Over the last year, the in-house programmers here at DVO re-wrote the Cook'n App for iPhone and iPad from scratch. Their top priority was to make it sync faster and work well with large databases. We haven't finished adding all of the features yet but I thought you might like a sneak peak. Search for "Cook'n Recipes" in the App Store or click here to check it out:
Note: This is a Beta Version that does not have all of the features yet. Watch for frequent updates!
Current Features:
Log In to Cloud Account and Download Recipe Data
Browse Your Cookbook Library and View Your Recipes
View Live Recipe Feed and Discover New Recipes
Display Mobile Version of Internet Recipes for Easy Viewing
Release Note:
We will continue to post updates with additional features (like Search & Capture, etc.) every couple weeks. Stay tuned!!
Mobile App Development History:
January, 2011 Several years ago, we contracted with 3rd party developers to create the Cook'n Cloud service and Cook'n apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android devices.
January, 2012 After one year of development, we realized that the Cloud service they were creating for us was not going to be satisfactory but the mobile apps seemed pretty good. So, we decided to discard the work they had done on the Cloud and start over from scratch doing the job with our in-house programming team.
June, 2013 It took a while to do the job right but after 18 months of development, we finally finished and went live with the Cook'n Cloud service. We posted an update to the Cook'n Desktop App in June of 2013 with Cloud capabilities. The Cook'n Desktop Apps for PC and Mac computers synced to the cloud and worked great! For five months, everything worked wonderfully!
While everyone was syncing their Cook'n Desktop Apps, we gave the developers of the Cook'n Mobile Apps the information they needed to use the Cloud service we had created. We figured that integrating the Cook'n Cloud service calls into the mobile apps would be fairly easy...and it should have been. But, the firm we contracted with struggled.
November, 2013 They finally finished and we released the Cook'n Mobile Apps in November of 2013. Based on our internal testing, the apps performed well but, in the field, under heavy loads with a wide variety of different system configurations and conditions (such as intermittent internet connections, etc.), the apps didn't work right for some users.
Most users were able to down sync their recipes and access them from the kitchen and on the go without a problem. However, some users had difficulty with the app. In some cases, the data wasn't syncing to the device quite right. And, in other cases, the app was crashing.
January, 2014 We decided to bring the mobile app development in-house just like we did with the Cook'n Cloud service. We stopped working with this 3rd party firm altogether and did all of the Android and iOS development with our in-house team. When we lifted the hood and took a close look at the mobile app source code, we realized why the app was performing poorly in some cases. It was a mess.
September, 2014 The Android programming team decided to re-work the existing code base and simply replace the part of the app that talks to the Cook'n Cloud. In September of last year, they finished their work and released an Android update that syncs to the Cook'n Cloud very well. The user interface part of the app still has some memory leaks and small issues that they're still working on but it's getting better and better every week.
April, 2015 The iOS programming team took a different approach. They decided to throw out 100% of the code and start from scratch. It took them longer but they have a very solid app now that does not crash at all. With this app, you can log in to your Cook'n Cloud account and download all of your recipe data. You can browse your cookbooks, chapters, and recipes and you can see the Live Recipe Feed.
You cannot Capture internet recipes, search internet recipes, view shopping lists, or do many other things that the original Cook'n App could do. However, we will add these features over the course of the next 4 to 6 months.
We were planning on waiting to finish adding all of those features before releasing the new iOS App but, since some people are having trouble syncing and viewing their recipes on their mobile devices, we thought you might like to get a Beta version of the app now so you can have ALL of your recipes at your fingertips. We released this version under a different name so users can have both apps on their phone at the same time.
May, 2015 We plan to release another update with additional features. I will send an e-mail and let you know when this goes live.
Lesson Learned:
Outsourcing development of the Cook'n Mobile Apps to a 3rd party company was a huge mistake. As the old adage goes...if you want something done right, do it yourself! This was a long and painful lesson for us. And, I know that some of our Cook'n Fans were very frustrated when their data wasn't syncing right. Since I made the outsourcing decision, I take full responsibility. I am so sorry for this. Thank you SO much for your patience! Our Cook'n Family is THE BEST!!
Please let me know what you think of the new Beta version. Even though we haven't finished adding all of the features yet, are you glad we gave you this sneak peak? Is it syncing faster and better for you? Do you like the new look & feel? Post your comments below. I look forward to hearing from you!
