Tag: Apps

Everything is about apps at the moment. A lot of what I mention under the apps tag is around iOS and mobile music, but there’s other stuff too, and not just iOS, but Android, Palm OS and Windows mobile.

My app of the week this week is … Tweetbot 3

Posted by on in Tech

I don’t think I could go back to using the standard twitter app anymore. Tweetbot 3 is so much easier to use, especially for multiple accounts, as it actually treats each account differently, or rather, it allows you to treat each account differently. In what way? Well, I use two ‘read it later’ services. One with each of my twitter accounts. Twitter’s own iOS app only allows you to use a single service across multiple accounts, but this doesn’t work for me. Tweetbot 3 allows me the flexibility I need here, and that’s not all.

In tweetbot 3 you can fine tune the interface, with the two buttons at the end of the bar being configurable. Again, this works on a per account basis, which is completely sensible in my view and is exactly what I need.

So overall tweetbot 3 is a massive step in the right direction and unless things with the main twitter app change significantly I won’t be going back.

My app of the week is Launch Center Pro

Posted by on in Mobile Applications, Tech

The new version of Launch Center Pro looks like it’s a big improvement on the previous version. Having said that it is an iOS7 only update so I’m having to move up before seeing what it can really do. Not that I’m upgrading just for Launch Center Pro, there’s quite a few other reasons too, but I think that Launch Center is a handy way of automating stuff in iOS and that’s something I increasingly need.

App of the week: Business Model Toolbox for iPad is great for developing ideas

Posted by on in Work

I found this app because of some work I was doing around changing business models and revenue flows. It was interesting to read the book that generated this app/tool and use it in a practical sense.

The reviews on the app store for this app say that it’s overpriced for what it is, and I’d probably agree, but then again, given the relative niche market for the app it’s probably not a bad price in terms of the amount of work that went into it.

This app is really aimed at people who want or need to quickly understand the impact of different business models, so in a sense it’s a business model modelling tool, and in that sense it works very well. It’s best suited to that first step in evaluation, but once you’ve lined it up and got it where you wanted it you probably need something else, another tool after that.

The app is priced at £20.99.

Business Model Toolbox - Business Model Foundry

So, where next for my Pebble?

Posted by on in Wearable Computing

IMG_8462

I haven’t really used my Pebble smartwatch for about two months, possibly a bit less. Anyway, it’s just been sitting on a shelf for a while now and doing very little, which is a shame as it’s a lovely piece of technology. However, to be honest, I haven’t found a real use for it as yet sadly. I toyed with different faces for it, which was fun, and the notifications stuff was cool, but I never found it entirely compelling.

In many ways I’ve been struggling to find a real use for the technology, and it seems strange to try and find a use for something that’s meant to be useful straight away.

One thing I keep wondering is whether there’s a way to make the thing more useful in making music, but it doesn’t seem that this is being taken on board by developers really, or likely to be in the near future. My other main problem with it is that it isn’t particularly well supported by third party developers on iOS, whereas that’s not the case on Android. Now in part I expect that this is because Android is more open and developers are able to support lots of different integrations and features, such as Tasker support, which could make it very useful indeed.

But this doesn’t really work for me sadly as I don’t have an Android phone. However, I do have an cheap Android tablet that I’m starting to use more for bits and pieces, so my next step is to see what else I can use Android for and just how useful my Pebble will be connected to a tablet.

I’ll let you know how I get on.

The iOS7 dilema

Posted by on in Mobile Applications, Tech

 IMG_0327

So, iOS7 is upon us. On the one hand all the music app developers are saying don’t update. On the other hand there are loads of really amazing non-music updates already in, and at least one app that has become iOS7 only.

So I want to move, but I don’t want to break everything, and I certainly don’t want to end up with glitchy audio issues.

So the only thing I can do is to wait.