Archives - Posts written in September, 2009
CoPilot Live navigates to more featuresPosted September 30th
“Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review
CoPilot Live [iTunes link] for North American roads is becoming the little engine that could. At only US$34.99 it is quickly adding new features, and in this latest update has added the coveted text to speech capability. For drivers, that means the nav app will say "turn left on Elm street" instead of "turn left just ahead".
Other new features include adding an iPhone-standard keyboard for entering destinations, instead of the one designed for the app (which was clunky). The maps have been updated, and the developer says there is better integration of the address book from the iPhone.
I took CoPilot for a drive. It acquired the GPS signal quickly and I was on my way. It looks like the POI database has been improved, and the text to speech worked as anticipated. It is a great addition, and even the TomTom still doesn't have that feature. Navigon and AT&T both have text to speech in their offerings.
I still find that the maps are way below the quality of every other navigator I have tested. Driving home it couldn't find my street so it just put me on some nearby street. That could be misleading to a driver at best, and dangerous at worse.
The developers say the maps will continue to improve, but maps are what navigation is all about and they need to be up to date. I've talked to some users of this software, and they say their region is very accurate, so it depends where you are.
At a fraction of the cost of the 'big boys' and with text to speech, CoPilot Live is becoming a very competitive driving companion.
User ratings continue to ...”
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iPhone ‘undisputed’ leader in customer satisfaction, study reportsPosted September 30th
“The CFI Group's survey of customer satisfaction among smartphone owners finds the iPhone topping out Android, the Palm Pre, and the BlackBerry.
Using Skype to battle cell phone dead zonesPosted September 30th
“Filed under: Tips and tricks, iPhone, App Store
Is the cell coverage in your area not up to par? Whether you happen to have steel walls or live where there are no cell phone towers or trees cleverly disguised as cell phone towers, some of us must deal with the reality that, while we own arguably the most innovative gadget in recent years in the iPhone, we may not have had the best carrier to accompany it. One way to address this "bag of hurt" is through the Skype [iTunes link] app.
If you don't already have the Skype app, download it -- it's a free download in the App Store. Next, you'll need to make sure that Skype stays online when the screen is locked. This is accessible via the Skype app preferences within the iPhone's main settings page. After this is enabled, the Skype app continues to run in the background and maintains a Wi-Fi connection even after the sleep/awake button is pushed -- or if it's set to automatically lock after a given time interval. Second, because Skype requires a Wi-Fi connection to make and receive calls, you'll also want to make sure that whatever cell phone dead zone you're at also happens to have a Wi-Fi connection.
This workaround obviously isn't without its weaknesses. Assuming that most of those calling you would prefer dialing a phone number instead of your Skype user name, you'll likely need a separate phone number. One option is SkypeIn, which marries Skype to a real phone number. The service costs $18 for three months or $60 for a whole year. And if you happen to have a Google Voice phone number, directing your calls to ...”
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If 30% is good enough for Apple in the App Store, it should be good enough for dropped calls on AT&T, right?Posted September 30th
“Filed under: iPhone
File this one under AYFKMWTS (are you freaking kidding me with this stuff?): a Gizmodo reader, aggravated with an unacceptably high rate of dropped calls on his iPhone, took it to a New York City Apple Store to have it checked for issues. The call dump statistics revealed a 22% drop rate on calls, which most of us would call "wicked awful" -- but not Apple and AT&T.
No, in this particular case the Genius told our hapless iPhone owner that he should count himself lucky, as Apple's baseline stat for dropped calls in NYC is a blistering thirty percent. Yes, almost one in three calls on an iPhone in the Big Apple will end with frustration, and that's just OK with everyone.
Well, not with us. Combined with the "five bars, no calls" dead zones and mysterious "call failed" issues, it must be said: this phone is not getting it done when it comes to the whole phone thing, at least on AT&T's network in the city that never sleeps. Or, for that matter, makes an uninterrupted cell call.
[via Engadget]If 30% is good enough for Apple in the App Store, it should be good enough for dropped calls on AT&T, right? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
If 30% is good enough for Apple in the App Store, it should be good enough for dropped calls on AT&T, right? originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see ...”
MacRumors: AdMob: iPhone OS Grabs 40% of Worldwide Smartphone Ad Request SharePosted September 30th
“ In its August 2009 Mobile Metrics Report released today, advertising firm AdMob highlights the fact that Apple's iPhone OS commanded a 40% share of ad requests on the company's network during the month, up from 33% six months earlier. The increase, ... ” Tagged as Uncategorized | Comments Off | Continue
AP Stylebook comes to the App StorePosted September 30th
“Filed under: iPhone, App Store
If you're a journalist, writer, or editor, you've probably either heard of, used, or referenced the AP Stylebook in some way. Now, the AP has released an iPhone app of the AP Stylebook [iTunes Link]. It's searchable, allows you to make notes, and offers features for easy access of suggested writing styles. However, this app costs $28.99, which is considerably more expensive than the printed version, which is available for $18.95 from the AP. If you're out a lot, and don't want to carry a big spiral-bound book around with you, you might want to consider this, although the price of this app may be limiting.AP Stylebook comes to the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
AP Stylebook comes to the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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360iDev Denver: iLime building the infrastructure for push, in-app purchasePosted September 30th
“Filed under: Other Events, Developer, iPhone, SDK
One sign that the iPhone development world is starting to mature is that companies are beginning to build the infrastructure necessary for devs to enable push notification and in-app purchasing. Usually these functions require a developer to make a significant investment in server hardware and labor to set up and operate the push and/or purchase servers, as well as to write code to integrate those services into their apps.I met with Tim Courtney and Chris Grove of KeyLimeTie yesterday at 360iDev in downtown Denver. Their company's new service, iLime, is a scalable solution consisting of highly reliable server infrastructure and a set of iPhone Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that make it possible for iPhone developers to integrate Apple Push Notification Service (APNS) and in-app purchase easily.iLime is making it very easy for small, independent developers to test the waters of push notification by making their APIs and server prowess available for free for up to the first 25,000 push messages each month. After that point, the service is charged on a per-push basis on a tiered pricing structure that makes higher volume more attractive. For in-app purchasing, iLime simply charges a flat US$0.05 fee for every content purchase made through their service.iLime was first announced at iPhone Dev Camp in August. At 360iDev, iLime announced additional features and detailed documentation of the APIs. Courtney also noted that while there are only a handful of apps in the App Store at this time using iLime's services, several hundred iPhone developers have tested and used the services and they expect a significant number of iLime-enabled apps in the near future.It's great to see KeyLimeTie making ...”
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Tweetie pricing fuss highlights App Store flawPosted September 30th
“A fuss has erupted over the lack of upgrade pricing for the forthcoming Tweetie 2 for iPhone. But to all who are pointing their fingers at the developer, you might want to take stock of the facts first.
CNN jumps on the news app bandwagonPosted September 30th
“Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review
CNN released CNN Mobile [iTunes link], an impressive news app but there are some caveats. The app is loaded with features, including the latest international and US News, local weather and traffic, and the ability to share stories with email, SMS, Facebook and Twitter. You can follow topics that are of interest to you, and they get placed in a special spot you can access with a tap of your finger. You can also shoot video if you have an iPhone 3GS, and send it along to CNN. All in all, it's as full featured a news app as anyone could hope for, and includes live streaming of breaking events. If you turn your phone to landscape mode, you get a kind of cover flow of stories, where you can drag your finger across the screen and explore stories in an interesting way.Continue reading CNN jumps on the news app bandwagon
CNN jumps on the news app bandwagon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
CNN jumps on the news app bandwagon originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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EyeTV app for iPhone releasedPosted September 30th
“Filed under: Accessories, Multimedia, iPhone, iPod touch, App Review
Elgato, maker of EyeTV, has released EyeTV for iPhone [iTunes Link], an app that allows access to both live and recorded video content from any Mac running EyeTV 3.2 or later. The $4.99 app lets you view live and recorded TV on your iPhone or iPod touch over your local network, and it also allows you to access the same content from a remote WiFi location using a service called MyEyeTV. Unsurprisingly, just like SlingPlayer, access over 3G isn't possible. Accessing either live or recorded TV over your local network is simple, and usually works well. Recorded content plays back almost immediately with barely a stutter to be seen -- the caveat to this is that all recorded content has to be rendered into a format the iPhone will understand, which can take a while if you have a slower Mac. Live TV takes longer to load on your iPhone and is far more finicky. I found the only way to get reliable, stutter-free playback on my iPhone was to close the EyeTV playback window on my Mac. Apparently the strain of displaying content on my Mac and simultaneously streaming it to my iPhone was just too much for a 2.6 GHz processor to handle. You can set video quality on Live TV from 80 kbps to 800 kbps, and there's also a setting that allows you to always use highest quality when you're on a local network. Again, streaming over my local network almost always worked well, so long as I wasn't trying to play back content on my Mac at the same ...”
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