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25 Years Of Handheld Mobile Phones

Friday February 24 2012 1:42pm
Posted under Mobile Phones Telecommunications • Tagged as , , , • 1 comment

I missed posting this one yesterday, but it’s still worth a mention: 25 years ago (and a day) Telecom Australia introduced the first handheld mobile phones with a launch held on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.

Obviously over the years there’s been a lot of changes in mobile phone technology and the way in which we use them. We’ve moved from analogue to digital networks, the size and capabilities of handsets have improved and the pricing structure has made it easy for anyone to own a mobile phone.

Telstra’s media release yesterday reads more like an advertisement for a 4G handset than anything else, but does provide some interesting comparisons between mobile phones in 1987 and today: talk time was rated at 20 minutes with 5 hours standby, handsets cost in excess of $10,000 (adjusted for inflation), were sized and weighted similar to a brick and only had the capability to send and receive calls, with little further features.

And, for great justice, here’s a Telecom Australia Mobilenet television commercial from 1991:

Custom Carrier Logos On Your iPhone Without Jailbreaking

Thursday January 26 2012 2:07pm
Posted under Mobile Phones • Tagged as , , , , , , , , , • 1 comment

There’s no doubt that jailbreaking an iPhone brings a whole new world of features to iOS devices that Apple doesn’t want us to enjoy. Curiously, some of those features end up being implemented into future iOS releases. Jailbreaking allows an iPhone user to install and use features the way they want to, outside of the restrictive Apple environment. That said, I’m not a fan of jailbreaking – I did it once on my old 3GS and had no end of trouble. There’s advantages, but in the end I don’t think it’s worth it.

Beau Giles brings us an easy method of changing the drab logo text of your carrier to a more colourful logo, all without the need to jailbreak. All that’s needed is to make a small change to iTunes and then update the carrier bundle on your phone (the carrier bundle is a small file containing relevant information about your provider).

Before doing anything, it’s a great idea to back up your phone. It’s unlikely that anything will go wrong, but you should be backing up anyway.

Head over to Beau’s blog post and download the appropriate file for your carrier. Follow the simple instructions he’s provided and you’ll be on your way to a new custom logo. You’ll also be able to grab the original carrier bundle should something go wrong or you just want to go back to the standard text logo.

Right now custom logos are available for Telstra, Optus, Vodafone and Virgin and I’m told more are on the way.

Just a note: If your carrier updates their carrier bundle, you’ll lose the custom logo. No need to worry though – you’ll just need to download the modified custom bundle again and re-install it on your phone.

Edit:

Beau has provided two new carrier bundles, one for 3 and the other for Telecom NZ.

iCloud, Backups And Storage Space

Friday December 30 2011 12:59pm
Posted under Mobile Phones • Tagged as , , , , • No comments

One of the great features of iOS 5 is iCloud, the almost-seamless free cloud service from Apple. Since it went live I’ve begun to use it at every opportunity, from simple contacts management right up to document synchronisation.

Yesterday I was quite surprised to find a notifictaion appear on my iPhone telling me that I had used 4.8gb of my 5gb available storage, with the option to purchase more.

What? I backup both my devices – an iPhone and an iPad – daily to iCloud. Some apps, such as Consume, Pages and Numbers also use storage, but not enough to make any real difference. Somewhat confused as to what might be taking up all the space, I had a look in the iCloud settings to see what was going on – and was surprised at what I found.

To back up the story a little (heh), since iCloud went live I’ve had both my devices replaced. My iPhone has had 2 replacements (first due to a faulty battery, and the replacement had a faulty camera) and my iPad was recently swapped after the SIM removal tool snapped off and became lodged in the device. Yes, the Genius Bar staff did laugh at that one, supposedly they’d not seen it before now.

So, in the last few months I’ve had a combined total of 5 separate devices. And each one had their own separate backup on iCloud. Deleting the backups relating to the older devices quickly rectified the problem and returned the storage space.

I don’t know whether this is an intentional “feature” of iCloud or just an oversight on the part of Apple – I’m sure it’s rare for the average person to have that many individual devices in such a short space of time. What does bother me somewhat is that the notification from Apple regarding the iCloud space shortage contained an option to purchase more space. Someone less familiar with how iCloud works may be needlessly led to believe that it’s necessary to buy additional storage on the server.

While the base $21 per year for a total of 15gb isn’t that unreasonable, it’s easy to see how someone might be suckered in to purchasing it.

6 Essential iOS Apps

Saturday December 24 2011 3:09pm
Posted under Mobile Phones • Tagged as , , , , , , , • 2 comments

Just in case it’s escaped your attention, Annual Present Day is almost here, and there’s going to be quite a few new iOS devices unwrapped tomorrow morning

One of the first questions I had when I received my first device – a 3GS – was “what apps do I need to download?”. There’s no really good answer to that – each person has their own needs and requirements. However, there are some apps which should be installed on every device, and I’ve put together a short list.

PocketWeather AU

Developed by Adelaide outfit ShiftyJelly, this app provides BOM-sourced weather and radar information for Australian users such as current conditions, forecasts and warnings. Push notifications allow configurable weather reports to be sent to the phone at a pre-set time (morning, lunch or evening), and badges can display the current temperature or expected high on the app icon, eliminating the need to launch the app to find this information. Radar images are also available. Multiple locations can be configured for frequent travellers. PocketWeather is a necessary replacement for the stock Weather app.

Note: This app is designed for Australian users only. A world version is available as a separate purchase. The iPad version is caters for the entire world, including Australians.

Device: 2 versions, iPod Touch/iPhone and iPad
Price: $1.99 each
iTunes store link: iPod/iPhone version and iPad version

Consume

If you’re not using Consume, I have to ask why? No, seriously, why? If it’s because you’ve just opened your iOS device and haven’t had a chance to buy it, then I’m going to ask why you’re reading this instead of downloading it. If it’s for any other reason, then stop reading this and go install it. I’ll wait.

From another Australian company, Bjango, Consume is a metering app for a large number of service providers across Australia and the world. It keeps track of usage and balances for services such as phone or ISP usage, public transport smartcards, toll road accounts, store loyalty card programs and much more. Usage information is displayed in an easy-to-read format, and can be configured to automatically update upon each launch of the app.

With the likelihood of new users inadvertently going over their call or data allocations, Consume is a necessary app and well worth the price.

Device: iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad (universal)
Price: $2.99
iTunes store link: Universal version

Find My iPhone

If you’re not using Apple’s free Find My iPhone feature (which also works for iPad too) in conjunction with their iCould service, I have to ask: why aren’t you?

For those unaware, Find My iPhone will help locate and find a lost or stolen iPhone or iPad using the inbuilt GPS. A message can be sent to the device requesting it be returned, or in extreme cases, a passcode activated or a remote wipe performed.

It’s possible to do all of this via iCloud, but there may be times when you’re not near a computer and need to use a portable device to locate another (say, a friend’s phone). Anyone with an Apple ID who has activated the “Find My..” service can log in with their details and track down their phone if and when required. As the service can also send an instruction to the phone to sound an alarm, it also comes in handy when the phone has been misplaced (down the back of the couch, say) and needs to be located.

Device: iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad (universal)
Price: Free
iTunes store link: Universal version

AppShopper

One of the biggest problems with Apple’s App Store is there being no way to know if an app you’re purchasing is actually worth the price – usually, it’s necessary to rely on word of mouth or reviews left by others. Often, there’ll be an app one has their eye on, but may not be willing to lay out the money the developer is asking.

That is where AppShopper comes in. The app, complementing their web-based service, tracks updates and price changes for every single app available through the App Store. A user can select apps they’re interested in purchasing, and when that app is updated or is reduced in price a push notification can be sent through to the phone. This can be further configured by local App Store changes only (thus, ignoring changes on the US store, for example).

AppShopper does require an account to be set up via their website first, but like the app, this is free, and more importantly does not result in spam.

Device: iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad (universal)
Price: Free
iTunes store link: Universal version

FlightControl

Another great app from an Australian company, Flight Control is a game with a simple premise: Land incoming planes on their respective runways. Different airfields are available, ranging from simple up to OH GOD THIS IS DIFFICULT, each presenting their own unique challenges. Multiplayer functionality is also available for other devices in close proximity.

Although it requires concentration and the ability to track multiple planes at once (the game is over once they crash into each other), it’s a fun game to play on the train or during a commercial break on TV. With an excellent design and fantastic graphics, it’s a game that will appeal to all ages.

Two versions are available, an iPod Touch/iPhone version and a separate iPad version.

Device: 2 versions, iPod Touch/iPhone and iPad
Price: 99c for the iPod Touch/iPhone version and $4.99 for the iPad version
iTunes store link: iPod/iPhone version and iPad version

RunKeeper

A fantastic app for those who regularly exercise (or just need the motivation to do so), RunKeeper is a free service for tracking activities. Taking advantage of the inbuilt GPS, the app will map out your exercise activity, providing stats on distance travelled, calories burned, average speed and other such information. During an activity, the app will provide regular voice cues detailing progress, which can be configured as desired. Activities can be shared with friends on Facebook or Twitter, and a running total of the month’s tallies are kept.

If desired, a training music playlist can be setup via iTunes, which the app will play during any activity.

While exercise may not be on the cards for many, being able to keep a check on progress is a great motivator, making this one of the better free apps available.

Device: iPod Touch and iPhone
Price: Free
iTunes store link: iPod Touch and iPhone

And don’t forget…

An easy way to save money on App Store purchases (or any purchase via iTunes) is to take advantage of the various iTunes gift card specials that are constantly on offer. With gift cards available at numerous outlets, it can be hard to find exactly who is offering what deal at any given time. However, you can check on the current offers at Gift Cards On Sale, which tracks iTunes and other offers across Australian retailers.

Most iTunes deals are generally 2 x $20 cards for $30 or similar, effectively granting $10 or more in free purchases.

iTunes gift cards are a great idea for any iOS device user, who can then pick and choose what they want to buy for their device.

CommBank Releases Kaching App And Case

Monday December 19 2011 1:07pm
Posted under Mobile Phones • Tagged as , , , • 3 comments

The Commonwealth Bank today released their highly-anticipated Kaching app for iPhone users. This nifty little app allows customers to make contactless payments, as well as perform transfers to mobile, email or Facebook contacts.

Effectively replacing the standard NetBank web login, the app provides accounts details, the ability to pay bills using BPay and transfer funds between accounts.

However, there are some drawbacks. As the iPhone doesn’t support NFC (for now), users need to purchase an external case from the bank if they want to use the MasterCard Paypass functionality. These don’t come cheap – $49.95 plus $5 for postage. There’s also no support for 3G or 3GS models (understandable), but the other app features will work on the 3GS.

More info on Kaching is available from the Commonwealth Bank website, and the app can be downloaded via this iTunes link.

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