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AppMakr Lets You Make Your Own iphone App

Having your own iPhone app for your website or blog is becoming an increasingly common way to promote and extend your brand. However, actually creating that application and getting it into the App Store can be a lengthy and expensive process, especially if you have little development experience. Today PointAbout is launching a new product called AppMakr, which is designed to make creating your own iPhone app simple and inexpensive.

AppMakr is a streamlined system that creates a native iPhone application out of your existing RSS feeds. You can customize elements of the app and the artwork and then submit it directly to the App Store. You can even embed ads from places like AdMob directly into the app.

AppMakr made this demo video showing off how fast it was to create an app for Mac|Life.

Stanford #iPhone Orchestra Is Redefining Music’s Limits

The evolution of music is, in essence, a study of how human culture, tastes and technology have evolved over the course of thousands of years. From ancient Indian music to Beethoven to Lady GaGa, music has embraced new instruments and scientific advances in the search for the perfect harmony and melody.

While most of society thinks of music in terms of voices, pianos and woodwinds, perhaps the world should get ready for the rise of a new instrument: the iPhone. While composing computer-generated music is nothing new, the iPhone’s unique mobile capabilities, accelerometer, compass, GPS and hardware have already made it a musical instrument (e.g. the Smule Ocarina iPhone App). But that’s nothing compared to what’s in store for us in the future; a recent concert at Stanford University pushed the limits and our perception of what is possible with music.

On Thursday, December 3, a small group of students and faculty performed as the Stanford Mobile Phone Orchestra (MoPhO). Wearing gloves that act as speakers and only wielding iPhones as instruments, the orchestra put on a show before a packed room. i, MoPhO was an exploration of not only musical melodies, but of how far mobile technology has come.

The musical tones were unique, and while some harmonies didn’t match, others blew the audience away. They did things that no orchestra on Earth can do, such as “passing” musical sounds to one another and using the iPhone’s directional capabilities to provide a truly surround sound musical experience. While it was clear that iPhones won’t be replacing the London Philharmonic Orchestra anytime soon, it was also apparent that this small team from Stanford was just scratching the surface of the possibilities of mobile phone and musical technology.

I had the distinct honor of attending, and while I did not record all of the compositions, I did record HD video of five of the pieces. I have included each, along with the name of the compositions, below. Please let us know what you think of this concert and, more importantly, the convergence of music and technology in the comments.

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1. IntraV: a tale in two parts

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2. Vox Aeterna

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3. Mo So(und) Bo(unce)

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4. Dots + Lines

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5. Touch Patterns

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How to Create Your First #iPhone Application

What if you had a nickle for every time you heard: "I have the perfect idea for a great application!"? It’s the buzz on the street. The iPhone has created unprecedented excitement and innovation from people both inside and outside the software development community. Still for those outside the development world, the process is a bit of a mystery.

This how-to guide is supposed to walk you through the steps to make your idea for an iPhone app a reality. This post presents various ideas, techniques, tips, and resources that may come in handy if you are planning on creating your first iPhone application.

1. Have an idea – a Good Idea

How do you know if your idea is a good one? The first step is to even care if your idea is solid; and the second step is to answer the question does it have at least one of the indicators of success?

 

	Does your app solve a unique problem? Before the light bulb was invented, somebody had to shout out “Man, reading by candlelight sucks!” Figure out what sucks, and how your app can make the life of its user more comfortable.
	Does the app serve a specific niche? Though there aren’t any stats on the App Store search, the usage of applications is certainly growing with the explosion of App Store inventory. Find a niche with ardent fans (pet lovers, for example) and create an app that caters to a specific audience.
	Does it make people laugh? This is a no-brainer. If you can come up with something funny, you are definitely on the right track and your idea may be the golden one. Heck, I hit a red “do not press” button for 5 minutes yesterday.
	Are you building a better wheel? Are there existing successful apps that lack significant feature enhancements? Don’t be satisfied with just a wine list, give sommeliers a way to talk to their fans!
	Will the app be highly interactive? Let’s face it, most of us have the attention span of a flea. Successful games and utilities engage the user by requiring action!

Action: Does your app fall in to one of these categories? If yes, it’s just about time to prepare the necessary tools.

2. Tools Checklist

Below is a list of items you’ll need (*starred items are required, the rest are nice-to-have’s):

• join the Apple iPhone Developer Program ($99) *
• get iPhone or iPod Touch *
• get an Intel-based Mac computer with Mac OS X 10.5.5,
• prepare a Non-Disclosure Agreement (here’s a sample) *
• download and install the latest version of the iPhone SDK if you don’t already have it.
• a spiral bound notebook*

Action: Load up on your required supplies.

3. What Are You Really Good At?

What skills do you bring to the table? Are you a designer whose brain objects to Objective C? A developer who can’t design their way out of a paper sack? Or maybe you are neither, but an individual with an idea you’d like to take to the market? Designing a successful iPhone application is a lot like starting a small business. You play the role of Researcher, Project Manager, Accountant, Information Architect, Designer, Developer, Marketer and Advertiser – all rolled into one.

Remember what all good entrepreneurs know – it takes a team to make a product successful. Don’t get me wrong, you certainly can do it all. But you can also waste a lot of time, energy and sanity in the process. Don’t go crazy, reference the checklist below and ask yourself: What roles are the best fit for you to lead? Then find other talented people to fill in the gaps. The infusion of additional ideas can only enrich the product!

Skills Checklist

• Ability to Discern what works/doesn’t work in existing iPhone Apps
• Market research
• Outlining App Functionality (Sitemap Creation)
• Sketching
• GUI Design
• Programming (Objective C, Cocoa) (we assume here that we are creating a native application)
• App Promotion and Marketing

Remember to have contractors sign your non-disclosure agreement. Having a contract in place tells your contractor "I’m a professional that takes my business and this project seriously. Now don’t go runnin’ off with this idea."

Action: Select skills that are a good fit for you to lead. For those roles where you cannot lead, hire professionals.

4. Do Your Homework: Market Research

Market research is a fancy way of saying "Look at what other people are doing and don’t make the same mistakes." Learn from the good, bad and ugly in the App Store. Coming up with creative solutions in the app concept development and design starts with analyzing other (maybe similar) applications. Even if you encounter a lot of poorly designed apps, your mind will reference these examples of what not to do.

Action: Answer these questions:

• What problem does your app solve?
• What products have you seen that perform a similar task?
• How do successful apps present information to users?
• How can you build on what works and make it unique?
• What value does your app bring to your audience?

5. Know the iPhone/iPod Touch UI

If you want to create an iPhone app, you need to understand the capabilities of the iPhone and its interface. Can you shoot a .45 caliber bullet out of your iPhone? No. Can you shoot videos? Yes!

The good news is that you don’t have to memorize the encyclopedic Apple User Interface Guidelines to get a feel for what works and what doesn’t in iPhone Apps. Download and play with as many apps as you can, and think about what functionality you want to include in your product.

Take note of:

• How do well-designed apps navigate from screen to screen?
• How do they organize information?
• How MUCH information do they present to the user?
• How do they take advantage of the iPhone’s unique characteristics: the accelerometer, swiping features, pinch, expand and rotate functions?

Action: Download the Top 10 apps in every category and play with all of them. Review the Apple Guidelines for UI design and list at least 5 features you’d like to incorporate into your app.

6. Determine "Who will use your app?"

We assume here that you’ve already determined that your app will bring value and that you will have a raging audience for your app. Well, fine, they are raging fans, but who are they really? What actions will they take to achieve their goals within the app?

If it’s a game, maybe they want to beat their high score. Or perhaps they are a first time player – how will their experience differ from someone who is getting a nice case of brain-rot playing your game all day?

If it’s a utility app, and your audience wants to find a coffee shop quickly, what actions will they take within the app to find that coffee shop? Where are they when they’re looking for coffee? Usually in the car! Do present an interface that requires multiple taps, reading and referencing a lot? Probably not! This is how thinking about how real-life intersects design.

Action: Line item out the different types of people who will use your app. You can even name them if you want to make the scenarios you draw out as real as possible.

7. Sketch Out Your Idea

And by "sketch" I mean literally sketch. Line out a 9-rectangle grid on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and get to sketching!

Ask yourself:

• What information does each screen need to present?
• How can we take the user from point A to point B to point C?
• How should elements on the screen be proportioned or sized in relation to each other (i.e. is this thing even tap-able?)

Thumbnailing your ideas on paper can push your creativity far beyond where your imagination might stagnate working in an sketching application! You can also buy the iPhone Stencil Kit to quickly sketch out iPhone UI prototypes on paper.

Action: Create at least one thumbnail page of your application per screen. Experiment with various navigational schemes, the text you put on buttons, and how screens connect. If you want to transfer your sketches into digital format, iPlotz is a good tool to check out.

8. Time for Design

If you are a designer, download the iPhone GUI Photoshop template or iPhone PSD Vector Kit. Both are collections of iPhone GUI elements that will save you a lot of time in getting started. If you’ve solidified your layout during sketching, drawing up the screens will be less of a layout exercise and more about the actual design of the app.

If you are not a designer, hire one! It’s like hiring an electrician to do electrical work. You can go to Home Depot and buy tools to try it yourself, but who wants to risk getting zapped? If you’ve followed steps 1–3, you’ll have everything you need for a designer to get started.

When looking for a designer, try to find someone who has experience designing for mobile devices. They may have some good feedback and suggested improvements for your sketches. A few places to look for designers: Coroflot, Crowdspring, eLance. When posting your job offer, be very specific about your requirements, and also be ready to review a lot of portfolios.

Action: If you are a designer, get started in Photoshop. If you are not a designer, start interviewing designers for your job.

9. Programming

Even though this how-to is sequential, it’s a good idea to get a developer on board at the same time when you line up design resources. Talking with a developer sooner than later will help you scope out a project that is technically feasible and within your budget.

If you are a Objective C/Cocoa developer crack, open Xcode and get started! A few forums to join if you haven’t already:

• Apple Dev Forum
• iPhoneSDK (moderated by Erica Sadun)
• iPhoneSDKForum
• iPhoneDev Forums
• iPhoneSB

If you are not a developer, you know what to do – find one! Specify the type of app you want to produce – whether it is a game, utility or anything else. Each type usually requires a different coding skill set. A few places to look for developers: Odesk, iPhoneFreelancer, eLance and any of the forums listed above.

10. Submit your application to Apple Store

OK, so how do you submit your application to Apple Store now? The process of compiling your application and publishing the binary for iTunes Connect can be difficult for anyone unfamiliar with XCode. If you are working with a developer, ask them to help you:

• Create your Certificates
• Define your App ID’s
• Create your Distribution Provisioning Profile
• Compile the application
• Upload to iTunes Connect

Action: If you are a developer, map out a development timeline and get started. If you are not a developer, start interviewing devs for your job.

11. Promote Your App

If a tree falls in the middle of the woods and nobody was around to hear it does it make a sound? Apps can sit in the store unnoticed very easily. Don’t let this happen to you. Be ready with a plan to market your app. In fact, be ready with many plans to market your app. Be ready to experiment, some ideas will work, others won’t.

Strategies for maintaining/boosting app sales:

• Incorporating social media. If your users make the high score on his or her favorite game, it is a good idea to make it easy for the user to post it to Facebook or Twitter. Think about how your app can incorporate social media and build that functionality into your app. At a minimum, set up a fan page for your app on Facebook and Twitter and use them as platforms to communicate with your users and get feedback on your app.
• Pre-launch promotion. Start building buzz about your app before it has launched. E-mail people who write about things that relate to your app and see if they will talk up the upcoming release of your app.
• Plan for multiple releases. Don’t pack your app with every single feature you want to offer in the very first release. Make your dream list for the app and make sure that the app is designed to incorporate all of the features at some time in the future. Then periodically drop new versions of the app to boost app store sales.

Action: Make a list of 20 promotional strategies that target the audience for your app. Take action on them yourself or hire someone who can!

11. Stay Focused and Don’t Give Up!

It’s easy when you are working on your first app to get all AppHappy, dreaming up a zillion new app-ideas. Dream, but don’t get sidetracked by new ideas. Your first app needs to make a big splash and getting involved in too many projects at once can dilute your passion for making your first application a success.

Action: Get out there and go kick some app!

#iPhone TV: Top #iPhone #Apps for Live Streaming Television

Earlier this year, Apple submitted a spec to the IETF for live streaming multimedia content over HTTP, leading some to suspect that a live video protocol would soon be making its way to iPhone and iPod devices. With the new 3.0 version of the iPhone OS, that HTTP live streaming protocol became a reality, and while there were already a handful of live video apps on the iPhone, they’re presumably now a lot better.

This list is a round up of some of the live TV options available on the iPhone. Most of these apps work best over wifi (and a few won’t work at all over 3G), and generally live streaming is a big drain on battery life. Still, being able to catch up with live television or out-of-market broadcasts when you’re not near your TV is a great option for iPhone owners to have.

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Entertainment

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netTV (Free/$2.99)

Available in both free and paid options, netTV offers live streaming access to over 200 channels from around the world, including a larger-than-usual number of channels from the US. The quality is generally pretty good, though I did experience some issues when first connecting to a channel, and of course it varies from channel to channel (depending on the source of the video stream).

TVUPlayer (Free/$4.99)

TVUPlayer plays live TV for over 300 channels, though only a handful of channels broadcast at the right bandwidth to play well. Some of the video feeds come in choppy or with audio syncing issues (I actually couldn’t get audio to work at all), a result of the iPhone’s hardware limitations according to the developers. Still, the app offers an impressive line up of live international television channels, even if many of them are strange.

WorldView Live ($2.99)

WorldView Live isn’t exactly TV, but it is live streaming video. The app provides access to thousands of live web cams from around the world. Only a handful (about 60, according to the developer) are actually live video, but the app does offer an interesting, if voyeuristic, view of the world for armchair travelers.

BONUS: Television ($2.99)

The $2.99 Television application isn’t live TV, but it offers access to an impressive line up of television video catch-up services. The app, which only works over wifi, lets users watch on-demand video from HBO, ESPN, NBC, FOX, CBS, Comedy Central, CNN, Sky and more.

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News

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FRANCE 24 LIVE (Free)

The live application from France’s channel 24 news offers live, video-on-demand streaming from the network in French, English, and Arabic over wifi, 3G, and even Edge! Of course, the video will be pretty choppy and low quality over Edge, but it’s unique among live video applications for even offering that option at all.

Al Jazeera English Live ($2.99)

Al Jazeera’s iPhone app, from Livestation (), has 24/7 live streaming of its English-language news channel over wifi and 3G. The quality is very impressive and the app is under active development — so bugs don’t stay unsquashed for very long. If you are streaming over 3G, though, be aware that every 10 minutes you watch takes about 7.2mb of bandwidth, which is important to know if you’re not on an unlimited data plan.

BBC World News Live (€3.99)

Livestation offers a live streaming video app for BBC World News, as well, but the €3.99 application is only available in the UK (so I wasn’t able to try it out).

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Sports

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MLB.com At Bat 2009 ($9.99)

Major League Baseball’s MLB.com At Bat 2009 application may be pricey at $9.99, but it’s well worth it for die-hard fans that want to keep up with their team or out-of-market teams on the road. The app offers live audio broadcasts of every game to all owners of the app, and two games are offered over live video each night. For MLB.tv subscribers, however, every game can be watched live via the iPhone app (excepting those blacked out due to local market restrictions). The quality of the video streamed by the app is very impressive, especially over wifi.

PGA Championship ($1.99)

The last of the pro golf tour’s yearly majors, the PGA Championship, is next week at Hazeltine National Golf Club and the Professional Golf Association is making sure everyone can watch the tournament no matter where they are. The app gives users access to live video streams of four marquee groups (think big name players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, and Padraig Harrington) on Thursday and Friday, and two more groups on the weekend. You can also watch the entire field play through the course’s par 3 holes during the whole tournament.

This is actually the third live video app the PGA has put out this year. They also had iPhone apps for tracking the Masters tournament and the US Open, and in March, CBS put out a March Madness application with live video of the year-end NCAA college basketball tournament. We’d expect both organizations to do the same in 2010.

TV 2 Sporten (Free)

If you like Norwegian football, then the free TV 2 Sporten app is for you. Jam-packed with live news and score updates, the app also has a live video section with goals and other game highlights. Of course, it will all make a lot more sense if you speak Norwegian.

#IPHONE TOOLBOX: 75+ #iPhone Resources

Well, I’m sure you’ve all heard of all the iPhone by now, undoubtedly one of the most hyped tech products of the last year. Never have we seen so many applications, resources, hacks, and so much news coverage for one little device. This list is a valiant attempt at bringing together the best of the “iPhone web.”

 

iPhone Apps

Apple hasn’t yet released an iPhone SDK (software development kit) to developers, instead, they’ve opted to promote the use of the device’s full-featured Safari browser, and have encouraged web developers to develop web apps specifically for the iPhone.

iPhoneChat- iChat-like AIM chat application.

OneTrip- Simple shopping-list application.

FlickIM- Multi-featured AIM chat application.

Digg (iPhone edition)-Digg.com formatted for the iPhone.

Gcalc- Calculates the cost of tech according to power consumption.

Hahlo - iPhone-styled interface for Twitter.

iPhlickr- iPhone-styled Flickr interface.

iDelicious- Styled interface for del.icio.us.

iPicli- A nicely designed gallery of creative content, managed by users.

PocketTweets- Another twitter app, with a minimal interface.

eBuddy- Feature-packed iPhone chat client with support for AIM, Yahoo!, and MSN (Site works only if visited on your iPhone).

Cool Gorilla Talking Phrasebook- Foreign language phrase-book with audio.

Texterity- Innovative way to view magazines (specifically formatted for the iPhone).

Bejeweled- Version of the popular mobile-phone game, “Bejeweled” optimized for the iPhone.

Newsgator Mobile for iPhone- Full-featured, mobile version of Newsgator’s online offering. Great for users of the MacRSS client, NetNewsWire, which automatically syncs to the service.

Twitter for iPhone Yet another twitter app.

Dailymotion for iPhone- Youtube’s already built-in, what about the other video-sites? Another video-sharing site, Dailymotion, is offering an iPhone formatted version of their site.

iRovr- A social-network exclusive to the iPhone.

iPhoneiGTD- App for access of projects being tracked via the Mac client iGTD. The only catch is that your iGTD data needs to be synced with .Mac in the first place.

TeleMoose- A front-end for Amazon.com optimized for the iPhone.

Google Reader - An interface for popular web-based RSS reader, Google Reader, nicely optimized for the iPhone.

iZoho- An iPhone front-end for the web-based office suite Zoho. The iPhone version lets you do everything you might do on your computer, including viewing and editing docs, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Gas.app- Enter your zip code and this app will find you the cheapest gas in town (USA only).

MyMetar- A “weather bookmarking service” which allows you to bookmark your local METARs, TAFs, and radar images.

iPhoneTravel- Searches directory travel.ian.com just in case you need to book flights, hotels, and cruises from your iPhone.

iBookmark- Lets you manage and sync del.ico.us bookmarks with your iPhone.

Youtube - An iPhone-optimized Youtube browser, just in case the “desktop” version isn’t working for you.

GoMovies- An easy and quick way to search for movie showtimes and other movie-related info right from your iPhone.

iChess- Bored? Cure your chess craving with iChess, a simple, chess app for your iPhone.

Leaflets- A suite of iPhone apps: Search, Feeds, Newsvine, App-List, Upcoming, Flickr, del.icio.us, and Le Tour de France, organized in a desktop-like fashion.

Listingly- A list making application with a great UI. Integrated word recognition and the ability to print lists make this an indispensable resource, especially for making shopping lists on the go.

iPling- A “social expansion engine” allows you to findothers with similar interests. The app even provides a way for users to meet up in real-life after the anonymous exchange of text-messages.

NYTimes River- Cuts out the clutter on the NYTimes website, just delivering the news in an easily readable format.

CheapMF- Out shopping? Not sure about prices? CheapMF can help. It’s a utility that searches Amazon.com for prices on specified products in order to help you make educated shopping decisions.

iTouch- A simple, addictive game which tests your reflexes, just touch some dots on the screen.

Avalanche- An addictive puzzle game in which the goal is to clear the screen of blocks by picking three or more inter-connected blocks of the same color.

Expense View- Allows you to import your spending data into your iPhone on-the-go.You can then access your data at home and see exactly how you’ve been spending your money. It’s even equipped with graphs and categories for the organized spender.

iPhone recipes- Cooking resource 101 Cookbooks has assembled an iPhone interface for searching through recipes.

iActu- Newsstand like interface for reading news headlines from various Newspapers.

iTweet- The third twitter app on this list, with an intuitive, streamlined interface.

Ta-da List 37signals, simple, intuitive to-do list app.

Movies Another app for looking up movie showtimes and other related info on your iPhone.

iTipr- Excellent application for calculating appropriate tip amounts.

Seeqpod- Search for playable music on the internet and then play it back on your iPhone.
Beejive- Another chat application, Beejive, is a solid contender in the iPhone chat app market. The app supports several chat protocols including, AIM, MSN, Yahoo!, Gtalk, ICQ, and Jabber. While everything seems to be in working order for me, please note the app’s still in it’s early alpha development stage.

TestiPhone- Web-based simulator for quickly testing your iPhone applications.

JiWire- A utility to find free Wi-Fi hotspots by location, worldwide.

FastApp- An iPhone “dashboard” that displays the latest additions to iPhoneApplicationList.com

WordBreaker- A word-game in which you you attempt to guess your computer’s secret word before it guesses yours, in a hangman-like logic format.

Airport Delay Tracker- Track live air traffic information.

iBloglines- Another iPhone-optimized RSS reader, this one, with the Bloglines service.

Belfry SciCalc- A nicely implemented scientific calculator for the iPhone.

Your Vids- Another iPhone optimized video service with several features.

TV Forecast- A personalized TV-guide optimized for the iPhone.

iPhone Resources

Collections (App Lists, Wallpapers, Forums etc)

iPhone Application List- An ever-updating list of iPhone apps.

iPhone Widget List- Like iPhone Application List, but with even more apps.

sciphone.net- A constantly updated collection of the best iPhone wallpapers, including weekly themepack releases.

ThemeMyPhone- A community-centric resource for iPhone wallpapers.

ModMyiPhone.com- iPhone forum and community.

iPhone Application Gallery ~ AppSafari ~- An iPhone application gallery with ratings, reviews, and comments.

Blogs

iPhone Central- The guys from Macworld have put together a blog solely dedicated to the iPhone, with all the authority that goes with the Macworld name. They even have an iPhone version.

The iPhone Blog- A nicely put together iPhone blog.

ZDNet- iPhone- ZDNet’s iPhone coverage.

The Cult of Mac- The Cult of Mac blog covers the iPhone plenty.

CNet- iPhone- CNet’s coverage of the iPhone.

iPhone- Gizmodo Gizmodo’s iPhone coverage.

TUAW- iPhone TUAW’s iPhone coverage.

Ars Technica- Apple Ars Technica’s Apple coverage, plenty of iPhone coverage to be found.

Podcasts

iCali- Cali Lewis’ (from GeekBrief.tv) in her iPhone-centric podcast.

ApplePhone Show- A weekly audio podcast covering the iPhone, hosted by industry leaders Scott Bourne, Chris Breen and Andy Ihnatko.

MacBreak Weekly- The popular weekly Mac podcast with hosts Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann, Scott Bourne and Alex Lindsay is bound to cover the iPhone more than enough.

TWiT Another one of Leo Laporte’s successful tech podcasts, again, bound to even further inform you of the latest iPhone developments.

Hacks

Hack the iPhone- A comprehensive site containing all the info you need to hack your iPhone.

iPhone Hacks- An assembly of the latest iPhone hacks in blog form.

Applehound- Consistently updated listing of iPhone bugs, ready for hacking.

#Google Says Mobile App Stores Have No Future

Apple’s iPhone App Store may be a resounding success. But Google says app stores are a dead end.

Sour grapes? Maybe. It’s no coincidence that Google has placed its money on web-based applications, for its mobile Android operating system as well as its forthcoming Chrome OS.

Vic Gundotra, Google’s engineering vice president and developer evangelist, said on Friday at the Mobilebeat conference in San Francisco that the future of the mobile industry lies in web-based applications, rather than native software coded to run on specific smartphone operating systems.

“Many, many applications can be delivered through the browser and what that does for our costs is stunning,” Gundotra was quoted in a Financial Times report. “We believe the web has won and over the next several years, the browser, for economic reasons almost, will become the platform that matters and certainly that’s where Google is investing.”

Ever since Java emerged in the 1990s, the tech industry has debated whether software would shift from native programs sitting on a hard drive (like Microsoft Office) toward web-based applications accessible through a browser (like Google Docs). Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a cross-platform environment that many web-based applications use today, albeit “in the cloud” — on central servers — rather than in the browser. One big benefit of cloud-based, web-centric applications is that users can access the apps and their personal data from any computer using a browser.

However, while Google’s internet software suite is certainly popular, web-based apps are far from winning, said Michael Gartenberg, technology strategist of Interpret. He noted that Apple’s App Store, which serves 65,000 third-party apps and has attracted over 1.5 billion downloads and 100,000 developers, is a testament for strong consumer and developer interest in native applications.

“It’s odd that Google feels the need to position as one versus the other,” Gartenberg said. “That’s last century thinking.”

Gartenberg pointed out that many iPhone apps are native and web-based at the same time. That’s because a lot of the apps download or share data via the internet. And it’s beneficial for the apps to be native, because that way they’re programmed to specifically take advantage of the iPhone’s processor, graphic accelerator and other hardware features.

“It’s not about web applications or desktop applications but integrating the internet in the cloud into these applications that are on both my phone and the PC,” Gartenberg said. “Ultimately, it’s about offering the best of both worlds to create the best experience for consumers — not forcing them to choose one or the other.”

Gartenberg highlighted social networking service Twitter as an example. The Twitter service exists on the internet, and yet most users prefer reading their feeds and posting tweets with a native application rather than visiting Twitter.com in a browser, Gartenberg said.

Raven Zachary, an analyst and president of iPhone strategist firm Small Society, also disagreed with Google’s assessment. He said that the App Store makes it clear that native apps are proving a better experience for consumers. When Apple released the original iPhone in 2007, the company offered no software developer kit for the smartphone and told developers to make web-based apps. However, web-based apps proved unpopular among developers, and the iPhone didn’t explode in popularity until its App Store and the second-generation iPhone 3G launched in 2008.

“It’s pretty clear that native apps and on-phone distribution are by far the most efficient and compelling ways to have consumer apps,” Zachary said.

And speaking technically, Zachary pointed out that there will always be fundamental challenges with coding apps purely for the web: Not all hardware will be optimized to run the software. Different phones possess different screen resolutions, for example, meaning some apps would load better on certain phones than others. And other than that, a web-based app can’t take full advantage of a specific phone’s powers if it’s coded to work in a cross-platform environment.

Loren Brichter, developer of the popular iPhone Twitter application Tweetie, can vouch for the technical challenges lying ahead for web-based mobile programming. He said he’s been trying to code apps using the Palm Pre’s webOS software development kit, which involves programming in JavaScript and CSS.

“The Pre’s SDK is painful to work with because JavaScript is so clumsy,” Brichter said.

He added that web technology is not improving quickly enough to fulfill Google’s prophecy of web apps winning in the near future.

“The progress of web technologies is going so slow,” Brichter said. “With HTML5, they can’t even decide on a video format…. It’s just moving at a snail’s pace.”

What do you think about the future of mobile? Web apps winning? App stores surviving? Both native and web co-existing? Vote in the poll below.

new #iPhone 3.0 features

At WWDC, Apple revealed a few new details related to its iPhone 3.0 operating system update for existing iPhone and iPod touch users, including its release date set for June 17, 2009. Meanwhile, new information clarifies why U.S. wireless carrier AT&T has delayed support for tethering and MMS features of the software.

iPhone Software 3.0 will appear as a free download on June 17th for iPhone user, which is just two days before the iPhone 3G S goes on sale. iPod touch users will be able to obtain the update for $9.95.

Newly unveiled features

While many features in iPhone 3.0 were announced back in March, a few new ones have only been hinted at by developer leaks since then but were confirmed by Apple today, including:

• Purchase and rental of movies from iTunes, along with TV shows, music videos, audiobooks, and new access to free iTunes U content. The software also supports creating a new iTunes account directly from the device.


• Shake to shuffle in iTunes playback.


• New Parental Controls limiting the iPhone App Store software by a content rating, as well as ratings limitations on movies and TV shows.


• New features for MobileMe subscribers, including a web based interface to pinpoint the location of an iPhone on a map, send it a text message, have it play a sound in order to find it locally, and remote wipe the device to destroy all local data when the phone is lost or stolen.


• New Safari features, including autofill and the use of contact information to fill out forms, much faster JavaScript, and support for new HTML5 features.

New details about AT&T support for tethering, MMS

Apple also revealed that its US partner won't be supporting the tethering features it built into iPhone 3.0. The company tactfully describes the feature as "not currently offered in the US." Apple is clearly using its leverage in being able to attract mobile subscribers to push global mobile providers to support the feature, but AT&T has been unable to support it so far.

The company already allows tethering on other phones it sells when the user pays extra fees, but its network would face a significant hit were tethering opened up to iPhone users who are likely to use it extensively, given how easy Apple has made it. Even iPhones cracked to run on T-Mobile as an alternative provider won't be able to take advantage of tethering, as T-Mobile does not support 3G data service compatible with the iPhone.

MMS features, including the ability to send pictures, audio and video clips, contacts and location files as multimedia text files, are planned for support on AT&T's network "in late summer." Speaking in an interview, AT&T Executive Director Mark Siegel insisted that support for MMS was not related to the company's 3G network but said it was a secondary service.

Asked if support for tethering was tied to the same system upgrade, Siegel answered "Yes. But we don't have a date for when we will announce tethering, but it won't be at the end of the summer."

The interviewer also stated that Apple and AT&T had initially resisted support for MMS messaging as a protocol, calling it "ugly" and hoping to direct users to use free email instead.

The MMS service upgrade AT&T is rolling out to support the iPhone 3.0 software is part of a larger upgrade happening this year. Apple's website also notes that "MMS is not supported on first-generation iPhone. Sending video via MMS is not supported on iPhone 3G."

iPhone 3.0 features unique to iPhone 3G S

Meanwhile, some features of iPhone Software 3.0 rely upon or are enhanced by new hardware unique to the new iPhone 3G S. These include:

• Support for Voice Control, a new app for voice dialing or voice command of iTunes playback. Use of the app requires the new phone's faster processor.


• Support for new features in the improved new camera, including rapid shutter; low light; macro and autofocus; touch controls for automatic refocus, exposure and white balance settings; and higher resolution 3 Megapixel images.


• Support for video capture, including trim editing and MMS delivery of video clips and publishing to YouTube and MobileMe.


• Hardware encryption of all internal data. This makes remote wipe instantaneous because the system can blank the device without needing to scrub individual files using secure delete.


• Support for faster 7.2 Mbps HSDPA 3G data service where available for faster browsing and downloads.


• Electronic compass support for indicating the direction you are facing and orienting map display.


• Accessibility features including the Voice Over screen reader and triple tapping to zoom the display.


• Nike + iPod support for use with running shoe sensors and other gym equipment.

#iPhone Apps For Adults

The iPhone plays games, but it can help you manage your time and money, too

The geeks are at the gates, and they've brought their virtual light sabers. When it comes to nerdery, the legions who camped outside Apple's stores last month to buy the iPhone have nothing on the developers Apple let loose to write software for it. At least three applications turn the $199 iPhone 3g into a flashlight. Another, World 9, lets out a vintage Nintendo bleep every time you bump the phone. In less than 15 minutes you can load up the iPhone with enough junk to make esthete Steve Jobs lose his vegan lunch of brown rice and broccoli.

Apple sold an estimated 1 million 3G iPhones the weekend they went on sale, and in the ensuing few days people downloaded 10 million applications from its online App Store. To be sure, thousands of applications have been available for years for phones from Nokia, Palm and Research In Motion. But Apple makes discovering mobile innovations a lot easier. When you are done pretending you're Obi-Wan Kenobi, you can also find a growing roster of applications for adults: stuff that can help manage your time and money.

Evernote is a stripped-down and easy-to-use jotter app. It collects your text notes, snapshots and audio reminders and synchs them up with an online service that makes them accessible from any PC with Web access. The free application is ideal for putting all those to-dos in one place if you're too disorganized to get organized.

The iPhone 3G certainly helps you save time--maybe enough to master a pretty slick organizing app called OmniFocus. The software is the most full-featured and, at $20, perhaps the most expensive tool for concocting to-do lists on your iPhone. Its developer, Omni Group, was inspired by David Allen's sophisticated "Getting Things Done" system, which has legions of rabid fans. OmniFocus ties to-dos to the iPhone 3G's new link to the Global Positioning System, so that reminders to get fresh milk come with directions to a nearby grocer.

While you're at it, put saving money on your to-do list. A free program called Save Benjis lets a window-shopper enter a product name or the number displayed underneath its bar code to find out what's being charged by online outlets. It's subversively practical.

If you'd rather borrow than buy, a $6 program called Circulator will help you track what you've loaned to or borrowed from friends and will tap into your contacts list to send a reminder to get it back or return it.

The most useful money application is PayPal. The stripped-down version of this online service lets users send money from a PayPal account to anyone with an e-mail address, making it easy to pay back a friend for picking up the lunch tab or to zap a few bucks to a neighbor to cover a yard sale purchase.

Bank of America's application, by contrast, does a lot--balances, transfers and paying bills--but that's not what you need when you're standing on the corner. Its most practical feature is an ATM finder, so you can do all that other stuff and get folding money.

One great iPhone app that doesn't get in the way of itself is Apple's own Remote, which puts your iPhone or iPod Touch in control of the iTunes music collection on your laptop or the movies on your Apple TV. Just tap the icon on your phone and the free application will search for a machine with a Wi-Fi connection. Punch a code from the application into your laptop or AppleTV, sit back and cue the music.

This app is for advanced intermediate users only, but if you're patient, MOCHA VNC Lite can turn your iPhone into a tool for using your desktop computer no matter where you go. To do that you'll need to load the free application onto your iPhone and install so-called virtual network computing software such as RealVNC, for Windows users, on your PC. Then, with a little fiddling, chiefly punching your Internet Protocol address into the VNC Lite software on your phone, you'll be able to edit and send a document on your desktop to your boss while catching the ball game across town.

Top 6 iPhone 3.0 Apps to Watch

Video Capture and Upload Coming to #iPhone #Twitter Apps