Portfolio
After 3 very intense weeks of development and design Tap to Chat 2 has finally launched!
Chris Ross and I started the Tap to Chat adventure back in November last year. As two Indie iPhone Developers we decided to team-up and build an Instant Messenger app for Facebook users on iPhone and iPad. The original version launched just before Christmas 2010. Since then Tap to Chat has seen over half a million downloads!
On the back of our success with Tap to Chat, Chris and I have formed a new company – Osmosis Apps – the primary goal being to make software that focuses on great user experience.
Tap to Chat 2 has been written from scratch and includes a brand new, beautiful, pixel-perfect interface. Tap to Chat 2 is: super-simple to use and blisteringly fast to connect all your Facebook Chat and Google Talk friends. We’ve laboured over every detail and included accessibility support for visually impaired users and VoiceOver support. An all-round great user experience.
As part of our launch, I had a lot of fun creating a demo video of the software with a well-known love story theme. Take a look:
Tap to Chat 2 was approved by Apple on Friday night (20th May). In just a few days it has already climbed into the top 25 Social Networking apps in the UK, the US and many other countries.
For all the features and details about Tap to Chat 2 head over to our new company site – www.osmosisapps.com.
Here are a few screen-grabs of Tap to Chat 2 in action on iPhone and iPad:
Commissioned by West End Studios, I led the iOS Development of a feature-rich conference meeting application for Novartis Global. The app enabled delegates to view their personalised conference diary and network with other 450 delegates and speakers.
I built the messaging system for the iPod app using Apple’s Push Notification technology and a custom local/server cache syncing solution. Although initially the messaging feature was a low priority for the app, it ultimately rolled out into multiple features: Private Messaging, Help Desk Chat, and Ask the Presenter a Question.
450 iPods await collection!
Another great feature of the app were the maps. Google Maps wasn’t a viable option as we wanted delegates to be able to access the maps even when offline and not on site. I developed a PDF rendering solution for this which also enabled delegates to find locations of any event in their diary.
The app enabled Novartis to host a ‘paperless conference’. No print outs were distributed throughout the sessions, plenaries or exhibitions. Instead all events were accessible through the iPod app and delegates could access any event documents directly and ‘send to my email’. Both a cost saving in terms of printing and a green solution.
A substantial effort was made during the development to ensure that the app would run most features offline. With 400+ iPods simultaneously attempting to connect to the wi-fi you tend to run into problems delivering a reliable wireless network. Our app regularly synced with the server and then locally cached all data and images (using Apple’s CoreData framework). The guys at West End implemented a streaming media server to deliver conference movies directly to the iPods throughout the event. However, we had a fallback option whereby even the movies would get cached and run locally if requested by the CMS. This was ideal for help videos for example. The flip-side of data caching is of course the security implications. So we implemented a feature into the CMS that would trigger the iPod to instantly clear the local cache and log the user out of the device remotely.
I was at the conference and able to see the software in action. The feedback was incredibly positive. Even the less technically enthusiastic and more sceptical delegates were won over by the end of the three days.
Martin de Planta, head of Global Learning @ Novartis kindly added this recommendation to my LinkedIn profile:
Nick led the development of an innovative, cost effective and dynamic meeting app. A consummate professional he was able to take a concept and turn into a reality where significantly bigger, household names and highly regarded institutions were not! Do not under-estimate the capabilities of this man. World class was how our most senior executives described his work.
Facebook Chat with your Friends all on one screen!
With multi-user login support, filter by friend list or group and instant message notification, Tap to Chat is the must have Chat app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad!
I developed Tap to Chat in collaboration with fellow iOS Develeper Chris Ross.
ESPN commissioned me to develop a universal iOS App to keep users up-to-date with ESPN Press Releases, Twitter account updates and photos on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
Features Include:
- Read ESPN’s most up-to-date Press Releases
- Email press releases directly from the ESPN MediaZone app.
Browse, share and upload Facebook photos. Update you status, add comments and check out your friend’s walls.
Facebook Chat with your friends all on one screen!
With multi-user login support, filter by friend list or group and instant message notification, Buddies Chat is the must have Facebook Chat experience!
Featured by Apple in over 50 AppStores Worldwide, Buddies is a hugely popular native Facebook browser for iPad receiving some great reviews:
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TheNextWeb.com: ★★★★ “Buddies is pretty much what an official Facebook app would look like.”
MacStories.net: “An excellent companion to the regular website which offers neat photo uploading capabilities (something you can’t do on Mobile Safari) and multi-account support”
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