iPhone apps & Maru
Based on our first and second polls, this post should be a real crowd-pleaser. First, here’s a list of the iPhone apps that I use regularly, with some notes about each:
TwitterFon is a Twitter client for the iPhone. If you use Twitter and have an iPhone, you should get a Twitter app. I also like NatsuLiphone, which has an awesome lion icon but doesn’t work quite as well for me. Both let you see your tweeps’ latest posts, view links in a built-in browser, and easily post your Very Interesting Thoughts. Both were free last I checked.
Gyazickr is a combination Flickr and Twitter app. It will post a photo from your iPhone to Flickr, and at the same time make a post to Twitter with a link to the photo at Flickr – very convenient if you use both. Free when I got it.
Klick is a Flickr app. (Noticing a pattern here?) It makes it easy to browse your and your contacts’ Flickr photos in a variety of ways, including on a map. It can post photos to Flickr too, but I prefer Gyazickr for that because it posts to Twitter too. Free last time I checked.
Photogene is a simple photo editor for the iPhone. The iPhone takes pretty awful photos – this app makes it pretty easy to bump up the contrast and generally improve your iPhone photos a bit before sharing them. With a few touches you can turn webcam-ish ugly into toy camera awesome…at least I think so. Cost $2.99 when I bought it.
QuadCamera is a camera app that takes 4-8 photos in a row, spaced out as you choose, like a highly configurable Lomo Supersampler without the hassle of film. In case you haven’t noticed, the iPhone doesn’t do video, which is pretty strange since every other cell phone on the market does. Taking 4 or 8 photos in a row isn’t video, but it is a fun way to capture motion. The photos are tiled together by the app into a single photo, so you can then share as usual. Cost $1.99 last I checked.
Facebook is obviously a Facebook app for the iPhone. Like a Twitter app, if you use Facebook and have an iPhone, you probably already have it because the Facebook mobile web thing isn’t very feature-complete. The app is free, but according to the internets the Facebook Terms of Service will eventually require you to pay for their service with your soul or firstborn child.
The Weather Channel is obviously a Weather Channel app. I like to have some idea of what the weather’s going to do, especially if I’m out riding my motorcycle and haven’t planned for rain – the radar map and hour-by-hour forecast are especially useful for guessing how long I’ve got before rain arrives. The WeatherBug app has a better radar map, but poorer forecast and severe weather information. Free, but both have some ads here and there.
Those are the 3rd party apps that I’ve got on my main page – the ones that I use most often. Apps that I don’t use quite as often include: Pandora, Last.fm, WordPress, FlyCast, MySpace, Wikiamo, Fieldrunners, PhoneFlix, OpenTable, SHOUTcast, Urbanspoon, eBay, and Amazon.com.
Please post your own favorite apps when you get a chance, either in the comments or in a post of your own.
Finally, here is a recent Maru video, in which the famous cat plays with some used packing material:
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mwedin said:
Do not forget such memorable and time-sucking apps such as Sol Free, Sudoku, Public Radio, NYTimes , and BBC reader!
jonburpee@wedin.org said:
Time wasters are fun like ishoot which is not for the camera and air hockey. Mobile Fotos for Flickr uploads. And Facebook for us Facebook addicts, I posted crab pics to Facebook from the boat as I was taking them.
pete said:
I love Maru and maybe someday I’ll know why all those apps are good, too. Can anyone tell me how to make the cell phone quit ringing? I don’t want a bluetooth thingy and it seems the phone knows when my hands are wet or when I just can’t get it. Seldom does it ring when I’m sitting in the truck doing nothing. Jon, we did ding the prop the other day, but the new shiny ones are on there now. Have a great week everyone! Love, Pete
Isaac said:
Why don’t you want a bluetooth thingy?? Install one of those in your head and turn on auto-pickup on your phone – you’ll forget what it was like to ever be OFF the phone. The other big benefit of the bluetooth thingy is that you can talk to yourself (or Richard Nixon, Ghandi, etc.) and people think you’re conducting Important Business.
In post-related news, I can report that if you like the idea of being an overlord to cute animated villagers, you will enjoy the iPhone game Pocket God. Unless you’re a real sadist you probably won’t play it for more than 5 or 10 minutes at a time, but 5 minutes of flinging villagers into a volcano and zapping them with lightning is pretty satisfying. It’s apparently also possible to feed them and make them dance. A bargain at 99 cents.
jonburpee@wedin.org said:
Ok I tried pocket god its pretty fun. Shall we start a new thread to discuss how awesome Battlestar Gallactica finale was.
Isaac said:
It was awesome with a big dose of WTF. What was Starbuck? Was Baltar a Cylon? Were they all? I demand answers!
jonburpee@wedin.org said:
http://www.nj.com/entertainment/tv/index.ssf/2009/03/battlestar_galactica_ronald_d.html
This is a interview with Ron Moore, he answers some of the questions.
Isaac said:
Thanks Jon, that interview is very helpful! Except for Starbuck – that makes as little sense as ever…which I guess is the point.
Lisa said:
I love that cat. My favorite is the box video.
cheri said:
I like Pete’s idea for a ring stopper—sounds like he also needs a remote to operate the phone app. My idea of a great app is one that is a time-saver. Wedin54 and I will be coming to you live from Newport Beach, CA for the next few days. He’s working the next Fly Right film and I’m attending a Boys & Girls Board conference. The boys are enjoying a visit to Casa de Wedin Burpee. Wish you were here! ~C
Lisa said:
The boys had fun playing street hockey with the Mesichs tonight. We had a great time at a the neighborhood St. Paddy’s party yesterday. I took the rest of the crab to the party. Super tasty.
jonburpee@wedin.org said:
Just found a new app. for Facebook users…. Friendsync it add your friends facebook profile picture to your iPhone contacts.
wedin54 said:
great post…looking forward to having time to check out some of those apps (a few of them sound GREAT). thanks lisa for taking the boys over to lake park. might do a post from here tomorrow…had a great day yesterday at the mojave spaceport…headed this morning for USC to interview a leading expert on human factors…and cheri will be heading for beverly hills later to check in with some leading experts on Max Factor).
Obama is here…it was a big feature on the local LA news last night…he’s on Leno tonight…we decided not to camp out in burbank for two days to get passes. Interesting. l, j/d/gp
tee said:
I’m with Lisa, Maru the CAT is my favorite. I think my worthless cat could compete if I had the time to stand around videoing (is that a word?) him.
My favorite iphone apps are Shazam and BubbleWrap. Shazam identifies music that is playing. Turn it on, hold it up to the speakers, and SHAZAM! you know what it is and who does it. BubbleWrap is a great tension beater and my current high score is 151. I just know I can do better when I get my nails done this week.
I might try the twitter app. I have an account but I don’t really get it. Why would people want to know what I am doing?
Lisa said:
I want to know what you are doing:) I kinda use it for work.
cheri said:
Me, too! I don’t currently use it for work, but one of the reasons I signed up was to investigate its value as a communication tool for work. Love, C
cheri said:
What is your Twitter user name? I can’t find you.
tee said:
I’ve had a Twitter account since last summer but now I have spent some time trying to get it set up. (I still don’t get it but I am going to try it.) I also have a Facebook account (creepy for adults but useful for checking Alpha Phi collegians) and a LinkedIn account which about a month ago I spent some time trying to get it a little more functional. (All opened last summer or earlier.) Basically I can see maintaining all these social/work things could be a big TIME SUCKER.
wedin54 said:
i’ve looked into all this stuff, and i’ve been on “linked-in” for close to two years (as a business). for me, yeah…it’s a time thing. i feel great if i can spend a little time each day at wedin.org, but even that is a challenge some days. i think these other venues work well for some folks and can be both fun and constructive…on the other hand, i think they tend to minimize our availablility for actual contact and face TIME. l,j
jonburpee@wedin.org said:
Lisa and I use Facebook, me a bunch her a little I’ve reconnected with a bunch of friend and I got my Parents to use it. Little easier than getting them to org. Isaac, Mandi, Pete, Rebecca, Jesssica, and Dana are all also on Facebook.