iPhone SDK: Avoid Blank screen while launching my application

Question

I am retrieving some data from server when launching my application itself. So whenever launch my application it shows a blank screen for few seconds(means it is downloading data from server) and then launches the first view. I don't want to show the blank screen to user. I want to add an image and activity indicator there. Please route me into right direction to capture this task.

I appreciate your helps.

thanks.

Clave/

Answer 1

Put an image in your resources (MainBundle) with the filename of "Default.png" and that gets displayed before your app even gets the first call. After that, you can either display the same image or display that and an animated progress bar as you download your data.

Answer 2

Use threads to split the view from the data loading. This way, you can load the app's view and other resources, while (in the background) loading its content. Great usability boost.

Answer 3

You might want to read James Thomson's article "How To Make Your iPhone App Launch Faster". He describes some techniques for showing a loading indicator immediately, making an application seem to launch faster.