sobota, 29 sierpnia 2015

SunCalc Premium now Built For BlackBerry approved

I am pleased to inform that SunCalc Premium for BB10 is now Built For Blackberry approved.


This means that it has been positively verified for full compliance with all BlackBerry criteria when it comes to UI design, power and resource efficiency, user expierience, code quality, security, functionality, etc.

It is also the only Sun tracking tool for BB10 with the Built For BlackBerry designation.

SunCalc Premium is available in the BlackBerry World


piątek, 21 sierpnia 2015

Two new EasyStreetView updates for BB10

Two new EasyStreetView updates have been made.

One update (already approved and available) brings changes which were necessary for the application to continue working, as Google changed something recently in their APIs which was causing problems. Now everything works perfectly fine again. Additionally, this update significantly reduces the app's RAM memory usage, almost by half. 

Another update, submitted for approval today, adds the following:
  • location marker on map now always shows direction you're facing on the street view
  • "Clear Application Cache" button on the Settings page. The OS automatically caches all downloaded map and panorama tiles so it takes more and more storage space. Strangely, BB10 only allows clearing cache of Android apps, but not native ones Shocked When cache of a native app starts taking a lot of space, users need to uninstall such app (which removes all files) and reinstall it anew, which is a pain in the arse (especially that it also removes its settings, etc). This new option in EasyStreetView (which I will also add to all other apps of mine that cache any files) makes it easy and quick - the cache can be completely cleaned with just one tap. 


The new version should become available after the weekend. I've also submitted EasyStreetView for Build For BlackBerry approval.

EasyStreetView is available in the BB World


sobota, 15 sierpnia 2015

MoonCalc Pro for BB10 now with SuperMoons

MoonCalc Pro 1.4 for BlackBerry 10 adds the following:
  • Calculation of full and new Supermoons (Supermoon is a popular name of what astronomers call "perigee-syzygy" - the coincidence of a full or new Moon with its closest approach to the Earth, i.e. the perigee. The full Supermoon is up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than at apogee, and as the Supermoon is both the closest to Earth and additionally in a straight line with the Earth and the Sun its impact on tidal forces is much increased).
  • The GPS receiver (in GPS location mode) is turned off as soon as location is obtained, to save power.
  • Various other small tweaks and improvements. 

Screenshots:






MoonCalc is the only advanced native Moon tool for BB10. It has the Built for BlackBerry designation. 

This new version has been uploaded to BB World for approval and should become available within a day or two.

You can get it from BlackBerry World


środa, 12 sierpnia 2015

SunCalc Premium for BB10 rewritten in Cascades


SunCalc Premium has been rewritten from scratch in Cascades, so now it is a fully native BB10 application.  Additionally, this new version also brings the following enhancements: 

- Support for all BlackBerry phone models and display aspect ratios

- Active Cover showing basic data of the selected location (sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk, transit and its elevation, day and night length, current azimuth and elevation) when the application is miminized (updated every 30 seconds)

- 14-day weather forecast for all stored locations and for the GPS

- True North / Magnetic North setting for compass. True North includes local magnetic variation, providing higher accuracy

- Share function to easily share calculations with other applications or people

- Many other small improvements and optimizations.


Screenshots (Full Touch models): 









Some screenshots from 1:1 phone models:









The new version has already been approved and is now available in the BBWorld:

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/58166888/ 




It has also been submitted for Built For BlackBerry approval, which may take up to 10 days.

wtorek, 28 kwietnia 2015

Headless Biorhythm now Built For BlackBerry approved

I am pleased to inform that Headless Biorhythm for BB10 is now Built For Blackberry approved.


This means that it has been positively verified for full compliance with all BlackBerry criteria when it comes to UI design, power and resource efficiency, user expierience, code quality, security, functionality, etc.

It is also the only biorhythm app for BB10 with the Built For BlackBerry designation.

Headless Biorhythm is available in the BlackBerry World


niedziela, 29 marca 2015

Headless Biorhythm for BB10

In all existing Biorhythm calculation apps, if one wants to check his biorhythms he needs to launch the app to see the information. Headless Biorhythm is different - it works invisibly in the background and automatically delivers daily Biorhythm readings right to the BB10 Hub in form of a notification, at the time chosen by the user. This way you'll never forget to check your biorhythm and you don't have to do anything to see it; it doesn't even take opening the notification as the biorhythm values are included in its title and can be read directly from the main Hub page or even from the Lock screen. You'll be notified about the arrival of your new daily Biorhythm reading just like in case of any other notification - with the chosen LED color and/or notification sound.

The notification body contains full information - current values of all primary cycles along with their interpretation, plus your current age in days, as well as in years months and days. In the notification, you can tap on the "Open" action button to launch the UI part which additionally shows the monthly graph. In the app you can also change the birthdate and notification time, or you can tap on the "Get Now" button to have the biorhythm notification sent to the Hub instantly. There is no need to delete the notifications - each day the existing one gets automatically replaced by a new one so that always only the current Biorhythm data is shown.

There is also a "Share" feature to quickly and easily share current Biorhythm values via SMS, email, social services, etc.

The headless part is very small and written entirely in C++, it uses virtually no CPU time or power (0.05% or so) so it can be kept running all the time without any impact on phone's performance or battery life.

Just configure your birth date and notification time, close the app and forget about it - since then you'll be getting your daily Biorhythm readings automatically in your Hub, at the chosen hour.

Why another Biorhythm app? Because in 2002 I wrote for the Nokia Communicator probably the first Biorhythm app ever made for smartphones. So this is simply a continuation / evolution of the oldest Biorhythm app for smartphones.

Full Touch phones:





Phones with square screens (Passport, Q10, Classic, etc.):





Headless Biorhythm is available for all BlackBerry 10 smartphones:

https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/59957044/


poniedziałek, 2 marca 2015

Headless Cuckoo now Built For BlackBerry approved

I am pleased to inform that Headless Cuckoo for BB10 is now Built For Blackberry approved.


This means that it has been positively verified for full compliance with all BlackBerry criteria when it comes to UI design, power and resource efficiency, user expierience, code quality, security, functionality, etc.

It is also the only headless hourly chime app for BB10 with the Built For BlackBerry designation.

Headless Cuckoo is available in the BlackBerry World


środa, 11 lutego 2015

Headless Cuckoo for BB10

Advanced native, headless hourly (and half-hourly / quarter-hourly) chime application for BlackBerry 10. Works invisibly in the background with no unnecessary windows or active frames. Power efficient - no noticeable battery or CPU usage. Just select your preferred sounds and options, close the app and let the headless service run invisibly and do its job, reminding you with the selected sound (and/or vibration/LED) about the passing time.  Great as a reminder, time manager, or simply yet another pleasant and useful feature of your BlackBerry 10 smartphone. 

Features:

  • Native, headless, runs invisibly in the background
  • Autostarts upon reboot or when you open the app
  • Headless service can be stopped/started anytime with one tap
  • 6 nice chime sounds included
  • Use any other sound file stored on your phone or downloaded from the Internet as chime sound
  • Select interval: hourly (on the hour - :00), half-hourly (every 30 minutes - :00 and :30) or quarter-hourly (every 15 minutes - :00, :15, :30, :45)
  • Select the number of chimes: 1, 2, 3, or the current hour (e.g. 10 times at 10:00)
  • Vibration on/off, and duration (short, medium, long)
  • LED on/off, and choose color (red, green, blue, yellow, cyan, magenta, white)
  • "No sound" option for only LED and/or vibration notifications at selected intervals
  • Select chime sound volume (relative to phone's main multimedia volume setting)
  • Exclude days - there will be no chime on the selected days of week
  • Exclude hours - there will be no chime between the selected hours
  • Almost unmeasurable CPU and battery usage
  • More features to come in future updates.




Headless Cuckoo is now available on the BlackBerry World


czwartek, 15 stycznia 2015

StarFinder for BB10 now Built For BlackBerry approved

I am pleased to inform that StarFinder for BB10 is now Built For Blackberry approved.


This means that it has been positively verified for full compliance with all BlackBerry criteria when it comes to UI design, power and resource efficiency, user expierience, code quality, security, functionality, etc.

StarFinder and MoonCalc are the only astronomical applications for BB10 with the Built For BlackBerry designation.

StarFinder is available in the BlackBerry World


poniedziałek, 5 stycznia 2015

MoonCalc for BB10 now Built For BlackBerry approved

I am pleased to inform that MoonCalc is now Built For Blackberry approved.



This means that it has been positively verified for full compliance with all BlackBerry criteria when it comes to UI design, power and resource efficiency, user expierience, code quality, security, etc. It is the only Moon tracking tool for BB10 with the BFB designation.

Additionally, the most recent version includes True North / Magnetic North selection for compass. If True North is selected, local magnetic variation (declination) is obtained and added to compass readings, which makes it point to the geographic North (and thus also to Astronomic North as the tiny difference between them is negligible).

MoonCalc is available in the BlackBerry World


StarFinder 2.2 update for BB10

StarFinder for BB10 has been updated again to version 2.2. Changes:

** Dynamically updated (every 30 secs. to save power) Active Frame showing currently selected object's image, rise/set times, azimuth and elevation when the application is minimized.

** Share feature to easily share currently selected object's astronomical data by email, SMS, via social media, with other applications, etc.

** True North / Magnetic North selection for compass. If True North is selected, local magnetic variation (declination) is obtained and added to the compass reading, which makes it point to the geographic North (and thus also to Astronomic North as the tiny difference between them is negligible).

** Sort lists of stars and deep sky objects either alphabetically or by brightness (visual magnitude)

** Additional yellow needles on compass and elevation indicator, showing phone's current orientation. They move as you rotate/raise the phone. When those yellow arrows and the red arrows (showing selected object's azimuth and elevation) overlap, they change the color to green and the selected celestial object is right behind the phone. Makes using the program simpler and more obvious.

** An option to disable background picture

** Various other tweaks and improvements.

Some screenshots:






StarFinder is available in the BlackBerry World