What about the iPhone?

Early on we recognized the importance of supporting the iPhone. However, we have extremely limited development resources, and so had to start with either iPhone or Android. We chose Android.

Version 2 of the app

Back in June we started work on a stripped-down version of the Android app. The stripped-down version would use less battery power because instead of pinging the server, the app would wait for the user to press the Check button. As mentioned in a previous post, this changes the dynamic of the app. Instead of being surprised by what’s there, you now have to be curious about what’s there.

HTML5 Geolocation to the rescue

While developing the new version we realized many phones now support the HTML5 Geolocation features, in particular, the iPhone.

So maybe you don’t need a special version of the app running on your phone. Maybe all you need is a web browser.

App-ti-tude - a natural ability to do something

With that realization, our focus shifted.

So we stopped development on the stripped-down version of the Android app, and started work on a completely browser-based version.

Why?

Because if you don’t need a special app on the iPhone to run plnkx, then you also don’t need a special app on Android phones to run plnkx – stripped-down or otherwise.

All you need is a browser.

Any browser will do

Development resources are focused now on Geolocation-enhanced browsers. This includes most smart phones.

If you’re reading this on a smart phone, you can try it now. Click here: my.plnkx.com/iphone

Limitations

But it’s not all smooth sailing.

The HTML5 Geolocation libraries are sometimes not as responsive or as accurate as the native Android app, but so far that seems not to be a problem.

The plnkx ‘app’ is currently in BETA release.