Category: I-phone

Most of us rely on Google Maps and Search to get through the day, and never give the choice much thought. Today we’re going to look at the Bing app for iOS and see if it’s worth switching to a new search engine.

In a world where Google is now used as a verb for searching the web, most wouldn’t consider using any other search engine. That’s why Microsoft surprised the world when it released Bing and now they’ve made it accessible even to Apple’s mobile devices with the Bing iPhone app. There’s no such thing as a perfect search engine, so we’ll take you through the Bing app so you can see what it offers and decide for yourself.

What is Bing?

Bing, the new incumbent search engine from Microsoft, has been gaining popularity thanks to its stylish interface and surprisingly competitive marketing. Not only that, but it also works quite well. Bing Maps surprisingly much nicer in some aspects than Google Maps, and the front page images can be fun and educational.

Bing’s iOS app brings all of these features to your iPhone or iPod Touch in a unique, full-featured app. When you first run the app, you’ll be presented with Bing’s picture of the day just like the Bing site includes. Tap the picture itself, and you’ll see small highlighted areas you can tap to find out fun facts and more about the picture.

Bing features beautiful pictures from around the world

Searching

The Bing app is built around search as you might expect, so you’ll see a search bar on almost every screen in the app. Simply press the top search bar and enter whatever you want to find. Directions, images, shopping, web results, and more are only a tap away. By default, the search bar on the front screen will search the web, so press the search icon to select the type of search you want. Then, as you’re typing, Bing will try to figure out what you’re looking for. Similar to Google Suggestions, this often found what I was looking for before I’d entered the whole search query.

Alternatively, press the microphone icon and say what you want to find. Bing did a great job at recognizing voice queries in my tests, and when it wasn’t certain what I was looking for, it would provide a selection to choose from.

Voice or text, images or directions, Bing lets you search the way you want.

Depending on your type of search, Bing will display the results differently. Shopping searches show reviews and the cheapest price of products from a multitude of stores. This can be a great way to window-shop from your phone or comparison shop online while you’re in a mall. Web search works just like it would in a browser, and you can visit websites directly without leaving the Bing app if you wish.

Bing Shopping makes it easy to comparison shop.

Exploring the World With Bing

I really enjoyed Bing Maps and feel that this is the best part of the Bing app. Bing’s maps use nice neutral colors and vivid fonts that make it easy to find the road you’re looking for. Zoom in, and the map switches to a bird’s-eye perspective that makes it easy to use maps for navigation on the go.

Maps include a unique color scheme and viewing perspectives.

But you don’t have to rely on sight; Bing can give you walking and driving directions as well. The wide-screen view makes it easy to use Bing maps as a live GPS.

Where are you going? Bing can get you there.

Maps can be fun as well, tap the person icon on the left of the toolbar in the home screen to open the Bookmarks page, which includes some fun and educational Bing Maps links. You can explore the world from your phone with the high-quality bird’s-eye views of popular locations around the world in Bing Maps.

Hoover dam? Health care reform? Maps aren’t just to get you from A to B.

If your exploring makes you long for the sky, you can also search for plane tickets and flight status from the Bing app. Bing includes Farecast technology that tries to predict when it’s a good deal to fly to different locations. From planning your next trip to exploring the world from your palm, the Bing app definitely includes tons of stuff to discover.

Schedule flights and see when’s a good time to fly.

Pros and Cons

While Bing is a nice app for maps and specialized searches, I don’t think most users will want to search the web from it as it’s more natural to just do it from Safari. However, sometimes it can be nice to have a conclusive app that does a ton at once, and Bing definitely fits the bill there. Also, while Bing Maps work great for US and European locations, they fall far behind Google Maps in many other parts of the world.

Another disadvantage I noticed is that Bing does not seem to cache maps offline as good as the built-in Maps app. If you’re using Bing Maps on an iPod Touch or an iPhone in an area with poor signal strength, this may be a major problem. You can usually keep using the directions unless you switch to a different part of the app, but maps often won’t stay cached when you’re offline.

Conclusion

Whether or not you like Microsoft products, Bing is a service that’s worthy of trying out. It seems odd to download a new app just for search, but with the wide variety of options Bing offers, I found that it delivered a superior search and discovery experience in maps, shopping, and more.

With Bing now included as a default search option in Safari on Mac OS X and iOS, it might be time to give it a try. We still find Google search often returns better results for some queries, but in some ways Bing gives you a nicer search experience. The iPhone app makes it easy to explore, so you might at least find it a fun way to kill some time looking at scenic locations from a birds-eye view.

The web has become saturated with surprisingly high quality content created entirely on iPhones. Never before has a device that contains a camera merely as a secondary feature so impacted the worlds of photography and cinematography.

The question is, are these industries better or worse with the arrival of the iPhone? Is this device improving the digital world by putting multimedia-based art forms into the hands of the masses or is it critically cheapening decades of hard work from serious professionals? Let’s discuss.

Film

The iPhone is by no means the first pocket-sized device to record video or even HD video. Nor is it the first cell phone to do so. However, it does mark a significant step forward in that it is one of the first phones to be taken seriously in this context by an impressively large audience.

Movies: Anytime, Anywhere

Making movies was once an intensely technical task that one had to invest serious time into before undertaking. With the advent of portable home video cameras this process was suddenly opened to a much larger audience. However, it wasn’t until affordable, consumer-grade editing software arrived with the digital revolution that custom movie creation and editing really became something that just about anyone could do.

Even still, the video camera is relegated by many to the closet shelf, only to be pulled out for birthday parties and graduations. It’s simply not a device that most people will carry around on a daily basis. A cell phone on the other hand, is something that we all have in our pockets almost all the time. It therefore makes sense that this would become the quintessential device for recording our daily lives.

With the iPhone, you aren’t limited to the dark, grainy and generally ugly video traditionally seen from a cell phone. In fact, you can record bright, beautiful high-definition video whenever and wherever you want. With iMovie for iPhone, you can even edit your movies right on your phone without importing anything to your computer.

iMovie for iPhone

Yeah, But Are They Any Good?

At this point you might be thinking, “Big deal, you can create movies on your phone. It’s not like they’re any good, right?” The reality is however, in the right hands, movies shot entirely on an iPhone can and do look amazing.

One of the first short films in this vein to become popular was “The Apple of My Eye” by Michael Koerbel. A 90-second nostalgia-filled movie about a man and his granddaughter.

Apple of My Eye was shot and edited on an iPhone 4

Also check out this page containing three other movies shot entirely on an iPhone.

Photography

Photography hits a lot closer to home for me. Since I am myself a photographer who has invested both the time to learn the trade and the money for the equipment, I am admittedly more sensitive to people attempting to turn one of my forms of income into something that any layperson can accomplish.

Again we see the iPhone pushing the limits of what we can expect from a mere phone. With 5MP and a 5x digital zoom, the iPhone easily challenges consumer-grade cameras from a few years ago and I imagine the gap between the two will continue to decrease.

Apple.com touting the powerful iPhone camera

This is combined with some really innovative features for taking photos. For instance, to focus on an object, you simply tap on it. Also, Apple has overcome many exposure problems through an automated on-camera HDR system that I’m quite surprised Canon didn’t think of years ago.

Fun Photo Apps

One of the main factors in the surge of iPhone photography seen around the web is the selection of apps that allow users to easily apply effects to give their images a retro or aged look.

Instagram for iPhone

Hipstamatic ($1.99) and Instagram (Free) are currently at the forefront of this craze. While this may seem like a brief fad, apps like these really do make it easy for anyone to produce stunning images and I wouldn’t expect to see them go away any time soon.

For Better or Worse?

The question that inevitably arise from all of this is, “Are these forms of art better or worse due to the existence of the iPhone?” To come up with a logical answer I had to reconsider my initial inclination.

Every time I see a trendy Hipstamatic photo, I can’t help but wonder if this doesn’t represent the bastardization of photography and I can imagine that many serious filmmakers feel the same about iPhone-created movies.

However, an apt parallel arises when we examine the rise of digital photography. The same arguments that I’d like to make against cell phone photography are those that I shook my head at when film purists shunned the digital photography revolution.

Here was a newer form of photography that made taking photos an infinitely easier process. Not only could you preview and adjust your process live, you could entirely skip the hassles of a darkroom and creating prints. Despite the clear benefits of this now ubiquitous technology, which I readily embrace, countless photographers at the time complained that digital cameras would ruin the art of photography.

Years later we are now facing yet another shift towards simpler technology that is easily adopted by a much larger audience. I suddenly see friends and family that are intimidated by terms like “aperture” and “depth of field” constantly uploading their photos and videos to Facebook and Twitter. I can’t help but give in and be happy for those falling in love with photography and cinematography for the first time.

Conclusion

In the end, people aren’t becoming wedding photographers and Hollywood directors with their iPhones. It is possible though that individuals will be pushed towards pursuing such fulfilling careers after discovering their love for the trade on their phones.

I’m forced to conclude that this movement is great for both the photo and movie worlds, from amateur right on up to professional. As people find new and easier ways to express themselves, it’s all too easy for purists to turn their noses up while favoring their own version of technology that once threatened to “ruin” the industry.

So iPhone developers, bring on the photo and video apps. Help us do amazing things that we used to be completely unqualified to do. Help us shake things up and ruin a few industries while we’re at it. Most of all, help us all create pocket-sized records of the world the way we see it.

Today we presents new collection of useful jQuery plugins for October 2010.

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For corporations who want to make sure that employees are following Acceptable Use Policies or parents who want to make sure that their kids aren’t texting while driving, there’s now a solution. Florida-based Retina-X Studios has announced Mobile Spy for iPhone 4, a combination of an iPhone app and a service that allow anxious parents and business owners to track usage of the phone without the user’s knowledge.

According to Retina-X, you install the Mobile Spy app onto the phone you wish to track. It reloads at every restart, and has no icon or screen — it’s running completely in background. While it’s running, Mobile Spy captures call activity, SMS text messages, the location of the user (updated every 30 minutes), contacts stored and added to the phone, all inbound and outbound email activity, all websites visited, and all photos and videos taken by the phone. All of that information is then uploaded stealthily to the Mobile Spy servers. The customer can log in and view the activities in almost real time.

Continue reading iPhone 4 Mobile Spy lets you keep an eye on employee iPhone usage

iPhone 4 Mobile Spy lets you keep an eye on employee iPhone usage originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The rumors have come to fruition: Sprint will launch the ZTE Peel case for the iPod touch on November 14th. According to documents acquired by the Boy Genius Report, the device will cost US$79.99 and require a $30 month-to-month plan. Customers will get a 1GB data allowance per month, with overage charges of $0.05 per megabyte.

The ZTE Peel is an iPod touch case that’s also a mobile hotspot. When it place, it provides 3G access to the iPod touch (2nd and 3rd generation) plus one other device. Why not the 4th generation touch? Well, the camera is in the wrong spot, for starters.

Unlike the similar Apple Peel 520, Sprint’s ZTE Peel won’t allow you to send or receive text messages or phone calls. Still, it should answer what GigaOM calls “If Only Moments” that iPod touch users are familiar with. Now the App Store and iTunes Store are always available, and Internet-dependent apps are almost always an option.

If you pick one up, let us know how it goes. It’s certainly an interesting piece of hardware.

Sprint to launch Peel case for iPod touch on Sunday originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here’s an interesting way to use 9 iPads. Photographer Jesse Rosten mounted the set on several pieces of plywood, maxed out the brightness on each and had assistants move then around while he shot his model. In fact, the iPad arrays were the only light sources for this particular shoot.

Was it a publicity stunt? Of course (and well done). But watch the video after the break. The photos came out well! We hope Jesse borrowed the iPads because 9 x $499 is $4,491. Still, it was a fun idea with nice results. Good work, everyone.

If the name Jesse Rosten sounds familiar it’s because we recently featured his awesome “iPad + Velcro” film. Now we’re eager to see what’s next.

Continue reading iPad portrait light array for photographers

iPad portrait light array for photographers originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While the paid version of Words With Friends HD has been enjoyed by iPad owners who are willing to spend US$2.99 for quite some time, those of you looking for the free version are now in luck. Touch Arcade says that, just like its iPhone cousin, this version (released by Newtoy) is supported by in-game advertising, and does almost everything that the paid version is able to do; it even has the ability to play up to 20 simultaneous games.

Since this game seems to take up a good chunk of my day, being able to get it for free is just an added bonus for an already great game. And really, who minds the little ads when the app is free? With more than two million daily users, I am guessing that not too many people do.

Words With Friends HD for iPad gets a free version originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Calvetica, for iPhone and iPod touch, offers the promise of a simple but powerful calendar app. There was a bit of a tussle yesterday in the TUAW back channels as a bunch of us watched the Calvetica product video on the developer’s home page. I won, meaning I bought it first to write this review, and I’ve been playing with it since then.

I’m pleased to report that it delivers clean, easy-to-create scheduling. Although it certainly helps to Read The (very brief) FAQ before using the app — since I wouldn’t have figured out the swipe-to-menu feature on my own — once I got going, I found I could easily create to-do items and set reminders for them with a minimum of taps.

Using Apple’s Calendar app it can take around 5 taps or up to a dozen or more, not including typing, to set a “simple” reminder on your calendar. With Calvetica, you can double-tap, type and hit Done. Want to delete? Swipe the entry and there’s a little trash can icon. It’s a wonder Apple didn’t think of these interactions.

So what does Calvetica offer that the built in iCal does not? For your three bucks, you’re buying into design. The developers aren’t exaggerating when they promise an “uncluttered, minimalist interface.” It’s sleek, it’s clean, it’s nice. It’s also powerful; Calvetica integrates with Google Calendar, MobileMe, and built-in local notifications. It works with iCal and, if you use it, BusyCal.

Admittedly, I’ve only been using the application for a day but my initial impressions are positive. Calvetica is staying on my home screen for now as I give it a more thorough work-out in the weeks to come.

Oh, and that product video? Seriously hilarious.

[For equally attractive and useful task management with a similar aesthetic, check out Teux Deux. Calvetica and Teux Deux even have complimentary icons! -Ed.]

Calvetica offers a better calendar app for iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In the world of corporate communications, a big part of delivering a message involves defining the terms of the discussion. Over the past few weeks, both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg have been caught up in this action while discussing the mobile space. During the most recent Apple quarterly earnings call, Jobs tried to redefine what an open platform is when comparing iOS to Android. Zuckerberg raised eyebrows last week when he declared that the slim and lightweight iPad was a computer, not a mobile device.

The problem is that while people like to categorize stuff for easy black-and-white comparisons, we live in a universe of color. Applying one label to a device (or person or action) does not necessarily preclude other labels from also being true at the same time. For example, when Zuckerberg said that the iPad was not mobile, he later clarified that he meant that it wasn’t a phone, which was the main topic of discussion at the Facebook event. The iPad is obviously both mobile and a computer, but it isn’t a phone. Similarly, an iPod touch is not a phone, but it is mobile; it also has many properties of a computer, though most people wouldn’t call it that. The Barnes & Noble Nook Color is clearly an e-book reader by design, despite its lack of an e-ink screen.

So how do we get around this conundrum? We need to stop insisting on easily digested sound bites and call out anyone who tries to inappropriately apply labels in an attempt to misdirect the conversation. Describe what something does and doesn’t do, and let people decide for themselves if it is the best choice for them.

Misuse of labels: On the definitions of “mobile” and “computer” originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Last month Verizon Wireless stores began selling iPad/MiFi bundles. Now, the first television spot advertising that fact has debuted.

It features a user in a small room with an iPad on his lap. He pulls a MiFi from his pocket, flicks it on and presto! The walls of the room disappear as “the world opens up” to him. It’s got a nice Apple vibe and should get people talking. “Wait a minute. Apple and Verizon?”

You can watch the ad after the break.

[Via The Next Web]

Continue reading Verizon iPad TV ad is out

Verizon iPad TV ad is out originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iBiomed is not for everyone. It’s a niche app designed for detailed tracking of care management for patients with complex medical conditions, such as autism. Once set up (and that can be a bit daunting), a care-giver can take control of everything related to the care of a patient. iBiomed is totally flexible, allowing a user to input all pertinent information and keep historical track of everything involving the patient. It can send push alarms, too, when it’s time to administer the next dosage of any supplement, medicine, or test. That just scratches the surface of what this amazingly-flexible, multifaceted, and free app can do.

Walking you through its functions will give you a good idea of just how detailed and important this app can be for care-givers. You start by creating a patient profile, including name, birth date, and sex. From there, you fill in information about the treatment history of the patient. Beginning with diagnoses, you can enter information for each one, be it autism, allergies, or any other problem. Descriptions can be added for each condition.

Next, using a summary treatment screen, you can enter information which details required supplements, medicines, tests, diets, and alternative treatments. Once you get the hang of entering one topic, which is detailed and can take some time, it gets easier since most of the input modules are quite similar. For example, when entering supplements, the required information includes the name of the supplement, the start date, what quantity comprises a dose, and the dosing frequency. A stop date is optional, and any notes you would like to enter are also optional. The same is true for medicines and a number of other items. Each item needs to be input and saved individually, which can take some time.

Continue reading Manage complex medical conditions with iBiomed

Manage complex medical conditions with iBiomed originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It appears that Apple is spending at least a few dollars out of that US$51 billion cache of cash. 9to5Mac reports that the company has purchased a small Bay Area Bluetooth headset design firm named Wi-Gear. Wi-Gear’s products included three generations of the iMuffs A2DP Bluetooth stereo headset (seen above), which worked with a rather unsightly dongle for those devices that didn’t have built-in support for Bluetooth 2.0 and without the dongle for newer iDevices.

The story posits that Apple picked up Wi-Gear to design an as-yet-unannounced stereo headphone product for iOS devices and MacBooks. Apple’s previous foray into this market was the highly unsuccessful mono Bluetooth headset, so it appears that the company decided to just buy the expertise needed to field a competitive product.

One of the co-founders of Wi-Gear, MIchael Kim, now lists his current position on LinkedIn as an iOS Bluetooth Engineer at Apple. The About page on Wi-Gear’s website now shows the following message: “Notice: Wi-Gear has ceased operations and is no longer in business. We will be unable to respond to any inquiries.”

9to5Mac seems pretty certain that the end result of the acquisition will be a new Apple-branded stereo Bluetooth headset. I’m personally hoping that Apple lets Kim and the other Bluetooth Engineers design the internals, and gives the external design to Jony Ive’s team.

[via Engadget]

Apple buys Wi-Gear, branded Bluetooth headset coming? originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The whole 3D movement may now have officially jumped the shark with the introduction of the My3D from Hasbro. The idea of sitting in front of the living room TV and wearing a pair of goofy glasses in order to see an artificial reproduction of the real world is bad enough, but we really can’t see many people going for My3D.

Think of the US$30 My3D as a 21st century answer to the old View-Masters that many of us had as kids. Instead of slipping a disc with seven pairs of color transparencies into a slot, the My3D has a slot that can hold an iPhone or iPod touch. Viewing content in 3D will require custom content available through apps that you buy on the App Store. It’s not clear if the 3D content will take the form of View-Master-style side-by-side stereoscopic images or more modern digital 3D with polarized lenses in the device. Given the relatively low cost, it’s probably the former.

The Hasbro My3D is currently set to go on sale next spring with content available from DreamWorks, Discovery, Sony, and IMAX among others.

Hasbro making 3D goggles for iPhone originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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