Author: hilzfuld

by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mac, Marketing, Tech

Huge Like Mob and Tech N’ Marketing News

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It’s a good morning for my friends and I. So there is good news and…better news! Let’s start with the good news. Like Mob, our podcast about mobile world developments, is live on iTunes. We have recorded two episodes so far, but we are going to be recording weekly, so check it out if you have even the most remote interest in anything cellular. Here is the link.

The better news is that Tech N’ Marketing has made it to Apple.com. We are quoted giving a review of the app that has been in the top 10 apps since its introduction, iFart. I have to admit again, when Aryeh posted about this app, I told him I thought it was not news worthy and that the whole fart (I was considering using the word flatulation, but c’mon, who am I kidding?) app industry is a ridiculous one.

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I was quickly put in my place when iFart made its developers $40,000 in two days and is the top downloaded app in the App Store. Well, it turns out that Aryeh was right on another count because the exact quote that I thought was not worthy to be on our blog, made it to Apple.com. It also made it to the top of the app’s description in the App Store.

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I  guess that is why Aryeh is the marketing expert. I think I’ll stick to the tech aspect of this blog, and let the experts do their thing.
-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mac, Mobile, Tech

The Coolest App Goes To…

A new iPhone app has just come to the world and this thing is extremely cool, I am talking Ocarina cool. It is things like this that make me want to go out and learn programming, I mean this is truly mind boggling.

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Now, as talented of a writer as I believe I am, I do not think my words would do this app justice. You gotta watch this video.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Tech

Great New Podcast About Mobile News

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Just wanted to give a shout-out about our new podcast. We recorded our second episode last night, and it is pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. Last night, Aryeh could not make it, so it was just myself and Itamar.

Itamar deserves all the credit for anything I know about mobile phones, I was using a RAZR before he got me into the whole thing. He is CEO and Co-Founder of Cellogic. They make a pretty revolutionary mobile application calling FlyScreen that enables you to put mobile widgets on your phone’s idle screen. The widgets update in real time and use very little data and battery. Pretty cool stuff.

Anyway, about the podcast. You can listen and subscribe to it at LikeMob.com.

Please send us feedback so we can improve. We are going to try to video stream it next week. Looking forward to your comments.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Tech

Article On $99 iPhones Misleads

I just came across something that really bothered me, thought I would blog about it. Everyone who has a site or a blog knows that traffic is important. There are many ways to attract traffic to your site, the big one and the the buzz word you probably hear a lot about is SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It basically gets your site higher up on search engines like Google or Yahoo.

Without getting into the debate about the legitimacy of these methods, I think we can all agree on one thing, misleading your readers to gain traffic is not a legitimate method. OK, now that we agree on that, let me tell you what happened. A lot of the people I am following on Twitter all of a sudden posted the following message: “Wal-Mart Sells Apple iPhone, $99 Models Available – InformationWeek http://tinyurl.com/9yh5jd“. The posted link was to this article, the title being “Walmart sells Apple iPhone, $99 model available“.

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When I saw these messages on Twitter, I assumed that someone was misinformed, but was then surprised to find out that the author of the article was the one doing the misleading. The title is simply not true. Walmart is NOT selling $99 iPhones. OK, it does not explicitly say Walmart is selling them, but it is extremely implied, and that in my opinion, is not the way to do things. First of all, I just think it is ethically wrong to mislead someone, but more importantly, I know I will never go to that site again for any information.

FYI, what the article says is that Walmart is selling iPhones, and at the very end of the article there is one sentence about AT&T selling refurbished iPhones for $99, nothing to do with Walmart.

The readers will read the article, see that it was misleading, and lose trust in the source. So maybe the site will accomplish their immediate goal of increasing traffic, but long term, it just causes damage, to the reader, to the source, and to the integrity of the Web as a whole. Dontchya think?

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mac, Marketing, Mobile, Tech

I Would Buy An iPhone Pro; Would You?

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This morning a very interesting photo appeared on the Web. No one is claiming that it is real, it is just a very interesting concept. It is being dubbed the iPhone Pro or Elite (I believe the first time anyone uttered the words iPhone Pro can be seen in the video below), and it is pretty darn impressive.

I always find it kinda silly when talking about what features a mock up has because, um, it does not exist.  I guess we can talk about what Apple could add to make the iPhone even more awesome. So this phone would have a full QWERTY keyboard, which might actually turn people away from the iPhone due to the thickness it would add, but I am assuming it would attract more users, especially business oriented consumers.

The result of a Google Images search for the words iPhone Pro

The result of a Google Images search for the words iPhone Pro

According to the creator of this Photoshop piece of art, the iPhone Pro would have 60GB of memory, although I personally think 32 is more than enough for 99% of people. It would also offer a one megapixel front camera for iChat, and a high quality camera, with good lenses, optical zoom, and video capability, all things that I think everyone agrees are missing on the current iPhone.

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Gizmodo went ahead and mocked up the mock up. They added two hardware keys and a D-Pad that can be used for gaming. Being as I am not much of a gaming person myself, I am not feeling it.

To just add a few things of my own, I don’t think I am telling you anything you do not know, but here goes:

  1. We need some copy and paste functionality, but that really goes without saying.
  2. I truly believe the addition of MMS functionality would be a blessed one, although my colleagues dispute this point and believe that no one uses MMS today.
  3. Stereo Bluetooth or A2DP.
  4. Ability to save email attachments. Yes, you cannot do that on the current iPhone.
  5. Ability to search your emails.
October, 2008? Did you mean 2009?

October, 2008? Did you mean 2009?

To land a little, MacWorld 2009 is approaching us, and I do not think anyone believes we will see an iPhone Pro. What people do believe is that Apple (not Steve Jobs) will announce an iPhone Nano and possibly a 32GB iPhone.

What I believe is that if they do not implement at least half of the above features in a firmware upgrade soon, I am not going to be happy, and we know already know that when Tech N’ Marketing is not happy, Apple is not happy.

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Mobile, Tech

“If Apple Can Do It, So Can We”

12-16-08-lenovo_ophoneLooks like the cellular market is far from being  exclusive to corporations like Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, or HTC. Apple saw their own success in the world of computers and media players and decided there is no reason not to take that and apply it to the cellular world. I think it is safe to say now, two years and  more than 10 million iPhones later (that number might actually be low compared to the reality), they have succeeded.

Comes along Lenovo, and says “anything you can do, I can do better”. We do not know a lot about the new Lenovo phone besides of course its iPhone-dominating looks. We also know it runs 624MHz CPU, which, correct me if I am wrong, is the fastest available on any phone today.  It also has a mini USB interface, a 5-megapixel camera, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Oh, and it is running on this operating system designed by a small company called Google. If not for anything else, this gives them one point over Apple.

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The experts say it will not make it to the US, but that does not mean Americans cannot buy it. That’s what we have the Web for, right? So the “Ophone” is a little bit bigger than, who else would they be comparing it to, the iPhone on all sides, but not by much. The way I see it, if I could get an open Lenovo phone, running Android, that looks like that, for a few millemeters extra, I am so there. I mean, cmon look at that screen!

-Hillel

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by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile

“Check Out My iPhone” Apps

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As I was looking through my iPod for another good app to review, I quickly realized that the vast majority of my apps are useless apps that only give you another way to show off your new iPhone or iPod Touch. They can be split up into one category of apps that only the iPhone’s screen and interface can handle (Google Earth), and another category of apps so dumb, no one would bother creating them for any other platform, but somehow they make money in the App store. Go figure!

Here are some examples:

  • Google Earth: Now I know what you are saying. “Whatya talking about? I use Google Earth all the time”. No, you don’t. It is a really cool and futuristic app that blows my mind every time I use it (I would like it even more if it had Street View, cough cough.) For some reason, I just do not see anyone trying to figure out how to get to their destination based on old satellite pictures.

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  • Mini Piano: A very cool app that turns your iPhone into a full fledged piano.  Pure entertainment. Somehow though, I do not see myself solving any of life’s dilemmas by playing Old Mcdonald Had a Farm on a 3.5″ screen.

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  • Zippo Lighter: From the second I saw this app on my cousin’s iPod, I knew I had to have it. This app lets you select a Zippo, flip it open, light it up, and move the flame around using your accelerometer.  That’s it. Nothing more to tell.

  • Coin Toss: OK, this app is the next to go. The way I organize my apps is that I try to limit them to 4 home screens. When a new app is released that I really want, I delete an old app that I do not really want. This is the next to get tossed (sorry for the pun, it is early in the morning and I am just warming up). Basically, it displays a coin on your screen that you can flip and call heads or tales. Pretty cool visual effects I guess.

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  • Fake Caller: I guess in theory, there could be a practical use for this app, I just do not think any normal human being would actually use it. This app basically lets you make your iPhone/iPod Touch ring when you set it to. It is intended to basically give you an easy way of getting out of an awkward social encounter you do not want to be a part of, i.e gives you an excuse to stop a conversation with someone you do not like. To which I ask, why talk to them in the first place? Anyway, I have found a different use for this app all together. It helps me pretend I have an iPhone not an iPod Touch. My therapist says it helps my confidence.
    • This is not fake. This is just a screen shot of when Steve Jobs really called me.

    This is not fake. This is just a screen shot of when Steve Jobs really called me.

  • Peanut Butter Jelly Time: This app has got to be my favorite “check out my iPhone” app. Who doesn’t remember the Peanut Butter Jelly Time video circulating the Web like 8 years ago? Well this wonderful app puts that video in your hands. Yes, it puts a dancing banana that sings the words “It’s peanut butter Jelly time” along with some other highly intelligent lyrics, on your iPhone. How can you not love it?

    • I could go on with a lot more, as the majority of my four home screens are comprised of these totally useless apps, but I figured I would stop here. If you come away with anything from this post, it should be a list of 6 apps that you must download immediately.

    -Hillel

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    by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mobile, Tech

    VLC Remote: The Perfect App; Almost

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    Let me start off by saying that VLC Media Player is hands down the best video player I have ever encountered on a PC. It is an open source, simple to use, lightweight application that plays almost every format of video.  I personally have never come across a video format that could not be played by VLC.

    So imagine the excitement when I stumbled upon this amazing little app for my iPod Touch that claimed to transform the iPod into a remote control that is able to control any instance of VLC on a PC. I had to try it out. Not only was I not disappointed, I was so impressed, I seriously considered buying the premium version (I have yet to purchase any app from the App Store, nothing seemed worth it; YET) that enables you to not only control VLC but also select files to play with no displayed ads.

    I did not end up buying it because like many apps on the iPod, it is an amazing app, but in reality I am never going to use it, or I wont use it enough to warrant me spending the $1.99 for the non-free app.

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    The app works completely seamlessly with no delay at all. You click the Stop button on the iPod and VLC stops immediately. No bugs, no problems. Well, almost none. It did not detect my PC, I had to manually add it by its IP address, which took 10 seconds.  Once I initially set that up, the app worked perfectly.

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    So if you ever watch videos on your PC, first thing’s first, download VLC. Then, download the VLC Remote Free app from the App store, lay back, and enjoy the movie!

    -Hillel

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    by hilzfuld on iPhone, Marketing, Tech

    The Top App: You Gotta Be Kidding Me

    When Aryeh posted about the iFart app, an application that enables you to make a farting noise using your iPhone or iPod Touch, I did not think it was news/blog worthy. Well, it seems I was very wrong! The iFart app is said to be pulling in $10,000 a day. It has been in the top apps list every day since it was announced. Yesterday, it hit its highest numbers with 13,000 downloads.

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    According to MacRumors’ numbers, the iFart app pulled in over 9k for its developers, just yesterday! So how do we explain this crazy popularity of fart apps? Well, it is probably a mixture of a few elements. The first one is that Apple originally rejected these types of apps and only recently allowed them into the app store, that probably gives a lot of people incentive to download them.  Maybe it is the utter stupidity of these apps that cause people to download them and show them to friends for a good laugh. But to pay for such an app?

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    I mean, I have to admit, I downloaded the whoopie cushion app just to laugh about it with my wife, since she claimed a few weeks ago that so many apps in the App store are just so useless that she wouldn’t be surprised if someone made a whoopie cushion app. Too bad I did not listen to her, I could’ve been a very rich man today.

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    I had to download it, but after showing it to her and laughing for 30 seconds, I deleted it. So why on earth would someone pay for a fart app? I guess the so called economic crisis is not felt by iPhone users. How else do you explain it?

    -Hillel

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    by hilzfuld on iPhone, Mac, Marketing, Mobile, Software

    iPhone Nano: To Be Or Not To Be

    7-9-07-iphonenano1Still not much going on except for what seems to be a revival of a an old rumor; an iPhone Nano. Nobody knows anything about this device except that hints of its announcement keep mysteriously showing up all over the Web. First it was the small case that we saw, and now the below image brought to us by MacRumors.com.

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    I was sure this was a fake when the last pictured appeared, but now I am not so sure. I’ll tell you one thing, I do not understand why Apple would release such a product. If I were Steve (does he even make decisions over there anymore?), before I released an iPhone with a much smaller touch screen, I would release an iPhone with the ability to copy and paste, something that was available when my parents bought their first computer.

    Well, if Apple does end up announcing an iPhone Nano, will it look like the picture displayed above or maybe the device introduced by Dave Letterman in the video below?
    -Hillel

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