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Grab your copy of the iOS 5 GUI layered Photoshop template
Tagged: iPhone
Adobe Reader for iPhone and iPad
Just like Adobe Reader on the desktop, now you can use your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch to quickly view and interact with the widest range of PDF file types – including PDF Portfolios, password-protected PDF documents and even Adobe LiveCycle rights-managed PDF files with Adobe Reader for iOS.
Using Adobe Reader for iOS, you can open and view PDF files from email, on the Web or from any application that supports the “Open In” function. Through its highly intuitive user interface, Adobe Reader provides you with an efficient PDF viewing experience regardless of the iOS device you happen to be using.
But that’s not all. You can also interact with PDF files in a number of ways including searching for specific text in the PDF or using bookmarks and page thumbnails to quickly navigate to different sections in the PDF file. And should you need a hard copy, you can also print the PDF wirelessly using iOS AirPrint.
I’ve been using Adobe Reader on my iPhone 4 for the last week or so, and found it to work extremely well. Previously I was using a 3rd party app, but it wasn’t nearly as fluid or easy to use as Adobe’s own solution.
Email client marketshare: Infographic
With 10% marketshare, the iPhone outpaces OS X's Mail for reading email
Litmus, a company that tracks email campaigns, has published a report that shows where people are viewing their email. Not surprisingly, Outlook leads the way with 37%. The interesting factor is that mobile email has jumped from 7% to 15%.
Litmus put together a great infographic to display the results of their tests. It’s important for designers and campaign managers to know how their clients are reading their email, because it directly affects the technical aspects of the email design.
How to quickly delete emails on your iPhone
My first problem is that I get a lot of email. My second problem is that I check my email throughout the day on my iPhone. And my third problem is that I often wish to delete emails without even reading them (thanks to spammers with no grasp of the English language, and horrible PR firms who can’t target the proper sites for their stories in the subject line).
Thankfully Apple has made a simple-to-use email app for the iPhone that works wonderfully for most users, and provides a simple solution to my third problem.
In fact, it may be a little too simple. I’ve yet to run into a single iPhone user that realized you could quickly delete emails without actually opening the email simply by swiping your finger across the email in the list. This will summon a Delete button for just that email.
If you check your Gmail account from within the built-in email app, you can set this swiping action to delete or archive emails.
“Why Apple is done inventing new devices” – Huh? Did they just say that?
I visit a lot of Mac-related websites on a daily basis. Of all those that I visit, I’ve come to realize that none are so off-based, sensationalistic, and void of any reasonable credibility as CultofMac.com; or as I often refer to them, Cult of Morons.
Their latest piece of link-bait is a piece titled “iPod. iPhone. iPad. Why Apple is Done Inventing New Devices.” This mind-numbingly long article (which I won’t even bother linking to) asserts that Apple will stop inventing new devices and focus on finding new ways to make money selling what they already have. For decades. Yeah, you read that right.
What bothers me about the article is not the 15 paragraphs of well-known Apple history that their target readership don’t need a lengthy reminder of, though that’s 50% of the mind-numbing part. No, it’s the idea that Apple has ever “invented” anything at all.
Does this look like a guy who wants to sit back and collect money on yesterday's success?
Maybe I have a definition of “invention” that differs from Cult of Morons. It’s this off idea of Apple inventing things that bothers me, and the assertion that Apple will simply sit back for the next decade and try to milk customers for more money using nothing but what they already offer, such as iOS, to do so.
To truly understand what Apple will do in the next decade, you can look back at Apple’s storied history to see that Apple takes existing problems and finds creative, appealing solutions for them that motivate people to buy. Constantly. (more…)
Apple Stores: a victim of their own success
The promise made by Apple's Genius Bar is rarely delivered on anymore
When Apple built their first store here in Phoenix, Arizona I was ecstatic. No longer would I be forced to order Apple-related products online, I could walk into a store and walk out with virtually anything I needed. The atmosphere was fantastic – with plenty of space to move around and try everything, the staff knowledgeable and helpful, and the Genius Bar was such a great resource.
Those days are gone. Probably forever.
The Apple Retail Store has lost virtually everything that made it great, mostly due to their own popularity and success. It’s truly unfortunate. (more…)
How to upload a photo to your preferred Facebook Album on your iPhone
If you use your iPhone to upload photos you take on the go to your Facebook account, you may be annoyed that Facebook automatically created an album called “Mobile Uploads” and places the photo there.
If you’re like me, you’d rather place them in your carefully crafted custom Albums, like “family” or “friends” – and there is a way to do it.
Uploading a photo to your preferred Album from the iPhone Facebook
app isn't as easy as it should be - but there is a workaround
- First, on your iPhone Facebook app, click on the Photos icon and tap the Facebook Album you would like the photo to be uploaded into.
- Next, either choose a photo you’ve already taken from your photo Library, or hit the camera button in the upper right corner to take a photo.
- Finally, select your photo and give it a caption, then hit Upload.
Your photo will now appear in the Album you chose in the first step. I’m not sure why Facebook doesn’t make it easier to choose your preferred Album, but this workaround does the trick.
Two great calendar apps for your iPhone
I’ve been on the lookout for a better calendar application for use on my iPhone. Something about Apple’s built-in Calendar app just doesn’t work for me. There are a ton of apps that sync with Google Calendar, but the selection of non-Google calendar apps is much slimmer.
Two apps that got my attention greatly improve the built-in calendar app are Week Cal from Utilitap, and Calvetica from Mysterious Trousers. Both integrate with iCal and the iPhone’s built-in calendar, as well as sync with Google Calendar for those that prefer to go that route.
Week Cal for iPhone offers landscape calendar view as well as a week view
Week Cal brings a decidedly iCal-like interface to your iPhone and boasts numerous features. Perhaps one of the top features is the ability to rotate the screen for a landscape view of your calendar, and great list, day, week and month views. Week Cal costs $1.99
Calvetica for iPhone offers a simplistic interface offering quick access to everything
Calvetica goes in the opposite direction, opting to offer a simple interface that requires as few taps as possible to view and set calendar items. Calvetica is fast, syncs with iCal, and offers snoozable event alarms. There is a free version that allows you to try the basic functionality, and the pro version costs only $2.99.
I’ve been using the free version of Calvetica for a few days and really like it, but both apps appear to be quite impressive. If you’re looking for something a little different to keep track of your day, I think you may find at least one of them to be to your liking.
SneakPeek allows you to view your InDesign and Illustrator files on the Mac, iPhone or iPad
When Apple introduced Quick Look in the Mac OS it was a huge productivity boost to many designers and photographers. Quick Look allows you to view QuickTime compatible files in an overlay right in the Finder simply by selecting the icon of the file and pressing the Space Bar. It wasn’t long before users began seeking out plugins to view more file types than just PDFs and JPG images though.
SneakPeek Pro, by Code Line Communications (the company that brought us Art Directors Toolkit, arrived on the scene and took Quick Look to a new level. This simple Preference Pane allows you to view layered Adobe Photoshop files, Illustrator .ai and .eps files, and InDesign documents. SneakPeek doesn’t stop with just a preview image of your document though. The Quick Look overlay SneakPeek provides also displays information about Illustrator and InDesign files, such as the colors used, the images placed in the document, fonts used, and general file information such as multiple page previews (see the image below).
SneakPeek Pro for Mac allows you to view your graphics files in the Finder
I’ve found SneakPeek Pro for Mac to be a valuable addition to any designer’s toolbox. But with more and more designers working on the road, the ability to view graphics files on the iPhone would be nice addition. Thankfully, Code Line has finally brought the power and usefulness of SneakPeek to iOS device users.
SneakPeek renders previews of graphics files stored on your iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. It works by providing an “Open in SneakPeek” button to your favorite iOS applications like Mail, Dropbox, Safari and just about any app that gives you access to files.
SneakPeek for iOS allows you to view the same file information as the desktop version
With SneakPeek installed on your iPhone, you can check the InDesign file for a client’s new business card layout that just got emailed to you without waiting to get back to the office. And rather than viewing a jagged JPG file attached to an email of a new logo, you can view the actual Illustrator file. SneakPeek for iOS also offers you the same file information as SneakPeek Pro for the Mac – such as fonts, images and colors used.
SneakPeek Pro for Mac is available for $19.95, and offers a 15-day demo for you to test out. SneakPeek for iOS devices can be had for only $9.99 directly from the Apple App Store. Both versions of SneakPeek can save you a lot of time, and are well worth the cost of ownership.
AT&T acquires T-Mobile for $39 billion
AT&T acquisition of T-Mobile USA increases the iPhone's potential marketshare even more
AT&T Inc. and Deutsche Telekom AG today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which AT&T will acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom in a cash-and-stock transaction currently valued at approximately $39 billion. The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies.
What does this mean for Apple and the iPhone? It means that AT&T just got a huge boost in their efforts of bringing their 4G LTE network to customers, adding 46.5 million more potential customers in the process. It also means AT&T gains a boat load of new towers that would have otherwise taken 5 years to build – and that’s great news for iPhone users! Speaking of the iPhone, Apple’s potential customer base just got a lot bigger.
Is there a down side to this deal? Yes. If you’re a happy T-Mobile customer who wanted nothing to do with AT&T, you’re out of luck.
UPDATE (3/21/11): The Q&A page on the news release at T-Mobile’s website had this to say:
T-Mobile USA remains an independent company. The acquisition is expected to be completed in approximately 12 months. We do not offer the iPhone. We offer cutting edge devices like the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and coming soon our new Sidekick 4G.
So it now appears that the iPhone will NOT be coming to T-Mobile customers after all. At least, not this year. But just like the Alltel acquisition by Verizon some years ago, I suspect everything will eventually fold under the AT&T brand, and that will probably mean iPhone availability.