iPhone-optimized web app (demo)

[neven]

Since there will be no third-party apps for iPhone in June, I thought I'd try creating a web app that would run like a widget on iPhone. You would surf over to it in Safari on iPhone, and it would fill the screen nicely to look like a "real" iPhone app. By that I mean, it shouldn't get scaled down, and it's small and compact

Here it is:

OneTrip - an iPhone shopping list.

It will only work in Safari (obviously). Comments? Do you think it will be a worthwhile effort to create such iPhone-ready websites?

[Silver-Fox]

i dont think people will go out of there way to create web pages just for the iphone, but i would like to know wha it does look like on the iphone

[neven]

I don't think existing websites should be made iPhone-friendly, and it probably wouldn't be worth anyone's time to create an iPhone-optimized blog or online store, but I really hope that it's easy to make things look and feel "native" on iPhone. I can think of a number of simple widgets like this that I'd really like to have on my phone - so until we get actual widgets, I hope this will do.

[slffl]

Hey I like your app. I hope it works well with the iPhone.

[fastdrive]

That actually is a pretty handy little app

[freeflydrew]

that's a great idea and it looks great too

[Project]

This is superb. Very slick and I cant wait to try it out on the iPhone.

[ehurtley]

Originally Posted by Silver-Fox

i dont think people will go out of there way to create web pages just for the iphone, but i would like to know wha it does look like on the iphone

Why not? A whole "ecosystem" of web pages has sprung up for the Wii, why not the iPhone?

And, I love the app. Very simple, elegant, and easy to use. I'll be sure to use it when I get my iPhone. :-D

[Silver-Fox]

Originally Posted by ehurtley

Why not? A whole "ecosystem" of web pages has sprung up for the Wii, why not the iPhone?

i just dont think it will latch on as much as the wii did

[neven]

Thanks for the feedback. I hope this sort of dynamic JavaScript will run well on iPhone. I can think of a number of simple apps like this I could put together. Ideas for anything you'd really like to have on a phone?

[sprescott1974]

this looks really cool, and i agree optimized pages for iphone could be amazing. explain to me though why i would use this list instead of say notepad.

[neven]

Originally Posted by sprescott1974

explain to me though why i would use this list instead of say notepad.

If you mean instead of a paper notepad...

- I don't always have one on me. Pretty much the only things I can guarantee to have on me are my phone, wallet, and keys.

If you mean instead of iPhone's Notes feature...

- You can add, check off, and remove items with one click

And these go for both:

- It's less work to click a few (common) items than to write them down or type them in
- They'll be sorted by category
- When picking from a list, you might see things you wouldn't have thought to write down. "Oh yeah, I also need garlic."
- It's cooler

[fastdrive]

Now if only you could make this into a widgit.

I know within a few days of the iphone being out someone will hack it so that we can add our own

[psycoswimmer]

Wow, that looks really handy. But say you exit out of Safari to answer a call or change the now playing song, everything gets deleted? That could be irritating. But still, very neat app. Good job.

[neven]

Originally Posted by psycoswimmer

Wow, that looks really handy. But say you exit out of Safari to answer a call or change the now playing song, everything gets deleted? That could be irritating.

I don't believe Safari will close open tabs if you just exit the browser to go to the iPod or phone module. That would be irritating for more than just this app

However, if you close the tab manually, you'll lose your list, true. It would be near-trivial to store that on the server so you could restart your session, but this would be complicated for the user. You'd have to create an account, log in... that defeats the purpose of it being a really small, handy app. I'll think about it though. It remains to be seen if it'll be usable on iPhone at all.

[Project]

Would be cool if you could tap into the Basecamp/backpack API to read/write these lists.

[Chaszmyr]

I really like your app, I think I'll use it if it works well with the iPhone.

[psycoswimmer]

Originally Posted by neven

I don't believe Safari will close open tabs if you just exit the browser to go to the iPod or phone module. That would be irritating for more than just this app

However, if you close the tab manually, you'll lose your list, true. It would be near-trivial to store that on the server so you could restart your session, but this would be complicated for the user. You'd have to create an account, log in... that defeats the purpose of it being a really small, handy app. I'll think about it though. It remains to be seen if it'll be usable on iPhone at all.

Right, I see what you mean. Good point about the saving-tab part. Hopefully Safari will keep tabs open as long as you have your iPhone on.

[neven]

I guess once we get our iPhones (I tear up just thinking about it) I'll update this thread letting everyone know if there are any issues with the app, and if I plan on moving it to a better-hosted server.

[kuebby]

That's awesome. Very well done. Simple and it does what needs to be done. Unfortunately it will become obsolete if Apple allows any type of homemade widgets.

[neven]

I have no experience with Mac software development, but I'm reasonably skilled with web development. I haven't looked at Dashcode yet (I'm afraid I'd be intimidated) - does anyone know how hard it would be to make this into an actual widget?

[psychofreak]

Originally Posted by fastdrive

Now if only you could make this into a widgit.

I know within a few days of the iphone being out someone will hack it so that we can add our own

I'm sure iPhone Linux will be awesome

[sportsfanMAW]

Originally Posted by neven

I have no experience with Mac software development, but I'm reasonably skilled with web development. I haven't looked at Dashcode yet (I'm afraid I'd be intimidated) - does anyone know how hard it would be to make this into an actual widget?

with dashcode its incredibly easy.... i made one lmao

[ehurtley]

Well, I tried loading it on my Palm OS device with the rather lackluster "Palm Web Browser 2.0.3", and it doesn't load. :-( I figured it would be a good resolution test, since it's a 480x320 device.

Unfortunately, the only other web browser that works on my Palm OS device is a paid-for piece of software that, while more competent than the Palm offering, isn't worth the money to me.

[/dev/toaster]

If they don't allow 3rd party widget development, then this sounds like an interesting idea.