LiveView is a nifty app for your iPhone or iPad that allows you to instantly screencast from your computer to your mobile device. It works over your network connection in conjunction with a desktop app. it was created by Nicolas Zambetti, a San Francisco based interaction designer.
I’ve found LiveView extremely useful over these past couple weeks during iPhone app development. To be able to quickly see how your graphics look in the intended environment is priceless, especially when compared to the alternative option, which usually involves dev simulators, wires, syncing, and TIME. This app essentially allows me to view Photoshop on my phone, live, while I make adjustments. Amazing.
Frank Chimero recently wrote a great piece on his hardware/software set-up. If I were to write my own, LiveView would be the most recent addition to the “essential” category.
Hulger makes some very well executed VoIP handsets with a nice retro slant. I’d have to say my favorite is the PIP*, it’s dripping with 80’s rich guy nostalgia. The Pappa is a little heavy-handed and leaning hard into 60’s Bostitch stapler territory, but it would look nice on the right desk if I had a second office that smelled of rich mahogany and a pipe was somehow involved.
Lee Morris from Fstoppers did a fashion shoot using only an iPhone 3GS. As you can see, the results were nothing short of incredible considering the equipment being used. But I think this is less about the camera and more about how powerful quality lighting can be in photographic work. Of course, for a phone, the iPhone has an exceptional camera built in, but with good lighting a great photographer can make any camera take good pictures. Which takes us back to the idea that you shouldn’t ever blame your equipment, just ask this guy.
I personally don’t buy whole-heartedly into this concept. Yes, a professional with the right equipment and a lot of knowhow can get great output from almost anything. But better cameras do make a difference, they make it easier to get good results and many times are just easier to use from an interface / usability standpoint. I think this is all the more important for those of us who are primarily graphic designers. We often don’t have the budgets to hire professionals when we need photo work for projects. But we also might not have the background and expertise that a full-time photog would have. A camera like the 5D or D700 put professional results within the grasp of us mere mortals, because I’ll tell you right now, not in a million years could I get a iPhone to output the stuff you see above. But I shot a 7D last weekend and got the best pictures of my life in a living room under natural light.
But seeing Morris’ results definitely makes you think the whole thing over again.
Update: Sangki Kim of Kee Utility writes: “Desk Phone Dock has been modified to fit iPhone 4. The product will be available from July in some countries.”
With iPhone-Frenzy-2010™ in full swing I thought I’d add some fuel to the fire with this beautiful, yet suddenly obsolete, little peripheral from Korean design firm, Kee Utility. Of course, it will never see the light of day in this form — for some reason, concepts never do — but at least we have this nice model to salivate over. Couldn’t find any word on pricing or availability other then that it was supposed to have debuted at the China Sourcing Fair in April, 2010.
While it’s definitely a looker, there’s not much in the way of originality going on here — the dock looks straight off the cutting room floor of Apple’s design lab and hits all the cues from Cupertino pretty much on the mark. Kind of unfortunate timing to be releasing something like this when they did; apparently they don’t read blogs. I’d like to see Kee do a redesign based on the more angular aesthetics of the iPhone 4. The current base seems a bit overwhelming, I think it could do well without the curves.
On a side note, after trying to act all hard saying I was going to defect to Android for the past 2 months, I used Beamer’s iPhone 4 today and immediately purchased one for myself. I couldn’t resist, that thing is incredible. I also bought a pair of rubber tongs to hold it with in light of recent developments.
It’s certainly safe to say that a large number of people (myself included) have been plagued with an acute case of the “wants” when it comes to iPhone 4. Some of the new features are just downright awesome—Facetime, multitasking, HD video, 5 megapixel camera and the list goes on. We’re seeing all these cool new features, but at what cost do they get included?
During Apple’s keynote, some of the new technology was explained, one of which was the new antenna. The new iPhone chassis was designed not only to provide a more rigid body for the thin, refined design, but also to function as the antenna. As Steve Jobs mentioned during the keynote, the antenna is a metal band wrapping the phone and is comprised of two parts. One part for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS; the other for UMTS and GSM.
After reading this article, I began to question whether or not this new antenna was really executed that well. A prime example is shown in these videos: iPhone 4 losing reception when placing your hand over the antenna band. Have I seen this happen in person with iPhone 4? The answer is yes. It’s like magic; something that only Harry Potter should be able to do.
Just to clarify I’m not talking smack against Apple here, I’m just questioning how such a huge oversight like this could occur here. Some folks are suggesting that the phones tested were using the suggested* rubber case (which solves the problem), but I can’t seem to grasp the idea that, in all the testing that was done, no one seemed to notice this reception issue? Perhaps it was noted, but at that point did the rubber case become the solution to the problem? With past iPhones I’ve experienced drop calls which also makes me wonder if this whole time its been the actual design of the iPhone that has inhibited the reception and not AT&T (hard to believe).
On that note while I have your attention, I thought I’d ask for your thoughts.
The little penguin made his iPhone debut last week with the release of the Plancast iPhone app. Everyone is at SXSW right now spreading the word and drumming up support. I designed some emergency t-shirts and business cards for the excursion and I’m excited to hear how it all went. Should have some pictures of that material this week — I’ve yet to see them in person due to the time/production constraints. Plancast also had a big article in the New York Times a few days ago which was exciting to see. If you look closely, you can see a wee version of the logo in the screenshot. Too bad the penguin didn’t hit the front page!
When I wrote about this project last week, I forgot to mention how different the post-production time has been compared to my normal project routine. For just about every one of my process posts I’ve written here, the work has always been completed in school for an assignment. Once the project is complete, it’s over as far as just about everyone is concerned. It’s been exciting to see this one continue to evolve in the real world — like winding one of those wind-up toys and setting it on the table.
I know this falls a little outside the normal scope of this blog but it’s Friday and this was too good to pass up. The Parrot ARDrone is being billed as the “First iPhone-Controlled Quadricopter Drone”. There’s no need to go much further than that for me, but add a camera to the helicopter and camera-view mode to the iPhone and I’m sold. The most amazing part of it all is the craft’s ability to right itself automatically using it’s built-in array of sensors (not to mention the potential for augmented reality applications given the manufacturer’s third-party development scheme) . It’s not out yet — the site says “coming in 2010” — and no word on pricing but I can’t imagine it will be very cheap. I think I’d be willing to splurge on something like this as long as it was cheaper than the iPhone itself. For more info check out this hands-on test of the ARDrone.
While the Quadricopter and it’s iPhone interfacing abilities are pretty incredible, I wish they had made an airplane version (although not sure the WiFi range would be sufficient for that), small R/C helicopters seem like they’re mostly for bothering dogs and tooling around your living room, not really as suited toward outdoor flight as the video suggests. When I worked at BKWLD with Dusty we got a couple of R/C planes and would fly them at lunch in the open spaces of Roseville. I loved those things, I don’t know why but R/C never seems to get old, I think I was about as excited every time I took that thing out as I was the first time I got an R/C car for Christmas. Since I moved to San Francisco I haven’t been using it; I think it’s in a closet somewhere. I bet the batteries are shot but I might get some new ones and take it for a spin at the park this weekend.
Some very nice vintage Braun Catalogues from Thimet. Looks like Braun’s influence on Apple extends beyond just hardware; I’m pretty sure that last one came with my Macbook. The site also has some great shots of classic Braun calculators (bottom of page) —one of which you will recognize if you’ve ever used the iPhone calculator. My favorite will always be the ET11 though, which clearly influenced the Omron 86R’s design.
