I forgot to title this.

Man, the lesliefisher.com is the coolest

Apple 2.1 update

Ok fine. Apple is not stalking me. For the first time, an update showed up that did not align to my travel schedule.

Looks like for now the update has been just that, an update. Personally, it brought the phone to the level I expected it to be the day I purchased it.

Here are the list of fixes as well as some nice new hidden features people have found. Most of these are not from me but others, I am just trying to bring them to one location.

I can happily confirm backups are much faster as well as application installation. Its been wonderful so far.

Announced Features

- decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
- significantly improve battery life for most users
- dramatically reduced time to backup to iTunes
- improve email reliability, notable fetching email from POP and Exchange accounts
- faster installation of 3rd party applications
- fixed bugs causing hangs and crashes if you have lots of 3rd party applications
- improved performance of text messaging
- faster loading and searching of contacts
- improved accuracy of the 3G signal strength display
- repeat alert up to two additional times for incoming text messages
- option to wipe data after ten failed passcode attempts
- Genius playlist creation

Found Features (ripped from various posts on the net)

- Apps keep their place after update
- New logos for Edge and 3G
- New Cars and New headsets added / supported with Bluetooth (including Apple's company car!)
- Speaker is louder
- When a Text Message hits the lock screen, it does not show the name of the person texting you. It just shows "New Text Message" (Passcode must be enabled for this to happen)
- You can now pause apps by clicking the icon while it downloads/installs.
- Triple clicking the microphone button (attached to included headphones) now goes to the previous song played/in a playlist.
- New podcasts & videos had "filled" blue bubbles next to them to indicate that they were new, but with 2.1, if you have "half-played" a podcast or video, it will include a half filled blue bubble.
- Sound from videos now "fade out" if you press the home button. Before, they would cut out abruptly.
- Options to load & display earlier text message in a conversation
- The iPod now shows the album artist and album name underneath the song title
- EXIF data information now remains on photos/pictures when emailed from your iPhone. Sites are now able to show geotag and other information
- The Camera application can now be restricted from Settings
- iPod volume setting is now independant to the phone ringer volume setting
- When location services is switched off in the Settings menu, the Maps application reminds you to must manually turn it back on from the Settings menu when using GPS. Originally, you would have the option to turn it on when the notification appeared
- More information is provided for audiobooks, such as displaying time left in active audiobook

iPhone update and Apps

e2.02 Update

So, here I am again on another plane.

I do want to point out that Apple released iPhone update 2.02 yesterday. Last time I was leaving on a trip they released update 2.01 the day before as well. So, I am pretty sure they are releasing updates purely based on my travel schedule. With that in mind, update 2.03 will be released September 17. So far the 2.02 update has been more unstable than stable. I am beginning to think my iPhone is a savant. Completely whacked but when working the most brilliant thing I know.

Yet another inflightpower update

Sometimes I am not the sharpest tool in the shed. For the most part, I find this entertaining.

I have been talking about my, eh'ness of http://www.inflightpower.com/

Well, on my flight this AM to DEN, the airplane power was not working. I really wanted to tinker with my phone and play some games. I tried the inflight audio yet again to keep a charge with no luck as I listened to tunes on my MacBook.

Then, it hit me. Well, it should have hit me the moment I saw the inflight power concept.

I plugged the inflight power into my MacBook. Blared itunes and dimmed the screen. My iPhone kept its charge the ENTIRE flight and my Mac battery lost about 25% in 2 hours. I always carry an extra battery on me as well for my Mac and can see me sacraficing it to keep my iPhone at full charge on other flights if needed.

This solution is so nice. I can use the iPhone now on planes! I however, am still laughing at myself that I did not figure this out sooner.

Now, for those of you saying hey, couldn't you just plug straight into your MacBook on a plane? Yes. However, you will be chewing through your Mac battery much faster. Think of the inflight as a little power router.

Newest Apps

The App store has been a little boring lately. Granted there was an update to Evernote which allows iPhone editing which makes me quite the happy geek. For those of you who use the app Tasks, it now supports syncing to your desktop.

I would like to point out though the App store reminds me of the early days of the Internet. The wackiest things are appearing and people are jumping all over them. 90% of the app store is junk and 10% of it is gold. However, everyone's 10% of gold is completely different. Also, the App developers are very easy to get in touch with and seem really interested in implementing suggested features, etc. Its an dysfunctionally yet fun time in the App store.

I have purchased a lot of new apps, but, seem to quickly uninstall many. Here are the ones that made this weeks cut.

Web Feeds: A simple RSS reader. I never really got into Web based RSS (probably the main reason I am not using Google Reader). If I am on a fast web connection I can simply go to the site instead of the RSS. However, I find the iPhone great for RSS and Feeds great for catching up easily on my favorite websites. Currently I am using Pinch Media to bring in iPhone App feeds as well as everything from CNN, wine information and even the silly lolcats. I contacted the author about adding a read all feature. He said it was in the works and is already submitted to the app store as an update.

edit: Web Feeds was actually updated last night!

aSleep: Had no idea about this App until I saw it listed as a top item. aSleep is great for the traveler stuck on SBA. SBA you ask? Screaming Baby Airlines. During the summer, I fly SBA a lot. aSleep has 50 different sounds. Everything from Rain, wind, relaxation, etc. Just pop in your headphones and sneer at the crying baby. I also tried the App Ambiance but found the sounds to repeat too quickly.

Mobile Chat: I am still waiting for Adium to offer chat across multiple accounts. Until then, I am using the very buggy Mobile Chat. I still cannot get the thing to work with 100% success. It does have a nice feature where it will email or SMS you if someone sends you a message when your Mobile Chat is not running.

iSudoku: Easily the best looking Sudoku in the App store. However, it is lacking a good hint system. For example, my current tapper, Sudoku Unlimited will show the wrong color if I put in the wrong number. I am somewhat dyslexic so I need that level of help or I would be working on puzzles forever. I mentioned this to the developer and he liked the idea and plans to put it in the next version of the app.

My Favorite iPhone games so Far

A few of you have mentioned how surprised you are not to see game listing from me yet. I would question this, but, I would have to stop playing Rockband and click off of World of Warcraft.

I purchased a lot of games for the iPhone. I quickly realized I am not a huge fan of the car racing games, etc. They do a great job of showing off the phone, but, I lose my interest in them quickly.

I find myself heading to the classics. I have downloaded many versions of the same game genre only to be disappointed. So, when you see it listed here, assume I also tried some of its siblings.

1. Sudoku Unlimited: Damn this game! I was happy when I had no idea what Sudoku was. When I saw about 10 types of Sudoku in the app store I got curious. Now, this version of Sudoku is my most clicked game. Great for airplanes, waiting for your car at the wash, etc. I like the clean interface, huge amount of varying games and different skins for displaying the playing board.

2. Solitaire Top 3: Easily the best looking version of Solitaire in the app store. And its cheaper than most.

3. Shanghai Mahjong: Another gorgeous game and cheaper that most other Mahjong games in the app store.

4. Bejeweled 2: One of my favorite games on my old treo, this thing looks awesome on the iPhone.

5. Texas Hold Em: This game annoyed me at first with all of the video animation. However, I accidentally turned the phone landscape and it changed the screen to an full poker table view. I have not looked back since.

6. Motion X Poker: Think video poker competition with dice. You shake your iPhone to roll the 5 dice and then make a hand. You have 3 rolls to make the best hand.

7. 2 Across. A crossword puzzle that feeds in daily crosswords from 10 different newspaper sources. Lots of puzzle choices and a nice interface.

9. Muddled: You are given 7 letters and 45 seconds to make as many words as possible.

9. Aurora Feint. This game is so low on the list simply because I am scared to click it again. Its a great game and billed as the first MMORPG for the iPhone. Its a little like Tetris but items build from the bottom up and you need to match the icons to keep the lines from climbing to the top. The game starts out at a slow speed making solving easy, but, through training and quests the speed picks up. The game developer says this is just the beginning for this game. It will see expansions, etc. just like our CPU MMORPGs

10. Brain Challenge. Ok, really not a game. However, its an enjoyable play. Brain Challenge will present you with a series of tasks to figure out how well you perform in particular categories. It will then change the game accordingly to help you enhance your brains activity.

Some new Apps for the iPhone I am digging

The app store is averaging about 75 new apps a day. I know I am missing some good apps and hope my friends and fellow geeks chime in when they discover a gem. I cannot wait to start teaching iPhone classes at conferences so we can start some fun birds of a feather sessions.

Here are some new apps I am using.

Here I am: Just what the doctor ordered. Simply tap on Here I Am and this little app will grab your GPS position. It will then generate an email with your GPS location. It will then show up in Google Maps on the users desktop or mobile device. This has already been more than helpful a few times. I get lost. A lot.

SearchQuest GPS: Needs some font tidying, but, besides that, its a fun app. This app grabs your current location and then offers you travel pages, wikipedia pages and more to display the top attractions near you. I really enjoy the wikipedia option. This will be fun when I am traveling in a new town.

NetShare: What I like to call the soap opera app. Why? Netshare allows you to tether your iPhone (aka hook it up with your USB cable) and surf the internet at 3G speeds or Edge network speeds depending on which one you are on. It is stated in the ATT contract that tethering an iPhone is not allowed and on any other ATT phone is a $30 month additional fee. You can imagine how surprised many of us were when this app showed up for sale. Within hours, Apple pulled the app. It magically re-appeared for about 12 hours only to get pulled again. Who knows, as you read this, Netshare might be for sale again. The jury is still out on what ATT will do if they realize you are using it. How could they tell? Its easy. You are all the sudden shoving packets around of stuff not formatted for your phone and your bandwidth is pretty high.

GPS and general bonding

So, for the past week I have been hanging out with a hard drive chewing, battery munching, ugly yellow screening, case bulging iPhone. Sure, I like it. Its an iPhone and it surfs the web faster and my limited experience with the moving blue dot has been fun. However, today we bonded a bit more.

It started with the battery acting a bit nicer. A combination of the battery getting conditioned and having to turn 3G off here in Louisiana. I have been able to tap wildly on apps and not worry as much about my battery jumping the shark.

I also did a software restore yesterday and yay, the phone is less yellow. Its warm now, not yellow.

Then, I tinkered a bit with GPS today. Me and some friends got lost heading to breakfast. Cell calls back on forth from one car to another only to have me realize I had GPS with location mapping. I typed in the location and off we headed.

So, some information I did not know about GPS.

When I tinkered with GPS earlier, the blue dot moved off the page. This time, I did not zoom on the page and let the app take over. With the app setting the screen size, the blue dot moved along and adjusted the maps with enough information for me to easily read streets and tell my friend where the next turn was.

After eating, we then headed home only to hit an accident. I looked at the GPS map to get a feel of traffic. I decided to plug the phone into the cigarette lighter to keep it charged. I discovered a nice feature. With the phone plugged into a power source, the GPS maps will not even dim when you have the locate me feature on.

After all the reports of poor GPS, I am surprised it worked so well. The screen was really too small to be driving and watching but as the co pilot, it worked great in the car. I know there are plans to come out with a larger map GPS. I am happy with my Magellan, but, its nice to know I will have a backup if needed.

Traffic sucked so we decided to head to the mother-ship. The Apple store. I was hoping they had the non non glare screen protector. They are nowhere in CA. They had em! However, there was no iPhones to be seen.

The Crystal film is so much better. Honestly, I would avoid the anti glare protector.

Now, if I can just get it out of that ugly case.

Your 3G battery guzzling as well?

Welcome to 3G and GPS. More importantly, welcome to your new sucky battery.

Its really not the batteries fault, its the added power of the phone. In fact, some people say this is one of the best 3G phones on the market for good battery life.

The bottom line is this. If you want to use all the new toys and do not want to charge during the day, I have bad news. There is a good chance this will not happen.

So, for my longer days, I turn 3G off and put the screen at 50% brightness. Yeah, that stinks, but, better safe than sorry.

I also now have chargers in my car and backpack.

A word about the battery itself. It will get better. The first week is the worse. You can help condition your battery by letting it drain to the point it shuts down then giving it a full charge without unplugging. If you can, do this three times in a row. This will teach your battery its power range.

Today I flew to Louisiana. My goal was to see if I could use the inflightpower to tinker with my iPhone on a plane.

Overall, the product kinda sucked. I will need to go on a few more flights, but, the thing works on charging with loud volume. I found a dance station and in the beginning it worked. It does not charge. It just keeps the charge where it is.

The problem was many fold. Some apps do not show the power bar so you have no idea when the inflight lost its connection. It also would disconnect when a DJ came on leaving me to tinker and re-trigger it.

I am going to see if other planes might work better, but, right now its just too much work to be viable. Even with tinkering I hit the 20% warning on the second leg of my flight.

Edit. Other planes do work better. You will keep the unit on and keeping charge much longer if the entertainment system has that annoying low buzz. Just turn the volume up and take advantage of it. However, some apps will not show when you battery is no longer hooked up to power supply. So, I still find myself constantly clicking back to the main screen to see if its still connected to the inflightpower.

So, I popped this in:

http://us.kensington.com/html/15462.html

I cannot say yay enough about this. It charged me from 20% to full charge in a little over an hour. There was still some juice left on it even when it was done.

I will be adding this to my bag as well.

http://us.kensington.com/html/15458.html

My guess is I can have 4 hours of plane time using the larger charger. Look at that. A rhyme! Sorry, long 3 days.

I cannot recommend the Kensington enough. I might also give into this item as well:

http://www.mophie.com/collections/batteries

If I do, I will report back.

And, to end, some battery suggestions from Apple:

http://www.apple.com/batteries/iphone.html