Reviews

In case you haven’t heard, the BBC just released their popular iPlayer web portal for the iPhone platform. I decided to point my iPhone browser to the iPlayer to check things out. Here are my first impression:

1. It works
Life just keeps getting better and better, guys. We’re happy to report that the iPlayer provides a great portal to access some of the network’s most popular content with an intuitive interface. There really is no comparison for this release.

2. Content is limited
Aye, here’s the rub. Much like what happened with YouTube when the iPhone was first shipped, not all programs are available through iPlayer yet, as they are probably being re-encoded to the Apple codec. BBC says 100% of the content will be available soon. Plus, most programs can only be played in the U.K.

3. The radio (podcast directory) is the best part
Sure, watching videos is great, but we already have that with YouTube! The iPlayer radio opens up a whole new content area to iPhone users. Unfortunately, the iPlayer doesn’t work over EDGE, so you won’t exactly be able… more...

Are you a heavy iPhone user that finds yourself draining your battery life before the day is done? The built-in battery on the iPhone, despite initial concerns of the fact that it is not user-replaceable, is actually quite good. This is even when you do heavy web browsing and internet use throughout the day. But some people have expressed concern for losing enough battery life that they have to recharge during the day or at least every night.

Richard Thalheimer, the founder of The Sharper Image has released a new device through his company RichardSolo.com called the Smart Backup Battery. This device basically acts as a battery extender or battery recharger for your iPhone. It works on the iPhone and all iPods (except the Shuffle) using the Apple 30-pin connector.

It’s a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery in a slick looking, black aluminum case. It feels basically like an iPod Mini with a more scratch-resistant finish. The Smart Backup Battery is super light, has colored LEDs that indicate charging status and comes with a retractable USB cable and AC adaptor.

I like this product. I tried it out… more...

I took a look at two popular photo-sharing sites and realized they both have iPhone capabilities, but which one do you like best?

Photo-sharing and storage sites Picasa Web and Photobucket announced new mobile interfaces a few weeks ago and I took a good look at both of them.

While m.photobucket.com and picasaweb.google.com/mobile or mobile.google.com grant access to online albums from any mobile browser, the interface on iPhone’s full Safari browser is wonderful. iPhone’s large, sharp screen is ideal for viewing slide shows, but to this day, users are still unable to directly upload iPhone photos to Web sites.

While this leaves Picasa as a simple mobile photo viewer, Photobucket’s site provides an account-linked email address for users to send photos that are then sent to their Photobucket accounts.

Picasa’s more polished interface offers a much cleaner user experience that also makes better use of the iPhone’s dimensions, and also provides a quick link to Google other mobile services, like Google Reader, the calendar, and Gmail.

Unlike Photobucket,… more...

To further disprove suspicion of creating a fake Firmware on a level that Apple would be envious of, Andru Edwards of Gearlive answers more questions about the 1.1.3 update and posts a screenshot of his about screen showing his Firmware number is in fact 1.1.3.

The picture below shows that Andru is running 1.1.3 but blocks out his serial number and build number to protect his source. Some hopes are dashed such as SMS forwarding, MMS support and A2DP Support.

VIa: Gearlive

It’s official! “I Am Legend” is now my favorite horror film. Not only does it have a great plot, and main actor, it also has a website. Like many other movies, the website explains the movie and gets people excited. When visiting the website, there was something that caught my attention. The Official “I Am Legend” website has a dedicated iPhone page! Wow, and they put a lot of effort into the design. It is awesome that one of my favorite movies now has a page dedicated to one of my favorite things.  The iPhone page has wallpapers and many extras. “I Am Legend” is awesome.

This movie is awesome in every way. Go and see it not only because it is great, but because it has an iPhone page. If you have seen it you must agree with me that it was a tremendously good movie.

Go to iamlegend.com, and the page will auto format for either desktop or iPhone.

Rumors have been swirling about the Blogosphere about China Mobile turning down Apple and the iPhone due to revenue sharing agreements but a report from Blomberg states otherwise and reports from the press of have been denied. As of now, it looks as if China Mobile is still in talks with Apple.

Bloomberg states:

Apple Inc., the maker of the iPod music player, increased $2.77 to $187.06. China Mobile Ltd., the world’s largest wireless-phone operator by subscribers, said it is still in discussions to offer Apple’s iPhone handset, denying a newspaper report that talks between the two companies have ended.

Which right now is the only hard evidence we have. There is always the possibility of Apple turning to other mobile telecoms in the country.

Via: Engadget

Hacking the iPhone whether it be a simple Jailbreak for 3rd party Apps or a full blown unlock, the choices are continually growing and developers are constantly at work pushing out new Applications. You might get lost amongst this sea of Software which is why you should take a look at these 5 3rd party Apps that’ll make your iPhone so much better

1) MobileChat

One thing that was lacking from the iPhone was a chat client supporting the major protocols and while services such as FlickIM were created and an iPhone optimized version of Meebo released, nothing could compare to a native Chat App.

MobileChat fills in that void and offers support for AIM, Gtalk, .Mac, icq and MSN. This App allows you to be signed in when outside of the interface and has the features a mobile chat App should have.

2) Vnotes

Say you need to document something and Notes won’t cut it due to your slow typing speed or whatever reason, you can record it using Erica Sadun’s Vnotes App.

Any recordings can be emailed off.

3) Screenshots

I recently… more...

This is not a native iPhone application. And it does not play music as, iRadio, the native app does. This web application shows the current song playing on major stations across the country. It has the same flip through menu that you are used to navigating through on your iPhone. When you click a radio station you can see the last 5 songs that the station played. Once you click a song you have the following options: you may email yourself the name of the artist and name of the song, get a link to the iTunes Wi-Fi music store page where you may purchase the song, listen to the song on Seeqpod, or read the song lyrics.

Advantages to this app are numerous, but here are a few. This app helps match names to unknown songs. It also helps you choose which station you would like to listen to based on the music choice, as well as avoid commercials.

Tell us how it worked if you decide to use it.

[via iphoneapplicationlist]

Remember the games that you enjoyed on your iPod not so long ago; Breakout, Music Quiz, and that parachute game? Now I can say that one of them has been reincarnated as a web application for use on the iPhone. Smash, as it is called, is similar to Breakout in style and game play. Same concept, same rules: use your bar at the bottom to hit and clear blocks to advance to the next level. I have only found a few problems. It is not as responsive as I would like it to be and the bar cannot be moved as smoothly, rather it moves into predetermined slots. If you simply must play a game similar to Breakout, Smash is always an option.

Point your browser over to the site.

I was reading a Voyager review the other day, and three simple words summed it up for me. “It’s No Iphone!”

iPhone has become the gold standard in which every other smartphone released after June 29, 2007 will be measured against. It’s like the iPod--Everything is compared to the iPod. Steve should be proud!

Now that most the major cellphone companies have some sort of touch screen released or being released, you are going to have a hard time seeing a review without the word “iPhone.”

It just makes me that much happier to know that I have the gold standard of technology. You should be happy too.