Chris's blog

Professional musicians and audiophiles will require higher quality earphones than the default ones that Apple ships with the iPhone. When it comes to industry standard professional earphones for the iPhone, your options are pretty limited. However, the few that are available are unbelievably fantastic to use. Today, we take a look at the triple.fi 10 Vi from Ultimate Ears which are competitively priced at $420 USD.

If you are looking to purchase high-performance earphones, the focus shifts to quality rather than cost and we assume that price is no object. There is no doubt that the 10vi are worth the price, but let's see if their performance will meet your expectations.  Read More »

In iPhone World, there are the bad iPhone apps, there are the good ones and then there are the few great apps that really make you delight in being an iPhone owner. So what elements are important in making a great iPhone app? This is a frequent question from developers to which there is no simple answer. However, there are certain practices that will steer you closer to accomplishing this goal. While I haven't personally developed any apps for the iPhone, I have reviewed more than 400 apps that are currently available in the App Store and previewed more than 20 upcoming ones. So take my suggestions for what they are, mere observations from an end user experience. 

Icon

Create a well designed and attractive icon. I cannot stress the importance of this enough. If you aren't good at design, pay someone to do it for you. Your icon is the first thing that a user sees! Whether they're browsing through the App Store or looking at someone else's iPhone, remember, first impressions are lasting. The more attractive the icon, the more likely a person is to look further at your app. Use designs that are unique and that stand out. Also throw in a gradient to add perceived depth to your icon. If you are planning on releasing a suite of apps, you can use a similar theme for your icons. eg. The apps from App Cubby all have a wooden theme. Here are some more well designed icons that stand out in their categories.

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In a few days, Phil Schiller will grace the stage at MacWorld SF and announce record sales of the iPhone and unprecedented performance by the App Store. So throughout this week, we'll be taking a look at the apps that played a major role on the iPhone in 2008.

Today, we kick things off with the Movers & Shakers of '08. Love 'em or hate 'em, these were the apps that stole the spotlight and kept the focus on the iPhone.

App Store

Apple's decision to ship all iPhones with this built in store that facilitates over-the-air downloads of any app was pure genius. The App Store app may very well be Apple's golden goose that made all the difference for the iPhone 3G. 

Super Monkey Ball

One of the most anticipated titles this year, this app set the stage for gaming on the iPhone and raked in a load of profit for Sega. Have fun guiding AiAi, the cute little monkey to victory! 

Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D

When Vivendi brought this major franchise to the iPhone last summer, it was an immediate hit in the App Store. Despite being outpaced by other games over the last couple months, it still remains one of the most popuar casual racers for the iPhone today. 

Air Sharing

This app tranforms your iPhone into a fancy wireless flash drive to store and access all your important files on the go. This app quickly became one of the most essential productivity apps for any iPhone user. 

MagicPad

Not willing to kowtow to Apple's lack of system-wide copy and paste, Proximi Inc created what may be the most intuitive way of highlighting text on the iPhone and brought their very own rich text editor to the device. 

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The iPhone 3G Gift Card is an excellent present to give anyone you know who is looking to get their hands on the hottest device of 2008. Gift cards start at $25 and go up to $2,500. The money can go towards the new iPhone 3G as well as purchasing apps, and any other Apple products and accessories. The iPhone 3G Gift Card can be purchased through the online Apple Store or in any Apple Retail Store.

Any selection from Apple's latest line of iPods is a great buy this season. Whether it is the Touch, the Nano, the Classic or the Shuffle, you are bound to find one that will suit your needs. The iPod Touch starts at $229 for the 8GB, $299 for the 16GB and $399 for the 32GB models. The iPod Nano comes in 9 vibrant colors and is available in 8GB ($149) and 16GB ($199) models. The Classic is available for $249 for 120GB and comes in either black or silver. Finally, the Shuffle (the world's smallest mp3 player) is available for $49 (1GB) and $69 (2GB) and comes in 5 cool colors.  Read More »

FTP On the Go by Headlight Software is a must have app for any serious web developer with an iPhone. As the name suggests, this app is a simple FTP client that allows you to connect to your ftp server from your iPhone over your data network or wi-fi. FTP On The Go stands out in its category as a well designed, feature filled app that just keeps on getting better.

The app sports a beautiful and colorful icon that looks great on your springboard and has a user interface that is simple and really easy to navigate. There are four main tabs on the bottom of the app that will serve as your main navigation controls:

1. FTP On The Go - This is where you go to connect to your remote servers
2. Saved Files - Here you manage, edit and upload saved files
3. Web View - Extremely convenient! View a website without leaving the app
4. Settings - Here you customize every last piece of FTP On The Go to your liking.

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One of the things I love most about gaming on an iPhone, is having options at my finger tips. I love to keep a diverse assortment of games so that when I have time to play (which is quite rare :( ), I have choices.

Recently, I had the opportunity to review BounceTrap - a truly original and fun arcade-style game, developed exclusively for the iPhone platform by PlayScreen. The game is aptly described by the developers as having elements of "Pinball, Pachinko and a slight dash of Peggle." It has a great soundtrack and a highly polished and smooth interface. Combined with the ever present sound effects, you are promised an experience that is reminiscent of the great arcade classics.  Read More »

iVoiceDialIt from VoiceIt Technologies is a premium voice-controlled dialer for the iPhone available in the App Store for $9.99. The app's minimal design makes it one of the safer voice dialing apps on the market.

It is very convenient to use while driving as you can use it without paying much attention to your iPhone. The interface boasts a large 'action' button in the center that you press to initiate a voice command. Another alternative is to simply shake your iPhone and then speak the name of your contact.  Read More »

eWallet is a powerful and secure password manager for your iPhone. Use it to store all your passwords, sensitive information or private ideas. What makes eWallet so attractive is its polished finish and intuitive interface. The app provides 256-bit AES encryption for all your sensitive data and you can apply a limit to the number of password entries and specify the length of time for which the app should be locked. You can also set the app to lock when inactive for a certain period of time.

Inputting data in eWallet is quite easy, however, the app confines you to a particular hierarchy of wallet > category > card. Thus you can't simply add a card in a wallet without assigning it to a particular category. So much for not being organized! The smart data fields help to speed up data entry but can be improved. For example, when you select to enter an account number, the default entry type is text when it should be numeric.  Read More »

With more than 12,000 apps already in the App Store (and counting), sometimes great apps can get lost in the crowd and easily slip by even the most attentive eyes. Such a fate befell RemoteTap by ReadPixel; an app that allows you to control your Mac from your iPhone. This is truly unfortunate not just for the developer, but more so for the end users who have really been missing out. RemoteTap may very well be the most powerful utility available for the iPhone!

Now, the other VNC-based clients available for the iPhone (Jaadu VNC and Mocha VNC) are great, but when it comes to features and functionality, they honestly don't stand a chance against RemoteTap. Set-up is very easy. First download the server software to your Mac's preference pane from ReadPixel's site, set a password and go ahead and enable it. Launch the RemoteTap on your iPhone. If you're on the same wi-fi network, hit scan, select your computer and enter the password. Voilà, you now have full control of your Mac from your iPhone. Now this really isn't anything groundbreaking as the other apps offer a fairly easy set-ups also.  Read More »

So what are you getting your iPhone this Christmas? If you're still haven't made up your mind, you might want to consider the Noel Collection Metallic Series Case from More-Thing. These cases are perfect for the holiday season and will offer some serious protection for your iPhone. 

The cases bring a sort of sophisticated air to your iPhone 3G that will certainly turn a lot of heads this holiday. Note that this is not a full case but a simple snap on that goes on the back of the iPhone. You thus have access to all your ports, speakers, microphone, camera, and sensors. Currently, More-Thing is offering a free Mirror Screen Protector and logo protection film with each case. The cases come in 4 amazing colors: Aluminum, Rouge, Dark gold, and Royal Blue. The Aluminum (which by the way is in limited stock right now) looks really slick on the white iPhone 3G with the matching aluminum logo! The Dark Gold is spectacular on the black. Don't make the mistake of thinking that the Noel Collection is all beauty, as a case, it is very sturdy and offers really good protection for your iPhone! Last week, while coming out of a car, my iPhone fell on to the asphalt (To my extreme horror!!). The Noel Case took all the damage and left the iPhone unscathed ;o) !!  Read More »