Archive for the 'tech' category

How not to follow the Tour de France

Jul 05 2010 Published by under online services, tech

Very occasionally I like to not know stuff and, when that happens, being compulsively hyper-connected can make life quite difficult. One of those things is the results of today’s Tour de France stage. I like to get home and watch the coverage not yet knowing the outcome – pretty old school, huh? It takes all my emotional energy to avoid BBC sports but I realised that I don’t have the willpower to avoid Twitter for half the afternoon. What to do?

The plan is this – I’ll add the likely “result spoilers” to a list – TdF_unfollow – and unfollow them. Then, at the end of the race, I can use the list to easily refollow them and I’m back in business for the less interesting 49 weeks of the year.

I know there are web clients which can manage this process without unfollow / refollow but as I tend to use many different clients and devices to access Twitter during the day, it’s easier to totally wipe them from my timeline.

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iPhone apps I'd spend a few bob on

Feb 28 2010 Published by under tech

When I went for the iPhone, one of the key reasons was a sense that the app ecosystem would mean I used the phone more than any other model, even if it meant accepting some of the (widely documented) shortcomings.

This remains the case but there are still a few apps which I’d love to see launched:

  • Pizza ordering. Whichever of Domino’s or Pizza Hut get this out first will make a killing. And if I can convince them to shove the pizza through my living room window I won’t even have to heave myself off the couch.
  • A today screen. An app which shows next 2 or 3 appointments, most recent emails, etc. I think this is blocked by the SDK but it is such an obvious productivity app.
  • Tesco grocery ordering. I know that Ocado have an app but we’re a Tesco household so, truth be told, I want a Tesco ordering app. It should link to my online grocery shopping account, be able to display my “most commonly ordered” list from my online shopping account and be able to place orders on the app. Tesco do have some innovative iPhone apps in play (Tesco card on iPhone, storefinder) so hopefully they’ll get onto this and bring it all together.
  • Household management. In discussing the idea with my wife, she suggested a “household management” app which would suggest ordering basic supplies (toilet paper, cleaning products, etc.) based on average consumption for a household of the size of mine. I guess I’d need to put in how many adults & children are in the house and then let the app do the rest. It would need to be integrated to, or part of, my grocery shopping app so it has knowledge of when I’ve ordered what. Then it can popup reminders, create baskets, etc. One less thing to think about.
  • Museum audio guide system.  Most museums have an audio guide for hire. I’d far rather download to my phone than carry around the poxy headset device most museums offer. Better quality, easier to use, etc. And the app could include museum maps and illustrative pictures. The app could be standardised across all museums and just the content downloaded, either at the museum or in advance – depending on the cost model.

Any other ideas?

5 responses so far

The 2 not so obvious things I'd want on my next iPhone

Feb 16 2010 Published by under big idea, tech

The recent iPad hullabaloo has overlooked one significant thing – the iPhone is a magnificent device which is, hopefully, still maturing.On the tube recently I was pondering – what would I like to do to it to make it more magnificent? I decided to ignore all the ideas I’ve heard before (multi-tasking, better camera, mp3 ringtones, unified messaging, removable storage, etc.) and think about real game changers. I came up with two…

  1. Add a programmable RFID chip. This would allow app developers to programme the chip to do whatever can be done with chips. Why bother with your Oyster card? Just download the Oyster app and use your phone. The same thinking could be applied to any RFID identifier / micropayments type requirement.
  2. Add photovoltaic cells to the casing and allow the phone to solar charge. This is not to replace traditional charging, just add to it. And get you out of trouble if you’re running low on the road.

And the iPad – well, just because Apple can put an iPhone in a photocopier on 200% enlargement doesn’t mean they should.

Any other suggestions?

2 responses so far

How did Apple leapfrog Nokia in the smartphone market?

Jul 13 2009 Published by under tech

I’ve been toying with with the idea of upgrading my phone (currently an N82) with one of the new generation smartphones, either an iPhone 3GS or a NokiaN97. Truth be told, I’ve been lusting after the N97 for some months now as I’ve been committed to Nokia since replacing my Ericcson 337 with a Nokia 6210.

Now that the N97 is becoming widely available I’m reading some of the reviews and having second thoughts. A video review that I watched this morning (from The Really Mobile Project) got me thinking about how Apple have taken the market initiative from Nokia over the past few years.

What Apple has done to leave Nokia behind in smartphone development

  • Made the app store something every user will access rather than something for gadget heads
  • Made development for the iPhone attractive to swathes of developers
  • Made connectivity seamless (no “choose your connection” dialogs)
  • Not buried the functionality in an old-school “tree / folder” menu system
  • Focused on some key functions which non gadget heads can relate to and made these the ‘killer features’ on top of the phone functionality (i.e. browser and media consumption)

And this is all on top of some of Apple’s traditional strengths, i.e. it’s beautiful, it works without much crashing, it’s well marketed, etc.

Admittedly, I’ve not decided one way or the other. I am an experienced S60 user and doubt would be able to find my way around without any problems. And the Nokia is functionally more capable (internet tethering? come on Apple, Nokia’s came with bluetooth modem drivers years ago). For me, the jury is still out.

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Why do some gadgets succeed?

Jul 01 2009 Published by under tech

Why are some pieces of tech instant successes and some, offering similar features, just aren’t? The examples that come to mind are iPods and Blackberrys. When these devices debuted they did things that previous devices already did (the Palm already did email and the Rio already did mp3), the Blackberry and the iPod just did them in a way that non gadget geeks were able to pick them up and use them.

These are my reflections:

  • Make them easy to use. Nay, not just easy, simple. Non gadget users should be able to pick them up and use them pretty much instantly.
  • Make them solve specific problems which are easy to articulate. iPods do music. Blackberrys do (mostly corporate) email. Sure - overtime they’ve added additional features and complexity but they’ve retained their ‘basics’ within their interface.

No doubt there are other contributing factors. These devices wouldn’t be pervasive without good engineering, compelling interfaces and clever marketing but I do think the ‘simple and easy’ aspect is a significant contributor to their success.

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