Flick Tunes iPad developer wants our input

**RipplingHurst** · 06-23-2010, 10:55 PM

Last week I sent some emails to the Flick Tunes support asking for an iPad version. I then exchanged a couple of emails with David, from the Flick Tunes team. Flick Tunes is the gesture based control of your media in the iPhone OS (now called iOS).

He said he is happy with the number of hits generated by the thread on the Flick Tunes app on the mp3car.com forums and just moved the "no plans" to "considering" developing an iPad version of the application. Nothing is guaranteed, though.

He also asks for some feedback on what the user interface for an iPad version could look like.

I think we can help.

The iPhone version just show the cover.jpg and it fill the entire iPhone screen, like this:

You can see the repeat/shuffle buttons on one side, and the add button and detail button.

Now I think the iPad version could show more stuff, specially since some album art may not scale well to the 9" 1024x1024 screen. Some ideas:

1. Maybe we could have displayed around 3/5 songs of the current playing list? (two previous, one current, two next ones)?

2. Maybe we could have a way to select among playlists? (Same box as above, showing 3/5 playlists at a time?)

3. Maybe we could have a way to control video playback? Maybe we could also toggle rear display (via Apple AV cable?)

4. Maybe we could also display lyrics?

All with big buttons, of course, which is vital while driving.

That's what I'm thinking about right now. Any ideas?

Cheers,

RH.

**Bugbyte** · 06-24-2010, 08:17 AM

+1 for number 1. Sort of like, a mini coverflow of the last two songs played, the current song, and the next two. Except instead of coverflow, it would be more like thumbnail views of the songs that would act like buttons you could easily press.

I agree that playlists are the hardest thing to select in flicktunes. Either a playlist gesture that would bring up a screenful of playlists in thumbnail view (again, thumbnail style, a little like the genius recommendations in itunes except tuned for the iPad/gesture environment, see pic below)

Video playback would be a no-brainer and would work just like the tune selection does

I agree that an option for lyric display is good. Maybe a slow scroll over the album art?

Autodim for night mode connected to the clock or gps would be nice.

I realize this is way out there, but there's no way for a remote device to control the tunes, is there? Like a bluetooth or wifi device to allow steering wheel buttons to advance/pause/previous.

**RipplingHurst** · 06-24-2010, 09:17 AM

Awesome suggestions!

Yes, I've seen the scroll over the album art thing in other apps, you could also flick it up and down if you want to. So it must be doable.

And the coverflow idea would look beautiful. I'd love to see that, but no idea how much work would that be.

Autodim would be great, but is there any app that dims the screen? That would be a first, welcome addition.

I'm not sure I got what do you mean by control the tunes. You mean the iTunes app? I think it's not possible for an app to control another app, like Pandora, or iTunes for instance. Volume control is global though.

Let's keep them coming.

**jr4284** · 06-24-2010, 04:57 PM

I'm on travel right now and my iP4 is sitting at my house (

), but I've heard that more gesture control has been given to iOS. Can anyone elaborate on its capabilities, if any?

The first thing I thought when I heard that was, "well, there goes FlickTunes."

**Bugbyte** · 06-24-2010, 07:56 PM

No, not the iTunes. The music. Like a WiFi remote steering button that would work with FlickTunes to allow you to use steering wheel remote to control the music or even navigate the playlists.

I really miss being able to control the music with my Griffin Powermate. That was choice!

**RipplingHurst** · 06-24-2010, 09:42 PM

Originally Posted by jr4284

I'm on travel right now and my iP4 is sitting at my house (

), but I've heard that more gesture control has been given to iOS. Can anyone elaborate on its capabilities, if any?

The first thing I thought when I heard that was, "well, there goes FlickTunes."

I've looked around, couldn't find anything about more gesture control, at least not anything over what's already available with the 3GS.

I've been playing with iOS on my 3G and couldn't find any gesture setting, although everything else seems to work (multitasking, folders, etc.). My iPhone 4 should arrive next week so I check that then.

However, do you think it would be more wide ranging than what we already have with Activator? For gestures alone that is great.

Plus, the good thing about Flicktunes is the visual feedback (changing album art, big fonts song info, etc.). If we could enhance that, I think we could have the 2nd best thing short of a full blown front end, at least an alternative media player is at stake here.

**RipplingHurst** · 06-24-2010, 09:48 PM

Originally Posted by Bugbyte

No, not the iTunes. The music. Like a WiFi remote steering button that would work with FlickTunes to allow you to use steering wheel remote to control the music or even navigate the playlists.

I really miss being able to control the music with my Griffin Powermate. That was choice!

Got it now. I wonder if we could control it via key presses from an attached bluetooth keyboard. That would help things, I think.

I can imagine a bluetooth version of CarPC JoyCon EX sending key presses to an iPad app to control play/pause, etc.

**Bugbyte** · 06-25-2010, 08:23 AM

Yes! Something that we could hack up ourselves and get to work.

Not so sure that fits the FlickTunes model, but maybe they could make it compatible with one of the BT control devices on the market already to extend functionality. Hell, now that I think of it, maybe it already does work with one and I just never considered it before. Don't they have BT car control for iPod already? Maybe it simply works already.