I love apps that make my life easier. And when they're really useful, I don't mind paying a little for them. The 5 apps I will mention in this list are not jailbreak apps, so everyone can use them.
Each of these apps is either designed to increase your productivity or make some aspect of your technology life better. They all aren't necessarily cheap, but there are free/lite versions of some. These 5 apps are utilities I use on a daily basis, so they're near and dear to my heart...
Track Your Happiness.org is a recent project from a group of Harvard scientific researchers. The project's goal is to, "investigate what makes life worth living." Specifically, to see how the wandering mind and happiness correlate.
But how could this type of a survey really be effective when you would need the ability to invade the mind of your participant throughout the day for effective results?
Researchers were able to do something that traditional physiology methods have not allowed in the past: to intrude on the lives of their participants in a non-threatening and targeted way. What better means to prick the wandering mind than through what is the usual cause of a wandering mind- the smartphone.
This specific way of data collecting was made possible through (you guessed it) the iPhone...
Do you hate how your iPhone leaves app icons in the multitasking bar even though they aren't running anymore? How about when you have to go through that tedious process to exit an app; click the home button twice, tap and hold an icon in the multitasking bar, wait for it to jiggle, and then click that tiny red delete button to quit.
Luckily, there are other people that feel the same way. MultiCleaner is a jailbreak app that relieves the cumbersomeness of managing your multitasking apps. In fact, the app's tagline is quite simple, "Because iOS 4 multitasking sucks..."
Voice messaging through the Heytell app (download free in the App Store, also available on Android) is quickly becoming my preferred medium of communication. It combines the convenience of text messaging with the personal touch of phone calls. And it's a much safer alternative to texting if you're on the road or in a hurry and need to leave a message for someone.
Heytell takes out all the legwork of dialing numbers, waiting through rings, listening to the voicemail, and then finally the beeeeep! Instead, just select your contact, record your message, and they'll receive a notification a message is waiting for them to check at their convenience.
Heytell isn't new, but I just recently discovered it. I'm assuming there's others out there who don't know about it or would like an explanation of how it works before trying, so if that's you, read on!
Jay Freeman, better known as saurik, recently gave a TED talk on the philosophy of mobile software. He compared the iPhone's App Store and the jailbreak mentality to how consumers buy and modify cars. He made the case for what he has based his career on: that consumers do not want the software limitations that Apple maintains on iOS.
The first half of saurik's TED talk explains the state of the car industry, and the consumer approach to buying and modifying cars. His comparison is interesting, and it definitely merits his point about Apple's App Store philosophy...
Apple doesn't like for users to be able to see what's "under the hood." OS X and iOS are very design and aesthetically driven. Apparently, Apple feels that "viewing processes" is an archaic feature. There is no real way in iOS to get a bird's eye view of everything that's running on your phone.
There are, however, some of us out there who would like to know things like which processes are running and the current distribution of system memory. Luckily, App Switch, by XCool Apps, is here to remedy our need for total control...
Tumblr has started making a name for itself as a viable blogging platform. For the longest time, Tumblr was considered the more lightweight and amateur version of established platforms like Wordpress. With over 30,000,000 monthly visitors, the micro-blogging platform has become a force to be reckoned with.
The folks at Tumblr have been making numerous changes to the platform, and now the service offers almost every blogging feature that you could think of. Tumblr takes a non-intrusive, social approach to blogging. The official Tumblr iPhone app was recently updated to support some of the new features of the website...
A recent study has shown that over 50% of mobile developers prefer the iOS platform. Millennial Media surveyed over 500 mobile developers and advertisers and asked them what their current and future plans were in terms of mobile application development. The survey complied a pie chart of the responses, and iOS is still on top.
Factoring iPhone and iPad, iOS made up 51% of the current development support. Android is currently being supported by less than half of the respondents. However, when asked about their development plans in 2011, mobile developers favored the Google Android platform...
The wait for a stable way to get Flash on the iPhone is almost over as Apple has quietly approved SkyFire, an app that was submitted about 2 months ago. SkyFire, which will be available on Thursday in the App Store is the first app of its kind to be approved by Apple.
I don't think I have to refresh your memory by explaining that Apple and Adobe's Flash aren't BFFs. Apple has made it pretty clear before they wouldn't not allow Flash on any iOS device. SkyFire goes around these restrictions to allow Flash content to be downloaded to their servers, then "translates" and renders the video into HTML5, which is supported by all iOS devices...
Last week it was reported that Square, a mobile credit card reader, had opened its doors and was available for download in the app store. Square is the brainchild of Jack Dorsey, who is also co-founder of Twitter.
The app, when used in conjunction with a small card reader that plugs into the auxiliary port, allows anyone to process credit card payments. This takes "mobile payments" to a whole new level as now small businesses and vendors can process payments without the need for a wired or complex point-of-sale system.
All you need is a compatible device (iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or one of select Android devices), the card reader, and a signal on your device.
So what does this mean for retailers and small businesses? Is it secure to use? And what about the cost? Will this be the new method businesses large and small use? Read more to find out...
You can now search the App Store through Google search on the iPhone. Google recently added an "iPhone apps" category to its search options. This new option is available within the official Google Mobile app and the Google web interface on mobile Safari.
Google indexes the App Store to bring you only iPhone apps when you are searching on your iPhone or iPod touch. You are given a list of results with the price, average star rating and a brief description for your viewing pleasure. Nothing too fancy though.
When you click the app you want to go to, Google merely takes you to the iTunes web preview page. And the preview page doesn't even prompt the App Store app to open, which is odd...
Now that Apple has announced a desktop version of the App Store, there is much speculation on what we are actually getting. There are already quite a few OS X software marketplaces out there, though none are as polished as the iPhone's App Store.
If Apple is smart, they will likely add the Mac App Store as a way to run universal apps and release an iOS runtime platform for the desktop. Just think about it for a minute.
There isn't much unification between doing tasks on an iPhone and a Mac simultaneously, save for the apps that sync with their desktop counterparts. Here are some predictions I have about benefits of supporting universal apps on Macs.