Launching iPod App from Within Your Own App

Question

Is there a way to open up the iPod app after pressing a button in your own app?

Thanks.

Answer 1

I suspect that, due to the chroot sandbox your app lives in, you can't do that unless the phone is jailbroken. You'd need a specific api for it.

That said, I think there are some additions in iphone 3.0 which may allow you to atleast get the user to browse the media library, but I've not tried it.

Apple is also adding a new API for streaming audio and video directly over HTTP, which is more secure and reliable for firewalls, and another for voice-over-IP. This will allow in-game voice chat and other features that aren't an option today. Other new APIs to be released in iPhone 3.0 will allow access to the iPod portion of the iPhone's media library, control of the proximity sensor, audio recording features through a Voice Memos feature, a battery API, support for data detectors, and text selection.

Apple Insider.

Answer 2

iPhone 3.0 SDK is still under NDA but it does include Media Player Framework (announced publicly):

This framework also gives your application access to the iPod library. Use it to find and play user-installed media items. iPod library access is read-only.

Check out the documentation at ADC for more info.

You can definitely launch other Apps by calling URLs. However A quick Google search only showed Google Maps, Mail etc.

You might want to try URLs that start: http://phobos. as URLs that start http://maps.google. will open the Google Maps App.

Edit:

This URL: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=302977634 tapped on in an email opened the Podcast section of the iTunes App.

Answer 3

You open other applications using a URL Scheme and, unfortunately, there is no publicly available scheme for opening the iPod application.

If this is functionality you need you should raise a bug report with Apple. There's a form on the Apple Developer website.