There you see it, folks, a real live native iPhone app that provides turn-by-turn GPS directions with voice prompts, points of interest, support for multiple countries, maps stored in-memory instead of streamed from the internet, the whole nine yards.
Working off a tip/reminder from antonioj (thanks!), I scurried off to the TeleAtlas booth at the close day here at MWC to visit Sygic, a company that makes (you guessed it) downloadable GPS apps for smartphones and PDAs. They had promised a demo of their iPhone app at MWC09 and, well, they delivered.
Read on for more!
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What’s that? iPhone news at MWC09? It’s true. I just got back from a meeting with DocsToGo and they showed off an early version of their app. So far Word document editing is a go, Spreadsheet editing is definitely in the plan but not quite up and running yet. They’re tossing in document viewing for both plus PDFs as well — which means you can have all of your documents in one spot.
Read on to find out how it all works, where the iPhone kinks are (since Apple limits what developers can do easily), and how we’re loving their implementation of (in-app) Cut and Paste!
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We know the score. Apple now holds a veritable smorgasbord of multi-touch patents, some dating way back before the iPhone, and some coming from their 2005 acquisition of a company called Fingerworks, and the innovative talents of Wayne Westerman and John Elias. But from whence did they draw their inspiration? MacRumors pulls the relevant quote from a University of Delware article:
“I had an ergonomic problem and I paired it with a motivation,” Westerman said of the early inspiration. “I’d always felt that playing the piano was so much more graceful and expressive than using a computer keyboard, and I thought how great it would be if I pulled some of that expression from the piano to the computer experience.”
Having suffered plenty of joint/wrist injuries, I know from personal experience how difficult it can be to type with traditional, hard smartphone keyboards. I abandoned my old Treo 680 when it was too physically painful to push in the tiny keys anymore. The iPhone, however, is nothing but a pleasure, so the above comments truly resonate with me.
It’s also interesting to note that history aside, Apple is also looking towards the future, with job listings for multi-touch ninja “gesture algorithm” wizards.
So anyone else going to jump on the piano and try to figure out what iPhone 3.0 might hold for us?
If you haven’t heard, Apple’s a no-show here at Mobile World Congress 2009, this show pretty much belongs to Microsoft, HTC, and Nokia (with a side of Samsung and Sony Ericsson). However, as with other trade shows like CES and CTIA, Apple’s presence is felt in its absence. Rather than join their brethren in the mobile community, Apple sits it out and watches while other companies are forced to make their announcements in a context Apple has created. To wit: Both Microsoft and Nokia announced App Stores this week. Microsoft’s Market is basically a no-show, though, all we have is promises. Nokia’s isn’t ready yet either, but it will be in May.
Actually, we know quite a bit about Nokia’s App Store, called the Ovi Store. It’s an extension (and replacement) of their earlier services and includes everything from apps to ringtones to wallpapers to widgets. Here’s the thing, folks: Nokia may have solved the #1 problem at Apple’s App Store: finding apps that are 1. good and 2. interest you.
What Nokia has done is build a sophisticated relevancy engine that can sort apps based on a variety of factors that are actually relevant to you — like what you friends are using, or what kind of app you like to download, or what music you tend to prefer. It looks to be much better than your standard “top 50″ list and if Apple is smart and shameless (we know they’re both), they’ll steal these features as soon as humanly possible.
The Ovi Store also looks to be a little kinder and gentler on developers too, giving them more power over how (and if!) their app will be distributed.
I’ve written the whole thing up over at sister-site Nokia Experts, go on and take a look.
[How about Apple needs to expand iTunes GENIUS recommendations to the App Store immediately? -- Rene]
Glassdoor collects data on how much employees love their boss and love their products. They also seem to collect data on the wicked obvious, at least where Apple is concerned. Flabbergasting: 91% of employees love Steve Jobs and on a scale of 1 to 5, think Apple’s products rate a 3.8 (we’re guessing MobileMe cost them a full point there).
To give some frame of reference GigaOm provides further details: Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer is loved by 44%, Palm’s Ed Colligan by 36%, and RIM’s co-CEO’s by 70% (does that mean 35% each?). Products vary far less, with almost everyone at the same level as Apple (RIM), a bit below (Microsoft at 3.7) or so (Palm at 3.2)
Biggest loser was Motorola with a whopping 10% and 2.6 rating. Could have been worse, however — they could have been off the list.
So how much do you love Steve Jobs and the iPhone? And how does that compare to your boss and your products/services? Or should we rather rate the raters? Gigaom and Glassdoor, how are they doing?
(Tip o’ the handset to Phil from WMExperts for sending this our way!)
No sooner did we ask you if Apple should ditch the dock, than Apple Insider reports that the mobile phone and smartphone industries are beginning to come together on a universal charging solution, and that solution is micro-USB.
So far, early signees for the 2012 initiative include AT&T, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Orange, Qualcomm, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile, and Vodafone. Several iPhone carriers there, but not the single iPhone creator, Apple.
Of course, Apple and their licensees have invested heavily in the proprietary 30-pin dock connector, so we have to ask: facing a micro-USB standard, will that be an increasing competitive advantage, or a growing problem?
UPDATE: According to Ars, while AT&T is indeed shooting for 2011, the EU might just be delaying until 2012. Snap. Who’s the backwater internet slowpokes now?
ORIGINAL: Ah, it seems like only yesterday when little baby GRPS, barely faster than background radiation, burst on the scene. Then came EDGE, both 2G and 2.5G for our original iPhones, and HSPA up and down for our iPhone 3G. But time flies and yesterdays super fast is tomorrow’s far-too-slow, so it should come as no surprise that AT&T used the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to announce they’ll have their 4G network, known as LTE (Long Term Evolution) zipping along fat 100Mbps in just a couple of years.
Tests should begin in 2010, and deployment in 2011. (Which means customer complaints should follow roughly 30 seconds there after).
So, is AT&T’s roadmap fast enough for you early adopters? Will it keep you on the iPhone network longer? And what are you most looking forward to with that ultra-boardband speed? Playing WoW on your iPhone HD? 4-way Mobile iChat? Or finally being able to load that one Facebook friend’s page with every dang app conceivable jammed on it?
[Via Electronista]
Today is a depressing day for all of the South Park fans out there. The South Park app that Dieter told us about back in October has been rejected once again by Apple.
We first announced our iPhone App back in October, after we submitted the Application to Apple for approval. After a couple of attempts to get the application approved, we are sad to say that our app has been rejected. According to Apple, the content was “potentially offensive.” But Apple did admit that the standards would evolve, citing that when iTunes first launched it didn’t sell any music with explicit lyrics. At this point, we are sad to say, the app is dead in the water. Sorry, South Park fans.
Who is Apple to say what is offensive and what isn’t? They let fart apps in the App Store in groves. Who is to say those do not offend anyone? How about Wobble? An app that gives you the ability to make certain female body parts jiggle around your screen. That doesn’t offend anyone? That is a choice the consumer should be making, not Apple. Ok, I’ve made my point.
There is one simple solution to something that may offend someone. If you are offended, don’t buy it!
[Via Southparkstudios.com]
When Trillion-dollar stimulus packages are being passed and spent and the dollar seems to buy less and less, it’s nice to find some real values in the App Store, like Touchmaster Volume 1 from Midway. At only $3.99, you get 5 games for your entertainment – that’s only about $.80 cents per game (before tax, of course).
Included with this bundle are the following: 1) Spellwinder – a word search game using adjacent letters in any direction to score points; 2) Dice King – a dice puzzle game where points are scored for swapping adjacent dice to form matching combinations of three or more dice; 3) Prismatix – a hexagonal matching game requiring linking gems in color combinations displayed by a wheel at the top of your screen; 4) Combo 11 – form combinations of cards equaling 11 in value, eliminating cards as you go; 5) Carpet – similar to Solitaire, the object of the game is to discard all cards in their respective suits in sequences of Ace to King, using your deck and “carpet” of cards.
In addition to trying to get the highest score you can, you can also complete challenges and earn trophies along the way. The graphics are decent and the gameplay is easy with the touch interface. For $3.99, this 5-game package will provide hours of entertainment.
Jail or the wrong end of Tony Soprano’s temper? Is there anywhere the iPhone can’t get you?
TUAW reports that casinos in Nevada (and we presume elsewhere eventually if not already) have been warned to look out for next generation card counters powered by iPhone apps (the use of which, like any technological assist, is a felony in the gaming state).
Doesn’t look like anyone’s actually been caught doing this in the wilds of Vegas yet, though who knows what’s going on in private, back room games around the country, or the world.
What’s next? Someone going to sneak one onto the set of Price is Right?
