Archive for November, 2008

So after only two weeks I have decided which applications I like the most for my iPhone. I tried numerous applications in hopes to the best in productivity and as replacements for the applications I have used on other phones.  Below I have listed my favorites and what I have Kept on the phone:

Twitter

Choice: Twitterfon I tried them twitterific, tweetsville, tweetie, twitilator, etc. But none, matched the experience that I have come to expect from tweetdeck or twhirl on my desktop. Until I read a post about twitterfon by VentureBeat reporter MG Seigler. Twitterfon has all the features you would expect and need in a twitter client. It has separate panes for your friends, replies and direct messages. It also has easy access to the search (summize or search.twitter.com as it is now known). My only complaint is that it doesn’t pre-load all panes. You have to click on replies for it to load the panes with new replies. The app’s integration with twitpic and with your location is really nice and makes updates super easy.

Productivity (list making and keeping)

Choice: Remember the Milk As a regular list maker, I have always loved the idea of RTM (remember the milk, but the iPhone makes this application real.The best next action list is one that is with you all the time. It isn’t helpful if you have to flip open your computer to get to it. RTM is so easy to use, it makes it the perfect “next action” application.

Second Choice: Jott So while RTM solves all most all my next action needs, sometimes you just need to talk a note in a hurry. Jott makes that possible with voice recognition. You just speak into the phone and a few minutes later the note appears in the list.  While there is syncing capability with RTM, it costs to set the service up. Paying for two services for list management is just not my thing. But you can use Jott when you are in a hurry and manually sync the lists when you have more time.

Food

	Choice: Open Table I have been a Open table user for some time now. It is a great way to get a table at just about any restaurant. More importantly however, you can avoid wasting time calling or showing up at a restaurant hoping to get a seat. Now on the iPhone this app will give you the times and availability of dinning locations near you. I love this app it is too useful.
	Choice: Yelp While Yelp has gotten a bad rap in the last few months over the negative review scandal (which by the way I am not sure I believe). I love the reviews which have been more than helpful at making dinning decisions for work and personal events.This app gives me access to those reviews on the go.
	Choice: Urban Spoon During the SEOmoz Web 2.0 awards which I judged, UrbanSpoon was one of my favorite new sites. Now the that site has a fun application which can help you beat the dinner doldrums. If you have ever gotten into a rut with eating out. This app can help. Just shake your iPhone and it randomly selects a restaurant in your area. This app doesn’t get a lot use from me, but it is a lot of fun from time to time.

Health

Choice: Calorie tracker by LiveStrong.com I have been on a two year body optimization effort. I learned a lot about how to eat healthy and to exercise in a way that can keep you healthy for a lifetime.  I have been most successful in this quest when I kept a food diary. This app replaces a written or computer based tool by letting me track my food intake where ever I am. You can easily search for food by type, restaurant or manufacturer.  This makes keeping a record as easy as typing a few letters of the food you are interested in. You can also track exercise. After a 2 hour ice time, I can track the calories burned and keep a record of my overall activity.    The only downside… the app hints that it may cost money in the future.

Other Applications:

There are several other applications I am using that are going pretty well but that I could live without like:

• Pandora
• Facebook
• Shazam

Several applications that just failed:

• Bank of America : Not available in my state
• Tweetsville: Crashed my phone
• Loopt:  I just don’t get it.  I like brightkite and other location sites, but this just didn’t seem to have a unique purpose.

Hope these recommendations help, and If you have an application suggestion that I have not tried, let me know.

Religiously, since 1997, I have logged into Hotmail once a month.  I have done this because for some reason during my freshman year I chose to create an account name that didn’t have the permanence of something like my name. I won’t share it here, but lets just say it is not at all related to me.  

I sign in once a month just to ensure that I don’t loose the account or emails that I filed away for posterity.  There were several emails in this account of personal importance and memory, that for whatever reason I never wanted to delete or move to another account.

After years of protecting this account, I finally lost those mails this month when the Windows Live update to Hotmail rolled out. I had a separate folder for each person who’s mail I was trying to keep.  Now those folders are gone. 

I suppose that I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it, It isn’t like I read those old mails its just I didn’t want to lose them. But they are gone and not coming back. So while I am not thrilled with whatever decision left me folder-less, I now have a new problem.  Should I kill this account? I can’t remember the last time I actually sent a mail from this account, so I am tempted to just delete it.   If you see this post let me know, are you still keeping an old mail account that just doesn’t fit you any more?   Why?

I am a gadget lover and as a gadget lover, I really love phones. So for the past few months I have resisted the temptation to follow the crowd and get an iPhone.  Mostly because everyone had one, but also for a few other reasons:

• The lack of a real keyboard.  I love to text and tweet and I think the keyboard is a real weakness for the chronic tweeter.  I am hoping some update will allow for a landscape keyboard like on the blackberry Storm.
• Support for the home team.  As a Microsoft employee I really try to help the home team. I bought a WinMob phone days after joining Microsoft 3 years ago.

So why did I sell out.  Over a month ago I was getting ready to go to NYC for SMX East, and I dropped my phone breaking the screen.  I replaced the aging HTC Wing with a HTC Tilt.  The Tilt was bulky, but I really liked the keyboard and I enjoyed being able to play with Qik and other Apps that the tilt supported.  

Then, just days before PubCon Las Vegas, I dropped the Tilt in a glass of Grape Juice.  You may ask how did that happen. let’s just say it was an early morning post hockey and I was not paying attention.  So I replaced the grape juice soaked Tilt, with a new one.

Then came Las Vegas…

During a very busy evening I left my jacket behind at a restaurant in the Palms.  The contents of the jacket included both my phone and apparently my eyeglasses.  I decided this was an omen; a sign.  I have given WinMob the better part of 3 years and now it is time for me to try something else.

I admit I had a lot of excitement for the forthcoming HTC Touch HD, but I can’t wait forever and this thing won’t make it stateside till late next year.  So today I finally bit the bullet. No more WinMob.  Hopefully this means less reboots and headaches with slow interfaces.  Either way, I really like my slick black phone.  

One thing I need your help on is what Apps should I install. I am a productivity nut and a twitter user so let that be your guide.  Please fill in the comments what app is your favorite and why…

After 30 days I will write a new post letting you know which ones I tried and what I thought about each one.