For the first time this year, we successfully brought together an entire side of the family on video chat using group video calling on Skype. Five video streams from across the UK and the USA all displayed on a single screen, everyone talking together, and it worked pretty well. Over the years we’ve tried all manner of services, including text, audio and video chat, but this is the first time that the infrastructure and technology has been able to offer something that allowed a quality of video and audio that’s enabled reasonably fluid conversation with everyone at once.

Getting the usability right by providing an interface that’s easy to use and that just works is essential for getting a broader audience on board who would easily be put off by technical issues. Aiding this ease of use is that fact that most people now own laptops that come with cameras and mics built-in. Suddenly we can all make video chats with no need for drivers and problems with third-party software. Our Christmas Skype chat needed no configuration aside from turning on the video and ensuring each person in the chat was a contact. Not exactly rocket science, and certainly a low level of complexity my parents could manage.

Group video calling from Skype isn’t free, but it only needs a single family member to be signed up to create the chat session. Following a hiatus from Skype of several years I’ll certainly now be looking at using it more regularly to keep in touch with the many distant family members.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Daniel and Tara at the Incovenient Mule!

For the reasonably priced sum of £10 a month, giffgaff offers unlimited data, which prices it below even Three’s £15 PAYG offering. As a smartphone user, data is my top priority when it comes to network deals, yet finding data without paying through the nose has becoming increasingly difficult, as most networks have imposed strict 1GB or even 500Mb data caps over recent years.

Now these may sound like plenty of data for a mobile device to use over a month and yes, it’s fair to say that I don’t normally get near to this limit. The thing is, I’ve realised that I’ve learnt to curb my use of apps so I don’t risk breaching the limit, which has meant I’ve been avoiding media-rich content such as audio and video. I have in fact been failing to make full use of my smart phone because of data caps and it was time to put it right.

My phone and usage would be set free, listening to the morning’s news on the commute into work while checking Twitter, buying and updating apps when I’m out and about (regardless of their size), and generally being entertained and informed by whatever content out there takes my fancy. Great fun with no worries. Bonzer.

I’m currently trying out my giffgaff SIM with their £10 goody bag (150mins, 150 texts, unlimited data) and things are looking on track to move over from O2 and halve by monthly bill. Interestingly, giffgaff uses O2′s network, so I’m effectively getting the same service (plus more data) for half the price. Don’t mind if I do.

• Order a giffgaff SIM and receive £5 free credit

In favour of the proposal, firstly, is that I can read books without having them clutter up the flat, e.g. the Bernard Cornwell Anglo-Saxon series, that’re my equivalent of beach reading. Secondly, I think I would buy a greater variety of books if I had them on the Kindle. Buying a book at a bookshop is quite a deliberate and well-considered act, because one has to carry the book home and find somewhere for it. An instant electronic file is a less weighty decision in both respects. Thirdly, there’s the carrying around of books post-purchase. My George R. R. Martin books simply don’t fit in my bag, which started me thinking that a Kindle would fit nicely into the front of my satchel whatever I was reading. It would also make taking books on holiday extremely easy. Fourthly, I wouldn’t have to wait for delivery when I ordered a book. Finally, if I were to get the 3G version, I could sign up to fine magazines and have them sent to me even when I was on holiday.

Against the proposal stands, of all people, the mighty orator, author and bibliophile, Marcus Cicero, who said, “a room without books is like a body without a soul”. By buying an e-book reader, am I contributing to the decline of the physical book and the wonderful, physical bookshop? I’ve been organising my book collection obsessively since I was around five years old. I like them to show off my interests and be displayed for visitors or define the function of the study. Books make furniture look better. Secondly, some books will always need to be in hardcopy. If you were researching using more than one book, that would be very difficult using the Kindle, because you couldn’t compare the two side-by-side. Cook books, too, are better from the page than on the computer screen (although I use the internet for recipes too), as they’re less worrisome if they get covered in spatters of food. The pictures look nicer, too. Thirdly, an e-book reader can’t compete with the texture of a book and turning the pages oneself. I would still have to buy copies of books that I particularly liked, thereby reducing the problem, but not solving it. Following on from both points two and three, not all books are available to buy electronically anyway.

In conclusion, the obvious answer is to buy a Kindle and read certain books on it while buying physical copies of others where desirable or necessary. So, do let me know if you have an opinion on the subject. I’m very close to pressing the ‘go to checkout’ button, but it’s not yet too late…

A substantial upgrade

Some context is necessary, however, to explain just why I’m finding this new handset to be just as revolutionary as it is. I’ve made the upgrade to the iPhone 4 from the iPhone 3G. The 3G was, and is, a fine phone, and has served me well. However for a number of weeks it’s been running iOS4, which as many users have realised does the iPhone 3G no favours at all. It seems that iOS4 is trying to fit too many features across too great a range of handsets and it’s simply too demanding of the iPhone 3G’s hardware. I found that simple tasks such as texting became extremely slow and would often crash the app. Running apps while listening to a podcast – a task causing no problems at all under OS 3.1.3 – suddenly led to stuttering, apps crashing, and on occasion the iPhone crashing entirely. I stuck with iOS4 as I wanted to easily set-up the iPhone 4 using the existing restore, however the weeks of waiting did severely test me.

The delivery of my iPhone 4 yesterday finally saw end to this torment. Setting it up was simplicity itself, using the last restore point from the iPhone 3G and O2′s astoundingly straight-forward SIM swapping website. The hardest part of it all was getting the micro-SIM snapped out of the card it came in.

Using the restore point meant that the iPhone 4 was immediately familiar, with all the apps in their usual places, yet the speed increase was instantly noticeable. The iPhone 3G has always struggled with Twittelator Pro; my Twitter client of choice. As a result I’d always switched between it and the quicker Twitter for iPhone (formerly Tweetie) app. Now, Twittelator offers all the speed you’d want. It’s universally quick and responsive, and a joy to use, overcoming all of my bugbears with it on the 3G.

I quickly realised that the performance limitations of the 3G had actually greatly influenced the way I’d been using the phone and apps on it. iOS4 had caused such instability and performance issues that I’d avoided using certain apps and generally taken a cautious approach to using the phone’s functions as a whole. Essentially I’d not been using the phone to its full potential; shackles now broken with iPhone 4.

At last: a decent camera

The iPhone 4 is not only fast, it also includes the enhancements brought by the subsequent iPhone 3GS and a great deal more besides. It brings the compass, and with it the augmented reality apps that use it, plus the new, but thus far little used gyroscope and proximity sensor. Most eagerly anticipated by me, the iPhone’s camera is finally brought up to spec with that of other phones; a respectable 5 megapixels with flash, HD video recording and a secondary camera. The potential of this improved hardware excites me, as I’ve been wanting to use the iPhone as an all-in-one mobile device. For it to succeed in this role it needs to be able to capture the moment; whatever that may be. The 3G’s camera simply wasn’t up to the task. Now, at first glance at least, photos are looking good and video is great quality. It means I shouldn’t need a separate camera for general usage photos and I’ll be able to share clear content on social media sites. All in all it’s an excellent and perhaps a rather overdue development.

For the commute

I put my iPhone to its greatest use on my weekday commute into central London. This takes around an hour each way – longer if I walk for part of the way – and as with many journeys to the capital often involves cramped and crowded conditions. The iPhone has long been essential for entertainment, distraction and maintaining sanity on the commute.

Until now the iPhone’s multi-tasking abilities have only extended as far as running an app with the iPod playing in the background. Now, the iPhone 4 offers much more complete multi-tasking capabilities. Most attractive are those of streaming audio services while working on apps in the foreground. Multiple apps can also now be run, switching between them without needing to close them, pausing those not in use in the background. All in the all, multi-tasking should represent a real progression for productivity and flexibility.

The other key element is the battery life; a perennial issue with smart phones. On the iPhone 3G the battery can struggle to last the day with reasonable usage, to the point where I always now take the charger to work to ensure there’s charge enough to last the commute home. The iPhone 4 promises 40% longer battery life. Although I’ve yet to test the phone during a full working day, it should comfortably last the day.

However, greater battery capacity does in turn encourage yet more use. As slow and fragile performance on the iPhone 3G under iOS 4 lead to me limiting my use, so has a need to conserve battery. Suddenly there’s the prospect of being able to fully embrace features and functions on the iPhone. Ironically, as the potential for productivity reaches its peak, the mobile networks take away the promise of their unlimited data usage.

Still, my average monthly usage on the iPhone 3G was just 160MB. I’d have to step up my usage a good deal to exceed the new 500Mb usage limit now imposed by O2, and even more so the 1GB limit offered by other networks.

Great app that compares the petrol prices from nearby petrol station

Comparing local fuel prices on 'Petrolprices' app

Birdbrain

Tracks who has started / stopped following you and who you’re following on Twitter

Seeing who's started/stopped following you on Twitter with 'Birdbrain' app

Wi-fi Finder

Handy app for tracking down free/paid-for Wi-fi.

Find local wi-fi with 'Wi-fi Finder' app

While researching this app, I also came across a website that offers similar information through a web interface: http://www.radarvirtuel.com

Of limited practical use, perhaps, but I find this app a bit of fun when I see a plane passing over and like to imagine it full of holidaymakers or interesting folk bound for somewhere far flung or exotic. Simple things…

Twitter & social media

Tweetie 2 – although I’ve a number of Twitter apps installed, I always automatically use Tweetie 2. It’s slick, quick and intuitive. The only negatives are its use of the new retweet system and that it can lose tweets when closed down which have to be reloaded. However the sheer pleasure of use and its support of lists for follower management makes this a winner.

Twitterlator Pro – I do keep trying to use this app for Twitter as it does offer good functionality, however I simply find it slower and clunkier than Tweetie 2. TP seldom loses tweets in the timeline and offers nice characters to use in Tweets, however the usability just doesn’t make me want to instinctively use it.

Tweetdeck – Undoubtedly the king of desktop Twitter clients, however as an iPhone app it’s never really worked for me. I found it slow, crashed too often and when it lost messages in the timeline(s) it seemed incapable of detecting those missing and reloading them. Overall this unfortunately made it a pain to use. No other app makes it as easy to view tweets from multiple accounts and groups, however the speed of Tweetie 2 makes it a closely run thing.

Facebook – Although I’m not sure a heavy Facebook users these days, the app offers a decent interface for keeping in touch with friends, viewing their latest photos and managing chat & messages.

Foursquare – The new social media site that allows users to tag the cafe/pub/restaurant where they are. This is one of a number of promising geo-location social media services, although it’s too early to tell if this will reach critical user mass to reach the big time or whether it will keep a more niche following.

Travel

Tube Deluxe – the must have app for any London commuter. It pulls in the various streams of live travel info from TfL and uses a UI that simply works. There have been countless occasions when Tube Deluxe has ensured I’ve caught a train or not been stuck in the cold. I can check the scheduled departure times of relatively infrequent Amersham trains and then turn to the live departures for current running and platform info.

National Rail – complementing Tube Deluxe from from a mainline rail point of view is National Rail’s official app. Timetables and live running are the main features I call upon – which sometimes announces the platform in advance at main station – and there’s journey planning options to boot.

Train search from Crosscountry – A free alternative to the pricey National Rail app, this app presents the info in a different format which some may like. Train search shows planned platforms used which can be great for getting ahead of the game but can be misleading if the platform changes. It’s German designed so includes more journey specific details than the NR counterpart, including the train operating company.

Thetrainline – from the website of the same name, I used this once to plan a journey which it said there were no trains for, despite the fact thetrainline website saying there were plenty of trains for my trip. Haven’t used it much since.

London Bus – This offers the functionality of TfL’s journey planner in a handy app and is great for those occasions when a more complicated or unfamiliar journey needs to be planned in the capital.

UK Traffic – the first of a series of driving apps I’ve started using. Haven’t had much opportunity to use these yet, but UK Traffic offers a handy way of keeping tabs on problems on the roads before setting out.

PetrolPrices – worth it’s weight in petroleum, this lists the pricing of local petrol stations. Although I’ve had little opportunity to check its accuracy, our local filling station is reported correctly.

Rescue Me – the app for Green Flag recovery, offers the option to ask to be rescued, some handy driving tips, and travel news for a stated distance from your location. You do have to locate what you want as a central point for the location, whereas geolocated or route-based might be more useful.

LondonCam – traffic camera stills for London.

JamCam – traffic cameras for motorways across the country and a few A roads.

News

Guardian – the new news app on the block. Unusual in that it costs a couple of quid but it works a good deal better than most and is my current favourite for reading the day’s news stories.

Telegraph – A categorised presentation of news content which looks a bit basic but it works well enough and has some good features such as photos, videos, twitter and local weather. I’ve seldom used this app but looking at it now makes me think it’s worth exploring.

Independent – This downloads the news stories for each news area one-by-one which even on wifi is very slow, not encouraging use. The content is good enough but a new version of the app is needed to keep up with the competition. It also includes advertising; I’d rather pay for an ad-free app that works given the change.

Sky News – A good place to look if you want to hear more about a story that’s recently broken, and there’s plenty of video content, however generally it’s not my favourite source of news. Also with ads.

ITN – Content is limited to ‘Headlines’, ‘Sport’, ‘Business’ and ‘Fun’, however it’s a decent source of news reporting. It also offers a share on Twitter function, although this required logging into your account through the app.

Thomson Reuters – A well known news source, although I’ve seldom touched the app as the reporting is descriptive but not necessarily so engaging for the reader. One to be uninstalled.

France 24 / AJE Live – both apps for viewing the news channels France 24 and Al Jazeera English respectively. I use them rarely, especially now that the TVCatchup website offers live streaming video for rather more mainstream channels.

Deutsche Welle – I do like to keep in touch with what’s happening in Germany. There’s text news and radio that’s viewable over a mobile connection, whereas the video needs wi-fi, which is a shame.

Games

Bejeweled 2 – undoubtedly and most played game on my iPhone. Fiendishly addictive and a classic.

Lux DLX – Risk. Not played it much recently and some of the larger maps run rather slowly, however it’s a decent and fairly addictive game.

Star Wars Trench Run – There’s only limited playing time in this game and it uses the battery up something awful, however you get to shoot Tie Fighters!

SimCity – rather slow and don’t generally have the time to spend on it so have seldom played it.

Settlers – again I really like Settlers, however it demands an amount of time to be put in to playing it and I generally don’t use my iPhone for such long durations nor with the level of attention it requires.

Trivial Pursuit – one of iTunes’s Xmas freebies; it’s rather easy to complete on standard mode, however we’ve got more mileage out of the multiplayer option.

C64 – some classic Commodore 64 games, however I’ve found the game volume is much louder than the iPod volume, making it near impossible to listen to podcasts while playing. A shame.

MissileCmnd – Missile Command from Atari with both classic and modern, jazzed up versions. Very addictive and remains a classic.

Car Jack – GTA clone which I’ve only ever played once. I either need to give it another go or uninstall.

iShoot Lite – choose you weapon, angle and power and you’ve got a fun classic.

Frogger – another classic although not as much enduring fun as I remembered it being.

Shopping and high-street services

Amazon UK – handy to check items and prices, although I’ve yet to use it to purchase.

Ocado – I may use this at some point, but have yet to so far.

Natwest – check your balance and mini-statement. That’s mostly it but I find that handy enough.

RedLaser – scan the barcode of a product and see what it costs online. Genius and it works very nicely.

AppSniper – use now and again to check if there’s any decent apps current on offer in the app store.

Twenga – compare prices of hi-tech products. I always forget about this app as the name means nothing. Note to app developers – give your app a name that people can link to its purpose and function. Yet to really test but useful when I’ll next be shopping for electricals.

LocalOffers – lists a decent number of offers for a wide number of businesses and services, including eating out. There’s nothing very local for us, so I’ve not tried out an offer, but I’ll look out for an opportunity to do so.

Offers – another local offers app. Little in the immediate area, so need to check what it has for central London or otherwise uninstall.

Ebay – have heard good things about the app but have yet to use it in anger to bid for anything.

Geolocation

Geocaching – it’s all you need to go Geocaching, although I’ve only once got around to doing so to date. There’s apparently loads of caches around here so I’ll aim to do some more soon.

Trails – used this to track a bike ride last weekend to great effect. Nice maps too that include cycle routes and footpaths. Nice.

Google Earth – now has handy reviews of hostelries, restaurants and the like, which makes it more useful than just map-tastic eye candy.

Urbanspoon – handy in central London for finding restaurants by area / cuisine / price, but doesn’t have a single restaurant in Rickmansworth, despite the fact we’re not exactly short on them.

Work & productivity

Calendar – I’ve recently set this up to sync with Google Calendar meaning I can view or update it anywhere. Could become very useful

Things – a decent task manager app although I’ve yet to use it to its potential

YouNote Lite – handy for noting down odds and sods in many different formats – written, audio etc.

A selection of the rest

Genius – my current camera app of choice – includes anti-shake, zoom and other handy features

Radiobox – my new favourite radio streaming app. Includes shoutcast in addition to ‘proper’ radio stations.

AudioBoo – often talked about. Never used it to record anything but I like to hear what others have been recording. It’s a shame that the app only allows the latest recordings to be listened to; there’s no search option to listen to others.

RadioTimes – great TV listings app that even includes channel numbers which is handy when using cable.

Nimbuzz – MSN and Facebook chat. Use it occasionally.

My O2 – check your minutes / text and account usage with O2.

ACTPrinter – put documents on your iPhone for handy reference. Handy for e-mail ticket confirmations and the like.

PS Mobile – Photoshop mobile looks good but have yet to use it.

I’d be interested to hear if you agree or disagree with my comments, if any of these or new to you or if there are any apps you think I should be using.

There follows three apps throughly worth investigating: Twittelator – perhaps the ultimate Twitter client for iPhone; Train Search – a newly released, free and excellent train timetable & live running app; RedLaser - scan the bar code of products you see in a shop and compare the prices online. For me each of these marks new heights in the function, quality and/or value of iPhone apps.

Twittelator

I have long sought a fully featured Twitter app. Managing as I do multiple accounts and several hundred users, I need a Twitter client that will allow easy management of high volumes of tweets, allow grouping, the ability to select users from a list rather than having to remember their usernames (essential for follow Friday) and functionality to browse tweets by theme and users by location. Some Desktop apps do this well – Tweetdeck is a favourite in this respect – but no iPhone app has come close – that is, until now.

At £2.99 Twittelator is one of the more pricey Twitter apps, but for a Twitter users who demands the full package of Twitter features on the go it seems thus far unmatched. Features are on the whole well executed, and although it takes a while to work out what to press for what feature – I chanced upon the conversation tracker – it largely works well and is designed with flexibility in mind. Underlining this are the options which support just about all the preferences a user might wish for. Tweetie and Tweetdeck have done me well until now but both are clearly outclassed by Twittelator and although I’ve only used it for a few days I’d recommend it without hesitation to the dedicated Twitter user.

Train Search

The launch of the National Rail app some months ago met a mixed response; at £4.99 many thought it expensive, not least compared to similarly priced apps available previously and perhaps also due to the public service nature of the service the information is being provided about. As the National Rail app was launched the permission for other apps to use the National Rail API were withdrawn and the National Rail app has essentially enjoyed a monopoly on live train information until now.

This has changed with the launch of Train Search by the CrossCountry train operator. Available free of charge on the App Store, this offers much of the functionality of the National Rail app, albeit arranged in a different manner. It’s clear that good thought has gone into this app; developed by a German company is seems and with all of the functionality you’d expect from such. The app actually provides more information than the National Rail counterpart; stations such as London Marylebone show platform numbers for the first time and all train services show the number which indicates the train operator. This latter feature is useful if you’re taking a route operated by more than one company and you want to ensure you take, say, the quickest service.

The app is split into a trip planner, which also indicates running time for current services and timetables, which shows departures at the present time, again indicating any delays, or timetables for the future. The app allows favourite stations and routes to be added for easy reference. The use of GPS is well integrated and distance to stations are automatically calculated, including journeys from current location to a specified destination. The map feature displays the walking route from the current location to the station along with estimated distance and walking time.

If you haven’t paid and installed the National Rail app and you train by train any amount then this app really is a must. Well thought out, well executed and with an impressive clutch of features; Train Search sets a high bar for train time apps from now on.

RedLaser

This app scans the barcodes on items and then displays the prices from a number of online retailers. It’s ideal if you’re shopping in the ‘real’ world and want to make an informed choice whether to buy it then and there or off the net. I’m still testing this app out but initial experiments work well and this has a lot of potential when shopping.

To date I’ve been using London Tube Status which simply provides the status of the various London Underground lines. It does the job, looks nice and it’s free, however it seems I’ve been missing a trick. From the same author is TubeDeluxe, an app for just 59p which integrates the departure boards, journey planner, tube map and nearest station finder with the line status report. I browsed a number of London travel apps before going with TubeDeluxe and I have to say it’s proven a sound choice.

Let’s start with the departure boards. The Mule resides on the Met line; many miles outside of central London and with trains sufficiently far apart that you don’t really want to extend the commute even longer through having just missed one train and having to wait 10 mins or so for the next. Choose your line, your station and see when the train is due and plan your departure from home accordingly. Excellent. It’s effectively designed and on a line such as the Met where many station don’t show much if any live train information you can be keep a step ahead. Handily, for stations where the line is shared with Chiltern Railways, the departure boards show their departures too.

Now given the nature of the tube there are a few quirks. When trains approach Harrow-on-the-Hill there are a number of possible platforms the train could take. The departure boards, whose data comes from TfL to be fair, shows the train at each of the possible platforms until the train is near to the station and the platform is confirmed. There are also occasions when trains appear or disappear but in the main it works very well indeed.

The departure boards really came into their own during the recent tube strikes when knowing just how well the various lines were running was half the battle. What exactly does severe delays mean? In fact, during the strike it wasn’t the case that the trains were running any slower than usual that was causing delay, it was that you’d have to potentially wait an inordinately long time for a train to turn up. Using TubeDeluxe I could see if trains were running and how frequently. It allows users to make informed decisions about their travel plans and it worked out very well for me.

As for the other features, the status of each of the lines is of course a must check every day and this now has the handy addition of a weekend engineering works button at the bottom as, let’s face it, not a weekend goes by when several of the tube lines aren’t closed. There’s an excellent resizeable and scrollable map of the tube network which is great for handy reference when visually planning a route. For more detail there is a route planner feature, although it only plans routes using only the tube, London Overground and DLR and doesn’t factor in walking or buses. This means it’s handy but doesn’t necessarily show you the fastest route as the TfL route planner normally would. The final feature locates your nearest stations; never again be stuck in an unfamiliar part of town and not know how to get home.

Tube Deluxe is another fine app from Malcolm Barclay. Presentation is excellent and the features work well and intuitively. For 59p it’s a bargain.

Although a single Twitter timeline can be manageable initially, an increase in users you follow can quickly lead to many posts being missed. Twitter users also typically contact users with a variety of shared interests and before long the a need develops to group users by theme enabling more efficient tracking of conversations and highlighting the posts of users of most interest. This is where Tweetdeck steps in; offering the best grouping and management of Twitter timelines currently available.

Naturally Tweetdeck developed as an application for desktop computers but has now, at last, made the jump to iPhone, allowing the same level of timeline management on the go. Best of all, the desktop and mobile versions sync with each other, ensuring the same groups are available on both devices.

I find Tweetdeck invaluable, not least as it now also supports multiple Twitter accounts. Although the number of users I follow on my Twitter accounts are in the low hundreds at most, I have long been at the stage where I’ve felt the need to group those I follow. It’s particularly necessary when following a combination of news feeds and ‘real users’. Feeds often tend to flood your Twitter timeline by sending out multiple stories and Tweets at the same time. Although interesting I place greater weight on closely following the Tweets of real people, be they colleagues, locals, friends or others with shared interests. In Tweetdeck I set up groups for each type and separate them from the news feeds. Although this makes for several group timelines to keep up with, Tweetdeck does a fine job of noting which have updates and in most cases each timeline will have a perfectly manageable number of updates. Posts aren’t missed, content is effectively managed. Result.

I won’t give Tweetdeck for iPhone too thorough a review as it’s free and if you use Twitter you should try it and use it, simply. What I will say is compared to Tweetie which I’ve been using until a few days ago I’m really benefiting from the caching of Tweets. As my commute involves above and below ground travel, I can download the latest Tweets while there’s a signal and continuing reading them while underground. Love it. As with its desktop counterpart Tweetdeck for iPhone is extremely well put together and works smoothly and slickly. Having come from Tweetie, which is generally regarded as one of the best iPhone Twitter apps I’m suprised how little I have to suggest in the way of improvement. Give it a try and let me know what you think.