Daily Bits

Software

Skype to Update its Mobile App to Support VoIP 3G

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A couple of days ago, Fring has enabled 3G calling on its iPhone applications. Made us wonder whether Skype will follow them and update their Skype Mobile app for the iPhone.  But apparently, the Skype folks are not rushing into the frenzy created by Apple’s recent ruling on allowing voice calls through 3G on  the iPhone. Before internet voice calls were carried via Wi-Fi only.

So, why is Skype taking its sweet time in updating their mobile Skype app to enable the said feature? According to David Ponsford head of the Skype iPhone Team, Skype will release this update pretty soon.  He also said that Skype wants to make sure that when they allow voice calls through 3G network on their mobile app, the sound quality will not suffer.

Mr. Ponsford also said that the Skype update will allow calls in wideband audio which actually translates to greater clarity and fidelity of voice calls through 3G network.

Interestingly, the Skype folks are also pretty much excited about the recent launch of the iPad. The Skype team is carefully looking into the details of the device and it looks like they might be cooking up something for iPad and Skype. Although I’m not really sure as to how this could be possible considering the fact that the iPad does not have a front-facing camera which is needed for voice chat,  or a mobile phone capability.

Or maybe the Skype team is expecting something else from the iPad that we may not be aware of?

Google Mobile App for BlackBerry Gets Email and Contacts Search Feature

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If you’re a BlackBerry user, you might be glad to know that Google is pushing out a new search facility that will let you find email and contact numbers on your BlackBerry devices. The new search feature allows you to just type in or speak the name of  your contact and Google Mobile app will search through your device to find the email or contact number. It’s a pretty useful application especially if you have amassed quite a number of emails and scrolling through each one of them is already a painful task.

Even better is the fact that you can reply to the email or forward it as soon from the search results that will be displayed by the Google Mobile App. The new feature also allows you to quickly call a contact or send an email or SMS just by typing the first few letters of your contact’s first or last name. The app will also suggest contacts as you type as well as present your most frequently contacted person on top of the suggestion list.

If you don’t want this feature, you can still download the app and just turn off Phone Search from the options screen. The new Google Mobile App search feature requires BlackBerry OS version 4.5 or higher.

To download the app, simply point your BlackBerry’s mobile web browser to m.google.com.

Kiwi Joins the Desktop Twitter Client Craze

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Tired of your current Twitter desktop client? Maybe because it doesn’t let you style the main client interface? Well, here’s another entrant to the gradually getting crowded Twitter desktop client market – Kiwi.

Screen shot 2009-12-20 at 7.34.04 PM

Kiwi is a Twitter desktop client for Mac OS X that among

other things lets you use various colorful themes.  Kiwi’s standard features include:

  • supports multiple accounts
  • supports account combinations
  • supports various rules
  • multiple account grouping
  • mentions, hashtags and links
  • notifications
  • tweet badges

Kiwi supports Mac OS X 10.6, Snow Leopard and Webkit. So if your Mac supports all of these, you can use Kiwi as your Twitter desktop client. You can try downloading a free “incomplete” copy which allows you to do pretty much some of the good stuff that you can do with other Twitter desktop client.

But if you feel like you need more features, you can also get the paid software which will cost you $15.

I’m currently checking out Kiwi and so far so good. The theme selection and theme API is definitely Kiwi’s stongest point. Other features are practically the same as other Twitter desktop client.

So, if you don’t mind buying a desktop client to do all your Twitter chores, you might want to consider getting Kiwi.

I’m going to test it some more and see if it is good enough to make me spend my precious $15.

Via

Four iPhone apps for creative writers

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Want to get creative while on the move, or check up on how some of your writing buddies are getting on?

The iPhone’s virtual keyboard may not be best suited for cranking out paragraphs of prose, but sometimes you’ve just got to write, regardless of where you are.

Check out these four apps for the iPhone. Click on the title to go to the app on the iTunes Store.

my-writing-nook-iphoneMy Writing Nook

Write from anywhere and automatically synchronise with the My Writing Nook web application, so you can work from your laptop, iPhone, Internet café — anywhere.

Features autosave, word count, dictionary and thesaurus look ups, portrait and landscape modes.

£1.19 / $1.99


writers-block-buster-iphoneWriters Block Buster

Boasts over 300 thought-provoking questions to get those creative writing juices flowing again when the inspiration has dried up.

12 different categories including plot development and dialogue, with the ability to input your own content and characters.

£2.39 / $2.99


nanomojo-iphoneNaNoMojo

If you’re participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo, this app will keep you in touch while on the move.

Keep up-to-date with how your writing buddies are doing, including word counts, avatars, and latest news from HQ.

£0.59 / $0.99


ipoems-101-iphoneiPoetry

Provides help and assistance for budding poets, including practice and suggestion for eight types of poem. The app can even generate its own poetry.

£1.19 / $1.99

Amazon to Bring e-Books to PC Users, Thanks to Competition

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Amazon is really gearing up for battle against Barnes and Noble’s Nook eReader and the other eReaders are threatening to stole Amazon’s success in the e-book market.  Aside from lowering the price of its Kindle International version to $259, Amazon just announced that it will soon be releasing the – “Kindle for PC” application. [Read more…] about Amazon to Bring e-Books to PC Users, Thanks to Competition

16 Calculators and Converter Widgets for Mac OS X

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Here are some of the more useful Mac OS X dashboard widgets for converting and calculating various things. Hopefully you’ll find at least two or three that are useful.

Click on any of the titles to visit the download page on Apple’s web site.

1. Basic Scientific Calculator

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When you need a bit more than a basic calculator but not a full-blown scientific calculator, this is for you.

2. Wave Length Calculator

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A bit specialist, perhaps, but if you’re an audio engineer it could well save your bacon in the recording studio.

3. Binary Watch

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Get a puzzling yet cool binary watch on your Mac’s dashboard.

4. BMI Calculator

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Calculate your Body Mass Index with this handy widget.

5. Calculator 1984

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Get nostalgic with this simple Mac calculator.

6. Countdown Calculator

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Find out how many days it is until… well… anything you like.

7. Hex Color

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Quickly calculate the hex color code. Very useful for web designers.

8. MD5 Hash

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Get the MD5 hash for any string of text you input.

9. Morse Code Translator

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Create morse code from a string of text.

10. Password Maker

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Create more secure but potentially memorable passwords based upon a word or phrase you enter.

11. Percentages

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Easily calculate percentages without the brain ache.

12. Sunset

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Find out sunrise and sunset times for any city.

13. URL Minimizer

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An absolute must for avid Twitter users: shorten that long URL so you can share it with others.

14. Word Counter

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Simply count the number of words in a chunk of text.

15. Unscrambler

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Unscrambles anagrams – great for Scrabble (not that you’d cheat, of course).

16. Unix Time Stamp Converter

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You know there’s always some moment when you need to know official (i.e. Unix) time.

If you have your own favourite calculator/conversion widgets, share in the comments below.