xcelMe Blog

Below are notes from the first day off sessions at WWDC 2010. The biggest take-away is, the stunning revelation by all attendees that everything is moving towards mobile. After almost 2 days of sessions, Mac OS X was only mentioned in passing once, at which time the audience applauded. Many attendees even asked at loud , “Does Apple even have a Desktop or Laptop OS.”

Mobile devices are adding more and more features and hardware capabilities that are not available on laptops and Desktops.  i.e. accelerometer, gps, gyroscopes, magnetometer, forward and front facing cameras, facetime. The epiphany that many developers have had is there will be less and less need for desktops and laptops over the next couple years

8500 native apps

• 17/downloads per device

Bookstore changes

• Can now store PDF’s

Most common reasons for app rejection

• Doesn’t function as advertised
• Private Api’s
• The app crashes

Nielsen smart phone market share

• 28% iPhone

iPhone 4

• 100 new features
• display
• Retinal display. 326 pixels per inch
• 960×640
• 800:1 contrast ratio
• 78% of pixels of the iPad
• -a4 chip
• 40% more talk
• 7.2 Mbps down
• gyro pitch row and yaw
• rotation around gravity
• core motion
• camera
• 5meg camera
• Led flash
• HD video70p at 30 fps
• iMovie for iPhone
• Stunning

iPhone OS 4

• Ios4
• Gold master ships now
• 100 million ios device have shiped

Books on the iPhone

• No extra charge all three devices
• Sync to all device

iAds

• July starts works

Video chat

• Face time
• Wi fi to wi fi
• $199 16 gig
• $299 32 gig
• June 24th
• June 15. Pre sale
• 88 countries
• June 24 ios phone upgrade

Xcode

• super fast provisioning profile
• incremental builds to device
• build and archive
• enterprise distribution
• test distribution build

Xcode 4

• IB is built in
• jump bar
• Llvm compiler replacing gcc
• 60% faster
• complete replacement for c, c++, objective-c
• Auto-correct – Fix it
• Static analyzer

SCM

• git
• time line
• version editor
• -blame
• branches and revisions
• New  low level debugger
• Four new tools instruments

Graphics

OpenGL ES

• iOS 4
• Low cost anti aliasing
• Enhanced shadows
• Advanced textures
• New texture formats
• More optimization for performance

AVFoundation

• 40 new classes
• Edit
• Playback engine
• Custom Controls
• Export
• Multitasking
• HTTP live streaming
• Stream insertion
• Synchronized Meta data
• New tools

Game Center

• Auto matching
• In-game voice chat. This is cool!!!!
• Leader boards
• Achievements
• Invites

Summary: xcelMe adds iPad app programming courses to their successful iPhone programming and app marketing series

Scottsdale, AZ – Feb 9, 2010– xcelMe, a worldwide leader in live online and onDemand iPhone app programming and marketing training, has added iPad app programming courses to their successful training series.

Gary Bennett, xcelMe author and President says, “The iPad offers a new gold rush for developers to have their apps in front of a new generation of mobile customers on a device that will change the way people use technology. The first iPad apps to market will set the standards and reap the rewards. We have taught hundreds of students who have gone on to develop some of the most successful apps on the iTunes app store. We are excited to see what this generation of students can do on the iPad.”

xcelMe.com offers eight courses in their iPhone/iPad series. Instructors are professional iPhone and iPad developers and app marketing specialists. Classes are taught online live, twice a week, from 2-4 weeks in duration and are recorded for later viewing by any student. Students can take courses live via webinar or recorded, as often as they want, at no additional charge. Courses cost $97 each and can also be purchased in discounted packages.

xcelMe offers the following courses:

• Intro to Object Oriented Programming and Logic
• Objective-C 2.0 for iPhone/iPad Developers
• Cocoa & xCode for iPhone/iPad Developers
• iPhone/iPad SDK Programming – Getting it Done!
• iPhone/iPad SDK Programming – Advanced
• iPad app Development from the Ground Up
• Beginning iPhone/iPad Game Development
• Introduction to Marketing iPhone/iPad Apps

Additional information about xcelMe.com or iPad app online development courses can be found by visiting www.xcelMe.com or by calling at (480) 776-9111.

I just returned from a week attending CSDN 2009 in Beijing, China and thought my fellow mobile developers would be interested in some observations of the mobile app environment in China.

I have been developing iPhone apps in the US since July 2008 as well as teaching iPhone app development online to students for my company, xcelMe.com. To date, I have taught iPhone app development and app marketing to several hundred students from all over the world. I was asked to deliver a keynote presentation and participate in several workshops over the course of the conference on iPhone app development. Over 1000 developers from Beijing, China, surrounding cities and Taiwan, attended this conference.

The iPhone is gaining more interest in China now with its release this October. Most Chinese developers believe there are approximately 2.5 million iPhones and iPod Touch devices in China. Most all of these are jail broken.

The first thing I noticed at the conference was how young the developers were. By the looks, I would say the average age was early 20s. Based on the questions they asked, they are well educated and understand software development. The second thing I noticed was the work ethic these young people have. They know how to work and aren’t afraid of it.

Everything you have heard about the new infrastructure in Beijing and the other major cities is true. Imagine driving around Los Angeles or New York City all day on new streets, with new buildings, cars, buses, subways, sidewalks shops etc. It blew me away.

My iPhone got better reception on the Beijing network than I get here in the US with AT&T. I really don’t like AT&T anymore! See previous posts on LinkedIn and my blog at blog.xcelMe.com. I would imagine that everyone in Beijing doesn’t have access to the Internet at home but they ALL have cell phones. Just by observations, about a quarter of them had smart phones.  On the subways, they were using their cell phones like anyone else, playing games, reading, answering email, texting, listening to music and even talking on their cell phones. Can you believe that? They were actually using their cell phones underground in the subway stations and on the subways as well. Ok, maybe they don’t use their cell phones like those of us on AT&T!

For an app to be successful in China, it needs to be cross-cultural. For example, a game is not cultural but Skype would be cultural and not so popular by the Chinese consumer.

Some social networking sites that we use everyday are not available in China. I was amazed how much I missed YouTube and how much I really use it everyday. From embedded website videos on vender applications to videos on how to code something for the iPhone, all the things we take for granted in the US. A developer in China doesn’t have the ability to post on YouTube about their new app or Twitter about it.

I’m not going to comment on the government other than what I mentioned above about its impact on their limited ability to use social networking. I know many have strong opinions.

I was amazed how capitalist and entrepreneurial these developers are. The energy and momentum I felt just walking down the streets was remarkable. These young people seem to have a sense that they could have more than their parents had as opposed to the sense of entitlement many of our young developers have. I have seen so many young US developers starting their jobs expecting a six figure salary, new house, 60” big screen TV, cable, internet and BMW on their first day. It seemed like the many of Chinese developers were just relishing the opportunity of trying to “achieve”.  It was very refreshing.

iPhones are currently very expensive for the average Chinese. The cell phone carriers do not subsidize iPhones. Most developers don’t know Objective-C, but many know Java. Topics on Android development and cloud computing were of particular interest to these mobile developers.

The Chinese economy took a hit earlier this year. Their government used a stimulus plan too. Unlike the US stimulus plan, theirs appears to be working. They just reported a 3^rd quarter growth of about 8% compared to the US negative or flat growth.

Overall, I was impressed about everything! It is incredible what is occurring in China and it will be interesting to see how mobile apps are used in China. I expect to be amazed by that too.

Gary Bennett

President

xcelMe.com

xcelME.com has just completed the accreditation process with the Arizona Better Business Bureau. http://www.xcelme.com/about-us.php

Apple is rumored to have awarded Foxconn to manufacture their much anticipated iTablet. To be released 1Q 2010. fun, fun.

xcelMe a leader in live online iPhone development and marketing training, has recently added the iPhone Game Programming Course to its all-star roster. This course, exclusively focusing on iPhone game development, will begin in November, 2009.

Experienced programmers and non-programmers alike are looking for skills to develop and market iPhone and iPod applications, especially games. Since xcelMe.com launched its first online iPhone development and marketing courses in Febuary 2009, all courses have sold out in a matter of weeks.

Gary Bennett, xcelMe President says, “People have great ideas for iPhone apps and many are looking for ways to add to their skills and make themselves more marketable in this economy. They don’t have the time or resources to travel across the country to sit in a classroom for several days. Our live online university addresses a critical need for these people.”

xcelMe instructor-led courses address the needs for someone who has never programmed before, as well as those with years of experience, who desire to learn to develop and market iPhone applications.

xcelMe offers seven courses in the series, from 2-4 weeks in duration. The courses are taught live, in the evening, twice a week, and are recorded for later viewing by any student. The cost of each course is only $97 and can also be purchased in discounted bundles. The live online courses are:

Intro to Object Oriented Programming and Logic

Objective-C 2.0 for iPhone Developers

Cocoa & xCode for iPhone Developers

iPhone SDK Programming – Getting it Done!

iPhone SDK Programming – Advanced

Beginning iPhone Game Development **New**

Introduction to Marketing iPhone Apps

“People are looking for instructors who have been there done that,” Bennett said. “They want to learn from developers that have written, published and marketed iPhone apps on the iTunes App Store”.

Some xcelMe students have realized their dream of having their apps in the Top 100 Paid Applications and have even reached the Top Paid App on the App Store! Check the App Store for Camera Genius and News Addict.

Additional information on xcelMe.com and/or the iPhone online development courses can be obtained by visiting www.xcelMe.com or by calling at (480) 776-9111.