US Mobile Industry

iPhoneFreaks posts regular app and game reviews for the iPhone.  As there are 20,000 (or was it 25k?) apps and games available in the Apple App Store, we human need some way to filter out the noise, and find The Good Stuff.

Rasta Monkey looks like a really fun game, and I’m loving the graphic style.  Combining the happy/super-flat colors of Katamari Damacy, the speed of Sonic (but not too much speed) and delivered on a mobile platform, Rasta Monkey is sure to impress.  And it’s only $1.99.  Here’s what iPhoneFreakz say: 

Rasta Monkey is by far the best iPhone 2D action platformer out there. With perfect physics based gameplay that you will love. You play an extraordinarily happy Rastafarian monkey. One day, Your old father asks you to help the family out: “You need to collect dem fruits for mi special fruit-shake before mi head go CHAKA CHAKA!…”

Download Now from the App Store for $1.99

Let us know if you’ve played Rasta Monkey, or if you’re a Rasta Monkey yourself.

There once was a company called Dodgeball.  They had a fun, early social app which would let you SMS your location, and see how physically close your contacts are to you.

Google bought Dodgeball, and it’s founders left with the thumbs-down salute after far-too-long of Google not updating the app.

Which brings us to today.  FourSquare was announced at SXSW, and it’s been updated to use Real Data instead of SMS, and much better socialized… data.  They’ve also announced an iPhone app, which is free.  I tried to download the iPhone app to get some nice screenshots, but it needs 2.2.1 firmware, but I’m on 2.2.  Dangit, guess I’ll need to upgrade and rejailbreak to get FourSquare going.  Cause I WANT it!  via Laughing Squid

Apple had a big event this morning, where they’ve previewed the new features for the 3.0 iPhone firmware.  The biggest news is more A2DP Bluetooth support, MMS, cut and paste, and push notifications.  While this brings it up to speed with the 2006 Nokia N95, Apple folks are excited about being “allowed” to use these advanced features.

Lots of websites live-blogged the Apple event, so you can find a minute-by-minute update if you need it.  If you’re looking for a line-item summary of the 3.0 firmware features, look no further than IntoMobile, who has posted a great summation.

There are a few good eBook readers for the iPhone.  Amazon has released Kindle for the iPhone, Stanza rocks, and I’m sure there are others.

Wattpad is like most eBook readers, in that you can browse and download the content directly through the app.  Wattpad is different because it includes out-of-copyright books by the thousands, which are searchable through the app.  Wattpad also introduces a Social aspect to eBook reading, allowing users to recommend books to their peers, or simply VoteUp an eBook by selecting “I Love This Book!”.

Wattpad, via IntoMobile

One of the main flaws with the iPhone is it’s lack of a full Bluetooth stack.  Sure the iPhone supports a Bluetooth headset, but what about tethering, A2DP stereo music playback, syncing, and obex transfers?  

Well now you can solve the iPhone Bluetooth issue for $3.99.  MeDevil has published iBluetooth in the newly commercialized Cydia App Store for jailbroken iPhones.  Why release this killer app in the Cydia store instead of the Apple App Store?  Obviously because Apple wouldn’t allow this app to be released.

via UMPC Portal, via IntoMobile

This is a workaround for enabling bluetooth audio on your iPhone.

It sucks that Apple’s iPhone doesn’t quite support bluetooth audio.  On one occasion I’ve found it to work, only in the least convenient time.  Try hooking up a bluetooth headset to your iPhone.  Call someone, and in the middle of the call, play some music from the iPod app.  Real stupid, right?  If the call ends, music seems to blast out of the speakers again.  Weak.

I just realized that Sony’s bluetooth iPod dongle works with the device.  First establish a connection between your bluetooth headphones and the iPhone.  I used this one.  Then connect the dongle on the base of the iPhone and turn it on.  Whether or not you’ve turned it on, the iPhone will prompt you with a caution message about using airplane mode.  Select “No.”

 

Ignore the warning.Click “No.”

Your music should now flow through the headphones.  All the buttons on my Philips headphones work:  play/pause, next, previous, volume up, volume down.  When receiving a call, the music will gently fade into the call received.  One issue I did have was that if you attempt to switch the audio source from the bluetooth to the iPhone, the music will continue, oblivious to your buddy on the other end.

 

Click for an alternate view.

Although your iPhone will increase slightly in bulkiness, consider the space you’re saving by carrying one less device.  As for me, this is only a test.  I’m most likely going to continue using my iPod for a few reasons.  80GB is favorable to the iPhone’s 8GB/16GB.  Also, the current support for connecting the iPhone to Linux is still bleeding edge.  I’ll be discussing Linux connectivity in my next article.

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I found this facinating slide presentation from Create with Context.  They took a bunch of iPhone users of different levels of technology experience, and had them navigate the iPhone UI.  The report brings up some great usability questions, but mostly shows why navigating the iPhone is easy for most people.