PDA-247

Product Placement

David K — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:41:18 +0000

Has anyone else noticed how often smartphones are cropping up in TV programs? Palm are the masters at this, a year or so ago it was the Treo appearing in all the action programs like 24, Bones, and CSI and now the Pre is showing up all over the place. Everyone in 24 is using one,with a nice sequence of Jack flicking through open cards, Without a Trace had a brief flirtation with the iPhone but now seems to be back with Pre’s and the latest one I spotted was in CSI New York. Mind you, in that they were using in for a video conference using the non existent front camera!

The iPhone gets a lot of spots as well, it seems to be useda lot to show mug shots to witnesses, something that is probably not to far from reality, but the speed they pull pictures up is a bit far fetched.

I even spotted an android phone being used the other day, but I can’t remember what it was in.

I guess it’s a clever way to get you products out there and visible, has anyone else spotted any?

QOTD: What app do you use so much that it kills your battery?

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 03:00:46 +0000

Today’s question comes from Arnold who asks What app do you use so much that it kills your battery? On my Palm it was Strange Adventures in Infinite Space. On my iPhone it is Uno (surprisingly enough).

A smartphone needs one hub. Only Apple does it right.

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:59:03 +0000

Today’s smartphones are super clever- they can navigate, socially network, manage your life, let you enjoy music and movies and even occasionally be used for speaking to people. These devices do so much and this is often the main reason for people to buy them in the first place, but getting media onto the devices is often a fragmented process which requires far too much time to complete.

As much as I do not like some aspects of iTunes (the backup process for one), it has a killer feature in that it can manage all types of media and directly pass them to the iPhone with little or no hassle. Moving media purchased outside of iTunes is also incredibly easy to manage and this adds even more benefit. With some video conversion tools you are all set to move your entire media library over to iTunes and then consequently to the iPhone itself.

I can think of no other mobile platform that manages to create a seamless experience for managing media between a computer and a smartphone; the BlackBerry and Symbian solutions attempt to bring media and PIM data to the smartphone, but the media sides are not good, and in the case of BlackBerry it is shockingly bad. Android suffers from being designed to do most things over the air and Windows Mobile is another system which has never got things right when it comes to managing media on the phone.

Some say that apps are not important in defining the success of a phone, and in some ways I agree, but making the user experience as painless as possible when adding various file formats to a smartphone is very important in building customer loyalty. It is hard to pinpoint, but when a system works as well as iTunes it almost feels like an extension of the phone itself. My iPhone is nothing without iTunes and for once I can understand the locked down nature that Apple has employed. For all of the money spent developing Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile and the rest no one seems to have caught on to the fact that development is needed outside of the phone itself to create a positive customer experience.

BlackBerry apps: getting better all the time

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:50:33 +0000

The BlackBerry third party software market has long been criticised for lacking in innovation and more important quality, but it seems as though things are gradually improving. With some nods to the iPhone and Android apps, here is a selection of some of the best new ones-

PhotoColor shows what can be done on a BlackBerry with a decent camera and is very similar to ColorSplash on the iPhone. Good value at $2.99, but Storm only- “Photo Color allows you to create amazingly looking pictures, which are created in two steps. First, an image is converted to black & white. In the second step, you can restore the original color of the image by simply touching the screen wherever you want – this way you can highlight an interesting part of the image while creating a stunning image.”

Sky mobile is an ideal tool for users of the service and brings the following features to the humble BlackBerry- Live TV – watch Sky Sports and Sky News live on your phone!, The entire 7-day Sky TV Guide to plan your nights viewing, Remote record – set your Sky+ box to record from your handset, Latest news updates and stories from Sky News and Sky Sports.

Photo Slide brings some personality and fun to your BlackBerry standby screen by enabling a scroll through of your favourite photos. Completely daft, but I do like the idea even though it costs $10. “Photo Slide embed your memorable pictures photos into an animated flip rolling stand by screen. Cool, Sweet & Useful.”

Analytics Tool is not for the masses because it is used to check Google Analytics stats on your BlackBerry. Great for webmasters and currently on sale for $5.99 until the end of the month- “Now, check out your Google Analytics statistics on your blackberry wherever you are. The Analytics tool application will provide you a simple user interface for the Google Analytics. This application gives you an overview over all your profiles in Google Analytics. Use this Analytics tool application to access all your data & statistics regarding your websites anywhere anytime.”

Harmony- Procedural drawing tool

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:30:14 +0000

The Harmony (Procedural drawing tool) shows what can be done with HTML5 and also works beautifully well on the iPhone, as you can no doubt tell by the ’stunning’ work of art I produced to the left…

I discovered this through Mr John Gruber over at Daring Fireball who has long championed HTML5.

The whole Flash v HTML5 debate looks set to continue for a long time to come and I can understand the arguments on both sides, but this does seem to boil down to a battle between Apple and Adobe at this time. Those who think Mr Jobs sits on a cloud hate Flash and the rest of us have few issues with it- I don’t know where this one will end up, but I have a soft spot for Flash and I have absolutely no idea why…

Nokia C6 Image leaked

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:15:34 +0000

An image of the Nokia C6 has been leaked and it is difficult to see where exactly this phone fits. With scant details available, it could be a budget N97 or a high-end 5800. It may also run Symbian^3, but I will leave fonearena to ponder some more- “The french site is also calling the C6 a N97 lite. Whats most interesting about this phone is the placement of the D-pad on the right and the display in the same plane as the keyboard (like in N900, E75) and not like in N97 and N97 Mini. And the UI looks a lot like Symbian^3. The C6 might be Nokia’s first phone to run Symbian^3. No further specs are available…”

20% off Palm phones… for developers

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:10:41 +0000

Palm developers can now obtain a 20% discount on the Pre and Pixi devices which makes a lot of business sense. Apps are one area that Palm needs to up the game on and every little incentive helps.

“Looking for an easy way to get a Palm® phone to help you develop your applications? You’ve come to the right place. As a Palm developer, you’re eligible for a 20% discount1 and free 2-day shipping on the phones below. Start by choosing a device. Then we’ll show you the carriers and regions currently available.”"

Extracted Apps from HD2 now available

Shaun — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:05:32 +0000

XDA Developers is at it again and a new thread has popped up listing lots of extracted apps from the HTC HD2. Handle with care, but potentially great for Windows Mobile users who want to experiment.

Official F1 app and mobile site

Shaun — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:03:00 +0000

The 2010 F1 championship starts today and now is a good time to check out the official mobile site where there is a download option to obtain the official F1 app. The compatible devices list is long and includes the iPhone, BlackBerry’s, Symbian and Windows Mobile devices. All looks good to me- thanks to Gavin for the tip.

Windows Phone 7 Series Theme

Shaun — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:57:29 +0000

Windows Mobile users can now try out a new Windows Phone 7 theme from Jaxbot. The download is here, but early indications are that it is a bit slow. However, if it speeds up a bit it is one of the more useful and entertaining theme creations we have seen this year so far.

TomTom for iPhone updated: HD Traffic arrives

Shaun — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 22:29:24 +0000

TomTom for the iPhone has at last been updated to v1.3 which brings some long awaited new features. The HD Traffic service is not cheap, but the 59p option for a one day use is a clever idea. Here’s what is new-

- HD TRAFFIC: The best traffic information available today – for the fastest route every time and the most accurate arrival time estimate. Available via in app purchase.

- GOOGLE LOCAL SEARCH: Find countless shops and businesses wherever you are, and navigate directly there. Access the latest Google listings from within the TomTom app.

- NEW MAP: Drive with the latest, most accurate map

- MUSIC FADING: Music fading will gently reduce volume while TomTom gives you driving instructions, and will return to normal volume between prompts.

- AUTOMATIC DAY & NIGHT MODE: Your app calculates local sunrise and sunset times to automatically adjust the screen brightness while driving, for a safer drive.

- ADD LOCATIONS from other applications and websites on your iPhone to your TomTom app and instantly navigate to them or store them as favorites for future use

BlackBerry Slider gets snapped again

Shaun — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:44:05 +0000

More pictures of the BlackBerry Slider have surfaced over at BlackBerry Leaks including one next to a Curve 8900.

For a personal point of view this seems to be the perfect form factor- a full touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard, but in portrait rather than landscape- why not have the best of both worlds in a device that is not much bigger than one of the smallest BlackBerry’s out there?

The Storm screen is a bonus for BlackBerry OS, but a hardware keyboard is needed to drive it in its current form- I say bring it on.

Tether for Android (beta) hits the streets

Shaun — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 08:37:25 +0000

Tether for BlackBerry is a superb product (down to $29.99 for the next 3 days by the way) and now you Android users can test the beta version of Tether for Android. You can sign up here and let’s hope it’s as good as the BlackBerry version.

Holy strewth almighty! The SE X10 mini!

Shaun — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:07:36 +0000

Two posts in a row from Mobile Industry Review, but I couldn’t help but show this video of Ewan getting more than excited over the Sony Ericsson X10 Mini. It’s running Android, has a 5MP camera and is wonderfully small. I really, really want to try one of these…

Vodafone kills Wayfinder

Shaun — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 22:00:13 +0000

Vodafone is going to kill off its Wayfinder service due to competitive pressure from Nokia and Google. Here are some select quotes from Mobile Industry Review- “Due to the huge competitive pressure generated by the market entry of Nokia and the upcoming launch of Google navigation, Vodafone is proposing to close down Wayfinder…” “We could not charge for something that others gave away for free…”

Ewan over at MIR agrees with this decision, but to me it could be shortsighted. I understand that Nokia and Android phones form a large part of Vodafones sales, but what about the other phones they sell? The millions of other phones? One way to compete with free is to make your own service free and use it to drag customers through the door. It’s as good a loss leader as I can think of.