As you may know I have an iPhone and now I have the iPhone 2.0 software. It is all good. I have the MobileMe trial going and I am going to do some limited testing. If it is good, I may migrate from GMail back to that (it was .Mac and I was a member for over 3 years). What have I downloaded from the App Store? Mostly freebies, I have only paid for one App.
First of all, the 2.0 upgrade does give a definite performance bump to all running applications. Safari, Mail, iPod and the phone all work better. Mobile Safari 2.0 under Edge and WiFi feels snappier. Especially under Edge, AT&T’s Low Fi network. One of the cool things about the iPhone is the fact that, even without a GPS built-in, it can locate where you are. Some apps can use that functionality to share your location with others. Now, the Apps.
Twitterrific: I am currently using the free version of this client for the Twitter microblogging service. Twitterrific, for me, is fast and elegant. I compare it to Hahlo, the mobile Web Twitter client, and they both have their charms, although Hahlo only allows a certain amount of refreshes an hour and then you have to use m.twitter.com. Twitterrific at least allows you to post a lot if you have a lot to get off of your chest. Also, there is a lot under the hood that I haven’t figured out yet.
Twinkle: This is another client for Twitter that allows you to use the location feature to find other Twinkle users within a certain radius. Twinkle was an app that was originally written for “jailbroken” or unlocked iPhones and has now graduated to the big leagues. I like this client, it has potential, there are certain things that are missing that the developers are going to address in a bug fix to be released later this week.
AIM: AOL Instant Messenger. It is there, it works, and I can’t use it because none of my buddies are online. Please, someone come in and help me test it.
Evernote: Evernote on a Mac or Windows allows you to store Webclips, to dos, video, audio and text notes, etc. It can even do OCR (optical character recognition) from text in graphics and photos. For that it’s great, I use it a lot. On the iPhone, not so much, although it does have a built-in voice recorder. The recently released update now has a dashboard, but it still doesn’t feel right. I am going to try for another week or so.
eBay: Very nice. Allows me to log into my account, look at auctions, bid, buy, remind me when I’m outbid, etc. The search is better than on the Web. Great app.
VoiceNotes: App that allows you to make a voice note, name it and file it. Very simple two button interface.
Shazam and midomi: I cluster them together because they do basically the same thing. Say you’re a passenger in a car and the driver has flipped on the local Jack (shuffle play) station. They never tell you what the hell they played or are going to play and you hear a song you like. Whip out your iPhone, fire up Shazam or midomi and have it sample the song for about 10 seconds. They will find the title and flag it for you for purchase at iTunes or for later listening. midomi not only allows you to sample a recorded song, it will allow you to sing or hum a song into the mic and find it. They actually work, although I think midomi uses more source databases than Shazam. Very cool.
PhoneSaber: A light saber on your phone. You can choose the color. Fire it up, move your phone around. It uses the phone’s accelerometer to change the pitch. Swing hard and abruptly stop and you get the sound of the saber striking an object. Useless, but fun, I’ve already had a saber fight with a guy at work.
WeatherBug: I use this as a Widget on Mac OS X’s Dashboard and find it indispensable. On the iPhone, it’s slow and buggy. I’m hoping for an update in the next couple of weeks because if they can’t fix it, it’s outta here.
WeightTrack: Self explanatory. An app provided by the cites of Tulsa and Oklahoma City to help you track the pounds. I love stuff like this, but the weight loss tools I have found on line either cost money or are inadequate. This a weight loss app that Apple would design. Spartan, with the important features left in and everything else out. This tracks your weight and body mass index (BMI, the percentage of fat to your age and height) and graphs it for you. You have to sign up for a free account at OKC or Tulsa Millions Websites to use the graphing features or you can use it standalone.
JirboJam: A nice little game where you match cute animals in threes and clear the board. Animation is great.
Aurora Feint the Beginning: OK, the title is a little arch, but this free game is one of the best I have ever played. It’s a mixture of Tetris and Bejewled. You have to clear three or more tiles in rows or columns like those games, the difference being you can use the accelerometer in your iPhone to turn the orientation of the board and move the tiles in random positions to clear them. It uses the iPhone to its full and is totally addictive.
Baseball: I ‘m a closet baseball fan. I’ve never been a close follower of the game, but now I have an edge on all my non-iPhone owning baseball friends. I have Baseball for the iPhone. A simple app, it has all the stats for all the teams and players from 1888 to 2007. The developer is in a little hot water with Major League Baseball, however. He’s used team logos without permission and now has to update the app to remove them. C’mon MLB, be reasonable, don’t punish a fan for being a fan.
MLB.com At Bat: The app that I paid for ($4.99). Has the schedules for all games played yesterday, today and tomorrow, with current box scores. Go to a game in progress and you can watch (almost) real time highlight videos of the pivotal plays of the game. This knows whether you are on Edge or WiFi and gives accordingly. On Edge, videos are low quality and on WiFI, high quality. Very cool and is good for all games this season including the recently played All Star Game and the World Series. Great for a fan of a team in a city you are not living in and who doesn’t want to buy season passes on cable or satellite (me; live in L.A., S.F. Giants fan). Pricing will be set for 2009.
That’s it so far. I will be reporting on MobileMe as soon as I update my address books on my iPhone and Mac.
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