What’s the best game for the iPhone / iPod Touch? Flight Control, of course.

Hideously addictive, and oh-so-simple – land the planes without them crashing into each other. If you’ve not tried it – get it from the iTunes App Store now (assuming you don’t want to be productive for the next few hours, that is).

Now, Flight Control is available for a whole new platform – the Nintendo DSi. Congrats to the makers Firemint.

If you have a Nintendo DS, you owe it to yourself to fire up your DSi, go to the Nintendo store, go to DSIWare and download Flight Control. You’ll soon be gliding planes to a save landing with your stylus. It’ll cost you 500 DSI points.

If you beat our highest score, there’ll be trouble!

Freeview has just launched an app for users of the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch.

Before you get excited – it won’t let you watch Freeview from your iPhone – what it does provide, is a handy and fairly powerful TV listings service to see what’s on the 50 or so Freeview channels.

Easy-to-use, and with handy access to the Freeview Twitter feed for recommendations and news, this is a must – especially given that it’s a freebie!

The Freeview HD iPhone app is available now on the iTunes App Store

Update: Reviewed in our Feb 2010 Update – Listen to Update / Read Transcript

iPhone users – you can now watch 11 Freeview channels live on your phone.

The service from TVCatchup.com allows you to watch the following channels:

BBC1, BBC2, BBC3, ITV1, ITV2, Channe 4, Five, Film 4, e4, More 4 and 4 Music.

To watch, point your iPhone web browser to http://iphone.tvcatchup.com/ – No subscription, no sign-up, no app to install. Nice!

At last – barcode scanning on a mobile phone that actually works. Despite some glowing reviews for the application RedLaser on iTunes, I must admit our hopes weren’t high.

We’ve tried barcode scanning apps for mobiles in the past, notably on Nokia Series 60 handsets, and the results have been dreadful – lots of faffing about to get the phone’s camera to capture the image of the barcode, then a wait while the code was decoded and sent to a database, followed by a “nothing found” type message.

Given that our iPhone 3G doesn’t have a flash or auto-focussing camera, we expected the results to be dreadful…

But it’s not! This is an amazingly well done application. Even without auto-focus, the app is able to get a pretty quick and accurate result. Here’s a shot of Pete scanning in a book’s barcode (and failing to scan his feet)…

It captures UPC, EAN and UPC-E barcodes (no, we didn’t know either), and then look up the prices on Amazon (UK, US, DE, etc) as well as via Google Product Search.

Practical upshot – when you’re out shopping, pick up something you’re considering purchasing, say a book or DVD, scan it, and 5 seconds later, you’ll see how much cheaper the product is online.

Searches are saved for later viewing, or you can order direct from your iPhone browser. We tried it on all sorts of things – books, DVDs, water filters, teabag boxes, Maltesers and a top end over recorder that we’ll be reviewing in a future show – all with positive results.

Yup – we’re impressed. This is one of those must-have apps for the iPhone, and could save you a fortune when shopping.

Update: RedLaser featured in our 15 Oct Audio Update. Transcript available

RedLaser, from Occipital, available for the iPhone, now out, and hot, on iTunes.

Hot off the press, over 16 minutes of tech and TV news from the team at FrequencyCast.

In this update we look at the merging of two mobile networks, what Apple’s been up to this month, Freeview HD testing, BT Vision updates, a Sky offer, the latest on iPhone sat nav applications, and a new DVD release.

The show is attached to this blog entry, or you can listen at www.frequencycast.co.uk/update.html

 

 FrequencyCast Update 16 Sept 2009 1597790 [16:37m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

The FrequencyCast News Blog (wot you’re reading now!), is now iPhone, iPod Touch and Google Android compatible.

Here’s a before-and-after on how our Blog behaves on an iPhone:

FrequencyCast on an iPhone – Before

FrequencyCast on an iPhone – After

Our blog now detects if you’re connecting on an iPhone, Touch or Android device, and if so, presents a cleaner, mobile touch-friendly layout.

The new-look interface is designed to be used on touch-enabled mobile devices, and is made possible using a Wordpress plug-in called WPtouch.

try it for yourself – On an iPhone, go to www.frequencycast.co.uk/blog on an iPhone, and see how sexy we look now!

Got an iPhone? Turn it into a Sat Nav for £27.

If you listen to Show 43, you’ll have heard us review the Co-Pilot Live satellite navigation application, comparing it with the TomTom and Mobile Navigator applications. CoPilot came out very well, especially given it’s half the price of the TomTom equivalent.

In our review, we had two issues with the CoPilot – the lack of speed cameras and the fact that it lost your route if you answered an incoming voice call.

Good news is… a free update has been released to address this. Well done to the team at ALK Technologies.

CoPilot, is now available from the App Store. Click the icon to open iTunes on the Co-Pilot Live page:

For a comparison of the three iPhone Sat Nat apps, see the FileSaveAs iPhone Satnav Apps Compared page.

Lots for fan of Apple products to sink their teeth into as Apple has released a new set of iPods, a new version of firmware for the iPhone, and an updated iTunes. Here’s a summary:

New iPods:

A new iPod Nano has been released, sporting a video camera and a slightly larger screen. 8 Gig version is £115 and 16 Gig model is £135. At last, an FM radio has been added, as has voiceover, Genius mixes and a pedometer.

There has also been an update to the screen and button-less iPod shuffle, which now comes in Pink, Green and Blue.

There’s also a 64 Gig iPod Touch, for just under £300

iPhone OS3.1

The new iPhone OS adds support for Genius mixes, and will recommend applications that you may be interested in downloading, based on your previous purchases. There are a number of fixes too, including better Wi-Fi performance when using Bluetooth, a phishing alert in the browser, and improved Exchange calendar sync.

iTunes 9

An improved user interface and a new feature called Home Sharing that will let up to 5 authorised computers share music, TV shows and applications.

There’s also iTunes LP, which will supply extra goodies with purchased albums, including song lyrics, photos and video clips.

You can also organise the layout of your iPhone and iPod Touch screens from within iTunes, and there is now more control over what you decide you want to sync to your device.

Lots of new toys to play with. Enjoy!

Show 43 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released.

In this show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:

• News Updates: 3D TV is with us, the end of the ISS, Freeview changes, and Lazy Britain.
• Focus: GPS gadgets – track your location, get sat nav on an iPhone and own a geotagger.
• Hands-on: Garmin Forerunner 405 GPS watch reviewed
• Hands-on: Sat Nav for the Apple iPhone – We compare the TomTom and Copilot Live
• Hands-on: The SWAP Watch, as featured on the Gadget Show (8 months after we featured it)
• Your questions on Freeview HD, Virgin on a PC, plus the survey results are in… love us, or hate us?

You can download Show 43 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

 

 FrequencyCast UK Show 43 [30:57m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Woo-hoo! This has been a great week for those that like their phones shiny with a picture of an apple on.

Two days ago, the new version of operating system OS 3 came out offering cut-and-paste, MMS and a lot of under-the-hood tweaks.

Today, Friday the 19th of June 2009, the iPhone 3GS went on sale at o2 and Carphone Warehouse stores across the land.

The 3GS (the “S” standing for Speed) offers a faster processor, improved battery life, video recording, a uninspiring 3 Meg camera and a digital compass.

The new 32Gig variant is likely to be a popular choice, but boy it’s not cheap – £890. (Assuming £275 for the phone, and £35 a month for 18 months). Those with an iPhone 3G will have to buy out their old contract to upgrade – for many, £245 or more…

Queues at a local o2 store at 8:30am today

Still, you have to hand it to Apple, the iPhone is revolutionary, and for many, including our presenter Pete, this is the must have phone, and it’s still hard to fault (if not afford!)

More on the iPhone: UK iPhone details

There’s been lots of breaking news since the last full-length show at the start of June, so we’ve just released a short audio update.

In the update, Carl and Pete cover the following: Setanta close to collapse, changes to DAB, the new iPhone 3GS, iPhone OS 3.0, Sky on the X-Box, and rise of the Pirates….

If you’ve got iTunes, you should have got the update automatically, otherwise, you can get to the update at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html

Here’s our iTunes link: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=142899029

Hope you enjoy the update…

 

 FrequencyCast Update - 10th June 2009 [14:28m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

In San Francisco at Apple’s Worldwide Developer conference within the last hour, Apple’s been presenting all that’s new iPhone-wise:

First off, we can expect a new iPhone later this month in the UK. Launch date on o2 is 19th June for the iPhone 3GS. The “S” stands for Speed – the phone has a faster CPU, a 3 meg camera with autofocus and video capture, better battery life, a digital compass, and voice control. Two models will be available in 16GB and 32GB models. Prices £184 and £273 respectively.

Also, existing iPhone users will be getting a free upgrade to OS 3.0 on 17th June – this adds cut-and-paste, bluetooth gaming, push notification and MMS.

No doubt we’ll be covering iPhone 3GS in the next show!

Show 39 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, has just been released.

In our regular online radio show, we discuss all that’s new with digital TV and technology. Here’s what we cover in this show:

• News Updates: HD on iPlayer, concerns for canvass, plus 1 billion apps on iPhones
• Focus: Get more from Freeview.
• Focus: Hands-on with a low-price home security system from myhome247.
• Focus: FM radio on an iPhone with a Griffin Navigate.
• Your questions on Freeview HD, Slingbox on the move and BT Openzone.

You can download Show 39 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. If you have an iPod or iPhone, get shows faster by signing up via iTunes.

 

 FrequencyCast Show 39 [30:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Gadget maker Griffin has released a nifty little FM radio module, the Griffin Navigate, that plugs into the base of an iPhone and adds FM radio functionality.

It has an inline remote control, a display, and takes standard headphones. It will also soon have a location-based iPhone application to find your nearest FM station and provide RDS song information from the radio station.

‘Navigate’ works with iPod and iPhone offering Play, Stop, Pause, Forward, Backward and Scan controls, as well as access to album and artist listings, playlists, shuffle modes and EQ settings.The integrated OLED display mirrors info from the iPhone and iPod, so viewing content such as track time and song titles is easy, even with the device placed in a pocket or backpack.

A plea from our Pete: “I want one of these… anyone know of a UK supplier? Free mention in the next show for anyone finding a UK supplier for the Griffin Navigator”

Update: Now available in the UK as of 22 April 09 – Found on Amazon for £33. Griffin Navigate at Amazon

A quiet day here, so we thought we’d release a quick update ahead of show 34. A five minute show discussing the iPhone v2.2 release and some other snippets.

 

 FrequencyCast Update 23 Nov 2008 [5:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

A software upgrade for the Apple iPhone has just been released. The latest version of firmware includes a number of bugfixes and improvements, including:

• Enhancements to Maps, including Google Street View
• Enhancements to Mail, including issues with Fetch and HTML formatting
• Improved stability and performance of Safari
• Podcasts are now available for download in iTunes application (over Wi-Fi and cellular network)
• Decrease in call set-up failures and call drops
• Improved sound quality of visual voicemail messages
• Pressing the Home button from any Home screen takes you to the first Home screen
• Preference to turn on/off auto-correction in Keyboard Settings

Good news for FrequencyCast listeners – you can now access our ‘cast from iTunes on the iPhone. Add us to iTunes

Show 30 of FrequencyCast, the UK’s TV and Tech podcast, is online now. Here’s what we cover:

• News Updates: HD news from Freeview, Sky & BT Vision. Also news on the Skypephone 2 and Freeview PS3.
• Focus – Power consumption: How much power do your gadgets consume? Any how you can save the planet.
• Smartphones: A look at a collection of handsets, including the Nokia 6220, Skypephone, BT ToGo, XDA Orbit and the Apple iPhone 3G.
• Your Questions: Freesat, VoIP, Setanta Sports, Home Hub and Digital TV in the US and more.

You can download Show 30 direct to your MP3 player or listen online at http://www.frequencycast.co.uk/latest.html. You can also get us via iTunes.

 

 FrequencyCast UK Show 30 [30:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Just two weeks after the 2.0.1 Apple iPhone update, there’s a new one. v2.0.2 was released on the evening of Monday 18th August, offering the descriptive “bugfixes”, reportedly in connectuion speed and typing lag.

Update addicts: Sorry, we can’t find a decent change log for you…

Late this evening, Apple released v2.0.1 for the Apple iPhone. Apparently, this patch includes a number of bugfixes. Installed this evening via iTunes on an o2 Apple iPhone 3G:

• Version: 2.0.1 (5B108)
• Model: MB496B
• Modem firmware: 01.48.02

Any info on what 2.0.1 has to offer in the way of fixes, please comment below. Apparently, a 2.1 release is due soon.

More on the iPhone

The latest version of BT’s wireless router, the BT Home Hub 2.0 has been released today, the 18th July 2008.

We’ve got an online review available at www.frequencycast.co.uk/homehub2.html

We’ve also released an audio “hands-on” review, which can be downloaded from the same page, as well as from our FrequencyCast iTunes page

 

 FrequencyCast Update Home Hub 17 July 2008 [8:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download