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iPhone gets NFC hook-up
North England To Replace Satanic Mills With iPhone App Factories
iPhone Apps Run Background Checks On Your Date
Users Should Be Smug, And Why The Apple iPhone Makes You Feel Smarter
When the City is Your Office, Let WorkSnug Show You Where to Connect
iPhone gets NFC hook-up
The Register's Bill Ray reports:
iPhone owners lamenting the lack of NFC capability can now plug in the iCarte from Wireless Dynamics, providing short-range wireless at the cost of a little extra length.
Those who can't wait for the next iPhone, or believe Apple lacks the nerve to fit Near Field Communications internally, now have the option of plugging NFC capability into the bottom of their handsets, making the phone a little longer but extending its reach by several centimetres.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/19/iphone_nfc/
North England To Replace Satanic Mills With iPhone App Factories
The Register's Bill Ray reports:
Offical boosters for the North of England have been looking at iPhone development, and published a guide for entrepreneurial Northerners on how to get their apps noticed.
Regional development body Northwest Vision and Media body tries to promote development of the digital economy up North, and reckons that iPhone application development is worthy of a punt or two. With that in mind it hired some consultants to find out what makes one iPhone app stand out in the galaxy of mediocrity that is the iTunes store.
Editor's note:
Incidentally, if anyone is puzzled by the "Satanic Mills" reference in the title, it refers to an 1804 poem entitled "And did those feet in ancient time" by William Blake at the height of the Industrial Revolution and its and its destruction of nature and human relationships. The work is best known today as the hymn "Jerusalem" with music written by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916. The poem was inspired by the apocryphal story that a young Jesus, accompanied by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea, travelled to the area that is now England and visited Glastonbury, implying that the visit of Jesus briefly created a heaven in England, in contrast to its post-industrial-revolution "dark Satanic Mills. For more information, visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_did_those_feet_in_ancient_time
For the full report visit here:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/11/19/iphone_apps_in_england/
iPhone Apps Run Background Checks On Your Date
Network World's Brad Reed reports:
In a move that is sure to make playboys everywhere nervous, Internet company PeopleFinders has created two iPhone applications that let users perform background checks on their potential dates.
For the full report visit here:
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/111809-iphone-apps-background-checks.html
Users Should Be Smug, And Why The Apple iPhone Makes You Feel Smarter
ZNet's Andrew Nusca says:
Manufacturers build an awful lot of complexity into their gadgets, but very few of them take pains to hide it — leaving users confused, bewildered and angry
MAYA Design's Mickey McManus says products should be so intuitive that a customer feels silly explaining to another how it works.
And by silly, I mean smug — as in, "Isn't it obvious?"
That's why the Apple iPhone is so popular…it appears so obvious to use that you feel a little smug using it.
For the full commentary visit here:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/gadgetreviews/?p=9553&tag=content;col1
When the City is Your Office, Let WorkSnug Show You Where to Connect
[Press Release]
When the city is your office and the options are endless, finding the perfect café or coffee shop to serve as your mobile workspace can be overwhelming, especially if you're in a hurry. WorkSnug.com, in association with Plantronics, has launched a groundbreaking application for the iPhone 3GS that guides mobile workers to the nearest and best places to connect to the Internet, all by simply holding up their phone. There's no 'clicking through' required; WorkSnug uses Augmented Reality so that users can see Wi-Fi hotspots and potential workspaces in their vicinity right on their screen alongside their real-life surroundings. Finding the perfect mobile office, that also happens to come with the best cappuccino in the city, has never been easier.
"Work, in the traditional sense, has changed. It's no longer a place we go, it's a thing we do - we're mobile, and the city is our office," said Richard Leyland, founder of WorkSnug. "With the seemingly unlimited choices of places to work, ranging from noisy cafes to more formal co-working spaces, WorkSnug is the first tool to make sense of this emerging world."
With WorkSnug, users simply hold up and point their iPhone, and the potential connection spots float alongside the real-life, real-time image of the users' environment. To help users find the best workspace for their needs, the WorkSnug team has discovered and reviewed hundreds of places to work - from family-run cafés to formal co-working spaces - and offers personal observations, including a guide to power provision, atmosphere, noise levels and even the quality of the coffee. In addition, WorkSnug users can suggest new places, review their favourite workspaces and will soon be able to connect with other local users and create ad-hoc co-working communities. Best of all, the application and all of these services are completely free of charge.
Richard Leyland also mentions that, "WorkSnug is much more than just an iPhone App, it is about building a community of like-minded individuals who are passionate about the places in which they can work. WorkSnug gives the community a voice, and the content will grow ever richer as participation grows."
After visiting many hundreds of places to work, WorkSnug found that the largest single barrier to productive and relaxing work, or even just making a call, was noise. This is why each workspace is rated by the WorkSnug team for its ambient noise-levels.
"We're thrilled to be a part of the development of WorkSnug," said Stuart Bradshaw, Marketing Manager at Plantronics. "As audio specialists and leading experts in the headset market, we understand the importance of a quality sound environment for mobile workers and fully support their effort to improve the overall mobile work experience."
Currently launching for the London metro area, WorkSnug will soon also be available for the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, Berlin and Madrid. The website WorkSnug.com, which is scheduled to become active in early 2010, will mirror the functionality of the iPhone app while providing a complete platform for mobile work community building.
For a first-hand glance at WorkSnug in action, visit:
http://www.worksnug.com
To get the app, click here:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/worksnug/id336597081?mt=8
or search for WorkSnug in the iTunes Store.
WorkSnug exists to connect mobile workers to the nearest and best places to work. It strives to develop a community of all those for whom the city is their office.
WorkSnug was founded in London by Richard Leyland, a futurist and entrepreneur. Richard is an expert commentator on the future of work and has provided insight into the future for many of the world's largest technology firms, broadcasters, professional services organisations and others.
In 1969, a Plantronics headset carried the historic first words from the moon: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Since then, Plantronics has become the headset of choice for mission-critical applications such as air traffic control, emergency dispatch and the New York Stock Exchange. Today, this history of innovation is the basis for every audio product we build for the office, contact centre, personal mobile, entertainment and residential markets. The Plantronics family of brands includes Plantronics, Altec Lansing and Clarity. For more information, go to:
http://www.plantronics.com or call 0800 410014
WorkSnug:
http://www.worksnug.com/
WorkSnug in the iTunes Store:
http://tinyurl.com/ykklgwu
Social Network Video:
Worksnug - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z_Q3yl4NjM
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