The Apple iPhone SDK presentation
I’ve been a bit late on watching this. I read the summaries, but didn’t watch the presentation. So, what was I missing?
It turns out a great deal! Now I know the iPhone can do a lot already thanks to Apple’s work and 3rd party developers, but what they showed off in that presentation makes you realise how much it’s capable of!
First off, the new business features are kick-ass and will really make it a phone for business users. The new Cisco VPN is something I’m very keen on as most of our clients use Cisco equipement. But the Exchange server stuff was really something else, especially given as it’s new software from Microsoft. It looks like Apple’s gone and integrated the Exchange software better than anyone else has been able to.
But then when Scott Forstall came on and started talking about the APIs built into the iPhone, you suddenly realise that Apple’s been holding back! It’s got full 3D technology built in yet nothing uses it yet. The accelerometer is 3 dimensional - and incredibly sensitive, install Labyrinth and you’ll see how sensitive!
Demonstrations by EA Games and Sega showed game controlled by tilting the iPhone, and the control and graphics were so clear and so precise. And with major game developers like these developing for the phone, things can only get better.
The business applications will also turn the iPhone into more than just a toy. It will become a tool for businesses. The CRM software shown by salesforce.com opens up a host of opportunities. Imagine the possibilities… That piece of software worked so seamlessly, and was so easy to make, how long will it be until we see other main stream tools coming to the platform?
I think it’s an exciting time to own an iPhone, and it’s only going to get better!
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April 9, 2008 No Comments
So I finally swapped from Nokia to an Apple iPhone
I’ve been thinking about it for a while. It’s been weighing heavily on me. I was one of those people lucky enough to have been at the original Macworld show in London when Apple unveiled the original 5gb iPod, and I was instantly hooked. There was something about the way it looked, the way it sounded, and how easy it was to use. I just couldn’t resist buying an iPhone. I’m just surprised it was so low-ley event.
But anyway, the iPhone. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? Nothing really. Everyone’s talked about how easy to use they are. How intuitive the interface is. What a joy it is to use, and it’s problems. Well, I hate to sound boring, but I’ve come to the same conclusion.
It does have some problems. Like I can no longer type a text message while I walk - nothing major, just takes me 30 seconds of standing still. There’s the fact that the headphone socket is recessed so you can only use Apple headphones - got an adaptor for that. The polished good looks that you’re worried will get scratched - got a case. The GPRS was slow, did a bit of reading and found that Vodafone have 2 networks - one’s fast! And I did manage to get it to crash once - hold down 2 buttons and it restarts just fine. But that’s it really. Nothing else really lets it down.
So, the good stuff… Well, the most obvious thing is the interface. There’s just not enough you can say about it. Everything just flows. The way if you flick your finger list keep going, but if you slide it, the list stays with your finger. Each touch somehow does what you expect. A flick side-to-side takes you through the applications. Browse a web page, use two fingers, spread them and the page zooms in. Feels like that seen in Minority Report.
Then you start using the applications - all through touch. They all have that brilliant Apple simplicity. Your SMS’ keep track of each other - well near enough - like a conversation in iChat. The keyboard is very good, and even with my fat fingers, it manages to correct most mistyped words, but does miss some. Just slide your finger back over the text and a magnifying glass appears showing you which point in the text you’re over. Easy.
Emails, calls, you name it, all easy. OK, so I did like the feature on my Nokia where I could start typing a name and it would move to that point in the list, but I’m getting better at the flick and the jump to feature. Call reception is excellent, and I can now make calls anywhere in the flat now.
Wifi works well - although I did have to reconfigure my Wireless network to get it to work at home. Now it’s setup, it works perfectly at home. And now I have a network sniffer on it, I can pretty much get fast access anywhere. But now, after a little reading, I now have faster GPRS too - fast enough for Google maps. On that note, it shouldn’t but does work most of the time, and can tell you where you are - although sometimes only to within 100m, but better than nothing!
Oh, and it has the iPod functionality. That works as well as iPods always have. Only this time I get full screen video. Videos off the web play perfectly - not looked into playing other formats yet. And as everyone knows, when you turn the iPhone on it’s side, you get the video full screen - same with the web browser.
iTunes integration is as ever seamless, and my contacts are now much better organised through the use of Apple’s Contact application groups - not tried Exchange synchronisation. My calender is back on there courtesy of iCal - something that didn’t worked so well with my Nokia 6500 Classic. Podcasts, music, et al go on very easily.
With the iPhone Apple’s not really made anything new, all they’ve done is take some good things and made them great! And I love it! I just wish I’d got one sooner - and no, I’m not bothered by the 3G iPhone rumours as my Tariff won’t expire for a while yet, and I still think it’ll be 6 months till the new ones are out.
What I am really looking forward to is the iPhone version 2 software that makes your phone into a bit more of a mobile office through support for Cisco VPN and Microsoft Exchange. Having those on your iPhone will be interesting. Lets see what happens. I think Apple’s only just begun waking up the mobile industry from it’s sleep!
March 31, 2008 1 Comment
