Attention, all you movie and TV buffs! Netflix today released an app that puts its instant streaming service on Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch…and it’s free! (Well, almost — you still need to be a Netflix subscriber to access the vast streaming library.)
While the app was already available on the iPad, many Netflix fans are rejoicing over the fact that they can now carry Netflix around in their pockets. Initial reaction to the app’s performance seems positive, although many are recommending you watch over Wi-Fi rather than 3G wireless connections to avoid that pesky buffering nonsense.
I don’t know about you guys, but I’m totally psyched about being able to watch old episodes of Boy Meets Worldduring my commute (I heart Topanga).
Gambling for Grades:According to the Newark Star-Ledger, 36 universities have a site allowing students to place bets on the grades they will receive. The site is privy to official school transcripts and calculates odds based on the student’s track record, class schedule and difficulty of the course. And with the goal of motivating students, the site gets around gambling legality rules. Not As Easy As Apple Pie: There been a lot a hullabaloo over the iPhone 4 and its antenna problem. Apple said free bumpers for all, then they said, “No free bumpers for people in Puerto Rico,” forgetting it is in fact, a U.S. territory. Then they said, “We take that back, Puerto Rico does get free bumpers.” And most recently, they told Jordan Linville he isn’t eligible for one. So, Linville sent Apple’s rebate center a humorous proof of life - in hopes they cough up the 29 bucks in his direction. Brainy Bike: To raise money for Livestrong, “bike with a brain” was built. Precious (yes, that’s the bike’s name — and it’s a boy) will tweet about its 3-month travel from east coast to west coast. The bike is outfitted with a device that captures temperature, humidity, grade, speed, pedal rotation, direction and GPS. Mix all this around in a cloud-based system and Precious is able to express himself in his own words. Good-Looking Construction: Instead of a “Please Excuse Us While We’re Under Construction” sign, NYC’s Dior store decorated the construction site with a huge purse.
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Yesterday afternoon, SafetyWeb, an online service that helps parents guard their children’s online safety, released an app for iPhone and Android that allows parents to monitor the online and mobile internet activity of their children from their smartphones.
The below commercial from T-Mobile says it all in terms of the way children are using their phones today, and with unlimited data plans and advanced smartphones, monitoring the desktop or laptop use of a child simply doesn’t cut it.
From bullying to online predators, children are exposed to a lot more than they they were in the past because of technology, including mobile. SafetyWeb gives parents the chance to monitor and manage their kids’ online and mobile experiences from the palm of their hand, so they’re able to protect and advise their kids about online behavior from anywhere.
The pricing of the service ranges from $10/month or $100/year, which seems cheap in comparison to some of the cyberbullying stories we’ve heard over the past year or so.
Do you monitor the online activity of your children?
If 18-month-olds understand how to operate an iPhone, I can only imagine how far we will go when it comes to advancing technology and the way we interact with technology. From app development to the way technology interfaces will appear in years to come, tech companies and marketers should start studying the next generation of tech users now.
Thanks to BuzzFeed’s Jon Steinberg for the link to the video. If you had to name the next generational group, including Jon’s daughter in the above video, what would you call it?
If you are like me and have dogs in your family, you may have encountered a time where you wanted to bring your pup with you to a meal or to a store, but you weren’t sure if the store allowed them inside. After all, the last thing you want to do is leave Rover outside or in a hot car, right?
According to the Springwise blog, “Fido Factor is a US directory of dog-friendly restaurants, venues, bookstores and other establishments. The site encourages user-generated content through its iPhone app, Facebook integration, and with the promise of a donation to San Francisco SPCA when new content gets added for that city.”
This is a great idea because it addresses a huge pain point for dog owners who want to take their dogs everywhere, but really has the chance to take off because of the charity tie-in, which could be expanded on a local level, nationally.
And on that note, meet the Longert family pups, Fitzy and Hendrix!
Getting Personal: In the recent weeks, we saw some pretty cool Old Spice commercials. We turned to one another and said, “This can’t get any better.” So, just to prove us wrong, Old Spice and Isaiah Mustafa hit the internet yesterday with personalized YouTube responsesto those who have commented about the campaign at some point – people he sent messages to include: @kevinrose, @alyssa_milano, and YouTube user bballgirlsl981.
First of Its Kind: Filmed and edited entirely on the iPhone 4 is the most recent commercial for custom-mixed cereal brand, mymuesli. Over the weekend the spot aired on TV in Germany and Austria – take a look here.
Horn Exchange: The World Cup is over and with some still celebrating, and some still wallowing, most are extremely relieved they don’t have to hear the background noise of the vuvuzela. But, what to do with your vuvuzela? You can save it for the next World Cup, but it will most likely get stored and “lost” in a closet along with your brother’s roller skates and your father’s “vintage” bell bottoms. So, KFC (looking to comfort downtrodden fans with comfort food) is kicking off a “Vuvuzela Exchange Program” where a retired hornblower can send in his or her vuvuzela and get a gift certificate for a Doublicious sandwich.
Oil Paintings: Photographer Jane Fulton lives on Lake Michigan and has no idea what those living on the Gulf Coast are going though in regards to the oil spill – but she manages to capture the catastrophe through her series of photos, Crude Awakening.
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As Alyssa mentioned in her post earlier this week about the New York Tech Meetup, she and I saw a presentation from ComiXology, a company that digitally replicates the experience of reading comics. Seeing the app made me very sad that I wasn’t attending San Diego Comic-Con, as I’ve done for the past two years, but I think I will survive.
It got me thinking about the Comixology iPhone and iPad app and how the app emphasizes the need to further the comic book art form, not destroy it. Using the app is very close second to the experience of reading an actual comic book, and according to CEO David Steinberger, there is a lot to come from the app in terms of partnering with retailers and comic book companies, like Archie Comics and DC.
The video below shows how the app looks and works on the iPad. Very cool if you ask me.
Nissan’s latest ad on the iPhone for their new electric vehicle, the Nissan Leaf morphs into what looks like an app, and allows users to explore and experience the vehicle, without sending users to a separate browser.
Virgin Atlantic has released a “Flying Without Fear” iPhone app for travelers wary of flying high in the sky. The “course” is loaded with commentary from Richard Branson - who apparently states the facts over the fictions associated with flying - and offers exercises for relaxing while on the plane.
Not sure what is more shocking…the 98 percent success rate of the program or the fact that Whoopi Goldberg hasn’t flown in 13 years!
Honestly, they didn’t have to develop an iPhone app for this…they could just upgrade panicky fliers to business class, and I guarantee their fears would evaporate by 100 percent.
Volkswagen has created a new iPhone application for the launch of its 2010 GTI model. The free app, called “Real Racing GTI,” allows users to compete by racing others and posting their scores on an online leaderboard. Users can also post their racing videos on YouTube if they wish.
How will Volkswagen’s app compete with other brands using mobile, you ask? By offering free cars!
“Players who download the app will be eligible for the 2010 GTI sweepstakes, which gives away a 2010 GTI Limited Edition Model every week for six weeks beginning Nov. 2nd. Each day that a player finishes a lap in the Real Racing GTI game he or she can enter into the sweepstakes.”
Incentives are important, especially in the oversaturated mobile app space.
“The costumes took 3 weeks to build, with each weighing 85lbs and requiring a car battery to be worn between the wearer’s legs. An iPhone 3GS is attached to a 42″ LCD screen (not touch screen, alas), turning the wearer into a human-sized iPhone.”
Many of you may have already seen New York Magazine’s article entitled ”What’s Your Widget?“ in which noteworthy Big Applers like Jimmy Fallon divulge their favorite web applications. According to the author, “you can tell a lot about people by their apps.” This is true, Miss Sarah Bernard. I especially enjoyed learning that IT specialist Philip Blake has a weak bladder and Gossip Girl actor Matthew Settle is deeply insecure. Riveting.
But what about app overload? Have we as a society become so used to having our problems instantly solved, our questions immediately answered and our boredom quickly curtailed by the false notion that we are engaged in combat (see Al Roker’s favorite app), that we are losing our collective patience and ability to be resourceful and creative during those moments when technology fails? With over 85,000 iPhone apps and 2,500 Blackberry apps, could these apps eventually wear away at those humanistic qualities that were once innate, but are becoming rare? Are we suffering from collective A.D.D.? Or are all these apps just allowing us to accomplish more in any given minute than generations before us?
Need to find out if your date is a crazy or a creep? Now there’s an app for that. I’m not sure if blind dates still happen, but if you find yourself in such a situation, don’t be caught unawares! Assuming you have one piece of data, such as a name, e-mail, or phone number, Date Check from Intelius can give you a whole range of information on your suitor.
Features start at the very basic end (showing horoscopes and calculating astrological compatibility), going to the mid-range crazy (checking for the names and ages of everyone living at the subject’s residence), to full-blown psycho (with the Sleaze Detector and Net Worth features). Sleaze Detector warns you of any criminal convictions, felonies or misdemeanors (um, hello, bad boys!) and Net Worth (my personal favorite) tells you all about his/her property, because obviously the square footage and assessed property value are excellent indicators of romantic suitability. Why stop there, Net Worth? What about investment portfolios, savings accounts, and maybe inheritances, too?
The app itself is free, but pulling the information is not. But who can put a price on a possible love match? I’m eager to see how well this app fares, given that the Offender Locator app was such a hit. Caveat emptor: sometimes it’s better not to Google before your date.
Nice — a cool new iPhone app is an excuse in your pocket. The app, Got2Go, will send you a text or voice mail about something urgent demanding your attention so you can make a graceful exit. For example, you’re on a floundering date — hit the ‘Catastrophic’ button on Got2Go, and a few minutes later you’ll get a text alerting you that there are fire trucks outside your building and you’d better get home and save your collection of vintage Budweiser holiday mugs.
Proving that not all actors posess the same intelligence level as Keanu Reeves, Heroes actor Greg Grunberg (he plays mind reader Matt Parkman) has developed a super-cool iPhone app called Yowza! which allow users to find coupons for stores in their neighborhood by using GPS.
So far, Sears and Pier 1 Imports are signed on as partners, however the future success of this application will depend on on how many retail outlets are willing to participate.
