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Posts tagged iPhone
Push your GMail
2 years ago
by manfred
in Connectivity
The popular GMail service has been available in many shapes and forms, as well as being supported by both Google and third-party applications on mobile devices. The one feature that has been missing for some time is native push notification of new emails arriving in the inbox. Workarounds have been available, but those required additional software to be installed and in some cases, purchases to be made. Now, Google has made push notifications available for iPhone/iPod Touch users, as well as for Windows Mobile devices.
For iPhone users, the installation of the iPhone update to 3.0 is a prerequisite. One restriction that will prevent me from using this feature is the fact that one is able to create only a single Microsoft Exchange mail profile on most devices, including the iPhone.
I could easily do with three or more such accounts on my mobile device, but need to restrict myself to the most important one and then retrieve mail from the other Exchange-based accounts in alternate ways.
That’s a huge pity and something I hope will be rectified soon. If you are using GMail and don’t yet have an Exchange mail account set up on your device, the Google Sync help page provides step by step instructions on how to configure the account.
The only other limitation I’m aware of is that it is not possible to search through all mail in the GMail account – only those messages downloaded to the device are searchable. That’s no different to having a non-push GMail account on the phone.
Of course, it is possible to synchronize your Google Calendar to the device as well. See this page for more details on how to do that.
Why my iPhone is still on 3.0
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
I’ve spent at least eight hours attempting the update of my iPhone 3G from its 3.0 firmware to the newly release 3.1 version. Somehow, the update of the firmware for both my iPhone and iPod Touch devices has never really been a pleasant experience. First off, the download via iTunes is an absolute pain, taking far too long, timing out and having to be restarted way too often. Without even attempting the download via iTunes, I head for the direct download links kindly maintained here. At least a direct download implies the use of my browser’s download manager, restartability and a generally shorter download time.
With the download complete, I started this update with trepidation. With very few exceptions, the update has always failed at least once. I use the MacBook as my sync computer for the iPhone. Copied the firmware file, started iTunes and opened the update file by holding down the Option key and clicking Update. Select the file and hold thumbs. It took a very short time for a rather familiar screen on the iPhone to show up:
Error 14. That’s pretty much a catch-all. It has no direct resolution, other than restoring the device using an older firmware file. I tried the 3.0.1 release simply to gain something out of another unpleasant upgrade experience. That worked seamlessly. The most annoying bit is waiting for all applications to be reloaded using the last backup file, a process that completes after about two hours or more. Stupidly, I attempted the update again sometime after that. Same result. Even more stupidly, I tried it again a few days later. Same result. My iPhone stays on 3.0.1.
In a way, I’m relieved the upgrade didn’t work. It seems there are some real issues with the new firmware relating to reduced battery life, an inability to access Exchange mail and services and overall stability problems. So I’ll wait for 3.1.1 or 3.2 or whatever the next release will be. Then I’ll try again…
What’s on my iPhone – page 3/10
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
On to page 3 of my iPhone application collection. This is one of two pages containing camera and photography-related applications, many duplicating features others in the collection already provide. The camera on the iPhone 3G is a lot of fun and is always with me. Startup times are reasonable for catching important moments, though the low resolution can be a let down at times. Time to consider a 3GS…
I’ll ignore the two two standard iPhone apps Camera and Photos.
Camera Zoom is an alternative to Camera that includes a slider to zoom the image seen by the iPhone. Obviously, the image quality suffers as the zoom is increased – this is a digital zoom function and cannot improve or alter what the iPhone camera detects.
Basically, Camera Zoom increases the size of each pixel to provide a zoomed image. It’s not as crass as that, but the overall effect is based on that principle. Here, a photo using the built-in camera’s natural focal length:
And then, zoomed to the max:
The result is usable and is certainly handy to have at hand. Important: hold the iPhone steady to prevent even more blur in the photo.
Frequency of use: occasional
My rating (cost and usability taken into account): 3/5
Price: USD 0.99
iTunes App Store URL for Camera Zoom
Camera Bag is an application that provides a number of classic camera simulations. Selecting an existing photo or taking a new one from within the application allows the selection of various interesting effects. That’s really all there is to it, though the output can dramatically improve an image or make it far more interesting.
A variety of effects are provided, including the classic Helga and Lolo. Applying any of these to the selected photograph is a simple matter of selecting the most appropriate one.
The new photograph may be saved for further processing. It’s simple, but provides great value.
Frequency of use: occasional
My rating (cost and usability taken into account): 4/5
Price: USD 0.99
iTunes App Store URL for CameraBag
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A Dock for the Pocket
The biggest annoyance about Apple‘s products is their insistence on bespoke cabling and physical connectors. The iPhone and the extended iPod family suffers from this design decision. For the end user, leaving a certain cable or dock at home can mean the inability to charge or synchronize the device. Accessories abound for charging the iPhone, but the new SendStation PocketDock Line Out Mini USB adapter for iPod is innovative and rather useful (thankfully, its form factor is more compact than its name). Made in Germany, too!
The PocketDock is tiny, fitting onto the existing dock connector at the bottom of the iPod or iPhone. Its function: to provide both a line-out and a standard mini-USB connector for audio output, synchronization and charging all in one. Best of all, the provision of a mini-USB port means any existing USB cable can be used for charging and synchronization.
A standard 3.5mm jack connects the device to to speakers or an amplifier. The PocketDock is small and unobtrusive, with dimensions almost identical to the dock connector plug on the Apple cable.
The tiny marvel costs USD 30 and the package includes a set of cables for audio output and USB connectivity.
What’s on my iPhone – page 2/10
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
Today, we move to page 2 of my iPhone application collection. This page contains news sources that I enjoy reading and two important reference sources: Wikipedia and a dictionary. All of these are free to download and rely on their respective backend data sources to populate their information. Using these apps a lot is a bit of a drain on bandwidth consumption, so I tend to use these more when I’m in reach of my home wireless network.
With very few exceptions, all news apps are created equal: access to content that is also available from any web browser, a selection of news stories belonging to various categories, images, video and the ability to comment and interact with other users.
News24 is the mobile portal to the popular South African news site. News on current events with a focus on South Africa but with a fair bit of coverage of important international news.
I’m also always interested in the financial and motoring news provided. The layout is clean and neat and easily navigable.
Visit the News24 website here.
Frequency of use: occasional
My rating (cost and usability taken into account): 3/5
Price: free
iTunes App Store URL for News24
What’s on my iPhone – page 1/10
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
I took the easy way out with my first post on detailing the applications I house on the iPhone and iPod Touch. I presently have 10 pages of applications on there, with page 10 being a landing pad for things I’m trying out or considering deleting. I’ve downloaded many apps for the iPhone and am constantly adding new ones. If you have an iPhone in South Africa and haven’t yet applied (by fair means or foul) for an account on the US store, you’re seriously missing out on a lot of content.
I’m a bit of a stickler when it comes to organizing the application icons, and I’ve developed my own categorization to help me find things more speedily. Of all the things I want to see in iTunes 9 (or whatever the rumoured new version to be launched September 9 will be) is something to allow me to organize the icons quickly and easily. Currently, it takes a fair bit of time to drag and place icons where I want them.
Page 1/10 is the home screen and contains all the applications I consider most important for daily use. These are the applications I use most often, with the most critical ones stored in the dock: Phone, Mail, Calendar and Contacts.
We’ll skip the standard iPhone applications Settings, Messages, Clock, App Store, Safari, Calculator, Maps and Weather.
NetNewsWire is an RSS aggregator that works in conjunction with Newsgator. Yes, I use RSS even though I’m an ardent reader of Twitter streams. I set up an online account and added RSS feeds to that. Using a browser, native app for Linux/Mac/Windows or NetNewsWire on the iPhone I have access to all RSS feeds I’ve subscribed to.
Reading on any one platform will update my read counts.
What I like best about NetNewsWire is its ability to store clippings of stories I want to remember for follow up later on. Unfortunately, the online interface at Newsgator will no longer be available soon: Google Reader is my next best bet, but NetNewsWire is unaffected and will still work.
Frequency of use: frequent
My rating (cost and usability taken into account): 4/5
Price: free
iTunes App Store URL for NetNewsWire
What’s on my iPhone – page 0/10
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
A while back, I posted a rather speedy animation of my iPhone‘s application screens. Here’s the first of many more detailed looks at what each one of them contains.
Since it’s late and I don’t have the energy to write a lot, I’ll start with the easiest of the lot: page 0 of 10. It’s the Finder.
The Finder provides a quick way of finding content on the iPhone, from mail messages to contacts.
Frequency of use: occasional
Price: included in firmware 3.0, hence free.
Next post on this topic to include something useful. Promise 
Change lenses on the iPhone camera
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
Wouldn’t it be really nice to have set of lenses that could be attached to the existing iPhone‘s lens to provide a range of effects and increased photographic abilities? Maybe, such a set of lenses would look something like this:
Fish-eye, close-up, wide angle and all manner of others. Cool. To mount the set of lenses, a special case is required. The Japanese company Factron has made such a case. It is named Quattro. With an attached lens, it looks like something the Germans came up with in the early 1940′s. Maybe a sophisticated Voight-Kampff machine from Bladerunner.
It’s rather retro. I like it. Unfortunately, the back of the case is far more attractive that the front. If you can live with the eclectic styling of the Quattro, you may have a winner.
Personally, I’d wait for Griffin to come up with something a bit more rounded…
A TV Guide for ZA
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
Similar in function to the Multichoice DStv iPhone application, the ZA TV Guide is a Durban-developed iPhone application. A no-charge download, the ZA TV Guide is less than 1MB in size and installs rather quickly.
The premise of the application is rather simple: a computerized TV guide for South Africans including programming information for SABC, eTV and DStv broadcasts. A brief view of the splash screen leads to the opening screen that contains favourite shows and channels as selected by the user.
The launchpad of the application provides space for favourites, both channels and TV shows. These favourites are selected from a list that the application has access to – the lists are updated over the air and refreshed whenever the application is launched and programming information accessed.
Full search functions are provided for you to find whatever programming may be relevant.
Some detail is provided for the selected TV show, providing a bit of an overview of what’s on show.
Doom resurrected for the iPhone
2 years ago
by manfred
in iPod/iPhone
The iPhone is without doubt a gaming platform to be reckoned with. The hardware and software combination Apple has put together has astounding abilities from a graphics acceleration and rendering point of view. The touch interface brings a new dimension to gaming and makes many titles easily playable: none of those pesky button combinations to worry about.
id Software ported an old classic and certainly on of my favourites to the iPhone recently. Wolfenstein 3D retains all the charm of the original, down to the soundtrack. With the port of Doom Resurrection, they have another winner on their hands. Gameplay has been adapted slightly to suit the iPhone, but the graphics are stunning and the action quite frenetic.
The purchase price is USD 9.99, which is more expensive than Wolfenstein 3D. But, Doom Resurrection is not just a port of the original. Instead, the game features a brand new chapter designed specifically for the iPhone. As I mentioned, gameplay has been altered slightly to suit the Apple device: instead of moving the character around the map, the course of movement is pre-determined and all that is required is to aim and fire and pick up items. That’s not as boring as it sounds and works rather well.
The ominous graphics remind me of the PC classic.
The gamer is guided through the game by being presented with help screens and an introduction to the story.
A nice touch is the cinematic 3D flyover of the environment during the introduction, ending in the first-person view we’re all familiar with.
Help is at hand at the beginning. The environment is exceptionally detailed. The icons in the corners of the screen are used to fire a weapon, change weapons and so on. The character moves along on a pre-determined course and the gamer needs to tilt the iPhone to aim at the nasties that lurk in the base on Mars. The control system works well.
There are eight levels in total to battle through.
Zombies and worse attack whenever possible.
When they grab hold of you, the only way out is to shake the iPhone around to escape. Not really a game you should play in a business meeting…
Doom Resurrection is another great port of a classic game to the iPhone. USD 10 is expensive, but the new levels make this a must-have for the serious Doom fan.
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