It's not an iPhone and it's not a the iPad is a groundbreaking new device. You need to create true iPad apps to take advantage of all that is possible with the iPad. If you're an experienced iPhone developer, iPad Programming, will show you how to write these outstanding new apps while completely fitting your users' expectation for this device.
Hold an iPad in your hands and you'll know what the fuss is all about. Select an app and the device disappears as you find yourself immersed in the experience--the iPad defines a new category for devices. iPad Programming shows you how to build apps for the iPad that people will love to use.
This quick-start guide will have you writing iPad apps right away using a combination of the familiar iPhone APIs along with the new APIs and additional templates designed specifically for creating iPad applications.
The iPad has a display that's more than seven times as big as the iPhone. The metaphors are different; the application design is different. Users will be able to interact with your iPad app in new ways. In this book you'll learn to take advantage or the additional real estate and functionality.
Every time you turn around it seems as if there's another ten thousand apps added to the App Store for the iPhone. If you're building iPad-specific apps, it's a brand new day with plenty of opportunity. In this book we don't just teach you to write apps that run on an iPad, we teach you to create apps that delight users because they wouldn't make sense running on any other device.
At time of this review this book is still in "beta", though I've followed its development since the earlier releases. I have to assume it won't change much given that the publication date is apparently less than a month away.
Wins: When I think of the Pragmatic Programmers series, I think of high value purchases with easy to follow examples and clear concept explanations. Great stuff. So if you're already familiar with other Pragmatic Programmers texts this will be as you'd expect. I appreciate how the initial examples start with UITableViews and the new iPad-specific UISplitViewController since many applications will use both of those.
Caveats: You should know Objective-C *before* reading this book, and I would also recommend a primer on iOS (iPhone OS), as well. Much of the content (such as core library usage) will apply to both iPad and iPhone hardware devices, but "iPad Programming" does NOT contain a tutorial on the language itself. "iPhone SDK Development" (purchased from PragProg) and "The Objective-C Programming Language" (free via your Apple Developer Connection membership) are both great primer material.
Even if you know C/C++, Objective-C syntax looks... odd... when you first start, and the dynamic nature will cause you some hair pulling during the early learning process. If you're coming from Java or C/C++ and just grab this book and jump straight into the deep end, expect some frustration. If you're already a little familiar with Xcode, iOS and/or Objective-C, though, iPad Programming will do you just fine. :)
There’s been a frenzy of app building for iPhone. Everyone wants to cash into the free for all. Now, with iPad, app developers are eager for renewed sales of their work to this new market.
Apps that work on iPhone work on iPad. With that said, iPad is not iPhone and vice versa. If you create an app for one, it will work on the other but it won’t be perfect. With iPad there are unique challenges to make the pictures look sharp and to deal with both the horizontal and vertical views. Then, there’s the differences in gesture range between the two media.
iPad Programming cautions app developers who think that their original iPhone app will work just fine on iPad. Yes, it will work but attention to detail may make the difference between an okay app and a really good one. A few easy little changes can really make a difference.