Posts tagged iPhone
Apple iPad
Jan 29th
When the Apple iPad was announced on Wednesday my immediate reaction was… “I want one!” Then, the more I thought about it I asked myself… “Why?”. About a year ago I was wondering why Apple didn’t release an iPod Touch that had Wi-Fi + 3G capability & now we know why they didn’t as they were developing the iPad. If something like that was out then, I wouldn’t have bought an iPhone. The iPad isn’t a breakthrough device and people are calling it the Kindle Killer. I disagree with that as the Kindle is a true eReader & will survive in the marketplace. They should have named it iPod Touch 3G XL instead & I’m perfectly happy with my iPad Nano (iPhone 3G).
Google Sync vs Gpush
Sep 22nd
Earlier, Google Sync announced the ability to have Gmail messages pushed directly to your phone. Before this announcement, I’ve been using IMAP to read my mail on the iPhone. That still didn’t allow me to use Push, therefore I’ve been using a separate app called Gpush. I was so excited with today’s announcement, so I deleted the IMAP setup and turned on Mail via Google Sync. I didn’t have to set it up as I’m already using it for Calendar & Contacts. After using it a little while, I reverted back using IMAP and Gpush. There are a few reasons why & I’ll explain. The first reason, which I’ll quote from their website;
Google Sync offers some advantages over using IMAP on your phone. Most importantly, it allows for content to be pushed to your phone within seconds after changes occur on the server. On the other hand, using Gmail Drafts from your phone is not possible via Google Sync.
Not being able to start a message on my iPhone and complete it via the web interface & vice versa is a huge drawback, at least to me. Another reason, is that while I can still see my folders (Labels)… I was only able to load messages back one month. However, with IMAP, I could load the last 50 messages & more if I wanted. If there is a way around this, please leave a comment correcting me, but I searched for a way & was unsuccessful. With Gpush, it’s using Apple’s push notification system meaning it displays a snippet of whom the email is from & the subject. Using Google Sync, I lost that ability. For whatever reason, Yahoo! has been the only provider to allow Push natively within the Mail app. Using IMAP with Push turned on via the Mail app for Gmail would be the ultimate setup. So, I’m going to stay loyal to Tiverias Apps (Gpush) as their service is great. It may be rocky at times, but overall it’s a great app and well worth the $1.99.
UPDATE: 09/22/2009 @ 11: 12 PM
I know a few folks that like to preserve their battery throughout the day. Here is another reason before you decide to go with Google Sync which is quoted directly from their Gmail blog;
While this type of speed is pretty awesome, push connections tend to use more power than fetching at intervals, so don’t be surprised if your battery life isn’t quite what it used to be. We’ve done a lot of work to optimize power usage, but if you prefer to save battery life, you can always turn off push in your phone’s settings and fetch mail every 30 or 60 minutes instead.
Google Sync just got Better!
Sep 22nd
Earlier in the year, Google launched Google Sync which allows you to synchronize your Gmail Contacts and Google Calendar with your iPhone. Today, they completed the hat trick allowing the iPhone now to synchronize Gmail messages.
Using Google Sync, you can now get your Gmail messages pushed directly to your phone. Having an over-the-air, always-on connection means that your inbox is up to date, no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Sync works with your phone’s native email application so there’s no additional software needed. Only interested in syncing your Gmail, but not your Calendar? Google Sync allows you to sync just your Contacts, Calendar, or Gmail, or any combination of the three.
[SOURCE: Official Google Mobile Blog]
Back to School
Aug 18th
I was over at appadvice and they have a “9 Apps For Back to School” list for iPhone/iPod Touch. I thought it was a decent list, but wanted to suggest two more apps that are free*:
- Convertbot: It is a unit conversion robot. Convert currency, length, mass, time and much more. Over 440 different units supported. Requirements: iPhone/iPod Touch and iPhone OS 2.0 or later.
- Wikipedia Mobile: Wikipedia is now officially on the iPhone. It’s a simple, yet fast way to access the popular online encyclopedia. Requirements: iPhone/iPod Touch (2nd generation) and iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
*Convertbot is free for a limited time.
Speedtest.net
Jul 8th
Speedtest.net is a broadband speed analysis tool that allows anyone to test their internet connection. I use this site all the time when it comes to measuring broadband speed & used it a few days ago for this entry. Ookla provides this service for free to anyone curious about the performance of their connection to and from hundreds of locations around the world. Buckeye Express also uses Ookla for their speed test site, http://performance.bex.net. What I didn’t realize is that they, Ookla, released a native iPhone/iPod Touch application. When you first launch the application, it will want to use your current location… just allow it. By doing so, it will find the closest test server. If you want to test a different server, you can choose which one you want within settings. You’ll be able to test Wi-Fi, 3G, & EDGE. In the results screen, it will give you the option to email that individual result. To delete results, just swipe from left to right on a specific result and you’ll get the delete button. Here are few screenshots:
AIM 3.0.1 on iPhone
Jun 23rd
AIM with push notifications on the iPhone is one of my favorite applications now. I haven’t had any problems with notifications coming through. The only annoyance I had is something I mentioned earlier within the comments on my previous entry:
I wish there was a way for AIM to know when your signed into a desktop client. Since AIM was keeping me signed in on the iPhone & when I sign on Pidgin… I would get a push notification and the message within Pidgin as well. I have to sign off manually via the iPhone.
Well, I found a little work around. When you are on your desktop client, set AIM on your iPhone as Away with a message of “On iPhone” or whatever you choose. With the iPhone set Away, this will stop the push notifications, but will still keep you signed in. When you sign off on your desktop client, people will be alerted that you are away, but will see your message about being “On iPhone”. After you are done with the desktop client, you can change your status on the iPhone back to Available. Also, if both the iPhone & the desktop client are away… the push notifications will come through.
AIM 3.0.1 iPhone Update
Jun 22nd
What’s new in this version:
- Stay logged in for up to 24 hours and receive notifications through Apple’s Push Notification Service (iPhone OS 3.0 or higher only) or via SMS when you receive new IMs.
- Support for landscape mode in buddy list and conversation views.
- Minor fixes or improved stability and performance.
TomTom for iPhone
Jun 9th
Peter-Frans Pauwels, TomTom’s co-founder and CTO, demonstrated TomTom’s navigation software in combination with a specially designed car kit on the iPhone during Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco this past Monday. It is the world’s first dedicated in-car navigation solution.
The TomTom solution combines two new TomTom products to provide users with state of the art in-car navigation on their iPhone 3G:
- The TomTom navigation application for iPhone; an Apple version of TomTom’s award-winning turn-by-turn navigation software, including IQ Routes and latest maps from Tele Atlas.
- The TomTom car kit for iPhone; a specially developed car kit for secure docking, enhanced GPS performance, clear voice instructions, hands-free calling and in-car charging.
The TomTom navigation application for iPhone will be available via the Apple iTunes App Store, following the release of Apple’s OS 3.0 operating system. Details regarding pricing and availability for both the application and the TomTom car kit for iPhone will be made available in advance of the products’ launch later this summer.
iPhone 3.0 / iPhone 3GS
Jun 9th
I love, eat, & breathe technology/gadgets. It’s one of the reasons why I started this blog years ago. Sometimes, there aren’t people around to talk about new technologies or share that same passion I do. It’s possible that only a few people read this blog regularly, but this gives me an outlet to share with others. Yesterday, Apple announced a few new items, but I’m only going to talk about the iPhone 3.0 software and the iPhone 3GS. The iPhone 3.0 software will be released next Wednesday, June 17th. Free to iPhone users and $9.95 for those that have an iPod Touch. As an iPhone 3G owner, I’ve been looking forward to this release for a few reasons. The main reason is for push notifications. I’m hoping that Gmail will finally be able to use this system. I know Gmail supports push as anyone with an Android phone get’s this ability. I believe Apple & Yahoo! had an agreement as Yahoo! was and still is the only service that would allow push notifications to be enabled. The other reason was for MMS. I’m a little bitter about the MMS news though. Even though the iPhone will support MMS next Wednesday… AT&T won’t support it until late summer. I know more people are happy to finally have a solid copy & paste solution, but there weren’t too many times that while using my phone I needed to copy & paste anything. I know there are more features and I’m sure if something awes me, I’ll post it on my blog. Since I just got my iPhone 3G this past February, I’m not going to spend the $499.00 (I qualified for a small discount) to upgrade to the iPhone 3GS, releasing next Friday; June 19th. I’ll qualify for an upgrade next year around June 10th. Which I’m sure they’ll have another iPhone coming out & I’ll just upgrade then. However, I really like that the new phone has a 3 megapixel camera with an auto focus & a touch to focus feature. The new phone also supports video capturing with streamlined editing and the ability to upload videos directly to YouTube. The ability to send this video directly to YouTube is a great selling point. There have been times where Caleb, my son, was doing something hilarious… but I don’t carry a video camera with me and times like that would make the new iPhone 3GS worth the $499.00. New customers to AT&T can get the phone for either $199.00 (16GB) or $299.00 (32GB). For non-qualified customers, including existing AT&T customers who want to upgrade from another phone or replace an iPhone 3G, the price with a new two-year agreement is $599 (16GB) or $699 (32GB). People are complaining about that, but really they shouldn’t be. That’s how it is on all carriers, just not AT&T. I still think the Palm Pre will only be 2nd or 3rd best at this point.
Flight Control v1.2
Jun 3rd
Firemint just released an update, v1.2, for their iPhone application called Flight Control. It includes new aircraft, two new airfields, & a fast forward option. It’s strange that they didn’t name the airfields, but here are the two new ones & the original;
I played, what I’ll call the Island airfield, & landed 97 aircraft my first try. It’s a great update & an excellent iPhone game that I recommend to anyone owning an iPhone/iPod Touch.
