iPhone Life - Best Apps, Top Tips, Great Gear

In the news today is Microsoft's release of its first application for the iPhone: Seadragon Mobile, an image-browsing app. And it has raised eyebrows because the same app hasn't been released for Microsoft's own Windows Mobile platform.

3M recently sent me a sample of their new 3M Mobile Privacy Film, a twelve dollar adhesive screen protector with "microlouver technology" (essentially what looks like a polarization filter). When applied, this layer makes the screen appear dark and fuzzy when not looking directly at the screen. The margin of angle is fairly tight and the filter does what it advertises. Of course, this also means that watching videos on the iPhone can become a challenge due to the exact nature of the viewing angle necessary to watch without blurring the image.

Groucho Marx once said he wouldn't belong to a club that would have him as a member.  The iPhone club, while already setting records in the smartphone industry, is about to get bigger.

Not everybody has the luxury of an Apple store nearby, and not every AT&T store sells the iPhone.  Plus, when the iPhone 3G was introduced, online ordering went away.  With all of these obstacles, Apple knows there is always room for improvement.

A week back I wrote a commentary on iphone's going on sale in wal-mart's (still officially rumor) and wrote the following:

What if Apple supplied a specialist per store?  Well, that could work, but is it worth it?  Do you really think there are enough people who are looking to buy an iPhone to go to Wal-mart to make it worth staffing those stores?

In my opinion, the best turn-based strategy game ever released for Windows Mobile, Orions: Legend of Wizard, has just been released at a very low introductory price ($1.99 / 1.79 euros). (On the screenshot below, this isn’t visible as I’ve purchased it from AppStore right away; hence the “Installed” tag. With the, compared to Windows Mobile or other platforms, really cheap AppStore prices, it was a no-brainer for me. After all, I’ve paid $20 for the first two episodes on Windows Mobile – and it was already a, IIRC, 20% rebate.)
 

PDAmill,  an apps vendor who has a long-standing habit of creating well-crafted games for the WinMo platform, is bringing some of their favorites over to iPhone and touch. You can check out the current titles here.

Next month I will be heading to Las Vegas once again to cover the Consumer Electronics Show.  I've been going to CES (or Comdex when that existed) since 1988 and it's always a great way to see the latest gadgets from numerous vendors.  But one firm is conspicuous in their absence.  Macworld is always held around the same time, and that's where Apple holds court.  So it's understandable that Apple puts all of its eggs in one basket... or maybe it's a basket of apples?