The Hangover Quotes: Creating iPad Apps, Day 4

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Creating iPad Apps, Day 4

Welcome to the fourth day of the Creating iPad Apps eCourse!

Today we'll go over the technical specs of the iPad and talk about some different apps that you can build around that framework.

The iPad uses a 1GHz processor and sports 256mb of RAM. Hard drive sizes vary with the price tag and come in 16, 32, and 64 Gigabyte models.
While those individuals used to working with high powered personal computers might find those numbers a bit on the low side, bear in mind that the iPad is a different creature entirely, and doesn't have to deal with the typical bloat and lag that accompanies a fully-featured operating system.

As such, it can utilize its resources more efficiently. Be aware, however, of these hard-coded limitations when planning your app.

So what kind of applications can you develope with those specs? Well before you can go anywhere with your app, you'll have to have an idea. Ultimately, that's where it all begins, and the quality of your finished product, as well as its financial success, is most dependent upon the quality of this original idea.

So take your time brainstorming, and try to figure out something that really takes advantage of the unique properties of the iPad. Here are just a few basic suggestions to get you started:

Think in terms of what makes the iPad unique.

For example, the iPad has a built-in light sensor. Why not create a game wherein you fight vampires and you have to use real world light sources in order to beat them? Or how about an app where you tend a virtual garden and your plants grow in accordance with the amount of "sunlight" they receive?

The iPad has a large screen whereupon elements can be controlled by touch for an intuitive user experience. Why not a marginalia app where you can load up documents and scribble notes in the margins, or a "notepad" that actually lets you write notes on the surface of your screen as you would with a pen?

Maybe you could create a simple novelty app where you use your fingertip as shears to prune a bonsai tree?

The iPad is motion-sensitive, just like the iPhone. Remember those games where you used to have to tilt a board to roll a little metal ball around obstacles and get it to drop into a hole? You could code something similar on the iPad. You could create an app that mimics an Etch-a-Sketch. You could turn the iPad screen into sand and allow users to rake "Zen garden" patterns into the grains (double-tap to place a rock).

These are just some simple suggestions thought up after but a few moments reflection on the unique capabilities of the iPad. Any one of them, if properly presented and marketed, could be a success for any iPad developer. At the same time, they represent just a fraction of the possibilities that are out there for the truly courageous, adventurous, and creative developer to take advantage of.

Before you go any further in your journey as a developer, try the following exercise: take some time alone and situate yourself somewhere comfortable, whether it's in your study in your favorite chair, in the shower at home, or out hiking on a well-trod trail through the wonders of nature.

Whatever gets your creative juices flowing. Now, ask yourself, what can you do to take advantage of these novel revolutions in computer interface technology? At this point in time, it's important just to let your imagination roam free and easy, without restriction or criticism.

Treat any idea that comes to you as if it has the potential to make a million dollars, and give it a fair shake before moving on to the next. The more often you do this, the more ideas you're going to have, and soon one of them will jump out at you and you'll know it's "the one". Now it's time to get serious.