2009 - The year that was
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28 December 2009
2009 for me will be forever linked to two non-Mac and non-iPhone related things, study and illness. I won't bore you with details of the latter, other than to say it's not been a fun year (nothing life threatening)....and that it impacted both on my study and my attention to NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com, which had to come last on my list of priorities. I am hopeful that as I finally conclude my Master of Education at the end of January 2010 (woohoo!!), that I might also be able to look forward to healthier times...and finally, a proper holiday!! Even more so, I'll finally be able to have my evenings study free (yes, no doctorate is planned for a looooong time!), and whilst I am intending to go to full-time at the University (I currently work 4 days a week) there should be a lot more time to devote to NZMac.com and NZiPhone.com....and I can't wait. But hey, I did manage to get a few things done, include completely relaunch NZiPhone.com this year!
Radio.app for iPhone and iPod Touch
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14 October 2009
Take one rumour, publish it and watch the rumour rise. That seems to be the way these days, with few sites confirming rumours being reported elsewhere, but simply on-publishing them to give them some sense of credibility. And hey, NZiPhone.com isn't immune to shameless rumour spreading....so here goes. 9to5Mac is reporting that a Radio application is being built by Apple for inclusion into the standard OS of both the iPhone and iPod Touch. If you ask "how could they do that" remember what 9to5 says..."Apple's iPods and iPhones have been able to receive FM radio signals for some time now. The latest generation of iPhone and iPod touch can even broadcast FM signal, for instance to a car stereo. The ability of the iPhone and iPod touch to receive FM signals has been used solely in the implementation of the Nike+ ecosystem to this point."
Hitting the road with TomTom
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23 August 2009
The kind folk at TomTom provided me with a review copy of TomTom New Zealand (am I allowed to admit I was kinda of excited?!!) and it was a perfect opportunity for a non GPS-using geek like me to finally have a back-seat driver I'd listen to in the front seat. As mentioned in NZMac.com's Podcast 29, GPS systems have never really appealed to me (despite my uncanny ability to get lost) until I heard that TomTom was bringing something out for my iPhone (for my phone...amazing), so I consider myself a target market for this application. So from start to finish (well, Russell Street to Chilton Grove), here's my TomTom New Zealand experience from a GPS newbie, with a video included.
Evolution of the iPhone
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20 March 2009
The following commentary has also been published as an audio podcast as part of the NZMac.com podcast series. Click here to subscribe in iTunes, and here to access the RSS feed.
It seems strange to view a presentation suggesting cut and paste or MMS (multimedia messaging) will only appear after two years and in the third iteration of a smartphone's operating system. But it shows that whilst the speed that Apple might work at with regards iPhone development might be questioned, the meticulousness of their approach cannot. Apple isn't a company that tends to rush with the development of new features as much as others might. Instead, each version of a piece of software sees refinement and increased functionality that we all want...and that sometimes we've waited for.
Sneak Peek: Triple Shot Sports
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21 February 2009
Triple Shot Sports is a recreational shooting game (archery, pistol shooting and free rifle) that will shortly be available on the iPhone. The makers of the game (CodeMonkeys.com), gave NZiPhone.com access to a preview version of the game to review. The game is currently waiting approval by Apple and will be available on the iTunes App Store at an expected price of $4.19 NZD.