Tag Archives: Apple

According to Computer World, iCloud is Apple’s replacement for MobileMe, but what is/was MobileMe?

According to Wikipedia, “MobileMe is a subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. Originally launched on January 5, 2000, as iTools, a free collection of Internet-based services for users of Mac OS 9, Apple relaunched it as .Mac on July 17, 2002, when it became a paid subscription service primarily designed for users of Mac OS X. Apple relaunched the service again as MobileMe at WWDC 2008 on July 9, 2008, now targeting Mac OS X, Windows, iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch users. On February 24, 2011, Apple discontinued offering MobileMe through its retail stores. The MobileMe retail boxes are also not offered through resellers anymore. Apple is also no longer accepting new subscribers for MobileMe. At the WWDC 2011, on June 6, Apple announced it will launch iCloud in the Northern Hemisphere Autumn 2011, which will replace MobileMe for new users. MobileMe itself will continue to function until June 30, 2012, at which point the service will no longer be available, although users are encouraged to migrate to iCloud before that date.”

Since iDisk from MobileMe is dead, that leaves services like DropBox and Microsoft’s SkyDrive winners. How does DropBox and SkyDrive differ from Carbonite and Mozy back-up services?

DropBox and SkyDrive are online storage services, but Carbonite and Mozy are online backups. So what is the difference between online storage and online backups? Automation and availability mostly. With DropBox and SkyDrive, you store files on a one-off basis, just as you would copying files to a flash drive, but with Carbonite and Mozy, you set up plans, syncs, and can file version – meaning you can save multiple versions of a file to capture older vs. later files. Essentially, you could use an online storage service as an online backup service, but it would be more work.

Read more about Dropbox for business and how it compares to SkyDrive.

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It may seem counter-intuitive to some to forward a SMS message to an email address when most devices that can receive text messages can also receive email, but sometimes you don’t have access to your phone, yet you still need access to the text messages.

This could happen if you lose your phone, leave your phone at work or in the car, or simply not be able to bring it to work or some other restricted location.

I personally started using it when customers started texting me long requests that I’d have to retype or manually forward to get into a usable form on my computer. For whatever the reason, you’re probably here looking for the answer, just like I was before I found the solution.

Below are solutions for how to auto-forward your text messages to email for Android, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, and Apple iPhones.

Android Phones

TextBusy by Gatehill Software - $1.23

I use TextBusy, which works great. It requires you to use a Gmail account to forward the emails so all of the SMS messages will be coming to you from whatever address you specify. Whatever bad reviews you see out there from August – disregard as those have been fixed by now as you can see by the latest review on September 15th. For $1.23 it’s well worth the money. It currently has 9 reviews on the Android Market.

txtForward by Electric Pocket – $3.19

txtForward txtForward automatically sends a copy of your SMS text messages to any email address you specify, for backup or as a handy way to get your messages at your desk.
Send your SMS messages automatically to any email address, and easily back them up or read them from your desktop email client. It’s available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile too. It currently has 38 reviews on the Android Market.

SMS2Gmail by EireApps – FREE

SMS2Gmail forwards SMS and missed call information to Gmail account. This application allows you to forward your SMS messages and missed calls to a user defined gmail account, and you can activate it remotely. If your phone is at home for example and you are not, send it an SMS from a friends phone or webtext and activate this service. It currently has 57 reviews on the Android Market.

Blackberry Phones

SMS Auto Forward to Email Pro by Value Apps – $3.99

SMS Auto Forward to Email lets you forward all incoming SMS messages to an email address automatically. Very handy if you keep changing your handsets or like to delete your text messages. Keep a log/backup of all your text messages. Once installed and running, you don’t need to do anything. The app runs in the background and send every incoming text message automatically to an email address of your choice.

txtForward automatically sends a copy of your SMS text messages to any email address you specify, for backup or as a handy way to get your messages at your desk.
Send your SMS messages automatically to any email address, and easily back them up or read them from your desktop email client.

Windows Mobile

txtForward automatically sends a copy of your SMS text messages to any email address you specify, for backup or as a handy way to get your messages at your desk.
Send your SMS messages automatically to any email address, and easily back them up or read them from your desktop email client.

Palm Pre

SMS Auto Forward/Reply by Grabber Software

NOTE: This app does not work on webOS 2.x. SMS Auto Forward/Reply forwards text messages to the mobile number of your choice (number must be in your contacts). You can also send an auto-reply message to the sender. Your phone must be turned on and in coverage for this application to work. While this isn’t text-to-email, it may be the best a Palm Pre user can get. If you know of another app for Pre’s let us know in the comments.

Apple iPhones

Unfortunately, there are no apps to auto-forward text message from the iPhone (this is an opportunity for app developers!). For iPhones using firmware 3.0 or higher, manual forwarding of SMS messages is a built-in feature. To manually forward a text message, simply:

1. view the SMS text message you’d like to forward
2. select EDIT at the top of the screen
3. check off the message(s) you’d like to forward
4. tap FORWARD at the bottom right of the screen

iSMS/weiSMS

For those using older firmware, there is a third-party application for the iPhone, iSMS/weiSMS, with which it is possible to send text messages to multiple individuals as well as forward text messages.

SMSD

SMSD is a free and easy to use iPhone SMS management application which lets you delete individual Messages, backup all message through mail, manually forward messages, and manually Send/Forward messages to multiple contacts.

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If you’re in the market for a new Android tablet PC, Tablet Comparison has compiled a list of the the best tablet PCs under $300 and the best tablet PCs over $300. You may be surprised how far your dollar can go this Christmas season. Most are Android tablet PCs with the exceptions being Apple’s iPad 2, which runs Apple’s iOS. In the tablet market, Android is like Microsoft Windows and iOS is like Apple’s Snow Leopard or Lion OSX.

While there are many Android tablets under $300, there were only 5 tablets listed over $300 and of the five, the top two models, Apple’s iPad 2 and Motorola’s Xoom battle it out. While at first glance, the Samsung Galaxy Tab may have seemed like an iPad-killer (especially due to the pending patent litigation in multiple countries between Apple and Saumsung) and more recently, the Kindle Fire, the people actually buying these tablets are the one doing the most comparing between the iPad 2 and the Xoom. The one reviewer who compared the iPad and the Xoom to checkers and chess said it well. If you want easy and repeatable over time, get the iPad, but if you want a more in-depth experience over time, you’ll want the Xoom. The Xoom is an Android tablet. You could just as easily compare any Apple device to any Android device with the same chess/checkers analogy and be right. This is how Apple wanted it to be (and vice versa).

Of the Android tablets under $300, the three that stick out to me are the Amazon Kindle Fire, the Coby Kyros, and the Nook Tablet. Of those three, although the Kindle Fire is only $199, the Coby Kyros Tablet may just be the best value as it’s models range from $205 for the 10.1 inch tablet to $157 for the 7 inch tablet. For comparison, the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet are both 7 in Android tablets. Not that size or price is the most important factor in choosing a tablet PC, but out of 352 reviews, the tablet is averaging 3.5 out of 5 stars, 107 of those being 5 stars.

One other factor to consider is the availability of covers, cases, and accessories for your tablets. The Apple iPad 2 and Nook Tablet both have the same form factors as their iPad and Nook Color predecessors, but the Kindle Fire, Motorola Xoom, and Coby Kyros tablets are new form factors that accessories makers may be behind in creating new after-market products for. A new website, MID Tablets plans on covering the different Coby Kyros tablet models (each prefaced with a different ‘MID’ which stands for mobile internet device) and the availability of Coby Kyros cases, chargers, and accessories. The same people who brought you Nook Share, which covers the Nook line and their accessories, are the ones behind this new MID Tablets site and the Tablet Comparison site.

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Have you ever lost your phone or laptop? It’s a horrifying feeling. Thankfully there are some things you can do about it before it happens to you.

The following apps or services will help you find your smartphone or notebook if they are lost or stolen. They can also be used to find the person using them if you’ve lost them – whether or not they want to be found.

Some of these are free and some are not. Whichever one you choose, it must be enabled before your phone or laptop is lost – and you must understand the security risks you’re taking to make your mobile devices more secure.

The Hidden app, whose name itself makes it hard to find, got notoriety when a blogger posted pictures online of the man who allegedly stole his Macbook laptop (below), but for Android, Blackberry, and Windows users, GadgetTrack does something similar. Hidden is only for Mac operating systems, OSX.

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iOS apps for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and the iPad are in strong demand right now, but not everyone knows how to make one, or even how to find someone to make one for them.

A friend of mine pointed me towards Mobile Roadie, which has made apps for “the world’s top publishers and brands,” like Taylor Swift and the Miami Dolphins. Their main selling point is that they make making an iOS app easy using templates. The trade-off is that you may end up getting an app that looks like a template – or worse, just like someone else’s app. But this is how web design got started once it became more accessible and popular to make your own web sites. Not everyone could code their own web sites and not everyone can code their own iOS apps, so then, like now, template businesses are helping users create things that they couldn’t otherwise do.

Other sites like Appiction will make an app for you using their designers and coders, but the price is higher. Expect to pay in the thousands for a custom-developed web app, much like you would for a custom-designed web site. Remember, the app is going to be used by hundreds, if not thousands of people – and if you’re lucky – millions. So you want your app to work well, be pleasing to the eye, and have a good interface – basic rules of design there. To compare different iPhone app developers and get a quote, visit iphoneappquotes.com.

If you’re interested in developing your own iOS app, The Daleisphere has an article about how to start. He goes over the hardware, software, and knowledge you’ll need to get started. Basically, it takes a Mac (you can’t write iOS apps on a PC*), an Objective-C (Cocoa) writer, and an iOS app compiler. He references several books and guides to help you get started and has several key links you’ll need like where to get signed up to become a developer. The most popular iPhone development book on Amazon.com is Beginning iPhone 4 Development: Exploring the iOS SDK so that is something to get you started.

*You can write iOS apps on a PC, but it violates the EULA with Apple (because you have to jailbreak an iPhone), however for those willing to accept that risk, there are programs like DragonFireSDK that will help you write iOS apps on a PC as long as you know C/C++.

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