11th August 2010

PCalc 2.2.1 is out, in both flavours. You can get them here.

This is just a small bug fix update, mainly to fix a problem in 2.2 with the key click sounds pausing background music, and also to fix an occasional crash in the conversions and constants.

2nd August 2010

Slightly later than anticipated, but PCalc Lite 2.2 was just approved by Apple and should be up on the store shortly. You can download it here.

Enjoy!

30th July 2010

PCalc 2.2 is out now - it's available here. There's also a corresponding PCalc 3.6 for the Mac out today, grab it here.

PCalc Lite 2.2 should be out very shortly - it's still in the hands of Apple's reviewers, but I expect it will appear on the store in the next 24 hours.

Greetings, apps!

Aside from the awesome new glowing theme you can see above - ideal for low light situations and pretending to be Jeff Bridges - there are a number of new features, including lots of improvements to the unit conversions, a volume control for the key click sounds, and a wide variety of power user options.

The full list of new features is here.

Hope you enjoy this release, and please add an appropriately glowing review on iTunes if you do!

1st July 2010

PCalc and PCalc Lite 2.1 have been released, you can get them both here.

Retina Scan

The main changes are support for iOS 4 including fast app switching, and also support for the high resolution Retina display on the iPhone 4. You can see the difference, just in the icons above.

And here is a screenshot showing how the "Flux" theme looks on a Retina display versus a regular display.

I think you can see there's quite a difference!

I'm currently investigating some reports of the PCalc splashscreen appearing occasionally when using fast app switching - I think I know what's happening, and I'm working on a fix. Basically, if you switch apps really fast (like in and out of an app in a few seconds), the OS doesn't have time to save a snapshot of the application's appearance on quit, and so it displays the default image while switching the app in again.

In PCalc's case, that's the splashscreen image, which isn't ideal. It's just cosmetic, as the switching takes exactly the same time, but it does look a bit like the app is being relaunched. I think in normal usage, it won't happen much, but I have some ideas to minimise it further.

Anyway, hope you like PCalc 2.1. If you do, please write a review in iTunes - it's most appreciated! Thanks.

11th June 2010

PCalc and PCalc Lite 2.0.1 are out today, with a few fixes for the forthcoming iOS 4.0. Specifically it fixes a crash in the contants and unit conversions, and addresses a number of cosmetic problems.

You can get them both here!

I am also working on a version that will take full advantage of iOS 4.0, which will hopefully be released nearer the iPhone 4, but it's still a work in progress so I wanted to get this out now.

1st April 2010

PCalc and PCalc Lite 2.0 are out a little earlier than expected, you can get them both here.

PCalc HD

What's new? Well, the short answer is native iPad support! The long answer will take a bit more time, as I haven't had a great deal of sleep this week :)

But basically, PCalc 2.0 is a universal app, with support for iPad and iPhone in one. What that also means is that if you've bought PCalc for iPhone, or any of the in-app purchases in PCalc Lite, they will transfer over to the iPad for free.

Additionally, since the iPad doesn't ship with a calculator, if you are looking for one on Saturday please give PCalc Lite a try and tell your friends...

More shortly!

24th March 2010

PCalc Lite 1.9.2 is finally up, get it here.

It's actually PCalc Lite 1.9.3 when you get it downloaded, with the same fix to the currency conversions as the full version, but iTunes is a little confused!

On the iPad front, I have a PCalc 2.0 all ready to go, and I hope to submit it as a free update to the app store soon, once the path through the bureaucracy is a little clearer...

24th March 2010

PCalc Lite 1.9.2 is finally up, get it here.

It's actually PCalc Lite 1.9.3 when you get it downloaded, with the same fix to the currency conversions as the full version, but iTunes is a little confused!

On the iPad front, I have a PCalc 2.0 all ready to go, and I hope to submit it as a free update to the app store soon, once the path through the bureaucracy is a little clearer...

20th March 2010

A quick PCalc 1.9.3 update has just hit the store, get it here.

It fixes a bug with the currency conversions in some regions - specifically those which use a comma as the decimal separator. Reload the rates if you still see any problems.

PCalc Lite 1.9.2 is still in review limbo with Apple, but I hope it will show up soon! It has the fix from the full 1.9.3 already. Meanwhile, I am still working on the iPad version, and I hope to have more news on that front soon...

18th March 2010

PCalc 1.9.2 has just been approved! You can download it here. PCalc Lite should follow along in the next few days, once Apple gives it the ok.

"I look at a hundred deals a day. I pick one."

The main new feature is the long awaited addition of currency to the conversions section. The full list of new features is here.

These are not the iPad compatible versions that I've also been working on - actually they are, but with one line changed to disabled the work-in-progress iPad code! I'm working out my plans in that regard just now - the iPad doesn't officially launch in the UK until the end of April, so I'm not sure when I'm going to be able to get mine. Naturally, I don't want to release anything until I've tried it out on a real device!

Certainly, I'm planning to make a universal iPhone / iPad build of PCalc available as a free update. I'll let you know when I can tell you more...

27th January 2010

Clearly, nobody will hear me today, but PCalc Lite 1.9.1 was just approved! You can get it here.

To answer the obvious iPad questions in the meantime...

• I will definitely make updated versions of PCalc/PCalc Lite for the iPad.
• The existing 1.9.x versions should work fine on the iPad (with black borders or pixel-doubled).
• I would hope that I can make a PCalc 2.0 release which supports both the iPad and iPhone with a single binary.
• If so, I would also hope that I can make it a free upgrade.

These are currently just hopes - I'm downloading the iPad SDK as I type this, so I don't know the answers to my questions yet, and the SDK is going to be under NDA for a while so I can't discuss all of them here.

I'll say what I can though - watch this space!

26th January 2010

A number of small updates today - there's a 3.5.2 update to the Mac version, and an equivalent 1.9.1 update to the iPhone version. Get it here.

I think PCalc Lite is likely to follow along in a couple of days - it seems to take slightly longer now to get approval from Apple due to the in-app purchase feature.

Both fix some small bugs in the core code, and add a couple of minor features including the ability to avoid clearing the tape when you hit "AC", and full support for the standard system "shake to undo" gesture.

Oh, and needless to say, if there's an Apple tablet announced tomorrow, I'll make sure there's a version of PCalc available for it soon!

15th December 2009

A bit quicker than expected, PCalc Lite 1.9 is up on the App Store now! You can download it here.

"On Wednesdays I go shopping..."

Now, the secret feature of PCalc Lite 1.9 can be revealed... The PCalc Store! You can now purchase all the extra features from the full version of PCalc directly inside PCalc Lite.

Buy them individually, or buy everything.

There's now a "PCalc Store" item inside the Settings - tap on it, and you'll be taken to the screen above. Select what you'd like to buy, and - by the magic of in-app purchase - the new features will be instantly unlocked.

I've divided the features up into six separate packs:

• Theme Pack - adds seven new calculator themes, as well as additional digit styles and click sounds. PCalc has never looked better!
• Conversion Pack - add dozens of extra unit conversions with this pack. Includes a bonus set of scientific constants too.
• Engineer Pack - a collection of powerful calculator layouts designed for engineers and students. Also adds a virtual paper tape.
• Programmer Pack - a set of advanced layouts with support for hex, octal, and binary calculations, and a variety of bitwise operators.
• Multiple Line Pack - adds comprehensive multi-line support for the display, along with the bonus feature of multiple memories.
• Power User Pack - get detailed control over all aspects of PCalc with this pack. Advanced settings for display, RPN mode, and much more.

There's also the Complete Pack which lets you buy all the extra features for PCalc in one step and get a bonus coupon code to save $9 on the Mac version. The cost, and functionality, is exactly the same as the regular app.

There's nothing new here if you've already bought the full version - the idea is that people who haven't now have more choice. The regular version will continue to get updates exactly as this version does - they both share 99.9% of the same code now except for which features are unlocked at the beginning. I'm not planning to make anybody pay twice for anything.

Really, this is an investigation to see how people would like to buy iPhone software. Do you want a great free app with in-app purchase of extra functionality, or do you want to buy the whole thing outright from the beginning?

I don't know the answer to that yet, but it will be very interesting to find out... Let me know what you think.

12th December 2009

PCalc 1.9 is up on the App Store now! You can download it here.

141.622272 km/h

Well, kind of.

Apple's servers are having some problems today and some people are getting 1.8.1 again when they download the update, and some people who manage to get 1.9 are being told to download it again repeatedly. I'm hoping the problems sort themselves out over the next 24 hours, but apologies if it's not working for you at the moment. Right now, all I can do is report the problems to Apple unfortunately.

Also, PCalc Lite 1.9 has been held up too, I suspect because I've added a big new feature to it (which will be unveiled soon). Apple approved the full app in record time, but I think it will be a week or two more for the lite one to show. Hopefully just in time for Christmas!

Anyway, when you do get it, what can you expect? The main changes are:

• I've added a new calculator theme "Flux" which you can see above.
• You can now customize the decimal and thousands separators in the advanced settings.
• I've added options to automatically copy and paste when PCalc is closed and reopened.
• When using multiple memories, the memory keys now highlight to show which memories have values stored in them.

The full list is here. Most of the code that's changed in 1.9 is actually for low level changes in PCalc Lite 1.9. But more about that (hopefully) soon... The hint is that there are only seven lines of code which are different between the two apps now.

PCalc now requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later - it was getting difficult to support the older systems while continuing to add new features. Let me know if that causes anybody problems.

Enjoy!

19th October 2009

PCalc and PCalc Lite 1.8.1 are up on the App Store now. You can download them both here.

This is a small update to fix a particular bug in 1.8 with calculator buttons not always taking presses. It should be more responsive again now.

30th September 2009

PCalc and PCalc Lite 1.8 are up on the App Store now. You can download them both here.

The full version includes a discount coupon code to save $9 on the price of PCalc for Mac OS X. The Mac version is normally $19, but with the code you can get it for a mere $10. So, if you were thinking of buying both, it's like getting the iPhone one for just 99c!

It also improves on the multi-line support - you can set the number of lines displayed independantly for the horizontal and vertical modes, and can swipe vertically on the LCD screen to add or remove lines. I've also added a mod function to some of the layouts, and undo/redo now persists across closing and opening PCalc.

PCalc Lite just gets some minor improvements and bug fixes.

The full list of changes is here. I hope you like them!

13th August 2009

There's a new version 3.5 of PCalc for the Mac available here. I've moved many the recent features from the iPhone version back to the Mac, including:

• A "2nd" key to show additional functions.
• New functions like hyperbolic trig, hypotenuse, gamma, delta percentage, memory / stack clear, and last x.
• Multiple-memory support.
• Optional HP48-style RPN behaviour.
• Key click sounds.
• Support for regions that use a quote as the thousands separator.

Basically, if you like PCalc on the iPhone, the Mac version should now feel a bit more like home!

18th July 2009

If you can see this message, you don't have a 3GS.

Both PCalc and PCalc Lite 1.7 for the iPhone are now available. You can download them here.

This is a big update with lots of features I've been working on since before the 3.0 iPhone OS release. I think many people will be happy. Changes to the full version include:

• Faster startup! The number one most-requested feature. You'll notice it most on the second launch of 1.7, as I now cache things on quit for the next startup. On a 3GS or iPod touch 2G, it's practically instant - so much so that I sadly don't have time to display the little loading messages like the one above.
• Three and four-line display modes, including complete control over what appears on each line.
• Multiple-memory support.
• Optional HP48-style RPN behaviour.
• Much nicer number display with the "Easier To Read" digits option. It's now actually easier to read!

The free PCalc Lite just gets the speed increases and the digit improvements. Full details of all the changes are here. Enjoy!

15th June 2009

PCalc and PCalc Lite 1.6 for the iPhone are now available on the App Store. You can download them here.

They both support the forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0 release, and feature copy and paste support when running on iPhones and iPod touches with the new OS installed. These releases still run on the older 2.2.x OS of course, you just don't get to play with the 3.0 stuff yet.

In addition to 3.0 support, I've also added two new full-featured vertical layouts, one geared towards engineering and one to programming. Now you don't need to rotate the calculator to get at all the advanced functions!

Full details of all the changes here.

I was just about to post some screenshots showing off copy and paste, but technically I'm not allowed to post any pictures of iPhone OS 3.0 in action until it is officially released on the 19th. So I'll be waiting a little while longer just so Apple doesn't get annoyed! But when you do get the new OS, or even a new 3GS phone, you'll see how it all works.

The NDA is now lifted, so have a picture :)

Hope you like them!

11th May 2009

I'm currently working away on a new version of PCalc for the upcoming iPhone 3.0 OS with support for copy and paste amongst other things.

In the meantime, since that's keeping me really busy, we're doing a special half-price sale on PCalc, starting today. It's available now on the App Store for $4.99. The new release of PCalc I'm working on will be a free upgrade too, so now would be a really good time to grab it before the price goes back up!

Have you read my developer blog? If you want to see some of the behind-the-scenes here, it's worth a look. You can also follow me as @jamesthomson on Twitter.

25th March 2009

New Model, Original Parts

Two new releases to celebrate today. Firstly, PCalc and PCalc Lite 1.5 for the iPhone are both now available on the App Store. You can download them here.

PCalc gets a new optional engineering layout, as shown above, with hyperbolic trig functions, hypotenuse and leg, gamma, delta percent and more. You can also see a classic theme taken from PCalc on Mac OS X. What you can't hear are the six new key click sounds you can choose from too.

PCalc Lite gets two of the click sounds, and some other small improvements. PCalc Lite is completely free. If you want to get a feel for how the full PCalc works, just try it.

Full details of all the changes here.

Secondly, a new version of PCalc for Mac OS X can also be found here. Hope you like them both!

Have you read my developer blog? If you want to see some of the behind-the-scenes here, it's worth a look. You can also follow me as @jamesthomson on Twitter.

22nd January 2009

Saving Your Fingers, One Tap At A Time

PCalc and PCalc Lite 1.4 are now available on the App Store. You can download them both here.

The main new feature for 1.4 is a reworked conversions section. As well as adding lots of new conversions, it now lists your most recent selections - overall, and in each category - for quicker access. Same goes for the constants in fact.

There's also a new set of digit styles you can choose from, it has a much nicer startup without any visible theme switching, and there's some general performance improvements too. Full details here.

PCalc Lite also gets the recent conversion support and an option to turn off the key clicks. As always, PCalc Lite is completely free. If you want to get a feel for how PCalc works, just go ahead and check it out.

Enjoy!

20th December 2008

Surprise! Well, it's a surprise to me anyway... The full PCalc 1.3 release is also now available today on the App Store. You can get it here.

This update has the new "Twilight" theme from yesterday's free PCalc Lite as well as performance improvements and some other small changes. Enjoy them both.

19th December 2008

Fewer Calories, Same Great Taste

Available for a limited time only, PCalc Lite is a fully functional and free taste of our popular scientific calculator for the iPhone and iPod touch. You can download it from the App Store here.

It includes an optional RPN mode, multiple undo and redo, unit conversions and constants, as well as two stylish themes and our highly praised design.

If you like what you see, the full version has many more settings and themes, a paper tape, engineering and scientific notation, and full support for hexadecimal, octal and binary calculations.

In the continuing absence of demos or trial periods in the App Store, the idea behind PCalc Lite is to provide something useful and free that's better than the Apple calculator, but which will also drive interest in our full version. PCalc Lite is a great calculator, but PCalc is even better!

I hope you like it.

16th December 2008

Hmm... What is this? It's like the regular PCalc icon, but lighter...

Actually, what it is isn't a big secret if you've been reading my blog or Twitter feed. But I'll maintain the illusion of surprise for now. I've also just submitted PCalc 1.3 to the App Store, so it should hopefully show up sometime before the 25th!

More soon...

17th November 2008

PCalc 1.2 is finally available from the App Store! Click here to download it.

No. There Is Another.

Changes include an optional two-line display for use with RPN mode, and the two stylish calculator themes seen below. The full list is here.

As usual, this is a free update if you've already bought the iPhone version. I hope you like it!

If you haven't seen it already, check out my new developer blog. You can also follow me on Twitter.

11th November 2008

A quick tease for PCalc 1.2, which is in the hands on my beta testers now. You can see the optional two-line display for RPN folk, and one of the two new themes. It should be submitted to the App Store in the next few days, and will probably show up on the store week after. More soon!

14th October 2008

PCalc 1.1 is now available from the App Store. This is a big update!

This One Goes To Eleven

The two main new features are multiple layouts and themes. Above, you can see the new "Retro Scientific" horizontal layout, coupled with the "High Power" theme. Below, you can see the new "Retro" vertical layout in a variety of themes - click any of them for a bigger view.

The theme engine is actually the same powerful theme code from DragThing on Mac OS X, running pretty much unmodified on the iPhone. So, anything I can do with themes there, I can now do in PCalc. Which I personally think is pretty cool! You can look forward to some new themes soon anyway...

The full list of changes in this release is here - of course, this is a free update. Do let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas for new layouts or themes you'd like to see in the next version.

Enjoy!

8th October 2008

PCalc 1.1 has been submitted to the App Store - it should be available there in about a week, if everything goes to plan.

4th September 2008

A new version of PCalc for Mac OS X is now available - you can download version 3.3 here.

It has a lot of the improvements from PCalc for the iPhone, especially in the RPN department. It should now feel the same as the iPhone version to use. Hope you like it!

27th August 2008

PCalc 1.0.2 is now available from the App Store.

Marty McFly

The main changes are:

• Added multiple undo and redo. Just flick the LCD to the right and left to reveal the past and future.
• You can now change the colors of the LCD display and digits.
• Made the operator buttons more readable.
• Reversed the order of the operator buttons to match other calculators.
• More improvements to the RPN mode.
• Fixed a problem displaying large hex numbers on the tape.

The undo support is pretty cool, you just flick the LCD in the direction you want to go and it animates in the old value. Very "iPhone" even if I say so myself!

Hope you like it! Oh, and check out the PCalc fan page if you are on Facebook - become a fan to tell your friends!

20th August 2008

PCalc 1.0.2 has now been submitted to the App Store - it will probably take around a week to show up, assuming everything goes smoothly with Apple's vetting.

I'll let you know when it's available for download.

17th August 2008

I'm currently putting the finishing touches to PCalc 1.0.2 - it's got a number of cool new features, most notably the multiple undo and redo support. I won't spoil exactly how it works yet, but I think it came together really well.

I expect the new version will get submitted early next week when my beta testers are happy with it, and hopefully it will turn up on the store soon. I'll let you know.

In the meantime, if you really like PCalc, why not become a fan? I've set up a fan page on Facebook which you can get to here. Click the "Become a Fan" link at the top right of the page to help spread the word.

Thanks!

30th July 2008

PCalc 1.0.1 is now live on the iPhone App Store here. Enjoy!

24th July 2008

PCalc 1.0.1 has been submitted to the iPhone App Store!

I've heard that updates are taking a while to show up, indeed some developers haven't seen any of their new versions appear yet since the store opened. But hopefully it will turn up soon.

The changes are in this release are:

• You can now email the contents of the tape and the display.
• Changed the RPN Drop behaviour to match HP calculators.
• Rearranged layout slightly to show "Del" button in RPN mode.
• Added some fuel efficiency conversions.
• Added display of ASCII / UTF-8 / UTF-16 values.
• Added a Help section to the Settings.
• Now correctly disable the "8" button in octal mode.
• Fixed the RPN "Roll" button in horizontal mode.
• Fixed a couple of memory leaks.

I'll post again when it shows up on the store.