PhoneGap-Plugin-Push Version 1.4.0 Has Been Released

The latest release of the PushPlugin is now available on npm. This release is the long awaited release that is fully tested with iOS9. I was able to test on an iPhone 6+ running iOS 8.4.1, iPod Touch running iOS 9.0.2 and an iPad Air 2 running iOS 9.1.0. Please let me know if you run into any problems with this release.

On Android the switch over to using Gradle is now complete. The deprecated gcm.jar has been removed from the plugin and replaced with the Google Play Services GCM framework. Even better news is that PhoneGap Build now supports Gradle builds.

The big feature that people have been clamoring for is background or silent notifications. It is now possible for your 'notification' event handler to run when you app is in the background on iOS and Android (support for Windows coming soon).

1.4.0 (2015-10-27)

Full Changelog
Implemented enhancements:

• Use Google's InstanceID API #188

Closed issues:

• How to handle a re-installed app? #203
• interactive push notifications? #266
• Empty registrationId Android #265
• Run callback when clicking of notification body #261
• Android BUILD FAILED #251
• Re-register #250
• how to work in background ? #249
• installing plugin #244
• No Sound and vibration #242
• Unable to build apk #241
• still having problems with build. #239
• Registering on iOS 9 #238
• Custom sound repeated multiple times on Android #237
• Android: status bar notification is not shown #236
• Multiple Push Notifications - phonegap build #234
• error: cannot find symbol String token = InstanceID.getInstance(getApplicationContext()).getToken(senderID, GCM); #231
• Problem using "ledColor" and "VibrationPattern" #229
• Notification event receive, but not notification showing on android #228
• Events for registration not being fired #227
• 'registration' event not firing on windows phone #224
• Can i subscribe to a topic in using plugin? #219
• GCMIntentService.java:472: error: cannot find symbol iconColor #217
• Push Plugin registering on iOS 9 Devices but not showing Notification #216
• Receiving a notification "outside app" while in it? #213
• iOS push not working for device tokens when spaces removed #212
• Error: Plugin PushPlugin failed to install. #210
• Build error #205
• Android push.on('registration', cb) fires correctly on device, but not in emulator. #204
• 1.3.0 version not compatible with "crosswalk" by PGB #199
• How to get data on didReceiveNotification Background Process #198
• PushNotification is not defined in some devices #196
• not getting notifications on the Android device #195
• Installation Errors #186
• IOS: on registration fired twice #185
• Build failed with exit code 8 #184
• iOS: Not able to schedule local notification after adding the plugin #183
• How to show multiple notifications individually in android? #181
• iOS init option type #180
• Building for Android is a quest #179
• How do i tell if the user open the app by tapping the notification? #176
• IOS custom push sound when app is in background #175
• Hi guys please post full working procedure, I'm not able to get registration id also. Please help #174
• Has anyone tested this plugin on windows? #173

My PhoneGap Day US Talk on Speech Recognition

Back in July I went out to Portland to talk at PhoneGap Day US. The video has just become available so I figured I would post it up here. The talk I did at PhoneGap Day EU is very similar to this one with a bit of updated information and mostly new jokes.

My PhoneGap Presentation to Ottawa JS

So on Wednesday night I did my Introduction to PhoneGap/Apache Cordova (GitHub repo) presentation for Ottawa JS at the beautiful Shopify lounge. I've given this presentation a ton of times so I decided to give it a twist this time around.

The first thing I did was convert my old slide deck into a reveal.js presentation. Then I popped all the assets into a PhoneGap iPad project to see how it looked. Well, reveal.js looks and works great on an iPad.

At this point I started to get fancy. When I got to the part of the presentation where I would usually switch from the presentation software to Eclipse/Xcode to show the code and emulator I decided to call out to PhoneGap to take a picture instead. All I needed to do was include cordova.js in the app and make a call to Camera.getPicture and the results were:

this is my view from the stage

the view from the audience

And Darren took a picture of me taking the picture, while the picture I was taking was being put up on the big screen which is also in this picture. So I was able to do a presentation on PhoneGap in a PhoneGap app calling the PhoneGap API. It got meta pretty damn quick!

Before you Upgrade to iTunes 10

I thought I was getting ahead of the game by upgrading to iTunes 10 in advance of the release of iOS 4.1. I was awaiting the new iOS version in order to fix some slow down issues on my older iPhone 3G.  This morning I decided it was time for the big upgrade and well it could've gone smoother.

After my phone was flattened with the new OS it refused to connect to iTunes.  The reason for this was quite simple, the iPodService.exe would not start on my Windows XP SP3 computer.  I did a quick search on the web and I discovered I was not the only person with this problem.

Luckily a fix was suggested.  The process is as follows:

1. Uninstall iTunes 10
2. Install iTunes 9.2.1
3. After the install, copy the "C:\Program Files\iPod" folder to an alternate location.
4. Uninstall iTunes 9.2.1
5. Install iTunes 10
6. When the error pops up during installation, overwrite C:\Program Files\iPod with the previously copied folder.
7. The install will complete successfully and iTunes 10 will run normally.

Basically, the older version of iPodService.exe does not have the same bug as the one in iTunes 10.  By using this procedure I was able to complete the upgrade of my phone to iOS 4.1 and get it out of the bricked state it was in.  No word yet on when Apple will be providing a fix but they are looking into it.

Note: Friends of mine who sync their iPhone to a Mac do not have this problem with iTunes 10.

Use Your iPhone to Pay at 1,000 Starbucks

From Mashable: The myStarbucks iPhone app can now be used to pay for your order at Starbucks locations embedded in Target all over the USA. No word yet on when this app will be available in Canada.

New Tim Horton iPhone App, Horton’s Finder

The iPhoneInCanada Blog has a review of the new Horton Finder app from Majestic Media. The app is used to find your nearest Tim Horton's and is available for free until December 15th.

Should you Bother with the Starbucks iPhone App?

Seattle Weekly give you 5 reasons why you should pick up the Starbucks iPhone app.

Guest Post over at The League of Melbotis

Over at Ryan's blog, The League of Melbotis you can find my guest post where I ruminate about digital comics for the iPhone. Specifically Irredeemable by Mark Waid produced by BOOM! Studios.

Starbucks Launches 2 iPhone Apps

Starbucks has launched two iPhone apps. The first is called myStarbucks which helps you locate a store and build your own drink. The second called Starbucks Card Mobile is more interesting as it turns your iPhone into a Starbucks payment card. With the app you can check your balance, scan the bar code on the screen to pay for drinks and of course it entitles you to 2 free hours of wi-fi per day at any Starbucks. Sadly neither app seems to be available in the Canadian app store but you know how to get around that limitation, right?

The iPhone App I Wish Tim Horton's Had

Mashable has a good article on Dunkin Run. This iPhone app allows you to keep track of coffee orders when you next run out for coffee at Dunkin Donuts. It even saves past orders so you can easily re-create a past run. Of course, it has the ubiquitous store finder feature as well.

For those of us in Canada we'll have to make do with Timmy Me for now.

Auto Login your iPhone to Starbucks Wireless

No word on whether we'll get a similar deal here in Canada. The crux of the matter is Rogers sells the iPhone but Bell does the wifi for Starbucks.

Coffee Buzz Review

About two weeks ago I approached the fine folks at Kisky about getting a review copy of their iPhone application, Coffee Buzz. Happily Katie at Kisky got back to me with a promo code for Coffee Buzz.

I've been using it for about two weeks now and I can say that I'm pretty impressed. The user interface is nice and clean and the application doesn't do a lot but it does it well. Coffee Buzz can be used to find local coffee shops by accessing the GPS chip in your iPhone. It does it quite well, better in fact than other apps like Where. It even finds the Tim Horton's here at work.

It also has a tight integration with Twitter and allows you to select which type of brew you are drinking and tweet it and your location along with a short message. The only thing I don't like, and it is a minor quibble, is that tea is not one of the 10 built in drinks.

At $0.99 it is a useful app for coffee and twitter addicts like me.

The Ultimate iPhone App for Canadians

Well this has to be the most perfect iPhone app for us Canadians. TimmyMe is the quickest way to find a Tim Horton's using your iPhone's built in GPS. Best of all the application is free!

My only question is why isn't there a similar app for Starbucks.

Always Postpone Meetings...

One of my favourite quotes from Scott Adams, creator of Dilbert, is to Always postpone meetings with time wasting morons.

However many of us can't be as rude as Mr. Adams as we don't have his truckloads of money. So instead we have to show up for meetings or social functions we don't really have the time for or want to participate in. I'm sure some of you out there have even setup a safety phone call with a friend in order to get you out of a meeting or date.

That's where the iPhone comes in and it's killer app, the Clock! The Clock has a great feature called the Timer. You set the timer to count down for X number of minutes. Once the timer reaches zero your phone begins to ring. At this point your acting skills come into play:

Hello
Pause
What do you mean a group of atheist, vegetarian, motor cycle riding U.S. mortgage company CEO's are tearing up the front lawn with their hogs?
Pause
I'll be right over!

You might want to have an excuse in your head as you go into the meeting as not everyone is as fast on their feet as I am.