Poor indie developer, if you don’t have a graphics designer working for you and need some inspiration before you show off YOUR Photoshop skills, just have look at this website and you will find PATTERNS that matches your app’s screens. Go ahead and claim your inspiration:
Why don’t my screenshots show up in the iTunes App Store?
March 29, 2011
Recently, some of the screenshots of my iphone applications did not show up in the iTunes App Store, despite the fact that they did show up in itunesconnect. After some investigation and trials, I figured out that the screenshots which does not show up were all PNG files. It seems like iTunes does not like PNG files.
Replacing these screenshots with JPEG counterparts solved the problem.
So always check and make sure that all of the screenshots you uploaded shows up in the app store, and replace the ones which don’t appear with JPEG counterparts.
Fixing upload aborted or timed out errors in itunes connect
March 28, 2011
When you’re uploading screenshots to iTunes Connect, you may run into the error “Upload Aborted or Timed Out”. This can be very frustrating if you’re on a slow connection. Sometimes, retrying the upload may succeed, or converting the files to JPGs.
This is not ideal: we’d like to be able to upload nice hi-res iPad screenshots, even on a slow connection. I did some digging in iTunes Connect’s Javascript. It turns out it uses a component called LCUploader to handle the uploading. Deep in the bowels of a file called lc_ajaxcomponents.js, we find this code:
self.timerId = setInterval(function() { self.checkUploadHeartbeat(); }, 10000);
…
this.checkUploadHeartbeat = function() {
if (this.lastProgressDate == 0) { return; }
var now = new Date().getTime();
var diff = now – this.lastProgressDate;
if (diff > 10000) {
// We have waited more than 10 seconds without any bytes being pushed
clearInterval(this.timerId);
// Mark the request as being aborted
this.aborted = true;
// And finally abort the XHR
this.xhrRequest.abort();
this.displayErrorMessage(“Upload Aborted or Timed Out.”);
this.reset();
this.stopSpinner();
Aha! It appears that this check is incorrectly causing the upload to time out after 10 seconds. We can override this function at runtime. Paste the following code into your browser’s address bar:
javascript:LCUploader.prototype.checkUploadHeartbeat = function() {};void(0);
This overrides the function with an empty one. Now we’re able to upload larger files with no issues, even on a bad wifi connection.
Source: http://www.reigndesign.com/blog/fixing-upload-aborted-or-timed-out-errors-in-itunes-connect
31 example (open source) iPhone applications
March 27, 2011
We have always learned best by example. We hope you will too. Here you will find 31 examples to help you get started as an iPhone developer.
48 websites to request review for your iPhone application
March 27, 2011
One of the best ways to market your app is to get it reviewed by popular websites. Here are 48 well known websites you can ask for a review for your iPhone application.
Send an email which explains what your application does, screenshots and links, and a promo code only if they want you to do so. You will see the benefit if you succeed in getting your app reviewed.
148Apps: http://www.148apps.com
AppVee: http://www.appvee.com
AppCraver: http://www.appcraver.com
The Unofficial Apple Weblog: http://www.tuaw.com
Touch Arcade: http://toucharcade.com
Slide To Play: http://www.slidetoplay.com
Pocket Gamer: http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk
The Portable Gamer: http://theportablegamer.com
FingerGaming: http://fingergaming.com
App Store HQ: http://www.appstorehq.com
Appmodo: http://appmodo.com
AppAdvice: http://appadvice.com
iPhone Alley: http://www.iphonealley.com
iPhone.Appstorm: http://iphone.appstorm.net
The iPhone Blog: http://www.theiphoneblog.com
AppSafari: http://www.appsafari.com
iPhoneAppReviews: http://www.iphoneappreviews.net
iPhone Application List: http://iphoneapplicationlist.com
The iPhone App Review: http://www.theiphoneappreview.com
What’s on iPhone?: http://www.whatsoniphone.com
iPhone App Ratings: http://www.iphoneappratings.org
AppChatter: http://www.appchatter.com
TouchMyApps: http://www.touchmyapps.com
Got Apps?: http://gotapps.com
All About iPhone: http://www.allaboutiphone.net
iPhone App Index: http://www.iphoneappindex.com
The Daily App Show: http://dailyappshow.com
iPhone Freak: http://www.iphonefreak.com
AppVersity: http://www.appversity.com
Talk iPhone: http://www.talkiphone.com
SlapApp: http://www.slapapp.com
iPhone Footprint: http://www.iphonefootprint.com
AppStoreApps.com: http://www.appstoreapps.com
iLounge: http://www.ilounge.com
Macworld’s iPhone Central: http://iphone.macworld.com
Macworld AppGuide: http://www.macworld.com/appguide
Ars Technica’s Infinite Loop: http://arstechnica.com/apple
TheAppleBlog: http://www.theappleblog.com
MacNN: http://www.macnn.com
Macsimum News: http://www.macsimumnews.com
The Mac Observer: http://www.macobserver.com
AppleTell: http://www.appletell.com/apple/archives/category/iphone
Mac User: http://www.macuser.co.uk
Mac Life: http://www.maclife.com
MacTech: http://www.mactech.com
Daring Fireball: http://daringfireball.net
PC World: http://www.pcworld.com
Gizmodo: http://gizmodo.com/tag/iphoneapps
Source:
The Business of iPhone App Development
Worldwide sales of iPhone as of now
March 24, 2011
Worldwide sales of iPhone as of now. Sales volume is in millions.
Encouraging User Reviews Within Your App
March 24, 2011
If a user decides to delete your app from their iPhone, Apple’s system automatically prompts the user to first rate the app before completing the uninstall. For happy customers to post a rating, they have to go out of their way to visit the App Store on their own accord, which is not as convenient.
It’s as easy as having your app display its own UIAlertView, asking users who like the app to please rate it. Here’s how to do it with only a handful of code lines.
– (void)askForRating
{
UIAlertView *buttonAlert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle: @” Help Spread the Word”
message: @” If you like this app, please rate it in the App Store. Thanks! ”
delegate: self
cancelButtonTitle: @” Maybe Later”
otherButtonTitles: @”Rate It Now”, nil];
[buttonAlert show];
[buttonAlert release];
}
– (void)alertView:(UIAlertView *)alertView clickedButtonAtIndex:(NSInteger)buttonIndex
{
if (buttonIndex == 1)
{
NSURL* url = [ NSURL URLWithString:@”YOUR APP STORE URL”];
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:url];
}
}
How to sort an NSArray alphabetically?
March 23, 2011
localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare: is a method of NSString and it can be used to sort an array of strings.
Example:
NSArray* anArray = ….
NSArray* sortedArray = [anArray sortedArrayUsingSelector:@selector(localizedCaseInsensitiveCompare:)];
Format String for the iPhone NSDateFormatter
March 23, 2011
It is quite common to have to display time information in your iphone application, be it the current time, news feed’s creation date, scheduled meeting time or birthday reminders. However, not all of them are displayed the same way and may require different formatting. To do that with Objective-C for iPhone apps, NSDateFormatter is what we need.
In most cases, you’d just need to use the default styles defined in NSDateFormatterStyle.
NSDateFormatter *dateFormatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc] init]; [dateFormatter setDateStyle:NSDateFormatterMediumStyle]; [dateFormatter setTimeStyle:NSDateFormatterShortStyle]; NSLog(@"%@", [dateFormatter stringFromDate:[NSDate date]]); [dateFormatter release]; // Output: Dec 2, 2008 3:58 PM
But at times, you’d prefer to set your own time format, and that’s where it starts to get tricky.
It is actually quite simple, all you have to do is to create a format string to tell NSDateFormatter how to format your time string.
: [dateFormatter setDateFormat:@"hh:mm:ss"] : // Output: 03:58:27
a: AM/PM
A: 0~86399999 (Millisecond of Day) c/cc: 1~7 (Day of Week) ccc: Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat cccc: Sunday/Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday d: 1~31 (0 padded Day of Month) D: 1~366 (0 padded Day of Year) e: 1~7 (0 padded Day of Week) E~EEE: Sun/Mon/Tue/Wed/Thu/Fri/Sat EEEE: Sunday/Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday/Saturday F: 1~5 (0 padded Week of Month, first day of week = Monday) g: Julian Day Number (number of days since 4713 BC January 1) G~GGG: BC/AD (Era Designator Abbreviated) GGGG: Before Christ/Anno Domini h: 1~12 (0 padded Hour (12hr)) H: 0~23 (0 padded Hour (24hr)) k: 1~24 (0 padded Hour (24hr) K: 0~11 (0 padded Hour (12hr)) L/LL: 1~12 (0 padded Month) LLL: Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr/May/Jun/Jul/Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec LLLL: January/February/March/April/May/June/July/August/September/October/November/December m: 0~59 (0 padded Minute) M/MM: 1~12 (0 padded Month) MMM: Jan/Feb/Mar/Apr/May/Jun/Jul/Aug/Sep/Oct/Nov/Dec MMMM: January/February/March/April/May/June/July/August/September/October/November/December q/qq: 1~4 (0 padded Quarter) qqq: Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 qqqq: 1st quarter/2nd quarter/3rd quarter/4th quarter Q/QQ: 1~4 (0 padded Quarter) QQQ: Q1/Q2/Q3/Q4 QQQQ: 1st quarter/2nd quarter/3rd quarter/4th quarter s: 0~59 (0 padded Second) S: (rounded Sub-Second) u: (0 padded Year) v~vvv: (General GMT Timezone Abbreviation) vvvv: (General GMT Timezone Name) w: 1~53 (0 padded Week of Year, 1st day of week = Sunday, NB: 1st week of year starts from the last Sunday of last year) W: 1~5 (0 padded Week of Month, 1st day of week = Sunday) y/yyyy: (Full Year) yy/yyy: (2 Digits Year) Y/YYYY: (Full Year, starting from the Sunday of the 1st week of year) YY/YYY: (2 Digits Year, starting from the Sunday of the 1st week of year) z~zzz: (Specific GMT Timezone Abbreviation) zzzz: (Specific GMT Timezone Name) Z: +0000 (RFC 822 Timezone)
Source: http://www.stepcase.com/blog/2008/12/02/format-string-for-the-iphone-nsdateformatter/
10 free ways to market your app
March 21, 2011
Most people think that successful mobile apps get magically downloaded millions of times within days of launching. Think again! Just like any other business, website, or idea, you need to have a solid marketing plan to promote your awesome new mobile app if you want it to be downloaded. Unfortunately, most people also seem to spend every last dime they have on developing their app, and are unfortunately left with a very small marketing budget. This is the exact reason why I’ve compiled a list of tips to help you kick start your marketing campaign on the cheap!
METHOD 1: Twitter
Not only is twitter free, but it also can give you a direct connection to the people in your target industry who matter. So, make a Twitter account for your app, find the movers and shakers in your industry, and try to create a connection. If you are going after a contact who runs an app review site, keep in mind that those people tend to receive dozens of emails every day from other app developers, so sending a short and simple personal tweet can be a great way to get noticed.
METHOD 2: Make a Video
Videos are the perfect way to show people how cool your app is. Browsing through the App Store and looking at the 4 screen grabs that all developers tend to provide by default is a pretty tame way to decide if an app is worth downloading. Angry Birds doesn’t even look that fun in the examples, but millions of people find it a blast to play! The video doesn’t need to be anything overly fancy (though it wouldn’t hurt to add a bit of pizzaz), just setup your digital camera and record yourself using your app. Talk your way through the screens and make it clear why your app is worth downloading. Be sure to put it on Youtube, Vimeo, and any others you can find. You’ll also get some SEO by tagging and titling your video with keywords that are related to your app like “iPhone” or “Android”, “App”, and “Game”, and putting a link to the App Store within the description. If you don’t mind spending a bit of cash to assist you with the video portion, the video above is a great example of an app video you can make using Sound Stage. It’s only $4.99 in the Mac App Store.EightBit.Me did this perfectly!
METHOD 3: Create a Website/Blog for Your App
Blogger, Tumblr, and Posterous all give you a place to host a free website and you’ll be able to supply this link to everyone if they want more info about your app. Templates and Landing Pages for your apps. Put the website URL in the App Store description, in the signature of all your emails, etc. Put social buttons like Stumble Upon, Digg, Facebook Share, and ReTweet all on your website so that people can tell their friends and community about your app. You should try to update the blog portion of your website often. Fill it with updates you just made, features you plan on adding, and allow for comments and feedback to be given. (If you didn’t realize this yet, your website is the perfect place to embed the video you just made
METHOD 4: Promo Codes & Giveaways
For iPhone app developers, you’ll be able to download up to 50 app promo codes from Apple with each update that is accepted by the iTunes Store. For paid apps, these promo codes are a great way to start spreading the word. If you have an Android App, you can send out a link to your application’s APK so people can download the app for free. If you give some promo codes to your friends, be sure to tell them they should leave a review – the more reviews your app gets the better! Use the rest of the promo codes to dish out to Review Websites so that they can checkout your app for free. They’ll be a lot more likely to download your app if they don’t have to pay money to see if they like it. It’s the equivalent of buying a friend a drink before you ask for a favor. And that brings us to method number 5…
METHOD 5: Mobile App Review Websites
There are TONS of review sites that do nothing but write reviews about cool new apps. Google “app reviews” to see how many are out there. Some charge to have your app review fast tracked, but there are plenty of others that will do it for free. One strategy is to contact the smaller web sites first, like The Smartphone App Review and Tech Hackz, and ask them to write about your app before you contact the larger websites.
Of course, as an Envato reader, you should be sure to submit your app for review to our sister-sites, Android AppStorm and iPhone AppStorm!
METHOD 6: Guest Posts
Lots of blogs welcome guest posts. This is a great way to let you write your own review, but be careful here! They won’t let you write a fluffy puffy piece about how your new fart app is going to “change the world!” You’ll likely have to write a real post about something of value, and they’ll let you put a link to your app or website in the credits. This is still awesome, because any link pointing to your website is good SEO, so you’ll wind up with more traffic, more credibility, and all of that will equal more downloads. Here are a couple blogs that like having guest writers (be warned: some are harder than others to be accepted by).
METHOD 7: Get creative with PR
Let’s say your app is a library of “cool new recipes” then you should contact websites that have to do with cooking. If your app has to do with golfing, then visit your local pro-shop and see if they’ll let you place some flyers on the counter. Usually, the most successful marketing ideas are those farthest outside the box. Buying ads could be a waste of money. Putting a bumper sticker on your car about your new “car insurance finder app” could be a stroke of genius!
METHOD 8: Swap Banner Ads
After you get your website up and running, swap banner ads with someone else who has an app and a website. You’ll get some free promotion on their website, and they’ll get promotion on yours. Everybody wins!
METHOD 9: Hit the Streets
Bring your phone loaded with your app on the streets and ask people to try it out. Get some honest feedback. You’ll get advice from a non-biased person (your mom is biased, trust me!), and you’ll also be spreading the word about your app. Odds are, they’ll go home and tell their friends about how they got stopped on the street on their way to lunch and were asked to play an Android game called “XYZ” and how fun it was. Plus, if you’re lucky, they’ll tell you what they didn’t like about it. It could be something you never thought of, like the navigation being too confusing to someone looking at the app with fresh eyes.
METHOD 10: Friends on Facebook
Tell your friends. Tell everyone. Be shameless! Post it on your wall, post it on your friend’s walls. Post your app video on Facebook too. Things can spread like wildfire on Facebook, so don’t be shy! Your mom and little sister are on Facebook too, right? So get them to post it for their friends to see!
Source: http://mobile.tutsplus.com/articles/marketing/10-free-ways-to-market-your-app/
Taha Selim Bebek 