The Interval Countdown Timer iPhone application allows you to define a sequence of time intervals and assign the sequence a name. Sequences can be "played". When played, each interval is counted down one at a time. When the current interval reaches 00:00, a sound can be played (or the phone will vibrate if in silent mode) or an alert can be displayed to inform you that the interval is over. After the final interval a buzzer/horn sound is played. An alarm clock sound is played for all other intervals.
I created this application because I wanted a hands free solution that could inform me when I needed to change activities while working out and listening to pod casts. The clock application required me to acknowledge the alert displayed to continue which meant I had to stop what I was doing an interact with the iPhone. This application solves that problem by continuing to countdown each interval without the user having to interact with the iPhone after the completion of each interval. While you can have alerts displayed or have the iPhone vibrate in silent mode, this application was designed with the primary communication mechanism being the sound played after each interval.
New for Version 1.1: Repetition Counts for Intervals!You can now define the number of times an interval is to be repeated. By default intervals are executed once. Now they can be defined to be executed 1 to 100 times or to be infinitely repeating.
NOTE: Intervals have limitations if you run the application in the background. The mechanism used to communicate the completion of intervals while the application is in the background (called local notifications) is limited to 64 notifications. So if you create a sequence that has more than 64 interval completions (which includes counting repetition completions) and you switch to another application, your sequence may stop running after the 64th completion. If this happens, Interval Countdown Timer will display the following message:
To avoid this problem, you can return to the Interval Countdown Timer application before the 64th completion. If you leave this will give you a new set of 64 completions.
An example of where one might run into this. Say you create a sequence with one interval. The interval is setup to be infinitely repeating every 30 seconds. If you leave the application, it will notify you of interval completions 64 times. After 32 minutes (64 * 30 seconds) the above alert will be displayed and the notifications will stop until to return to the Interval Countdown Timer application to restart the sequence.
The Sequence List
When the application is started, it displays the list of sequences that are defined.
At this screen you can do the following:
- Tap edit to re-order or delete items in the list
- Tap + to create a new sequence
- Tap an existing sequence to play the sequence
Edit/Add Sequence
At this screen you can do the following:
- Tap the name to change/edit the name value
- Tap - to delete the adjacent interval
- Tap + to add a new interval
- Reorder the intervals (by dragging the table image on the left of each interval)
- Cancel or Save the changes by taping the associated button in the navigation bar
Edit/Add Interval
Three examples of intervals being defined. The first is an interval with 6 repetitions. The second is an interval setup to repeat infinitely. The third is a repetition setup to be executed only once.
At this screen you can do the following:
- Select the number of hours, minutes, seconds and repetitions for the interval
- Cancel or Save the changes by taping the associated button in the navigation bar
Play Sequence
At this screen you can do the following:
- Tap the Sequences button to return to the sequence list screen - this will stop the current sequence if it is playing. (You can start a sequence and click the home button to move to another application.)
- Tap the edit button to edit the current sequence. This option is not available if the sequence is being played.
- Play/pause the current sequence.
- Return back to the last interval or advance to the next interval in the sequence.
- Turn on/off the sounds or alerting
Example of alert displayed after an interval:
