Author: Garry Bennett et al
Publisher: Apress
Pages: 240
ISBN: 978-1430223573
Aimed at: Programmers who already know Cocoa
Rating: 4
Pros: Good range of projects with code available online
Cons: Doesn't cover OS 3.0 facilities
Reviewed by: Mike James

The idea of this book is a good one. It provides some examples of iPhone projects for the programmer who has mastered the basics. It’s a slim book so don’t expect it to cover everything. It’s also by a team of writers, so the style changes from chapter to chapter. Some of the authors are a bit smug about the fact that they have completed a project that you can download and use but you can allow them that.

Of the seven chapters most are focused on a fairly real project or a fragment of a fairly real project. Chapter One is about implementing a game. Two deals with peer-to-per networking. Three is more theoretical and deals with the problems of threading. Four is about multi-touch interface design. Five is about sprites and animation. Six is on audio and Seven is on providing bus times to users in a city. All good stuff and covering a very wide range of topics.

The full code for the projects is on the web site and to be honest going through it is going to be a lot of work. The descriptions provided by each author are very variable in helping you find your way through it. One slight problem is that the book doesn’t cover any OS 3.0 facilities.

This is not for the beginner and makes no attempt to teach Cocoa or iPhone development. It's more an overview of topics and descriptions of building a project. If you want the fine detail then you will have to read the code. As long as you know what your are getting this could be a useful addition to your iPhone library.