Blog•
on January 14th, 2012•
Instagram is an app available for the iPhone that allows you to doctor up your photos. It’s pretty straightforward. You take a photo, open up Instagram, and add cool effects.
Here’s the brilliance. If you are like me, you take a lot of photos on your iPhone. I don’t want to share every one of those photos with other people. But there are photos I want to share.
I can open these photos in Instagram, add some cool effects, and then share the photos on Facebook or my website. In fact, there is a widget available in WordPress where you can show just the photos you have in your Instagram account.
Instagram solved a problem (I have too many photos on my phone and don’t want to share them all) and made it fun and beautiful to share photos.
Blog•
on December 26th, 2011•
I spend a lot of time on Apple products and consult a number of clients on how best to use computers & mobile devices. For this blog post, I am sharing my ten predictions I have for Apple product, marketing and service releases for 2012:
1. Apple will begin Courting the Businessperson with Renewed Effort
The incredible list of products already exist. But there is a huge gap between Apple product knowledge and use in the business world. Apple needs to begin devoting massive ad spending to court this segment of the market. This prediction isn’t as much about upcoming product launches as it is in marketing focus.
For example, I go into board rooms and meeting rooms all around the city of Atlanta. I have only seen one Apple TV in a meeting room. Every board room and meeting room should have an Apple TV hooked up to the projector or flat screen. It’s just $100 and it allows any person with an iPad to show a presentation through a WiFi connection. I hear that Turner Broadcasting is installing Apple TVs in all of their meeting rooms. Other companies should do the same. Think of the savings in time from not having to have different presenters plug their computers into a projector.
2. Apple TV will be Renamed
The Apple TV device has expanded beyond its name to the point that “Apple TV” actually confuses people. Is it a TV? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? And plus, the rumor is that Apple is actually going to release a TV this year, as in an actual flat screen TV.
3. AirPlay will be extended to All Devices and All Programs
Right now, I can mirror my iPad screen onto a flat screen through Apple TV. But I can’t do that with my iPhone or MacBook computer. What if I could show a presentation on my MacBook without having to get up from my seat and plug in my computer to a monitor? What if every person in the room could show their spreadsheet, presentation, or document by simply clicking a few buttons? The ramifications for the board room and meeting room alone are enormous.
4. Apple will Advertise more about Inter-connectivity of Devices
This is another marketing prediction. Apple will (or should) use advertising money to show how seamlessly a MacBook can connect to an iPhone and how photos, documents, etc can be backed up automatically. As people use 2012 to simplify and connect their device use, Apple is in a prime spot to show how they can do this best.
5. Apple will purchase Dropbox
This prediction is one my brother-in-law has recommended for a few years. Apple should purchase Dropbox. iCloud is great for photos and a few other things, but it seriously lacks as a viable solution to saving any type of document in the cloud. With Dropbox, this could easily be integrated into iCloud.
6. AirPlay will be extended to include Multiple Devices that Play Different Songs
For instance, if I have TVs and Airport Expresses connected to different stereo systems in one location, the only way that I can pick and choose which device should play music is through iTunes on a computer. If there are 4 rooms, I can choose to play music in 2 of the 4 rooms. Right now, I can’t do that on an iPod touch, iPhone or iPad. I can only push music to one of the rooms. So, the prediction is that I can choose which room and further to that, I will be able to choose different songs, videos, etc for each room. Right now, I can only play one song. Sonos already has the capability to play different songs in different rooms. Apple should too.
7. Another AirPort Express device will be Released
My prediction is that a new AirPort Express device will be released that costs just $50 and allows for connecting to WiFi to print or connect to a stereo. The drop in price will occur because AirPort Express Lite will not have the router capability but will just be a receiving device.
8. The Mac Mini will Wirelessly Connect to an External Monitor
This will render an HDMI connection from the Mac Mini to an external monitor unnecessary. If the monitor has an Apple TV connected, the Mac Mini will connect automatically.
9. iPad & iPhone app developers will begin to treat these devices as tools instead of interfaces
Right now, you can play a racecar game on your iPad where the iPad becomes the steering wheel and the actual track shows on the flat screen through Apple TV. This is just the beginning. We will begin to see the iPad become the paintbrush and the flat screen TV will be the canvas. The iPad will be the keyboard and the TV or monitor will be the output. iPad Mirroring was the big thing for 2011. Separate interfaces will be the big thing for 2012.
10. The iPod Nano will add a Telephone Feature and WiFi Connection
Most people talk on their phones through a headset already. The actual iPhone device may not be required as a phone if that could be moved to the iPod Nano. Plus, it would be incredibly awesome to start up Siri and tell her to call your wife by slightly lifting up your arm and dictating to your watch. The WiFi connection will open up the device to Apps and more connectivity.
Blog•
on November 5th, 2011•
My wife and I just returned from the High Museum in Atlanta. Upon arrival to the museum this morning, we were told about a new mobile phone app the museum had just released to enhance the experience. I went to download the app on my iPhone and couldn’t do it over 3G because the app is over 20MB. Not to fear, the High Museum provides free WiFi, maybe for this purpose.
After downloading the app, called Art Clix, I could take a photo of any painting that is part of the new exhibit and the app would pull up information about that painting and the artist. For some of the paintings, there was even audio commentary. Once I was on the painting’s page, I could then share the information or comment on the painting. I could even view other people’s comments who were also viewing the painting at the same time.
I just thought this was brilliant. A lot of the people in the museum have smart phones. A lot of people are curious about the paintings they are viewing, more so than what the little plaque says that sits next to the painting. And it’s just cool to have the app recognize a photo of the painting and provide further details. I was really impressed and hope this trend continues to other museums.
I think this app could have even been expanded to include more information about the paintings and the artists. Sometimes the description was the exact same as the plaque’s next to the painting. That didn’t really add any value and ended up wasting time as I snapped a photo of the painting. But I’m sure they will improve this app. For the time being, great job High Museum.
Blog•
on April 21st, 2011•
I recently had a meeting with a client who said all school and company presentation rooms should now contain an Apple TV. Why? Because as more and more people purchase MacBooks, iPads, and iPhones, these devices can be used to wirelessly show presentation slides through the use of AirPlay. You can purchase a nice size flat screen and an Apple TV for less than most projectors.
Although Apple has recently released AirPlay, more and more apps will begin using this feature to show what is on your MacBook, iPad, or iPhone on a screen through Apple TV.
For now, it’s a little cumbersome, but you can show a PowerPoint presentation through AirPlay using your iPad or iPhone. Here are the instructions for how to do this:
- When complete with your PowerPoint presentation, choose the option to save the presentation as images.
- This will save each slide as a separate .jpg image.
- You can then upload these images to your iPad or iPhone
- You will need to join the wireless network that the Apple TV is located on.
- Photos on the iPad or iPhone are one of the items that can be used through AirPlay to show the images through AppleTV
- Once you have opened up the photos, move back and forth between the images on your iPad or iPhone and that will change the images on the screen.
- You can be sitting in the back of the room moving back and forth between the slides.
Blog•
on March 14th, 2011•
Over the last few weekends, I have set up a complete entertainment system for some family friends. Being a lover of all things Apple, I attempted to use as many Apple products as possible. It is actually a not so secret desire of mine to have a sizable budget to use at my discretion at Apple and Best Buy.
In putting together the system, I was quite surprised at how much Apple has created the ability to connect multiple devices in the home. Products that used to seem disconnected now work together to create a home entertainment system you could have only dreamt about just a few years ago.
Here is a list of Apple products that were combined to make a super connected home entertainment system:
- 11′ MacBook Air
- iPad
- iPhone
- Apple TV
- 2TB Time Capsule
- Airport Express
Here’s what I did:
First of all, I connected Apple’s Time Capsule to the home Internet connection in the basement of the house. The Time Capsule serves two purposes. It is a 802.11n wireless router that works great with Apple products. It also acts as a 2TB hard drive. The Time Machine functionality can be used so that every computer in the house backs up wirelessly on the hour. No more carrying around an external hard drive and having to remember to back up your computer. This one happens automatically for the whole family.
Another great feature of the Time Capsule is its ability to connect a printer and provide printing capability to all household computers.
The next thing I did was to connect two different Airport Express devices in the house. One was connected on the main level and the other was connected in the master bedroom. In a similar fashion to the Time Capsule, the Airport Express acts as a wireless router. The beauty of the device is that it can also be utilized as a repeater of the main wireless signal. So, if your wireless signal coming from the basement is weak in the upstairs levels, the Airport Express repeats the signal to make it stronger.
You can also connect a stereo system to the Airport Express’ auxiliary output. This output can go into a stereo input. So, in the living room on the main level of the house, we connected the Airport Express to a Bose Wave Radio. In the master bedroom, we connected the Airport Express to the bedroom TV.
With these stereo connections in place, the MacBook Air, iPad, and iPhone all became portable music players that could play music on any of these two stereos. So, as long as the computer, tablet, or phone was connected to WiFi, it could send any song located on the device to the stereo system. You could be a DJ in the basement while reclining in the den.
The realization of how much things had changed hit me as I set up the mid-level stereo system. I removed a 100 disc changer from the entertainment system cabinet and told the family they could now control even more music from their phones.
After setting up the stereos, it was time to work on the TVs. I got 2 Apple TVs for this part. One was for the family room tv and the other was for the downstairs children’s entertainment room. In addition to being able to stream Netflix movies, you can now stream music, photos, and movies from the computer, iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone. And this ability only became available on the iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone with the release of IOS 4.3, and that was only released within the past few weeks.
So, we’re talking about brand new functionality here that really only came out in the last month. The family already had two flat screen tvs and I set up some nice sounds systems to the tv/Apple TV comination.
The final product was really astonishing. By using an iPad, this family could now choose which movie to watch on their TV, change the music playing in the basement, set some jazz music in the living room, and have classical music going in the master bedroom. And they could do this from any room in their house using a computer, iPad, or iPhone.
The Apple products cost around $3500 total. Then of course, tvs and stereos were needed throughout the house. But if you wanted to, you could do a similar system for less than $1000. Here’s how:
- One iPhone 3GS (currently $49)
- One Apple TV ($100)
- A surround sound receiver with 6 speakers ($350)
- 40″ Flat Screen TV ($450)
- HDMI, Taxes & Other Cables ($50)
Now, I’m making the assumption that you already have wifi set up. With these devices, you could use the iPhone as a remote or as a music player that would play music, podcasts and music through the Apple TV and through your surround sound receiver. You could even show photos and videos you took on your iPhone on your new flat screen tv.
If there is anyone else out there with a big entertainment system budget in Atlanta, let me know. I’d love to help.
Blog•
on November 18th, 2010•
If you are like me, you’ve been using NuevaSync to sync your Google Calendar with your iPhone. If you are like me, you also received an email message this morning saying that NuevaSync was going to begin charging for this service. The Basic plan is $15 per year and the Premium plan is $30 per year.
Being someone who likes to use free options instead of paying, I made the switch this morning to using Google Sync. Google Sync is free and is extremely easy to set up.
When I was using NuevaSync, I had set up a separate Calendar account in my iPhone settings. To set up the Google Sync, all I did was to go to Settings on my iPhone. I clicked Mail, Contacts, Calendars. Then, under my Gmail account, I turned Calendars on. Before I had it off since this was being pulled from Nueva Sync. Then, I went into my NuevaSync Calendar account and turned the Calendar function off and deleted that account. Now my calendar pulls directly from Google and I will not be paying NuevaSync $15/month.
Here are more detailed instructions if you are curious – http://www.google.com/support/mobile/bin/answer.py?answer=138740&topic=14252
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