July 2014 Summaries

Ionic Creator is a forthcoming drag-and-drop development tool designed to simplify and accelerate the process of building hybrid apps using Ionic and AngularJS. Announced by Max Lynch, CEO of Ionic, this tool aims to make app development more accessible and enjoyable by offering a range of UI elements and ready-made templates, allowing developers to create apps quickly without starting from scratch. It also provides the ability to export projects as ready-to-go Cordova projects and promises future support for building native iOS, Android, and Windows Phone binaries. Additionally, the upcoming Ionic View app will enable rapid testing and sharing of apps on devices. The Ionic Creator is set to offer free and paid plans, with a beta release anticipated by the end of August or early September, and over 10,000 people have already signed up to participate in the beta testing phase.

FitRPG, developed by Amira Anuar, Matt Gutierrez, and Conor Fennell at Hack Reactor, is a gamified fitness app that utilizes Fitbit data to engage users in competitions and quests, transforming fitness activities into a social game. The app integrates with the Fitbit API, allowing users to enhance their in-game characters and compete in various challenges with family and friends. The development team chose the Ionic framework for its ease of use, clean UI, and compatibility with Angular, which facilitated a smooth transition from web to mobile app development. This decision was influenced by a demonstration of Ionic's capabilities during a Hack Reactor session, leading to the use of Ionic's components to focus more on game development than UI design. Built using the MEAN tech stack, FitRPG is available on both iTunes and Google Play, and the company is currently seeking to expand its UX expertise through a Kickstarter campaign.

On July 22, 2014, Perry Govier announced a new, streamlined way for the Ionic community to submit issues, aiming to enhance user experience and efficiency in addressing problems. The updated issue submission form, featuring Ionitron, guides users through the process and introduces an Auto Suggest feature that lists potentially related issues to prevent duplicates. The initial step now requires connecting to GitHub to avoid surprises later, while various UI improvements, such as an animated step tracking bar, have been made to make the process enjoyable. The team encourages users to provide feedback for further enhancements, emphasizing the importance of refining the submission tool and inviting users to try it out for submitting Ionic-related issues.