Last week I wrote about a promising new app that was coming to the iPhone called DSLR Remote.  It gives the ability to control many of the functions of a Canon DSLR, remotely from your iPhone or iPod Touch, using lightweight server software on an intermediary computer.  It’s available now and I’ve been playing with it for the last couple of days.

The setup does require a computer, which makes it a bit ungainly for some kinds of shooting, but for situations where a computer can be carried along (the software isn’t too demanding, so a small netbook with Wi-Fi should work), it can offer some nice options for getting away from your camera.  The software gives remote control to ISO speed, shutter speed, aperture, white balance, image quality, and of course, firing the shutter. You can also select whether to save to the camera’s internal card or the attached computer (or both). The display also shows your battery level and number of shots remaining (based on storage space).  After you start taking pictures, you can flip through them on your device as you would pictures you had taken with the phone’s built-in camera.  A couple of nice extras are an intervalometer that will fire the shutter at a user-selected number of minutes or seconds (like every 10 seconds), and an ability to see LiveView images (exactly what your lens is seeing as it’s seeing it) on cameras that support LiveView.

It’s a very nice app, one that opens some interesting possibilities (as well as giving you the chance to get into your own pictures without running a remote shutter cable or a timer.  It’s only available for the Canon EOS line now (though check at the web site to make sure your camera is supported), but development has begun on a Nikon version. The regular price for the app will be $19.99, but it’s currently introductory priced at $9.99.  A lite version that just fires the shutter is available for $1.99.

While this is a lot of gear to haul around in many photography situations, it’s not unreasonable in a studio setting.  I dabble in astrophotography, shooting the night sky through my telescope, and this setup sounds quite reasonable for that.  If the LiveView functionality works well, it could be a real benefit. OnOne has submitted the software to Apple for approval and anticipates it will be available soon, at an introductory price of $9.99.  A “lite” version, that only operates the shutter, will be $1.99.  When it hits the App Store, I’ll have a hands-on review.

Via Gizmodo

Games for the iPhone are rarely very involved.  That’s probably for the best, given the spur-of-the moment conditions under which they might be played.  Usually you’re just looking to fill a few minutes in an agreeable way, rather than have a fully immersive high-end gaming experience.  Addictive is the word many people use to describe good iPhone games, ones that provide enough of a hook to keep you coming back, where there’s a certain challenge, but not the kind of frustration that can make you give up all together.

Last week I spent some time on airplanes and it seemed an appropriate setting to try out Flight Control, a simple, but well-executed game based on the concept of air traffic control.  The player manages incoming aircraft at an airport, guiding light planes, helicopters, and two sizes of jets down to their runways and landing areas.  Unlike many iPhone games, Flight Control makes excellent use of the touchscreen control: As aircraft enter your screen, you tap you finger on them and guide them to the appropriate landing area.  Timing and judging distances are the crucial skills (along with being able to keep track of multiple moving objects.  I’ve had as many as 11 planes on my screen at one time. Each aircraft type moves at a different speed, so closing distance is relative. Scoring is based on the number of planes you guide safely to the ground.  Eventually, inevitably, two aircraft will wind up in the same space at the same time, ending the game. The addictiveness comes through the fact that as you play, you develop strategies and skills to get more planes down reliably; it’s a simple concept, but as you gain more experience, you’ll come to appreciate the many facets required for success.

Flight Control is currently 99 cents at the App Store, and well worth it.

One of the fun things about iPhone and iPod Touch apps is seeing how different developers will take advantage of the set of capabilities found in the devices for varying purposes.  Yowza!! is a new app that combines the convenience of an always-with-you device with location technology to serve up savings while shopping for a variety of items and services. A collaboration between Greg Grunberg of NBC’s “Heroes”, August Trometer and Rick Yaeger, the app provides an always available bank of digital coupons and offers from nearby merchants.

The first time you fire it up, it will ask you your age and gender to deliver more tightly targeted coupons.  It also asks permission to use your location. You can then opt to see offers from businesses within 1, 5, or 15 miles.  Optionally you can enter another location, either by city name or zip code. Screens for specific businesses offer links to
their location through the map service and automatic dialing of their phone numbers (on the iPhone). When you find an offer you want to use, you can bring up a coupon code that merchants will enter into their point-of-sale systems.

It’s important to remember that Yowza!! is still young and in the process of adding businesses.  Many areas are not yet represented. But it’s a free app and it will be interesting to watch how it grows.  It’s currently only available in the United States, but there are plans to expand to other countries in the future.  For updates on how the service is progressing, you can even follow Yowza!! On Twitter.

If you want a closer look at Yowza!!, check out GeekBrief.TV #549, in which Cali Lewis interviews Greg Grunberg as he demos the app’s capabilities and talks about the planned future for the service.

Earlier this week, word came that Sling Media had submitted their SlingPlayer Mobile software to the iTunes App Store for approval.  Techie hearts soared as the thought of being able to forward television content to our iPhones seemed that much closer to reality.  Today, AT&T joined the party by splashing some cold water in everyone’s faces: According to new terms of service, “customer initiated redirection of television or other video” will now be blocked on the AT&T mobile data nework.  That’s a  fairly perfect description of what Sling Media does.  So, when SlingPlayer Mobile gets the okay at the App Store, it will likely have the same Wi-Fi-only caveat that accompanied the Skype for iPhone roll out. In the graphic above, from Sling Media, the phone is shown as being on Wi-Fi.  There’s nothing like freedom to watch your video anywhere you want, within very tightly defined limits.  Remember the days when we thought what we’d be able to do with our gadgets would be limited only by our mastery of technology?  We never considered the overriding corporate lawyer effect.

Update: Well, this has suddenly become a “never mind” story.  AT&T has issued a retraction, saying the change to the terms of service was a mistake, and has been removed.

Updated Update (April 29, 2009): And now the terms are back in, making the post correct to date, and making the whole “it was a mistake” lame excuse, issued previously, even lamer.  It should now be read as “We meant to do it, then we got yelled at so we backed down, but then decided we didn’t care if we got yelled at and did it again.”  Good to know AT&T’s contract attorneys are being kept off the streets.

Yesterday, Amazon released its Kindle app for the iPhone. The idea that Kindle materials would be available on other wireless devices was quietly conveyed when the Kindle 2 was announced, as the new Whispersync technology was promoted as an option for more than just Kindle-to-Kindle communications. The app is free and does not require a Kindle. If you’ve got an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can now read Kindle format books on your device. I downloaded it last night, pulled one of my Kindle books from the archive of my purchases kept by Amazon (this is the same way I got my old books onto my Kindle 2) and when I opened the virtual book, it was to the page where I left off reading on the Kindle the night before.  I read for a few pages, then switched back to the Kindle, which picked up from the point where I stopped reading on the iPhone. Seamlessly, just the way you might imagine it should work.  The interface is simple, but allows resizing of text (I find I want smaller text on the smaller iPhone screen than on the Kindle) and bookmarking. And as with the Kindle, you can carry your entire library with you (up to the storage limitations of your device).

Ultimately, infrastructure is what gives the most persuasive value to a communications-based technology. The gadget you hold in your hand can be beautifully crafted and a pleasure to use, but it’s the connections to the rest of the world that will make it indispensible.  A lot of people look at the Kindle and ask, “Why should I buy that?”  Last night’s app release is a hint of the truth behind Amazon’s long term plan.  Yes, they’d like you to buy a Kindle, but what they really want is for you to get accustomed to buying Kindle-format publications that you will be able to read anywhere, on a wide variety of devices.  Why adopt Kindle format rather than the Sony Reader or something like Stanza on the iPhone?  Infrastructure.  Amazon wants to dominate the e-book world the way it has come to preeminence in online commerce.  This free app is the first hint of where they are going.  Although it’s currently possible to read your Kindle purchases on a computer through the Media Library at the Amazon site, I fully expect to see small, stand alone applications for PCs and Macs (and other smartphones) that will mirror the functionality of the iPhone app.  The day is coming when it will be impossible to forget your book at home.

I’ve previously expressed my admiration for astronomy apps on the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Being able to consult a star atlas anywhere, without planning ahead is great for those unexpected moments under a clear night sky.  But there’s more in the sky than just stars and that’s where a pair of great new apps come in.

Moon Atlas and Mars Atlas, both from Horsham Online Limited, bring features and an interface that feels like Google Earth to our two nearest neighbors in the solar system.  Both offer a flat view of each body, reflecting the face currently aimed toward Earth and a globe view that allows you to explore the entire sphere on a 3D model. Give the globe a little push with your finger and it will start gently rotating.  Views can be zoomed in and out with pinching gestures on the screen. Location Services can be used to provide the correct view where you are standing.  views can be flipped horizontally and vertically to match views that are seen through different types of optics. Latitude and longitude grid lines can be turned on or off as can feature labels and features can be found through a search tool.

If you want to learn the terrain of either celestial neighbor, these two apps are a great way to do it.  Each atlas is $5.99 at the iTunes App Store.

The new iPhone app for UStream.tv hit the iTunes Store yesterday, making the live streaming network just a little more mobile.  For those who’ve never used or heard of it,  UStream is a free web service that allows anyone to produce a live video show on the web.  Depending on the quality of your upload, what viewers receive on the other end can look pretty impressive.

Last night, Geoff Smith started up a live stream with the intention of checking the performance of the app.  As often happens with Geoff, the streaming experiment turned into an impromptu concert.  During the show, I downloaded and installed the app, then brought up the show. The app is very simple, and if you’re lucky enough to be looking for a highly-viewed show, finding what you want is simple.  Last night people (myself included), were having trouble getting the chat room feature up and running, but today it’s coming through without a problem, so I’m guessing there were some day one difficulties that have been cleared up.

The app generally works well, although one major drawback is the need for a Wi-Fi network.  Buffering varies, depending on the quality of the feed you’re watching (the higher the quality, the more trouble it gives the app).  Last night it looked good with no serious issues (compared side by side  with the web site version on my computer), but today other programs were stuttering and dropping frames.  Obviously if there are issues on Wi-Fi, it’s not ready for 3G yet.  Until then, it’s a novelty, useful at Starbucks, but not yet the watch-it-anywhere experience streaming fans are hoping for.

I’ve always loved online flight trackers, like FlightAware.com.  There’s just something inherently cool about knowing where a plane is in its course, especially if you want to know if it’s time to head to the airport to pick someone up.  But often, when you want to know where in the sky a plane currently is, you might not be sitting in front of a computer.

FlightTrack is an application for the iPhone which displays the location of a flight between its departure and arrival airports.  You can search either by flight number or by route.  Most of the coverage is currently centered on the United States, but there are some Canadian, Mexican and European airports as well. Altitude, airspeed and satellite weather overlays are included in the displayed information.  FlightTrack is $4.99 at the App Store.

One of my favorite and most commonly used applications on my computer is Google Earth.  Everyone knows about it and almost everyone has used it, so no need to explain other than to say it’s pretty much the state of the art in free online map applications.Google Earth’s release for the iPhone now makes it a serious contender for my favorite mobile app.  While not quite as fully-featured as the desktop version, the developers have packed in a remarkable amount of familiar functionality and it has a feel and responsiveness very much like the original software from which it sprang.  As long-time users will know, Google Earth is a client-side app which relies on near continuous data pulled from the internet.  Every time you change your view, or click on a Wikipedia article or Panoramio photo (the two extended features that have been ported thus far), the net is accessed.  This worked great on WiFi, but I was curious how 3G would be.  After turning off the WiFi functionality, I was pleased to see there was virtually no difference in performance.  One feature that’s getting a lot of attention is the use of the accelerometer to tilt the map and bring raised features lie mountains into view.  This is impressive, but like a number of accelerometer implementations, can take a bit of practice before you’ll use it without skidding away from what you were viewing.

The search functionality works well, and has the bonus of accessing your Address Book, so that you can enter the name of a person and then go to the address associated with them on the map.  The phone’s location services are also incorporated so you always have the ability to easily go to your own location.

A number of users have complained about the application being crash-prone, but I didn’t have any issues with this in about half an hour of steady use, so it’s not a universal issue. I’d love to see extra layers such as hotels and restaurants added in future versions, but even now, this is a solid addition to any iPhone’s repertoire.