Announcing The ReadWriteWeb iPhone App

We're really excited to announce the official ReadWriteWeb iPhone app! The reading and sharing experience was key for us, so we kept the functionality smart and simple. As well as enabling you to read ReadWriteWeb while on the go or lying on the couch, we've made it easy to share ReadWriteWeb posts directly from your iPhone, on Twitter and Facebook. We've integrated with Read it Later and Instapaper, so that you can mark things to read later. You can also follow the RWW team on Twitter, directly from the app.

We invite you to find out more details about the ReadWriteWeb iPhone app and download it now from iTunes.

I'd like to thank the developer of the app, Nicolas Koenig, who runs an iPhone development shop from the Netherlands called Toopia. Toopia also created the Thermometer iPhone app, which enables your iPhone / iPod touch to get the current temperature based on your location.

I'd also like to thank ReadWriteWeb's Webmaster Jared Smith and Marketing Manager Elyssa Pallai, who both put in a lot of work to develop this app.

So check out the new ReadWriteWeb iPhone app and download it from iTunes. Then tell us what you think!

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/readwriteweb_iphone_app.php

HTML5 is Great for Mobile, Developers Say

The iPad has been this week's media darling with active discussion about the device's merits, a look at how it fails to encourage AR innovation and of course, this morning's announcement of a developer fund. Although it's exciting from a consumer standpoint, between the iPhone, Android, Blackberry and now the iPad, application developers have their work cut out for them. While consumers may flock to the new tablet, the thought of locking more developers into the purgatory of the Apple approval process is one that few will celebrate.

With the caveat that there is no current "write once, run anywhere" solution to app development, Director of Developer Relations at Palm Dion Almaer is betting on web-based apps and HTML 5 to solve some of our concerns.

Says Almaer, "We can share a lot with the Web - take Gmail as an example. There isn't a true iPhone app, and it doesn't need one. The HTML5 rich app that uses local data and the like is great. The experience is slightly crippled, but to me it shows that the notion of "apps" and stores is restricted and probably wrong. I hope we get past app stores as we know them in the near future."

Developer Kevin Systrom opted to write his stealth-mode app in HTML 5 for a number of reasons. In addition to being able to develop for multiple devices and the fact that it offers instant deployment sans App Store, Systrom makes the case for HTML 5 in saying, "Hands down, the developer pool for HTML / JS rock stars is tenfold larger [and] there is no download attrition. You simply point people at a URL and there you go -- it's installed." The fact that apps can be directly installed by URL rather than by waiting for an App Store download means that developers reduce barriers to virality. As for downsides, explains Systrom, "Although there are many tricks that you can use to speed up apps, writing a native app will always have an advantage when it comes to responsiveness, etc. However, let's not forget that we saw this happen on the desktop, too. Then, as technology improved, consumers and businesses alike all flocked to web apps as they realized the advantages of building in the browser."

Google's Developer Relations Manager Patrick Chanezon lists a number of advantages to developing in HTML 5 for mobile devices namely that you can deploy roughly the same code base on all HTML5-ready phones and that you are not slowed down by the Apple vetting process. However, admits Chanezon, "The APIs are not all standardized in HTML 5 yet (the camera, mic, accelerometer or 3D), and not all HTML 5 is implemented completely on all phones yet." Nevertheless as more devices make webkit their browser of choice, Chanezon is convinced that HTML 5 will continue to build momentum.

While it's not perfect, HTML 5 might just be the step you need to decrease the time and cost of developing across devices.

For more information on HTML 5 and mobile development check out Peter Paul Koch's Mobile Compatibility Tables, the Google Code Chrome page, the Ajaxian blog, Mozilla Developer Center, Mark Pilgrim's Dive Into HTML 5, The Surfin' Safari WebKit Blog and JQTouch. As well, Chanezon's own Delicious account has a great selection of demos and articles.

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/01/html5-is-great-for-mobile.php

Open Thread: What Features Should iPad's Competitors Have?

Last week, we asked if you thought the iPad was a flop, and many of you told us exactly why.

In that comments thread, you joined us in collective head-scratching and fist-shaking over the price point and the lack of certain key features. It's clear that many of us won't be flocking to the nearest Apple store to pick up one of these gadgets. But there may be alternatives. In the event that a competitor releases a tablet device, what features would you want it to have? Give us your wish list in the comments; hopefully, manufactures are listening.

Here's our own wish list of features that would make us really excited to buy a tablet from an Apple competitor.

A Better Price

The iPad starts at $500, but with just 16 gigabytes of storage, it's not the music-, video-, photo-carrying device most of us will need or want. That price point is essentially a phantom. And when we start to add up all the costs for the iPad we'd actually want to have, it makes more sense to scrape together another couple hundred dollars and spring for a top-of-the-line PC laptop - something a bit more functional, not just a big, expensive geek toy.

A Camera

For a device that promises to make picture- and video-sharing simple and fun, the lack of a camera is a great disappointment. Without a camera, it's true that there's no ability to snap pics and vids for Facebook or DailyBooth or talk to others via Skype video or TinyChat, but users are also missing out on one of RWW's favorite tech trends: augmented reality! We wrote a whole post lamenting the fact that this long-awaited device can't play nicely with some of our favorite AR toys.

A Stylus

Our awesome cartoonist, Rob Cottingham, just wrote this morning that as one who draws and doodles, he'd appreciate a way to interact with the iPad's multitouch screen. Bridging that gap between the screen and the stylus might even be the graphics tablet-killer. For a company that's traditionally held sway over the design and arts communities, Apple should've thought more about this part of its core audience.

A Slide-Out Keyboard

This is one of the reasons I'm so glad I held out for my Droid when the Apple fanboys and fangirls were mocking my iPhone-free lifestyle for years. Having a physical keyboard simply can't be beat, particularly for content creators and enterprise users.

More Options for OSes and Carriers

No multitasking? AT&T? Those conditions are deal-breakers for me and quite a few others, I'm sure. I'd love to see a device that could run Jolicloud, Chrome OS or a lightweight Linux distro. And as a happy Verizon customer, I'd like to stick with my current carrier and perhaps even work the data charges into my current plan. Overall, we just want more openness and more options.

So, what do YOU want in a tablet? USB or other ports? A built-in WAN card for instant Internet connectivity? More storage? A faster processor? Flash? In the comments, give us your list of must-haves and what you expect to pay for them. Who knows - perhaps a manufacturer will be able to produce something for non-iPad fans sooner than we think.

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/open_thread_what_features_will_ipads_competitors_h.php

How the iPad is Changing Interaction Design

Applications that looked amazing on larger multi-touch experiences like Microsoft Surface may have a more affordable consumer-facing counterpart. While the iPad has been widely criticized, many startups are thrilled by its possibilities. In mid-November we featured Paris-based Pearltrees as a new design interface for remapping Web information. We spoke to CEO Patrice Lamothe to hear his thoughts on the release of the iPad.

Pearltrees is a new way of organizing information where users create mindmap-style visualizations of their favorite websites and Web-based media. Each "pearl" or media node can have multiple branches, and depending on how you want to arrange your pearls, you can drag and drop them to any branch point to suit your needs. Rather than scrolling through a linear hierarchy of bookmarks, users can delve into different branches of a pearltree. Naturally, this type of data visualization lends itself to the touch capabilities of the iPad.

Says Lamothe, "The idea of physically touching and moving items on a screen is in the DNA of Pearltrees. We won't need to change much to the interaction design to make it suitable for the iPad."

Nevertheless, while Lamothe sees the potential in the tablet's touch interface, the fact that the device does not currently support Flash is a problem for the CEO. While many argue that Apple's omission of Flash support is in favor of HTML 5, there's no denying that lack of Flash would hinder the consumer experience. The plethora of pre-existing Flash apps and sites are inaccessible save for Adobe's workarounds.

Says Lamothe, "I believe tablets can open up an entirely new field, something I would call 'casual browsing'. It's a really simple way to get information, browse the Web, enjoy content, play games and communicate with friends. It's something you will do at home, in cafes, during your holidays - basically when you have a bit of leisure time. To be the perfect casual browser, the IPad would need a more open architecture, Flash, a camera and a few other features...In any case, it's an exciting new way to enjoy the Web."

 

http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/01/how-the-ipad-is-changing-inter.php