Twitter Fun On Your iPhone

The iPhone is an incredibly exciting tool that allows people to stay connected using all kinds of fun applications.Popular uses for the iPhone include email and text messaging, in addition to simply calling your friends and family.Staying connected on the move can be a lot more enjoyable when you use the new social networking sites accessible with the iPhone.

There are hundreds of social networking sites, but Twitter is one of the best choices when it comes to using your mobile phone.

Twitter allows you to stay connected with friends and family without a bunch of complicated steps.When you get an iPhone you have the opportunity to use Twitter in the most effective way possible.Twitter can be used easily by employing the text messaging service on your iPhone.

This is a very convenient way to keep updates about what you’re doing to all of your friends and family, and all it takes is typing a short message through your SMS screen and sending it to a specific number. It is very easy to set this up on your iPhone, once you set up your Twitter profile, you only have to add your phone number to it and you’ll be able to send and receive 140 character messages that will also appear on your Twitter page instantly.

Since the iPhone has a web browser you an also enjoy using Twitter on their excellent mobile website. When you have an iPhone, you are probably going to be on the internet more than you could possibly imagine.Whether you are in a waiting room, sitting in class or on a bus, you will be checking your e-mail and other popular sites.

Your Twitter account will keep you updating it at all hours of the day and night.You can access a special website that allows you to update and read Twitter in the most effective format for the iPhone.

The best part of using the iPhone is the fact that it streamlines all forms of communication, whether it be through text messaginger with checking your e-mail, The iPhone is the world’s most effective and enjoyable communication tool.

Now, visit this website for more information on: twitter automation

Popularity: 34% [?]

The ‘world’s most advanced mobile computer’, apparently.

Following on the heels of the massively popular N-series mobile phones come the Nokia N97 and this looks like is going to be a must have phone when it launches.

The N97, which features touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard, takes up where the N96 left off and is set to go head to head with other touchscreen handsets such as the Apple’s iPhone 3G, Ericsson’s X1 and BlackBerry Storm.

The Nokia N97 isn’t due to be available for another 6 months so this gives current market leaders Apple plenty of time to plugin in more gadgets/release an updated iPhone/buy Nokia!

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It seem that the world is going touch mad, in the nicest sense of the phrase. But the additional features packed into the N97 should be a real hit with Nokia fan; HSDPA, Wi-Fi, 32GB of memory plus microSD expansion and a 5 Mpxs camera (lens courtesy of Carl Zeiss) and video capture (apparently, video capture will be ‘DVD quality’). This is probably the biggest gripe I have about the iPhone - the crappy camera. The N97 could score big points on this feature alone.  The N97 also packs in about 36 hours of battery life for audio playback which is reasonable.

The Nokia N97 is expected to start shipping around July 2009 with a price of about £470…unless those pesky Chinese produce yet another ripoff!

Popularity: 60% [?]

It certainly looked like update 2.2 for the iPhone was going to make a lot of users happy. Sadly, that isn’t the case. It seems that happy downloaders of the much heralded update 2.2 have been stung by a series of problems including disapppering apps, failure to synch with iTunes and loss of WiFi/3G/EDGE signal. Added up, these issues alone give the iPhone 3G the value of a house brick!

There is a solution - downgrade, and fast. A procedure has been posted on the net and it goes pretty much like this;

1. Download iPhone OS 2.1 IPSW: [iPhone (first generation) | iPhone 3G]
2. Turn off your iPhone by holding down the sleep/wake button.
3. After the phone is off and hold the sleep/wake and home buttons at the same time for 10 seconds.
4. Release the sleep/wake button; continue to hold down the home button until iTunes detects the iPhone in “recovery mode.” Your iPhone is now in DFU mode.
5. Hold down the option key on a Mac or alt key on a PC and click “Restore” in iTunes.
6. Locate the IPSW file and select it.
Note, however, that they procedure may not work, and you may be forced to restore your iPhone with OS 2.2, potentially losing data in the process.

You’ll notice that I block quoted the details above so don’t try blaming me for any data loss/complete failure of your iPhone. Top tip - make sure you back up all your data before you attempt this downgrade. You may well find that you have to do a comple restore to get you iPhone/iPod working again!

“After the os 2.2 update. Safari suddenly disappeared. Syncing etc didn’t work or resolve the issue. I had to do a restore to get things back to normal.”

The two most widely reported issues were disappearing apps and loss of WiFi connectivity. Looking at the forums, it would appear that most application ‘disappearance’ were intermittent with one user commenting that Safari would ‘appear, then disappear…’ - sort of like a bunny in the magician’s hat but without the comedy value!

“I cannot connect to my wifi at home and I never had a problem in the past.”

This issue was fixed with minimal fuss - tell your iPhone to “forget” the current network config and then reattach to it. Other fixes included:

• Switch the router to WPA2
• Strip out any spaces in the WPA pass phrase
• Remove all security from your wireless router, connect and reconfigure the security
• Reinstall iTunes 7.6.1 on your computer (Mac/Windows).
• Connect your iPhone directly to your computer rather than through a hub (I’m somewhat dubious about this one)
• Turn off auto-lock On your iPhone, set it to “Never” in the General Settings and attempt to synch
• Restore the iPhone - only if you’re really desperate. Make sure you back up EVERYTHING!

Cannot sync with iTunes Several users have reported an issue in which they are unable to sync with iTunes after the iPhone OS 2.2 update.

Potential fixes for iTunes issues include:

All in all, not really a good day for Apple. Marks out of 10?

Popularity: 81% [?]

6 of the best for Google! The search giant has owned up to breaking the rules of Apple’s iPhone SDK when it created the latest version of the Google Mobile application for the iPhone.

Apparently, Google Mobile uses undocumented APIs (application programming interfaces) in order to use the iPhone’s proximity sensor to prompt a verbal search. iPhone developers are supposed to use only the APIs that Apple publishes in their SDK when creating their ‘home-brewed’ applications - it’s written in the terms!

Although Google has put their hand up over breaking the terms of the agreement it has denied a far a more serious charge; linking to private or dynamic frameworks in the Google Mobile application. Now, I’m not a hardcore developer but even I know that merits more than a slap on the wrist. Undocumented API’s have a major failiing - the lack of documentation around means that future updates of Apple software could break as a result of an undocumented API being used.

It’s not clear if Apple knew that Google were using undocumented API’s but it’s likely that they just sort of slipped through the net. Apple has a hard time policing policing all the apps that go into the App Store so it could be a simple oversight…or it could be part of Google’s plan to take over the whole world, one mobile vendor at at time.

If Apple decides to enforce the agreements terms, Google could be forced to rewrite the Google Mobile code. Simple enough, you might think but look at it another way; Google Mobile’s proximity sensor/verbal search software works because it uses undocumented API’s. Without them, the code will probably be bloated and a long time coming - not the sort of news that current users want to hear.

There is one other solution - Google can simply buy Apple. Or Apple could build their own search engine…..hmm.

Popularity: 78% [?]

Well, it looks like all the hype and marketing behind the T-Mobile G1 handset have paid off - HTC are saying they’ve doubled their projected number of handsets being shipped. HTC believes they’re now target to hit a million of the G1’s out of the door by the end of 2009.

Initially, estimates suggested that HTC would be shipping between 400,000 and 600,000 units but it looks like the Android fans have gone ga-ga over the new handset. Then again, it could simply be backing of Google and a huge media campaign that have driven adoption so far.

On top of G1 sales, HTC are expecting to sell three million HTC Touch Diamond handsets by the end of 2008 so it looks like a bumper year for the handset manufacturer.

Popularity: 58% [?]

And it’s a beast!

The latest update for the iPhone has been released and it’s definitely no lightweight - 246.4 Mb which is considerably larger that update 2.1 which came in at 237.8 Mb.

There’s some nice little additions to the iPhone’s capablities rolled into this update but some of the biggest gripes still haven’t been addressed (more on those later). Here’s a quick rundown of what you’ll get:

• Google Street View is rolled into Google Maps
• When you drop a pin the locations address is displayed
• Send your current location in an email (more toys to encourage users sign up to MobileMe?)
• Bugfix scheduled email collection
• Improved stability and performance of Safari - I reserve judgement!
• Podcasts can be downloaded direct to your iPhone via WiFi/3G
• A decrease in call failures/dropped-calls -this was supposedly fixed in the last update!
• Visual voicemail gets improved sound quality
• Return to home screen with a single click of a button - about time. Nokia have been doing this for year
• Turn keyboard auto-correctin on and off - at last!

On the whole, the improvements should keep most users happy but there are a few niggling points that Apple still haven’t addressed; cut & paste functionality hasn’t been included. I use the Wordpress app and constantly writing html is a real pain. There’s no MMS functions (presumably to stop you pirating all the software and media you download from iTunes!). No voice dialling either. Now, most of us can live without these missing features but if Apple wants to get ahead of the game they need to give users what they want (otherwise Android will beat them to the post).

Probably the most import feature in this update is the ability to turn auto-correction off. It’s one of the most hated components of the software; how many times have you not checked a text only to receive a reply from the recipient saying ‘???’ - auto-correct turned you lovingly crafted message into a ball of indecipherable crap!

‘Nuff said?

Popularity: 58% [?]

It’s not just the computing world that’s going ultra small - mobile phone manufacturers are pushing the at the boundaries as well and the INVISIO G5 is no exception. This has to be the world’s smallest Bluetooth headset. Take a look at the INVISIO G5’s specs:  whilst offering an impressive array of features. Just take a look at what this Bluetooth headset has to offer:

• talk time of up to 4 hours system and 150 hours standy (on a full charge)
• measures a miniscule 33 x 16 millimetres

Ok, it’s tiny but how does it match up? Whilst not a contender for the Worlds Smallest Bluetooth Headsetworks, the Motorola H5 MINIBLUE certainly offers a few more features:

• talk time of 1.5 hour
• works as a distance of up to 30 feet
• built-in speaker reduces background noise by channeling voice up  through the ear canal
• a rather funcky metal charging case included

It’s the age old cry ’size isn’t everything’!

Popularity: 58% [?]

Err, hooray!

Ok, I admit to having a FaceBook account but I rarely use it. Maybe it’s just me, but sometimes it all gets a little too much. How many of those ‘friends’ in your FB account are really friends? Think about it for one moment; when you add a friend FB suggests other people who might be friends so you add them and then FB suggests more individuals who might be of interest… ad infinitum! You see what I mean.

I’ve no doubt raised the hackles of some the FaceBook fanboys (and girls) so here’s some news that should keep you touch with all things FB no matter where you are: mobile phone operator 3 are to launch a FaceBook handset.

The success of 3’s Skype handset has prompted them to look for yet more ways to empty our wallets into their waiting hands.  In addition to the FB functionality users will also get Skype integration, an eBay tracker and Windows Live Messenger on a HSDPA (up to 7.2 Mbps) handset.

The handset is due to go on sale for £99 in December on a PAYG tariff.

Wallets at the ready FB fans, if the economy hasn’t sucked us all under by then!

Popularity: 58% [?]

You can stop holding your breath; as of the 31st October the T-Mobile G1 went on sale in the UK. Unfortunately, it’s exclusive to T-Mobile (we’re sure that will change in the future - it’s not like Google to be tied to one distributor). The G1 is available for free on T-Mobile Combi and Flext tariffs which start at £40 a month. This tariff includes unlimited mobile internet browsing so this should appeal to many of you.

The G1 includes Google Maps, allowing users to view maps, satellite imagery and get driving directions. A really nice feature of the G1 is that Google Maps synchs with the built-in compass - 360 degree navigation made simple. There are currently 50 applications that users can download for free at Android Market (it’s a sort of App Store clone) but expect to see a growing list of goodies as developers jump onto the Android bandwagon.

It’s looks like the G1 is off to a good start; free apps, a reasonable tariff and some pretty interesting features built into the Android OS should entice many users over to the way of Google. How will Apple respond to this?

Popularity: 78% [?]

Bad news for iPhone fans - Macrumors have an article which suggest that Apple won’t be allowing the Opera browser into App store. Various rumours are circulating as to why Apple have made this decision but the most credible would be one of minimising the competition to the Safari browser. The Opera Mini can run on the iPhone so it’s a real shame this browser won’t make it into App store.

Apple has been widely criticised for its refusal to allow competing apps into App Store and this latest decision is a prime example of the stranglehold they have over users decisions. Therefore, don’t expect to see any other freebies like Firefox being made available through App Store.

There is one option available; buy yourself a G1, the Android based Google handset. Although the G1 has a supposed ‘kill switch‘ (just like the iPhone) you’re likely to find all your favourite free applications being made available to download. Hey, the choice is yours!

Popularity: 43% [?]