CubeTimer - iOS speedcubing timer

EDIT: We've launched version 2.0. The thread can be found here.

Hi all. CubeTimer v1.4 has been released onto the App Store, bringing some major improvements. It's still only US$0.99. I'll let the feature list speak for itself.

• Tap anywhere on the screen to stop the stopwatch.
• Stackmat functionality and fully optimized interface on iPad.
• Scramble reader - the app can read 2x2 and 3x3 scrambles to you.
• Scramblers for 2x2 - 11x11 cubes (WCA scramblers for 4x4 to 11x11), Rubik's Clock, Megaminx, Pyraminx and Square-1 puzzles.
• One-handed and blindfolded solving options.
• Adjustable countdown timer from 0 to 30 seconds.
• Never miss the start - the screen flashes and a beep plays as the countdown counts from 5 to 0.
• View a statistic of your choice on the timer screen.
• Choose whether to save your times - and delete them later if you change your mind.
• Add two second penalties to individual times.
• Share your results on Twitter or via email.
• Customizable interface - choose your own background and colour scheme.
• After each solve, the app will tell you how how many seconds away you were from your record for that puzzle.
• Multiple solvers - have up to three (five on iPad) people solving the same scramble at once, and save each person's time. Also works as a relay feature.
• List of results - all the times which you choose to save are stored, along with the date and scramble moves. There is no limit to the number of results. You can delete results individually or use the multiple delete functionality.
• Sort your results by puzzle type.
• Calculate various statistics for each puzzle type.
• CubeTimer can display a graph of your most recent results (last five in portrait, last eight in landscape, and up to twenty on the iPad). You can view different graphs for each puzzle and solve type.
• The entire app works in either portrait or landscape.
• Generate a new scramble at the touch of a button.
• Screen does not dim or turn off while cubing.

Please note that while there is an ad for SpeedCubeShop on the main screen, it can be easily disabled by tapping on it then selecting 'Disable ads'.
We've put in a lot of work into this update, incorporating most of your suggestions. We also did a lot or research, including reading the WCA regulations. We hope you like it!

Thanks,
Thomas,
Ingenero Software



More screenshots at the App Store link.

Review by CamCuber of 1.3 version:

Here is a list of some suggestions:

add other puzzles - e.g. 2x2x2, 4x4x4, 5x5x5, 6x6x6, 7x7x7, square-1, pyraminx, megaminx, ect.
add the ability to start a solve before inspection ends
have the option to automatically save time without the prompt
be able to have the graph display more times
be able to start, stop, and create new sessions
have a more useful calculated statistics - e.g. best time, worst time, session mean and average, best average of 5 (or mean of 3 for 6x6 and 7x7), best average of 12
be able to see some statistics on the timing page

whats official average?

ps your timers terrible
imo mines better and i only started making it like 3 days ago.

I think one major thing would make you start the timer before the inspection ends, or have a penalty....also have the ability to add a penalty on the solve!

vcuber13 said:

whats official average?

ps your timers terrible
imo mines better and i only started making it like 3 days ago.

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Irrelevant question and non-constructive criticism. What makes your timer better, that he could improve on?

im not asking his official average, at 2:15 in the stats it says official average, i was inquiring what that meant.
having other puzzles, the inspection, having some basic stats on the timing screen.

First: Official average. We say what it is within the app, but it is basically the mean of your last five times, minus your best and worst times. That's a bit too wordy, se we leave it at 'Official average'.
A few criticisms have already been addressed in our iTunes description, so please check that as well as the video.
We were planning to add other sizes of cubes in a third update, as we thought having it be a universal app would be more important. If you disagree, please say so we can reshuffle our priorities.
For stats on the timing screen, it's tricky, as there is very limited screen real estate on a 3.5" screen. We tried to get around it slightly by displaying a comparison to your record in the alert box after a save. I see your point, but don't see how we could realistically get around it.
Starting the timer before the penalty ends is possible, but terrible from a usability standpoint. If the user taps the screen, do they want to stop the countdown or start the timer? However, we will add automatic saving of times as an option.
The graph displays as many times as will fit on the screen (5 in portrait, 8 in landscape). Any more than that and the labels overlap. However, we could conceivably add support for viewing a range of times from the Results view, not just the most recent ones.
I hope I've covered everything. Please do say anything else you think of.

At 0:20, you said "This scrambler is the same one you can find on the WCA website, so it's completely random." On the app description is also says "25 move 3x3 scramble generator using the same algorithms as the WCA."
You don't seem to know exactly what you're talking about.

If you tried to use (http://www.worldcubeassociation.org/regulations/scrambles/scramble_cube.htm?size=3, the regulations make it clear that this is not the official scrambler for 3x3x3 anymore. Those scrambles are completely random in the same sense that a coin weighted 70%-30% towards heads is completely random.

I also question some of your design choices, but I don't have anything better to offer right now, so thanks for at least being bold and making something. Speedcubing is hurt by a lot by people giving simply incorrect information, so just be careful about any cubing facts or we'll be likely to be critical.

IngeneroiOS said:

Starting the timer before the penalty ends is possible, but terrible from a usability standpoint. If the user taps the screen, do they want to stop the countdown or start the timer? However, we will add automatic saving of times as an option.

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The user wants to start the timer. It is how many of the popular cube timers do it, and gives a closer feel of how it is done in official competitions (Judge has a stopwatch to count the 15 seconds, competitor starts Stackmat timer anytime they want within that 15 seconds).

so the official average is your current average of 5

Okay, we'll add that a an option (starting before the countdown ends). The scrambler is not still used by the WCA for competitions, but as it is Jaap Scherpuis' scrambler, I've talked to him and he suggested 25 moves as a random-enough solution. I'll update the marketing though, it is a bit hyperbolic.
And no, official average isn't mean of last five, its the mean of the three middle times of your last five (doesn't include fastest and slowest).
Also, please say what design decisions you don't agree with - some small things can be changed.

Edit: Yes, current average of five = official average

IngeneroiOS said:

And no, official average isn't mean of last five, its the mean of the three middle times of your last five (doesn't include fastest and slowest).

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where in the following sentence is the word mean?

vcuber13 said:

so the official average is your current average of 5

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Average of 5 = All times averaged but without highest and lowest

Please just learn some basic cubing terms if you're going to do this

I'm not the proper speed cuber on the team, I'm the programmer. To me, average generally means mean. Forgive me if I get the language wrong - I focus on features. So yes, official average is your current average of five.

There is a spelling mistake, it says "You bet your last time by 10.58 seconds." It should say "You beat your last time by 10.58 seconds."

Thanks, I hadn't noticed that. We only added that for the update, which hasn't undergone stringent testing yet.

Edit: Oops! That was in the App Store version. Thanks!

Just a quick tip : If you want more feedback, make it free in the app store for now. I'm personally not getting it now because I have no idea how it works, or if it's worth it (plus I already have iiTimer)

I started making one yesterday because of this and my scrambles are WCA standardized haha. But its design is really good though.

Jorghi said:

my scrambles are WCA standardized haha.

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How so?

Jorghi said:

I started making one yesterday because of this and my scrambles are WCA standardized haha. But its design is really good though.

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Glad you like the design. With being WCA standardized, I'm not sure how you can be. I take no credit for the scrambler within the app (as it is Jaap Scherpuis'), but as it is still referenced from the WCA website I do not see how it is inadequate. The scrambles may not be completely random - not computer is able to generate truly random numbers, but 25 moves should be enough to have a reasonable scramble - certainly, using the Fridrich method we have not noticed any patterns. Also, for the WCA scrambler (Cube Explorer) you need a lot more computing power than an iPhone has - working out the optimal solve for a cube isn't easy. The best app for that on the App Store only approximates an ideal solve - usually 22 moves or so.
I must admit that I wonder why you would have the need to create your own app. Is it because of missing features in our app? Is it because of the cost? We must unfortunately have it paid, or else we lose money (and we currently are losing money) from the app if we had it free. I'm simply curious as to why there has been a perceived negative response to it - not necessarily from the person whom I'm quoting.