Crazy App of the Day: Foursquare, Friend-Finder, City Guide, Twitter with Benefits?

Foursquare is mobile friend finder, meet n’ great game by the creator of DodgeBall, Dennis Crowley. DodgeBall was sold in 2005 to Google. Foursquare works as an iPhone app, via text or the mobile web. It’s kind of like, Twitter with benefits.

Members create a network of friends in the service. When friends arrive at a nightclub or other social hotspot, they “check in” to Foursquare via a text message, mobile web or the iPhone application. In other words, the way Foursquare puts it, “tell us where you are and we’ll tell your friends where to find you”.

Members earn points and badges. Frequent attendees to certain night spots get to be the mayor of the joint. Currently, Foursquare is available in Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

The Foursquare website explains what they want this way:

“+ Think “urban mix tape”. We made a little system that allows you to track all the cool things to do in NYC – both the things you’ve done (your “Top 12″) and the things you want to do (your “To Do” list).

+ We’re not looking for reviews here… Think less “the food here is top notch!” and more “Go here, do this” or “Eat here, order this” (for example: “Go to Dumont Burger, order the Mac and Cheese”). Remember, you’ve only got 12 slots, so fill ‘em with the 12 coolest things you can think of in NYC. “

5 killer Backgrounder apps to keep going on your iPhone

Last October, we wrote about Backgrounder, a jailbreak utility that allows iPhone users to run more than one application at a time. Backgrounder is an open source extension to the iPhone’s SpringBoard, the application launcher that works as the device’s version of the Macintosh Finder. When installed, you can move any application into the background by pressing and holding the Home key. The application continues to run and you can move on to other tasks.

If this sounds like a battery killer, well, it is. When used the right way, however, Backgrounder lets you multitask short-term visits to whatever app strikes your interest while running the important stuff in the background. 

True, some (but not all) of these background apps may get used when you’re near power sources: at your desk or in the car for example. But others will not, and many apps are just as useful on the go. It’s obviously a trade-off: shorter usage life versus higher productivity when taking advantage of Backgrounder’s features.

The trick lies in choosing the right apps to background. Yes this might mean backgrounding apps where going through the launch sequence and menus is a pain. If you don’t want to interrupt a game, it’s convenient to background it, take care of another task and then pop back a few minutes later. For the sake of this post, however, I’m talking about apps that you might stick in the background for longer sessions, the really core stuff that you want to keep going on while you do other things.

Here is a list of our top five killer Backgrounder applications, and why you would want these to keep running when you’re busy doing other things.

1. Pandora

Ah, Pandora, my love. Backgrounding you is like having a little angel of music sit on my shoulder at all times. Apple’s built-in iPod/Music application may also offer background music, but it doesn’t offer the music exploration features that power the Music Genome Project. Pandora uses song analysis to create suggestions and introduce you to music you’ve never heard before. With Backgrounder, Pandora plays new music as you get on with other iPhone work.

2. Mobile Colloquy and 3. AIM

Back in the days of the iPhone’s 1.x firmware, before Apple introduced its strict one-application-at-a-time rule, IRC and IM clients ran in the background as a matter of course; they would badge their SpringBoard icons to indicate when new messages became available. That’s the way clients work on PCs and Macs, and it was the way they should work on the iPhone.

Apple cut off third-party background processes in the 2.x firmware (and, in a related matter, never delivered on Push notifications). Backgrounder offers the closest approximation you can come to the halcyon implementations of the early days of jailbreak. 

With it, you can leave your IRC and IM sessions running in the background and check back in to ongoing sessions at will. In the best of all possible worlds, these should work the way the SMS app works: in the background, with badges and ongoing conversations. In the real world, Backgrounder makes Colloquy and AIM more practical and more accessible. With it, they operate closer to the way we really use these tools on our desktop computers.

4. File transfer apps like Air Sharing

When you’re working at home, there are occasions when you just want to throw a file onto the iPhone for later use. Instead of stopping what you’re doing and launching a file transfer application, it’s extremely convenient to have that app running in the background and toss over a file as needed. Using Backgrounder lets you leave that server going unattended, available for use whenever.

5. Twitter clients like TwitterFon

Most Twitter clients check in at regular intervals to fetch new tweets and messages. This check in can only occur when these applications are open and running. Backgrounding them lets this happen unattended, avoiding long delays when you return to see what your tweeps have been up to. You don’t have to wait to refresh; the software stays in the now as you allow it to keep running.

Other apps

That’s five, but there are many other applications that rock under Backgrounder. Our short list represents the apps most commonly used on our phones, but many other apps didn’t make the cut. When consulting with colleagues, a number of honorable mentions were thrown around. Here are some of the more notable uses, adding to the “pausing your ongoing game” mentioned earlier in this write-up.

• Reminder apps don’t have much utility when they’re not running. Backgrounding them means they can function better and keep you on top of the tasks that you’re supposed to do.
• Internet connection apps let you share your connection with nearby laptops. Backgrounding those apps lets you keep using your iPhone even while a friend surfs the Web. (These apps are legal in many countries; consult your local laws.)
• Slow-to-load apps may not take up a lot of background cycles but it’s nice to hop right back into these apps whenever you want.

Most iPhone applications gathering dust

Just 30 percent of people who buy an iPhone application actually use it the day after it was purchased, according to Pinch Media, which analyzed over 30 million downloads from Apple’s App Store. And the numbers plunge from there: after 20 days, less than 5 percent of those who downloaded an application are actively using it. The drop-off is worse for free applications.

iPhone AppStore Secrets – Pinch Media

Those are amazing numbers. It’s not a new pattern–GigaOm and TechCrunch noticed this last August–but back then, with the App Store just a month old, it was hard to know whether that usage model would last.

Now it’s clear that seven months, 15,000 applications, and 500 million downloads later, things haven’t changed. App Store activity continues to be huge; Apple has made the App Store the centerpiece of its iPhone marketing over the last few months, highlighting the breadth and depth of applications that are available on the App Store for business and entertainment.

But if most people don’t find iPhone applications very compelling, does it matter how many exist? It’s enough to wonder if the App Store is starting to get a bit saturated.

Pinch Media CEO Greg Yardley looks at it a little differently. In his view, Apple has built such an easy-to-use distribution (as well as payment processing) platform for iPhone applications that people find it very easy to move onto the next thing that catches their fancy. The lack of a “try-before-you-buy” feature means iPhone users have no choice but to take the plunge, and given that most iPhone applications are free and the ones that do cost money are very inexpensive, there’s little incentive to carefully shop around for the one application that best meets your needs.

Only about 10 percent of iPhone applications appear to retain an audience over time, and most of those are games, entertainment applications such as movie listings, and things like Facebook (”their user sessions must be off the charts,” Yardley said).

But developers are still making plenty of money from the other 90 percent, he said. As noted, people are very willing to try new iPhone applications, meaning that building a better mousetrap is still a very viable business model for the world of mobile computing. His advice for developers is to get your money up front, and charge something for your application rather than trying to depend on a free/ad-subsidized model, because the number of people viewing those ads will plummet the day after the application lands on their iPhones.

At some point, however, Apple will need to find a better way to help developers promote their applications within an ocean. “The App Store fails as a promotional mechanism. There’s only so much screen real estate” that Apple can use within the App Store window to promote applications, Yardley said, and if you don’t get on those Top 100 or Staff Favorites lists, your application languishes.

Yardley thinks there is still a great deal of opportunity for developers on the App Store, which isn’t that surprising given he makes his living by advising iPhone developers. And it’s true that if the installed base of iPhones continues to grow, there will be more and more niche opportunities to cater to the needs of high-school students and seniors, and everyone in between.

Still, how many more currency conversion (37), recipe (67), and fart-joke (30) applications do iPhone users really need, especially if they aren’t using the ones they’ve already got?

9-year old is iPhone’s youngest software author

Most children his age may draw pictures on paper with crayons, but nine-year-old Lim Ding Wen has a very different canvas.

The primary school student from Singapore writes applications for Apple’s iPhone, and his latest project, a painting program called Doodle Kids, has been downloaded over 4,000 times from Apple’s iTunes store in just two week. He states he derives inspiration by creating programs for his sisters, ages 3 and 5, to doodle with.

This whiz-kid has actually completed 20 different programs.in 6 different programming languages (including Javascript and ActionScript), which for a 9-year old is impressive enough. He started on a computer at age 2, and by 7 was actively programming on one.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree: his father also works for a tech company writing iPhone applications, and father and son compete to see who has more downloads of their respective apps.

Lim is currently writing another iPhone app – a space race game called Invader Wars.

Dev-Team Releases PwnageTool and QuickPwn For 2.2.1 Update

The iPhone Dev-Team has released updated versions of both the PwnageTool and QuickPwn for the recent 2.2.1 update. Supported devices are the iPhone, iPhone 3G, and original iPod touch. Users who unlock or intend to unlock their iPhone 3G should only update using custom firmware created with the most recent PwnageTool. Using QuickPwn or the vanilla update from iTunes will re-lock your iPhone 3G. iPhone, iPod touch users, and iPhone 3G owners who don’t wish to unlock can simply update using iTunes and jailbreak using QuickPwn.

More information on the do’s and don’ts of updating and download links for QuickPwn and PwnageTool are at the Dev-Team Blog!

PwnageTool is a tool developed by the iPhone Dev-Team which creates custom firmware packages for jailbreaking and unlocking the iPhone. QuickPwn is a tool which jailbreaks and unlocks the iPhone without needing to create custom firmware packages.

Thanks to luqven for the tip!

iPhone Countdown App

Open up Xcode and click: File->New Project.

Select: iPhone OS ->Applications-> View-Based Application and name it whatever you would like.

Lets start with the UIView.

Double Click <YourProject>.xib” to launch “Interface Builder”

• Click: Tools -> Reveal In Document Window -> View
• Click: Tools -> Attributes Inspector
• Select the background attribute and set it to Black

Now add a UILabel, it should be as simple as dragging it out of from Tools->Library.

To reference this label in our code we need to change its outlet id.

• In the document window “File’s Owner”
• Click: Tools->Idenity Inspector
• In the inspector click the + under “Class Outlets”
• Change myOutlet1 to “countdownLabel”
• Change id to UILabel
• Click enter to make sure they commit

Now lets generate the code for the controller we just created.

• Still in interface builder make sure “File’s Owner” is still selected in the Document Explorer
• Click: File->Write Class Files
• Make sure you select your active target, which should be the name of your program.

Now we need to wire up the Label in Interface Builder to the UILabel in the class file

• Reopen Interface Builder
• Select the Label in the View or in Document Window
• Click: Tools -> Connection Inspector
• Move your mouse cursor over the empty circle to the right of text “New Referencing Outlet” (the circle will change to a Plus(+))
• Mouse Click then drag the Plus (+) to “File’s Owner” in Document Window
• When you release select countdownLabel in the popup list
• Click: File -> Save then close Interface Builder

Creating the timer

• In xCode open
• In <yourProject>Controller.h add the line -(void)updateLabel; right before the line @end
• In <yourProject>Controller.c add the lines

-(void)updateLabel {
}
right before the line @end

• In <yourProject>Delegate.h add the field “NSTimer *timer;” and the method signature “-(void) onTimer;”
• In <yourProject>Delegate.m

• Start the timer in “applicationDidFinishLaunching”
• Add the method onTimer that will update the label in the view controller
• Invalidate the timer in the method “applicationWillTerminate”
• release the timer in dealloc

Updating the label

• Open <yourProject>Controller.c
• Add a font in method “viewDidLoad”
• Add code to get current time and update label in our new “updateLabel” method.

Build & Go!

iPhone App Review: Mobile News Network

This week I review The Associated Press’s Mobile News Network:

I been using MNN since it first premiered at The App Store. It’s been great, and this new version is even better. If your a news junkie, like myself, and wants to be informed and up to date at all times, MNN is the app for you. MNN breaks up the news into categories that you can sort through to get the news you want, quick and easy. Categories include: Top News, Sports, Showbiz, Tech, Business, even Wacky just to name a few. You can view news photos, and videos. You can custom-configure the categories, for that personal touch. You can also save news stories you like, and email or text them. You can even send The AP a news report right from your iPhone. Many, many options.

Now for the best part: MNN is free! That’s right it won’t cost you a thing. With all this app has to offer, and a price point you can’t beat, why not give it a try? It’s been said that newspapers are a dying business. Well, this little app has put a nail in the coffin for sure. Still reading the news on paper? Save a tree–get this app!

iPhone App Attempts to Fake Your Location

A new iPhone app plays background noise to fool people into thinking you’re somewhere you aren’t. Unfortunately it doesn’t do a very good job.

The purpose of Fake Call Locations is pretty funny: The app includes 15 sounds emulating noise in certain locations, such as a night club, a traffic jam, a casino and so on. So with the app the idea is to get out of an awkward phone call by playing a sound and saying something like, “Sorry babe, I’m at church. I’ll call you back later.”

It’s the execution that’s a big problem. Using the app isn’t smooth at all: When making a call, you have to switch to speakerphone, then launch the Fake Call Locations app and select a sound. That’s a lot of fumbling around just to lie to someone about where you are — as opposed to, say, not picking up the phone at all.

And the results aren’t impressive, either. I tested the app by calling a few friends and they could barely hear the fake sounds. Since you have to use speakerphone, you have to count on the sounds playing through your iPhone speaker to drown out all the other noise wherever you are. You’d need to be in a silent room for this app to work well.

“Hey Pam,” I said. “I’m at a night club. Can you hear it?”

“Huh?” she replied. “I don’t hear anything at all. You sound like you’re at work. And you never go to night clubs. Also, it’s 11 in the morning.”

Fail.

The app would be better if it could directly integrate itself into the iPhone’s phone app, but Apple doesn’t allow developers to mess with that. Long story short: Funny idea that doesn’t deliver; it’s probably not worth your $1.

Animoto Is My New Favorite iPhone App

Maybe some of you already know Animoto, this website that let’s you upload images, music, and creates cool slideshows in a matter of minutes. Don’t misunderstand me, Animoto is not one of these cheap slideshow thing like Rock You or Slide.com. Using their patent-pending Artificial Intelligence developed to think like an actual editor & director, the resulting video has the emotional impact of a movie trailer and the visual energy of a music video.

Animoto [iTunes Link] is now available in the AppStore, letting you create animated slideshows directly from your iPhone, and believe me, this app delivers!

You can start creating a new slideshow right after launching the app as no registration is required. Select 8 to 16 photos from your library, arrange them at your liking, select a song from Animoto’s library and tap “create”. It takes about 15 second to upload each image to Animoto’s servers. Once all the images are uploaded, Animoto will start creating the slideshow, which takes a few minutes. At this point, you can quit the app, make yourself a sandwich and come back a few minutes later.

The newly created video slideshow will be available for viewing. You can then edit it or share it with someone, which is the whole point of this app. It will send an email to whoever you want to share the slideshow with, with a link to your video on Animoto’s website. From there, you can do a bunch of things such as embedding it, uploading it to YouTube, etc…

I love this application but I do have a few feature requests… First, I would like to be able to login to my Animoto account so the videos are saved in my account. Right now, Animoto doesn’t allow you to login from your iPhone so you won’t be able to save these videos to your existing Animoto’s account if you already have one. My guess is that this will come in the next update.

My second request is that it should be able to let you upload a song from your iPhone. The website let’s you do it. You can just choose a song you have on your computer and upload it so you can use it in your slideshow. Now I believe that Apple won’t let anyone access the music library on the iPhone. Besides, uploading music directly from your iPhone would take forever.

At any rates, Animoto is clearly my favorite app of the week! I was already sold on the website, so it wasn’t too hard to make me an adept of the iPhone app…

Fuzzyshot – Photo Uploading & Sharing

I admit it – I’m an iPhone photo-holic. I’m addicted to taking photos with my iPhone. And the site I use to upload to from my iPhone is Flickr. However, Flickr does not have a full-featured iPhone app and many apps that can upload to Flickr are very basic.

That’s where Fuzzyshot Photo Blog [iTunes link] comes in. Although users of Fuzzyshot will definitely benefit, new users can easily create an account right on your iPhone. And the app can do just about anything the web version does. You simply snap your photo, set your post title and comment, select public or private and whether you want your photo geotagged or not. You can also easily e-mail your photo straight from the app.

Browsing other people’s Fuzzyshot pictures is also easy in the app. The most recent pictures are featured in your feed (so if you don’t want your family’s pictures spread across the internet, you should select private) and you can also check out the most viewed and most discussed pictures in the last 24 hours. You also get a unique web address as well as an RSS feed for your photos.

I had never heard of Fuzzyshot before reviewing this app, but it appears that it has a well-established photo blogging community. If you want EASY photo uploading take a look at Fuzzyshot. It’s free to download and free to sign up.

How to determine your iPhone firmware version

To determine which firmware(s) you have on your iPhone, press the Home button, then the Settings button, then press General, then press About. Look at the entry for “Version”. It will have a number next to it and another number in parantheses. We’re only concerned about the first two (or three) digit number. In my examples I have 2.2 firmware. So when you hear: Apple is releasing 8.4 firmware today, that’s the number they are talking about.

There’s another firmware number you should be aware of. This is the one that says “Modem Firmware”. This is also referred to as baseband by us hackers/unlockers. Every time you update your firmware (i.e. 2.2), the modem firmware gets updated too (except for the 1st generation iPhone). While baseband updates are good for most iPhone users, they are usually bad for those who want to unlock their iPhones. But for now, do not concern yourself with this.

The image on the left is from a 1st generation iPhone, the image on the right from a 3G iPhone. I have outlined in red, the two version numbers.

If you have a new iPhone that hasn’t been activated or modified, then this is what you must do to determine what firmware you have.

If you see this image when you turn the iPhone on, then you have a 2.x firmware installed.

There are only two other images that will be displayed when turning on an unactivated iPhone. The image on the left is associated with firmware 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2 and 1.1.1. The image on the right is associated with firmware 1.1.2, 1.1.3, and 1.1.4 only.

To further determine if you have 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2 or 1.1.1 firmware there is one more thing that can easily be performed. At the main screen on the iPhone, slide the slider to access the emergency call panel. Enter *3001#12345#* and then press the Call button.

You will now see this screen. Press the Versions menu. You’ll see the infamous typo menu entry called Firware version. This is actually supposed to say firmware version. This particular firmware number refers to the modem version.

1.0 firmware has 03.11.02_G modem firmware.

1.0.1 firmware has 03.12.08_G modem firmware.

1.0.2 firmware has 03.14.08_G modem firmware.

1.1.1 firmware has 04.01.13_G modem firmware.

1.1.2 firmware has 04.02.13_G modem firmware.

1.1.3 firmware has 04.03.13_G modem firmware.

1.1.4 firmware has 04.04.05_G modem firmware.

2.0 firmware has 04.05.04_G modem firmware (1st generation iPhones will remain at this baseband level).

2.0 firmware has 1.45.00 modem firmware.

2.0.1 firmware has 1.48.02 modem firmware.

2.0.2 firmware has 02.08.01 modem firmware.

2.1 firmware has 2.11.07 modem firmware.

2.2 firmware has 2.28.00 modem firmware.

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