iPhone Download World

Power plays

When the power goes out and our cellphones aren’t charged, more of us than ever are dead in the water. no phone service. no texting. no email.

Some 27 percent of American households no longer have a landline. And the numbers are climbing by the day as Americans look for ways to save money. maybe you can live without email. but having a working phone is a matter of personal safety.

So to help you stay connected the next time an ice storm or high winds knock you off the grid, we tested some tools that will keep your cellphones, tablets and laptops going. neither Consumer Reports or gadget review site cnet.com has reviewed chargers, according to spokesmen. We tried out items that run from a few dollars to nearly $200. We looked at a cross-section of goods that might help the average family keep their gear charged for a day, or maybe two.

Note: the results come from a test drive, rather than repeated testing.

For a jolt of juice, it’s hard to beat. one 15-minute round of errands usually takes my iPhone from dead to 10 percent charged, or more. Longer drives get you more charging. I asked the experts at Edmunds.com if you could charge your phone by just turning the ignition enough to run the accessories rather than running the car. they advised against it because that first click is booting up other systems, too, and you could run your down your battery. Retail: $20.

The Duracell Instant Charger is a rechargeable battery you can use to charge mobile devices that come with USB power cords. It can be charged either off your computer or household current. You charge it up, turn it off, and then pull it out when you need to charge a phone or other device. It brought my dead phone back to life in a few minutes and charged it to 50 percent in an hour and a half. Impressive. seems like it could get you out of a jam. Retail: $29.99.

Duracell PowerPack 450

If you’ve got a house with several gadgets, it could be the way to go. You charge this unit off household current in advance and it works as a portable power station. It has two standard outlets and a USB port. I took a dead iPhone and dead laptop to fully charged with lots of power to spare. (It ran our DSL modem, too. but if the network is down you’re out of luck.) You can also plug in household appliances, like a lamp. And finally, it also has an air compressor to inflate car tires (it worked) and can be used to jump-start a car, but we didn’t test that. Warning: It takes a few days to charge the first time. so don’t run out on the afternoon of an ice storm thinking this will save you. Retail: $189. (Cheaper online. Other companies make similar devices. Reviews are all over the place when it comes to ratings.)

This hand-crank generator took my iPhone to 5 percent charged in about two minutes. (The first model gave me problems, but the company shipped another and it was fine.) if you ever worry about being stranded and don’t trust battery rechargers, this is for you ( k-tor.com). but cranking is not for the feeble. It gets old fast. Retail: $45.

This hand-crank device delivers both flashlight and radio without batteries. one minute of cranking gets you 20 minutes of light or about 33 minutes of radio, though you can get both at the same time. quite amazing. You can also use it to charge a phone but it took me nearly 10 minutes to get my iPhone going. Strictly a last resort as a phone charger. Retail: $50.

Are there other products you’ve used for charging gadgets? Email us about what’s worked at clever@charlotteobserver.com and we may follow up. the best tip wins a $10 gift card from Lowe’s.

Logitech Unveils Mini Boombox for iPhone, Other Smartphones

Logitech has announced the new Mini Boombox, a wireless speaker that doubles as a speakerphone accessory, similar to the Jawbone Jambox.

The speaker uses Bluetooth A2DP to play stereo sound streamed from smartphones like the iPhone, as well as tablets and other mobile devices. it also supports HFP, the Bluetooth hands-free profile, and thanks to its built-in microphone it can work as a speakerphone.

Logitech hasn’t announced the size or weight of the speaker, but it appears to measure just 2.1 by 4.4 by 2.7 inches (HWD), making it small enough to fit in a jacket pocket. That’s much, much smaller than the Logitech Wireless Speaker Z515 or the Logitech Wireless Boombox, neither of which can work as a speakerphone. According to Logitech, the built-in rechargeable battery can last up to 10 hours.

The boombox features illuminated, touch-sensitive controls on the top panel, for handling playback and phone calls. It’s a nice visual touch, but unless the volume controls change the speaker’s own volume setting, they seem to have little use; the benefit of Bluetooth speakers is that you have the player in your hand, so you can use it as a remote and treat the speaker as an extension of the device.

The boombox’s drivers aren’t specified, but Logitech noted that the speaker has an “acoustic chamber” to enhance bass. Bass notes need room to resonate for them to carry any power, which is why most subwoofers have large ports inside. this chamber can help improve the limited bass quality of even a small speaker.

The Logitech Mini Boombox ships this month to stores, and will retail for $99.99.

For the top stories in tech, follow us on Twitter at @PCMag.

Apple iPhone 4S Battery Drain Solution: Change Time Zone Settings

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To turn off the “Setting Time Zone” function, visit the phone’s Settings application, then choose Location Services and visit “System Services” at the very bottom of the screen. Find “Setting Time Zone,” which will be the second to last option from the bottom, and toggle it off.

When battery complaints began to arise soon after the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple, based in Cupertino, Calif., was reportedly “not even close” to finding a fix. some users were experiencing drops in battery life as much as 10 percent every hour. When a British user posted his battery issues online, he received a call from a senior Apple engineer.

“[The Apple engineer] admitted this was an issue and asked lots of questions about my usage and then asked if he could install the file below and that he would call back the day after to retrieve the info,” the user said. “I extracted the file from my Mac after a sync and e-mailed it to him. He was incredibly helpful and apologetic in the typical Apple way!”

The iPhone 4S varies in a few significant ways from its predecessor, the iPhone 4. The new model actually has .05 more watt-hours capacity than the iPhone 4, according to online repair guide producer iFixit, but features a more dynamic dual-core A5 processor, a more powerful 8-megapixel camera that can shoot video in full 1080p HD, and a dual antenna system to maximize reception. The phone also comes with Siri, a voice-activated personal assistant, which many believed was the real source of the battery drain.

On Oct. 28, Apple began shipping the iPhone 4S to 22 more countries, including Mexico, Italy and Spain, and has plans to ship the new smartphone to 70 more by Dec. 31.

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iTWire – ACCC goes live with product recalls iPhone app

by Brenton Currie Saturday, 29 October 2011 15:23

Your IT – Mobility

Page 1 of 2The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has entered the mobile era, launching yesterday an application for Apple’s iPhone that allows Australians to check the latest product recalls on the go.

ACCC launch Product Recall app for iPhone (Credit: ACCC/Apple)

In a statement yesterday afternoon, the ACCC confirmed the free ACCC Recalls Australia app [iTunes Link] had been made available and was developed on behalf of the organisation by the Slattery Media Group.

When first opened, the application downloads over 400 recent product recalls – which, as some have discovered, takes time and on 3G connections at times crashes the application. in total, startup of the app for the first time was around 1 minute on an ADSL2+ connection, though afterwards opening it only took a second or two.

Once downloaded however, users gain access to a list of the most recent product recalls announced by the ACCC across all categories including furniture, toys, food, drinks and parts and accessories. Users can also opt in to receive push notifications to be alerted when a new recall is announced.

“The app provides Australian consumers with easily searchable information on Australian consumer good recalls,” ACCC deputy chairman Peter Kell said in a statement.

“The recalls app is just one of the latest ways the ACCC is communicating product safety information to consumers and businesses.”

Shaquille O’Neal’s All-Star Twitter Coach

Shaquille O’Neal and the woman behind @Shaq, Amy Jo Martin Nathan Perkel for Bloomberg Businessweek

Amy Jo Martin makes men—grown men, tough men, professional athlete men—do incredibly stupid things. She got Shaquille O’Neal to pose as a living statue for an hour in Harvard Square while fans took photos. She got UFC President Dana White to tweet his cell-phone number so fans could talk to him about an upcoming fight. She got golfer Bubba Watson to post a video of himself hitting a ball from inside his house, over his pool, and into a bucket before jumping in the water fully clothed—just to persuade Ellen DeGeneres to book him on her show. It’s less like she’s a public relations professional than a fraternity recruitment officer.

Martin, 32, is the kind of person male athletes listen to. She’s energetic, pretty, and self-assured; the two least surprising things about her are that she was a cheerleader in high school and went to Arizona State. for a person who seems to be online constantly, she’s out a lot; she’s already visited more than 80 cities this year, often to attend events with clients and point out stuff they should tweet. That’s her job: professional Twitter coach. as frivolous as that sounds, there is a real, urgent, and high-paying demand for her services. It turns out athletes need a lot more help with their writing than they do hitting golf balls and making free throws.

Sitting on the balcony at the Los Angeles outpost of Bouchon, barely touching her food, Martin is trying not to check her phone too often. but some tweets need tweeting back right now. before the main course comes, she reaches into her purse to pull out a tiny wireless charger to resuscitate her iPhone. I am pretty sure she tweets about that.

Her company, Digital Royalty, has come up with social networking strategies for clients such as the Chicago White Sox, the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Nike, Fox Sports, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and her original star client, Shaquille O’Neal. The UFC puts their fighters through five days of Martin’s social media training each year and has a bonus pool of $240,000 for fighters who tweet well.

At one point, in October of last year, 9 of the 10 trending topics on Twitter were related to her clients. The two-year-old company does in the “mid-seven figures” in annual billings, which are up 525 percent in 2011. Martin has done so well with teams and athletes that Digital Royalty picked up companies such as DoubleTree and Discount Tire Centers; non-sport clients now make up 70 percent of the business. She employs 15 people (mostly young, mostly women, mostly pretty) and is looking to hire at least five more. She’s moving all of them, the fleet of Digital Royalty-branded bikes, and the company’s CDO (“chief dog officer”) from Phoenix to Santa Monica, Calif. “I grew up in small-town Wyoming, so I’m not exactly the glittering Hollywood type,” Martin says in a way that sounds very glittering Hollywood type. “however, the networks, talent agencies, studios, and big brand opportunities are all in L.A.”

Six years ago, Martin had a public-relations job with the Phoenix Suns. She started doing a lot of online promotion for the team without being asked. She also wasn’t asked to call herself the Director of Digital Media. “I didn’t ask permission. Instead, I asked forgiveness.” She went on Twitter as@PhoenixSunsGirl and got a few thousand followers—and there weren’t that many more on Twitter back then—by tweeting about the team. Incessantly. “I would stay up all night and reply to every fan. I knew advertisers would find value, and I wanted to prove it internally,” she says. She quickly got 25 Suns employees, one of whom was the team mascot, on Twitter. (Sample tweet from @SunsGorilla: “What’s better than a photo of me? A photo of me with hundreds of bananas!”)

BAM! Now Open in Dulles

DULLES, Va., Nov. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –Residents in Dulles now have a Books-A-Million (BAM!) for all their books, toys, tech and more needs. the new store recently opened in Dulles Town Center located at 21100 Dulles Town Center Circle, Dulles, VA 20166.

“BAM! is excited to be here in Dulles,” said Emily Paul, General Manager. “BAM! prides itself on providing the best customer experience along with great values for our customers.”

the Dulles Town Center BAM! provides an assorted selection of books, magazines, bargain books and gifts, as well as unique sections within the store. There’s a special “Kids-A-Million” section featuring children’s books, learning resources, toys and games along with a myriad of literature for children and products from Lego, Skip Hop, LeapFrog, Hasbro and more.

for the tech savvy reader, there’s an array of electronics, featuring the NOOK Simple Touch and NOOK Color; iPhone, iPod and eReader accessories and DVDs in addition to electronic accessories by brands such as Skullcandy, JVC, Built and ProtectIt.

all new customers are invited to sign up for the Millionaire’s Club, where members save 40 percent off bestsellers, 20 percent off hundreds of items throughout the store and 10 percent off everything, every day. Millionaire’s Club members also experience special sale events and receive exclusive promotions and coupons through weekly emails.

From quality customer service to convenient access to superior merchandise, BAM! has so much to offer, including discount programs for teachers and community organizations as well as community fundraising opportunities. the new location is open just in time for the holiday season. at BAM!, books are just the beginning.

About Books-A-Million, Inc.

Books-A-Million, Inc. is one of the nation’s leading book retailers and sells on the Internet at booksamillion.com . the Company presently operates over 230 stores in 29 states and the District of Columbia and, after the opening of the new stores, the Company will operate over 250 stores in 31 states and the District of Columbia. the Company operates large superstores under the names Books-A-Million, Books & Co., and 2nd & Charles and traditional bookstores operating under the names Bookland and Books-A-Million. the common stock of Books-A-Million, Inc. is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol BAMM. for more information, visit the Company’s corporate website at booksamillioninc.com .

Follow Books-A-Million on Twitter ( twitter.com/booksamillion ) and Facebook ( facebook.com/booksamillion ).

SOURCE Books-A-Million, Inc.

Twelve South PlugBug: Hands-on review

I’m not sure if there’s something in the water that’s making manufacturers come out with a lot of new power accessories for Apple devices these days, but it seems like a lot of new products like the XtremeMac Slim 10W USB Wall Charger and others are being announced. None of the announcements really provided quite the excitement that the Twelve South PlugBug (US$34.99) did.

why? Well, twelve South is well-known for producing accessories for Apple products that are usually as well-designed and constructed as the goods from Cupertino. In this case, twelve South took a rather pedestrian piece of equipment — a charger — and used the Apple adage to “Think Different” to create something that is extremely useful and attractive.

What makes the PlugBug so different? it looks a lot like an Apple iPad charger, although it is made of bright red plastic instead of white. When you plug it into the wall as-is, you can charge an iPhone or iPad with it. No big deal there. but the cool factor comes into play when you slide off the bottom of the PlugBug and slide on a charger — sans plug — from a MacBook Pro or Air. Suddenly, you’re charging two devices with one power socket.

The PlugBug is rated for 10 Watts of power and 2.1 Amps of current, perfect for charging up your iPad. with the unique design, you take the “duck head” (removable plastic piece with the plug blades) off of the MacBook charger (not included) and slide it onto the bottom of the PlugBug. now you have a way to charge your MacBook Pro/Air and iPad/iPhone at the same time while taking up only one wall socket.

I’m often in a situation where I need to charge both an iPad and a MacBook Air at the same time, and up until now I’ve carried two AC adapters with me. If I know I’m going to be using both devices, I can now just throw one “brick” (the top of the PlugBug and the attached MacBook Air adapter) into my bag. less weight to carry, by a few ounces, but one less item to worry about losing as well. However, you can’t use the brick inline, so the USB port isn’t available when you use the longer cord with the adapter.

as with most of the twelve South products I’ve reviewed in the past, the PlugBug is well-made, attractively packaged, and will make any Apple fan with both an iPad and a MacBook Air or Pro very happy. you can purchase the PlugBug at the Apple Store online (and at Apple retail outlets), or from the twelve South website.

AT&T iPhone 4 Review: How’s it stack up now?

Posted by AndrewFomera on November 2, 2011 09:06 pm 1

Note: I wrote this with a high level of influence from Josh’s iPhone 4S Review and I wrote it as if I was a vergester writing a review on the iPhone 4 in the current market. I was going to add more photos… but I can’t put them in a fancy manner like the Verge Crew can.. so I limited it for everyone 🙂

In a world where cellphone makers and other people have to constantly innovate it’s a tight arena where everyone is in a battle for consumers, companies must constantly innovate for the money of the people.

Released in June 2010, it’s one of the older phones still selling on the market today. Heck, if you think about it, it’s still one of the bestselling phones on the market. Granted it was introduced again in February 2011 for Verizon, which certainly helped to fuel the sale of it.

So how does it compare to other phones on the market now that it’s over a year old? Let’s dive right in!

Hardware/Design

Introduced as an all new design with glass fronts and back, it was certainly a step up from the iPhone 3GS. the volume switch on the side is easily accessible due to the smooth flat side of the phone, and the rounded separate buttons for the volumes are easily within reach while using the phone.

When holding the phone in my left hand, it’s natural to use just my left index finger to change the volume as my finger tends to rest there. the recessed home button is the same classic button you’ll find on all the previous models of the iPhone.

and Yes: my phone has been well used.. and is rather torn up. It’s not the most durable phone, but consider I drop it nearly three or four times every day, it doesn’t have many major blemishes other than a few nicks and scratches.

Internals

Starting with available storage for music, apps and other things you’ll find now days you can get the iPhone 4 in 8gb directly from Apple and the carriers. however, you may still be able to find the versions of the iPhone 4 with 16gb and 32gb of storage on eBay. my phone is a 16gb version and it tends to be enough for my “light” music library (around 4gb) and around 2gb in Apps and app data.

Moving on, to one of the more important features of the phone, is the phone antenna. my phone is an AT&T Model so it has a GSM Antenna band around the edge… and yes the “death grip” can certainly be seen here if you hold it that way. But yes, the 3G band for AT&T works well, and my speeds are fair enough when used on AT&T’s network.

The iPhone 4 has Apple’s own A4 Processor, which was the first phone to have Apple’s own design for the chip which helps to focus on power conservation yet still providing a powerful experience to consumers. Alongside the A4 Processor you’ll find 512mb of RAM, the same that you’ll find in the new iPhone 4S, but double what was in the iPhone 3GS (256mb) .

Oh and one more thing, the Retina display screen is still one of the most beautiful displays out of any phone on the market, only matched by Apple with the next generation iPhone 4S. it provides a 326 pixels per inch (which is more than any human eye can see).

Camera

The camera sports a 5 megapixel back camera (with flash) and a VGA front camera, which provide an adequate camera experience while “on the go”, granted the front camera isn’t good for much other than Facetime, or the hair check in the morning. the back camera will record in 720p up to 30 frames a second with audio, which was one of the first phones to do so.

One of the reasons the iPhone 4 camera is so good when compared to other phones with the same megapixel camera is due to the fact the iPhone 4 has a bigger sensor which lets more light in which results in a better picture quality.

Unfortunately, there are phones now on the market which provide a better point-to-shoot experience than the iPhone 4, but for a phone that’s nearly 2 years old, it’s crazy to think that it went nearly unmatched for so long. (granted, it may be my fanboy-ism coming out here.. but I didn’t think nearly any phone ever beat it until recently)

via lh6.googleusercontent.com

via lh5.googleusercontent.com

Just a few shots I took with the iPhone 4’s camera. I think those are my two favorite photos that I recently took.. but once again I think it depends partly on what you take a photo of and the settings.

Reception / Call Quality

Wow is really the word to sum up all of this. When it was introduced in 2010 as an all new antenna design there were enormous expectations for it, and to be honest, it didn’t live up to all of them. while I noticed significant improvements over the 3GS’s call quality and reception there was a major issue with the “antennagate” crisis where if you held the two bands at the bottom the bars would drop significantly.

Apple announced a free case program in July of 2010 which provided a free case to iPhone 4 owners who raised concerns (this program lasted a few months but is now over) with the issue. I never experienced the death grip issue with my phone in all the time I’ve had it (since June 2010) but then again I’ve always had a case on it except for the rare moments it’s been out for cleaning.

So yeah, as for download speeds… it’s not as fast as the newer 4S and other phones but I still find my phone pulling things up faster than other phones on AT&T and other networks.. though your network speeds may vary from region to region. (Mine up here in Northwest Missouri is 3G but my upload speeds are around 1.5mb and download is around 1.1mbps which makes me sad) But in other metropolitan areas I have decent speeds. Again, it depends on the backhaul of the network and the congestion in the area on the towers. (sad fact of life)

I will occasionally drop calls on my iPhone 4, but it’s around 80% AT&T’s fault… which is just something I put up with because I’m grandfathered into the Unlimited plan.

Battery Life

Ah, the one thing I wish I could change about my phone. Apple has done reasonably well with all of their phones with Battery Life and ensuring they have great power conservation. I manage to get around 5.5 hours of heavy use out of it before it’s time for me to plug it up. (and that’s talking like hard use, Texting, iPod on, heavy App usage, using Safari, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on etc). Oh, and I also have the screen on full brightness.

Apple totes 7 hours of 3G talk time, 14 hours of 2G talk time, up to 300 hours of standby time, 6 hours of internet usage on 3G or 10 hours on Wi-Fi. while my usage is well below what Apple says, I’m one of the heavy users of my phone. It’s always on and it’s always by my side, constantly pushing for email, checking apps like Facebook or on Safari with an occasional phone call or so.

There has been days I’ve been up at 5am and managed to conserve my battery life until around 11:30pm that night, but it took tough preservation on both my part and the phone’s settings.

The iPhone 4S actually adds another hour of talk time, but loses an hour of Wi-Fi browsing time, maybe due to the A5 Chip inside, but recently there have been reports of issues with terrible battery life due to possibly a location checking bug. Apple announced on 11/2/11 that a fix for it would be coming within a few weeks.

Software

The iOS 5 update brought with it a large number of changes which, depending on your preferences are a good thing. Something important to note: You won’t find Siri on the iPhone 4.

I believe that Siri is one of the only features that sets the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 apart (someone correct me if I’m wrong please!) Granted, Siri is a major selling point to the 4S but people looking for a good phone instead of a great phone will do fine without it (trust me, I’m getting by just fine without it.)

Also new with iOS 5 was the Notification Center – Easy access to all the notifications and swipe to the right to reply/go to access. this is a big thing that I find useful especially with the Weather widget. I find myself actually checking the weather more with the widget. I turned off the stock one in the options because I just frankly don’t follow the stocks.

the software brought tons of improvements to the phone, many unnoticeable until you really get into it… but Apple dubbed this release when iOS really went “PC Free”. this is because of iCloud and all the work the Apple Engineers have done. You no longer have to plug up to a computer to sync your music, photos, documents, contacts and so forth. Just turn on iCloud and bam, your stuff will be on a new device if you get one and elect to restore from an iCloud backup.

I use iCloud to sync my Calendar (well, what little is on it) and my Contacts. my contacts are my life and if anything were to happen to that.. well I’d be hurting.

Also new is Wi-Fi syncing, which I do not use, so I’m quickly going to sum it up. if your phone is plugged in and charging on the same Wi-Fi network your computer is on it’ll sync over Wi-Fi. I think you may only be able to choose one on if you want to sync to iCloud or your iTunes, so it is really a preference here if you want it in the cloud or on your computer.

Another quick note on iCloud, they give you 5gb of space for free with more space available for purchase. I did not realize how quickly apps took up the space with iCloud and I’ve almost ran out of space, but you can choose which apps get to use iCloud’s space and you can turn that off in the Settings.

Wrap up

So how does it all end up? if you’ve got an iPhone 3GS or another phone from a previous generation and you’ll looking to upgrade to another phone here is what I recommend: Upgrade to the iPhone 4S if you’re looking to get an iPhone.

If you don’t mind being stuck with a phone that’s almost two years old for another two or so years in a contract then the iPhone 4 is a great phone for 99$ with a new contract (mind you, it’s only 8gb) but you COULD always find a used phone on eBay off contract. (or even if you’re looking to get a phone for a kid or something, the iPhone 4 has that sleek sexy look of the iPhone 4S with half the price)

Personally, I’m sticking it with my well-used iPhone 4 until the big A announces the iPhone 5 (or whatever it is!). I’m not making the upgrade because in reality even though Apple updated the processor, gave it some more battery and added Siri, the iPhone 4 is still a great phone.

me2me launches New Digital Dictation Application for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

press release release detail

App to increase productivity, cut hardware costs and integrate EMR systems

Baar, Switzerland, November 7, 2011 – me2me AG, the developers of the Frisbee Transcription Workflow & Dictation Solution with Speech Recognition announced today that they release Frisbee Smart for iPhone®, iPad® and iPod touch®, a new app that turns the smartphone into a digital dictation device, making dictation available to all Frisbee solutions users but also to other professional digital dictation solutions.

Frisbee Smart Dictation

Frisbee Smart allows physicians, lawyers, experts, journalists and many others whose work requires them to be away from their PCs to enjoy the benefits of an advanced digital dictation workflow solution, even while on the go. me2me’s Frisbee Smart app enables users to dictate from any place allowing users to send audio files to be transcribed. since this app turns the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch into a wireless digital dictation device, users send their dictation to the transcriptionist of their choice or to an FTP server, using one of the multiple data transfer protocols available or a simple WIFI connection.

“Our easy to use functionalities provide professionals the capabilities of using the mobile device the same way they utilized their traditional digital dictation device but also includes a full set of innovative features such as overwriting/inserting dictations; four selectable audio quality, all optimized for speech recognition; voice activation for hands free dictation; Bluetooth™ headset compatibility, allowing free movement; file size control, in order not to exceed the maximum file size of the receiving mailbox; and a range of languages including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian and Russian” said Daniel Hall, CTO of me2me.

In addition, Frisbee Smart app includes features such as:

Lossless compression method
Optional Barcode scanner to allow a barcode to be automatically assigned to the opened dictation
Easy-to-use touch screen controls

Frisbee Smart can also be integrated directly with electronic health record (EHR) systems professionals to dictate directly into the EHR application to increase their own productivity.

“the iPhone has become a mobile business tool for many professionals who want to use it for dictation purposes, in order to avoid carrying multiple devices and to cut costs” said Peter Hauser, CEO of me2me AG. “We are very excited to offer a solution that allows iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users to access a solution that easily integrates with Frisbee, our base dictation workflow system. We are also very proud to announce that Frisbee Smart can be used by any professional who wants to dictate with the iPhone but works with another digital dictation solution. thanks to the Frisbee Converter, a small piece of software that works in conjunction with Frisbee Smart, audio files can be converted into the correct audio format utilized by other digital dictation software companies”.

me2me offers users the ability to try the Frisbee Smart application before purchasing it. the free version of Frisbee Smart can be downloaded from the App Store. the free version is limited to 5 dictations of 30 seconds each. the full version of Frisbee Smart can be purchased at any time from one of me2me ’s certified partners.

About me2me AGme2me AG is a software company delivering productivity solutions for enterprise mobility. the me2me product portfolio helps users to connect to enterprise information and communication systems via easy-to-use mobile applications. the portfolio includes voice based application delivered through mobile devices (cars, cell phones & smart phones) as well as Frisbee, a state-of-the-art dictation and transcription workflow solution used in the legal, healthcare and administration markets. for more information, visit me2me.com

For more information, contact me2me Marketing : Dominique MARTIN-LAGARDETTEMarcom ManagerMobile +41 (0)79 874 92 36

iOS development is a DIY skill that’s in big demand

And there’s good news for programmers without such skills: You can teach yourself how to develop iPhone apps, thanks to the extensive amount of free information that Apple provides to developers on its website.

“The type of talent that we are constantly looking to attract is the iOS developer,” says Scott Michaels, vice president of Atimi Software, a 100-person mobile application developer based in Vancouver that counts among its clients HBO, ESPN and Bloomberg. “We need developers with experience in Android and Windows Mobile, but our primary demand is for iOS and Mac-capable developers.”

Michaels says there aren’t enough developers that have deep knowledge of and experience with Objective-C, a computer language used in Apple products that differs from the more common C and C++.

“We’re 100 people, but we have work for 130 people. We just don’t have those extra 30 bodies,” Michaels says. he adds that salaries for experienced iPhone developers “just keep going up. our year-over-year salaries are up almost 20 percent.”

Atimi isn’t the only company looking to hire experienced iPhone developers. So are eBay, CapGemini, Oracle, Charles Schwab, General Electric and hundreds of other software, consulting and Internet-savvy corporations.

Indeed, IT job site Dice.com has 1380 postings for iPhone developer positions, up 191 percent compared to last year. Similarly, Dice.com lists 1617 available jobs for Android developers, up 129 percent from last year. another 1215 job postings ask for mobile developers in general, without specifying a platform.

“Mobile is one of the hottest [IT skills],” says Alice Hill, managing director of Dice.com. “All of these things are converging at the same time. You have this explosion in smartphones. You have this sudden interest in tablets and other devices. … You have a shortage of experience and great demand. If you’re a mobile app developer, that’s the perfect, perfect storm for you.”

While the demand for mobile app developers is strong across all smartphone platforms, the money is tied squarely to iPhone skills. Hill said tech professionals who develop on the iPhone platform report to Dice.com that they earn nine times more income from app development than those who work on Android.

Hill agrees that iPhone app development is so new that programmers can teach it to themselves and be credible applicants for the available jobs.

“The platforms are really new. You’re not going to find this huge workforce of experienced developers,” Hill said. “If you have actually developed an iPhone app and gotten it through the Apple approval process, you’re going to have a lot of job opportunities. … Even if you’re fresh out of college but can show a really good mobile app, you can get hired. It’s a nice growth area for what would traditionally be entry-level employees. They can now jump to the front of the line.”

Dice.com surveyed its users and found that many consider themselves hobbyists in the area of iPhones, Android and other mobile platforms.

“It’s definitely worthwhile for any programmer to get the SDK and start playing around with Android and iOS and teach themselves Objective-C,” Hill said. “They need to figure this out because eventually it will be standard that you have to have a mobile version of whatever software you do. … It’s foolish not be playing around with this at home.”

The lack of available talent in iPhone development, iOS and Objective-C is global, experts say.

“This is not a skill that goes well with outsourcing because the typical shops in India and the Ukraine are focused on wider-breadth technologies such as Windows, and there aren’t a lot of Mac developers there,” Michaels explained. “Most of the Mac developers have always been around Cupertino and San Francisco, where Apple is located, and there are some in Seattle, Portland and Vancouver.”

Michaels says one problem is that few colleges or technical training schools teach programming for the Apple Mac, iPhone or Objective-C. “There are very few options other than going to Apple’s developer stream and learning it themselves by taking the online courses that are available there,” he added. “It is often a self-taught skill.”

Michaels estimates that it would take an experienced C or C++ developer about six months to learn Objective-C at the depth he needs.

Another option is taking an iPhone or mobile app development course through an organization such as Big Nerd Ranch, which offers weeklong training courses outside Atlanta. “They are excellent,” Michaels says of big Nerd Ranch classes in iPhone development.

The demand for iOS training “is incredible right now,” said Jaye Liptak, vice president of operations for big Nerd Ranch. “Last year, we were doing one class every other month. Now we are doing two classes per month. just in Atlanta, we’re teaching anywhere from 36 to 44 people a month here, and then we’re teaching in corporations all over the world through our on-site classes.”

Liptak said the number of big Nerd Ranch alumni who have trained in iOS development since classes started three years ago is in the “thousands.” she said about half of the students pay for the classes themselves, while half are sponsored by their employers. a beginning iOS development class held at a resort an hour outside Atlanta costs just under $5,000, including training, materials, lodging and food for a week.

Liptak said 70 percent of the students are interested in learning development for iOS and 30 percent for Android.

“After you take our class, you get put on an iOS-specific forum that is constant chatter of people helping each other out,” Liptak added. “You have access to our consultants forever. once you’re a big Nerd Ranch alumni, there’s a lot of hand-holding available.”

Atimi’s Michaels anticipates a shortage of iOS developers for at least another year.

“We are still 70-percent iOS development and 30-percent Android today. while Android is gaining quickly, the flagship applications are happening on iOS,” Michaels said.

Michaels sees little demand for BlackBerry skills. “Our National Hockey League application was available on BlackBerry, but we’re not renewing that effort in this calendar year,” Michaels said. “We used to do work for BlackBerry, and we would love to do it again, but that seems unlikely given the way they are handling themselves. none of our Fortune 1000 customers wants to spend any effort on a BlackBerry app today because there’s no clear pathway forward on that platform.”

For now, Michaels recommends that developers focus on the iPhone. “The size of that ecosystem is growing so fast that the bodies aren’t there to write the quality software that everyone is demanding,” he said.