The 4th generation iPod touch announced by Steve Jobs today features two cameras: a rear camera, and a front-facing camera. In that way, it’s similar to the iPhone 4.

The front-facing camera is, in fact, identical to the iPhone 4′s, recording and shooting still photos at 640×480 resolution (also known as “VGA”). Notably, this is less than the device’s screen resolution, which is 640×960, but it’s still plenty good enough for its primary purpose, FaceTime.

The rear camera, however, is far different from the iPhone’s. Instead of 5 megapixels, the iPod’s camera is just short of 0.7 MP: 960×720 for stills, and 1280×720 for 720p (HD, or High Definition) videos. (Source)

While it’s far worse than the iPhone’s, it’s still better than the front camera, and its resolution is higher than that of the device’s Retina display.

The rear camera also does not have a flash, while the iPhone 4 has an LED flash (which can also be continuously lit for videos, or used as a flashlight or “torch”).

Finally, it doesn’t support HDR (High Dynamic Range imaging), which will be supported by iPhone 4 in iOS 4.1.

It’s still unclear to me whether the iPhone 3G and/or iPhone 3GS will support HDR when the software update becomes available for them. The original iPhone certainly won’t, because iOS 4 doesn’t support that device at all.

Unidentified: 798,279 = 72.2%

iPhone 3.1.3: 97,580 = 8.8%

iPhone 2.2.1: 58,243 = 5.3%

iPhone 3.1.2: 57,677 = 5.2%

iPhone 4.0: 28,261 = 2.6%

iPhone 4.0.1: 12,944 = 1.2%

I left out the firmware versions (including iPhone 2.0!) that represented less than 1%.

These numbers are the number of sessions in the past month (07/31/10 – 08/31/10), according to Flurry.

I think the Unidentified sessions are from users using the latest version of Whiteboard, which integrates the latest version of the Flurry SDK. Apparently, this SDK no longer reports firmware version.

If these numbers are correct, about 5.3% of my users are still on iPhone OS 2.2.1.

I’m not willing to leave 5% of my users out in the cold. 1%, yes. 2-4%, maybe. 5% – nope.

Now, perhaps my app is very non-typical– a majority of my users are on the iPod touch– but it was still very surprising to me.

Can other iPhone app developers take a look at their stats? Let me know in the comments what your results look like.

Looks like I’ll need to set up an iPhone OS 2.2.1 testing device!

Undefined symbols:
“.objc_class_name_NSObject”, referenced from:
.objc_class_name__PLAbstractBlock in PLBlocks(NSBlock.o)
“_OBJC_CLASS_$__PLConcreteStackBlock”, referenced from:
_OBJC_CLASS_$__PLConcreteStackBlock$non_lazy_ptr in ZAttributedString.o
_OBJC_CLASS_$__PLConcreteStackBlock$non_lazy_ptr in UpdatesModel.o
(maybe you meant: _OBJC_CLASS_$__PLConcreteStackBlock$non_lazy_ptr)
ld: symbol(s) not found
collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

Anyone out there understand this error?

I’m going to try leaving out PLBlocks, and simply requiring iOS 4.0. Actually, does iPhone OS 3.2 include built-in blocks support?

Starting today, I will take bigger risks: I will do what it takes to bring Greengar to the next level.

This thought was prompted by realizing how far ahead of most entrepreneurs I actually am. I read an article I found via Hacker News that argues that “getting 10 customers is all that matters.” Well, I’ve done that. I have millions of customers.

(click to see my apps in the App Store)

That’s a screenshot of my apps’ overall user counts, courtesy Flurry Analytics. I’ve passed the “get 10 customers” hurdle many times over.

“There are millions of potential customers, so it doesn’t matter what only ten of them think. I need to just start; later I can survey and learn something statistically significant.”

If there are millions, it’s trivial to find ten. If you can’t find even ten, then either there aren’t millions or those millions aren’t interested in you.

Businesses don’t start with millions of customers, they start with one, then ten, then a hundred, and then a thousand. But most don’t get past ten. If you haven’t gotten ten to at least say they’ll buy, where do you get your hubris to proclaim that thousands actually will buy?

Why getting 10 customers is all that matters

“most don’t get past ten”? When it comes to tech startups, that doesn’t surprise me. I’ve seen a lot of overly idealistic tech entrepreneurs who aren’t building something people want.

The things I want happen to be the things that other people now want, so I guess I’ve been fortunate. In 2001, I was ahead of my time: I got my start in programming with the Cybiko handheld computer. Mobile wasn’t nearly as big back then as it is today. And Cybiko had many of the right ingredients: especially its wireless communication features. Cybiko automatically created wireless networks between Cybiko devices for them to send files to each other, chat, play games, etc.

Cybiko died because the market wasn’t ready for it yet. Also, technology hadn’t advanced far enough to make it user-friendly. Cybiko probably had about 100 buttons on it, since it had a full keyboard, directional pad, action buttons, etc. It was a necessity because mobile touch screens were expensive and required a stylus.

iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad changed all that. It’s exactly what I had envisioned back in 2001/2002, and when the iPhone SDK arrived, I was ready. I didn’t have any of the programming knowledge, but I had the ideas and the design. I knew I had to build easy-to-use, mass market, networked apps. And that’s exactly what I did.

I’m definitely not a typical tech entrepreneur. I grew up far separated from Silicon Valley and the startup culture. Neither of my parents, and none of my close relatives, are involved in tech.

That seems to partly explain why I understand my customers so well. I work on what’s important, and drop everything else. I make what customers want, not what they say they want. And that is a big difference.

Greengar has far more than 10 customers today. It’s about time I started acting like it.

I noticed this at Saigon Mobile DevCamp 2010. The easiest, most straightforward question to ask is: “Does your app do (x)?”

“Does your app find the user’s location inside a building?”

“Does your app integrate with Facebook and Twitter?”

If you say no, there’s a perception that your app is lacking in some way. It creates an assumption that you haven’t thought the idea through. It perpetuates the idea that whoever comes up with the most features, wins.

In other words: saying no, while it could actually be the better answer, sounds downright awful.

In June of 2003, Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Store to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hand saying, “Does it do (x)?”, “Do you plan to add (y)?”. Finally Jobs said, “Wait wait – put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don’t want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It’s about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.“

I’ve worked on dozens of projects that have essentially killed themselves with kindness: piling on feature after feature trying to be all things to all users. This rarely ends well.

After a few years in the trenches, I think many software developers begin to internalize the Just Say No philosophy. Both extremes are dangerous, but I think Yes To Everything has a greater potential to fail the entire project. If you’re going to err on either side, try to err on the side of simplicity. Keep a laser-like focus on doing a few things, and doing them exceptionally well.

Source: Just Say No by Jeff Atwood

“For devices running the iPhone OS versions 1.1.3 to 3.1, Apple relied on (and still relies on) databases maintained by Google and Skyhook Wireless (“Skyhook”) to provide location-based services. Beginning with the iPhone OS version 3.2 released in April 2010, Apple relies on its own databases to provide location-based services and for diagnostic purposes.”

“To provide location-based services, Apple must be able to determine quickly and precisely where a device is located. To do this, Apple maintains a secure database containing information regarding known locations of cell towers and Wi-Fi access points.”

“Information about nearby cell towers and Wi-Fi access points is collected and sent to Apple with the GPS coordinates of the device, if available: (1) when a customer requests current location information and (2) automatically, in some cases, to update and maintain databases with known location information.”

“…the device intermittently and anonymously collects Cell Tower and Wi-Fi Access Point Information from the cell towers and Wi-Fi access points that it can “see,” along with the device’s GPS coordinates, if available. This information is batched and then encrypted and transmitted to Apple over a Wi-Fi Internet connection every twelve house (or later if the device does not have Wi-Fi Internet access at that time).

from the Apple response to Markey and Barton

Flashlight 4: LED Light for iPhone 4

It’s the first Flashlight app that gives you the option of a 100% completely black screen!

And the reviews are rolling in:

Light ★★★★★
by Todd okc

This light is better than the other one for the iPhone 4. This app gives you options and you can change views on your phone where you can see the clock or make it where nothing shows on your screen

Get this one! ★★★★★
by look before leaping!!

This had exactly the feature I wished for from the others, A BLACK SCREEN! It turns on the LED and then you can make the screen black. All the other apps I tried had art or white (iPhone 1-3 flashlight) screens. Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t need a flashlight pointed at my eyes in a dark room while I’m using a real flashlight. Great and simple and free… What more could you need?

Have an iPhone 4? Grab the free app now: Flashlight 4: LED Light for iPhone 4

(If you like the app, don’t forget to leave us a review on the iTunes App Store! Thanks.)

If you like Whiteboard, please leave a review in the iTunes App Store. If you’ve previously left a review, please update your review. And consider buying the Pro version of Whiteboard as well

See all of Greengar’s apps in the App Store.

One of the advantages of moving away from Flash: security issues. Quote from the US-CERT mailing list:

National Cyber Alert System

Technical Cyber Security Alert TA10-162A

Adobe Flash and AIR Vulnerabilities

Original release date: June 11, 2010
Last revised: –
Source: US-CERT

Systems Affected

* Adobe Flash Player 10.0.45.2 and earlier 10.x versions
* Adobe Flash Player 9.0.262 and earlier 9.x versions
* Adobe AIR 1.5.3.9130 and earlier versions

Other Adobe products that support Flash may also be vulnerable.

Overview

According to Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-14, there are
vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash and AIR. These vulnerabilities
affect Flash Player, AIR, and possibly other products that support
Flash. A remote attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities to
execute arbitrary code.

I. Description

Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-14 describes vulnerabilities in
Adobe Flash that affects Flash Player and AIR. It may also affect
other products that independently support Flash, such as Adobe
Reader, Acrobat, Photoshop, Photoshop Lightroom, Freehand MX, and
Fireworks.

An attacker could exploit these vulnerabilities by convincing a
user to open specially crafted Flash content. Flash content is
commonly hosted on a web page, but it can also be embedded in a PDF
and other documents or provided as a stand-alone file.

One of these vulnerabilities, CVE-2010-1297, is being exploited
against Flash Player, Adobe Reader, and Acrobat. Additional
information about CVE-2010-1297 is available in US-CERT Technical
Cyber Security Alert TA10-159A and US-CERT Vulnerability Note
VU#486225.

II. Impact

If a user opens specially crafted Flash content, a remote attacker
may be able to execute arbitrary code.

III. Solution

Update Flash and AIR

Adobe Security Bulletin APSB10-14 recommends updating to Flash
Player 10.1.53.64 or 9.0.277.0 and AIR to 2.0.2.12610. This will
update the Flash web browser plug-in and ActiveX control and AIR,
but will not update Flash support in Adobe Reader, Acrobat, or
other products.

To reduce your exposure to these and other Flash vulnerabilities,
consider the following mitigation technique.

Disable Flash in your web browser

Uninstall Flash or restrict which sites are allowed to run Flash.
To the extent possible, only run trusted Flash content on trusted
domains. For more information, see Securing Your Web Browser.

The fix is here on github.com.

One key aspect:

I’m getting a “No such file or directory” error for a Three20 import.

All headers are now grouped by the library in which they reside. This means that if you’re importing a header from the UINavigator library, that you’ll need to use Three20UINavigator/ instead of Three20/. If you’re not sure which library a particular header resides in, just do a find src -name SomeHeader.h to find which library it’s in.

Three20UI, Three20Core, and Three20Network are some of the new directories (libraries).