So the summer is nearly over and you’re wondering what to do. Sure, it’s not long now until big yellow busses start pulling up outside houses to cart kids all over the US back to school and as such the summer is over and the monotony of life kicks back in for a cold winter. However, there is one app that could appeal to your adventurous side before that too is shut away until next July – it’s called iYunque and it offers advice for, and indeed a virtual experience of the only rainforest in the US – El Yunque.
The main feature of this app is giving advice. There are maps, photographs, warnings and local information about the rainforest that will help you stay on track, literally. The maps are detailed and up to date with all the popular tourist and adventure routes taken today in the rain forest. The maps also point out good places to get a good view and nice places to take a little break and how to get to the area if you have to travel first.
Because it’s a rainforest it also offers a few words of warning about travelling alone into the forest and about the wildlife in there.
The virtual tour feature is also really cool for those who can’t make it. It allows you to tap on the map and it gives you information of that area and some pictures.
So, after what seemed like an endless few weeks or fights, press releases, rumours and delays the Facebook 3.0 app is now officially released for the iPhone. I think a celebration is in order.
So, what are our first impressions here at Crenk? Well there good. Very good in fact. When I first started up the app I noticed a few things almost instantaneously that had changed from the previous app. For example, up the top left hand corner there is a button which when pressed it will give you a search bar and down the bottom the alerts feature which tells you what your friends are up to and if you need to respond to anything will pop up.
It is also more in touch with the actual web based Facebook. For example, you can RSVP to invitations rather than just being informed of their existence and you can also chat easier with friends.
Of course there are the new features that literally work with the iPhone. You can now call and send texts to your Facebook friends without having to leave the app. I think this is a cool feature and one that Facebook will not regret making as that’s what smart phones are all about – integration.
Finally, there is the web browser. At first I though this was a little unnecessary but then it became clear why they put it there. How many of your Facebook friends send you links or how many times do you decide to follow up a news story you heard from friends? Now you don’t have to exit the whole app and start up Safari just to follow a link!
The camera app that came with the iPhone is quite good. You get all of your basic features but nothing is really shines up to a glistening finish nor does it seem like Apple wants to improve on it. An app development company called CodeGoo seen a gap in the market and decided to make their new iPhone camera app called Camera Genius (well the name says it all really).
It is based more so on taking the right picture rather than just upping the specs of the camera. Take for example their feature called the “Rule of Thirds”. Basically, this feature divides the screen up into nine sections with three horizontal lines and three vertical ones. This technique is used by professional photographers to offset their subject slightly but it’s made really easy in this app.
The zoom feature is also better than the one that comes standard with the phone as it is more refined. Other cool things about this app include sound recorder which recognises a pre-defined noise to take the picture, Big Button which lets you tap anywhere on the screen to take the picture instead of fumbling for the small capture button and anti-shake (well, you figure that one out for yourself).
A cool app for those who are constantly snapping pictures on their iPhone but want more out of them.
The first ever augmented reality app has appeared in the Apple App store for the iPhone. I know – what the hell is Augmented Reality or AR as it’s often called? Basically, it’s a layer of digital information displayed over real information.
The app is called ‘Metro Paris Subway’ and what it does is use the iPhone’s GPS, compass and camera all together to give you information about your surroundings when in the city. Basically, you point your camera at a certain location and details of local shops, restaurants and tourist locations will pop up as you can see in the screenshot. It gives you direction and distance also.
This kind of technology wasn’t expected until Apple released an updated version of the iPhone OS in a few months.
It’s cool and everything, but for some reason I can’t see it catching on in this form. People like their GPS and it suits them fine. As soon as the novelty wears off they will retreat back to GPS. You don’t need AR to tell you where to go – GPS does a better job at twice the speed with half the effort. However, if you do get this app (which bear in mind will only work in Paris) then don’t worry about discarding it after purchase as it costs a reasonable 99c – I was expecting it to cost $30!
The iPhone is the most recognisable smart phone in the world. Its popularity meant that it was the first phone that really was built for apps. There are now literally thousands of companies churning out hundreds of thousands of apps for both the iPhone and the iPod Touch. Many people have hundreds of apps on their iPhone for every task imaginable such as splitting up the cost of a bill, getting your horoscope or booking flights. But organising them can be an issue which can result in you messing up your app pages.
Now, a new program called ‘Movement’ has been released for Mac computers which allows you to sync all of your apps with your computer and rearrange them on a big screen with easy to use tools. Then, just transfer the info back to your iPhone and all of your apps will be just how you like them such as in alphabetical order, popularity or in different sections depending on what they’re for.
I think this is a cool piece of kit for anyone with an iPhone or an iPod Touch. There is a catch for users however, their device must be jail broken to allow the sync to take place.
The future is undoubtedly in Apps. Think about it. Over the last year thousands upon thousands of apps have been released and they are rapidly starting to replace websites views. Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and every large newspaper in the world have apps for mobile devices so people can use their services – otherwise they go elsewhere. Even those that may not are linked in with apps. Many websites have news feeds to apps such as Snaptu.
Soon, I predict that anyone wanting to book a flight, buy online or just surf the net will use apps instead. They offer all of the usefulness of the internet with all the easy design and eye pleasing qualities of software.
They’re also easier to use than internet browsers. If you want to read the news you simply click one little button instead of navigating to the page and then trying to find the kind of stories you want.
Apps are taking over a lot of my internet usage. If I want to check the weather, read movie reviews, tweet, use Facebook or search for pictures I use Snaptu. If I want to combine all my instant messaging into one I use eBuddy. It’s all streamlined, easier and quicker than using clunky browsers, not to mention they can fit in your pocket.
Without a shadow of a doubt, Web 3.0 will be App 1.5.
The world of Apple Apps is kind of slowing down recently. We’re entering the third quarter of 2009 and companies are focusing their power elsewhere or saving the best until the Christmas season when surely millions of people will be opening Apple iPods on December 25th.
However, Crenk does have one piece of good news for you concerning the app situation with the iPhone – NetFlix.
Yup! That’s right. According to initial reports its thought that NetFlix will be making a move onto the iPhone with users being able to use their existing subscription. The service is currently available on the XBOX 360, PS3, PC and Mac. It will also be on its way to the iPod Touch should these rumours hold water.
In fact, I think that they do. NetFlix want to be the biggest internet movie company so making an app for the world most popular smart phone would indeed make perfect sense. By compatibility issues alone, millions would rather be with Netflix for all their devices rather than several.
Quality would be an issue but not a big one. Recently, AT&T upgraded their 3G internet service especially to large urban areas so downloading wouldn’t be too painful. I imagine their would be separate movie files for the iPhone as you don’t need huge TV quality files when it’s all going to be shrunk down onto a small handheld screen.
In summary, this would make for one of the best apps yet and would use many of the good features such as the widescreen and good audio on the iPhone.
Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of attention focused on the new Spotify iPhone application which has already been submitted to iTunes. Spotify is leading the way in several European markets at the moment for music streaming, however Grooveshark has been making waves in other markets as their web app is available worldwide. Grooveshark themselves have been developing their own iPhone application which is just about to be submitted to iTunes.
We were lucky enough to receive a copy of the Grooveshark iphone application before release so that we could play around with it. Like Spotify the Grooveshark application lets you search and find pretty much any music, and then provides the ability to create playlists and keep track of your own favourites. The iphone application has a very slick interface and keeps with the overall design which is found on Grooveshark.com. Music is streamed from wireless internet connect, but it doesnt really stream fast enough for my liking, but that is probably more because of the iphone’s capabilities instead of the application.
Grooveshark also keeps track of what kind of music you like and suggests artists and music that you might enjoy. It is great to see the simplicity of this iphone application with a very nice design. The Spotify iphone application will only be available to subscription based users, thus it would be great to see Grooveshark offer this application as a free download and really grab a strong marketshare. However, I know that Grooveshark are trying to work out their own subscription service in which eventually might include this iphone application.
If you are beta testing an application, or working with a developer to track down an issue, the developer will almost certainly have to ask you to provide your UUID. This page describes details of what a UUID actually is, and how to find it.
When manufactured every iPhone is assigned an identifier that is unique to that physical device. This is commonly referred to as it’s ‘UUID’, an acronym for Universally Unique Identifier. It’s worth noting that the UUID is anonymous, e.g. if you have a UUID there is no way to tie that to a person.
iTunes will only install applications that have been digitally signed by a developer using an Apple-provided certificate. Applications can either be signed for the AppStore where they can be used by anyone who purchases a copy, or for AdHoc distribution where users install the application by adding it to iTunes. With Adhoc distribution the developer must include the UUID of all devices in the certificate for the application. This is intended to prevent people freely distributing their applications.
Below are instructions for retrieving your UUID. Alternatively you can download Erica Sudan’s most helpful and free AdHoc Helper Application from the AppStore.
1) Start iTunes and connect your iPhone
2) On the Summary page for your iPhone, click on the word “Serial Number:” text
3) The serial number should change to the word “Identifier”, followed by a long string of numbers and digits
4) When you press CTRL+C (Windows) or Command/AppleKey + C (Mac) and the UUID will be copied to the clipboard and can then be pasted into an Email / IM window / whatever
Twitter is one of the hottest startups at the moment and we thought that we would put together the top 10 Twitter iphone applications. Some of these applications are paid apps but we have also added some great free ones also. Of course there are some of the most popular apps missing, but we thought we would promote some fresh and interesting apps.
Tweetie ($2.99)
Everything in one app, including multiple accounts, favorites, deleting, following, trends, location, re-tweets, photos and more. Notably, Tweetie is also blazing fast. The interface is lacking in visual-flair, leaving it feeling a little empty, though. Still, it’s robust, quick and all the features to tweet on the go are present and correct.
Tweetsville ($3.99)
Although there’s no location-based functionality or multiple accounts, everything else is present and correct, from retweeting to trends, and search to favorites. The overall presentation is polished yet refined, with a simple box-style list layout or the option to change this to a Tweetie/iChat style bubble design. For four bucks though, Tweetsville has either got to step up to the plate with some new features or back down and drop that price a little.
iTweets ($0.99)
With its iPhone SMS-influenced design, iTweets is an ultra-simple solution, perhaps most appropriate for the infrequent tweeter (with few friends). There’s no photo-support, no trends, no search: just one stream of tweets. Put simply, there are better apps than this available for free. And the app icon is, frankly, a vile blemish on the vibrant and youthful face of my lovely iPhone.
Twittelator Pro ($4.99)
As the name suggest, this is the Pro version of Twittelator (a free app). The app is painfully rich in features, unfortunately to its detriment: it feels cluttered and confusing. The app may be rich in functionality (there’s even a help button, perfect for those Jack Bauer emergency situations), but it’s poor in accessibility and, ultimately, a disappointment.
Twitterrific Premium ($9.99)
The premium version features an alternative theme and is ad-free. The adverts in the free version, though, are unobtrusive and serve as handy bookmarks when scrolling through unwieldy streams (which helps as scrolling is very jerky). Light on features, the appealing, functional interface design and super-cute tweeting sound are plus points. Certainly not worth ten bucks, especially compared to the competition.
Twinkle (free)
From the guys behind Tap Tap Revenge, comes a gorgeous looking Twitter app. It was the first one I used for iPhone but I eventually abandoned it due to various unsolved issues with the obligatory Tapulous ID. Like Twitterific, it’s light on features but has bags of character and also includes an impressive tweet-stream from nearby strangers.
TwitterFon (free)
The focus in this app is on basic features delivered in a speedy, stable package. There are only four screens in the app: a stream of tweets from the folks you follow; replies to you; direct messages; and search (including location-based search). TwitterFon feels a little bare but for purist tweeters, it’s the perfect little package.
NatsuLion (free)
An iPhone version of a functional and compact desktop Twitter-client, NatsuLion is robust and smooth with a simple feature-set for light tweeters. Like TwitterFon, there are four main screens, although instead of search, NatsuLion incorporates a somewhat useless unread tweets page.
Twittervision (free)
Twittervision incorporates an almost useless but nevertheless impressive world map feature: watch people tweet live across a map of the planet. Strange, hypnotic and downright fun. This app is the weird guy at the party who insists on showing you his magic trick — a little odd at first but ultimately amusing and impressive.
Gyazickr (free)
Perfect for iPhone tweeple with a penchant for amateur photography, this app is focused purely on posting pics. With its curious name, Gyazickr allows users to take a photo using the iPhone camera or pick one from the camera roll. Plus, there’s a funky little slideshow that displays other images recently posted to Twitter.
Tweetdeck is one of the most popular twitter iphone applications in the market at the moment, and their iPhone version is simply amazing. You can even tell the popularity of this application from the comments left on this article. Create groups, search Twitter, manage multiple accounts and easily post your tweets or share photos, link and much more. Plus sync your existing TweetDeck columns between your desktop and iPhone. Nice and easy.
For those of you who read Crenk on a daily basis or are even subscribed, you will have read my post yesterday about the Russians thinking of pulling VoIP programs such as Google Voice and Skype. This was because of competition. However, it seems as though across the Atlantic the story is much the same.
Google Voice has an application for the iPhone called GV Mobile and, until recently it was available on the Apple iStore. Apple removed the application along with several other similar ones over the past two days. Their reason for this was that it was too similar to features already on the iPhone. Whilst they did not go into any further detail I suspect that it was the voice and SMS features.
I also suspect that it was AT&T who were putting pressure on them because Google voice was taking away some of their income as Google Voice allows cheap calls and texts from the iPhone.
They called the developer of the application Sean Kovacs and told him that his application was being removed from the iStore. This is what he wrote on his blog yesterday
“Richard Chipman from Apple just called – he told me they’re removing GV Mobile from the App Store due to itduplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc). He didn’t actually specify which features, although I assume the whole app in general. He wouldn’t send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it. I’ll see what I can do to get it back up there gang…”
I guess the friendly face of Apple as concerns the iPhone is just that – a face. By demonstrating such tight control over the apps available and by not even giving good reasons as for removing apps, they could easily drive customers away to other networks and smart phones, where apps are in abundance.
So the summer is nearly over and you’re wondering what to do. Sure, it’s not long now until big yellow busses start pulling up outside houses to cart kids all over the US back to school and as such the summer is over and the monotony of life kicks back in for a cold winter. However, there is one app that could appeal to your adventurous side before that too is shut away until next July – it’s called iYunque and it offers advice for, and indeed a virtual experience of the only rainforest in the US – El Yunque.
So, after what seemed like an endless few weeks or fights, press releases, rumours and delays the 
The camera app that came with the iPhone is quite good. You get all of your basic features but nothing is really shines up to a glistening finish nor does it seem like
The first ever augmented reality app has appeared in the
The
The future is undoubtedly in Apps. Think about it. Over the last year thousands upon thousands of apps have been released and they are rapidly starting to replace websites views. Twitter, Facebook, iTunes and every large newspaper in the world have apps for mobile devices so people can use their services – otherwise they go elsewhere. Even those that may not are linked in with apps. Many websites have news feeds to apps such as Snaptu.
The world of Apple Apps is kind of slowing down recently. We’re entering the third quarter of 2009 and companies are focusing their power elsewhere or saving the best until the Christmas season when surely millions of people will be opening Apple iPods on December 25th.
For those of you who read Crenk on a daily basis or are even
duplicating features that the iPhone comes with (Dialer, SMS, etc). He didn’t actually specify which features, although I assume the whole app in general. He wouldn’t send a confirmation email either – too scared I would post it. I’ll see what I can do to get it back up there gang…”
