The UK’s rail service can be excellent at times, and annoying at others. Hundreds of thousands of people travel by train every day in the UK to commute or to go on holiday. As such, they have just released an official iPhone app (it’ll work on the iPod touch too) for the train service.
Basically, you set up the app by entering your home location. You can then enter in other locations such as where you work or where you’re going on holidays. Then, you can check schedules and status updates on trains so you won’t ever miss your train. The best feature on this app is by far the ‘next train home’ feature. By simply telling it your location it tells you at what time the next train leaves for your home station.
The way we add a new contact to our phones hasn’t changed since mobiles became popular in the late 90s. Just type in their name, number, e-mail address and all their other info and hit ‘Save’. Tried and tested.
Well for the iPhone, a new app has been released which can pretty much do the job for you. It’s a business card reader so when a new client, solicitor, plumber or a pompous friends gives you their card all you have to do is take a snap of it. Then, this app will scan the card using its text recognition abilities and all of the contact info on the card will be uploaded to your address book under a new contact which the app also automatically creates.
Very handy.
The business card reader is really only recommended for the mobile networker who’ll be handed several cards in one outing. It costs $5.99 from the app store and is available right here.
These days there seems to be an iPhone application for practically everything! Well thats what the ads tell me anyways.
The Seattle Woodland Park Zoo has launched what it is calling a first-of-its-kind iPhone application, one which uses the device’s GPS functionality to track your movements as you watch penguins, pythons and pole cats.
The 99 cent app also supports a good cause too, since money will go toward animal care, conservation and education programs.
Here are some of the features:
–GPS-enabled zoo map with “Near Me” recommendations for animal exhibits, play areas, concession stands and restrooms.
–Daily schedule of zoo activities including zookeeper talks and children’s programs.
–“Friend Finder” to locate other iPhone users in your party on zoo grounds.
It would be cool if they added animal sounds, territorial ranges and other information about the animals. You can get an inside look at the app in this video:
The iPhone currently isn’t very big in Japan, but that hasn’t stopped Nissan from developing an iPhone application for Yokohama City residents.
The app is called E1 Grand Prix and here is how it works: The app connects to your car’s On-Board Diagnostics (OBD), and extracts information in real-time to determine how efficiently you’re driving (you know, from a saving fuel perspective). Step on the gas and then break too much, and you’ll get a low score; accelerate just enough to coast to the corner before the light turns red, and you’ll get high marks. The app connects to your OBD via in-car mobile Wi-Fi, and then spits back your results on your iPhone screen and via e-mail. The results are also uploaded to an online site, where you essentially compete with other folks to be the most ‘eco-efficient’ driver — hence the ‘Grand Prix’ name).
Nissan is still yet to announce if they will be launching the application in locations all over the world, but im sure it is only a matter of time.
There has been a lot of talk this morning about Spotify getting their new iPhone application accepted into the iTunes store. I know we have talked a lot about Spotify recently including them entering into the Chinese market, USA market, and how to use Spotify if your based in the USA or any other country. However, today’s news is probably bigger than all of these.
The company’s iPhone application has been approved for the App Store ahead of competitors Rhapsody and Grooveshark. PaidContent UK reports that Apple has notified Spotify that its app will appear in the store shortly. In late July there was fear that the Swedish site’s iPhone service would be denied due to the fact that it was seen as a threat to iTunes.
Unlike many other iPhone music apps, Spotify’s iPhone service offers users the ability to select tracks and listen to them in an offline playlist. The ability to cache files is a huge asset to those who commute to work without a wireless connection.
With today’s announcement, Spotify’s audiences in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Spain, France and Finland will be more likely to pay for the company’s premium service.
This is a very interesting decision by Apple who recently blocked Google Voice from entering the app store because it basically provided free phone calls via the iPhone. I dont think Spotify is a future competitor to iTunes because they are offering completely different products. iTunes provides a platform to purchase digital products, while Spotify is strict music streaming service. However, im very surprised that Apple didnt make an agreement with Spotify and accept them into their iTunes store but only if iTunes because a default download provider for the music on the service (like 7digital currently).
Maps for the U.S. and Canada ($99.99), Western Europe ($139.99), Australia ($79.99), and New Zealand ($94.99) are available in the U.S. In Europe, maps of the U.K. and Ireland are available for £59.99.
The product works with the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, which include an integrated GPS receiver. It will reportedly also be compatible with the first-generation iPhone and the iPod touch once the separate combo hardware kit is made available. TomTom has not yet announced a price for the hardware package.
The TomTom iPhone application includes multi-touch pinch to zoom capabilities, rotates between portrait and landscape mode, seamlessly integrates with the phone’s contact list, and has the ability to add locations. It also includes TomTom IQ Routes, which recommends the smartest possible trip based on the driving habits of others.
The application works in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish. It requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later. The U.S. and Canada maps are 1.21GB, Australia is 157MB, New Zealand is 85.6MB, and Western Europe weighs in at 1.44GB.
According to a TomTom press release, other features include:
Navigation software including fast route planning and clear voice instructions
Automatic re-routing if a turn is missed
Route demo or map of route when trip planning
Alternative route options if avoiding roadblocks, toll ways or looking for high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes along route
6 million Points of Interest included
Night and day color mode for optimized screen visibility in varying light conditions
Change view settings (2D or 3D map display)
Points-of-interest search and call capabilities from iPhone
Regator is a very popular news directory which profiles some of the best blog posts from all over the world on a variety of topics. The directory only profiles the Crème de la crème of sites and then only the best articles on those sites.
Today Regator is announcing the launch of their iPhone application. Features include:
· Browse posts from over 500 topics as diverse as beekeeping, geology, indie music, pop culture, job hunting, or basketball.
· Search Regator’s extensive archive, returning results that users have described as being consistently more relevant and higher quality than those returned by Google Blog Search.
· View the most popular blog posts across the blogosphere or in your favorite topic.
· See trends to get an up-to-the-minute, spam-free look at exactly what bloggers in any niche are writing about right now.
· Keep up with the newest blog posts, updated every few seconds.
· Read the full text of posts on the original source blog.
· Share posts via email, Facebook, or Twitter.
· Find more information on a story with Regator’s related posts feature.
I’ve been a big fan of Behance products offline, for my meetings, site sketches, and to-do list from time to time. Now they are tackling productivity online with their new online app and comparable mobile app to always stay on top of the things that you need to do daily.
Action Method was introduced this year as the premiere application to manage your projects, tasks, planning, and meetings. The application allows you to create projects, create tasks, assign tasks, and manage a calendar. If tasks are falling behind you can nudge the people to whom you assigned them to in order to remind them of deadlines. Color coding is a big winner for this app as it’s easy to find what you’re looking for with alternating colors.
Have an iPhone or iTouch? No problem, your web application syncs with your mobile app so your to-do list is never far away. Incredibly useful and sure to improve with future updates, the app is free to download, and free for up to 50 tasks, premium service for unlimited tasks comes in at $12/month or $99/year.
Recently Taptu announced the immediate release of their own iPhone app. The Taptu iPhone application claims to improve search on the iPhone with an easy-to-use interface and iPhone-friendly search results.
Performing a search on an iPhone can be a frustrating task, as the results are the same as those received on a desktop search and may not be viewable on a phone, for example a Web site running on Flash. Additionally, results are provided in long lists and multiple pages. Taptu only shows you search results that are made for the iPhone.
As well as only providing iPhone friendly results the Taptu app has the ability to search multiple platforms, share results, and more.
The National Gallery is the first ever gallery to make its paintings accessible through a downloadable iPhone application, making it possible to take a mini tour of the Gallery anywhere in the world.
The Gallery has partnered with Antenna Audio and Apple Inc. in which they have designed a new application for iPhones and iTouch devices that enables people to explore a sample of the collection while they’re on the move. Designed to appeal to art enthusiasts and fans of the Gallery, this application is the first of its kind to be released by a major gallery.
The application features 250 paintings from the collection along with around 200 minutes of audio and video content, including interviews with National Gallery Director Dr Nicholas Penny, dramatist Robin Brooks, artist Maggie Hambling and Girl with a Pearl Earring author Tracy Chevalier.
The iPhone app also boasts twelve thematic ‘galleries’, in which users can explore a greater selection of paintings grouped by popular themes or types such as portraits, cityscapes and religious paintings. The application sits alongside the Gallery’s other audio content including its audio tours and popular monthly podcast series.
Social networks are great, meet up with old friends, catch up with old flames, but professionally, unless there is an internal social network, not a whole lot of business is done day to day on these open social networks. The one item that changes more hands than anything else are business cards. When you go to a meeting, a seminar, a conference, a training, or you meet someone interesting the business card is the staple for exchanging information.
Not anymore!
The iPhone store released Nameo last night which can literally make business cards obsolete. How does it work? Having the app installed on the iPhone, the application becomes aware of other users in the area with the same application broadcasting their information. You simply view the individuals, select who you want to add, wait for them to agree and you’ve just exchanged information. It may sound like a lot of steps, but while business cards can get lost, throw in the wash, or simply forgotten, those that carry their mobile’s around are sure to have their information on hand. The virtual business card could be the future of business.
The app is only $2.99 at the App Store, but because the iPhone has not established itself as the business phone of choice, a similar application is sure to hit the Blackberry market. If so, it would be quite a boost to their business, and could perhaps set the standard for trading information with others electronically, making the use of a paper business card completely irrelevant.
