iPhone brief: multi-photo email, iGoogle ends, teaching tricks

[AppleInsider]

In this roundup of recent iPhone news, AppleInsider takes a look at a new app that can send emails with multiple photos, Google's decision to stop supporting an iPhone-optimized version of iGoogle, and a discovery that could teach your iPhone some salty new language.

New iPhone app enables multi-photo email sending

For users frustrated that the iPhone won't send more than one photo per e-mail, Aqua Eagle LLC has created Multi-Photo Email (99 cents, App Store). The app works by connecting directly to an outgoing mail server and sending the photos as attachments. Naturally, this requires an email account that offers access to SMTP.

The app can access Photo Library to pick photos, import recipients from Address Book, and adjust photo quality or reduce the size to cut down on the amount of data to be sent. The app also works on iPod touch.



Google drops iGoogle for iPhone

Less than one year after Google introduced its iGoogle page optimized for iPhone, Google has quietly redirected requests to its normal mobile browser landing page. The iPhone-optimized version had collapsible and expandable headers to reveal users' gadgets.


A Google Mobile Blog video uploaded in June 2008 that introduces the new iPhone page.

The reason for the pullback is unknown and is uncharacteristic for Google, which continues to run several iPhone-optimized pages such as its main search, Gmail and Google Reader. The launch of the T-Mobile G1, which runs Google's internally developed Android operating system, also hasn't affected iPhone plans and has seen Street View added with iPhone firmware 2.2 just weeks after the G1 reached stores.

Just last week, however, Google announced it is significantly scaling back its efforts by closing three engineering centers, releasing some contractors, and ending development for its Google Video, Mashup Editor, Notebook, Jaiku, and Dodgeball services.

How the iPhone learns new [bleeping] words

Ars Technica has discovered some unusual selectivity when it comes to which applications can teach the iPhone's dictionary new words and which ones can't.

Erica Sadun of the site has tried typing the same word over and over again in Notes only to find that there is no effect on the iPhone's user word database. However, typing the same words into a Safari search box for Google triggers an instant update to the list of words; a return to Notes confirmed that the same words were now recognized. This, Sadun writes, may be helpful if owners want to add colorful language and other unrecognized words without having to always override the built-in autocorrection.

Notes after autocorrection has been trained. | Image credits: Ars Technica.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[coolfactor]

Since Safari skins can be easily created as 3rd-party apps, it stands to reason someone could come out with a dedicated "dictionary training" app.

[Donathius]

I've got to say that I was more than a little annoyed at the iGoogle iPhone page disappearing. I used a bookmarklet to iGoogle to launch Safari more often than Safari itself. Plus I had a lot of bookmarks on there that I used quite often. Plus it made it nice to read things that I had in my iGoogle page like Slashdot and Lifehacker. So ends another good idea.

[Steve45]

My igoogle changed format like 2 days ago, but is currently still functioning (as far as i can tell). It is now somewhat independent of the desktop version, as it got rid of the ability to change between tabs, and will allow you to arrange your now 1 column differently than your desktop igoogle without changing the desktop version. They still had all of my old rss feeds and widgets available, but had cut what was shown down to the first 6 on my first tab (which i then reconfigured to the 6 widgets I used most between the 2 tabs). Also, the links point to google-modified versions of the website that are supposidly automatically iphone formated, but it does a horible job of doing this and i cannot figure out how to turn it off)

Overall I liked the previous version much better, but at least it is not redirecting me to the main page as of now.

[SpamSandwich]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

This, Sadun writes, may be helpful if owners want to add colorful language and other unrecognized words without having to always override the built-in autocorrection.

... or just turn auto-correct off. I type faster without having to tap the auto-correct balloon, even allowing for occasional-to-frequent errors in my typing.

[anantksundaram]

I do not understand Google's schizophrenic behavior with Apple. Weird, given that the CEO sits on Apple's board......

[arteckx]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Less than one year after Google introduced its iGoogle page optimized for iPhone, Google has quietly redirected requests to its normal mobile browser landing page. The iPhone-optimized version had collapsible and expandable headers to reveal users' gadgets.

I'm sure some people are now very upset that Google has taken away their right to an iPhone version of iGoogle. Can you believe the nerve of them to make iPhone users use the same version as people with other phones? ()

I certainly don't mind, though. I always thought the iPhone version made things more difficult than the mobile version just to incorporate iPhone-like data presentation where it didn't belong. Now, by default, it works the way I'm used to it working on the desktop, just formatted well for the smaller screen.

[success]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

New iPhone app enables multi-photo email sending

For users frustrated that the iPhone won't send more than one photo per e-mail, Aqua Eagle LLC has created Multi-Photo Email (99 cents, App Store). The app works by connecting directly to an outgoing mail server and sending the photos as attachments. Naturally, this requires an email account that offers access to SMTP.

OMFG, I didn't know this WASN'T possible. What a joke. Glad I wasn't an early adopter. Would.'ve been PO'd for sure. I was actually thinking of getting an iPodTouch soon. Now that I know this capability isn't native I won't be touching it with a 10" schlong. I'll wait for rev or fw update or something.

[jasonfj]

Is there any way to view /edit your auto-correct dictionary?

[FurieZ]

The iGoogle for iPhone still works, just use: www.google.com/ig/i?source=mofe

[shank2001]

Wow, thanks FurieZ! I was very upset when Google changed the igoogle page for the iPhone. Are they insane? The iphone's page is WAY better than the crap it was replaced with.

[Philotech]

How do you get photos onto your iPhone / iPod Touch other than via iTunes? I can receive photos in emails just fine and in full/high resolution, but once I save them they are in REALLY (and I mean REALLY!) low quality. It appears that they are being resized and saved to fit to the overview screen where 24 photos could be displayed (without the UI elements), and for full-size they are 'blown up' by 24 again.

[fishstick_kitty]

I love the screen shot of the notes app...very informative :-)

[TheNipponese]

The reason for the pullback is unknown...

The reason is that it SUCKED!

For example:

I have 30 feeds.

It was a MAJOR pain in the ass to scroll through all those feed. Browsing the page as a normal page, that I can zoom in and out of, would have been MANY THOUSAND TIMES more efficient. And worst yet, for a long time, there wasn't even a way to switch back to the classic iGoogle view (I don't know if this was changed. I moved to a foreign country later last year). I even complained about this to the google rep at MacWorld 08.

[Kendoka]

The "use Safari (Google) search to make your iPhone auto correction work as expected"-tip was extremely useful.

Auto correction in Swedish is extremely annoying at times - due to Apple, for some unknown reason, not adding three of the most used Swedish characters (åäö) to the virtual keyboard!