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Starmap for iPhone(TM): The Success Story of an Independent Developer
GRENOBLE, France, October 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Frédéric Descamps, an independent iPhone(TM) programmer, has released a
state-of-the-art planetarium for the iPhone(TM) and iPod touch(TM),
demonstrating that the iTunes-AppStore venture is not the sole reserve of
major software editors.
"Many planetarium applications exist, but who wants to carry a laptop
into the garden to observe the stars?" said Descamps of his inspiration to
develop the Starmap. "I wanted a simple map on my iPhone(TM), to use by
simply sliding my finger tip on the screen." No other platform today offers
this ease of use.
"My 4-year-old son and I love this application; a great bonding moment,"
commented one user on the App-Store.
Descamps, who spends his days conceiving scientific instruments for ILL,
the world leader in neutron science and technology, took on the challenge
of programming complex astronomical computations on his iPhone(TM) in his
spare time. It took him just four months, working privately, every evening,
little by little.
This proves the high quality of the Apple development toolkit, says
Descamps. "I never thought it would be developed so rapidly," he said. "I
had the first working prototype within a week. Initial versions had slow
graphics, but the help of the Imagination Technologies team raised Starmap to
a high quality application."
About Starmap
Starmap helps users without any special astronomy skills and with only a
basic knowledge of north and south to find sky objects. When searching for a
planet or constellation, a yellow arrow guides the user towards the wanted
sky sector. The application uses the GPS feature of the iPhone(TM) for
defining the user's location. The sky map appearance can be modified by the
user, displaying zodiacal signs or advanced features like equatorial
coordinates. Starmap is published with a catalogue of the 120,000 visible
stars. It offers a complete ephemeris of planets and their main satellites.
Deep sky objects like galaxies are also included. It is available in English,
French, German, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Dutch and Danish.
Starmap costs $11.99 (9.99EUR) and has been downloaded by 28,000 users to
date.
Press contact: Frédéric Descamps, Grenoble, France.
web site: http://www.star-map.fr
on iTunes: http://itunes.com/apps/starmap
Free evaluation version on demand.
