Posts Tagged ‘iphone’

I’ve always been enthralled by the ability of the iPhone to allow you to use location-based apps. I wrote an early entry about Loopt vs Whrll. Since then, there’ve been a series of great apps out using the phone’s capabilities from the start, among them:

• Loopt
• Whrll
• Brightkite
• Gowalla

I wrote reviews of the above apps while I was writing for AppAdvice.com. You can see those articles about Whrrl, Loopt and Brightkite here.

New to the location-based apps (and there are dozens out there now) are My Town and Foursquare. They both offer a twist beyond the mere “check-in” of others. Each app is a game or competition. I tried Foursquare for a while, but grew really tired of having to manually enter the locations – with complete street addresses required. I’ve been playing with My Town for a few days now, and I like how convenient it is in already having most locations entered for you. (Brightkite is also very strong in this area).

My Town is more of a Monopoly-style game – allowing you to buy properties and charge rent for them, while Foursquare allows you to become “mayor” of certain sites based on how often you frequent them.

Rather than giving you a detailed review of each, you can pick between the excellent reviews comparing these two apps below:

• App Showdown: Foursquare vs. My Town (via everythingicafe.com)
• Why My Town is bigger than Foursquare or Gowalla (via gigaom.com)
• Booyah’s mobile app MyTown turns the real world into Monopoly (via venturebeat.com)
• Foursquare + Monopoly Makes MyTown GPS Driven App (via crenk.com)

Should you decide to use one of the apps, let me know. If you’ve got another perspective on some of these, I’d love to hear that too. Here are some features that could sway users toward one or the other app if it was implemented:

For Foursquare

• Improve your check-in system. That one feature alone would gain you users.
• Make it impossible to “check-in” to a place if you’re not physically present there. In a game of competition, this makes cheating prevalent.

For My Town

• Add social connections. Like yesterday. The inability to have a friendship base on the app like Gowalla or Foursquare makes your app very lonely. (By the way, forcing folks to use the My Town app on Facebook is NOT social. It’s a pain.)
• Prevent multiple ownership of sites. This makes the whole game a little pointless.
• Add the ability to sell sites to specific people. Allow us to name our price – that would add heightened strategy and competition.
• In addition, you should only be able to collect rent once a day from each site you own.

As you start off this new year, if you’re looking for some fun apps for your iPhone, look no further. Both app creators have promised upgrades right around the corner, so many of these requested features may be present soon.

A recent Conan show featured Jerry Seinfeld. Here is the bit about the Blackberry and iPhone. Funny stuff.

OK, yes, I’d take one. No, I won’t pay for one until I’m eligible for a full upgrade. But this guy is my hero.

I used to write reviews for iPhone apps for the website appropriately titled appleiphoneapps.com (now appadvice.com). It’s a fantastic site to keep up with the good and terrible of apps for the iPhone. For every $.99 jewel, there are about 50 bombs. It’s always good to read reviews before hastily purchasing – unless you just love throwing dollar bills in the digital gutter.

I stumbled across someone’s recommendation of the app called Groups: Drag and Drop Contact Management a while back, and after doing some research, I pulled the trigger. Even though it’s a bit pricey at $2.99, I’ve found it to be a stellar addition to my iPhone.

If you don’t use the Address Book on your Mac all that much – and especially if you don’t use the Groups feature of AB, it won’t be that appealing. But perhaps it will inspire you to organize that messy contacts database you have.

Groups allows you to add contacts to specific groups by dragging and dropping them on the iPhone. This is a feature that Apple did not build into its Contacts app. You can also create Groups with the Groups app. There are are host of other inspired features as well – such as being able to email an entire group.

In addition to working with groups, the app also has a beautiful graphical interface. It’s really a pleasure to use. You’ll discover new features consistently that are well thought-out. For instance, a number will appear beside the name of your contact, indicating how many groups that contact is in. By tapping the number, an interface is brought up which allows you to edit the groups that contact is currently in.

Also, the ability to interact with individual contacts in your database is extremely well-done. Simply tap on a contact, and a dialog interface opens up that allows you to:

• Call any of the numbers assigned to that contact
• Send a text message
• Email
• Go to that contact’s website
• Map that contacts address
• Identify the groups that contact is in
• Send a contact card (in .vcf format) of that contact
• Edit the contact

There is also an attractive dial pad integrated into the app. The app really could become a replacement for Apple’s stock Contacts and Phone apps. It’s that impressive. The ability to scroll down the group list on the left by dragging your finger down the list is also very impressive.

Cons

The only significant caveat to this app is its load time. It takes too long to load. That in itself isn’t a deal killer, but it’s lengthy enough that you could be in the Phone app and Contacts app of the iPhone by the time it loads. That prevents me from replacing the former two apps with this one.

Of course, with the release of the iPhone 3G S, processor speeds are significantly increased, and this problem may go away. For the rest of us with 1G and 3G iPhones, however, this precludes us from using this app for anything other than groups and contact management.

Overall

If you have an extensive contact database, this is a must-have app. It’s smooth appearance and graphic design are excellent. Even though it tops out at $2.99, don’t let this discourage you. In addition, if you have a lot of contacts, this app will help you beat that database into great, manageable shape.

I rarely buy an iPhone app. However, qTweeter – available only to those of you with a jailbroken iPhone – is worth its salt. It enables a quick update to Twitter and Facebook from wherever you are in your iPhone. You don’t have to leave the app you’re currently using!

In that sense, it’s much like QuickSMS (which I consider another must-have app (also requires a jailbreak).

Here’s a video of the app at work:

The folks at Palm have released an “official” Palm Pre video. They’re the first company that understands what is needed to give the iPhone serious competition. That’s because they were one of the first in the industry doing smart phones. They seriously shot themselves in the foot when they clung to Palm OS – and watched every other smart phone in the world get an updated OS that passed them by. 

Watch the video and see if you think you might like a Pre…

Palm announced their new Palm Pre today, which is the first phone of theirs to run their new webOS. I’ve smirked at phones like the Samsung Instinct which announced in gaudy movie theater commercials that it was the iPhone killer. I’ve been amused at Crackberry Storm attempts to respond to the iPhone. And then there’s all kinds of other touchscreen phones on the market desperately attempting to respond to Apple’s success.

However, as a previous Palm Treo user, I must say the new Palm Pre looks mighty enticing. I doubt I would give up my iPhone for it like I gave up my Treo for the iPhone. However, if it came with Mac compatiblity (as smooth as previous Palm products) and a cheaper data plan than AT&T offers (they’re crooks) for the iPhone, the choice might become harder.

I’m just saying.

I made the call on the iPhone’s success. And I’m sticking my neck out and saying that the Palm Pre will turn a lot of heads and eventually gather more RIM customers than iPhone customers – initially. They may be breathing down Apple’s neck within two years – unless Apple makes the attempt to buy out Palm. We’ll see.

With a nice little message of “Thanks for waiting,” the iPhone Dev Team posted the new tool that will unlock, jailbreak and activate iPhone firmware 2.0 this afternoon!

The website iphoneunlockstatus.com provided this handy-dandy overview to know what you’re getting into with the new tool:

I am downloading it as we speak…

Update (7-19-08, 9:13 p.m.): I downloaded it, and tried to run it. It spun for almost 20 minutes looking for the firmware (which was on my desktop). I was not willing to run the “Expert Mode” until they publish better instructions. There was also a note over at iClarified.com that says that Installer app does not work. That’s crazy. How would one install jailbroken apps? Think I’ll wait for the morrow.

The Morrow (7-20-08, 6:00 a.m.): iClarified has posted a tutorial for the jailbreaking method. I have still have lots of questions about it and wish there was a FAQ.

Update (4:15 p.m.): Bummer. I can’t recommend or endorse this tool for anyone yet. After much anticipation, its use is unreliable. Even after following the tutorial the Pwnage 2.0 tool won’t find the firmware (I have to select it manually) or bootloaders (It offers to search the internet for them, but I already have them in the specified folder). Too bad ziphone didn’t get in on this project. His tool is so much easier to use for the average user. Unless you’re an advanced user, I would advise you to wait for either a better tutorial, better version of this tool, or another tool altogether. At least we know that the first jailbreak salvo has been fired. 

Others will hopefully rush in and clean up what the Dev Team have worked so hard to get out.

Update (7-21-08, 9:15 p.m.): I have successfully jailbroken my iPhone using the new tool (2.01) the Dev Team released yesterday! My error, I think, was not actually putting the iPhone in DFU mode. I didn’t know there was a difference until I found this article that described what to do.

But not this weekend, their blog says. In the meantime, watch this video of just how easy it is to jailbreak your iPhone with the pwnage tool that will soon be released. 

Many many hours have gone into this and now it should be as easy enough for your grandmother to use.

 

You can also watch the video in high quality here.

Just hours after I downloaded the iPhone 2.0 update from Apple’s site (and a day earlier than it was going to be released!), the iPhone Dev Team had already announced a jailbreak! Gizmodo was one of the first to release the news, although the truth is that just about every incremental release of the 2.0 beta has been jailbroken by them over the past several months.

Here are some questions I don’t know the answer to:

• Can those of us who updated to 2.0 hastily jailbreak our phones?
• Or does the jailbreak apply to the pwnage method prior to updating to 2.0?

After six hours with the update, I am still extremely impressed with the App Store. However, I’m growing less and less impressed with the range of free apps that are offered. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve installed some really cool ones, but I just doubt that most of them will have lasting use. There is a certain “cool” factor to some of them, but I can already tell that I won’t use them very much.

On the other hand, I had dozens of free games and other nice apps on my jailbroken iPhone that I used regularly that aren’t available on the App Store. There’s just nothing to compare with the jailbreak community and their spirit of open source. Developers for the App Store are wanting $.99 to $19.99 for programs – and there’s no way to try them out before buying. Who does that anymore? If anyone is going to spend money on software, you generally want to know if it will do what you need/want. I know it’s all about the money. It’s just that I don’t have any. ;)

This evening as I play around with the new apps and peruse the features of 2.0, I honestly don’t know which direction I’ll head in the days to come. I can say that Apple has hit a home run with this firmware. Many folks are going to LOVE it. There will be cartwheels turned all over tomorrow when folks get the official release.

For those of us who have grown to love the open source feeling of a jailbroken phone, however, I would imagine that there are many folks like me with somewhat mixed feelings. I wrote a post last October that expressed my frustration with Apple’s inability to understand what tech folks really want from them: freedom.

A good example of what was left out is the app Intelliscreen. It is one of the most powerful, helpful and innovative apps that I loved on my jailbroken iPhone. Yet, they do not develop it for the App Store. A quote from their website says:

Couldn’t Apple have had a more open mind to open source? There’s some amazing geniuses that aren’t at Apple. For Pete’s sake, a 15 year-old developed iJailbreak last year.

And maybe that’s what bums me out. I want my free Yahtzee game back on my iPhone. I can’t have it without a jailbreak. That’s just the beginning of apps that I no longer have. Others include iPhone Video Recorder, MobileScrobber, Intelliscreen, Twinkle, Solitaire, Super Nintendo and 100s of games for it… and the list goes on.

From a link over at iClarified this a.m., I was able to download the much-anticipated iPhone 2.0 firmware – one day early. I have no idea how this is possible, only that I got the download before Apple took the link down. By updating to the new iTunes 7.7, I was able to option-click on “Restore” and upgrade my iPhone to 2.0.

The experience was flawless – except for my first attempt with iTunes 7.6. You cannot update to 2.0 using older iTunes software.

Many of you know I’ve been using a jailbroken phone for months now and been extremely pleased with it. I was expecting 2.0 to blow me away. 

It didn’t.

After an initial “wow factor” with the App Store that’s now available in 2.0, (and it IS very impressive) my enthusiasm began to fade. There was no Yahtzee game, no free cards games… in fact, there were only 15 games listed and only ONE of those was FREE. After further looking, there are many more games under “Entertainment,” but the free ones are few and far between, to say the least. (Why in the world would anyone pay $1.99 for Hangman?!) The Facebook application rocks, but the mobile Facebook website is so impressive, I wonder about the need for the app? I am still exploring, but my 15-20 minute first impression leaves me waiting for a jailbreak. 

One disappointment is that with ALL THE TIME that Apple and developers had with this rollout, where are the apps that matter? The App Store is just that – a store. It’s designed to make money. There just aren’t that many freebies available, like I was led to believe there might be. And as far as sheer silly fun, programs like iFartz and iGiggle just aren’t there.

On top of that, when my phone rang a few minutes after the update, I groaned. Back to Apple’s stock ringtones. Thank goodness that iToner is ready their 1.08 update. 

Conclusion: I have a 1st gen iPhone and most likely will be holding off on getting a new iPhone – we don’t have 3G networks in our area. My jailbroken iPhone has been wonderful! I never cease to be amazed at software coming out for it.

As far as 2.0, those purists who never jailbroke their iPhones, waiting eagerly for the 2.0 update will probably be pleased. Any new icon on their screen will cause them to jump for joy. Jailbreakers will likely be disappointed and watching the Dev Team for the ensuing race to JB 2.0. I can imagine that a JB’ed 2.0 with an App Store would be the best of both worlds.

However, Zibri, the author of the amazing Ziphone utility which jailbreaks the iPhone had this to say on his blog today:

…I strongly suggest not to upgrade iTunes nor the iPhone.

I had a little problem over the weekend. Somewhere between Monticello and Stephenville, my iPhone stopped ringing. It wouldn’t vibrate or make a noise when someone was calling. Unless I happened to be looking at the screen (which is pretty hard to do when it’s in your pocket), I had no idea people were calling.

To confuse the matter further, I noticed that the phrase “AT&T -Ringtones Enabled!” showed up and scrolled across the small portion of the screen (top left) where the “AT&T” phrase used to be.

I was pretty frustrated when the problem continued today. I endured some needless heckling and abuse from some Apple-haters at the coffee shop, including Dean, Jeff, Jimmy, and a little friendly sarcasm from Justin.

I entered the problem on the Apple support page as this:

I cannot get the phone to ring at all now. It shows that someone is calling, but no ringtone, no sound, until it chimes notifying me of a new voicemail. I’ve missed numerous calls. 

It will also chime on text messages.

Help! 

However, I received a friendly question there about whether my phone was jailbroken. I responded, “It’s a possibility,” thinking to myself, “Who in their right mind wouldn’t jailbreak their phone to take advantage of the world of amazing enhancements, productivity tools, games, features, and customizations that have been available for almost a year now (no thanks to Apple).” Then I remembered I know of at least one person who insists on nothing but factory purity in everything he works with. ;)

However, when I got home, I’d received a formal email from Apple stating that my post on the support page had violated their policies. In reviewing them, I guess they were referring to this one:

Do not submit software or descriptions of processes that break or otherwise ‘work around’ digital rights management software or hardware. This includes conversations about ‘ripping’ DVDs or working around FairPlay software used on the iTunes Store.

However, I also solved my problem this afternoon while waiting for Caro at the post office. I remembered that Installer had notified me over the weekend of an update to “Ringtones” – a nifty application that can convert any song in your library to a ringtone or text alert. I had updated it but had not thought anything else about it.

After a prompt uninstall, my ringtones (including all those installed with iToner) began working again immediately.

Maybe my discovery will help someone else out. The Ringtones application version was 2.85, but I can no longer find the app in Installer. Weird. Anyone know of the link for others’ benefit? Found it.. Here’s the link.

If any of you iPhone lovers are still looking for the perfect case, Shades might have released one today. To me, the perfect case does not add bulk to your iPhone and protects it from scratches. I’m not that interested in “shock” protection and am tired of battling my pocket when trying to pull out a case made of silicone. 

I’ve been using a new case – very nice – made by “Cozip.” However, these Shades cases look very nice. Even better, if you buy more than one, you get 50% off the second one. Since they’re only $16.95 to begin with, that’s a great deal. So here’s an idea… If you have an iPhone and want to try a Shades case, then let’s pool our purchase. Their website promises free 2-3 day shipping for orders over $60, so if we can find 5-6 folks to purchase a case, we can get them for $10-12 a piece, on average.

Speak and let me know, and we can make the purchase and distribute the cases! They also have a very wise assortment of colors to choose from.

Update (7-1-08): After a few months of using the Cozip case, I am sad to say that it scratches the aluminum around the screen pretty badly. Avoid it.