GPS Locator for iOS 8 [Crash and Fix]

Quite recently Apple announced iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, and along with that iOS 8, the latest version of iOS operating system. As always the new version of iOS contains a variety of new features and improvements, from which both users and develoepers benefit.

Unfortunately every update has consequences; the apps require modifications to comply with the new version. Every application whether it is mobile, web or of some other nature uses external third party libraries. Thus almost every application depends on some other library in order to accomplish and provide the users with a service. This problem is possible to grow larger, since those libraries might in turn depend on some other libraries and so forth and so on. Thus, there are a lot of dependencies in almost every application. Consequently, there is a higher chance that an application will crash when a significant update, such as the roll out of a new version of iOS, occurs.

The whole point of this post is that GPS Locator fell inside this trap and at the moment is crashing for a lot of users. However, the problem has been identified and new version will be released soon. Apart from fixing the bug that leads to random crashes there were a few other minor fixes.

Thank you very much for the patient and I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience.

Moving to a "flat" design!

Preamble

This post is dedicated to the upcoming update of GPS Locator and to flat designs. This update is mainly inspired by the movement of Apple and Microsoft to flatten the UI of their mobile platforms. A new trend (or style) is taking the world of UI and website design by storm - flat design [1]. Graphic elements become simpler in order to provide comfort to the user's eye. Colors are brighter and at the same time soothing.

Flat design

First let's answer the question: "what is flat design?". Most people would consider it as a philosophy rather than simple aesthetics. It incorporates the philosophy of a different kind of usability and user experience (UX). Its main characteristics are simplicity, clean user interface and ease of use. It is a minimalistic approach and style to designing websites and UI where we take a step back, strip away all the 3D elements, gradients, shadows and effects to leave behind the bare necessities [1].

The first to embrace this change are web sites. From blogs to simple web sites, everything is becoming flat. Many designers have published a lot of free resources to motivate independent software and web developers to embrace this new approach of building stuff. A lot of blogs try to explain flat design, most by example, since it's really hard to explain this movement by words. At fltdsgn.com someone can see various examples of flattie designed web sites.

Why moving to flat design

Computing devices are part of technology and technology is moving at a really fast pace, whether some people like it or not. So, application developers should keep up with the changes of the future. Thus they have to update and improve their application(s) as fast as possible, so they won't stay behind. So, it's time for a major UI update.

The Update

The app is almost ready, but as always it requires finishing touches and further checks to secure that everything works properly. So, above you see the new logo and below a few screenshots of the new UI. You can see the adoption of simple design, with no shadows or textures which makes the UI look clean and feel usable. It's smooth and clear as it should!

Hopefully, the update will be available within 2 weeks...

References

[1] Showcase Of Beautiful Flat UI Design - Hongkiat.com

Update Coming!

All the iFlashlight Pro users will receive a new update of the app either this week or the next. The update is ready, and we are waiting for Apple's response!

Apart from the update on iFlashlight Pro, there will be an update on GPSLocator app, which will include radically new UI, which embraces the iOS 7 flat design. There was a big procrastination and reluctance behind this update, but now it's back on track!

So, farewell until the next update!

GPS Locator & iFlashlight Pro {Optimizations}

The winter holidays, I started working again on some of my iPhone apps. To be more specific I made some improvements on the iFlashlight Pro app, which made it a little bit faster. The backside LED opens faster.

As for GPS Locator, I made some improvements on the code, which won't make any notable improvements on the performance of the app. They primary concern me, the main and only programmer of my apps, which made the code more reusable and easier to maintain.

I intend to make improvements on the speed and the battery consumption of GPS Locator, however this won't happen until the end of March (of 2012 of course), since my schedule is already full.

GPS Locator {Minor Update}

I haven't updated any of my apps since this summer, I had made some minor improvements, but I didn't have enough time to test it and upload. Now I finally made one small change on the UI of GPS Locator and I managed to upload it. Right now we are waiting for Apple's approval...

GPS Locator {fix}

I noticed some comments noting the annoying review alert, which appears each time you open the application. This happens always, unless you hit YES upon prompt. So, I decided to fix it, the next release will contain a fix regarding this annoyance.

Ranking!

Click image to enlarge

Yesterday, GPS Locator finally reach one more top. First it was the Chinese market, where GPS Locator managed to get to the "Top Free Navigation Apps" and now is Greece. It finally reached #1, after weeks of moving from #2 to #4 and back, now GPS Locator is #1 in "Top Free Navigation Apps".

I would like to thank all of those who downloaded the app and tell them, that I will continue to support it, till I reach the best state possible. Also, don't forget to update today, to the new version 2.0. It will be released in a few hours from now.

GPS Locator v2.0 is ready and it will be released tomorrow! The update will remain free as most of you know, but also there is not going to be any change on the price for new customers. It will remain free, as always...

I hope you will enjoy the new update. :)

GPS Locator in App Store

GPS Locator v2.0 {Ready}

The final 2.0 version is ready. The final tweaks have been made and potential bugs have been fixed successfully. The last touch is a new "guidance" section, which will provide information on how to use the app and its new recording feature. The last step will be the review by Apple.

V2.0 has been tested on iPhone 4 and iPhone 3Gs on version 4.3+ and it works perfectly, I assume that it works on iPhone 3G as well. I also have tested the GPS Locator on 4.1+ on the iPhone simulator with success.

I am certain, that the new graphics will be adopted with ease by the users. The most significant changes appear on the feature buttons. The buttons are now part of a slide menu, which keeps the user interface clean and tidy removing any distractions. You can now spot the information you need faster and effortless.

GPS Locator

GPS Locator v2.0 is almost ready, the final version is working perfectly; it only needs a few tweaks in terms of the UI and the data manipulation. I hope at the end of the next week I will be able to upload it for review.

I have already started testing it, but I will need a few more testers. So, if anyone wants to contribute on the testing phase of this version, he/she can contact me for more information.

GPS Locator {Update}

On a older post I disclosed, that in a couple of weeks the new version of GPS Locator will begin testing. Unfortunately, I still work on that app and I haven't managed to finish it. So the final version of testing and consequently the update will take a little longer than excepted.

The current version 2.0 beta works adequately, but there are a few bugs which sometimes lead to crashing. I am not willing to release an update with such misfortunate results for the end-user, so I will continue the development and the debugging for the best possible version of GPS Locator.

Updating GPS Locator

Currently I am working on my first iPhone application GPS Locator, which for those who don't own it is a simple application to monitor your current location, course, speed in a raw format. Except that you can see you location on a map, also send your location using email or SMS, a feature, which can prove to be very helpful in dangerous situations. You can let other people (i.e. paramedics, police, fire brigade or even a friend), know your location in seconds.

The project began as a request of a friend, who wanted to be able to see his location data, using just his iPhone, during sailing. The concept was based on the idea of relinquishing the big and slow GPS device of the boat. The first version was a completely raw presentation of 4 numbers. After a few iterations, GPS Locator managed to go from v1.0 to 1.2.6. Now I am working on version 2.0, which will feature, a not intended, but finally implemented location recording function. As I mentioned this feature was not intended, but there were requests by users of GPS Locator for this feature, so I decided to implement it.

Currently, I am testing the location recording functionality, which will give you the ability to export your tracking records. Along with that there will be a revamp on the user interface (UI) to improve the usability of the app. This refurbishment will provide a much cleaner UI and consequently it will make it look better.

If anyone has any request for new features, feel free to contact me using this email: jolinaras@gmail.com. Please no spam!!! In a couple of weeks from now I will start testing the final version of GPS Locator and I will probably need a few beta testers. I will duly inform you on the matter, when the final version is finished.

GPS Locator on the iTunes App Store

GPS Locator [Upcoming Feature]

It is about time to update GPS Locator. Right now I am working on a new feature, that will change a lot of things in the functionality of the application. On the next update RouteTracker will be implemented inside the app.

RouteTracker is a new functionality, which will allow users to record their route. You will have the ability to save your route by session, which means that you can save more than one sessions. You will be able to track your morning run, or your sailing tour. Also, you will be able to track the distance you have travelled, for each session…

The release date is not yet known, because I am still in the process of developing this new feature. By the time I finish it, I will inform you. I might need some beta testers for this version, so you will hear from me soon!

Thanks for downloading GPS Locator, if any concern or problem arises feel free to contact me!

A Simple Sorry For Any Inconvenience

Recently, I released an update, which fixed an issue on two of my applications, GPS Locator and Compus. This update resolved a new issue that occurred on devices using versions of iOS older than 4.2. The bug referred to the use of iAd.

However, I've noticed that a crashing error occurs on some devices when trying to open GPS Locator, even the latest version. I would like to say sorry to the customers that face such a problem and that I am working on resolving this issue it as soon as possible. I will recover the crash logs from Apple, analyze them and fix GPS Locator with an update.

I hope you enjoy using my applications…
Thank You!

GPS Locator and Compus Updates...

I am releasing an update for two of my applications. I resolved two minor bugs, that regarded a few crashing problems. Feel free to update, no problem for all iOS 4.0 and above software versions.

Bug Found...

Recently I released an update for GPSLocator and Compus, and many users complained about crashing before starting. After a little bit of searching and debugging I found where the bug was and I have fixed it.

An update will be released in the near future..

Hall of Fame [Resurrection 2]

Click image to enlarge

Today, I checked my applications' state on the App Store and I found out, that I reached No. 5 in the "Top Free iPhone Navigation Apps" on the Greek App Store. This is the highest position I've ever reached on the App Store and I hope to continue with these numbers.

Thanks for donwloading…

Considering and Fixing Bugs...

I have found out that GPS Locator crashes on iPhone 3Gs, on iOS 4.1 only. I would like to declare to the people that have downloaded the app, that I am in the process of reviewing the crash logs, to find out where the problem is.

I am sorry for the inconvenience.

Hall Of Fame [Resurrection]

Click image to enlarge

I've reached number 9 in "Top Free Navigation Apps". I've reached number 8, but I didn't manage to get a photo, I forgot it. So, I have only the photo with the number 9, which can been seen above.

Hall of Fame (Updated)

Recently I checked App Store to look for my apps...
On the images below I share my findings from my App Store exploration.

What's Hot Section on the App Store (Click image to enlarge)

iPad Top Navigation Apps (Click image to enlarge)