GigaOM » Apple

iPhone Application Sketch Book Rights Sold to Apress Publishing

Lisa Hoover — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:00:59 +0000

Little more than a month after releasing the iPhone Application Sketch Book its creator, Dean Kaplan, has already sold the publishing rights to Apress Publishing House for an undisclosed amount. Kaplan says the move will allow the book to reach a broader market and free up some more time to work on “other projects that will compliment the sketchbook.”

According to Kaplan, future publications of the sketchbook will remain largely the same except for a few minor changes suggested by current users, like perforated pages or different page sizes. “Customers love the look and feel of the book, that it lays flat, and it’s one place to hold all their designs,” he says. “Future modifications will no doubt be slight.”

The opportunity to work with Apress came about after Kaplan “threw the idea out there and they jumped on it. Amazon did a great job but they don’t offer the same impact. I like the PR and advertising [opportunities] the new company offers.”

Apress announced the deal today at the 360 iDev Conference in Denver, CO, and gave out books to everyone in attendance

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Autodesk Brings Sketchbook Product Line to the iPhone

Darrell Etherington — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 14:52:46 +0000

Is the iPhone quietly becoming a serious mobile illustration platform? That’s the question I asked myself after seeing news this morning that yet another drawing and painting program has been released for the device. Autodesk’s Sketchbook Mobile is available now in the App Store.

Those of you who’ve done professional illustration work on a Mac will probably recognize the heritage of this latest addition to the field. Autodesk is the company that acquired Alias, the makers of Sketchbook Pro. Sketchbook Pro has long been one of the very best digital painting programs available for the Mac platform.

I’ve tried both Layers and Brushes, and while I’m generally pretty useless with both, I do see my ability slowly growing, and more capable artists than myself have been able to generate pretty stunning images using only the limited toolset these apps and your finger provide. Recently introduced features, like the ability to export to .PSD in Layers, have elevated the game from idle play to a serious outlet for digital art on the go.

Sketchbook Mobile doesn’t export to .PSD (it uses the .PNG static image format), unfortunately, but it does bring a UI tailored for a touchscreen interface that’s been developed and refined for many years in the desktop version of the app. The result is an uncluttered working space that still allows quick access to all of your tools in a unique, radial menu design.

Like Layers, and more recently, Brushes, Sketchbook Mobile offers standard painting tools like layers, different types of brushes, color and media pickers, and so on. That said, Sketchbook Mobile still manages to feel like the most underpowered of the bunch despite its pedigree. The full version (iTunes link) is $2.99, but you can get a free Express version (iTunes link) to try it out first.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Sketch Book Makes Designing iPhone Apps Easier

Lisa Hoover — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:00:17 +0000

There’s a new tool available that’s designed to make life easier for iPhone developers, and its surprisingly low tech. It’s called the iPhone Application Sketch Book and it looks like just the thing to keep all those notes and inspirations about a new app idea all in one place.

The spiral-bound book is around 8 1/2″ x 11″ so it won’t get lost in the bottom of a laptop bag. There are 100 pages of design templates with lines at the top for jotting the name and other important details of the app. A real-size image of an iPhone is centered on graph-style paper with ample room to make drawings and notes about every aspect of the development process.

I caught up with the sketch book’s creator, Dean Kaplan, and was surprised to discover the impetus behind the book’s creation.

“I happened to be auditing the Stanford iPhone Programming course,” says Kaplan, “and one of the guest speakers discussed how he went about creating his user interface designs. Paper was one option he mentioned. Almost instantly the notebook idea light bulb went off. Other options of various computer programs were mentioned, but it always got back to paper and pencil. Subsequently, I did my own online survey that revealed designers prefer paper 95% of the time.”

Kaplan says once he got the idea to create the book, it only took about nine weeks until it hit the shelves. Depending on its success, he may create similar sketchbooks for the Palm Pre and Android.

The sketchbook is already a hit with some application developers. David J. Hinson, creator of popular iPhone apps like Cheap Gas (iTunes link) and Amigo (iTunes link), says he sees immediate value in a tool like this. “You can keep your notes and preliminary wireframes all in one handy little notebook. I was really intrigued and I think it’s a great concept because I’m constantly writing things on the whiteboard and losing track of my notes. It’s simple in execution, but spot on.”

Interested developers can pick up the iPhone Application Sketch Book for $14.99 at Amazon.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.

Autodesk Serving Up Sketchbook Express With Axiotron Apple Tablet

Darrell Etherington — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:00:44 +0000

It’s likely you’ve heard mention of the Axiotron Modbook, the third party (and only) Apple tablet computing solution, but I like talking about it anyway. Axiotron, a small company operating out of El Segundo, California, won high acclaim for their Modbook, taking best in show at 2007′s Macworld convention.

The Modbook is a converted Macbook, equipped with a Wacom-penabled touchscreen display. It’s a drool-worthy piece of tech, especially for graphic designers who do a lot of field work. And now you can drool even more, because the Modbook now comes complete with Sketchbook Express 2009, an exclusive version of Autodesk’s graphics software.

If you work with Wacom tablets in any kind of graphic design/illustration capacity, then you’ve probably also heard of Sketchbook Pro, formerly of Alias, until it was acquired by Autodesk. Sketchbook Pro 2009 was released earlier this year, finally bringing Intel compatibility to the versatile graphics editing software. I’d previously been a huge fan of Sketchbook Pro, but switched to Corel Painter when the program wouldn’t work on my black MacBook. Getting Sketchbook Pro 2009 was like hooking up with an old friend after a lengthy absence. The Express edition that bundles with the Modbook features much of the functionality of the full version, but users are limited to three layers, whereas the full version supports unlimited stacking.

Currently, Axiotron only offers their service for pre-aluminum MacBooks (no MacBook Pros, either), but they’ve recently committed to supporting new models in the new year. You can get a Modbook either by ordering one directly from Axiotron, or by buying Modservice, which uses your existing MacBook for the conversion. Existing Modbook owners can pick up SketchBook Express free by clicking the download link on the application overview page.

Modbooks start at $2,199, while Modservice using your existing notebook starts at $1,299. Not a bad idea if you have oodles of cash lying around and you’ve just upgraded to a new MacBook and haven’t found a use for your last gen model.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
Subscriber content. Sign up for a free trial.