Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Apple. Show all posts
The Essential Apps for iPad & iPhone
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| Apple due for a correction but going strong |
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| Apple Fanboy Since '91 still seeing PC |
The best thing I have found with my iPad is that because I cannot open tons of windows and tabs and programs I am more able to concentrate on the work at hand and get it done. Although most of us love to think that doing 10 things at once on a computer makes us more productive the reality is that all of this switching from one application and task to another ends up making things take significantly longer than they should.For now I will go with what works best and the convergence of some features is making working on multiple platforms nearly seamless. Here is my list of apps that make my iPad, iPhone, MacBook Pro world work together. I could link to these through iTunes and get some resi
Information
Good Reader - This is a great tool for collecting and downloading PDFs to your iPhone or iPad. You can easily download any PDf if you have the URL you can also import PDFs from emails and from the safari browser.
Instapaper - Read things later saves links to a cloud bookmark system with an app for iPad and iPhone as well as an online version this is a great way to save stories from your day for reading at a more convenient time.NewsRack - RSS Reader
Amazon Kindle: still kicking iBooks butt
Free news apps: NYT, Globe and Mail, etc.
Productivity
iThoughtsHD - Mind Mapping made easier. Still not totally simple.
ToDo: Currently $5 for iPad + $5 for iphone (originally $10 for iphone)
Pages, Keynote, Numbers
Screenshot: Hold home and press power. Grab any image from any tool (video, web, etc.) Then trim it for use in Pages or Keynote
There are better apps for trimming screenshots but CropforFree is free and works.
Social
Twitter - Choose your poison:
Twitter: It's now a native iPad app but it performs well and feels kitchy blown up on iPad.
Twitterific: Native good free for one user and has ads.
Tweetdeck: Native, Unstable but awesome looking and good for devotes\es
Facebook - iPhone is ok but there are only sad alternatives for iPad
Facebook hasn't released a native iPad app although the imitators are hitting the app store hard right now
Entertainment
Netflix - For $8/month and a nice, not huge selection of on demand movies, tv and documentaries it's perfect for me. Requires either or all of: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, PS3, Wii, AppleTV and soon Xbox360.
AirVideo - watch video from your computer on your iPhone or iPad.
Games - that's a whole other post!
I missed tons of great apps and I want to know what you love using on your iPhone or iPad. Please drop me a comment with your favourite apps!
The Vancouver iPhone Forum Opening
Today thanks to organizers and sponsors Bell Canada, CBC, New Media BC, BCIT and many more; experts from all over North America have gathered in Vancouver to share their knowledge and experience with the Vancouver iPhone community. Not only that but thanks to Genius Factor Games Vancouver's first iPhone forum will be attempting a Guinness world record.
"This is a special day in the history of mobile social media. We are attempting a Guinness world record by creating a the world's biggest photo mosaic. Go to http://urthestar2009.com and download the iPhone App to be part of a Guinness world record."
- John Horodyski, Genius Factor Games.
Tuesday November 24th may go down as the day that a new Guinness world record was set at BCIT's downtown campus. It may be the day that a very special iPhone app was born, but it will definitely go down in the history of Vancouver's iPhone application development and business community as the day that the community came of age.After forging many iPhone apps that are best sellers around the world including "Color Splash" and iFart the Vancouver iPhone Community is having a coming out party of sorts. These apps are part of the history but, it is not these apps that are the future. The future lies in custom applications like Gary Symons' Poddio which allows reporters on-the-go to create, edit and upload audio and video stories directly from the iPhone. The magic of Gary's app really happens on the backend where the edited and normalized audio or video file is uploaded and distributed throughout a news organization network.
CBC currently holds the top two spots in the App Store in Canada for News Apps with the new Hockey Night in Canada application and the CBC radio app, a personal favourite of mine. The CBC Radio app let's you listen to any CBC station from across the country and CBC Radio 1, 2 or 3. Most impressively you can listen to shows you have missed on CBC Radio."Today is about leveraging the constant connectivity provided by the iPhone. We have brought experts from all over the US and Canada to bring the most cutting edge ideas and concepts to BCIT around the iPhone and constant connectivity."
-Jonathan Carrigan, CBC
The keynote speaker this morning, Bruce Dagge, iPhone Enterprise Accounts, Canada, Apple, came out right away to say that he didn't come today to talk about corporate email and systems. Today Bruce will be talking about things that you do not see in the app store. He went on to show us many examples of integrating the iPhone with corporate environments and security.
It's a revolutionary mobile phone, right? Or is it a mobile computer cleverly disguised as a phone? Why is iPhone in Business? Why are we gaining momentum? JD Power and Associates gave the iphone the highest consumer rating the last two year's in a row. The user interface makes it flexible and usable.In the beginning (DEC/07) Forrester said, "The iPhone is not meant for Enterprises". APR/09 Forrester said, "The iphone is for enterprises". They weren't wrong Apple just changed the product to suit the needs of enterprise. Apple listened to it's customers and worked with them to achieve what they wanted.
"Our people decided they wanted iPhone... it wasn't one of those things IT decided for them."
-Senior VP Global Information Systems, Kraft.
The iPhone is a critical part of the new Kraft. The iPhone changes how people work. The pace of change increases with the tools for collaboration. The iPhone made the office wireless. The need for the conventional desk has dissipated at Kraft as all the tools are mobile. The iFood Assistant makes the consumers life easier. Kraft: Allows personal iPhone use.
6 things enterprises are doing with the iPhone:
- Lookup and Reference
- Field Sales and Service
- Business intelligence
- Business Process
- Collaboration
- Training and Communications
Sunbelt Rentals a construction equipment rental company is using the iPhone for sales and by doing so is gaining efficiencies and an advantage over its competitors. TREK Bicycles is using the iPhone to scale out training and communications with customers and dealers through TREK University.
Any online communication has 3 components, creation, distribution, access. Mobility takes this to the next level by allowing one device to do all three of these things. Before Gary Symons became the CEO of Vericorder Technology he was a reporter in radio and television as the mobile guy. He has created an app that allows mobile reporters to record edit and send stories directly from the iPhone.
*He is now doing a live presentation of the app: reporting* It looks like the creation of a podcast. He created a voice memo. Now he is doing a script or 'wrap' to create a full news story. He used to do most of his stories out of his truck which he lived in some of the time when he was a reporter and now he can do the same from his iPhone.
His amazing app, Poddio ($150), allows reporters on the go to create, edit and publish audio files directly from the device, WOW. The file can be instantly uploaded to a Media Asset system and distributed around the world. The app automatically creates a podcast and publishes the story to predetermined media channels. "I set out as a working guy solving problems for working people." The app is soon to be able to do photo and video editing and slideshows complete with audio all done directly from an iPhone.
"There is an Enterprise Developer Program. You will never see these examples on the iPhone but the enterprise support for development and rollout is out there. There is a GREAT opportunity in custom apps."
-Bruce Dagge, Apple Canada.
11 Reasons the iPhone 3G S is the best product. The Mobile Revolution is here
1. It's a Computer: This is where everything changes and yeah sure they are arguements to be made about other smartphones as computers but nothing does it quite like the Apple iPhone. This device is like an Apple computer. It is fast, easy-to-use and above all user driven. The speed and abilities of the device combined with the reputation of Apple service and product reliability deliver a mobile computing experience that even 10 years ago would have made heads spin.
2. It's a Tablet: tablet PCs were supposed to take the world by storm when they first crept onto the market about 10 years ago. Unfortunately they never fulfilled their promise of usability, battery life and portability. The iPhone is what those tablet makers intended to make but really couldn't wrap their heads around.
3. Rapid charging and good battery life: the speed at which the device recharges is awesome. I am using a 3G S but the older devices also have superior charging speeds and long battery life. Sure if you are playing game like and listening to music while connected to a Wi-Fi network downloading a feature length movie the battery may suffer, but when used for normal phone operations the battery lasts a long time compared to previous devices with similar capabilities.
4. Usability: by doing away with conventional interfaces and using a full touch screen Apple creates an intuitive and natural experience for users and an open and versatile environment for programmers. It takes a little time to get used to but improves the experience in all applications and makes takes mobile gaming to a new level.
5. Apps: Allowing others to create programs for the system opens the progression of the device to programs. But more importantly to users. As voting consumers, paying for and supporting software, users will proliferate democratically selected apps creating a truly user defined environment.
6. iTunes: Napster evolved and Apple knew what needed to be done. Now music is on demand and Lars Ulrick and James Hatfield can relax, get paid and get back to making music as vain as they are. iTunes makes it easy, quick and convenient like never before to acquire media. The record industry has Apple iTunes and iPod to thank for saving their bacon.7. Connectivity: With high speed 3G network access, processor speed increases, constant Wi-Fi and large low cost data plans the iPhone completes these features and makes using the internet, email and most online sites on the go easy and intuitive. The extent of how this can be used is growing and will continue to in the future.
9. Free Apps: Although I mentioned apps before it is extra special to receive so many great apps for free whether you are using a iTouch or an iPhone this device changes everything.
10. Affordable Computing Power: I recently spoke with Kris Krug (@kk) about this and his great insight was that now a whole new segement of the global population can afford to own a computer (iPhone or iPod touch). He believes that this is the most important aspect of the product globally and I couldn't agree with him more.
11. Photography: The iPhone 3GS with it's 3.2 MP camera brings the device nearly all the way to where it needs to be, 5MP would have been better. The apps to edit photography are incredible. One only needs to look at my flickr page to see what is possible. It the possibilities only grow from there.
The iPhone has its limitations. It cannot run multiple apps, but I think this may improve the overall experience by keeping programs running well. Programmers of the OS could also change this in the future. The keyboard takes some getting used to. Editing text with big figers while trying to avoid buttons on the top or bottom bands that send you back and erase your project can be tiring. I wonder what I need to press to move the cursor back a single space or do I just have to use my finger?
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