The geo: URI scheme doesn't seem to work for me on the iphone safari browser. Has anyone had any luck implementing this? Here is an example piece of code:
Test
The above works on android phones... are there any alternatives to this? Thanks for the help!
The geo: scheme, being relatively new, isn't supported by any builtin apps on iOS. (It's a good idea for a feature request, though.)
One alternative (supported all the way back to iPhone OS 1.0) is to use a Google Maps URL. For example: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=37.331044,-122.029202 -- this will get automatically redirected to the Maps application. (I dunno if or how this might change with the forthcoming non-Google-backed Maps in iOS 6, though.)
It's also possible to register a third-party app to handle URL schemes not used by system apps, so you could create your own geo handler if that's useful to you.
On my iPhone (ios6), the google earth app opens the geo: link. For native google maps app support, I use the comgooglemaps: scheme, and apple maps will open if you click a 'normal' http://maps.apple.com/ link.
You can also handle this in pure Javascript. Its easiest using Dojo, jQuery or some other JS library that offers delegated event support.
https://github.com/prowestgis/dojo-geo-uri-polyfill
Related
We are developing web browser application for mobile phones and I am trying to figure out a way that I can gain access to the camera and take a photo and then upload it to the internet. But so far what I was suggested is to use phonegap and create native application. Phonegap is fine but it is not what I am looking for because my client wants to design forms and these html forms somehow will be able to trigger the camera and take photo and upload it to a server. Do you think developing a native API for every platform and having access to its functions from the web browsers is possible? What your suggestion would be?
(Note: My customer only want application that can run on mobile web browsers no native application runs on I-Phone, windows mobile, Blackberry and Android)
Thanks a lot...
Web apps (not wrapped in native code as Kumar details) cannot access all device hardware and sensors. Location support is available on iOS and Android, but camera access is only available on Android (via JavaScript). Similarly, device motion APIs are not accessible on Android, but are on iOS.
As you can see, support is sketchy and if you are truly looking to use such features, you are better off (and in many cases, realistically looking at) writing native apps for each platform you intend to support.
HTML5 is not yet at the point where it can replace native apps. It can do some of the things that native apps can, but even then performance is suboptimal. Currently, native apps may be more difficult and time-consuming, but they are necessary.
Calling android native APIs from javascript functions of embedded WebView
Use JS to call Java code which will in-turn call the Camera API or whatever else you are looking for.
It's not going to be possible to do it on iPhone, the only known way of accessing the camera is through the Cocoa layer.
I am wondering how can I open the send SMS application by using a web control of a HTML5 page on Android and iPhone. I want to use the device native SMS sending app, with a prepopulated value from the web.
Further to other answers I can confirm that smsto:555:bodytext does not work on an iPhone running iOS5.
What does work (and I've tested it) on Android is the format:
sms:444?body=hello
Example:
Tap to say hello!
On iPhone the ?body=hello will prevent it working at all, and you should use just sms:555 instead.
sms:555
Example
Tap to text us!
I have tested the below and it works:
Using HTML Anchor tag:
Subscribe
Using JavaScript:
window.open('sms:111?body=SUBSCRIBE', '_self');
With Android 3.0 SDK Google has started exposing API in HTML5 for device access. An example is listed here. It may not be enough for what you seek to do.
I dont know enough about iphone to advise either way.
Does it matter much what your website is programmed in (PHP/.NET/ROR etc) with regards to having an iPhone or Android app interact with it?
No, it doesn't matter and if you are trying to build a mobile browser based app, then it won't matter. But if that website provides API , then you can create your app however you want.
If you are making use of service calls, you need to bother about the service request/response formats (xml/json...) and its parsing methods... you need not to worry about the language used to implement those services.
No, it does not matter at all.
I have a software that eventually will have some reports to be accessed via iPhone.
Once I am not willing to develop an iPhone app, I´d like to make these reports accessible via iPhone Safari browsers.
GMail in iPad uses HTML 5, so I guess I can do the same.
My question is where can I find some resources to learn best practices doing so and how can I test it in a PC computer.
Thanks
Here is a similar answer I've given: Exclusive CSS for iPhone/Android
For testing you can use Chrome or Safari, as they are both webkit browsers (which is what the iPhone uses). Safari can even render as the iPhone user agent.
Hope this helps.
Please take a look at PhoneGap, I think that is what you are looking for.
You can emulate the program in xCode, but you will need an Apple for that. For PhoneGap also..
From the app architecture view-point you should also consider introducing app-specific optimization such us:
Simplify the app (show only what you need for mobile)
Minimize Application and Data Size
Aggregate Images into a Single Composite Resource (Sprites)
Include Background Images Inline in CSS Style Sheets
Keep DOM Size Reasonable
Ensure Paragraph Text Flows
Avoid Redirects
What would be the best way to write an app for the iPhone OS and the Android OS that allows access to a web blog (posted on blogspot.com)? Are there ways to manipulate the incoming data from the website to fit the UI of the phones, or will I have to re-do a lot of the blogs?
Any help would be nice! And thank you in advance!
The easiest way in both would be to integrate the browser in the web app but perhaps restrict it to the blog.
For example, your app would open and have its own UI, but displaying the actual blog content would be done in an integrated browser (such as a WebView in Android).
Doing it this way isn't the best as it wouldn't be the best experience for the user, but it has the added benefit of keeping all the blog's design and extras, as well as javascript functionality.
"Manipulating incoming data from the website" (otherwise known as scraping) would be tricky for modern blogs since they usually contain so much customised content and are nowadays more like websites with blogs than just regular blogs.
I guess your best bet is to use Phonegap open source framework.
Since it basically creates local webapps and both platforms have very similar browser capabilities this should be a good fit for your intended application.