I have been very excited recently about the arrival of augmented reality Apps for my 3GS and this week I installed the Layers App. Very cool indeed but it as I went through the various databases of information I did wonder if it had a practical function. Certain functions such as the Wiki and other informational sources probably have no added value by being able to hold your phone up and obtain directional and distance data and so to for the Twitter functions, fun at first but do we really care where the tweets are coming from? I bet not one person initiates face to face dialogue as a result of a nearby tweet. The concept does however come into it’s own when it comes to the directional data. The local tube stops, banks etc is handy to be able to see on the screen rather than on maps, figuring out which direction is north, which way you are facing and which way you then need to walk. I have watched the Augmented Reality Sat Nav App video on YouTube and again it looks very cool but I have to say, even as a techy who loves the concept, I am sceptical at this stage!
I first encountered Copilot live 7 on the O2 XDA orbit and it managed to turn me from the Tom Tom One. The software maps, routing at the time seemed to be superior with less errors. I also liked the walking mode which pointed you in the right direction you quickly needed me to find somewhere. This allowed me time to collect my thoughts with a cheeky coke before my last job interview.
The Software
So, what does Copilot Live 8 have to offer on the iPhone. Much the same functionality but an improved map interface. The menu navigation takes a couple of journeys to get used to at first but once you know where everything is it becomes pretty easy. Copilot Live also offers a motorbike mode on top of the walking mode, I function I have not yet tested although I do have a Bluetooth helmet so fingers crossed that it works with that. I assume, lime most know it all techies, I often think I know better than artificial intelligence and go my own way. Copilot quickly recalculated the trip and displays a fairly accurate new time of arrival at the bottom of the screen. You can choose from different display modes including instructions and 3D maps, I choose the 3D maps and this also displays the directions cue in the bottom left hand corner of the screen up to 2 junctions in advance. The display can adjust automatically to both landscape or portrait and is easily viewable in both.
The software now offers various Internet functions including live traffic, live link, live weather and roadside assistance.
Interaction with the iPhone
I use Copilot while connected to the stereo in the car, this means it’s taking a charge from the connecting lead and also playing my music which is controlled with the stereo functions. I have had the software lag at bootup a couple of times but more often than not it works just fine. When you receive a call the software shuts down as you would expect, it does not effect the muting of your music and once you hang up the software relaunched and quickly returns to your planned route.
Installation is fairly straight forward, about a 250 mb download so definitely do it through your iTunes software, I have not received any updates yet but I presume ALK Technologies will iron out any bugs as and when they find them.
In summary, Copilot Live 8 is an extremely powerful app and although stuff magazine said the maps weren’t as easy to follow as Tom Toms, I personally don’t see much difference. Stuff gave it 5 stars and I do too.
After not having too much success with a google search for an alternative replacement set of headphones for my iPhone 3GS I turned to Twitter for some advice. I got quite a response so I thought I would share the tweet recommendations. Note: I have popped into a reseller and they did tell me that apple would replace a faulty set still within the 1 year manufacturers warranty.
Apple [Link]
Replacements for the headphones that ship with the iPhone £21 and the in ear earphones are £59 on the Apple site.
Z.buds [Link]
These look awesome, durable, not to expensive and all the iPhone functions.
Griffin [Link]
SmartTalk and TuneBuds Mobile. Two solutions and not too expensive, both do not have volume control though.
Bose ipod buds [Link]
A little more expensive, in line microphone but no volume.
Klipse Image S4i Earphones [Link]
Looks like a good set of headphones, a little expensive although comes with a 2 year warranty, microphone but as far as I can see no volume control.
Etymotic hf2 Hands-free Headset [Link]
Again going for the sound quality higher end of the market, a little expensive mic, control, but again no volume.
JVC HA-KX100 [Link]
Affordable, mic and control but again no in line volume.
Since the launch of The Windsurfing Movie in 2007 by Poorboyz Productions, not many production companies caught on to the fact that the best way to make a windsurf film was to actually intend to make it in the first place, develop some camera techniques and put a budget behind it rather than ring around your mates asking them if they’ve got any footage for their video. Andre Paskowski seems like he might have done it properly judging by the trailer with Four Dimensions.
Watch the trailer below.
Also The Windsurfing Movie 2 is currently being made and is set to be better than the first.
The launch of the iPhone 3GS has brought about many new and more advanced apps. On my 3G my most used apps were (in order) email, maps, iRail, twitterific, wordpress, facebook, eBay, aroundme. These are the apps that I found to be a massive timesaver and helped streamline my life. I could do my emails, blogging and stay up to date with my Twitter followings on the train and even check my eBay. Getting out of London at the weekends and having maps in my pocket meant that I rarely got lost, in conjunction with AroundMe I rarely even spent time looking for things.
Current Favourites
Using maps for directions has evolved, I now use Copilot Live, I used to have this on a Touch Diamond and to be honest put my Tom Tom away after a while. I have written about other 3D Sat Nav apps available at the App Store. Also I am a big fan of the remote access app, LogMeIn Ignition, although slow (possibly down to network and WiFi speeds) the concept is sound and I’m sure as soon as O2 upgrade their the 3G network and if I hardwire into the modem I might not be editing video from my iPhone but I will be conducting most other tasks. Also, look into Internet Tethering, o2 now support it and I’m sure it will be quicker and more reliable as it was developed by Apple but it does carry a monthly bolt on charge price depending on your data needs.
A few nice to haves
A few websites I often visit have developed iPhone apps, I don’t use these on a daily basis but they are useful to have in my pocket. Wikipedia, always good as a quick reference and very easy to use. Google Earth, better in a WiFi area but often very handy. Rightmove saves some time looming at houses and also provides a location tool so if anyone ever asks you, I wonder what house prices are like in this area? You can tell them.
The intelligent thing about these apps is that the developers have thought about why you should use the app rather than just navigate to the site using Safari.
Future Apps
The introduction of the video camera to the iPhone has opened the door for real time apps and I am especially looking forward to the augmented reality stuff. Here’s a few teasers. London Tube Signs, Twitter real time location tweets and even a Sat Nav that displays the route on reality not a 3D generated image.
Remember when you used to have that conversation about how you read a book from left to right although pick up a magazine and flick through right to left? We know that marketing science suggests that the reader looks at a page starting in the top left, across the top and them down the right had side and we base our advertising on this. Have you stopped to think though how these habits have evolved since digital communication platforms and social media have appeared on the scene? My tweets arrive on my phone and I scroll them down, Reading from the bottom up but apply this to a forum and you confuse the reader, the reader of a forum expects to read the first comment at the top followed by the responses as they scroll the page. A controversial one, but use the same theory for a comments box under say a video or tutorial and the reader now presumes they will read the most recent comment at the top. I say controversial as I do hear a debate the other day on the way we should implement a video portal with this scenario. So you might think it stops there but like you often click on replies to threads at the bottom of a forum post to read expansion and replies to certain threads, now think about how you consume your reading on a wiki site. You read as normal but intelligent linking offers the expansion of information based on certain keywords. For those who don’t need to you carry on reading as usual but if the keyword suggest an area in which you need more data in order to support the overall subject of interesting you break the linear reading convention and branch of to better your knowledge, combine d with your browsers functionality you return to original subject and read on, a little bit wiser. This has brought a convention, if you visit for example the Apple development site the pages / PDF’s are written in this way. It’s clever, offering consumption choices one stage beyond that of the chaptering and contents in a book, improving the efficiency of how much we actually need to read.
So my first question is this, and probably one for the eye trackers! given the changing viewing patterns for the media how does effect the placements of advertising on a page? If the eye no longer follows a routine patterns and documents are viewed in very different ways, is the header banner or the right hand (column 3) the best place for the advert.
This becomes even more interesting when we add video or interactive graphics to the mix and this is something I learnt a lot about following the Chinwag forum for IPTV producers. Obviously the initial trend was to include pre, post and mid role adverting or possible and overlayed advert that reacts to a mouse action but to what extent does this put off the viewer and also with a page of content, how much does the viewers eye deviate from the video during playback? Is there a pattern or obvious place to place advertising on the surrounding page? Again one for the eyetrackers!
Just a couple of thought and questions for next time you conduct your digital marketing campaign!
As I am in the Market for a new commuter since my GSXR 600 K7 in black (nice!) got nicked the other month I seriously considered the electric motorbike I saw whilst scrolling hotukdeals last night. I went through to the Firebox site and was very impressed although I think my 12 mile journey with a top speed of 30 mph would push my current stress levels over the limit. Don’t worry though! I didn’t stop there, surely they could not be the only Eco bike on the Market for around the thousand pound mark! And to be honest, I would probably pay up to the cost of my last motorbike if I thought it would do the job for some piece of mind, super cheap and convenient commuting. I had heard of the GoCyle and that that was available on the cycle to work government scheme so I started there.
The GoCycle is very convenient and operates as one of those pack down in your handbag jobbies that someone always hits you in the shins with on the train. Super light and enough power to last the journey but only a top speed of 15 to 20 miles an hour. Don’t be confused when you see it everywhere with a monthly charge on it you can buy it outright for about 1000 to 1200 quid, which if you place it in the push bike Market sounds expensive but as a motorcycle alternative it’s very reasonable, still, not the one for me so I moved on.
I had missed the Gadget show last night but had a tweet saying there was an electric bike on there so I caught on Demand Five. Looking on the Zero website I began to get excited with there range of models and higher top speed (55mph or 90 kph). Although with the higher speed and stunning design came a higher price, and only currently available in the states.
Another, again road legal, stunning looking, and with a reasonable speed are Brammo Powercycles. Probably my favourite looking, this bike again only available in the states at the moment. A point to note that although these two bikes haven’t made it across the pond yet the US government are offering a cashback incentive to get people on them which is positive.
My search couldn’t end here, I had not really found much considering Firebox were selling the original one so cheap, so reluctantly I started adding scooter into my search criteria. It was then that I came across Vetrix Electrics which had UK in the title so things looked promising.
A good top speed of 60 mph, 1 penny a mile and two seats but look at it!! and I couldn’t find a price for it!
Again, no givvy uppy! probably my favourite yet apart from the price of £7650 not including V5 registration, which I could buy a new gsxr for, is the Quantya Evo1 Strada. A simple website where you can get to the details of the bike quickly, Swiss made, available in the UK, nice photees and spec. 42 mph, holds a charge for 2 hours riding and takes 120 mins to charge, looks nice to.
I shouldn’t leave the big guns out. KTM have announced they will have something in their showrooms for 2010 and rumours are Yamaha and Honda will not be far behind in 2010.
Surely in a world where the effect of our carbon footprint is making a noticeable difference to the earth. Import shouldn’t be an obstacle and we should definitely not be waiting for some relatively small importer to decide to ship a load over. The government, rather than fighting wars based on oil ownership and prices or coming up with feeble congestion policies to reduce traffic and pollution should stop taking the stupid pills and produce on mass what already exists. People would buy them, cycling commuters, motorcyclists and everyone who pays a fortune on train tickets weekly an never actually gets to sit down.
This weekend I bought a Zagg Invisable Shield from Solutions Inc for my iPhone 3G S and it’s absolute genius. I have always had my iPhone in a cover but find grit and dirt always gets between the case and the iPhone and scratches it. The shield is basically an extremely tough (watch the video) sticker, it is applied in much the same way as you would apply a sticker to glass or your car. The kit comes with a liquid spray, cleaning cloth and squeegee. Be sure to take your time when you stick it on, although it does come with a lifetime guarantee and the bloke in the shop told my brother if he photographed where his had pealed off they would replace it, it’s best to get it right first time. I still have my other covers in case I am doing something where I might drop or bump the iPhone but these still fit on with the invisible shield. You can also get the invisible shield for many other phones and even for larger stuff like a MacBook Pro.
Blog Revision 22.09.09
I have made use of the lifetime warrenty. My Zagg invisible shield was scratched while on holiday to the point that it was letting air in and creating a bubble. I went onto the Zagg website, first you have to register you product and then follow instructions to replace the product. You will need to put your credit card details in to order you replacement but Zagg assure you that your card will not be charged or be refunded so long as you return your damaged product within the 25 days. I sent mine back and sure enough they didn’t charge my credit card, they also sent me a courtesy email to let me know it had arrived.
No matter how much time you manage to save through innovative thinking, technology improvements etc you always manage to fill the saved time with something new. So, how do keep up with technology and still do your day job. The short answer is with great difficultly but I shall share a few things I do to make life easier and a few things to think about for the future.
Firstly, I have a few magazines that I really identify with, I currently read .net magazine, stuff, wired digital video (when I find somewhere that sells it) video editor and the online Layers Magazine. Granted I don’t often manage the time to read them cover to cover but Reading the articles that really interest you watching a few tutorials and trying out the trials softwares usually keep my brain ticking over. The trick is to use the time that you would otherwise be waiting around, I sometimes put video tutorials on my desktop and delete them as and when I have watched them, this provides me opportunity to make use of passenger time in the car, on the train etc. Also if you keep up to date with softwares make the first thing you do when you get hold of a new version, watch the video tutorials and have a play with the additions. Often they cover all the major improvements to that version and keeps you up to speed.
If I’m honest, I am not a newspaper reader but recent shifts in social media has enabled me to absorb news type information that I choose to on the train at a glance. I use my Twitter account in conjunction with my blog, which I’ll get onto in a minute but by following some carefully chosen twitterers I can quickly browse and read the things I want to read about very efficiently. I also sign up to groups on website such as chinwag, this way I get continuous emails from the conversations going on from people like me talking about subjects that are relevant to what I do, there is no need to feel you need to take part but it’s a great way to keep up to date and possibly make new connections. At University I was not a massive fan of blogging, I thought blogging about my weekly progression about my digital media course was completely pointless and never received any viewers. I now have my own blog, as you know! Mainly to share the things I have researched in the past in order to hopefully save time learning, but also I regularly visit choice sites that I know write in a succinct manor and are up to date with the latest software, technology and goings on in Market Research world. I currently read TechCrunch, The Tech Sage among others and continually check back to the Apple site, Adobe, Revostock, and my favourite tech brands.
Although the aforementioned social media platforms provide an alternative networking platform I still think face to face networking is invaluable. Attending trade shows, going on training courses and showing your face at events is a great way to keep in touch and up to date.
One of my biggest time savers is not where and how to find the data but automating your daily routines that eat up your time. For example, getting to grips with RSS feeds and establishing an RSS reader that you are comfortable with (a post on RSS feeds to come soon) this means that information is delivered to you and you do not have to go out and fetch it, it also means that you can read it at your leisure when you do not have an Internet connection. Another prime example is the amount of time I spend on eBay, to speed things up I save my regular searches, motorbike, favourite windsurfing brands etc and set the interval for eBay to email me a summary and an end date for the emails to stop. Similarly write routines on your operating system, I use automator on the mac to get the computer to work for you, open programs, perform backups etc if you regularly do it, automate it!
It used to be that saving money took time so if you calculated your time spent saving, you might as well have just paid full price in the first place. So here’s a short guide or even directory on how to save money on nearly everyone of your purchases.
Bargain Sharers and Discount Codes
Ok my first tip and I check this on a daily basis is hotukdeals, this probably the largest bargain sharing site in the UK that avid bargain hunters post their finds both online and in-store constantly. The site works like a forum and so when you hit the site there will only be the offers rated and approved by the admin. I always push the all button in the top left hand corner of the page to display all recent posts. You’ll notice two things, Quidco and cash back and I’ll talk about these later. There are other similar sites, rboffers but posts are often replicated and there is not as great a following.
Bargain / Clearance Sites
So we all want to know where we can get the cheap stuff from online, here’s a few links to start you off you may find more as you browse through the offers on sites such as hotukdeals.
Saverstore
Halfcost
Bargaincrazy
Cdiscounts
Bigpockets
Cash back
There are a few cash back sites although one stands out from the rest for me, it’s simple to use and provides results. I average around 10 pound cash back each month which is paypalled to me. Once I have found what I want to buy I visit the Quidco site sign in and search for the retailer, follow the link to the site and shop as usual. Quidco takes the first fiver you earn but this can be swallowed up in one purchase and is a small price to pay considering how much you can make back. You’ll be surprised at how many stores offer cash back so shop around to get the best possible combination of price and Quidco.
Discount Codes
Unfortunately, just googling for discounts is a bit hit and miss, when you find a code this way it has often expired. Best practise is to go directly to the source, websites such as hotukdeals – click on vouchers, rboffsrs, martinmoneyexpert. Remember that these codes often work in conjunction with Quidco….. double prices! Intellectual quote, Toy Story.
Free Stuff
We had a phase during university of seeing who could get the most free stuff and my Hotmail account is still paying the price for now. My most successful place to start was martin money saving experts forum under the free stuff section and follow the posts to the website that take your fancy, make sure you have a decent auto fill plugin or toolbar in your browser and fill in your details in seconds. Go for the odds not all come good but I received a lot of free stuff in the post soon after some of which like Jack Daniels I was still receiving gifts up until I moved to London.
Buying and Selling
I have done my fair share of buying and selling. Mainly I have sold on eBay and have even bought to sell too when I had the time. I’m not going to go into some massive guide to eBay buy will mention the pitfalls I have come across. The biggest thing to mention is that ebays listing fee is not all you will pay when selling your goods, at the end of the sale eBay will also add on top a final value fee calculated at a percentage of the value of the highest bid. On top of this you will pay Paypal a nominal fee for accepting payment using their service and if you don’t intend to use your paypal money then you will pay again to transfer an amount under £50 into your bank account. I hope I have not put you off using the site, I still use it for getting rid of things that would otherwise gone in the bin or storage but I don’t plan to get rich there or even find many bargains there anymore. Gone are the days of the car boot sale prices, eBay is now a traders marketplace and you have to know where to look for a good price. Try building up a collections of eBay shops in your favourites the sell what you are interested in at good prices and always check the postage charge, not all sellers will calculate an accurate charge. There are alternatives to eBay. Loot is still going strong, Freeads, ebid, Vivastreet, Gumtree and the new Swoopo although I don’t know whether I am a fan yet!
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