some 3dme tests… It’s still not stereo, but I’m learning.

rowmote is a $0.99 iphone app that emulates apple remote. that’s it. no screen feedback, just data input. I sent an email with ideas for the developer.
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even loosing the tactile feedback of the actual remote (I have to look at the iphone screen), at least I can use it anywhere at home.
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i have some suggestions, tho:
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is it possible to actually save commands? like, menu-down-down-play-down-play-down-play-play? that is my “shuffle all my songs”, BTW. why should I bother to type it in every single time?
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is it possible to attach also to when I enter network or whatever push-notification system related thingy? this way my iphone can notify my computer to play songs automatically when I get back home. sweet!
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and third, because there’s no tactile feedback, what about swipes instead?

• left/right swipes as previous/next
• up/down as volume
• one tap as play
• double-tap as menu

this way we don’t even need the visual representation… you can slap anything there, even ads. or news. or whatever, really.

Apple as the Gatekeeper

Yes, we all heard the arguments: On one hand, cellphones are critical devices and users can’t afford delays caused by bad code, so a gatekeeper is required. On the other hand, Apple can be as capricious as it wants - refusing applications out of whim, allowing big players access to undocumented features - and the developers can only swallow the pill and work around it.
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If Apple wants to be the gatekeeper, shouldn’t they offer something else in return? Below I write about two ideas that can only work correctly with a top-down approval system, like what Apple offers.

Gestures

The iPhone menu is broken: Moving one icon pushes all the others, hence no position is fixed and there’s no muscle memory (when you are so sure of your moves you don’t have to look to accomplish it).
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iPhone has 10K apps and growing, there’s simply no way you can create a one-size-fits-all menu off it. What to do?
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Then again, iPhone has a refined touchscreen, why be stuck in the old point-and-click method? Why not draw something on the screen, and summon the matching application? Upside-down V for Amazon, M for mail, S for safari, anywhere on the home screen, Presto!
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Yes, users need to learn each matching gesture, but application developers would be more than willing to educate them.
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But, developers can’t assign gestures willy-nilly to their apps, otherwise different apps could use the same gesture and that’s a problem. We need a top-down system to compare and approve the gesture library.

Link Redirect

This feature already exists for the default iPhone apps: I’m talking about when you receive a youtube link email, and iPhone opens the YouTube application instead of safari. The same happens with any google maps link.
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But what if I receive an Amazon link, and I have the Amazon iPhone app? Or what about a facebook profile? Or twitter? Currently iPhone disregards I have the applications installed, and points to safari.
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Link redirect allows applications to claim certain domains to itself, making sure it can display the information properly.
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Of course, this claiming stuff can be a little tricky: What if amazon doesn’t want to give access to a specific app? Someone has to be the gatekeeper huh? That’s Apple’s job.

Instapaper - free & pro

The Good: like the web counterpart, you save pages you wanna read for later.
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The Bad: the UI is weird… Don’t get me wrong, it’s ok, but the webversion is so ridiculously simple (clicking a link means you read it) so why complicate?
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The Suggestion:

• when I reach the end of the page, treats it as read, ok?
• keep images & text, but strips all the rest - I don’t care about sidebar or menu.
• if I turn tilt scrolling on, keep it on!

Twinkle - free

The Good: Cozy interface for my twitter friends. Heck, I check twinkle even when I’m on my computer. It’s more intimate, I dunno. Picture and GPS location too.
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The Bad: the pictures take too long to send, and it’s buggy to send, overall.
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The Suggestion:

• Thanks for hosting my pictures, but I already have a service and it’s flickr. Would you mind to create a bridge between the two? I post a twitter pic, it links to flickr, and the other way around?
• It… takes… too… long… to… post… I usually photograph water glasses, while waiting for the food and I’m bored. But guess what? the food comes before I can post it.
• The message tab shows only direct messages…. Can my @ messages be there too?
• Clicking on the twit gives me… the twit. again. What about the entire friend feed?
• The landscape "what’s up with the world is supper cool"… Can you make it 3D? this map is sooo ugly! Can I narrow it to my friends? Or whatever else?

Comic Viewer - jailbroken only

The Good: you can read comics on the iPhone
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The Bad: Oh, a lot. It’s hard to install. It gives you no clues on where to put the .cbz files (hint: it’s root/var/mobile/Media/Comic). It doesn’t offer you a way to add new files (use netatalk for that, also jailbroken). Hell, it doesn’t even show you the buttons! But you can read comics on the iPhone.
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The Suggestion:

• What about a manual? in english?
• Can I sync?
• Can it be a legit app?

Evernote - free, signin required, here

The Good: consolidate all your notes on the cloud, and check it anywhere.
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The Bad: Not much, really. Evernote is great! Ah, yeah: If I create a not on the desktop version with rich text (bold, italic, etc) I can’t edit it on the iPhone. Can you warn me before? Also, I can’t add checkboxes on the iPhone version, just check existing ones.
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The Suggestion:

• Let iPhone app create & edit checkboxes & tables, also
• Is there a way to share notebooks? not public, more like a small group?

Netatalk - jailbroken only

The Good: Automatically adds your iPhone on the desktop devices list.

The Bad: Nothing. Thanks for the app, a life saver and a must have for jailbroken files.

The Sugestion: It is a must have for jailbroken iPhones, can you make it as a default instalation?

PdaNet - jailbroken only

The Good: Use your iPhone as a modem.

The Bad: It sucks the battery: Make sure your iPhone is connected on a power source.

The Suggestion:

• Battery warning?
• A way to conceal my traffic as something legit? I don’t want AT&T banging on my door.

Cycorder - jailbroken only

The Good: video recorder on the iPhone.
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The Bad: it’s jailbroken only. That means, your iPhone can record video, but somehow apple doesn’t allow it. go figure.
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The Suggestion:

• Automatic sync? with my imovie or whatever other video editor?
• Can you be legit?
• Can I do minor editing? I know, I’m asking too much.

FileMagnet - $4.99

The Good: PDF reader for the iPhone (among other files). There are plenty on the market but FileMAgnet has a well resolved interface so it won me over.
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The Bad: it coughs on medium to big files.
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The Suggestion:

• Can I read .cbz files? It’s just a zip file with images on it… Be the first legit comics reader on the iPhone, please.
• I wanna use FileMagnet to read my ever growing PDF collection… Can you warn me (by email, twiter) if I stop reading a file, let’s say, after a week? nag me!
• Can I have 3 lists: One for ongoing files (on top), other for unread, and another for read files?
• Can I add notes? Can I email my friends my file, with notes?

Byline - $4.99

The Good: If you use google reader, byline is the app for you: sweet interface, offline reading, youtube integration…
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The Bad: it crashes. the notes & share features are worse than google’s originals.
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The Suggestion:

• Better shared readers integration: group, avatar, name.
• does Notes work? I’ve seen on my google shared items page, it seems it breaks the post…
• fix the Email Post feature… Original google reader sends the entire post (good) thru my gmail account (bad), iphone optimized page sends through my email (good) just the link (bad). Byline sends just the link, not customizable, and after that I have to climb all the way back to my position. It breaks the flow.
• can you please fix your icon? I always mistake the orange fee/coffee circular image for a warning.

Still waiting for…

A camera fix: hold home button, opens camera (overriding code). release home button, shoots. USB connect, automatic iphoto sync. Only jailbroken, huh?

now that the SDK rules are out, and any system improvement is out of the question, I’m thinking on partnering with an iphone developer for a jailbroken app.
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it should work this way:

1. click and hold home button opens camera app.
   • overrides password protection
   • respects current UI guidelines
2. release home button shoots picture.
   • picture viewing respects password protection
3. optional: automatic photo sync
4. optional: metadata editing (i can write, eh?)
   • add title
   • add description
   • add tags… er, keywords
   • add rating

those are the software-only mods I think of that can make iphone a badass picture-taking machine.
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original post here.

So, it’s February and iPhone’s SDK rules are soon to come. In this post I detail the apps I look forward to see.

Skype/Gizmo Project (voip)

Remember Safari’s safe browsing feature announcement? With shopping for xmas as an euphemism for surfing for porn? There you have it. When Apple’s say they want to “protect the network from malicious code”, they actually mean preventing voip from transforming network carriers into dumb pipes.
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kudos if apple can afford to get money from both ends, but that means not everything they do is for my best interests as a consumer. and if AT&T has employees planning their goals 24/7, we the grassroot community gotta think of ourselves too, otherwise noone will (everyone, clapping: dumb pipes! dumb pipes!).
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bonus points for address book/contacts integration: add a voip field under my contacts, so I can keep my list integrated.

Twitter (microblogging)

Ev Williams got it right, again. As email and google maps became sine-qua-non for smartphones, twitter will soon follow. Damn, how addictive it is, and how my twitter habits drained this blog away.
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bonus points if @username and direct messages interface emulates iPhone’s SMS, prompting me immediately. Think about it: it’s global SMS with none of the fees.

PDF reader/manager

iPhone’s built-in PDF reader is great, but there’s no way to access it if not from email attachments, which means you have to be connected and download each one individually.
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iTunes can subscribe to PDF podcasts so I thought iPhone could sync to it - as it does with video and audio - but apple’s sheer stupidity or some middle-aged-suit-on-cokeâ„¢ prevented it somehow.
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bonus points for torrents sync integration, send to a friend, and bookmarking/notes abilities.

Postcard it to a friend

Yes it’s true I can simply email pictures to my friends, but wouldn’t it be nice to have the ability to take a picture, write a note and send it as a print postcard to a chosen friend? Well, my address book has my contact’s address already… Well, someone thought of that. I can’t wait.
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bonus points for overseas delivery (I want to keep in touch with my brazilian family) and sleek - as in not-hallmark-like - templates. ah, and group contacts, good for networking and holiday events.

Sandy/Remember the milk/Basecamp App (GTD)

Hear apple’s notes/task list fiasco: mac’s notes/tasks sync to iphone - but as an email to myself, uneditable - while mac’s stickies and iphone’s notes sync with noone. at all. All the while I’m still waiting for a good GTD solution to carry around.
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Values of n, Remember the milk and 37 Signals seem to do a good job, online. I need an offline version of that to edit with my heart’s content.
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bonus points to whoever makes it faster, and easier. there’s a power law here, so the winner takes all.

Smart Camera Fix

I told about it before but I don’t mind repeating: click&hold home button, open camera. release, shoot. thank you.

Video Camera

Be it the lack of seamless experience (if you can’t edit and upload to youtube/podcast, why offer something incomplete?), lack of time or the lack of a revenue stream attached to it, Apple decided not to offer video recording on iPhone. But iPhone hackers everywhere proved you can record video, yes, with proof-of-concept projects ranging from 10 to 30fps. so why not?
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bonus points for basic editing features - I’m not talking about video editing, but basic favorites and rejected, tags and title, and iMovie integration.

AIR

I’m not talking about Macbook Air, but Adobe Integrated Runtime. bonus points for a dedicated iphone screen for the sandboxed applications.

Semacode Reader

Semacode is an open system 2D barcode that provides a link between physical objects and the Internet. You point and shoot the barcode, the system converts it into data and with iPhone’s integrated interface - maps, mail, contacts and web - there you go: from print to action.
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bonus points for link type management: maybe you want the maps links to open some other app, other than what apple provides you. and if you create new apps, you can always add a plugin to it.
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Imagine, you see a poster on the street, that invites you to talk to a representative: you point and click the semacode, that jumps to a skype call. from print to action, with no greedy middle man to spoil the fun: now that’s the future I want to live in.

I visited San Francisco for the first time this New Years Eve, and I fell in love with my iPhone all over again: the maps feature saved my life countless times, and having music, phone, camera & email on my pocket made my travel much more fun.
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I don’t wanna talk about the features we all know Apple needs to deliver, but below I propose some small improvements that would make my life easier.

Taking Pictures

Nowadays, in order to take a picture on the iPhone, you need to:

1. click home
2. drag slider
3. type passcode
4. click home again
5. click the camera icon
6. point and shoot

it’s a lot of steps for just one picture… why not simplify it? Like this:

1. click and hold the home button, opens camera (bypassing passcode entirely)
2. release the home button, takes picture

Since the home button is a physical one, I can even set the camera on my pocket yet, and take a picture right after i take it off.

Wireless Sync

Each iPhone/iPod is paired with a specific machine already, so why not allow wireless sync? It’s not that I need to set permissions for each sync, huh? even the new zunes have it!
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Ah, allow me to automatically sync my pictures to iphoto, and even edit name, description, tags and events.

Proximity Behaviors

My cellphone is always with me, and it’s considered a personal thing: in fact, we can say that my cellphone reveals my presence to machines around me. iPhone has bluetooth, so it would be nice to control my computer based on my proximity behaviors, like:

• Away from my computer
  • lock screensaver
  • switch to guest account after 5 minutes
  • set my iChat status to away
  • take an automatic snapshot if keyboard is used, email me right away (nah, that’s the paranoid in me. but allow us to create & share automator workflows)
• Back to my computer
  • unlock scrensaver
  • set iChat status to available (or Current iTunes Song, if that’s the case)
  • play song (welcome home, master!)
• Picking up calls
  • Pause iTunes, QuickTime, FrontRow
  • Open Address Book Contact notes (Edit Mode)
• Ending calls
  • Resume iTunes, QuickTime, FrontRow

Security

speaking of it, there’s a security breach under passcode settings. The system should ask for my passcode before I change the Auto-Lock. Without it, someone can steal my iPhone and change the settings before the auto-lock sets in, invalidating it.