BestAppSite.com is giving away a $50 iTunes Gift Certificate to one lucky reader! See the details here.
Best of 2009: Terry’s Top 10 Gadget Picks
Happy New Year! It's that time once again to take a quick look at my favorite gadgets of last year. The gadgets I've chosen were the ones that I used the most and that had the most positive impact on my day-to-day life. These gadgets were either introduced in 2009 or had significant updates in 2009. These are the gadgets that I would recommend to a friend without hesitation. So let's get to it…
iPhone 3GS
Anyone that knows me knows that the iPhone 3GS is my communications device of choice. The 3GS made my life easier this year with more memory, a faster processor, and graphics to run apps that I never dreamed of right from the palm of my hand. I use my iPhone quite a bit in my day to day routine. I actually get a ton of work/communications done with this device. I get both work and personal email, SMS and MMS messaging, productivity and business apps, and yes even the ability to make calls. This is the one gadget that I now couldn't imagine being without. See my original iPhone 3GS review here. Learn more about the iPhone 3GS here.
See my Must Have iPhone Apps here.
See my favorite iPhone and iPod touch accessories here.
Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote
When I am at home and not producing content, I enjoy my home entertainment systems and home theater. The one remote that has worked for me better than any other remote I've tried is the Logitech Harmony One. This remote is configured from your computer to do exactly what you want. Anyone with more than a couple of entertainment components should do themselves a favor and check out the Harmony One. See my original review here. Get the Harmony One Remote here.
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Sony and Nintendo should be very afraid
It was widely reported that Apple's App Store downloads jumped over 1,000 percent on Christmas Day and that for the first time, iPod touch app downloads outpaced iPhone App downloads. While this is all certainly good news for Apple, App Developers and the platform as a whole, it's a telling sign that companies like Sony and Nintendo should be very afraid.
The Handheld Gaming Pricing Model has changed!
The reason that these two gaming giants should be afraid is that they have built their handheld gaming businesses on a model that includes selling a moderately priced device and charging a significant price on games.
A quick look at bestbuy.com reveals that the lowest priced game for the Nintendo DS is $9.99.
However, their best selling games are starting at $19.99. Now you could look at this and say that people will spend more for a game that they really like and there's probably some truth to that. However, the games for the iPod touch range anywhere from FREE to $1.99 on average with $9.99 being considered to be an "expensive game."
iTunes Extras work like a DVD
DVD Extras have never really excited me. I can't think of a single DVD movie that I bought because it had great extras. Director's commentaries, deleted scenes, alternate endings, interviews and trailers are all cool, but I almost never look at them. So needless to say when Apple announced iTunes Extras in iTunes 9, I wasn't even remotely interested. Then something happened…
I saw that I can have visual chapters now?
I loved the NEW Star Trek movie so much that I bought it on iTunes immediately and later on Blu-ray (yes, I know the Blu-ray comes with a Digital Copy. I was excited OK?). I hadn't had a chance to watch it again until recently. I decided to watch it on my Apple TV. I was pleasantly surprised by the menu that came up. Sure I knew about the possibility of Extras, but what I wasn't expecting was a more "DVD like experience" in the form of a menu and more importantly CHAPTER perspective.
iPhone App of the Week – The Best App Site
I'm very pleased to announced that my iPhone App of the Week reviews have become so popular that starting today I'm launching a NEW dedicated site for them called BestAppSite.com
Why a new site?
When I started the iPhone App of the Week feature a year ago no one imagined that the App Store would take off like it did. As a result my weekly feature has become very popular and is drawing the attention of the App Developer community. I'm getting requests to review apps left and right. Even if I just wanted to review my favorite apps, I've got over 100 on my iPhone and at one app a week it would take 2 years just to do those! Now that the App Store has over 100,000 apps there is no way I would even cover a small fraction of them doing only one a week.
While I could just do more on my regular Tech Blog, quite honestly it just doesn't fit. There are many readers of my blog that DON'T own iPhones or iPod touches and would probably get turned off with increased coverage. So I thought it best to setup a new site dedicated to DAILY reviews of Apps. This way I can not only cover my favorite apps whenever I want, but also major updates to the apps that I've reviewed in the past. Currently, there just isn't enough room on my tech blog to cover new apps AND updates. So again, why not have a dedicated site just for iPhone app reviews, news, updates and accessories?
The Site Design
Knowing that I wanted to create a great site that would not only be functional but well designed, I once again enlisted the talent of the legendary web guru Erik Berskiold of XLD Studios in Sweden. I wanted the Best App Site to really be The Best App Site, so I went to one of the best to get it done and once again Erik has come through for me. This guy is amazing and great to work with! If you have a web project in mind you should definitely check him out. You'll also see an occasional App Review on the new site from Erik. 🙂
What about the content – News, Reviews and Updates?
I've already populated the new site with a year's worth of reviews that I've already done. So there's lots to check out there already.
Also with the new site design you'll be able to easily look for apps in a particular category, ones that work with the iPod touch and Free vs. Paid apps. Like most "hobbies", this will have to be done in my spare time. However, I will do my best to have at least one review (gulping as I write this) per day.
Of course it also looks good on your iPhone or iPod touch too
The Bottom Line
If you're an iPhone or iPod touch user and you want to learn more about the over 100,000 apps out there, this site is the one you'll want to go to. Head over to BestAppSite.com to see today's review. Thanks for your continued support!
TomTom Navigation Apps for iPhone on Sale through 12/28/09
As you know I reviewed the TomTom app when it first hit the App Store scene (see my review and video here). One of my original complaints has been addressed and that complaint was about the price! Competition is stiff in the iPhone Navigation App market and although TomTom's first release was less than stellar they have followed up with an update AND some sale pricing. TomTom has also added some of the missing features that I mentioned: they added Lane guidance, Text-to-speech and a Help Me! emergency menu.
So if you're a TomTom interface fan, now's your chance to get the app at a more reasonable price! Also TomTom has released a USA ONLY version for less as well (on sale).
TomTom USA Map ONLY for $49.99 here:
TomTom USA and Canada for $69.99 here:
I always felt that these apps should be in the $50 range (or less), so I'm glad that competition has put some pressure on TomTom.
iPhone App of the Week – Photographer Assistants
It's 2 for 1 iPhone App of the Week Reviews today. I thought I would cover two apps this week that I've come across to assist photographers. If you are lucky enough to have a photographer's assistant, then you know how nice it is to just concentrate on the shoot. That's because your assistant has packed all the necessary gear that you're going to need and he/she has setup your lighting. All you have to do is walk in and pick up your camera and start shooting. How cool is that? Alas, I'm not so fortunate. Since photography is not my full-time gig, I can't really justify a full-time assistant. So it's all on me. However, these two iPhone/iPod touch apps help me with the details:
PhotoAssist
PhotoAssist is an app that is geared to help you remember all the gear that you need to take on a particular shoot. It seems like I'm always forgetting something when I do location shoots. So this app is very much appreciated.
The easiest way to start off is to spend some time entering all of your gear into the "Inventory List."
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My interview on MacVoices
My interview with Chuck Joiner about my New "Learn the Adobe Creative Suite with Terry White" iPhone App is now live on the MacVoices site. Check it out here. Hear my insights on iPhone App development, blogging and producing content.
Photoshop.com Mobile Makes Time’s Top 10 for 2009
Being an iPhone user AND an Adobe employee, I'm especially thrilled to see Photoshop.com Mobile make Time's Top 10 List of iPhone apps for 2009. In honor of this honor, I've recorded a full blown tutorial on how to use this FREE App. Download Photoshop.com Mobile from the App Store here:
…then watch my tutorial below:
Check out this Blog on your Mobile Device
One new feature of my Tech Blog is a NEW improved interface on your Mobile Device. Although the iPhone/iPod touch does a great job of viewing websites as they are formatted, that doesn't mean that you get the most optimized experience. This is especially true for those who are on slower EDGE networks. So thanks to a WordPress Plug-in called WPtouch that my buddy and web designer Erik Berskiold turned me on to, this blog and my MacNews blog are now optimized for mobile viewing too.
The post are automatically reformatted to fit your display nicely and of course even the YouTube videos will automatically open up the YouTube app on your device if you tap them.
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