This update adds the eagerly awaited support for the Retina display of 3rd and 4th generation iPads, which means graphics 4 times more detailed than the previous version and even 8 times if compared to the graphics currently used on iPhone 3GS.

After getting past the wow-effect caused by the new graphics, I invite you to use the app in landscape mode. Many users find more comfortable using their iPad in this way.

Other than all the improvements and corrections recently added to the latest iPhone version, there’s also the 2 Euro commemorative coin “Royal Wedding”, the last of 2012, issued by Luxemburg in december. Soon I’ll release a small update of the iPhone version, 1.5.1, that will include this coin.

But there’s one more thing coming soon for Apple and Euro coins fans. I anticipated it in the app presentation, in a last slide named “One more thing…“.
Steve Jobs made this sentence famous: at the end of his presentations of Apple products he was used to give the public an additional surprise.
I hope I learned well from his example… take at look a the last slide!

It’s mainly a technical update, since the support for iPhone 5 Retina 4-inch display has been implemented.

Technical improvements made the app load faster and run smoother, but there are also more visible modifications, such as the ones related to user interface usability, designed for new users, or the improved Twitter and Facebook sharing options.

A series of corrections to the texts and to some coins details complete the list of features suggested by the most active users.

I know collectors can’t wait to see the 2013 2 Euro commemorative coins added… it will be done, but before that there’s another important technical update coming soon: version 1.1 HD for iPad with support for the Retina display of the 3rd and 4th generation iPads!

The update 1.4 for the iPhone/iPod touch version and the new HD version optimized for iPad.

The first thing you’ll notice will be the new graphics, four times more detailed than the previous version.

I recall I had the same impression with the VGA version for Pocket-PC devices, 7 years ago. However, at that time a lot things were missing: smooth scrolling, multi-touch, social network sharing… just to name a few.

The second thing will be the 2 Euro Commemoratives issued in 2012: 29 new different coins to expand your collection.

Then there are new mini-albums to view german and greek mintmarks at a glance, iCloud synchronization and the notification center.

And yet, that’s not all, the app will get even better thanks to your new suggestions.

We’re in the back to school time and I think that the HD version for iPad could be useful to teachers who love technology.

Other than the pleasure to collect Euro coins, coin designs actually tell the history of European countries, celebrating key historical people, events or places.

Now that Apple made the Volume Purchase Program available outside the US, it’s easier for education institutions using iPads purchasing the apps they need.

I’d like to invite teachers and educators to contact me to download the app for free and evaluate its educational potential.

Highly requested, which was expected, since they’re so cool to collect, it has been almost like developing another app, so much that I thought about making a separate app for a while.

In the end, however, I preferred integration, adding the ability to quickly switch from the virtual album with standard coins to the one dedicated to 2 Euro Commemoratives.

104 new coins, issued from 2004 to 2011, each with its own image and description in 7 languages, required a lot of work, so I made the zoomable images available only by In-App purchase.

The app is fully functional even without unlocking them, but if you’ll do that, you’ll support its development.

Other updated features in version 1.3 include new coin grading levels, the ability to add up to 50 coins per collection type and the update of the coins available only in mint sets (according to the info on www.euro-auflagen.de).

Most of all, there’s now the ability to share the coins to swap, or wanted, thanks to a pre-generated message via email, Facebook or Twitter.

If you use Twitter, I recommend you to check out the hashtag #EuroCoin to find other collectors to swap coins with.

Next steps?
There’s still a lot to do and features to improve, adding 2012 commemoratives, for example.

Post your feedback on the Facebook page!

Euro Coin Collection

Here’s the full article, written by Antonio Dini in the App Score feature:

“Developed by Davide Orlando, it’s a little kind of magic for newbie numismatists as well as for experienced collectors. The virtual album allows to manage all the euro variants, including commemorative coins issued annually by national mints, and to keep track of the coins you’re missing or already own. Morever, historical data, maps of Euro-area countries, detailed information for expert collectors. You can’t miss it, especially now that there are 20 countries using the Euro and thus as many different designs on the national side of the coins. Soon it will be included a section for the 2 Euro commemoratives. Because numismatics is the best way to travel around the world without moving from home.”

I couldn’t ask for better words as an anticipation for the incoming version 1.3 of the app, with the new virtual album for the 2 Euro Commemoratives.

What else to say? Download La Vita Nóva on your iPad and read some articles (italian only) while waiting for the new version of the app for Euro coin collectors.

On the Facebook page there are some preview screenshots and I’ll soon start the count-down to the release on the App Store.

It’s a big update, since the app is now in universal binary format, which means optimized both for iPhone and iPad, and the interface graphics, the offline map and the photos are in high resolution, up to four times better compared to the previous version.

Owners of iPad and Retina display devices such as iPhone 4, 4S and iPod Touch 4th generation will be able to enjoy the new graphics at its best.

Among the new features there’s also the ability to add a gardens to your favorites and share it by email, Facebook or Twitter.

I also added new photos taken from the boat, thanks to Marco Leoni, and from the seaplane, thanks to Cesare Baj, President of Aero Club Como.

The new graphics made the size of the app grow up to about 40mb, but fortunately Apple recently raised the download limit under 3G network from 20mb to 50mb.
There’s no such limit when under Wi-Fi.

Since the “likes” on the Facebook page dedicated to the app are still a few compared to the number of downloads, I added a link on the main screen of the app. In this way the Facebook page, where I post themed news and updates, is easier to reach.

The touristic season on Lake Como is now open: download the app and visit the gardens!

So, I’m pleased to inform you about the business storytelling course organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Como and curated by Francesca Marchegiano, an expert of the matter and also author of theatrical and narrative shows for children.

Storytelling skills are very useful in different business contexts: for example, being able to tell your mission in a clear and catchy way on your company’s website, is nowadays a sign of professionalism and great care about communication for potential customers.

After all, the famous Steve Jobs’ 2005 Stanford commencement address wouldn’t have been the same if he didn’t start with: “Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That’s it. No big deal. Just three stories.”

The course will be held at Mulini di Baggero, in Merone, in the province of Como, an area recovered from a completely restored 1722 mill.

Participation is free, but limited to the first 25 requests until march 12, so hurry up if you’re interested.

Good luck to Francesca for the course!

The update fixes a bug found on older iOS devices when exiting the online map, if they were low on memory .

Another bug, caused by the rush to be ready for the BIT fair, was about the presentation of the same text when a garden was selected from the offline map.
Thanks to my friend and mentor Alessandro for reporting it.

I’ve also updated some photos, such as the Villa del Balbianello ones, taken by Diego Cottino, a magic place where some scenes of  Star Wars: Episode II were shot.

This spring I’ll visit some gardens included in the guide, both for personal curiosity and to take new photos that will be added to the app.

Photos you’ll better appreciate in the next version of the app, where graphics will be optimized for iPad and Retina display devices such as the iPhone 4.

It’s one of the advantages of digital technologies: an app can be quickly updated, a paper guide not at all.

The initiative is appreciated and the downloads go up. Personally I think it’s reassuring seeing that, although the bad economic crisis, there still are companies and public institutions ready to support innovative projects such as this.

See you to the next update!

For me it’s relax!

I don’t have any “green thumb” knowledge, so I couldn’t distinguish among different species of plants and flowers.

But the multitude of colors, the harmony between nature and the gardener’s work (I’d say art), are things you can appreciate even if you aren’t a botanical expert.

And you can appreciate them even more when there’s a unique panorama on the background, such as the one of Lake Como.

It’s a personal opinion confirmed by data, indicating a constant growth of the so-called Horticultural tourism, from abroad to Italy.

For these reasons I was pleased to work on the app Gardens of Lake Como – west branch, the digital edition of the paper guide made last year by the Chamber of Commerce of Como and the Province of Como, with contents by Great Italian Gardens.

This work gave me the chance to discover some gardens and parks I didn’t know and I haven’t visited yet.

For example The Garden of the Valley, hidden pearl of the nearby Cernobbio, maintained with passion by Mrs. Pupa Frati.

While designing the app interface I followed the essential style and the colors of the new logo made for the brand “Lago di Como”, presented at BIT in 2011, the international tourism fair held annually in Milan.

During this year’s edition of the fair, at the Regione Lombardia/Province of Como stand, there was a preview of the app about the gardens, more user friendly and updated than the paper guide, at least for those with an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.

I hope the app will be useful to discover the gardens of the area around Como, reaching more tourists, both from Italy and from abroad, than any paper guide could.

It’s free. Download it and, if you like it, please spread the word about it!

In the new version I added an option to show the coins available only in mint sets, thus not issued for circulation. The data comes from reliable and up-to-date sources such as www.euro-auflagen.de by Henning Agt.

There are also pictures of the new common sides with the enlarged Europe design, issued since january 2008, so that you can compare them with the previous design.
Thanks to Hessel, Damien and Frank for the correction of dutch, french and german texts.

Motivated by the suggestions received, both via email and by reviews on the AppStore, the development of the app continues and in the next version I’ll add the 2 Euro  commemorative coins issued from 2004 to 2011, as promised.

In this period there’s a lot of talk about the Euro and the debt crisis in european countries, Italy in particular. Well, what will really happen is difficult to predict, but I’d like to recall the European Union motto: “United in diversity“, the meaning of which you can appreciate even by collecting Euro coins, discovering and getting to know different cultures.

For what concerns Italy, now having a particularly hard time, I invite you to watch Benigni’s speech at the European Parliament (english subtitles). He said Italy is not the country of Renaissance and Resurgence, but the one of Resurrection!