IGG Developers’ Blog

I just wanted to give an update.  We are working hard on iBank integration with the iPhone.  We have the shell of an application up and running. Some of the infrastructure is in place and we are working to finish the rest.  The big item for this next week is hooking up the database.

We got a lot of feedback about syncing via MobileMe verses directly with the local machine. They each have there pros and cons which I will try to sum up. MobileMe can provide a constantly synced experience so you never have to think about it. Syncing locally is free and you do not have to worry about the dangerous internet.

Everyone wants to know which one are we going to support?  The good news is that we are going to try an implement both. We have started with MobileMe because there are more moving parts. We have a first pass working from the phone and we are going to move onto hooking up the database. Once we have a fully functional prototype then we are going to loopback and add local machine syncing. So if I mention MobileMe (or dotMac or iDisk because I am old school) syncing it is not because that is the only version we are going to do, it is just the first that we have working.  Please keep your comments coming it does help us to make better decisions.

Thanks,

James

But, I am here to say that I am working full time on an iPhone app to work with iBank.  Now, I have been in the industry to long enough to remember that Windows 98 was originally Windows 97.  I also remember Apple’s cool next generation OS, Copeland, which would ship in the 20th century.  I think that promising something that you might not deliver sends the wrong message to loyal customers.  That was the reason for the long silence on the iPhone.  However, now that we have the resources in place to deliver something, it is time to break the silence.

We are working on a native iPhone app that will work with iBank.  We are in late stages of deciding what the features are for the first version.  I have written some of the the early foundational code that the iPhone app will use.  Many people have asked for a time line.  That is always a really hard thing to answer.  I plan on updating the blog about once a week or so on the current state of the iPhone app.  I am shooting to have something to show in January.  Please take these as estimates, if I go 8 days without updating the blog please don’t hate me.  If it slips until February please know that this is my top priority but sometime schedules slip.  Now let me try to answer some questions before they are asked.

Q) Will it be a native iPhone application?

A) Yes!

Q) Will it connect with iBank and sync data?

A) Yes, but we are still working on the details. For example will you need some server account like MobileMe or does it sync directly from the phone to the computer.

Q) Will I be able to edit data on the iPhone?

A) Yes, but we are still working on exactly what that data is.  Not all of the data in iBank will be able to be on the phone.  Some people have 10 years or more of data so we will be working with a subset of data on the phone.  How much and what types we are still working out.

Q) Will it support feature X like iBank?

A) iBank has a huge number of features and everyone has their favorite.  Certainly, the iPhone app will not support all of them.  We do not have a definitive list, but we are confident that v1.0 will satisfy the needs of most users wanting to track their finances on their phone.  Even so, a feature on the phone will most likely work differently than a feature on the Mac.  We want to make a great iPhone app, not port iBank to the phone.

Q) When will it ship?

A) My favorite game company, Blizzard, always gives the best answer to this question. “When it is ready.”  That is about all I can say at this point.  We do have a milestone in January to have a functional app to demo and get feed back on but beyond that it is too early to tell.

I just wanted to introduce myself.  I started with IGG in October and I am very excited to be here.  I have been a Macintosh developer for 14 years and love working on it and the iPhone.