Zeppelin Mini - another slick and expensive iPod / iPhone dock speaker

This speaker caught my eyes while shopping. It's nice looking, but what's cool about is that you can rotate the dock so you can watch your movies on your iPod touch, iPhone, and iPod nano.

This eye candy also will set you back $399.95! Will make a nice gift though =)

Links:

Zeppelin Mini website

iZoom - tripod and zoom lens for the serious iPhone photographer

Princeton Technology has a kit that comes with a tripod, zoom lens, and a case to attach the lens. It can zoom in 8 times the original iPhone camera can, and uses optical zoom to give you much clearer picture quality.

The kit will set you back around $40 USD and can be found in Japan. Comes in white and black.

Source:

iZoom website (Japanese)

A magical iPhone stand

I picked up this mobile phone stand at a Disney Store in Japan. Basically it has this anti-slippery surface that secures the phone. It's like magic. And best of all, it's about the same size as the iPhone. Only time will tell how long the surface can hold my iPhone. Pics below:

The stand itself.

Look, Mickey is holding my iPhone!

And one more shot of the iPhone on the stand. Magical, isn't it?

Turn your iPhone into a DSLR

Being tied up with work. Hopefully I can get some more posts up on a regular basis.

Anyways, here's something cool to share. The Japanese company Gizmon has two lens that you can attach to your iPhone. One is the fish-eye (about 40-50 USD), and the other is the wide & macro (about 20-30 USD).

The wide & macro lens is actually two lens attached together. When two lens are together, it is wide angle. Take off the wide angle lens attachment, it becomes macro.

The lens are mounted with a magnet to a mount that you tape to your iPhone. If you don't want to tape directly, you can always tape the mount to an external case.

To see some photos of the wide and macro lens in action, click here. (Japanese)

To see some photos of the fish-eye lens in action, click here. (Japanese)

Pair these together with some camera apps, and you can do some fun photography with your iPhone.

Why Apple would want to reject the Google Voice app

I got my Google Voice invitation awhile ago, but I couldn't use it because I was in Japan. I was back in LA two weeks ago, and had a chance to try Google Voice out. And I can understand why Apple would want to reject the Google Voice app and still let apps like Skype on the iPhone.

How Google Voice works when you want to call a person

Instead of calling people directly, with Google Voice (GV), you tell GV to connect you to the person. So GV is like an operator. So here's what happens:

1. Go to GV via the web, find the contact you want to call, and initiate the call.
2. GV will call you first.
3. After you pick up, you will hear a ringtone connecting you to the person you want to call.

In the case you don't have web access, you can call the GV, and then dial the number you want to call. GV will then connect you.

You might be wondering why wouldn't you just call directly from your phone. The reason is by calling directly, your phone number instead of your GV number will be exposed to the receiver. Only by having GV connect you can you expose the receiver to your GV number.

Fully utilizing GV = say bye bye to Contacts

To fully utilize GV, you will route all your calls through GV, which means that you will be abandoning the Contacts app and functionality of the iPhone. And I don't think Apple is to happy for that.

For the users, this means that you might end up with two set of contacts to manage - one on Google and one on your phone. And that could disrupt the user experience. If your contacts aren't synced properly, there might be cases when you want to email someone from your phone and find their email isn't there or outdated.

Impressions of GV

Personally, I think it's a wonderful, but "geeky" service right now. What I like the most is the ability for me to attach and remove numbers from the GV account. That means I can just hand out one universal number, and when I'm in town with a different mobile number, I can simply assign that.

GV also offers call screening, which is a nice feature, but annoying to your friends. You do have the option to turn of call screening for selected individuals / groups, but that just mean more configuring work for you to do.

The other thing I like about GV is that is emails you when you get a SMS or Voicemail. It's also nice that they are consolidating communications from the phone. Once they integrate this with GMail, you can have all the communications consolidated. And that would be cool, and kind of scary...

And finally, there's also a neat feature of "Do Not Disturb". When this is turned on, every call placed to your GV number will be sent right to the voice mail. So it's very useful if you don't want to take any calls or you're outside the country.

Ways of using GV when you're out of the country

GV currently only works in US. Though once you activate the service, you'll be able to access the page from other countries. So you could still check voice mails.

Now back in Japan, I was thinking how I can still use it. And although it's not free, with the help of Skype, you can still receive calls via GV when you're abroad. I have yet to try it out, but here's how I imagine it would work:

1. Get a Skype online number that's based in US.
2. Make sure you have credits or an unlimited Skype calling plan to the country you're in.
3. Forward all Skype calls to your international number.
4. Hook up the Skype number to GV.
5. So every time someone calls your GV number, it will connect to the Skype number.
6. Skype will then forward the call to your international number. This is also the part that will incur fees, meaning the NOT FREE part.

Hopefully, I'll try this out one of these days. That is unless Google rolls the service out internationally before I do =)

6 paid iPhone apps I want to try

1. Tipulator - It's a tool that helps you calculate tip and how much everybody at the table each have to pay. - (iTunes link)
   
   
2. Air Mouse Pro - This is a gadgety app I really want to try. It's a wireless remote for your computer. It also can serve as a touch/track pad. Imagine using your desktop keyboard like a laptop. You don't need to reach for the mouse to move the cursor, but instead, use the touchpad which is closer to your keyboard. (iTunes link)
   
   
3. Beejive IM - Instant messaging with push for all the major IM services. There aren't many choices with push instant messaging. I'm still holding out for Meebo and that $9.99 price tag is just a bit too hefty. (iTunes link)
   
   
4. Instapaper Pro - Basically an app that lets you read webpages that you saved to read later on Instapaper.com. The neat part is Instapaper can load the text version of the webpage, which makes it much easier to read on your iPhone. Currently trying out Instapaper Free, and if I like it, I'll get the Pro. (iTunes link)
   
   
5. ToyCamera - Turns your iPhone camera into one of those toy cameras. Seems like fun. (iTunes link)
   
   
6. Tweetie - I don't tweet much on the go, but rather, mostly on my desktop about interesting stuff I read. It would be nice to check out other people's tweets on the go. (iTunes link)

They really should have a way to let you try out these apps for like 1 hour at least. Or maybe, they should have an iPhone that has all the apps (not that it's possible) loaded in at the Apple Store. I'm always hesitant about buying because you never know what you're gonna get.

Gtd / productivity tip: Don’t check email at night!

One of the wonderful, or not so wonderful thing that internet devices has brought to our lives is always having a Internet connection, and allowing us to check email anytime.

For me, the iPhone has literally plugged my head into the Internet. And I find myself always wanting to check email. Check in the morning. Check while waiting for the elevators. Check before I go to sleep...

It has become and addiction and is starting to prove to be a distraction.

Yesterday, I came by a book by Naoyuki Honda, a Japanese productivity expert. Inside his book, he has a nice productivity tip - don’t check email at night. His primary reason, if I recall correctly, is that at night, you don’t have a specific time where you end and stop work.

In other words, you don’t have a deadline to stop working, and you fall in the trap of getting absorbed into the work that the emails lead you to do, and distracts you from other tasks like reading a book, studying, watching news, or simply resting.

I like this tip, and I’m going to try hard to NOT check emails after I get home.

Ok, so I don’t open my email software on my desktop. It’s all ok, right? Oh no, yes, iPhone has push emails! So, do we really need push email? My life was fine without it before, so I’m sure I can handle. On that note, I’m turning off push.

That’s right! I control my emails, not the other way around.

Now you can charge up to 20 iPhones/iPods all at once with Parasync

If you have 20 iPhones or iPods, then the dock for you is here - the Parasync can charge AND sync up to 20 iPhones or iPods. Isn't that neat!

Via Gadgeteer

Source: Parasync homepage

Review: Keynote Remote iPhone App Revisited

About 4 months ago, I gave my quick review of the Keynote Remote app for iPhone. I do a lot of presentations during meetings with clients. Once I enter that meeting room, I want to be able to get everything set up in the shortest amount of time possible. So for those situations, I prefer to stick with the Front Row remote rather than the Keynote Remote app for iPhone, which requires me to pair it up.

Recently though, I had a chance to use it at an internal meeting where I had time before hand to pair the computer with the iPhone app.

Surprised reaction to using iPhone to control presentations
So the meeting started, and I navigated to the next slide with a swipe on my iPhone, and my boss asked, "You can do that?" So, apparently, it seems that using your iPhone or touch to control presentations is a pretty neat and cool thing.

Portrait mode in Kyenote Remote iPhone app rocks!
Since the slide shows up on the iPhone, there's no need to look at the presentation screen. That's great, but even better is to have your notes available to you when the app is in portrait mode.

Tip on using notes on Keynote Remote
Although you can put a bunch of notes and memo for each slide, but I don't recommend that. Besides, the screen real estate on your iPhone isn't very big and navigating through lots of text isn't very practical during a presentation. Instead, I recommend putting down the key message of the slide. Every slide has a purpose and a message to deliver.

So every time when I move to a new slide, I get reminded exactly what I need to convey with the slide by the app. Very very nice.


So, if you do presentations where you have ample time to set up the equipment beforehand, this app is a gem for doing presentations.

Can I really get some work done with my iPhone alone?

So I was going to meet a client at a train station, and I was about 15 minutes early. Listening to the latest MacBreak Weekly Podcast, I decided to see if I could get some work done on my iPhone.

Consolidating notes

Notes is one of my favorite apps on the iPhone. It loads fast, and serves as an easy way to record my thoughts. Usually I end up with a long list of memos, and back at home, I get the notes off the iPhone, and organize them.

Now, armed with copy and paste with the 3.0 update, I tried for the first time to organize my memos on iPhone. And sure enough, it worked. I could copy and paste text and group the memos together in the same area easily. Obviously, I'd be much proficient on a computer, but this is not bad, and actually doable. And there's something about copying and pasting. It's kind of fun.

Organizing and processing my email

My mail accounts on the iPhone use IMAP and my folder structure is simple. So organizing mail can be easily done with iPhone. The only part I wish the iPhone had was the ability to "Organize by thread", a feature I can't live without on the Mail app on the Mac.

Bookmarking files with Delicious

Sometimes emails carry links that I want to bookmark on Delicious. This was the task I had problems with.

So here's how it works on my computer. On my Bookmarks Bar, I have a Delicious Bookmarklet link. So when I see a page I want to bookmark, I just click on this Bookmarklet, and it would bring me Delicious where I can bookmark the page I'm looking at. (More info about bookmarklets on Delicious here.)

On the iPhone, I tried to do the same thing. It works, except the Delicious page where I choose what tags to go with my bookmarks was rather clumsy on the iPhone browser.

This could be easily fixed though if Delicious optimizes their page for the iPhone, or Apple improves their browsers. For now, bookmarking to the iPhone isn't very smooth yet. Hope this gets fixed.

Tasks I was able to do with my iPhone

So within the 15 minutes wait, I realized I can do two work-related things:

1. organize my memos
2. organize my emails

Pretty nice.

iPhone 3GS brochure in Japan

pg 1.

pg. 2

pg. 3

pg. 4

Uploading a video to YouTube from iPhone 3GS

So this weekend, I finally have a video worthy to upload to YouTube - a video of a life-size Gundam in Japan!

Didn't really want to use the cellular network to upload it, so I waited till I got home. Once on my wi-fi network, I selected the video I wanted to upload. Put a title, description, and tags (for some reason, at least one tag is required). And then choose a category. And that's pretty much it (assuming you already have YouTube account info all set up).

The video is first compressed, and then uploaded. My clip which was 2 minutes long took about 4-5 minutes. Overall, it's easy, and pretty amazing! On a side note, the iPhone did start to get hot. I'm guessing compressing and uploading these videos take a lot of work =)

And here's the video for your enjoyment.

iPod touch vs iPhone - 9 differences

I started off as an iPod touch user, and when the iPhone was finally released in Japan, I made the switch. And after having some time playing with an iPhone 3GS, I present you an updated post comparing the iPod touch 2g with the iPhone 3GS.

I hope this blog post will provide some helpful insight if you're deciding between the iPhone and iPod touch. Let's get started!

1. Internet everywhere or not?

When I switched from an iPod touch to an iPhone, the biggest difference was having Internet access everywhere. I can't ever go back to the touch unless I can get wifi everywhere. Having Internet access everywhere means having the freedom to look up maps and search for prices on Amazon when I'm outside at a store. Convenient.

Of course, if you don't use public transit and have access to wifi everywhere, or at least, in areas where you're at the most, this wouldn't be a critical factor and difference.

2. Phone and Contacts

Having all your contacts on your iPod is kind of cool, and useful. It would be awesome if we were still in the age of Palm Pilots. Being able to look up a contact, and immediately call them, that's even cooler - only possible with the iPhone.

It's definitely possible to try to use the Skype app to make the touch into a phone since Skype is integrated with your contacts on the iPhone. The only problem is the iPod touch doesn't have a built-in mic, which means you're stuck with using add-ons or the mic headsets. I'd imagine it would be find if you're trying to make a call, but imagine getting a call. If you're using mic headsets, you have to scramble to get the headset on to take the call. And, unfortunately, doesn't seem like the new touches support BlueTooth headsets. I'm guessing that is Apple's way of differentiating the touch and the iPhone - the touch just is not meant for a phone.

If BlueTooth headsets work as mics, then the touch could really be usable as a phone with Skype.

If you manage your contacts, this may be a critical feature to lean toward the iPhone. I used to manage my contacts, and I had to sync them to my Nokia cellphone. And it wasn't a pleasant experience. The groups didn't sync, and it just wasn't a seamless experience. With the iPhone it's seamless. Groups are retained. And if you pair the iPhone with MobileMe service, contacts are always updated. If someone calls me, I can add them into the contacts. And when I go home, it's there in my computer. Beautiful.

3. Having 1 device or 2 devices (iPod touch + phone)

Having to carry one less device has been wonderful. Now if they can only get the iPhone to work as a TV remote, wallet, a key, and a train pass, then there's only one thing I need to bring. Anyways, not to stray from the topic, the iPhone means you carry one less device.

4. GPS and compass

If you live in a city where you're on foot and rely and public transportation a lot, navigation within the city becomes critical. Personally, I've been using this in Tokyo, and boy has this made my life easier when going to new areas in the city. And with the new compass built in, you'll be able to instantly find your direction, and get on your way right away.

5. A word about icons for your music and videos

This was actually one thing that I found some time getting to use to when I switched from a touch to the iPhone. If an icon on the touch / iPhone is an app, on the touch you have two apps - one for video and one for music. I really liked this.

However, on the iPhone, you get the iPod app. So if I wanted to watch a video, I have to go to the iPod app, and then select the video tab. One extra step.

Music and Videos icons for iPod touch

iPod icon instead for the iPhone

7. Camera

In Japan, where phones have 8 mega-pixel camera, the iPhone camera stinks pretty bad. The 3GS has an improved camera, and thankfully, a macro mode so that you can actually take snapshots of memos and magazine articles.

Even tough the camera isn't all that good, I still love it. It's a major reason that I would pick the touch over the iPhone. The ability to take casual pictures and videos on-the-go without having to carry another device, that's great. And now the iPhone 3GS has a better camera, it's great for business use as well. Imagine you have a meeting and there are notes and diagrams on the white board, just bust our your phone. If your colleagues need it, email them right away from the phone. Just like that, boom!

Hopefully rumors are true that the touch will soon come with a camera. For now, it doesn't have one, and if taking photos isn't your thing, it's one less reason for the iPhone.

8. The position of the earphone jack

I don't read this very often on other reviews, but I did notice this when I made the switch from the touch to the iPhone. On the iPod touch, the earphone jack is on the bottom. For the iPhone, it's on the top.

What does this mean? The touch is optimized for pant pockets, and iPhone is optimized for shirt pockets. Look at the photos below and try to imagine.

With the iPhone, when you hold the phone upright, you can't slide that into your pant pockets without changing the orientation of the phone. However, if you drop it into your shirt pocket, it will work very well. It the opposite for the touch.

iPhone in the shirt pocket

iPod touch in pant pocket. With the jack on the bottom, it's a natural movement for your hand to put the touch in the pant pocket.

Though it's a minor thing, but if you never wear shirts with pockets, every time you want to put your iPhone in your pant pockets when listening to music with wired headset or earphones, one extra movement will be needed. Might be something to think about.

9. Size and Thinness

The iPod touch is slim and also has a smaller footprint. Personally, I think the touch is slicker in form factor. When you hold it a touch in your hands, the iPhone feels bulky.

iPod touch 2g (left) vs. iPhone 3GS (right) in thinness

and the size. touch on the left, and iPhone on the right.

So, the iPhone or the touch?

For me, it's definitely the iPhone. If all you need is playing music, video, and games, the iPod touch is perfect. And you get a bunch of additional features. Unfortunately, most of them will be relying on an Internet connection - i.e., email, browser, YouTube, Weather. But if you value those additional features and want to truly take advantage of them, the iPhone is a good candidate. And if you want it to do more phone stuff, PDA stuff, and business stuff, then you might also want to consider the iPhone.

If you answer mostly yes to the following questions, the iPhone might just be a good choice.

1. Do you need to have Internet access everywhere assuming you don't have access to wifi hotspots most of the time?
2. Do you manage contacts on your phone and computer?
3. Is having less devices to carry with you a big deal for you?
4. Do you live in a big city where maps and navigation? (especially on foot)
5. Do you take (or plan to take) a lot of videos and photos on-the-go?

Good luck, and thanks for reading!

5 reasons to get MobileMe

If you have more than one Mac and an iPhone (like me), here are 5 reasons why MobileMe would be great for you.

1. Seamless syncing of your calendars, bookmarks, and contacts.

• Real life example #1 : Someone calls you on your iPhone. You create a new contact for him. When you go home and turn on you iMac, your Address Book is updated with the contact.
• Real life example #2: You bookmarked something on your computer, and you're at work or somewhere else with your MacBook. Guess what, your bookmarks are synced, so its available for you. And on your iPhone as well!

2. Remote access your Mac with Back To My Mac.

Some will be plagued with router problems, and have a hard time to get it to work. But when it works, it's sweet.

• Real life example #1: Since I don't have my home mail account setup in the Mail program at work, if I needed to check mail, I can just remote to my home Mac, and check my mail.
  
  
• Real life example #2: Since my todo app doesn't sync on multiple computers, for now, I just remote into my Mac at home from the office, and access my todo app.
  
  
• Real life example #3: For the paranoid, sometimes you just want to make sure your house is fine. Remote in, open up Photo Booth, and you can see if there are any strange activity.

3. Sharing files with iDisk

iDisk hasn't being stable enough for me to use it as actual file storage. It is, however, an easy way to share large files. You can create a special link for people to download a file. You can even password protect it.

4. MobileMe Mail - mail synced everywhere

MobileMe mail is IMAP, meaning all the messages and folders are kept intact on the mail server, just like GMail. This means, you can setup the account on multiple Macs or computers, and you will always have access to same folder structure. And best of all, you'll never have to organize your mail twice again. (well, sometimes you do, when the mail didn't get synced...)

5. Find your iPhone and Remote Wipe

Though these are two features you wish you never have to use. But in case, you lose it, the fact that you can remotely wipe your iPhone serves as a great insurance if your iPhone carries a lot of sensitive information.

There are plenty of other features like having your website, photo gallery, and etc., but I don't think they are the features that really make MobileMe stand out.

That's all folks, and thanks for reading!

GTD tip: how to take advantage of searching emails with MobileMe on iPhone

One of the most exciting new features for iPhone users is the ability to search your MobileMe email account.

Limitations - the fine print

From my testing and what I can tell, here's what exactly can be done:

• if you do a search and you can't find something, you will be given the option to search on the mail servers for MobileMe
• however, the search is only confined to that folder.
• Spotlight search seems to be able to search across all folders, but doesn't look like it's capable of doing searches on MobileMe server.

What does this mean? Fewer folders = better!

If you organize your email in a lot of subfolders, this search feature isn't that useful. The trick is to just have a few folders - for example, if you don't categorize at all, you might have an inbox and an archive. Or you might just put everything in your inbox, then everything is searchable.

Personally, I have 3 folders in addition to my inbox.

• Archives
• Waiting for
• Useful

Since I keep all my mail on MobileMe, I'm loving this feature! Can't wait for the iDisk app now.

How to set up MMS for iPhone 3G/3GS in Japan (SoftBank)

SoftBank gives you two addresses: 1 email address and the other a MMS email address. It can be confusing, so to clarify that a bit, here are the steps to set up the MMS.

1. Go to this link with your web browser or iPhone browser.
2. Your login ID is your phone number.
3. The password is in one of the first few messages sent from 940001 from SoftBank.
4. Once you're in there, you can configure the name of the MMS email addres.

How to turn the iPhone 3G into a speedy business phone

The iPhone 3G can watch movies and YouTube videos. So out of the box, it isn't exactly a "real business phone." After just restoring and getting my iPhone 3G to a clean state with the 3.0 software, I'm going to walk through the steps I did to get the iPhone 3G primed up for business.

Configurations in iTunes:

1. Connecting it to iTunes. It's asking for a name for the iPhone. I'm going to manually set the phone up, so I'm going to disable the automatically syncing of bookmarks and stuff.
   
   
2. Now I got the view with all the tabs.
   
   
3. Under Summary, I'm going to uncheck "Automatically sync when this iPhone is connected", because sometimes I just want to charge, and don't want it firing up iTunes.
   
   
4. Next tab: Info - Enable "Sync Address Book contacts"
   
   
5. Not going to sync my iCal calendars. Going to sync them via MobileMe later. Not going to sync bookmarks for now.
   
   
6. Notes - this one is a new feature. Going to enable it to "sync notes".
   
   
7. Mail accounts - Going to sync my Mail accounts.
   
   
8. MobileMe - Just an explanation about MobileMe. I plan to use my work computer to sync with this iPhone for most of the info. The only thing I'm planning to sync with my MobileMe is my calendar because managing two calendars is too much of a hassle. I prefer to have one central calendar so I can keep track of everything. I'm hoping this hybrid works well. We'll see.
   
   
9. Next tab: Ringtones - Yes, I'll need a ringtone. And the best ringtone for business, the 24 CTU ringtone of course = )
   
   
10. Not going to sync any music nor photos for now. Though, I have used iPhoto for managing images of business cards, and then you can sync it to the iPhone and have all you business cards with you.
    
    
11. No podcasts. And absolutely no videos - it's a business phone right?
    
    
12. And lastly for the Applications tab, no application for now. Since we barely put anything on this thing. The phone should be still pretty zippy. Ok. Let's sync!
    
    

Things to configure in the phone: First Stop - General Settings

1. Settings - let's get on a wi-fi network first.
   
   
2. Settings: Sounds - change the ringtone to 24 CTU ringtone. Ok, now I feel like Jack Bauer.
   
   
3. Settings: Sounds - I personally don't like the keyboard clicks, so I'm turning it off. Imagining you're in a quiet elevator, and typing a text message. Those sounds will stand out = ) Especially in Japan where the elevators are quiet... very quiet...
   
   
4. Settings: General: Auto-Lock - Default is 1 minute. Seems kind of short for me. Going to set it for 5 minutes.
   
   
5. Passcode Lock - This one is important for business use especially because of all the sensitive info and contacts on your phone. By putting a passcode lock, if you lose the phone, someone can't look into the phone and get info from it. I configure my phone to require a passcode lock after 4 hours. And turn on Erase Data, which means after 10 failed attempts, phone will wipe data automatically. Pair this up with MobileMe's remote wipe feature, and you'll have insurance for when you lose this phone. Hope it never happens, but at least, your info is not compromised.
   
   
6. Restrictions - A wonderful new feature in 3.0. Enable restrictions so you can remove (not display, technically speaking) certain apps from your phone. In particular, does a business phone really need YouTube, iTunes, and the App Store. (The App Store, maybe...) Well, for now, I'm going to disable those three. You should know I have another iPhone for personal use =) Anyways, this feature is handy if you're configuring phones for your children or your employees.
   
   
7. General: Home - In this area you can configure what happens when you double click. If the phone is not for business use, having it set to iPod is good. I use the camera so often, I think having it set to camera is great. Unfortunately, the unit I is an iPhone 3G, and not 3Gs, which means the camera isn't that great, and probably isn't that great for snapping memos and etc. So I'm not going with the camera, but rather, "Search". As a side note, if you are several pages of apps, a single click of the home button will bring you back to the home screen.
   
   
8. General: Home: Search Results - You can configure what search results that will show up. I'll be unchecking music, podcasts, video, audiobooks. Maybe this will speed up the search?
   
   
9. General: Date & Time - Going to set it to 24-hour time because everyone in Japan uses that convention. (I prefer AM and PM because I'm lazy to have to subtract 12 every time for the 24-hour time. I mean... the 24 hour time isn't very user friendly...)
   
   
10. General: Keyboard - If you need an international keyboard, here's the place to set it up. I'll be needing the Japanese input.
    
    
11. And lastly under General, there is the Internation section. Most likely you won't need to change anything, but if you live abroad, you can change how phone numbers and dates are formatted according to your region. And if you would like to display your phone in another language, which is really cool. It used to be that they have different versions of OSs, like Japanese, Chinese, and English version. With the iPhone, you can change it to any language you want.
    

Next stop: Settings for Mail, Contacts, Calendars + MobileMe

1. Like I wrote above, I'd like to set it up so I sync the phone with my business computer, but also sync only the calendar from my MobileMe. So let's get to it.
   
   
2. In Mail, Contacts, Calendar, under Accounts, I'm going press the Add Account..., and then choose MobileMe.
   
   
3. After you log in, you can decide if you want to sync Mail, Contacts, Calendars, and Bookmarks. I'm going to sync Mail and Calendars.
   
   
4. You will also have the option to turn on Find My iPhone. By turning this on, you will also have the ability to remote wipe your phone if it ever gets lost.
   
   
5. Back to the Mail, Contacts, Calendar settings area. Turning off "Load remote Images" might save you some bandwidth and some processing power.
   
   
6. Signature: Of course, since this is a business phone, I should put a signature on emails I sent. For mobile device signatures, I like to append this line - "Please forgive typos - sent via mobile phone."
   
   
7. Lastly, make sure the Default Calendar under the Calendars is correct. Most of the time, it's not for me by default.

And the rest of the settings

1. Nothing major in phone and Safari. Let's do take a look at Messages. By default, the show subject field is off. I prefer this on. Don't want people to be getting messages without a subject. Remember this has nothing to do with your email account. This is specific to the Message app (which used to be SMS).
   
   
2. iPod - Since I won't be using the iPod function much, I'm going to turn off the Shake to Shuffle, hoping that it will speed things up just so slightly because the iPhone has one less thing to worry about when I accidentally shake the phone.
   
   
3. Photos and Store settings - nothing there. Ok, moving along.

The best for last - The fun part, reconfiguring the app icons

1. There's not a whole lot of apps right now. I'm basically going to set up two pages - one with the apps that I use, and the other one, apps I don't use.
   
   
2. First off, reconfiguing the apps in the dock. By default, the four apps in the dock is Phone, Mail, Safari, and iPod. I generally prefer Settings to be on the dock because I go to it quite often for configuring wifi networks and turning on and off Bluetooth.
   
   
3. As for the left over 3 apps in the dock, after all, this is a communication device, right? So I'll put the main communication apps there - Phone, Messages, Mail.
   
   
4. The apps I don't think I'll be using are iPod, Voice Memos, Weather, Safari, Clock, and Stocks. So I'll be moving them to the second page.

Alright! We're all done. We took out the unnecessary stuff, and we now have transformed the iPhone into the ultimate mobile business machine!

Backing up and wiping my iPhone 3G clean

After the 3.0 update, seems like my iPhone 3G is a bit sluggish and crashing a lot more. Plus, for some reason, emails on getting sent out though receiving is fine. So, I have decided to manually back everything up and do a clean wipe of this iPhone. I'll be blogging my experience. So let's get rolling:

Going down my apps list to see what I need to backup:

1. Contacts - it's synced with MobileMe, so nothing here to do.
2. Photos - Let's make sure I get everything off the camera roll.
3. Stanza, Kindle, YouTube, Skype are all good.
4. Safari is good since bookmarks are synced via MobileMe.
5. Maps is good.
6. Messages - hmm... this is a tricky one. Ok, luckily, I have PhoneView from the MacHeist bundle I purchased a while ago. For those who want to learn more about PhoneView, here's the link. Great, also backed up my Notes. Doesn't seem like I can back up my MMS messages though. Well, at least I got the SMS messages.
7. Calendar is good since it's synced by MobileMe.
8. Things - Let's get the todos all synced up.
9. Voice Memos - nothing there, so I'm good.
10. Mail is good since all the accounts are IMAP.

Alright, seems like I'm good. Now, the fun part begins.

1. Sync my iPhone once and make sure it backs up if I did indeed forget something.
2. Ok, under Summary tab, going to click on the Restore button.
3. Waiting time... going to go to 7-11 to get me a Coke.
4. and we're done! And my iPhone is like new again!

In the next post, I'll be blogging on the steps of setting up my iPhone to be a business purpose phone. None of those YouTube videos and stuff. It's business time!

17 iPhone apps I actually use

Since I'm planning to wipe out, and restore my iPhone 3G, I decided to revisit the apps I have on it, and see which ones I actually use. Those apps will be back on my iPhone 3G after the restore.

So the keepers:

Utilities:

1. Stanza - great app for view e-books and documents. Works great with the desktop app where you can export documents and webpages into e-book format and get them on your iPhone. Desktop app and more info here.
   
   
2. Kindle - You can go on Amazon.com and buy Kindle e-books and have them sent directly to your iPhone or touch. And if you have multiple devices, they'll sync, which means if you left off at page 12 on your iPhone, when you open the book with your touch (on wifi), it will be on page 12 too. Obviously, at home you want to have the actual Kindle with its big screens.
   
   
3. Things - A wonderful todo manager. Works great with the desktop Mac version. However, recently, finding Hitlist to be my preferred todo manager. Waiting for iPhone version of Hitlist.
   
   
4. Skype - Only use it from time to time. A nifty app to have. Plus it's free!
   
   
5. Shazam - Actually found myself using this app more than I thought. Usually I hear a song at a restaurant or super market, and I'll use this app to tell me what song it is. Most of the time, it works. Sweet.
   
   
6. Keynote Remote - I usually prefer using the Front Row remote that came with my Macs. Having to pair it up and stuff, it's a hassle. I'll keep it on a bit more, and perhaps will actually try it in a real life scenario someday.
   
   
7. Amazon.com - Use this one to check out book prices when I'm outside especially at bookstores. Very handy.
   
   
8. Starbucks - Music for the holidys - Not exactly an utility, but if for some reason, you need to be in an holiday mood, this app streams holiday music that has been played at StarBucks for the past few years. Also a must have if you're a Starbucks fan.

Games:

1. Flight Control - Heard this one on MacBreak Weekly. Great game when you're waiting in line or just have a few minutes to kill.
   
   
2. Scrabble - Don't play it too much, but just have it because it's a classic.
   
   
3. Solitaire City - Because my girlfriend loves this game.
   
   
4. iSlots - And like Solitaire City, girlfriend loves this thing.

Instruments

1. Finger Piano - One of those apps to show off.
   
   
2. Ocarina - Just a neat app to have, though I'll be honest, I don't really use it much. I guess, it's also one of those apps to show off your iPhone =)

Japanese apps:

1. Y! - Rosen - Let's you find train routes in Japan.
   
   
2. Terebi - With Softbank's TV & Battery device, you can watch TV as well as record TV to your iPhone. Personally, I don't use it much. But it's nice to know that I can!
   
   
3. Furufuru Pocky - A silly app... Not sure how to describe it so I'll quote from this blog here - "This is kind of a game you want to do when you want to pick one person out of several people. It's very simple, whoever pick the pink pocky is the winner. eg: who is in charge of cooking dinner tonight..."

And the apps that will leave my iPhone 3G

1. Flashlight - thought I'd be using this, but haven't really found myself using it.
   
   
2. TV Listings - Japanese TV listings... don't think I need it.
   
   
3. Sora Annai - Weather app for Japan. It's useful, but don't find myself using it.
   
   
4. Keizai Shimbun - a really cool app that lets you read the most recent Japanese newspaper Keizai Shimbun. A great show off app, but I never found myself reading the newspaper. Don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing...
   
   
5. Currency - Used to use this app quite a while, but slowly died down. Basically it'll give you update to day currency exchange rates. Perhaps if you're into making money via foreign exchange, this is an app to have with you.
   
   
6. USA Today - Find myself not getting news from my iPhone. I guess I just prefer reading news in computer browsers.
   
   
7. Air Sharing - It's a nifty app, but I just find myself emailing files to myself. Too lazy to load up Air Sharing on my iPhone to drop files into it. For MobileMe users including me, an iDisk app is finally coming!
   
   
8. Cooking Mama Lite - Just wanted to try the game out.
   
   
9. 24 Special Ops Free - Just wanted to try the game out because I love 24!
   
   
10. MySpace - Didn't find myself doing this SNS thing on the go.
    
    
11. FaceBook - Same as above
    
    
12. Google
    
    
13. SearchMe
    
    
14. AroundMe
    
    
15. Remote - When I had my AirPort Express with AirTunes hooked up in my living room, this is a super app. Now I gave my AirPort Express away, I'm not using it anymore. If you got a setup where you're streaming contents to a living room, this is a great app to complement it!
    
    
16. Hair Style Lite - Just wanted to try it out.
    
    
17. AIM - Chatting app. Problem is no one I know is on AIM, they're all on MSN! Eagerly waiting for Meebo iPhone app.
    
    
18. What's On? - TV listing app.
    
    
19. Hot Pepper - App to find restaurants in Japan.
    
    
20. Y! Chizu - Japanese map app. Just found myself using Maps most of the time.
    
    
21. Y! Douga - Yahoo's video streaming app in Japan. I tend to stick to my own video library for video contents.

And not that I have a choice of removing any of the native Apple apps, here are the ones I use:

• Contacts
• Photos
• Safari
• Maps
• Messages
• Calendar
• Notes
• Phone
• Mail
• Camera
• Setting - Not sure if you could call this an app.
• Calculator
• App Store
• iPod
• iTunes

Here are the ones I rarely use:

• YouTube
• Voice Memos - I start using this one when there's a streamlined voice-to-text feature. I'm must not used to this listening to my only voice memo thing.
• Weather
• Clock
• Stocks

For existing 3G owners - summary of the major new features

Since a friend asked me what's new in the 3.0 update, I thought I also put up a post for that. So here they are:

The major ones:

1. Cut, copy, & paste - You can do it to text and images.
   
   
2. Landscape keyboard - rotating the iPhone horizontally in Mail, Messages, Notes, and Safari will turn the app sideways resulting in a bigger keyboard
   
   
3. Spotlight Search - you can search across contacts, emails, calendars, notes, music, and a bunch of other stuff.
   
   
4. Stereo Bluetooth - this one is a big one for me. You can listen to your music without any wires!
   
   
5. MMS support - much needed especially in Japan. Coming later for AT&T folks.

New apps and new features in Apps

1. Voice memos - record audio
   
   
2. Stock app - gives your more info in landscape view
   
   
3. iTunes - buy mvoies, TV shows, and audiobooks. Also get stuff from iTunes U (educational contents from universities).
   
   
4. YouTube - now you can log in, and save and sync your bookmarks

Other nice to know features:

1. Sync Notes - Yes, finally you don't have to email and manage your notes on your iPhone. Long long overdue!
   
   
2. Shake to shuffle to another song in your library
   
   
3. Parental Controls - Although this is very nice for parents, and if you're use the device for yourself, you can use this to turn off some apps. For example, if you don't ever use YouTube, you can disable it.
   
   
4. Internet Tethering - While it's a welcome feature, but seems like carriers are going to charge for it, so that blows. So far Japan doesn't have support for it. This would definitely be nice for business people though. Oh yeah, great for MacBook Air users. All they need to bring is an iPhone to get net access.

For MobileMe users:

1. Find My iPhone and Remote Wipe - I never really misplace my iPhone in my house, but if you do, you can use Find My iPhone to make your phone beep. Other than that, there are two tremendous insurance features for the iPhone. If you lose your iPhone, you can remotely wipe the info - very important if you've got business info on that phone.
   
   
2. Search mail messages on MobileMe servers - very very powerful and useful if you keep your email on MobileMe servers. Only thing is it seems like you can only search within a folder on the server. So if you are very organized and keep a lot of folders, the usability of this one might drop. As for me, most of my messages get dumped in an archives folder. As a result, if I know who sent the message and the general time frame when it was sent, I could pinpoint that message outside with my iPhone.
   
   
3. View subscribed calendars - via a very very non-Apple-like troublesome process - here's the Apple support article

Lastly

Is it me, or my iPhone 3G is slow? Maybe it's trying to tell me to get a 3GS... Well, thanks for reading!