• Read more about Hybrid Smartphones: Android on iPhone Devices?

Sounds crazy, but a couple of mobile developers have managed to successful port the Google Android mobile OS to iPhone devices. One of them even has a dual-booting system, and should be releasing a version for iPod Touch. The only drawback is that you'd have to do something to your mobile device that Apple says is a no no: jailbreak it. But the experiments developers have been doing on iPhone OS devices, including iPad, just goes to show that Apple is dumbing down the capabilities, but for what purpose, I'm not sure. Why have a device with certain features that most owners will never access? Or is it a way for Apple to test what people might want in the future, since jailbreakers tend to be extremely tech savvy power users, whose activities hint at desirable features?

[Via: The Next Web]

• Read more about Next-Gen OS 4 iPhone Promises Many New Features

Aggregating all the little clues that various blogs have gathered about the next Apple iPhone and the iPhone OS 4 suggests that the 4th generation of this smartphone is going to be one powerful mobile device, with lots of new features.

One such feature is the integration of Facebook right into the OS, at least in terms of contact syncing. This is a "fact" that has already been discovered by a few bloggers who discovered the details by digging around in the iPhone 4 SDK. Of course, other competing smartphones, including Palm webOS phones, already offer this. However, Apple might just gain the edge on competitors, thanks to a recently-granted Apple patent for the iPhone that suggests a social version of Mac OS' signature 3d "cover flow" method of browsing a collection of information -- such as documents in a Finder window, or albums or DVDs in iTunes.

A "social cover flow" feature on the iPhone would give users a very nice visual means of quickly flipping through social media (e.g., Facebook) profiles, as the patent diagram below suggests. This alone could make it worth having the new iPhone -- yet to be announced -- at least for all the mobile users of Facebook -- which as many as 100M at last count, not all of whom use an Apple iPhone OS-based device.

Then of course there are the rumors that the new phone will have a front-facing camera (and probably retain the back-facing camera as well), to enable video calling. And Steve Jobs already announced that 3rd-party apps would now have multi-tasking. There's surely many more features we haven't even heard about it.

So the 4th-gen iPhone is going to need a faster processing chip and more RAM memory. The current 128MB for the 3GS model simply won't be enough for all the new capabilities. So it's no surprise that the latest iPhone prototype discovered in the wild is found to have an A4 chip like the iPad and 256MB of RAM. (This is system memory, and separate from the storage capacity, which has been speculated at as high as 128GB for the top end.)

• Read more about Official VOA PNN Application Released for iPhone and Android

On the heels of U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's Net Freedom speech, Intridea was delighted to receive notification Apple had approved the official iPhone application we developed for Voice of America's (VOA) Persian News Network (PNN).

This new application gives Iranians a unique opportunity to get the latest news on their mobile devices and to share with the world the news as it happens in their country," said Acting PNN Director Alex Belida. "It is a groundbreaking way to expand our reach inside Iran and deepen our relationship with a key VOA audience."

Following Iran's troubling elections in the Summer of 2009, the Senate aptly passed the Victims of Iranian Censorship (VOICE) Act, which provided much needed funding and support to the Broadcasting Board of Governors to expand Farsi language broadcasting into Iran by the Voice of America's Persian News Network.

This application empowers Iranians at a time when the government is staging a crackdown against opposition protesters, Mr. Belida said. As with the disputed elections [last] year, VOA's Persian service continues to be a leading source of news and information for Iranians.

In this video, Hamed Behravan, Sr. VOA Correspondent showcases the newly released mobile application to millions of Iranian television and web-based viewers, on his weekly Technology Roundup segment.

Built under the technical leadership of Brendan Lim, Intridea's Director of Mobile Solutions, the application is designed for iPhone and Android Devices, and features the ability to read the latest VOA News Stories and share them through Facebook, Twitter, or e-mail. Users can also keep up-to-date with the VOA PNN's Twitter feed (@voapnn). Additionally, "the application allows users to anonymously report news accompanied with either an image or video captured directly from their mobile device" says Lim; "enabling a new wave of citizen journalism."

Intridea is dedicated to supporting Gov 2.0 projects and programs that promote human rights, uphold democratic principles, and strengthen civil institutions. In the case of the VOA PNN App, we have been given an opportunity to create a platform that extends the Iranian people the freedom of speech --- in real-time.

Many important security measures were considered to operationally defeat or circumvent censorship and/or surveillance of content created, shared or stored by users. And with future guidance from the VOA & US State Department, Intridea plans to develop other sophisticated transmission techniques to counter the Iranian government's use of filtering systems, and general stranglehold of internet & mobile transmissions.

The VOA PNN application was built using Appcelerator's Titanium Mobile platform. Using Titanium Mobile, we were able to create an application for both, iPhone and Android, using just a single codebase. Also, Titanium Mobile allowed us to develop these native applications using only HTML, CSS, and JavsScript, which greatly reduced the amount of development time.

Here's how to get it:

On iPhone or iPod Touch
You can download it directly from the App Store. You can also find it by searching for 'VOA PNN'.

On jailbroken iPhone or iPod Touch
If you have a jailbroken iPhone, you can find the application through Cydia or Rock. The application is listed under the BigBoss source, which is included by default on both of these applications. Just do a search for 'VOA PNN' to install the application.

On Android
The application is listed under News & Media in the Android Marketplace. You can also search for 'VOA PNN' to install it.

The Android version features the same functionality as the iPhone version. However, since Google doesn't officially support the Farsi language, users who wish to use the app on their Android devices will have to add Farsi character support on their own. To install Farsi on your Android device, check the links below.

• XDA Developers - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=616384

Stay tuned for more.

• Read more about Presently v2.0 Released for iPhone

A new version of the Presently application has just been released for iPhone and is now available on the App Store. Presently for the iPhone is the best way to keep in touch with your co-workers where you're not in front of your computer. The new version of Presently brings a completely new application, developed using Appcelerator's Titanium Mobile platform, that is packed with many more features than the previous.

Below is a list of just some of the great new features that have been added to the latest version of Presently for iPhone.

The new version of Presently is now available for free on the App Store.

• Read more about Car Finder Becomes a Hit Application for iPhone

We released Car Finder just over a week ago and the amount of attention we've received is much more than we could have ever anticipated. For those of you who don't know, Car Finder is an iPhone application that utilizes augmented reality to help you find where you parked your car. We use augmented reality to overlay real-time information about where your car is parked while you look through the camera view of your iPhone.

Note: Car Finder developer Brendan Lim and his brother (with the dollar) sold separately

Throughout this whole process we've noticed that the Twitter mentions that came after these news articles proved to play a huge part in Car Finder's success. Below are a list of a few articles that covered the release of Car Finder.

Wired UK
Save face with the Car Finder augmented reality app

The Unofficial Apple Weblog
Use Augmented Reality to Find Your Car

Autoblog
Latest auto iPhone app: Augmented reality parked car finder

Holy Kaw!
Can't find your car? There's an app for that. - Holy Kaw!

Cult of Mac
Car Finder iPhone App Uses Augmented Reality To Find Your Wheels

Boing Boing
Car Finder app for iPhone

Car Finder is available now on the App Store for $0.99. Intridea offers services for application development on all major mobile platforms, which include iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Palm webOS. If you need help with your mobile application feel free to contact us for a quote.

• Read more about Use Augmented Reality to Find Your Vehicle With Car Finder for iPhone

If you’ve ever parked your vehicle in a large parking lot you’ve realized that it would be great to have something help you memorize where your car was. Intridea’s latest iPhone application, Car Finder, helps you do just that. Unlike the cookie-cutter car finding applications in the App Store, Car Finder helps you find your car using augmented reality.

Using the camera, A-GPS and the compass built into the iPhone 3GS, Car Finder allows you to find your car by positioning an overlay on top of a live view of what’s in front of you. Also, when you mark your car Car Finder allows you to set a note for your parking spot. This is particularly useful if you know what section you’re parked in or if the GPS is spotty in the location that your car is currently parked in.

Car Finder is available now on the App Store for $0.99. Intridea offers services for application development on all major mobile platforms, which include iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Palm webOS. If you need help with your mobile application feel free to contact us for a quote.

• Read more about Find Great Sushi Anywhere with SushiMe on iPhone

Adding to Intridea’s collection of great food finding applications for the iPhone, like iPho and iCurry, comes SushiMe. SushiMe allows you to find great sushi restaurants around you using your current location or any location that you specify. You can sort through a list of restaurants by their rating (provided by Yelp) or by their distance. With SushiMe you can also view a map of all of the restaurants around you and even call them directly from your iPhone to make reservations.

SushiMe is a free application and is available right now in the App Store. Intridea offers services for application development on all major mobile platforms, which include iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Palm webOS. If you need help with your mobile application feel free to contact us for a quote.

• Read more about Present.ly Updates iPhone App With Camera and Attachment Integration

Present.ly, our enterprise microblogging platform, which is used daily by many large corporations and government organizations, offers native versions of the application on all major mobile platforms. Today, Apple has approved the latest version of Present.ly for iPhone.

Included in this latest version is an updated user interface. The new user interface ditches the previous dark theme and replaces it with a look that is more familiar to iPhone users and is easier on the eyes. Uploaded attachments can be viewed directly from the phone. Updates with one or more attached files are indicated by a small paperclip icon within your feed.

In addition to attaching files, photos from your photo library or the iPhone camera can be added to your updates — a highly anticipated feature. This version of the app provides a more robust user experience by enabling many of the most useful features of the web client. Present.ly is a free application available in the App Store. To get Present.ly for your iPhone click on the link below.

• Read more about Intridea Kicks off Mobile Development Services With Two Free iPhone Apps for Foodies

Sometimes you just want an application that gets something done quick and gets it done right -- especially if your stomach's calling. That's why we've decided to create iPho and iCurry for the iPhone.

iPho will help you find the best phở around you using your current location or any address you use using the built-in search. iCurry does the same but allows you to search through the best Indian food around.

Both of these applications will show you a list of restaurants sorted by their average rating or their distance relative to you or the address you search from. You can also drill down into each restaurant so that you can get their address, get directions, give them a call, and even see if they are open. There's even a map view which overlays all of the restaurants around you. Ratings and listings are provided using the Yelp API. Both iCurry and iPho are free applications and are available now on the App Store.

Along with the announcement of these two great applications, we at Intridea are kicking off our mobile development services for our clients. We are offering services for application development on all major mobile platforms, which include iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and Palm webOS. We've built a great team of talented mobile developers that can help bring your product or service to the mobile market. Expect to see more mobile related announcements soon.

Need help with your mobile app? Contact us for a quote.

• Read more about iPhone Hack Day at Viget Labs

I recently spent a day hanging out with a few of the guys at Viget Labs hacking on the iPhone.  Ben Scofield, the Technology Director at Viget Labs, was leading an iPhone development primer for a few of Viget's finest, and they were nice enough to let a handful of "outsiders" join the fun.

My iPhone development experience at that point was very minimal.  I had done a few online tutorials and walk-throughs, but nowhere near enough to really understand what I was doing.  On top of that, my Objective-C knowledge was pretty much non-existant.  Fortunately, none of this was a problem.

We spent the first half of the day going over the basics.  Ben walked us through Xcode and Interface Builder, and we talked about basic project layout, the different types of iPhone apps (list, view, and navigation-based, etc).

We then broke off into small groups, pairs mostly, to do a little hacking.  David Eisinger and myself put our heads together on something amazing.  The Text-EmBIGiner, we called it (or something like that).  Picture this, a text field, a button, and a label.  You enter your text, hit the buttom, and BAM -- the label is updated with your text.  It was amazing.  We thought so at least.  Many high-fives were had.

Lunch was provided in the form of Amante Pizza.  Thanks Viget!

In the afternoon we moved on to talk about ways of making iPhone development less painful.  In other words, removing the Objective-C.  We briefly talked about Rhomobile, an open source framwork for building cross-platform mobile apps.

The remainder of the day was spent talking about and playing with two other frameworks, Appcelerator's Titanium and the open source PhoneGap.  Both frameworks allow you to build your app using primarily HTML and javascript, but they still give you access to the iPhone native controls and features.  They were very cool and I could definitely see myself playing with these more in the future.

Overall it was a really fun day, and I'm looking forward to putting my new knowledge to good use.

Thanks again Viget!