iPhone App FlyChat Says Go Ahead Talk To Strangers

FlyChat is a new iPhone app that allows you to converse with strangers who share common interests. Think Twitter in an audible form. Sounds harmless, but I think this app could get a bit weird.

Here is how it works: you type in a message and attach it to a "fly". That message then is sent to your selected stranger and global location, That individual from a far off land will then have access to your profile information including picture. The recipient will then have the ability to ignore or respond to your message. The company would like us to think of this app as a “high-tech messages in a bottle.”

This type of social network focuses on making new connections with less emphasis on your current friends list.

An app like this could be useful to the traveler who does not know anyone in their destination city. Maybe they could get useful information from locals about restaurants, hotels etc... Obviously I would not recommend meeting a stranger from another country for lunch, that is definitely creepy.

FlyChat is available in the App Store for $1.99

iTV App for iPhone

Includes an easy to navigate TV guide, movie listings, and Netflix browser.

Cost is FREE

From The App Developers:

"i.TV is the ultimate movie, DVD and TV guide for the iPhone and iPod touch—and it's FREE. Quickly and easily find out when and where your favorite movies and TV shows are playing anywhere in the US or Canada and find related DVD titles"

Similar Apps: Remote, Sketches, Shazam

iPhone Apps for the College Crowd

iPhone apps are becoming very popular at colleges these days, There are literally tens of thousands of choices. Below is a list of five top picks...enjoy.

1. Dictionary.com
This free app has just over 250,000 word entries and a built-in thesaurus. It performs audio pronunciation for comparative words. Your not getting through college without a dictionary.

2. Kindle for iPhone
The popular Amazon creation works with both the iPhone and iPod touch. This app will let you peruse the entire Kindle library give or take a few newspapers. It has Amazons Whispernet capabilities so most Kindle owners will enjoy its syncing ability. This is a free app and it will help students keep up with their assigned reading

3. Pi Cubed
Don't throw away your graphing calculator yet. This app will help you form real-time equations. It has the capacity to hold 150 annotated equations pertaining to a broad array of scientific subjects. Students may like that the equations are presented as if they were written on a chalkboard. This app is well worth the $9.99 price tag.

4. News Fuse
You can stay up to date without browsing every internet news outlet. This app will gather news from up to 18 different sources, no need to download several separate news apps. It's a pretty striped down app as far as features go, it just gets the job done. It goes for $0.99.


5. Tweetie
When students feel the need to tweet during lectures, there are many twitter apps to choose from. Tweetie appears to be the go-to choice due to its ability to post links and pictures through multiple accounts. It costs $2.99

Post Your Video Tweets to Twitter With TwitVid

An app called TwitVid launched on the iTunes App Store today, enabling iPhone 3G S owners to record "video tweets" and post them to Twitter just as they would with photos, links, and text. The app is one of the first to make use of the new iPhone's video capabilities, and is made by a pair of Canadian college students and their venture-backed startup EatLime. The app is tied to a companion site, TwitVid.com.

While EatLime and its video-tweet competitors can't be faulted for taking advantage of Apple's newly unlocked iPhone features, there's something to be said about the regressive nature of "video tweets." What was once hailed as rapidly consumable, quickly-written and unobtrusive, the text-based tweet is evolving into something entirely different: A multimedia note trailing a ten-second time-waster that has to launch a video site just to present itself. Keeping up with Twitter just became a lot less fluid.

As Digital Beat notes, the TwitVid news comes on the heels of a sizable $5.5 million fundraising round by mobile video site Qik.com.

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/chris-dannen/techwatch/twitvid-brings-video-tweets-iphone

Medical Apps for iPhone

Prescriptions, X-Rays, Even Eye Tests on a Smart Phone Screen

By DEVIN POWELL, Inside Science News Service
July 13, 2009 —

Doctors are increasingly bidding farewell to their classic sidekick -- the pager -- and opting for smartphones that do more to help them practice medicine.

A recent report by the healthcare market research firm Manhattan Research in New York shows that 64 percent of doctors are tech-savvy, using mobile devices made by BlackBerry, Palm, and Apple.

Although medical applications are a small fraction of the myriad of "apps" available for smartphones, they are one of the fastest growing categories and are finding their way into hospitals, clinics, and medical schools.

Medical apps make up a little more than one percent of all apps, but the downloadable medical apps are becoming so useful to doctors that the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., now requires all of its students to carry an iPhone or iTouch.

Here's a look at some of the more popular and unusual apps developed for medicine and public health for the iPhone and other mobile devices:

Pocketing Prescriptions
The most popular medical application for the iPhone by number of downloads is Epocrates, a free portable database that contains pictures of and information on 3,300 pharmaceutical drugs. It has been available for several years on mobile devices like BlackBerrys and Palm Pilots and was downloaded 50,000 times during the first three months after it was released for the iPhone.
Physicians at hospitals such as Georgetown University Medical Center carry around the app to double-check for potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions when prescribing treatments for their patients. An expanded version also provides information about diseases and laboratory tests.

Itty-Bitty X-rays
Featured in Apple's commercials, OsiriX allows radiologists to view and carry around their patients' X-ray scans on an iPhone. The X-ray images can be sent from phone to phone via iChat.

While the iPhone's tiny 480 by 320 pixel screen is small for making a diagnosis, physicians can zoom in and out or transfer the images to a Mac computer to study them in full detail.

OsiriX also displays PET, MR, and CT scans, as well as ultrasounds. To ensure confidentially, the images can be stripped of information that could be linked to a patient.

EyePhone
Brazilian ophthalmologist Renato Neves has adapted seven eye exam tests to be administered from the iPhone's screen. The chart of letters that tests vision acuity, usually mounted poster-sized on a wall, has been scaled down for the small screen held at an arm's distance.

Standard tests for color blindness have also been reformatted for the iPhone, as has Amsler's grid, a field of crossing lines used to check for problems like macular degeneration.

Zapping Cancer
The "level" application on the iTouch -- normally used to hang a picture properly -- has been adapted to help radiologists aim X-rays and destroy tumors.

During chemotherapy, radiologists often use beams of X-ray energy to kill cancerous cells inside the body. But many cancers -- especially those of the lungs, livers, pancreas, and breast -- become hard-to-hit moving targets when a patient breathes in and out.

Two radiologists at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor figured out how to use data gathered by the iTouch accelerometer strapped to their chests, which measures the angle of the devices, to calculate their breathing rates.

They will present the app, which could be used to time X-ray blasts to coincide with exhaling, at a medical physics conference this month. It is called "iBreathe" (which happens to be the name of another app that turns the iPhone into a breathalyzer).

Tracking Swine Flu
As the H1N1 influenza virus ("swine flu") swept across the globe, IntuApps in New York, New York developed a public health app that allows people to track its spread. The app, which is still awaiting approval by Apple, brings together information drawn from a range of different sources on the web.

A Google Maps plug-in shows the locations of outbreaks, while feeds from the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide information about how the virus works, the current threat level, and government advisories.

article source: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/Story?id=8054939&page=1

VideoUp app allows uploading from iPhone 3GS to Facebook in a snap

Maybe you heard that a new Facebook iPhone application is almost complete. Maybe you’ve also heard that probably the best feature is that it will allow you to upload video right from your iPhone 3GS to the social network. Well you don’t actually have to wait for the new app to do that — there’s one that does it already. And it’s really, really fast.

VideoUp is a application created by Raizlabs. While they are in no way affiliated with Facebook, the social network was nice enough to help them fix a couple bugs to get it ready for the App Store, founder Greg Raiz tells us. That’s good news because it means Facebook apparently isn’t being tyrannical and demanding that its official app is the only one that will be able to do video uploads to the network.

VideoUp is very simple. You login to your Facebook account via Facebook Connect, choose which video you wish to upload (you can pick one in your library or shoot a new one), enter a description, and you’re done. What’s really pretty amazing about the app is just how fast it uploads the videos. The 16-second test video I shot below was uploaded and playable on Facebook in under a minute. That easily beats the YouTube upload times from the iPhone 3GS, and the quality seems much better.

VideoUp recommends that you hold your iPhone horizontally, so it appears correctly on Facebook. However, if you do it vertically, it’s easy to rotate the video there as well. Obviously, this will only work with the new iPhone 3GS, which has video capabilities.

You can find VideoUp for Facebook in the App Store. It is $0.99.

article source: http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/07/videoup-lets-you-upload-videos-from-your-iphone-to-facebook-right-now/

TomTom for iPhone en route

Among the third-party products demonstrated during June’s WWDC keynote, the one that may have generated the most anticipation was TomTom’s TomTom for iPhone. This combination of an iPhone app providing turn-by-turn driving directions and a hardware accessory, the Car Kit for iPhone, that enhances the app will enable the iPhone to take the place of a standalone GPS unit for many users. Unfortunately, TomTom CTO Peter-Frans Pauwels didn’t provide many details during that demonstration other than to say that TomTom for iPhone would be available “later this summer.”
Macworld recently had a chance to talk with with Tom Murray, Vice President of Market Development for TomTom, and while the company hasn’t yet announced a release date or final pricing information, Murray was able to expand on some of the information presented at WWDC. (You can see a video teaser of TomTom for iPhone on YouTube.)

iPhone challenges
While other vendors have announced, and in some cases already released, navigation apps for the iPhone (AT&T’s Navigator and Sygic’s Mobile Maps are a couple of the latter), Murray noted that TomTom for iPhone is unique because it’s a two-part solution. By combining software and hardware, the company says it can provide an experience that’s much more comparable to that of a standalone navigation unit than an app on its own.
According to Murray, the biggest challenge presented by an iPhone-based navigation solution is that dedicated navigation devices have better GPS reception than an unassisted iPhone. In addition, the iPhone doesnt include any of the special technologies TomTom implements in its own navigation units; for example, gyroscopes and other hardware that allow a unit to better approximate its position when it loses the GPS signal in, say, a tunnel. The size of the iPhone is also an issue”4.3-inch screens are becoming the standard for standalone devices, while the iPhone's screen is only 3.5 inches in size. And few iPhone owners have car mounts for positioning the phone safely while driving.
There are also logistical issues. For example, because the iPhone doesn’t support background processes, any navigation app must shut down during phone calls, making real-time tracking difficult—something that doesn’t happen on a dedicated GPS unit, even one that includes telephony features. And while the iPhone offers far more space for data storage than do most GPS units, the company recognizes that iPhone owners will want to use much of that space for apps and media, so navigation apps need to avoid abusing the opportunity.

Car Kit not required, but recommended
iPhone owners will be able to purchase and use the TomTom software and maps without the Car Kit hardware accessory; however, the Car Kit for iPhone was designed to enhance the software by addressing several of the limitations mentioned above. For starters, the Car Kit includes a separate GPS receiver that performs better than the one built into the iPhone; Murray said this receiver is closer to what you’d find in a dedicated GPS unit. The TomTom app uses this receiver when your iPhone is docked in the Car Kit, allowing for improved real-time navigation, especially in cities with large buildings or in locations with lots of trees or other natural obstacles. The Car Kit also includes a built-in speaker that provides better audio quality and considerably louder output, making it easier to hear spoken directions.
The Car Kit is also a car mount for placing your iPhone in a safe location for driving. The unit includes the same EasyPort mount as TomTom’s recent standalone GPS units, letting you adjust the cradle’s angle, rotation, and relative position (you can position the cradle sitting on or hanging from the mount). The mount locks in place when in use, and folds flat for easier storage. The Kit's power cable plugs into your car’s accessory jack or any USB power source and charges your iPhone while docked.
Finally, the Car Kit includes several additional audio features. For example, it includes a 1/8-inch audio-output jack for connecting the iPhone and Car Kit to any car stereo with an auxiliary-input jack; this lets you listen to both navigation directions and iPhone audio—including music—through your car stereo. You also get a microphone that lets you use the Car Kit as a Bluetooth speakerphone. (Yes, even though the iPhone physically connects to the Car Kit, it uses a Bluetooth connection for phone calls.)
We asked TomTom how the company will promote the TomTom for iPhone package, given that the software and hardware will necessarily be sold and distributed separately—the app through the App Store, the hardware through other outlets. The company says it intends to sell each separately, as well to bundle the two, but that making people aware of the hardware if they purchase the software first will be the biggest challenge.

TomTom features, iPhone UI
While the iPhone’s hardware can’t match that of a standalone GPS unit, Murray noted that TomTom is taking advantage of the iPhone’s own unique features to enhance the app. For example, unlike TomTom’s dedicated GPS devices, the TomTom app’s interface has portrait and landscape modes depending, of course, on how the phone is oriented. You can also use the iPhone’s multi-touch gestures—tap, swipe, pinch, and zoom—to navigate the interface and zoom in and out of maps. You’ll also be able to access your iPhone contacts from within the TomTom app, letting you quickly choose a destination or starting point from a contact’s information. (Integration with other apps has not yet been announced.)
Mapping and navigation will apparently work much as they do on the company’s standalone units, with a similar interface, most of the same core features, and similar voice-guided navigation. The app will include TomTom’s IQ Routes feature, which takes advantage of other TomTom GPS owners’ driving experiences to determine the actual speeds driven on particular routes at particular times of day. Murray said the “trillions of bits of data” lets IQ Routes provide accurate information about historical drive-speed norms, generating more accurate drive times and letting the software choose the actual fastest route, which may not be the same as the shortest route.
One feature Murray couldn’t yet confirm or deny is Map Share, which lets users make route corrections—for example, road closures or incorrect street information—on their devices and then sync those changes with TomTom’s servers to share them with other users.
(When asked which TomTom GPS unit the iPhone will most-closely compare with, Murray said there is none—the iPhone’s screen size makes it similar to the older, 3.5-inch-screen models, but features such as IQ Routes make its software more similar to that of newer models.)

Pricing and availability haven’t yet arrived
Unfortunately, TomTom wasn’t able to provide concrete information about pricing and availability—the company is still saying simply “later this summer.” However, Murray did tell us that the company is leaning towards a set price for the application and maps, rather than taking the subscription approach of AT&T. The application you purchase through the App Store will include the TomTom navigation software and the latest TeleAtlas maps for your area; North America and Europe will be the initial areas offered.
Due to the size of the maps, the download will be quite large for an iPhone app—close to 1GB. (TomTom doesn’t yet know if the download will be restricted to WiFi connections.) iPhone users will be able to update their maps, although the policy and process for updating—for example, via in-app purchasing, App Store updates, or using software similar to TomTom Home—has yet to be determined.
Those interested in more information on TomTom for iPhone can sign up for status updates at the TomTom site.

article source: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/macworld/20090706/tc_macworld/tomtomforiphoneenroute_1

Sirius XM Rolls Out iPhone App, But No Stern or NFL on the Go

Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart fans got a tiny bit of good news yesterday. Sports followers and Howard Stern listeners, not so much.
Sirius XM Radio rolled out a new software application, giving subscribers the ability to tune in to 120 of the satellite radio service's stations via an iPhone or iPod Touch.
However, some early takers were annoyed to find that several of Sirius XM's biggest draws -- channels devoted to baseball, football and Stern -- are not available.
"Laughable and pathetic," grumbled one Stern fan, in a typical complaint, posting on the iPod discussion site iLounge.com. "It's almost like Sirius is trying to fail."
A spokesman for Sirius XM declined to elaborate on the omissions, but this is not the first time stations have not been available on the company's Internet streams. In some cases, Sirius XM doesn't own the rights to stream its standard content on the Web. And when the New York-based Sirius merged with XM Satellite Radio of the District last July, some programming unique to each provider was not readily accessible.
Satellite radio has faced a slowdown in sales in the past year as consumers hold off on buying new cars and after major electronics retailer Circuit City went out of business. Analysts who follow Sirius XM rated the new iPhone software, which requires a paid subscription, as mildly positive for the company.
"I don't think it's a game-changer in the sense that it will drive mass subscriptions, but it's good for them to be there," said James Goss, a media and entertainment analyst with Barrington Research Associates. "They might generate extra subscriptions."
The company's stock, which had been trading around 35 cents, opened at 42 cents yesterday but ended the day at 34 cents.
With its entry into the iPhone "App" space, the company will be competing for attention against popular free services such as Pandora and Slacker.
Although the download is free, only Sirius XM subscribers are able to use the application. Owners of Sirius XM radio devices typically pay about $13 per month; to listen via the Internet, or through the new iPhone software, listeners pay an additional $3 a month.
Sirius XM, which has about 20 million subscribers, recently announced that it will raise its subscription rates, since its royalty dues have increased. Beginning in August, users will have to pay an additional $1.98 a month.

By Mike Musgrove Washington Post Staff Writer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/18/AR2009061804004.html

Apple Approves Porn App, Hottest Girls Available for iPhone

This is the moment we’ve all been waiting for: Apple has finally approved a porn app. Although it’s not entirely porn, there are nude topless pics which means that we can watch boobs as much as we want. The application is called Hottest Girls, and it was developed by Allen Leung. At first the application showed Asian girls in bikinis and lingerie, however, they’ve uploaded new images with non-Asian girls who are topless.
How great is that? To have a smartphone ready to be filled with 50,000 apps, but no porn. This wasn’t fair. Apple has done a marvelous job because this is what people wants. If you search porn in Google Trends you will not be surprised to see that hundreds of million people are looking for it every day. If you want Hottest Girls on your iPhone or iPod touch, then you will have to pay only $1.99.
I am pretty sure that Apple will not remove the application from the iTunes Store as the application is rated 17+ due to frequent/intense sexual content or nudity and frequent/intense mature/suggestive theme which means that you have to be 17 to download it, and that it will stay here forever.
The vibrator app that was approved a few days ago was destined for the women with an iPhone / iPhone 3G / iPhone 3GS / iPod touch, but this was developed for all the guys who’ve been “supporting” porn industry for a long time.
article source: http://www.softsailor.com/news/5368-apple-approves-porn-app-hottest-girls-available-for-iphone-nsfw.html