The iPhone App Store is up - with Astronomy programs
July 10th, 2008 by Marcos
So, I do have an iPhone, and I can’t wait for the App store. If you have iTunes 7.7, then you can browse the store. I found this neat looking program, called Starmap. Looks pretty handy - you can read more about it at its web site
Hmm, this is disappointing. The author of star-map says, in regards to controlling telescopes,
Do you plan to control telescopes with Starmap? This is technically possible to control telescope mounts with Starmap. I have made some successful tests through wifi (Skywatcher EQ6). However, following the agreement with Apple, no public application controlling mechanical devices will be released.
This is a tad surprising, since according to the NY Times this morning:
Instead, [the iFund venture capital fund] is backing, among others, iControl Networks, which is creating an application to let homeowners turn off their lights and alarms at home, as well as monitor security cameras, via their iPhones.
Indeed, iControl is listed in the App store. Perhaps turning off a light is different than moving around telescopes? I can’t say I quite get it.
Update There is at least one other similar program - iAstronomica. This one is $20, rather than $12 for Starmap. Be advised that apparently once you click “buy” that’s it - no warning, no shopping cart - so click carefully.
Update 2 The popular Clear Sky Clock also has an iPhone App version. It occurs to me that, astronomy being something that occurs in remote parts of the country, it may be hard to get online out there. the aforementioned programs carry their data with them, but the Clear Sky Clock will clearly need either EDGE/3G/WiFi to be of use.
Update 3 Indeed, as my commenter notes, there are other apps in this category as well. Uranus (iTunes Link), and GoSkyWatch Planetarium (iTunes Link). I think the app store needs some sort of demo/shareware option, where the program will work for a week or so at least. Hopefully someone will review all of these.
cormullion Says
I’m looking forward to someone comparing all the astronomy apps on the App Store… Starmap; Uranus; iAstronomica; Astromo, GoSkyWatch Planetarium;
Jul 12th, 2008 at 12:14 pm
Mr. Peabody Says
They all have the feel of v.1.0 software, but all show some real promise in their own rights. A co-worker purchased StarMap and is experimenting with that - It looks like it has a very good database (considering the device it’s running on), and some neat and useful features, some of which we’re still waiting for. I’ve just purchased GoSkyWatch because it seems to have a basic feature set that I would expect all real astronomy software to have, like red-vision settings and the like. It also got the highest marks for UI responsiveness. I’m updating my iPod Touch now, so I haven’t had a chance to use it[GoSkyWatch] yet… The only posted criticism that raised one of my eyebrows was that the deep sky database is not as extensive as some real-world users would like, and, it seems to have a problem with frequent crashing for some users. On that note, one user said that getting all of your setting setup first, then restarting the device seemed to solve the problem for that person - And, the developer claims to have already submitted v.1.1 to the iTunes Store. So, I guess we’ll see. All very exciting though.
Jul 18th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Marcos Says
Agreed. Especially with GPS in the 3G iPhones and a local database of information, it’s got a lot of potential. Of course, perhaps astronomers who go out to observe often have a laptop with them anyway, but still - clearly the iPhone is an intriguing platform.
Jul 18th, 2008 at 5:35 pm