So, I am sitting at my local Starbucks and decided to give the new AT&T free Wi-Fi a spin on my iPhone 3G. The process was painless. After turning on Wi-Fi, you are presented with a screen to enter you phone number. Afterwards, it tells you that you are receiving a link via text (for free) with a link to access AT&T's free Wi-Fi.
I have to admit, at first I was thinking that this seems a little complicated and a lot of steps to just connect via Wi-Fi... but wait, it is all-goooooood.
Ahh....relaxtion. The often unachievable goal of most adults (especially during the weekend). With the increasing stress of our lives, is it any surprise that huge numbers of "relaxation aides" have appeared on the market. Massagers, aroma therapy, ambient noise generators - all trying to help us relax.
Mark Jardine and Paul Haddad of Tapbots are the breakout designers and engineers behind Weightbot (iTunes link), one of the most original user experiences released on the iPhone App Store to date. Continuing the iPhone blog's behind-the-scenes look at iPhone application development, Mark and Paul were kind enough to take time and discuss their ideas on interface and interactivity, and how what more we might expect from Apple's next generation mobile platform.
TiPb: How was approaching the iPhone interface for this App different than how you would have approached an interface for another platform?
Mark: It was really different coming from a web design background. 320x460 isn't a lot of space to work with and then you have to factor in the huge difference in input devices. A person's finger is a lot less accurate than a mouse cursor. At the same time, I wasn't designing a website so I was freed from a lot of rules and conventions I've been following over the past 8 years. So my initial approach was pretty simple. If Weightbot was an actual physical device, how could I make it usable and fun at the same time?
Paul: The thing I found challenging about dealing with the iPhone interface is that users want a silky smooth and yet the iPhone and iPod touch are both very slow compared to any modern Mac. I spent a lot of time juggling things around in order to get a consistent 60 fps for all the various animations within Weightbot. Coming from our current Multi Gigahertz, Multi Gigabyte and Multi Core world where for the most part you don't have to worry about performance to a platform like the iPhone where every cycle and byte counts is a big change.
November 4th is only one day away, and it's time for you to get out and vote. And if voting for the next President of the United States is not enough, head on into our forums over and get your vote on... TiPb style!
What's the big news in the Smartphone world this week? It's a mix, really. Android's looking like a viable platform to more and more people, there are a ton of Windows Mobile devices on the way, and both CrackBerry.com and the iPhone Blog are running contests that ought to spark your interest. Read on!
We've asked this before: do iPhone WebApps have a future? Sure, Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and even Apple to some degree are all racing to own what many think will be the next paradigm shift in platforms: the cloud.
Since our last Apps for Less post, price drops worth mentioning have been far and few between. Well today we finally have a notable mention for you. Especially if you are a fan of IM clients...
Today is the final day to get the best IM application available on the iPhone, BeejiveIM (iTunes Link), on sale for $3.00 off the normal price for $12.99. While that is still not the price you'd like to pick it up at, it's better than the normal price of $15.99. So if you were waiting for a price drop be sure to head into the App Store today!
Bottle Rocket sent us word of two new App Store releases, Proxy Pal ($1.99) and Wings ($0.99). One lets you glide over virtual scene-scapes, the other might just help people outside the US actually access Hulu! (Purty please?)
One of the highest profile iPhone games to state, EA's Spore, retails on the iTunes App Store for $9.99. Now, however, you can also get a "free" version, Spore Origins Lite Edition (iTunes link). The catch? It's teaser consisting of 1 level. Since Apple doesn't (yet?) have a model for demoing apps ("try" instead of "buy"), it's likely the only thing developers can do to give potential buyers a real preview. They hope, after one or a short number of levels, you'll be hooked enough to pony up the bucks for the full blown version.
