Accessing promo codes in iTunes Connect

App Store promo codes, the codes which allow any developer to issue members of the press with copies of their application for review purposes and were previously only available to redeem by those who owned or who had access to an iTunes U.S. account, have today gone worldwide.

As a result of this, the way in which promo codes in iTunes Connect are accessed has changed - you now need to load your 'version information' in iTunes Connect to request a 'Promo Code'.

iMadeThis is now available in iTunes!!

The iPhone App that I have been working on - iMadeThis  - is now available in iTunes!

 

iMadeThis is a new and fun iPhone app that is excellent for saving and displaying your child's artwork - it is designed to encourage budding artists to create masterpieces so that their parents can make a fuss of their achievements.

 

If you (or a friend) own an iPhone - it can be downloaded by clicking on the link below..

 

http://itunes.com/apps/imadethis

 

If you enjoy using this app - I would appreciate it if you could leave a positive review in iTunes.

 

iMadeThis App - Submitted to Apple

I submitted iMadeThis app to Apple via iTunes Connect.  I am really pleased with the finished product!  I just hope Apple are!!!  I am in the 'awaiting review' state - which I am told will take about a week!  I am currently checking every couple of hours in case they approve (or reject) my app - it is becoming a bit of am obsession!!

iPhone boot camp in London

iPhone boot camp was excellent - learnt loads on how to ensure quality apps. Very intensive - have a blister on my thumb from typing code!

Course Funding

To help pay for the course I was surprised how many possible funding options I found.   The following were useful and EEDA R2R paid for my iPhone Course which was obviously a great help.

EEDA Response to redundancy funding
EntitledTo
TechFluff

Core Data

I have found the following book really good for getting my head around core data....

Core Data: Apple's API for Persisting Data on Mac OS X by Marcus S. Zarra

Also, the following tutorials by Manning really helped me understand how Core Data deals with one-many relationships using NSSet....

Manning Core Data Tutorials

iOS SDK 4

Firstly I had to upgrade to Snow Leopard and after a 12 hour wait (my lovely Internet connection!) - I actually successfully installed iOS SDK 4!

Although after 5 minutes excitement - I realised that nothing seemed to work now!

I had changed my 'project settings' to the correct version but a few lines of code and background colours that I had chosen seemed to conflict with the upgrade.   I am glad that my iPhone application has not been published yet as I am sure such changes are very difficult when your app is already live.   It is good to see the type of changes that an upgrade can cause in a nice (safe!) test environment.

TinyUrl and Bit.ly

Added application page from my website www.vitvot.co.uk to http://Bit.ly 

It is now also known as -

bit.ly/imadethisapp

The advantage of adding my site to bit.ly is that I now have a short URL that is specific to my application.   I can also access stats on how/who my site is being accessed by.

Another company that offers a similar function is tinyurl.com.

iPhone Courses and Forums

There seem to be more iPhone courses available now - I have considered the following...

Leeds NTI / Shiny Development
iPhone Boot Camp
Academy Class

I wanted to ensure that I get quite an advanced course as I don't want to be sitting there learning all about 'if' statements!!

I decided that if they require you to have your own Mac - then the level of the attendees is such that they have at least installed the SDK and at the very least ran a few projects.

I also checked out the course lecturers - to find out what applications they have published.  I feel like a stalker - following tweets to see if a given developer is in the 'know' enough to have me as a course attendee!!  I guess this is how Internet research has changed now!

I decide on iPhone Boot Camp September meetup as Charles Gamble (the lecturer) seemed really experienced.   Also, the course details kept using the word 'intensive' so it sounds like it must have some pace to it!

It may also be useful to meet other developers to bounce ideas off - after working in a development team for so long - forums are your only colleagues when a coding problem arises!  The following sites have helped me out of a few jams...

Stack Overflow
iPhone Dev SDK
Apple Forum

iPhone Application Sales

I have downloaded the application sales app and I cannot wait to see my application sales displayed!

I really liked the article Resize an uiimage the right way - basically if you take bits of code from all the samples on the internet to solve problems - I think you end up with a hyrid project with lots of hidden bugs.   If I reuse code - on the whole I make sure I understand it before using it but there has been the odd occasion that I pasted a bit of code and thought "I will get back to the bit!" and move on to the next problem so it is a very easy trap to fall into.

I think a course is the way to go so that you understand all the topics from the ground up - inside out!

iPhone Marketing

Marketing seems to have changed since I went to college!   I have setup VitVot and purchased the relevant VitVot website address's (and blog!)  - joined LinkedIn and created an email signature so I am ready to go.   I have also setup Twitter, Facebook and Flickr accounts for my application so I ready to communicate what my application is all about.

Although to be honest I don't have too much to say at the moment!   Bizarrely, I already have some Twitter followers and I am yet to tweet!

iMadeThis iPhone Application

I also now have an excellent new name for my application - it is especially good as this is how I feel about my development - i Made This !!!

I have also finished my icon...

 I like it but any feedback would be useful!!

My new opportunity (although I don't get paid!)

I am now on gardening leave from my job as I was made redundant from the Bank that I worked for the last 13 years so this project has changed from a hobby to a possible career!

I am really enjoying the luxury of spending some real time on this project and actually being able to focus on learning how to develop iPhone apps.

It is quite scary and yet exciting at the same time!

My idea!!

I have a great idea for an iPhone application and I am looking forward to developing a real iPhone application rather than running through exercises or taking apart samples Apple Developer Sample Applications.   Although I found iPhoneCoreDataRecipes, UICatalog, PageControl and Locations really good applications to take apart.

My idea is based on something I thought "oh, wouldn't it be useful if I could..." which is normally how good ideas materialise.  Although I know that I haven't come up with anything totally revolutionary like 'Cat Eyes' or 'the Dyson'! - but it is something that I would use everyday and I know that I can produce a system that is robust and stylish.

The application is also centred around a topic that is very important to me - protecting memories.

iPhone icons and graphics

I have decided that you need many skills to develop these apps!! Programmer, Graphic Designer, UI Designer, Marketing Expert etc.   I am quite jealous of people who say things like "I asked the graphics people to produce...".

I keep getting distracted by working on the icon - it seems really important as the whole brand, design and colours seem to start with the icon.

I have lost hours looking at ShutterStock, iStockPhotos and Dreamstime looking for inspiration for graphics.

I found the following article really interesting regarding iPhone icon development.....

Tutorial on how to create iTunes icon

I am rapidly becoming a Photoshop expert and found the following sites really good for actions and graphics...

Commercial use
Atomic Cup Cake

More books!

Really enjoying actually having an iPhone - it is really handy in everyday life. Bought 3 more books!

More iPhone developments was the best - the Core data chapter was really useful!

iPhone Advanced Projects

iPhone Cool Projects 

More iPhone 3 Development 

iPhone 3GS!

I had hoped that iPhone phone prices would suddenly drop as now Orange and Vodaphone offer iPhone contracts - I gave up waiting and I have just bought a new iPhone!

Up until now I had been relying on the xCode iPhone simulator - this has been fine but I wanted to get a real feel for how the applications flow and actually work in day to day life.  I was surprised to find out how simple they seemed and that by coming up with complex ideas/designs - I was still in windows rather than mobile device mode.