A month later, what apps do I (really) use on my iPod Touch?

So it’s a month after I got the iPhone 2.0 software, so what apps do I actually use? Here’s the list of the apps I’m using:

Mail

I have 6 email accounts set up for my Touch. 

• 2 MobileMe accounts (one for work and one for home)
  
• 2 Yahoo Business Mail accounts working in IMAP (don’t think it worked previously, so it’s really good that it’s working)
  
• 1 Gmail account
  
• 1 POP account
  

For the Mail app to truly shine, the email account has to support IMAP.  With IMAP, it means you don’t have to manage your mails on the iPod. Other significant user experience improvements are bulk delete and the ability to choose from which account you would like to send a mail.

Calendar
With MobileMe, Calendar is even better with wireless syncing.

Notes
I downloaded YouNote, but I found myself using the Notes app just because of its simplicity. The simplicity makes me overlook the fact that I can’t sync my notes and that the only way to transfer the notes is via email. Hope Apple addresses these in the next release.

Photos
I actually don’t use the Photos app as it is intended to. I use it as a Rolodex; I keep and manage photos and scanned images of business cards on in iPhoto. (Too lazy to type all the contacts in.)

Facebook
Come to think of it, this is probably the only third party app I really use. Why do I use it? To check out what’s happening on my Facebook account.

Other apps I use from time to time:

• Clock – to check out what time is it in other time zones
  
• Calculator – for quick calculations
  
• Safari
  

What about Remote?
I thought I’d be using this one a lot, but I use my Apple Remote for the most of the time.

There you go, the apps I use on my iPod Touch these days.

A white charging station with a classic touch

If DIY charging stations (links to examples at the end) aren’t your thing, Pottery Barn has one for you. The Bedford Smart Recharge Station has 4 open holes for your cables and wires to come out from the back compartment. It includes a power strip that supports up to six plugs. And lastly it comes with a small pull-out drawer, which would be great for storing accessories.

It comes in Antique White, Espressor, Black, Antique Honey, Mahogany stain (no longer available), and Red. It costs 79 dollars, but it’s on sale for $64.00 at PotteryBarn.com. Antique Honey and Red are on sale for $49.99.

Links:

• GeekBrief: Gadget Charging Station Redux 
  
• How to - Making a charging station @ Craftzine.com 
  
• Build your own gadget docking station @ Lifehacker
  

Amazon Kindle Unboxing Video and Pics

 The unboxing video of Amazon Kindle is below, and you can find my impressions here.  

And here are some pictures:

Amazon Kindle Impressions

It’s time to get away from all this iPhone, iPod Touch, and MobileMe mania, and get back to shiny white gadgets.

Finally, I got my hands on the Amazon Kindle. The main reason I decided to take the plunge is because I travel between Tokyo and LA frequently, and having to bring books with me is quite a hassle.

I haven’t spent an awful lot of time with the Kindle, but here’s what I thought that was neat:

• It’s smaller than I thought.
  
  
• Having the ability to buy books straight from the Kindle.
  
  
• You can sample the beginning of books for free. 
  
  
• If you find a book that has a Kindle version on Amazon on the computer, you can send a sample to your Kindle. After you send a sample from your computer, next time when you turn on your Kindle, it’ll be automatically downloaded. 
  
  
• You know how you fold the top right or left corner in a real book to keep your place in the book. Kindle lets you bookmark pages in a similar fashion. Just place the cursor on the top right corner of the page, and click there. The corner of the page will be folded and turned over. 
  
  
• The screen utilizes a technology that Amazon calls electronic paper, which makes the screen look like real paper. It’s really easy on the eyes. 
  

And as for the not-so-neat impressions:

• When I first took the plastic protective sheet off from the Kindle’s screen, I saw some scratches in the lower left corner. Luckily, they weren’t scratches, and I wiped them off with some damp paper towels.
  
  
• The keyboard seems a bit stiff to type on.
  
  
• Although you can change the font size, I don’t think you can zoom in or out to see the images on a Kindle. This presented a problem when I was reading a sample of Beginning Mac OS X Tiger Dashboard Widget Development, the sample code was displayed in a form of a picture, and it’s quite small to read. I guess you couldn’t say it’s a problem of Kindle, but it means that I have to be careful when buying programming books.
  
  
• The refresh rate between pages to pages is not instantaneous probably due to the technological limitation of e-paper technology. In other words, when you press the next or previous button, the page requested is not instantaneously displayed. When you’re reading from one page to the next, the refresh rate seems to be fast enough to not interfere with the reading experience. However, if you want to flip back a few pages to reread something using the back button, you have to wait for each page you flip through to load first. You can of course navigate or jump to the place you want to reread, but in most cases, I think you wouldn’t know exactly. This is definitely one area where the Kindle cannot replicate the real book reading experience. 
  

So far I am happy with the Kindle. I downloaded a lot of samples, and purchased one book, Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good. There are several other books I plan to buy, and I am glad I don’t have to carry them separate when I travel back to Japan in 2 more weeks.

Stayed tuned for the unboxing video and pics.

Good news! SoftBank revises its rate plan for iPhone 3G

Yesterday SoftBank of Japan changed the unlimited data plan of its rate plan  to a pay-as-you-go basis. Originally, the rate plan had unlimited data at the price of 7,280 (67 dollars) yen per month. The new plan, which starts in August, starts at 2,990 yen (28 dollars). Users will be charged for the amount of traffic they use, but the amount they pay will be capped at 7,280 yen (the original unlimited data price).  

In other words, if the amount of traffic you use falls under 7,280 yen, you pay for what you used.  If you go over 7,280 yen, your data plan becomes an unlimited data plan for the month.

This is good news for users in Japan. I for one said no to buying the iPhone 3G because of the high monthly rates, but if you manage to do all Internet activities with wi-fi, you can get away with 2,990 yen per month.  

My cellphone carrier in Japan is SoftBank, and my current phone bill every month is 980 yen (9 dollars).  I don't have a data plan as I don't surf the web or do much email with my current Nokia 6680.  It'd be extremely good news if the iPhone plan matched my current plan.  That would be too good to be true...

So the minimum monthly payment is 2,990 yen instead of the previous 7,280 yen. Wooo… sure is tempting… 

Links:

CNET Japan (Japanese)

Yahoo Finance

Mac Tip: Scroll Non-Active Windows in Leopard

This is a feature I’ve taken for granted. In case you don’t know, you can scroll through “almost” any open window that are in the background in Leopard without having to click on that window.  

I say almost because this feature doesn’t work with some non-Apple applications in Microsoft Office 2004 and Firefox for example. Nevertheless, it’s a feature I can’t live without.

As an example, let’s say you are typing and referring to a webpage at the same time. It used to be that you have to:

1. Click on the web browser 
   
2. Scroll through the contents
   
3. Bring your mouse cursor back to the typing application
   
4. Click on the typing application
   
5. Continue typing
   

In Leopard:

1. Move your mouse on top of the web browser (remember don’t click, though you might be inclined to)
   
2. Scroll through the contents 
   
3. Feel free to leave you mouse cursor there, and continue typing!
   

Link:
Mac OS X Leopard: 300+ New Features