yet no 3D specs have been officially announced, but if they are improved this will bring the iPhone closer to Sony’s PSP. The memory limitations of the 3G are also somewhat of a bottleneck in app performance, and may be improved also.

I’m looking forward to even better apps.

. Tags: apple, 3gs, apps, iPhone, app store

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