Re: Datebk6 and NEED ON THE iPHONE!

On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 9:47 AM, Marcia Sue Clever, MD
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Larry,
>
>
> Thank you SOOO much for the prompt reply. I think Pimlico has a great opportunity....you should really develop datebk6 for the iPhone/iPad. I am sure I am not the first to tell you this. I have looked at every calendar/agenda/datebook app out there, and NONE are even near what the Palm Pilot will do. I think you would get a huge number of sales. I have looked at many chat sites and the main complaint about the iPhone is it's extremely poor calendar function and the lack of a good substitute. You could do it to either back-up to a Pimlical for Mac or to iCal (if it is possible with Apple's fickle nature! LOL!). Please do not develop it to back up to Google Calendar...there are confidentiality issue with using that as a back-up. PLEASE tell me this app is in the works. My Palm T/X is about on it's last legs......

Hi, Marcia;

I'm not Pimlico Software, I'm just a member of the group (and a
volunteer moderator).

But I do know why Pimlico will not create an iphone version. First,
Apple does not allow apps to access the iPhone calendar. So the only
way to do it would be to maintain an entirely separate calendar. Next,
Apple does not allow apps to use the built-in alarm manager. So there
would be no way to implement alarms, except through Notifications,
which would mean that Pimlico would have to create a web service and
track everyone's alarms to send notifications to the phone when an
alarm was due. Which raises your privacy issue.

The calendar would have to sync to SOMETHING. There is no record level
sync mechanism in the iPhone or iTunes, only replacing a file on the
phone, so the only practical sync mechanism would be a cloud-based
calendar such as Google Calendar or a similar alternate. It can't sync
with iCal or Outlook because of the lack of record level syncing.

Then there's the question of programming language. DateBk6 is written
in C to the Palm API (Application Programming Interface). The iPhone
does not support the Palm API, so it would be a complete rewrite.
Pimlical is written in Java, which IS portable, to just about
everything in the world - EXCEPT the iPhone. Apple will not allow apps
written in Java on the iPhone.

And finally, Apple does not approve apps that duplicate built-in
functionality. But they don't decide if your app violates this rule
until you submit it. So Pimlico could spend 6 months developing
Pimlical or DateBk6 for the iPhone, only to be told that Apple has
rejected it. That's something like a $50,000 gamble.

To see the extent of the problem, there are NO calendar apps available
for the iPhone that are significantly better than the built-in
calendar with the possible exception of Pocket Informant, and it syncs
only with Google Calendar. With 225,000 apps and no good calendars,
there's a message there.

So Pimlico is focusing on mobile platforms that support Java, which
include Android, Blackberry, Symbian, and possibly the Palm Pre
(although DateBk6 runs on the Pre already under Motion Apps Classic).
Interestingly, Java IS supported on jailbroken iPhones. I don't know
if CESD is considering that or not. If he is I would jailbreak my
phone.

best,
Larry

-- 
Larry Finch

N 40° 53' 47"
W 74° 03' 56"


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