I've Been Shot

Not in the ouchy sense, don't worry. Nadine and I went to get some professional photos done over the weekend, and they've just come back.

They're all online now, so click here and take a look! (and don't forget to post some comments on what you think...)

The Windows Phone Challenge: App Showdown

So, there's still a few weeks left to go until I'll be the proud owner of a Windows Phone. However, using my iPhone has made me realise that there are lots of apps that I use at the moment, and it'll be interesting to see how many of them have Windows-counterparts, and which I can just plain do without.

With this in mind, I've checked each app I've currently got, to see what alternatives Windows Phone will be able to offer - here's what I've got installed on my iPhone, and what will match it...

• Hullomail - Nothing available, but Hullomail emails me all my voicemails anyway, so not a problem.
• Facebook - Yep, an official app. Free.
• Sky+ - An official app available, 99p though - even the iPhone counterpart is free.
• First Direct - No official app - one called MoBank claims to do the same, but I'm not sure I'd trust it. It's OK, I can use firstdirect.com/m on the phone.
• Twitter - Of course, there's a free official app.
• Google Maps - No need. Bing Maps comes preinstalled.
• Google Latitude - Nothing. The webapp might work, but it kinda negates the point.
• Google Voice - A 3rd party app called Freetalk seems to provide connectivity into GV.
• Apple Remote - Of course there won't be an app for that...
• Sirius XM - Nothing at the moment, but seeing as I don't subscribe to it, no love lost.
• TuneIn Radio - There's a sackload of free radio apps. No problems.
• Shazam - It's available on WP too, and with unlimited free tagging as a launch offer, this might actually be better than the iPhone offering, which limits to 5 free tags a month.
• IHeartRadio - Does exist, but not in the UK Zune store. Probably never will.
• Copilot Live - Nothing at the moment, but Orange Maps is supposed to be out "soon".
• Cambutton - No need for it. WPs have hardware shutter buttons.
• RBS - As with First Direct, MoBank wants a shot. No thanks. But it's cool, I can use rbs.co.uk.
• Menstrometer - Yes, there are apps like Happy Period and Fertility Tracker, but at £1.99 and £2.49 respectively, I might live without.
• Google Earth - Nothing, unfortunately. A pity, because I'm sure a 4-inch Super AMOLED screen would do it justice.
• Yahoo! - They do have apps, or I could just use yahoo.com.
• Viber - Nothing yet.
• RedLaser - ShopSavvy is available free, and it's pretty much the same thing.
• MyPhone+ - No point. WP7 syncs photos and info with Facebook anyway.
• Skype - No Skype love yet, but it's only a matter of time.
• 0870 - Yes, there's a Saynoto0870 app for WP, and looking at the screenshots, it looks better than the iPhone variant.
• Opera Mini - No, but why would you need it? IE on WP is amazing.
• Google - isn't that what google.com is there for?
• PayPal - Nothing to deal with a PayPal account, although I can't remember when I used this app last.
• XE Currency - The MSN Money app looks like it'll cover this one.
• AutoCamFree - Can't see anything, can probably live without.
• Orange Wednesdays - I think this comes preloaded on Orange devices.
• Flixster - Available for free.
• Break.com - Yep, an official app is there.
• YouTube - No app, but m.youtube.com does the same thing.
• Qik - Not yet.
• LinkedIn -  A free app called Link Me In looks like it's sorted this.
• Foursquare - Indeed, a free official app's available now.
• Photoshop Express - There are some crummy image editors available, but nothing matching up to PSE I'm afraid.
• Sky News - Not needed. Other news outlets are available. BBC, ITN, and AP all have apps.
• Dictionary - Loads of apps available.
• iBooks - Seriously? Of course you can't get iBooks. There's a ton of PDF readers though, including Adobe Reader itself.
• MyVoucherCodes - Nothing like this yet.
• Nectar - No. But why have I got it?
• ShopShop - Yep, Microsoft have even made one called "Shopping List" themselves.
• ShopSavvy - Yes, it's here, and it's free.
• VoucherCloud - Like MyVoucherCodes, there's no alternative yet.
• Tesco Groceries - The Tesco R&D team have jumped on this. It's there, and free.
• Tesco Finder - Not yet, but I'm sure it's on the horizon.
• Amazon UK - Not yet, but Amazon.com have launched theirs, so the UK can't be far behind. And anyway, they have a website, right?
• eBay - Yes, they've got one. It's free, and looks quite pretty.
• WebMD - No app, but a mobile website should suffice.
• TargetWeight - The free "Calorie Counter" by Fatsecret has this covered.
• Weather - Built into the OS.
• Calculator - Built into the OS.
• Layar - I don't think WP does augmented reality, so no. And probably never.
• YellLabs - Same as Layar.
• Yell.com - Like so many others, no app, but they have a mobile site. Anyway, Bing Search has business listings galore.
• Find My iPhone - The OS has Find My Phone built in. The same, minus an "i". And just as free.
• Orange Backup - No, but the phone syncs to Google Contacts just fine.
• VLC - No, but Zune plays most things in-house.
• VideoJug - No app, but all their stuff's on YouTube anyway.
• Parcel Tracker - £0.99 will buy this for Windows Phone.
• HoloToy - A proof-of-concept for iPhone, so of course it won't be ported.
• OnePoll - Not available. Oh well. Never used it. Next.
• Flight Control - Yes, it's there. It's £2.49. And it works over Xbox Live! Result.
• Driver - No, alas not.
• Adobe Ideas - No, but maybe in the future?
• Getty Images - No app, but a website.
• Orange Maps - Supposedly coming soon.
• Your Orange - Preinstalled, I think.
• Kayak - Yes, it's there and free.
• TripAdvisor - No, but the mobile version of their site is fine.
• BA - No app, but there's BA2GO.com if I ever fancy checking my BA Miles.
• The Train Line - There are no traintime apps. Not one.
• DirectGov Travel News - No travel news apps either.
• Tweetyshow - Nothing for searching Twitpics yet. A pity, as I do use this when bored.
• Flickr - Yes, there's an official app.
• Peephole - As for Tweetyshow.
• Subway Subcard - No, but it's only a QRCode, so probably hackable.
• Shapewriter - Not yet.
• Doodle Jump - Seems like an iPhone exclusive, unfortunately.
• Who's Got The Biggest Brain - Alas, not.
• Solipskier - No. I'll miss this.
• Bejeweled 2 - Like the iPhone version, plus Xbox Live, and minus Blitz. £3.99.
• Sonic the Hedgehog - No.
• Hello Kitty's Parachute Panic - No.
• Doodle Squares - No.
• Box.net - Nothing I can see.
• Bump - No Bump app, but can't you just email things?
• QRReader - Loads of QR code readers for free, like Beetagg.
• UpCode - Same again.
• Speedtest.net - Many available for free.
• Zynga Scramble - Not available.
• Words With Friends - Exclusively for iPhone and Android for now, but maybe in the future?
• Sickipedia - No app, but the website will do just fine.
• Heart Rate Monitor - Nothing like this.
• The Cube - No.
• Angry Birds - No, but supposedly coming soon?
• Kindle - Yes, available and free. Amazon were quick off the mark with this one.
• Google Places - No.
• Memeo Connect - GDocs does this free.
• Dropbox - Multiple free Dropbox clients are available. Oh, and one that's not free, too.
• HP iPrint - No, given that iPrint is an iOS thing. You can still email stuff to HP printers to print though, so the app is pointless.
• iTorch4 - Loads of free torch apps around.
• Google Translate - For £0.79, there's a third-party app.
• Scrabble Tile Rack - No, it's iPhone only.
• Raptr - No need, WP has Xbox Live built in.
• Google Shopper - The free "Price It Quick!" looks to sort this. Or google.com, you know.

So then, there are some apps that I'll just have to do without (or find workarounds), some that looks like they'll port nicely, and some that might just be a little different.

Will I be able to cope/adapt? We'll have to wait and see...

The Windows Phone 7 Challenge: Bring It On

Some of you might have read my article last week about being an Apple whore. Indeed, quite a few products in my house are Apple ones.

A lot can happen in a week however, and in the meantime, I've qualified as a VIP Ambassador for the Windows Phone range. This means, among other things, that Microsoft have agreed to give me one of their top-of-the-line devices - a Samsung Omnia 7 - for keepsies.

Now, working in a phone shop, I see devices come and go practically every day. There's always something new coming out, and quite a few will pass me by with a "meh" rating. The Windows Phones, however, are a product that I truly believe in - that's why I gunned for doing all the training and getting to this stage with Microsoft. I've had a play with the phones at work, been impressed, and shown them off to many people.

This is where the true acid test starts though. Will I actually be able to live with one myself?

It is, of course, going to be tough. The iPhone is a great device - it does everything that I want from a phone. It gets my emails to me, it gives me my daily fix of Facebook and Twitter, it syncs my calendars and contacts to Google, and it keeps me entertained with movies and music.

The Windows Phones will do all of that - we already know that. The question is not "What else can a Windows Phone do for me?", but "Can a Windows Phone do what I want, but better?". With this in mind, as soon as I receive it (I'm expecting a lead time of about 4 weeks, as I suspect it's going to get shipped from Redmond), I'll be putting my main SIM in, getting it set up, and leaving the iPhone at home. Will I get Apple-related withdrawal symptoms? Or will I see the light and feel free?

It's going to be an interesting experiment, one that I've got high hopes for. I'm really hoping that the Windows Phone will win out, and get me away from Apple, because in a way, I detest their tyrannic business practices. (That, and I can then sell my iPhone and be £350 better off...)

Please do post a comment below with your thoughts on the experiment, and how you think it'll go. But which is better? There is, as Harry Hill would say, only one way to find out...

Tech: Reflections of an Apple Whore

There was a day when I swore that Apple products were just for people who wanted to show off. Unfortunately, today has been a turning point, in that I have finally got my home wired up for technology, and just realised that I've got:

• An iPhone
• Nadine with an iPhone
• An iPad
• iTunes running my media server
• An Airprint-connected HP Wifi printer, linked up to the iPad and iPhones
• Airport Express, linked to the iTunes server
• iPhone Remote on both the iPhones, to control the iTunes server
• Airplay running from the home cinema system to iTunes, iPad, and both iPhones
• An iPod shuffle sitting on my desk
• Another iPod shuffle sitting on the shelves behind me
• A third iPod shuffle in Nadine's drawer
• iPhone/iPad chargers in most rooms of the house, just in case
• oh, and a couple of MobileMe accounts too.

Yes, I've whored myself out to Steve Jobs. Ah well. Go Apple.