SnapTell iPhone App

One of my latest "show off" apps on my iPhone is...SnapTell.

SnapTell is an image recognition iPhone app that allows the user to take a picture of a book, dvd or CD. When the picture is taken, SnapTell gives you information about prices, and the content.

At first I was sceptical about the app, I did not really believe that this could actuall work. I tested the app and it works incredibly well. The app recognized the book and provided me multiple online prices and info on the nearest store where I can purchase the book. It compared prices at different stores, showed the author of the book and gave me links to wikipedia and more.

Anybody who owns an iPhone and is interested in any information about DVD, CD or Book should download this app from Apple's App Store RIGHT AWAY :-) besides the fact that the program is useful, it is also nice to show off with your iPhone haha :D

How to find your stolen/lost iPhone

One of my latest new features on my Iphone 3G is a tracking tool that allows you to find your phone, whenever, where ever. Finding your stolen phone? Would you like to allow to friends to see your GPS location live?

Navizon is one of the applications for iPhone that allows users users to track an iPhone GPS location by sending a sms text message to the cell phone with one of your own chosen keywords. The phone will instantly send back a message with the GPS location. Another option is to track your phone online, using its GPS location determined by Wi-Fi access points and Cellular towers: "Navizon is a software-only wireless positioning system that triangulates signals broadcasted from Wi-Fi access points and Cellular towers to help the users find their way in most major metropolitan areas worldwide." A funny feature is that you can track your friends on your phone if they have the app installed as well. Your friends actual locations will become visible in Google Maps. This video shows how Navizon works.

Another app to allow users to track back their (stolen) iPhone is FindmyI. For a small monthly fee, users may find their phone's exact location online. Cheaper than an insurance and very user friendly!

Both apps are available in Cydia.

Not to miss 3rd party iPhone apps

In this topic we will discuss the advantages of a jailbroken iPhone:


Cydia
This app source gives you access to MANY apps, unavailable in the App Store but can make a big difference on your iPhone 3G. The app is a must for downloading the other iPhone apps below. Below we will highlight some of the most convenient Apps from Cydia.


Bossprefs
Bossprefs is a swicthboard tool that allows you to individually turn on/off 3G, Edge, Wifi, Bluetooth and your email accounts. This can be a big advantage if you want to save on the, already short, battery life of your phone.

Bossprefs also has a "Spoof" feature which allows you to hide any of the default Apple icons on your springboard (e.g. Youtube, Calendar, Notes, iTunes etc.)

Finally one of the most convenient add-ons for this app is the KB-AutoCorrect plugin (also available on Cydia). This add-on gives you he opportunity to disable the sometimes frustrating Auto Correct feature for writing text messages. For me this was one of the first things I installed on my iPhone, a must for anyone who is bothered by the Autocorrect feature!
MxTube
MxTube allows any user to download and save any youtube video directly on your iPhone 3G! NICE HUH?!


Snapture
Snapture is an advanced camera app that gives you many more options than the original iPhone Camera app. With Snapture users can customize the photo setting like black and white modus, sepia, zoom function and timer function.


Text+, biteSMS and iRealSMS
These apps are a great replacement and/or addition for your standard SMS app. Text+ gives the iPhone user the ability to forward any text message to either a mail address or phone#.
BiteSMS and iRealSMS are paid, more advanced SMS programs which give the user a landscape sms keyboard mode, sms forwarding, quick reply, sms counter and smileys.
BiteSMS also gives the option to send cheaper SMS messages via the biteSMS network!


Backgrounder & Insomnia
Backgrounder is a wonderful app that allows users to run any app in background mode. Especially useful for Apps like Skype and Fring. You can let your messaging software run and still be able to use the other apps on your iPhone! This app is a must for any messaging freak! One advice: do run too many apps in background mode because it slows down the performance of your iPhone.
Insomnia gives you the ability to run your wifi connection in standby mode! (of course this decreases the battery life of your phone)

New Iphone Purchase at Manhattan, NYC

The process of buying my new unlocked iPhone

Since a few weeks now, I have been the happy owner of an Iphone 3G. After 4 years of old school calling and text messaging with my Sony Ericsson S700, my social network urged me to purchase a decent phone.

During a visit to Manhattan, New York City last month I started my "iPhone hunt" together with my girlfriend. It turned out that buying an unlocked iPhone is not the easiest task in the Big Apple. The Apple store and licensed resellers only sold the gadget with an AT&T plan. Because I am currently living at Aruba, this option would not be the most convenient one. I needed a phone that I could use worldwide, not to be limited to 1 network provider.

After visiting many, though not very fancy looking "dealers", near Times Square we found out that many iPhones 3G's were supposed to be unlocked but did not work when we inserted our own sim-card. (Might you consider buying an unlocked Iphone, make sure to try it with the sim card installed). Eventually we ended up in a store on 55th street and 6th Avenue. The price of the phone was $800, unlocked and instantly ready to use. I bought the phone and speeded back to the hotel to charge it right away. After charging the phone worked excellent and brought me intense happiness :-)

When I woke up the next morning, I was frightened: my phone did not work any more. The network status icon indicated "No Service". I figured that the easiest way to resolve this issue was either to reboot the phone or to re-insert the sim-card. Unfortunately both did not work. Although the phone was unlocked with the Yellowsn0w app, I was unable to use my phone and I was close to becoming desperate.

After an hour of searching the net I finally found the resolution: my sim card had the 4 digit password enabled. After disabling the sim password, the phone recognized the sim card and started "searching" for a network. Within seconds my Iphone was ready to use again and I have not experienced any malfunctionings since...