January 31st, 2011 by admin

Ever wonder what happened to….? So often a story is written and that’s it, we never get to hear the outcome. Well, over the next few weeks the team at iPhonegizmo are going to do some follow-ups on stories we did two years ago.

Our first recall is the Veoh post we did in Jan 2009. Our review back then was that the site was limited in the videos that were on offer through their interface. We also hoped that in due course, their service would be available through iPhone.

So where is Veoh today? Well, for starters it is one of the highest ranking sites in the world:

(Source: Alexa)

It now does stream Youtube - along with a host of other sources. And according to Alexa, “Veoh is visited more frequently by males who are in the age range 18-24, have no children and browse this site from home.”

But it is still NOT available as an app for iPhone! 

Check it out for the current top-of-the-news issue: Egypt. This is one way to get a good coverage of news from a wide variety of sources.

One warning - if you decide to download the Veoh player, we recommend that you use the “custom” option as Veoh will otherwise set themselves up as your default home page:

You can enjoy using Veoh from the Veoh site - so no real need to download the player - and as the average user stays a mere 2.8mins, hardly seems necessary. But if you decide this is for you then consider our guide to downloading:

According to Alexa, “Average Load Time for Veoh.com (is) Very Slow (3.418 Seconds), 86% of sites are faster.” So it could be a real nuisance to have to wait for it to load every time you start up. Better to load it when you need it.

The other reason for choosing the “custom” option is that in the very last screen, Veoh prompt downloaders to also download a registry clean product:

We reckon this is seriously uncool. But increasingly, free downloads of software are coming preset with these kinds of recommendations. So it is increasingly necessary to check the settings of each and every page of the download process and READ what we are agreeing to!

So… things have changed in two years. This site has blossomed and whilst there is no app, the site can still be viewed from iPhone via safari (though not as easily as on laptop, as fewer search options)

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January 17th, 2011 by admin

This is a fun app - but lets deal with the “catch” before we get to the make-money-while-having-fun part.Because there is a catch - isn’t there always? This app was only released yesterday, so its hot off the press.

The app runs fast, easy to answer, polls on topics we are all likely to be interested in. And we get paid to answer them. BUT, what they don’t tell you on their site - in fact they run a video where this bit of info is actually missing!! - is that an add runs along the bottom of the screen. However, it is fairly unobtrusive and you don’t have to read them and so long as you don’t go an provide your phone number for anything, no harm no foul!

So, how does the “get paid” part work? Here is what they say on the NPolls site:

The app is free, so no pain to try it out.  There are 4 polls on it when  we trialed the app - so we have already earned $.80. That beats having to PAY for an app LOL.

But the “Win” in the title gives us pause.

So far only23 people have given the app a rating but 70% have given it a 5-star and over 80% have given it 4 or more. We liked it - but it is early days and we will get back to you in a couple of weeks for a follow up.

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January 1st, 2011 by admin

So you have finally made the grade and have a wonderful new iPhone. That’s fantastic - welcome to the club! Of course we know this is not your first cell phone. You have no doubt had several others and so the fact that there are nasty people out there trying their best to cheat you out of your money by using phone scams won’t be news to you.

Apple has the reputation for being difficult for viruses to attack. So you might think that your iPhone offers you more protection than other mobiles you have owned. But what it cannot protect you against is cons aimed at tricking YOU!

To give you an idea of what you are facing lets take a look at Smishing and Vishing.

 “Smishing” or “vishing” scams target your mobile phone, and because so many Americans own cell phones, these scams are becoming more and more prevalent.

“Smishing” is a combination of SMS texting and phishing (getting you to provide your personal details). You might get a text message warning you that your account is overdrawn or some other account related call. You are then requested to visit a website or call a number where you will be requested to provide personal details.

DON”T!!

 “Vishing” uses voice and phishing where a voice message is left and again you will be directed to a number or website. Again, never provide your personal details over the phone or in response to a message that has been left on your phone. Always check with you bank and credit union before you take any action.

Now that iphone banking is gaining in popularity there is need to be even more vigilant. If you have a jailbroken iPhone for example (so tempting as it frees us to use a service provider of our own choice), then you need to be particularly careful about what you download. Cell phones are being increasingly targeted by viruses that aim to steal your banking ID and details.

For more information check out the FBI website - it will give you sleepless nights!

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October 1st, 2010 by admin

The iphonegizmo team want to let you all in on this new iPhone app that uses the inbuilt camera to generate hologram images. Given the latest craze for anything 3D, we reckon its sure to be a big winner and expect to see it in the top 100 most popular apps soon after it is released.  The app generates a holgraphic image that is then projected to sit above the iphone screen - as you can see in the following pic:

To really appreciate this new app check out the video that shows just how its done:

OK - now the real question is: who is the bald guy? Because, of course, this is all a hoax (sadly as it can’t be done - and anyway there is no iPhone 5 - yet!)

Well, that question is harder to answer than you would think - but its not his first joke-hoax video for an iPhone app. And the last one received 1.8 million views (and is pretty funny).  After a bit of research we discovered that the bald guy is apparently Michael Krivicka (of course it is) and he creates viral social media - and does it very well from what we have seen. And - as simple consumers of fun stuff - we are all now fans. Keep up the good work Michael!

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September 11th, 2010 by admin

With the latest update to iTunes (iTunes 10) comes Apple Ping its (long overdue?) social network for music.  And, for a change, this time Apple is playing catchup (with Zune, for example, who has had a social network for music since day one)! Given the success of MySpace and the blow out popularity for a whole rash of music-based social network sites, it is surprising really that it has taken Apple so long to jump on this bandwagon. They are usually the innovators not the followers!

The nice thing about the new network is that it is accessible from our iPhones.  Tap the iTunes icon, sign in to iTunes  and go to Ping where there are three buttons to tap that take us to: ‘Activity’, ‘People’, and ‘My Profile’ views. We are also able to “Like” and “Comment” on posts. Not sure we can edit our profile picture or our details from the iPhone - we could not do it.

The most astonishing thing about Ping, however - at least to the iPhonegizmo team - is the fact that iTunes has links that send us to OTHER sites!!. Take for example the Taylor Swift profile:

On the profile page there is - on the right hand side bar - a “concerts” sub-category. And inside that there is “tickets” and THAT is a link that sends us to the Ticketmaster website!! No doubt Apple has done a deal - but still, this is the first time that Apple has been prepared to share their audience with anyone (well, that is overstating things as music and apps all have links to websites - but this link is not on a “sale” page)! Or did they but Ticketmaster while we were all asleep?

Given that Taylor Swift already has more than 130K followers and that Ping has been available for only a matter of days, we are not sticking our necks out by saying we suspect that Ping is gonna be a financial bonanza for Apple (Katy Perry and Lady GaGa have even more followers!). Especially when you consider how good the interface on iTunes looks.

You need to update iTunes and the software on your iPhone. Just go to Apple to get iTunes 10 .

BTW - Ping will also be available for  iPad  users - but they will have to wait till November for their update!

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September 2nd, 2010 by admin

At the Apple Music event yesterday, Jobs outlined the key improvements on offer in the next software update for our iPhones - to be released next week. These include: Other features: cheap TV show rentals, (HDR) high-dynamic range photos, the ability to upload high-definition video over Wi-Fi, iTunes Ping (a new social network) and more.

There will also be a major new feature called Game Center where users can play interactive games online with friends or other online players. Our next post is devoted to this new feature - which we think adds a whole new dimension to an already exciting platform. And the post after that will look at the new iTunes Ping in detail.

The event began with the usual “mine is bigger than yours” routine. And of course, with Apple this is not just a vain hope. Take a look at some of the latest stores that Apple has opened across the globe:

1) The latest Paris store (it was an opera house) is just extraordinary - and, according to Jobs, took 18 months to restore:

The inside is even more spectacular:

2) In complete contrast is the new store they have built in Shanghai - a 40 foot high glass cylinder:

- just look at the environmental context of this thing:

If you thought that building beautiful architecture - or maintaining it was a thing of the past - well, Apple has just proved you wrong.

These building project seem so apt. After all, Apple is in the business of elegant designs-for-living. It seems totally appropriate that they use some of their massive profits to create wondrous buildings for our enjoyment and use.

The iPhonegizmo team give Apple - one again - the thumbs up for being design leaders.

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August 13th, 2010 by admin

iPhonegizmo gets a constant stream of emails from App developers and App publishers. Most of them get ignored as they are of no particular interest.  But the latest one proved too weird to ignore. So the iPhonegizmo team checked it out!

The hook: This was not an App - it is a webcam site that can be accessed from the iPhone. As they so politely informed us in their email

It only requires you point your phone’s browser at …. site, to get started. (registration required and adult content)

Thus, it side-steps the issue Playboy has with regard to their application and Apple’s no-nudity policy

So cleverly playing on the current news flap around the latest Playboy App released for iPad - which has some punters agitated because of Apple’s no-nudity in Apps rule.

OK - so we saw it as our duty to our readers to check the site out  - clicked the link and got:

OK, we thought, that’s a bit weird! Or maybe these are porn providers with a conscience? Or perhaps they are trying to get to the adult market that have kids and want to reassure them that the content they watch cannot be accessed by their children?

So we clicked on the first link for the “child protection” sites and got:

Are they referring to their own sites, we wondered?

But wait, there’s more! Because not all the links provided there were valid. The surfwatch site is no longer available from Google via IE, and - according to domaintools - the site was a malicious site! Here is a screen shot of the site just before it got dropped:

One of the team members here at iPhonegizmo used to work for Google and had the dubious pleasure of having to check adult sites for black hat and malicious tricks. Which they all too often use.

The moral of the story (HAD to say it)  is this: beware of porn sites bearing gifts! One great thing about iTunes is that it is safe to use - for you and your kids!

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