Eknath Kadam > iphone apps

My previous app, Grammar Up was a super hit on app store. The free version has been downloaded over 100 thousand times where as the paid version has been downloaded around 20 thousand times. Grammar Up was based on TOEIC exam pattern and didn’t actually teach grammar rules, but tested knowledge of grammar and several kind of word choices. Many user complained that they expected there will be some teaching material in Grammar Up.

To address this complain I teamed with Ashok sir, who has been teaching English grammar for last 30+ years. At the age of sixty he still carries an enthusiasm of an youngster. He lives in small village in Maharashtra, India where power outage is a daily affair.  Fortunately, they have telephone line and thanks to BSNL, internet is also available now and internet opens door to a lot of possibilities. Here is one example.

With his help I will be publishing a series of iPhone apps that will touch upon each and every grammar topic. To start with, we just released our first app, Grammar Express: Tenses. Grammar Express: Tenses is a complete course in learning grammatical tenses. It has all the rules explained with several examples and followed by quiz with huge question bank.

Check it out on app store:

1. Driving Test gets a place in appclassics.

2. Grammar up gets a place in Apple’s “Highschool Survival Guide”

3. Grammar up gets featured in Brazil, China, Korea and Qatar

4. Grammar up is within top 10 educational apps in more than 20 countries.

5. Grammar Up and Idioms now available for Android Market.

It was a bit of challenging project. But very interesting at the same time. Apple doesn’t provide many APIs to control the way a movie is played on iPhone. Considering this limitation I was postponing to develop Hazard Perception Test iPhone app for quite a long time. But finally its here. It took quite a long time than usual as I wanted to make the app just perfect.

The development approach I took this time was also different than my previous apps. I spent quite a lot time understanding how Hazard Perception Test works and how to model it into an iPhone app. I spent few hundred pounds buying original HPT videos from DSA and studied them.

After that I created several sketches to visualize how the app works. Meantime I was also doing several POCs to check if the particular feature is achievable using iPhone SDK. Later photoshop mockups were created to get the exact look and feel of the app.

Fortunately I ran into iPhonedevcamp and got a chance to demonstrate the prototype of the app I exclusively created for iPhonedevcamp. After I was satisfied with all the elements of the app I started actual coding. This was a great lesson re-learned that if all the aspects of the app are in place its a lot easier to code.

Here is the official iTunes description of the app.

The Hazard Perception Test comes to iPhone (and iPod touch).

Practice your hazard perception test with the video clips produced by Driving Standards Agency.

For video demo please follow this link.

http://uktheorytest.com/HPT

We have included total 9 clips in the app which are -

1. Introduction to Hazard Perception Test
2. Watch for the pedestrian crossing the road.
3. Watch for the cyclist emerging from junction.
4. Watch for the pedestrian crossing the road, running for the bus on the right hand side.
5. Act promptly when a policeman or lollipop man or traffic warden stops you.
6. Watch for the kid riding the bicycle crossing the road.
7. Watch out for the vehicle emerging from junction.
8. Watch for the pedestrians crossing the road.
9. Watch for the vehicle emerging from the right.

The app has been designed carefully to replicate the same experience you will have in the real test. When in test mode, tap on the screen when you identify the hazard. The sooner you identify the hazard the more marks you get. The maximum marks being five and minimum would be zero.

The app also shows you the best and the worst score for each clip. Of course, you can reset the scores from settings screen.

If you want to know whats going to happen in the clip, you can turn on the “Clue” from settings screen and the clue will be shown right below the description of the clip.

Copyright Info:
• Crown copyright material reproduced under licence from the Driving Standards Agency and the controller of HMSO which does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the reproduction.

Buy Part 1 Here

Buy Part 2 Here

Ok, there are now n number of battery iphone apps out there. Mine was one of the first 3 apps but Apple kept it rejecting for blah blah blah reasons. Not one but 3 times, and while my competitors were eating my lunch I was waiting patiently that some day Apple will approve my app. And here it is after almost five weeks!

Battery Meter’s UI is very polished and pleasant. Its much superior than myBatteryLife, iBattery pro, battery level, battery life and all other battery apps.

Here is iTunes Description for the app.

Do you want to know how much talk time, audio playback, video playback or internet surfing time you have left on your iPhone or iPod touch? Battery Meter just tells you that.
 Battery Meter displays the current percentage of battery life left on your device.

It also automatically detects if its iPhone or iPod touch and shows the data accordingly.
 Tells you time remaining for following activities.

Talk Time on 3G
Talk Time on 2G
Internet on Wi-Fi
Internet on 3G
Audio Playback
Video Playback
Standby time

The official theory test for Approved Driving Instructor (ADI or PDI) comes to iPhone (and iPod Touch) !

Prepare your theory test for ADI with latest and official DSA question bank which has over 920 questions.

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PREPARE BY BANDS:
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All questions are sorted by bands. It also tells you the areas that each band covers.

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MOCK TEST MODE:
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Mock test simulates the real test format. Questions are presented randomly from all the bands.

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DETAILED TEST RESULTS:
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A summary of the practice test is presented at the end of each test. It shows you the time you took, the score, which questions you answered correctly and where you were wrong, explanation for all questions. And yes, you can E-MAIL the results.

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READ THE HIGHWAY CODE E-BOOK:
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You can also read the HIGHWAY CODE in landscape and portrait mode. You can jump to any chapter and then browse through the e-book easily. Zoom in and zoom out for better readability.

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PROGRESS METER:
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The app records your progress as you start giving practice tests.
It shows you a beautifully animated bar chart so that you can track your weak areas and retry the questions you answered incorrectly.

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VERY EASY TO USE:
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The slick user interface allows you to choose from possible answers.
You don’t need to press too many buttons or encounter any alert messages.
The app is very interactive and needs minimum user input. Innovative use of iPhone’s small screen real estate.
Shake your iPhone/iPod to skip a question.

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FEATURE LIST:
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• Over 920 multiple-choice questions.
• Choose number of questions you would like in each test.
• Shows test results in HTML format with explanation for each question.
• E-mail yourself the test results and track your progress.
• A new module, “Progress Meter” keeps track of how you are performing in a particular topic, and retry the questions you answered incorrectly.
• Choose your own timer settings.
• Shake your iPhone/iPod to skip a question. (You can turn this off if desired.)
• Cool sound effects. (You can turn them off if desired.)
• Choose your own zoom factor for your question graphics.
• Read the Highway Code in landscape as well as portrait mode.
• Special algorithm that randomizes questions every time you take a test.
• Mock test has exactly similar format as in real test.

Copyright Info:
• Crown copyright material reproduced under licence from the Driving Standards Agency and the controller of HMSO which does not accept any responsibility for the accuracy of the reproduction.

• The questions are valid for theory tests taken after September 2008