Checking for function availability in iPhone OS

Since the introduction of the iPad (OS3.2) and iPhone 4 (iOS4), developers have to consider building applications for different versions of the SDK.

We are currently working on an iPhone app that supports version 3.1 to 4.0.1. With the introduction of iOS4 and the iPhone 4 Retina display, we can take advantage of the function UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions to create higher resolution snap shots.

To check if the function is available at runtime, you can compare it to NULL instead of having to lookup what version of the OS the user is running.

if (UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions != NULL)
{
    UIGraphicsBeginImageContextWithOptions(size, NO, 0.0);
else
{
    UIGraphicsBeginImageContext(size);
}

For more information check out this article http://iphonedevelopertips.com/xcode/base-sdk-and-iphone-os-deployment-target-developing-apps-with-the-4-x-sdk-deploying-to-3-x-devices.html and Apple’s iOS Application Programming Guide has more information on Supporting High-Resolution Screens.

Apple iPhone 4 Ad featuring Facetime

Apple iPhone 4 Ad featuring Facetime from Simon Barber on Vimeo.

“FaceTime works right out of the box — no need to set up a special account or screen name. And using FaceTime is as easy as it gets. Let’s say you want to start a video call with your best friend. Just find her entry in your Contacts and tap the FaceTime button. Or maybe you’re already on a voice call with her and you want to switch to video. Just tap the FaceTime button on the Phone screen. Either way, an invitation pops up on her iPhone 4 screen asking if she wants to join you. When she accepts, the video call begins. It’s all perfectly seamless. And it works in both portrait and landscape modes.”

To learn more about Facetime click here.

Apple iPad New TV Ad

Apple iPad TV Ad on Vimeo.

We (ThoughtFaqtory) have been lucky enough to get our hands on a few of these slick iPads, even though we reside in Cape Town, South Africa. The obviously needed them for development purposes, to test our software products on the device. It turns out that running our application on the simulator is a far different experience than on an actual device.

Here is something to keep you excited while waiting patiently for them to arrive in your country.

ThoughtFaqtory’s mobile development services

ThoughtFaqtory originally offered development services on Adobe Flex and AIR platforms. We have created many great experiences for small to large corporations in the USA, Europe and South Africa.

At the end of last year, we decided to embark on offering services in the mobile space. The type of platforms we currently develop for are iPhone, iPad, Android and Adobe Flash Platform for mobile devices. We actually have a few iPad’s floating around the office. Another technology we are looking forward to this year is AIR for Android, Flash Player 10.1 for mobile devices and Flex Mobile Framework (codenamed Slider). This is very exciting, because it allows our company to leverage existing ActionScript 3 skills and apply them to mobile devices.

We forsee that from 2010, there is going to be large demand for development of custom software solutions on mobile devices. A number of our team members are currently working on iPhone and iPad solutions for products that already have a web presence. Many companies are creating mobile experiences from existing products that are already available to the public. Then there are the products exclusive to mobile devices such as Foursquare and Gowalla, these types of products require location-based services function correctly.

ThoughtFaqtory is looking forward to this year as the mobile development space heats up.

See you at Net Prophet 2010 event on the 13th May 2010, Mutual Park, Pinelands, Cape Town.

Adobe Flash, One Web, Any Screen

Flash brings the web to life: One web, any screen: See Flash on the new Dell 5 tablet, Dell 12 smartbook (Latitude Xt2), Palm Pre, Nexus One, Motorola Droid, and HP mini 311 netbook.