V22.0480 - iPhone Programming - Spring 2009
Final Assignment
[a work in progress - check back for updates & changes]

i P h o n e   A p p

In this assignment, you will create an iPhone App that is (potentially) worthy of being uploaded to the iPhone App Store. You may work either alone or with a single partner. I must be informed (in writing) by Wednesday, April 8th of what app you have chosen to write, and who your partner is (if any). [If you so desire, you could also plausibly bring in a designer from the outside to help you with the graphics. Obviously, that designer would have to be given acknowledgement by you.]

The top apps will be presented at the Computer Science Demo Show which will be held this year on Wednesday, May 6th on the 13th Floor of Warren Weaver. This exciting event presents the best work the Department has to offer to the entire faculty, graduate students, undergrads, and invited guests.

Due Dates (NO EXTENSIONS):


Here are some basic ideas for the project. Try to be creative and have fun during this process.

Your iPhone App should be interesting, novel, and unique. Obviously with 30,000+ Apps in the store, there may be an existing App which already has some of the functionality that you envision, but you can surely find some way to differentiate your project.

Any type of App is OK as along as it follows Apple's general guidelines and is rated "G" or "PG". You can create a game, a utility, a business app, a musical instrument, a social/ location aware app, educational tools, a reference app, etc., etc. Your app should include more than one View, have some type of animation that you create (i.e., something other than Apple's built-in View changes, buttons, Alerts, etc.), and include sound. Make certain that it is not only interesting from a technical standpoint, but that it also elegantly serves its purpose. And, of course, it should look dazzling since that is part of the Apple culture. (Hence, the recommendation that you might consider getting help on your graphics.) Finally, you should explore some area of the SDK that WE HAVE NOT COVERED IN CLASS. Part of being a professional programmer is the ability to read documentation and do research on your own. This is your opportunity to do so. The iPhone has so many interesting facets and so many APIs which support its capabilities that you should have no problem finding something to explore in an inventive manner.

There are many, many resources on the Apple Developer's site and on the Web which may be of value to you. Use them. If you are allowed by an author to use a particular method or package that he/she has created, you may do so, but make certain that you give credit to your source. Of course, it is absolutely paramount that the resulting project should still be substantially your own work.

Detailed Project Description and Due dates:

Description of Task
Due Date
Details
iPhone App Proposal Class Presentation Monday, April 13th (the next class session will also be used if we run out of time)
  • Your Presentation should be done as a KeyNote (or PowerPoint) presentation. It should include an initial iPhone App proposal, the basic logic of the App, the intended audience, and the technical specifications. You should rehearse this presentation ahead of time so that you can present it in a professional manner within the four minute allotment. It should cover the major points of the written proposal (described below).
iPhone App Written Proposal Due Friday, April 17th by midnight
  • Your proposal MUST include all of the items included in this file
  • You need to email the TA by 4/17(midnight) with this proposal.
iPhone Logo, Screenshot, Two paragraph description Due Friday, April 25th by midnight
  • This is essentially the same information which is presented in the iTunes App Store.
  • Your Logo should look professional, and be in 512 x 512 pixel format
  • Your Description should be no longer than 2 paragraphs. It should be concise, appealing and accurate. It also should be written using beautiful English, and be well proofed.
  • Your "Screenshot" should have the iPhone graphics around it. If you have more than one screen, select your most typical and/or best looking screen.
  • Send this directly to nathan [at] cs [dot] nyu [dot] edu
iPhone Project Demo presentations:

Due Monday, May 4th during the Last Class

(Note that we will probably extend the class until 6:00 if the room is available.)

 
  • The Project is Due May 4th during class. You (along with you partner if you have one) will give a 10 minute presentation. You may either demonstrate your iPhone App on the Simulator, or (preferably) on your actual iPhone or iTouch (which we will project).
  • During the presentations, all students will be participating in grading project presentations based upon the quality of the presentation, the iPhone App itself, the structure and design of your code, and your documentation of the code and the project at large.
CS Department Demo Show Wednesday, May 6th, 5pm-8pm (time approx), WWH, 13th floor lounge Showcase our Winning iPhone Projects for the CS department
iPhone App and Documentation Submission Deadline

Wednesday, May 6th, 11:59 p.m.

(NO extensions)

All Documentation (TBA) and the iPhone App code submitted to our TA

Projects will be judged on:

Finally, a word of advice: It is very easy to become excited about a project which may take months of work and which could outlast this class. If you have such an idea, go for it! Just make certain that you can create some subset of your project that can be up and running within the month's time we have. So, if there is some functionality missing from your Grand Project, we will be understanding. Just make certain that your project actually runs and does something that is still interesting.

Here are some projects which came out of last Fall's Stanford University iPhone class. All of these have had major additional work done on them since the end of the class. Check them out: They are very clever. (But, I am sure we can outshine them!)

http://www.stanfordiphoneclassapps.com/

Also, as a hint, here is a site that showcases Apps made by Stanford students for Stanford students! http://www.stanford.edu/dept/registrar/student apps/ and also http://www.terriblyclever.com/

Make Certain to Email Your reports and projects to Adrian Secord, at: s9048004 [at] cs [dot] nyu [edu]