Orkut goes Mobile: SMS a Scrap

Just got this off Google's blog:

"orkut SMS will become available to orkut members in Brazil who use Claro as their mobile service provider."
"So next time you want to scrap your friend Sergio about a party, just text message orkut with "scrap Sergio it's party time man!"

Users in Brazil using the Claro service will now be the first to try out Orkut through SMS. If it works there, then the rest of us mortal soles will get to use it too.

Was checking out another application from GetJar yesterday that launched the browser and used the tinyURL service to open the orkut WAP page. SMS is a nice step but i would love to see a WAP site come up for Orkut. hmmm... this gives me ideas...

Note to self: Find out if Orkut has a developer API?

Official Google Blog: SMS on orkut

iMapia: Mapping Application

"iMapia is a mobile mapping application designed specifically for mobile devices. It enables you to get maps, driving directions and local points of interest such as banking, restaurants, shopping centers etc., directly from your cell phone, Treo, Blackberry or other Java enabled mobile devices. iMapia is free to individual users"

A free application with Maps???... how does it compare to Google Maps ??? ... what got me really interested in the application was the "real" cost of using the app in terms of data service charges. Get the complete description here.

The data presentation is pretty good in terms of maps. I couldnt get the directions to work at the time I was playing with the app but the maps came out all right and fast too. Was using a Moto L7 on Cingular's network. I do think this application will work fine on Sprint PCS handsets too specially since they are using High level controls.

Maps look strikingly similar to the ones available from Maporama... wonder who they are using as their provider.

All in all a neat application.

NY Times: An article on ordinary phones and the apps they can run.

"You might just be carrying around a poor man’s BlackBerry — minus the keyboard."

Read this interesting article in todays NY Times: Plain Cellphones Overachieve, With a Little Help. It provides commentary on the current situation mobile applications space and what a user can expect from his or her ordinary phone.

The part I loved was that Mr Magid mentioned a number of applications from smaller or lesser known companies along with offcourse the bigger (read huge) ones.

Windows Live Search for Mobile

Windows Live Search is available for both Java and windows based devices. The stress seems to be in providing location based data to the user bundled into a neat UI. The search is very powerful, I havent been able to check out Yahoo Go yet but I was blown away by the results from Windows Live search. The maps are awesome ... they really are. I have been a fan of the google maps app but the Windows live search now takes the first spot. This is truely an application that I would love to use regularly.. well not the J2ME version but the windows mobile version.

Tried it out on a windows mobile 5.0 ppc and it works awesome with a verizons connection. Would love to see how the app performs on TMobile's network with a similar phone :). The j2me version is pretty neat but they could have done a much better job with the UI. The Map screen is the best (very similar to google) but the other screens are ... not what I expected from Microsoft.

Try it out for yourself, download the app here: http://wls.live.com

WishRadar

Came across this from Lifehacker. Pretty neat service for people who actively manage wish lists. I dont... so really cannot appreciate the value. The thing that got me interested is the use of SMS to get prices.

All in all the wish list synchronization feature seems to work pretty well, atleast they good reviews over the web. Might be a site to look at in the future.

Loved the About section on their website.


Almost every website these days has a mobile presence. SMS implementations are everywhere and the bigger ones also have WAP sites... I wonder how many people are actually using the SMS service on these sites? Why would I wait for minute to get minimal info? hmmm... need to think on this.

Yahoo ! Go 2.0

Was all gung ho about trying out the Yahoo ! Go 2.0 service. They support a limited number of phones and I guess I spent a little more time getting the Samsung A900 :(... Will just have to wait till their beta slot opens up.

The features look awesome on the website ... cant wait to try the application out.

Gmail for your phone

Just downloaded and played around with the gmail j2me application on the Fusic. Looks awesome, just like the web version. Couple it up with Sprint's network on the fusic... its a real sweet experience.

Though, I would have liked the ability to use the application when I am not in network coverage like the subway. The application keeps connecting to the server... :(... so ... its really not much of a use to me. If I have to stay connected while using the applcation then why wouldnt I just use the WAP site... hmmm.. but another solid application from the google mobile team, love the ui: neat and simple.

scanR Applications

Found a couple of applications (downloadable) for scanR on GetJar. The scanR website does not mention any downloadable applications or at least I couldn't find any information.

It is interesting that they are coming out with apps for 2 platforms: Symbian (3rd edition) and Windows Mobile. I haven't played with the apps as yet but will do as soon as I can get the right device. From the screen shots it looks like an application that scans the images directory on the phone and list all the images out. The user then selects the image and sends it over to the server. But screen shots can be misleading so will write more once I play with the application.

I remember talking to a scanR rep in CTIA last year about them thinking of putting an application on the phone to make the whole process easier. I believe they were also targeting BREW at that time. To me, you cant get any simpler than a MMS. Having the end user download the application can be a pain.

To me having a downloadable application makes sense if they do some sort of processing on the phone before sending the image out. A sort of Triage of the image. Another reason could be to allow the user to shoot pictures from within the application... though I am not sure this approach would work, you get good results from scanR only if you have a decent resolution. Most of the programming platforms do allow the app to access the camera but the resolutions returned are usually lower than the native camera app.

Addition (From Noah):
Download the applications for Palm, Windows and Symbian here: http://www.scanr.com/download.aspx