ChatTrack 1.1.1 on the App Store Now

Get the new version on iTunes and enjoy the benefits below:

* Hear the reminders in your own voice.

* Browse the silmultaneous reminders in a slideshow fashion with real-time notifications even when you’re offline.

* Append a desired emoticon to a row of text, regardless of length and font size in Detail View.

* Rotate or flip the images of Photo Gallery, preview the results, or undo the changes via the iOS Asset Library.

* Get the app icon and the buttons on the Reminder+ screen in a simpler look.

* Improve the stability with ongoing bug fixes.

Say It with Quick Phrases and Emoticons

Show off your charisma with ChatTrack!

Flipping thru Reminder Notifications like a Slideshow

Starting out to fix some reminder bugs, the solution turns out to be a reminder browser with real-time notifications in a slideshow fasion. It will be in the coming release of 1.1.1 for ChatTrack. What a way to spend a long weekend!

Thread Your Chats Your Way for Rapid Search

Although ChatTrack will dynamically group the chats by participants for you, you can mark the specific ones with the same emoticon so you and your friends can find them together in one flick.

Download your ChatTrack for free from iTunes now!

ChatTrack Live! In App Store for Free Download!

Here it is - ChatTrack showed up on the iTunes App Store. A dream came true, six hours after the approval email from Apple, and twelve hours after the resubmission. The moment was magical, a surge of pride and joy from a two-month bumpy ride.

The first submission was a combination of subscription and consumable model. We rejected it after getting a more-review-time required email. While changing to a combination of non-consumable and consumable model, we also repositioned the app. Then we got a phone call on the way to Cape Cod for summer vacation and agreed on a tiered consumable model. We submitted the Plus, Pro, Plus-to-Pro plans for in-app purchases along with more features and new sets of logo graphics. The model was approved but an in-app-purchase bug was reported. We finally find the right ways to test by using a new test account per device with not-signed-in store setting. This time we resubmitted along with new graphics on the main screen of Reminder+ module. The moment my partner told me the good news, I checked the email and updated the availability date to today the 16th immediately. I was caught by surprise for the quick resolution. Now the new challenges will be making the app better and listening to the users.

ChatTrack is now the on the front page under the iPhone>Social Networking>Free category with release date on the 17th:

ChatTrack Waits for Approval from iTunes Connect

After the first submission to iTunes Connect, the second wind kept us working more on ChatTrack. Surely there were enough changes piled up in the next 10 hours. So we did a developer reject, submitted the new binary at midnight, and back to waiting for review. Now the internal group ID will keep related conversations in the same thread with precision. With Keith’s flowchart on iTunes Connect Status on hand, the operation was very smooth. We didn’t mind the unrelenting fine-tuning and testing because this is the app that we believe in.

ChatTrack at Mass Innovation Nights #min28

We ran into the founder, Bobbie C, right at the entrance of Isabella Products for real-time photo sharing. It was a nice catch-up. Then we quickly set up the demo. While juggling for the best position, the tall poster board fell twice, each time with a scary loud bang. Well, it was better than no attention. Actually it did turn lots of heads.

The exhibit space was laid out with attractions for visitors to mingle. It was packed so no one felt left out. Thumbs up for Bobbie and Emily.

We came with the least expectation, but left with more confidence in ChatTrack. It offers so many eye-catching features that we can do show-and-tell on the spot. It truly lives up to its tag line: Chat Now and Track Easy.

Managing Graphics for Retinal Display with Adobe Illustrator

After finalizing all the revisions to the 225 graphics for ChatTrack on the regular 320x480 display using Illustrator, it was time to double the sizes and save them with the "@2x" suffix. Since the graphics are read in as arrays with numeric names, they can be quickly processed by the API and iOS for both sizes: 320x480 and 640x960. However, the iOS also controls the gray scale of the buttons on the tab bar. Changing the opacity will lighten them up a bit but the overlapping areas display annoying darker shades. So, we leave them in total black with transparent backgrounds.

The Emoticons in ChatTrack is the Hashtags in Twitter

While showing visitors how easy it was to swap categories during the Mobile Monday Showcase, I could quickly prove my point by following that emoticon. I was very happy about the discovery and then the inspiration came the morning after. I asked Joe if it'd be hard to add the feature to search by emoticon. "It's a piece of cake," he said. Now, you can enjoy the art of using emoticons as hashtags for instant search, markers for subcategories, and telltale signs for attachments.

ChatTrack Team at Mobile Monday Showcase in MIT Museum

In the middle of wrapping up our ChatTrack app for iPhone, we know it's time to generate some buzz about it and test drive all the marketing messages. We applied to demo ChatTrack at the Showcase event in Cambridge. Mobile Monday did not just give us the demoing opportunity, it made us search for more answers from the diverse conversations with the visitors, who touched ChatTrack by hearing the voice notes, saw the results using smileys as clues, and shared the stories behind the slideshows. It was not all about ChatTrack, it was about sharing and understanding. All that fist-hand experience inspired us to add the search-by-smiley feature and to sharpen the messages on our home page. Now we are more determined to be the success story for Mobile Monday and MIT Club than ever.

Finding a New Hosting Service for ChatTrack

It's time to find a hosting service with strong server-side support. After a lot of comparison shopping, we decide to go with the smart dedicated server offered by LiquidWeb. The flexibility to resize the resources we need in a few clicks is just what we need to support the unpredictable traffic that ChatTrack may generate on the Apple's App Store. When it's time to test all our Mod_Perl scripts, we could not believe how smooth the transition is. We are convinced that the LiquidWeb support is the best. The next milestone is to install the push notification certificate. Can you believe it? We get lots of good pointers on a Sunday! Now we can focus on getting ChatTrack to beta before uploading it to the App store.