illumineX releases iBlogger 3 for iPhone and iPad prMac
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[prMac.com] Missoula, Montana – The first release of iBlogger 3 is available now on the iOS App Store. iBlogger 3 has been completely redesigned to support native screen sizes on iPad for the first time, as well as on iPhone. This is an all-new implementation of iBlogger written from scratch in Apple’s Swift 5 programming language for iOS 13 for dramatically improved performance, stability, and security in the product.
“We literally had to kill iBlogger 2, to make iBlogger 3 possible,” said illumineX CEO Gary W. Longsine. “iBlogger was always a labor of love, and consequently didn’t get as much attention as we wanted to give it. We decided to pull it from App Store to make time to start over from scratch with a new technology foundation for the future. Long live iBlogger 3!”
The all new iBlogger 3 project began with a conversation about a problem: engineering review determined that long term goals for modernizing the product could be reached sooner if the team started over, from scratch.
Some desired future features, notably fluid support for many new iPhone and iPad screen sizes, required substantial refactoring, if the starting position was the existing Objective-C codebase. Other planned features would be facilitated by migrating the code base to Apple’s newer programming language, Swift. Handling time-boxed updates in the existing product required early double the engineering effort, as compared with starting over, from scratch. A clean slate redesign meant that certain features would come essentially free.
The problem was that the existing product was about to become non-viable. Apple would soon require fluid support for iPad screen sizes. This and other changes meant that illumineX faced a tough choice: keep iBlogger on App Store and live with the existing codebase for years, or take it off the market, take our lumps with the users, and build a new product from scratch.
illumineX chose to rebuild iBlogger from scratch, to lay a new foundation for the future of the product. The product would continue to work for existing users as long as circumstances permitted, but no more updates would be forthcoming until the new product was built.
illumineX began the iBlogger 3 effort by setting a few goals for the project, similar to those a typical enterprise or government client might set when refactoring an enterprise mobile app. Adding “cloud services” isn’t enough. It’s important to begin by re-thinking the app purpose and core requirements. illumineX set three top level goals for the iBlogger project: monetization, modern UX/UI design, and technology refactoring.
* Monetization – iBlogger previously suffered a bit from being a “spare time” project, and illumineX believes that the product and customers will be better served with a new revenue model which allows for the application to support its own continued development. A free download must be available with core features so that people can test out the application with their blog. A subscription should be available to provide a revenue stream which will enable new features to be considered for the future product roadmap which would be otherwise out of reach.
* Minimalist UX Design – iBlogger should sport a modern, minimalist interface design, work well in both Light Mode and Dark Mode, provide fluid support for all iPhone and iPad screen sizes, and provide a content-forward mobile blogging experience including support for Siri voice transcription for easy creation of blog content.
* Technology Update – The new release should provide a foundation for iBlogger for the next decade using modern tools including Swift, modern API including OAuth for secure authentication, and JSON/REST for robust communication between iBlogger and blogging platforms like WordPress, Google Blogger, and other modern CMS systems.
illumineX brought iBlogger through the same design, marketing, and engineering re-think process that the company uses to help their clients. The result is the all new product delivered this week to the Mac App Store. It takes quite a bit of effort to make software seem simple. Starting over with a clean sheet of paper made that possible for a small team.
In order to get to that clean sheet design, illumineX stripped out all non-essential features, leaving a core text-only blogging experience, for the first release. Customers are encouraged to let illumineX know about new features they would like to see in iBlogger by sending an email (see the “info” button in iBlogger 3 for the support email address).
Using the same Agile development process they use for clients, illumineX designed, prototyped, reviewed in marketing focus groups, and refactored through multiple development iterations. As you can see in the EyeSpy app today this process was able to produce an In-App Purchase experience which seamlessly integrates finding and purchasing new characters for the app.
illumineX believes that blogging is more important than ever. “We like social media walled-garden platforms, too, but blogging is brilliant for small businesses and artists where creativity and control over your marketing options are paramount.” illumineX CEO Gary Longsine added, “For society as a whole, free expression of long-form complex thoughts are essential to a vibrant democracy. We see a bright future for mobile blogging.”
The iterative design and marketing review process also revealed a fourth import goal: social media sharing. Sharing was the most requested feature from every focus group. illumineX showed early versions of the app to over 50 people and almost everyone asked the same question: How can I share the cartoons?Even though it wasn’t originally specified, sharing was added as a top level goal for the project on the basis of this feedback.
iBlogger Features – This new release brings a number of features to iBlogger for the first time:
* The iBlogger 3 interface works fluidly on all iPhone and iPad models (iOS 13 minimum required)
* iBlogger now emits HTML5 compliant HTML for modern blog posts which facilitates easy blog styling with CSS
* iBlogger uses OAuth for secure, convenient, standards-compliant authentication to blogs
* iBlogger 3 communicates with blogs via the modern JSON/REST protocols which are more reliable and secure than legacy blog protocols
The first release of iBlogger 3 is compatible with WordPress.com blogs only. WordPress was selected as the first blog platform for iBlogger compatibility because it’s the most popular blog platform, hosting over 60 million blogs, more than all other CMS (Content Management Systems) combined.
Device Requirements:
* iOS 13 or iPadOS 13 or higher
* iPhone or iPad
Pricing and Availability:
iBlogger 3 is a free download available worldwide exclusively through App Store for iPhone and iPad in the Social Networking category. After you download iBlogger, tap the ” ” button to add your first blog. iBlogger’s financial model has been modernized to a free download and a subscription offering via In-App Purchase. illumineX is available to help your enterprise or government organization rethink, redesign, and refactor your enterprise mobile apps. For more information, please contact Gary Longsine.
illumineX makes great mobile and cloud software systems for enterprise, government, and startup clients. illumineX is committed to delivering quality software products for macOS and iOS. The App Store is the best resume. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2020 illumineX, inc. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.
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