The Unborn, Watchmen and interactive mobile billboards
How do you market a film these days? Billboards, newspapers and TV channels are everywhere. But none of them are right in front of your face all day; you don’t constantly check them. The same is not true of your mobile. It’s your most personal device, your conduit to the outside world. It’s a marketer’s dream location.
And the best way to get that promotion on people’s phones? Make them want to install it themselves. I’m going to look at two movie tie-in iPhone apps have been released recently: The Unborn and Watchmen. Just how well do they deliver, for the film studios and for the consumer?
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Carnival of the Mobilists #163
This week the Carnival is hosted at Golden Swamp. There was a last-minute call for articles, and the Mobilists have responded with some quality articles. There’s plenty regarding Mobile World Congress, but I particularly enjoyed Russell Buckley’s vision of a mobile-centric future at MobHappy.
Read the Carnival here: http://www.goldenswamp.com/2009/03/02/carnival-of-the-mobilists-163
Listen to live BBC radio on your iPhone
I’m a fan of BBC iPlayer, and I noticed recently that if you sign up for BBC iPlayer Labs, you can now get radio via:
New high quality AAC+ streaming, plays back in our Flash player, no need to install Real Player.
Sweet! No need for Real Player! Wait a minute though – Flash? That means there’s no additional iPhone joy. So here’s a way around it (and it’s not one of those jailbroken iPhone-only hints). And it’s currently the closest thing to a native BBC Radio iPhone app.
Building an iPhone application in a month
Here’s an interesting document I found about iPhone development, via Guy Kawasaki on Twitter.
Ten23 Software built PhotoKast from scratch in a month. It says plenty about the iPhone’s development environment and distribution channel (not to mention their tenacity) that they were able to do this.
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All about anything *but* the iPhone
Evidence of absence is not absence of evidence. Despite Apple’s non-attendance at last week’s Mobile World Congress, the event made clear that the introduction of the iPhone has had a wide-ranging effect on the industry. There’s no way that I’d say that the iPhone “dominated MWC09“, but the difference this year is that there seem to be some considered responses. Thinking 5 years from now, will Apple be considered a company that kick-started a new wave of smartphones and user experience, but ultimately got left behind?
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Reviewers wanted!
Recently, I’ve started getting loads of review requests, and I only have time to review a fraction of them. So, if you’d like to write a review for All About iPhone, you’d be very welcome. All that’s required is:
- 200 word minimum (concentrating on what’s good and what’s bad!)
- Review submitted within a week of receiving the app
- at least two original screenshots
I can’t offer any payment right now because, well, this site doesn’t make any profit! But if it’s an app you’re interested in, then you’ll be able to grab a free copy in exchange for your thoughts.
Email me if you’re interested. I’lll also do a weekly round-up of apps available to review, on our Twitter feed.
[edited by Steve to clarify the bullets!]
App Review: ePhotos
I almost entitled this “I shouldn’t have to write this review”. Why? Well it’s not the fault of the application. ePhotos does exactly what it says it will, which is send multiple photos via email.
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Changing the colour/color* on your iPhone calendars
Here’s some instructions on how to change the colours within iPhone’s calendars.
Since iPhone OS 2.0 was released, I’ve been slightly frustrated that the calendar colours on the iPhone are not the same colours used for the same calendars in iCal. For Windows users, I understand the same problem arises with Outlook calendar colours. Colours on the iPhone seemed to be assigned at random.
It’s only a small thing, but it’s slight mental disconnect. Such inconsistencies detract from the overall experience of a polished device.
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Comparing Google Sync and MobileMe
Google’s over-the-air synchronisation tool – Google Mobile Sync – launched this week, enabling sync between your Google account and your mobile phone. Here’s a quick comparison to Apple’s OTA sync service, MobileMe.
Carnival of the Mobilists 160
Welcome to the Winter Carnival! It certainly seems that way, writing from snow-bound Britain. Thanks to all the contributors, and straight on to their posts. Everyone must:
BOW DOWN TO THE GOOGLE
Andrew Grill has an excellent post on Google’s Latitude and its competitors. He points out that, unlike Palringo, Latitude is missing presence. But for how long?
Jamie Wells wonders if the welcome is wearing a little thin on one of our new overlord’s offshoots, in “What’s This… Android on Shaky Ground?“. Just what is Google’s attitude to fragmentation and security on its mobile platform?
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