darkSpyro

So tonight, for the fun of it...I downloaded a couple of Apple iOS Skylander Management tools for my iPhone.

• SkyLister (FREE)
  
• Unofficial Catalog of Skylanders [Another one bites the dust]
  
• Skycat [Destroyed by the Evil Activision Empire]
  

They all essentially allow you to manage your want list. Skycat "looks" better of the three, and allows you to post your collection to social media outlets. Skylister is pretty good for a good basic app.

Of course, I'm seeing lots of features I think we need. So, being I'm wanting to learn iOS programming, this might be a good little project. What features are missing that you'd like to see?

can you post you thoughts on the 3 you tried out?
I think Activision should make one that sync with activate, then you don't have to upload each individual charter for each app.

Remember to put it on Android too!

Quote: Jet LavaGuard

can you post you thoughts on the 3 you tried out?
I think Activision should make one that sync with activate, then you don't have to upload each individual charter for each app.

Yeah I'll do that. Consider it a review. I'm curious about those that have already tried these and their thoughts. I have my own, but wanted to collaborate with others that may have used them.

So far, at the end of the day...you simply mark those as "have/wants" and from that build a to buy list. They are all different in their presentation, but at the end of the day, that's what you get from all three.

The last two are 1.99 each and both have graphics of the character, whereas the last one looks like have the specific artwork for each character and you can post to facebook. All of them are a bit tedious in the number of clicks/swipes that have to be done to mark it done, and none of them have the capability of an inventory system, and no way to keep track of characters relative to their packaging (for those that buy from a packaging standpoint). That's the short of it from my perspective.

Oh, and both are missing some of the chase variants. Kinda ridiculous imo. And one already has S3 characters...again nice and all but irrelevant right now.

yah do one for win and ps3/vita too while ur at it

Quote: kappapopm

yah do one for win and ps3/vita too while ur at it

Well, it's going to be a tall order for me just to handle every platform---it's a function of effort of time and market share. Right now if I had to choose 3 platforms it would be iOS, Android, and web-based.

Some ideas I have...need your input:

• Manage multiple collections
  
• Allow inventory capability (quantity not being used by any apps)
  
• Track packaged vs non-packaged inventory
  
• Alerts on toy availability
  
• Synching inventory to the cloud and accessing it via web
  
• Publish collection where it will have points/ranking (fun stuff)
  
• Later, allow for communication between members for buying/selling/trading
  

For iOS it would be really cool (quick and easy) to be able to use the Battlegrounds portal to load your characters into an inventory app.

Quote: wgeorge111

For iOS it would be really cool (quick and easy) to be able to use the Battlegrounds portal to load your characters into an inventory app.

I agree, but Battlegrounds doesn't share information with others applications and I would have to be able to read the chip itself to determine the character. Not impossible, as the specs are probably out there for this. I believe however that there's some level of encryption that has to be understood for this to occur, and I'm doubting Activision giving away this information.

A more feasible idea for me might be reading the save file and somehow determining which characters are registered to it, thereby "importing" the collection. Problem is this would have to be done via usb stick, to and from game system to web where you can import. You also step aside the very sensitive area of dissecting the communication of the device to the portal, which are off limits.

Good idea though!

Hello All. I don't mean to hijack your post GhostRoaster, but I happened to see this post via Google and wanted to put my 2 cents in. As it happens to be, I'm the developer for SkyLister, David McCormack. I'm a software developer by trade but am very new to the world of Skylanders. Santa brought my son Sklyanders Giants for Christmas last year and that's basically when my involvement started. So after playing a while and going to stores like Target and Toys R Us I knew that I'd need some help tracking all the different characters I own. Thus, the app was built to help facilitate those needs more so than a true collectors needs. However, I'm always inclined to make the app better so I just have some questions on your list:

•Allow inventory capability (quantity not being used by any apps)
>>If it's just a matter of adding a quantity field, that can be done quiet easily. Though, is there more needed for inventory? Right now I have a notes box in Skylister that allows you to put whatever text you'd like, so I'm not sure if that would be suffcient. My newest release which is in the update app review process with Apple, has the Notes box expanded to allow far more content.
•Track packaged vs non-packaged inventory
>>Is this as simple as a Yes/No option? Or would it be a selection. like Package - Mint, Package - Good, Package - Poor, or whatever criteria are used?
•Alerts on toy availability
>>Would this be something like a News or RSS or Push Notificaiton to announce when new items are released? Or would it be better to expand it to use the data from the home page of //www.darkspyro.net/ for example.
•Publish collection where it will have points/ranking (fun stuff)
>>This I'm definitely in the dark about as I'm not sure what points or ranking would be. Help?

Being able to read from the portals would indeed be an awesome idea, and the iOS SDK is capable of reading bluetooth devices. However, like GhostRoaster said, it wouldn't be a simple thing to add.

I'd be interested in hearing any other ideas as well from everyone.

I do have to object though, to the comment of:
"So far, at the end of the day...you simply mark those as "have/wants" and from that build a to buy list. They are all different in their presentation, but at the end of the day, that's what you get from all three."

I don't think my app, Skylister, is just a simple have/want application. I do allow a lot of different criteria to be entered. Own, Current Level, Upgrades, Heroics Completed, Notes, etc. The notes alone allows for customization upon needs. The next version that's awaiting approval from Apple will go well beyond its current functionalities to include, Pictures, Email, Facebook, Tags, Wish Lists, etc.

Thanks,

David McCormack

Hey David,

Thanks for chiming in. I'm a software integration consultant, and coding is done "as needed" but usually I work on the plumbing. I've done a fair amount of web services development...not much of a web guy.

Ironically, the features you mentioned are not in the other versions. Yours is no frills, but actually I think I like yours best. I think there are a couple of issues with the list...when I have time to look it over I'll provide feedback here.

Most of the features you put in (Challenges etc) is of no use if you can't pull that information out--hence to ME personally it's of little value. The list needs the capability of filtering based on any of the entered criteria....makes sense? I'd love Activision to be able to pull in the inventory of all of this information simply by interacting with the portal. Alas, there's no Skylanders SDK. Would nice if they could do that.

Nice to see that with your next version you'll be on par with the "paid" other apps from what I've seen. Sounds like you've been looking at the others.

The items below were considerations I was making if I were doing an app--feel free to use them (or not).

•Allow inventory capability (quantity not being used by any apps)
>>If it's just a matter of adding a quantity field, that can be done quiet easily. Though, is there more needed for inventory? Right now I have a notes box in Skylister that allows you to put whatever text you'd like, so I'm not sure if that would be sufficient. My newest release which is in the update app review process with Apple, has the Notes box expanded to allow far more content.
I'm pretty sure a quantity field would fit nicely.
•Track packaged vs non-packaged inventory
>>Is this as simple as a Yes/No option? Or would it be a selection. like Package - Mint, Package - Good, Package - Poor, or whatever criteria are used?
Yes/No field would suffice. Tracking it to the kind of package the inventory belongs to would be nice for Packaged Collections. As you know, we have Adventure Packs, Triple Packs and Single Packs. Actually, if you enter in Qty by Adventure Pack or Triple Pack, it should add to the Quantity to the respective figures and magic devices...that would save time.
•Alerts on toy availability
>>Would this be something like a News or RSS or Push Notificaiton to announce when new items are released? Or would it be better to expand it to use the data from the home page of //www.darkspyro.net/ for example.
Go look at trackatoy.com. Would be nice if you could get alerts from that site show up on your phone when online sources show availability. Imagine behind the scenes establishing account and setting up alerts--except they go to your server and then get alerted into the app. Maybe pie in the sky idea but I like it.
•Publish collection where it will have points/ranking (fun stuff)
>>This I'm definitely in the dark about as I'm not sure what points or ranking would be. Help?
This would be basically storing a central db and storing everyone's collections...ranking them would be a fun way of showing where you stand. Point system allocates based on item. It could be graded/ranked on completeness, and simply from a quantity perspective. Just a rough idea to make some social aspect to the toy collecting. I'm pretty sure this would be an online web site component to this, or a server hosting web services apis to send data to the phone.

From the level of feedback here it doesn't sound like folks aren't really using an app to track their search...go figure. The need will grow as the number of entries in the franchise increase.

Quanity Field: Easy
Yes/No for Packaging: Easy

Trackatoy.com: Interesting, I've never seen this site before, I'll need to investigate more. I'd need to determine when the best time to alert the users would be. I'm not always a fan of the pop ups that come up with Push Notifications, but this might be a good exception to the rule.

The publish collections:
This goes along with what you said for "•Synching inventory to the cloud and accessing it via web". That's been on my list since essentially day 1. This requires the ability to store all users information on my own web servers. I orginally looked into doing this for iCloud but then you're immediately limited to iOS devices only. I've been working on another application that uses Azure storage that I could do here as well. But then the app would start costing me money every month which isn't ideal for a Free service The intersting thing though is that nobody in my comments or emails has asked for it, which surprises me.

But, if people were posting their collections to my server, then I could certainly consider a web view for rankings if the users permitted it.

Most of the features you put in (Challenges etc) is of no use if you can't pull that information out--hence to ME personally it's of little value. The list needs the capability of filtering based on any of the entered criteria....makes sense?
>>It does make sense. I've heard a similar request that would be like a master search that would allow searching all fields. So you could query something like "All Tech, under level 10, with 2000+ gold".

Other apps:
I eventually downloaded them to see what the 'competition' is. I have to admit that with all the pictures they were prettier then my app. Unofficial Catalog of Skylanders has done an amazing job finding all of those images. Unless that person works for Activision or they have every item I don't know how they could have gotten 4 sided pics for all of them. However I also noticed that it is missing quite a few. Trying to find 'THE' official list of all possible skylanders is not an easy task to do. Just when you think you have them all, someone else spots a rare one.

I know you started the post with the idea of building your own. So, I'll give a few pointers: 1) Don't do it I don't want more competition 2) Focus on collecting the data around the guys, there's no really good spot for all the information. My original goal was to have Catch Phrases, Card and Console Stats, images, videos, etc. But, once I got into it trying to find all that information was very hard and I had to trim the list down. 3) Much like #2, you may spend far more time then you'd like just trying to get the pretty pictures in. If you can find where Unofficial Catalog of Skylanders got theirs then you'd be in like Flynn. Beyond that, scowering the web for every single guy is quite tough.

So the first 2 I'll plan for my next build for sure. I'd be happy to add a whole section dedicated to Collectors if I knew what data was required.

Well, we have 3 versions apps for this...yours is the only free one in town. It's a labor of love for you right now. I have another app I'm pursuing for my comic interests which actually has decent market potential, although it's a bit niche like this.

Yeah, my whole point is that all of the flashy images doesn't really help the overall functionality, it's rather secondary to me--but it does help with the "sizzle"/hot aspect of it---definitely needed if you want to start selling it. Btw, you'll notice those images are just colored changes of the original characters over their variant. Actually what irritated me overall is how many clicks/swipes it took to finally get the data entered. I think your app did it better than the other two but it's still not perfect. It's more from a usability perspective for me, followed by great features.

Also, if you have Jet Vac Blizzard in your inventory, remove him. He's not an actual variant (I know your source and it's wrong). If you want to PM me, we can exchange addresses and I can share any other gory details for your app.

And keep in mind, these are all the ramblings of a mad man--if no one is asking for it, then don't build it. Treat it like you would any software--but I'm pretty sure if you add some social aspect and the ability to help get the items and down the road--a potential marketplace for trading/buying I think that would be awesome.

Interesting ideas you have on direction---architecture and good design up front is key--and as you read above, accessibility from all devices assures you'll use open standards that don't lock you in a platform.

I think you two should work together on this. I love the idea if syncing via portal if that ever comes about.

Quote: Lash

I think you two should work together on this. I love the idea if syncing via portal if that ever comes about.

Yeah, we're collaborating off-line, so if nothing else I think some good features will come about. I'll promise not to deliver a competing app to the Apple Store as I have other interests that can consume me in the mobile space.

I do think we need more feedback from this community though...I thought this was the top end of the Skylanders gaming community here...was I wrong? I'm guessing none of us really NEED an app for this stuff, but I'd sure like to bounce some ideas off you guys.

As cool as synching with the portal could be, Activision would have to release the standard or an API for a developer to interface with it--and I'm sure you guys may know what happened to the LAST guy that tried to that...so NO--unless Activision sees a need for the developer community to have it and sanctions it.

I might have to get this on my wife ipad. There are a few android apps, I downloaded a free one and it is nothing special. Maybe I will make an android app. I have dabbled in android coding before. Would be a fun project

Quote: pfiz113

I might have to get this on my wife ipad.

Mine is a free download now

It sounds very self servicing to ask for input, but the more info the better. I've been doing software for almost 20 years now and it's often the most simplest of things that can make the greatest impact.

Quote:

Mine is a free download now

Nice app, better than the one on android.

Quote: Xerxxees

Quote: pfiz113

I might have to get this on my wife ipad.

Mine is a free download now

It sounds very self servicing to ask for input, but the more info the better. I've been doing software for almost 20 years now and it's often the most simplest of things that can make the greatest impact.

Feedback BEFORE you start coding is always a great idea...amazing how everyone has the clearest of visions AFTER you've slaved over the coding I'm more of a coding hack (I write what I need to serve an integration problem) but I can appreciate that statement all the same.

A couple of notes on Skylister Free,
Would be easier to tap anywhere on the main item, not just the arrow (that's easy in IOS)
Clicking "Done" should take you 2 steps back to the start not just one step back to the character's sub list. "Back" should do that.
In the Character sub-list, where the checkboxes are shown for own it, would be nice if you could just tap them to "own" quickly from that section rather than going into the full character detail page.
I couldn't find an item for the Portal I got with the PC version of the game. It's not wireless so no Wii/PS3 and it's not the same as the Xbox one either as far as I know.
Worth listing the Games themselves as items to mark as owned?
with many platforms and a range of games it would be nice to track.

Can you add a "compatibility" section for characters/games? So Newlanders that are not in S1 show as not working in Spyro's Adventure etc, this could be shown in the sub page for the games,
list characters fully compatible, partially compatible, not compatible (that I own, or all)

The 4 sections are not consistent, the "own it" list and "don't own" lists show ALL characters and items on one page, not grouped like the by Element or name lists. Would be nice to have the option to group any of the 4 by either method.

The Heroics completed list would be better if you listed Each challenge by name and let the user tick or un-tick it.
For a "number of completed" as you have, would be better to just have a selector rather than a huge list of numbers.

A simple drop down list selector for packaging state would be nice.

Maybe add a camera interface to take and store a photo of the figure?

Great feedback---read my mind on "ease of use"...I've also sent him some of the problems with the actual inventory itself, and preparing the list for future iterations.

For me, having the ability to filter on any of the entered criteria would be awesome. Imagine sitting down to do a Heroics session, pull up "what needs to be done"...and then do it!

I like the app. I use it while I'm out at stores hunting for the characters that i need. One thing i would request would be to take out the chase variants (turn it on and off). I dont NEED to have a clear wham shell. Im not seeking a clear wham shell - therefore i should be able to take those off of my list of characters that i am missing. Just a thought/idea. Also golden flameslinger series 2 is missing...

Yeah I gave him the full 411 on the skylander info stuff. also, I agree---Chase Variants in the settings should be on/off to allow you to see/track those guys or hide them. It gets dicey on the definition of variants because technically Gnarly, Scarlet, Jade etc are also variants but provide "some" value in game by being an in game variant as well.

Maybe we need a setting for "In Game Variants" and "Color Variant"?

Excellent. Looking forward to the next update!

Maybe instead of, or in addition to, turning on and off chase variants, there could just be a simple "do not want" button. That way, say you don't want a clear Wham Shell but you are interested in a flocked Stump Smash, you could specify what you really are looking for.

That's a lot of awesome feedback and I appreciate it greatly. Right now I'm not at home, but later on I'll post some screenshots of the app about to go into the store. I think the introduction of my tag / Wish List feature should handle some of the list items, but probably not all of them.

Can you add a "compatibility" section for characters/games?
>>Certainly can.

The hard part about adding information is a) where does it go in the UI. Like, where's the best spot for a user to get to that data if needed. That's not so bad, it can be figured out. b) Collecting all of the data for all the figures. Right now I'm tracking over 160 items in the game. Trying to gather all that information has proved to be really hard for me. Especially when I started out when I didnt understand as much. I was hoping I could find 'THE' ultimate list where it just had everything I needed. That may exist I just haven't found that yet. My original goals of all the cool information I could show were soon squashed once I tried to find the data.

I think showing all the heroic challenges completed would be way better, but honestly, I don't even know what all the options are.

I just downloaded every free Skylanders collection app on Android. I hope at least one of them is good enough for me.

I guess the best way to get info on the Challenges is to ask here!
Just ask people to post which Skylanders have which challenges.
Between the people here there must be every single Skylander owned.

I have the Bluetooth portal and an iOS dev licence so I may look into what goes on with the portal, if I find anything out I'll say here.

Quote: Xerxxees

I think showing all the heroic challenges completed would be way better, but honestly, I don't even know what all the options are.

Try this site---there's a section for each of the Heroics--although I admit it doesn't tell you which character the heroic is for--sometimes they list it and sometimes they don't.

You might want to try this: http://spyro.wikia.com/wiki/Heroic_Challenges

The problem with what is on the site is that I think some of the rewards got changed between Series 1 characters and Series 2. Series 1 was very liberal with rewards but Giants/Series 2 scaled it back as there were more characters to spread the wealth. It would be very cool if based on the series character and the game you also keep track of their stats in the app--but this clearly goes beyond inventory.

Brady Games has a guide that probably has all of this info as well. I'm sure someone could loan you one or you can pick them up for $10 each.

Hello Again,

As mentioned before I have a new build in process with Apple now. It takes around a week from when you submitted it to when it gets proccessed. Kinda painful that it takes a week for changes to go out.

Here are some screenshots of the new build going out:
http://www.xerxxees.com/skylister/SSEdit.png - The updated Edit Screen. Most is the same, but the 2nd row is new. It's the 'Tag' option that lets you tag the figure with certain markers that can then be used elsewhere to help filter and export information. I added the Gold Range as well. An exact number didnt seem logical to me as I usually just want to know if a figure has enough gold to buy a big item from the vendor.

http://www.xerxxees.com/skylister/SSAction.png - The new Email and Facebook options on the Tag Lists Tab. You can see behind the buttons that the app is currently displaying the 'Wish List' tag. If you look at Manage Charge you can see the Favorites, Active and On Loan Icons as well. Not realistic data, but you can see how multiple selections would display here.

http://www.xerxxees.com/skylister/SSElement.png - The Element tab. Almost identical to before, except the search bar is there and you can see the new 'Tag Lists' tab. Also notice I changed the right arrow to the smaller one. Now you can click anywhere on the row and it'll take you to the next screen.

http://www.xerxxees.com/skylister/SSFlames.png - PICTURE!!! On this screen only is where I display pictures. So 1 picture per group, not necessarily a picture for each figure. Not yet at least.

http://www.xerxxees.com/skylister/SSGroupPic.png - Pitcutre Again! Chill, you can see the updated text on the Legendary + Lightcore version. You can also see some tag icons.

http://www.xerxxees.com/skylister/SSSearch.png - The Search in action, this is on the Own Screen. Though all the searches work the same.


The biggest feature, IMO, is really the new search boxes for quicker access and the Tagging feature. The tags, combined with sharing via Email or Facebook add quite a bit more functionality IMO then I did before. Finally, the idea of 'I just want a single list that is exactly the ones I want' is now easily done. And that list can be shared with others as well. The Email will include the list of items, with links to Amazon Search for purchasing. This was done really to support the idea of what people might want for birthdays. So my son can send the list to Grandma and have it be easier for her to make a purchase. Facebook will just post the list on your wall for others to see. Again, another way of specifying Wish Lists, or Favorites or For Trade items.

So please review if you can, the images are really big, so I don't suggest downloading them from a metered mobile phone connection.

Thanks again for all your feedback.

Maybe a way you can keep track of their upgrades?

Quote: jet-vac6000

Maybe a way you can keep track of their upgrades?

Right now I have an option for just 'All Upgrades' to determine if they've gotten all that they can. Is that what you mean? Or do you mean which path choice they took? or...?

Need to add the Frito-Lay (green) Flocked Stump Smash.

Quote: posreject

Need to add the Frito-Lay (green) Flocked Stump Smash.

Again, I've given him the skinny on all of the figure mistakes....no need to comment on that anymore...just concentrate on functionality and usability.

Yay, the new version has been accepted by Apple and is hitting the store now. Now that I've cleared that hurdle again I'm going to focus my attention to the list GhostRoaster sent as well as the other feedback that you've all left for me. Woohoo!

Can you sort the "Own It" list please, maybe have by element, by name and certainly the ability to put "item" not characters at the bottom of the list.

You missed Stump Smash Green Flocked and I still can't find the PC portal listed (It's not the same as the others)

Looking good! Love the improvements.

I assume you get the Amazon referral fee for anything purchased via the "buy it" link button? (You should do, it's the only way to get money from the app!) Can you detect the Amazon app and link to the items in that instead of the web?

The Bluetooth Portal appears to show as a "Generic HID device" on my PC, so maybe I can look at using it on iOS. Would be goot to automatically import all the stats/Skylanders by simply placing them on it.

Quote: Xerxxees

Yay, the new version has been accepted by Apple and is hitting the store now. Now that I've cleared that hurdle again I'm going to focus my attention to the list GhostRoaster sent as well as the other feedback that you've all left for me. Woohoo!

Downloading it now...wahoo!

Pyrofer, The Own It list should be in alphabetical order right now. I've gone back and forth with the own/dont own screens quite a bit. They are similar, but also not. I feel like I could combine both of the tabs into 1, with just an easy setting to switch back and forth. And also include another switch for sorting by name or element (or series or level or .....) I just don't know how people use it..

Far as the Portal, Stump Smash, and a bunch of other figure and label changes I'll get to those next. Apple forces a 6-7 day extension in the submission process every time you change something. So even if I changed 1 label from lightcore to legendary, that would reset the timer and I'd have to wait another week for it to go out. The items themselves I can update without resubmitting, I just needed the latest code sent out to everyone.

Amazon: Yes, I needed to do some things in there to earn some extra $$$. I'll need to set up my own servers to handle some of the functionality I'd like to put out there, and while it's not super expensive, it's not free either. Detecting the Amazon app? That's an Awesome Idea!!! Hadn't thought about it, which is weird since I have it installed already. If it seems like people are clicking the button at all then I can get more sophisticated with how I handle it. People need to buy for me to earn money, but it'd be enough to know that people are just using it for reference for me to spend more time on it.

Looking good! Love the improvements.
>>Thanks, hope everyone feels that way.

Through lots of help from GhostRoaster I've updated the items/figures lists. You'll need to close the app first because it only checks for a new file when it opens up. Don't delete the app, just close it. (http://www.ehow.com/how_875172...pps-iphone.html)

Next time you fire it up it'll check my server for a new data file.

If you want to make sure you did indeed get the latest you can check for Chop Chop - Toy Fair 2013.

Good idea on making the list update without Apple !

Thanks for all the work. I had half a mind to make one myself but when I saw yours I decided it wasn't worth it just to compete with you.
I do still intend to look into the BT portal, I will let you know if I do.

Would it be possible to add a function where you can use the ios camera to photo each of your skylanders and use the image in the app?

The card images are good but they only cover the base character, not its variants. You could leave that to the owners

And if your not able to integrate the portal, this would be the next best thing IMO YMMV

Be careful with these Skylander apps. I know some survive but SkyCat was recently pulled off the app store. Thankfully I didn't spend any money on it otherwise I would have been upset.

Quote: portalflip

Be careful with these Skylander apps. I know some survive but SkyCat was recently pulled off the app store. Thankfully I didn't spend any money on it otherwise I would have been upset.

What do you mean "some survive"---is Activision pulling these? I have SkyCat on my phone now.

When an app is pulled it remains on your phone, you cannot however re-download it ever again.
Make sure you have it locally synced on your iTunes PC.

Quote: Pyrofer

When an app is pulled it remains on your phone, you cannot however re-download it ever again.
Make sure you have it locally synced on your iTunes PC.

Yep got that...of course whenever there's OS upgrades and there's problems it typically means you are toasty. I sent the author an e-mail asking for the reason why it was pulled. Of the three it was the most aesthetically pleasing version. I'll post what I find here.

Probably the use of the pictures had something to do with it. I liked the idea of being able to take your own photo - that would probably get around any copyright problems (my assumption for taking it down).

Quote:

Be careful with these Skylander apps. I know some survive but SkyCat was recently pulled off the app store. Thankfully I didn't spend any money on it otherwise I would have been upset.

ACCK!! I wonder what the issue was? Was it pulled as in Apple took it off, or pulled just because they pulled it themselves. If it was a matter of images I think the Unofficial Catalog of Skylanders would get pulled too as they have a huge assortment of images. I now just have some, but the other two definitely used a lot more. But, I think all the images are available on the web. Dunno.

Bugs in iPhone apps really suck. I'm ashamed to admit that for the first time, my latest build has some. I've fixed them and sent an Emergency Rush request to Apple to get them out. If you're on iOS5 still, don't download the app until version 3.01.

As somebody that had a money making app pulled because of bogus copyright claims (total BS but a big company with lawyers etc threatened to sue me, what can I do?) I can say that it sucks trying to publish anything in the app store.
Activision are well known for protecting their IP, so any images or artwork from them are likely to bring down the wrath of Activision.
To be honest I am surprised they let people use the names!

As a free app with photos of the characters it should be ok. Use official artwork or images and it's trouble city.

Just heard back from them---it was definitely stripped of a legal dispute with Activision, although no specifics were given. The word "brand" was mentioned, so it has to be the pictures. Wow...I'm irritated at them for this. Really?!?

So I guess Dark Spyro will be taken down too...why don't they just shut everyone down that even mentions skylanders. Pfftt. Makes me want to sell my stuff and move on.

Hmmm, that's grim news indeed. Apple is going to rush my latest build out, so that could be fixed today or tomorrow. After that, I think I'm going to have to pull back some of my most recent changes. I think the pictures will have to go for sure. Maybe a title change. I think the Amazon link is probably ok, but I'll have to seriously ponder it all.

If the Skylanders website was better organized I would just put links from the app directly to their website. But I haven't even been able to find links to the Spyro only figures like Sunburn. That's just bad IMO. If you don't allow people to get the information easily, then you have to allow for others to pick it up. (unless Activision is reading this, then I love you guys, and please leave my app alone )

Maybe because they were charging for it? Dunno. I haven't heard anything for sure. <crosses fingers>

I did make a note of taking pictures of the characters and using those. I can't see how posing with your own figure is a problem.

Who knows why Activision is all of a sudden getting aggressive with pulling Skylanders apps off the app store but after doing a quick search it looks like several of the Skylanders collection apps have been pulled and not just SkyCat. The ones that are left seem to have popped up in the past month so who knows how long they'll last.