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Gruber: No 'Widget Mode' for Minor Applications on iPad

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Apr 12, 2001
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Last month, speculation that a number of minor iPhone applications such as Stocks, Weather, Voice Memo, Clock, and Calculator "missing" from the iPad could reappear in some sort of "widget mode" similar to Dashboard on Mac OS X received a bit of publicity.

According to Daring Fireball's John Gruber's sources, however, there is no secret "widget mode" and these applications were in fact scrapped by Apple CEO Steve Jobs after internal "blown up" versions of them for the iPad were deemed unsatisfactory.
It's not that Apple couldn't just create bigger versions of these apps and have them run on the iPad. It wasn't a technical problem, it was a design problem. There were, internally to Apple (of course), versions of these apps (or least some of them) with upscaled iPad-sized graphics, but otherwise the same UI and layout as the iPhone versions. Ends up that just blowing up iPhone apps to fill the iPad screen looks and feels weird, even if you use higher-resolution graphics so that nothing looks pixelated. So they were scrapped by you-know-who. Perhaps they'll appear on the iPad in some re-imagined form this summer with OS 4.0, but when the iPad ships next month, there won't be versions of these apps. At least that's the story I've heard from a few well-informed little birdies.

(There is, alas, no secret "widget" mode for iPad in OS 3.2, either.)
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Gruber further notes that, while some iPhone games will work well on the iPad, simpler non-game iPhone applications will just feel strange whether run full-screen or in the iPhone-sized box in the middle of the screen. Similar observations were made by a number of attendees at Apple's media event to introduce the iPad. In particular, the Facebook iPhone application was thought by many to look and feel slightly "off" at the expanded size.

Many developers will likely take advantage of the iPad's expanded screen real estate to offer enhanced versions of their iPhone applications, and Apple could easily due the same with its own minor applications if it so chooses, but it may take some time for those reworked versions to be completed.

Article Link: Gruber: No 'Widget Mode' for Minor Applications on iPad
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2010/03/09/gruber-no-widget-mode-for-minor-applications-on-ipad/
Facebook on the iPad will become the definitive version of facebook. The iPhone version is already way more pleasant to look at than the desktop version. I'm looking forward to seeing what the facebook folks come up with for the iPad.
 
No Stocks :(

That's a shame, i was looking forward to an enhanced version of Stocks on the iPad... i use it loads on the iPhone when i'm on the go... i hope Bloomberg/Thomson Reuters make an excellent iPad version :D
 
Dissapointed if this is the case, I liked the idea of a dash-board style process. I'll still buy one, but I would have liked to see this.
 
No Calculator... Or Weather App... Weird!
But I can understand that they would look a bit odd blown up to that size.

Still, I think I'm going to get one!
 
Stocks and Weather info can be found using internet, so is there reason any need for these as applications, especially if you have the 3G iPad, or tethering the WI-FI version with your ( non apple ) phone?


Shame there's no dashboard, this would come in very useful, especially if you could run current iPhone apps as Dashboard apps, or, run multiple current iPhone apps at the same time ( maybe 'window'ed? )
 
dbonesyl said:
Facebook on the iPad will become the definitive version of facebook. The iPhone version is already way more pleasant to look at than the desktop version. I'm looking forward to seeing what the facebook folks come up with for the iPad.
Click to expand...

Same here although to be honest I don't know why I would want to pull up the facebook app instead of the web page. A native app for the iPhone made a lot of sense (photo uploads and push for example), but on the iPad? I don't know.
 
dbonesyl said:
Facebook on the iPad will become the definitive version of facebook. The iPhone version is already way more pleasant to look at than the desktop version. I'm looking forward to seeing what the facebook folks come up with for the iPad.
Click to expand...

No "definitive version" is only available to 1/200th of your user base.

The niggly aspects of the iPad are going to hold it back - ergonomics are going to be a bother (take the commercial, actually working in those positions is atrocious) and running iPhone apps nearly 10x the size is going to be laughable.
 
I use the calculator on my computer and my ipod and my phone all the time. I'm not buying an iPad, but it seems silly to just leave it off because it doesn't blow up well.
 
It's not like there will be any shortage of these kinds of apps at launch.
 
dbonesyl said:
Facebook on the iPad will become the definitive version of facebook. The iPhone version is already way more pleasant to look at than the desktop version. I'm looking forward to seeing what the facebook folks come up with for the iPad.
Click to expand...

I wonder if it will be advert free like on the iphone.
 
MacRumors said:
According to Daring Fireball's John Gruber's sources, however, there is no secret "widget mode" and these applications were in fact scrapped by Apple CEO Steve Jobs after internal "blown up" versions of them for the iPad were deemed unsatisfactory.
Click to expand...

Now that is some of the finest BS I have ever heard. More screen space = better calculator. They managed to get iWork working on touch device and failed with calculator?
 
why!

I think the iPad has a ton of potential, but is it just me when it feels like it's a bit weird to release something so new without it being finished? It's not like they HAD to announce it now. Thankfully software can fix this, but it doesnt seem like apple to take so much time to develop this and then just release it without a few key apps.
 
No biggie all of this will get fixed over time. And iPad apps will be much better than iphone ones :apple:
 
The apps that are missing will probably reappear in an optimized form or there are enough third party apps that will do the same job for you so maybe Apple won't make their own. Either way it is better than just blown up versions of the iPhone/iPod Touch apps. Everything that has been demonstrated so far was re-done for the bigger screen (mail, safari, photos).
 
jakebot said:
I think the iPad has a ton of potential, but is it just me when it feels like it's a bit weird to release something so new without it being finished? It's not like they HAD to announce it now. Thankfully software can fix this, but it doesnt seem like apple to take so much time to develop this and then just release it without a few key apps.
Click to expand...

And it's not so hard. They have almost all code in place. They just need UI that fits the screen. They did it with Calendar app or Mail app and calculator is easier. Strange to me because I use calculator all the time.
 
In order for a given app to "make sense" across all iPhone OS devices, developers are going to have to devote a commensurate amount of thought and effort to create versions, each of which take optimum advantage of the respective UI characteristics and functionalities.

I'm thinking of concentrating solely on the iPad because its superior feature set is much better suited to the apps I'm planning to create.
 
Another beta product making its way out of Apple just like the first two generations of iPhone that were missing cut-and-paste. I love how Apple can actually sell a beta product on the open market and not get flack for it. I can't believe they would ship something like this without basic calculator functionality. Again, a very simple and basic function is missing.

Assuming a calculator is added at some point... what if I'm looking at a web site and want to calculate a few numbers on the page that I'm looking at. With the iPad and iPhone I would have to exit the web browser to launch the calculator, but then the numbers I'm trying to add have disappeared. A dashboard-style implementation of calculator and other necessities would be much better since it overlays what's on the screen instead of replacing it.

Also, I doubt we will ever see a calculator or weather app that properly utilizes the full screen of the iPad - it's just not necessary. Why on earth would you even want to design a calculator that uses the full iPad screen? Widgets would be a much better way.
 
MMX said:
Now that is some of the finest BS I have ever heard. More screen space = better calculator. They managed to get iWork working on touch device and failed with calculator?
Click to expand...

A calculator fills less real estate than iWork.

Imagine a calculator on the iPad having giant buttons / or other, in order to fill the screen.. the presentation of the calculator is to the user is going to look like utter *****.

iWork is fine - because you can easily make use of the screen available.

Its all to do with the presentation of the application.

EDIT: I've just seen AZREOSpecialist above saying exactly what I wanted to say.
 
AZREOSpecialist said:
Another beta product making its way out of Apple just like the first two generations of iPhone that were missing cut-and-paste. I love how Apple can actually sell a beta product on the open market and not get flack for it. I can't believe they would ship something like this without basic calculator functionality. Again, a very simple and basic function is missing.
Click to expand...

All companies do this. Ever used a Microsoft 1.0? It's missing all sorts of things that are otherwise useful. Look at Kindle 1 vs Kindle 2. Ever buy the first model year of a car? There are all sorts of minor problems that are fixed within the next two model years.
 
GeekLawyer said:
This. Yeah.

Gruber has had some good info over the years, but that little factoid doesn't pass the smell test. We'll see.
Click to expand...

I disagree. I think it's exactly right, because this isn't a phone or an iPod. You're not going to take it out of your pocket to do a quick calculation. If you need a calculation, you'll already have the thing out and be working on it--so you can use one of the many alternative routes, like typing it into a google search bar, or iWork, or etc. etc. While the Dashboard on OSX is fun and made for a great launch demo, it gets *very* little use by most people except for checking the weather--precisely because bringing up these weird little things in their own little ghetto is a jarring and unnatural experience. "Widget" apps like a calculator on the iPad would be a lot closer to that Dashboard stuck-in-the-middle-doesn't-quite-fit-in thing than the equivalent iPhone/Touch apps.
 
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