iPod Touch Versus iPhone

Having recently acquired an iPod touch to use for software development work, a brief review comparing it with the iPhone seemed in order. First impressions? The Touch is much thinner than the iPhone. I knew this from brief encounters with it in the Apple Store, but actually having one around the thinness really becomes apparent; especially since my iPhone nearly always lives in a protective case whereas the Touch sits in its birthday suit on the desk.

• The touch is less comfortable to hold than the iPhone; the bevel around the front of the screen is actually kind of sharp! I don't consider this too much of a problem however since the lightness and thinness assuages my pain.
• The home button is smaller than on the iPhone.
• The headphone port is on the bottom next to the dock connector rather than on the top - so far, I prefer the iPhone's design.
• The iPhone earbuds don't appear to fit in the headphone jack which is kind of a hassle - I didn't want to push too hard, so maybe they actually do…
• The lock button is on the opposite side from the iPhone! This one is actually pretty annoying since I am so used to the iPhone and switch between the two devices. Why on Earth did Apple decide to do this?
• I don't miss the volume buttons on the side yet - the Touch always leaves its screen on unless you lock it (it auto dims) so the volume is accessible just by touching the screen. Of course, I'm using this as a development platform so I haven't actually tried taking the touch outside yet - if it was in my pocket this would probably be a bigger issue.
• I miss the built in speakers more than expected - no more quick trips to YouTube or listening to podcasts without headphones.
• It comes with a cute little plastic stand (iPhone has a dock instead) which lets the Touch sit at a nice viewing angle on your desk.
• No bundled AC power adapter or dock like the iPhone.
• Back is the same shiny iPod metallic material used on previous generation iPods so it finger prints like nobody's business. I prefer the brushed aluminum look of the iPhone.
• It's kind of nice not having the cellular radio in the Touch - I'm not afraid to leave it next to my head at night for the urgent need to google something which always seems to arise.

So there you have it: a brief comparison of the Touch and the iPhone. I don't really see any reason to own a Touch if you already have an iPhone except possibly as a bedside web browser or to keep docked in a set of iPod speakers.

iPhone Takes Over the World

Exciting news in the iPhone world today from Apple: third party developers (e.g. Chimoosoft) will finally have a legal way to develop software for the iPhone. In addition, our software will be made available through iTunes and through an installer app on the iPhone itself called "App Store" which will let users install software on the go. Apple will let developers sell their apps (Apple takes a 30% cut) or distribute them freely. For all you iPhone owners out there, you're about to see a huge torrent of applications available for you! In this context, the word "about" means June, 2008 (but developers will have been working away on their software for three months by that point).

The other most important news is that the iPhone will fully support all the common enterprise needs such as Exchange, push email, remote disabling (and erasing) of stolen phones, etc. This is significant, and will go down in history as... the day the iPhone took over the world! Prepare to see as many people walking around with iPhones as you currently see people with iPods!

iPhone Satisfaction

First of all, yes, I am obsessed with my iPhone, and I'd definitely give it high marks for customer satisfaction  ;-)

Just came across this interesting graphic showing customer satisfaction for various mobile phone vendors.  Surprise, surprise, Apple beats them all.  Unfortunately though, for most people I know who might be interested in getting an iPhone, it's not the phone's cost that's putting them off - it's the cost of the AT&T service plan which comes to about $65 a month after taxes.

iPhone Camera Use

Just came across an interesting graph from Flickr of mobile phone camera use over time.  As you'd expect, the iPhone has climbed the charts rather quickly only being bested by the Nokia N95 which has a much nicer camera.

iPhone Web Sites

For all of you iPhoners out there, I thought I'd share a few of my favorite iPhone formatted web sites to enhance your holiday browsing and bring joy into your hearts. 

To begin with, although NetNewsWire is a great RSS feed reader for your Mac and has an online equivalent for your phone, the mobile version doesn't even compare to the new mobile Google Reader.   Google Reader has a stunningly well designed (and beautiful) iPhone interface which automatically keeps your reading list in sync wherever you read.  Read some news on your home computer, some more on your phone, and then even more at work (gasp) and Google Reader will seamlessly keep track of what you've read and what you haven't.   To view Reader on your iPhone, just go to the Google home page and click the reader button at the top; going to the normal reader link on your phone won't give you the mobile interface, so make sure to navigate there from www.google.com on your phone.

Another favorite when out and about is Amazon's iPhone interface.  Fairly well designed and handy for price or rating checking when browsing books at your local bookstore.  Great for making sure those bargain books are really worth it!  Just go to the normal Amazon site on your iPhone and it should auto-redirect you to the iPhone optimized page.

For mobile weather, Apple's built in weather widgets are great, but I often find myself wanting to see a real forecast with details rather than just a little sun or rain cloud with a temperature, don't you?  One of  my favorite weather sites, the Weather Underground, has finally made my dreams come true with their iPhone optimized weather site.  If you forget the URL, they have a little tiny link on the top of their normal website.  It's cool.  Seriously.  

Well, there you have it - three of my favorite little iPhone sites for getting your internet fix on the go.  Enjoy.

iPhone Number 2 Smartphone Already?

According to this article, the iPhone already holds 27% of the smart phone market share in North America and is second only to Blackberry!  Fairly impressive for a phone which is only six months old; just wait until developers get their hands on the iPhone SDK in February and all sorts of craziness will break loose.

The study looked at third quarter sales of smartphones and found that in its first full quarter, the iPhone has already outsold all of the Microsoft Windows Mobile, Symbian and Palm phones and now holds a 27 percent market share in North America.

iPhlickr Review

Today marks our first review of a program designed especially for the new Apple iPhone instead of the Mac. Although the iPhone is still a closed platform preventing all but the most serious hackers from altering the installed software, Apple has encouraged people to write web applications specially tailored for the touch interface and small screen.

One of the first apps to appear was iPhlickr; a fun way to browse photos from the popular online photo site, Flickr. Using the app, you can quickly browse the most recently added photos, photos by specific users or tags, your own photos, or the author's favorite feature: interesting photos today. Use your finger to scroll through the thumbnails and click on any of interest for a larger view. If you haven't already done so, try adding a bookmarks folder to the iPhone's Safari browser for storing iPhone tailored web apps like iPhlickr - ours is called "iPhone Formatted." This acts as a sort of "applications folder" for the iPhone.

Due to the nature of web apps, iPhlickr is likely to change without warning. This review refers to iPhlickr as of 7/30/2007 (no version given).

• By Chandler Kent
• iPhlickr Site
• screenshot