- September 29, 2009 11:37 am
As is common these days, exclusive deals, greed, and some form of “content protection” is ruining yet another service. This time it is the CNN iPhone app. While I won’t argue that to date, it is the best stand alone news app available in the Apple App Store, the fact that we still can’t get a live stream of a reputable news station is a pain in the ass. The hurdle? It isn’t Apple. Heck, it isn’t even AT&T in this example. It is cable providers. They make money off of selling certain channels to individuals and local cable providers. The internet and it’s streaming goodness is a monkey wrench in their yearly profit margins — why look the other way or *gasp* innovate and embrace new technology when they can lock their content down and restrict it more?
While the app is a step in the right direction and comes out nearly perfect, the lack of an actual live stream keeps it from a full 5/5 in my book. Granted, the news clips that are included are of good quality and frequently updated. Still, is anyone getting tired of greed, exclusive deals, and other corporate BS getting in the way of convenience?
If you’ve downloaded the CNN iPhone app, how do you like it? Do you regret your decision?
Alley Insider
- September 9, 2009 1:28 pm
So the iPod event many have been waiting months for has finally wrapped up. Many goods, digital and physical were revealed. To many Apple fans alike, probably the best announcement came from Steve’s mouth himself! That’s right, Mr. Jobs is back in the public limelight, though, he did tag team with his good friend Phil Schiller as well as several others. Enough small talk. There was plenty to see and hear. Hop on in for a wrap up of all of the highlights…
While I currently use an iPhone (for the time being) and am setting my sights on Android as my next purchase, I still have a place in my heart for RIM and their beloved BlackBerry. Even though the OS looks and operates as if it were written in 2004, the sheer simplicity of any type of messaging on a BlackBerry is hard to knock or challenge. Since the iPhone and Android have ushered in browsers that are actually worth doing any type of mobile browsing on, BlackBerries have struggled to keep up with the grossly outdated BB Browser based on java. A quick solution is to download a 3rd party browser such as Opera Mini or the up and coming Skyfire Browser for BlackBerry. But 3rd party solutions don’t always blend in perfectly. RIM, seeing their trials and tribulations in this sector of the market have managed to come up with a solution to get them back in the game.
Today, RIM announced their acquisition of Torch Mobile, makers of a spectacular web-kit based (ala iPhone and Android) mobile browser known to many as “IRIS”, in hopes that the information and knowledge shared between the now partners can help propel BlackBerries even further into the limelight. I personally cannot wait for a proper web-kit based browser on a BlackBerry. Heck, if RIM can manage to put a heavy hand on some other areas of the OS, I’ll be a happy BlackBerry user once again. Until then it looks like we’ll have to play the waiting game and dream of what goods will soon come out of this union. Excited?
Source: BGR, Torch Mobile
For the closet scientists out in iPhone land, the App Store can now be called your official home. If you spend hours each week glued to the Discovery Channel taking in all that it has to offer, you will be ecstatic to know that you can now take all of that geeky love on the go via your iPhone. The app will bring you copious amounts of video clips, quizzes, photo galleries, program schedules, as well as updates from Discovery news. Naturally, you’re bound to find something interesting at some point. No worries, said content can be easily shared via an email link generated from within the app. Sweet! Most of the video clips are just that — clips, though the app includes iTunes links to download the full episodes via the iTMS. Still, clip or full episode, this free Discovery Channel app is by far a geek’s best friend. Can you tell I’m excited!?
After spending a mere 30 minutes with it, I can tell you that even over AT&T’s craptactic 3G network, the app is extremely fast with hardly any lag in sight. Flipping through the various shows’ list of videos results in thumbnails that are either already there or appear within a second or two. Definitely a well coded app! It is worth noting that the initial loading time when first firing up the app is roughly 20 seconds long. Hey, if it helps overall navigation through the app itself and keeps slowdowns and freezes from cropping up. Overall, I’m extremely excited about this app. Don’t take my word for it. Give it a try!
Source: Tech Crunch
Throughout the relatively short lifespan of the BlackBerry (in gadget years), PinStack has been there providing some of the best BlackBerry news around while also giving BlackBerry users a place to openly share ideas and information regarding the beloved crack devices. In recent times, Pinstack has branched out from just BlackBerries and now covers many different types of smartphones from various walks of life. Even though there was and still is a mobile version of the web site, with mobile apps becoming all the rage, it only seems right that a mobile app be released in that is more polished, feature packed, and all around more enjoyable to use than a stripped down WAP site, right? Thankfully that app is here. A joint venture between mobile giant, Handmark, and Pinstack comes together in their new smartphone mobile application. So what all does it feature? Step on in.
