AppleTap » iPhone

And My iPhone RSS Reader of Choice is…

Matt Petch — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 20:25:46 +0000

I have decided to change the way I present my group reviews. In fact they wont really be group reviews as such any more. I will still spend a good deal of time looking at all of the available apps within a chosen group, but rather than take up space talking about the ones I wasn’t so keen on I have decided to cut to the chase and just talk about my preferred app.

I have recently been looking for a good free RSS reader. Why do I feel a twinge of guilt when I say I’ve looking for a free one? Anyway it couldn’t just be any RSS reader. I had a list of criteria that it had to meet.

Google reader synchronization.
I want to be able to add to my RSS feeds whilst at my computer so it was important that the reader app would sync with whatever I added to my Google Reader account.

Manually organize subscriptions into folders.
I wanted to have the ability to group feeds into folders rather than have a single long list of feeds or some sort of automated sorting.

Built in Web Page viewer.
I didn’t want to have to leave the app to view a feeds web page in Safari.

Look good and be easy to use.
It is important to me that an app looks good and is easy to use.

This criteria allowed me to draw up a short list of half a dozen or so apps. I couldn’t find an app that satisfied all of the above criteria, but Of those I looked at, two really stood out. iNews O by gdiplus and MobileRSS (Free Version) by Nibiru Tech.

iNews O is a very feature rich and customisable RSS reader. Notable features are its option of displaying feeds in a tiled manner rather like magazine thimb nails, the ability to customize the navigation bars and the impressive range of export options which include Mail,Instapaper, Read It Later, Twitter and Facebook. Despite these features it still lacked one important thing for me; The ability to arrange and group feeds into folders of my creation.

The RSS reader I finally settled on is the free version of MobileRSS. MobileRSS Synchronizes with Google reader and whilst I can’t manually create a folder structure, it does maintain the folder structure I create in Google reader.It does have a built in browser and it can display feeds for the small screen. Export and integration functions are quite good allowing you to send to Twitter, Facebook, ReadItLater, Instapaper, Delicious and Email.

In all these are two very good apps but I think it is the simplicity and clarity of MobileRSS that wins me over.

Link to the Proporta website

Alternative keyboards for the iPhone and iPod Touch

Matt Petch — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:28:56 +0000

If you search the internet for “iPhone keyboard” you will find an awful lot of people complaining. Many people find the touch screen keyboard of the iPhone and iPod Touch rather difficult to use and would rather have something more tactile and suitable for the larger thumb.

Whilst I can appreciate the difficulties that some people have I don’t really fall into this camp of thinking. Partly because I’m not the worlds fastest typer but also because I simply don’t have a problem using the touch keyboard. Occasionally I hit the wrong key but its not a big enough problem for me to want to sacrifice the benefits of the touch keyboard for a physical one.

Rather than concentrate on the apparent shortcomings of a feature such as the touch keyboard I prefer to look at the design of the iPhone and Touch in a more holistic way. The software keyboard, like the multi-touch technology itself allows for a great deal of versatility. It’s immediately there when its needed and disappears when its not, returning the full display back to you. It also adapts to the context in which it is being used, giving you a .com key for example when needed and a selection of alternatives when a key is held down. You also have the option of flipping your device on its side to access a larger, more spaced out keyboard.

That said, I haven’t really, yet felt comfortable writing lengthy articles or blog posts on the iPhone keyboard. I can see that in some situations an alternative keyboard may be useful but they are few and far between.

iType $100

Later this year, ION Audio will be bringing out iType; an almost full size QWERTY keyboard that cradles your iPhone in the upper portion of a keyboard that looks a lot like a ZX81 I still own. The iType has its own battery so it won’t drain your device and it is rumored that it may even be able to charge it. I don’t really know what I think about this. I can imagine it could be great if you want to do a lot of typing on your iPhone but I cant help thinking that if you are going to carry this keyboard around, you may as well carry a laptop around and be done with it. Having said that I can imagine myself using this and a laptop of course, costs a lot more than the expected price of $100 for the iType.

ION Audio website here
More images here

iTwinge $30

Perhaps size doesn’t matter. In which case the iTwinge may be the keyboard alternative for you. iTwinge is sleeve that plugs into your device and covers the lower half of your screen with a tactile keyboard making your iPhone look like a BlackBerry. If you really need a tactile keyboard when writing larger quantities of text this could be a good solution. I struggle however to see this as being a good replacement for the standard keyboard in general use. The fact that it permanently covers the lower half of the screen will present obvious problems. You also lose the ability to hold a key down for additional options and of course it wont work when the iphone is on its side.

Mobile Mechanics site here

4iThumbs $15 – $20

The lowest cost item is the 4iThumbs. This is a simple clear plastic overlay/screen protector with raised pips that provide a tactile separation to the touch keys which can be through it. It appears to be very easy to apply and adds hardly any bulk to your device. Unlike the iTwinge it does not obscure the screen and is available in landscape and portrait versions. When you are not using it slips out of its retaining flaps and attaches to the reverse of your device. I like the simplicity of this approach and prefer it to the iTwinge, but I still think my device is a better product without it. Perhaps if I really had a problem with the touch keyboard I may feel different.

4iThumbs site here

That’s it for now. Please let me know if you have tried any of these, or any other keyboards I haven’t mentioned.

A beautiful selection of quality iPhone and iPod Touch accessories

A new kind of App. Promised Land Of Heavy Metal.

Matt Petch — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 22:14:48 +0000

Promised Land Of Heavy Metal is an app that I have personally been involved in the creation of. That, however is not why I am writing about it here. I have been involved in a number of apps that have not made it to the pages of this web site.

Promised Land Of Heavy Metal (or PLOHM) is a little different to most, as at it’s heart is a full length, 52 minute documentary film which tells the story of Finnish Metal, Its history and it’s philosophy. A nice looking interface (yep, I did that bit) allows you to access the apps other sections which include A guide book to Finland (the Promised Land Of Heavy Metal), Photo Galleries, Links to travel information, festivals and Merchandise.

Finland is particularly significant in the Metal scene, as it is probably the only country in the world where Metal has become mainstream. As you will see in the film; the Finnish church has Metal Masses, Finland has had a winning entry into the Eurovision song contest with LORDI and even the Finnish President approves of its Metal connections. It is this bizarre and diverse nature of the film that makes it fascinating to watch for the non Metal fan as well as the true Metal enthusiast.

The Film is Narrated by Kimmo Kuusniemi, now a film maker and guitarist for the very influential band Sarcofagus but originally a forefather of Finnish Metal. It also features a plethora of famous faces and bands such as HIM, Killswitch Engage, Nightwish, Alice Cooper, Lordi, Apocalyptica, Blake and Iron Maiden to name just a few.

Without wishing to blow my own trumpet (or should that be play my own axe) This is a nice looking app containing a fascinating and well made film with some great reviews. Perhaps this is the first of a new breed of app which offer full length films with lots of additional media tied together with an interface that gives it a good DVD feel.

iTunes link: Promised Land Of Heavy Metal

Don’t forget that you are able to connect your device to your TV using one of the systems below, which I wrote about in my previous post “Ten Christmas Gifts For an iPod Touch or iPhone User“

The Klipsch iGroove SXT MFI iPod Speaker System which also provides an S-video output.

The Logic3 WIP040 Prodock

A beautiful selection of quality iPhone and iPod Touch accessories

Ten Christmas Gifts For an iPod Touch or iPhone User

Matt Petch — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:52:21 +0000

The array of accessories available for the iPod Touch and iPhone is huge. This gives you a lot of options if you are looking for a Christmas gift but it can be very time consuming to find the best products in the mass of available offerings. Fear not. I have done the work for you and compiled below, a list of Ten different accessories. In each case I have spent time selecting what I consider to be good options. I can’t promise that the products I have selected will definitely be the best but I have tried to make informed selections based on My own experiences, available reviews and ratings, products I already own and simply comparing features to decide which appear to be good value for money. In short I have done exactly what I would do if searching for products for my self. First up is my most used item, the speaker dock.

Speaker dock
A speaker dock is one of the most used accessories I have ever bought. The JBL On Stage IIIP is a highly rated unit with good sound quality. I own a JBL On Stage speaker and have found it to be well made, faultless and produce high sound quality. If you want the added ability to view your video and photos on a television screen you could consider the Klipsch iGroove SXT MFI iPod Speaker System which also provides an S-video output.

The JBL On Stage IIIP

Klipsch iGroove SXT MFI

Alarm Clock
If you are wanting to pair your device with your radio alarm clock; the Sony ICFC7IP Clock Radio for iPod looks like a choice that a lot of people are very happy with. It is a reasonable price and includes a full function remote control. The only thing that some people have highlighted as a problem is the display being too bright.

Sony ICFC7IP Clock Radio

Device stand
If you use your iPod or iPhone at your desk, as an alarm clock or like to watch a lot of video content you may find a stand useful. The Mobis Technology Xtand for iPod Touch 2G or iPhone is a well engineered solid aluminum king of stands.

Mobis Technology Xtand for iPod Touch 2G

Mobis Technology St-188 Xtand for iPhone 3g

iPod Touch microphone
The features of the iPod Touch can be extended considerably with the addition of a microphone. Adding a microphone allows you to make recordings, take voice notes and even use your Touch as a Skype phone. There are a few different microphones available but I feel the tiny ones are most useful. I would like to get a ThumbTack Micro-Microphone but it looks like the Mini Microphone is also a good option.

ThumbTack Micro-Microphone Black for iPod Touch 2g & iPod Nano 4G

Mini Microphone Mike & Speaker for ALL Apple iPod & iPhones

Stylus Pen
Yes I know what you’re thinking; Why would anybody need a stylus for an iPhone or Touch when you can just use your finger. I agree, in most cases your finger is fine but I have a few drawing app which I think could be easier to use with a stylus, as well as a couple of freehand writing apps. Its not easy writing with your finger. I also think if you wear gloves a lot a stylus could be particularly useful. It seems the stylus of the moment is the Pogo Stylus which also comes with a useful clip that keeps it attached to your device.

SELECT Pogo Stylus Pen for Apple iPhone 3G, 3G S (Black)

FM transmitter for the car
Perhaps the most useful FM transmitter is one that not only transmits your music to your car radio but also charges your device and provides a means to hold it. The Griffin RoadTrip 6195-RDTRPB with Smartscan seems to be a reasonable option as does the Cygnett GrooveTransmit. Both of these devices provide a cradle for your iPhone or Touch which is supported by a short flexible gooseneck with a cigarette plug on the end. If you feel you don’t need the charger or cradle you could try TeckNet MT-096 or Griffin iTrip

Griffin RoadTrip 6265-RDTRPB2 for iPhone and iPod

Cygnett GrooveTransmit FM Transmitter/Charger and Cradle for iPod and iPhone

TeckNet MT-096 Apple FM Transmitter For Apple iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G S and other iPod Player

Car mount
If you don’t need an FM transmitter but just want to mount your device in your car, perhaps to use as a GPS you may want a simple car mount. The Kensington Car Mount seems to be a simple solution with good reviews. Alternatively the Sunwire – In Car Holder & Charger looks good and comes with a charger. The possible advantage of the Kensington option is it seems it will take a wider range of devices plus you don’t need to remove them from their cases. Macally make a mount that fits into your car cup holder. If your cup holder is rarely used the Macally mCup could be a great solution. Be aware that unless very thin you will probably need to remove your case with the Macally solution.

Kensington Car Mount for iPod and MP3 Players

Sunwire – In Car Holder & Charger – iPhone 3G/3GS

MCUP Adjustable Car cup holder mount for iphone and ipod

AV dock
There are a range of docks and cables that allow you to plug your device into sound systems and/or televisions. In my opinion a dock is a little more convenient than cables as it means you don’t have to fiddle about with…well…cables. The Logic3 WIP040 Prodock is a versatile dock with great reviews on Amazon. If you prefer cables you could try the Griffin HomeConnect – iPod audio / video cable. Please note that the video component of this cable does not work with the iPhone or Touch but does work with other video iPods that can send video through their headphone jacks.

Logic3 WIP040 Prodock for iPhone/iPod

Griffin HomeConnect – iPod audio / video cable (video does not work with iPod Touch or iPhone)

Protective case
I spent a lot of time looking for a case before I settled on the one I currently have. I was looking for one that was quick and easy to use, protected the whole device yet when in use covered the face as little as possible. It also had to look good. I didn’t want film covering the screen, case on the front of the device or the need to remove the device from a pouch to use it. What do you mean I’m fussy? My searching finally paid off when I found the Proporta Leather Style Protective Case. It is a very smart looking leather effect case with a flip up front cover. The iPhone or Touch is held to the back cover of the case by a couple of covered metal grips so when open your device is fully exposed. I have owned this case for almost a year now and still love it.

Proporta Leather Style Protective Case (Apple 2G iPod touch) – Black

Proporta Leather Style Protective Case for Apple 3G iPhone

Additional battery power
The battery on the iPhone or iPod Touch runs down quite quickly when being used for video, games and other graphic or processor intensive applications (See my post on extending battery life here). When traveling, this can become quite an issue. The solution is an additional battery and or solar charger. In a previous post I recommended the Freeloader Globe Trotter, a portable charger/battery system that can be charged by its solar panels. This appears to be a perfect solution but having owned it for a couple of months I find my self unable to recommend it again. If you’re away for long periods of time and unable to find regular charge points you may require a battery with a solar charger. The PowerMonkey Explorer’ Portable Charger has some very good reviews and is an incredible versatile device. If you don’t require the option to charge via the sun I would consider the Kensington Battery Pack And Charger or the mStation Mohpie Juice Pack- Case & Rechargeable 1800mA Battery. The advantage of the mStation option is it takes the form of a case which means you don’t have to worry about separate batteries and cables.

PowerMonkey Explorer’ Portable Charger – Yellow

Kensington Battery Pack And Charger For iPhone And iPod

mStation Mohpie Juice Pack- Case & Rechargeable 1800mA Battery for iPod Touch 2nd Gen

mStation Mohpie Juice Pack- Case & Rechargeable 1800mA Battery for iPhone 3G

There you go! Ten suggested Christmas gifts for the iPhone or iPod Touch user. I won’t be at all offended if you want to send me one of them

The links in the copy above are my Amazon affiliate links. I searched many many different sites for products I would want to buy and in every case the products I selected were available at Amazon and at a lower cost.

Halloween iPhone Apps to Make Your Halloween Truly Despicable.

Matt Petch — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:01:57 +0000

It’s almost halloween and with nothing but my Mac to guide me I have searched the deepest corridors and loftiest towers of the iTunes store in search of some digital dreadfulness for you to sink your teeth into. I emerge, blinking in the morning light, clutching six, pixel sodden apps that I hope will help make your halloween truly despicable. MMMWAA HA HA HA HAAAAA.

1.First on the slab is Halloween Sounds by Pixel Narrative. Halloween Sounds is a collection of fifteen good quality spooky sounds and a spooky soundtrack that can be played by its self or as a background track to the various scary sound effects that can be triggered by tapping the appropriate tombstone icon. The volume and quality of the sounds is quite good and I can imagine it being a good audio accompaniment to your fancy dress occasion or you could plug it into a sound system at a party and invite passing guests to trigger sounds at will. Halloween Pro which is the pay version of Halloween Sounds offers the ability to trigger sounds remotely via a second device or set a timer so your chosen sound can be played after a set amount of time has elapsed.

2.Hallowcarver by WNRS is a surprisingly good pumkin carving app. You can choose which pumpkin you want to carve and display it on a selection of different spooky backgrounds. The actual carving process works very well, you draw the shapes you want to cut out of the pumpkin with your finger and they are automatically removed to reveal the flickering light within the pumpkin. Once your design is complete you can save it to your photo gallery, post it to a web gallery, share it on facebook or shout it on Twitter.

3.Horror Classics by Alexandru Brie is a collection of classic horror stories contained in a reasonably well presented app. The book reader within the app isn’t as pretty as some but is perfectly functional and offers the usual common features such as book marks, automatic scrolling and the ability to alter the font size. Improvements could certainly be made to the appearance and functions of this app but its still a good collection of classic stories at a great price.

4.Halloween Postage by Rogue Sheep is a Halloween themed postcard app than enables you to take a photo from your library and customize it in various ways before delivering it vie mail or Facebook or saving it to your photo library. It is a nice looking app and very easy to use with quite a good set of features but I think its appeal would be quite short lived. I would like to see a larger selection of postcard styles to choose from.

5.Zombie Pizza by Appy Entertainment, inc is fun and rather disgusting horror puzzle game where you find yourself having to create Zombie pizzas by adding eyeballs, guts, brains, hearts, bones and other such delights to a pizza base and flicking it out of the door before the zombies break in and eat you instead. It is a nicely designed game and despite its unappetizing subject matter is fun for all the family. My little boy loves it anyway.

6.On the subject of horror games; I felt compelled to add Resident Evil 4 by Capcom to this list of six. It is seen as one of the best 3D action shooters on the iPhone, the graphics are great, the controls work surprisingly well and above all it is actually quite scary…or am I just being a wimp?.

1.Halloween Sounds by Pixel Narrative

2.Hallowcarver by WNRS

3.Horror Classics by Alexandru Brie

4.Halloween Postage by Rogue Sheep

5.Zombie Pizza by Appy Entertainment, inc

6.Resident Evil 4 by Capcom

The Internet Marketers iPhone or iPod Touch.

Matt Petch — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:01:04 +0000

The iPhone is a wonderfully versatile pocket computer. Thanks to the tens of thousands of available app’s and the flexible way they can be arranged on your iphone or Touch, it is easy to set up individual screens to cater for specific workflows. Having more than a passing interest in internet marketing I thought I would set up a screen of app’s and links to serve my assorted internet marketing needs. This was the result: (Instructions for creating web links are at the bottom of the page.)

iPhone apps for internet marketing

1. iThoughts. A mind mapping application to plan your workflows and business models. Im currently using iThoughts but also give MindNode a look.

2. Shortcut to Google Keyword tool to help you select a niche and populate your pages with appropriate keywords so they can be found when people search for them.

3. DomainScout. A domain name search tool so you can check the availability of your preferred domain names. The thing I like about DomainScout is, as you discover various names you like you can add them to a favorites list. As names pop into your head during the day you can check their availability and add them to an ongoing list.

4. Go Daddy. Once you have found your domain name of choice you will need to buy it from a company such as Go Daddy. Yep there’s an app for that.

5. A shortcut to a hosting company such as HostGator will allow you to host and control your website via Cpanel, all via your iPhone or Touch.

6. WordPress for iPhone will allow you to add to and edit your WordPress Blog. Prefer TypePad? Well you may want to look at the TypePad app.

7. A shortcut to ClickBank. Search for products to promote and check your sales on your iPhone or iPod Touch. You may also want to look at the CB Stats app.

8. TweetDeck is great, not just for checking and posting tweets but it also allows you to search and connect with people talking about things related to your niche.

9. Facebook app allows you to interact with your Facebook contacts and post happenings for all to see.

10. Analytics Agent. Having a good Google analytics app on your iPhone or iPod Touch will help you keep track of how well you are doing online as well as giving you an insight into what your potential customers are looking for. Analytics Agent has a nice interface and is easy to use but you may also want to take a look at Analytics App.

11. The PayPal App. Keep tabs on your ingoing and outgoing payments with the PayPal App. You may also want to look at Pay Mobile.

12. Documents To Go. A text editor so you can write articles or blog posts whilst away from the office. I’m still looking for a solution that enables me to edit the same documents regardless of whether im on the desktop machine or iPod. Many text editing App’s claim to sync with Google Doc’s but the ones I have looked at don’t really sync, they just allow me to upload and download documents. The best solution I have found to date is Documents To Go, and its desktop syncing app. With this you can make a change to a document on your iPhone and sync. When you open it on your desktop machine it will be updated. It works equally well going from desktop to iPhone as well.

13. iTimeZone allows you to see what time it will be in your location at a certain time in a different part of the world. This is very useful for making sure you don’t miss webinars and teleseminars by your favorite overseas marketing mentors.

14. Shortcut to Online Success Coach. I like to have a shortcut to the web page of my current online marketing training course or tutor. I am currently with the Online Success Incubator which is part of TechTamers. After many months of looking for the right assistance, I chose the Online Success Incubator because of its extensive archive of information, Step by step guidance through the whole marketing experience, affordability and general no hype approach. If you’re looking for help getting started in Online Marketing I would recommend Online Success Incubator. They do a good news letter here

15. Briefcase. Online marketing is a continuos learning experience and you will find that you will accumulate a quantity of training courses, ebooks, tutorials, videos and audio. Its very useful to be able to get this info onto your iPhone so you can learn whilst away from your computer. There is a large collection of apps available to help you do this but I rather like Briefcase. Briefcase allows you to easily browse all of the files on your computer and pick out the ones you would like transfered to your device. It also allows you to view or play back most media types.

16. Instapaper. There will often be times when you will come across articles and web pages online that you would like to read but don’t have the time. Instapaper allows you to easily mark any webpage to be read later. Your iPhone will then sync with your instapaper account and download the articles to your device allowing you to read them at any time, on or off line.

17. What Tasks. One way to ensure progress is to keep a short daily to do list. What Tasks is currently my favorite allowing me to manually arrange the order of to do items and keep multiple lists so I can create long term as well as daily lists of goals. It is also nice and easy to use unlike many full blown get things done app’s.

18. Fenix Notes. Its always useful to have a quick and easy note taking system. I have taken a liking to Fenix Notes largely because I can open it and take a note very quickly.

19. Safari. Where would an internet marketer be without a web browser…

20. Or email for that matter.

Incase you are wondering how to get shortcut links to websites onto your iphone or iPod Touch this is how you do it. Use Safari on your device to find the webpage you would like to save a link to. Tap the + (plus) icon in the menu bat at the bottom of the screen. Select the Add to Home Screen button.

I hope you have found this article useful. Please leave a comment if you know of other good internet marketing app’s or sites I could have added to this list.

Prey Invasion. Currently my Favorite iPhone Game.

Matt Petch — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 16:06:07 +0000

Im always on the look out for a good 3D adventure for my iPod Touch. I will be the first to admit that i’m not a very serious game player so this review is for us non pro’s. I love the idea of computer games, but rarely find one that holds my interest for any length of time. Prey Invasion is an exception to this and is currently my favorite game.

After crashing your pickup down a ravine you awake to find Earth is under attack from ferocious aliens. as you progress through the game you soon enter a strange temple and then venture further into an alien facility. It’s apparent these nasty beings are up no good and what’s more have your girlfriend.

Prey Invasion is a First person shooter with the pace of an action-adventure game. By this I mean; you have time to explore. Ive never been keen on games that require you to furiously pound the fire button until you die ten seconds later. On the subject of death; its something that doesn’t really happen in Prey Invasion. If you take too much damage you simply enter a spirit world where you can rejuvenate your strength by shooting a few ghost like creatures. You also have the option to cross over to the spirit world by choice; spirit walking allows you to briefly leave your physical body. This is useful, as there are certain things in the game that your physical body just cant do.

Controls for this type of game have always been a problem on the iPhone. The analogue D-pad thumb controls that are so common on this type of game don’t work in my opinion. Without having tactile feedback its difficult to know where you’re putting your thumb. Luckily Prey Invasion has very customisable controls including the option to select individual directional buttons, which I much prefer. Firing your gun simply requires tapping the screen and you can choose to use a cross hair target or simply tap the area of the screen you wish to target.

The graphics are rich and interesting. There are no real rendered reflections or shadows but the high quality of the texture maps makes up for this. I think it is unrealistic to expect an iPhone game of this type to compare to similar console versions but the makers have clearly tried to get as close as they currently can.

All up I think this is a great game and in my opinion there is little to compare with it at the moment in the app store. I would like the sound to be a little better and perhaps a little more variation to the environments and puzzles, but on the whole I think its good. The graphics are good, it’s nicely designed, the controls are ok and the general game play is a good one.

Make your iPod Touch or iPhone’s Battery Charge Last Longer

Matt Petch — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 17:03:43 +0000

Before I owned an iPod Touch I owned (and still do) an iPod Photo. The first thing I noticed about the Touch was that its battery appears to drain much quicker. Of course it doesn’t really if I only play music as I did with my old iPod. The touch can do so much more, but the price you pay for all the great energy sapping features of the iPod Touch or iPhone is a pretty short battery life. There are a few things you can do to maximise the battery life and I have tried to compile here a comprehensive list of ways in which you can squeeze as much time out of a single charge as possible. Of course the whole point of having an iPod or iPhone is to use and enjoy it but if you find your self in a situation where you wont be able to charge it for some time you may want to consider some of the following.

Keep it sleeping

Make it sleep quickly.
Obvious, I know but the longer your device is awake the more power it uses. You can help minimise awake time by making sure the Auto-Lock feature is set to put your device to sleep as quickly as possible. Go to Settings > General > Auto – Lock and set it to the default 1 Minute. Don’t forget that you can also manually put it to sleep by pressing the sleep button at the top of your device.

Avoid turning it off
Unless you intend not using your device for quite a long time it is probably best to avoid turning your device off completely. Restarting your iPod or iPhone is likely to use more power than you will save. When not in use for short periods of time just use the sleep mode.

Turn off features you don’t need.

Turn Off WiFi
If you’re not in range of WiFi or just don’t need to use it you could save a bit of juice by turning it off. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and switch it to off. Whilst there you could also turn off “Ask to join Networks”

Turn Off EQ
Having EQ turned on uses more of your devices processor and battery power. Turn off EQ by going to Settings > Music > EQ and selecting Off.

Turn Off Bluetooth
If this is something you dont use much make sure it is turned off. Go to Settings > General > Bluetooth and turn it off.

Turn off Location Services
Decide how often you use this feature and if its not very often, turn it off. Go to Settings > General > and flick the switch next to Location Services.

Minimise the number of times your device performs automatic tasks

Reduce how often your device fetches mail.
Applications such as Mail, fetch data automatically at pre set intervals. You can save a bit of battery life by reducing how often this happens. Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Fetch New Data and select a longer period of time in the Fetch list. Even better set it to manually. Whilst here you could also turn off Push. Rather than emails constantly being pushed to your push mail accounts they will simply be received according to your Fetch settings.

Stop your iPhone from searching for a network
If you know you are in an area where there is a very weak or no mobile network it may be a good idea to turn on Airplane mode. This will stop your iPhone from constantly trying to find a connection. Go to Settings and switch on Airplane mode.

Turn Off 3G
If you don’t require the speed that 3G offers, you may be able to save a bit of energy by just using EDGE. Go to Settings > General > Network and set 3G to Off.

Avoid bright screens

Turn down the screen brightness
The display on the iPod Touch & iPhone is a major battery drain. When its bright and busy its using lots of pawer. You can minimise its effect on your battery by keeping the brightness down as low as possible. Go to Settings > Brightness and drag the slider to the left as far as you feel comfortable with. You can also make it even more efficient by switching on Auto-Brightness.

Minimise the use of third party app’s
Using app’s that keep the screen illuminated such as games will of course drain the battery. The more you can avoid using these the more your battery will thank you. The most efficient entertainment your device can provide is playing music.

Don’t use colourful wallpapers
If you really want to take this to a silly extreme you could also make sure you don’t use any bright wallpapers. A black background requires little energy.

Avoid excessive processor use

Minimise the use of complex games
Its good to be aware that running many of the third party app’s such as games not only cause lots of battery draining screen activity, but also make the iPods processor work harder. This of course drains the battery.

If all else fails

Use a mobile charger or battery pack.
If you just enjoy using your iPod or iPhone too much to consider many of the above options, or you just need to play high octane 3D video games on your travels; you could always consider carrying an additional battery pack with you. Some battery packs also come with solar panels so you need never be without your iPod or iPhone again. Freeloader make a good range of solar and battery charging combinations. By far the most versatile and acclaimed is the Freeloader Globe Trotter. Take a look at the Freeloader range by clicking below.

Freeloader solar chargers

Print Anything From Your iPod or iPhone

Matt Petch — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 22:29:24 +0000

01 Print from your iPod Touch or iPhone to any any computer via it’s mail application.

Wait, this isn’t what you think! This is so much better than just emailing a document to your computer and manually printing it from there. This method is automated and allows you to print anything that’s on your Touch or iPhone from any printer connected to any Mac anywhere in the world. Im sure there will be a Windows equivalent of this but im just going to cover the Mac method here.

Ok I admit, there is a bit of fiddling about to do up front but once done it works a treat. The idea here is to email the item to be printed to a Mac that has its email application running (in this case Apple’s Mail) and printer turned on. Mail then uses rules to automatically launch a script which prints the item it received. Credit for this method should be given to Martin Michel of macscripter.net who provides detailed instructions and has developed the AppleScript that makes it all work. I would suggest a minor change to the rule however.

a. Download the Pergamail AppleScript from here. This is the script that the Mail application runs to print what it receives from your device.

b. Create a custom rule in Mail by first going to the Mail menu item and selecting Preferences. Click the Rules icon and create a rule as shown below.

As you can see the action we are getting it to perform is to run an AppleScript under a certain condition. The AppleScript you need to choose here is the Pergamail one you have just downloaded. If Mail receives an email with the words “please print” in the subject line it will go ahead and print it. You can make the condition whatever you like as long as you remember to include it in the email you send from your iPhone.

Now whenever you send an email from your iPhone with the words “please print” (or whatever you set the trigger to be) it will automatically be printed… assuming you’ve remembered to turn your printer on.

What do you mean you can’t email an image from your favorite game?

You can actually email anything that appears on your iPhone’s screen. Here’s how you do it. When you have a screen that can’t be emailed simply press the home button and the power button together to take a snap shot of the screen. The snap shot will be stored in your photo library. Open your Photos App, Tap the “Saved Photo’s” library and you should see your screen grab. You can email any images in a library by tapping the share icon in the bottom left, selecting the image or images you wish to send then tap the share button again and select email. Don’t forget to include your trigger text in the subject line if you want it to automatically print.

02 Print from your iPod Touch or iPhone to any computer via a dedicated app.

You may prefer to buy one of the dedicated iPhone print applications available. There’s actually not that many to choose from. One of the more versatile ones seems to be Print & Share by EuroSmartz Ltd.

Print & Share comprises of two parts; an iPhone/Touch app and a desktop helper app. Once these have been installed and configured you can use the iPhone app to select and print files, emails, web pages, contact info or images from your photo albums or camera. The items you wish to print need to be selected via the app so you can’t simply print something interesting you come across whilst browsing the web or checking your mail. You would instead need to close the app you were using, open the Print & share app, then use it to locate the file you wish to print.

This works reasonable well but, in my opinion the limitation of having to select items through the app makes it less appealing than the first method I mentioned.

03 Print directly to your HP networked printer.

If you have a networked Hewlett-Packard inkjet printer you could stop all this messing about and print directly to that. You would need to download the HP iPrint Photo app from the app store which lets you print anything that is in your photo library. Of course much of what you will want to print wont be in your library but you can overcome this problem to some degree by taking screen grabs of anything you want to print. Pressing the power and home buttons together whisks a copy of your current screen off to your photo library, where it can be sent directly to your HP printer via the HP iPrint Photo app.

Upload Photo’s to Almost Any Sharing Site From Your Iphone or Touch.

Matt Petch — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:09:11 +0000

When I first decided to write this post, the intention was to review a collection of the better photo sharing app’s. After some initial research I realised that the list of available app’s was nearly as long as my To-Do list. To review and discuss them would have been an unenviable task and an even less enviable read.

What I have chosen to do instead, is recap on how you can upload your photo’s to your MobileMe gallery using only your default Photo app. I have then listed some other common photo sharing sites along with their corresponding upload applications. Because there are so many I have been a little selective and only included the more promising options.

To Share Your photo’s From the Default Photo App.

To do this you will need a MobileMe account: which is free for 60 days but then im afraid you have to pay for it. Before you dismiss it, it’s worth considering some of the many features you get with the service. Check it out here.

Assuming you have a MobileMe account, you first need to login to the service and create an album to upload your photo’s into. Do this on your computer beforehand. Make sure your album settings allow adding of photo’s via email or iPhone as shown below.

Once you have done this you can start selecting and uploading photo’s from your iPod Touch or phone…

1. Launch the default Photo application that comes with your device and open an album.

2. Tap the share icon in the bottom left corner of the screen.

3. You can now tap any photo to select it. You can tell that it has been selected as the photo icon dims, and displays a small tick.

4. Tap the share button and you should get the options of emailing your selection or sending it to MobileMe. Click “Send to MobileMe”.

5. Give the image a name and select the gallery you want to upload the photo to. When you have done this, simply tap the Publish button in the top right and off it goes.

The only problem with this is you can only upload one photo at a time. Luckily you can email lots of photo’s in one go but you need to know your galleries email address.

1. Use your browser to go back to your MobileMe gallery on your computer.

2. Select your gallery and then click on the settings button at the top: The one that looks like a light switch.

3. Just below the checkbox that reads “Adding of photo’s via email or iPhone” will be an email address you can use to email photo’s to the gallery.

4. Now when you want to email some photo’s from your device you simply select photo’s as we did before but this time select multiple photo’s.

5. Tap the share button and select “Email”. Your chosen photo’s will immediately be transported to your mail app.

6. Enter that email address (perhaps save it in your address book)and shoot them off to your gallery.

Other Popular Photo Sharing Sites.

Even if you do have a mobile me account, it may not be where you want to send your photo’s. I have listed below all of the most promising photo uploading apps and grouped them by photo sharing and social media sites. Pick your preferred service, download one of the app’s and share away.

Flickr – http://www.flickr.com

Photobucket – http://photobucket.com

Photobucket for iPhone

Shutterfly – http://www.shutterfly.com

Shutterfly for iPhone