Comments on: NEW iPhone - Beneficial for College Students? http://university-scholar.com/2008/06/new-iphone-beneficial-for-college-students/ Just another WordPress weblog Sat, 22 Nov 2008 03:38:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Michael |University Scholar http://university-scholar.com/2008/06/new-iphone-beneficial-for-college-students/#comment-108 Michael |University Scholar Sun, 17 Aug 2008 13:04:16 +0000 http://university-scholar.com/?p=105#comment-108 @Louis St-Amour Glad the iPhone is working for you, but the idea of my post is affordability. I know I couldn't personally afford your setup. But I will agree with you on OmniFocus. It is a GREAT tool! @Louis St-Amour

Glad the iPhone is working for you, but the idea of my post is affordability. I know I couldn’t personally afford your setup.

But I will agree with you on OmniFocus. It is a GREAT tool!

]]> By: Louis St-Amour http://university-scholar.com/2008/06/new-iphone-beneficial-for-college-students/#comment-107 Louis St-Amour Sun, 17 Aug 2008 07:44:31 +0000 http://university-scholar.com/?p=105#comment-107 Well, at York University in Toronto, Canada, the wifi has a couple dead zones on my iPod Touch (mainly in random spots in the older buildings) and besides that, there's a rather annoying login required before every use, with odd login restrictions - one device at a time, with a new sign in required when you leave one building and enter another. All the above, plus the added convenience of having essentially a "global hotspot" convinced me to get the iPhone 3G. Suddenly, I'm never missing a phone call, because my music player now pauses when I get a call. And it has a convenient camera, the GPS is amazing when outdoors or near a window, the microphone is useful for recording tidbits (perhaps even lectures at some point), and the speakers come in handy also. It even has a bluetooth chip that should (in theory) eventually support wireless stereo audio (A2DP) but currently requires a Sony dock-based connector for that. I've just signed up for the iPhone Developer Program, and so hope to write and release my own applications to help solve my problems and turn this device into something more like a PC for me, but instant and always available. I downloaded the (rather expensive) OmniFocus iPhone application, and while I currently find it somewhat tedious to type in all that info, if I get the Mac desktop version - or when the school year starts in Sept. - I will likely reap the benefits of it then. Really, about the only thing you can't do on the iPhone is stuff you would need/want a full-sized keyboard for (though theoretically, if Apple let you, you could attach a bluetooth keyboard to it) and stuff where you would want a larger screen (electronic textbooks, scientific applications, multitasking). But then, that's why the iPhone doesn't replace your laptop, but merely supplement it, as the Microsoft "Origami" UMPC was supposed to. I figure the iPhone + an 8.5" x 11" Kindle, iRex or slate Tablet PC would be ideal for students. They could carry along a bluetooth keyboard/mouse and a stand, and have all their textbooks, etc. along for the ride. Add 3G or some other form of wireless cell data integrated, and I wouldn't ever want to let it go. Especially if optimized for tablet, touch or ebooks, with annotations and web browsing. Also, re: VOIP - according to the Apple developer agreement, VOIP applications will not be distributed. What you can do, if you have an iPhone, is use a website like rf.com with Gizmo Project and your own local calling minutes, which will let you call long-distance at roughly VOIP rates. (Google Gizmo5 for more info, and apps for Blackberry, WM6, etc. The iPhone isn't the first phone to allow third-party apps, it's just the first to publish so many ... with a push-service apparently around the corner.) Well, at York University in Toronto, Canada, the wifi has a couple dead zones on my iPod Touch (mainly in random spots in the older buildings) and besides that, there’s a rather annoying login required before every use, with odd login restrictions - one device at a time, with a new sign in required when you leave one building and enter another.

All the above, plus the added convenience of having essentially a “global hotspot” convinced me to get the iPhone 3G. Suddenly, I’m never missing a phone call, because my music player now pauses when I get a call. And it has a convenient camera, the GPS is amazing when outdoors or near a window, the microphone is useful for recording tidbits (perhaps even lectures at some point), and the speakers come in handy also. It even has a bluetooth chip that should (in theory) eventually support wireless stereo audio (A2DP) but currently requires a Sony dock-based connector for that.

I’ve just signed up for the iPhone Developer Program, and so hope to write and release my own applications to help solve my problems and turn this device into something more like a PC for me, but instant and always available. I downloaded the (rather expensive) OmniFocus iPhone application, and while I currently find it somewhat tedious to type in all that info, if I get the Mac desktop version - or when the school year starts in Sept. - I will likely reap the benefits of it then.

Really, about the only thing you can’t do on the iPhone is stuff you would need/want a full-sized keyboard for (though theoretically, if Apple let you, you could attach a bluetooth keyboard to it) and stuff where you would want a larger screen (electronic textbooks, scientific applications, multitasking). But then, that’s why the iPhone doesn’t replace your laptop, but merely supplement it, as the Microsoft “Origami” UMPC was supposed to.

I figure the iPhone + an 8.5″ x 11″ Kindle, iRex or slate Tablet PC would be ideal for students. They could carry along a bluetooth keyboard/mouse and a stand, and have all their textbooks, etc. along for the ride. Add 3G or some other form of wireless cell data integrated, and I wouldn’t ever want to let it go. Especially if optimized for tablet, touch or ebooks, with annotations and web browsing.

Also, re: VOIP - according to the Apple developer agreement, VOIP applications will not be distributed. What you can do, if you have an iPhone, is use a website like rf.com with Gizmo Project and your own local calling minutes, which will let you call long-distance at roughly VOIP rates. (Google Gizmo5 for more info, and apps for Blackberry, WM6, etc. The iPhone isn’t the first phone to allow third-party apps, it’s just the first to publish so many … with a push-service apparently around the corner.)

]]> By: Nolan http://university-scholar.com/2008/06/new-iphone-beneficial-for-college-students/#comment-87 Nolan Tue, 24 Jun 2008 07:41:21 +0000 http://university-scholar.com/?p=105#comment-87 Excellent insight! I was thinking the same thing myself for college next year. If you're considering getting an iTouch, I would recommend purchasing a *new* one through Craigslist or Ebay for a significantly discounted price (1/3 off). I bought mine a few days ago and it is definitely worth the money I paid for it---practically a computer in my pocket. Also, with the *legal* further development of third-party apps in the upcoming iPhone 2.0 software, you should be able to VoIP (Skype or Gtalk) as well using a Bluetooth headset. Excellent insight! I was thinking the same thing myself for college next year. If you’re considering getting an iTouch, I would recommend purchasing a *new* one through Craigslist or Ebay for a significantly discounted price (1/3 off). I bought mine a few days ago and it is definitely worth the money I paid for it—practically a computer in my pocket. Also, with the *legal* further development of third-party apps in the upcoming iPhone 2.0 software, you should be able to VoIP (Skype or Gtalk) as well using a Bluetooth headset.

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