Apple

iPhone 4

| trent

A long time between drinks isn’t necessarialy a bad thing, and the same goes for blogging. I’ll spare the usual dialog around how I will blog more often, because who knows if that will actually happen.

So what has me so excited that I am writing a blog? The new iPhone of course! Apple annoced its fourth generation iPhone, iPhone 4, at WWDC 2010 today. Apple has their typical spiel up at their website (htp://www.apple.com/au/iphone/), but I thought I would have my own recap.

First I should note I have an iPhone 3G, so I am fairly desperate for a new phone. Too much bias to write a fair blog? I think not!

The most important aspect of the new phone to me is the multitasking. Yes we knew about this for some time, but the new hardware is what makes this special. The 1GHz A4 processor is amazing, and I am glad they did this. I could certainly use the 40% extra battery life.

This hardware is further helped along by the ‘Retina Display’. Odd name yes, but with four times the pixels over the iPhone 3GS, this screen ought to look amazing. So it should be, considering the camera is 5 megapixels and shoots 720p video at 30fps.

FaceTime, with the new front/facing camera, received much fanfare. Good to see video chat on the phone, shame it only works when on Wi-Fi (pretty sure AT&T has screwed 3G video calls for the rest of the world).

When the leak about the lost iPhone surfaced, I didn’t doubt this was going to be the finalised design. I thought it was a little blocky then, but it actually looks nice with the glass front and back. Two colours, black and white. I still prefer the black one though.

This is quite a substatial upgrade, with some amaizing functionality included. I am pretty certain my iPhone 3G may soon be retired.

Not all is rosy, though. My biggest concern is the launch date. Australia was left out of the initial launch of June 24, only being told we will have it in ‘late July’. Apple, last time I looked around, Australia was in the same year as you. I’d be confident in saying we are somewhere at the top of the iPhone ownership list on a per capita basis. Never forget us like that again!

Hopefully this launch they will have enough stock in store when I go purchase it. I was one of the first few (hundred) to order mine at the Optus store in Brisbane. My phone was on order for three weeks before I got it. This put me off quite a bit, but the iPhone charmed me back. You’ll have to try harder this time Apple.

Overall, I think this iPhone is well worth me upgrading. Writing this post has certainly reinforced that view. Hopefully I can get hands on one soon. My iPhone feels so old now!

My iPhone in 16 Apps

| trent

I live 24/7 with my iPhone. It is my constant, unwaivering companion. I fell for my iPhone the second I got it (sorry for the romantic twist, it is Valentines time after all). Therefore, by extention, I fell for the App Store.

I have six and a half pages of apps on my iPhone 3G (old school, represent), and more sitting on my Mac. Seeing I have so many apps, I thought I would share my favourite 16, or one full iPhone page’s worth (excluding the dock) of apps. So here they all are, with a quick review.

Facebook
This app needs no real explination. Being the Facebook tragic I am, it’s only logical that I have an app that let’s me read my news feed, post content and chat IM-style. If you have an iPhone, and have a Facebook account, you should have this app. It costs AU$0.

Bejeweled 2
Bejewled simply has to be the most addictive game ever invented. So simple to pick up, Pop Cap Games has done a fantastic job adapting the game to the iPhone platform. Bejeweled Blitz is my favourite mode, because I can compete against Facebook friends, taunting them with my skills by built-in Facebook publishing. Replay value is extremely high. It costs AU$3.99, but is worth every sent.

TweetDeck
As with Facebook, I have hopped on the Twitter bandwagon. TweetDeck for iPhone is a beautiful adaptation of the powerful desktop client of the same name. Syncronisation of columns across the iPhone and desktop clients makes this app perfect for extremd Twitter social media (much like myself). Like the desktop app, this one is free.

Flight Control
A fun little game where you act as flight controller. What is especially important about this game to me is where it was created and written: Australia. The game is simple, with that ‘one more try’ factor that makes this game so alluring. It is also very affordable: AU$1.19

Stanza
Stanza is a nice little app for reading on the iPhone. It understands most-to-all of the major eBook formats. Adding books is done via the built-in store, or via Wi-Fi for books on your computer. Best of all, it’s free.

FourSquare
If you enjoy partying, this is for you. A native application for the web app, FourSquare allows you to find parties, gatherings and new places hang out. Find where your friends are, and compete against them to rule the week. This one is free.

Trailguru
If your a data obsessed geek like me, and you enjoy walking/running, then this is for you. Track your speed, distance, elevation and lots of other pieces of data, which you can then upload to the web for vieweing. The whole service, including the app, is free.

Sleep Cycle
Keeping the theme with well-being apps, Sleep Cycle allows you to sleep with your iPhone. But not how you are all thinking (shame on you!). Sleep Cycle is an alarm clock that detemines you phases of sleep through the night. It uses this data to wake you up at the optimal time before your set time, at which the alarm goes off anyway. This costs AU$1.19, but is amusing and informative.

Convert
The single most beautiful and powerful unit converter, Convert has it all. It handles all your normal conversions, plus typography and data size conversion. A calculator is also included. A little expensive at AU$2.49, but you get top quality for your money.

Google Mobile
We all know Google. You search with it by typing. We’ve all been there, done that. But this app allows you to search by voice! It is incredibly accurate in my experince, and great if your lazy. Also has direct links to all of Google’s mobile apps. It’s free, so just get it. It impresses everyone.

Shazam
You’d have to have been living under a rock to not have seen this in action. Don’t know the name of the catchy song playing? Open Shazam, hold your iPhone near the source, and voilà, now you know! Available in two versions, one free (with tagging limit), and a paid version (AU53.99, no limitations). This one impresses too.

Wurdle
Are you a word game nut? Wurdle is an addictive mix of find-a-word, and Boggle. You can choose to have a time limit or not, grid size, minimum word length, board colour, and so much more. It makes funny noises, which somehow makes words fun. It is AU$2.49 from the Store.

WordPress
This app is how I write basically all of my blog posts (including this one). It is free, and offers all the tools you need to write, categorise, organise and upload posts to multiple blogs. It is free, and is the premiere app for anyone with a WordPress blog.

UrbanSpoon
Like FourSquare, UrbanSpoon helps you find new places, but this app speialises in places to eat. I used it in a recent trip to Sydney, where I had no idea of places to eat. UrbanSpoon found three fantastic places to eat when I urgently needed it. It provides ratings and contact details, and is location aware, so the app has everything covered. It is free from the App Store.

CameraGenius
If your into multimedia as much as I am, then CameraGenius is a good buy. It adds some basic functions to the photography experience on iPhone. Things like alignment grids, timed shots, burst mode, zoom, tips and an easy to press button make this app what it is. At AU$2.49, it’s a cheap way to a better camera.

iVideoRecorder
If like me you’ve hung onto your iPhone 3G, and are still mad about no video capture, calm down and take a look at this. It’s still early days, but this app already blows my mind. The developers have manged 10fps at 320×240 resolution from a still-only camera. it looks middling in full light, not so much in low light, but improvements have been quick, so I expect this to get even better even faster. AU$1.19 will get you this app, which is really worth it.

Hopefully this (lengthy) insight into my iPhone has introduced one of two new apps to you (and told you way too much about myself). Please support the App Store and it’s developers by buying and providing positive comments and constructive feedback on the store.

DISCLAIMER: Prices shown above were correct at time of publication. Issues with support are of the concern of Apple and application developers. No responsibility is accepted for data loss or any other kind of issue caused by using the suggested iPhone applications.

The Reunion Post

| trent

It’s pretty clear I haven’t been blogging lately. Sometime in October was the last, an that’s pretty poor. University is such a distraction, but I hope the blog more frequently over the holidays.

To start: this post though: my Internet nightmare. I went over the quota BigPond allows me every month. But this time it’s different. Four days of dial-up speeds. OH NO! But I have squeezed as much value as I could out of the shaped plan. Two full days of download and I have Ubuntu 9.10. My MacBook Pro will never forget that experience (the poor thing).

I also grabbed a copy of the MacHeist nanoBundle. 6 shiny apps wort more than US$130 for $0. Nice! Thanks you to whoever runs this. If you’ve got Mac, check the bundle out here: www.macheist.com

A substantial time ago (well, relatively), Apple refreshed their mouse. It’s nice and all, multi-touch and a sleek RSI-induing design. But the new name. The Magic Mouse. What? How is it magic Apple? Sure multi-touch, but you don’t call the iPhone the Magic Phone. Or the MacBook line trackpad the MagicPad (just a little incorrect?). Please, I think we liked Mighty Mouse. But I still want one of these new things. Check www.apple.com/magicmouse/

In TV news (yes, I still watch TV), Big Bang Theory Series 3 has made it to Australian shores. Amazing seeing it only just started in the US. If you don’t watch it, you missing out. Just do a search on YouTube. But the new series is amazing. I think Sheldon should keep his beard. I must watch the latest show again tonight. It will make up for today’s 60% Database exam (I’m on the way to that as I type).

Talking about video and YouTube, you can now find my face on YouTube. I did a two minute thank you video on my birthday. It was a fun experience, an I really want to video blog again. If you want to see it, my YouTube handle is smartypants12000. I must say I admire anyone who does these blogs frequently. It took me an hour to put together this one video!

I hope to be back soon with more news, and photos (and video!). Leave a comment on this post, perhaps about your Internet nightmare, first YouTube video, or complaints about some new technology (my favourite!).

But until the next time, peace out people!