Assorted Afflatuses
Pocket Computing
While the new iPhone 2.0 software has yet to formally go online, Apple put up a downloadable software restore package, which, unsurprisingly, the hoard of Apple-obsessed people online late last night managed to discover. As such, I downloaded the software and upgraded my iPhone to the version 2.0 firmware.
The third-party applications for the iPhone are nothing short of amazing. They add a tremendous amount of value to what was already, far and away, the best mobile platform. I've used the Palm OS, Symbian and Windows Mobile. Nothing on any of those platforms comes close to replicating the experience on the iPhone.
But rather than jabber on in vague generalities, I've written up a few short reviews of the iPhone applications I've had a chance to take for a spin.
The New York Times
Especially on an EDGE data connection, The New York Times' website takes ages to load completely. Thus, when I spotted a Times logo on the App Store's homepage, a few pixels away from the word "Free," I tapped the install button.
The Times application, though, has an unfinished user interface. It just does not look quite like an iPhone application. The article summary page, for instance, renders article summaries in Georgia — like the Times' website — rather than Helvetica, as most (if not all) other iPhone applications do.
Not surprisingly, the Times places advertisements in the application. The advertisement's presentation, however, is kludgey and unpolished. Rather than embedding the advertisements inline with the article, the Times application pastes a relatively large ad awkwardly across the bottom of the screen. The undying ad drives me crazy, but, more importantly, it presents a potential user interface problem. By obscuring the bottom of an article, it might suggest to users — as it did to me the first time I used the application — the article has not finished loading, even though the article has downloaded completely.
Still, the Times application makes reading the Times on the iPhone a cinch. What's more, even as the least polished iPhone application I've yet used, it still trumps even the best Palm OS or Symbian application I've tried.
Facebook's team of software engineers did a much better job of making the application feel at home on the iPhone, while still providing subtle user interface notes that put a distinctive Facebook fingerprint on the software.
As one might expect, the native Facebook application provides a much richer experience than Facebook's web app for the iPhone. The native application, for example, allows users to use Facebook's instant messaging system. Other functionality already available to iPhone users responds more quickly and more elegantly. The search function, which I could never coerce into working on Facebook's iPhone web app, works flawlessly in the native application.
Super Monkey Ball
Super Monkey Ball on the iPhone has convinced me the two dominant mobile video game platforms — Nintendo's DS and Sony's PSP — should be quaking in their boots.
Visually, the game looks stunning. The stages look just as good as they do on the GameCube or the Wii, perhaps even better, given the iPhone display's high pixel density. Though, I do take issue with the flat two-dimensional rendering of the monkey characters trapped inside their plexiglass spheres. But I suppose the iPhone must have some graphics processing limitations.
More importantly, the game is a joy to play. The controls no learning curve, since it uses the iPhone's accelerometer to control the monkey's movement. That said, the game puts up a challenge. It takes time to master the unique method of gameplay.
The game is a lot of fun. A bargain, I would say, at just ten dollars.
The App Store has made the iPhone into more than just a mobile phone. It is now, without a doubt, the premiere mobile computing platform. Everyone else should be very, very worried.
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