2009 April | AppJive

Convertbot

On April 27, 2009, In Convertbot, Reviews, tapbots, by Matt Sawyers

Pros:
-Sleek Interface
-Sounds & animation to go with each “screen” or tap
-Complex conversions

Cons:
-Takes quite long to update currencies at app start up (quicker in airplane mode, due to currencies not updating)
-“Wheel” ‘clicks’ into place rather than smoothly rolling.

4.5/5

$0.99

Overall:
ConvertBot is by Tapbots – the developers of WeightBot and for those of you that love the way the application operates, this one will not let you down.
This is probably the sleekest conversion application I have seen with its cool animations and sounds. However, the only issues I ran into – it takes longer than I thought the program should take to load. At first I believed that it was the app itself checking an Internet connection to update the currency conversions, but when I put my iPhone in Airplane mode, it took just as long. But it is a good thing to note that even though the currencies could not update, the program is still usable.

The sleek interface is what really makes this app so nice. This has to be the coolest working Conversion app for the iPhone. The “wheel” that takes up the main part of the screen can be rotated to set the conversion type:

Angles: Degree, Radian, & Grad
Area: Square Meter, Square Centimeter, Square Millimeter, Square Mile, Acre, Square Kilometer, Square Yard, Square Foot, Square Inch
Currency: Australian Dollar, Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Danish Krone, Euro, Pound Sterling (UK), Japanese Yen, Mexican Peso, Swedish Krona, US Dollar
Length: Foot, Meter, Inch, Centimeter, Mile, Kilometer, Nautical Mile, Yard, Millimeter, Foot+Inch
Mass: Milligram, Kilogram, Pound, Ounce, Gram, Stone, Stone+Pound, Metric Ton, Pound+Ounce
Power: Watt, Horsepower, Kilowatt, BTU/Minute, Foot-Pound/Minute, Foot-Pound/Second
Pressure: Pound/Square Inch, Centimeters of Mercury, Inches of Mercury, Kilogram/Square Meter, Pascal, Atmospheres, Bars, Pounds/Square Foot
Speed: Miles/Hour, Kilometers/Hour, Knots, Miles/Second, Miles/Minute, Feet/Minute, Feet/Second, Kilometers/Minutes
Temperature: Celsius, Kelvin, Fahrenheit
Time: Second, Millisecond, Microsecond, Nanoseconds, Year, Week, Day, Hour, Minute, Hour + Minute
Volume: Cup, Teaspoon, Tablespoon, Cubic Feet, Gallon (UK), Quart, Pint, Ounce, Cubic Meter, Gallon (US), Liter, Milliliter, Cubic Centimeter
Work (Energy): Kilogram Calorie, Foot Pound, Newton Meter, Joule, BTU, Erg, Watt Hour, Calorie
And more…

Once you have rotated the wheel to the type/category, then you tap on the bottom left button and you use the “wheel” to select the specific conversion unit, take the center blue button, “ok” and it locks that unit in. This unit is the unit you are converting from. The other black button is the unit you want to convert to. You repeat the same process of locking in the unit.

By tapping on the top “number screen,” this opens up a keypad so that you can type in the amount you are converting from. The application has a live update, in which the app auto converts as you type the number into the app. Tapping on the “number screen” again brings back the conversion “wheel”

You can tap on the center wheel to switch the units if you need to.

By tapping on the “i” icon you can view the Settings which allows you to turn the sound on or off as well as the choice of viewing the Demo (which is quite a nice feature in the app).

Issues:
-Would like to have the “wheel” spin more smoothly, rather than “clicking” into place.
-Not as common currencies are not available in the app. (exe.: Argentinian Pesos or Chilean Peso)

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Popularity: unranked [?]

Tagged with: utilities

Readdledocs

On April 27, 2009, In File Management, iPhone, Productivity, Readdle, Reviews, by Matt Sawyers

Pros
-Multiple ways of retrieving documents onto your iPhone
-512MB of server storage
-nice document viewer
-document logos make finding documents easier
-Ability to sync iPhone with server & vice versa
-Book marking in documents

Cons
-In doc viewer, tapping bottom of screen makes doc auto scroll, can be annoying at times
-Has trouble handling large documents (for me, some files over about 8MB crashed the app)
-Viewing *.xls (or of the like) documents doesn’t always format correctly
-Viewing *.ppt (or of the like) format into one long page

4.1/5

Video

Mobile Version

OVERALL

In my opinion the Pros out weigh the Cons and the price tag of $9.99 is completely worth it. To have the ability of getting my document on my hand held and having them at my finger tips is worth it. I was on a film set when I was asked to operate a Sony F900 camera. Luckily, I was able to go to a website using the browser interface and download the manual on my iPhone and had the ability to quickly skim through it and figure out how to use the camera.

ReaddleDocs is a document viewer that basically covers all the ways of getting the document onto you iPhone – so there is no way that you cannot have your documents on hand.

When you purchase ReaddleDocs, you also receive 512MB of storage space on their server. This allows you to upload any documents to the server via any browser and then sync them with you iPhone via any data connection (EDGE/3G/WIFI).
When you tap on the “Online” tab, you select the server you want to connect to and then you have the ability to sync with the server so that any new documents that you have retrieved via the web (on the server) will backup to your iPhone.

Besides using your Readdle Storage space, you can also connect to your MobileMe iDisk or connect to a WebDAV enabled server.

A second way of getting documents onto your iPhone is by forwarding your attached document in an e-mail to you ReaddleDocs e-mail address (given to you when you create your online account). Then, again, you sync you iPhone with your account.

A third way, is to use the built-in browser and navigate to a document then tap on a button to download the document to your iPhone.

A fourth and final way is to transfer the documents from your computer to your iPhone via WiFi.

When viewing your documents, you can edit them – delete, move, create folders, rename folders, rename documents, mail documents, and add a document to a zip achieve.

All documents that can normally be viewed on the iPhone can be viewed via this application as well.

I really like the icons that it uses to represent the type of file
(red icon for pdf files, blue icon to doc files, etc.)

INTERFACE

Within the app you can view all your documents, view your online documents (through whichever server,) use the browser, view recently opened files and adjust settings for the app.

I think for the most part those screen are self-explanatory.

I also like the document “reader” interface. When viewing files such as *.doc, *.rtf, the viewer is simple – you can scroll through your document like you would in the iPhone document viewer, however, you have and “add” button at the top, which allows you to insert bookmarks for that document. I find this incredibly convenient when reading a large document or e-book. The toolbar at the bottom of the screen allows you to view and edit bookmarks, e-mail the document, scroll through a document quickly using the slider and a full screen button.

If you turn the iPhone to the landscape position, it automatically goes to full-screen and rotates the document accordingly.

When viewing an *.xls document, you have all the same features as above. At the top of the document, you can change between the sheets. You might also notice that when switching between sheets, arrows will appear at the bottom of the screen. These arrows are much like the arrows you would use in the browser.

When viewing images, you can view them much like you would in your photo reel, just tap the arrows to move through the pictures within that folder. You can also mail the documents via this image viewer.

Besides viewing and retrieving documents, you can also view the device photos (which might prove a faster way of delete picture on your iPhone if you have to do it that way.)

SETTINGS

In the setting screen, you have the ability to view or hide the “device photos” folder, setup mail settings – mail from and mail signature; allow WiFi network drive and apply username and password; several different viewing options including “view HTML as book”; you can also enable a passcode lock; and setup the document encoding.

ISSUES ENCOUNTERED

There is no way to move the images to your iPhone photo reel or set as wallpaper functions, while the picture is on my iPhone in a sense, I cannot actually do anything with it unless I email it to myself and do it that way. I don’t always have a data connection when I am traveling so it would be nice to move the images over to do what I wish with them.
When viewing the a PowerPoint document, the slides seems to form one large “page” (see screen shot).

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Popularity: unranked [?]

Tagged with: business

Vine2Wine

On April 27, 2009, In database, Lifestyle, Reviews, Vine2Wine, Wine, by Matt Sawyers

Pros
-Easy Navigation
-Interesting and quick navigation within terminology lists

Cons
-Not all the grape varieties have pronunciations
-No way to add notes.

Overall I think this is a neat little reference guide. While you might find more information about each of the term on the Internet (and I’d like to see the option for more information on the grape varieties). I think this application handles the information very well and it’s quick and easy to use.

Vine2Wine is a wine drinker’s reference guide, whether you are a beginner wanted to learn the lingo or even for intermediates.

The app is simple. On the main screen you choose from three categories:

Grape Varieties
Wine terminology
Wine Tastes

In the Grape Varieties list view. The different grape varieties are listed and depending on what type of grape it uses it is represented by a correlating purple of white grapes next to each variety. Also within the list view you have the phonetic pronunciation for the terms for quick reference. If you tap on one of the Varieties it will give you some information about it – such as color, flavors, & history.

As for the Wine terminology and Wine Tastes list views, each term is listed and a small part of the first line can be seen. If you tap on the term, rather than going to a new screen, the list expands to display the full text. I thought this was a really cool feature as it was quick and easy to navigate between the terms within the list.

All the lists are just like your contacts list in that they have the letter scroll bar on the right-hand side of the screen.

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Popularity: unranked [?]

Wallpaper Maker Pro

On April 27, 2009, In maker, Reviews, Wallpaper, by Matt Sawyers

Wallpaper Maker adds your contact info to any picture on your iPhone.

Pros:
-Easy & Simple UI
-Up to 3 lines of information
-Colors of text & bar blend in with standard iPhone theme.
-Choose whether your info is at the top of bottom.
-Ability to customize font color of size

Cons:
-Horizontal photos are cropped and stretched

4.6/5

Overall:
I think this is a handy application to have. I’d really like to see the ability to choose whether you would like to crop horizontal photos or have them centered. I can see this application staying on my iPhone for a little while, then being deleted, only to be resurrected when I want to change my wallpaper.

The application itself is very simple.

When you first starts the app, you enter your contact info (Name, Phone, & e-mail). While it asks you for these things, I suppose you could enter any information you wanted to in the blanks. However, the first line will be a little bigger than the rest of the text. The color and the font of the text can be changed later.

This screen will not appear again, unless you tap the edit button within the app.

In the main part of the app, you select a picture from your photo roll (or take one with your camera). Then you select whether you want your info to appear just below the time (Top) or right above the slide-to-unlock button (bottom.) Next you can set the size of the font and the type of font.
You also have the ability to change the color for each line of information. To view all the different colors, merely scroll through them like you would with your contacts. Then you can either preview your image or save your wallpaper. Photos are saved to the camera roll. The app also provides instructions on how to set your wallpaper in case you’re unsure on how to.

That’s it! That’s all that is to it. It’s a very simple app and very
easy to use.

Issues:
The app stretches, centers, & crops horizontal photos to the screen rather than centering them, like they appear in the camera roll

NOTE: You might notice that I have icons in-line with my text on my wallpaper. I used the emoticons-keyboard to get these.

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Popularity: unranked [?]

Tagged with: utilities

Pano vs. Panorama

On April 27, 2009, In Pano, Panorama, Reviews, by Matt Sawyers

So what do I think is the better app? Panorama. Read below to see why.

Versus Overall:
I find Panorama app the winner as I like the ability to use as many photos as it takes to complete my Panorama. Even though there is an extra step involved (compared to the Pano app) in adding the next picture. I like the small preview as I can check to make sure everything is looking okay. I also really like the ability to choose the different resolution sizes. I personally always use the largest resolution as I can make it smaller later.

Pano uses 1/3 of the picture to overlap and combine the images. This has it’s Pros & Cons. Pro being – you can take less pictures to get your panorama, but the problem is (con) that the application has less information in each photo to compare, which could result in a error when stitching the photos. While Panorama uses 1/2 of the photo to stitch the photos together, reducing errors, it can also take longer to complete your panorama.

Two things I’d really like to see in both applications is the ability (rather the inability) to turn off the “use photo” confirmation as I find this a little redundant, especially for the Panorama app and also the ability to save individual photos taken or to have the ability to merge photos that were taken outside the program via the camera reel. It would also be nice to have the option to disable the “add photo” screen in the Panorama app after taking the initial photo (making it much like the work-flow of the Pano app.)

PANO

3.5/5

Pros:
-Simple application to make panoramas at an affordable price
-Merges and corrects exposure fairly well.
-Uses a third of a picture for stitching, less photos to complete your panorama.

Cons:
-Can only take up to 6 photos to merge.
-One set resolution
-No button to take another panorama. Must exit & re-enter app.
-If the app crashes, then you loose everything.

When you first began the application the screen will represent the
camera.app on your iPhone/iTouch, except, it will have instructions at the top (if holding horizontally). You can take the first picture by pressing the green button. If you tap “cancel” then you can enter portrait mode. It will then ask you if you want to use the photo (basically a confirmation). You can choose to “use” or “retake.” You then take the next photo. And you keep doing this until you have taken the right amount of pictures or your have taken 6 photos.

After the first photo has been taken a third of the previous photo at about 30% opacity will appear on the screen to help you line up your next picture that you are going to take.

Pano overlaps the images by about a 1/3 of the image when combining them. After taking 6 photos (or less) the app will automatically merge the photos into a panorama. This might take anywhere from 1 – 5 minutes depending on the complexity of the panorama.

Once it is done merging, you will see “Done” screen and you can also view “Pano Tips;” however, the link takes you out of the app and into the Safari.app.

At anytime while taking photos you can tap cancel to bring up a menu that will allow you to create the panorama with the previous photos you have taken (less than 6), Quit Pano, or Resume shooting.

Here is a panorama taken with the app. The photo was taken on the Baylor campus in Waco, Texas. Click on to view full resolution of the image.

And another example from my recent trip to Rome, Italy.

More screen shots & panoramas created by this app can be found here.

Panorama
4.5/5

Pros:
-If you iPhone happens to crash or you do not want to render the
panorama at that moment, you can exit and return to the app to create
the panorama.
-Multiple resolutions
-Uses 1⁄2 image overlap, reducing stitching errors.
-Add photos to either side of your panorama

Cons:
- “Main” screen can be annoying if you are trying to take the panorama
in a hurry.
- Uses 1⁄2 image overlap which means you must take more photos to make
your panorama.
-After taking a photo, the photo will appear to be misalighned, but when testing, the photos appeared to stich without flaw- conclusion: ignore.

$9.99

Panorama works in much the same way as Pano, but has several more features.

When you first begin the application you can choose whether you want to take the panorama in landscape or portrait orientation.

After that the process of taking pictures is the same as in doing it with Pano, however, there is one extra step.

After taking each picture, you are brought back to a “main” screen in which you can add a photo to either side of you panorama and also remove certain photos if you feel you have done something wring. And of course you have the option to start over. What is especially nice about this screen is you have a small preview of the panorama. As you add photos, the screen will only show a portion of the panorama, but you can scroll it on the screen to view the rest of it. Once you are done, you select “done” and you have the option to select from several resolutions – 600

Popularity: unranked [?]

Tagged with: photography

TripIt’s Travel Organizer App for iPhone – Free

On April 12, 2009, In Apps, iPhone Apps, by admin

Price: FREE (link to App Store)

This is a service I use fairly regularly. It allows you to forward the confirmation emails from your travel providers to the TripIt.com and they will automatically add the details to your itinerary.

From TUAW:

Tripit.com imports and interprets your itineraries from airlines, hotel chains, ticket outlets, and other travel companies. When you receive an itinerary from one of these providers, you forward it to a special Tripit email address to have it translated into a trip plan automatically (the site supports hundreds of travel providers, and the translation from email into structured itinerary is really quite amazing). You can share your travel plans with friends or colleagues via LinkedIn, and see when your fellow travelers are heading to a city near you or when their plans align with yours.

That collection of trip plans is what you view with the Tripit.com app. The app is linked to your Tripit.com account, and displays a day by day list of flights, car rentals, and other events that make up your trips. Each event can be opened in further detail to show information such as arrival and departure times, confirmation numbers, and more. Links for airport codes bring up Google Maps of the airport vicinity, and other links can check your flight status with a touch.

Popularity: 83% [?]

Tagged with: app • iPhone Apps • travel

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