There was quite a bit of iPhone news this week. Here are the items that I ran across that I thought you might find interesting:
- Yesterday, Google updated the version of its website used by iPhones. Now, if you go to www.google.com on your iPhone, you will be given the option to let Google determine your location. Once Google knows where you are, it will tailor its search results (when appropriate) to show places that are close to you. I also notice that possible search terms pop up as you start to type, another time saver. Click here to read more from the Official Google Mobile blog, or just start trying it yourself to see how it works.
- Ryan Kim of the San Francisco Chronicle compares using the iPhone 3GS to take video versus the Flip Ultra HD. The Flip uses HD which gives it an obvious edge, but the iPhone has other advantages. If you enjoyed the camcorderinfo.com review of the iPhone 3GS that I previously noted, you will enjoy Kim's article.
- Macworld identifies the 12 most significant iPhone apps over the last year.
- The New York Times recommends some iPhone apps to help you organize your life.
- Do you remember buying 45 rpm records with a hit on the A side and a lesser known song on the B side? MacNN reports that iTunes now has Digital 45s for sale, combining one hit and one lesser known song (or sometimes a live version, a remix, etc.) for one price.
- Employment law attorney Jay Shepard asks "What if Apple Stores Billed by the Hour? Lessons for Law Firms" in this month's Law Practice Today from the ABA Law Practice Management Section.
- Infrageeks has an interesting article noting an advantage of the iPhone's virtual keyboard: the ability to easily switch between international keyboards. Most of what I type is in English, but I do sometimes type in other languages and it is so incredibly easy to switch keyboards on the iPhone that I find it faster to type in other languages on my iPhone then on my computer with a full keyboard, and that's not something that I say very often.
- David Pogue of the New York Times has an interesting post on using the iPhone's VoiceOver feature to make the device more usable for the blind and vision impaired.
- I'm a big fan of Apple's $79 In-Ear Headphones, as noted in my review. AppleInsider reports that Apple is now selling a slightly upgraded version of those headphones, replacing the rubber plug with a more sturdy plastic plug. I've never had trouble with the rubber plug, but apparently Apple thinks that the plastic will be even better.
- Some indie filmmakers in Boston are looking to cast a white male, age 25 to 30, to star in a 15 minute film about a lawyer who is so obsessed with his iPhone that he loses his job, his girlfriend and his home. I know that there are quite a few iPhone-obsessed lawyers in the New England area who read this website, so if you want an opportunity to play yourself, check out this site for more information.
- Here's a fun idea: send a real postcard with your iPhone. The Apple Blog describes how you can use either Postino (free) or PicCard ($0.99) you can take a picture with your iPhone and provide an address and then have the app send the picture to the AmazingMail website which will send a real postcard with your picture on it for $0.99 to $1.99. This sounds like a cute way to send custom postcards to your loved ones while you are on vacation.
- And finally, wouldn't it be neat if you taped your brand new, expensive iPhone 3GS to the bottom of a remote control airplane and took some video? Kids, don't try this at home, but you can live vicariously through this YouTube video which is appropriately titled "Crazy guy puts new iPhone 3GS on RC plane." (Link via Engadget.)
