endloop blog

Since the unveiling of the device last week, it seems like everyone is praising or criticizing Apple’s upcoming iPad as a pure media consumption machine. That, or bemoaning the absence of Flash.

As first impressions go, that’s not far off the mark. The iPad’s larger form factor is ideal for consuming and sharing iTune’s vast media library and it appears to be made for that singular purpose.

However, I believe we are all underestimating the productivity potential of the iPad. Here are 5 reasons why I think the iPad is ideal for productivity and not just for media consumption:

1) The IPS LCD panel tech
This allows for a viewing angle of 178 degrees and a ridiculously good image quality. That means any images, diagrams, or documents can be easily readable for anyone near the iPad holder.

2) 1024×768 resolution
This means you can fit a lot more detailed information on the screen. I predict you will see native iPad productivity apps that will take advantage of this additional screen real estate in new and innovative ways. More space means less full page transitions and a better user experience for manipulating complex documents.

3) The 0.5″ thick and 1.5lbs form factor
Big deal, you say, it’s just lighter and smaller, nothing game changing here. Well, think about it this way: when was the last time you tried to pass a laptop around the boardroom/meeting room? If you tried it, you’d find it was bulky, heavy, and unwieldy. Well the iPad’s form factor makes it easy to pass around and the bigger, wide angle viewing screen just makes sharing that much easier.

It’s perfect for collaborative work and small groups without a need for a projector. Better than a laptop because you can’t just lay a laptop screen flat on a table.

4) Multi-touch
Yes, this is not new and it already exists on the iPhone. However, since the iPad is more like a desktop/laptop platform, we will be seeing some really unique user experiences due to the combination of multi-touch with single page app designs (unlike the hierarchical, multipage iPhone apps). In combination with the larger screen, this will allow for productivity apps that are built for collaboration among multiple people on the same device.

5) The blazing fast A4 processor
This processor runs circles around the iPhone and the current crop of netbooks. Heavy processor dependent apps that weren’t possible on the iPhone will now see the light of day on the iPad because of the A4.

Bonus Reason: Apple says so
They’re not releasing the iWork suite of apps for the iPad on a whim. This is to showcase how productive you can be on the iPad. There’s a good reason why they didn’t even attempt to bring these apps over to the iPhone; they were saving them for the platform that will make them shine, the iPad.

Conclusion
As an iPhone developer, I’m obviously going to buy an iPad on day one but the hardware doesn’t nearly excite me as much as the potential of new iPad-only apps. I’m certain there will be some truly innovative productivity tools that may change your life and mine.

We at Endloop are already working on some awesome ideas for iPad apps, so keep your eyes peeled to this blog.

IndieRelief.com is a one day software sale (January 20th, 2010) where over 50 indie Mac and iPhone developers will be donating their sales proceeds to various Haiti relief charities.

Put together by Second Gear and Garrett Murray, Indie Relief showcases how quickly a diverse community like iPhone and Mac developers can get together to do something positive for those in need.

Endloop is proud to be a part of this wonderful community and we will be donating proceeds from ALL of our apps sold tomorrow to Doctors Without Borders.

On Jan. 20th, 2010 (tomorrow!), open your hearts and wallets, and grab some great software knowing you are contributing to desperately needed relief for Haiti.

Visit: IndieRelief.com

Check out our brief gameplay video for our upcoming FREE iPhone game BANKSHOT:

Last Thursday afternoon, we had this crazy idea to try to build an iPhone game over the course of a 3 day weekend.

We had all the ingredients in place:

1) Simple but fun and addictive gameplay concept - CHECK
2) A simple art style that won’t require outside help - CHECK
3) A hard deadline of Monday due to client work commitments - CHECK

And last but not least:

4) Awesome significant others that will put up with this hijacked weekend - CHECK

The reason this is Zero to BETA instead of Zero to Release is that we didn’t quite fully finish. We have a feature complete game but the gameplay still needs more testing and some tweaking before we’re OK with submitting it.

Also, the reason it’s 36 hrs and not 72 hrs is because we are old and we like to sleep. That and we needed to be bright eyed and bushy tailed for today as we had some important client work to start.

Ok, enough with the disclaimers, I’m proud to announce the results of our Weekend GameJam:

Introducing BANKSHOT, a simple physics game where the goal is to score goals using bank shots. It’s a ’streak’ based game where the score is simply the number of goals you can score in a row. A valid bankshot is 1 to 3 banks. We limited it to 3 so we could reduce the wild lucky shots factor.

We will be releasing this game for FREE (ad-supported) once it’s been submitted and approved. We’ll also keep you informed as to the App Store performance of this app via this blog.

Here are some initial screenshots, I’ll be posting a video once we’ve finished our gameplay tweaks (hopefully tonight):

Overall this Weekend GameJam was a blast! We’re definitely into doing it again the next time we have a simple game concept. We’d love to hear your thoughts and comments!

Yay, the first official review of Arcade Solitaire:TriTowers has just been published!

If you enjoy playing cards and specifically Solitaire, then you will like Tri-Towers, as it is one of the most addicting and amusing solitaire games on the App Store.

The game includes 30 unlockable card deck skins and background skins, which are a nice incentive for those players who need one. Personally, I found the addicting and fun game play enough inventive to continue playing, but the extras are a nice perk.

The game offers good visuals with very easy to see and read cards. I like that the cards and background skins can be changed, which adds a custom element to the game.

To go along with these visual graphics are awesome sound jingles! Exciting little sounds are played as combos are gained and objectives completed and once the level is finished, a brief sound jingle is played that is surprisingly fun to listen to.

Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers is scored a 4 out of 5

You can check out the full review here: iPhoneInCanada Reviews Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers

This is just the first of many positive reviews coming! We’ve been in touch with lots of sites and they all LOVE the game! Wooo! If you’ve got a site and would like a promo code for Arcade Solitaire:TriTowers, let us know ASAP as we don’t have many left!

Thanks and see you on the leaderboards!

Get your copy while it’s hot, only 99c during our special launch sale!

Grab it from the iPhone App Store here: Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers

When the game starts, it asks if you want to create an OpenFeint account, just tap YES so we can compete on the leaderboards

After being featured in the September 2009 issue of Men’s Health Magazine, we have found 2 more online reviews of iHeartRate.

DietChoices.com says:

The iHeartRate Monitor has a lot going for it, such as its tiny price tag. The iHeartRate has some features that many would not expect to see, such as an easy to use BMI calculator and a body fat monitor. If you have an iPhone, the iHeartRate is a nice way to make sure that you are in your target heart rate.

And XStyleFit.com says:

This application makes it easy with its intuitive interface and functional features you have a great start to wonderful application. Here at XStyleFit we use this app quite often for resting as well as exercise heart rates. The way it sits right now this one does more than most of the expensive ones.

Thanks for the reviews!

I just got my ticket for 360|iDev! The show will be going down September 27 to 30, 2009.

You can find more details at the conference website: http://360iDev.com

It’s being organized by the folks who put on the 360|Flex shows, which is a crowd favorite. Tickets are cheaper on a first come, first serve basis!
So buy your tickets asap at http://360idev.eventbrite.com to get the best possible price. I did! See you there.

Let me know if you’re going!

So we decided to go ahead and launch TweetCapz ‘officially’. We were going to wait until version 1.1 update hit the App Store but we decided to just go ahead and start announcing it properly.

As you can see in this video, version 1.1 (should be approved soon!) has some kick-ass multi-touch controls for resizing/rotating captions and graphics. Anyways enough of me blabbing, just check out our video and let us know what you think in the comments!

TweetCapz - photo captioning for Facebook and Twitter from Ken Seto on Vimeo.

Here’s the YouTube version:

As some of you may know, TweetCapz is now available on the iTunes App Store. We haven’t reached out to the media yet because we wanted to wait for version 1.1 to be approved. TweetCapz 1.1 has so many great new features that we thought it would be best to wait. However, we’re happy to see that Mark Evans has already given TweetCapz a great review on his site, Mark Evans Tech - “TweetCapz - Adding Fun to Photos”.

Today, I’m taking a look at TweetCapz, an iPhone application that lets you add captions, speech bubbles and emoticons to photos that you can share on Twitter, Facebook or via e-mail.

After installation the application (it costs $1.99 but there’s a special launch price of 99 cents), TweetCapz gives you two options: you can take a new photo or use an existing photo on your iPhone.

After adding a caption, bubble or emoticon, you select how you want to share the photo, and send it on its way. Below, you’ll see a photo that I recently took, and shared through Twitter.

TweetCapz is quick, easy to use and entertaining. For 99 cents, it’s a pretty good investment.

You can read the entire review here.

Also, we’re ecstatic to have received coverage from Tech Vibes regarding both TweetCapz as well as our How To Launch your 1st iPhone App in 28 days blog series.

Endloop teaches you how to launch your 1st iPhone App in 28 days

If you’re thinking about developing your own iPhone App, be sure to check out Endloop’s Blog. The brothers are sharing their experience via a series called How to start, built, launch and market your first iPhone App in 28 days.

Thanks, Mark Evans and TechVibes!