Hey everyone,
I’ve just posted the beta signup for iFlash 3 and the new iFlash Touch! If you’d like to help test them out, sign up here:
I greatly appreciate your help in making this the most awesome version of iFlash ever :).
Thanks!
Davey
Hey everyone,
A quick update: since the last iFlash and iFlash Touch updates in March, I’ve started work on a completely new version of iFlash that will share a single core between both the Mac and iOS versions. This rewrite of iFlash for both platforms will allow me to add many desired features (like images and audio on iOS… finally!).
Rewrites take time, so it will be a while before the new iFlash is ready.
I think the result will be worth it though :).
Davey
iFlash Touch 1.2 has been posted to the App Store, with full support for iPad! Fun tip: try pinch-closing your decks once you’ve opened them on iPad.
iFlash for Mac has also been updated to 2.9.3, and includes some small tweaks and fixes (read the release notes here).
If you enjoy iFlash and iFlash Touch, please consider leaving them a good review. They really help, and they’re a joy to read :).
Thanks!
Davey
I liked Panic’s State of the Union blog post, and thought I should do the same :).
It’s been way too long since I last posted here, and I apologize for that. I keep saying this over and over again, but I think it bears repeating: I’m (still) a full-time college student, and honestly have had no time to work on iFlash beyond responding to customer emails.
That being said, I’ve been busy the past few weeks and have started on some much-needed updates.
iFlash in the Mac App Store
iFlash 2.8.2 has been submitted to the Mac App Store! It’ll be the same price as it is now, and should be available from there soon. 2.8.2 is available now if you already use iFlash and has a few nice bug fixes, so go ahead and update!
The Mac App Store is an amazing way to get software, and I can’t wait to finally be rid of PayPal. Don’t worry if you have a non-App Store copy of iFlash though, as I’ll be providing updates to both (unlike some other developers).
iFlash Touch
I’m actively working on iFlash Touch 1.5 now, which will have full iOS 4 support, Retina icons, score and simple memorization support, as well as some other fun changes. iFlash Touch will remain completely free, but will continue to require iFlash for Mac.
I’ll be recruiting beta testers soon (within a few weeks), so keep an eye out on both this blog and my Twitter account if you’re interested. Here’s a screen shot to whet your appetite :).
Thanks everyone for your patience. I hope you enjoy the upcoming releases.
- Davey
Edit: The update has been posted to the App Store!
I’ve just submitted iFlash Touch 1.0.2 to the App Store for approval. The release fixes the big crash that iPhone OS 3.1 caused when trying to export card decks from your Mac. Additionally, there are a few more fixes that should get rid of some other occasional crashes.
Keep an eye out for the update to be posted. Looking at past historic updates, it will probably take around a week for Apple to approve the update. I have emailed the app review team to see if they can speed up the approval process this one time.
Sorry for the trouble!
- Davey
iFlash Touch will crash when importing decks on iPhone OS 3.1. I will be posting a fix for this really soon to the App Store.
- Davey
Hey everyone,
I’ve just submitted iFlash Touch 1.0.1 to the App Store. It isn’t a big update, and only fixes a few small bugs that iFlash Touch had when running on iPhone OS 3.0. I’ll be working on the next update from now on, which will add score and interval memorization.
Enjoy!
- Davey
Update: There may be some confusion. iFlash Touch 1.0.1 does not add interval and score memorization. I am working on that for the next update (presumably 1.0.2).
iFlash Touch is now available from the App Store, so go ahead and download it now! Or, learn more about it from the new iFlash Touch site.
Along with the iFlash Touch release, there’s also a new version of iFlash available for the Mac (2.8). The biggest change that 2.8 brings is, naturally, support for exporting to the iPhone. It also fixes some key bugs that have been affecting many users (like card decks ballooning in size with images). If you already have iFlash, it’ll tell you about the update next time you launch it.
Please, enjoy iFlash Touch 1.0 and iFlash 2.8. They’ve been cooking in the oven for a long time, and I hope the overall result is worth it!
- Davey
I have some good news to report! I was just contacted by someone at Apple over the phone, and we cleared up all the confusion that had surrounded the rejection of iFlash Touch.
The person from Apple made it clear to me: iFlash Touch was not rejected because it requires a companion desktop application (the person from Developer Technical Support was wrong about this). It was rejected because the reviewer downloaded the public version of iFlash for the Mac, which did not have support for iPhone exporting. I explained that to the person from Apple, and emphasized that the reviewer should download the unreleased iFlash 2.8 instead. He completely understood, tried it out himself over the phone, and assured me that it would get into the store.
Expect to see iFlash Touch available in the App Store for free within a week or two.
Thank you to everyone who offered me support. I am extremely grateful for all your awesome comments. It was because of you that this story got noticed and resolved.
- Davey
Update (5/6/09): I have been contacted by Apple! Read the full explanation here.
I never imagined I would have to say this, but iFlash Touch has been rejected from the iTunes App Store. I was originally going to leave it at just that, but I feel that I owe a full explanation since it’s already been such a long wait (short story: I don’t know why it was rejected. I’m looking into it).
On Monday, April 27th, I received an email from the App Review team stating that they couldn’t get exporting to work from iFlash on the Mac into iFlash Touch. I found this strange, since I had posted in the original submission notes that an unreleased version of iFlash was required to export, along with a download link. I promptly replied to explain the situation, and didn’t hear back from them again.
On Friday, May 1st, I called Apple Developer Technical Support to find out what was going on with the review process, and to see if my earlier comments had been received. They then told me the shocking news that writing an iPhone app that requires a desktop “companion” app was prohibited.
I say this is shocking since I have seen many, many other apps in the store that require a companion app (including Apple’s own Keynote Remote). When I mentioned this to the support person, he said that Apple could not comment on that. When I asked to speak to whoever approves or denies the applications, he told me to send an email to the same team which hadn’t responded to me in a week.
I have no idea whether that conversation led to iFlash Touch’s rejection, but thirty minutes later iTunes Connect said it was rejected, so there may be a link. However, at this moment I am stuck in a state of limbo, since I have not received any official communication from Apple as to why iFlash Touch was actually rejected.
So that’s where everything stands right now. I can’t start fixing anything, since I have no idea what Apple found wrong with it. All in all, I wish that it would be simpler to get in touch with someone at Apple about this matter. This could probably be solved with a three minute phone call with an App Store reviewer, but that’s impossible to do.
I’m really sorry for this delay. I know many of you have been waiting a long time for iFlash Touch, and I’m going to keep emailing Apple until I find out what I need to do.
- Davey
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