Question for an iOS developer

[johneasley]

Is anyone out there an experienced developer of iPhone and iPad apps? Got a general question for you. Does one of the iOS systems APIs allow access to reading the files and folders that might be on a digital camera, or maybe on a USB drive, connected to an iPad2 using the camera connection kit's USB connector?

Here's the reason I'm asking: I have an iPad2 and a Garmin GPS Edge 800 device. When the Garmin is connected to a Windows computer, it mounts as a removable drive and the file explorer can be used to browse the file folders. New mapped routes in the form of .gpx files can be dragged and dropped on the New Files folder of the Garmin and then they will be imported into the device. Tracks that have been created and stored on the device can be accessed and uploaded to a website called Garmin Connect. There is currently no iPad (or iPhone) app for connecting to the Garmin and they aren't working on one, either.

I am a .NET Windows developer with no exposure to the iOS SDK or Objective C but I'm willing to learn if it's possible to connect to it. My vision of this project is not to open some sort of file browsing window but to hard-code the paths to be able to pass the correct file types back and forth.

Possible?

Thanks for any insights.

 

[Tim SPRACKLEN]

OK - one of our Members, 'thewitt' is a professional iOS developer. I'm sure he'll answer your question soon but, if not, you might want to PM him (hope you don't mind, thewitt)

Tim

 

[thewitt]

I believe you will be able to do what you want, however I'll have one of my guys who knows that area better than I do take a look. I'm a little concerned about visibility using published APIs, since Apple restricts what we can do with the USB port pretty heavily.

-t

 

[johneasley]

Apple restricts what we can do with the USB port pretty heavily.

Thanks for taking a look at this thewitt. When you say they restrict what we can do through that port, do you mean I might be able to create an app that works with the Garmin and meets all of the goals above but Apple would not approve it or do you mean the app might not work because the OS would restrict the the communications with the peripheral device?

 

[thewitt]

As long as you use published APIs Apple should not reject the app for what it does. The port is very low power though, 30ma I believe, so if you are expecting to drive any device with it that will likely not work.

-t

 

[johneasley]

As long as you use published APIs Apple should not reject the app for what it does. The port is very low power though, 30ma I believe, so if you are expecting to drive any device with it that will likely not work.

Hmm... It provides enough power to read a camera's folder list and copy over the images files. I would think this would be no different. Don't really need to control the device, just transfer files to and from specific folders.

Please let me know what your guy thinks after taking a look at this idea.

Thanks so much.