Clear for iPhone

I don't often post about iOS apps (there are simply too many), however every so often one comes along that is worth making an exception for.

Anyone that reads LifeinTECH will know I am a fan of apps that "do one thing well". Clear for iPhone is a beautiful, intuitive to-do list application, which in my opinion nails its one task like no other. To see what I mean check out the promotion video:

As you can see from the video the app has no buttons, but is still incredibly simple and obvious to use (I also love the "Nintendo sounds"). By featuring basic gestures (pinch and swipe) you can efficiently swoop in and out of lists as well as view, create and update tasks. Having used the app for a couple of weeks I can confirm it is a pleasure to work with, especially when compared to other to-do apps, which are often over-engineered and packed full of unneeded "power features".

Clear for iPhone is available now on the App Store for the bargain price of £0.69.

Let's talk iPhone

Today Apple officially sent out the invitations for their highly anticipated "Next Generation" iPhone event.

Apple are expected to announce a number of new products and services at the event, specifically iOS 5.0, which has been in beta since WWDC and iCloud, which is their new integrated cloud synchronisation service for Mac OS X and iOS. However, as we already know a lot about these two items, the real star of the show will be the next generation iPhone or potentially iPhone's!

So what do I think we'll see from the new iPhone(s)? Over the past couple of months there has been a lot of wild speculation regarding whether Apple will release an iPhone 4S, an iPhone 5, or both. Personally I believe they will be releasing two new products.

I think the flagship product will be the iPhone 5, which will come with a new form factor (probably slimmer, with a tapered edge) and will of course feature a faster processor (the A5 from the iPad 2), more memory (maybe 1GB) and more interestingly a slightly larger screen (approximately 4-inch). With that said, I don't believe the hardware will be the main selling feature, in my opinion Apple will announce full voice integration (based on Nuance), allowing you to navigate your phone, send text messages, etc, all touch free (hence - Let's talk iPhone).

I think the second new product will be a modified iPhone 4, which will look essentially the same as the current model (including the screen size), but will include some minor hardware enhancements (processor, etc). I believe the unique selling point will be a new lower price, with the emphasis on emerging markets such as China. I've been predicting this strategy for a while, as it follows a similar product lifecycle to the highly successful iPod range, allowing Apple go after a new demographic and therefore rapidly expand their potential audience. If this strategy works like it did with the iPod Nano, then we could see a significant boost in iPhone sales for the Christmas period.

With that said, considering this is Apple, there is a high chance that I am completely wrong and maybe instead they will announce new printers after all. Everything will be revealed on Tuesday 4 October 2011.

iPhone Tracker

Earlier this year it was discovered that the iPhone tracks and stores your location based on triangulation against the nearest cell-phone towers. This information is then stored on your local computer (Mac or PC) as part of your iPhone backup procedure. Although there is no evidence that this information ever leaves your iPhone or the computer you backup to, it is clear the data collection is intentional, as the required file is transferred across devices when you restore or migrate.

So what's changed? Have Apple finally explained the reason behind this data collection? Well, the short answer is no, however for the first time the clever guys over at iPhone Tracker have created an open-source Mac OS X application that analyses your iPhone backup data and displays the location information against a map. The video below shows the application in action and how scarily accurate it is, even allowing you to play it as a timeline:

The application is available for Mac OS X and is free to use. The developers have promised that no data leaves your Mac (which I have confirmed) and if you are privacy conscious, they also provide detailed instructions on how to clear the data. For all the information and the download link head over to iPhone Tracker.

Update on Thursday, April 28, 2011 at 7:04AM by Matt (LifeinTECH)

Yesterday, All Things D conducted a phone interview with Steve Jobs and other Apple senior executives, covering the iPhone location tracking controversy.

As expected Apple justified their reason for completing this type of tracking (which they call crowdsourced) and reassured users that it is completely anonymous and cannot be used to locate an individual.

They did however say they had discovered a bug regarding how the crowdsourced data is stored for users who have location services switched off. This will be resolved in a future iOS update.

For the full transcript of the interview head over to All Things D.

O2 Now Includes Tethering

Yesterday O2 revised their UK mobile phone tariffs and for the first time you now get tethering as standard if your deal includes a data bundle. This is great news for iPhone users as it means you can take advantage of the new Mobile Hotspot feature included in iOS 4.3. The new pay monthly tariffs can be seen below, but the deal is also offered on O2's SIM only tariffs (Simplicity). 

As you can see all "Data Allowance" is now handled as a bundle, allowing you to add either 100MB, 500MB or 1GB per month (unfortunately there is no unlimited option). All of the data bundles allow you to use your allowance any way you want (either on your mobile device or tethered).

These new tariffs actually work out better then O2's previous plans, for example I was paying £35pm for 300mins, unlimited texts and 500MB data, however to add tethering it cost an additional £7.50pm, resulting in a total of £42.50. Under the new tariffs I can now get the same deal with tethering included for £37pm.

The other great thing is that if you are over halfway through your current contract you can switch to one of these new tariffs, without needing to extend your existing contract (which is exactly what I did). The easiest way to do this is to give O2 a call. Once complete, your new tariff will normally take effect within 24 hours and if you are using an iPhone the Mobile Hotspot option automatically becomes available.

For more details on the new tariffs head over to O2's pricing page.

Ten Years

How far we've come:

By Brett Jordan