Filed under: Utilities
by Joe Johaneman
Source: http://www.applethoughts.com/news/show/91229/review-of-google-earth-for-the-iphone.html
Product Category: iPhone App
Developer: Google
Where to Buy: iTunes App Store
Price: Free
System Requirements: iPhone 2G or 3G
Specifications: Google Earth requires 9 megabytes of free space for the application. You should also have some extra space available for caching.
Pros:
- The information overlays are informative and interesting;
- Very responsive over WiFi and 3G;
- Fun and easy to use
Cons:
- Slow under the EDGE network;
- Information Overlay icons are too small for thick fingers
Summary:
Google Earth for the iPhone is a fun and mildly addictive application. Its incredibly intuitive interface makes it a joy to use.
Let the Star Wars saga continue on your iPhone with the emergence of the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. Yet, this time you play Darth Vader’s “Secret Apprentice”. The story is set between Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith and Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.
The game starts out with Darth Vader giving his apprentice a task to destroy a particular Jedi.
The apprentice flies off to a undisclosed location in search of the Jedi.
While in flight, the training mode kicks in to show Darth Vader’s apprentice a few tricks.
To use the force, all you do is draw your finger on the screen of your iPhone. Draw a semi-circle to levitate objects and a straight line to the left or right to throw the object(s).
Overall the game is one of the top iPhone games to date. The graphics and presentation is magnificent on this platform. The game seems to short on lasting appeal. I can literally finish the game in a few days if I played long enough. Yet, it fun to play and a nice diversion from work. The Star Wars: Force Unleashed iphone app is $9.99 thru the App store.
Measure anything your iPhone can take a picture of. RulerPhone uses the iPhone’s built-in camera and a credit card-sized item (MetroCard, Drivers License, Gift Card, etc.) to turn the device into a measuring tape. RulerPhone uses named card as a reference to measuring anything in the frame. It’s a great on-the-go tool for apartment-hunters, furniture-buyers, or anyone requiring a quick measurement. View a video demo and more instructions.
RulerPhone provides tips on how to get the most accuracy measurement.
In three easy steps, you measure any object. First, take a photo using your iPhone or use an existing one you already taken.
Second, position and lock the virtual card.
Finally, drag your finger across the object you want measured.
RulerPhone is the best ruler app for the iPhone. I only wish I had this app a couple of weeks ago when I was HomeDepot. Now, RulerApp will be the tool I use whenever I need to measure anything on the go.
I’ve been waiting for this app since I heard about several weeks ago. As a student/professional, this app is great for reading articles (in pdf or Word format). The mere fact of being able to zoom-in and rotate the documents to landscape mode is golden. This is way better then using email to read attachments. Setup was fairly easy on Windows. All you need to do is setup a Share (http or ftp) in Windows then drag and drop files wirelessly to your iPhone/ipod touch.
In DataCase you can add you own volumes and assign permissions. By default two volumes are created for you: Drop Box and Shared Files.
This is the app in landscape mode which makes it easier to read files.
DataCase is a short on documentation on how to setup a Share in Windows and Mac. Including helpful hints within the app itself will be beneficial in instructing users unfamiliar with adding FTP and shares. I also would like to see an update that allows me to move files between volumes. DataCase is $6.99 in the App store and works with the iPhone and iPod touch.
YouNote is a iPhone / iPod touch application that allows you to take audio, picture, drawn, text, and web notes within one application. Unlike EverNote, YouNote doesn’t sync other devices. Regardless, I’m finding YouNote very handy for doodling my ideas and taking screen shots of websites while on the go. However, I do use EverNote and YouNote interchangeably. YouNote is good for quick note to store on the iPhone only.
I can now take a quick screen shots from the iphone. And the doodle feature is cool too. I only wish they included a color palette and paint bucket.
YouNote is free in the app store. Hopefully, they’ll include a feature to email notes.
Palringo is a rich multimedia instant messaging app that integrates with AIM, Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo IM, Google Talk, ICQ, & Jabber. And to boot, it has group chat room feature to chat amongst people with common interests.
Palringo is what I’ve always wanted on my iPhone. I can stay in touch with with all my contacts via IM regardless of what platform they are using. And the ability to create virtual workspaces where I can chat with my friends and family. So I setup group called Tech Advances for a class I’m taking. In the group I’ll invite classmates so we can chat live regarding class assignments.
Palringo is IM on steriods. I can take or add pictures right from my iPhone. And soon they plan to give us iPhone users the ability to send voice chat over IM.
It took me a bit to find this in the UI but managing my contacts and my status is fairly easy. Just click the little icon in the right-hand corner to change your status. To remove a contact from any contact from any IM setup is very similar to removing a Contact from your list.
Palringo for the iPhone is FREE from the app store. All you need to do after installing on your iPhone is create an account on palringo.com. The app has minor bugs and crashes. I’ve been able to connect to Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, and AIM without any problems.
Pandora on the iPhone is a gem. FlyTunes used to be my most favorite iPhone/iPod touch radio app. Until I began using Pandora on the iPhone. I’m a big fan of old school HipHop so the ability to bookmark and/or buy a song from iTunes is the coolest feature for me.
You’re the DJ. With Pandora you’re in control of the radio stations. Simply, add a song, artist, or album.
Pandora rocks on the iPhone. Get for FREE at the App store.
The Labyrinth for the iPhone is a fun little game. You really get to see the accelerometer at play here. For FREE, you get 10 levels with the limited edition. So far I’ve made to level 4. The screen shots below show the four levels I’ve completed thus far but not in any particular order. I don’t want to run the fun of it.
I highly recommend installing the Labyrinth on your iPhone. It’s just a nice change of play from games like Super Monkey Ball and Crash. Hmm. I really got to try a pinball game on the iPhone. I bet it’s just as fun.
The WordPress app was released a earlier this week. It was the release of this app which prompted me to start a WordPress blog. In the past, my mobile blogging was confined to emailing my post to blogger or Windows Live Spaces. I attempted to use Typepad but was not too keen for paying for a service that you can basically get for FREE.
The WordPress blog app for the iPhone has potential. For the time being, version 1.0 allows you to add multiple blogs.
Although TypePad has a scale and move feature when importing pictures into blog, I really like how WordPress does not distort your images. Photos are attached to bottom of blogs.
What’s so cool about WordPress is that I can make a quick blog post or begin drafting my new blog posts on my iPhone then finalized when I’m back to my PC. I just fill-in the title, add my tags, categories, and content and post a draft or pending review.
The WordPress iPhone App ver 1.0 does a few problems such as crash issues and issues when opening previously published posts.
Filed under: Productivity
One of the first apps I installed on my iPhone was SplashID. SplashID is a password management tool built for the iPhone/iPod touch devices. In the past I’ve used FlexWallet and recently Sbp Wallet to carry all my passwords securely on a Windows Mobile device. So it was essential that I have this tool on my iPhone.
In my opinion, the SplashID app so far is the best password manager available for the iPhone/iPod touch. Why? Because it syncs with wireless with your desktop application. I wish I had this feature with other tools like FlexWallet and Sbp Wallet. In addition, allows you to edit your own categories and assign new fields to records. For example, if you need to add an email address and alternate email address then there are approx 5 additional fields you can customize to your liking.
The look and feel of SplashID is pretty good. The large icons and text are easy to read and usable. The Tools area is where you go to set passwords, edit categories, and setup synchronization to your PC. This app is very robust and the sync works great if you have the desktop version of desktop sync running.
Overall, SplashID is the must have App on your iPhone. It runs on both Mac and PC yet the desktop version of the costs $19.99 which I was hesitant at first until I read it was needed to sync your data wirelessly. In the next version, I hope they add the ability to sync more than one computer. And they should really improve on the user interface of the desktop version to include a search feature. Not to mention the ability to import XML records. Because this app was not compatible with FlexWallet or Spb Wallet, I am forced to manually enter my records. The SplashID is $9.99 in the App store.
