Uba Kontrovasie

My iPhone

I’ve had it for a few months now, yes I was one of those sad people queuing outside the O2 store during the first month they came out.

This little gadget has seriously changed the way I work these days, here’s why:

- It syncs with my calendar at the office
- It syncs with with my work e-mail in real-time via the exchange
- The internet is fast enough for me to read my RSS feeds on it each morning en route to the office
- I have a better back because I do not need to a lug a laptop with me everywhere I go mon-fri

I haven’t massively got into all the fun applications just yet, however, here’s my run down of the ones that I’ve found the most useful:

Shozu - lets you upload pics from your iPhone to Flickr
Evernote - my “cloud” notepad of choice
Facebook for iPhone, need I explain any further
Twittereffic - All things twitter
Wordpress - Blogging on the fly
Google.co.uk/reader/i - access to my feeds
Light Saber - Yes a Light Saber on your iPhone (hours of fun)

Another app I also recommend is EventSync for the Mac, not an iPhone App as such but it lets you sync all Facebook events to iCal and iTunes does the rest by syncing everything to your handset. I’ve given up on the Upcoming + Facebook app working, it just keeps dying and not syncing both ways.

My criticisms? bad battery life, I’ve had to drop the screen brightness right down to make the battery last a full busy day. Also the camera could be better, they could have quite easily incorporated an LED flash like they did on the Sony K750 a few years ago.

Rant and praise over, hope you guys find the tips useful.

Tags: 3G, Apple, eventsync, evernote, facebook, flickr, ical, iphone, phone application, phone applications, shozu, twitteriffic, upcoming, wordpress

Benefits of Microblogging - A real world example

Microblogging has so many versatile marketing uses, however, clients question why they should use microblogs and what are the real benefits?

I could probably sit here and write 10 or more obvious reasons, however, one of the most important reasons has to be search engine visibility…I will lend you my real world example:

I bought a lovely pair of Nike Vomero 3 running shoes two weeks ago and ever since I have been busy putting them through their paces. As I have been so happy with them I decided to do a few searches in order to see what other people had to say about them.

As soon as I queried “Nike Vomero3” a twitter tweet ranked No.2 (Google UK & No.1 Google UK (UK)) providing a good review of the shoe. So there we are, there’s the head smacker…search engine visibility!

Not only are microblogs social media platforms which syndicate information, facilitate conversation and enable community building; they are also capable of providing good search engine visibility over time. This is something that many DR centric brands will value.

Tags: DR, Micro Blogging, microblog, social media, tweet, Twitter

Chrome Androids

Well I guess there’s been a lot of talk about Chrome over the last couple of days and using it today I have to say I’m mighty impressed with load speeds, fast as promised!

What I’ve been even more impressed with recently is Google Android, the new Google OS for mobile phones. I believe it will be the first mobile OS to rival the Apple’s mobile version of OSX 10, which harnesses Apples “Core animation” using MBX 3D hardware; this stuff was the tipping point for me to go out and buy a handset.

Google seem deadly serious about tipping the mobile market on its head (once again) as the SDK for Android has been made available for developers to start putting together applications. In addition to this a fund of $10,000,000 has been set aside to reward developers who develop the best applications.

Chrome will no doubt be a part of the Android package and I look forward to seeing what type of handset houses Android…we hope it matches the practicality and the aesthetics of the iPhone.

Above everything else Chrome and Android are further indicators of the direction Google is taking to become a credible technology company and not just an internet property/media owner with frills. With free high end web applications, a blazingly fast browser and a cutting edge Mobile OS, I think we’re close to seeing Google provide a fully extended OS for webbook style devices in the not too distant future.

Tags: android, Apple, chrome, Google, mobile OS, operating systems, osx, osx 10

Brands start using the iPhone as a marketing tool

I’ve had my iphone for just over a month now and I’ve been looking at all the clever things you can do with it. Facebook, twitter, wordpress and IM are all now accessible via my handset.

With all the technology available I was keen to see which large brands would have a hit with using the iphone as marketing tool. Well it turns out it’s Audi with their A4 driving challenge game.

It has become the second most popular download from the Apple free apps store. The game uses iPhone motion sensor technology to provide a game which people will keep playing time and time again, a great way to keep people engaged!

Also well done to Carling who put together iPint, lots of virtual drinking fun here…but can we please stop placing an “i” before every single iPhone app.

I’m yet to see any non-digital brands put really useful brand utilities within the free apps store, I guess it’s only a matter of time.

Over a year ago brands were competing over widgets and now thanks to the iPhone and the halo effect it’s had on the rest of the mobile market I am sure we will see brands run to provide the best mobile brand utility, not just for the iPhone but the generation of other handsets posing to be iPhone alternatives.

Tags: Apple, Brand Utilities, iPhone motion sensor technology, iphone, mobile applications

Apple launch iPhone 3G

Steve Jobs officially unveiled the iPhone 3G at the WWDC 2008 event yesterday. What can I say…it’s already on my wish list! What’s even more impressive is that Apple provided independent developers an SDK, which has really improved some of the functionality the new phone has to offer.
With Apple and others launching SDK’s for their platforms, it won’t be long before we see media/creative agencies launching branded apps for the iPhone.

The keynote included a speech by a part time developer from the UK who built a music application in his spare time, the application was so impressive it’s now available to buy on Apple’s apps store.
Apple are being really clever about ways to fuel to their ideas. If 1000’s of independent developers compile useful apps for their hardware it’s creative fuel for Apple themselves to make their own applications better by getting soo much free exposure to good ideas.

Apple has made the iPhone 3G available for $199 USD across 22 core markets, which will eventually be 70 worldwide markets by the end of 2008. Apple making their phone affordable and attractive will increase the numbers of people who are on faster mobile bandwidths.

So is this truly the year for mobile? We hope so in the new media world at least. The iPhone 3G will have an effect on the 3G mobile market akin to the effect that Magners had on cider. The launch of one key product had a halo effect on sales for cider across the industry and across all brands.

3G has been around for years but with the launch of the iPhone 3G people will re-investigate the technology and Apples’ offering. Not everybody will go for the iPhone as some will still prefer Windows Mobile or Symbian powered handsets for the sake of full desktop compatibility.

The main point still sticks however, the launch of this phone will inadvertently increase the sales of 3G devices across the mobile sector.

Well done to Apple for not only developing a very slick piece of hardware but also adding a new lease of life to the 3G comms market.

Right…where’s my wallet and my PUK code ☺

Tags: 3G, 3G devices, Apple, iphone, media world, media/creative agencies, Mobile, new media, Steve Jobs, United Kingdom, USD