My Phax
Mitek Systems, Inc. has announced a new app that will allow iPhone users to send a fax using the camera on their phone. The Mobile Phax app gains its name from a combination of the words ‘fax’ and ‘phone’ and is part of the Mitek System’s family of apps called Office on My Phone, referred to as ‘OOMPH’. The intent behind the software is to allow customers to make further use of the cameras already built into their mobile phone devices which the company views as particularly useful to mobile professionals who would otherwise need to locate a nearby copy center in order to send a fax.
Using the optical camera on the iPhone, Mobile Phax takes a picture of any document and converts that to the Adobe PDF format, converting the image into a high quality printer friendly image so that the phone becomes something akin to a traditional fax machine. These printer friendly images are then sent via e-mail to the intended user for printing purposes. The patent pending IMagePROVE technology automatically rotates, crops and scales the picture of the document’s hard copy to render it suitable for printing.
The My Phax is available for download via Apple’s App Store for $4.99.
My O2 App Gives iPhone Users More Account Information
Mobile network provider O2 recently announced their latest app, My O2, has been released to allow iPhone customers easier access to their account data so that they can better track the amount they are spending via their phones. While this information has been previously accessible either online or through SMS, the My O2 app allows the data to be accessed via the iPhone’s unique interface. The developers hope that this will give customers greater freedom and encourage greater interaction with O2 services as the easier monitoring method leads to a greater sense of security for end users.
Both Pay Monthly and O2 Pay & Go customers will be able to view their tariff details, their remaining balances on their inclusive allowance, along with a summary, and their most recent bill in addition to Bolt Ons which may be part of their account.
Developer Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) assisted in the creation of the app and designed it with the idea of it making it easier to present on other smart phone platforms. The design process was also intended to ease the integration of even more features in the future.
The My O2 app is currently available for free download in the Apple App Store to all O2 users.
iPhone Users to have Speech to Text Capabilities According to New Patent
Apple recently filed for a patent that will bring speech to text technology to its iPhone and iPod product lines. According to the Baltimore Sun the document included not only a diagram of how the system works, but an explanation of the system as it would be used to compose an email. The documentation suggests that the speech recognition technology being filed for would recognize not only words and letters, but punctuation as well.
The limitations of previous voice recognition technologies are set to be pushed with this latest advance from Apple’s engineering team. In fact, the actualization of the technology as conceived now would be a huge win for the maker of the popular iPhone and quite likely shift a huge amount of profit their way if they are able to develop the technology before other competitors. The technology is seen as something of a coveted landmark because it would have a massive effect on both data entry and the retrieval of information at far quicker speeds than users currently experience through pressing buttons.
The patent includes mentions of allowing users to be able to save voice recordings for later processing into text and the ability to time stamp and date the recordings. This could lead to total voice control for iPod and iPhone, some experts suggest.
China Unicom Help Apple Bring iPhone to China
In a surprising move that fulfills a long held promise from Apple, the iPhone will be going on sale in China through a company called China Unicom thanks to a deal struck recently. During the news conference to announce the deal, Unicom did not state which model of the iPhone will be available in the market, the largest in all of Asia.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, the phones are expected to go on sale in the fourth quarter of this year which fulfills a promise Apple had made long ago by promising that they would make the iPhone available to the Chinese market by the end of 2009. It was not clear previously how they would do this, but with the possible help of a governmental subsidy, Unicom will indeed bring the world famous technology to the people of China.
Fortunately for Apple, China is a huge untapped market for makers of digital communications devices and has over 700 million wireless subscribers already. That market alone could massively move Apples profits forward to a level as yet unseen.
The iPhones shipped to China will not be Wi-Fi enabled due to government communications regulations in that rapidly growing nation.
Final Cut Studio Upgrade Available
Apple announced that it’s releasing a major upgrade to its professional film and video editing tools suite known as Final Cut Studio. The suite will contain Soundtrack Pro 3, Color 1.5, Compressor 3.5, Motion 4 and of course, Final Cut Pro 7. Not only does the suite experience a $300 price reduction, it also comes with over 100 new features and an update to Final Cut Server, which is relied upon to manage assets and work flow in large scale production environments.
A wealth of features await those who get this latest upgrade of Final Cut Studio, including a new time code window and iChat Theater support to enable remote collaborate even with those who do not have Final Cut. A range of new codecs will enable users to expand available features using Apple ProRes and this version will be capable of creating Blu-ray ready media files. Video and audio editors will find it much easier to collaborate with this version of Final Cut thanks to wider levels of interactivity the software promotes.
While many still await the arrival of Snow Leopard, you can pick up Final Cut Studio and Final Cut Server 1.6 for $999 each, a significant price drop from past versions, or you can upgrade for $299 each.
SM Heart Link
SM Heart Link is a wireless bridge that enables the connection and integration of various health and fitness sensors such as cycling speed sensors and heart rate monitors with an iPhone. This integration is made possible through 4 iPhone applications that complement the device. These apps are iBPM+, iNewLeaf, iRPM+ and iSpinning. The wireless bridge collects fitness data from health and fitness sensors connected to the user and sends them to the appropriate iPhone apps. This allows a user to view and track various fitness metrics on his iPhone. The SM Heart Link device costs $154.95, while the applications are available for free at the app store.
Torque Game Engine for the iPhone?
GarageGames, providers of game development tools and software, recently announced that their game engine Torque could be used to create iPhone games. Torque is an affordable technology for game developers to create their own 2D/3D games with. Developers can license torque and use it to launch games on the iPhone platform. The Torque Game Engine has been used to create many games such as Marble Blast, Minigolf mania and tube twist. The game engine is also being used in upcoming games such as the Afterworld [An MMOG] and Penny Arcade Adventures. The Torque Game Engine can be licensed by Indie developers for $150 and by commercial developers for $749. GarageGames has also provided additional iPhone specific functionality for Torque such as multi-touch input support, touch screen gesture recognition and compressed textures optimized for the iPhone.
Extended Hours at Apple Stores and New Ticket System to Make iPhone Acquisition Easier
Apple’s iPhone 3G is in great demand and people have to wait in long lines at apple stores to obtain their iPhone 3g’s.Apple has implemented a few changes recently to ease the iPhone acquisition process for customers. Apple Stores now open on every day except for Sunday at 8 a.m. local time. Moreover, while you’re waiting in the line, store staff will pre-qualify you for an iPhone purchase. You will receive a claim ticket that guarantees the iPhone model you want. Then you can either wait in line and redeem the ticket when it’s your turn or return later in the day before 6 p.m. (4 p.m. on Sundays) and redeem your ticket for an iPhone then.