Tag Archives: iphone

Technology

Readability vs Instapaper vs Pocket + Kindle

For the last month or so, I’ve been trying out some read-later type services. I’ve been a user of Instapaper for ages, but a few things made me start looking elsewhere, coupled with just wanting to try out some rivals.

A few months ago I bought a Kindle, and one of the things I thought might be nice, is that I could save articles during the day (mostly from what people are discussing on Twitter) and then get the service to send it directly to my Kindle – basically providing me with a daily digest of stuff I didn’t have time to read fully when I saw it to start with.
I start work early, can’t really use my phone while I’m at work, but then finish early. So a nice daily personalised newspaper delivered early afternoon would be perfect. Continue reading Readability vs Instapaper vs Pocket + Kindle →

Technology

New iPhone case/cover

I’ve always hated mobile phone covers. Although mobile phones used to be ugly, so it didn’t matter as much. When mobile phones first became semi-popular, and looked like oversized TV remotes with big aerials, then by all means a case is fine, if not essential.

But when they became sexy and shiny, well, it seems like you’re doing a disservice to the designer. Someone has grafted to design something with curves and glass, that gleams in the sun, and then you shove it into a dull square leather box. Continue reading New iPhone case/cover →

Technology

IM+ vs imo vs eBuddy – a very short review

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Recently I’ve started using an external bluetooth keyboard with my iPhone occasionally. I’ve written lots as a result. Not all of it stuff I want to share publicly, but it is quite nice to be able to sit in the dining room and type away, without faffing about with extension leads to plug my laptop in. Or at a friend’s house at their living room table, without HAVING to bother connecting to wifi (what with 3G for occasional usage, built into the phone, etc.)

Despite how good an opportunity this is to remove distractions, I instantly started looking at MSN-messenger compatible clients to use with this new setup. It isn’t at the height of popularity it once enjoyed, but I still use MSN to talk to a handful of people. I went to the App store/Google, and these seemed to be three quite well recommended ones. So, here it is. A short test of each. Continue reading IM+ vs imo vs eBuddy – a very short review →

Daily Life, Technology

The laptop replacement?

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In the last year, I’ve wanted to leave the house, travel, and do stuff from other locations, occasionally. Fight the cabin fever, or something. My main computer at home is a sexy iMac, and while it runs perfectly, it’s not really what you would call portable, as it’s a desktop computer with a glass-fronted screen and requires a mains power socket. I do have a laptop, but it’s very old, very slow, quite heavy, and has a battery that lasts 80mins. Crucially, NOT 1.5 hours – as I’ve reminded myself several times, while shouting “NO! DON’T HIBERNATE NOW, YOU BASTARD!” Continue reading The laptop replacement? →

Technology

App.cat – iPhone app maker?

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I’m a fairly regular user of Twitter. I’ve recently started following someone who tweets about curry recipes. Anyway, yesterday, he tweeted that:

Let me say right here that I have nothing against Mr Curry Guy. I’ve yet to try any of his tips/recipes but the pictures he tweets look delicious. The link he provided, really is free to download – so the full link to get it is http://app.cat/apps/81ae387e3a10c3044d0a6de441ca4d58

If anything, I was intrigued. Has he paid someone to code him an app? From his other tweets, it seems his son made it for him, but maybe his son is an app developer?

After looking into it in a bit more depth, I’ve discovered that app.cat is an iPhone app creator. It’s not entirely as it seems though, so I thought I’d write this blog post about it. Continue reading App.cat – iPhone app maker? →

Gripes, Technology

The Hunt for a New Twitter iPhone Client

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A few days ago, Twitter released an update to their iPhone client. And ruined it. I don’t think that’s too strong – it has less functionality than the old version, and what is there – is more fiddly to get to. Yes it looks pretty, but it’s a chore to use. So it’s time to once again search for a new iPhone client for accessing Twitter when I’m not at home. Today I’m testing Twittelator free, Tweetings lite, Tweetdeck, Hootsuite, Echofon free, and Twitter for iPhone.

Continue reading The Hunt for a New Twitter iPhone Client →

Technology

Google’s iPhone App – Ultimate Search Test

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The Google Search App that is now available for the iPhone, lets you (among other things) take a photo of something, and search for it. I’m guessing the idea is that you can take a photo of the Eiffel Tower, and it will realise that’s what it is, because 3 billion other people have already taken the exact same photo and posted it on Flickr/Facebook/Twitpic.

Recently, I was out walking with somebody, when we passed a plant. I asked “what sort of plant is that?” and they said “I don’t know. Maybe some sort of rose?”

This gave me an idea for a test. Can Google’s Search App correctly identify things like flowers, which may not be identical? Well after the last month or so, I’ve taken some pictures to test it. Let’s see.

Continue reading Google’s iPhone App – Ultimate Search Test →

Technology

You Can Upload Direct From iPhone to YouTube?

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I’ve been a fool.
You know when you’ve been doing something for so long that you don’t bother to see if there are other options.

On occasion, I’ll record a bit of video from my iPhone. On even rarer occasions, I want to send it immediately from wherever I am.
I have been sending it via Twitvid, but I’ve just discovered today, that you can upload it to YouTube directly from the camera application. And if you click the option to share it afterwards, it’ll give you the URL, so you can copy/paste it to Twitter.

But is that a good idea? Continue reading You Can Upload Direct From iPhone to YouTube? →