Multimedia Apps for iPhone
If you enjoy exploring, learning, and doing, at least as much as you like
gaming, you may be pleasantly surprised that you there is, as they say, an
app for that β or rather, several apps. We take a look at five great iPhone
apps that take advantage of the multimedia possibilities offered by the
platform, giving you a mix of visuals, sound, and interactivity to keep your
interest.
Aurasma (iPhone 3.2 or later, iPod Touch or iPad 2; requires iOS 4.0 or
later; free download)
Aurasma, billed as the world’s first visual browser, brings you augmented reality. That is, take the physical world, and add the internet: point your
phone camera at an object or landmark, and be given more information,
instantly. This can be facts and figures β tourist info, perhaps, as you
could get from Google Maps or a good GPS app β but it can also be
user-generated content of all kinds, from adverts to miniature movies that
someone decided to upload and link to the image your camera sees. Aurasma
analyses the picture and checks for related content, rather than being
purely location-based. There’s not much content, yet, but what there is, is
fun and often surprising. Definitely worth it for free.
Shazam (iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad; requires iOS 3.0 or later; free
download)
Shazam been around for a while, but if you don’t already have this incredibly
useful free app on your phone, you should. Shazam uses the device’s
microphone to scan a piece of music as you hear it β whether it’s being
played on the radio or TV, or in the taxi or bar you’re in β then rapidly
tells you what song it is and who plays it. You even have the option to buy
the track immediately on iTunes. Fantastic.
Stanza (iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad; requires iOS 3.0 or later; free
download)
Stanza is the critically acclaimed free e-reader app. If you don’t have a
dedicated e-reader like the Kindle, grab Stanza for your iPhone instead, for
almost as good an experience. In some respects it’s arguably better than the
Kindle β we like the way it handles PDF files better than the Kindle, for
starters (and you can create your own PDFs on a Mac or PC and upload them to
your phone easily enough, if you have work- or study-related documents you
just need to read, and want in an easy format). It comes with 50,000 free
out-of-copyright ebooks already, via Project Gutenberg. You can buy more
through the app itself.
Last FM client (iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad; requires iOS 3.0 or later; free
download)
The popular free, personalized radio service Last.fmis now available for iPad. Take
your playlists, and your friends’, with you wherever you go, so long as you
have a 3G signal.
Mapster (iPhone 3.2 or later, iPod Touch or iPad 2; requires iOS 4.3 or
later; Β£2.99)
Add multimedia to any map with Mapster. If Aurasma gives you augmented
reality, Mapster gives you augmented maps, letting you draw on them, add
photos and panoramic shots, add songs, etc. Record or plan your holidays or
other trips, or measure walking and running routes. It’s compatible with
everything from Google Maps to iTunes, so you can import both maps and
multimedia files, then combine them at your whim.
Apple is still in the lead when it comes to apps, with more apps on the App
Store than any competing service like Android Market or Windows Marketplace.
With new developments like quad-core and facial recognition most likely
heading to the iPhone in 2012, app developers will have a whole new world of
potential to play around with. The superior app experience offered by Apple
is why it is almost certain that iPhone mobile phone deals will
remain the most popular for the coming year and beyond.
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