The Dugout • Where You Can Learn About Business Bullpen

RSS | Email | Twitter

archive random mobile

Posts tagged iPhone

December 30 09

19 notes
read/leave feedback
- iPhone
- Reblog
Reblogged from Trapped in Time

Where To Spend Your iTunes Dollars

Here is a really good post for iPhone owners by one of our design partners out of Chicago.

trappedintime:

If you own an iPhone or iPod touch, or just got one for Christmas, you likely received a gift card for the iTunes store. I almost never buy music on iTunes, for a variety of factors, so I would almost always recommend spending your money on apps (especially right now, as many developers are offering end of year discounts).

I have a lot of apps (upward of 100) for my iPhone, so I thought I’d share some that I think are definitely worth buying.

1. AwesomeNote ($3.99)

I’ve always been disappointed with the bland notes application that comes with the iPhone. There’s no way to organize your notes, no way to customize the look or feel (I hate the default font and paper style), and it doesn’t sync well with your computer.

ToDo and note taking applications are very popular because of the void left by Apple’s default application. I’ve tried a variety of these type of applications, including Informant and Simple Note, but found AwesomeNote to do the job the best for my needs. Why? Well I don’t take and store notes on my iPhone specifically for work. Thus, I don’t need a ToDo app with note taking capabilities. Second, I’d prefer to keep my notes organized in folders so that I can quickly add new notes related to a category (see the screenshot above), which is why Simplenote is well, too simple.

AwesomeNote allows you to create folders, define the color of each folder, an applicable icon, and customize the style of the note - background, font size and color, a variety of easily customizable options depending on the subject matter. You can also choose various views in which notes within a folder display - i.e. thumbnails or list view. Additionally, you can use the app in either orientation - vertically or horizontally - and even lock the orientation if you prefer a particular view. The other great option is importing and exporting your notes to your Google or Evernote account. If you’re a Google Docs user, this makes a whole lot of sense.

For those who do prefer assigning due dates and using notes in a more task-oriented way, you can make your notes into ToDos with due dates and reminders!

2. Convert ($1.99)

Convert provides a very clean, intuitive interface to get a conversion from just about any set of units to another. Conversion units include area, energy, currency, force, computer, angle, speed, pressure, time, temperature, and typography. My favorite part of this app is the built-in calculator, which is similar to the default iPhone calculator. Essentially, you can replace one of your existing icons with this one and always have a handy reference at your fingertips!

3. Tweetie 2 ($2.99)

There are dozens of Twitter clients available for the iPhone. Some are free, some are a dollar, some are more. For the price, I can’t think of a more useful app, even for the not-so-interested Twitter user. The search features alone (particularly saved searches) allows you to keep on top of topics of interest to you. Tweetie 2 manages multiple accounts, integrates with various bookmarking and image hosting services, and features one of the nicest interfaces of any iPhone app on the market. For tumblr and Wordpress users, you can now also add your accounts to Tweetie 2 for a single source to find, navigate and share a variety of information.

4. Instapaper Pro ($4.99)

I hate bookmarking sites or articles that I know I won’t be interested in or need a few weeks from now, which is why Instapaper has taken a permanent spot on my bookmark bar. With Instapaper Pro, I can bring some unification to all of my browsing and bookmarking, wherever I’m at. While the free version does a decent job of this, the paid application allows me to better organize my bookmarked articles, which gives me more purpose when I try to navigate through my bookmarks after the fact.

For iPhone users the integration between Instapaper and NewsNetWire (I’ll cover that shortly) as well as Tweetie, make it a no-brainer.

5. CNN Mobile ($1.99)

CNN Mobile has one of the best iPhone interfaces I’ve come across. You can view stories in various categories in Cover Art mode for easy navigation, access videos and analysis wherever you’re at, and perhaps my favorite feature are push notifications of breaking news. It’s nice to know when something important happens if your attention is currently elsewhere. CNN also has a portion of the app dedicated to your current location with local news and weather that are very up to date.

6. Simplify Music 2 ($7.99)

I’ve detailed this app in a lot of depth, but the bottom line is that if you consider yourself a music connoisseur, or use the term “library”, this app is worth the money (even though they raised the price by $2). I currently have about 60,000 songs from my own computer accessible wherever I’m at, and the social networking aspect of it allows you to have up to 30 friends’ libraries accessible as well. With the right people, you could easily have access to a quarter million songs wherever you’ve got phone or Internet access.

7. NetNewsWire ($4.99)

If you use Google Reader, NetNewsWire for OS X, or FeedDemon for WIndows to manage your RSS feeds, this app is perfect for you. If you’re an Instapaper user, it’s especially useful. NNW allows you to sync your RSS feeds from your home computer with your iPhone, so you’re always up to date with what you have and haven’t read. Star items or send them to Instapaper for later reading, and organize and view by categories/folders defined by you. Great for picking out what you’ll read later in the day while you’re on your way to work.

8. Things ($9.99)

There are a plethora of task management/productivity applications available for the iPhone, but this one does it just right for me. Its interface is simple and clean, it syncs wirelessly over WiFi on your home network (assuming you use the equally impressive desktop version). Export ToDos straight to iCal, manage by project or client, set reminders for upcoming due dates. This has been one of my favorite apps from day one, even if the price tag does seem a bit hefty.

Free apps you should also consider downloading: Apple Remote, ESPN ScoreCenter, NYTimes, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr, IMDB, iDisk, Dragon Dictation, DirecTV, Boxee Remote

via (trappedintime)
December 27 09

1 note
read/leave feedback
Managing Facebook Pages on the iPhone

Managing Facebook pages with the iPhone became a lot easier after the last major Facebook iPhone app release.

The easiest way to find your page or one of your favorite pages is to use the search bar.

Notice how there are three tabs/categories to narrow your search: Friends, Everyone, and Pages.

Once you land on your page, you can add it as a favorite to your dashboard by touching the arrow in the top right corner of the screen. After touching the arrow button, the dialogue box pictured below will appear.

Very much like the native iPhone home page, now your favorite page(s) can be found on a subsequent page in your dashboard.

The iPhone display for pages is clean and now equal to profiles. The picture below shows an example of two posts on the Business Bullpen wall. The top post is an imported note from our blog and the second is a post I created within the Facebook website.

Comments and likes are also enabled for pages in the iPhone app. By clicking on the notification on your wall (pictured above), the screen below will appear.

Not only does this individual post page display who liked the post or left a comment, but it also gives users an opportunity to leave a comment.

Posting to a page is possible now through the iPhone app. In the picture below, you’ll see that you can post text or an image.

In addition to the Wall, Facebook pages on the iPhone have an Info and Photos tab. The info tab is pictured below.

Within the info tab, clicking on the fans will display a list of your Facebook friends who are fans. It does not display a list of all your fans.

If you click on the street address within the info tab, Google maps will open. This is a fantastic integration.

Clicking on the website in the info tab launches the website within the Facebook app.

The photos tab displays the photo albums for the page, and then you can drill down into each album. This functionality and display should be very familiar to you if you have been using the last version of the Facebook iPhone app.

Last, but certainly not least, your posts will display in your news feed and fans’ news feeds. Here is how it looks in the new landscape mode.

From a personal standpoint, I’ve had my issues with Facebook, but I am getting over them and learning how to use the tool more effectively to drown out the noise. From a business standpoint, it continues to improve and for iPhone users, this latest version of the Facebook app is a huge benefit for those of us who are always on the go. What do you think?

N. Todd Wickersty
Director of Sales & Operations

Todd has 15 years of management, marketing, information technology, and business development experience from major corporations, startups, and the public sector. Todd founded Business Bullpen in July of 2005 and is currently responsible for business development, operations, and account/project management.

Todd has spent most of his career helping sales and operations teams get the most out of technology at Accenture, America Online, and Live Nation/Musictoday. His ability to bridge the gap between business and technology has enabled him to successfully grow Business Bullpen into a web solutions firm that clients can trust and rely upon.

Connect with Todd:

H. Graham Blevins
Director of Technology

Graham has 10 years of information technology and management experience working with many public and private sector businesses. At Business Bullpen, Graham is responsible for solution architecture, development, technology strategy, and provides operational and business development support.

Prior to Business Bullpen, Graham led development projects for data management pioneers Data Blueprint. In this capacity, he was responsible for designing solutions to aid ERP implementations, data migrations, and data quality engineering efforts; and built a strong record creating solutions to complex business problems. Graham also served on Data Blueprint's Board of Directors.

Connect with Graham:

Wyndsor Hug
Designer

Wyndsor Hug has over 10 years experience providing design solutions in traditional print media and over 8 years working in web and UI design.

Prior to working with Business Bullpen, Wyndsor worked with music industry startup, Musictoday, in Charlottesville, Virginia for 6 years. In 2000, she was promoted to become the company's first Art Director and 4 years later was promoted to Creative Director where she served until leaving the company. While at Musictoday, Wyndsor developed, implemented, and led the creative vision and brand of the company helping to build a base of over 500 clients in 6 years. Since leaving Musictoday, she has worked as a freelance designer and consultant. In addition to her work for Business Bullpen, Wyndsor has worked in a variety of industries for clients including Dave Matthews Band, ATO Records, AutoMax, Food Network and pro bono work for the School District of Philadelphia as well as Charlottesville, Virginia non-profits, Piedmont CASA and Community Children's Theatre.

Wyndsor comes from a traditional art and design background and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design from the University of Texas at Austin. She has won awards for both her print and web design solutions.

Connect with Wyndsor:

Gary Cope
SEO & Online Marketing Specialist

Gary has more than 18 years of experience in communications including broadcast and print media, corporate communications, and online marketing. At Business Bullpen, Gary conducts search engine optimization (SEO) audits and implementation; consults with clients regarding their search marketing strategies; and develops social media plans designed to help clients take full advantage of online marketing.

Prior to Business Bullpen, Gary provided Web design and online marketing services through his company, CWI Media & Marketing. He also served as an in-house SEO professional for Luna Innovations Incorporated. Gary regularly attends search marketing conferences and from 2007 to 2008, he sat on the In-House SEO Committee for SEMPO, the Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization.

Connect with Gary:

Wendy Wertz Schuyler
Intra-disciplinary Graphic Designer

Wendy Wertz Schuyler is an intra-disciplinary graphic designer living and working in Roanoke, VA. She started her design career in Warsaw, Poland at the McCann Erickson advertising agency, one of the world's largest and most influential, after earning a B.S. in Advertising/Communication Arts with a minor in Dance from Appalachian State University. Ms. Schuyler worked for several years in traditional publishing prior to leaping into her current project, upUPperiscope, inc; a revolutionary, intra-disciplinary design firm, created with love by she and mini think tank, Beth Deel. Their most exciting and ambitious project to date is myScoper.com, a dazzling interactive event-centric website for Roanoke and beyond.

Connect with Wendy: