New website released with focus on iPhone development

After a busy week in Sydney at the CEDIA Expo where we launch of our universal remote iPhone app we have finally found some time to revamp our website.

The new website focuses on our core services around iPhone and Android application development. The design is kept simple and clean and we hope that helps advertising jTribe's iPhone development skills and capabilities.

iPhone Universal Remote app for HAL unveiled

Remote controlling everything in your house from your iPhone is the dream right? Well yesterday we unveiled an app that brings us a step closer to a universal remote for the iPhone. At the CEDIA expo in Sydney we unveiled an iPhone app that lets you control devices like Foxtel, DVD, TV and tuners throughout the house. It integrates with some new hardware (HAL) from OzHifi which handles the routing and amplification of audio and video.

The iPhone app starts up and shows a overview of all the rooms (or zones) configured in your house and lets you control basic functions such as power, volume and mute. Clicking the info button for each zone takes you to a remote control for the device that is currently playing in that room. The screenshot below shows a Foxtel remote being used but the user could also select another source such as a DVD player or tuner and a different remote would appear. You can also link zones together to have the same thing playing in multiple rooms (party!), again all controlled from the iPhone.

The hardware will start shipping late this year so look out for even more features from the iPhone app before then.

Pinpoint Pro for iPhone - an app that finds you and shares your location

Pinpoint Pro uses the new maps on iPhone OS 3.0 to pinpoint your location.

The key feature is that you can select your location interactively using the map. If you want to share your current location the automatic location service does a great job. However, if you are in an area without GPS (e.g. in your office) then the iPhone gives you only an approximate location. With Pinpoint Pro you can adjust the location interactively. Move the map so that the crosshairs pinpoint your desired location - done.
Share the locaiton and address via Email or paste it in any iPhone app e.g SMS or Twitter.

Positioning the map interactively is great if you like to send someone an address to meet at.

I spent much time figuring out the best possible way to email a map. Sharing via the email feature attaches an google map to the email so people can see straight in their email client where you are.

Sharing via SMS is almost as simple as the email feature. Unfortunately, the Apple SDK still does not allow to send SMS programatically. So the only choice I had was to copy the location and map link into the clipboard. Now, the address and map can be pasted in any other iPhone app.

I am using it since one week and may say that sending a location with Pinpint is so much easier than via the Apple map application. If you have tried to drop a pin using the map app you will know what I mean.

I am really proud of the way you can pick a location on the map. Actually, the whole map can be moved using touch gestures. The crosshairs give visual assistance in positioning the map accurately.

More details at firepin.com

jTribe's secret iPhone app will be revealed mid July

Hey, how cool is it to have a secret iPhone project.

We developed an iPhone app for home entertainment automation. That's as much as we can say.

The app will be revealed on the 15th of July 2009 at the CEDIA Expo in Sydney. So more info about the app after the launch date.

Twitter friends on a map - there is an iPhone app for that

I released Mapee Lite. A free show case that demonstrates the map feature of the iPhone OS 3.0. Mapee Lite shows Twitter friends on an iPhone map. The lite version is limited to up to 10 friends on a map.

The experience was great: Flying pins & movable maps using the iPhone MapKit, Twitter API via JSON and Google Map API for Geo-Coding (yes, MapKit does only reverse geo-coding). The twitter profile most likely contains some text describing the location of the user. I need to ask Google what the geo-code for that location text would be (latitude/longitude) and then pin in on the map. I thought it would be simpler.

The pro version of Mapee will be coming out soon. It's basic idea is firstly to show your own tweeps and secondly to discover and follow other tweeps based on location.