IPhone apps can offer political power
May 4, 2010
You have a few days left before you cast your vote for your chosen parliamentary candidate. You may have been watching the recent TV debates as a passive spectator but did you know that by using your iPhone or smartphone during the debates (as thousands were at the rate of 34 tweets per second!), offered you a channel for discussion during live TV commentaries?
Twitter adds a new dimension to TV events as watching TV and tweeting is like listening to the director’s commentary on a DVD – except it can be more fun. It can turn a solitary experience of TV watching into a communal activity. During the second debate iPhones were used to vote on Facebook for the most impressive candidate -Nick Clegg gained most of your votes on that occasion.
Social TV networking is a great way to be heard and can offer you participation and power -described as “co-viewing” by Kevin Slavin who has designed and released software called Starling. Starling is designed to run on mobile phones as well as computers and enables users to find out about shows in a more structured way than is currently offered by Facebook or Twitter. Viewers with the Starling app will be able to rate shows; the software sifts through the most popular messages to select the most interesting comments and will immediately display them, tickertape-style at the bottom of your screen. For example, if enough viewers request more close-ups in the programme, it can take immediate effect. The Starling app is not launched until later this year but iPhone have a free app available now called Miso.
Miso is aimed at encouraging interaction among TV viewers and asks viewers to check into shows and post comments on the show via Twitter or Facebook. Shows such as Britain’s Got Talent use this app. The free iPhone Miso includes a geolocation function, so if you are watching in a public venue, friends can join you in realtime! Social media could be part of everything a TV network does in 5 to 10 years.
For today, our politicians are desperate to abolish the passive apathy of the voting public. Live TV debates before our future general elections could see us reaching for our iPhones – no need to treck to the polling booth – cast your vote straight after the debate!
Learn more about iPhone apps by clicking on the links RHS of this item.
iPhone apps can save cash
February 5, 2010
When the iPhone was launched in 2007 it had 11 apps, including a calendar, calculator and weather reports. In July 2008 Apple opened its App store with 500 apps available. Today there are more than 140,000 apps to choose from. If you have an iPhone you can get free and paid for applications that are really great for helping you to save money. Our website will help you decide where to spend your hard earned dosh and help you economise too.
1 Redlaser at £1.19 lets you scan barcodes and search online for lower prices using Google product search and Amazon online. Interested? Visit the Amazon UK website
2. PetrolPrice Pro at £4.99 will give you cheaper fuel options within a 5,10,15 or 20 mile radius of where you are.
3. Meter Readings at only 59p tracks your energy and water use in your home by day, week, or month. It plots them as line graphs. Knowing your consumption habits can help you cut back and save money.
4. App Sniper is also 59p and is really useful for tracking the latest apps on sale and will even notify you on your iPhone when your chosen app has met your set price. Visit the Apple Store the latest apps
5. Tipulator sells at £1.19 and can be useful for restaurant tipping – you enter the bill amount, select the percentage you want and the number in your group to split with and the sum is number crunched for you.
There are many more, money saving apps, so visit the Which website for more ideas
Please let us know which apps you think are wise buys.