Notification centre is definitely the biggest and most significant update. I got my first smartphone a while back, a Sony Ericsson Android phone. It doesn’t run the most up to date version of Android but you can immediately see the difference in notifications between it and the iPhone. You swipe down from the top of the screen and see all of your notifications. Apple have clearly neglected this important area of the device for some time now but thankfully they look to have done a great job in updating it.

Now, instead of being greeted by one notification at a time, each in a big blue bubble, now you see a sleek list of individual notifications. Each of which you can swipe to go straight to the corresponding app. It’s so much more functional now especially if you get a lot of notifications that you don’t want to miss. Like android, you can access the list when the device is awake by sliding your finger down from the top of the screen. It’s far from revolutionary, but to be fair, they do implement it well even if they did copy from Google.

PC free and wi-fi syncing is also a great addition. It, combined with all of the iCloud features will finally stop the critics who say that the iPad is not a true tablet computer but an oversized iPod Touch. It can now plainly go head to head with any traditional tablet in terms of functionality. This also is available on iPhone and iPod Touch, where it’s welcome but not as necessary as it is for iPad.

The wi-fi syncing is also welcome. If you can plug it in to charge using any device or better yet unplugged, then this could be very useful for me, but regardless, it’s nice to see something people have been requesting for a long time now being added.

iMessage is an interesting one. On one hand, surely we already have enough methods of communcation. Texting, email, twitter, facebook etc. You would be forgiven for thinking “why do we need another one?” I’m struggling with this question myself. It would be nice to have a method of communication between iDevices, but how confusing will it be for iPhone users who already have an identical looking texting app? It takes away the simplicity and speed of texting, as you’re relying on 3G or wi-fi, both battery draining. The jury is out on this app I think. We’ll just have to see how it pans out when we get to use it.

News Stand is an interesting idea, and looks to be the fourth separate store Apple are starting, this time dedicated to all newspaper and magazine subscriptions. I like the idea of integrating it directly into the home screen. It makes you wonder why they didn’t do that with iBooks but are here. It’s a bit inconsistent. If it is built into the OS by default as opposed to a download like iBooks then it would be further adding to that inconsistency.

Other improvements of note include Safari, which now has an instapaper clone built in that syncs with iCloud, the reader feature that the desktop version has had for a while and tabbed browsing on iPad, all nice improvements but not earth shattering.

Reminders is pretty self explanatory and looks nice, although I’m so used to Google tasks by this point. You can now use the volume up key to take photos and it’s quicker to jump into the camera app which is a nice touch. The photos app allows simple editing such as cropping, red-eye removal and auto-enhance. Again, all welcome additions.

There are other new features, but most are not really worth talking about, especially Twitter, which seems a bit pointless from where I’m sitting, since you can do all of the things they advertise, albeit slightly less well integrated, by using the official Twitter app which many have already.

Overall though, I think iOS5 is a pretty impressive update and a step forward in many ways. WWDC in general was a triumph. I love iCloud and iOS5 especially and I don’t think they could have done much better with anything they showed on that day.

I’m keenly looking forward to the next Apple event to hear about new iPods, that new iPhone everyone’s speculating about and of course some new computers.

Image via CrunchBase

When I come to think of it, Skype has become an indispensable tool for me recently. I mostly use it to keep in close contact with someone very special to me, and the fact that it’s free to talk to someone in another country for hours every day in perfect sound quality is amazing to me still. I guess it’s only when you really find a practical application for something like this that it really makes you realise how truly useful it is.

Imagine a world without services such as Skype now. Phone bills would be a killer, especially from mobiles. Even text messages to international numbers are ridiculously expensive considering how simple it must be for carriers to transmit that data by this point in time. I know first hand how much international text messages drain your phone credit. You have to strike a balance between wanting to communicate with the person in question and how much you’re willing to give to your rip-off phone network.

Until recently I think I was paying around 20p per message. I then looked at Skype’s SMS charges and found that they only charge 6p per message internationally. I then decided I would use Skype credit for texting whenever I can avoid using my phone. The coolest thing about this service is that you can even validate your phone number with Skype. This allows you to send texts from any Skype app, desktop or mobile and they appear to the person you’re sending them to as just a regular text message from your number.

This is the only Skype premium feature I make use of currently but it’s all I really need right now. They offer a vast selection of cost saving services and while it can appear confusing upon first glance, I think most internet users, especially those comfortable with VOIP should be able to make the most of it with relative ease.

Before I wrote this post, my original plan was to just talk about the new mobile video for iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s something I was hoping they were going to add as soon as I saw Apple unveil FaceTime on iPhone 4 with the front facing camera. It was an obvious next step for mobile Skype that I’m glad we now have.

While I’m not the most comfortable person appearing on video, I can say that the technology itself seems to work brilliantly. The quality was very smooth from what I could tell from my end when I’ve had trouble recently with my MacBook camera.

Aside from the recent major outage, Skype is always a fantastic tool for communication and I look forward to seeing them continue to innovate in both free and paid services. It would be a sad day if we ever lose the ability to call anyone, anywhere for free so I hope we never have to now.

Apple didn’t need to be as aggressive as they have been with this device. They didn’t need to add a retina display, an HD video camera, FaceTime or an A4 chip to keep sales moving. They have basically taken everything that amazed people about the iPhone 4 that didn’t include phone functions, and fitted them all into this device which is so incredibly thin.

Of course, not everything came over unscathed. The stills quality of the back camera is terrible by comparison, and there is no LED flash, but I have a point and shoot for proper photography, and even a 2mp one for snapping on my phone, so this doesn’t matter at all to me. What does matter is the video ability. They could have easily just added a VGA video camera like last year’s nano to the touch and people would have still been impressed, but they went the whole nine yards and blew everyone away.

I won’t go into every detail of the new touch, but as far as my predictions are concerned, I was essentially spot on with all of them, apart from two which were more my own personal predictions that no one else was really making. These were the addition of an FM radio to the package, as well as a new version of iTunes which would allow you to sync your podcast subscriptions from your computer rather than just the episodes themselves. This would allow quick downloading of episodes on the device that wouldn’t require searching the store every time like you currently have to.

Disappointingly, neither of these happened. The radio will have to wait a while until they finally do that, or I’ll just wait for BBC to release their iPlayer App, hopefully with live radio streaming.  The podcast subscription addition is possible in future iOS updates, but it doesn’t look very likely at the moment.

iPod Shuffle

I made some rather outlandish Shuffle predictions, including turning the device into a necklace type product. In the end, it was a pretty simple refresh. They responded to customer complains over the lack of buttons on the last version, and brought them back accordingly. Where the 2nd gen shuffle had a gap to the side of where the buttons were positioned, this one has seemingly no wasted space. The buttons are also 18% bigger to make them as easy as possible to press. Most importantly, they’ve decided to scrap the 4gb version and focused on having a lower capacity, and more importantly, lower priced player designed to have music swapped around every time you sync.

£39 isn’t as cheap as I would have hoped, but it’s still good and it’s almost . One of the problems with last year’s shuffle was that because the device had no buttons on the device itself to control playback, you were restricted to using the pretty poor default headphones unless you bought a special adapter but that wasn’t ideal. Now, the controls are all on the device itself, including a special new button to control the voice over feature, leaving you free to use any headphones you like, which is nice.

I could actually see myself getting a shuffle at some point as a dedicated podcast or audiobook player, or maybe just to load up a few favourite tracks to listen to when I’m out. It’s so light and simple to use that it’s perfect for wearing while jogging. I don’t know if I trust the clip to keep it securely fitted to clothing and I would probably opt for putting it in a pocket instead.

Another reason why it’s ideal for going out is because I’ve taken my 1st gen iPod Touch out in my pocket many times, practically daily and it is a bit bulky considering I often have my pockets loaded up with my phone, keys, wallet and a pedometer sometimes as well. Not only would using a shuffle save me pocket space and weight but it would also keep my new touch from getting it’s screen slightly scratched as my current one has been.

My brother won a 2nd gen shuffle on a crane game at an amusement park a couple of years ago, and it’s great. It’s 1gb which is ideal especially if I’m only going to have one piece of audio on it at a time. The clip is a disaster though, it got bent badly and won’t go back to it’s original shape. It still clips but not well. The worst part is that the charging dock is designed so that if the device is bent at all, it won’t fit unless you really force it. They fixed this in the more recent models by using simply a cable instead of a dock. I’m glad they’ve solved this problem now as the clips are very easily ruined. I personally would have preferred the clip to be optional, similar to the old iPod Mini which had a plastic clip that you could fit when you required it.

Overall I do like the new shuffle and like the product line in general as I feel it still fills a niche in the market, especially as the price lowers.

Image by David Armano via Flickr

Facebook places is the latest major feature addition to the massive social network. You can use your iPhone or other compatible phone or iPod Touch presumably, and check in to any location when you’re out. You can describe what you’re doing and tag friends who are there with you. Essentially, you can look at this as a simplified version of foursquare built into Facebook itself.

The similarities with foursquare don’t end there though as interestingly, the logo for places is actually what looks like a 4 in a square. In an interview, the lead designer on the project has said that it’s purely coincidental and that the team had found the news stories around the web on the subject funny.

They are probably telling the truth but I can’t help but feel that they must have had foursquare on the brain while developing this, and for no one to see the 4 in the square is quite surprising really. Nevertheless, the service is here, and while it does lack the badge gaining and rewards system that foursquare has, what it does have in its favor is instant access to potentially half a billion registered users right out of the gate.

I say right out of the gate, but in truth the service is rolling out slowly, first across the US at the moment, and then later everywhere else. To be honest, as much as I would like to say how much this is a terrible idea and how everyone should just use foursquare, I can’t help but feel that this is a better implementation. It’s all integrated, there are no unnecessary gimmicks and it’s easy to understand. Obviously, privacy is going to come into play here, but there are ways to make sure that only your closest friends can see where you are by using friends groups.

No one is going to be forced to use this and therefore I can’t see any big privacy backlash incoming. For those who use it, I think it could prove useful. The original premise of Twitter was to communicate with close friends and possibly meet up with them. Twitter has since morphed into more of a social discussion tool instead and this and other similar services like foursquare and gowalla fill that original spot in the market much better.

The foursquare founder recently said in an interview that he thought this new service was uninteresting and that there wasn’t much to it, but I disagree. I think that simplicity is key and that this service has potential to be more useful than his one is. It’s still fun as well but not in such an obvious way.

This kind of location based social networking seems to be the latest trend with most main services integrating it in some way. Google have latitude which allows you to track your friends on a map using mobile or iGoogle. Twitter now also have a location system. It’s slightly different to Facebook places and others in that you don’t check in to a location but rather post in as much or as little detail as you choose, where you are when you post. This is entirely optional but is more proof of how social networking is set to get more and more intrusive into every aspect of our lives. This trend is set to continue but hopefully we’ll always have control over the privacy of these location services.

It’ll be interesting to see how this works when they launch it here. It will also be interesting to see how it gathers the location, whether it be GPS, Wi-Fi or mobile phone towers, as well as how the service develops and how good the uptake is.

Related Articles

• Facebook Places Designer: Any Foursquare Logo Similarities Were Not Intentional (techcrunch.com)

The current, outgoing lineup. Image via Wikipedia

I’ve recently talked about my wants for the next generations of iPod Touch and Apple TV which we could see next Wednesday. The Apple TV is not necessarily a certainty for the show but it will come sometime soon. They just might focus on iPods only for the time being.

I now want to go over what I hope the next generations of Nano and Shuffle will bring to the table. These aren’t products that I would typically buy these days due to the iPod Touch doing so much more, but they are fun to speculate about.

iPod Nano 6th Gen

1. Touch screen and no click wheel – The leaked shots of cases for a supposed new, smaller and square nano combined with the leak earlier this year or a 1.7 inch touch screen would indicate that Apple are going in a radically different direction with the nano this time around. Personally I find the click wheel fiddly on my old 2nd gen nano and I think it’s time they got rid of it, iconic or not. They still have the classic to fly the click wheel flag.
2. Cut down version of iOS – because the device will be so small, they can’t use the regular iOS interface. They’ll have to cut it down further to fit on this device but it will save space and look great.
3. Camera – I hope the camera stays part of the package although it is weird to envision one on a device so small as it could be difficult to hold. Still, I hope they do keep it and up the resolution as well as allow stills to be taken.
4. Radio – Hopefully the radio also stays as this is a feature I personally would find very useful.

iPod Shuffle 4th Gen

1. New form factor – The only way I could see the shuffle getting any smaller would be if they incorporated it into a necklace or into the headphones themselves. Personally I’d prefer to be able to use my own headphones. You could do a wearable necklace shuffle with the controls built into the the strap somehow. You could then have a cable tidy solution to stop the headphone cable hanging down and bouncing everywhere as well. However, they will probably just play it fairly safe, or just remove the product entirely and replace it with the new, smaller nano.
2. Voice control – The nano already has voice over support. iPod Touches come with a mic in the headphone control and this feature would make sense on a device like the shuffle which obviously doesn’t have a screen and is designed to be used during exercise.

The event is next Wednesday at 6.00 pm UK time. It’ll be interesting to see if any of this and all of the other rumours end up coming true. I’m excited to find out.

iPod Touch 4th Generation

1. iPhone 4 power – An A4 chip should be included so that all the same games and apps can be run on this new iPod.
2. Retina Display – The new screen from the iPhone is likely to make an appearance in the iPod Touch as well, as long as costs aren’t too high.
3. Twin Cameras with FaceTime support – I always thought having one camera would be a cool addition to the iPod Touch for quick photo taking and easy uploading. Video recording and a front facing camera for FaceTime and possibly Skype video calling would be a great bonus.
4. FM Radio – Sometimes it’s nice to have a radio for when you don’t know what you want to listen to. At the moment I have to use my phone for radio. It works but I’d like to be able to use my usual headphones and save my phone battery. I think Apple could do a great job with something like that, and they’ve already proven it with the iPod Nano last year.
5. A built in Mic – If the iPod had a mic build in just like an iPhone then you could use Skype like a real phone. It can be a hassle and uncomfortable to use an inline mic or a headset.
6. Gyroscope – It’s the latest innovation for iPhone gaming, and it should come to the iPod as well to keep them equal.
7. Podcasts Subscriptions – Your podcast subscriptions should be transferable to the iPod for easy downloading and managing of episodes. Currently you can download episodes through iTunes but you must search for the podcast you require every time which is far from ideal.

Apple iTV

1. Low cost – If the sub $100 price tag is true then it will become a mainstream product where the original Apple TV failed to. This product category is really maturing now and has the potential to become another pillar of Apple’s business alongside the iPod, iPhone and Mac.
2. App store – An app store is essential. With this they can do what they did with iPad in making modified apps to suit the device. Things like NetFlix, Cable TV integration like Google TV, an iTunes subscription service and even games are likely to come from this.
3. Gaming – This device will likely represent Apple’s best chance of entering the console games market to date. iPhone games have exploded and if priced well iTV games can do the same easily. If the box has bluetooth, they can even make a controller like a PS3 duel-shock to play games on. Even without that, the potential for casual games is enormous.
4. Podcast Subscriptions – At the moment you can stream your downloaded podcasts over the air from your computer to your Apple TV automatically. This is complex though and I think there should be a way to subscribe directly on the device itself to cut out that complexity and give people more options.

These are a few of the most talked about as well as my own ideas for these devices. Whether or not the new Apple TV will be showcased at the upcoming event or not is unknown, but even so, I’m really looking forward to it and hope as many of these come true as possible.

I’m very excited for this. I’ve been a big fan of Tweetie 2 on iPod Touch for a while now. I was a bit reluctant to purchase it at first especially when you had to buy it again if you had the first version.

Once you install it though, it becomes clear that it is a very well thought out and designed application. While appearing very simple at first, it’s looks are deceiving and it does feature all of the same functions as an app like Tweet Deck does. They are just hidden away while you don’t need them.

The re-branding of the app is a good idea. The Facebook app has been at or near the top of the App Store popularity charts since it was released, especially in the social networking category. Twitter apps have certainly been popular, but people have been wary of unofficial apps, especially ones which aren’t free, no matter how good they are.

Having an official, branded Twitter app for free will surely shoot it right to the top of the app store download charts upon the re-release of tweetie. This will also ruin the market for other twitter apps but to be fair to everyone else, they’ve had a good run and Twitter could and really should have done something like this months ago.

Paid un-official apps are going to be a very tough sell now especially when a free app does everything better. Not only that, but free apps which use advertising to generate revenue will also be in trouble because the Twitter App will likely not use advertising either. I would assume that they’re not planning on surprising us with ads in the app. Twitter are known for not wanting to advertise in the traditional way, and are looking at different, unorthodox methods for generating profit.

You would assume that Twitter will follow facebook and make the app ad-free and focusing on advertising on the main website itself.

Whatever they choose to do, I’m very excited about this and the future of Twitter in the mobile space and overall.

Another downside is that sometimes the touch screen feels too sensitive in this application and sometimes clicks things when you don’t mean to while just browsing around the new tab page for example.

Using the double tap to zoom and panning don’t feel as smooth and well done as in Safari and there is no rubber banding effect when you reach the edge of the page. This isn’t exactly a fault but it makes it feel less like an iPhone app and the feeling of the page just stopping is a strange one to get used to.

Overall, there aren’t a lot of problems with this app. If you want a good, fast browser and want the advantages in speed and some functionality that Opera brings, then it’s a good alternative to Safari.

Normally I would be put off by the lack of a wikipedia search box or a new tab page in safari but I’ve been using it for so long now that I’m used to it and have adapted how I use the browser. Therefore, for me I’m happy to stick with the official browser for the time being.

With that said, I am very excited to see the possible future offerings from Google and Mozilla should they create iPhone versions of Chrome and Firefox.

Hopefully by then they’ll have released new ones with double storage and even faster performance to help justify the extra cost. At the end of the day though, the iPod Touch is by far the best Gadget other than a full computer that I’ve ever owned and buying another one wouldn’t really trouble me if it stays as good as it is now and keeps getting better which I’m sure it will.

With that said, here are the 7 main topics that Apple covered yesterday and my thoughts on each.

1. Multitasking. This is clearly the biggest addition and really adds a lot of extra usability to the iPhone / iPod Touch. The UI for this is simple and seemingly elegant. I’m wondering what happens to an app when you return to the home screen. I’m assuming that all apps continue to run until you power off the device. That may not be my personal preference especially if I open and close a lot of apps, but even so, I’m sure it will be implemented in the best way possible.
2. Folders. This may not be a huge announcement but for me personally, I can certainly get behind this. I do try to keep apps as organised as I can but folders will make it far easier. The fact that you can add folders to the dock (which now actually looks like a dock) in a similar way to stacks on the Mac is a nice addition.
3. Improved Mail. The mail app for me has always been adequate and has done everything I would want. Maybe a “delete all spam now” button would be nice to have but aside from that I’m fairly happy with it. The new improvements though do add a bit extra to the app for people who are a bit more picky than myself. There is now a unified inbox option (which may get confusing), quick inbox switching, threaded messages like in Gmail and the ability to open attachments in 3rd party applications which could prove very useful. Highlights for me are the quick inbox switching and threaded messages.
4. iBooks. This was quite an obvious announcement when you think about it. iBooks has just launched and is yet another way for them to make a lot of money from selling digital content. In a very similar move to when they put the App Store on iPod Touch as well as the iPhone, this is even more of an obvious choice. The iPad has only just launched and currently is the only way to read books on one of Apples devices. Even though the iPad is the best device for this function, Apple can put the iBooks app on the two other smaller devices with huge install bases and instantly increase their potential book buyers by 10s of millions of people. Not only is it potential extra revenue, but it’s also good for iPad owners as they will be able to sync their current page online so that when they are out without their iPad, they can continue their book on the less ideal device but for shorter reading lengths.
5. Enterprise Features. There are several new additions to the enterprise element of the iPhone OS. You can now have multiple Exchange Accounts. Employers can distribute specialist company apps over the air and there is better data protection. Not exactly my thing but if it helps apple be more successful as a business device, then I’m all for that.
6. iAd. It is weird to talk about ads as a feature of an OS, because of course we hate to be spammed with ads. However, I thought it was interesting how Steve talked about interactivity combined with emotion. It’s absolutely true. While you see your fare share of terrible, annoying ads on TV and online, sometimes you do see something that really is well made and makes you interested in that brand. Judging from the demo ads they showed, I can definitely say that I would much prefer this kind of advertising than any others. Not only does it not take you out of your app to the browser (which on a slower 1st gen touch is even worse), but the ads really can offer something to the consumer rather than annoying them and making them less interested in a product. Yes, Apple can even make ads cool.

Overall, it was a pretty good show. I should also just mention that the allowing of home screen wallpaper and the new dock really enhance the look and I hope they give us some good wallpaper options similar to the ones on Snow Leopard when this comes out.