iGoiPhone – Page 46 – …Reviews, Tips and How To

Scouting with the iPhone 3Gs

Part of what I do daily is scouting out locations and situations. This can be for a conference location, an acquisition or even just for fun.

Years ago I would do a document on finding, usually distributed via a PDF. Then, as snapping pictures and editing them on my Mac got quicker, I moved to pictures. To represent the atmosphere, I would use FotoMagico that allowed me to sweep across images with the Ken effect, stitch multi images together and add background music.

With the iPhone; quickly snapped images, panoramas via Pano and recordings could be brought together while traveling back to the office with just my iPhone and a Macbook. Usually these came together, still using FotoMagico, in less than an hour.

Last week I found a new option that is a hit to pull my location review together and send, completely on my iPhone. No need to upload to my notebook for editing, and easy to do even on the iPhone screen size. The app is ReelDirector.

This iPhone application allows you to make better use of the video camera of the iPhone 3Gs. I record bit of video as I walk through the location. Just quick bits of video snippets. In ReelDirector, you can select the videos you want to stitch together. Instead of just one clip starting suddenly where the previous ends, the app allows for 27 different transitions. Also, to get my point across without me having to be in the room with the person viewing the final video – I can add and edit text that can be overlaid directly in the video. Finally, getting the final video out to my audience, I can sync to my desktop via the camera roll or eMail directly from the iPhone.

reel director reel director 2

The UI for ReelDirector is quick to learn. Across the top of the screen is the multiple clips you have added end-to-end. The lower, majority of the screen, is what your working area. Text add/edits and Transitions are done on special edit pages. Since this app allows work to be done normally requiring a computer, it isn’t surprising it isn’t 99 cents – currently the application is less than 8 dollars.

Scanner Pro isn’t a Scanner

Software authors are getting creative in their descriptions.

Last week I received an email about a new application that turns your iPhone into a Scanner. “Wow! I could really use that”, I thought. Instead of taking my paper notes to a scanner, then transfering those scans into my iPhone for later reference – the technique I use now. I will be able to scan docs right into my iPhone.

Do I move the iPhone across the page like a hand scanner? Do I have any limitations to the distance or light sources? What if I am not straight over the page I am scanning?

Well, these answers would go unanswered until I buy the app. The authors have done a great job of promoting the product but there isn’t many in depth details. You end up having to buy the app to find out it is a iPhone program that allows you to take pictures of your paper docs, stitch a few together into a PDF file. The PDF feature is nice but there are many other programs that give more features and don’t claim to be ‘scanners’. There are apps that let you take a picture of a piece of paper, straighten and offer many more filters. But, you wouldn’t know that till you buy the many different software offerings.

Perhaps, in the near future, more apps will start showing up in the iTunes Store that allow you to load and pay after test usage. Only the developers that are hiding behind lack of information or creative descriptions will avoid this method so people will spend their hard earned money only to learn later they wont be using the software. I’m looking forward to the ‘pay to use the features’ option keeping the honest people honest – let’s hope they don’t start using this to charge for minor feature increases. Time will tell… tell developers how you feel, with your money.

20146079

Feeds – iPhone RSS Reader – The best stuff just got better!

A new version of Feeds (opens iTunes) has come out and the changes are huge!

You may remember where I previously outlined how I use Feeds to read the RSS feeds that interest me since I’m on the go a lot and most of my time to catch up isn’t always where there is a great signal to be touching content on the Web. Feeds also offered me the ability to grab the whole article to read later on ReadItLater (or Instapaper if you like using the other offline option). There was a bit of clunkiness to share articles – Not anymore!

First, right off there is a major change in the UI – not so much where everything is but the developers really punched up the look and feel that does make a difference. All of the following screen shots are of the previous version on the left and the new version on the right:

Drilling into an article – the content wraps better and is much more readable at a glance – interesting how the shading make a lot of difference when skimming through article titles:

They have added icons for quicker access to needed components throughout the updated screens. Now you can send an email with the title and short text of all the articles in a feed via a email button… great when you want to read a group of content on a work machine that doesn’t have the reader access you have here or on your personal computer. The only negative I have with the new buttons is when on a article and you want to drill in for more info you tap the icon in the lower right corner that… er, looks like a compass needle… I don’t get it!

Lastly, and it’s the biggie, is the ability to share out content faster and easier. Previously I would send all content I wanted to share with friends on Twitter to ReadItLater and then share from there. Now, you can do so directly from Feeds. Feeds offers URL shortening from that window. The window for Twitter sharing does cover the title and content of the article without a way to pull it in so think of your tweet prior to hitting the Twitter share option.

For those times I do want to send content to ReadItLater, the process now is much more seamless and has worked for me every time. The other option I had been using has had mixed successes with this so I’m happy to see Feeds get it buttoned up.

For those looking for a full list of new features and fixes – this is what the Feeds authors say:

Unexpected results with an iPhone in Italy

This was to be an article about staying connected while traveling around northern Italy. Staying connected via the free WiFi and limited data package.

In short, if your going to use one of the packages that AT&T offers for traveling overseas, it’s all about setting your email to only get email subject line and not attachements. I was happily keeping everyone up to date with pictures I posted to Facebook and Twitter, a email from time to time. Then, a friend sent me a 20 meg file that downloaded twice. There went my 50 meg package! So, I set off to find the ‘WiFi access is everywhere’ that I had read about on Web sites when researching the trip.

When at a good stopping point, I would check my iPhone for any local open WiFi (looking for intentionally open services, not someone who forget to set a password). Nothing was coming back. What was happening though was a quicker than normal discharge of the iPhone battery as it hunted and hunted for a WiFi signal.

To make sure this wasn’t due to a limitation in the iPhone system, I started using the app I use at home: WiFiFoFum (opens description in iTunes). It is very good at reporting back anything in the area that is a WiFi signal. I didn’t grab any screenshots when traveling but you can see from the developers images, the app looks out and tells you where there might be a signal around you and the particulars about that signal.

Screen shot 2009-09-13 at 9.36.01 AM

Very important when your amongst the tall buildings and down narrow paths of the streets of Lake Como.

P1000298 P1000192

In my usual travels, I carry a little charger from Richard|Solo – it is great because it is small and snaps onto the bottom of my iPhone. Also, it is a charger (1800) rather than most battery devices you find are just for powering your iPhone when really low on a charge.

For this trip I was trying a new device (new to me) from CallPod (callpod.com) since I was traveling with my wife and between us we had multiple devices that might run down on the long plane trip. I had chosen the CallPod because it charges using a standard wall outlet to USB, it has more than twice the milliamps (4800) of power stored and it could recharge or power two devices at once..

P1000015 P1000016

The overall size of the device is barely larger around than the iPhone and about twice the thickness – so it fits very nicely into the Timbuk2 bag we use when walking about town.

P1000024

CallPod offers short cables to connect about any device you would want to charge, their site claims they cover over 2,000 devices. When you buy the charger you get a coupon for one free adapter.

P1000026

Just prior to getting off the plane in Milan on our way to Como, we each charged our iPhones (both were below 50% left prior to full recharge) and a Flip. Then, without recharging it the CallPod, we recharged my iPhone again early the next morning. Recharging the CallPod took a couple hours via the European wall outlet converter.

After a couple days of hammering on my iPhone searching for a open WiFi connection, I plugged in CallPods out to USB connector then plugged the iPhone sync cable into that. This way the charger was in the bag with a cable out to the iPhone in my pocket. Since I carried the Timbuk2 bag slightly behind me the cable was almost completely hidden. With this set up, we scanned for WiFi as we walked the streets and never had the battery on the iPhone drop off 99%.

P1000032

Next time… I will be slightly smarter with my iPhone data settings. And, will continue to make good use of the power the CallPod brings me when always looking for a signal or traveling a distance watching videos on the plane. Pretty happy with this purchase. Free WiFi can be found in larger public areas and almost exclusively to the larger towns… much like anywhere. I will be researching some of the Pay-to-Use WiFi offerings but since I was scanning and logging all the time I wasn’t finding one company that had coverage everywhere. Looking forward to another chance to travel to Italy to test!

P1000127

Cleaning up Whiteboard and Text images

I am a fan of being able to snap pictures anytime as a great way to remember things later. Easy of use, availability, and quality of the results makes the iPhone a natural data collector. As time has passed though, I have been trying to do my best to clean those quick snaps up for later quick reference.

Filters, both manual and auto have worked well, but the images are generally still s bit out of sorts since I am not usually able to get a straight on picture due to room size or layout. Enter; JotNot (link opens app info in iTunes).

JotNot presents what appears to be an over simple user interface where you tell the application where the corners of the actual content is – then the app makes the right adjustments to produce what I find very usable reference images that I use myself or can share with others.

In my example here, we were traveling when a F1 race happened that my wife and I were interested in. Walking through the cafe next door to our hotel the results of the event popped up on their TV screen and I snapped a very quick shot.

Opening the image in JotNot, I touch and drug the corners of their guide box to the corners of the out of shape box of text in the picture.

Seconds later I had something that was easier to read without the extra content that was not important and everything trued up.

Continue reading “Cleaning up Whiteboard and Text images”