My Mobile Life

A new iPhone update was released yesterday. This version 2.2.1 includes a firmware update and as such is a hefty 245 MB in size. To get the upate simply plug your iPhone into iTunes while connected to the internet and you should get a prompt asking you if you want to install.

iTunes update notification

While there are no major new features in this update to get overly excited about, the patch includes some stability fixes for Safari (which I’m looking forward to).

iPhone update details

Here are a couple other articles on the update from PC World and Information Week on the update. In short the synopsis seems to be that there’s no great need to rush out and update your phone, though chances are if you use Safari much you will see an improvement there.

A few months ago I was talking to my doc who is also an iPhone enthusiast (in fact he was had a first generation iPhone that he bought off eBay before the 3G model was released in Australia) and he mentioned that one of the things he misses with the iPhone is something like the Today screen that you have in the Windows CE (Mobile) OS.

I had to agree with him at the time, it would be nice to have something that lists your upcoming appointments and tasks (with fast approaching deadlines).

Recently I had an email from a user named Ann in Canada who was looking for something like this and she mentioned the Post It application for the iPhone which goes half the way, by providing post it notes that you can set up to display as your wallpaper (so you see them every time you switch on your phone). The problem with the post it’s though is that they don’t sync to your mac.

Today screen in Windows CE

I mentioned to Ann that I would look for something that would do the job and today I came across Intelliscreen for the iPhone made by a mob called Intelliborn. While the writeups on the app look promising, searching for it in the Appstore didn’t yield any results, so either it’s not available in Australia or perhaps it’s been pulled down by Apple for some reason.

In any case I’d be interested to hear if any of you have found alternative apps that provide a Today like screen view for the iPhone. Why not leave a comment or drop me an email about it if you have.

Just about everyone has heard of Wikipedia. The free online encyclopedia which has become one of the most frequently used websites on the internet. Well, thanks to an application called Wikipanion, you can now access content from Wikipedia directly in your iPhone, faster and more efficiently then you could if you browsed to the site in the phone’s web browser.

The application features a number of handy capabilities, including smart search (a sort of auto-complete for searches), bookmarking and dictionary lookups with Wiktionary. It also remembers your recent history, storing the last 100 pages you’ve visited for easy repeat access.

There are actually two versions of Wikipanion named Wikipanion and Wikipanion Plus. The advanced version comes with the ability to queue searches and download queues in batches, flip browsing and also provides an express save option. The product website provides tutorials on how to use these advanced features.

In summary I would say that this app is a must have for the inquisitively minded iPhone user.

Looking back at the last half of 2008 I was quite astounded to realise today that the AppStore has only been around since the release of the iPhone 3G (about 6 months) and that there are now more than 10,000 applications available for the phone.

Given that it’s a new year it’s appropriate to look at the best apps that were released in 2008. While there are a few sites out there producing lists, the TestFreaks site is one that springs to mind. Check out their best of article here, I think my own list would look something like this:

1.) AroundMe – helps you find essentials (banks, gas stations, coffee shops, etc…)

2.) ShowTimes – find out what’s on and get session times for movies playing within your vicinity

3.) EverNote – access your text/pdf, video and picture notes from your phone whever you are

4.) Facebook – update your status or check on what your friends are up to while on the go

5.) Shazaam – can’t work out who that song is by, Shazaam will tell you

6.) iFitness – record your workouts on your phone and access pictures and instructions on numerous exercises

7.) Dictionaire – the free pocket Dictionary for your phone

Reading through some of the other lists that are out there I’ve come across a few more great apps that I will no doubt be downloading and trying out soon such as Wikipanion, Night Camera and Recorder. Look out for posts in these in the coming weeks.

I’ve just returned today from a couple of weeks on holidays and gees, it’s nice to be home, particularly after camping for a week during the Woodford Folk Festival and then spending a few days on the road travelling to and from Sydney.

Now that I’m home I plan to get back into the swing of putting regular posts up for you on the cool little iPhone apps that I come across as well as all the little handy tips and tricks that I find.

Given that it’s the start of a new year and many of you are probably reflecting on what you want to achieve in the coming year I thought I’d post a link to another blog that I came across today. The author’s name is Jack Cheng and the post is about finding work that makes you happy (a subject I’m particularly interested in) and finding a balance between work that pays the bills and that which makes you happy. Here it is: http://www.jackcheng.com/maxing-out-your-triangle

All the best for the year ahead!