At this particular brunch they shared their photography application called Photomarkr. The Photomarkr application offers users the ability to put a custom watermark on any photo on the iPhone. The video above shares a quick demo that I shot with my iPhone (so bear with the less than perfect audio and video quality). The application is available for $2.99 in the apps store. Happy watermarking.
After making my second stop to the Apple Store in two days, I finally got my hands on an iPhone 3GS. My first attempt was unsuccessful because the AT&T network was down. So when I returned the next day, I decided to go with the white 32GB version since they were out of the black. I figured I could use the extra 16GB over my last iPhone 3G since I would most likely be taking advantage of the iPhone 3GS's video capabilities.
In order to purchase the iPhone 3GS I had to get yet another AT&T contract. This annoys me. The FCC needs to step in to stop the monopoly that Apple and AT&T have created by forcing all iPhone customers into an AT&T contract just to purchase a new iPhone. Consumers have no choice as they cannot fight of the beautiful songs of the Muses that play while starting into the touchscreen interface for a shiny new iPhone 3GS. Ok, I will get off my soapbox now, but I really think the FCC needs to do something.
Upon syncing up my new iPhone, I was excited to test iPhone 3GS video camera so I recorded and edited a quick video using the 3GS. I think Flip should probably be a little concerned about the iPhone's video camera taking some of its piece of the mobile video camera pie, though there are still lots of people that will not have the 3GS. The Flip and other similar cameras also offer HD quality video which the iPhone does not so there is still value in having both but the gap between them is shrinking.
Aside from the new video camera, the iPhone 3GS also has a better still photo camera with auto focus and balance. So I performed a little photo test by taking a similar photo but using the touchscreen to focus on a different area.
Apple will soon be launching of the iPhone 3.0 operating system and part of the new system is a push alert notification feature as highlighted at WWDC 2009 this week. Push Notification is the system developed by Apple to remedy the fact that the iPhone won’t allow third party applications to run in the background due to security, battery life
and performance concerns. Push notifications are will enable certain
tasks (like IMs) that come to your phone even when that application
isn’t running.
TechCrunch recently tested Push Notifications using AIM the new 3.0 iPhone software. Watch the video above to see Push Notification in action with AIM but please note the video makes it seem like there may be a delay between
an IM sent and received, but it’s basically instantaneous.
I did not attend Apple's WWDC 2009 in person but thanks to the Web, I still could follow along as we all look for the new iPhone G3S, SDK 3.0, Macbook Pro and more. This is what I learned from following the chatter online:
Computers
Launched 3 new Macbook Pro models at 13, 15 and 17 inches
All have built in SD Cards
The 13 inch version was formerly the Macbook
Lowered the prices on the Macbook Air
OS X
Finder was rewritten in Cocoa programming language
Faster installs by 45%
Safari
Safari 4 will ship today with faster Javascript than IE 8
Separated out plugins so that the entire browser won't crash
Quicktime
Launched Quicktime X with a new logo to boot
Offers http streaming
New user interface
Offers ability to trim and share videos directly within QuickTime to iTunes, MobileMe or YouTube
Dock Expose
If you click and hold any application icon on your dock it will just expose the windows associated with that particular program
Drag and drop support allows you to drag a file to the a docked icon and all of your windows will line up, allowing you to drag the file directly to the right one
Mail, iCal & Address Book
Offering new exchange support orks with Mail, iCal, and Address Book
Spotlight search will now search PC docs and attachments from within Mail
Meeting invitations can now be accepted from within Mail
iCal now does search to find available times for group meetings
iPhone OS
1,000,000 SDK downloaded. 50,000 apps in store. 40,000,000 iPhones & iPod touches sold already
New OS 3.0 available today with 100 new features on June 17th to all iPhone users for free and for $9.95 to iPod Touch users
New OS supports cut, copy, paste, MMS support, landscape mode in all Apple applications
Support for sending Photos, contacts, audio files, etc over the cell network
MMS Support won't be available by AT&T till later this summer
Spotlight: enables search across entire phone, contacts, apps and details within apps, etc.
Tethering allowing users to share the Internet connection with with Mac/PC, USB or Bluetooth
Parental controls introduced
iTunes: Rent and purchase movies right from the phone!
iTunesU also now available on the iPhone
Safari Mobile: Performance upgrades, HTTP streaming audio/video, Autofill, HTML 5 support
Find My iPhone: MobileMe Service launched that allows users to locate iPhone on a map then send wipe command to delete all items on the phone remotely
In App Purchases: enables the purchase of content within applications
Real-time data straight out of iPhone (i.e. medical alerts)
Turn-by-turn navigation via TomTom GPS app on the iPhone
Textbooks on the iPhone via Iceberg app on the iPhone
ZipCar on the iPhone allows users to book and even unlock a car with the iPhone
iPhone 3GS
iPhone 3Gs is for SPEED
Photo Camera - 3.2 Megapixel auto focus - Has a new autofocus, tap to focus, autobalance, low light sensitivity, auto macro
Video Camera - 30 frames per second with auto focus, exposure control, and more
Videos are kept in your photo library and you EDIT videos on the phone!
Videos can be auto share to iTunes, MobileMe and YouTube
Voice control - make calls & play songs, playlists and play similar songs with the sound of your voice
Digital Compass
Accessibility settings - voice over, zoom in, invert colors and mono audio
Nike Plus Support
Hardware encryption for business
Better battery life
Most environmentally friendly iPhone
Priced for $199 for 16GB and $299 for 32GB in black and white
I take a lot of photos on my iPhone and often I wish it has a better quality camera. Well, that may now be a reality with Occipital's new iPhone application called ClearCam. The Occipital ClearCam application is said to turn your 2 megapixel iPhone photos into a 4 megapixel photo in just a few simple clicks of the thumb.
Occipital was a TechStars incubator startup that demoed at TECH cocktail Boulder 2 this past August and has since been working on perfecting the ClearCam iPhone application. I recently visited Boulder, Colorado and stopped by the TechStars office to talk with Occipital co-founders Jeffrey Powers and Vikas Reddy about the new application. Check out episode 65 on SOMEWHAT FRANK as I get a chance to see the Occipital ClearCam iPhone application in action.
Startup Mixology: Tech Cocktail's Guide To Building, Growing & Celebrating Startup Success by Frank Gruber
