Good Bye Mac OS X, Hello iOS

June 7, 2010 Comments Off

Today was the first day of Apple’s Worldwide Developers’ Conference (WWDC). ArcTouch’s app developers are on-site in full force and taking it all in.

The keynote address was full of exciting news:

  • iPhone 4 with a high resolution screen and video conferencing
  • iAds interactive app-based advertisements
  • iPhone OS 4, now known as iOS 4

The last item is perhaps the most significant in our mind, since it always seemed clear to ArcTouch that the future of Apple is devices based on the iPhone/iPod/iPad platform and not the Mac OS X platform. This simple name change, combined with no mention of Mac OS X in the keynote address, now publicly suggests the phase out of the Mac OS, and a rise of touch-based devices that look and function more similar to the iPad in the future.

For most people, this may be a welcome direction. The iPad has proven to be simpler device for most people to use than their traditional desktop and notebook computers. The instant-on behavior and the instant-access to a wealth of music, video, books and app content has changed the consumption model and usage of these devices. We see this as a tremendous opportunity. The app ecosystem will continue to grow and we are excited to help our customers be part of it.

Yes, there will be a Mac OS 10.7 some day, but we say that will likely be the very last in the long proud line of Mac OS X.

Thanks Mac OS X!

You set the bar for a modern gorgeous operating system, and made it possible for the iOS to exist. Now go and enjoy your retirement.

  • Share/Bookmark

Don’t Avoid The ‘Droid

May 19, 2010 Comments Off

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, Google I/O

Today was the first day of Google I/O, the annual developer event for all things Google, including the Android platform. We’ve got our Android app developers on-site and they’re excited about today’s announcements.

What a difference a year makes! Last year, there were just a few devices available from a limited number of carriers. Now there are over 60 compatible Android devices from 21 manufacturers in 48 countries. The devices are spread across 59 carriers worldwide. In the United States every wireless carrier offers Android based phones.

There are dozens of models to choose from at various price points, as well as additional form factors, such as tablets and e-book readers. And Google announced today that Intel, Sony and Logitech are going to bring Android onto TV sets. Can you imagine the app possibilities? We can!

Android Market Share

The Android platform has made some major market share strides in the last 12 months, driven largely by the full court push by Verizon to bring ‘Droid into the mainstream. As a result, there are now 100,000 Android phones being activated each day (over 35 million a year). In the first quarter of 2010 in North America, Android sales grew 707% compared to the same period last year. The Android Marketplace now has over 50,000 applications available for download and is growing at a rate of 10,000 more applications each month.

This momentum has some analysts predicting that by 2012 Android will overtake the iPhone and become the most popular smart phone platform in the United States, ahead of the iPhone and the BlackBerry. Be ahead of the curve and develop your Android app now!

Android App Developers

With all this excitement behind the Android platform we strongly recommend that you “Don’t Avoid The ‘Droid”. We offer a broad range of Android application developer services. ArcTouch can design and develop a custom Android application for you, or help you port an existing iPhone app over to Android. Our Android app developers have broad mobile development experience and a world-class Java background.

Contact us today and let us show you how.

  • Share/Bookmark

ArcTouch At AdTech San Francisco

April 19, 2010 Comments Off

ArcTouch At AdTech San Francisco 2010

AdTech San Francisco Logo

ArcTouch was invited to present in the App Exchange showcase on 4/20 and 4/21 during AdTech San Francisco 2010.

Download our AdTech presentation for an overview of the ArcTouch app development studio and our iPhone & iPad app developer services.

You can also try out the featured apps from the App Exchange that we developed for Maxim Magazine and CityMint.

  • Share/Bookmark

Flash Apps On The iPhone

January 25, 2010 Comments Off

Flash Packager For iPhone Developers

ArcTouch has been invited by Adobe to be part of a special pre-release program for the “iPhone packager for Flash“.

This allows iPhone developers like ArcTouch to design apps in Flash, but develop and deploy them using standard native iPhone code. ArcTouch’s creative teams are able work in an environment they are completely familiar with during design, but still produce true native iPhone apps. ArcTouch can also use Flash for the illustration, the animations, the interaction, and for showing it during design reviews to customers over the web. Then, when we are ready to build it, we convert it into native iPhone code.

We’re one of a small number of iPhone application developers chosen by Adobe and given access to this technology, and we’re thrilled.

iGevalt Dreidel App Featured On Adobe Site

To get started, we built iGevalt, a dreidel simulator for the iPhone. This app features realistic 3D graphics, motion and sound, and was recently featured on Adobe’s site to showcase the Packager for iPhone. iGevalt is available now in the app store.

Flash Apps To iPhone App Conversion

Do you have an existing Flash game or Flash application?

We can take your existing Flash based applications and convert them into a new native iPhone apps. You’ll benefit by being able to repurpose your existing investment and gain a faster time to market than if you were going to work with other iPhone programmers to rebuild your app from scratch. Plus, you’ll know how your application is going to look and work in advance of the programming phase.

ArcTouch is a full-service app development studio and we offer complete custom app design and programming services.

Contact us today to get started!

  • Share/Bookmark

Tip ‘em! Tip Calculator For BlackBerry

January 10, 2010 Comments Off

Tip Calculator for BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Bold, and BlackBerry Pearl

tipem-iconTip ‘em! – the best tip calculator for the BlackBerry Storm – is now available for the entire BlackBerry platform, including the BlackBerry Curve, the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Pearl. Tip ‘em! helps you quickly and accurately calculate the tip 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.

Available In BlackBerry App World

Tip ‘em! is available now from BlackBerry App World.

BlackBerry App Developers

Tip ‘em! raises the bar on both application development functionality and design, showing that BlackBerry apps can look just as good as any iPhone app. ArcTouch’s San Francisco BlackBerry app developers combined a custom background graphic (a retro “diner” check complete with a coffee stain) with a built-in handwriting font and seamlessly blended in the native user interface controls of the BlackBerry for the numeric  entry and lists for tip amount, rounding and split amount.

Key Features Of Tip ‘em! Tip Calculator For BlackBerry

  • Easily enter the total bill using the 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, or track pad, or track ball
  • Designed, developed and programmed for the BlackBerry Curve, BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Pearl, and BlackBerry Storm

Have an app idea? ArcTouch offers complete custom mobile app development and programming services.

Contact us today to see how we can help you with your BlackBerry development needs.

  • Share/Bookmark

CityMint App For iPhone

December 25, 2009 Comments Off

Mobile Phone App Developers Of CityMint For iPhone

CityMint Logo

The CityMint application provides the fastest and most convenient way to order food from local restaurants on your mobile phone. CityMint was developed by ArcTouch and is available now for the iPhone and iPod touch in the app store.

Available In iPhone App Store

Fast And Convenient Way To Order Food

Whenever you’re hungry – at home or at work – CityMint makes it easy to order food:

  • Search by current location, address, cuisine, or available menu items.
  • Choose what you want, make special requests, and complete the order for pick-up or delivery.
  • Save favorite restaurants for one-touch ordering.
  • Store frequently used cards and pay for your order without digging out your wallet.

ArcTouch iPhone App Developers

CityMint selected ArcTouch as the iPhone developer for the second version of their app, after realizing that the original iPhone programmer they hired was not able to create an application that was stable or scalable enough for their growing business needs. ArcTouch’s expert iPhone programmers redesigned and rewrote the application and the web services to support it. We used our proven agile development processes and other best-practices such as test-driven development, to ensure robust error free software that CityMint can grow with.

Featured ArcTouch iPhone Development Services:

  • REST web services to access restaurant data and Yelp reviews
  • GPS, MapKit & location services
  • Ruby On Rails
  • Core Data and SQLite
  • In-app analytics to measure usage patterns

Have an app idea? ArcTouch offers complete custom mobile app development and programming services.

Contact us today to see how we can help you with your iPhone development needs.

  • Share/Bookmark

iGevalt Chanukah Dreidel Game For iPhone

December 12, 2009 Comments Off

iGevalt Chanukah Dreidel Game For iPhone and iPod

iGevalt for iPhone application icon

iGevalt is beautiful Chanukah dreidel game with realistic 3D graphics and sounds. You spin the dreidel with a swipe of your finger, or by using two fingers and “spinning” it.  When it lands, a popup appears that shows you what you got and what to do with the “pot” when you’re playing the dreidel game. iGevalt is available now for the iPhone and iPod touch for $.99 from the app store.

Available In iPhone App Store

iPhone App Created In Just 6 Days

It’s a miracle! ArcTouch created iGevalt in just 6 days! And on the 7th day… we submitted it to the Apple app store!  Just in time for Chanukah.

Seriously, this app was created in exactly one week, but still has the polish and refinement you can expect from the iPhone apps that ArcTouch creates. We used a 3D modeling tool to create the stunning dreidel graphics, including the shadows and reflections, and recorded a series of audio clips from children playing an actual dreidel game for the realistic sounds during play.

iPhone with iGevalt dreidel app

The experts agree, iGevalt is the best dreidel app available for the iPhone and iPod. Here’s some proof:

It’s super fun! My dad doesn’t like me getting chocolate fingers all over the phone’s screen though.  (Jason, 5)

Oy vey. This is about as authentic as you can get without the real thing… and I should know!  Now can you use that GPS to help me find some good latkes? (Rabbi Abraham Westheim, 62)

Looking for an app of your own? Contact us for a free estimate. ArcTouch offers complete iPhone application development and programming services.

For those who were wondering, there’s a wide variety of ways to spell Chanukah and Dreidel. Here’s the most common variations: Chanukah, Hanukah, Chanukkah, Hanukkah, Dreidel, Dreydel, Draydel.

  • Share/Bookmark

Captain ArcTouch And His Super Apps

November 1, 2009 Comments Off

Captain ArcTouch Saves Phonopolis

Captain ArcTouch application iconMeet Captain ArcTouch, digital defender of justice, and his super apps! Captain ArcTouch is an iPhone comic book app developed by ArcTouch.

iPhone With Captain ArcTouch Web App

To Install The Captain ArcTouch Web App:

  1. From the Safari app on your iPhone or iPod touch, visit the Captain ArcTouch install page (http://arctouch.com/captain). If you go there from your Mac or PC this will not work – you must visit from your phone.
  2. Follow the instructions you see on-screen to add the app directly to your phone. Web Apps do not need to be downloaded to iTunes first.

Web Apps Delivers Full Functionality In A Browser

Captain ArcTouch is a Web App. Web apps are delivered over the Internet from a web site to an iPhone or iPod touch through Safari web browser. Unlike traditional mobile web sites, however, which are simplified web pages created for viewing over a the browser on the phone, Web Apps are very similar to the graphically rich and interactive “native apps” delivered through the iTunes App Store.

For example, Web Apps can contain complex animations and transitions through the capabilities of modern HTML5 and CSS. Web Apps can also take advantage of unique functionality of the hardware device, such as the GPS, acceleromoter and swipe and pinch/zoom gestures. Web Apps can store data locally on the phone, and can even be launched right from the phone’s home screen into full screen (without Safari’s navigation buttons) like our very own Captain ArcTouch web app. Best of all, Web Apps can be deployed quickly and easily right from your own web site and can be updated just as easily too.

Web Apps are also more portable to other platforms, since the Android, BlackBerry and the Pre all have some support for modern HTML5 and CSS.

Apps Make You Super. We Make Super Apps.

Contact us to learn more.

  • Share/Bookmark

CHROME For iPhone Now Available From ANPAC

October 30, 2009 Comments Off

First App For Classic & Specialty Car Fans

Chrome for iPhone application icon

CHROME from American National Property And Casualty Companies (ANPAC) is the first app designed exclusively for classic car & specialty car fans. CHROME is available now for the iPhone and iPod touch for $1.99 from the app store.

Available In iPhone App Store

Fun And Useful Features For Car Enthusiasts

Instead of carrying a Blue Book, Black Book, or relying on limited online information, CHROME users can:

  • Search a real-time price guide data for more than 40,000 models of vehicles from 1899 through the 1990s provided by Old Cars Price Guide.
  • See a calendar of upcoming car show information searchable by name and location. Get directions or tell a friend about an event by email.
  • Journal your road trips as you travel using GPS, notes and photos. Share your trips by email or post to Facebook.
  • View and share photos by make and model for some of the best custom and original rides from shows across the country.
  • Browse images of show-quality hot rods and classic cars featured in the 2009 and 2010 ANPAC Chrome calendars.
YouTube Preview Image

ArcTouch iPhone App Developer Snapshot

ANPAC LogoANPAC chose ArcTouch to create a compelling application to reinforce their brand position as the trusted source of insurance and customer care for fans of classic cars & specialty cars.

Featured Technologies ArcTouch Implemented:

  • REST web services to access price guide, car shows and car photos
  • GPS, MapKit & location services
  • Facebook integration to share trip photos
  • Core Data and SQLite
  • In-app analytics to measure usage patterns

ArcTouch offers complete iPhone application development and programming services.

  • Share/Bookmark

iChemoDiary For iPhone Now Available From Merck

October 30, 2009 Comments Off

Helps Patients Through Chemotherapy Treatments

iChemoDiary for iPhone application icon

The iChemoDiary from Merck is a personal medical diary to record your chemotherapy schedule, treatments, medication and symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. The iChemoDiary is available now for the iPhone and iPod touch from the app store.

Available In iPhone App Store

iChemoDiary App Empowers Patients To Manage Their Medical Care

Patients use the iChemoDiary app to track their experience during chemotherapy and communicate with their care givers, empowering them to take an active role in their medical care. With both quick-entry and expandable options, no details are lost, and multiple reporting options make it easy to share the information with your doctor or nurse.

Create a profile for yourself or another person with current chemotherapies and medications.

  • Touch a day of the week to record chemotherapy, medications, and symptoms. A dot on a calendar day indicates information has been recorded.
  • Quickly and easily record severity of side-effects and other symptoms.
  • See charts and reports of your chemotherapy experience on a daily or weekly basis.
  • Email reports to family and caregivers directly from your iPhone or iPod touch.

ArcTouch iPhone App Developer Snapshot

Merck LogoArcTouch was hired to create a best-in-class application that is easy to use for patients and adheres to the quality standards of the pharmaceutical and medical industry, and the FDA.

Thanks for being great partners and for all the help and suggestions you offered. And, of course, you guys did an amazing job building the app.

Featured Technologies ArcTouch Implemented:

  • Custom Calendar Control
  • Custom Graphing Library For Data Visualization
  • Core Data and SQLite

ArcTouch offers complete iPhone application development and programming services.

  • Share/Bookmark

  • Mon 9/27/2010: BlackBerry Developer's Conference