Pageonce Personal Assistant:

This is a great app for bringing together many accounts that are accessed online including bank and investing accounts. You can even view frequent flyer accounts and bill pay functions. Instead of having to access many online websites, all of the accounts are represented on one screen.

AOL Radio:

This is a “very cool” App because it streams a very popular Los Angeles radio station, KCRW. One of the best ways to get the best of radio in one App.

Fring:

Just as Pageonce brings together financial applications, Fring brings together the many IM products into one screen. You can use MSN, Yahoo Chat, AIM, Twitter, Skype, AOL, ICQ and any other IM with this interface. You can even handle VoIP calls using any Wi-Fi which can save on your minutes by using any wireless connection you can find to make your calls.

Remote:

This is one of the most useful Apps in the Apps universe. Using this App, you can listen to your iTunes library and pipe it through any stereo hookup or Airport Express. This will be one of those Apps that you use all the time.

AirSharing:

This is an essential Apps that can be a lifesaver. Using AirSharing, you can send files in the flash memory of the iPhone and upload it or download it to a storage locations using any Wi-Fi connection.

Yelp:

This is a great App to use when traveling. For any city, you can reach out and grab local reviews of restaurants, bars and other services. In towns like LA or New York where things change all the time, Yelp can keep you up with the coolest places to go each time you are in town.

Routesy:

San Francisco is a delightful city to visit or live in. And whether you go there for business or fun, this App is a great way to find your way around. It is even easier to use the maps on Routesy than to use the maps of public transportation that the city provides.

City Transit:

New York City is a town that is best accessed using public transportation. Too many people avoid the subways and buses because they are worried about deciphering the routes. This App to the rescue. City Transit even lets you know when there are outages or problems to avoid in the NYC public transportation infrastructure.

Pandora:

You would be hard pressed to find a better internet radio App than Pandora. It even learns your tastes in artists and makes suggestions. It has no trouble streaming music over the 3G or EDGE formats. This one will get daily use one you install it on your iPhone.

VNC Lite:

With this App, you can access any computer on your network and fully operate it like you were sitting at the keyboard. This is a great way to access your home desktop unit while on the road.

PanoLab:

The iPhone is already an ideal tool for taking pictures. The PanoLab App completes your abilities to weave those phones together into a delightful panorama. Because the iPhone is right there, you can always take additional pictures to fill out your artistic vision. And there is a paid version that makes this App even more useful and fun.

Bloom:

When you can use an iPhone App that brings out your musical creativity, you will get hooked. You just tap the pastel liquid like screen and make a note. Dragging your finger makes musical loops. Before long, you will be passing hours away waiting at the airport creating delightful, strange and fascinating music.

Shazam:

This App solves the problem of trying to figure out what song you are listening to. You can just hold your phone to the radio or hold it where it can hear a song that is being played over a public loudspeaker. Within seconds, you have that song identified. You can even use it to figure out that “brain worm” song in your head by just humming it to Shazam in your iPhone.

Simplify Media:

When your iTunes library gets massive, keeping it organized can be a mess. The name of this App is on target because you can organize your music so you can always find the song you want in a flash.

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Galcon:

This fascinating game is like an iPhone combination of Risk in Space. But you can play Galcon in a couple minutes instead of needing all night to finish it. One of the best games to play anywhere you are with your iPhone.

i.TV:

No need to hunt for the newspaper TV guide when you are on the road. You can find your favorite show, HBO movie or special or whatever you need while settling in at a hotel room with this App. You can even check in with your Netflix queue right from your iPhone using iTV.

MotionX Poker:

You will be amazed as how realistic the way the dice roll is when you are enjoying this App. The physics engine that simulates dice are truly amazing in MotionXPoker. This game may not be a substitute for playing a real dice based gambling game. But it’s not bad.

Snow Reports:

For the skier or snowboarder, a great App to get a report on the snow conditions where you are heading off to for a weekend of fun and adventure. This App can save you time and money if it’s not a great day for winter sports.

Google Earth:

Many people enjoy the phenomenal desktop application of Google Earth. Now it is available on the iPhone. It is hard to believe that these stunning images are available on the iPhone. But that is how far technology has advanced in just a few years.

Sketches:

This App is all about fun. You can import your own photos and put silly sticker graphics all over them. Upload them to your Facebook page and watch how your friends go crazy with funny posts. Small wonder this is such a popular iPhone App.

There is serious question as to whether Apple is going to be able to get an upgradeable version of the new 3.0 specification of the Bluetooth on the market before a new iPhone hardware becomes generally available later this year. There has not been enough information made available about whether the Bluetooth 3.0 will have a lot of technical abilities such as the ability to sync very large media files in a wireless setting.

Is certain that the new API that allows more accessory access to the OP, there will be some pretty exciting new Apps enter the market when the iPhone 3.0 is available. It is just a matter of being patient to see what they have to offer.

If this prediction has any validity, then where the iPhone that Apple produces will fit into that internet landscape is worth considering. Right now about one out of every seven people have disconnected from their landlines and only use cell phones for their communication needs. When you focus just on the younger generations, that percentage goes way up. It won’t be long before a house with phones on the wall will be the stuff of ancient history. And when it comes to eliminating wired interent, the precedent of dropping land-lined phones will pave the way for sending wired interent into the history books too. The iPhone just moves that process along more quickly than before.

“Internet nomads” is a new phrase for those who already are completely mobile in their access to cyberspace. For that group, there may come a time when even the iPhone will seem like ancient technology to them that will sit in museums next to the early versions of Windows and the first Intel chips. It could be that Apple’s closed development policy may be what pushes the iPhone into the history books.

There are three big advantages that make it possible for the iPhone to dominate the market. The low $200 price to get that first iPhone combined with a very easy to use interface for customers and a huge App store all work together to make the iPhone an attractive product. The help of Microsoft to integrate the PARC mouse based interface for users with no royalty helps too. The result is the user interface for the iPhone will continue that momentum of innovation in a nonproprietary setting.

It is a question whether the impressive iPhone App Store will become something that sustains the iPhone in the market or whether it too will pass into history to be studied by future business and computer arts school students. What makes the iPhone applications brilliant is that current mobile broadband services offer inconsistent throughput. What makes the iPhone App Store brilliant is that it offers applications for download that are safe from spyware of viruses.

There are a huge array of communications alternatives with the iPhone, which includes UMTS/HSDP, GSM/EDGE, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. With that much communications strength, the concept of the Internet nomad should be a reality. But at this time, the infrastructure for data communications is way behind voice communications. This where iPhone covers the slack by removing many of the inconsistencies in data service. As such, the apps are a real value to AT&T and its customers and those apps are one way that so many mobile users justify paying for an iPhone and budgeting the monthly costs of service.

The relationship of AT&T to Apple as their exclusive cell phone network provider has all the makings of the basis for a strong and diverse community of developers for mobile data applications, which in turn would create a big customer base for the Apple App Store. However, despite the impressive strength and support abilities of AT&T, even they cannot man enough customer service desks with trained reps to support the many problems customers have with downloading and installing this huge library of independently developed apps. Thankfully, the App Store has high standards for their independent developers, which keeps AT&T’s staff of customer service reps from being even more overwhelmed.

Now, if we look down the road a bit to a time when the data networks for mobile devices catches up and to at time when designers of mobile devices begin to utilize more sophisticated electronics, better batteries and faster processors and that presents a much different picture. In a setting where App Store offerings run on a secure browser, they would perform much better. When the time comes that browser technology uses better personal privacy standards, that will go a long way toward resolving the issues with personal privacy for those using the iPhone.

A time is coming very soon when over the majority of App Store applications will become obsolete because already 80% of Java, Flash and XML programs run on mobile devices without too much trouble. The only thing needed for mobile device applications to explode with the same richness and diverse of the wired interent, is the development of a standard software developers kit which will facilitate the control of the hardware of mobile devices.

At this time, it is not clear what the legacy of the iPhone will be when the mobile Internet begins to take over. It could be the App Store will continue to be popular because it does offer a great business model for advertisers as well as developers. But it is just as likely that the increased competition combined with better bandwidth for mobile devices and new generations of mobile communications will cause the App Store to become a dinosaur in the market.

The one thing we can count on is the future where Internet nomads rule cyberspace is coming. It is only a question about how much of the technology that these nomads use will be branded and open source technology. Time will tell.

1. Do you pay by the download on just once for the membership?

The downside of a membership site that lets you in free is then they hit you with a fee for each song you download. If you use the service a lot, that can run into quite a tab. A one-time fee membership site is a far better value.

2. How Much Music Do They Have?

Before you plunk down your credit card to sign up for a download site, go through their inventory to make sure they have lots of variety. Also, confirm that they get new music frequently. If they do well with their inventory, you can stay with that kind of site for a long time.

3. Look For a Big File Selection and Media Diversity Including Downloadable Movies And TV Shows.

To get what you pay for, the download site should give you access to thousands of files of every music genre imaginable. Along with all kinds of music, the site should offer cool movies, games, software utilities and TV shows all downloadable under your membership agreement.

4. Does the download site have a good internet interface?

It is a lot easier to find the songs you want to download using the website than browsing using your iPhone. So use the nonmember area of the website to get a feel for how well the website performs to make sure you can use it well to find all the music you love.

5. Does the Download Site Provide Software for File Conversion and Compatibility?

The whole idea of getting a download site membership is to easily convert music to play on your iPhone. So the download site should have all of the software utilities for downloading music as well as video. If files need to go through a conversion software package to play on the iPhone system, they should provide that software too at no charge.

6. Are the Download Speeds Fast?

Make sure that the download site doesn’t set a limit on download speeds. Small download operations will do that because their servers are limited. This can be a real frustration when you want your music fast.

7. The Files Your Download Must be 100% Safe.

The problem of using file sharing sites like Limewire of BitTorrent is that it is easy to download a nasty virus filled with spyware, adware or something worse. The idea of using a paid site is to be able to download music legally and safely. Make sure the download site has some tools to get rid of dangerous files from their system. But don’t stop there. Get some good security software to scan your computer for adware, spyware and viruses regularly. Those two levels of security can go a long way to keep bad files off of your computer and your phones.

8. Who Likes Them?

One great way to find a download site that you know will work great is to ask your friends. If they have a strong reputation with people you know, that means a lot. You can also look at how many customers they have and any testimonials are listed on their website to see if they are well regarded by their customers.

9. What Does Their Customer Service Look Like?

When you pay good money for a download site, you want service if anything goes wrong. You can tell if they have put some effort into customer support by looking at their FAQ section of the website. But ask some questions of people who use them or using their online inquiry resource to find out if customer support is 24/7 and fast. Anytime you put in a service request, you should get an answer within 24 hours or they are not living up to their part of the bargain.

10. Can You Pay Them With Confidence?

If you are going to pay with PayPal or using your credit card, that must be a secure transaction. Research to make sure how the download site accepts payment is safe and that they will not abuse the privilege of taking money from you.

]]> http://www.iphones.com/blog/2009/05/06/iphone-downloads-10-secrets-to-finding-some-very-cool-download-sites/feed/ http://www.iphones.com/blog/2009/05/05/iphonescom-well-can-you-believe-phones-keep-getting-smarter-and-smarter-and-tracking-your-next-move-is-the-ultimate-direction-why-apps-why-track-whats-the-overall-big-picture/ http://www.iphones.com/blog/2009/05/05/iphonescom-well-can-you-believe-phones-keep-getting-smarter-and-smarter-and-tracking-your-next-move-is-the-ultimate-direction-why-apps-why-track-whats-the-overall-big-picture/#comments Tue, 05 May 2009 14:42:26 +0000 admin http://www.iphones.com/blog/?p=169