Filed under: Cool tools, iPhone, iPod touch
TapLynx media-based iPhone app builder from NewsGator released
The iPhone app platform TapLynx from NetNewsWire was released yesterday, after months of anticipation. TapLynx provides you with a way to build media-rich iPhone applications without having to write any code. It's basically NetNewsWire's way of leveraging their RSS expertise along with their iPhone development skills, in the form of Brent Simmons.
Although TapLynx users don't need Cocoa knowledge, if you're a Cocoa developer you can use TapLynx to quickly add media management features to your app. In fact, NewsGator distributes TapLynx as a Software Development Kit, making its development roots fairly obvious. Beyond the ability to customize the user interface and choose the feeds you want your app to display, TapLynx offers the unique feature of being able to do remote updates to the app. This means that you can change a number of things in the app including the look-and-feel without requiring an update to be submitted to the frustratingly slow App Store.
Brent Simmons, the developer behind TapLynx, is the guy behind the perennial Mac favorite RSS reader, NetNewsWire. What many people don't know is that before he did NetNewsWire he worked at UserLand, creating tools for developers. So in some ways this is Brent returning to his roots.
[Update] As commenters have pointed out, the pricing for TapLynx is a little over the top: $3,499US for an Enterprise license, which is the only type of license they offer. That makes the news of TapLynx's release a little less interesting, in my opinion.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Josh said 11:18AM on 10-16-2009
Frankly, I find all of Newsgator's apps crash-happy, slow, buggy, and flat-out boring. It's nice they're offering an SDK, but you have to like the way their apps look to start out...
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Edo said 11:49AM on 10-16-2009
And take a look at the price tag before investigating it, you may considering visiting a cocoa course instead. ;o)
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YURNUTS said 12:28PM on 10-16-2009
I went to the site, investigated the SDK, then my jaw dropped at the "Enterprise" license of $3,500.00
Was this a paid advertisement TUAW? Because, nowhere in the "article" did you mention the $3,500.00 price tag. What other licensing do they offer? NONE.
Oh, and their "Case Studies"? LOL
I agree with a previous poster who said "Their apps are crash-happy, and you have to like the way their apps look to start."
No thanks. They should have come in at a better price point for what you get. For that money, one can attend a very well known Boot Camp for iPhone Applications. (http://www.bignerdcamp.com)
I don't work for, nor do I represent the site I "didn't post" wink, in any way shape or form.
This isn't the first "article" on TUAW that I have read that reeks of Advertisement.
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YURNUTS said 12:29PM on 10-16-2009
Oops..
http://www.bignerdranch.com
:P
Jason Clarke said 12:31PM on 10-16-2009
Wow - to be honest I didn't check the price when I wrote the post - mea culpa. I'm just a NetNewsWire fan and thought it was cool that you can make your own similarly-branded app. Of course, I expected it to be accessible to regular people. I'll update the post.
YURNUTS said 12:35PM on 10-16-2009
@Jason
You didn't check the price?
Are you still a fan now?
Well, it's not accessible to regular people, which is why I'm a bit put off.
Cheers!
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Jason Clarke said 12:37PM on 10-16-2009
Yeah, I screwed up there. I've updated the post. I'm still a fan of NetNewsWire, but TapLynx is not nearly as relevant to me as I thought it might be.
YURNUTS said 12:39PM on 10-16-2009
@Jason
You rock dude, way to Mea culpa!
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Silo said 1:07PM on 10-16-2009
I'd agree with Josh given my personal experience with NetNewsWire — crashy and boring.
Too, I think its important that it be noted that this app is primarily for news and media based apps that pipe new content in via RSS. What it is not is a universal über-tool for designing any old app you have rattling around in your brain.
That said, I can see why they hit that price point. If I'm already a monetized content provider, this is cheaper than hiring it out to a programmer.
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Jason Clarke said 1:12PM on 10-16-2009
That's a good point. I guess that's the point of having only an Enterprise license... that's a good hint as to who they're targeting.
Josh said 1:35PM on 10-16-2009
I thought NNW 2.0 for iPhone was way over hyped. The fact that they were telling everyone to switch to GReader already made them plummet in my book. But then to be late with the product by a full month, plus have it as crashy as it is, I finally said, "Sorry, Newsgator- I'm purchasing Byline. Since you made me switch to Google Reader, I'll use a more worthy client."
I think the desktop version of NNW is okay- it's still boring, and I like Newsfire more.
I agree that the SDK is really geared towards news services. Hence the price tag. But I would never want to design an app that had their interface. There's better options out there.
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eric.james said 10:51AM on 10-17-2009
For the money you're better off waiting for Flash CS5 which will let you write a Flash app that can be saved as a native iPhone app. You can write any type of application you want; not just a RSS based buggy app.
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