iPhone TIP: Using your calendars abroad

I was in Atlanta last week and one of the single most annoying things was that the meetings in my calendar stuck with the UK time zone - so my 2pm meetings shifted out to 7pm (as the UK is 5 hours ahead of Atlanta).

I found the culprit in Settings>Mail, Contacts, Calendars and then scrolling down to the item Time Zone Support under Calendar. When switched on (mine was by default) this basically made your calendar show event dates and times according to the time zone selected for the calendar. I want my times to shift according to the time zone I am in so switching this item off produces that effect.

Happy days

Popularity: 7% [?]

Subscribe to this blog's RSS feed

Given its GPS functionality and superior mapping software, the lack of turn by turn GPS applications on the iPhone was a glaring omission. Especially as Windows Mobiles have had this functionality for years now.

Well it looks like that will quickly be rectified with the release of version 2.1 of the iPhone. This version will allow developers to do exactly that - what is the betting developers at TomTom and Garmin are busy downloading the latest developer’s version right now?

Popularity: 14% [?]

As per my previous post, my posts are out of whack as I am behind on them. To summarise one of them.. I got an iPhone and it is the best convergence device I have ever had. It really does replace my mp3 player,PDA and phone.

One of the major reasons for buying the iPhone was its ability to push my work email out to me immediately (using our Microsoft Exchange servers). It works great (though it does not sync my Outlook tasks for some reason?!). One of the issues I had when I used this push email functionality on my Windows Mobile phone was how it worked with my personal email/calendar/contacts. I could use Windows Live’s services but it is slow, clunky and therefore impossible to really use productively. So I had to make do combining my work and personal information and using the mobile browser for email.

On the iPhone, Apple have released MobileMe to provide a solution to this. It looks like an interesting solution which allows me to maintain a separate personal and work contact list and have upto date email/contacts/calendars on the move for my personal stuff. Despite the marketing speak it is not push ala Microsoft Exchange but pulling contacts and the calendar every minute so it is so near instantaneous - not that that really matters to most people (there are mutterings about email being pull as well but I can’t confirm that - anyone know what the reality is on this?). Anyhow, the real problem for me is that it requires me to use a mobileme email account (someone@me.com). I use my own personal domain for emails running on Google’s Apps so switching accounts really isn’t an option. Maybe one day they will offer a similar service to Google. Not sure it would be a priority for them.

There is push email on Yahoo but again similar to MobileMe, I have to use their email addresses and the personal contact list merges with your work one. I’m not sure if thats better or worse than having it separate. I suppose the most important thing is that it does not sync back to my work computer. There does not seem to be any sort of calendar sync.

So as I am already using Google, the obvious solution would be Gmail push on the iPhone. Google released push email on Helio (a US mobile carrier) a while back but there is currently nothing for the iPhone, so right now I am stuck either syncing via IMAP or using my mobile browser. Of course that also means no personal contacts list integrated with the phone or a calendar. It looks like there is possible a timeline to this happening though it isn’t till September at least. I wonder though if it will allow a separate personal contact list or will Apple keep that functionality to itself.

Popularity: 37% [?]

O2 just announced the tarrifs for the Apple iPhone and it is pretty stunning - £99 for the 8GB version on a £30/month tarrif, free on the £45/month one. It is on an 18 month contract BUT people who are already on an 18 month contract with the old iPhone CAN upgrade - it looks like you just extend the contract by a further 18 months. That means that unlike other 18 month contracts on mobile networks, the 18 months only ties you to the provider - you will still be able to upgrade to the latest and greatest Apple phone.

With Microsoft’s phones looking dated already and updated versions that are just glossy front ends (the backend OS is not due to be upgraded till next year) - Apple look to be wanting to take market share away from Microsoft and possibly gain a strong foothold in the business arena (the new phone supports Exchange email which is used by a large number of companies). This of course could then in turn lead to even greater uptake in Apple Macs. Right now the markets dont think so (shares were down 4% at one point yesterday) but I think this is an interesting move by Apple.

Popularity: 10% [?]

We need access to information at different times and in different ways - when we’re on the move we might use a mobile and at home a desktop. It is this change in circumstances and needs that devices are getting better at dealing with.

Email was one of the first devices to bridge the boundary between the desktop and the mobile. I am using Exchange at work and so a windows mobile phone works “well” at integrating the experience on the move. I haven’t been much of a fan of gmail via the mobile as yet - it currently feels a bit clunky, so I usually wait to answer personal emails when I get home unless they come to my work address but this will improve over time. It amazes me that the iphone doesn’t support exchange. It is one of the major reasons I ruled out purchasing it.

RSS is the next technology to do this and the need for this cross platform integration is stopping me moving from Google Reader. The platform works really well on both the mobile and desktop platforms. It’s all very well talking about using new platforms like Particls or fav.or.it but if it cant provide a great experience across multiple platforms then it at least needs to sync with Google Reader (or other great mobile platforms). It is now the first question I ask when I look at other RSS reader. This all comes back to dataportability. We need the ability to sync data as well as move it.

Popularity: 12% [?]