Driving along in my automobile, with an iPhone or iPod

Filed under: Audio, iPod Family, Features

Taking a holiday drive with the music blaring is a very American thing to do, but getting your iPod or iPhone to take part has often caused a world of confusion and crude jury-rigged solutions.

Apple has reported that 90% of all current cars are iPod/iPhone enabled, but I have never met anyone who bought one of those cars, so this short article will give you an overview of what's left for the rest of us.

There have been many ideas slung around on how to best integrate your car stereo with an iPod or iPhone. Some time ago we covered a 'complete solution to iPhone car integration. The solutions provided in the referenced iLounge article tells of many combinations of power adapters, FM transmitters, Bluetooth earpieces etc. But that's not the best way.

There is a much more elegant (if expensive) way of doing it, and I would like to scratch the surface on that topic.

Continue reading Driving along in my automobile, with an iPhone or iPod

Driving along in my automobile, with an iPhone or iPod originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Driving along in my automobile, with an iPhone or iPod originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 06 Jul 2009 07:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Developer-to-developer: application sharing for the iPhone simulator

Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, SDK

Last week, TUAW showed you how to sign iPhone applications for informal developer-to-developer distribution. That approach lets you share applications between members of the iPhone developer program by using your signing credentials to authorize the application for use on your development units.

iPhone applications compiled for the Intel-based simulator can also be shared between developers. And, since the free developer program offers access to the simulator, the apps can be distributed even more widely than with the re-signing approach.

Simulator testing does not offer the full suite of device-specific capabilities. You cannot simulate the onboard camera or retrieve proper accelerometer feedback. The simulator does not vibrate or provide general multitouch input. (You can pinch, but that's about it.)

The strength of simulator-based distribution is that it lets you send out applications for early testing and feedback. Sim-only tests strengthen the preliminary design process; this approach helps solicit feedback on user interface and general program layout before the main development push gets underway.

Simulator-based apps are easy to transfer and easy to use, cutting out a layer of overhead that's needed for when you go to a full ad-hoc beta.

To distribute a simulator application, go to the Library/Application Support/iPhone Simulator/User/Applications/ folder in your home directory. There you'll find the application sandbox folders that are currently installed for your simulator. Each folder is named with a unique id (i.e. 56E66CE5...DC028F) that does not reflect the folder's contents.

You'll have to peek inside to determine which folder is which.The folder contains the application, and three sandbox directories: tmp, Library, and Documents.

To share a simulator folder compiled for 2.2.1 and earlier, you must zip up both the folder with the application and the .sb (sandbox) file that shares the same name as the folder. 3.0 and later applications do not use a .sb file. Just zip up and share the folder.

Install the shared app by decompressing its sandbox folder (and, for 2.x, its .sb file). The recipient must have installed the iPhone SDK. Drop it into the simulator's Applications folder on another machine and launch the simulator. The app should appear in the simulator, ready for testing.

Developer-to-developer: application sharing for the iPhone simulator originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Developer-to-developer: application sharing for the iPhone simulator originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple releases 3.1 beta for iPhone SDK

Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, SDK

Apple has released a 3.1 beta for the iPhone SDK. Both the SDK beta and firmware are available for testing and development to paid members of the iPhone developer program. As pre-release software, any details about this new release remain under NDA.

A pre-installation advisory and beta release notes are available as per Apple's usual release strategy. As before, you cannot use the 3.1 SDK to create applications for submitting to the App Store, so if you plan to download it be prepared to create a separate installation directory.

The new release comes just on the heels of the public 3.0 firmware. Its full-dot-number indicates that it contains more than just minor bug fixes (a relatively minor revision would probably be listed as 3.0.1).

Thanks to everyone who sent this in.

Apple releases 3.1 beta for iPhone SDK originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple releases 3.1 beta for iPhone SDK originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 30 Jun 2009 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

AdMob withdraws from 3rd party ad networks

Filed under: iPod Family, Developer, iPhone, App Store

AdMob is one of the bigger names in iPhone ad-supported applications. They provide embeddable advertisements that developers can incorporate into otherwise free apps. Recently, third-party ad networks like AdWhirl and Tapjoy have appeared on the scene, offering to negotiate ad displays from multiple sources to increase developer revenues and increase fill rates. Yesterday, citing increased technical complaints and parameter obstruction, AdMob announced that it would no longer work with these third party mediation services.

This move affects developers who turned to dynamic advertisement solutions from third parties. AdMob will continue to allow developers to use their own solutions for maximizing ad fill rates outside these services.

Ad-supported applications are not particularly common in the App Store, where they have been relatively unsuccessful as a monetizing solution (jailbreak apps on Cydia and Icy have provided somewhat more effective results). App Store titles must compete in a huge market with delays in providing updates. The relatively close relationship between software creators and their target audience and quick update/release cycles appears to work better with ad-supported models than the more formal App Store environment.

Further details about the AdMob policy change can be found on their blog.

AdMob withdraws from 3rd party ad networks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

AdMob withdraws from 3rd party ad networks originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Apple TV software update adds gesture support via Remote

Filed under: iPod Family, Software Update, iPhone, Apple TV

Apple has quietly pushed out software updates for both the Apple TV and the Remote application for the iPhone and iPod touch. The update, identified as version 2.4 for the Apple TV, and version 1.3 (24) for the Remote app, adds gesture support for controlling Apple TV from your iPhone or iPod.

Our in-house Apple TV geeks, Megan Lavey and Christina Warren, both installed the updates and gave them a try. Megan indicated the gestures were quick and responsive, and coupled with the ability to use the iPhone/iPod keyboard to search for shows, the new versions made it much less tedious to navigate through your shows.

Boxee users may wish to hold off on updating, however, as it seems that you may not be able to reinstall Boxee after completing the update. Also worth noting is that the new Remote app requires the 3.0 software update to be installed on your iPhone or iPod touch.

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

Apple TV software update adds gesture support via Remote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apple TV software update adds gesture support via Remote originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments