iOS Developing - Without Hardware (yet) - Advice

[VanMac]

Hey All.

I've begun learning how to develop for the iPhone platform. I've picked up a couple of books, and am starting to plough through them. Pretty good so far.

Current challenge is related to hardware, or lack thereof. I do not have an iPhone or iPod Touch. I'm in Canada, and have been holding off on the iPhone as I'm a Telus customer, and they should be coming out with one in the next month or so. I could get the Touch, but it does not have the camera, and it would be somewhat redundant once I get the iPhone.....

For now, the simulator is working OK for development, but that will only hold out for so long. The main reason I would like some hardware now is so that I can dl a bunch of apps, and get familiar with what is available out there.

It would be nice if I could run these apps on my mac, but I assume I would need the code base for that and run it through the simulator....

Anywho, any advice or suggestions from those who have faced similar challenge would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

 

[dejo]

I could get the Touch, but it does not have the camera, and it would be somewhat redundant once I get the iPhone.....

Redundancy, in the limited scope you're thinking, is not such a bad thing when developing. Having multiple devices to test on means you can see how your app performs on different hardware as well as giving you the ability to more easily test under multiple OS versions. For example, I have an iPhone 3GS that is my "production" device. That is, I hardly use it for development or testing. But I also have an iPod touch (first gen) that I have upgraded to the latest iPhone OS (including betas) that I use extensively for development and testing. As well I have my old (original) iPhone that I keep on the last major OS version (currently 2.2.1) and I use that to test how my apps run.

It would be nice if I could run these apps on my mac, but I assume I would need the code base for that and run it through the simulator....

You would need the source code and, even then, they may perform differently in the simulator than on an actual device. For example, the next version of my app, [app]a.k.a.[/app], has a 'lanyard' view that can viewed with the device upside-down. Try getting the Simulator upside-down.

 

[VanMac]

Redundancy, in the limited scope you're thinking, is not such a bad thing when developing. Having multiple devices to test on means you can see how your app performs on different hardware as well as giving you the ability to more easily test under multiple OS versions. For example, I have an iPhone 3GS that is my "production" device. That is, I hardly use it for development or testing. But I also have an iPod touch (first gen) that I have upgraded to the latest iPhone OS (including betas) that I use extensively for development and testing. As well I have my old (original) iPhone that I keep on the last major OS version (currently 2.2.1) and I use that to test how my apps run.

Hey dejo.

Thanks for the input. Very good points. I'll likely pickup a Touch once I have the chance, and then get the iPhone 3Gs once I see what pans out with Telus.

 

[TodVader]

I'm in a similar situation. I don't want Roger's crappy coverage + data plans. I'm with Bell and will go with either Bell or Telus once the iPhone come gets there.

With Rogers, people in my city can barely talk inside their house without getting cut.

I'm glad to have an iPod touch 2G to use. I'll also buy an iPod Touch 1G before my game comes out, just to be sure.

The more the better. The reputation of your app can be damaged if it doesn't work with a particular device.