Bwana.org » iTunes

Will Apple Kill Palm’s Hype “Pre”maturely?

Bwana — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 15:21:13 +0000

Pun intended.

So Palm had it’s big day yesterday (June 6th) with their release of the Palm Pre and early reports are that they had a good day in terms of sales. Most stores were sold out by noon and others followed later in the day. Early reviews of the Palm Pre are generally positive and the community is rallying behind Palm in a big way.

We’ve also had some controversy surrounding the Pre already! First, we found out that the Palm Pre is recognized as an iPod in iTunes for synchronization. A lot of us don’t think Apple will like this, especially since a lot of former Apple engineers worked on this phone. Some high profile technology experts have gotten into it surrounding ethics and integrity surrounding receiving review units. Right or wrong, Palm gets free press out of all of this.

Press is good, until you’re faced with an Apple keynote. Even though it’s a Steve Job-less keynote (maybe), tomorrow’s kickoff of Apple’s Worldwide Developer’s Conference (WWDC) is expected to bring a lot of fresh technology news. Now if Apple didn’t have a particular phone in their lineup, I think Palm wouldn’t have to worry about the possible buzz kill surrounding the Pre. But alas, we have a confirmed release of iPhone 3.0 software (either tomorrow or later this month) and a ton of rumors surrounding new iPhone hardware.

Photo courtesy of Gear Live

On top of all the coolness that’s coming from the iPhone’s software revision, we’re hearing rumors about the new iPhone hardware that include:

Video recording capability
Front and rear camera
Larger Capacity (32GB)

You gotta love the rumor mill before these Apple events. They almost have the ability to kill Palm’s hype on their own. Palm has their hands full. Apple still has the mind share on the “cool” smartphone market, but I believe Palm has what it takes to steal some of it. A new Apple phone 2 days after your release could be insurmountable.

Will tomorrow’s announcements squash Palm’s buzz? We will have to wait and see. I can’t wait.

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My Top 10 iPhone Apps of 2008

Bwana — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 06:04:53 +0000

You know, I never thought I’d cling so much to a phone as much as I cling to the iPhone. When the iPhone was updated to version 2.0, I knew that it was going to make things worse. While many still believe the iPhone to be over hyped and not worth the time, money, and support, I firmly believe it has changed the smart phone market in a very short amount of time.

On the matter at hand. Here at the end of 2008, which iPhone applications were the most valuable players? Let’s count it down:

Brightkite (Free) – Brightkite for iPhone actually prompted me to sign up for a service that I probably wouldn’t have otherwise. It allows you to check in to your friends network your various locations, provide status updates, and upload photos.

The combination of the iPhone interface, GPS, and camera make this app intuitive and fun to use. Thank goodness for Brightkite’s privacy options so I don’t have to let the world know where I am at any given moment. I am at http://brightkite.com/people/bwana
Qik (Jailbreak) – Qik is a big motivator for me to jailbreak (hack) my iPhone. Qik provides live streaming of video and audio from the iPhone much like Ustream.tv does for computers and webcams.

They have done a great job of utilizing the iPhone’s hardware to squeeze out a great streaming experience. It’s too bad that this application is not available on the iTunes App store, but several bloggers have received advanced copies of the app that doesn’t require a jailbreak and absolutely love it. I can’t wait until the masses can use it, but for now, I’m using it with a jailbroken iPhone. My Qik profile is at http://qik.com/bwana
Evernote (Free) – Evernote is a great way to stay organized and the iPhone version does not disappoint. From taking ordinary notes to voice reminders, I find this tool to be an absolute necessity to stay organized.

Given that it synchronizes with the cloud, I can create and edit artifacts on my iPhone and on the computer. This app is easily worth money, but the authors have made it free to the public.
Winterboard (Jailbreak) – One of my biggest gripes with the iPhone is the lack of customization options available out of the box. Since I’ve jailbroken my iPhone for Qik functionality, I am also able to customize backgrounds, icons, sounds, and applications using Winterboard.

This free application available in Cydia is a must have if you’ve jailbroken your iPhone. Often, I get asked, “How did you change that background?” or “How did you get that sound?”, and the answer always points to Winterboard.
Smiles ($2.99 Zen|Drop/$4.99 Combined) – I need to thank Chris Pirillo for introducing me to Smiles for the iPhone. Chris gave me the opportunity to review this game and I’ve been playing it almost every night since. Smiles is a matching/puzzle game that resembles Bejeweled on the surface but adds elements that differentiate it.

For one, you can use the iPhone’s accelerometer to change orientation in the game. This may sound like a visual preference, but it also serves as a strategy for certain game modes. I’ve reviewed Smiles on Bwana.TV, and I definitely believe it to be worth the $2.99/$4.99 price tag. Here’s my video review of Smiles for the iPhone:
Uno ($7.99) – I’ve played Uno since I could burp. Yes, it’s been that long. This game is just the epitome of fun. The rules are not difficult, the color based cards make it easy for the youngest kids to pick it up, and it’s hard to find someone who says they actually don’t like the game.

The iPhone version of Uno adds a multiplayer component to an already rich single player experience. Now you can play your friends over Wifi and the internet if they have an iPhone or iPod Touch. At $7.99, it may sound a bit expensive, but once you’ve played it, you’ll see right off that it’s a premium app for the iPhone. Here’s my video review of Uno for the iPhone
Facebook (Free) – Easily the most comprehensive, in-depth, social networking application for the iPhone today, Facebook takes it to a whole new level. As a light user of Facebook, I know that if I’m impressed with the features and functions of this app, that the regular users of Facebook will find it essential. It does it all.

If Facebook is your social network of choice, there’s no way you can do without viewing and uploading photos, updating your status, posting notes, approve/ignore requests, reading notifications, read and respond to messages, and even utilize Facebook chat. This app is a must have.
Pandora Radio (Free) – Do you listen to music? Then there’s no excuse why you shouldn’t have Pandora installed. Pandora uses technology from the Music Genome Project to create dynamic “radio stations” based on artists and songs that you like.

Want to hear similar music to a certain artist you like? Simply create a station based on that artist and Pandora plays a great selection of music that’s very similar to your artist and give you the ability the rate up or down songs. I love this app, and for a while I believed it to the best available for the iPhone. If you don’t have it installed, I don’t know what you’re waiting on.
Ocarina ($0.99) – To be blown away by this app is not only a pun, but an understatement. Ocarina turns your iPhone into a thousand+ year old instrument called the Ocarina. You may have heard of the Legend Of Zelda game, Ocarina of Time? Well yes, it’s pretty much that, but on your iPhone.

The folks over at Smule have done something I never thought was possible. They register the air you blow in the iPhone microphone and create music with fingerings on the touchscreen. There are many scales and pitches allowing you to create just about anything. Here is my latest video, where I play “Song of Storms” from the Legend of Zelda. This thing is truly incredible.

Smule is also holding a contest worth $1000, if you can create your own Ocarina video, so if you got the skills, enter today.
Google Reader (Web/Free) – If you read My Top 10 Websites of 2008, then you already know Google Reader is my MVP. Well things are the same on the iPhone. Although this is a web application, it doesn’t change my love for it. Google has refined Google Reader for iPhone so much that it seems like the most optimal way to read news on the web.

The interface is responsive, the controls are intuitive, and all the major functionality (star, note, share, email) for handling articles is right at your finger tips. Literally. Hands down, Google Reader for iPhone is the best iPhone app of 2008 for me, and I believe it’s a great choice.

So what are your favorite iPhone apps? Don’t be ashamed to express yourself in the comments.

How Much Have You Spent On iPhone Applications?

Bwana — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:53:06 +0000

The iPhone is taking the world by storm. (no pun intended RIM) Yesterday, Apple announced their quarterly earnings for Q4 2008 and the results were shocking to say the least. Apple reported they sold 6.9 million phones last quarter which achieves their goal of 10 million in 2008. Also surprising is that Apple is now the 3rd largest supplier of phones. Here are my thoughts on the matter:

Click to Play

It is also known that RIM and Google are planning to implement their own version of the iTunes App Store which has proven to be wildly successful. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right? Doesn’t this all sound familiar? Remember when the iPod first started to boom? I digress.

I’ve found the iTunes App Store to be a great addition to the iPhone universe, especially since there are a good amount of high quality free applications. The question I have for everyone is, have you been tracking how much you’ve been spending on the iTunes App Store? I know some people are well aware of how much they spend on songs in the iTunes Store and elsewhere, but do you truly know how much you’ve spent? For me, it’s easy: I’ve spent $5.99.

The only application I’ve bought to date is Tuner by Nullriver, Inc.

I’m quite proud of this since I was tempted so many times to buy other applications, but I refrained. I’ve made it this far by focusing on all the great free applications on the iTunes App Store. Some of these include Evernote, Pandora, Facebook, Twinkle, Remote, AirSharing, Pro Football App, and College Football App. In these days where many are cutting back on costs (myself included), free is a great price.

So, what apps do you feel are must haves for the iPhone/iPod-Touch? Have you tracked your spending in this temptation store? Do you care? Let me know in the comments.

Rhapsody vs iTunes: A Rebuttal

Bwana — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 04:49:14 +0000

Chris Pirillo prefers Rhapsody over iTunes. Music subscriptions (Rhapsody) would be a waste of money for me and are not a viable solution at all. Here’s 10 reasons why:

I barely spend $15 every 6 months on music, let alone every month.
I listen to great podsafe music and I buy the music I _love_ (Gospel & Jazz). If it’s not something I will listen to 20 times in a row without getting a headache, it’s not worth having. I rarely take suggestions from IRC on what to listen to. Something like that never turns out well for me. Way different tastes.
I prefer DRM free music but I do have a few tracks I bought from iTunes store which work fine with our iPhones, iPod nano, Apple TV and Windows boxes via iTunes or other mp3 player. With Airtunes, I can play music in my office and have it play through my computer speakers, my surround sound system in the living room, and my laptop in the bedroom. I usually strip the DRM shortly after buying.
In the car, I don’t listen to XM anymore as it’s become as repetitive and crappy as over the air radio so I just burn my own playlists (of which I can easily manage in iTunes due to clean id tags) Smart playlists ftw.
30 second clips are more than enough, and I don’t need to stream. If I don’t like a 30 second segment of a song, then I don’t believe I should buy it or listen to it. Songs that have a “good part” and a “bad part” are bad songs. Period.
I choose not to depend on one company for my music sources. While I depend mostly on Apple products to play my content, I have the choice of Amazon MP3, iTunes store, and music CDs to buy music that I can keep forever.
Music subscriptions is renting. I’d rather have a “lifetime lease”, if you will. While I really don’t own the music, I can play the copy I bought until the end of time, or oxygen.. take your pick. I don’t need to pay a landlord for my music and succumb to their will at their discretion. I want control.
Rhapsody (and other music subscription services) stinks like stale blue cheese on a dead duck. I prefer managing my own music stank you very much, with or without an internet connection.
Music subscription DRM is a slippery slope. What’s preventing companies such as Rhapsody/Real from embedding audio ads in streaming content? What if their servers go down? Go out of business? When I own the copy of the music I bought, it’s going to stay that way unless I choose otherwise.
I can listen to the same 10 songs for 3 months straight because I really love the music. Why would I give someone $180 a year for permission to listen to all the songs I want, when I can have all the songs I want for $50 a year? Easy decision.

Is Chris Pirillo wrong? Of course not. We both consume music in different ways. My situation dictates I do not even bother with subscriptions while he feels he would save money over a la’ carte. I use my iPhone/iPod, he doesn’t. He doesn’t burn music CDs, he listens to XM. He’s willing to give up control of the music he consumes to a third party, and I simply can’t do that. Different strokes for different folks. While you may argue MP3 (and its licenses/restrictions) is a form of control, OGG Vorbis isn’t. I have an exit strategy because…

I ultimately have control.