Woodside Media Group » iphone

Is GetGlue Here To Stay?

Amani — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 04:38:05 +0000

In August I wrote the following about Getglue on Black Web 2.0:

One of the most “critically acclaimed” social networks is coming to the Android platform very soon. Dubbed as a social network for entertainment, Getglue has released the beta version of their Android app. The benefits of Getglue have been covered before and the addition of the Android app completes the cycle as they will now have a strong web presence, iPhone app and an Android app. Focused on sharing user preferences (and consumption) on television shows, movies, books and music, the mobile app will allow users to check-in within one of these four topics and also see what your friends are “consuming” in real time.

After approximately four months of using Getglue, it has found a permanent spot in my social media rotation. The first source of enjoyment Getglue brings me is simply sharing what i am watching with my friends on Twitter and Facebook. The simple picture of the show I am watching gets numerous comments and starts plenty of conversations. The second reason why I will continue to use Getglue is their “suggestion” feature. Since catching up on my movie history is a current goal, I am able to discover countless old “classics” that I would have never heard about. I am ready to share, learn and watch even more with Getglue’s help. Pick up the Android and iPhone versions which can help you while you are on the road.

The Switch To Android: Four Months Later

Amani — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 05:13:28 +0000

Back in early September 2010, I switched from the iPhone (AT&T) to Android (Verizon). I mentioned my initial thoughts in an article I wrote for Black Web 2.0. I have updated my observations with some quick additional thoughts after being with Team Android for four months.

Battery Life was a concern. I could barely get through a while day with moderate usage of apps and the phone. The extended battery helped but the phone definitely needs to be charged nightly. This is still true but is less of an issue for me. It seems like the battery life is on par with the iPhone 3GS life (I have not used the iPhone 4 yet).
The camera continues to be a welcome surprise. I have been able to take some very nice pictures and even record that looks very clear and detailed. The high quality camera has allowed me to expand my use of Evernote as well with the snapshot feature.
The Android OS does take some getting used to. The addition of the 2.3 update has helped as the system continues to get more and more intuitive. I look forward to more updates.
Although the number of apps will probably never catch up to Apple’s dominance, there are some very high quality apps available for Android users. The majority of the Apple mainstays are available for Android. They are also continuing to closely match the feature set included in Apple versions. The Instagram vs. PicPlz evolution is interesting to follow as these large communities are growing at a rapid pace.

With iPhone coming to Verizon as well, I still have no urge to switch back. I am excited to continue to learn how to use my Droid X to its full capabilities. I strongly feel that the open system of Android will end up winning in the long run.

Interview with Tristan Walker, Director of Business Development – FourSquare

Amani — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 22:43:39 +0000

Take a listen to the interview I did with Tristan Walker (VP of Business Development, Foursquare) on behalf of Black Web 2.0.

App to Watch: Aloqa

Amani — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:39:03 +0000

Aloqa’s tagline is “Always Be A Local”. After downloading the app for my iPhone, that makes plenty of sense. I recently learned about Aloqa from this blog post by Robert Scoble highlighting startups to watch in 2010. The service intrigued me so I decided to check it out. My first thought is like this is a mobile yellow pages that brings any and everything to my phone without having to search through Google Maps or my Mobile browser. This is especially valuable on a road trip looking for gas stations, ATM’s, liquor stores or anything else unique. I continued to test this app out and noticed that it showed almost 15 different concerts within a 25 mile radius of where I was. All of these concerts were set to occur within the next three days. I can definitely see how valuable this could be if I just landed in a new city and wanted to see what is going on in the local area. The home screen of the app lists different type of places (Pizza, Fast Food, Shopping, Housing, etc) that you may want to search.

In addition, there is a “channel store” where you can access and add other venues/categories such as Gas Stations, Beauty & Spas, Local News and others.

Overall, I can see great value in this application and I look forward to working with it and seeing how the app learns my preferences and molds to my taste. I am also interested to see how it connects with my friends on Facebook and uses the built in notifier. Stay tuned for updated posts from me with regard to this app. Do you have any stories about Aloqa?

Pixelpipe – A 2009 Gem for me

Amani — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 04:27:31 +0000

As we enterered another decade (Happy New Year!), I wanted to highlight one of my favorite apps I discovered in 2009. Midway through the year, I jailbroke my iPhone 3G because I wanted video recording capability but I didn’t have $300 extra dollars to spend on an iPhone 3GS. I also was not the happiest with AT&T’s service. Once I was able to complete the jailbreaking process, I loaded up Cycorder and began to record. I still needed someway to send my new videos to all of my channels (Facebook, flickr, youtube, posterous, 12seconds tv, etc). I did a little research via Friendfeed and discovered the right way to use Pixelpipe. This one app opened up a new level of sharing for me. It is simple to use via the iPhone and can plug into over 115 channels.

Once you open up the app, it quickly loads up all of your media (from the most recent to the oldest), allows you to click on the description of the media and then add it to your queue for uploading. Distributing the media to the proper source is simple as you just set up the tags within your settings. After that, tag the media with its intended source (@12seconds for 12 seconds tv, @facebook for facebook, and so on.) and watch it upload. Simple and very accurate and reliable. There is also a camera option from which you can take pictures and immediately upload them as well.

Pixelpipe continues to improve as they have recently added time based grouping of media for Twitter posts, inline geo-location & previous upload stream. This app is availabel on the iPhone, Android and Windows Mobile platform. I hope you enjoyed a small description of how I use Pixelpipe. Do you have any Pixelpipe stories to share?