Alternate uses for an iPhone

Here are my thought about alternate uses for an iPhone.

The iPhone is an amazing piece of hardware, but it's limited by it's software. So far all of the iPhone's official software has been produced in-house by Apple. But all that's about to change.

Before the end of February Apple will open up both the iPhone and the iPod Touch to third party developers with the an SDK (Software Development Kit). Apple CEO Steve Jobs is, "excited about creating a vibrant third party developer community around the iPhone and enabling hundreds of new applications for our users."

That means that any application you can think of can, and probably will, be put on the iPhone. Why has it taken so long? Steve Jobs again; "We're trying to do two diametrically opposed things at once - provide an advanced and open platform to developers while at the same time protect iPhone users from viruses, malware, privacy attacks, etc."

The iPhone can already be used as a low tech GPS replacement, a basic note-pad or the hands down best pocket web browser there is. But with virtually unlimited possibilities soon to be unleashed, let's see what you can do with an unlocked iPhone.

Spirit level

Thanks to the advanced inbuilt sensors, Apple may have designed the most expensive and feature rich spirit level on the market. The iPhone normally uses these sensors to tell which way up it is and rotate pages accordingly, but there's nothing stopping developers from using them in other ways; from a basic spirit level, to some pretty trippy games. Not the sexiest of uses to start with I know.

The Ultimate Wireless Media Device

With a constant internet connection it won't be long before someone works out how to wirelessly link your iPhone to iTunes on your computer. They've already done it on hacked iPhones. Soon you'll be able to access your entire iTunes music collection from anywhere in the world. The BBC will also make content accessible on the iPhone through a mobile version of it's iPlayer application.

A Wireless Hard Drive

Unlike most iPods, the iPhone and iPod touch can't be used as USB storage devices yet. At the moment the iPhone's maximum size is 16 gigabytes, with the iPod Touch maxing out at 32. Both would make respectable storage devices (which could even be accessed over wi-fi). It won't be long before they double in storage space again and again, and again, and again. It wasn't that long ago that the flagship iPod had just 5Gb (and was the size of a small brick)

The Ultimate Skype Phone

Putting Skype on the iPhone is definitely possible, but odds are Apple and AT&T will try their best to stop it. If they don't (or can't) then the iPhone, with it's unlimited data plan, will be the hottest Skype phone there is.

A Boredom Buster

Tetris and Connect Four clones are already available on hacked iPhones so expect these, and a wave of new games. As with the iPod Classic, it's likely that major game developers such as EA and Sega will build iPhone versions of their classic games (if they haven't already).

Advanced MSN, AOL and SMS Device

A much complained about quirk in the iPhone is it's limited SMS capabilities. While the user interface for SMS is second to none, it lacks some basic abilities such as message forwarding. The problem's been solved in hacked iPhones, through which you can also access MSN, AOL and many other instant message services.

By opening up the iPhone and iPod Touch Apple is truly unleashing the power of its hardware and addressing the only issue most people have with the device - it's software. Apple hasn't yet released the full details of the SDK, but expect an announcement in the next few weeks.

The future of the iPhone

Here's my thought about the future iPhone.

Indeed, the Iphone is one of the best 3G phones on the Market to date. Now let's have a look at the pros and cons now shall we?

The good:
The Apple iPhone has a stunning display, a sleek design, and an innovative multitouch user interface. Its Safari browser makes for a superb Web surfing experience, and it offers easy-to-use apps. As an iPod, it shines.

The bad:

The Apple iPhone has variable call quality and lacks some basic features found in many cell phones, including stereo Bluetooth support and 3G compatibility. Integrated memory is stingy for an iPod, and you have to sync the iPhone to manage music content.

The bottom line:
Despite some important missing features, a slow data network, and call quality that doesn't always deliver, the Apple iPhone sets a new benchmark for an integrated cell phone and MP3 player and excellent desplay capabilities.

This was the reason why iPhone users and developers have been requesting Apple for a feature to allow iPhone apps to run in the background which can be very useful for Instant Messenger apps, Facebook etc.

Scott Forstall, Senior Vice President of iPhone Software at Apple, believed that enabling background processes was not the right solution when it comes to mobile phones, as it would affect the iPhone's battery life and degrade performance.

Apple was planning to solve this problem by offering developers with Push Notification Service. However, Apple had strangely pulled out the Push Notification Service APIs in fourth beta version of iPhone firmware 2.1 and there has been no further information from Apple. Though it the reason for the hold up is not clear, it is quite evident that something is holding Apple from releasing it.

MacRumors is reporting that they have heard that as an alternative Apple is considering allowing apps to run as user selectable background processes. Great isn't it? Also..

MacRumors expects this feature to be released in iPhone firmware 3.0 update but will be limited to only one or two processes for 1st Gen iPhone and iPhone 3G based on their hardware. The next generation iPhone, however, would likely see less restricted background process support due to its improved hardware. It is speculated that the next generation iPhone could come with quad-core processors.

If the rumor is true then it would be a u-turn by Apple based on their comments back in August 2008 where they believed that enabling background processes was not the right solution for the iPhone. But its very good news for iPhone users as the limitation of not being able to run apps in the background was quite frustrating.
What do you think? If Apple allowed only one or two processes to run in the background which iPhone apps will you chose. Let us know in the comments.
In case you don't want to wait, there is a jailbreak app aptly called iPhone Backgrounder which allows you to run iPhone apps in the background but for that you need a jailbroken iPhone. There is still isn't any word as to a jailbreak application for the Iphone firware version 2.2 as of yet, I'll keep you posted as to when the BETA version of a Jailbreak software is released.

So what can we look forword from Apple in the future? The possiblities are endless...

Second JD Power Award For Apple iPhone

Here is my thought about Second JD Power Award.

Again, Apple iPhone won J.D. power award for customer satisfaction among consumers like last year. After the survey of customer satisfaction study, J.D. power and Associates released the result. In that result, iPhone has highest rank among smartphone this year also. For the judging the customer satisfaction, there was five factors - ease of operation, operating system, features, physical design, and battery function to judge.

In the judgment, Apple scored well in every thing but battery life was not well however, the iPhone got the award. There was a scale of customer satisfaction which was defined in a number of 1000. In overall 1000 scores iPhone received a greater score of 791 among all the smarphone. It was the highest score for iPhone to win the J.D. Power award this year also.

In the judgment of customer satisfactions, there were other manufactures also - LG, Samsung, HTC, Motorola, Palm, RIM Blackberry etc. In this series, LG got 772 points and Samsung 759. Satisfactory scale for overall smartphone was 751 points.

Last year, in the award of J.D. power, there were 1,400 products to survey for customer satisfaction. The award was conducted in August and September to analysis the consumer review. In this award, for same things - ease of operation, operating system, physical design, handset features, and battery aspects iPhone was on highest position to get the award.

Last year, iPhone got 778 points in 1000. In this series Samsung was beaten by Apple iPhone. This year also iPhone got perfect rankings in four categories out of five except battery aspects. In the battery aspects, RIM got golden circles among all products.

How to Market Your iPhone App

Here my tips to market your iPhone App.

The iPhone is quickly emerging as the premiere wireless smart phone device in the U.S. Most recently it has added to its efficiency with the 3G connectivity feature and a more robust battery life, bringing even smarter phone users to date. For this reason the apple iPhone app market has soared. I have found it incredibly hard to avoid the latest commercial in which the use of an iPhone app was implemented to find a restaurant by food preference.

Marketing an iPhone application seems like it would be as easy as putting out a brochure in the mail. But if you have tried, it may not have appeared to be that easy. So these are some of best thoughts on possible ways you might want to market your iPhone apps.

Find your audience

What type of people will use your product? How does your product fit the needs of apple iPhone users? Is it unique in its creation or an alternative or improvement to already existing apple iPhone software applications? Do you know if your product would be popular with a certain apple iPhone user demographic?

There are forums in which iPhone users dwell. Try plugging into discussions between users. They might provide you with information on what programs are needed and what existing programs don't work. Use these forums as focus groups examining what the needs and benefits they look for from application. Pick the brains of the users. You might find out additional information on user demographic also.

Check the competition

The Apple iPhone is not without competition, see what the competition is offering and create an application of similar usability. If you have an application already created, market that application in apple user forums and other smart phone user forums as an alternative to any similar programs used by the devices. You should also contact top authoritative iPhone sites and consider advertising your application. You must remember to treat your application just like you would any other product you sell. Just because it is a digital product doesn't mean that you don't have to market it as heavily.

Get Social

Social networking sites are also great promoters of new applications. You can create a page and promote your application. Get a lot of people interested in your iPhone apps through advertising on your page, joining groups that might have an interest in what your software provides. MySpace has a bulletin feature that let you send mass bulletins to subscribers of your page and as well as the subscribers of the groups you have joined.

Blog

Out of all the suggestions mentioned above I have found this avenue the most controlled way to market anything. The current craze is blogging. It's like a forum but it gives you a way to ask your audience questions and provide them with answers. It gives you insight on customers needs and provides you with information useful to improving and marketing your products quicker. The grass root appeal is the new marketplace for anything you want to sell. You are able to address objections and develop the ground work necessary for moving your customers toward your product. The market for the best iPhone apps is growing in tremendous gains, with a little creativity and market study you can be a part of this growing industry.

How to Recover iPhone From a Crash

Here my suggestion if your iPhone or iPod touch is getting a little grumpy, crashing and freezing.

Reboot
Your iPhone/Touch is really just a pocket computer and like all computers if left running for days or weeks on end it can start to develop a few issues that cause it to occasionally crash. When your devices screen turns off or when you press its power button at the top' it is not actually completely powering down but rather going into a sleep mode in a similar way to your desktop computer. Like a computer it will occasionally need a complete restart. To do this hold down the power button at the top until a red slider appears and drag the slider to completely turn off your device. Don't worry all of your data will be retained. Turn it back on by holding the power button again for a second or two. Be aware that its quite normal for your device to take a minute or so to start up from cold.

Force Quit
So what do you do if you're in the middle of using your favorite app and suddenly it just stops responding? It wont scroll, the buttons wont work and even the main home button of your device wont take you back to the home screen. Its not like a computer where you can just switch to the desktop and force it to quit! Well actually it is in a way. If an app just stops responding hold down the home button for six or seven seconds. This is the iphone equivalent of the Force Quit on a mac or End Task on Windows.

Forced Restart
If your entire device has completely locked up and you can't even shut it down using the above method there is a way of forcing it to restart. Hold down the power button as above but this time hold the home button at the same time until you see an Apple logo appear. This will actually force the machine to completely restart which will again take a minute or so.

Replace a troublesome application
If you have completely restarted your device but there is still one particular application that insists on crashing, you could try replacing it with a fresh copy. First of all delete the troublesome app by holding your finger down on it until it starts to jiggle. Tap the x that appears in the top left corner of the icon. It should be noted that if you delete an app which was purchased on your device (rather than on your computer) before ever syncing, the app will be lost for good and you will need to download a new version from the app store. The app has now been deleted and can be replaced with the copy in iTunes on your computer. Plug your device into your computer and wait for iTunes to open. In iTunes click your device icon in the column on the left and then click the Applications tab in the main window. Make sure the app you deleted from your device is selected to sync then hit the Sync button in the bottom right. A new copy of the app will be loaded onto your device.

Replacing your settings
No amount of restarting will help if it's the actual data on your device that is corrupt. Luckily Apple has provided a way to replace key data. Open the settings application and select General.Scroll down to the bottom and select Reset. The first two items in the resulting list are Reset All Settings and Erase All Content and Settings. Ignore the following four items. Settings are all the ways in which you have customized the device for your own use and content is the media and data you have loaded on to it. Resetting settings will restore your device to its initial condition but keep all of the media you have added to it. Erase all content and Settings will completely restore your device to its original condition when first purchased. If you now re sync your device with your computer it will be populated with a nice fresh copy of your content.

I do hope this information has helped you restore your iPhone/Touch back to the smooth running device it was when you first starting using it and prevents further frustrations in the future.

Where to Download For Dirt Cheap Prices

iPhone movie downloads are selling like hot cakes. With the new iPhone emerging markets, hundreds of thousands of new phone-cum-iPod are sold overnight. This also means that all of a sudden have the same numbers of owners want to reach their iPhone movie downloads, new widgets.

Where are the folks going for the iPhone movies?

from two versions of iPhone, 4 GB and 8 GB models. A movie Typically 700 MB of 4 GB model can be easily stored in convenient or two movies. It is not much compared to the iPod but we must remember that it is the first phone MP4 player. Which happens, people are still interested to download iPhone movies cheaply.

iTunes, parent site of course, is a natural place to think, if you are looking for iPhone movie downloads. But now so many competitors, and the conversion software around, these online movie store, such as Walmart, Amazon and so on to give him their money lasts. Prices may fluctuate by up to 10 dollars in higher prices, depending on the agreements they have worked with movie studios.

The next favorite places to feed you with iPhone iPhone movie downloads would have been paid membership services. These services will be charged based on the local loop. If the payment is less than $ 49.95, you can enter the site and download as many films as you like. Many genres, classics and hittejä the last sale price is available in one DVD. You can save and view full length DVD quality movies as you have never paid the bill and the flat-rate payment per download.

Certainly, when examining the various options, it is clear that many are flocking to these movie sites that offer lifetime membership to download movies to their iPhone. The problem is, dozens of choices, it is difficult to choose the right one.