May 8th, 10
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As you may know, I am the extremely happy owner of an iPhone. I also happen to be doing a degree which has something to do with programming (apparently…), leading me to wonder what would happen if I were to try combining these two!
I’ve previously had one or two ideas put to me for iPhone software, and also have thought of some myself. Objective-C looks like a bit of a pain in the backside to learn, but challenges are fun! The only obstacle left in my way is Apples decision to only let you run their iPhone development software on their own OS.
This leaves me with a couple of options. Firstly, I could put together a hackintosh on some old hardware, providing I’ve got some hardware lying around that it will work with! The only downside of trying that approach is that this is likely to happen. The other option is to buy one, I’ve been having a look at Mac Minis, which would probably cost somewhere in the region of £600 with student discount.
I don’t know if I’m ready to give up my Mac-hater stance and actually buy one, but I’m tempted…
Apr 30th, 10
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I’ve spent the last couple of days playing around with the new version of Spotify, and have finally decided to shell out for premium on a trial basis. I must say – I’m impressed so far!
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Jun 30th, 09
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First of all, this is not a particularly informed review. I do not own one of these devices currently, I’m basing my opinion on third party reviews and Apples’ keynote address on the 3GS.
The one thing that strikes me about this whole launch is the amount of hype Apple are creating about the 3.0 software – but overlapping this with the launch of the 3GS. For instance, things like Spotlight search and the new Messages app feature center-stage on the Apple website promoting the 3GS, but these are available on 3G and even 2G iPhones!! That said, the features 3.0 brought to my phone have been sadly disappointing. The vast increases in SDK capabilities haven’t been taken up by developers at all (may do another post on this some time) for whatever reason, and I’m yet to use Spotlight in a ‘non-test’ capacity. The messages app is all well and good – but when I tried to send a contact to a friend of mine, it came out as rubbish. I know there’s not a standard for such messages across phones, but that sort of invalidates the point of having such capabilities!
Voice control is all well and good, I’ve not seen many reviews of this feature out in the wild, so I can’t really pass judgement on that. The addition of a magnetometer within the 3GS will be a huge feature. I personally try to get out and about doing some Geocaching, and hopefully the Groundspeak iPhone application will be updated to allow use of this compass to make seeking caches even easier with an iPhone.
However, the simple addition of video recording (and increase in camera quality) is just about enough to sell me on the 3GS. I’ve whinged about the quality of the existing camera until I’m blue in the mouth – but still I use it for all my day-to-day shooting! People are much more likely to be carrying a mobile phone than a full camera when they need it most. Apple have pulled some really good moves in this hardware update, and I for one am on the end of the hook – I want it!
Mar 31st, 09
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Skype have just launched their official iPhone client in the UK! Woop!
My first reaction was definitely one of ‘wow’ – the interface is slick, and a quick phone call to their ‘test service’ (didn’t want to wake anyone!) revealed the call quality to be excellent, although it seemed that a little part of my test message was dropped.
Only problem I can see with it is the lack of cell network support, I’d really like to be able to make calls on the go without having Wi-Fi nearby. Other ‘nice to have’ would be the use of background processing on the iPhone, but that is Apples’ fault obviously. Maybe push notifications could be used somehow in this app? We shall wait and see…
Mar 29th, 09
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And they say small things amuse small minds? Never been more true!
Found an absolute gem in the iPhone App store the other day: Flight Control [iTunes link]. Here’s my go at a little review!
The UI is much smoother than I’ve seen on many iPhone games, simplistic menu options and tutorials make this game so easy to dive in to. The basic idea of the game is to guide planes onto a runway (you can probably see why I like it already!), whilst making sure they don’t collide with each other. It’s harder than it sounds!
There are 4 types of aircraft in this version: light aircraft, helicopters, medium and large jets. All of which move at a slightly different speed – the controllers nightmare! I’m sure nothing this drastic would occur in real life though (aircraft landing within split seconds of each other?!), or else I’d only be able to land 66 planes before killing someone!
The use of the touch-and-drag interface on the iPhone coupled with clever use of the on-screen graphics and onboard sound make the game extremely easy to use, it takes mere seconds to get started.
Overall, I’ve no regrets on spending 59p on this app, and I can’t wait to see how it will be expanded on in future releases
P.S. I wanted to include some screenshots, but no matter how hard I try, the iPhone won’t let me take them off the internal memory 
Jan 13th, 09
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Just been released! Provides support for multiple calendars on the phone (so they appear in different colours) and also for read-only ICAL files.
Well, that’s just put gCalCloud out of business! I shall be shelving the project tomorrow, but will post the source code for people to have a look at just how crap it was! Hehe
Anyway, cheers Nuevasync, you just saved me a project!
Jan 12th, 09
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As part of my resolution to get using this blog some more, thought I’d invest in iBlogger – a iPhone application that’s actually quite professional! It’s on sale at the moment, down from £4.99 to £0.59 – well worth it!
Anyway, think it’s time I slept!
Jun 10th, 08
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God bless you Steve Jobs, you never cease to amaze me with your new technology. New iPhone 3G was announced last night at WWDC, with some brand new features:
3G (duh!) which actually seems to work at the same speeds as HSDPA(?) It is actually a HSDPA phone, according to Apples tech-specs – which makes it 3.5G!- A-GPS (Assisted GPS, works with Wi-Fi and Cell tower to calculate positions faster)
- 2.0 software (obviously!)
- Also available in white!
- Flush headphone jack
- All-metal buttons
- Better speakers
The 2.0 software looks good as well, can’t wait for some native games to come along!
The best thing of all – o2 offering free upgrades to existing customers! No contract termination fee, just pay for the new phone, sign up for a new 18 month contract, and you’re away!
I’ve already registered so that o2 will phone me up to set the ball rolling on these things in early July – I can’t wait!
Update: Just realised I’m away through most of early July – damnit.
Feb 29th, 08
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Not actually figured out if it fixes anything yet, not heard any rumours around various other blogs either.
Ah well… roll on next Tuesday – apparently a potential release date for the SDK 
Feb 27th, 08
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Firmware update 1.1.4 for update has been launched this morning. No new features (apparently, not installed yet), but a few unspecified bugfixes. Nothing in the Apple KnowledgeBase about the security fixes either!
Could this actually be the release of the SDK, but hidden away? I’d expect an iTunes update within the next week or so, to unlock the features of the SDK, and then maybe firmware 1.1.5 to unlock the phone
EDIT: Just tried to update my phone, got a "1602" error, apparently I have to restore to factory settings