iPhone Developers UK

What is Facebook Connect? Over the past two weeks you may have noticed some strange alterations to the way our news section functions. This is because we have been busy integrating an exciting new product called Facebook Connect. Previously, we had utilised a traditional comments system on our news as a way of engaging users when browsing content on the Waracle site. By integrating Facebook Connect into the Waracle site, we can make it easier for our community of readers to discover, share and engage with our content. The Facebook Connect feature enables our users to login to the Waracle site using their existing profile details and share content between the news section and their Facebook profile pages. There are still a few bugs that we need to iron out, but please have a look around and leave feedback using the Facebook Connect login. We have only started to scratch the surface in terms of what Facebook Connect can do, so please stay tuned for new features and developments. What are the benefits of Facebook Connect Integration? Facebook Connect enables extended community reach and increased site membership. According to Neilson, “Facebook is the worlds most popular social network”. As Facebook becomes a ubiquitous platform for enjoying and sharing different types on content with your friends, we feel it will become an important component of any online community. As a web site owner, you can now extend the reach of your brand and increase the effectiveness of your social media campaign.                        How can Facebook Connect help your business? - Allow Facebook users to quickly log into your site with their Facebook ID - Leave comments with a user's Facebook username, avatar and friends list - Publish stories and news to a user’s Facebook wall - Easily invite other Facebook friends to join your site Waracle are offering you the chance to be amongst the first site owners in Scotland and the UK to have your very own Facebook Connect login. If you own a website, or online community and would like to learn more about the features and benefits of Facebook Connect integration, please contact us directly on (01382) 529528. 

Rumours are circulating the Internet today regarding a 4G iPhone that is bigger in size than its predecessors.  iPhone repair shop specialists iResQ claims to have the front panel component of the eagerly anticipated iPhone 4G, allegedly hitting set for announcement in June 2010 (we previously thought it might be released in April…). iResQ has provided a couple of teaser screen shots to demonstrate how and why the new model will differ in shape and size. Mashable has today suggested that the new iPhone 4G will be taller in order to accommodate for new hardware components (remember, we recently discussed that the ‘4G’ in ‘iPhone 4G’ represents fourth generation and not 4G super fast broadband).  If the pictures that iResQ have posted online are the real deal, they may provide some clues as to what the beefed up iPhone 4G handset might possess.        Early reports are suggesting that the new model will have a ‘reflective, mirror-like’ surface positioned closer to the top of the iPhone 4G hardware. This sensor can be used to identify when a user is holding the phone to their ear, so that the iPhone can cleverly conserve valuable battery life whilst the user is talking.  If this mysterious description of the new iPhone 4G is anything to go by, it may mean that Apple has additional features planned that will make use of the proximity sensor. As with most of these stories regarding the new iPhone 4G, please take any speculation with a pinch of salt. Assuming there is some truth in it, what might these features be? Please feel free to add comments at the bottom; we are currently in the process of integrating Facebook Connect on comments to make this a bit easier for you! Waracle are a leading iPhone development studio based in Tayside, Scotland in the UK. Waracle create apps for a range of mobile devices including iPhone, Google Android and Blackberry. Waracle specialise in the creation of high quality web applications to give your mobile software a competitive advantage. If you are interested in creating exceptional applications for the web and mobile devices including the iPhone, please contact us for a chat today on (01382) 529528.

If you haven’t already read my previous post regarding my iPhone battery experiment, for one weekend (Fri, Sat, Sunday) I reduced my iPhone to the simple role of making phone calls and receiving SMS messages. The task was to see if I could get the device to last a weekend of normal phone use without needing re-charged. Today, I’ll summarize the results and talk about some great battery saving tips for those of you with iPhones that may occasionally require long-distance trips between charges. Firstly, the phone made it.  By 10:30pm on Sunday night I was left with 19% charge. Impressive enough, but it must be noted that I turned the phone off at night while I slept.                                               This shows that an iPhone can indeed be used for a weekend-long trip away from power, great news for festival goers, campers and hill walkers alike. So how did I coax this extended marathon out of such a normally power hungry device like the iPhone? 1.    Screen Brightness Probably the most effective means of reducing power needs, turning the screen brightness all the way down goes a huge way to extending battery life. If nothing else, this should be your first port of call if your running low – but still need the other data services the device provides. 2.    Turn off Wi-Fi Fairly self-explanatory, but any time the device or any application requests a data connection the wifi is fired up to search for available networks. This is made worse in a situation where you are likely to be away from power as the antenna will be boosted and amplified when the device struggles to make a connection – further increasing power drain. 3.    Disable Push Notifications Push notifications generally work by keeping a persistent connection open to Apples servers. This causes CPU overhead and requires constant connection to a data service, sucking valuable volts in the process. 4.    Disable 3G 3G networks are great for awesome data-rates but good old fashioned 2G wins hands down. In fact, using 2G over 3G can actually half the power used when making a call. Also, as 3G networks are generally more sparse than 2G the phone will constantly try and boost its 3G signal draining power. 5.    Disable Email Fetch Having emails arrive in your pocket is nice, but not entirely essential. Simply disable this to stop unnecessary data connections and save some juice. 6.    Disable Bluetooth As I’m sure its becoming clear by now, wireless connections drain power. While Bluetooth is an incredibly power-efficient wireless protocol, it’s hardly an essential when your out of power. 7.    Disable Location services Location services use a combination of GPS and carrier triangulation. Both of these methods put drain on power, neither of them are required to make phone calls. Not a big sacrifice, and a fairly attractive power saving. 8.    Switch off in low signal areas If your in the middle of nowhere and there isn’t a signal, don’t waste power trying to search for one. As I have mentioned power usage for any radio system is increased many times if the device has to continuously boost the signal both incoming and outgoing. If you are in a low signal area, the iPhone will boost the signal many times in an attempt to keep a working connection open. 9.    Disable Vibrate A tiny saving, but none the less helpful. Also, keeping the volume low may also help if your desperate. Apple also says to disable the iPod EQ. But seeing as your unlikely to be using the iPhone as anything other than essential communication by this point, I didn’t make a big deal out of it. 10. No Facebook Apps drink juice. Unfortunately, data centric apps such as Facebook are even worse. And need I say it…Don’t even think about playing games!