#iPhoneDev

Another one of my applications has made it to print! This time it’s Remix DJ: SpeakEZ. It was reviewed in BigShotMag a magazine that caters to DJ’s and extreme music enthusiasts. You can see it in Issue #29 which is available now!

Here’s the Review:

Speak EZ (keyvisuals.com)
Price: Free

Description: Remember the Speak N’ Spell? Remix DJ does,
and they’ve done a virtual version for the iPhone/iPod Touch.

Pros: A wide selection of phrases, plus the alphabet and numbers 0-9
for your to trigger.

Cons: The buttons are a bit small, and response sometimes lags.

But for free, it’s not much to complain about. You also can’t circuit bend it
like a real SnS; but, that’s what xternal effects are for.

Verdict: You win.

The other day I received my first “new” email notification from the App Store Review team . . .

Yay!, Apple must be reviewing my app I thought. But then the email body contained the unfortunate “Your application review process will require additional time.” #fail.

I’m really not sure how these changed state emails are going to provide developers with any helpful information. Previously our app status would have shown In Review and we would have had to wait until it was either accepted or rejected. Now we can see if the our apps are waiting for review or actually are in review sure, but how does that help me? Knowing that my application state has changed isn’t a huge relief to me either. What knowledge have I gained? I still have to wait until it is either accepted or rejected and now I have an additional step to add to my anxiety.

As you can see from the these screen shots the Status History doesn’t provide much helpful information either. It would at least be interesting if we could see which App Reviewer was looking at our app. Instead it just says Apple. No kidding, really? Can you imagine seeing inspected by number 7.

I guess it’s a good sign that Apple is trying to provide more information to developers regarding their cryptic review process but we are far from a perfect system.

One of my apps [Remix DJ: AudioBox] recently had the honor of being reviewed in iCreate Magazine. They gave it 4 stars out of 5! This issue is almost 3 months old, i’m lucky to have picked it up at the local Barnes & Noble yesterday otherwise I might have missed it.

(Issue #71, page 98)

The text of the article is below:

RemixDJ: Spice up your set with these free samples

” The iPhone is so much more than a phone that you can now even integrate it into live electronic music. This simple app aims to provide DJ’s with a bevy of samples to use while playing a set. The audio quality is excellent and the simple trigger button means there is no lag between button pressing and the sound being played, so you be sure you don’t mis-time your triggers. All of the samples are royalty-free, so you can use them in all of your endeavors – even if you’re already a superstar DJ and playing in front of thousands of people. There’s nearly 200 sounds available, so there’s plenty of choice and variation. This app is very honest; it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is. If you want to get a boat-load of samples for free and use them for fun or even public performance, then it’s perfect.”

Verdict 4 stars Best for: DJs

Wow, just wow! My apps have now been downloaded more than 2 Million Times by people in over 50 countries.  Back in April I broke the 1 Million Mark which I thought was completely amazing. Now I have more than doubled that accomplishment. THANK YOU to all who have downloaded and enjoyed my apps! This definitely encourages me to continue creating fun & useful apps.

The stats are courtesy of Pinch Media Analytics. The service is free and provides a ton of useful information. Pinch provides stats such as: Total unique users, Total sessions, Total jailbroken users, Total cracked users, Total Time Spent Using the App, Device Type, OS version and More. If you are a developer and you are not using any type of analytics package then you are just foolish.

Below are the three main apps which helped me to break 2 Million Unique Downloads:

iCandyPix, iCandyPix 2 and the 3.0 Version of Peanut Butter Jelly Time (which was the first version of PBJTime to have analytics embedded) were all released after I broke the 1 Million Mark. Unfortunately for me all three of these apps were FREE soooo I am NOT a millionaire. Don’t feel too bad for me though, most of my free apps are ad supported and have earned a good amount of revenue.

Just for fun here are a few more stats on these three apps:

Peanut Butter Jelly Time has been used 2,224,168 times, out of those 17,961 were run on a jailbroken device. The total time users spent playing with PBJTime comes out to roughly 16 years 149 days 13 hours 18 minutes 52 seconds.

iCandyPix has been used 2,548,390 times, out of those 97,650 were run on a jailbroken device. The total time users have spent using iCandyPix comes out to roughly 10 years 358 days 11 hours 23 minutes 33 seconds.

iCandyPix 2 has been used 442,829 times, out of those 15,723 were run on a jailbroken device. The total time users have spent using iCandyPix 2 comes out to roughly 1 year 338 days 16 hours 21 minutes 15 seconds.

(Please NOTE: The Peanut Butter Jelly Time App is No Longer available due to a disagreement between myself and the supposed originator of PBJ Time.)

Keyvisuals has teamed up with ill Will PReSS to bring the Neurotically Yours Series to the iPhone & iPod Touch. Neurotically Yours is a hugely popular flash cartoon series animated by Jonathan Ian Mathers.

Writers Block, the first official Neurotically Yours App is a mini-comic that was never released. It chronicles the very early days of the relationship between the goth poet Germaine and her pet squirrel Foamy.

Neurotically Yours : Writers Block is available now for FREE!

OK, ok. So I wasn’t actually attacked by pirates but it makes for an exciting headline! I did how ever find a few of my apps listed on Appulous. If you don’t know Appulous is a website where you can download free cracked copies of pay iPhone Apps.  Accroding to Appulous the site “is merely a collection of user-submitted links, and Appulous takes no responsibility for what users submit to this site or use this site for.” Well, whatever helps them sleep at night.

Here’s another gem from their website . . . “Apple has chosen to allow a multitude of ridiculous, worthless, poorly-represented applications through its “strict” screening process, nearly all written by mediocre programmers with a dream of getting rich quick.”

So what does Appulous do with these ridiculous, worthless, poorly-represented applications? They distribute them to anyone who wants them for free. Wait, what?

I guess piracy is the greatest form of flattery ?!?!

I also found a torrent for this same app ( damn, it must be popular!) . . .

I was interviewed over the telephone a few months back by a reporter for the San Fransisco Gate Newspaper, Ryan Kim. We talked about how/why I got started coding for the iPhone. The conversation lasted for about 30 minutes. A few months passed and I completely forgot the conversation ever happened. Well, yesterday I was doing a little Googling and I accidentally ran into a copy of the published article posted online. The writer had never gotten back to me re: whether or not my interview had made it to print so I was happily surprised to see it. The article never names “Keyvisuals” per say, but I promise you I’m in there =)

Even cooler, after I did a little more searing around I found that the article had been translated into two different languages (one which I think is Chinese and the other I’m not sure but seems like it may be middle eastern) and posted on different foreign blogs.

Just in case the links go down I took screen shots (below)

Original Article

Chinese Translation of the article

Unknown Foreign Language Translation of the article

I had my 15 minutes and I didn’t even know it.

iSpork
Version: 1.0
Date Submitted: 20 May 2009
Status: In Review

The iSpork is almost better than having an actual Spork in your pocket. Almost.

Touch the iSpork and drag it around to simulate actual Spork movement!
Swipe through the different iSpork Backgrounds to give your iSpork a more authentic look and feel.
Learn the entire history of the Spork, where it came from, where you can get it, what it’s used for. There are even Spork myths and Spork song lyrics!

This is the definitive app for Spork connoisseurs.

File Stash
Version: 1.0
Date Submitted: 17 May 2009

File Stash is a simple application with one main function in mind. Storing/Hiding files safely on your device.

Need to hide personal photos from a girlfriend or spouse?
Need to hide sensitive documents from prying room mates or colleagues?
Maybe you just don’t have your usb stick with you and you need to take your files with you.

Unlike similar applications, files stored in File Stash are not accessible directly from your device. What that means, for example, if you save images in your stash no one will be able to view them if they are browsing through your iphone/ipod touch.

So how do you access your stash? You can connect directly to your stash using any web browser. A wireless network connection is required for access.

If you would like to try File Stash before you buy download File Stash (Free.)

** Features **

- Save as many files as you want in your stash.
- Save any type of files you want. (gif, jpg, doc, xls, mpg, avi, whatever!)
- Files can be any size.
- App name & Icon are intentionally basic so that they do not draw attention to your stash.
- Even if someone discovers your stash app they will most likely not be able to access it without your knowing.
The App displays your device name and the time that the app was started.

Instructions:

1.) Start Stash App
2.) Click on “Stash” button
3.) Enable your stash by turning the switch to on
4.) Open any web browser connected to the same wireless network as your device
5.) Enter the full web address that is displayed inside of the Stash App
ex: http://192.168.2.100:8080
6.) Add/Delete your private files

Tested & Working on all major web browsers:
OSX = Safari, FireFox and Opera
Windows XP & Vista = Internet Explorer!

** Wireless Network Connection Required **
** Stash App must remain running while copying/viewing files **

Vampire Name Generator
Version: 1.0.1
Date Submitted: 29 April 2009

Vampire Name Generator is a tome of eternal knowledge to help guide you to authentic vampire names. Over 500 names that haven’t seen the light of day have been taken from the dark book of the immortals and are now at your disposal.

Wield them carefully as some names have remained unspoken for centuries.

Choose your gender and then use the Vampire Name Generator to summon your chosen name.