DigMo! » Mobile

Lifeboat for iPhone

DigMo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:32:14 +0000

Northern Ireland created Lifeboat Luke has been launched on the Apple iTunes Apps store. The maiden voyage is entitled ‘Keek on a Crab’, and is both funny, clever, and rude. Rab, the unlucky Crab, who lives in the rock wall below Luke’s Lifeboat Station, is hiding among the stones on the beach.

You play the role of Gannet, the incontinent seabird. Scroll around the beach and if you’re lucky you might catch Rab scuttling from one stone to another. If you spot him, click to ‘keek!’

The game has been authored by Straandlooper’s resident iApp wizard, Kevin Beimers; “The iPhone is a tool for adults but easy enough for kids to use, so our app has to appeal to all ages. We gave the game three levels of difficulty, so it can take anywhere between 30 seconds to two minutes to find Rab and ‘do the business!’ Every game is different, and children even as young as three enjoy the vibrant graphics and silly sound effects.”

The new app is the latest spin off from the series Lifeboat Luke and follows the successful launch in Ireland earlier this year of the first book – Rubberduckadoo, and Donaghadoodles 1, a DVD of the first thirteen episodes.

The series and spin offs are part of an ongoing partnership between Lifeboat Luke and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to create attractive, quality products and participate in educational and sea-related events. This partnership has so far yielded upwards of £34,000 for the charity, which is dependent entirely on donations.

‘Keek on a Crab’ is priced at 59p and available through the App Store on iTunes. Further upgrades are in the pipeline. Click here for more information.

Links:
Keek on a Crab
Lifeboat Luke

Navigon MobileNavigator

DigMo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:49:36 +0000

Exactly a year ago this month my excitement about the new iPhone 3G started to heighten. The already excellent mobile internet device was about to get the GPS work over. Rumours of turn by turn navigation by TomTom and the use of Google Maps were rife.

Well one year on iPhone users finally get their hands on turn by turn GPS software. Anyone who watched the Developer Conference Keynote will know that TomTom software is promised “this summer” but Navigon have pipped them to the post.

As a special release offer (ends 30th June) you get can your hands on turn by turn navigation software for just under £38 if you opt for the the UK and Ireland Maps option.

Navigon in Action.

I always found the Navigon maps to be excellent compared to TomTom that said I discovered the shipped maps are about 3 years old but hopefully Navigon will enable (free) updates via the Apps Store when relevant.

Navigon MobileNavigator for iPhone works pretty well for a first release application. I was able to enter destinations really easily although for some reason Postcode input is limited to 4 characters, this displays a list of possible streets and you select your destination from there (if you know the street).

The app ships with a single voice and although this has been criticised elsewhere I don’t really see it as a big issue. The voice is clear and understandable and I suspect Navigon wanted to keep the download down to an absolute minimum.

The application works equally well in landscape mode but I would recommend setting the screen lock time for a large value (or never) as it still kicks in when using MobileNavigator.

Picking up the current location isn’t quick compared to the Google Maps application although I think this may be down to Google Maps using cell tower information to get an initial location. Once connected the application works as described flawlessly getting me from A to B. I even noticed that when connected to my car kit (for iPod) the GPS voice works well over the music.

The directions are clear and the application is pre-programmed for road speeds and even warns you if you surpass the limit of the road (..not a confession).

I have tested the software over a few journeys and I despite all the TomTom talk I feel perfectly happy the Navigon MobileNavigator does everything I need and considerably more.

Features and range of functions:

2D and 3D map displays
Can be used in portrait and landscape format
Precise voice announcements
Intelligent address entry
Reality View Pro (realistic display of motorway interchanges and exits)
Lane Assistant Pro
Real signpost display
Speed Assistant with adjustable audio-visual warning
Day and night mode for map display
Direct access and navigation to contacts saved in the iPhone’s address book

There is no doubt £38 is an expensive application compared to most of the software we purchase on the Apps Store but still for the first GPS solution on the market I am more than pretty happy with the investment.

It will be interesting to see how the TomTom application fairs when released later this summer, it will have to be something special for me to move from Mobile Navigator.

More Information.

The Special offer ends 30th June 2009.
DigMo! Rating : ★★★★

The iPhone 3GS Come Down

DigMo — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 22:02:53 +0000

3-4 days after I spend my hard earned money on the bleeding edge of technology I always enter a time verging on ‘buyers regret’. It isn’t so much that I regret the upgrade more that new hardware brings with it new problems.

Today was that very day, I face three new issues with the iPhone 3GS, one I have a work around for the other two remain unresolved :

1. iPhone Movies in iMovie
Recording video with the iPhone is great. No matter what way I hold the phone the video records perfectly. When I import the footage it plays without issue in Quicktime yet when I load up iMovie it indexes my iPhoto library and the video appears. Everything is perfect until you look at the preview window :

The problem here is that i am left handed. If I record footage with the phone in right hand mode there isn’t any issue. Quicktime forgives my lefthandedness why not iMovie ?

2. Find my iPhone
Having upgraded to the iPhone 3GS (Have I mentioned that yet). I find that my old 3G phone still appears in the ‘Find my iPhone’ page on MobileMe. I can’t see a way of easily removing this phone from the list.

3. Wifi
Probably the most annoying and perplexing problem to date. Here goes. The iPhone 3GS connects perfectly to my home router that uses WPA2 security. In work we also use WPA2, each time I try and connect and I enter the password and it fails to connect, re-asking for the password.

Two other 3G iPhone work perfectly. We changed the security to WPA1, both 3G phones connected yet the 3GS didn’t. We then changed the security again, this time to WEP. All three phones (including the 3GS) were able to connect.

The wireless is the most annoying of the issues as I really need wifi access at work. I can only assume there is some sort of issue with the iPhone and DLink rather than something wrong with the phone (given the phone works on a stack of other wireless networks).

Frustrating issues, I had mentally heralded the iPhone 3GS as the gold A class version of the iPhone but after today, (considering the cost) I am hoping for a fix very very soon.

Tuffwrap – Tuff Protection

DigMo — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:22:13 +0000

I have also been a keen believer in protecting your most valuable assets. Cricket boxes, baby car seats cycle helmets and of course the invaluable iPhone case. I have been protecting my mobile assets since my PocketPC days, I have had leather cases, silicon cases, and even cases made of solid metal causing me to walk slumped to one side due to the additional weight.

I have always viewed the iPhone of slightly different, it seems a shame to mar something of such technological beauty with a case. A believe I held up to the second I dropped my iPhone 3G scratching the screen.

Welcome the XtremeMac Tuffshield case and screen protector. Firstly to the screen protector, given the only thing I could see each time I looked at my phone was the scratch screen protection is now a big priority.

My memories of screen protectors were bubbles, bad surfaces, and sticky residue. Having asked about screen protection on Twitter I was talked into it.

It seemed only fitting to apply the screen protector to my wife’s phone first, chivalry rather than protecting my phone if something goes wrong! The XtremeMac Tuffshield was actually very easy to apply to the surface of the phone (cleaned first). Application is a two stage process.

The first action sticks the shield down and smooth out the bubbles. I was nervous looking at the phone it was detracting from the screen until I loved to stage 2 which involved peeling the top layer from the protector.

The result was a basically invisible anti scratch surface. Impressed I applied a Tuffshield to my own iPhone 3GS. The case is equally as impressive. It fits well, is very easy to get on and off the phone and unlike a hard case it isn’t going to leave any scratching.

At under £12 for both the excellent screen protector and Tuffwrap case this is the perfect protection system for what is after all an expensive asset worthy of protection. (The Tuffwrap fits both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS).

Please note there has been some discussion on wether to use screen protectors on the 3GS phone (see here). I have kept the protector on the 3G but I have removed it from the 3GS until confirmation they won’t damage the Oleophobic coating. Please research any protector before you apply it to your phone.

Links:
TuffWrap Kit

Urban Arts Go iPhone

DigMo — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 13:01:41 +0000

If you own an iPhone, chances are you haven`t come close to unlocking its full potential. Want to find out what the world`s most revolutionary pocket-sized communications and entertainments device can really do?

Developing iPhone Apps is a brand new Urban Arts Academy course taking place on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 July, in partnership with Digital Circle.

There are literally thousands of applications specifically designed for the iPhone to enhance its functionality and course participants will learn how to develop their own apps so they can customize and make the most of their iPhone.

Participants will learn about XCode and Interface Builder, the tools used to build every iPhone application and how to build a simple application which can run on Simulator, iPhone or iPod Touch.

iPhones and their applications are now more popular than ever: the brand new iPhone 3G is now available and an amazing 10 million new iPhone applications were downloaded during the first week it went on sale.

“At Digital Circle we aim to ensure this fast growing digital content industry is recognised as an important component of the economy and the Urban Arts Academy is a great way to make this training accessible to a mass audience.” (Matt Johnston – Digital Circle).

Developing iPhone Apps is just one of many Short Courses at Urban Arts Academy. Other Short Courses include beginners courses in Stand Up Comedy, Alternative Reality Gaming, VJing, Home Recording – Garage Band, Creating A Music Video and Masterclasses in Song writing, Guitar and Ableton Live.

“These courses represent our desire to always be looking for ways to train people in new technologies and unconventional career paths. Whether trying something entirely new or re-training in the latest advances in your chosen field you won`t have to take a week off work to do these courses.” (Adam Turkington – Urban Arts Academy Co-ordinator).

Urban Arts Academy short courses run over two days to act as a taster session or for those who do not have the time for a full course.
Courses are for ages 15 + and there is no upper age limit. All courses take place at Belfast Waterfront and cost £25.
Places on courses are strictly limited so early booking is strongly advised.

Urban Arts Academy at Belfast Waterfront is the only place where participants receive vocational training across a wide range of creative industry-based courses from practicing professionals.

For full Urban Arts Academy course listings and availability check online or go to www.transbelfast.com Places can be booked online, by phoning 028 9033 4455 or in person at the Waterfront or Ulster Hall Box Offices.

The story of my 3GS

DigMo — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 07:29:27 +0000

I was lucky enough to attend this year’s Macworld awards in London on the eve of the iPhone 3Gs. The event was exciting, packed with proud trophy weekders and entertainment it went on well into the next day. It was almost 10am before I made it to Regent St.

From a distance I could see a crowd or orange bibed security but the crowd had lapsed. In actual fact I was able to walk straight in and out with my new phone on pay as you go in minutes.

I asked the pleasant sales person if it had been busy and it was soon clear it wasn’t as busy as they expected or hoped. He “thought” there were about 30 people queuing when he arrived at 7am. That said as I made my way around London I stumbled across a number of O2 stores with short queues outside their doors.

Interestingly enough he commented on how the O2 systems were struggling to process the orders. Having entered my credit card details the computer sat at the “processing don’t refresh the page” for fifteen minutes before he ushered me on my way stating “it would go through eventually”.

I remember vividly last July sitting at my computer for a full day on the O2 site wondering if I had managed to upgrade or not. The same pain seemed to exist in a much smaller scale.

Nonetheless I had in my hand the new Apple 3GS and I was content and guilt ridden at the cost. The photo in this post was taken just before ten at which stage I was a very happy iPhone 3Gs owner.

It was unquestionably exciting to have bought my new phone on launch day in Apple’s flagship store. Perhaps I should be thankful to O2 for keeping the crowds down but to be honest a certain level of resentment has crept in.

To be in the position to buy a 3GS I had to come up with a rather convoluted process including convincing my wife her life will be transformed by an iPhone 3G on pay as you. I even received a tongue in cheek “traitor” twitter message from a friend who was in the same 3G upgrade turmoil.

Certainly the same fanboy buzz wasn’t apparent at this launch in the UK perhaps when O2 see the profits harvested by AT&T in the states they just might be kicking themselves.

iPhone 3G S Not Fast Enough for Me!

iPhone 3G S Not Fast Enough for Me!

DigMo — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 22:21:16 +0000

Today Apple announced that as well as the iPhone update coming 17th June a brand new iPhone 3G S is to be released two days later. The S on this occasion indicates ’speed’. The phone is reportedly faster and as someone who is interested in photography boasts a 3megapixel camera with auto focus and video capabilities. I want one !

The possibilities and potential of a device that allows the recording of video, quick editing and output direct to YouTube all from the palm of your hand are massive in education. Excitedly I headed to both the Apple and O2 websites to gather up as much information as possible in advance of the launch.

Previous Apple iPhone launch dates have been historically particularly exciting and memorable. In 2007 we have the launch of the first iPhone in the UK and many of us queued to get our hands on this cherished technology. Good friend Vox O’Malley documented his unique experience in Larne. Last July we had the epic fail of the iPhone 3G launch where thousands of UK customers all tried to upgrade through o2 at once. At this stage O2 offered the ability for current iPhone users to upgrade but re-start their contract. Again we queued, hogged phone lines or refreshed the O2 website and despite the pain most of use had a new iPhone on launch.

All memories and the content of many reviews and blog posts. This time round things are different. In fact according to the information on the O2 website you won’t seen any 3G S content on this site until around next January as current customers can only upgrade when their current contract expires. I genuinely don’t think my current predicament is down to Apple who, I would think want to sell as many iPhone 3G Ss as they possibly can !

Renowned for my cynicism I wonder if this is to protect providers from the upgrade headache as iPhone 2G and 3G customers clamber for the latest release. My understanding is only current first generation owners (or new iphone customers) are able to upgrade without buying their way out of their current customers. The result with be a rather lackluster affair, exceptionally short queues (if any) and considerably less tweeting or blogging about first impressions or hands on.

It is a shame as devices such as the iPhone live on hype. If the bleeding edge technologists who live for upgrades aren’t able to get their hands on the device for another 6 or 7 months other devices have the opportunity to shine. I can see massive educational potential for the 3G S but won’t be able to put any of it into practice until 2010.

Like most other iPhone customers I can’t get my hands on the new device fast enough, sadly though I have 7 months cooling time. I would happily renew for an 18 contract for the new device but the option (currently) just isn’t there. A blow to the fanboy market and a real boost to the gray marketeers. Wise thinking ?

Apple Selling iPhones

DigMo — Sun, 17 May 2009 17:43:19 +0000

Perhaps a slightly bizarre title for a post given Apple make the iPhone but this week they moved to sell the Pay as you Go offering via their website. A number of websites have reported this as further evidence that an updated device is set for the summer.

Pay as you Go customers benefit from a year free 3G and internet access but over £300 for the handset you are going to have to make sure you use it.

So is this is clear evidence that Apple are getting rid of excess stock and the iPhone version 3 is right around the corner ?

For more information on the Pay as you Go offering visit the Apple Website.

Wolfenstein 3d iPhone

DigMo — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 09:10:22 +0000

We love our computer games but these days most of our gaming takes place on the Xbox 360 and more recently Mac but growing up a number of PC ignited the industry one such title was Wolfenstein 3D. Wolfenstein was epic, one of the first 3d first person shooters it had it all, sprawling mazes to navigate, a range of enemies and even enemy killer dogs.

Interestingly the Wolfenstein 3d has its roots in the 1981 game ‘Castle Wolfenstein’ that was actually written for the Apple II. The 3d version was released in 1992 for DOS and has been played by generations since.

Well this week Wolfenstein is back but this time not on Mac, not on PC but for the iPhone. At only £2.99 from the iTunes Apps store the game is definitely one for your iPhone.

The controller interface has been really well designed, holding your iPhone like you would any console controller you use your thumbs to both control the main character and use your trusty pistol (see the screenshot above). Initially I found myself in a lot of corners or stuck against walls but after about fifteen minutes I was easily able to confidently control my character around the map.

It is brilliant, if you played the original game you will find your self propelled back to the early 1990s. The original music is there, identical sound effects when you pick up items or when a German guard spots you coming through the blue sliding doors. I low ceilings and chicken dinners still remain, admittedly Wolf3d doesn’t compare to modern day platforms yet on the iPhone it seems to fit perfectly. Lets face it, it is going to be a long time before we are playing Call of Duty Modern Warfare on an iPhone. (Read our review of Call of Duty 4 for Mac)

There are a few aspects of the game I had completely forgotten. It kicks off with the same challenge options :

We warned Wolf3d is just as addictive as it was back when it first came out for the PC. You will find yourself checking what is behind every single blue metal door as you make your way around all six levels. Having completed the game on PC I assumed I would be able to rattle my way around the iPhone version without much problem. Wrong ! this game is a challenge due to the completely new way of controlling the character.

The killer dogs remain, and as you can see in the screenshot below Wolfy’s state of health is show visually at the bottom of the screen, the more ‘busted up’ his face looks the obvious worse state you are in.

Wolfenstein 3D Classic contains all six original episodes, all of your favorite memorable enemies such as Hans Grosse and MechaHitler, and comes with two new clever control systems designed for the iPhone by technical visionary and id Software founder, John Carmack.

John Carmack who personally led the project and has made the source code available as well as a narrative of the Wolfenstein 3D Classic iPhone development. id Software have also stated that Wolfenstein 3D Classic will not be the only classic title to grace the AppStore.

At 2.99, if you own an iPhone and like games in the slightest then this game is a definite must own. Click here to visit the iTunes Store.

DigMo! Rating : ★★★★

Google Street View : Belfast

DigMo — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:53:10 +0000

Google Street View has today been activated in a number of UK cities including Belfast. The Street View service has raised a number of privacy concerns but those aside Street View is a particular impressive Technology.
Most of the Greater Belfast area has been mapped in detail. Go to Google Maps and search for the street you most interested in.

On the map you will spot a yellow character icon on the top of the map scale meter. I have indicated with the number 1.
Drag this character on to the map to activate the Street View features. Street View is completely 3D so you can spin on a pin point to see the various buildings in the surrounding area.

The roadmaps are also displayed in the map allowing you to visually travel up and down the various streets you are on. Click on an arrow to progress in any selected direction.

You can return to the standard map view at any time by clicking on the map box on the bottom right of the screen

Better again, Street View is also available on the iPhone maps application. Load up Maps and search for your destination.

You will spot the same yellow character icon on the map pinpoint, click on this to activate the Street View.

As you can see in the screen shot below the view is equally as impressive on the phone as it is on the desktop application.

Don’t be surprised if the weather suddenly changes as you move down the street, Google obviously photographed the streets on a number of stages throughout the year.

Around the City Hall you can move from very sunny to very wet weather in a few steps (much like real life perhaps).

Now you can check out holiday locations before your flight or track the route from the airport to the hotel so they are familiar surroundings when you arrive. It won’t be too long before we are receiving 3d directional videos showing us how to get from A to B.

iPhone 3.0 Excited ?

DigMo — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:03:57 +0000

If have any interest at all in Technology and Apple you will be aware of iPhone 3.0. A special event offering a sneak peek into what we should expect in the next edition of the Apple iPhone OS.

These events are always going to be difficult for Apple to impress in the absence of Steve Jobs and I can’t help but feel we have managed to squeeze the best from the 2.0 software yet.

Anyway before such an event it is always important to list your

Hopes and Dreams :

Turn by Turn GPS applications. ✔

Push Notification, (promised last Sept). ✔

Copy and Paste. ✔

MMS. ✔

Ability to share files via Bluetooth. ※

Ability to SMS / MMS contact entries. ✔

The ability to foward SMS messages. ✔

In addition we gained :

Shake to undo.
Multi photo emailing. ♥
Landscape Mode available on all Apple key apps. ♥
Voice Memos (although we use Evernote already).
Calendar Update that allows CalDAV and direct subscription to .ICS calendar files.
Search function added to key apps.
Spotlight searches all supported apps (& music / video) on your iPhone. ♥♥♥
Notes Sync (Look Out Evernote ?).
Shake to Shuffle.
Bluetooth stereo support.
Safari upgrade with anti phishing.
YouTube users can now login and share with other users.
Tethering of 3G to laptops.
Peer to Peer WiFi.

Copy and Paste will work across all apps on the phone as well as web pages which is an exciting development. The ability record notes, edit and trim then share via email is also a brilliant addition. It should be noted that not all features are available to the original iPhone users (such as stereo bluetooth).

The proposed released date is “This Summer” and will be free for iPhone 3G owners and a $9.95 cost for iPhone touch users.

So the big question is what do we all think ? excited ?

My Growing Ego

DigMo — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 20:18:28 +0000

If you run your own blog, no matter what the topic you no doubt check a range of different statistics. There will be your feedburner subscription statistics (see this article) that tell you the number of people reading your blog via RSS.

There are your mint stats tell you everything you could possible ever want to know about how your site is used. Finally you might also check your Twitter following.

Massaging your ego each day with the one or two additional Twitter followers can be as much work as actually blogging. Well if you own an iPhone or iPod touch this statistic checking effort can not come to an end in the form of the suitably named ‘Ego’

Ego gives you one central web 2.0 styled application to check the statistics that matter most. With support for Feedburner, Mint, Twitter, and the promise of Google Analytics in the next release this application is great for any blogger.

You can quickly view the number of visits to your website (including daily, hourly and monthly numbers), feed subscription totals and changes, and how many people are following you on Twitter. Clicking on the widgets will change the display between stats for the year, month, and in the case of Mint the past hour.

It it is great idea for an iPhone application. One click and you instantly know the current health of your blog, feeds and followers. Lets just hope we always like what it tells us !

For value, beauty and function we rate this app ★★★★
A fifth ★ will definitely be awarded when the Google Analytics widget arrives. Ego costs just £1.19 and is available on the iTunes Apps Store (here).

On the topic of blogs and RSS feeds why not subscribe to the DigMo! Feed ?

Just Incase for iPhone Review

DigMo — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:25:05 +0000

Over the years I have managed to waste a massive amount of money on screen protectors and cases. With every phone or PocketPC came two or three cases costing anything from £30 to £60, they all added protection but all too frequently the cases added too much bulk or made access to the device difficult.

I tried them all, flip cases, cases with doors, some concealed button and ports and some just added too much weight to the device.

The iPhone was no different with the result that I generally never used a case for either iPhone 2G or 3G. I had a silicon cases that had to be removed when I wanted to use the dock, and getting the device in and out was a nightmare, it just didn’t work.

This week I think I have found the solution protecting my iPhone investment with an ‘incase’ case.

Firstly it is affordable at less than £30 (including postage). It is sleek, provides a really nice grip, doesn’t fingerprint and doesn’t add very much all all to the size if the phone.

One of the nicest features is the fact it is Dock friendly. Slide off the port end and the iPhone sits snuggly on the dock although it did took me a few days to get a quick technique for removing the end piece.

The ports and buttons are all readily accessible in fact the only aspect of the phone that isn’t fully protected is the screen itself. The case offers brilliant drop protection for all corners.

If I was pushed for a negative I’d say the case is a pretty tight fit. I read of one user having to visit an Apple store to get his phone out of the case. That said although tight, I personnally haven’t had any issue with inserting or removing the phone from the case.

Removing the small end takes a little bit of finger nail work but then you would prefer this than it falling off the phone while out and about.

Personally I’d have loved one of the coloured cases featured on the incase site but the black works just as well in protecting the phone. A great case at a great price.

DigMo! Rating : ★★★★

Details

Content Filtering comes to iPhone

DigMo — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:12:11 +0000

One of the most commonly forgotten connections to the internet in schools has to be the mobile device. Schools and parents invest money, and a fair bit of time ensuring the internet is kept free of inappropriate material yet their children have an internet hotline.

There is much debate over the use of content filters and their benefits but many of us forget that some children have a 24×7 connection to the internet free of any filtering at all.

MobiCip for iPhone comes to the rescue (if your child has an iPhone or more likely an iPod Touch). MobiClip is a free browser to the device called “the Mobicip Kid-Safe Browser”. It is simple to setup and works with any internet connection be it wireless of GPRS.

The Mobicip browser ensures online child safety through:

- Intelligent real-time content filtering (not just URL-based)
- Encrypted traffic for added security over public WiFi
- Proven safeguards used in schools and coporate IT
- With no load on the device and no noticeable delay

There are two version a Premium and a Lite version. The Lite version keeps it very simple and allows parents to set content restrictions at one of three levels.

- Elementary.
- Middle.
- High School.

Mobicip defines each filtering level based on recommendations for in-school filtering solutions. I would certainly recommend you try the lite version before signing up for the premium option.

To find out more (and sign up) visit the Mobicip site.

Download the App for the iTunes Apps Store.

Google : Exchange for the rest of us ?

DigMo — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:46:39 +0000

This week Google announced Google Sync (beta) for the Google Apps services. The service allows two-way push sync of Google Calendar and Gmail contacts data to iPhone and Windows Mobile devices through ActiveSync. Two-way contacts sync is also available for devices that support SyncML.

The service is available on :
Standard, Premier, Education, Team and Partner Editions

Setting up Google Sync is very easy but you must be an administrator for your domain :
To enable Google Sync login to your GoogleApps account. In the control panel, click ‘Services settings’ and choose ‘Mobile’.

Check the box for ‘Enable Google Sync’ and click ‘Save changes’.

You can configure GoogleSync(beta) with a range of devices. You can find specific instructions for iPhone (and other devices) here.

It is interesting that we move from setting the service up as an IMAP service but instead set it as a Microsoft Exchange server.

It looks to be a very reliable service despite the Beta tag. A number of known limitations are currently documented (and listed here).

Important Note: Google Sync will replace all existing contacts and calendar information on your phone, so make sure to back up any important data before you get started.

The ability to sync email, contacts and calendar directly with Google Apps could surely be an issue for Mobile Me users coming up for renewal ? So far only Calendar and Contacts are a push service but we are sure Google won’t stop here.

Google have already integrated with the iCal application, offers server sided mail rules and second to none spam filtering.

Does the Mobile Me iDisk and photo sharing services offer enough if Google is going allow push sync ?

5 Top iPhone Apps for Education

DigMo — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:06:13 +0000

Rather than focus on iPhone software with a specific educational purpose. I have decided to compile my top 5 applications for making life easier for the tech savy teacher. In actual fact the list is ideal for anyone managing a number of projects or large volumes of information. I predict this will be a fluid list given the pace of application development in this area.

There are so many useful applications for the iPhone / Touch, I marvel at a number for their sheer simplicity yet stunning power. Two examples are, Vicinity and Shazam. Vicinity uses the GPS on the iPhone to tell you want services or coffee shops are near by and Shazam listens to the music you are listening to and in a few seconds tells you the artist, name of the song and a link to the iTunes store.

These like many others are fantastically useful tools for every day life. The following offer my five favourite applications for education :

Tweetie
I have already covered the educational value of Twitter. I have used pretty much used all the iPhone Apps but to date Tweetie is definitely the favourite.

Evernote
Grab audio, photo and text notes using your iphone and review them on your desktop via the easy to use Evernote service. The application and basic service is free and ideal for most users.

Things
Having been a big fan of Omnifocus I have scaled down my GTD process with visually impressive and easy to use Things. The App overs wirelss sync to the desktop version.

NetNewsWire
I currently read over 100 websites via RSS. NetNewsWire allows easy RSS reading while staying in sync with my desktop reader. The mobile application only displays new news items.

Keynote Remote
A new application to the apps store but after a few weeks of use it is already proving an invaluable tool in presenting Keynote and Powerpoint applications. The bonus of being able to see the next slide before I reveal it makes this an application I will use for many years to come.

It is remarkable that three of these applications are free, one is 59 pence and the most expensive is Things at 5.99. A total of £6.58 has revolutionised how I not only use the iPhone but work from day to day. Everything is digital, if something needs done it gets added to Things.

Notes are quickly added to Evernote for review when time permits. If down time does exist then NetNewsWire offers the change to read the latest educational RSS Feeds. Have I missed any ?

WordPress Mobile App

DigMo — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 17:25:41 +0000

The WordPress for iPhone application is now a firm favourite on the iTunes Apps Store currently on version 1.2. The Open Source app that lets you write posts, upload photos, and edit your WordPress blog directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch. When the app launches, it will hit the ground running with support for multiple blogs, creating and editing posts, uploading photos from your library or the camera, even privacy settings.

And that’s just what we’re starting with — we’ve got some ideas in the hopper that should make managing your WordPress blog incredibly simple, wherever you are.

Support for WP.com blogs and self-installed blogs version 2.5.1 and higher
Embedded Safari for true previews of posts
Full tag and category support
Photo support for both camera pictures as well as library photos
Support for multiple blogs
Ability to password protect a post, save as a draft, or mark the post for later review
Auto-recovery. This will recover posts which have been interrupted by phone calls

We had a problem getting the App installed but a re-download and it worked perfectly. This application could really revolutionise how we blog on the move. I have been playing with the mobile version on and off for a few months and in the early versions of the application I was finding rogue posts end up in the RSS feed but yet not on site. Thankfully this has been fixed in the 1.2 version making it a very attractive mobile blogging option.

Although I don’t think I could really write full blog posts on the iPhone it would allow the creation of a quick post category in which posts that don’t include much images or links would be placed. It certainly offers some future blogging potential.

Anyone having any success with the Mobile Wordpress Application ? It certainly is a great mobile application

Download it now (Free).

NetNewsWire : iPhone

DigMo — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 21:21:49 +0000

I have been really enjoying using NetNewsWire Desktop and using it to sync between two Macs. The next logical step was to take my RSS reading on the road via the free NetNewsWire iPhone / Touch application. As all my subscriptions and read / unread data is synced with NewsGator the iPhone application simply displays the feeds that have unread posts. Again as these posts are read NewsGator is informed and they therefore do not appear when I arrive back at my desktop computer.

Installing and using the application could not be easier and obviously with RSS you need to be online to download your news but the good news for Touch users is with NNW you can read the content offline later and sync again when you are back in WiFi coverage.

Load the AppsStore on your Touch or iPhone and search for NetNewsWire.

As you can see (above) this application is free. Click the word ‘Free’ to install. You now need to tell the mobile application your NewsGator username and password. If you don’t have an account you can still create one via the iPhone / Touch.

NetNewsWire then synchronises all your feeds with NewsGator. What I like about the application is that it only lists feeds that have new items since the last sync. This means you don’t have to scroll through stacks of feeds to find new news.

This is a great mobile RSS reader but it has some really nice additional features that make it a little more powerful and useful when out on the road. If you have ever found a good article in a feed and want to share it with a friend or colleague then you will love the email option.

This feature works really well but I did have a few problems with the emails going direct to spam as they simply contain a URL. This issue is hardly worth mentioning given how useful the tool is.

If you read a lot of RSS subscriptions and find yourself sitting down to 100s of unread posts then this free and handy application could be really useful when away from your computer. Combine this app with the desktop version to create the ultimate RSS marriage. Perhaps it is just strange to see such a great application completely free of charge ?

Sketches for iPhone

DigMo — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 13:17:50 +0000

Would you like to jot down notes on your iPhone’s gorgeous touch screen? Are you missing a way to sketch a simple diagram as a quick reminder? Will your children like to draw on your iPhone, maybe on top of a picture you shoot with the camera? Sketches is a native iPhone application that will allow you to do all that.

Jot down your notes, scribble your thoughts and annotate your pictures using only your fingers and your imagination! Illustrate your ideas with simple but colorful diagrams, notes and sketches.

Place shapes using multitouch gestures, zoom in for those accurate little details, save your creations in your personal corkboard or send them to others. Use Sketches for business, creativity or simply share it as a pastime with your friends.

Sketches is available through the App Store in iTunes and your iPhone or iPod touch:

Freehand drawing using your finger.
Multiple ink colors and sizes.
Multitouch shape drawing. Draw lines, arrow lines, ovals and rectangles in a breeze. Place two fingers in the screen and see for yourself.
Multiple backgrounds to chose from: background library, current location map, a web site, solid colors or pictures.
Zoom in to increase the precision that you work with.
Store multiple drawings and manage them with ease, using the integrated corkboard.
Integrated picture taking. Use the iPhone camera to take a picture and use it as your drawing background.
Photo album integration. You can use your pictures as backgrounds or save your drawing into the photo album, so you can export them to your computer.
Send your art to your friends using Twitter or export it to your PC or Mac.

Get it today.

Full Band on your iPhone

DigMo — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:56:32 +0000

MooCowMusic:Band is a collection of virtual instruments that allows anyone, regardless of musical ability, to go beyond just listening to other people’s music on the iPhone or iPod Touch, and actually create music themselves from scratch.

A number of instruments are provided (drums piano, bass guitar, blues guitar, and crowd) that make full use of the multi-touch abilities of the iPhone to allow you to play complex chords in real time. As well as hearing the note, you will be able to see the screen react instantly to your touch: piano keys really depress and guitar strings really strum.

All the instruments can be recorded, overdubbed, and mixed together into a song, which can be stored for later playback. Instruments have individual volume and pan settings, and can be muted or ’soloed’ during playback.

A configurable metronome can be enabled during recording to help you to keep in time, and, if you make a mistake: simply erase the last few notes, overdub, or instrument, from the mix and record it again.

Text and screenshots are not enough to fully describe a product as dynamic as Band. The following video gives an example of the recording process and showcases some of the demos that ship with the application.

This is a really fun application and only costs £5.99 in the UK. Definitely worth a look. Click here to see the App.

Shazam Really Works

DigMo — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 07:08:21 +0000

Any application that claims you press a button, let it listen to a few seconds of a song and it will identify it has to raise some doubt but after a few hours of playing with Shazam we can’t beat it. Literally click the ‘tag’ option, let it listen for a few seconds and the application will load the name and album art of the song nearly instantly.

Shazam, a leading mobile music discovery provider, today announced a native version of its mobile application will be available for iPhone on the new Apple App Store beginning today. Already an industry standard, Shazam fully integrates with and

complements the iPhone, allowing users to seamlessly discover, buy and share tunes simply by holding their iPhone to music for just a few seconds.

“Shazam on the iPhone allows users to discover, capture and share their experiences through music and images to fully encapsulate that moment.” said Andrew Fisher, Shazam’s CEO. “Shazam is inherently linked to the one device that is always with you – the mobile phone – and as such provides an instant link to the emotions and memories that sound evokes.”

The Shazam mobile application enables music lovers to tap into a vast database of nearly five million tracks, giving instant satisfaction for those times when users want to know the tune that is playing, learn more about the artist, buy the song immediately – or simply add it to their playlist. Shazam also exploits the iPhone’s rich visual experience to allow users to view music videos with links to YouTube and share their memorable moments with their friends and family by attaching photos to the tag.

Following seven years of focused effort in the mobile music space, Shazam has delivered a comprehensive and easy to use music services to consumers. Shazam’s one-touch service is sensitive enough to recognize tracks within just three seconds, even when the volume is low and in environments with significant background noise.

Key user features include:

– Tag music: identify music anywhere – whether it’s on the radio, TV, in a movie or in a store
– Build one’s own soundtrack: see the list grow every time music is tagged
– Get the music: go straight to iTunes to preview and buy
– Music Videos: see related videos of the track on YouTube
– Capture the moment: personalize the tag by taking a photo and adding it to ‘My Tags’
– Share the moment: send track details to friends via email

Shazam is already used by more than 15 million music lovers around the world, live in over 60 countries and deployed with 75 carriers. Shazam on the iPhone is available for free from Apple’s App Store on iPhone or at www.itunes.com/appstore/

Just Bought Comic Touch

DigMo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:40:29 +0000

At £2.99 how could I not buy Comic Touch! Ever wished you had the fun of Comic Life handy at all times? Ever been out at a party, family gathering or on public transport and wished you could add your ‘comic touch’ to a photo? Now you can!

We’re giggling with glee to announce Comic Touch for iPhone and iPod Touch. Add various speech balloons and captions to your photos. Choose a fun special effect to warp and bend your family and friends, then email the results to them!

Immediately add a comic element to the photo you have just taken with your iPhone camera or from your photo library. No more waiting until you get home!

Special Effects!
Bend and distort your friends and family with special funhouse mirror-like effects for that extra laugh! Choose one from either Bulge, Dent, Squeeze, Light or Stretch.

Share the Laughs
With a tap of your finger you can enter ‘Share mode’ where you can quickly and easily email your comic to your best friend or email it to photo sharing sites like Skitch.com or Flickr.com

Visit the Apps Store.

Twitter for iPhone and More

DigMo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:37:22 +0000

Big Stone Phone is proud to announce the release of three brand new applications for the iPhone. All three applications make use of the iPhone’s built in camera, but with differing intentions – one app, TalkingPics, has many practical applications, while another, called iGraffiti, is just pure fun.

The third application, Twittelator, is a full-featured Twitter client for the iPhone with the ability to send a map of the user’s location with one click and automatically upload snapshots to TwitPics.com.

TalkingPics allows the user to make many voice and music recordings for later playback. You can add a new snapshot, a library photo or even a map of your current location using the iPhone’s GPS functionality. Think of it as “sonic captioning,” allowing users to “make notes” without using a keypad or stylus to enter words. You can have many projects, which each contain as many entries as you like. The software has many practical applications, as developer Andrew Stone pointed out.

“We designed it for working professionals such as doctors, police officers, real estate agents and any profession where people need to take visual and audio notes in a hands-free way. And of course, students will love it, especially the introductory price of just $9.99!” said Stone.

iGraffiti lets users take a picture and then paint on it using the tip of the finger on the iPhone’s touch screen. Users can adjust brush stroke, shadow and effects, and can choose from a 48-color “crayon” palette picker for their paint colors. Making use of the iPhone’s motion features, users can shake the iPhone once to delete the last action, and shake twice to start from the beginning. Users can also pull images from the web for manipulation with iGraffiti, and then submit their art to the web.

“We’ve been having a lot of fun with this one,” said Stone. “Finished images can be saved in Photos and emailed to friends, used as Contact pictures or can even be shared with the iGraffiti community over the web. Visit Stone Software’s website to see the public art space. At $4.99 USD, it’s a must-have app!”

Twittelator lets you instantly twitter a link to the map of your current location to the popular social networking site Twitter. In an emergency, you can microblog a help message with your location with just one click. With all the standard features of a twitter client, Twittelator is a must-have application for Twitter users. Most importantly, Twittelator is 100% free!

Big Stone Phone is the result of a collaboration between two well-known Apple developers, Andrew Stone and Jeff Biggus and an award winning Mac artist, Ollie Wagner. Mr. Stone is the founder of Stone Design of Albuquerque, makers of Stone Works Creative Suite that bundles together 17 productivity applications for Mac Mac OS X. The Suite includes Create, a page layout and web publishing program, iMaginator, an image manipulation program, and Videator, a video effects and VJ’ing program along with more than a dozen others. Mr. Biggus is a Chicago-based consultant who runs the popular HyperJeff OS X website for Mac users and developers. Mr. Wagner creates icons for applications on the Mac and iPhone.

“Developing for the iPhone is so much fun,” said Stone. “It’s a new frontier. Part of the fun comes from knowing that there are tons of other developers out there trying to make great software for this incredible device. We’re just one of hundreds if not thousands of groups on the planet trying to make something great.”

The applications are available for download and use today directly from your iPhone by clicking “App Store”. Direct links to the apps will be posted at their website.

Visit the Big Stone website for more information.

Pocket Bible Announced

DigMo — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:25:18 +0000

When the iTunes App Store opens on Friday, June 11th, iPhone and iPod Touch users will finally be able to take the Bible with them wherever they go. With this new app from pocket-bible.org, users will now be able to find scripture quickly and easily.

No matter where you are, your Bible will be as close as your pocket. Whether you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you’ll be able to find scripture quickly and easily with Pocket-Bible. Enjoy the convenience of having the Bible anywhere you are.

Pocket-Bible fully supports both portrait and landscape modes.

One thing that sets this application apart is that Pocket-Bible users will help determine the features that will be included in free updates. For more information or to submit a feature idea visit www.pocket-bible.org.

The Bible just got a little more hip.

iTunes Online Store.

No Related Post

DigMo! » Mobile

Lifeboat for iPhone

Related:

Navigon MobileNavigator

Related:

The iPhone 3GS Come Down

Related:

Tuffwrap – Tuff Protection

Related:

Urban Arts Go iPhone

Related:

The story of my 3GS

Related:

iPhone 3G S Not Fast Enough for Me!

Related:

Apple Selling iPhones

Related:

Wolfenstein 3d iPhone

Related:

Google Street View : Belfast

Related:

iPhone 3.0 Excited ?

Related:

My Growing Ego

Related:

Just Incase for iPhone Review

Related:

Content Filtering comes to iPhone

Related:

Google : Exchange for the rest of us ?

Related:

5 Top iPhone Apps for Education

Related:

WordPress Mobile App

Related:

NetNewsWire : iPhone

Related:

Sketches for iPhone

Related:

Full Band on your iPhone

Related:

Shazam Really Works

Related:

Just Bought Comic Touch

Related:

Twitter for iPhone and More

Related:

Pocket Bible Announced

Related: