Posts Tagged ‘Apple’

Twitter recently rolled out its new iPad mobile application.  Go to the App Store to get the latest version.  Here’s a review of 5 cool features.

1. The application is made for the iPad. The previous application was just the iPhone version.

2. See multiple “views” on one screen. The new app allows you to see snippets of more than one view at a time.  This is basically a visual “breadcrumb.”  Unfortunately, there are a couple of instances when things get “stuck” and it is difficult to close the active panel.

3. Article/image previews on tweets. Click on an item in your timeline and see the tweet with the article preview below.  This saves a click and gives you a good idea if you want to continue and read the  article.

With the release of Flipboard, there has been a movement towards visual browsing of  tweets.  This is a great next step for Twitter.

4. “Faux” attachments on tweets. Twitter still doesn’t allow for attachments but this “Attachments” screen simulates that action.  On a new tweet, click on the paper clip and you get access to your iPad photo album.  The Twitter app ties in third-party image hosting companies to accomplish the faux attachments.

5. Integration with services.  The app also allows users to connect to third-party services like Posterous for image and video posting.  Video posting?  Apparently the Twitter app is ahead of the iPad development curve and is already listing different video services.

I was surprised by the way the app “knew” how to select my Posterous account since  I never use Posterous on the iPad.

Review

The new Twitter for iPad app is a great step in the right direction – it uses the iPad’s space intelligently and it incorporates preview features like rich desktop apps.  I tested some of the “gestures” mentioned in the Twitter blog post but they weren’t intuitive so they’ve got some work to do there.  All in all, it’s a must download.

Did you see any other great features?  Overall, do you like what Twitter has done?

YouTube announced a new HTML5 video player that works on the Apple iPad device. The player is smart enough to know whether it can display Flash or if it has to switch to HTML5 mode for a non-Flash enabled device.

I tested the new player against the regular YouTube player on an iPad and the new player still needs some work. The new player takes a longer to load, has some funky behavior (a duplicate window appears below the player), and the screen is bouncy when the player isn’t set to fullscreen.

I can see why the new player isn’t available from the regular video page yet.

Furthermore, in order to get the HTML5 version to load, site visitors must have gone to the YouTube HTML5 page and opted in as an HTML5 Beta tester.

This player is basically in development mode. I wouldn’t rush out and start changing all your embed codes but it is worth testing out, especially if it can help you with an existing issue.

This is sample code to embed the new player:

<iframe type=”text/html” width=”640″ height=”385″ src=”http://www.youtube.com/embed/VIDEO_ID” frameborder=”0″>

“VIDEO_ID” is the ID of the video which looks like an encrypted string. For the videos below, the ID is “FmWNwJRVK_g.”

I embedded a video using the new HTML5 player and also using the standard YouTube player to test on the iPad. I did this for my test but feel free to do the same and test it via your desktop/laptop and via your mobile device or iPad. Remember to opt in to the YouTube HTML5 Beta if you want the player to show up…or you’ll only get a black box in its place.

The New HTML 5 player

The standard YouTube embed method

What do you think? Is the new player useful yet? Will this solve any browser or platform issues for your videos?

Apple released the iPhone IOS4 software update late on June 21, 2010. The update took well over an hour to download and then sync up with the iPhone but it was well worth it.

Among the many new features, the new IOS4 update allows for the iPhone to work with wireless Bluetooth keyboards. I took the new feature for a ride and started blogging.

Did you find any other cool features in the IOS4 update? Drop a Comment below and share.

I purchased the Apple iPad on Opening Day, April 3, 2010, but recently uncovered a rare deleted scene from my unboxing experience.

You can discourage future attempts at humor by leaving a comment here and on YouTube.

You can use the combination of two apps, Camera A and Camera B, to allow your iPhone’s camera to be shared on your iPad.

I thought this was cool because this gives the iPad an input device. You can see the iPhone viewfinder on the iPad and you can snap pictures.

This Bluetooth-enabled combo will be much more interesting once the iPad adds multitasking, which is in the works.

Camera A is free and it goes on your iPad. Camera B is $0.99 and it goes on your 3Gs iPhone.

If you decide to try it out, come back and drop a comment.

Instant Tweetup is a free iPhone application that allows users to find nearby Twitter users and send them tweets.

How Does Instant Tweetup Work?

Once launched, the application requests permission to use your current location. By providing your location, the application can scan your immediate geographical area and find Twitter users who:

1) Have set their “Location” settings in that area or,
2) Have their “Tweet Location” option on and have “checked in” nearby.

This “Tweet Location” feature is an opt-in feature that was added to Twitter a few months back. You can turn this on by going to Settings > Account > then checking on the “Tweet Location” checkbox. I tweet from home a lot so I have this turned off.

Once you use the application to find nearby tweeps, you can “@” message them an invitation to meetup with you and optionally include a bit.ly map link with your current location. You do not have to be following these Twitter users. The message is a simple “@” reply, not a Direct Message.

Possible Uses

1) Find nearby tweeps to follow. This works best if you already know the people. For example, you can follow nearby friends, schoolmates or workmates that you haven’t connected with on Twitter.

I personally follow a broad range of people on Twitter, but have also tried to find people in my home county to follow. This has worked well for me in terms of business networking. However, following people within a one to ten mile range (the Instant Tweetup range) in my small town is a bit too close for comfort. Imagine following someone and discovering they live on the same block. That could get strange.

2) Use Instant Tweetup to announce product or service offerings if you are a business. You wouldn’t want to blast it out to everyone all the time since some people will show up because they live nearby, not because they are looking to shop. For example, if you are the local sub shop, you could use Instant Tweetup to offer a special to nearby tweeps who are talking about lunch. If they are following your business this is an instant win, but if you haven’t connected with them yet then this could be considered spam.

3) Tweet out a business offer at a major event. If you’re at the Staples Center watching the Lakers wipe the floor with Seattle, for example, a concession stand or volunteer booth could tweet out an offer to those who are obviously at the Center.

4) Use it for an instant tweetup. Yes, if you have a group of friends in a nearby location, you can message them all and set a meeting place. “@MyGoodFriendJoe In line at Pinks in Hollywood, come and join me if you’re hungry! bit.ly/maplocation.”

One thing to keep in mind is that if you are tweeting these messages out with the map locations, you’re providing your location to the world.

Enhancements I’d like to see

1) Provide a way to filter out random people and only show Twitter followers. Depending on the context and the message, tweeting invites and your location at random people in your immediate vicinity can be both spammy and creepy.

I contacted Keith Moon (@keefmoon on Twitter), Instant Tweetup’s developer, and he said that he plans on adding color-coding to the results list to indicate if someone is a follower. That’s a step in the right direction.

2) Provide an opt-out feature. Right now, to “opt-out” of the Instant Tweetup application, a Twitter user would have to turn off their geolocation setting and also remove their Location setting. This would be an important feature request if people started using the application in a non-targeted manner. If a local business started sending out tweets at me every single day at lunch time, I’d eventually want to turn it off.

QUESTIONS

Do you have any other suggestions on how to use the application? Is it something you would use? Leave a comment.