My Mobile Life

Tonight I’m in Hobart, lapping up the cooler weather (it’s a good 10-15 degrees C cooler than Queensland) and looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation while exploring this beautiful part of Australia. But that’s not what I wanted to post about tonight.

I wanted to tell you about a little eBook I read recently called the Internet Business Manifesto by Rich Schefren who I heard about some months ago through another Internet Focused entrepreneur named Yaro Starak. Actually I had downloaded the Internet Business Manifesto about the time that I first heard of Rich but hadn’t had the chance to read it until last week. But boy am I glad I did.

The eBook is a free download from Rich’s Strategic Profits website which is part of a program that he runs coaching Internet based entrepreneurs in running their businesses and improving profits. The book touches on a number of key concepts that are at the core of Rich’s business coaching program. Concepts such as the timing for building an internet business (based on the maturity of the industry), the difference between out-tasking and outsourcing, and the key things that differentiate the Entrepreneur from the Opportunity Seeker. Rich also talks about how many of us have very few truly productive hours in the day, “productive time” being that spent on building systems that make money.

Having spent a bit of time in the Internet space and running my own web based business for near on 10 years, I think there’s a great deal of value in this little eBook which you can get for free from Rich’s site. Yaro Starak even has a link to a missing chapter of the book on his site which you can download right now. I recommend you go do it immediately if you want to start creating and/or developing the business of your dreams.

I came across this article tonight about Mobile Wallets and how mobile users in Japan are using their phone to pay for things, replacing credit cards as a mechanism for payment. Having lived in Japan for several users as a young person I know that the Japanese love gadgets and would probably be the first to pick up a technology like this, but I can actually see this as something that could really take off here and in the USA as well.

Like many other people, my phone is one of the few things that I try to take with me everywhere I go. Sometimes I will have my phone on me but not my wallet and in these situations, even if I have a wad of cash, I’d like to be able to use my phone to pay for something in the absence of a credit card or ATM card.

While I know there are already cases in Australia where we have the opportunity to pay for things with our mobile phones, it really is the exception rather than the norm but I can see that this will change in the future and I’m looking forward to it.

One of by passion’s in life is surfing. Living an hour from the nearest surf beach means that I normally have to check the surf online to get an idea of whether a trip to the coast is warranted. So over the last few weeks I’ve been thinking it wound be cool to have an app that could tell me if the surf’s up. Well today I found what I’ve been looking for.

Surf Report by Surfline and Oakley

The aptly named Surf Report which is produced by Surfline (the North American equivalent of Coastalwatch.com) and sponsored by Oakley.

Region selection w/ My Location button

The application supports countries in just about every continent and surfing region including Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia. However you don’t have to browse through your region to get to the report on your nearest break. Just click the My Location button which you’ll be familiar with if you’ve used Google Maps on your iPhone.

Listing of breaks within range

Once you’ve clicked on My Location you get a list of breaks within range of you (range can be adjusted via the Settings screen). From there you can drill down to the break that you’re interested in and see the details including wind speed/direction, swell period and size, etc…

Break details

By default the application displays everything in Fahrenheit and Feet, but again this can be adjusted via the settings for the app if you prefer to see Celsius and Meters. As mentioned from settings you can also specify the radius to be used when selecting breaks within range.

Surf Report Settings

From the limited amount of testing I’ve done it appears that tha app is reasonably accurate though not perfect. For example I saw a listing for Caloundra in the location Near Me that said there was 1.2M of swell this morning when in fact there is only about a foot. So you’ll probably want to compare info with the other breaks in the area and/or check online using another source if something doesn’t quite make sense. But generally speaking this app will no doubt be a required download for any surfer worth his sea salt. Oh, and did I mention it’s free! This app gets four out of five stars.

A few weeks ago I posted an article about using Google Mobile as a search tool for contacts on your phone. Well, today I noticed a news item about a new version of Google Mobile which supports voice recognition.

The app is still in beta (i.e. the version is 0.3.14) and but it is a bit of a novelty for other users like me who are intrigued by geeky things like voice recognition (VR for the truly techno hip). One of the first things I noticed with the upgrade is that the interface is completely different from the previous version, certainly a little less simple then it was previously.

Google Mobile Settings

Google states that the voice recognition works best for users with a North American accent, so some Australian users may find that it has trouble with interpreting them. Personally I found that I didn’t have much trouble with it, though I did have some unusual results. I found for example that it understood “Kate Miller-Heidke” without trouble, but had difficulty with simpler search terms like “McDonalds” and contact names.

Recent Search Listings

By default voice recognition searching is disabled for users outside of North America, but it can be enabled quite simply via settings. When you go to perform a search you have the option of using a search field or clicking the Voice Search box. When you do this the app tells you when to start speaking.

Prompt to start speaking

It also changes the display when performing voice recognition processing and then shows you a sound wave representation of what you’ve said. All very cool and graphical in my opinion (IMO). All this graphics do come at a price though as the VR process does appear to be quite slow on the current 3G iPhone. I guess this is to be expected given the current specs on the phone, however it is a tad disappointing if you were expecting a quick response.

The display indicates that VR is in progress

The text based search seems to be a bit slower then it was previously as well and I am surprised that I still get web based search results when I’ve turned off website searching in the settings for the app.

In summary I think Google still has a bit of work to do on their iPhone app and now that the Contact Search has been improved on the iPhone, there will probably be less people reverting to it purely for this purpose. That said I think the VR idea is a good one and something we’ll see a bit more of in future versions.

Recently I rejoined the gym after an extended hiatus and I’ve been slowly building up the intensity of my workouts again. having spent a bit of time in the gym i haven’t bothered to get a new program done up as I can normally just put a workout together on the fly based on what I want to achieve. That said, I have been looking for a way to record what I’m doing in my sessions and I wasn’t really happy with the idea of using a notebook. My experience is that notebooks fill up and then get chucked into a cupboard at home only to be found again 5 years later, but that doesn’t do you all that much good. You want to be able to look back over your progress quickly and easily and all-in the one place. Well, have I found a solution for you!!!

The iFitness splash screen

It’s called iFitness ($2.49 from the appstore) and I’m referring to it as my new personal trainer, but it’s also my exercise log, relegating the old notebook to the annals of history. I came across the app yesterday and was pleasantly surprised to find that it comes with 115+ exercises, complete with instructional pictures showing exactly how to perform each exercise. The exercises also have easy to read instructions which complement the pictures.

Exercise listing by muscle group

You can view the exercises from a number of screens. They can be displayed ordered by muscle group, by name (alphabetically) or from one of several pre-compiled routines which provide options for the novice gym bunny, the abdominally focused punter, or those of us who want to build strength and/or bulk up.

Pre-defined Exercise Routines

From each exercise you can choose to quickly add the exercise to your daily routine using the + button, or create a log entry with a record of what weight and how many reps you did today. These logs can then later be retrieved to give you a complete view of what your workout entailed.

Pictures show you what the exercise should look like

When creating a log entry, one little gotcha I found is that the weight is expected in pounds. You can change it to Kg’s, you’ve just got to remember to do this each time you add an entry. And unfortuantely there doesn’t appear to be a default setting for this… yet. 

The new Log Entry screen

Generally speaking though I’d have to give this app 4 out of 5 stars as I think it provides excellent value for money. Here’s to the saving I’ll be making on personal trainers.

A Workout Log

I have to tell you about a funny little app I came across the other day. It’s called Toiletmate and it purports to be able to help you locate a toilet within 5 kms of your current location. I know I’ve said this before, but this is exactly the sort of application that makes the iPhone so great. Being able to leverage Google Maps and the ability to pinpoint a user’s current location has definitely brought a new level of usefulness to mobile devices.

Toiletmate

So with this little app, curiousity got the better of me and I decided to spend the $1.19 to purchase it. I figure it will definitely come in handy at some point. At this stage the application only supports Australian users/locations and I’m not sure if there will be versions for other locations in the future as it’s been difficult to get in touch with the developer.

Toilet listing

That said the application does seem to work very well within Australia. The interface itself is extremely simple with no graphics or frills, but I guess you wouldn’t be thinking about graphics if you’re busting for a leak.

After launching the app and being promtped to allow it to use your location, you are presented with a list of the closest toilets in order of proximity. Selecting a particular listing takes you to Google Maps, though it gives you a warning asking if you really want to leave the app before it does which I find slightly annoying. 

Prompt to go to Google Maps

However, I think this could be a very handy little app to have on your phone in those times of need.

[Graphics coming soon]

A couple days ago a friend of mine sent me a link to an interesting blog post which lists 11 great tools for making VOIP calls on the iPhone.

The first product mentioned is Fring, an app that I’ve been hearing a bit about over the last couple months. Initially I’d heard the app described as a messaging product which integrates MSN, ICQ, AIM, etc… and well, I’m a little over messaging (for messaging’s sake) having tried every one of these products at one time or another.

To be honest, even after reading about making VOIP calls with Fring I was a bit dubious as to the benefits of it. Would the savings really measure up and how much would this depend on a user having a really generous data allowance? As it turns out the Fring website have some good comparison tables that answer these questions. 

Well, I haven’t had a chance to try out all of Fring’s features (VOIP for instance is one I haven’t tested yet) but after finally downloading it (for free – from the app store) and trying it out today, I have been very impressed by what a great little app it is. Like many other IT professionals I know, I use MSN messenger at work to communicate with colleagues both in the office and out. Occassionally I work from home and like to remain connected to MSN so that I can be contacted easily from the office and ideally I’d like to be able to do this, even if I’m not at my desk (i.e. say I’m hanging out the washing or something). Well, Fring certainly fits the bill if it’s connectivity you’re after.

Fring allows you to connect with not just MSN messenger but Skype, ICQ, Google Talk, Twitter, AIM & Yahoo all at the same time. When you first launch the application you have a number of options. You can setup add-ons (i.e. one of the aforementioned apps), add buddies, or change privacy settings for example:

Fring Options

In the Add-Ons menu you can access the settings for any of the services that you want to connect to. The list is pretty impressive, though not all of the add-ons allow you to perform the full range of functions (for exaple Twitter, AIM and Yahoo allow services Chat only).

Fring Add-Ons menu

When you select an Add-On from the list you are prompted to enter your sign-in details for the service, so have these handy when you go to connect. I found that it took a bit of time for the MSN messenger add-on to connect and store my details, but once you have entered the details for an Add-On you don’t have to re-enter it. I suspect you’ll probably want to do this while connected via WiFi, unless patience is a particularly plentiful virtue of your character.

MSN Messenger sign-on

One of the Add-ons I haven’t had a chance to test properly yet is Skype, though I understand that you can use it to make calls or chat to other skype users, as well as make international or local calls to landlines and mobiles, just as you would with SkypeOut. Something I’m definitely looking forward to testing out.

Add-On sign on

Once you’ve setup the add-ons/services that you want to use you can access your budy list via the main menu down the bottom of the application. When a buddy messages you, an audible alert lets you know that someone’s trying to contact you and the phone vibrates as it does when you receive new mail.

Buddy list

Messaging with Fring is pretty easy and surprisingly quick. I managed to have a conversation with an MSN buddy while driving today, though admittedly I did almost end the life of an ageing gentleman getting into his parked car on the side of the road, while doing so.

Messaging with Fring

The Test Call feature allows you to dial a test number and ensure that the app is installed correctly. An automated answering machine responds to the test call and you’re invited to leave a short message which is then replayed to you to confirm that you’re voice connection is working as expected.

Fring test call

Initially I did have a problem when attempting to make my test call, but I suspect this was due to inadequate coverage in the area I was trying to call from. So if you get a message like this, my advice is try again from another spot.

Test call error

All in all, I think this is a pretty cool app which I expect to use a lot more. Look out for the next installment on the applications features and what the VOIP experience is like. Happy Fringing!

I must say I’m rather impressed with the quality of the camera on the iPhone. While it’s no award winner in terms of the size of photos taken and it doesn’t have a flash, if you’ve got reasonable lighting it certainly does the job (and more than adequately in my opinion).

Today I had the perfect subject for using the iPhone camera and happily it was a stationary one, as I haven’t had the best results with trying to photograph moving objects using the phone (a shutter speed control would definitely come in handy).

Yes, I have to say the Audi R8 is my dream car at the moment and if I had a lazy $300k I’d probably buy one even if that’ll only get me a second hand one for my money.

My Dream Car

Okay, yes I realise it’s a V8 and I’d probably need another $30k per annum, just to keep the thing on the road (and that’s probably conservative when you take into account insurance). Getting the surfboard in could be an issue as well, but I’m sure you already realise that this day dream has nothing to do with practicality.

Nice profile

But hey, a guy’s gotta dream!

What a hot ass!

Whew, I think I need a cold shower.

I don’t know about you, but I have a certain need for understanding, at least when it comes to the English Language. I often find myself wanting to have a dictionary at hand even if it’s just to confirm or clarify the meaning of a word, so I’ve recently been looking for an app that fulfills this purpose.

In my search I discovered quite a few dictionary apps around and found that you can pay varying amounts for one (it’s $29 for the Concise Oxford Dictionary), but being a bit frugal I decided to test out a free app called Dictionaire by Hampton. Labelled as the Simple Dictionary, it’s a fairly basic application that generally provides a definition with the least number of words possible.

Dictionaire the Free Dictionary

Happily in my case that’s generally all I really need or want when I’m on the go and I’ve found it to be quite usable. When you first start the app it does take a couple of seconds to preload the database however, once it’s loaded you’re good to go and finding a word is quick and easy. There’s an auto-suggestion feature which tries to match the letters you’ve typed to a word in the dictionary which speeds up input.

Dictionaire by Hampton

Some big words I’ve found aren’t in the dictionary (for example Magnanimous), whereas others are (i.e. Magnanimously) and it does get a little annoying when the definition for one refers to the other. Other words I’ve found in the ditionary are somewhat unusual in an English dictionary (for example Manana which I think is actually a Spanish word).

Word lookup

Another minor downside (if I had to point to one) would be the fact that there is a little advertising bar at the top of the app window which takes up screen real estate, however, overall I’ve been pretty happy with the application and would recommend it if you’re looking for a free English Dictionary.