PhoneDog.com - The latest about Social Networking

ARTICLE: Connect: Check out PhoneDog on Facebook!

11/18/2009 5:47:00 PM

You like Facebook? Your friends, your relatives, that kid who sits next to you in Geometry class or at the next cubicle over — they like Facebook? Perfect! The Dog likes to Facebook, too!

Get the latest news, reviews, and editorials from PhoneDog without leaving the cozy confines of FaceBook on the official PhoneDog.com Facebook page. And don't forget that you can play the One-Pawed Bandit on Facebook for even more chances to win great phones like the Motorola Droid and Droid Eris, HTC Hero, Palm Pixi and more!

PhoneDog's Facebook page brings you select content from our site along with the chance to talk phones and connect with other PhoneDog fans. You can watch he latest PhoneDog videos and read hands-on impressions of the latest phone without leaving the FB site. Facebook's all about networking, and it's easy to tell your friends about PhoneDog via FB, too.

And soon you'll be able to use Facebook Connect to play the One-Pawed Bandit straight from your Facebook account, without having to register for PhoneDog separately. That'll make it even easier to spin the wheels for a chance to win a new phone, free of charge.

So check out PD on FB, and tell your friends all about it, too. Even those "Facebook Friends" of yours who aren't quite "real friends" … they can come hang out on the page, too.

ARTICLE: Musings from the Pound: Is technology ruining our relationships?

9/14/2009 4:30:00 PM

When I think about technology in today's world, I'm often reminded of the once-popular taunt "talk to the hand, 'cause the ear don't wanna listen." Looking back, as humorous as it was, it seems to depict the state of our society today. The fact is, we literally do use our hands to "talk," because the ear really doesn't want to listen. Foolish phrases aside, I've often wondered how technology has played a role in our everyday lives, and to what extent it will in the future. At times, writing requires you to dive into your own experiences for the purpose of making a point. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of sharing tidbits of my personal life, but for the purpose of this piece, I find it crucial to do so.

To keep an incredibly long story short, quite some time I ago, I met a unique individual through a job I was working on at the time. Noticing that we had similar interests, we became good friends - or so I thought. Thanks to technology, we stayed connected on a fairly regular basis. What I wasn't aware of was that this person had established feelings for me that were beyond the standards of friendship, and she opted to write a long letter, detailing said personal feelings for me. Over the course of time, I made it repeatedly clear in numerous ways that I had absolutely no interest in a relationship, and each time I meticuously explained this, I ended it with how much I appreciated our friendship. Each time, she freely chose to remain friends with me.

I'll pause the story briefly to say that I believe there's a tremendous misconecption in the world that friendship with another individual entitles you to an all-access pass to their lives. People fail to realize that, despite their relationships with people, there are still parts of their lives that they choose to keep private. They'll tell you if and when they're ready; not the other way around. Back to the story, this individual chose to sleuth around my personal life, and found connections with others that she didn't like. She decided she would be unable to continue, and we parted ways.

As I hashed out the story with a female family member of mine a few weeks later over coffee, she made a point that stuck with me. As she soaked the story in, she shook her head and said "you know, it's a shame that we can't just have friends anymore. There's always the expectation for something else...always a hidden agenda." As I sat and pondered what was just said, my mind naturally floated to the realm of technology, and then to the topic of communication. Finishing the last sip of my coffee, a thought rushed through my mind: Is it possible that relationships of all kinds have been been inadvertently ruined by today's use of technology in everything that we do?

Now, if you've had a similar circumstance happen to you before, take the above example, and transcribe it into any other example in life to understand the fallacy in the argument. Let's pretend that I begin a new job with a company with the hopes of becoming the CEO. I repeatedly make it known to the organization that I have a huge interest in the position (all while hiding the fact that the only reason I accepted the position in the first place was in the hope of getting said CEO job). Each time I ask, the company says "we're not interested in having you in the position. We love having you in our organization, however." Each time, I accept the answer, but continue to push my agenda. As time goes on, I attend every social event that the company offers, schmooze with every executive, and suddenly get upset and quit when the company breezes by me and hires a new CEO. Now, when 99 percent of people listen to my post-employment sob story, I imagine the conversation to be something along the lines of "well Aaron, you were told all along that you weren't getting the position, but each and every time, you accepted that decision and freely chose to stay with the company in your role. The company made it clear to you on several occasions; how is it their fault?" From my standpoint, this "blinded" mentality that seems to be prevalent in our society today can be directly blamed on technology.

First, there is no established etiquette for social media and virtual communicaton. As such, a social expectation has emerged expecting individuals to be connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If I leave my phone for more than a few hours, several of my friends and family will often send messages such as "where are you?" or "why aren't you returning my messages?" Or my personal favorite, "why are you mad at me?" Pardon me, but when did not responding construe a sense of anger? I could be doing one of a million different things! Let's be honest, we all have lives and are busy. What happened in the 70's and 80's when people had to...heaven forbid...see each other in person?

To illustrate my point, I often use the example of someone coming to your door at 12 AM to say hello. They bang on your door repeatedly for several minutes, until you groggily open the door and welcome them with a "what do you want?" (or perhaps a profanity-laced version, if you're a sleep lover like me). They respond with "well, why weren't you answering me?" Much like calling someone after 9 or 10 PM, this action would be considered especially rude, and many would skip the laborious task of getting out of bed in favor of calling the police, with the assumption that some sort of prank was being committed. I view repeated calling and text messaging in the exact same category, yet thanks to the fact that society has no formal level of etiquette when it comes to virtual communication, it often goes unchecked.

This expectation of always being available at your phone and/or computer has somehow permeated all levels of our personal and professional lives. Because of this, we've become accustomed to an "information overload" way of life. Within 30 seconds, I can power on my iPhone (or whatever I'm using that day), and browse information on three of the most popular social media networks: Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter. Utilizing the spy-like mentality that seems to have permeated our culture as of late, I can instantly see the picture of the girl engaging in a passionate hug with another man, and without giving her the chance to explain that she was hugging her cousin for the first time in years, become upset and cease all communications.

Secondly, there is some level of herocism we magically obtain when we're behind a phone or computer screen. Realistically speaking, it's quite easy to say things when we're protected, thus diminishing our in-person relationships. We see this every day in YouTube comments, Twitter posts, and the like. As an unofficial test, I spoke with 10 ladies over the course of the week, and asked them two simple questions. "Have you ever had a time where someone you don't know very well has sent you an inappropriate text message regarding your body, image, or the like? Nine of the ten said they had. I followed up with "and how many of you have heard similar comments in person?" One said she had. How things change when you're face to face.

None of this is intended to imply that social networking needs to be eliminated altogether. Though there are negatives like what I've detailed above, good has also come from the introduction of the social networking medium. This is where I ask you: what needs to be done? Or better yet, can anything be done, or is it too late? Is it possible to create a social networking etiquette, or will it naturally fall into place as the technology evolves and changes? With discussion, I'm sure we can find a way to bridge the divide and make social networking as great as it can be.

(Image courtesy of Gothamist)

ARTICLE: Facebook 1.7 en-route to BlackBerry; compatible with OS 5.0

9/1/2009 8:15:00 PM

BlackBerry users that have tested OS 5.0 in any way, shape, or form will most likely agree with me - once you've used 5.0 (and included goodies like threaded text messaging), it's hard to go back to OS 4.6. But most of us end up going back anyway. Why, you ask? Because a vast majority of third party apps don't work with 5.0 as of yet. When I was running OS 5.0.0.190 on my Bold, I couldn't download BlackBerry App World, Google Voice, and some of my other apps I needed and used on a regular basis. Though I don't have a Facebook account, it's well known that the current version for BlackBerry is incompatible with all versions of 5.0. Die-hard Facebook users have either been forced to browse their Facebook accounts through the browser, or downgrade to the stock OS 4.6/4.7 (depending on your device).

Rumored to land in September, Facebook v1.7 is on its way, and if rumors are correct, it's fully functional with OS 5.0. And time-wise, that makes sense, as the BlackBerry Bold 9700 (which is slated to run 5.0) is on its way to AT&T and T-Mobile. New devices aside, it's great news for those that like to run beta builds on their devices. One third party app down, many more to go.

New Facebook 1.7 features include:

Revised "View Profile" option
Ability to filter the news feed (seen in picture)
Faster page loading

For those that have downloaded and used OS 5.0, what (if any) of your apps don't work properly? Have you been forced to go back to 4.6/4.7 for application reasons? I'd love to hear from you...

Source: BGR

ARTICLE: Nonsmartphone users: Are you excited by OneApp?

8/31/2009 1:50:00 PM

By now, you may have heard rumblings about a new platform called OneApp. It’s the brainchild of Microsoft geared for entry-level phones.

The deal with OneApp is to provide access for developers interested in creating applications for limited processing power and low memory. OneApp itself is tiny, at just 150 KB, and works by launching only the part of an app that the user needs for a particular function. That alone would save valuable system resources, but Microsoft also said it would store some of the data from these programs on its own servers, to keep them from bogging down mobile phones.

Also unlike most other app platforms, OneApp isn’t brand-specific. It works on most feature phones with Java.

I can see why developers are kind of excited about this. All the app talk on the interwebs and in the news tend to be all about smartphones. But even though devices like the iPhone, Pre, Android phones and Blackberries get all the buzz, basic feature phones and entry-level handsets still make up the majority of mobile subscribers. Tapping into that market could unlock some serious profit.

So far, there are already demo apps available, including lighter versions of Facebook, Twitter, and Windows Live Messenger.

So what do you think about this news?

(A) Great! Now, I don’t have to pony up $200 to use Twitter.
(B) That’s stupid. Most people who have basic feature phones have no need for apps, otherwise they wouldn’t have bought entry-level handsets.
(C) Okay, interesting. But I’m waiting to see how well this works before I get excited.
(D) No way. If Microsoft’s behind this, it’s sure to stink.
(E) Yay! Microsoft’s behind this!

For more on OneApp, click here for the FAQ or check out its application gallery here.

[via FoneArena]

ARTICLE: 5,000: Thanks, everyone!

8/29/2009 1:40:00 PM

Thanks to everyone who follows, used to follow, and/or told someone else to follow. My only hope is that it's been worth it.

An appropriate celebration (i.e. show of thanks) will follow ;-D

ARTICLE: Illinois tells sex offenders, “No Facebook for you”

8/20/2009 10:10:00 AM

A bill that was recently signed into law by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn has banned registered sex offenders from using social networks, turning the act into a felony. The new law takes effect January 1.

"Obviously, the Internet has been more and more a mechanism for predators to reach out," said Sen. Bill Brady (R-Bloomington), a sponsor of the measure and a governor candidate. "The idea was, if the predator is supposed to be a registered sex offender, they should keep their Internet distance as well as their physical distance."

The goal is to prevent child molesters from using technology to find new victims. Sounds good on the surface. But there's a sticky issue concerning civil liberties. While some people are thrilled at limiting the resources a criminal has to hunt for victims, others cry foul, claiming it's a suppression of free speech.

And it just gets stickier from there. Consider that when two consenting teens get intimate, if one of them is 18 and the other is a year younger, the "adult" could get hit with a statutory rape charge in some states. Is this kid really in the same league as a child molester? Among many other (more serious) difficulties, he'll also have to explain why he can't use the social platforms of his peers, even though he's not necessarily the intended target of this type of law.

And that's the rub. This seems like a pretty broad piece of legislation, and when it comes blanket statements (or laws), they rarely work as intended.

There's something that's bugged me about this whole thing: How exactly does one regulate over another's virtual presence? From a pragmatic point of view, I just don't get how this is supposed to work. How will authorities know when a registered offender has created a bogus Facebook alias at an internet cafe or library terminal? Or uses a friend's smartphone to log in to a fake Facebook account? Unless we're talking about an awful lot of surveillance, or a whole team of snitches, it seems like it would be impossible to monitor everyone.

No matter how well-intentioned it is, I don't know if this measure will actually make any difference. I've never been a proponent of limiting technology, in neither development nor access, but I'd be willing to make an exception when it comes to child safety. This, however, just doesn't seem like a well-thought out approach.

So what do you think? Is banning technology a good idea to limit criminal behavior, or is it a step toward an Orwellian society?

[Chicago Tribune via Slashdot]

ARTICLE: Qik: live-stream with Android

8/5/2009 10:05:00 PM

I just live-streamed my first video with my G1, and wow, are my arms tired. Seriously though, despite the fuzzy audio and grainy image, it's a huge step for social interaction and broadcasting for the Android platform - especially since this new version of Qik adds speed sharing and on-device editing.

This is one instance where the Droid nerds can thumb their noses at iPhone loyalists, as live-streaming means Qik isn't available in the Apple App Store. Because, you know...people would constantly be leaving the scenes of accidents, bodyslamming themselves in school buses, and offering up extremely shaky bootlegs of concerts - all live. And who wants to see any of that, really? O.K., I do.

Check out the screengrabs I made below, followed by one that I pulled from Mobile Crunch so you could see what the whole thing looks like with proper contact icons. Check out those sharing options! Sweet! You can see Qik's own video on the new features here.

ARTICLE: Google exec removes Tweet, re: 'Google Pulls Apple from Search Resul

7/30/2009 12:45:00 PM

Looks like the execs at Google have a sense of humor. Well, at least one of them does. Marissa Mayer, the vice president of search at the company — whose Google Voice app was denied admittance to the App Store — had some fun on Twitter when she sent out a link to an article on BBspot titled "Google Pulls Apple from Search Results."

The article she linked was a fake, of course. It was a piece of satire that poked fun by reimagining the search giant as a spiteful company getting revenge for the GV debacle. And Mayer's Tweet has since been deleted, but thanks to the magic of Twitter Search (the service's equivalent of Google cache search, which calls up defunct web pages), the memory of this priceless moment lives on forever.

Apple had rejected the Google Voice app for the iPhone and pulled third-party apps that work with the service, due to the notion that, says The New York Times, they "duplicated features that come with the iPhone."

With that in mind, I actually laughed out loud at the following part of the BBspot story:

Google's official explanation for removing Apple from its search results came from Vice-President in charge of search, Marissa Mayer, "Those search results duplicate a lot of the functionality of other sites. For example, people can find cell phones on many other sites. We just think this makes it easier for our users." ...

... Steve Jobs hinted that another strange coincidence might occur soon. "Safari may be getting a different search engine, just saying," said Jobs.

"Oooh, I'm shaking," said Mayer.

As a bystander, I love seeing that even big-time executives are human — and can acknowledge ridiculousness when they see it, even if it's in a corporate partner. Sadly, I wouldn't be surprised if Mayer's in hot water over this.

The link to the fake story is here. Read the whole thing — it's worth it.

[via TechCrunch]

ARTICLE: Official Facebook app for Android

7/29/2009 9:15:00 AM

It could be happening by the end of this week, says Tech Crunch. And while the program will be missing some capabilities that the current iPhone version has (let alone what's in the works), many are viewing this as another sign of the impending Android/iPhone stand-off.

Official native programs are much more appealing and visible than third-party hacks are to the public - especially those that come pre-loaded. Recent hints from the myTouch website and Sony Ericsson Rachael video indicate that Facebook just might be on board at first boot. Check out the images below, which I snagged from androidandme. (Watching all the big boys who said Android was a waste of time change their tune doesn't hurt Googs any either.)

Word on function is that a missing inbox will be compensated by better stream integration. I hope we get a few surprizes, but I like the port of iPhone's app for Android, Fbook, for now - although Twitter has basically taken over the old Facebook time in my day. I'll review it when it's out.

ARTICLE: iPhone App: Google Latitude debuts for iPhone 3.0

7/27/2009 8:50:00 PM

I love crime dramas, but one thing that always drove me a little nuts was how cell phone triangulation — at least on TV — rendered pinpoint accuracy of a perp's whereabouts. Viewers could always see the primary dot as it traveled down the street, stopped in for coffee, got a newspaper, ditched the murder weapon, etc...

Well, the new Google Latitude for iPhone isn't quite the same as the technology delivered on Law & Order: SVU — but it's kind of close.

Google Latitude is a web app that makes tracking the movement of fellow iPhone users (with their consent and complicity, of course) a little easier. You can see your contacts' locations on a map and let others know your whereabouts, as well as use location search and directions.

If you're an iPhone 3.0 user in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand, you can just launch Safari on your phone and go to Google.com/latitude to get started.

The company first created Google Latitudes as an onboard app for the iPhone, but at Apple's request, re-tooled it as a web app to avoid confusion with its built-in Maps application. (Now that Safari can access location services, this was no problem.)

But be warned: Because the iPhone can't multitask, the web app can't update your location in the background. (Latitude users on Android, Blackberry, Symbian and WinMo apparently don't have this problem.) So if you forget to launch Safari to refresh Google Latitude, your Mom (or your spouse) might wonder why you've been at that hot friend's house for so long. To play it safe, you can keep your location continuously updated by making sure the app is running in the foreground — at least until you get to your local church. Then, if you want, you're clear to go ahead and shut it off.

[via iClarified]

ARTICLE: Hiring by text message: Sign of things to come?

7/22/2009 1:30:00 PM

The hiring managers at British mobile phone content provider Teimlo are getting creative. Forget mailing, emailing or faxing lengthy cover letters. They want to know why candidates think they're right for one of their marketing jobs via 160-character text messages.

It's certainly a unique application requirement, and those who master the art of descriptive short-texting will definitely have an advantage here. Texts that impress the company will advance the author into the next phase of recruitment involving traditional resumes and interviews. (You know, because this is a real company that is actually seriously hiring staff, so things like qualifications and skills are still important.)

If anyone was going to experiment with this, it makes sense that it would be a cell phone content provider. And if you consider that some people are trying to create literature out of Tweets, allowing an additional 20 characters almost seems kind of generous.

Will other companies follow suit one day? Who knows. But it's not totally outlandish, especially for positions that require a knack for brevity or fast communication. What jumps to mind are jobs in news media, public relations — heck, even emergency response departments.

So when Mom (or your S.O.) complains about the time you spend/waste on Twitter, SMS or Facebook updates, you can rationally explain that you're practicing a crucial communications skill for your future career.

[via Savvy Sugar]

ARTICLE: My FavesBook: T-Mobile Looking at Social Networking?

7/20/2009 12:30:00 PM

Could T-Mobile be looking at ways to turn its myFaves value calling plan into a mobile social network of sorts? Maybe, say GigaOM and TmoNews. This makes all sorts of sense while also sounding like a can of worms that might not be worth opening, given the fact that social networks are a dime a dozen these days - especially those not called "Facebook," "Hi5," or "twitter."

I spied both Om and T-Mo USA CTO Cole Brodman at last week's MobileBeat 2009 conference, and so I can picture the following exchange going down in the hotel foyer:

Om: Tell me about myFaves
Cole "It's going to be more than an economically optimized calling service, Brodman said. "I want it to be more than just voice," he said. "I want it to be a lens to our social networks."

GigaOm reports that Brodman hopes his company will "do a social makeover of myFaves and push it aggressively to their customers in 2010."

I'm guessing that right about then Cole, or one of his lackeys, arranged five breakfast pastries (or energy bars, if it was later in the day) on a table, gave Om a knowing look, and then picked one up and plopped it in his mouth, saying, "MY fave!" as he chewed. Maybe not. But still, I wonder what "a social makeover of myFaves," might mean, and whether or not it's really a good idea. Hopefully he's really just thinking of copping the kinds of things that INQ and HTC and Palm are already doing in linking mobile contacts to their social networking profiles and statuses.

ARTICLE: RIM's 'MyBlackBerry' online community website goes live

7/15/2009 5:00:00 PM

Sure, there are quite a few BlackBerry communities on the web, but are any of them able to trump an official website, stemming directly from the manufacturer? Lauded as "the official community for all things BlackBerry," MyBlackBerry allows users to learn about new applications, connect with other users, and offer tips and tricks for others to utilize.

The website can be found here. Of note, MyBlackBerry currently requires an "invitation code" to register, which we were unable to bypass. Hopefully RIM will remove it and allow all users to enter soon.

Source: UnwiredView

ARTICLE: Android to get more social, hook up with anything

7/11/2009 12:50:00 PM

At the Google/T-Mobile gathering in San Francisco on July 10th, Andy Rubin clarified Google's intentions for Android and the Chrome OS, saying that neither excludes the other and that each addresses a different set of challenges. While Android is focused on telephony, Chrome OS is all about the web.

Rubin went on to say that Android will become much more socially integrated, offering the example of an incoming call notification window that displays an image of the caller, their name, and their latest Facebook status update. "Social is a big push for now." Additional options for Market payments, including bill to carrier, are in the works. With these changes will come a growing momentum in product availability.

Rubin made a point to state that one manufacturer had shown him 18 devices running the OS--not all of them necessarily ready for the streets. This could perhaps explain the specific number, 18, we all read earlier regarding the Android devices we should see by year's end. He mentioned again that there are 15 to 20 gadgets he expects to come to market this year so there's really no practical difference, but it was apparently significant enough a misunderstanding that he wanted to set things straight.

Not only are there tons of phones ready to drop with The Droid, there are all kinds of gadgets running the OS. And that doesn't just mean laptops. Rubin said that Android is already rocking GPS units and even does refrigerators. The end-goal is that all of these things will connect with one another. Anything and everything is the name of the game. Getting social is right. That is one flexible Android. One dirty, dirty Android.

Andy Rubin, Android visionary

Via WSJ

ARTICLE: Rogers Wireless app contest

7/8/2009 11:15:00 AM

Rogers Wireless has set up a Facebook application that allows users* to submit and vote on ideas for an Android application that will stand out as a home-grown Canadian program. I tried to enter with the predictable hockey scores and schedules app idea, but alas, I have no mailing address in the provinces.

The winner will get a Dream or Magic and, if the app merits it, something to brag about in a Northern accent.

Via Phandroid
*Users refers to Candians only.

ARTICLE: iPhone App: Fotochat blows (really)

7/2/2009 7:05:00 PM

Seriously, I thought someone was pulling my leg when I saw this. The most featured new function on the recently released Fotochat iPhone app is something called, "Blow your Love."

Yikes. Okay, well that got my attention. Here's the scoop: Turns out the app plugs into the Fotochat dating community, allowing users to blow into the microphone end of their iPhones to find nearby Fotochatters — based on age, city and profile — who also just blew into his or her device. Photos of matches are then displayed, which lets the user literally chat up the newfound connection right on the handset.

This wacky "app du amour" comes from a French-based company called UTEL, who of course also created the Fotochat dating network. It claims that there are already 1.4 million users in the community, though it's unclear how many of them are in France or here in the States (or whether the stat is even true. I have some doubts).

I don't know what to make of this. I'm glad to see creative implementations of unique features, but this one's kind of out there. I went to the site to see if the app or the company was for real, and saw several large company logos — like Virgin, McDonald's, etc — under the "Partners" section. Looks good, but that doesn't prove anything, so I looked around and also saw this when I clicked on "Historic":

Talk about your really, really poor translations. I can't figure out what it's trying to say. But wait. It gets even better. The full press release had me in stitches. I'm putting it here for your reading pleasure. (Now, I do not endorse this app, nor have I even tried it. In truth, I'm actually a little afraid of this one. This is here purely for your entertainment.)

BLOW ON YOUR IPHONE AND MEET NEW PEOPLE

Paris, 18 June 2009 /PRNewswire/ — Following the successful release of Fotochat for mobile (with 1.4 million girls and boys already registered), the newest version of Fotochat is now available on iPhone.

It has kept the look & feel and super simple navigation that made this mobile service so successful, while adding a truly fun and romantic functionality which will soon be part of your life!

To view the Multimedia News Release, please click:
http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/utel/38816/

« Blow your Love » ©
Blow on your iPhone and it will find someone who is ONLINE near you and matches your profile (age, city, preferences)

Your iPhone sends thousands of little hearts to the screen and searches for a person of the same age group and city as you, who also just blew on her iPhone... Her high-definition picture appears on your screen.

You can then begin to send real time messages. It's magic!

Fotochat is one of the best Casual Dating service. It allows you to meet new people, in a very simple way, wherever you are.
Fotochat equals after work fun, every day at any time, in 2 clicks and one puff of breath. It means lots of love for the entire summer!
Fotochat will be available at AppStore as of June 21, 2009. Registering takes exactly one minute, and the free LITE version will let you discover the service. This service remains free for girls 24/7.

It's summertime, time to blow!

There are far too many cockamamie apps to try and cover them all, but this one had me laughing from Hello. If you're tempted to try this out, you're a braver person than I am. Here's what you need to know, in a nutshell:

•You have to register to the app work
•There are 3 versions: Fotochat Lite (free to search), Fotochat Silver ($11.99, to send unlimited priority messages to Fotochatters for a month) and Fotochat Gold ($30.99, to send unlimited priority messages to Fotochatters for 3 months)
•Some negative reviews on iTunes accuse this of being a fake service, with bots or paid people chatting with users. Can't say whether that's true or not, but proceed at your own caution.

ARTICLE: U.S. govt asks Twitter to delay upgrade

6/18/2009 1:25:00 PM

Ever since cell phone apps hit the Twitterverse, the spike in usage has made regular ongoing maintenance crucial. But Monday night, system integrity took a back seat to international politics.

Twitter planned an upgrade for Monday that would've taken the service down for an hour. The company did the right thing by letting all its users know, so we could all plan around that. But then it didn't happen — at least not when it was planned. The upgrade took place on Tuesday afternoon instead, thanks to a request made by our federal government.

Here's why in a nutshell: Embattled incumbent Ahmadinejad's anti-American sentiments and nuclear ambitions have made him the object of scrutiny for the international community. Now he claims to have won the recent presidential election, though his rival, Moussavi, disagrees with that proclamation. And the Iranian people are up in arms over a potential election scandal.

Many of the country's young activists are using technology — like Twitter and Facebook — to dispute the presidential election and organize protests. And everyday citizens are increasingly relying on technology for news and other information.

Meanwhile, our President hasn't actually come out and made bold statements about the validity of the election results. So it's very interesting that the Obama administration would intervene like this, to keep the tech platform active during a peak communication time. (Originally, the Monday night downtime in America would've occurred on the following Tuesday afternoon in Iran.)

Given this, I think anyone who still denigrates Twitter and its ilk are seriously stuck in the last century. The time of plastering rally posters or running off hundreds of flyers from antiquated printing presses is long gone. Technology is finally beginning to live up to its democratizing potential, enabling a platform for a greater number of people. The Iranian regime may be trying to block digital publishing of its country's domestic unrest (by slowing down network speeds to make uploads excruciatingly slow), but content is still making it out of the country, allowing the political drama to play out on the world stage.

In my book, the importance of 140 characters just hit an all-new high.

[Photo and content via Reuters]

ARTICLE: Android app review: Mother Feed

3/26/2009 11:30:00 AM

I've never been a social website junkie. Well, that is if you discount user-submitted news sites. I only got into Facebook about six months ago, and thought it beat the baggy, sagging pants off of MySpace. I jumped on when right it became "the New Facebook," so I had nothing to complain about - unlike millions of other loyal users.

I tend to roll with changes at websites because the landscape evolves so quickly that websites must adapt. It leads to cool surprises. Facebook's latest reincarnation however, may be a bit drastic. It's losing the characteristics that make it unique - not just growing to meet users' needs. But I probably don't need to tell any of you that. Still, huge friend lists are the norm, and confirming that you actually know somebody seems little more than troublesome nag-screen. So maybe it is appropriate that they are adopting the tools and techniques of sites designed for mass communication. How else can they compete?

Anyway, I've gone looking for some alternatives recently, and one day not too long ago, the Mother Feed icon turned up in the Market. I had never used friendfeed before, but I knew what the program was for based on the font and logo color. I set up my account and started to explore. Being new to this site, I might miss some things that old-timers consider required functionality. But I've tested everything I can see on the site in Mother Feed, and it seems practical to me.

First of all, I like lists. It makes sense for IMs, and it makes sense for micro-blogging and link sharing. Mother Feed doesn't allow you to add or remove people from your lists, but it's organized according the way you've set them up on the site. Rooms are a great feature as well. In fact, while checking out this app for review, I'm becoming a fan of friendfeed. Not only is the web experience unique, but there's a free client out their that offers at least read-access for all of the web features.

Mother Feed has five tabs - Home, List, Rooms, Me, and Account. The options are simple. There is no long-press, and the context-sensitive menu key never offers anything beyond post, refresh, logout, and about. But the interface is clean, the content is well-organized, and posted photos are scaled to the G1's screen size.

I could complain about the inability to add rooms, move friends from one list to another, etc. But how often do you really need to do that stuff? Besides, it's free! For those as clueless as myself, friendfeed can be linked to your Facebook, Flickr, Twitter, Amazon, and a few other accounts. It's definitely worth your time to take it for a spin.

Verdict: Thumbs up.

ARTICLE: Android app review: Loquacious

3/21/2009 3:10:00 PM

Coming into the world as the first priced Twitter client for Android carries with it some inherent expectations. Twidroid has never disappointed me, and the interface is as sleek and professionally crafted as one could hope for. There are options galore, and the app works flawlessly. With this in mind, I went ahead and paid the $2.99 for Loquacious - even though there is a 14-day, fully-functional free trial version in the Market.

In order to compete with an app as powerful and satisfying as Twidroid, the developer of Loquacious, Shaun Kelly, took a different approach. The app's description states that it contains not a trace of turquoise. And yeah, it is kind of a nice change.

Besides the fairly standard Twitter client options of direct message, reply, retweet, follow link, and favorite, Loquacious has a killer filter menu. You can set up filters based on user ID or the source client; i.e., from Web, Twidroid, etc. The latter is an excellent feature, and probably the one thing that could pull me away from Twidroid - but only for viewing. And once you follow enough people, it makes sense to view with one client and tweet with another.

The filters are based on whatever shows up on your account - not a list of current Twitter clients. So, not only will you not need to scroll through a huge list of irrelevant clients, the app will automatically recognize new clients when they are released.

For now, Twidroid is still my favorite. But Loquacious has a lot to offer. A simplified interface, unencumbered tweet list, and perfect filters will probably draw a more than a few converts. It's at least worth checking out the demo. I had to search by name - it didn't show up for me under social apps.

ARTICLE: Android app review: FML

3/17/2009 11:40:00 AM

fmylife.com is a bit like postsecret, minus the reveling in evildoings. The posts are generally more embarrassing than those on postsecret, and the multitudes of comments, like "you deserved that one," or, "your life really is [effed]." make the confessions all the more humiliating - sometimes hilarious. Most of the time though, it's just comforting to share a little drama, tragedy, or shame anonymously with another human being in the hopes that you're not the only one who lost their bikini in the ocean.

FML is a free app for Android that lets you browse the posts in the order they were submitted, or have one randomly displayed. I think it allows you to comment and submit, but I keep getting an error when trying to sign in. And it's been hanging on "loading new posts" for like, 20 minutes now. Silly problems like this keep getting in the way of my reviews. FML.

Search the market for FML - it's by Evan Charlton.

ARTICLE: Twitter BlackBerry App Showdown: TwitterBerry vs. Yatca

3/17/2009 9:40:00 AM

Even those of us that bill ourselves as relatively "tech savvy" are new to certain technological things. That's how I am with Twitter (and GPS navigation devices, but that's for another day). I signed up about a month ago, and am learning more and more about how it works with each passing day. Due to the fact that I carry a BlackBerry, I decided to look into a Twitter client for my phone. The two free applications that I came across were TwitterBerry and Yatca. My take on both clients can be found below:

TwitterBerry

Out of the two, I found this one to be much more pleasant to use, and I'll tell you why. Personally, I prefer a separate client as opposed to one integrated into the BlackBerry's messaging system (read: Yatca). I like the ability to actually open up the program and browse at my leisure.

When you first open TwitterBerry, it brings you to a "What are you doing?" page, where you can enter your tweet. Upon clicking the BlackBerry key, the following options come up:

Update: Essentially another way to press in the trackball and submit your tweet.
Friends Timeline: Your homepage, which shows you what your friends are tweeting
Get Replies: This will bring up your '@' replies that people have sent you
Direct Messages: This pulls up your 'private inbox' of sorts where you can hold conversations with people outside of the public eye
Public Timeline: Brings up the public Twitter feed
My Timeline: Self explanatory, shows you your individual updates.
Get Friend List: Again, self explanatory. Your list of those that you follow (note: speaking of, I need more friends, so follow me here - thanks!).
Sent Direct Messages: Private messages that you have sent to others.
Configure: Where you enter your Twitter username/password.
About: Details of the program.

Yatca

Yatca is a Twitter client that integrates with your messaging folder on your BlackBerry, and delivers updates in an SMS-like manner. To me, this type of delivery is going to be love/hate, and for me, I absolutely hated it. Even with the relatively few people I follow, I was getting 30+ messages every 10-15 minutes. Think of it like getting 30+ e-mails or text messages every 10-15 minutes - it's very similar. Each time, I would have to physically highlight all of the messages and mark them as read. Five minutes later, five more would pop up. You get the idea; my BlackBerry light was constantly red. Additionally, the client only gives the option of updating every five minutes or more, so no instant abilities to receive tweets.

All in all, I found TwitterBerry very clean and easy to use. Between the two, I would HIGHLY recommend TwitterBerry over Yatca. If you're following more than three individuals, you'll probably be annoyed with Yatca's style as well.

Download link: TwitterBerry
Download link: Yatca

ARTICLE: PC World looks at rejected iPhone apps

2/28/2009 7:35:00 PM

Is this news? Not really, but it's darn funny.

PC World's coverage of 10 rejected apps was meant to shed light on the iPhone app developer's dilemma: Is there any way to know whether a pet project stands a chance of approval in the App Store in advance? That way, time and money wouldn't have to be spent on creating an app, only to receive a rejection notice.

It's a good question. And the issue has upset plenty of emerging developers. But c'mon! At least some of these guys HAD to know their pet projects would be slated for the "reject" pile.

I think someone at PC World had a sense of humor and was just looking for an excuse to run this list. But judge for yourself. You can read the whole article here. Or if you'd rather skim through, here's the list in a nutshell:

Obama Trampoline: The game challenged user to pop onscreen balloons — by tossing politicians at them via trampoline.
MyShoe: Remember the infamous George W. Bush/shoe-throwing incident? A developer from Pakistan made a game where users can hurl footwear at different public figures (including W).
I Am Poor: Puts images of Ramen noodles, tuna, and mac and cheese on your home screen. That's about it.
The South Park App: SP fans could've had a pretty easy way to get episode clips, news, wallpapers and other show-related stuff via this app. But Apple said the content was potentially offensive (and yet, says the article, the TV show is available in the iTunes store. Hmmm...)
Pull My Finger: Hey, wait. Why is this on the list? The flatulence emulator is already in the App Store.
iBoobs: Well, what can you say about this one? Users have missed out on jiggling the virtual iBoobs to their hearts' content. The developer argued that an episode of Baywatch was far more revealing than this little app. (Ah yes, the old Baywatch defense. Someday, censorship attorneys everywhere will be required to study Pamela Anderson...)
Slasher: It got approved, then yanked a day later. The app displayed a kitchen knife and emitted a scream when a user shook it. (Apparently, an app that lets user wield a virtual broken bottle is okay, though, because that one's already sitting in the App Store.)
Murderdrome: The digital comic was snubbed because it was not kid-friendly. (And yet, broken bottles are okay?) I'm with the developer on this one: "Apple should really extend their ratings system for games onto the other applications that the App Store has," says comic creator PJ Holden. As it is now, he wonders if genuine artists will end up being discouraged from the platform.
Podcaster: Apparently, this app's sin is being too good at competing with iTunes. Users can listen to their favorite podcasts, as well as download them right to the phone. (It's gone to the darkside now, for jailbreakers only.)
Freedom Time: Billed as a presidential countdown clock, Freedom Time would've tracked the previous administration's final moments down to 0. It's a mute point now, but I know plenty of people who would've loved this app not too long ago.

So there you have it. It seems that the biggest peeve of these developers is that rejections and approvals seem to be happening arbitrarily. (Before Apple can distribute guidelines in advance, it would actually have to have some, right?)

Since we end users are the ones who will ultimately benefit, I do hope the process becomes easier for app developers. But I'm not holding my breath. Apple hasn't exactly had a big track record for transparency. And I'm not sure that the makers of iBoobs or Freedom Timer are the catalytic visionaries necessary to get the company to change its mind now.

Images via PC World

ARTICLE: Getting social with Android, part 3: Twidroid

2/9/2009 12:20:00 PM

No social networking apparatus is complete without a few tweets. While there is a long list of apps in the Android Market that feature Twitter integration as a bonus, and a good handful of programs that are dedicated specifically to Twitter, one stands above the rest - Twidroid. It's got 4 stars in the Market, which isn't common. And considering that this one falls in the 10,000 to 50,000 downloads category, I'd say the star ratings are a good indicator of what to expect. That's not always the case.

With Twidroid, you can view the tweets of those you follow, post your own tweets, direct message, and reply. One of the coolest features is the ability to post photos. Well, kinda. Images are sent to phodroid.com and then linked in your tweet. Hint: attach the photo first, or the URL will over-write anything you've typed - same goes for the following paragraph.

There is some GPS functionality, but go to portrait mode too see all of your options on the non-scrolling menu (little bug there). They are: Insert Maplink, Insert Location Name, Insert Latitude/Longitude (seriously?), and Update Profile - for those who are just to lazy to type the full name of their city. Google Maps URLs are abbreviated via short.to, so none of the data should cramp your 140-character-limited micro-blogging style.

nanoTweeter, aTweeter, and a host of other dedicated programs may get the job done, but not as well as Twidroid. If you're looking for a more complete social networking solution, search the market for Twitter and you'll see which apps are compatible. BuddyMob comes to mind. But personally, I like dedicated apps. I don't want to carry any dead weight. Of course, what would go unused for me would be essential for others.

Twidroid's creators are called Zimmermann and Marban, which makes me think of an old-timey magic show. So I give it 5 stars.

ARTICLE: Getting social with Android, part 2: fBook

2/8/2009 3:10:00 PM

fBook wraps the iPhone Facebook application, and as the developer states, "fixes it." I am not an iPhone owner, but I've seen the Facebook app for iPhone. Without getting into detailed comparisons based on videos and my foggy memory, I can say that the Android version is a bit less polished. But it functions well and looks nice in both portrait and landscape modes.

fBook is the most full-featured Facebook app available for Android, and the most stable. This is the Market's FB flagship, and since all available functions work correctly, I don't expect many changes outside of some little code tweaks, and perhaps a bit more sheen. I don't see the need for any more Facebook apps in the Market, either. But if you just want to update your status, check out Statusinator by Joe LaPenna.

fBook's main screen has two buttons that allow you to update your own status and search. Beneath the buttons are five tabs; each with categorized features. Tapping one initiates an animation - your destination screen slides into place. The tabs and their options are:

Home - news feed, events, requests
Profile - info, wall, photos
Friends - status, online, photos
Inbox - compose, sent, edit

The menu button allows for uploading photos and enabling what the Market description calls "the push notification of messages - an Android-only feature." That's not an accurate choice of words, though. The notification settings allow you to adjust the frequency at which the app will check for new messages. That means spent battery life and kilobytes, for some - not push-messaging. Still, it's useful and user-definable. I just don't like the misleading description. Vibrate message alerts and notification bar display are the other options.

fBook has 3.5 stars in the market, but I'd bump it up at least half a star, in my own rating.

ARTICLE: Getting social with Android, part 1: BuddyMob

2/7/2009 2:00:00 PM

Rather than ranking the social networking apps available in the Android Market, I've decided just to write about them in small clusters. Programs that demand more words will get their own blog entries. One of the most deserving is the subject of this post. I'm throwing IM clients, Twitter programs, Facebook apps, and the like, all under the same banner here, as the lines are starting to blur. I'm not sure how many parts there will be in this series, but it's probably best left open-ended. I'll add as I see fit or as you suggest. Speak up in the comments.

BuddyMob aims to be your all-in-one social app by combining support for multiple IM protocols with GPS tracking and Twitter functionality. The interface is slick - probably the most polished of all the Android IM clients. I didn't run into any problems while testing out this capable beta, but found one of BuddyMob's greatest assets - GPS integration - to be a crippling drain for my G1. Still, while plugged in, it was a lot of fun. Future Android phones may bring BuddyMob to the forefront of Android's social scene.

I signed up with a new BuddyMob account, and can IM with people who are on AIM, GTalk, Live Messenger (MSN), and Jabber. Though BuddyMob only allows you to sign in as a BuddyMob, Windows Live, or AIM user. This limitation isn't such a big deal because Android comes with a built-in Google-talk client, and there are other IM clients available. But it would be nice to use another Google ID to separate business from pleasure. And if BuddyMob is to be an all-in-one solution, I'd like to see Yahoo support.

The BuddyMob interface consists of five tabs and a content window.

The Home tab describes the app and offers to help you find buddies in your area.

The Timeline tab is where your micro-blog sits, and where you'll see the tweets of those you follow on Twitter. If you choose not to cross-post to Twitter, your entries will be viewable by other users of BuddyMob via a micro-blogging platform of its own. Privacy settings are available for individual posts - it isn't an on or off kind of thing, which is nice. You can attach photos, video, and audio files to entries. Posts can be localized (geo-tagged) as well.

The Roster tab is your contact list. It allows you to invite new buddies, initiate a chat, choose to track your friends in real time on a map, change your avatar, and set your status.

The Location tab lets you start/stop publishing your location, activate proximity alerts and adjust the sensitivity, and track the locale of friends in real-time - even if they're moving. This is where BuddyMob really shines. Click the menu button, and tap "layers" to combine satellite images of the earth with pinpoints of your friends' locations, and little chat bubbles literally where a comment has been made. It's a wonderful concept, and is implemented beautifully.

The Chat tab is exactly what it sounds like. It functions well and looks nice.

BuddyMob has huge potential, and I expect its popularity to increase drastically with the release of an Android phone that has a battery stronger than that of the G1. For right now, it works pretty well as a Twitter and IM client, and it's definitely near the top of the list in both categories. BuddyMob has 4.5 stars in the Android Market.

I say, killer app. I wish it came with a free battery.