iOS 5 Coming Real Soon

The latest rumor on the street: iOS 5 GM (Gold Master version, which is the last version before public release) is set to be made available to iPhone app developers on September 23.

BGR, which is generally quite knowledgeable in the area of Apple news, recently made a post on its site that seems to confirm this rumor. But the post does not stop there. The site also announced that the operating system’s 8th Beta would be available no later than this Friday!

Rumor or real information, only the future will tell. But we can’t help but hold our breath in great anticipation of Beta 8′s apparent release this Friday. BGR’s earlier predictions on iOS updates proved correct, given their contacts at AT&T. Having friends in high places truly helps.

In any case, a September 23 GM release could presage an iOS 5 public release for about early October. We just hope that this momentous event will be crowed by another well-anticipated release: the iPhone 5.

Shortly after BGR’s article, it was AppleInsider’s turn to report that Apple support teams had received instructions to get ready for a potential influx of calls starting October 10. This could very well be related to the release of iOS 5 and fits perfectly with the above information.

On a final note, the arrival of iOS 5 around October 10, days before the release of the iPhone 5, is again very plausible. This scenario was seen in the past, with iOS 3 released just prior to 3GS and iOS 4 just before iPhone 4.

So in summary:

September 16: iOS 5 Beta 8 release

September 23: iOS 5 GM

October 10: iOS 5 public release

And hopefully a few days later: iPhone 5!!!

iPhone application development teams: get ready!

Biometric apps are here

This is an iPhone app development project we did not seen coming!

Massachusetts-based biometric company BI2 Technologies recently developed a shell for iPhone allowing police to conduct criminal record checks using facial recognition, iris scan or fingerprints.

While large-scale tests are planned in September by various police forces in Massachusetts, the iPhone accessory is already raising questions regarding the risks to individual liberties.

The MORIS casing (which sells for $3,000 a piece) is connected to databases, allowing police officers in the field to check a suspect’s criminal record virtually on-the-fly.

In principle there is nothing very extraordinary or controversial about such checks, as they are performed every day via on-board computers in police vehicles. But MORIS is different: it is able to work remotely, without the need to engage the suspect. For example, MORIS can take a facial recognition scan up to 1.5 meters from the targeted individual, which could obviously be done without the person’s knowledge or permission.

Iris scans required much closer contact, up to 15 cm away from the person’s eye.

Food for thought, although it is still unclear if such data collected can hold in court on its own.

And there’s the question of privacy and data security. BI2 Technologies tries to reassure skeptics, saying that they do not have access to their own databases.

MORIS is currently being tested locally, but BI2 is considering adding state and federal (FBI) data integration.

With privacy and security issues, coupled with high per-unit costs, it is difficult to see MORIS being deployed on a very large scale in the short term.

Facial recognition available for iPad and iPhone app development

Facial recognition may be coming to an iOS 5 near you. Or at least that’s what it looks like with Apple’s integration of facial recognition APIs in iOS 5. These APIs would allow developers to easily use camera functionalities to recognize faces or portions of faces in iPad and iPhone app development.

This technology, already seen in Lion’s new PhotoBooth, is made available from the late 2010 takeover of Norwegian developer Polar Rose.

We now know what Apple has planned for this technology: the idea is to provide iPhone and iPad app developers with functions that facilitate the recognition of faces in motion via two APIs made available in iOS 5.

The first API, called “CIFaceFeature”, is designed to retrieve or locate a person’s mouth and eyes on images. The other API called “CIDetector” allows the processing of these images for facial recognition.

Here’s a quick video that demonstrates the technology:

These API’s open a whole now realm of development, from security applications to social media. It’ll be interesting to see what applications spring up in the App Store over the next few months. Very exciting stuff.

iPhone 5?

Digitimes, the technology news site based in Asia, is well known for sourcing information from subcontractors of major technology brands. And according to a latest report, production of the highly anticipated iPhone 5 is in full swing.

It is reported that Taiwanese manufacturers of iPhone 5 components have ramped up production. At the same time, Digitimes states that iPhone 5 device production at Foxconn, which is the main assembler, has reached the rate of 150,000 units per day.

This information is apparently sourced from the following subcontractors: lens and touch screens manufacturer TPK Holding; glass manufacturer G-Tech Optoelectronics; and battery suppliers Simplo and Dynapack.

The site confirms previous estimates made in mid-August that projects production volumes of 5 to 6 million iPhone 5 units in September and over 22 million units in the fourth quarter.

These reports also lend credibility to an October release, and perhaps iOS 5, which will deeply impact iPhone app development firms…so we need to be ready!

Apple Store. Image by ohskylab via Flickr

For the fall season, two big Apple-universe questions remain unanswered. The first one is, of course, regarding iPhone 5′s release date. This is a nagging issue for those (like yours truly) itching to upgrade their phone to this new release. Word on the street pegs the release date to early or mid-October.

The second, somewhat related question, is for those who intend to keep their current iPhone model but who wish to upgrade their phone operating system: when will iOS 5 be released?

Apple’s response during iOS 5′s launch presentation of the iOS 5 was vague: “this fall”. Do they mean early or late fall? There’s a difference of several weeks here. A recent development may point to an early-fall release: according to 9to5Mac, Apple Store staff, who are at the front line of store sales and customer service, have apparently started training on iOS 5 and iCloud.

Traditionally, these trainings come only a short time before product launch, usually not more than 2 weeks before D Day. For us in the iPhone app development world, it’s important to keep this timeline in mind to better anticipate development cycles.

So it looks like we may have an early Christmas after all

Image via Wikipedia

When you start to develop applications on both platforms, you’ll immediately notice the maturity of the iOS platform when compared to Android’s platform.

With its graphic design functionality and its range of test tools available in the simulator as well as in the device itself, you begin to see that you “get what you pay for.” And the development cycle for building, deploying, and debugging is very fast. Xcode’s focus is clearly out of the traditional pattern of development by providing the tools to quickly and easily create high quality applications.

With the Android Eclipse Plugin, you will notice that you have no kind of graphic designer. There is also not the same breadth and depth in the profiling tools available. The most annoying is that the emulator requires to be configured and may take some time to initialize.

The result is that development cycles are longer on the Android platform. Even once it’s up and running, compiling, deploying and debugging with the Android emulator, it is unfortunately not as fast as that of Xcode. But keep in mind that the priority of Android is to remain to be open source, which makes it impossible to maintain the same level of development ease as the commercially-developed iOS. The collaborative nature of open source does not always lead to customer satisfaction when speed of execution and user experience is number one.

Related articles

• Understanding Android App Development (Approachmobile.com)
• Create an iPhone App (Approachmobile.com)

Virtually all new technology and programming languages share a common feature: there is no structured way of learning how to develop under the new technology. Perhaps iOS stands a part somewhat, with Stanford University having created a course on iOS development that’s available online for anyone to register. This course was developed with Apple’s iTunes University.

In addition, Apple has provided technical presentations at WWDC, which are available for any ADC developer ADC registered in iTunesU.

iOS vs Android Development Table

Conclusion

Coding under iOS and Android is like night and day: from the ability to download and install the SDK, to the strategy employed in testing the application. And ultimately, the very way one learns each platform is diametrically different.

Down to the smallest detail, the two platforms differ in philosophy and in technique, so consider carefully before deciding which path you wish to follow.

One can quickly observe that while games are the most popular, the distribution of games for its part has diminished.

One category on the rise are “lifestyle” apps.

We can conclude that users tend to download more and more iPhone apps that are considered “useful”, which is a great trend for businesses looking to produce apps to help their clients’ productivity, for example.

LG new display is great news for app development

We rarely talk about hardware, but we’re making an exception with this one: LG just announced its first 4.5-inch screen with HD resolution (1280 x 720 pixels).

LG not only makes smartphones, or televisions for that matter. The company is also well know for its high-quality computer monitors. LG’s most-recent achievement is the NOVA screen, which offers very good brightness and is currently one of the best reading experiences under full sunlight conditions. The NOVA technology is found on the Optimus Black smartphone. LG also offers In-Plane Switching (IPS) displays, which are present on the Optimus 2X or the Asus EeePad Transformer, for example.

The next generation of IPS screens will be called AH-IPS, which stands for Advanced High Performance In-Plane Switching. The diagonal is 4.5 inches, with a whopping resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels. This will enable it to obtain a pixel density of 329 dpi. By comparison, Apple’s iPhone 4, which is still THE reference in high-resolution smartphone technology, has the Retina Display screen that has a dpi of 326. A little trivia: it is LG that supplies the Retina Display screen to Apple.

There was an independent report conducted by Intertek, regarding IPS’s color fidelity. The report found that the IPS and the AH-IPS have a much better color fidelity than Samsung’s AMOLED screen technology. In terms of energy consumption, the display consumes the same amount of energy for both clear and darker images, which is not the case for AMOLED.

Such performances bring the user to a new dimension, as smartphones are more readable and the graphics made more real. Great news for both iPhone and Android app development. We can’t wait to get our hands on this…

iPad app development: the launch

We recommend the following three phases in your iPad app development and launch cycle:

Phase 1: One Month Before Official Launch:

Start creating buzz and anticipation around your application. Participate in relevant forums and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, or Linkedin if your target audience is more professional-oriented. Start a blog and build relationships with other webmasters who help you promote your application. Make a brief listing of your app’s key features and functionalities, show screenshots and ask for users to beta test your application. All these steps should arouse enough curiosity and sets the stage of the next phase of your launch cycle.

Phase 2: Pre-Launch, 4-5 Days Before Official Launch:

With your community of bloggers in place, your launch may get a significant promotional boost at this point. But that’s certainly not enough, you must constantly generated buzz with promotions and time-sensitive offers. These offers may be, for example, 50% off the post-launch price, or bundles with other related. Contests and news releases can also help raise awareness. You can submit free pre-release to such popular and effective PR platforms as prlog.org and pr.com.

Making videos and distributing them to YouTube and other video sharing sites is another great technique to help spread the word about your application. It is imperative that it be fun and short (just like a commercial). Your messaging needs to be something that your target audience can identify with, or you could go for the shock and surprise factor. It’s up to you, but it has to make sense within your larger branding strategy.

Video hosting sites include YouTube, Metacafe and Revver. The more videos you submit, the more exposure you’ll get. You can download great viral video marketing tips here.

And last but not least: Your iPad application must be reviewed and approved by Apple, so be sure to submit it on time (1 week verification on average).

Phase 3: Official Launch and Post-Launch:

Create an effective customer service experience and interact with your users by e-mail, social-media sites or other networks and ask them for feedback.

Raise awareness and offer new versions on a regular basis. Offer new features with each new upgrade to constantly add value and keep your customer base engaged.

And most of all: have fun with your new iPad app!