Matt Legend Gemmell's dashboard

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "Pop up flies off edge of screen" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on June 24, 2009 17:30 to the problem "Pop up flies off edge of screen" in Instinctive Code:

Hi Joe,

Sorry for the trouble you're having. This issue occurs due to a change in iPhone OS 3.0. I've already fixed it in version 1.0.9 of Favorites, which has been submitted to Apple for approval. As soon as they approve it, you'll get it as a free update in iTunes.

Best,
-Matt

Matt Legend Gemmell posted an update in Instinctive Code on June 23, 2009 15:46:

Favorites 1.0.9 will have a new icon

Hi all,

Just a note that the icon for Favorites will change in version 1.0.9. It's still the same application, and the updates are still free etc - only the icon will change slightly. I just thought I'd best let you know in case anyone was puzzled after the next update is approved by Apple.

Cheers,
-Matt

Matt Legend Gemmell posted an update in Instinctive Code on June 18, 2009 13:13:

Known Issue: Extra alert when calling numbers on iPhone OS 3.0

Hi all,

There's a known issue with iPhone OS 3.0 which affects any third-party application that dials phone-numbers; this of course includes Favorites.

Apple had added an extra confirmation window when dialing a number; it basically shows the number about to be dialled, and asks the user if they're sure they want to proceed. This was presumably added in an attempt to protect users again fraudulent calls to expensive numbers. Note that this alert only affects phonecalls; it doesn't appear for SMS messages or emails.

The thing is, the developer documentation states that this alert will NOT be shown for apps which initiate calls directly (as Favorites does). However, clearly either the developer documentation is incorrect or there's a bug in iPhone OS 3.0.

Since this extra alert happens at the system level whenever a call is initiated by any third-party app, we're currently powerless to get rid of it. We've already raised the issue as a bug with Apple (as have the developers of several other iPhone applications), and we're awaiting a response and a fix or workaround for the issue. As soon as such a workaround is available, we'll of course immediately update Favorites (if necessary).

This is a frustrating state of affairs for everyone; for us just as much as for users of Favorites, believe me. It's our hope that Apple will provide a way to get rid of this annoying alert soon.

Regarding OS 3.0 compatibility in general, there were also some visual issues with the Overlay which have now been fixed in the new version 1.0.9 of Favorites, which I submitted to Apple on Sunday 14th June 2009, and which should be available in iTunes as soon as it's approved.

Best,
-Matt

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on June 14, 2009 19:35 to the problem "Does not work with iPhone Beta 3.0 - Please fix" in Instinctive Code:

Hi John,

It's frustrating, isn't it? Apple added this confirmation dialog in the beta versions of iPhone OS 3.0, despite their documentation saying explicitly that the confirmation would only be shown if the number was dialed from a WebView (which Favorites doesn't use).

Several other iPhone developers have been bitten by this issue. It's been reported to Apple, so they are aware of it, but until Apple provides a fix there's unfortunately nothing I can do to work around it.

Rest assured, as soon as it's possible to get rid of that confirmation dialog (which is shown by the OS itself, not by Favorites), I'll of course do so.

Regarding OS 3.0 compatibility in general, there were also some visual issues with the Overlay which have now been fixed in the new version 1.0.9 of Favorites, which I've submitted to Apple today (Sunday 14th June 2009).

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on June 14, 2009 19:32 to the question "Why iPhone favorites cannot be automatically added to Favorites?" in Instinctive Code:

Hi Tom,

We're working on adding more pages of favorites.

We unfortunately can't automatically add any favorite numbers from the standard Phone application because Apple doesn't provide an API to let third-party applications access that information. As and when a suitable API becomes available, I'll happily add that feature.

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "Poor contrast on details screen" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on March 23, 2009 11:35 to the idea "Poor contrast on details screen" in Instinctive Code:

Hi Paul,
I heard a similar thing from someone else too. I agree that grey on black isn't very high-contrast. I'll be changing it in the next version (1.0.9) to be more readable.

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "How does it know which phone number to dial?" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on March 23, 2009 11:34 to the question "How does it know which phone number to dial?" in Instinctive Code:

Hi Tony,

You don't need two entries for the same contact. You can choose which phone number to use as the default number for each favorite (the contact's "mobile" number will be initially set as the default, if the contact has one).

You can also choose which number to use as the default for SMS, and which email address to use as the default for emailing. You're free to customise these settings for each favorite individually. For example, I use my brother's "mobile" number as the default for his favorite, but I use my mother's "home" number as the default for hers.

When you trigger the Overlay for a favorite, you can also easily show the full list of that contact's phone numbers or email addresses, in case you want to temporarily use a number other than the one you choose as the default.

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "Fewer contacts fill up the screen?" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on January 21, 2009 18:04 to the question "Fewer contacts fill up the screen?" in Instinctive Code:

Hi Diego,

Yes, if you have only 4 favorites, they will fill the screen (they'll be shown in a 2x2 grid). 5-9 favorites will show in a 3x3 grid (so that exactly 9 will fill the screen), and 10-16 favorites will show in the 4x4 grid you've seen in screenshots of Favorites (so that exactly 16 will fill the screen).

Basically, your favorites will automatically move and resize themselves as you add and remove them, to try to fill the screen as much as possible. I did this to avoid large blank spaces if you prefer to have fewer than 16 favorites.

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on January 14, 2009 14:20 to the idea "improve the layouts" in Instinctive Code:

Hi there,

I'd be happy to enhance the favorites grid display. Which particular appearance are you looking for, or do you mean you'd like the option of several as in the app you linked to?

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on December 18, 2008 15:38 to the idea "There should be a way of distinguishing the person behind the generic icon" in Instinctive Code:

Hi there,

That's a good idea. I already added this feature whilst Favorites is launching (i.e. before the contacts' images have loaded), but you're right that it could be handy for contacts without images at all times (if you have names hidden). I'll be happy to add this to a future release.

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "There should be a way of distinguishing the person behind the generic icon" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on December 18, 2008 15:36 to the problem "Can't sent SMS" in Instinctive Code:

Hi there,

Can you tell me if you're by any chance using a jailbroken iPhone and a third-party SMS application like iRealSMS? I've had reports that iRealSMS doesn't properly deal with encoded SMS URLs.

If so, then this is an issue with iRealSMS and not Favorites (Favorites simply launches appropriate "sms:" URLs to trigger SMS messages, which is the Apple-sanctioned way to do it). The author of iRealSMS has already been informed of that bug, and will hopefully fix it soon.

If however you're using the standard Apple-supplied SMS application on a non-jailbroken iPhone, let me know and we can look into it. For what it's worth, I have several SMS numbers with explicit +44 UK country-codes in front of them, and they work just fine with Favorites and the built-in SMS app.

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "Can't sent SMS" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on December 09, 2008 13:25 to the idea "Faster startup?" in Instinctive Code:

Hi all,

Favorites 1.0.6 is now available (as of Tuesday 9th December) via iTunes. This version shows you the names of your contacts whilst their images are still loading, even if you've disabled showing the names normally.

Matt Legend Gemmell set one of Matt Legend Gemmell's replies as an official response to "home button open shortcut" in Instinctive Code

Matt Legend Gemmell replied on December 02, 2008 19:22 to the question "home button open shortcut" in Instinctive Code:

Hi there,

This is quite a common request, but unfortunately it's impossible (for now). Apple completely controls what happens when you double-press the Home button, and there's no way to override it in the current iPhone SDK.

I've already submitted a feature-request to Apple to allow users to choose third-party apps like Favorites to be launched when the Home button is double-pressed. If and when that ability becomes available, Favorites will certainly support it!