Please build these...

Three excellent ideas from Mr Mann

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 13:11:00 +0100

Another list of desired iphone apps, this time from Merlin Mann. Some fantastic ideas - I’d buy all three! Details (worth reading), are in the blog post

“1) Prime This

Elevator pitch: Scan barcode to instantly order an item via Amazon…

2) iParked

Elevator pitch: Location-aware parking reminder…

3) That Reminds Me

Elevator pitch: Lightweight, location-aware alarm app…”

iphone app idea # 7: let me prevent text tilting

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:44:00 +0100

I read a lot of text on my iphone. A lot of this reading is at night, when I’m lying down. I would love a simple app that stopped the screen changing its orientation, so I could continue to read in portrait, even when I’m on my side.

A simple preference list would do, selecting from:

“Don’t tilt for the next…5m, 15m, 60m, ever”

Please build this someone!

UPDATE: Well, looks like the functionality is there, at least at an application level. Here’s one of the features from ‘BookShelf’:

“Read in portrait or landscape with the ability to “lock-in” an orientation regardless of the device’s current position.”

iphone app idea # 6: volume controls for scrolling

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 21:40:00 +0100

I’m sure loads of people have thought the same - it would be great if there could be a simple, single-use app that let me override the volume controls when using particular apps (e.g. Safari, Mail) and so they scrolled the page instead.

The app would be, essentially, a preferences panel that listed all the applications on my device, and if selected for an app, would mean that it sent a scroll up/down control to the app.

iphone app idea # 5: Locally storable googlemap of a city

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:22:57 +0100

When I’m in a different country, I turn off data.

Please build a plugin for Google Maps (or an app?) , that downloads and stores the basic google map for a city, so that I can use GPS without using roaming data whilst on holiday.

Cheers!

Iphone app idea # 4: A way to override the iphone camera's light setting

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:21:18 +0100

The camera in the iphone isn’t that bad. But it drives me nuts when it automatically ‘compensates’ for light, by darkening the image (this is particularly bad when taking a photo of a building by pointing the camera into the sky).

Someone’s looked into this issue in far more depth

Please build a plugin that lets me turn off (or set) the amount of realtime light processing on the iphone’s camera.

Cheers!

Iphone app idea # 3: A bluetooth keyboard driver

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 11:14:11 +0100

Please (please!) build an open bluetooth keyboard driver for the iphone, so I can use a keyboard like Apple’s bluetooth keyboard with my iphone.

It looks like Mcally is doing this, but with their own keyboard. I’d really like to have a choice of keyboards.

Looks like quite a few people would like this too.

Iphone app idea # 2: A decent ebook/text/PDF reader (someone built this!)

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:50:00 +0100

I really liked the ebook reader for unlocked iphones.

Please build a decent ebook/text/PDF reader like this, with easy uploading of text docs.

Aha, someone has built this.

Thanks!

Iphone app idea # 1: Locally Instapaper text versions (someone built this!)

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 10:44:00 +0100

I love Instapaper , and in particular the text-optimised versions of saved webpages, that look fantastic on my iphone.

Please build a simple iphone app that accesses my Instapaper account, and creates a local store of all the ‘read later’ sites that I have, and enable Safari to access them, while I’m offline so they’re locally readable.

Thanks.

_UPDATE:_ Blimey, there’s already an app. Fantastic.

Maybe I should look harder, or maybe I should start wishing for cures for world hunger? :-)