The Log

I’ve known about the apps and good repute of the folks at Overcommitted Apps for a while, but had never used their offerings myself until recently. By chance, I recently purchased two and have been really pleased with the quality.

As always, it’s the little things that make the difference.

TripMix

I love iTunes and the iPod app on my iPhone. But TripMix has been a welcome addition to my phone. It selects artists randomly and then plays 3 consecutive songs from each. It’s a great way to listen to some of the music that doesn’t come up in your handcrafted playlists.

The aesthetics of the app are also extremely well done. It’s not all good though — the app has to be running at all times, which is inconvenient at times.

Ember

An iPhone client for your Campfire account(s), Ember is another beautiful app. And there is a nice touch that makes it easier to use on the iPhone’s small screen, seen here:

Being able to quickly refer back through the day’s conversation and then instantly pop back to the latest update is well implemented — almost a necessity to make a service like Campfire usable on a small device.

Highrise

Lastly, the guys at Overcommitted were hired by 37signals to create an iPhone app for Highrise. It has all the polish you would expect with these names behind it.

The ability to add a voice memo is handy, making good use of the phone’s hardware.

(One caveat: I am in no way associated with Jordan Chang)

See For Yourself

Why take the time to write about these three different apps? Companies like Overcommitted are exactly why I love the Mac community and indie devs — they pour their hearts into what they do and the results speak for themselves.

Okay, you got me.

[ via Smoking Apples ]

When the iPad was announced, there seemed to be a lot of people complaining that the UI was a little off and that the icons on the home screen looked a little lonely.

I suspect that a good part of the people making this complaint look at a desktop like this every day:

Or perhaps their iPhone home screen makes the iPad look sparse:

And hey, as long as a person can be productive with that type of setup, all the power to them. But as someone who prefers tidiness and iPhone screen real estate, I think the iPad interface is a step in the right direction:

And one last thought: if there is one thing I can appreciate about jailbreaking your iPhone, it’s that many of the nice themes use smaller icons. It greatly adds to the overall look and feel:

This will be such old news to all you long-time iPhone owners, but after a recent upgrade from my 1st gen iPod Touch to an iPhone 3GS, I have once again been reminded how well Apple gets the little things right. Previously I had the mentality that the iPod Touch is the iPhone without the phone. But there are a few others components on the iPhone that have been a nice addition.

Obviously the camera is a nice thing to carry around. But it’s the software involved that has been so impressive. Navigating from taking a photo or video to reviewing your “Camera Roll” is so smooth and intuitive, it’s pleasurable to use. And just having a camera always with you will result in a lot more photos.

Another app that I love having built in is the Nike + iPod. I’ve used my iPod Nano to sync my runs to the Nike+ service for a few years, but it’s a night and day difference on the iPhone. The little touches like being able to pause your workout even when the phone is locked are pure genius.

Serious runners, please avert your eyes from the pace in the image above …

Further Adventures in Cheap, Reliable Internet Access)

What finally drove me over the edge to signing on to a 3 year contract was the fact that it could actually save me money. By choosing the highest data plan available with my Internet carrier, I get 3 GB of data transfer per month, including any tethering to my computer. Since my internet access is already so expensive, I should actually save money by using my first 3 GBs of data every month on my iPhone.

The cell phone access is an extra benefit to cheaper internet.

It’s these small touches of design ingenuity that endear me to Apple products. Never having used a Palm Pre, a Nexus, or any of these ‘contenders’, I can only assume that this is what they are missing.

Just as with the iPhone, we now have a few months to find the answers to all of our most obvious questions. As the last few drops of Cupertino Kool-Aid are slowly eliminated from my bloodstream, lucid thoughts are returning and I’m left with a void. At the moment, the biggest question many of us are asking is this: will the iPad be something I could put to use?

And forget the obvious sating of geek gadget lust — I’m talking about usage that fits a need. Ever since the iPhone was released, my stance has been the same. I still greatly prefer my desktop. The iPhone/Touch platform was an amazing advance in mobile phone technology, but for those of us who rarely need a mobile phone it is reduced to a really fancy satellite device. The nicest, most advanced satellite device we’ve been able to use, but still second fiddle to the desktop (and by desktop I mean your regular, everyday setup which may be in the form of a laptop — what you use to do your job).

Once the rumours about this device started to thicken, I again asked myself if this was a device that I could use. If it’s somewhere between the iPhone and Mac OS X, the question that needs to be answered for me is whether it can replace my Macbook.

And that’s a question that cannot be answered yet. There simply isn’t enough information available. But here are the key items that I’m left pondering.

OS Capabilities

We know it’s the iPhone OS, but how much is that OS changed from what’s currently running on everyone’s iPhone or iPod Touch? If I use an application that is already available in the App Store, will the responsible developer be able to add logic that will enable the app to recognize what device it’s running on?

An app that can optimize itself for the current display and the limits it imposes would be very impressive and useful.

It’s Magic, but What About the Magic Mouse?

Unlike the iPhone, the iPad will support an external keyboard. But will it support an external mouse? Not just any old mouse of course, but what about Apple’s own Magic Mouse, which already supports aspects of the Touch technology?

The Dock Connector probably was the biggest surprise to me as I watched the news unfold. This is a big step to making this device more relevant to someone like me. But after the reality distortion field wears off, an issue come to mind: Using the keyboard is fine, but the ergonomics of reaching way up to touch the screen to do anything other than enter text sounds like a recipe for pain in the long term.

Will I be able to use the Magic Mouse to perform some of the Touch gestures that I can perform on the screen? I realize that there is no cursor in this OS — yet. But for the time being, if I’m using an external keyboard, it seems more pleasant to me to shift my hand over to the Magic Mouse rather than interacting with the screen itself.

External Displays

And with ergonomics in mind, this device has another issue. Using it with the Dock Connector does not appear to be feasible for long term use when it comes to the neck. When spending a long period of sitting and using a computer, the display needs to be up off the desk. And so …

Will this device support an external display …for computing uses? Hooking it up to my TV is not relevant for someone who doesn’t consume a lot of media. I want to know if it will connect to my ACD.

And if not the iPad, then what about the future. How long before we see a touch screen iMac?

Long Term: Is Apple Desktop Offering Open or Closed

Lastly, it seems clear that all this technology will trickle down to (or take over) the desktop at Cupertino. But will it be open or closed? I shudder to think of OS X (or it’s future derivative) as closed, when it’s the third party ecosystem that brings me the most enjoyment on this platform. And this ecosystem is a result of the openness of the OS.

If that goes away, will using a Mac be as much fun?

I know my issues here are related to work scenarios. There is no doubt that this device will be spot on for fun and entertainment. But I’m more focused on how it will relate to my work life, because that’s where I spend all my time on my computer. Ergonomics are not nearly as much of an issue in home entertainment.

Overall, I’m left with the impression that this is not the end destination for Apple, but just another step on the way. Like the iPhone, the iPad is just the next step in Apple’s plan to be the digital hub in the home and the office.

Here’s an interesting article from German iPhone shop FutureTap. They shared a lot of information on the acquisition of Where To (iTunes link) and the profit they experienced from sales of the app.

Of interest to me was the details on their marketing efforts:

While in the first half of the year we had decent success with cost-per-click campaigns such as Google Adwords, in the recent past virtually all sorts of paid advertising were totally ineffective (with Admob and Facebook offering the worst value in terms of ad dollars spent per sale).

As a platform, the iPhone has too much potential for the marketing of apps to remain ineffective. Someone will have to come up with a decent solution at some point.