Toluu

Mossblog

Occasional musings from Walt, in text and video.

Follow the Election AnywhereSeptember 13

Now there’s a cool new way to follow the 2008 presidential election anywhere you go. Today I discovered a rich, data-packed app for the iPhone and iPod Touch that displays updated polling data, both nationally and state-by-state, for the presidential campaign. It’s called Election ’08, and can be downloaded here. It costs 99 cents, and it requires at least the 2.0 version of the iPhone/Touch OS.

This iPhone app lets you track the campaign anywhere you go.

Election ’08 contains the latest national tracking polls and performs an algorithmic calculation of who’s winning currently in each state based on multiple available polls in that state. Then, it generates an electoral vote projection. It also gives the sources of the polls, and provides recent and historical data for context.

Some iTunes commenters complained that the app’s polling data were stale, but today, it seems up to date.

The program, from a company called Chimp Software, lets you view the data in a variety of ways–most recent data

Why the iPhone MattersAugust 12

In July, Walt spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival about the rise of the iPhone and similar devices and what it means for the future of the PC. Below are two videos of Walt’s presentation. The video on top is the complete session; the YouTube video below it is a shorter version.

Also, see Walt’s reviews of the device–both the iPhone 3G and the original version, when he first wrote about its meaning and impact; and Boomtown’s post yesterday about the explosive growth of the App Store.

Ten iPhone Programs to Check OutJuly 13

I’ve spent part of the weekend downloading and trying out dozens of the more than 800 new third-party iPhone applications that launched with the debut of Apple’s (AAPL) “App store.” The store is part of the new iPhone 2.0 operating system, which not only comes with the new iPhone 3G, but is also a free upgrade on older iPhones and a $10 upgrade on the iPod Touch.

These first applications range from serious programs for doctors and pilots to silly parlor tricks that take advantage of the iPhone’s motion sensors. One, called PhoneSaber, merely displays an image of a Star Wars-like light saber and makes varying light saber noises as you wave the phone in the air.

Here are ten apps I think you might enjoy checking out, in no particular order. These aren’t meant as full reviews, just pointers to interesting items. There may be ten others, or 200 others, you think worthier of attention. Feel free to add comments with your own suggestions.

1. AIM. Finally, a native iPhone program for accessing one of the world’s most widely used instant-messaging networks. It lacks some of the more rarified features of the PC or Mac versions, but does the basic text-chat thing quite well. One downside: because Apple isn’t allowing third-party programs to run constantly in the background, you can’t receive new messages in AIM while doing other things. This will supposedly be remedied by new Apple server technology due later this year.

The iPhone 3G and Its CompetitionJuly 11

Below is the third and final clip from Walt’s appearance on Yahoo’s Tech Ticker with Aaron Task. In it, they discuss today’s launch of the iPhone 3G, and what it means for the competition. Watch parts one and two of the segment from earlier posts, and read Walt’s review of the device here.

The iPhone and Its Killer AppJuly 10

Yesterday, Walt spoke with Yahoo Tech Ticker’s Aaron Task about the 3G iPhone and its Friday launch. Since it’s more of a “handheld computer,” as Walt describes it (click here for Walt’s full review), its success is naturally linked to today’s launch of the App Store and the embrace of the software development community. Here’s their conversation: