iPad in Kiosk mode with custom launcher

Question

i'm looking for solution to convert iPad to media device.

Target - it should be able to play videos music and some games.

With videos and music - there is no problem. I can write app with video and audio players, add media content to it and set lock device to Kiosk mode.

But what to do with games?

One solution is to have each game registered for own URL scheme and I can call them by opening link "mygame://". I can do same to go back - have a "Home" button in game which move user back to "Launcher" with videos, music, games.

Do you see any other solution? We don't want user to communicate with Springboard at all.

By the way, if app is in kiosk mode, will URL Scheme work to switch apps?

Thanks

Answer 1

If by 'kiosk mode' you mean Guided Access or Configurator's single app mode, then yes, both will block any URL scheme calls to other apps.

If you don't want your users to see the device's Home screen at all (and are committed to using Guided Access and not willing to jailbreak), your best option will likely be to implement games using HTML5 within a UIWebView inside the same app shell as the video and audio players.

Alternately, you could use an enclosure that blocks access to the iPad's physical buttons instead of Guided Access. As long as you had multi-touch gestures and all notifications turned off, you would be able to use the URL schemes you are describing without allowing access to the Home screen.