Smartphone User Perceptions
I think there’s a lot of truth in this graphic illustrating how users of smartphones view other smartphone users.
I think there’s a lot of truth in this graphic illustrating how users of smartphones view other smartphone users.
You gotta think that it’s a no-brainer that Apple will be making the iPhone’s FaceTime video conferencing compatible with the Mac via iChat. Sure, iPhone to iPhone FaceTime chats should boost sales of the iPhone 4, but with most Macs coming with video cameras, this feature has to come sooner rather than later.
That was easy. Take an activated AT&T GoPhone, an inactivated iPhone 3G, swap SIM cards, and now I got a working iPhone without a long term service contract.
If you want more details, especially on enabling a GoPhone data plan, be sure to read this post, How to: Give Your Old iPhone New Life With Prepaid Data and Minutes. But if all you want is basic voice calls then swapping SIMs is all you need to do. The hardest part might be ejecting the iPhone 3G SIM card. The iPhone 3G came with a special tool for SIM removal but a pushpin or paperclip works too.
There’s no need to jailbreak your iPhone either. Because I didn’t need data or want to pay for a GoPhone data plan, the iPhone can’t connect to the 3G network, but WiFi is still an option. And of course, all other iPhone functions work as normal like syncing with your Mac.
Looking for an iPhone app to create panoramas? Here are three to check out.
Pano. Snap a picture, turn a bit, line up the guide, snap the next pic, you get the idea. Sometimes lining up the transparent guide is tough, especially in bright sunlight, but the end results are worth it! Here are a few Pano-created panoramas of Lanai.
AutoStitch. Unlike Pano, AutoStitch is a post processing app. You take your pictures beforehand, then run AutoStitch to magically stitch together all your shots. Here’s a panorama of the inside of a C-17 cargo plane.
You Gotta See This. A newcomer to the panorama app space, You Gotta See This brings an artistic flair using a technique called panography. Instead of manually taking stills, you start the camera in You Gotta See This, slowly pan your iPhone 4 across the scene, and let the app go to work. You Gotta See This is for the iPhone 4 only using its integrated gyroscope to track the orientation of the pictures. Here’s an example (click to view larger image):
Each app costs a few bucks (Pano $2.99, AutoStitch $2.99, You Gotta See This $1.99). I like the straightforwardness of Pano, but the simplicity of AutoStitch makes it convenient. You Gotta See This is more of a niche product, but when you want visually stunning panoramas, this app delivers. So yes, get all three apps! But if you had to pick, start with AutoStitch and add on You Gotta See This.
This is like a true transcript of my call to Radio Shack this morning.
Radio Shack: Hello, Radio Shack, home of the iPhone.
Me: Do you have any iPhones?
Radio Shack: Nope.
I asked a few more questions, but you get the drift.
Here’s what my monthly data use on AT&T looks like.
With AT&T’s restructured data plans for iPhones (and other smart phones), I can get away with the $15 DataPlus plan for the most part. What’s with the spike in March? I had a trip to California, OD-ed on Starbucks new Dark Cherry Mocha, attended Unconferenz 2010, had a staycation at the Sheraton Waikiki, visited Cereal Remix, and checked out the Honolulu Festival amongst my usual business. So yeah, March was a busy month.
I could move to the cheaper $15 plan from my grandfathered “unlimited” plan and save some bucks but still no tethering unless I’m willing to upgrade to the $25 DataPro plan and pay the additional $20 tethering fee. 🙁
Thanks to this post on generating the AT&T data usage chart.
Looking at cases for iPhones and iPods. So many choices out there. Fortunately, iLounge has their 2010 Buyers’ Guide available with reviews and all kinds of useful tidbits. Recommendations from the iLounge Buyers’ Guide include the DLO Videoshell (which seems like it’s on clearance for less than $2) and the Speck CandyShell cases.
Yup, coming March 2010. Keep an eye out for Capcom’s Street Fighter IV for the iPhone and iPod Touch in the App Store.
Wonder how the controls will be? Might have to buy this game for no reason other than just because.
Remember that hand-held football game from back in the day? Little red lights represented the players and you were the bright red one?
 For Superbowl weekend, an iPhone app recreating this classic is available for free. Of course you must download!
Just listen to Steve Ballmer’s analysis of the then introduced Apple iPhone in 2007.
Yes, predicting the future is hard.