iOS 5, meet the equinux apps
Now that iOS 5 has been released, we thought we’d give you a quick rundown of our iPhone and iPad apps and their iOS 5 compatibility:
tizi
The current version, tizi.tv 1.3.2 is fully compatible with iOS 5 on the iPhone and iPad.
Please note that iOS 5 no longer shows a check mark when you connect to tizi’s Wi-Fi network. Instead you’ll see the “spinning wheel” icon, even after you are connected. This is an iOS 5 quirk, but it doesn’t affect tizi performance. We’ve reached out to Apple to see if this can be addressed with a future iOS update, our FAQ has more details. We’re also already hard at work preparing the next update, so stay tuned.
TV Movie
We’ve just released version 3.0.4 of TV Movie and TV Movie HD. It features a redesigned database that changes the way some of your data is stored, so it won’t take up as much room in your iCloud backup. We’ve also fixed an issue that could cause the app to crash under iOS 5, so make sure you grab that update.
Magic Mails
We’ve run into a little bug with auto-correct that can affect typing under iOS 5, which seems to be related to the new version of Webkit in iOS 5. We’re looking into it and hope to be able to offer an update for that particular issue soon. Apart from that little annoyance, Magic Mails works great.
Grillmeister
All good, so there’s nothing to stop you from enjoying a tasty steak with iOS 5 and Grillmeister or Grillmeister HD!
iSale Mobile
iSale mobile still works great with iOS 5 – so you can take great snaps of your stuff and send it over to iSale 5 on your Mac to put on eBay. With the iPhone 4S, your product pics should look great!
Live TV & TubeToGo
Apple has changed a fair bit under the hood with regards to video playback, so we’ll have to look into what we can do for these two apps.
Flash4Free
Our free, no-frills flashlight works perfectly, so you won’t be left in the dark with your iOS 5 device.
And that’s it – we have a few updates planned for our iOS apps, so check back occasionally or follow us on Twitter or Facebook for the latest update news.
P.S. We’ll have a longer, detailed post soon describing some of the changes in iOS 5 that relate to TARMAC.
Say hello to tizi
Product release day is always an exciting time at equinux. Today is no different. Today’s release of tizi is not just a groundbreaking iPhone and iPad release, it’s the start of a new era of hardware products for the company.
tizi is the perfect complement to your iPad or iPhone. As Europe’s first TV mobile hotspot, tizi broadcasts high quality DVB-T television to your iOS device over its own WiFi network. No cables, no adapters.
At just 2.5 ounces and smaller than the iPhone, tizi was designed to be carried around in your pocket or bag. Turn on, tune in and start watching. With its glossy housing and silver bezel, it’ll fit snugly next to your iPad or iPhone, all the while casting envious looks from all around. Users can watch TV on the go for up to 3.5 hours thanks to the replaceable Li-Ion High Performance Battery and be recharged via USB.
tizi is just the start of a move into the iPhone and iPad hardware accessory arena. We have a long standing interest in consumer and enterprise software, as well as Mac hardware in TubeStick, and of course iPhone and iPad apps. tizi marks the start of a new era of iPhone and iPad hardware accessories, so you can get even more from your iOS devices.
So sit back, relax and watch the action unfold. With tizi, it’s easy.
Chopsticks at the ready
Have you ever wondered how they use chop sticks to eat ribs in Japan?
During his frequent trips to Asia, equinux CEO Till often wonders how equinux apps might fare in the Japanese market. As a company based in Germany and the US and with little experience of Japanese culture, we knew our best chance of success would be to find a Japanese native speaker. With a new team member on board, we started work on preparing Barbecue for the iPhone and iPad, Japanese style! 日本語の記事はこちら(^_-)-☆
Teething problems
It quickly became clear that the concept of a barbecue was very different in Japan compared to our own experiences. Whereas barbecuing is often a weekly or monthly affair in Europe or the US during the summer, Japanese families might only barbecue every couple of years when camping. Alternatively, they would head to a restaurant and enjoy Korean style barbecue food. After reading our product descriptions for the apps, our Japanese colleague started asking the sort of seemingly obvious questions that actually make you stop and think:
“Why do you flame grill food?”
“Doesn’t it go black and burnt?”
“Is ‘the grill’ the metal shelf, or the entire contraption?”
Questions unsatisfyingly answered, our Japanese colleague went away and localized the app for a Japanese audience. Like any localization, a simple translation was not enough. Indeed, why would a Japanese iPhone user want to use a knife and fork? We need chopsticks!
Suck it and see
Together with our art director, we found the right chopsticks for the sort of barbecue a family would enjoy on a Japanese riverside. Localizing an app in Japanese was a voyage into the unknown for the team. We had no idea how long sentences would be, or how fonts would appear in the app and on our website. Writing strings also takes a lot of consideration. Where in English there is one level of formality, there are two in German and at least three in Japanese.
Barbecue in Japanese went live a week after submitting to Apple. Having never marketed in the land of the rising sun before, we looked to create a list of journalists and bloggers active in the country. In addition, we tweeted a message in Japanese, as well as a targeted update for our Facebook fans based there. Updates like these can be a great way of testing the water for marketing an app.
Just a starter?
We’ve been fascinated by the localization process, and have found it to be a reasonably smooth process. It’s always however fascinating to look at your own culture from an outsider’s perspective. We believe we have a lot more we to offer in the Japanese market, so stay tuned…
Barbecue is available now for the iPhone and iPad
日本語を、どうぞ。
Is your Japanese a bit rusty? Read the story of Barbecue in English.
equinuxは日本語を始めました(^_^)！
弊社の第一弾としてiPhoneとiPad上でバーベキューが焼けるアップを発売しました。キャンプ場に頻繁に行けないあなたや、焼肉店に毎日行けないあなたにも、心を込めて旨い肉を焼くあの優雅なひと時を提供します。アップはその名も「Barbecue(バーベキュー, iPhone用)」と「Barbecue HD(バーベキュー エイチディー, iPad用)」(^-^) そして今日はアップ作成の裏話をご紹介 (^_-)-☆
バーベキューとドイツ人
驚く事に、統計では70%以上のドイツ人家庭はバーベキューをするためのグリルを保有しています。どうしてドイツ人はこんなにバーベキューが好きなんでしょう？？
ドイツの夏は日本の秋の気候に近く、肌寒くて雨もよく降り晴れた日は数えるほどしかありません。なので、暖かく晴れた日は裏庭のグリルを囲んで友達とワイワイ騒ぎます。もちろんビール片手に (^○^) 日本で言うと冬の鍋パーティでしょうか？旨いものを食べながら友達のネットワークを広げる夏の風物詩、それがバーベキューです。弊社CEOのティル・シャデも例に漏れず大のバーベキュー好き！この為我が社はこのアップを作ってしまいました (*_*)
作成はすべてドイツ語で行われ、アップが完成してから日本語版に翻訳しようとしたのですが、、、、日本の「焼肉文化」とドイツの「バーベキュー文化」の違いから単なる翻訳な～んてもんじゃない開発者の苦労がありました (ToT) では例を2つご紹介！
裏話その１
Cutlery(カットラリー)って何？？ナイフやフォークなど、食べる為の器具を総称してカットラリーと呼ぶのですが、伝統的にお箸が唯一の器具だった日本語としてはそんなカテゴリーの名前なんてありません！これを４文字以内に翻訳！さ～てどうやって訳したでしょうか？アップでご確認ください。
裏話その２
2つ目はテーブルマナー。日本版に合わせてアップは箸の選択肢を含んでいます。箸をテーブルに置くときの作法って、お皿と食べる人の間に水平に置きますよね？でもナイフとフォークは両サイドに離して垂直に置きます。お皿や器具の配置を設計したのは勿論ドイツ人チームなので、日本の作法通りに箸を置くスペースはなく、、、解決策はアップのスクリーンショットをご覧下さい！
そんなこんなでミュンヘン初のアップが日本上陸！ただいまiTunes App StoreにてiPhone用のBarbecueとiPad用のBarbecue HDを好評発売中！割引のプロモコードも順次お送りさせていただいております！
もっと詳しい制作現場の裏話はこちらからご覧いただけます。equinuxは今後も日本語版をどんどん発売していきま〜す (^_-)-☆
equinux@IFA
Unterhaltungselektronik, die begeistert – vom 3. bis 8. September 2010 öffnet die IFA in Berlin wieder ihre Pforten. Auch dieses Jahr ist das Team von equinux mit innovativen TV-Lösungen für iPhone und iPad dabei.
Erleben Sie am Stand unseres OEM-Partners Hauppauge mit The Tube Fernsehen 2.0 live.
Besuchen Sie uns in Halle 17, Stand 107.
equinux at IFA in Berlin
The team at equinux will be out and about at the IFA consumer electronics unlimited event in Berlin, which runs from 3rd – 8th September.
We’ll be around the Messe Berlin, showing off our TV viewing solutions for the iPhone and iPad.
If you’re at the event, come see The Tube in action at Hauppauge Stand, our OEM partner (Hall 17, Stand 107).
