We've heard buzz about improvements to Apple's release process resulting in shorter review periods, but this is the first time we've experienced it directly.
Last night, we submitted a major update of our addictive game Pig Rush to Apple for review. At 7:17 PM we received the standard notice that it was Waiting for Review:
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The top Bible reference guide on the iTunes App Store keeps getting better. Bible Promises version 1.6 has just been released, and is available as a free download to all existing Bible Promises users.
Since the original 1.0 launch, users have been asking us for more ways to share promises with their friends and family members, and we've been listening. For version 1.6, we've implemented a new Sharing page which easily allows users to send promises to their loved ones via email and SMS, through Facebook Connect, or to copy a verse to the clipboard to paste in a note or other application.
It was great to see Steve Jobs demoing Pig Rush on the new iPad at the launch event 
We are proud to say that we got a awesome review on our iPhone game pigrush on Aol Video and YouTube by iPawdKid!
It's quite detailed and has instructions on how to play. If you haven't played PigRush here you can see how the game actually works and looks like.
Many thanks to the reviewer, and we promise to bring many exciting updates to PigRush in 2010! Did you know there is a secret way to play pigrush with a reigndeer christmas mode? You just shake your iphone when you are in the menu - screen until you hear the bells ring.... Try it out and see what happens!
As the end of the year approaches, we though we'd highlight the most popular articles on our blog from 2009. It's clear you enjoyed our "how-to" style articles, so we'll definitely have more in 2010!
1. Using your own SQLite database in Android applications Fluxa explained how to get SQLite working on Android.
2. Liven up your boring UITableView: part 1 Matt gave a basic introduction to styling Table Views for the iPhone platform
3. From bytes to beats, Digital to Analog Conversion using AS3-Arduino Fluxa built a digital to analog converter with Arduino
4. App Store update: what does it mean for your app? Steve analyzed the latest changes on the iTunes App Store
5. Updating your iPhone app for Christmas Steve explained how we updated our apps for Christmas
6. Google AppEngine vs Amazon EC2 Todd compared two cloud computing platforms
7. Design an iPhone app in 15 minutes… then build and publish it in a day! Matt explained how we made 'Save Me!' in a day
8. Highlight your site’s hot content with the Google Analytics API Matt's tutorial on creating a "what's hot" section on your site
9. Make your blog weather-interactive in 6 easy steps Anna explains how to skin Wordpress depending on current weather conditions
10. Building faster websites by reducing HTTP requests: three techniques Matt on how to build a speedy website
Over the weekend, Apple quietly made a major design update to the App Store. On the surface, these changes seem purely aesthetic.
Users will notice that app pages now focus on the visuals, and a cleaner white background makes everything easier to read. The content that's important to most users - images, ratings, and company links - are now much more prominent.
If you're a developer selling your app through the App Store however, these changes will have a significant impact on how you present and market your app.
So, what's changed and what should you consider doing about it?
In preparation for a talk I was going to give at the last Shanghai Barcamp, I converted a Flash animation class by Grant Skinner to the HTML5 <canvas /> tag. Sadly, I didn't have time to finish the demo before the event so I've decided to post it here with a breakdown on the conversion process from Flash -> web standards.
Follow these steps to have your wordpress-blog's design change according to the users local daytime and weather.
The first step explains how to modify the default wordpress theme. If you don't have a wordpress blog, or use a different theme, skip to step 2!
1. Access your wordpress-blog theme
First we will make a copy of the default theme to create your own theme, so that your changes wont be overwritten with the next wordpress- update:
On your server where your blog is located go into the folder "wp-content" and copy the "default" theme and rename it into something sensible, like "weathertheme". In your blog's admin-area on the left menu under "Appearance" activate your new theme. Change the read-write permissions for the "weathertheme"-folder on your FTP-server as explained on the wordpress-codex to 777. Now you are able to edit your theme's CSS and PHP files, best done from the editor in the admin-area under "Appearance">"Editor".
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There seems to be a bit of a tradition in which many developers update their iPhone apps or games for the Christmas season. Whether the update consists of new artwork, adding a Santa Claus, Christmas music, or even creating a completely new Christmas app, everyone seems to be getting in on the Christmas spirit, and expressing it through their iPhone apps.
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We're happy to announce that the ReignDesign team is a proud sponsor of this year's Barcamp Shanghai! We attended the previous Barcamp Shanghai in June, and held a very fun and insightful workshop on designing an iPhone app in fifteen minutes.
We'll be providing refreshments, and our team will be giving presentations on mobile technology, and some of the fun and interesting stuff we do here at ReignDesign. We'll be tweeting live from the event, and will have a Twitter station available for all attendees to post their thoughts.
BarCamp Shanghai takes place on this Saturday, December 5th, from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. For more information, be sure to check out the BarCamp Shanghai website.
Hope to see you there!