My Mobile Life

One of the things I love about having an iPhone is that I can use internet banking on it. I’ve been using PDA phones for quite a few years now and this is the first phone I’ve had where internet banking has worked in my mobile browser. That said, there is still plenty of room for improvement in this area (i.e. sometimes getting onto internet banking in Safari) is painfully slow and I wish there was a bank specific application that would be faster and easier to use.

Westpac iPhone app icon

No wonder then that I was pretty interested when I heard that NAB had just such an application out for the iPhone. Regrettably (because I bank with NAB) I haven’t been able to find any evidence of this application on the app store. I have however found that Westpac have been first off the mark with an iPhone application, though at this stage it is pretty much limited to being a branch locator application, which in itself is probably quite useful (especially considering that ATM providers have recently been given the right, through Australian legislation, to charge the customer whatever they want for their use).

The Westpac iPhone functions

For internet banking use, Westpac customers still have to use Safari just like us lowly NAB customers, though I have to say that the Westpac Internet Banking is quite a bit quicker than NABs (yes, I have accounts at both banks though most of my banking is still done with NAB – how ironic that this particular bank has chosen a name whose definition* is to “snatch or steal”.

Find a Westpac ATM

Anyway, back to the subject, the Westpac iPhone application helps you to locate branches or ATMs within your vicinity, allowing you to search by either your current location or a suburb/postcode if you prefer.

Local ATM listings

Other functions which are included in Westpac’s iPhone app are a quick link to the Westpac Online banking page (taking you directly there instead of having to go to the homepage and navigate some tiny drop down menu to get there) and a quick contact feature which gives you the contact phone numbers you’re likely to want in a hurry.

Westpac Contact numbers

While browsing around on the web for other banking iPhone applications I discovered that the only other bank in the Australasia region which seems to offer one is ANZ in New Zealand, which is good news if you’re a kiwi, not so good news if you’re a mainlander (damn it, not only do they get all the good sheep…).

Another thing I came across was the fact that Westpac have actually customised their website so that iPhone (and other mobile) users automatically see a customised screen designed for mobile browsers that shows you the main links you want to see. Regrettably most of these links just take you to normal pages on the Westpac website, but hey it’s a darn sight better than what the rest of the banks are providing. Come on guys, get with the program. Oh well, I’m sure we’ll see a few more of these custom applications as companies (in particular banks) look for ways to differentiate themselves from other players in these “tough” economic times. God, I never though I’d hear myself join the media chorus on that one. What can I say, maybe I’m getting brainwashed.

Westpac.com.au iPhone homepage

*definition source: www.dictionary.com

Some time ago i was writing about a website called PleaseFixTheiPhone.com and in the process I listed my top 3 iPhone feature requests which were:

1.) copy and paste

2.) mms capability

3.) flash plug-in

Well, within the last 24 hours Apple have released the third version of the iPhone OS, though at this stage it’s only in beta and not yet available for download (unless you’re a registered iPhone developer – ah the perks of being a programmer).

Selection menu

The good news is, that both Cut, Copy and Paste and MMS capabilities have been included in the latest iPhone OS along with a myriad of other features. Unfortunately my third request isn’t on the list, no doubt due to a lack of agreement between Apple and Adobe on licensing for the Flash Player but to be honest, I don’t think this is a deal breaker.

Cut Copy Paste

There has been a host of press about this in the day and I have found some articles that describe the features quite well including the one on Apple’s site and this one on AppleInsider.com, but I can give you a summary overview of the latest changes.

Aside from the features I’ve already mentioned, there is an improved Software Development Kit (which may not excite the average user) but it essentially means that you (the user) get better applications which provide the sort of information you want with the convenience that you want (something Apple refers to as In-App purchase). Essentially this is a win-win for both application developers and users.

Automatic discovery is another cool feature which allows you to connect with other iPhone users that are using the same application which you are using when you’re using it so that you can connect and share games or other peer-to-peer appications with other users for simplified networking.

Improved Bluetooth functionality including Bluetooth stereo for headphone/mic sets.

A new search feature called Spotlight (which coincidentally has the same name as the Search feature in the Mac OS) that allows you to search your iPhone for a particular word/features/contact/application, etc…

Spotlight for iPhone

Voice memos (an Apple provided) application which allows you to record to-do items using voice recognition.

Voice Memos

Note synchronisation with Apple Mail in the Mac OS. A rather handy feature if you use a Mac (it saves you having to go and use one of the many notetaking tools that have sprung up to fill this space in the last 8 months) some of which are quite cool by the way.

Horizontal adjustment for selected applications including Notes and StockTicker.

Notes in Horizontal mode

And last but not least, form auto-fill which allows you to complete forms quickly and easily in the same way that FireFox does when you’re on your own computer (everyone users Firefox now right?!).

In summary, I think Apple have shown a willingness to take on user input and provide the features that were missing from the early releases of the iPhone (and it’s OS). In some cases this simply means that we now have functionality which most other phones already have (i.e. copy and paste, mms capability) though in other cases it represents ground breaking functionality (i.e. peer to peer discovery) which will make the iPhone an even more attractive and revolutionary platform.

While there are definitely going to be a few things for Apple to iron out in the OS (I notice it’s difficult at present in the beta to select multiple words for a cut/copy and paste for example), generally I think we can be exctited by this release and hopefully by the time it gets to everyone it will be very stable and usable.

Are you a BOM radar fan? Come on your techno geeks (not mentioning any names… Nanda) I know you want this.

Nice Splash screen

BOM Radar now have an iphone app that allows you to check the radar on your iphone. No need to book up your computer to check the radar at 4 in the morning before doing the river loop (Brisbane riders will know what I’m talking about). Now you can just log in to your iPhone and load up the BOM to see what’s on the horizon in your area.

The app is not free. It costs $1.19 from the App store but I imagine for most users that’s neither here nor there and will probably be well worth it for the convenience factor.

The favorites screen

When you first load the app you select your state and drill through to your area from there, though with the new version (I got an update yesterday) it appears that the Favourites screen is shown if you have more than one item in your favourites. From this screen you can let the iPhone “Locate me” or you can view the Radar List and select one yourself.

My local radars

Once you select your radar you get a screen that doesn’t look all that difference from what you’d see if you were sitting in front of your computer at home.

Looking dry

Now doesn’t that just make you want to go out and buy an iPhone Nanda?

Many of you have probably head of Kindle, the device that Amazon’s Wireless Reading device for eBooks. Well, I noticed recently that there is a Kindle iPhone app available on the US app store. Unfortunately it’s not available here in Australia yet but I did come across another little application which I’ve downloaded and started using for reading eBooks on the iPhone. It’s called Stanza and it’s a free app that allows you to search for and download free eBooks and even purchase books online via selected stores.

Stanza

In case you haven’t worked it out yet I’m one of these people who generally always has to be doing something. If I’m on public transport I normally still have a book or laptop with me and will be reading or writing or bloggin on my iPhone. Being able to read eBooks on the iPhone is also rather convenient as it saves me having to remember to pack/carry a book and it’s also smaller and thus easier to read with limited space.

The reading interface

When I initially started using Stanza I found it a tad confusing but perhaps this is a reflection on my lack of experience with similar apps. For instance it took me a bit of time to work out how to scroll to the next page. Given that other apps allow you to scroll down this was the first thing I tried, to no avail. The next was trying to use the scroll bar (pictured above) but this is impractical for a large book. Eventually after looking at the settings I realised that you could click on the left side of the page to go back and on the right side to move forward. Simple enough really that most users would probably figure this out without too much trouble. These controls are probably the way you want them. Scrolling would be trickier, but some instructions when first using Stanza would be helpful.

Stanza Settings

More settings

The application settings allow you to change the way that paging works and even provides options for customising the font, font size and color to your preference.

The Library screen

When it comes to downloading and reading books there are a number of free libraries that you can access directly from Stanza through the Online Catalog. The catalog provides access to books from a number of stores and Publishers including Random House, O’Reilly, Fictionwise, etc… I was a little disappointed by the free offerings from some of these sources but beggars can’t be choosers I guess. If you’re willing to pay money for an eBook (or 3) then there should be plenty to choose from and it appears most taste are catered for. Even the Romance lovers are represented.

Online Catalog

A couple months ago someone sent me a link to a review of an iPhone game called Rolando. The review included a little video of Rolando on YouTube showing the game being played and it sparked my interest. While I’m generally not big on games as they can be time-wasters I have been wanting to review a good quality game for the iPhone and thus installing and testing the game has been on my mental to do list since I heard about Rolando.

After an initial attempt to download Rolando Lite (the free version) from the app store failed due to the fact that it’s just a little too big to download comfortably over 3G I decided to try and install it via iTunes which worked much better thanks to my broadband connection at home.

Rolando Lite during gameplay

So I find myself waiting at the airport today looking for a way to kill a few minutes before boarding a flight to Sydney and decided to give Rolando Lite a whirl. Initial impressions are that the game looks quite childish, but once you get into the game play you find that it’s quite engaging (and the style makes it accessible to a broad audience). After some initial experimentation I decided that I was going to like this game and I plugged in my headphones to keep the noise to myself. Before long I was noticing other passengers eyeing me with furtive amusement and found my partner nuding me and saying to keep the volume of my exclamations down. 

The game control is based on the iPhone’s acceleromater and you are guided through use of the controls and the gameplay with small videos that give you a context for each level and show you what the end goal is. The lite version seems to cover about a 1/4 of a large map so I assume you get the other 3/4 of gameplay out of the full version (which is $5.95 from the App Store). The background music is strangely captivating in a rather, poppy-be-boppy sorta way, though I do wonder if it changes in the full version as the scenes change.

Rolando Lite completed

If you download and install the lite version of the game you may find that you get through it relatively quickly. I think I got through the 5 or 6 levels in a couple hours though this may be as much as reflection on my misspent youth as anything else. Be warned, as you may find yourself shelling out for the full version of the game all too quickly. Enjoy!

How many times have you bought a memory stick (USB stick) only to lose it a month later and think, “Damn I need that memory stick but I don’t really want to go out and buy another one”. That happened to me recently and it left me with a bit of a problem, that is until the other day when a colleague at work showed me a little application she had downloaded for her phone, called “MemoryStick” (surprisingly enough).

MemoryStick for the iPhone

Well, I was pretty excited to find this app, so I went ahead and bought it. Yes, it wasn’t free… it set me back $2.49 (certainly cheaper than buying another one at Australia Post). To be honest, I probably would’ve saved time with the latter option as it took me a bit of stuffing around with my WiFi connection and a couple messages to the application’s support email before it actually worked. I can say though that this was through no fault of the application itself, more just a problem with my Wifi (tip: make sure you see the WiFi signal on the status bar at the top of your iPhone). And the process was worthwhile as I can now say that the application is well supported. In fact I was very impressed with the quick response time to my support request. Sadly, not all applications actually have iPhone support. More often than not an email to the developer or “support email” address will go unanswered, but not in this case.

What you see if Wifi isn't enabled on your phone

Once you have a working Wifi connection (yes this is a prerequisite for being able to use the app) getting files onto it is relatively simple. Just follow the instructions on the developer’s website.

In Windows you simply add a network place for your iPhone using the URL that is displayed when you launch the application, then you can drag and drop files onto the network place and they show up almost instantly on your phone.

Files on my MemoryStick

On the mac, it’s slightly easier. Simply “Connect to a server” (again using the URL for the application) in the Finder and you’re set to drag and drop. Once you have files on your MemoryStick you can launch them directly from the application for quick and easy viewing.

Finders view of files on my MemoryStick

If using Windows explorer on a PC or the Finder on a mac is just, well, too pedestrian for you then you can access your Memory Stick via a web browser. This gives you the ability to view and even upload files to your MemoryStick (impressive seeing the iPhone running a web server).

Add or view MemoryStick files from a browser

The app also comes with a nice easy to understand settings screen. Most of the settings are easy to comprehend at a glance, options such as whether to allow your phone to go into sleep mode with the application open, etc…

MemoryStick settings

All in all I think this is one of those handy apps that you’ll probably find yourself using quite regularly. Just remember to leave a bit of space free on your iPhone so you can use it.

This week I picked up a book from Amazon called “Beginning iPhone Development – Exploring the iPhone SDK” by Dave Mark and Jeff LaMarche. Given that iPhone development is a relatively new area of programming (the AppStore has only been around for about 7 months) the book is quite an impressive guide to developing applications on the iPhone.

While I haven’t exactly created any earth shattering applications as yet (Hello World is about as interesting as it gets) I do have some ideas for at least one application that I want to write and after doing a couple of tutorials online I decided that buying a book would probably help me to get down and dirty more quickly.

My Hello World app icon

The book covers just about everything you need to know and do in order to get started with writing iPhone applications (note: a fundamental grasp of programming is assumed), including downloading the SDK (a pretty sizable download as it includes the XCode IDE) and signing up for Apple’s iPhone Developer program (a process I’m going through at the moment).

Once you’ve got the SDK installed, writing your first application is quite easy. Interface Builder (the visual IDE which is used alongside XCode) makes it extremely simple to add graphics to your application (whether for the menu icon or in your app itself) and takes a lot of the hard work out of doing the basics.

My Hello World app

While you can sign up for and download the SDK for free, in order to get your applications on to your iPhone you’ll have to enrol for the subscription based Apple iPhone Developer program (expect to spend at least $99 on this). Though as Mark and LaMarche point out this is not a significant cost when you consider that you’re not paying anything for the IDE itself (compare it to buying Microsoft Visual Studio for example). Once you start working with the SDK itself, most programmers will be blown away by the features and tools which are available to you. Things you don’t get in most development environments (certainly not Microsoft’s anywyay), such as the ability to view the assembly code for your underlying application with the click of a menu.

Given how easy Apple have made it to write applications for the iPhone I’m not surprised that we’re seeing so many people interested in this space. The one recommendation I would make to you as an aspiring iPhone developer is to approach the process with a guide (i.e. a book like “Beginning iPhone development”) as it makes the journey a whole lot smoother, especially if you’re coming from a completely different programming paradigm (or platform).

For a more detailed review of the book check out this Slashdot article.