iPhone 2.2 Screen Shots

Screen shots of the new iPhone 2.2 features

Google Maps

Street View

Podcasts

Safari

iPhone 2.2 software is available for download

As many expected iPhone OS 2.2 is available for download on November 21st.
Well, actually it became available even on November 20th, Cupertino (Pacific) time.
Below are the screen shots, highlighting new features of the software.
- Google Street View
- Enhancements to mail
- Improved stability of Safari browser
- Ability to download podcasts in iTunes app over wi-fi and cellular
- Improved call quality
- Improved sound quality
- Home button enhancements
- Ability to turn on and off auto-correction
Download and enjoy this update!!!

Presidential Race Poll on iPhone - Barack Obama vs John McCain

With only a few weeks away from the 2008 November elections, you can review results of US Presidential race poll that was captured on VoteOnPhone.com web site.

As of October 11th, 1292 responses were collected. 805 people picked Barack Obama, 410 - John McCain, 32 - Other candidate, 45 - will not vote. This gives 62% of votes to Barack Obama and 32% of votes to John McCain.

This poll also collected state statistics to determine which states are likely to vote Republican vs. Democrat.

Below is a partial list of states, where the most votes were collected. It also shows a lead of Barack Obama over John McCain in many states.

This poll result can also reflect political opinions of more technology savvy people that used iPhones to submit their votes

State	John McCain	Barack Obama
California	39	125
New York	17	88
Florida	35	72
Texas	32	57
Illinois	9	30
Alabama	11	27
Wisconsin	55	25
Georgia	15	18
Virginia	14	12
New Jersey	11	21
Pennsylvania	11	24

BSOD on iPhone - how long to wait for iPhone application approval

"The Blue Screen of Death (also known as a stop error, BSoD, bluescreen, or Blue Screen of Doom) is an error screen displayed by some operating systems, most notably Microsoft Windows, after encountering a critical system error which can cause the system to shut down, to prevent damage." - Wikipedia

A joke application that simulates BSOD on iPhone was submitted to Apple for a review on September 22nd. Application does nothing, but display "Blue Screen of Death" on iPhone, so those, who used to see BSOD working with PC hardware can recall not so long ago memories of failing PC  hardware, and maybe make a joke to their friends.

Well... 17 days and counting, application is not yet approved. Will the BSOD on iPhone ever see the light of the day or stay in "In Review" status forever?

Rediscovering Handango

Apple's App Store is a big part of iPhone success for both iPhone users as well as a few individuals and companies that were able to develop popular products and sell them online. Let's not underestimate development of Microsoft technologies and availability of the software for the Windows Mobile powered devices. Quick look at the Handango web site shows almost 20,000 applications available for Windows Mobile and about 75,000 for all platforms. 

Handango site provides access not only to Windows Mobile applications but also Palm, BlackBerry, Symbian OS, PSP and Tablet PC. Site categorizes applications by their purpose: Games, Business Applications, Multimedia, Education and other. 

To make easier for a customer to make a selection, applications have screenshots, review rank, reviews as well as product recommendations. Customer can also select phone model to see applications that are supported on a specific device.

Despite all of this, one shocking fact is that most of the applications are priced way above of iPhone apps.  Prices between 19.99 and 39.99 are very common, however trial versions of applications are available for most of them.

Conclusion: If you are not an iPhone or G1 user and seeking to extend your phone abilities,  you may find Handango is worth to explore to find a new phone application.

Android is a better development platform for background apps?

One of the iPhone limitations is ability to run only one application at a time. This limits development of the phone applications only to those that can be run interactively. However, there is a plenty of opportunities for applications, that should run in a background. This can extend to instant messaging (IM) applications, scheduling applications, and other. Perfect example of applications that can be run on a background are favorite Pandora and FlyCast music streaming applications.

If the favorite tune is playing there is no possibility to swith to email application to check latest emails without stopping the music that is playing.

Android platform is open for development and this limitation does not exist on G1 phone. This can be seen as a big advantage of G1 over iPhone for future software development.

Ironicaly Apple own apps can run on a background, this applies to alarm clock, calendar, email, music player, and phone applications. Will this functionality be expanded by Apple over time to be competitive with Google?

Hidden cost of G1 phone - limited storage

One of the things that seems to be not widely discussed in comparison of iPhone and G1, is that G1 only comes with 1GB memory (according to T-Mobile site - "With the 1GB memory card, you'll never be without your favorite tunes"). This is not enough for the modern smart phones, which will handle larger than previously volumes of data.

Data storage will be needed for music, videos, photos, email and applications. On one side, having expandable storage is a good thing for the G1, since a large card can be installed easily, however to truly match to iPhone, storage capacity needs to be taken in consideration. With the lower-end iPhones having 8GB of storage, G1 users will need to get up-to-par with at least 8GB micro-SD card.

Well, so much for lower than expected cost of the G1 phone at $179.99, now it is time to be prepared to throw extra $20-$60 for extra memory at your favorite electronics or T-Mobile store.