June 23, 2009 Comments Off
Essential Books For Software Developers
After you’ve gotten done reading all the material in the new Palm Pre SDK and the information in the iPhone 3.0 SDK, you may want to add some additional items to your summer reading list. The IDEs, simulators and development kits make it easy to rapidly develop apps for mobile phones, but it’s important not to jump right in without laying a solid foundation for stable, scaleable applications.
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June 12, 2009 Comments Off
Early Access To Palm Pre webOS, Mojo Application Framework, and Mojo SDK
Palm has accepted ArcTouch into the early access Palm Pre developer program and given us the Palm Pre Mojo SDK. We’re thrilled to be part of this exclusive group of Palm Pre developers who have early access and are well underway to developing great Palm Pre software applications for our clients.
Palm Pre webOS
Palm webOS, the next generation operating system from Palm, integrates the power of a window-based operating system with the simplicity of a browser. The user experience is designed around multitasking, and makes it easy to run background applications, switch between applications in a single step, and handle interruptions and events without losing context. Using webOS, we’re able to develop fast (and beautiful) apps for our customers.
Palm Pre Mojo Application Framework
Palm webOS applications are easy to program using Mojo, a new application framework based on the HTML5, CSS, and JavaScript standards. WebOS applications are installed and run directly on the device at native speed and have access to a wide range of device services.
Mojo allows us to:
- Program apps with gesture-based navigation, transitions, and scrolling
- Use the webOS notification system to alert users without interrupting them
- Leverage the local storage capabilities of HTML5 so that data is available even when users are offline
- Use a JSON-based message bus to tap into a wide range of device services, including contacts, calendars, and location
Palm Pre Mojo SDK
Besides the Palm Mojo Application Framework, the SDK includes an Eclipse-based IDE, sample code, documentation, and development tools.
Application Development For Palm Pre
There’s currently a limited number of apps in the Palm App Catalog so there’s plenty of opportunity for new applications. If you’ve got a brand new idea for an app, or you’ve got an existing iPhone, Android or BlackBerry app that you want to offer on the Palm Pre, contact ArcTouch to learn about our custom application development and programming services for the Palm Pre.
“Crikey! I’ve lost my Mojo! Thank the Queen that ArcTouch is building my app for me. Oh behave!” – Austin Powers
ArcTouch Releases First Application To Use iPhone OS 3.0 Peer To Peer Game Kit APIs
New “Beam It!” App Sends Contact Information Wirelessly Between iPhones
San Francisco, California (June 4, 2009) — ArcTouch, developers of custom software applications for the iPhone, today released Beam It! This is the first generally available application that uses the new spontaneous peer to peer connectivity features of the iPhone OS 3.0.
Beam It! allows you to wirelessly “beam” your contact information to another iPhone or iPod Touch, and features automatic discovery of other handheld devices near you running Beam It!
“The original Apple Newton and the Palm Pilot had the ability to beam contacts between devices. Now, with Apple’s new iPhone OS 3.0 and Beam It!, we have brought back this fun and useful feature,” said Adam Fingerman, ArcTouch’s VP of Products and Solutions. “This is simply the fastest and easiest way of sharing your contact info with friends or new business associates.”
Truly Wireless with Zero Configuration
Beam It! automatically discovers other nearby iPhone and iPod Touch devices running Beam It!, and then uses Bluetooth to spontaneously create an ad-hoc peer to peer network to share contact information. The automatic discovery and connection is handled seamlessly by Bonjour, without any need to manually set configurations or pair devices.
Free to iPhone Developers
Beam It! is immediately available to iPhone developers at http://arctouch.com/beamit. With over 5000 developers expected at Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) next week, these developers will be able to easily exchange their business card contact info wirelessly – without the need to retype names into their iPhones.
“If you’re a developer and planning to attend WWDC, you should download and install Beam It! before you go. At the conference, with everyone running Beam It!, you won’t want to be the only person left out carrying a bunch of business cards,” said ArcTouch’s CEO, Eric N. Shapiro. “We’re excited about the peer to peer connectivity and other new features in iPhone OS 3.0. We’re glad to offer Beam It! free to developers in advance of WWDC so they can use it to easily share their contact information.”
ArcTouch is also providing the full source code with free usage rights to members of the iPhone Developer Program so they can see how to use the new peer to peer APIs in the Game Kit framework. Visit http://arctouch.com/beamit for more information and download instructions.
Availability
The Beam It! source code and Xcode project are available now to iPhone developers at http://arctouch.com/beamit. Consumers will be able to get Beam It! for the iPhone and iPod Touch directly from the App Store soon after iPhone OS 3.0 is released by Apple.
About ArcTouch
ArcTouch, Inc. develops custom applications for the Apple iPhone, RIM BlackBerry, Google Android and Palm Pre. The company was founded by ex-Apple employees and is located in San Francisco.
Tip ‘em! Tip Calculator for BlackBerry Storm
We’re pleased to announce Tip ‘em! – a new tip calculator for the BlackBerry Storm we designed & developed for Azoombi. Tip ‘em! helps you quickly and accurately determine the tip amount on a check and split the bill between multiple diners. It makes it easy to exclude items from the tip calculation, such as drinks and tax, and includes built-in tip suggestions for over 20 countries.
Tip ‘em! is available now in the MobiHand store.
BlackBerry Storm App That Looks Like An iPhone App
Tip calculators in general are nothing new, but this one raises the bar on both functionality and design, showing that BlackBerry apps can look just as good as any iPhone app. ArcTouch developed this BlackBerry app in Java. We combined a custom background graphic (a retro “diner” check complete with a coffee stain) with the built-in handwriting font (which our engineers figured out how to write at an angle for realism – no small feat!) and seamlessly blended in the native touch controls of the Storm for the numeric keypad entry and “picker” lists for tip amount, rounding and split amount.
Key Features Of Tip ‘em! Tip Calculator For BlackBerry
- Easily enter the total bill using the touch numeric keypad
- Select a tip amount between 0% and 30%
- Split the check between 2 and 10 people (optional)
- Exclude tax and drinks from the tip calculation (optional)
- Round the tip or the total to make splitting the bill easier (optional)
- Includes recommended “Tip Suggestions” for over 20 countries
- Rich graphical interface and easy to use touch controls
- Designed exclusively for the Storm
