The MacTrack – iPhone, iPod, iPod Touch and Mac News

Madrid, Spain – LateNiteSoft has just announced the release of Sketches 1.7 through Apple’s App Store. The latest update of the popular drawing app for the iPhone and iPod Touch takes advantage of some of the new features in version 3.0 of iPhone firmware to provide a better user experience. In addition, a “redo” option has been added and the zoom feature has been improved. Existing customers can download the update for free, whereas new users can purchase a full license of Sketches for just $4.99 / 3.99 €.

For users running iPhone Firmware 3.0 or later, drawings in Sketches 1.7 can now be emailed from within the application, instead of having to quit it when the “Mail Picture” option is selected. Also, pictures are embedded as attachments inside the email message, and thus it is no longer necessary to upload them to an external server so that they can be shared via email. “Our customers are used to a high level of polish and refinement in Sketches, and thus they have been requesting these improvements since our initial App Store release in July 2008; however, the functionality was not possible due to limitations in Apple’s SDK at the time” explains Pedro Cuenca, LateNiteSoft co-founder and CTO. “These changes in iPhone OS 3.0 firmware are very much welcome, since they finally enable us to provide the quality user experience we aim for in all areas of our product”. “Of course,” -he continues- “mail delivery is still possible for users that have chosen not to upgrade to the latest OS yet – in that situation, Sketches will automatically revert to the previous behavior.”.

Sketches 1.7 also adds a “redo” option to complement the “undo” feature that has been available since launch. The new feature is available by touching and holding the “Undo” icon to reveal several undo/redo options. “As it usually happens, creating this feature was not a technical challenge, but we decided against it in our previous releases to avoid overwhelming users with too many options”, explains Jorge Llubia, co-founder and COO. “We are proud that Sketches can be used by toddlers, their parents or grandparents with the same ease and intuitiveness, and are very careful how to incorporate new features. During the past weeks, however, we have observed that a redo option was missed by some of our customers, so we think it is now the time to add it.”.

The Zoom feature has also been revised and refined in Sketches 1.7, to provide a crisp resolution and perfect stroke definition even in the zoomed-in mode. “The previous implementation was OK”, explains Pedro, “but we are now really taking advantage of the fact that all the drawings are stored in vector format in order to avoid any resolution loss when working in zoomed mode. In addition, this new algorithm will facilitate a progressive zoom implementation in Sketches 2.0, which we are working on now.”.

Other improvements in Sketches 1.7 include bug fixes and minor changes towards resource optimization and performance improvement. According to Jorge, “Sketches 1.7 represents an additional refinement step over previous releases. Sketches 2.0, our next major release, will bring new ideas in User Interface that we are really looking forward to launch, but we did not want to miss the opportunity to improve our existing product to take advantage of some of the new possibilities in iPhone OS 3.0″.

Among other distinctions, Sketches has received a 4.5 mouse rating from Macworld, has been favorably reviewed by TUAW, Ars Technica and Gizmodo, and has earned 5-star ratings from iPhoneAlley and 148apps. An Apple “Staff Favorite” in most countries, it was the #9 Entertainment application in the “Best of iTunes 2008″ selection posted by Apple in their various sites.

Pricing and Availability:
Sketches 1.7 is available through Apple’s App Store for only $4.99 / 3.99 Euro. It can be downloaded for free by existing customers.

Sketches 1.7
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LateNiteSoft is based in Torrelodones, a small beautiful town in the outskirts of Madrid, Spain. Bringing dozens of years of accumulated experience in both the software and telecommunication sectors, LateNiteSoft was founded in late 2006 as a Mac software company. Its product portfolio includes Xslimmer and Snapshot for the Mac, and Sketches for the iPhone. Copyright 2006-2009 LateNiteSoft. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer in the U.S. and/or other countries.

Seattle, Washington – CVZ Productions today is proud to release Daily Tracker 2.2, an update to their personal organizer for iPhone and iPod Touch. Designed specifically to take advantage of the iPhone’s unique capabilities and interface, Daily Tracker offers one place to gather and track notes and activities. Users can quickly choose from an existing category, or let Daily Tracker set-up a new one for them.

Among Daily Tracker’s most prolific features is its flexibility, allowing the user to track virtually anything they wish, such as workouts, calories, sleep, memories, etc. The possibilities are endless. Additionally, Daily Tracker features multiple types of categories, including running stopwatch, numbers and emoticons.

Users may effortlessly create and manage to-do lists, checklists and take notes, as well as annotate notes with beautiful photo compositions (perfect for keeping track of memories) and more. At any time, users can check progress of tracked categories with easy-to-view sparklines, either as line or bar charts.

“How are you spending your time, money and effort? How often do you visit the gym? Do you want to limit the nights you spend eating out? Track weight loss or progress as you are trying to quit smoking or get rid of some other pesky habits? Whether you are trying to achieve specific goals, want to track your vices and virtues for fun, need to organize your notes or to-do lists, Daily Tracker will be your essential companion anywhere you go.” said Christoph Zelazowski, founder of CVZ Productions. “This is the one place to write down all the important and fun things in your life.”

The application features a very powerful search functionality with word-wheel search. Relevant results display on-the-fly as individual letters are typed. And Daily Tracker can function as an excellent address book too. Phone numbers, emails, as well as hyperlink recognition in notes are just one click away. Any phone number turns into a click-to-call link. Users can email notes with pictures at any time.

Feature Highlights:
* Photo Notes
* In App Email Support
* Email notes with image attachments
* Create and organize user defined categories
* Organize Lists of Entries (inc. checklists)
* Multiple types of counters
* Add notes, see daily change history
* Calendar view
* Day, Week, Month and Year summaries
* Trend charts (a.k.a sparklines)
* Bar Charts for enumerated types (e.g. ratings)
* Large keyboard when you rotate the phone
* Search notes (as easily as the web)
* Email notes and entries (also in CSV format)
* Protect access with a pass code

Version 2.2 features iPhone 3.0 support, and sports many new improvements. In addition to a new user interface, Daily Tracker now supports photo notes, in-app email, and improved search relevance. Users may email notes with image attachments, organize lists of entries and view progress on bar charts.

Supported Languages:
* English, German, French, Japanese, Dutch, Italian and Spanish

System Requirements:
* iPhone or iPod Touch 2.0 or later

Pricing and Availability:
Daily Tracker 2.2 for iPhone is $4.99 (USD) and available exclusively through Apple’s App Store. The ability to send emails with pictures and phone number recognition is only available on iPhone 3.0.

Daily Tracker 2.2
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Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, CVZ Productions is privately owned by independent software developer, Christoph Zelazowski. With a focus on ease-of-use and meticulous attention to detail, CVZ’s aim is developing best-of-class software for the iPhone platform. Copyright 2009 CVZ Productions. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone and iPod are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.