Paper maps are still around and useful for those who spend a lot of time visiting new areas and going on adventures. Paper maps can be life savers in some situations, but they have their limitations too. For starters, you can’t really interact with paper maps. Besides, you can’t buy 3D paper maps. That’s where your iPhone comes into play. There are plenty of 3D map apps available for iPhone that can help you explore your surroundings more effectively and find your way around using your phone without too much fuss.

If you intend to go through 3D maps on your iPhone, these 5 applications are must try:

UpNext 3D Cities: while it does not cover all cities, it does have super maps of cities that does cover. The maps are high quality and make it much easier to find things in your city on iPhone.

Google Earth: Google Earth does not need any introduction. It’s one of the best apps around to explore our Earth and your city. Perhaps the best app to explore cities with.

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Those who have been overweight in the past know that sometimes it’s too difficult to lose that extra weight without some additional help. One needs to watch his/her food intake and calories burned everyday to make sure the calories balance themselves out. Exercising and staying on a decent diet are the way to go. Thanks to all the diet and exercise apps available for iPhone, you can keep track of everything you eat and do on your phone and stay on the right track at all times.

If you are hoping to lose weight and stay on weight with the help of your iPhone, these 8 free weight-loss apps (free at the time of this writing) are worth picking up:

Lose It! for iPhone: an attractive and easy to use food app for iPhone that keeps track of the amount of calories you take in and helps you meet your goals on a daily basis.

Eat What? Weight Loss Diet: lets you set your health objectives and uses those to find you the right type of food to eat when you are out.

GoMeals for iPhone: a very handy app that offers you a database full of nutritional values for your favorite foods and restaurant menu items, a food tracking tool, and a restaurant locator with more than 175,000 locations.

Run Coach: running is one of the best ways to burn those extra calories you have taken in. Run Coach is a free app that lets you get started with running and become more fit fast.

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So you are into racquet sports? These games can be entertaining no matter where you play them. These days, you can play all types of racquet sports on your iPhone. They can be quite addictive. Best of all, they don’t get old as long as you don’t pick up an app that is easy to master. if you are looking for such apps, these 5 racquet sport games fit the bill:

World Cup Table Tennis: it’s one of the best ping pong apps around. It can be super challenging (especially if you are going against China). Has multiple modes of play that will keep you entertained for a while.

Super Badminton 2010: a pretty entertaining app that has various types of players and tournaments to entertain you. The graphics are very decent too.

Touch Squash – World Championship 09: one of those games that requires a lot of focus and can be super addictive. The controls are easy as well.

Ace Tennis 2010: lets you play tennis on your iPhone. Graphics are superb and the controls are adequate. Looks great on iPhone 4.

Real Tennis 2009: has super graphics. The controls are very nice too. The game covers play in 7 stadiums and on 3 different surfaces.

There you have it. 5 racquet sport apps that are addictive, look good, and are challenging too.

Are you into investment? Your iPhone can be your best friend as long as you have the right tools available on it. There are many iPhone applications that help you keep track of those interesting stocks and enable you to make better investing decisions. Many stock brokers have their iPhone apps too, which is a big plus.

If you are looking for apps to help you invest and make better decisions on the go, here are 6 apps worth trying:

Stock Analyzer Pro: a powerful app for intermediate stock investors that helps them evaluate stocks in four categories (risk, valuation, momentum, and strength). It provides you with detailed risk and stock reports.

HypoCalc: a very handy app that can show the likely gain and loss of an investment in the future. The charts and reports are nice to have too.

Seasonalysis – Seasonal Stock Analyzer: a super app for advanced investors that can show you seasonal data about any stock. Can analyze 1 to 50 years of data and help you make better decisions.

E*Trade Mobile Pro: if you happen to be working with E*Trade to make your investments, this app is a must have. For starters, it’s free. It offers a ton of charts and analyses to keep you informed at all times.

ShareBuilder Mobile: lets you trade stocks and EFTs. You can also transfer money to or from your account. Stock quotes & interactive charts are included as well.

StockWatch: lets you keep track of your stocks and portfolio on your iPhone. It supports over 50 exchanges. Best of all, it’s compatible with iOS 4 and supports multi-tasking.

What’s your favorite investing app?

The iPhone is more than just a smart-phone. We have all heard that before. As long as you have the right types of apps on your device, there is almost nothing you can’t accomplish with your iPhone. Using your iPhone as a clock as another way to get more out of your smart-phone. There are all kinds of clock apps available in iTunes. Some can help you wake up on time every morning. Some others help you get your sleep cycles together. So you’ve got some options.

Here are 6 clock apps for iPhone that keep you on track at all times:

Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock: a super alarm clock that analyzes your sleep patterns and wakes you in the lightest sleep phase. Helps you get a better quality sleep possible.

Clock Pro: a powerful multi-functional clock that turns your iPhone into an alarm clock, sleep timer, stop watch, chess clock, and much more.

Binary Clock: binary clocks are not for every-one. They are quite geeky. Thanks to this app, you won’t have to actually own a physical one as you can turn your iPhone into one with Binary Clock.

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Augmented reality is the present and the future. Augmented reality apps for iPhone let you use your device to add fun layers to your reality. You can use these types of apps to navigate more effectively and get things done. You can also use augmented reality games to have fun on the road.

There are not too many killer augmented reality games available for iPhone. But the current crop is still decent enough to keep you entertained. As this segment of the market grows, you can expect more sophisticated AR games to be released to iTunes. These 6 iPhone AR games should get you started:

Sky Siege for iPhone: transforms your reality into a battlefield. Just watch your back and use your ammo to blow up helicopters and jet bombers.

TagDis: it’s a virtual graffiti game that lets you do your thing without getting in trouble with the law. Pretty entertaining as you get to compete against other artists.

Ghost Bastards AR: whether you believe in real ghosts, it’s nice to have the option to hunt some on your iPhone. That’s what this app is all about. Just don’t go overboard with it

Pandemica – AR Shooter: a shooter game for iPhone that transforms your device into a sub-field bio-scanner that can see the invisible alien organisms that are all around you. Your goal is to get them before they get you.

The Hidden Part for iPhone: a fun app for kids that transforms your parks into fun places for them to explore.

iPew for iPhone: does not have the best graphics but it does give you a few weapons to fire at objects in your reality view (probably should be free though).

What’s your favorite iPhone augmented reality app?

Your iPhone comes with an innovative voice-mail system by itself. That was one of the main selling points for the first generation iPhone and even though other smart-phone makers have duplicated some of iPhone features, the device still stands at the top of the smart-phone business as far as innovation is concerned. Now thanks to voicemail applications available in iTunes, you can enhance the capabilities of your iPhone and get more out of your device on the go.

If you are looking to get more done on your iPhone, here are 5 best voicemail iPhone apps that are worth a look:

Visible Voicemail: supports your VOIP voicemails at home or office. It also supports Google Voice. You get instant push notifications when you have a new message. An easy way to avoid missing those voice-mail messages.

Straight to Voicemail: another pretty useful voicemail app for iPhone if you think about it. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get around those awkward calls by just leaving a message. That’s what this app does.

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So you have invested a lot of time and effort to develop an iPhone app? You may have the best app in the world, but if you don’t take the time to promote it properly, it’s not going to get the exposure that it deserves. One of the best ways to promote your iPhone application is by creating a mini portal for it. Whether you use your portal to promote all your apps or each single one is up to you. But you don’t want to just slap a site together without making it look somewhat professional. Thanks to WordPress and all the cool premium themes available for it, you can get this job done in a more rapid and effective fashion.

When promoting your app, you want to make sure you give your prospects all the reasons they need to make the decision to buy your app. Fitting testimonials and videos into your portal would be a plus too. So you want to get a theme that is flexible enough to handle your content . The following are 3 cool WordPress themes for iPhone developers that fit the bill:

iPhone App Theme: the best WordPresss theme for iPhone app developers. It’s ready to go right out of the box. Lets you customize most aspects of it. You can change the price, your app image, and more without having to write any code.

Video Elements: if you want to build a video portal based on your apps or just want to display all your titles to your readers, this theme comes in very handy. It’s very attractive and flexible. It can handle videos and images easily as well.

Vibrant CMS: it’s a clean and easy to customize theme for iPhone app developers that let you give a more detailed description of what your app is all about. If you are looking to create a dedicated micro-site for your iPhone app, Vibrant CMS can come in handy.

Remember, don’t try to be cheap with your app’s website. The more professional your website looks, the more likely people will give you app a shot. With the above themes, you won’t have to spend too much money to create a decent looking iPhone app portal.

Facebook is the top social networking site on the Web these days. Twitter is fast approaching, but there are thousands of people who prefer communicating through Facebook. If you are a Facebook junkie and want to take Facebook on the road, here are 10 Facebook Apps you should try:

Facebook: the official Facebook application for iPhone. It’s free and updated to give you as many features as possible.

MyPhone+ for Facebook: sync your contact information and pictures with iPhone easily with MyPhone+.

Occasions: Occasions syncs with your Facebook and lets you keep track of those important birthday dates.

fex for Facebook: sync your friends pictures and information with your iPhone using this app (birthdays, …).

FriendSync: share your iPhone contacts with Facebook. Get their Facebook profile when they call you. Just awesome.

Facebook PixSter: an amazingly easy way to upload photos to Facebook right from your phone!

Facebook Easy Status: a cool application that lets you update your Facebook status when you are on the go.

Facebook a Quote: lets you update your status from its list of quotes.

FaceMic: send audio updates to your Facebook account with this cool app.

Pastebook: allows you to easily share your clipboard content on Facebook. Makes transferring data easier.

Is there any missing?

iPhone is one heck of a device to watch videos on the go. Whether you are waiting for the bus or just waiting for a meeting, watching YouTube videos can be pretty entertaining. iPhone already has a widget to let you watch YouTube videos on your device, but if you are not satisfied by that, you can always try these cool YouTube apps for iPhone:

myVideos: search, find, and download your favorite YouTube videos to your iPhone. Pretty simple and gets the job done.

Download Manager: a cool little app that enables you to download YouTube videos without too much trouble on your phone.

Face Melter Pro: create art work from your images and send them to YouTube.

YouTube Select: watch the best YouTube has to offer on your phone. Pretty convenient if you don’t want to spend too much time searching on YouTube.

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Netflix is one of the best services around to get rid of your cable TV and watch the movies that you actually want to watch. Their queue system lets you find cool movies and add them to your queue and receive them once you are done with your old movies. So as long as you keep your queue up to date, you are going to keep getting movies that you want to watch in the mail.

And now thanks to your iPhone, you can manage your queue on the go. So you can get your business done and update your queue to have entertaining movies ready whenever you are ready for your break. If you are looking to manage your queue on your iPhone, here are 8 Netflix iPhone apps you should try:

1. iRent Movie: a premium application for Netflix junkies. Has everything you need to manage your Netflix queue on your iPhone.
2. MovieFlick: another cool app that lets you manage your Netflix queue on the go. Helps you manage your Roku as well. One of my favorites.
3. PhoneFlix: PhoneFlix is a free app that lets you manage your Netflix queue easily on your phone.
4. Queutastic: used to be free If I am not mistaken, but it’s well worth $0.99. The ultimate Netflix queue app for iPhone.
5. pFlix: not only allows you to manage your queue, it also lets you share your movies on Twitter and other social networks.
6. iPhlix: an innovative application that makes managing your Netflix account like a piece of cake.
7. PocketFlicks: you can’t watch your Netflix movies on your iPhone but you can do almost everything else with this app.
8. i.TV: the ultimate TV solution for iPhone. This free app not only allows you to manage your Netflix movies but also lets you keep track of your favorite TV shows too.

There you have it. The above apps are tailor-made for Netflix junkies. If you are renting lots of movies and want to do a better job managing your queue on the go, you can’t go wrong with the above apps.

Friendfeed may not be as big as Twitter yet, but many former tweeters are using it religiously to update their status across multiple networks. Friendfeed is really more suitable for discussion and reactions than Twitter, and it is a bit more convenient to use for organized discussions. It’s not to say that you should forget about Twitter and Facebook, but if you are not using Friendfeed already, now’s the time to start.

If you are planning to use Friendfeed religiously in the near future, here are 8 cool iPhone apps that you should try to keep your account up to date all times:

BuddyFeed: the best client for FriendFeed hands down. It’s got everything you need to manage your FriendFeed account on the go.

Alert Thingy: one of the best Friendfeed Twitter clients out there. Not as good as Friendfeed but pretty good.

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Chatting. One of my favorite activities on my phone. Whether you are a talkative person or just chat occasionally, there are lots of chat applications for iPhone that let you chat like a pro. Whether you are running a business and want to collaborate with your colleagues or just want to catch up with your friends, chatting is a great way to do it. With that in mind, here are 10 chatting apps for iPhone that you should try:

IM+: The mother of all chat programs for iPhone. Chat on Twitter, GTalk, Yahoo, ICQ, MSN, and … with IM+.

FlowChat: one of the best looking IRC clients for iPhone. You can upload and share photos easily. And managing multiple chats can’t be easier.

Ember: a CampFire client that lets you create your own chat rooms and start your group chats fast!

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It shouldn’t be a big surprise to you that your iPhone 3G is capable of acting as a personal pedometer for you. If you are planning to get fit by walking around every day, you can use your iPhone to track your number of steps and find out whether you are burning enough energy to lose weight. All you have to do is the right pedometer iPhone application to get you started.

Here are 8 best pedometer applications for iPhone:

1. iTreadmill: the best pedometer available on iTunes. You can also use it to have your virtual treadmill. A must own. You can use it practically in any situation. Very innovative.

2. My Weight Loss Coach: a comprehensive solution for anyone hoping to lose weight. Not only acts as a pedometer, it helps you get on the right track and stay on it too.

3. Jogalot: your personal pedometer on iPhone. Tells you how long you have been walking, the number of steps you have taken, and estimated burned calorie.

4. iSteps: iSteps is a wonderful iPhone application that makes losing weight more fun. Whether you are just trying to hit 10,000 steps or go beyond 15,000, iSteps is a handy app to have with you.

5. Distance Meter Pro: whether you want to go biking or running, this app will track your activity and help you stay on the right track.

6. RunningKeeper: another decent pedometer application for iPhone and iPod Touch. Very simple and straight forward. Pretty accurate and gets the job done.

7. iWalk: another simple application to count your steps. It supports metric system as well.

8. Go Walk Pedometer: another simple step counter that tells you how many calories you are burning during your workout sessions.

With these pedometer apps, you will never have to walk without knowing how much energy you are burning or whether you are hitting your exercise targets.

Your take: which pedometer app are you using on your phone?

I don’t know about you but I am a huge fan of backgammon. It’s one of the most fun board games that you get to play. It may not be as complicated as Chess, but it’s just as fun. Thankfully, there are a few apps to choose from to play this cool board game on your iPhone.

Here are the best backgammon applications for iPhone:

Backgammon Professional: play against your friends or the computer right on your iPhone.

Backgammon Touch: Backgammon Touch is a work in the progress but a decent backgammon app indeed.

Astraware Board Games: talk about killing a few birds with one stone. Play all board games you can handle with ABG.

Big Bang Board Games: another application that lets you play chess, backgammon, and … on your iPhone.

Backgammon Premium: 3 levels of difficulty and multi-player level make this app fun.

Backgammon Classic: 3 levels, 3 themes, and the 3D view make this app a whole lot of fun.

What’s your favorite backgammon app for iPhone?

Ping Pong is one of the most fun sports to play outdoors or on a TV. It’s addictive and challenging at times with all the cuts and serves and … Thanks to iPhone SDK, now you can play Table Tennis right on your iPhone/iPod Touch. The good news here is there is no really bad Ping Pong app for iPhone. All of them are fairly entertaining and can cheer you up when you are down.

Here are 10 Table Tennis applications that let you kill time and have a whole lot of time on your iPhone:

World Cup Ping Pong: one of the best apps made for the iPhone platform. Highly entertaining, and if you can beat the last level, my hats off to you.

Table Tennis Star: a fast-paced challenging game of Ping Ping. Are you up for the challenge?

Wacket!: a racquet simulation game. You swing your phone, and this app takes care of the rest.

Mini PingPong: a cool little app for iPhone. Turn your phone into a Ping Pong table.

Zen Table Tennis: play table tennis against the Ping Pong master! Crazy shot galore. Good luck!

iPong!: iPong involves you keeping the ball in play and challenge your friends to a game of patience and concentration.

Pocket Table-Tennis: the accelerometer mode is one challenging game but it’s all fun.

PowerPong: play pong, surf the Internet, and answer your phone calls at the same time. Keep the ball in play and compete with your friends.

iPingPong 3D: waiting for an update but iPingPong 3D is a decent Ping Pong game for iPhone.

Ping: Pong: Ping-Pong is a different kind of table tennis, but it’s still fun.

What’s your favorite table tennis application? Did I miss anything?

Fritz Chess is a killer application for iPhone that lets you get your chess game to the next level. Fritz is a world champion, and absolute best of an engine. And now it has come to the iPhone platform (read the review here). The good folks behind Fritz Chess have been kind enough to give me a coupon for Fritz Chess ($9.99 value) to give away. Here is how to win:

Rules:

1. Follow @iPhoneness

2. Add us to Delicious by clicking on the following link.

3. Leave a comment. Any will do.

That’s all. The giveaway ends on May 10th, 11:59 PM EST. I will send you the coupon as soon as we have a winner (using Random.org). Coupon expires on May 15th, so please redeem before then.

Good luck!

Twitter has quickly become one of the most addictive social networks on the Web. People spend hours a day on Twitter and share their stories and knowledge with others. But you don’t have to be behind a computer to tweet like a pro when you have an iPhone. Thankfully, there are many Twitter iPhone apps to choose from, so you are never short on options.

Here is a list of top iPhone Twitter applications currently available on iTunes:

1. Ziibii: Ziibii is a great little app for folks who want to connect to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube all from one place. And it’s free too!

2. Twittelator Pro: Twittelator one of the best Twitter apps for the iPhone. It’s very convenient and comes with a lot of themes.

3. Tweetie: Tweetie is another great iPhone client for Twitter. It’s very convenient too.

4. Twinkle: a decent iPhone Twitter client that allows you to get in touch with your followers easily.

5. Whrrl 2.0: Whrrl is another cool social networking application that allows you to stay in touch with your friends on Facebook and Twitter.

6. Loopt: Loopt needs no introduction. And Loopt for iPhone allows you to update your Facebook and Twitter accounts easily.

7. Twitterrific Premium: Twitterrific is still one of the top Twitter clients for the iPhone. It may have slipped a bit but it’s still up there with the big boys.

8. Twitterfon: Twitterfon is a lightweight Twitter application for iPhone. It’s easy to use and convenient.

9. Fring: Fring is a cool little social networking app that allows you to manage your MSN, Yahoo, and Twitter accounts.

10. Summizer – Twitter Search Trend: a cool little Twitter app that allows you to track trends on Twitter.

11. Twittms: Twittms is a great way to send direct messages on Twitter. It’s simple to use too!

12. SimplyTweet: SimplyTweet is another Twitter application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

13. LaTwit: LaTwit is a sophisticated Twitter app that allows you to do all kinds of things on your phone.

14. TwitterTrak: TwitterTrak is another simple Twitter iPhone client. It’s very easy to use.

15. TwitterVision: TwitterVision is a cool Twitter application for iPhone that allows you to see where in the world people are tweeting from. Very fun to use.

Honorable mention: Twitkitteh: Twitter for Cats

There you have it. There are just so many Twitter clients available for your iPhone or iPod Touch. Just don’t spend too much time choosing among them at the expense of your Twitter account.

Recently, I had a chance to review iTC Calc and iTC Calc light, and I’ve got to say it’s an excellent niche iPhone application for production professionals and those into Adobe AfterEffects. The good guys behind this cool application have been kind enough to offer two of our readers a free copy of iTC Calc each. So don’t miss out! Please follow the below rules to enter.

Here are the rules:

1. Visit to  http://www.itccalc.com to find the answer to this 2 questions:
   1. What is the new feature of iTC Calc 1.1?
   2. What is the resolution of the Massuah movie?
2. Follow @iphoneness and @SteveSebban and tweet the following message or click here:
   1. Win ITC Calc for iPhone: follow @iphoneness and @SteveSebban and visit http://budurl.com/ql9r for details. Please RT.
3. Join the iTC Calc User Group on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=54090389582) and send a private message to Steve with your answers.
   
4. Make sure you follow the above steps. You’ve got to be in it to win it.
   

The winners will be selected on the 03/15. If you are a winner, you will receive a coupon that you can use to download iTC Calc from iTunes.

iPhone development is a highly in demand skill in the world of programming. The iPhone platform has enabled many businesses to reach out to new customers and take their businesses to the next level. iPhone in Action is one of the best books written to help developers pick up iPhone programming. Recently, I had a chance to review iPhone in Action (read the review here), and I’ve got to say, it was one of the best iPhone books I have ever read.

Christopher Allen and Shannon Appelcline have written a book that helps developers pick up and master the art of iPhone programming fast. Christopher is a leader in the iPhone development community, so you now you are getting the best stuff in this book.

The good folks at Manning Publishing have been kind enough to offer a free copy of this excellent book to one lucky reader of ours. The rules are very simple:

1. Log on to http://www.manning.com/callen/ and grab the table of content (or download it here). Look around and let me know which chapter you are most excited about reading. While you are at it, browse through books on manning.com and let me know which upcoming book you are excited about the most. Leave a comment with all the above information.

2. Follow Us on Twitter. Click here to tweet this message.

3. Subscribe to our RSS feed.

4. Don’t forget to leave your comment

That’s it. We will use Random.org to choose the winner. Make sure you leave a real e-mail address as that is how we contact you to get the book to you (if you win). Duplicate comments result in disqualification. Only U.S. entries.

The contest runs from March 3rd to March 13th 2009. All entries should be made by 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be announced on March 16th.

Winner: Using Random.org, comment #1 is the winner. Thank you all for participating. Stay tuned for more giveaways!

The iPhone has revolutionized the mobile industry in more ways than one. The iPhone is full of innovative features and is a great all around gadget. But perhaps its most powerful feature is its SDK. Apple made the smart decision of enabling its community of programmers to write applications for the iPhone. That has led to thousands of applications being developed by programmers around the globe.

The iPhone SDK is such a great platform that it has allowed many programmers to quit their day jobs and achieve stardom with their innovative applications. The job market may be tough, but the iPhone programming will be in demand for a foreseeable future. If you are new to this field, don’t fret. It is not too late to learn what it takes to write powerful iPhone applications and dominate iTunes’ top seller charts.

iPhone in Action is a pragmatic introduction to Web and native programming for the iPhone platform. Unlike many other iPhone programming books on the market, you are presented with various real examples, and before you know it you’ll be able to get your feet wet with iPhone development. Here is a brief breakdown of what’s included in iPhone in Action:

Chapter I: Introducing the iPhone

Before learning how to program for the iPhone, you need to know what kind of animal you are dealing with. Programming for mobile phones is a delicate business, so it is essential for all new iPhone programmers to understand:

• iPhone input/output specifications
• iPhone network specifications
• iPhone hardware features
• iPhone browser specifications

By reading this chapter you gain a complete understanding of what you need to keep in mind when designing your very own application. Even if you are familiar with these specifications, I strongly encourage every programmer to take a look at the section on input and output specifications. It’s a life saver.

Chapter 2: Web Development or SDK

Many iPhone programming books only focus on one aspect of iPhone programming (Native or Web). With iPhone in Action, no door is left untouched. This chapter covers what it takes to be a successful programmer in each of the above styles. By the end of this chapter, not only you know which way to go, but you will have a good idea what it takes to develop stand-alone or integrated iPhone application.

Chapter 3: Redeveloping Web Pages for the iPhone

Perhaps the most important chapter in this book. It’s easy to assume that programming for the mobile web is the same as programming for the regular web. But in reality, making your pages iPhone friendly takes some work. You will learn how to work with CSS and how to handle iPhone events. I personally like some of the pitfalls that are provided in this chapter. Missing the smallest details can leave your users frustrated with your apps (take a look at some of the complaints on iTunes). If you are a Gmail or Facebook junkie, you’ll learn how to redisplay these pages as well.

Chapter 4: Advanced Webkit and Textual Web Apps

If you want to create advanced iPhone applications, you better learn how to work with WebKit. This chapter not only covers CSS and HTML, but you will also learn how to work with WK’s Database. I am personally excited about WebKit and possible changes that are coming in the future. The platform is changing and growing, and exciting times are ahead for all of us. Don’t for a second think that WebKit is all there is to programming web apps for the iPhone. It’s a start.

Chapter 5 & 6: Programming iUI / Canvas
The 4th chapter can be encouraging and discouraging for new iPhone programmers. You may start the chapter thinking that by the end of the chapter you will know all there is to know about iPhone Web programming. The problem is, you really don’t get to the advanced stuff until you start the 5th chapter. Don’t get me wrong. These two chapters may be fairly more advanced material, but it’s easy to walk through them with all the examples and tips here or there.

Chapter 7: It’s all about Dash-Code!

It’s good to know all these different libraries and all the tips, but I personally prefer to have a good programming environment to go with all the coding tips. This chapter is for you if you are not familiar with the Dash-Code environment. You will not only learn how to get the best out of Dash-Code, but you’ll also learn how to integrate all those cool libraries with it as well. If you know Dash-Code, you can probably skip this chapter.

Chapter 8: Debug…Debug…Debug

OK. I admit. When I started my programming career, I was too lazy to dedicate too much time to debugging. I was too optimistic, thinking that I would get everything right in my first try. But bugs happen, and how do you squash bugs? With a good debugging plan. If you are a debugging freak, you are going to enjoy this chapter very much, and your apps will be much better for it!

Chapter 9 & 10: The Basics of Objective C Programming

The first 8 chapters are great. You learn about your programming environment and what you are dealing with. But the fun stuff starts right here. If you want to develop native iPhone apps, you’ll have to learn Objective C. Chapter 9 is a crash course on C programming and OOP. If you are new to the whole field of programming, I strongly encourage you to read and reread the Model-View-Controller section.

Chapter 10 covers more O-C, and you learn how to deal with the iPhone OS (create objects, methods,…). This chapter is an absolute must read for new programmers.

Chapter 11: the X-code!

This chapter covers X-code and how you can use it to develop your iPhone applications. You’ll learn about the environment and how to write your first “hello world” application with X-code. Excellent reference for beginners.

Chapter 12: Interface Builder

Interface Builder is a graphical design environment that allows you to design interfaces quick. This chapter is structured similar to the previous chapter. You learn the basics of how to use Interface Builder. You will also learn how to connect X-code with Interface Builder. Keep in mind that you need to actually spend time working with these environments to get the best out of them. Reading the book is one thing, but not everything can be explained in the book. The more you use these programs to write code, the better you get with using them.

Chapter 13: View
I remember when I started using the MVC model when I got introduced to the J2EE platform. It wasn’t easy for me to understand. I was coming from plain C programming background, and I was used to chaotic programming. These days most programmers become familiar with MVC model early, which allows them to develop complex applications more effectively. This chapter shows you how to get started with View Objects. This chapter not only talks about what views are all about, you are walked through creating them by the authors. Don’t you love books that actually show you how to do things instead of leaving you to figure it all out for yourself?

Chapter 14: Events

This is one of the most important chapters in this book if you are not too experienced with programming. Even if you are an experienced programmer, you’d be surprised how much information you can pick up from this chapter. At the end of the day, your application can’t be interactive unless you master events. There is no escaping this!

Chapter 15: Advanced View Controllers

Now this chapter was so fun. Here you can figure out how to work with tool bar controllers. If you follow the examples in the book, here is where you start feeling that you are becoming an iPhone programmer. I don’t know about you but that’s the best feeling I get when picking up new languages, learning enough to start writing my programs.

Chapter 16: Working with Data

This is the chapter where actions and data are covered. You’ll learn how to accept and handle user actions here. You’ll also learn how to handle user preferences so things go smoothly for your users with your application. The code examples here are just superb, and probably the best way to get these concepts.

Must Read: learning how to work with files and databases is important in any programming language. This is the chapter that covers these concepts. Skip it in your own peril.

Chapter 17: accelerometers
Took me a while to get here, but this chapter is very fun. You not only learn how to work with the accelerometers, you’ll also find out how to tap into the power of iPhone’s GPS to detect location. Most popular game developers have mastered this feature, and you probably should too! Now, before reading this chapter, you want to make sure that you haven’t forgotten about things you learned in previous chapters. Make sure you review them to get a clear understanding of concepts discussed here and beyond.

Chapter 18: Media

iPhone apps wouldn’t be fun without video, audio, and images (take a look at iFart). I was impressed with how the media was covered here. Before starting this book, I felt that I needed to figure out how to spice up my pet project, and this chapter helped me a lot with a few nuggets I picked up here and there.

Chapter 19: Advanced Graphics and Animation
If you have made it this far, you’ve got to take time to congratulate yourself. This book is designed for beginners and intermediate programmers, but getting here takes time. But here is where things get very interesting. Animation is what sets boring applications apart from great ones. In this chapter you learn about:

• Open GL SE
• Quartz 2D
• Core Animation

I was very impressed with the coverage of Quartz in this book. You get started from basic concepts but by the end of chapter you can use advanced Quartz programming to develop fun little apps (see above example). The coverage of Open GL could have probably been better, but you can always buy a book on that to get everything down.

Chapter 20: Advanced Web Programming

The very last chapter and what a great chapter to end the book on. Advanced web programming concepts (e.g. handling XML, URLs, networking, …) are all covered here. I was excited to read about Web 2.0 programming in this chapter, but you will probably need to get down and dirty with a Web 2.0 programming book to gain a deeper understanding of what it takes to develop apps for the social media. I was impressed that the authors touched on topics such as TouchJSON, but after reading all 20 chapters, I felt I was ready to read yet another 20 chapters (I hope the authors will be kind enough to come up with a super advanced iPhone programming book).

Verdict:

I hate to be dramatic here but iPhone in Action was another smash hit by Manning Publishing. Whether you are a novice programmer or an advanced programmer new to the iPhone platform, you are going to finish this book feeling ready to take on the world. Don’t get me wrong. This won’t be the only book that you will have to read to become a super iPhone programmer, but this will teach you everything you need to know to get started quickly.

iPhone development is one of the best skills you can pick up these days. It’s in demand, and people pay big bucks to those who know how to develop attractive iPhone apps. The good news here is that by the end of this book, you will have learned how to design UI and take advantage of Quartz and CA to develop interactive iPhone apps.

Grade: A-. Overall, I found the book to be very useful for me personally. I am an advanced Java programmer but had no knowledge of mobile development going in. After finishing this book, I was able to get started developing my pet project quickly. The coverage of Web 2.0 programming could have been more thorough but you could have thousands of pages on this topics. This book very much reminded me of those diet pills commercials on TV, but unlike those pills this book really works!

Today’s the day. Obama will finally take his office, and we finally get to see a new person in the White House after 8 long years. Now, I know a lot of you guys have made the trip to be a part of this grand event, but for those of you who haven’t, don’t fret. Not only you can watch Obama on TV, but you can also watch him on your iPhone. Ustream iPhone app allows you to watch live TV on iPhone. So, even if you don’t have a TV, you can watch this particular event live.

Let the party begin.

The iPhone app market is very hot currently, and it is growing very fast. There are many categories of applications to choose from on the iTunes. Whether you are into business & finance or just interested in playing games, you have plenty of options on the iTunes. If you are hoping to get into this business, it’s not too late. Everyday, more developers jump into this business, and the business has been kind to a few developers already (allowing them to quit their day jobs).

Most folks assume that in order to make it in the iPhone application business, you will have come up with some crazy complex application that no one knows how it works. The truth is simple, creative applications have a much better chance of bringing you success and money over the long run. Take a look at iFart. It’s very simple. Yet, it keeps putting smiles on people’s faces.

iFart has become extremely successful due to its viral nature. Folks can’t stop talking about that app that allows you to schedule farts in advance. There are plenty of other examples that show the K.I.S.S works and works big. Who says you have to be a rocket scientist to make a super successful iPhone application.