Archive for the ‘iPhone’ Category

Posted on February 2, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Breaking: New iPhone app @SquarePik allows pictures and video uploads to @FourSquare

I just wanted to use the word “breaking” in a blog post, it sounds exciting right? Sorry about that. Either way the big news is there’s a new iPhone app on the way that will allow you to upload photos and videos to FourSquare. How you ask? Well, the iPhone app called SquarePik. SquarePik is created by Florida based startups Thirtynine and Pikchur and uses FourSquare API to post. The way the iPhone app works is a very simple. You login with your FourSquare email address or phone number. After signing in you’ll see list of recent FourSquare activity from your friends. There’s a places button that will use FourSquare’s API to find locations nearby. After you select a location, then you click the icon to upload media which can be either existing media or taken on the spot. Next SquarePik will check you into the location and post links to the uploaded media inside of FourSquare and send links to your social profiles such as Twitter & Facebook status updates if you have those options enabled in your FourSquare settings.

Why is SquarePik important? Well in the very competitive location based app market, apps such as Whrrl, Brightkite, TriOut and Yelp provides a way for users to upload a pictures but Foursquare has yet to implement such features. Now with SquarePik not only does it allow Foursquare users to send media to there networks but if FourSquare was thinking about adding media uploads, SquarePik has developed the app to show them how. Note there are a few more features to SquarePik but I’ll let you find them out once the app is released. I don’t have a release date for the app but be sure to follow @Squarepik on Twitter for updates and a big thanks/congrats to Davide Di Cillo @DavideDiCillo of Thirtynine along with Pikchur team for allowing me to test the app.

The Pitch:
SquarePik is an easy way to add photos and videos to your foursquare check-ins. It will also show you all photos and videos that were dropped at a venue.
URL: http://squarepik.com
Twitter: @SquarePik
SquarePik is a joint venture between Pikchur Inc. and 39llc.

Would you use this app?

Posted on January 27, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Breaking news: first pictures of the Apple iPad aka the Apple Tablet

Ok, really not breaking, but here are some photos of Apple’s iPad.

What do you think? Win or Fail?

Are you going to buy an iPad?

Posted on January 27, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

17 sites for Real Time Apple Tablet Coverage #TDay

So today is the big day, Apple “fanboys” and “fanladies” are all hyped up about the announcement of the Apple Tablet, we hope!.  If you’re like me then at 1:00 P.M. EST you will be glued to a computer screen either refreshing a page for real-time updates or searching tweets. I’m still waiting for the day when Apple will start to live video stream their events but until then we’re stuck with micro updates from the lucky individuals with press badges who are able to  attend the event. While some of you will rely on Tweets and various sources for up to the minute coverage, here’s my list of links for Live Apple Tablet Coverage.

1. MacDailyNews: http://www.macdailynews.com/100127_special_event.html
2. Gizmodo: http://i.gizmodo.com/5457641/apple-tablet-event-liveblog-+-january-27?skyline=true&s=i
3. Slashgear: http://live.slashgear.com/
4. Mashable: http://mashable.com/2010/01/26/apple-tablet-all-the-rumors-in-one-place/
5. Engadget: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/27/live-from-the-apple-tablet-latest-creation-event/
6. iSmashPhone: http://www.ismashphone.com/2010/01/apple-event-live-blog-wednesday-10-am-pst-save-the-date.html
7. The Apple Blog: http://theappleblog.com/2010/01/26/live-coverage-of-apples-january-27-media-event/
8. Wired: http://www.liewcf.com/archives/2010/01/live-coverage-apple-latest-creation/
9. MacWorld: http://www.macworld.com/article/145805/2010/01/apple_event.html
10. AppleInsider: http://live.appleinsider.com/
11. Technologizer: http://technologizer.com/appletablet/
12. MacRumors: http://www.macrumorslive.com
13. Macnn: http://live.macnn.com/
14. Ars technica: http://live.macnn.com/
15. ZDNet: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Burnette/?p=1626
16. Gearlog: http://www.gearlog.com/2010/01/live_blog_apple_january_27_announcement.php
17. Gdgt: http://live.gdgt.com/2010/01/27/live-apple-come-see-our-latest-creation-tablet-event-coverage/
18. Crunchgear: http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/01/27/crunchgear-live-at-the-apple-event-listen-read-and-watch-as-it-happens/

Also see: 7 Sites to Watch Live Coverage of Apple’s “Latest Creation” Event

Also you can join the conversation about the Apple Tablet on Hot Potato on the  ”come see our latest creation” channel  here: http://hotpotato.com/events/apple-media-event-4dG4Co

If you have a site that is not listed, let me know in the comments. Thanks and Happy #TDay

Update 1: now 18

Posted on January 2, 2010 - by Wayne Sutton

Looking for iPhone news? There are plenty of blogs for that. iPhonesinRTP.com is no more.

Back in June of 2007 I had this grand idea of launching an iPhone blog called iPhonesinRTP.com. The RTP part was for Research Triangle Park, NC. Meaning the blog was going to be about iPhone users and apps from the area, along with general iPhone and iPhone app news. Since the launched of the iPhone I have published over 255 post and have covered various local Apple events such the original iPhone launch in 2007, along with the iPhone 3Gs launch in 2009. Other blog entries included featuring iPhone wallpapers, tips and iPhone app video reviews.

For the readers of iPhonesinRTP.com I want to say thank you for your support but do to other projects, working at Twine Interactive and launching TriOut with @LawPower my time is very limited. Plus there’s tons of iPhone blogs and it seems like everyone is talking about the app store and covering niche apps on most gadget blogs. I’ll still cover iPhone news and apps here on SocialWayne.com from time to time and will redirect the iPhonesinRTP.com url to this post.

If you would like for me to review your iPhone app please email: pitches at socialwayne dot com .

2007 1st Generation iPhone launch at the Apple Store Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh, NC

2009 iPhone 3G S launch at the Apple Store Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh, NC

Binary Game for the iPhone screencast video review

Posted on November 3, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Brands gone mobile: Walmart, Geico and Gucci, new in the app store

Tonight while looking in the Apple itunes app store under the new section I noticed a few apps that I haven’t read about being released in the app store yet. Those apps are: Walmart, Geico and Gucci.

While I didn’t buy none of the apps, as if I did you would see a better screenshot below, I did find it interesting and just a sign of the times as we become more mobile, that we’ll see major brands move to the app store. Especially with the recent news from Ebay and Open Table about the success of their iPhone apps.

My question is, what took them so long? :)

PS: This is my first blog post using the new WordPress 2.0 app for the iPhone. I wanted to test it out too.

What are some other major brands you have seen in the app store and what are some you wish you would see that are not there yet?

Posted on October 10, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Top 7 iPhone apps for editing photos on the go

Yesterday, Twitter, the blogs and iPhone users rejoiced and me personally was surprised by seeing Adobe release a Free Photoshop app for the iPhone.

The app is called Photoshop.com Mobile. I immediately downloaded the app but haven’t had a chance to really use it yet. I think it’s a good move by Adobe to release the app especially since the iPhone leads flickr as the #1 source of mobile uploads. Either way here are my top seven iPhone apps for editing photos.

1. Colorsplash

2. Sketches

3. SnapBox

4. Camerbag

5. Best Camera

6. Photogene

7. Photoshop.com Mobile

What app do you use to edit photos on your iPhone?

– Posted from my iPhone

Posted on September 28, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

20 news, sports & technology iPhone apps to keep you updated with the rest of the world

Let’s face it, if you’re like me you have very little time to watch TV, sports and to keep up with the latest technology trends on the social web, except for those times when you unplug and enjoy your favorite team on TV. But what about the rest of your busy life? Well if you’re an iPhone owner you know there’s an app for just about anything. So here are my top 20 iPhone apps to keep you updated with local / national news, sports and technology.

For news from the blogosphere:
Regator

my6sense

Technology news:
Tech Fuse

AllThingsD

App Gems

Notifications (must configure your feeds)

Apple Mac News:
Mac Daily News:

Breaking news:
BNO News

Huffington Post

Local News (for me in Raleigh, NC)

Main stream media news:
AP Mobile

NYTimes

TIME Mobile

NPR News

USA Today

Community News apps:
Fluent News

MeeHive

Reddit

Sports News and scores:
Sportacular

SportsTap

These are my 20 news, sports and technology apps:

What apps do you use or suggest I use to stay current with the rest of the world?

– Posted from my iPhone

Posted on September 3, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Location based iPhone app mini review; Brightkite vs Foursquare vs Whrrl & what’s next?

For those of you who follow me on Twitter know what I’m a huge Brightkite fan. I’ve been using the service since it launched and was in private beta. I’m not sure what came next Whrrl or Loopt but when they were launched I decided to give them a try also but neither stuck with me like Brightkite as I found Loopt to be very “spammy” by sending out unwanted messages to my contacts and Whrrl web and mobile app user interface wasn’t as easy to navigate or understand as Brighkite at the time. This was around mid year 2008. Since then a lot has changed for Loopt and Whrrl as for usability and functions but Brightkite seems to have stayed with their core features and design.

New to the location based iPhone app scene is foursquare, which was launched in March of this year during SXSW. Foursquare which seem to be a dodgeball.com spin-off focuses on “ways to explore a city.” allowing “checkins” to various locations in which the more you check-in, the more badges you’re able to unlock. Foursquare is limited to major US cities at the moment but last week I was able to travel to NY and have the opportunity to “play” foursquare. Just like other location based apps foursquare is a social network and has both Twitter and Facebook integration. Unlike brightkite or Whrrl foursquare allows only text based updates and where the other two allow you to post photos. Either way, foursquare seems to have caught the attention of geeks early adopter world, but why? A few things foursquare does over the other location based apps that make users stick is the game mentality of the service. The more you check-in at various locations the more badges you unlock. Foursquare also awards it users by giving them “mayor” badges at locations they visit more frequently than others. Another game like feature is the city leaderboard that’s updated by the day to show the person with the most check-ins.

As with all location based apps there’s always the security concern as sharing to much information. Something I found out while hanging with Brett Petersel in NY is that if you’re friends with someone then you can send them a direct SMS text message from the app allowing users to see your mobile number. We think you have to be friends for that to happen if not that’s a major security flaw.

Still while in NY I used contintued to use Brightkite to check-in add new friends and post photos as it’s still my favorite location based service. A few features that brightkite has over foursquare is the ability to upload photos and have them post to flickr and Facebook. Brightkite’s focus is to have conversations around a location.

As for Whrrl, I used it a couple times at during my NYC trip but between trying to check-in with foursquare and brightkite I often didn’t check-in as I think about using Whrrl more at conferences and events vs random day to day check-ins but I’m continue to evaluate my usage of the service. Whrrl also has done a great job of listening to it users about usability and features. The Whrrl iPhone app version 2.0 and website are a vast improvement over the service initial launch.

When it comes to Loopt, I haven’t used the service enough to really evaluate it and I’m not sure if I ever will. (sorry guys).

Here’s an excerpt from a blog post that Kipp Bodnar and I co-wrote for Louis Gray about the business impact of using brightkite but it also apples to other location based services.

Business Impact of using location based apps

As more businesses are using social media to reach new customers or engage with existing ones online, the business impact of using location-based services can be huge for companies looking to reach targeted local users. We’re already seeing companies using twitter for coupons or promotions and that’s great but what if you wanted to reach people who you knew that visited your company previously or worked near by. With Brightkite you can easily do location based advertising by the block, or city and go beyond advertising to understand the real-word referrers that normally send people to your business.

What’s next?
As for what’s next in the location based apps battle, my guess is augmented reality. Already I’ve seen a brightkite augmented reality mashup and the upgraded yelp iPhone app has augmented reality built-in too. My guess we’ll see other web based apps start to use location based services for marking and building niche communities by location. The question is will they partner with an existing service like Brightkite, Whrrl and foursquare.. only time will tell. Also I think we’ll start seeing the ability to upload video to both Brightkite and Whrrl from the iPhone (I hope).

By the way, no I didn’t go to NY just to play foursqare :)

What is your favorite iPhone location based app and how do you use it?

Posted on July 27, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

3 apps for easy iPhone mobile blogging

If you have noticed the text “Post From My iPhone” on a few of my post recently is because I have been using the BlogPress iPhone app to post with. BlogPress was one of the first iPhone blogging apps along with iBlogger, iWriter and soon afterwards came the WordPress iPhone app. Almost all four blogging iPhone apps support multiple blogging platforms such as blogger, Wordpress, Typepad, Drupal and more.

My favorite is the Wordpress app but it doesn’t always work with self-hosted Wordpress blogs do to some XML-RPC error therefor I use the BlogPress app for mobile blogging. BlogPress may be my second favorite app but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking features. As a matter of fact it has some features that the WordPress iPhone doesn’t such as image resizing but according to WordPress founder Matt Mullenweg a new better version of Wordpress for the iPhone is on the way soon after the release of the iPhone 3.0 OS.

In terms of mobile blogging with the iPhone it’s simple, select
a photo, type and post. My only disappointment so far is the lack of support for posting vidoes from within any of the blogging apps since the release of iPhone 3Gs. I see more apps making it easy to send video to Facebook and Twitter than I do to allow users to post video to your blog. But I hope that changes soon.

Either way if your good with your thumbs on your iPhone and don’t always have the time to blog from your computer, I suggest give WordPress, BlogPress or iBlogger a try.

What is your favorite iPhone blogging app?

– Post From My iPhone

Posted on July 15, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Google voice on the iPhone. Yes, there’s an app for that.

Earlier today I posted a rant about Google apps not being available for the iPhone after Google’s announcement of Google Voice for Android and Blackberry phones. I want to thanks to Josh Hofer for leaving a few comments and he stated that it could be Apple’s fault due to the app store approval process and Apple sticky iPhone rules for apps. After the post I did a little digging and Google provided a button to link to iTunes for an app and says or search for Google Voice. That page is no longer there but I did go to the app store and search for Google Voice and found two apps that will almost do everything the Google app for Android and Blackberry does.

The two apps are Voice Central and GV Mobile. Both apps cost $2.99 and after reading each app description I purchased the GV Mobile app and I’m very satisfied with it so far. GV Mobile allows me to send SMS with callers and read my transcribed voice messages.

Still, although these apps will satisfy my temporary anticipation for Google to release a native app version of Google Voice, as I posted earlier there’s no solution for Google latitude and Gmail push to be found in the app store.

We’re waiting …

:(

– Post From My iPhone

Posted on July 15, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

Why is Google making iPhone users feel left out?

Well, another day, another Google announcement. Last week it was all about the Chrome OS and yesterday it was Google calendar labs along with Google Task. Today Google announces Google Voice Apps for Android and Blackberry.

I’m not surprised by any of the moves that Google have been making lately but not having a few well desired apps for the iPhone already released is kinda starting to bother me. By the way, I thought Google had a partnership with Apple and not RIM/Blackberry anyway. So why the rant? Let’s take a look at three native apps or features I’m waiting in Google to release for the iPhone that should be out already.

1. Google Latitude

I’ve blogged about this before, there are so many ways Google can have Latitude working on the iPhone it’s just crazy that it’s not available already.

2. Native Gmail app with push notification

Oh yeah, the web based version of Gmail on the iPhone us sweet. But if you’re on a 1st or 2nd generation iPhone over 3G the web app is probably not what you want to use for sending and receiving email. I only use the web based Gmail app for searching old emails.

3. Google Voice

I guess with the announcement of the Google voice app it just put me on the edge because I can access the Google Voice web interface on my iPhone where I can read transcribed voice messages. Also I can click on voice messages and play the recorded file via the iPhone’s multimedia player. But would I use a native Google Voice app on my iPhone? You bet!

I guess what bothers me the most is that Google has the time, the money, the developers to make and release these apps for the iPhone but they have yet to see the light of day. It makes perfect sense for Google to have these apps for Android but to have these apps for Blackberry and not the iPhone, I’m feeling left out. :(

This was a rant post by Wayne Sutton, thanks for reading. I feel better now.

– Post From My iPhone

Posted on July 14, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

4 iPhone apps to push video to Twitter

Today Apple made the announcement that the app store downloads have top 1.5 billion in the first year. Needless to say I’m not sure how many of those billion downloads where twitter apps but it seems the app store can’t get enough of them. First we had regular send a tweet apps, then tweet upload a photo, change my location apps and now we have push notification Twitter apps. It seems the latest Twitter app store trend since the launch of the iPhone 3Gs are Twitter video apps.

Twitter video apps are apps that allow you to record or upload existing iPhone 3Gs video and send a tweet for your followers to watch the video. Some of the Twitter video apps have their own social network and even allow you to send the video to YouTube, myspace or FaceBook. Take a look at four of the apps below.

1. TwitVid

2. Video Tweets

3. Tweet Media

4. Tweet Reel

Twitter video apps seems to have taken off lately but will they stick? Six months or a year from now will the sites become mini video social networks, will they still be up and running and how are the users using the videos they create along with their existing web presence, mainly their blog?

Either way, I’m still waiting for the 12Seconds.TV iPhone app to be updated, making another iPhone app to allow video publishing. I’m sure with the success of the iPhone 3Gs and Twitter we’ll see more push videos to Twitter apps in the app store soon.

Are you using one of the apps
above to send video to Twitter? If not what app are you using and do you think it’s a good idea?

– Post From My iPhone

Posted on July 9, 2009 - by Wayne Sutton

99 problems with the iPhone but the battery ain’t one with these six attachments

There have been a few post recently about the disappointment with the battery life of the new iPhone 3Gs. I guess the upgrade Apple made wasn’t satisfying and people are still having to regularly charge their iPhone daily. But don’t worry if keeping your iPhone charged for a full day is your problem then take a look at one of the options below.

Incase battery back.

Mophie iPhone juice pack

Richard Solo battery

FuelTank battery

Thanks for the fueltank tip James Wong @communitymgr on Twitter

Kingston Kensington

IV from fastmac

There you have it folks a few battery options to keep your iPhone charged. As for the 99 problems, to me I think there’s only about three or four problems with the iPhone 3Gs now. A missing front face camera, Safari flash support, background applications and the AT&T exclusiveness.

As an iPhone power user, I have the incase iPhone extended battery. Do you have an extended iPhone battery? If so what brand and model.

– Post From My iPhone