ClimbingNarc For iOS

ClimbingNarc For iOS

Besides being a constant testing ground for my struggles with the English language, this site has long been my favorite sandbox for working on my software development skills.  I’ve always enjoyed tweaking the design and functionality of the site itself1, but early last year I decided I wanted to tackle a new project:  a native iPad/iPhone app specifically for this site.  While there were a few other climbing news apps in the App Store at the time, most if not all of them relied on public feeds from the respective sites, which, in my opinion, does not provide for a very good experience.

When I sat down to begin work on the app, I had a few goals in mind.  I wanted the app to be fast and easy to use, and I hoped that it could provide an enhanced experience for those people using their mobile devices.  I wanted the app to be easier to use than visiting this site in the browser, and hopefully at the same time it could be a more engaging experience.  The toils of the development process and dealing with the arbitrary nature of the App Store approval process are fodder for another post if people are interested, but after many, many hours of hard work, the app was released to the App Store last week.  You can download it for free2 by visiting this link.

Highlights of version 1.0 of the ClimbingNarc iOS app include:

  • Read the latest posts, watch the latest videos and browse the latest comments with ease
  • Browse and search lists of all the climbers and climbing areas that have been mentioned throughout the history of this site
  • Add your own comments to any post
There are many other ideas I have for the app and at least a few bugs that I know of that need fixing.  As long as I have time, and as long as people are psyched to use the app, I’ll try my best to keep it updated.  If you have any feedback or suggestions after using it, please don’t hesitate to let me know.  If you do check it out and enjoy it, I’d greatly appreciate if you would consider leaving a review for it in the App Store.

Screenshots

  1. Like I did last weekend.  Hopefully you like the changes.
  2.  The app will always be free, but it may not always be free of ads.  Even if my time was free, having an app in the app store each year is not.

Posted In: From The Narc

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21 Responses to ClimbingNarc For iOS

  1. Chris March 28, 2012 at 9:33 am #

    When will the android app be launched? Congrats with the iOS app, love your site.

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    • Narc March 28, 2012 at 10:37 am #

      If someone else wants to give it a go that would be cool, but since I don’t foresee having either the time or an android device anytime in the near future that will have to wait.

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  2. Shaun Fink March 28, 2012 at 10:16 am #

    Awesome app!

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  3. Calvin March 28, 2012 at 10:25 am #

    Narc, not sure if this is unique to Chrome, but since you’ve made your changes to the website, the font has become very difficult to read. It looks very light and washed out.

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    • Narc March 28, 2012 at 10:40 am #

      Hmm, I use chrome as well. Could you email me a screen shot of what you’re seeing? climbingnarc at gmail dot com

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      • Colin P March 28, 2012 at 12:22 pm #

        Having the same problem. Just sent you a screenshot.

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    • Mason March 28, 2012 at 10:46 am #

      I also use Chrome and don’t have a problem with the text.

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    • Ian March 29, 2012 at 7:35 pm #

      Could be a Windows anti-aliasing issue. The new font is beautiful on my Mac/iOS device in all browsers.

      This is personal preference, but most fonts look anemic to me on Windows, and it’s usually especially noticeable with slim fonts like this one.

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  4. Crimpin' Ain't Easy March 28, 2012 at 10:51 am #

    Just got it…now I can make snarky comments on the go!!!

    Seriously though, thanks for investing so much of your time and energy into our little community!

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  5. Matt Hoffmann March 28, 2012 at 11:20 am #

    Downloaded and reviewed. Looks great! Having worked in iOS development professionally for 3 years (and software dev for 8), I think you’ve done an impressive job for a first attempt at objective C.

    Looking forward to the updates.

    -Matt Hoffmann

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  6. justin March 28, 2012 at 12:17 pm #

    bout time narc. looks great, stoked.

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  7. Andrew March 28, 2012 at 2:57 pm #

    Hey, awesome app! I’m actually commenting from it right now.

    One thing I noticed was that if I clicked a video in portrait mode and then flipped to landscape and left the video, the page looked stretched out until I flipped it back to portrait. Not sure if you’d seen that so I figured I’d drop a note.

    Definitely five stars though, I love it!

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    • Narc March 28, 2012 at 3:00 pm #

      Sweet! I’ll see what I can do about that bug.

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  8. hemp March 29, 2012 at 9:50 am #

    Awesome app! It really is easier than actually using the site with a browser, I think.
    Here’s my request for a future enhancement, if you ever have time: try to add a feature so that if you’re reading a particular post, and you swipe right or left, it will take you to the next or previous post (or video). Kind of like in newsreader apps like pulse or flipboard. This would speed things up even more.

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    • Narc March 30, 2012 at 8:38 am #

      That is high on my list.

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    • Narc March 30, 2012 at 8:39 am #

      That is high on my list

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  9. Ian March 29, 2012 at 7:42 pm #

    I’d much rather pay for the app than have ads. Heck, I’d rather pay you for it than get it for free. I’d happily pay $5 for this, and I bet I’m not alone. I just think this site and now app is so awesome that I want you to be making money from it!

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  10. Jp September 24, 2013 at 11:03 am #

    Hi love the site! and im trying to get the app for my iphone but i can’t seem to find it in the app store can you help ? it says its not available in the canadian or us app store anyone else have this issue ?

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    • Narc September 24, 2013 at 11:08 am #

      I ended up removing the app from the App Store both because it is badly in need of an update and it does not work with iOS7. There seems to be a lot of demand for it so I hope to make an updated version, but I don’t expect to have time to do so for at least a couple of months.

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  11. Jp September 27, 2013 at 7:42 am #

    Thank you for the reply!

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