Big Words, the flagship invention from San Francisco’s DollarApp, has been updated to version 1.3! Included are compatibility fixes for iPhone OS 3.0 and one extra hidden feature: new layouts.
To activate a new layout, just add a space at the end of your multi-word message. This will add an extra line break. Here’s “Help me!” without the space:
and with the space at the end:
Adding a space to the end of “Check please” really changes the layout. See without space:
and with the space at the end:
So, grab your update and try it out — still only $0.99!
DollarApp is thrilled to announce its support of iPhoneDevCamp 3, taking place at Yahoo! in Sunnyvale. Hundreds of Designers and Developers for iPhone and iPod touch are expected to converge on July 31 through August 2nd – check out the Agenda!
The event is inspired by BarCamp, SuperHappyDevHouse, and MacHack, to develop Cocoa Touch and Web-based applications for iPhone and iPod touch. This follows the previous iPhoneDevCamp events held at Adobe Systems in San Francisco, July 2007 and August 2008. Out-of-town guests are welcome.
Attendees will include Cocoa Touch developers, web developers, UI designers, and testers, all working together over the weekend. Development projects will include both solo and team efforts. While some attendees will wish to work solo during the event, we encourage attendees to team up, based on expertise, to work in ad-hoc project development teams. All attendees should be prepared to work on a development project during the event.
Attendees will be able to:
- Create new applications for iPhone and iPod touch.
- Migrate Mac OS X applications to iPhone and iPod touch.
- Test and optimize applications for iPhone and iPod touch.
The event will feature:
- Simultaneous Events Worldwide
- Meetup Time on Friday with Refreshments
- Catered Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner on Saturday and Sunday
- Saturday Keynote (TBA)
- Open Mic for Questions
- Ad Hoc Sessions by Participants
- Late Saturday Gaming
- Sunday Keynote (TBA)
- Hackathon Contest
Last year was an incredible success: the winners went on to do righteous things, and the sponsors saw tremendous growth. We doubled the previous year’s attendance:
We expect this year to more than double the size and scope of the event. In order to cover the additional overhead, we may need to charge a small fee (up to $50) for folks to book a spot at the event.
We are committed to staying not-for-profit; all charges will go toward the production of iPhoneDevCamp, and the founders don’t make a cent. The founders are Raven Zachary (who had the original idea), Dom Sagolla, Christopher Allen, William Hurley, and Blake Burris, with the honorable Chris Messina presiding. We are currently seeking:
- Sponsors
- Donations
- Volunteers
To get involved with the above, please email Raven and Dom: info@iphonedevcamp.org.
We can’t wait to see what awaits us this year! For now, we’ll leave you with That Phone Guy:
Tags: DollarApp, iPhoneDevCamp, Yahoo
Associated Press visited the DollarApp office last week, to discuss the controversy over a recent iTunes App that undermined Apple’s reputation for quality:
‘Baby Shaker’ iPhone Game Sparks Outrage (see 0:36 to 1:08):
Dom: “So this is an application designed for President Obama when he was running for office…”
[voiceover] Independent developer Dom Sagolla helped build the iPhone App for the Obama campaign, and says ‘Baby Shaker’ needed to be pulled.
Dom: “I wasn’t too impressed, and the concept itself is a little bit distasteful actually. I have a toddler, so I wouldn’t use that app.
There’s a certain expectation with the iPhone platform. It’s an expectation of quality, it’s an expectation of a certain experience. We as developers try to trust Apple to help us make the right decisions.”
We’re grateful to AP Video Journalist Haven Daley for his responsible reporting.
Tags: App Store, Apple, Baby Shaker, Dom Sagolla, iTunes, quality, San Francisco
This Math Cards demo was recorded by DollarApp engineer William Janoch, who also invented the app.
Here we see how the touch-and-hold feature works to provide additional feedback to the learner.
Math Cards is currently the #3 Paid Education App –get it now for only $0.99!
Tags: DollarApp, Math Cards, Video, William Janoch
DollarApp has done it again with another App Store Staff Favorite! This time Math Cards, our mighty learning tool has made it onto the front page of the App Store itself:
Some comments from reviewers:
This app is great math for young and old (DaveWalter)
This app is great in its simplicity and user interface. The real-time scoring adds to the experiece. It will be a great adjunct for teaching my young homeschoolers. It make math a game, a fun game. Great use of the platform.
Great App for my Kids and Me (GlacierChaser)
I have to say, this is one of the best apps that I have used for education. There are a lot of different flash card programs out there but this is by far the easiest and most intuitive. I purchased this for my 3 boys and they absolutely love it. It has really helped them to improve the speed at which they respond to answers and of course it has helped them in learning the math better. I also use this quite a lot to improve my basic math skills -> the funny thing is that I can do large numbers in my head without blinking an eye but when it comes to simple addition such as 9+6, I actually use my fingers. I don’t really need to use my fingers, it is just a bad habit I developed as a kid. This program, encourages me not to use my fingers to count and it has really helped me with that.
Extremely well executed (ElwoodBlues)
Very well designed. I wish this was around when I was a kid!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dom Sagolla
http://www.DollarApp.com
415-287-7775
“Math Cards” iPhone App Teaches Kids Math and Speeds Up Adult Skills in a Fun Way
San Francisco — February 12, 2009
Flash cards have been around for a long time teaching basic math skills such as addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, but they’re tedious and dull. Turning them into an iPhone App makes learning math an interactive experience that’s fun for kids of all ages. It’s even a great game to challenge adults and create faster response times.
Math Cards was developed by William Janoch of Able Mac (http://www.AbleMac.com) and has been released by DollarApp. It is available for 99¢ from the iTunes App Store at http://www.itunes.com/apps/mathcards and is in the Education category, suitable for grades 3 – 5. Math Cards is rated 4+, and will work for the iPhone and iPod touch.
Imagine math practice so rewarding it’s hard to stop
William Janoch, motivated by the desire to see his children learn whenever possible, developed the Math Cards application for his daughters (ages 8 and 9). This flash card application provides the right combination of challenge and reward to keep kids interested, without being frustrated. Math Cards replaces “I don’t wanna” with “Let me do it some more.”
Students are able to control their learning speed because there is no set pause; pauses between questions are controlled by how long the student holds the answer button. They’re eager to learn and excited to earn A+’s. The variable pace of Math Cards allows adults to be challenged and helps all ages improve fine motor skills.
Features kids and their parents love:
- Colorful cards, simple to operate
- Categories for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
- Improves Eye-Touch coordination
- Receive grades as they go
- Easy to download and install
- Portable and fun – use it anywhere, anytime
Learning is always fun because it draws on the cutting edge features of iPhone.
DollarApp, located in San Francisco, California, develops fun games, essential utilities, and cool toys for the iPhone. Math Cards is its newest release and an example of the company strategy: one simple idea, developed in one month, and sold for one dollar.
Download Math Cards and see how much fun a dollar’s worth of learning can be!
###
Contact Information:
Dom Sagolla
dom@dollarapp.com
http://www.DollarApp.com
415-287-7775
Tags: arithmetic flash cards, arithmetic flashcards for iPhone, DollarApp, Dom Sagolla, Education, iPhone, iPhone app, iPod touch, iTunes App Store, Math Cards, math flash cards, math flashcards for iPhone, William Janoch
Our first app Big Words has become an iTunes Staff Favorite!
Thanks to the tireless marketing efforts of its inventor Tim Robertson and Big Words Evangelist Sam Levin, the iPhone App team at Apple took a look and saw that it was good.
Check out the Staff Favorites in iTunes (scroll down if you’re on an iPhone).
Progress on the app proceeds apace. We are listening to feedback from our users, and building new features into version 1.2 and thinking about how to make 2.0 really shine. If you have any suggestions or requests, feel free to comment here.
If you’ve bought the app and enjoy it, please review it!
We appreciate the support — thanks Apple.
Quick quizzes in basic math for iPhone and iPod touch.
Features:
- Add, Subtract, Multiply, Divide Cards
- Per-Card Grades
- Grade-as-you-go
- 25 Problems per Card
DollarApp believes in doing one thing well and keeping it simple. This app improves math skill with the built-in lessons on percentage and letter grades.
Great for kids, moms, and dads alike!
Concept and engineering by William Janoch, vector art by Miguel Elasmar.
Tags: DollarApp, Education, Math, Math Cards, Miguel Elasmar, William Janoch
I’ll be speaking on the Business of iPhone at 360|iDev on March 4th at 4pm in San Jose. Starting on March 2nd, this three-day conference is packed full of iPhoneDevCamp alumni and other quality speakers.
The topic of discussion during my 80-minute segment will again be, “Why A Dollar?”
Hope you can make it!
The initial reaction to Big Words has been very positive, so far everyone has given a five-star review:
Fantastic Program!
This is a GREAT program! This should have been something that the iPhone could do on it’s own… -DS9DS92
Great app. Great price.
Great app. Simple idea. Great execution. Could not be easier. -rtteachr
Awesome app!
This app is so simple and I find myself using it constantly. It is a steal at $0.99 and an iPhone must-have. Great work! -Patrick Tra
Simplicity at its finest!
DollarApp has done a great job at embracing one of the fundamental design characteristics of a good iPhone app – simplicity. -Raven Zachary
Thanks, everyone! We did it for you. We are collecting your big words over on Twitter / Big_Words.
