Apple's iPhone: What It Can Do For You

When the iPhone was launched by Apple in 2007 in the United States no one realized what a storm this palm-sized device was going to stir up. A breakthrough in mobile phone technology, the iPhone offers its users a range of features including medical advice for elders and wireless phone applications for the military. This article discusses the various applications for the iPhone and its uses for people from all walks of life

iPhone for the Frequent Traveler

The iPhone is a perfect partner when traveling abroad if one examines the usability of the app which reveals to the user the emergency services contact number based on the device location. The user may know the emergency number of his home country, but not necessarily that of another. This emergency app makes travel safe for all.

Talking about travel to foreign locales, the iPhone even helps people learn languages. The iStart Japanese app is an innovative interface very much like a teacher who gives private lessons. The only difference being the expense, which is far less compared to a real teacher. Full audio tutoring in the form of dialogues imparts spoken Japanese knowledge. Training also includes explanations to write the script with animated stroke order diagrams. This app would surely help frequent travelers to Japan in acquiring some basic knowledge of the language.

While visiting foreign countries, many travelers face the problem of reading road signs and the problem only compounds when trying to eat in a restaurant that has menu cards printed in the local language. Now this app lets the iPhone user shoot a picture of foreign text and get the translation immediately. Babelshot brings cheers to frequent travelers to foreign locations.

Business as Usual

No doubt the iPhone makes business travel easier, but it also takes care of maintaining business contacts. The Business Card Reader enables instant and secure business card recognition. The user has to click a photo of the business card and within seconds the phone will show recognized contact information. The recognition is done right on the iPhone. The information then has to be verified and contact details submitted to the iPhone Address Book.

Businesses have benefitted a lot from the iPhone. The latest being CaesarStone, a quartz surface manufacturer. The MobileGallery iPhone application launched by the company enables consumers and designers and dealers to browse and order samples from a lineup of countertops and surfaces displayed on their iPhone.

Gone are the days when consumers had to peer at brochures and sample cards to select their preferred color and texture. The pictures in the MobileGallery gives a clear idea of what to expect from the real thing, which goes a long way in helping people decide on purchases, especially when it is impossible to see several samples in one location.

Recently, India-centric online auction house for fine-art Saffronart launched an iPhone application which allows auction participants to bid for art works and jewelry from the mobile device. This enables art lovers the world over to participate in an auction without leaving their rooms or while traveling. This allows them to be productive by being at work and still attend the auction as well as reducing travel requirements and, hence, their carbon footprint.

Saffronart promotes the market for modern and contemporary Indian art by offering easy access. The iPhone application will feature all facilities seen on the website and users will have access to the auctions. The application features color-coded bid status indicator and proxy bidding capabilities. It also provides information on current bid amounts, bid histories and post auction results. The entire auction catalogue can be previewed by the iPhone user.

To give a good idea about the items on auction details like size, surface, medium, estimates, images, lot number, artist or designer name, material or type of jewelry are available on the iPhone. Collectors have to pre-register before bidding. All login details and bids are transmitted securely via optimized technologies.

iPhone for Fun

The iPhone is not only a military or business or travel accessory, there is more to the device as an entertainment tool. The App Store (www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone/) is continuously churning out games and music applications as well.

For 3D flight simulator lovers, there is Sky Racer with versions that boast of complicated stunt routes, amazing visuals, stunning lakes, rivers and mountains.

Or the game can be simple, like Monkey Jump. The gamer has to help the monkey collect all the bananas by jumping from side to side. A jump costs energy and the gamer loses energy if the monkey hits an enemy. The game is over when all the energy is lost.

Memory match, Sudoku, gambling, poker, tictac- toe, marble games, cards and many others are available for indoor game lovers. If the iPhone user is the outdoors type, then they can play football, ping pong or basketball on their palm top. Be a detective, go to the casino, or even go on a treasure hunt. Whatever the user fancies, he can indulge in it without moving a step. The iPhone apps keep boredom away from people waiting in airport lounges or stranded without any company.

Pursuing hobbies without all the paraphernalia usually required is yet another offering from iPhone. There are apps to keep you busy during your free time. It could be grilling, bird watching, shopping or even painting. This helps frequent travelers to catch up on their hobbies enroute. Such fun pastimes are necessary to break the monotony of work. The iPhone helps achieve this by balancing work and play.

Now artists can put their thoughts on canvas using an iPhone app even while traveling. Inspire is the latest addition to painting applications on the App Store. Inspire lets users simulate wet oil paint on canvas, which helps produce paint blending effects with four different kinds of brushes.

The iPhone offers an e-reader option for people who love to read. Although this service may not be available in all countries it will soon become a reality when avid readers need to carry only the iPhone and treat themselves to a virtual iPhone bookshelf of favorite titles.

Golf addicts can get in a good game of golf via Golfshot GPS, which makes the round easier with details like yardage distances, identifying parts of the game that need improvement, and tracking the score, stats and drives. Golfers will surely enjoy their game more if the problem of battery drain is solved.

It comes as no surprise that the iPhone also offers bird watchers a hand at their favorite hobby. The iBird Explorer Pro, an iPhone app field guide provides searchable bird descriptions, pictures, maps, and even plays bird songs. This aids bird location and identification. The iSpyCams app lets users keep an eye on animals in zoos and shelters via web cams and finance their upkeep as well. Instead of keeping a physical pet, this also helps conserve wildlife like the endangered Pandas.

iPhone in Medicine

After tackling iPhone apps for travel, business and play, it is time to look at some physical fitness and medical apps. iFitness offers workout routines for weight loss, muscle building and strength building. This healthcare and fitness app helps maintain a business travel workout routine. It allows logging of workouts and helps users learn to do exercises properly.

The Oxford Concise Medical Dictionary for the iPhone contains about 12,000 entries including every aspect of medical science. It was written by medical experts and the entries are the latest, most accessible and concise and are most useful for medical students and also for home reference. It covers medical ethics, medical governance, pathology and emergency medicine. It offers medical terms and surgical terms associated with anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology.

Then there are apps on the iPhone that allow patients to be monitored remotely, especially if they are the elderly living alone. Apps also help with clinical data, check drug interaction, identify pills by appearance and give drug information. The Snellen Eye Chart on the iPhone is an eye chart for testing visual acuity.

After providing apps for any and every aspect of daily life, for many there are still more innovative ideas to be tapped. MyAppIdea is an app that collects ideas and proceeds by internal selections of the best ones for actual development. A voting mechanism included in the app allows users to validate the originality and usability of the proposed app for the iPhone.

The best idea gets into the 0 and is developed by professionals. The person who proposed the idea also gets a share of the revenues realized from the application. So if an idea is incubating in your head, it is time to monetize it on the iPhone App Store.

iPhone in the Military

Recently, Raytheon, a defense technology company in the United States, announced the release of a militaryoriented wireless phone application for the iPhone. It will pack in new wireless phone applications designed for military missions and will have content-centric networking, disruptive tolerant networking and augmented reality capabilities. Also featured will be security safeguards for tactical operations.

According to company’s sources, the various features developed for the iPhone including global positioning systems, compasses, accelerometers, WiFi, 3G networks and multitouch screens will make the iPhone an optimized war-fighting tool. (And we thought the iPhone was only a mobile communication device.)

This military application is taking things in the reverse order. Previously technologies developed for the war zone and for space research found their way into the consumer appliances like the smoke detector. But this military app for the iPhone is a consumer technology adapted for the battlefield. This only talks about the versatility of the device.