Some Must-Have Location-Aware (LBS) Applications for your Apple iPhone 3G
Written by Glenn Letham
11 July 2008
Ok, you've got your shiny, new 3G Apple iPhone... now what?? Well, to start, you'll need to get familiar with the Apple iStore, this is where you'll find loads of applications, many of them are cool, location-aware applications taking advantage of the devices' integrated GPS. Read on for some cool, suggested apps.
Wayfinder Power Search for iPhone and iPod Touch is a powerful search tool that provides more than 100 million points of interest available through a simple web interface. Responses include the display of pictures and in-depth descriptions of restaurants, hotels, bars, museums and other types of location information thanks to content partners such as Tele Atlas, Wcities and Yellow and White pages providers around the world. To get it, simply enter getwf.com into your browser on the device and add the page to the Home Screen. www.wayfinder.com
Whrrl, from Pelago, is the first service to give iPhone and iPod touch users a highly personalized view of the world around them. It identifies and continually surfaces the people, places and events that are interesting by combining personalization technology and social networking. Whrrl lets you see where your friends are and what they’re doing in real-time, it lights up your map with their activity history and combines that with deep factual data. Available at www.itunes.com/appstore
Travelocity App for iPhone 3G - The TravelTools application will include a new location-based feature called “Hotels Near Me” which provides a dynamic list of nearby hotels, with links to maps, hotel descriptions, and booking options. The TravelTools application will be available as a free download worldwide from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.
Must have... SHOZU - With ShoZu installed, iPhone users can upload any photo captured with the device’s built-in camera or saved to the iPhone photo library to Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket, Kodak EasyShare Gallery, Google Blogger, WordPress and more than 40 other sites without opening a browser or creating multiple messages. Simply select the destinations of your choice from the ShoZu interface, add tags and titles, and tap “send.” www.ShoZu.com
WHERE location-aware widgets for iPhone 3G - Award-Winning Application Enables Users to Easily Discover Nearby People, Places and Things. WHERE gives users access to the world’s most comprehensive set of location-based widgets. WHERE widgets available on the iPhone and iPod Touch include: Local Search - the easiest way for users to find what they need, My Places - allows users to ‘tag’ places they like so they can find their way back again, Yelp - makes it easy to find out what other people are saying about nearby restaurants and businesses, Eventful - lets users find nearby happenings, including concerts, sporting events and more, BuddyBeacon - lets users share their location with friends and see which of their friends are close to their own current location. See www.where.com
Gas Buddy widget from WHERE as seen on iPhone 3g Starbucks store locator widget from WHERE
NYTimes iPhone application - Reports have it that this is one of the best mobile news reading application ever!!! Features of the NYTimes iPhone application include:
* Offline reading – access The Times's sections and articles to read on and offline. * Simple navigation – view articles and pictures quickly. * Photo view – browse the news in pictures and link to the related articles. * Customization options – select four favorite sections of The Times for one-touch access. Get the NY Time app from http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/iphonefaq.html
Greystripe now offers iPhone game developers an SDK which integrates advertising and reporting APIs and creates the opportunity to make money off every use of their applications and every play of their addictive iPhone games. http://www.greystripe.com. Greystripe’s iPhone SDK supports standardized, full screen square (320x320) advertisements to provide advertisers a new canvas size for their brand messages in pre-, interstitial and post-roll inventory. Application and game developers can add Greystripe’s iPhone APIs and start monetizing their content immediately by signing up at http://iphone.greystripe.com/register.
Limbo began as a mobile social-games company where members socialize and play games via text messaging or online. Limbo amplifies the social lives of its two million members by making it easier to connect with friends in the real world. The app provides: * Activity matching. * Group Chat. * Viral Location. For phones without GPS or other LBS (Location Based Service) technology, Limbo offers ‘viral location’. Using a drag and drop action or a single text message command, users can adopt the location of a friend or a group simply by joining them. * Cross platform. * Free. Limbo is free to use for all members. www.limbo.com.
Pocket Express is a simple and convenient way to access news and information on the iPhone and iPod touch, whether it’s the top news headlines of the day, the current score of the game your favorite team is playing, or even your flight status. All of the services within Pocket Express are combined into one, simple interface, so there is no need to navigate between different applications. The content comes from trusted sources, including the Associated Press and the Official Airlines Guide (OAG). What, no GISuser or LBSzone news??? ;0) www.handmark.com.
Packet8 MobileTalk - Featuring mobile international calling rates such as $.01 per minute to China, $.02 per minute to the U.K., $.03 per minute to Mexico and $.059 per minute to India, the Packet8 MobileTalk service enables cell phone users to significantly reduce their international phone bills and maintain high digital voice quality while still enjoying the convenience and flexibility of on-the- go mobile calling. http://www.packet8.net/mobile_services/supported_phones.aspx.
MIM multi-modality imaging application for iPhone and iPod touch - This application provides multi-planar reconstruction of data sets from CT, PET, MRI and SPECT, as well as multi-modality image fusion. With the multi-touch interface, users can adjust image sets and planes, fusion blending, window/level, and zoom. All data is transferred and stored with secure encryption to ensure patient privacy. http://www.mimvista.com/
Elephant Outlook's managed Microsoft Exchange services. Apple's iPhone, with the newly released software version 2.0, can now integrate directly with Microsoft Exchange via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync. The upgrade provides users with push email, contacts, and calendar meetings as they happen. http://www.elephantoutlook.com/iphone
location-aware photo sharing - SnapMyLife (http://www.snapmylife.com/) is a rapidly growing mobile social media site that enables anyone with a camera phone and mobile web access to snap and share photos, keep tabs on their network of friends and family, or just browse great photos from around the world. Share and view photos from around the world on their mobile phones
location-aware weather application - MyWeather's maps and the iPhone's geolocation technology enables users to pinpoint their exact whereabouts and display radar loops in stunning quality -- right down to street level. By simply touching the screen, users can view weather conditions at their exact spot, or zero in on any area of interest throughout the U.S. with a pinch, flick or zoom. MyWeather Mobile is available to download beginning today for just $14.99. For more information on MyWeather Mobile, visit http://www.myweather.com/iphone.
These are but a few of the applications available on iPhone 3G launch date. Most are available from the Apple Application Store and many more will come in the near future, like spatial Networking's WhereYouGonnaBe - see http://www.spatialnetworking.com/
Besides the fact that I'm already locked into a T-Mobile plan that is serving me well (well, it's ok!) there's a few key features that iPhone 3G should have... expandable memory card slot (like a Micro SD) video ( in this day and age no mobile video... come on, you gotta have it) 5 mega pixel digital camera is a must (currently comes with a 2 MP) spotty 3G coverage costly monthly plan - you'll be dropping $1000 easily this year on your iPhone 3g Hang tough and I'm sure I'll come up with a few other key features. The real kicker with iPhone 3G though is iPhone 2.0, the software upgrade that enables mobile application developers to create apps for this platform... its the apps man, that's what will be killer! Think about it, with this great UI and nice, large screen you can now easily read the New York Times from cover to cover on a phone.. try doing this on any other device, your eyes will likely bug out of your head by page 3! Check out LBSzone.com for details of just a few, new, cool LBS apps running on iPhone 3g. Any thoughts???
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
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