I host my own blog so not using wordpress.com for this particular blog. I struggled to get my blog site to be seen by the app at first but after whizzing over to iPhone FAQ for wordpress app I soon figured out my error which was putting in http and php login page. It’s much smarter than to need all that gubbins.

Also on first connection I was informed that XML-RPC needed to be turned on in your writing settings within the wordpress admin console. This done I connected and began to write up this short blog.

Splash Screen

Check out the MeteoGroup’s Own video on YouTube here…  Weather Pro on YouTube

I’ve only been using the app for about a week and have been very impressed with both the presentation of the program and the accuracy of the weather forecast here in the UK. This last week has been like so many UK weeks full of hard rainy showers with some very prolonged periods of rain. The app gives a very good overview of the weather by showing the radar images of rain colour coded and also a very useful satellite view.

It is quite an easy app to use straight away. The first thing to do is click on the search option at the bottom which will allow you to enter places that you are interested in getting forecast information for.

A Good Idea to allow Weather Pro access to your GPS

Favourite Locations in Weather Pro

The Radar function works really great and gives a very clear view of showers…

Radar Screen in Weather Pro

Satellite Screen is also very informative.  Running the sequence shows you what is happening over a few hours time period…

Informative Sattelite Screen in Weather Pro

Settings are pretty straight forward and easy…

Setting Your Preferred Options

A weeks overview graphical screen is very informative and very useful…

Overview of Rain Risk and Temperature Span

Another way to view the week ahead at a glance…

The Week Ahead

I was a bit reluctant to pay out for a waether application as the Apple iPhone basic app had served me well for some time, but I am really happy with this purchase as it provides so much more information and in a very slick easy to use interface.

All in all this looks a superb addition to the iPhone software range and I give it my full recommendation.

links:-
Official Site FAQ
Launch iTunes and view app or buy…

I’ve just updated my iPhone 3g from the v2.1 software release to the latest version 3 and I thought I’d make a few notes that may be helpful to others doing the update or maybe thinking of doing the update. First thoughts after a successful update are very POSITIVE! A great update from Apple and I urge you to avail yourself of the free update.

I will cover features of this new version in other blogs, for this blog post I will keep to a few simple notes about the update process itself.

First off is connecting the USB cable to the registered iTunes PC so that the update can be performed.  If you have auto connection setup then simply connecting the iPhone will launch iTunes and a short while after will show the iPhone connected.  If not, you need to run iTunes separately manually and then the iPhone should show up in the browser window on the left hand side.

Normally iTunes will detect that you are running an old version of the iPhone operating system software and offer you the box with button to choose to begin an update. If not you may click on the check for update button.

The first thing that happens when you click to update to version 3 is that a backup of your iPhone begins.  If you have many apps on your device and / or data in the form of music and video etc.  you will find that this backup can take a considerable amount of time. In my case on a 16 Gb iPhone I waited at least 2 hours for the backup to complete.

One of the bugbears of the iPhone is the backup time. If you have 16 Gb device nearly full with reams of data and apps the actual backup window can be very high indeed.  Make sure you have enough time to do the update.  If you’re plugged in to a USB 1 or 1.1 port on your PC then backup becomes a nightmare. You really do need a USB 2 for the iPhone connection to a PC.  If you’re using a MAC then you’re fine and you already have the high speed connection in place.  For others struggling with the backup phase you need to ensure you are plugged into a USB 2 port. There is another blog entry about how to check the usb port coming soon.

Once the backup is complete and the download is complete you may encounter a few errors.  When I did my 1st 3 attempts to update, the backup and download had gone fine then I faced an error about the Apple authentication server not being available.  So I had to disconnect the phone because I needed to go out.

I came back later and re-connected and you see similar screens in iTunes to before except that fortunately, the software is smart enough to know that it has already done a full backup and downloaded the files so it goes and does a very small backup this time and straight into extracting the downloaded files and begins the install / update process proper.

Of course before you begin any of this process please ensure that your iPhone is FULLY CHARGED.  You don’t want any power outs during the update or this may be extremely bad for the iPhone.   As already mentioned, the backup and upgrade process can take a considerable time so ensure you have that time available before you begin. In my case with a fairly full 16 Gb model it took about 3 hours from start to finish, although I did experience some problems with the Apple authentication server.

What is very good news is that you don’t need to worry about having to wait a long time for the backup to work thru twice or download the update twice either as the software definitely takes care of the problem in case of initial failed installs.

See a bunch of screenshots from my upgrade…

The Update at 25%...

update nearly complete

1st Sign that all has gone well

The New Interface note the new Voice Memos Icon

There are a great many sound and voice memo programs for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Indeed there are many that it is hard to make a choice.  I have tried quite few and will be reporting on some of them in my blogs.

Using AppSniper I noticed that the well reviewed iProRecorder was on a 3 day sale at 59p UK ($0.99c US) which  is quite a whopping 80% discount off the normal price. My initial tests a very good and I would recommend buying this while the price is discounted.  They do seem to run these sales periodically so if BIAS go to form there will be another sale in a month or two if you miss this sale.

I have made some pretty hefty High Quality recordings of 250 Mb plus and transferred them easily to my PC simply by turning on the built in Web Server and connecting with a web browser where the WAV files can easily be downloaded. There are 3 options to get your recordings off your iPhone and onto your computer. There is email, which uploads to the BIAS website where you can click to download. You will find this option painfully slow for all but small files.

Wi-Fi using the built in web / ftp server is the no brainer choice if you plan on using this software regularly. Learn how to set it up and use this method always would be my advice. Basically, if you are using a fairly typical wi-fi router setup you will be using an internal IP addressing scheme in the 192.168.0.x (where x is a unique number for your network devices). The software displays your iPhone or iPod Touch IP address so it’s as easy as typing that into a browser just as it says.  e.g. http://192.168.0.4:8080/  Note that the :8080 portion refers to the port number for those not familiar with this notation system.

iProRecorder Main Recording Screen (above) set to Medium Quality

Once on your PC you can of course edit the audio files with your favourite sound editing program if you so desire. Or send them for audio transcribing via your office typist for conversion to text.

Of course the program caters well for all the usual needs of a voice / sound recording software.  Helpfully it reminds you when recording for the first time that you are advised to put your iPhone into Airplane mode to prevent any incoming phone calls or text messages interupting your recording. This is one of the downsides if you rely on your mobile to keep in constant touch, you may not be too comfortable switching the mobile phone features off whilst you record. Unfortunately since Apple do not at present allow 3rd party developers to run their apps in the background an incoming call will interupt the recording – even if you do not answer and seend it to voicemail.

Uses for the Recording Software

• • voice memos
  • lectures
  • sermons
  • legal briefings
  • field interviews
  • business meetings
  • dictation
  • music
  • ambient sounds
  • or anything else you can hear!

You can get a good quick overview of the features of the software on the BIAS website…

demo gives a good preview and overview of features…

There is a timer function…

Additional Features

Inside the software you have a screen where you can easily play, rename and add a graphic icon to your audio recordings.  It also gives a good overview of recording time, sound quality and the date and time of the recording. From this screen you can also go back into your recording and add more recordings to the end of the file so if you are composing a long report you dont need to finish it all in one sitting.

In playback from the device itself the sound is clear enough at even the LQ (low quality) recording type. You have many catagories built in and you can group recordings into 1 of 7 built in catagories or create new ones of your own making. This is a very handy feature itself and gives you a facility akin to folders for your files.

Some users have reported instability issues with the software (which I have not observed) and others have complained that the Peak Express audio integration is only available in the USA (which is true at this moment in time). I cannot see much benefit from the Peak integration feature myself but if that is important to you you have been warned.

All in all this is my top rated audio recording app for the iPhone and iPod Touch at the moment. If you need a good quality audio recording solution for your device this reviewer gives it the thumbs up. If you can get it at the sale price it is without doubt a bargain.

Tweetie is a very well featured application for iPhone and iPod Touch. It has a rich feature set including: multiple twitter accounts, view timelines for yourself, public or any user. Send DM’s (Direct messages) to people that have followed you. Post Tweets, ReTweets and replies easily. Mark Tweets via the favourite function or send links via email or save for later reading using the inbuilt InstaPaper integration (this is excellent!). Automatic URL shortening where needed with Bit.Ly. Navigation of message threads is very useful. Built in Web browser for reading the many links you will see (unfortunatley does not support landscape at this time). Adjust font sizes, view trending topics, follow, unfollow. Allows TwitPic uploading of pictures. This small app does most things you want. There are many Twitter applications for the iPhone and quite a few decent free ones. Yet Tweetie has become a favourite for many Twitter addicts.  To discover why, read on…

I began using quite a few of the other free Twitter apps last year and eventually began reading rave reviews from other Twitterholics on iPhone that they had switched to Tweetie and were very satisified with the product.  At £1.79p UK price and $3 approx USA pricing it is not a major stretch to buy, but obviously there still needs to be some pressing reason to shell out cash. My previous free Twitter application was TwitterFon which is pretty well specified itself (see separate review).

So what has Tweetie got that makes it a must have app over TwitterFon? Well, there are many little things but the No.1 killer feature for many is the multiple Twitter account feature.  You can setup multiple accounts and switch in and out of them with ease with Tweetie. TwiterFon Pro, available at almost double the price of Tweetie does in fact have no ads and support for multiple Twitter accounts but the free, ad supported version does not. Another really nice feature I like that TwitterFon does not have is the ability to view the image icon full screen when you tap on the image icon when viewing someone’s profile. Tap on it in TwitterFon and nothing happens because it does not allow the viewing of icons full screen.  It might seem quite a cosmetic feature but you might be surprised at your reactions to seeing those nice icon pics blown up to a more normal size.

But be warned if you don’t need the multiple account feature there are a few negatives that TwitterFon has that Tweetie still does not have. For example the number one thing you are likely to miss is the handy messages tags (called badges) that show that you have new unread messages or direct messages or @ messages. (Note: badges are like red notification numbers that you will be familiar with on an unread SMS or missed call) If someone sends you a Direct Message Tweet on Tweetie you will get NO notification that new messages are sitting there unread.  It’s down to you to actually go into your message sections one by one and look.  This is quite a glaring ommision and I can really understand the frustration of people that have got used to the superior handling of alerts of TwitterFon not being happy with this ommision.

Another quite useful cosmetic superior function that TwitterFon does is to highlight new Tweets since your last session in a different shading thus you can see at a glance which are the new unseen messages.  Tweetie unfortunately does not have this feature. So a couple of big plusses for the free app Twitterfon. That said, Tweetie is a fine application that provides very good stability with a wealth of features.

Below I will give a quick run thru of Tweetie screens and features…

Below is the main Tweetie screen you see showing the tweets from people you are following.

Tweets - messages sent by people you follow

Looking at the main navigation at the bottom of each screen going from left to right, the next option is @ Mentions.  This is messages that have been sent to you or contain your @username. For those new to Twitter you need to understand that people that you are not following cannot send you a private message. They can send you a message but this is public so anyone else can read it to. Often people want to have public conversations anyway and just send a simple @username message. These messages show up in the @ Mentions screen along with any re-tweeting of your messages. This just looks like the screen above with messages populated all with your @username in them.

Next option is Messages.  This refers to direct messages or DM’s as they are sometimes known. Note that you see the Inbox by default of messages that have been sent as private messages to you.  These do not appear in the public timeline ans are indeed private. Some Twitter users use this portion in a similar way to an SMS text message. See image below but note that I have no messages showing. Tapping the Sent button shows your sent messages.

Messages Screen (DM's)

Moving right again is the Favorites section, or if you’re British the Favourites. When you are viewing a message you have a few options that you can do with that message and one thing that you will definately want to do from time to time is save particular messages as favorites so you can return to them later.  When you have set a favorite marker on a message is shows up with a star next to it in the main Tweets window. The square icon with a pencil thru it at the top right of every screen in Tweetie offers you a quick way to create a message. Tapping that icon brings up the message creation screen.

Favorite Tweets section

Moving right to the last option brings you to the MORE options page.  This has a bunch of sub menu’s on that I will briefly describe.

More Twitter functions

My Profile is the top option and is where you will set Twitter information and options for yourself.

Go To User screen shown below simply allows the quick lookup and selection of another users Twitter profile.

Go To Username

Nearby is an interesting feature espicially using the built in GPS of the iPhone. This feature restricts tweets to messages orginating withing the radius you set. So you can keep tabs on what is going in locally. A really neat feature that I find really amazing. The rotating animated graphic shown below never fails to impress people that have no knowledge of what Twitter is all about.

iPhone GPS local zone

Settings for local radius of messages…

Setting Nearby Distance of Tweets

UPDATE 2011 : Some while back this app stopped working and is no longer available. What a pity as it was a great app.

If you love books or films this is a brilliant apllication with many useful functions. It can also be used for keeping tabs on your CD music or games collections.

This software has a feature I know many love – it’s FREE It never ceases to amaze me how brilliant some of the free software is for iPhone and this software by bruji.com is a fine example, up with the best.

Bruji.com are primarily an Apple MAC software development company and they produce DVDPedia, BookPedia, CDPedia and GamePedia which are paid for version software titles and of course the main source of their revenue.

PocketPedia integrates with these apps on your MAC and will synchronize back and forth if you have these applications. There are no Microsoft Windows versions unfortunately. The good news is that you don’t need these apps at all to get a great benefit from this software.

However this highlights one major downside with this software if you are a Windows or Linux user : there is no backup function within the PocketPedia software itself. So if you spend months or years building a great collection you are always at risk of losing this, if for whatever reason your database becomes corrupted and unreadable, or your phone goes faulty or gets stolen or destroyed etc. etc. The only way back from this is to ensure you are religious with backing up your iPhone using the iTunes software. This will at least give you the facility to restore everything. Of course this can happen with other software titles as well so keeping regular backups is just the sensible option.

Read Bruji’s info on backups here : bruji.com/updateprocedure/

That ommision aside, this is still a very useful piece of software. I tend to read a lot of books so the Amazon lookup is really fantastic to me. So many times I have been in a bookshop about to buy a book and just whip out the iPhone and load PocketPedia to check prices and read reviews right there and then in the shop. How amazing is that? Depending on the reviews I might decide not to buy this book after all. Sometimes reviewers leave recommendations for much better books which I can buy instead. Also I can check prices there. If Amazon are selling at close or the same as the bookseller then there is a good chance I will buy the book there and then. If the discount on Amazon is high then I can order it from Amazon instead.

Some of the books I pick up I am undecided about and add to my wish list or future maybe purchase list. This software is great for storing records of books you have previously read and has the convenience that it will pull in the book cover and reviews from Amazon.

Highly Recommended. But make sure you BACKUP your iPhone regularly to avoid tears.

App sniper is a really great piece of software that will enable you to get some real bargain software for your iPhone.  The software connects to the App Sniper server at startup and synchronizes the latest software from the last session.

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The sniper part of the name comes from the ability to mark a piece of software for interest at a certain price.  So for example if you saw a piece of software for say, $9.95 and think you would like this but at a lower price, you simply add a snipe price in the software and each time you sync it checks this to see if the condition is met.  If so, you will see a tag on the snipe section leading you to go in and check the new price.  If you want to buy simply click the buy now and you exit the application and are taken into the usual iPhone App store app with the application you selected ready to buy.  YOU SHOULD DOUBLE CHECK THE PRICE  IN THE APP STORE AS  THE PRICE IN APP SNIPER IS OCCASIONALY INCORRECT.

Synching with the App Sniper Server...

A really great feature of this software is the ability to check the price of a software title over a period of time.  The last 90 days is shown in a graph with minimum, maximum values also shown.  From this you can easily work out a pattern to see if it’s worth waiting a while longer for an app.

Price history graph

Another useful feature is the ability to view software in a more orgonised system than the App Store presently supports so it is easier to look through software types for a software title you are interested in.

Easy Catagories makes browsing software easier as it is orgonized logically...

The biggest problem I found with using this app os that I soon filled every single screen with applications as I found free or bargain titles I just had to have.

A downside with App Sniper is the fact that you have to actually go into the application each day to check if there are any titles that are showing as snipes.  It is quick and easy to do this and some might wish there was a way to get an email alert but this is not possible as Apple do not at present allow 3rd party software developers to run as a background task, hence the need to open the app and manually check.

This has remained one of my favourite apps on the iPhone and has repaid the very small investment in buying the app. At 59p UK price or $0.99c this app is a bargain.  I have been using the app for at least 6 months now and it gets better.  There have been the ocasional crashes but on the whole my experience is pretty good.