It's time for some good old forum action. From the Forums is a great way to see what all of the current hot topics are on the TiPb forums. In order to create any new threads of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is a simple process that will only take a few minutes out of your day, so if you have not already already done so, head on over and register now.

If you are a AT&T customer, we are pretty sure you are well aware that MMS has finally been activated on our IPhones. Well… for most of us that is. Some of you are still having issues getting it working. Stop by the official AT&T MMS threadand let us know how your experience has been so far.

This next thread was started by DBlanco and he thinks the iPhone is a perfect device. While many of you would agree with this there’s an equal amount of you who would disagree. Stop by the thread for yourself and speak your mind. My feeling is, yes the iPhone is a great device but no single device is 100% perfect. There is always room for improvement.

This thread was a started a while back by Erika78 and she wants to know why you decided to leave your previous phone and make the jump to iPhone? With our forums growing by the day this is one of those threads that will never die. Join in on the conversation and let us know why you left your old device.

Have some iPhone tips and tricks that you’d like to share? Perhaps you are in need of some general help? This is the forum you need to visit. That is the place to find answers to your iPhone questions along with all the tips and tricks you can imagine.

See you on the forums!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

From the Forums: AT&T MMS, Perfect iPhone, Why the iPhone, Tips & Tricks

Apple has just announced that their iTunes App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch has passed the 2 billion downloads bar. Boom indeed.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, says:

The rate of App Store downloads continues to accelerate with users downloading a staggering two billion apps in just over a year, including more than half a billion apps this quarter alone. The App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.

Other numbers include more than 85,000 apps now available from 125,000 registered developers, available in 77 countries around the world, for 50 million iPhones and iPod touches sold to date.

Jugger. Naut.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple’s iPhone App Store Passes 2 Billion Downloads

Looks like the iPhone topped the 2009 CoolBrands Rankings, coming in at a frigid #1, with Apple itself at #3 and the iPod at #4 (that’s 3 out of the top 5 spots, according to our match department). Says Stephen Cheliotis of Centre for Brand Analysis:

The iPhone is something everyone has been talking about. There has been so such a buzz around it and people who haven’t got one, want one.

And yeah, with the way they spell Centre and the notable inclusions and exclusions on the list (Xbox 360?) it’s likely not a US-based survey. Still, nice to see the iPhone owns international mindshare as well…

Here’s the full top 10:

1. iPhone
2. Aston Martin
3. Apple
4. iPod
5. Nintendo
6. YouTube
7. BlackBerry
8. Google
9. Bang & Olufsen
10. PlayStation 3

[via 9to5mac]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone Tops 2009 CoolBrands Rankings

AT&T finally launched MMS for the iPhone last Friday, and you’ve had the whole weekend to use, abuse, or ignore it. So, how is it? Love it, like it, avoid it like the plague? Huge fan, hype fried, frustrated by network issues, or just couldn’t care less? Let us know!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Poll: So How’s AT&T iPhone MMS?

Orange UK is set to start offering the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS according to ITProPortal. Previously exclusive to O2 in the UK, that deal is said to end on Oct. 9, clearing the way for some competition in the UK market. (At least beyond T-Mobile smuggling in a few units from Germany…)

Orange was previously the exclusive French iPhone provider until Bouygues-Telecom got into the game, and these latest deals seem to indicate Apple is serious about increasing their customer base…. at least outside the US. (Though it’s admittedly easier internationally where almost all providers are GSM and on similar frequencies).

Rumors about Orange getting the iPhone hit TiPb back in May, but there remain no details yet on when and how much. If you’re in the UK, however, let us know if you’re planning to make the jump to Orange when you can.

[Thanks bengillam for the tip!]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Orange UK to Offer the iPhone

DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition App Forum Review by llofte. For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum Review Index!

DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition [$19.99 - iTunes link] is a “the next-generation cable release” for your Canon or Nikon DSLR camera. With it you can trigger the shutter as well as change multiple settings, see through your camera’s viewfinder, and view images directly on your iPhone.

To use DSLR Camera Remote, you will need a computer, a USB cable that connects your camera to your computer, a Wi-Fi network (internet connection not required), and onOne’s free DSLR Camera Remote Server software installed on your computer.

The home screen has a big window that displays a photo or live view and your camera’s current settings. The six settings in the center are the ones you can remotely change: aperture, shutter speed, ISO, white balance, quality, and exposure compensation. Just tap the setting you want to change and list of available options appear. Below these you will see what focus and exposure mode your camera is set to (you cannot change these remotely). If you are using a mode that is partially automatic, then you will not be able to adjust all settings. For example, in the screenshot above, you can see that I’m shooting with aperture priority, so the shutter speed is grayed out. In the center of the bottom toolbar, you will see how much hard drive space is available on your computer. The bottom right corner is the fire button to trigger to shutter and the bottom left corner is where you go to access more options.

Before I used DSLR Camera Remote, I was concerned that there was going to be a bit of a delay between tapping fire and my camera actually snapping the shot as this would be a major problem when shooting subjects like children or pets. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there is no noticeable delay. This is of course only true when not using LiveView mode. There is a significant delay when utilizing LiveView because your camera must first exit LiveView before taking the shot – not a fault of the app.

In situations where instantaneous shutter releases aren’t necessary, LiveView is awesome. From the home screen, the app displays exactly what you’d see by looking through your camera’s viewfinder; rotate to landscape for a larger view. After taking the shot, the app will display the photo for a few seconds before going back to LiveView. There is not a setting to change how long you see the preview for. If you have your camera set to autofocus, tapping the LiveView screen will focus. (Note that LiveView is only available on cameras that support it).

With LiveView disabled, you can swipe through all the photos saved in the chosen folder on your computer. Double tapping the photo will zoom in. Zooming in is nice in theory, but isn’t implemented well. It zooms in quite a bit and there isn’t a way to pan around the photo or change the magnification percentage. It’s easier to walk over to the computer and view the image there. You can zoom while in portrait or landscape, but you can only delete a photo from landscape – just tap and hold. Also from landscape you can trigger the shutter and access options.

Options

The intervalometer lets you take up to 999 shots anywhere from 1 second to 1 day apart. After choosing the desired interval and number of shots, just tap start

DSLR Camera Remote makes it easy to auto bracket. You can choose an exposure increment of ⅓ or a full stop and a total range between ⅓ and 5 stops above and below your current exposure. DSLR Camera Remote does the math for you and tells you how many shots will be included in your bracket given your chosen settings. You can also choose to lock shutter speed, aperture, or ISO speed and the delay between shots from 0 to 5 seconds. Once you’re ready to shoot your bracket, tap start.

Burst Mode lets you shoot 1 to 12 shots at your camera’s fastest rapid fire speed.

When turning on Live Preview, you will be given focusing options to choose from. Your choices depend on which camera you’re using. Refer your camera’s user manual if you aren’t sure what the options mean.

Conclusion

DSLR Camera Remote really is the “next generation cable release”. It’s biggest drawback is that you must have your camera connected to a computer. Since an actual internet connection is not required, you can create an ad-hoc network with your computer and communicate with your iPhone that way. This is a great workaround to the Wi-Fi requirement, but still needs a computer. I did see a glimmer of hope on onOne’s website about utilizing 3.0 to increase functionality:

Several people have asked if they can plug their iPhone directly into the camera’s USB port and control it this way. This is something we are actively investigating, but until the iPhone 3.0 update, third party developers like us don’t have any way to communicate through the iPod dock connector. In the future we hope to be able to add this support, we will keep you posted. They haven’t said anything more since 3.0 was released in June, so I hope that this is something they are still actively pursuing.

Regardless, DSLR Camera Remote is an excellent application as is and well worth the $19.99.

Pros

• Remotely control many settings and shutter release
• Immediately see photo taken
• Look through your camera’s viewfinder with LiveView
• Supports 16 Canon and 9 Nikon models
• Intervalometer and auto bracketting

Cons

• Zooming in on photo is limited
• Must have computer to use

TiPb Review Rating

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

App Review: DSLR Camera Remote Professional Edition for iPhone

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Best of Smartphone Experts, 27 Sept. 2009