We’re pleased to announce that Tip ‘em! – the tip calculator and check splitter for the Palm Pre – has been selected by Palm to be one of only 50 apps included as initial members of the Palm App Catalog. Starting today, Tip ‘em! is available through the App Catalog app on the Pre. 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.

The Official Palm Blog writes…

Tip ’em! not only crunches through the calculations you need to figure out the appropriate tip, but adds some nice coffee-stained touches of realism to the experience.

Fun and Functional Design

Tip calculators in general are nothing new, but this one raises the bar on both functionality and design. ArcTouch developed Tip ‘em! for Azoombi and combined a custom background graphic (a retro “diner” check complete with a coffee stain) and seamlessly blended in the native touch controls of the Pre for the “picker” lists for tip amount, rounding and split amount.

 

Key Features Of Tip ‘em! Tip Calculator For Pre

• 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)
• Rich retro graphical interface

TechCrunch reports a story of a top iPhone app developer that was losing $2,000 a day in ad revenue for their app because they made a simple software programming mistake that could have easily been caught by basic testing.

Test Driven Development

Our programmers use test driven development to ensure the highest quality code in our iPhone, Android, BlackBerry and Pre apps. They create automated unit tests that define the expected results of the application functionality BEFORE writing any software code.

Test driven development follows a simple process:

1. Write the tests. Tests are written before the functionality being tested. This helps ensure that the application is written for testability, since developers must consider how to test the application from the outset, rather than worrying about it later. It also ensures that tests for every feature will be written. Other developers using traditional development methods choose to code the features first, but then inevitably under time pressure to work on the next feature neglect testing entirely. Don’t let your apps fall into that trap – demand that any app developer you hire uses test driven development.
2. Fail the tests. All tests fail first because no software code has been written by the programmer. This ensures that the test has been written correctly. Once this is shown, the underlying functionality can be implemented.
3. Write some code and rerun the tests. The next step is to write some code that will cause the test to pass. Now the code can be cleaned up as necessary and re-run against the tests, a process known as refactoring.

Test-driven development constantly repeats the process of adding test cases that fail, passing them, and refactoring. Passing the tests confirms correct application functionality as developers evolve and refactor the code. Our programmers use automated test frameworks to re-run the complete set of tests whenever new code is introduced, ensuring that the previously completed code is still fully functional without bugs.

Test Driven Development Benefits

Studies have shown that test driven development has numerous benefits and leads to better software.

• Programmers are better able to focus and are more productive.
• By writing tests before coding, developers show they clearly understand the feature’s specifications and requirements.
• Errors introduced during the development cycle are discovered earlier and easier to rectify.
• Software is designed simpler and is more modularlized, flexible and extensible.
• No code is written beyond what is needed to pass a test.
• Finished software has better quality and is more stable.

ArcTouch Bug Free Guarantee

We’re so confident that our Quantum Development process and our test driven development results in superior quality apps that we offer a bug free guarantee. If you discover a problem anytime after we’ve delivered your app to you we’ll fix it for free. Guaranteed.

If you’re considering hiring an iPhone developer, an Android developer, a BlackBerry developer, or a Pre developer, make sure they use test driven development and offer you a bug free guarantee. If not, their mistakes may cost you far more than your original cost to develop the mobile app in the first place.

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.

We highly recommend the following books for mobile app developers. They cover the fundamentals and “best practices” for software development and are key resources for all software programmers to learn from. These books will teach you how to develop code that is better quality, easier to maintain, and reusable in your other apps.

Throw them in the backpack before you head to the beach… you are getting to the beach this summer aren’t you?

Must-Read Development Books

• Developer Reading: The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master (if you only have time for 1 book – this should be it)
• Object Oriented Design and Programming Reference: Design Patterns: Elements of Reusable Object-Oriented Software (put this on your bookshelf and refer to it any time you need to design anything)
  
• Development Process & Best Practices: Test Driven Development: By Example

Other Books To Make You A Rock Star Mobile App Programmer

• Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with Applications
• Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction
• Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code
• The Object Primer: Agile Model-Driven Development with UML 2.0

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

Click here to view the embedded video.

Google IO Developer Conference
May 27 – 28 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco

At Google IO, developers come together to learn how to develop applications with Google technologies, such as the Android phone platform, App Engine, Chrome, Google Web Toolkit, AJAX APIs and more. We’re particularly looking forward to the Android Fireside Chat, where members of the Core Technical Team will be available for a candid discussion about Android app development, including the brand new Android OS 1.5 (based on the Cupcake development track) and perhaps a sneak peak at the Android OS 2.0 release.

Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC)
June 8 – 12 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco

WWDC is THE event to learn every aspect of iPhone development, and this year’s WWDC will have extensive coverage of the new iPhone OS 3.0 and how to create innovative mobile apps that take advantage of new features such as in-app purchases, peer to peer connection via Bluetooth, communication with hardware accessories, and alerts using Apple Push Notification service.

Palm Pre Availability
June 6

Just two days before WWDC starts, Palm is set to introduce the Pre – one of the most anticipated new touch-based smart phones. The Pre’s webOS allows multiple apps to run at the same time, which provides a distinct advantage over the iPhone, and we’re excited to develop for it.

ArcTouch’s developers will be attending Google IO and WWDC and we’ll have reports on our blog. We’ve also started an events calendar for mobile phone software developers, such trade shows, development conferences, industry announcements. It’s where we’ll track events like the ones mentioned in this blog post.

So, like we said, it’s a great time to be a mobile phone software developer! There’s so many exciting things going on. It’s also a great time for our customers, who now have even more choice and opportunities to reach out to their customers through apps that complement their existing business’ products and services.

We can take your company’s app from raw idea through launch in the app store, and we offer complete custom development services, including architecture, engineering, user experience design and product management. Our San Francisco based team has been together for over 15 years working at a diverse set of Silicon Valley technology companies. We’ve had long term engagements providing custom development on a variety of devices and platforms for many clients, including Apple, IBM, HP, and Adobe to name a few. We work as an extension of your team

• Have an idea that you need turned into an app?
• Wondering what sort of app your company’s products or services should have?

Contact us and we can help.