Ye gods, I have 34 iPhone apps . . .
November 24, 2008
Can’t live without’s:
Beijing Taxi Guide = unbelievable value for $5. Well over 2500 listings for everything you can imagine (25 listings for duck restaurants alone), with cards in Mandarin to show taxi drivers, reviews, links to web sites, etc.
KTDict-CE = searchable Mandarin dictionary by handwriting recognition. Almost certain to be useful when looking at street signs. (I also have DianHua, same idea.)
AirSharing = yes, the 3G should have direct USB file sharing, but this is the next best thing.
Beejive = elegant multiprotocol IM.
Fring = SIP and VoIP calls in China, sounds good to me. Now if they could figure out how to sort the buddy list I’d use it for chat as well. And AT&T, you already have my money, so could you please let me make Fring calls over 3G? Thank you.
Instapaper = Caches web articles for later reading. Sounds dumb on paper, indispensable in practice. Will be a huge timesaver when I only have WiFi for an hour at a time.
Stanza = e-book reader that also reads .prc, .pdf etc. Probably good for class notes.
Google Mobile App = I think the jury is somewhat out on this one, but I like Reader for RSS feeds.
Pandora = how else would I listen to “Sounds Better In The Song”? They need to get with Apple and let this play in the background.
Tweetsville = nice Twitter app.
QQ = 400+ million subscribers can’t be wrong.
Fun, but limited . . .
Urbanspoon = the dials are fun, but where are the Beijing restaurant reviews? C’mon folks, there is even a Zagat’s now.
GPS Tracker = hope I never need someone to use it.
Uh, maybe I’ll use it . . .
Jott = one review put it best: an app in search of a function.
Truphone = more expensive than Skype, so it’s plan B.
NYTimes = somehow I just find myself on the webpage instead. Same for the Facebook app.
Constitution = I wish there were cases and commentary, not just the text.
Shakespeare = same. Pretty bare bones.
WTF?
Fliq = beam a business card? Not exactly a robust app.
SnapTell = take a pic of music, compare prices . . . deleted that.
Wish list
Could we please have a better calendar app that adds contacts and lets me call them, kinda like what every other smartphone has??
How about multi-tasking? Is that too much to ask of the company that gives me a wide-open desktop?
3 months to go
November 8, 2008
Three months to departure for China, as of tomorrow.
Visa — not yet.
Plane ticket — need to know when the Fulbright orientation is . . .
Computer — check. There’s even an Apple Store in Beijing, the real thing in case my MacBookPro self-immolates.
Smartphone — might have more info by Tuesday.
Language lessons — proceeding apace thanks to the good folk at ChinesePod. I can say “bathroom,” “subway” and “menu” and a bit more.
Other stuff — well, let’s just say I am propping up the U.S. economy by myself . . . with lots of stuff made in China. How ironic.
Learning about Chinese environmental law — a bit.
Making contacts — some, through a variety of folks.
Courses — working on editing materials for Chinese students.
Overall state of readiness — let’s call it a 六 (six) out of 十 (ten).
