Alain Hufkens {Rich Interactive Applications Developer}

iPhone 3G first impressions

I recently got my brand new iPhone after being on the waiting list for more than a month. I was going to buy the new iPhone when it was released in Belgium, but then the high price tag made me postpone the purchase, and then when I decided that I wanted to buy it, they were solded out.

Anyhow, the iPhone is available again in Belgium but this is not what this post is about. I wanted this gadget because I like the development platform that is available. Unfortunately my knowledge of Objective C and Cocoa Touch is not that great and once again I will have to start learning something new. But there are a lot of good resources available on the internet.

Here you have some of them:

• Apps Amuck: this site contains 31 app examples.
• iPhone Atlas: a site with articles and tutorials.
• and "The Really Big List of iPhone SDK Development Links".

The first thing I did after starting up the device was testing out some of the third party apps. And I must say that it surprised me that a lot of what I would think of being a usefull app is already in some form available. I will give you a list of useful/cool third party apps from the app store that i have installed:

• Twitterific: I think it speaks for itself that this is by far the best iPhone twitter application.
• Yammer: Twitter for companies. I find the iPhone app better than the AIR Desktop client
• Evernote: Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient. With this service you can centralize you notes and information.
• Facebook: if you are into Facebook, this application is a must have. It keeps you up to date what your friends are doing.
• ShoZu: Stay connected to over 40 of your favorite websites like Flickr, Facebook, Blogger, ... I use it to upload pictures to my Flickr account.
• GPSKit: One of the best GPS applications for tracking your hikes, bike trips, etc. It's not free and was the first app I payed for. I already tracked a short hike, but my first test with my bicycle still has to come.
• Spore: the best game so far for the iPhone. I don't have it on PC, but playing it on the iPhone is fun and works great.
• AroundMe: this is one of those apps that finds the closest restaurants, supermarkets, etc around your current location. It also works great in Belgium, and not only in the US.
• LinkedIn: useful, but in my case I always have to enter my credentials every time I start the application. I don't know if it's a feature or a bug but I would prefer that the application would remember me like all the other apps.
• and last but not least Ocarina: this is for sure the most original application in the AppStore. It turns yout iPhone into a musical instrument. Checkout the movie on YouTube.

Other great news is that I became father of a beautiful son two weeks ago, and you can checkout his website (made in Flex) here: robbe.hufkens.net