Apple's new iPhone
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Why I've gone naked with my iPhone

You love misleading titles, right? Believe me, you wouldn't want to see me naked with my iPhone anyway.

What I mean is, I've stripped away all the cases that trapped my iPhone in a (supposedly) protective environment, and by doing so fallen in love with it all over again.

My iPhone 3G has been sitting around inside its Griffin Elan Form for over six months now, and it's had enough.

Posted by Andy Merrett on March 11, 2009 12:16 PM in iPhone 3G| iPhone Opinion
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iPhone App Wars: Spotify versus iTunes?

So the excitement continues to mount as a demo video emerges of a Spotify application for the iPhone.

There's little doubt that Spotify would be an awesome addition to the iPhone's repertoire, but some commentators think that Apple will block it because it competes with iTunes.

Let's pit Spotify against iTunes and see if, once the fighting's over, they can't coexist on the iPhone.

Round 1: Audio Quality

Both services offer high quality audio. Spotify uses the Ogg Vorbis q5 codec at around 160Kbps while iTunes uses up to 256kbps LC-AAC.

I may be shot down by those who say the Ogg Vorbis codec is superior, but I'd say that iTunes wins on what can be purchased and downloaded from the iTunes store. In addition, of course, anyone buying CDs can rip them in a far superior lossless format.

Round 1 winner: iTunes

Posted by Andy Merrett on February 23, 2009 7:21 PM in iPhone Opinion| iPhone applications
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Apps and cloud software - the future of business accounting?

Intuit have just released the MyBizTracker App for the iPhone which promises to keep you in touch with your business accounts whilst on the go. It is always welcome to see a useful app, especially one that is free and does not rely on any pre-purchased software, but what exactly does this app do and how does it represent the developments being made in the world of business?

MyBizTracker from Intuit

MyBizTracker is pretty much what the name suggests; an app which allows you to track your business accounts whilst you are away from the office. It records all your incoming and outgoing expenses in real time as well as recording any expenses you incur on business trips (such as meals and taxis).

The app is certainly very good at doing everything it claims to do through its intuitive and simple navigation. The beauty of it is that as long as you have an internet connection (and where doesn't these days?) it is almost as good as being at the office.

The app has a simple display showing your business' finances and whether you are in the red or the black in real time. This means that your financial information is always kept up-to-date and you don't have to worry about what is happening to your cash whilst away from the office.

What does the app say about the world of business?

Intuit's app is a very simple idea but very effective and can be seen as a logical extension to their existing QuickBooks Online accounting software. This employs cloud computing technology for business use, enhancing various aspects of basic financial operations.

Cloud software has been positioned as a prime area of growth for businesses over recent years with an increasing number of services transferring their software to this virtual realm. There are numerous benefits to this and with such strong popularity, similar approaches towards other areas of business are expected to characterise the future of company dealings.

What does the app offer?

As with any app, it is never enough to simply do what it claims and MyBizTrack is as user friendly and functional as it is effective. It is set out in line with HMRC requirements so you can be confident that it is going to be reliable and do more than simply display basic information.

If you have a business and find yourself away from the office wondering exactly what is going on whilst you are away this really is worth trying out. It is absolutely free and is a completely stand-alone piece of software. Intuit have a record of making some of the best accounting software available inside the office and with this app they have proved their ability to transfer these skills outside of the office too.

Six things that are wrong with the iPhone App Store

The App Store is a great concept, and I've downloaded some classy applications for the iPhone already, but there are some fundamental flaws which stop it from being brilliant.

Here's my take on the six things that are wrong about the App Store in its present form. Whether they'll ever be "fixed" is another matter.

1. No trial / preview versions

There's no official way to trial a piece of software before paying for it

This isn't a problem for free applications, because all you lose by downloading something you don't like is a little time and bandwidth, but for paid-for applications it's an issue, and the more expensive something is, the bigger the monetary risk.

Of course, you take the same kind of risk if you buy a physical off-the-shelf copy of software for your PC, but the fact that the entry-level criteria for iPhone apps -- price for developers to participate in Apple's programme, and quality of applications developed -- is much lower means you're more likely to download a dud.

Some developers try to get around this "problem" by releasing a free "lite" version of their software, and a more feature-rich standard version that they charge for. However, not only does this rile a number of users (as can be seen from the reviews) but it still doesn't offer a direct trial of the software.

The only way to legitimately run applications from the App Store is via iTunes, so I don't believe it would be technically difficult to allow software to be downloaded for a trial period, then either wiped, disabled, or charged for. Each iPhone has a unique ID and each user has a unique iTunes account log in. Why not?

Perhaps both Apple and developers are worried that, by giving users free trials of software, it will become apparent that a lot of the software just isn't up to scratch. There's an easy solution to that... Developers should write better software, and Apple should raise the entry bar. More of that later.

Posted by Andy Merrett on September 23, 2008 9:42 AM in iPhone Apps Store| iPhone Opinion
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Opinion: Third party copy-and-paste application for iPhone is flawed

There's a lot of buzz on the Internet at present about an open source bit of software called OpenClip, which is effectively cut-and-paste functionality that other developers can build into their applications to bring users closer to the feature many have been crying out for since the iPhone launched last year.

The trouble is, the system is flawed.

Leave aside the fact that it hasn't been sanctioned by Apple, and focus on the issue that it's only going to work with third party applications, and from developers who choose to implement it at that.

Posted by Andy Merrett on August 21, 2008 12:09 AM in iPhone Opinion| iPhone applications
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HSBC could boost iPhone's business credentials, but what of employees in Taiwan?

BlackBerry trying to become more "consumer" and iPhone trying to become more "corporate" -- it's an interesting battle that I didn't expect to see when the iPhone was launched last year, and one that could be set to intensify if HSBC follows through on the rumours.

Yes, the world's fourth largest bank could be about to kit out two-thirds of its worldwide workforce with iPhones, ditching the BlackBerrys they currently use. That's around 200,000 of the handsets, and would be a major result for Apple, and a blow to RIM.

Is it likely to happen? CIO of HSBC Australia/NZ, Brenton Hush, said that "it's definitely something we are considering from a HSBC Group perspective. We always explore the potential application of new technologies and this is no different."

I'm not convinced, though, and here's why:

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TechCrunch: iPhone killer apps are "email and the browser"

For those of you who aren't helping TechCrunch maintain its second position in the list of most popular blogs, let me tell you what the latest nugget from Erick Schonfeld (apologies, I originally attributed it to Michael Arrington) is:

The iPhone's "killer apps" are email and the web browser.

Well, there's a shock.

Granted, TechCrunch is aimed at the digerati - those who know what Twitter and FriendFeed are and use them more than five times an hour. The usage patterns of "ordinary" (and extremely important) users may vary.

Posted by Andy Merrett on August 11, 2008 3:43 PM in iPhone Opinion| iPhone applications
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iPhone App Store: the money's there for those accepted. Fancy a go?

Based on guesstimates of how popular iPhone applications in the official iTunes App Store are, the mobile ad group Medialets has suggested that a number of developers have raised significant revenue from sales of their software.

Of course, it isn't at all surprising that users have downloaded a lot of free applications. There's nothing to lose apart from a few minutes installing the application and trying it out. In fact, Super Monkey Ball (which the analysis suggests may have netted Sega $4.9m in its first weekend alone) was the only pay-for application in the top ten highest rated applications.

That doesn't mean people aren't paying for software, though revenue may be declining somewhat per head.

Posted by Andy Merrett on July 21, 2008 8:35 PM in iPhone Apps Store| iPhone Opinion| iPhone applications
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