Expert Blogs
iPhone 4 sales suspended!
By Timothy Prentiss, June 16, 2010
Topics:
After my frustrated online ordering experience of yesterday (shared by Tracy and Hal, among others I'm sure) I decided to give it another try. Too late. Out of luck. Sales are now suspended.
So I guess it gives me a few more weeks to decide whether I really need all those new features, or if I just keep the trusty old iPhone I know and love and spend the money on an iPad.
It's sort of like deciding whether to get a new car, when your old reliable is reaching 125,000 miles old and there are plenty of shiny new vehicles clogging the car lots.
Do I NEED an iPhone4?
By Timothy Prentiss, June 15, 2010
Topics:
I got to the computer bright and early this morning to order a new iPhone4. First thing I noticed was an email from AT&T (time-stamped 7:09 am) inviting me to pre-order. So I clicked through, found that I was eligible for an upgrade (with an upgrade fee of $18) but no indication of a purchase price.
Curious about the cost, I clicked through the upgrade page at 7:24 am and got the online equivalent of a busy signal.
After a number of retries, resulting in the same error message, I got a gateway timeout. This site must be hopping!
Air Sharing Pro: Time-saver plus!
By Timothy Prentiss, May 24, 2010
Topics:
Getting photos from my iPhone used to be a hassle -- email it to myself, download the generically-named Photo.jpg, save it as something else, then finally edit it and use it. Now, with Air Sharing Pro, transferring photos via Wi-Fi is a drag-and-drop pleasure.
Pulitzer Winner's App Denied
By Timothy Prentiss, April 16, 2010
Topics:
A guy wins a Pulitzer Prize for cartooning, then finds out his iPhone app is turned down by Apple -- because "it contains content that ridicules public figures," according to the email award-winning political cartoonist Mark Fiore received from the Apple iPhone Developer Program last December. The surprising rejection is getting wide play from news outlets such as The Washington Post.
Happy Birthday to youse, Dr. Seuss!
By Timothy Prentiss, March 1, 2010
In honor of the March 2nd birthday of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel), all Dr. Seuss iPhone apps will be reduced to 99 cents for that one day only.
The promotion coincides with the National Education Association's Read Across America day, which was timed to fall on the birthday of Dr. Seuss.
Dr. Seuss created some of the most popular and best-loved children's books of all time. The Grinchmas! app has been reviewed by iPhone Life bloggers, but parents might want to grab the Cat in the Hat iPhone app.
If you've sat next to your child, turning the pages of any of these charming books, you can probably imagine sharing the hilarious rhymes and outrageous characters on your iPhone or iPod Touch. And maybe, eventually, that larger screen device?
"Keep your eyes out for more of Dr. Seuss's beloved, classic children's stories, games and activities for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad soon," said Michel Kripalani, President of Oceanhouse Media.
In addition to apps based on the books, Ocean House Media is also reducing the price of the Dr. Seuss camera apps. The Cat in the Hat edition (AKA: CatCam) is an app that lets you merge photos taken with the iPhone 3G or 3Gs into Dr. Seuss cards. You can edit the size and placement of the photo, add frames and so on. Then when you're happy with the results, email your creation to friends and family.
So, celebrate the birthday of Dr. Seuss, send a Dr. Seuss photo-card or yourself, a friend ... or maybe of your cat!
Attend Webinars through the iPhone
By Timothy Prentiss, February 16, 2010
Topics:
I attended a WebEx session early one morning a few weeks ago, and couldn't get my laptop booted up in time. A webinar at 7 am seemed too early even to the computer. No problem, though. I hopped on through my iPhone, with the WebEx Meeting Center app (free, at the App Store).
When you launch the app (a green and blue globe icon labelled "Meet") you can click the Join Now button if you've got an email invitation with a meeting number, or if you have a host account you can sign in and manage a meeting through your iPhone.
Then WebEx called my phone and when I answered, I was in. The presenter was a woman in Amsterdam, another participant was in Stockholm, and I was in Chicago. It was snowing in all three cities, we complained.
I was able to see the webcam feeds of the other participants (up to six webcams can be shown at once on the WebEx screen), but they weren't able to see me. Although the native phone function works while the WebEx app is running, I can't take a snapshot or video at the same time.
So I logged on through my laptop -- which had finally booted up. Here's a screenshot from my iPhone of the three of us on screen as I began a presentation.
It was fairly easy to scroll around to the content being displayed, and when the slides were designed with few words and good-sized images, I could see the presentation quite well on the iPhone.
Is this the next big thing in e-Learning? Will students just tune into the lectures with their iPhones? It's possible...
Bandshell ready for action
By Timothy Prentiss, January 21, 2010
Topics:
A few weeks ago I posted an interview with the inventor of the Bandshell audio enhancement cover for the iPhone. Soon after, I tried it out and almost posted a negative review -- until I found that I'd put the iPhone in backwards. Line up the camera lens with the hole in the back of the Bandshell for best results. Duh!
I tried it out on a couple of very important negotiation calls with major business contacts, and it worked like a charm. I had no complaints from the other party (though they did say it sounded like I was on a speakerphone, which I was), and I could hear them better than when it's in my normal leather case.
So rather than holding the phone up to my ear and typing notes with one hand, or holding a notepad with my elbow while jotting notes, I slip the phone into the Bandshell before making a call from my desk.
It works as the inventor said it would -- as long as you install it correctly...
Virtual fortunes update
By Timothy Prentiss, December 27, 2009
Topics:
Looking back on the year, I can't help but tote up my winnings (and losses) while playing poker on the iPhone. The good news is that I'm richer than I was earlier this year. The bad news is that those are still virtual dollars.
In the summer 2009 issue of iPhone Life magagazine, my article bragged about being $300,000 ahead in Texas Hold'Em. I'd never played the game before I started playing on my iPhone, so I thought that wasn't bad.
Then an iTunes upgrade wiped out all my data, and I had to start at the Garage again, with no bankroll. I felt like a lot of people this year that way.
But I'm happy to report that my game has rebounded, and before the holidays I went over the $9,000,000 mark. Christmas morning I topped $10 million with a $1.25 million dollar payday in Dubai.
Given the number of games I've played, the improvement might be expected. But I've still averaged over $15,000 in winnings per game, even with the entry fees subtracted.
But before I get too self-congratulatory, I guess I should try playing against real people sometime, with real money...
MusicSkin in action
By Timothy Prentiss, December 23, 2009
Topics:
The MusicSkin (for my iPhone) with John Lennon in front of the Statue of Liberty has arrived, just in time for holiday photo-taking.
The plastic skin fits nicely on the back of the phone. Line up the camera hole (after first punching it out of the plastic) and the rest should fit. It was easy to peel off and reposition. I notice only a few wrinkles.
It changes my color scheme from pure black to a mix of black-and-white. (Other MusicSkins are quite colorful, but this one is more stark.) But it's noticeable. The first time I used it my cool nephew asked, "Where did you get the Lennon phone, Uncle Tim?!"
The image is so clear that you can even read the sign behind John and right at the base of Lady Liberty, which says "Keep Off Grass." I wonder if he thought that would be in the picture. Hmm...
One mistake I made was assuming there was also a clear sheet for the front of the iPhone, so I took mine off. When I put the old one in place I had way too many air pockets and bubbles, so I'll probably have to replace that and do a better job of it.
The packaging says you can also download matching wallpaper from the MusicSkins.com web site, but when I tried from the iPhone I got an error message, telling me it couldn't download the file through Safari. Huh!
This $14 accessory is certainly not essential -- unless you're a Beatles freak. Smile, and say "Peace..."
iPhone giveaway for students!
By Timothy Prentiss, December 22, 2009
At a college bookstore in Ann Arbor, Michigan, students can enter to win a free iPhone every day, simply by reselling their textbooks. Staff members said that they have been noticeably busier this sell-back season, though they can't credit the iPhone giveaway completely.
Students who sell their books get to spin the big iPhone-A-Day Giveaway wheel. There are prizes on nearly every slot - though some are freebies such as "An Encouraging Smile" and "A Word of Wisdom." The grand prize is awarded when the wheel lands on a small slice of black with the image of an iPhone.
If the student's spin ends up stopping at the spot next to the iPhone winning area, bad news. That's the only place on the board that doesn't result in a prize of any kind. Nada.
But just think of the excitement as a student spins the big wheel and it finally stops directly on the iPhone space. Pandemonium, right? Joy?
Not for one student. He told store employees that he already had an iPhone, and asked if he could get a Snuggie instead. Staffers convinced him that an iPhone was worth a lot more than a $20 blankie.
And this guy went to my university?? Standards sure have fallen...
