iPhone applications

When Steve Jobs first demonstrated the iPhone, there was great interest in what it could do and how it could be expanded by third-party developers. However, many coders' hopes and dreams were quickly dashed when Jobs announced that, at that time, the iPhone was to be a closed system that would run only Apple-originated applications.

This is not unusual. Most phones are locked by default, largely to stop users from installing applications that may interfere with the smooth running of the mobile phone network. Even those that do allow applications to be installed - usually as Java applets - restrict what they can do and which parts of the phone they can access. They are therefore rarely network-aware and few ever manage to access the mobile calling or data-transfer features.

However, Apple's assertion that in this respect the iPhone was no different has been proved factually inaccurate as more ambitious developers accessed the file system and installed their own applications, many of which are now available for free download.

It briefly seemed Apple may have relented, as Jobs later announced developers would indeed be able to write software to run on the iPhone. However, they would have to do so using Web 2.0 technologies, would have to host them remotely and would have to restrict users to accessing them through the integrated browser. That fell a long way short of what most developers were hoping for.

So the announcement of an authorised Software Development Kit and, with the advent of the iPhone 3G, an App Store for downloading third-party applications was welcomed by all quarters. That still doesn't devalue the iPhone's core applications, though, which we will explore here.

CALCULATOR  This is speed}' and attractive calculator, highly reminiscent of the one found in Mac OS X 10.4's Dashboard. In the iPhone 3G it has been updated so that rotating the device through a quarter turn not only flips the display but also switches between the regular portrait view of the calculator and a massively expanded scientific version, which is more reminiscent of those powerful calculators that come with the Mac OS X and Windows operating systems.
 

CALENDAR This, as the name suggests, is a simple time-management application that allows you to store diary items on your iPhone. It can be synchronised with calendars that are stored on the computer, so that your iPhone diary is always up to date. It also works with MobileMe, Apple's online data management suite, allowing you to add appointments to your global calendar on the move.
   

CAMERA A small application for controlling the iPhone's built in camera, the output from which is stored in the Photos application. Something of a one-trick pony and a little disappointing as its resolution is fairly low when compared with those in rival phones.

CLOCK A world clock, doing what it says on the tin and not much else. Add and rearrange the cities of your choice and use it as a simple way to make sure you will not be calling your most valued international contacts when it is the middle of the night.




 

iPOD Who would have believed that the ultimate iPod killer would come from the company that reinvented mobile music in the first place? It may be called 'iPod', but this application :s streets ahead of the nano, classic and shuffle iPods. Only the iPod touch comes close to rivalling what it can do with direct downloads from the iTunes Store and, on its glorious 3.5in screen, the ability to show films and 'IV shows in a format you might actually want to watch.
     

MAIL Fully-featured email application with pre-programmed settings for Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, MobileMe mail and AOL, and the ability to add your own Pop3, Imap and Exchange server settings for use with corporate email servers. With the simultaneous launch of MobileMe with the iPhone 3G, Apple massively expanded the feature-set of the old .Mac service, which was by then starting to show its age. Now subscribers have a desirable @me.com email address with all messages stored safely on Apple's servers, so that when you read or send one on the iPhone, that fact is reflected on your home or office computer (or both).    

MAPS Portable implementation of the Google Maps website, complete with satellite imagery, route planning and — in some regions - traffic conditions. The best possible demonstration of the power of gesture-based computing used for panning and zooming the image. In the iPhone 3G, it is integrated with the gadget's built-in GPS receiver, allowing you to use satellite navigation to accurately plot your position on the on-screen map.
 

NOTES Lightweight memo tool that integrates well with the i Phone's email features allowing you to send yourself notes to be actioned at a later point. Pages flip backwards to turn over and, when you arc done with them, drop neatly into a rubbish bin for deletion.
 

PHONE The iPhone's core feature, appearing in the most prominent space on the Dock running across the bottom of the home screen. This, and the email client, also gives you access to the integrated address book. More advanced than the average phone, it lets you put callers on hold or merge them for conference calling.
   

PHOTOS A display-centric album for showing photos uploaded to, or taken using, your iPhone. Manages photos stored in albums, so you do not bore friends and family with your entire collection.
   

SAFARI Apple's cross-platform web browser makes it onto a third platform, the iPhone, in a stripped-down, but capable edition. Intelligent awareness of frame sizes, combined with the iPhone's high-resolution screen make for the best mobile browsing experience yet developed. Unfortunately there is no support for Flash at the current time as Apple has developed its own rival technologies for performing the same functions, but Adobe is said to have a version up and running on an iPhone emulator in its labs should Apple ever allow it to be run on the device.
   

SMS This is a strange first entry on the iPhone Home screen, but it does point to the increasing importance of SMS text messaging in modern-day communications. The iPhone expands on most phones' abilities by threading forward-and-backward messages together like an instant messaging conversation.
   

STOCKS A ticker application that presents a range of user-defined stock prices and historical data, in a Dashboard Widget-like environment. It covers a wide range of stocks from different markets around the world, and can track their rises and falls in real terms or percentage increments.
   

WEATHER Keep an eye on the sky by looking in your pocket. Simplistic weather viewer and five-day forecast application for an impressive range of worldwide destinations. It links to Yahoo!'s city guides so that when you know where it is fair, you can head there directly.
   

Y0UTUBE Dedicated application for viewing, bookmarking and sharing YouTube videos. When Steve Jobs declared that the iPhone was the best environment through which to browse YouTube, he wasn't joking. YouTube itself has done much to enhance the quality of the videos on the service to make them load quickly and run smoothly — and at high quality — on the iPhone.