free source for bitcoin iPhone App

[udibr]

Source at https://github.com/udibr/bitcoinApp

I've managed to run the entire bitcoind on iPhone (both sim and device) on a separate thread inside an App.
The App acts as a client and communicates using the regular RPC-JSON with the bitcoind.
The changes I had to do to bitcoin code are minimal and are described in the "Add bitcoin.org project" section of
https://github.com/udibr/bitcoinApp/blob/master/build-iOS.txt
(at some point I hope they will be merged into the master repo)

For now the only command I have implemented on the client side is "getinfo" but it should be easy to use it as a template and add all commands.

The client is implemented using Three20 package (the same SDK used by the facebook App) so it already has non-trivial features, out of the box.
For example:
* on the info page if you drag the table all the way down you can force it to refresh its content
* every bitcoind command appears as an icon on the launcher screen. It is possible to re-arrange (or delete) these icons, allowing for very nice App customization.

There are many things that needs improvement:
* the client/server response time is slow and not what you expect from an App.
* It takes a while for the daemon to start and until then if you press on the info (getinfo) button you get an error.
* If you put the App in the background the entire thing crashes...
but its a start...
once we will have something reasonable I will try to put it on the App store (not sure what Steve will have to say on this.)

Enjoy, Udi

[Clarithium]

This is a very good idea that I have been waiting for.

While waiting for its App Store release, why not put on a repo for Jailbroken iPod, iPhone's or iPads?

[udibr]

I dont have much knowledge in jail-broken dev, but if you want, sign up for an Ad Hoc version at
http://bit.ly/g4FNZX

[kangasbros]

I already submitted one Bitcoin iPhone app, but apple rejected because "not useful"-clause. It was just very simple app for following the market stats of Bitcoin. Will put source code to github when I have time...

[Anonymous]

This is a very good idea that I have been waiting for.

While waiting for its App Store release, why not put on a repo for Jailbroken iPod, iPhone's or iPads?

Coincidentally I just jailbroke an ipod touch so yes 

[M4v3R]

I dont have much knowledge in jail-broken dev, but if you want, sign up for an Ad Hoc version at
http://bit.ly/g4FNZX

I've did this. Do you provide a build for iPhone 3G? Because I've registered but I have nothing there, except for an information that the developer needs to provide build for my model.

[Jered Kenna (TradeHill)]

I already submitted one Bitcoin iPhone app, but apple rejected because "not useful"-clause. It was just very simple app for following the market stats of Bitcoin. Will put source code to github when I have time...

Implying everything that makes it to the app store is useful wtf? That seems like it has a good use too.

[M4v3R]

Meh, Now I see on the Testflight app, that a build is available, but it's only compatible with iOS 4.3, which is beyond me (4.2.1 was the latest version to run on older iPhones).

[Clarithium]

Great... I have an iPhone 3G.  Guess mine isn't supported..?

That's just stupid.

[udibr]

No problem, I'll build a new version which goes back to iOS 4.0 (going back to 3.1.3 will really limit what I can do.)
So PLEASE register your devices for testing if you havent done so already at http://bit.ly/g4FNZX .
Its not enough to signup for the site, you need to register your device

Thanks, Udi

[udibr]

0.0.5 crashes on iPhone 3G. Working on it

[udibr]

OK a fix at http://bit.ly/glCBLi
if you want to join, signup and register your device (two different button presses) so I will be able to update the version with your unique device number (UDID)

For now there is a long time after starting the App in which you get an Error message on some of the screens, so just wait a little bit or just move around between the pages until the App starts to work.

Again, this is a test program, so the Apps wallet may be lost in future versions (be careful)

[Mike Hearn]

I'd be worried about this trashing the battery life and/or internal storage. BitCoin is super read/write heavy during the indexing phase. The software wasn't really designed with mobiles in mind. Startup time in particular is going to be "not excellent" even after the block chain is fully downloaded. It takes several seconds even on a high end MacBook, and architecturally that's hard to fix.

However it's definitely a good way to test what Apples reviewer team thinks of it.

[Clarithium]

Just registered my iPhone 3G :]

[Rawrr00]

Registered iphone 3gs

[udibr]

In the latest release 0.0.13 I have added the option to connect to a remote bitcoin server/daemon.
So you can have your bitcoin machine running in the cloud and connect to it while on the move.

If your interested, you are welcomed to join the team of testers at http://bit.ly/g4FNZX

[Escalion]

Would anyone have an issue with me going through the code on this and releasing it on the app store?

(I have a developer account)

[udibr]

I've already submitted a more advance version of it (1.0.2) to Apple.
The latest message I got from them on April 25 was  "...review process will require additional time..."

[udibr]

I continue to update my changes to bitcoin code at https://github.com/udibr/bitcoin
I will have to decide what to do with the App part, once I get an answer from Apple

[udibr]

I was called by a person from Apple: App was rejected by Apple because "...it involves intermediate currency..."
I've asked why Apps such as PayPal and Venmo are accepted and he replied that he "does not have time to elaborate"
I then asked if they allow just a console to a remote node (not located on iPhone) and he said that this will also be an App that involves intermediate currency and there for will not be allowed...

[udibr]

I've posted this to Apple:
"As part of your testing, you have transfered 0.5 bitcoin from the server I supplied you to your account. Current value in USD is about 1.5 please send the 0.5 bitcoin back to the server's address. Its either bitcoins dont have value and in this case the App should be approved or they do have value and in this case send me the half bitcoin back.

I would like to get from you some details on in what way this App is different from Venmo, Paypal, Square, among others."

[slurch]

That really sucks. I would consider jailbreaking my phone (*gasp*) for functionality in this realm. Apple really sucks in this regard...though I've been very happy with the hardware.

I've been extremely happy with the beta (though, in all honesty, I use it mostly for checking my wallet balance in bed).

Good luck getting this sorted.

[udibr]

there is no need to jailbreak - I can add up to 100 people on the "beta" program
and other developers can do the same

[njloof]

Plus, since it's open source, those of us with the iPhone SDK can compile it ourselves and save a beta license for somebody else

[slurch]

Good enough for now, then. Thanks for being so cool with everything. You really do have top notch support, too...especially for a noob such as myself.

[udibr]

Following Apple response I've uploaded the entire updated source for the App at https://github.com/udibr/bitcoinApp
Please send me updates using github pull request.

Thanks, Udi

[chrissignnow]

This is crap.  I am ready to go Android (although this will obviously not help me get an App).  I also do not know how they could allow money management applications and not this.  I also do not think it is an "intermediate" currency.  It is currency.

Keep up the good fight!  I am still planning on making a donation once I can buy up some bitcoins (through the roof right now!)

Chris

[udibr]

Its not clear it will be allowed on Android. Last week google removed all tethering Apps from Android markets.

This is the content of my last email to Apple (you are welcomed to send them your own):
====================================8<========================================
I've received from you a phone call to say the App was rejected.
In the phone call the Apple representative said the App can not be approved because it handles intermediate currency which is not allowed by the "App Store Review Guidelines"
I've went to your site http://developer.apple.com/appstore/resources/approval/guidelines.html
And tried to find this clause.
The only relevant section I found was "Purchasing and currencies" but it gave no reference to an "intermediate currency".
Can you please send me the link to the correct reference.
This goes back to my question from the email below as to what is the difference between this App and others in which a form of currency is handled (as far as I know, in the Venmo App the amount of money you have is not "real" dollars, while PayPal acts more like a regular bank.)

Please note that to the best of my knowledge there is no relation between bitcoins and any feature of iPhone or any other Apple product.
The only possible connection is that some people will buy Apple servers for their superior support for OpenCL in order to use it to generate bitcoins (but this is completely outside the scope of this App.)

Thank you very much, and please send me my 0.5 BitCoin back.
You can also use the following address:

1JsHXZRoqoPkwpZajy1VmnSmmvxqy1eux2

[grondilu]

I was called by a person from Apple: App was rejected by Apple because "...it involves intermediate currency..."
I've asked why Apps such as PayPal and Venmo are accepted and he replied that he "does not have time to elaborate"
I then asked if they allow just a console to a remote node (not located on iPhone) and he said that this will also be an App that involves intermediate currency and there for will not be allowed...

Just throw you iCrap away.

[bcardarella]

Unfortunately this seems like it is just part of the growing process for Bitcoin. Just because this app is denied today does not mean it will be denied tomorrow. As Bitcoin continues to gain mainstream acceptance it is just a matter of time until Apple can no longer ignore it.

If Paypal was at the same point as Bitcoin I find it hard to believe Apple would respond any differently. Paypal has clout/marketshare so they're going to get acceptance. It sucks but that's how the game is played.

[scotu]

Its not clear it will be allowed on Android. Last week google removed all tethering Apps from Android markets.

I don't know much about bitcoin but I wanted to rectify on your sentence: market policies does not mean much on android since: A. you can have multiple, separate markets (e.g. Amazon App Store for Android) and B. on most devices you can sideload app legally and without hacks/jailbreaks (I think AT&T in the US is the only one in the world that locks this); just download from the web and install.

Good luck with bitcoin :)

[udibr]

I've sent this email to steve@apple.com (lets see if I get a reply):

I think Apple is missing:
I was rejected because the App involves "intermediate currency" however, bitcoin,  is the first true virtual peer-to-peer currency, which unlike all other currencies is not backed by a country or by a central server, but by the bitcoin community (http://bitcoin.org)
This site http://www.bitcoinwatch.com/ has some interesting statistics: In last 24h there were 3.6K exchanges involving 400K bitcoins, the current exchange rate is $3.67=1 bitcoin and according to this the market cap is $22.8M

I am involved with technology before the days of Apple II and I can tell you that this is the real-deal, and just ignoring bitcoin is a mistake.
As far as I know, you cant buy with bitcoins anything in Apple's so it cant be used to by pass your in-app purchase mechanism.
I would even suggest you will add bitcoin to one of the currencies in which people can buy on your stores.

Please reconsider, Udi

[udibr]

Thank you for all the people who signed up for testing. It is encouraging!

I try to send you a version as quickly as I can but few people forgot to signed up their device(s) (go to testflight from your iOS device not from your PC/Mac.)

If you haven’t (and have an iOS device) you can sign up at: http://bit.ly/g4FNZX

Perhaps emailing Apple will also help. I am not sure what would be the best email address for that. If anyone has an idea, please post it here.

If anyone wants to improve my code then start from here:
https://github.com/udibr/bitcoinApp
and please let me know (or make a pull request)

Donation will also help:
1JsHXZRoqoPkwpZajy1VmnSmmvxqy1eux2
Programing, testing and distribution the test version takes its time and in addition, some of the tests I run consume the usual 0.01 fee, not to mention the 0.5 bitcoin that Apple took and never returned.

[udibr]

sorry, I run out of iOS devices I can add to my beta test.
The real solution is to make Apple allow this App on their store.

[benjaminwand]

I'd like to learn something and I'd like to support Bitcoin.
How can I compile the source from https://github.com/udibr/bitcoin ?
With Xcode? Xcode 4 seems not to support git, how can I bring the software project into Xcode?

[jtimon]

The appstore is not compatible with free software as far as I know. So, yes, throw your iCrap away.

http://www.fsf.org/news/2010-05-app-store-compliance

[udibr]

Xcode fully supports git in a very nice way.
As for building the bitcoin App:
I broke the project into two repositories:
1) git@github.com:udibr/bitcoin.git
 is a fork out of the original bitcoin repository and in it I used #if TARGET_OS_IPHONE || TARGET_IPHONE_SIMULATOR to mark my small changes.
2) git@github.com:udibr/bitcoinApp.git
is the App itself and this is where the Xcode project file for both repositories is held: BitCoin.xcodeproj

In addition you need to build several other packages for iPhone. The above is just an overview, the exact steps are described at
https://github.com/udibr/bitcoin/blob/master/build-iOS.txt

Good luck, Udi

[njloof]

Thanks for all your work thus far. The only bugs I've had have been on my old iPhone 3G. It has less RAM, so I suspect that's one reason why the app crashes; when it's been full with music it also can cause the app to crash. In both cases it seems unrecoverable without deleting the app (the app will always crash on launch after one of these crashes). It would be great for the app to recover in that case and regenerate the database.

Donation will also help:
1JsHXZRoqoPkwpZajy1VmnSmmvxqy1eux2

>plonk<

[udibr]

Interesting. I know that the App always crash on 4.2.1. Maybe this is related.
What iOS version do you have? Do you know if bitcoin has a recovery command-line-flag I can use?

[Mike Hearn]

There's already a Bitcoin wallet app in the Android market (testnet only).

[njloof]

Interesting. I know that the App always crash on 4.2.1. Maybe this is related.
What iOS version do you have? Do you know if bitcoin has a recovery command-line-flag I can use?

4.2.1, which I gather is the last for iPhone 3G. Works fine on an iPod Touch running 4.3 though. Probably should just prevent installs on 3G/4.2.1.

[optimo]

I help run TheBigBoss repository on Cydia, the jailbreak app store.

This technology is so cool it's tough to explain to my contemporaries. I love the idea; this should be bigger news than just a story about an apple rejection.
If you get the itch waiting on Apple and want to see this project or a derivitive build make it to the masses, we can host the package for you. We do try to support what is rejected by apple, and I feel this app really should be in the hands of users soon.

I wouldn't go so far as to build it for ourselves - not sure how that would make us look. I can say that the userbase that is using jailbroken idevices is huge and growing larger each day with the devices gaining traction in the western world this year.

If you need any help or have any questions just drop us a line

Optimo @
thebigboss.org

[udibr]

For people that continue to signup for testing, I run out of devices I can add.

If any other iOS developer wants to build the App and sign it to few additional devices (UDID) then I can forward him the devices that signed up but are not in my test and then I can distribute the App back to the device owners

[Binford 6100]

did anyone clone this project to allow another 100 beta testers, please?

[grue]

For people that continue to signup for testing, I run out of devices I can add.

If any other iOS developer wants to build the App and sign it to few additional devices (UDID) then I can forward him the devices that signed up but are not in my test and then I can distribute the App back to the device owners

is it possible to distribute the .ipa file for the app?

[udibr]

the latest .ipa file can be downloaded from https://s3.amazonaws.com/udibriphone/bitcoinApp.ipa
(in addition to testflight site)

Let me know if/how its possible for someone else to re-sign it with a new provisioning file.

[Binford 6100]

Let me know if/how its possible for someone else to re-sign it with a new provisioning file.

I've purchased the Xcode app for 5$. does that qualify me to distribute 100 beta apps? If yes, than I could help you.
I'm asking a quick question here before I read the whole license stuff. I've noticed an option to spend 100$ for a year long developer's program but that's not an option for me.

[udibr]

you need the $100/yr (the $5 app used to be free)

Also I am not sure if you can take someones else .app file and sign it with your provisioning file.
On a second thought I am sure you cant.
Because the App id has to match the certificate which you get from the developers site (to which you have access only if you pay $100/yr)

[Binford 6100]

you need the $100/yr (the $5 app used to be free)

it's still free for registered developers ($100/yr) but I only needed the compiler & co to work on a different project, not targeted on iOS. so i spent the 5 bucks as a one off payment for a nice tool.

Also I am not sure if you can take someones else .app file and sign it with your provisioning file.
On a second thought I am sure you cant.
Because the App id has to match the certificate which you get from the developers site (to which you have access only if you pay $100/yr)

seems like a no go at the moment. thanks for the clarification.

[forbun]

Also I am not sure if you can take someones else .app file and sign it with your provisioning file.
On a second thought I am sure you cant.
Because the App id has to match the certificate which you get from the developers site (to which you have access only if you pay $100/yr)

I'm an iOS Developer. Long ago (about 3 years) I published an app on Cydia. If I remember correctly, the process at that time involved re-signing the app binary, so I actually think this may be possible.

Publishing on the App Store is indeed the most promising route. I'm not sure I want to risk submitting on my account, though, as I have other successful apps published under that account. Maybe we can establish a new Bitcoin company for the sole purpose of trying to get a Bitcoin app published on the App Store. If anyone's interested in helping with this, contact me.

[udibr]

I'm not sure I want to risk submitting on my account, though

Did you wanted to say that a new company is needed for submitting on Cydia or for re-submitting on App Store?

I will try to talk with the App review people at WWDC next week and see what exactly they object to.

[broker11]

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bitcoin-app/id441200334?mt=8

[Binford 6100]

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bitcoin-app/id441200334?mt=8

as soon as app store accepts bitcoins I'll pay the 3.99 $

btw if it hits the top rank in the finance category it will be additional bitcoin promotion ...

[jimijon]

Hello -

I have a personal app published on the Apps store and was thinking
I could fairly easily integrate it into the App for an updated pro version.

What would be the minimum needed to make it useful.

In this way we could get our foot in the door.

[Binford 6100]

In this way we could get our foot in the door.

and get banned from app store?
anyway it should be doable. you probably need a button to switch to the bitcoin part of the app and merge the code to your app.

[tragor]

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bitcoin-app/id441200334?mt=8

as soon as app store accepts bitcoins I'll pay the 3.99 $

it's free at the moment, I just downloaded it.

[ironwolf]

I will try to talk with the App review people at WWDC next week and see what exactly they object to.

Did you find out anything at WWDC?

[udibr]

got a final rejection

[jackjack]

I just found that thread
So, finally, what's going on? The project is abandoned? Are some people still interested?

[notme]

I just found that thread
So, finally, what's going on? The project is abandoned? Are some people still interested?

I will pledge 1 bitcoin to whoever makes this installable through Cydia.

[jackjack]

I managed to compile it but the app seems to crash

[vv01f]

testflightapp.com says, there aint no ipad2-version. but shouldnt run any iphone app on ipad already?!
is there a solution to use the app on ipads withour being a ios-developer?

[Anonymailer]

testflightapp.com says, there aint no ipad2-version. but shouldnt run any iphone app on ipad already?!
is there a solution to use the app on ipads withour being a ios-developer?

xcode is free on the app store these days, but I'm not sure whether you can install your code on a device without the dev account - no harm trying though!

[vv01f]

  on apple site they demand $99/y for it - or did you mean some other source? didnt find anything directly in the ios-appstore excepting some helpers and how-tos

but perhaps my blindness asks its tribute and someone can point me (and prolly some others) in a good direction 

[Anonymailer]

on apple site they demand $99/y for it - or did you mean some other source? didnt find anything directly in the ios-appstore excepting some helpers and how-tos

but perhaps my blindness asks its tribute and someone can point me (and prolly some others) in a good direction 

Haha good luck programming on iOS 
xcode is only available for Mac OS X - 10.6.8 and up - if you're running 10.6.8 or newer there will be an App Store for Mac on your computer through which you can download xcode for free.

$99 a year is for the developer program, which allows you to do things like download betas of new versions, and may be necessary to acquire profiles that allow you to install software on devices. Only, I'm too lazy to look up whether you do need the dev account for that 

[opticbit]

Someone could write an iFart ButtCoin edition, include Bitcoind as an easter egg.
There's your useless app Steve, oh right.... Tim Cook is in charge now, let's see what he thinks about bitcoin


I'm enjoing the bitcoin app on my android phone. I've even got some people to install it.

- sent from my Galaxy S.

[Binford 6100]

video tutorial from Stanford university - developing for iOs is also free on iTunes
it's about 20 sessions, explaining all key aspects of app development for iPhone,Pad,Pod devices
go, create.

edit: the free xcode requires mac os 10.7 and is version 4.1
mine was for a few dollars and is version 4.0.2 (and i run 10.6.8 )

either way anyone who is interested and can click a few buttons _should_ be able to build it in less than 1 bottle of wine