Bookshelf Apps

Final iPad plans

March 30th, 2010 2

We are nearing completion of the iPad version of SongBook. In the last week or so Apple has provided the tools to create a Universal version that will run on the iPad and the iPhone/iPod touch, so we can be sure now what our plans are.

Some software companies have split their iPhone and iPad versions, no doubt partially due to the increased revenue that will provide, and also because there is no easy way to charge an upgrade fee, separate versions also provide a way of getting new revenue for the new iPad version. We’ve decided against that, which means that going forward we will still have one product, SongBook touch, which will run on the iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad. This also means that existing customers will get a free update to the iPad version.

There is one small downside to this choice though. For us to build a Universal binary we need to target at a minimum iPhone OS 3.1.3, so if you are not running at least that OS release you will need to upgrade. That’s not much of an issue for iPhone users, but for some iPod touch users that are still on OS 2.2 you will need to purchase an update from Apple. It’s a small price to pay for a big update though.

The upcoming release will have a large number of changes, including a new startup method that should help with reliable device discovery, and faster startup and waking from sleep. There is support for Linn’s Cara 6 firmware, including internet radio support. We’ve licensed the RadioTime directory so you can browse radio stations directly from SongBook, no matter which media server you use (or even with no media server). RadioTime is a commercial product that requires a licensing fee for each SongBook installation. We’ve chosen to absorb the cost of this for our upgrading users, so the update really is a good deal for all users.

We’ve managed to gain some really good speed improvements, so SongBook should be really responsive on the iPad, I can’t wait to try it out myself. If I’m lucky I may be able to get an iPad a little earlier than the UK release, but there’s no certainty on that yet.

We’ve also been hard at work on supporting more devices, with support for the Naim HDX 1.5a firmware, and improved UPNP device support. I’ve been using FooBar 2000 for testing, both as a media server and a media renderer.

So all in all it’s a huge update. We’re not ready for the release yet, and due to the extent of the changes there is a lot of testing required, but we are working to get it out as soon as we can.

iPad Update

March 15th, 2010 3

We are progressing with development of SongBook iPad, but due to being based in the UK we will not have an iPad to test on until a month after the US release.

It’s just not possible to release a version of the code without a device to test on. We can develop using the Apple provided simulator, but it is not an exact clone of an iPad, sometimes there are problems on the actual device that do not appear on the simulator.

The good news is that this testing should not take long, so as soon as we get an iPad we will be working on final testing.