iPhone 5 Prediction and Speculation

iPhones are the hot topic everywhere, all of the time.

I love my iPhone 3GS (8GB) and I would love to get hold of an iPhone 4 but alas saving for my wedding is far more important (says my fiance!).

However no blog about technology would be holding it's head above water without at least one article about this upcoming new release from Apple.

The iPhone 5, (which could also be the branded as the iPhone 4G or iPhone 4GS) will most likely be released in September, when Apple usually refreshes it's iPod line up.  Why they would break this cycle I do not know, so it's a pretty same assumption that September is when we can expect to see the new iPhone.

Each new iPhone is the past has been thinner, lighter and faster, so another safe prediction would be that the new iPhone will follow this trend making it even more desirable that previous Apple offerings.

Goodbye Antennagate!  The embarrasment caused by the iPhone 4's antenna issues will be a thing of the past with the release of the iPhone 5.  This is perhaps the safest prediction of all.  Aliens could land on planet Earth after travelling hundreds of thousands of lightyears to get here and be completely baffled by the iPhone's newest antenna technology!

The camera of the iPhone 5 will be better.  With the majority of new, high-end smartphones being released to day having a camera rated at around 8 megapixels it is safe to predict that the iPhone 5's camera will be on par with these, with the good old Apple twist (it'll somehow be better than other camera's with the same functionality, megapixel count, physical size etc... that's how Apple does things!).

It will be black (or white).  Personally I would like a yellow option too.

Speaking speculatively I believe that the iPhone 5 will (finally) sync wirelessly with iTunes.  We have asked for this feaute for long enough now and I believe that Apple will have taken this into account with the iPhone 5.  I am also expecting a great deal of fuss to be made with regards to interacting with 'the cloud' (iCloud?) which will likely enable Apple authorised and hosted streaming of content via it's MobileMe (or iCloud) service.
Widgets, which although I doubt will be available on iPhone 5, or any other iPod product, are something that I would love to see available within iOS.  Despite being a bit of an Apple fanboy, I do get some Android-envy when I see my missus playing with her widgets (ahem)!

Please share your thoughts on this article in the comments below!

#iOS #AppStore lacks blogging apps!

I mentioned in a previous article that one of the reasons I continue to use Windows as well as OS X is that I prefer to write bog posts using Microsoft's excellent (and free) Windows Live! Writer which is arguably the most highly regarded piece of software used by bloggers for creating content.

So just a short while ago I took a look on the iOS AppStore to see what blogger friendly apps were available for download to my iPhone, hoping to find a swath of innovation from app developers worldwide.

What I found was disappointment.

Searching for "blogspot" - which is my blogging platform of choice - resulted in just 13 apps.
Some had nothing to do with blogging ai far as I could tell, the rest were all paid-for apps, not one had above a three star rating!

In an ideal world I would be able to say "there's and void, I'll fill it!" however I am not a software developer of any kind and lack the skills to produce anything that would serve anybody, not even myself.

So I would like to invite any iOS developer who has produced a product that is capable of creating new content for my blog (in the form of articles with image, video, links etc) to contact me so that I may review their app here.

#NowPlaying - Complete with #Hashtags @NCBRadio

For those interested I have decided that from this point on I shall be formatting my post titles so that they are more useful within the Twitterverse.  That possibly means '@'s and #hashtags all over the place but it should help with advertising my posts within that medium.

Anyway, moving along I wanted to make mention of my new daily listening habits.

It used to be that I would listen to music on my iPhone, either through the music I have downloaded to it, or via Spotify.  Both of which are excellent sources, but offer less variety even when played 'on random'.

I want my music to be played to me, I don't want to make decisions about what I listen to nor do I want the ability to skip through songs I don't want to listen to at that time.  I t may seem backward, but when I have these facilities available while at work or at home, then the music is distracting.

The obvious choice then is the radio.

However the radio has drawbacks too.  I cannot stand local radio stations, they bore me.  They are not for me; instead they are aimed at a particular listening demographic of which I do not think I necessarily belong.

Ad after ad after ad, some trying to be funny, some with the most annoying jingles that get stuck in my head like a migraine... again, distractions.

As for national radio, well the only one I can find that plays the kind of music I want to listen to is BBC Radio 1, which plays the same songs over and over, show after show, day through night, through day again.  Repetition is boring and again, distracting.

Lately I find myself listening to NCBRadio, a small, non-profit, enthusiast created and led broadcast available to all and any via the internet.

The music is not always necessarily to my taste, the few ad's (even the one for my Company, Evolve) can get annoying, but it's easy to listen to and for that I am grateful.

Songs are rarely repeated, the ad's (although repeated) are quite few and far between and I can safely broadcast it in my shop without fear of controversial language upsetting my customers.

Give them a listen, NCBRadio may not be to your taste but it's always worth trying something new!

Apple's Location data-mining: My View

There has been a great deal of who-ha of late regarding the location data that the iPhone generates and backs up to iTunes whenever the iPhone is synchronised.
Many have commented on this issue, banging on about how Apple are collecting this information and the use of this data that they may have.

Well Apple have responded and in that response they claim that the data they collect cannot identify the users of iPhone's themselves and that the amount of data collected is just a bug.

Read Apples response in full here.

While many will disagree with my views on this, I will continue regardless.

I purchased an iPhone because I wanted the features it provides, the apps, the speed, the simplicity.
If Apple were not collecting the information it does based on both how and where I use my iPhone then how could they possibly develop the product further to increase the iPhones usefulness to me?

If (thats a BIG if) the data they collected said that "Daniel sat on the toilet for 25 minutes" while constantly reporting back to Apple what web pages I was reading, how much of that 25 minutes was spent playing whichever game, that Twitter updates I sent and snapped a few photo's for Steve Job's personal collection - then I would have an issue, but this is not the case.

The data is anonymous people, get over it!  How does Apple knowing that someone stood at (or near) a bus stop affect your personal privacy?  That's correct, it doesn't.

Apple have promised to fix this issue in a soon-to-be-released update; at what expense?
The currently collected data reaches back until time began, well at least for the iPhone.  Apple say that they will only collect the previous seven days worth of data after the next update.  While that is fair enough and should do a great deal to satiate those jumping up and down for a while, I personally believe that this could possibly do more harm than good.

That data, as I said earlier in this post, provides Apple the patterns of usage they require to continue to develop cutting edge products and software.  By collecting less information, the development of future products and services could well be hampered and I for one would prefer for Apple to continue collecting anonymous location information at the rate they currently are and have better products and services available to me because of it.

I invite readers to cast their own opinions on this matter in the comments, perhaps I have missed something important when developing my own views on this matter?

The Never Ending Spotify Playlist

You are invited to contribute to what could easily become the biggest ever Spotify playlist!

Today I had an idea, wouldn’t it be great if the whole world could contribute to a playlist on Spotify, that everyone could listen to?

So I had a little look into how Spotify could help, and funnily enough, Spotify already has a Collaborative Playlist feature, whereby you may create a playlist and share it with a friend via email (or however you like) and that friend can add to it, with the changes reflected on both computers simultaneously.  Excellent!

So if you would like to get on board and contribute to what could very well become the largest Spotify Playlist ever, then here is the link.

You can also join The Never Ending Spotify Playlist Facebook Group too!

Rules

Now there has to be some basic rules with this kind of thing, so here they are:

1. Only add songs that are NOT already in the playlist

2. Do NOT delete any songs that are already in the playlist, as this will effect other listeners’ playlists too

3. Try to be original, but don’t add anything that will obviously annoy or upset other listeners

4. Add songs that you genuinely think others will enjoy.

That’s it, nice and simple!

Technorati Tags: Spotify,Playlist,Collaborative,Facebook,Group,Rules,songs
Windows Live Tags: Spotify,Playlist,Collaborative,Facebook,Group,Rules,songs

Spotify vs. Last.FM

 Which do you prefer?

Spotify has a massive library and support from lots of major labels.  As a user I am often easily able to find and play music that, firstly, I have had trouble finding elsewhere, and secondly, I have never heard of.

Spotify highlights several albums on the main screen that I have never seen or heard before, and encourages me to listen to music, which I like.  I hate being tied to listening to the same music day in, day out.  That is why I don’t buy albums anymore!

However, the main drawback for me, and this is a big one, is that to use Spotify on my iPod Touch, or my Nokia E71 I have to be a premium subscriber, shelling out £10 (ish) every month.  On the flipside to my praise in the previous paragraph, I don’t listen to enough new music to warrant paying out money for the service. 

Last.FM however is available on my Xbox 360, completely free of charge, and the ad’s are a great deal less intrusive than those on Spotify.

Being able to use the Last.FM service on my Xbox is fantastic, it means I use Sky’s service less and less, I am even considering dropping the music channels from my Sky package thanks to Last.FM on my 360!

However, finding new music to listen to with Last.FM is a chore when compared to Spotify.

Here is how I would like to see the future (given that Last.FM is tied to Xbox, making it unlikely for Spotify to get their fingers in the 360 pie, and that I will not be taking out a Spotify premium account):
Last.FM should apply some of the search functionality of Spotify on the 360, and make available a downloadable client/frontend for the PC to make it a friendlier user experience.  Simple.

By improving the search functions on the 360 client, Last.FM will have me completely at home, therefore the only place I will use Spotify is at work unless they can deliver the client for my desktop, in which case I would likely be persuaded to use Last.FM exclusively on there too!

Last.FM is already available free-of-charge on my iPod Touch, although I will admit, I rarely use it since it requires a network connection to operate.  If I have a network connection then chances are I am somewhere that I am likely to have access to my desktop (well, laptop) and therefore access to Spotify!  Last.FM on the iPhone however, would be indispensable if I owned one (which alas, I do not).

So, Spotify vs... Last.FM?  There is no competition here really, for the moment Spotify is the clear winner, but I hope that with the increased take-up of the Last.FM service on the Xbox 360, Last.FM’s developers will bend a little and offer it’s user base something more to encourage use on other platforms.

I would like:

• Last.FM search functions on 360
• Last.FM client on my PC
• Last.FM client on my Nokia E71 (Symbian)
• A better Last.FM new music recommendation service.

That will do….as for your thoughts?  leave them in the comments!

Playmesh Games – iMafia, Ninja’s, RaceWars, Vampires and Star Command

First up, I’d like to explain why there hasn’t been any new articles here for quite some time.  Simply put, I moved house and it’s taken a while to get my internet connection up and running again.  Sorry about that.

UPDATE – 17/06/09

A new forum to discuss Playmesh games has just opened up! Visit PLAYMESH FANS now!

Playmesh produce a series of small and highly addictive games for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Each game is essentially the same as the last, but with a different theme.
In this article I will describe each game.
At the end of the article you can leave a comment with your username for any of the Playmesh titles so that others can add you in their friends lists if you like! (Mine is DieselLives across all the titles, and I play the all!!)

iMafia

iMafia is the first of the Playmesh titles, and has the largest following, as such I will use this title as the basis for the description of all the titles, since they are all essentially the same.You take on the role of a member of the Mafia, and your job is to build you way up through the ranks of the organisation.  Although, other than changes to your Level number, you are not assigned any new titles as you progress.

You must equip your character with items from the PAWN (Shop), purchased using money you have earned from various means.  To earn money you can perform quests in the BAR, battle other people in FIGHTS or build a regular income by purchasing Properties in REAL ESTATE.
However, doing any of these has a negative impact on your stats, displayed in coloured bars at the bottom the screen.  For example, if you FIGHT somebody, you will lose both HEALTH as you take damage (obviously) and STAMINA, however should you win you will be awarded with either money or EXPERIENCE (required to level up).  If you lose, you simply lose health and stamina.
Your stats to replenish themselves over time, but it can take quite a while.
Performing Quests in the BAR is a quick way to earn money and Experience, however you do lose energy in doing so, so you must use your energy wisely.  New quests are unlocked as you level up, but to perform them you must have certain key items required by each quest.
For example, to perform the Smuggling by Sea quest, which will earn you between $450000 and $800000 and gain you 35 Exp you must have one Mega Yacht (costs $4500000) and one Cargo Harbour (costs $6000000) which must be purchased from PAWN and REAL ESTATE.
iMafia is now available in three different versions iMafia (the original) iMafia New York and iMafia Los Angeles.  I find it amusing that they have created different versions of the same game for different cities simply because each version is EXACTLY the same, the map, the items, the properties, no matter which version of iMafia you play – the only difference being the splash screen and the icons title on the dashboard of your iDevice!  In any case, I now play all three – did I mention these games are addictive?

Ninjas, RaceWars, Vampires and Star Command

Each of these games are almost exactly the same game as iMafia, with only subtle differences to make them appeal to more people.
The maps are different, and the titles for the different areas have been altered, but underneath they are the same.  Also, the quest and item titles are different, but each has the same value and reward.
Personally, my favourite Playmesh title is Ninjas, not because it is a better game than the others (did I mention they are all essentially the same game?) but because I prefer ninjas to gangsters or car racing etc!
For now, this is all I have to say on the subject of Playmesh titles, however I will be compiling a list of Usernames for these games, which will be updated from time to time, from the comments left on this page.
If you would like to add you name here, and the titles you use that name in, then please do.  Hopefully this will help you add to your friends lists in game.