Category Archives: app of the week

app of the week, ipad

BBC iPlayer – iPad App of the Week

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BBC iPlayer – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is BBC iPlayer.

BBC TV and Radio programmes now on your iPad.

Watch and listen live, or choose your favourites from over 400 hours programming from the last 7 days.

– Watch live TV
– Listen to live radio
– Scroll through and find Featured and Most Popular programmes
– Add programmes to your favourites and have them ready and waiting when a new episode or series is available
– Drag and drop programmes to Favourites with one easy move
– Browse through the schedule for upcoming programmes

Free

Sometimes you will want your learners to watch a programme that was on the telly in the past seven days. Even if your institution has an ERA licence you may have “forgotten” to have it recorded, or even if you have, you might want your learners to watch it in their own time and a place of their choosing. BBC iPlayer for many is a great service and allows people to watch a lot of stuff from the last seven days and in some cases with some series, catch-up an entire series. What you can see and what you can’t is not a technical issue, but a rights one. The more we have had iPlayer the more the rights issues are been settled for new content.

There is an App for the iPad for BBC iPlayer. Learners, if they have an iPad can watch the programme when they want to. I have used it a few times and it does work as expected. I think it is better than the website version of iPlayer on the iPad and it seems to be a little more stable. A bit easier to go back to a video you have paused for example. Navigation is slightly different to the website version you get on the iPad, but not much really too different.

This is the iPad App.

This is iPlayer on the iPad browser.

So my next question is why?

Why on earth did the BBC spend time and money on an app for the iPad if it adds virtually nothing to the experience that you get from using the website on the iPad?

So is the content different from what you get on the web on the iPad?

So can you download content for offline viewing? Like when you are on a train? Something you can do on your computer. Well no, you have to have a decent internet connection to watch BBC iPlayer. Also you can’t use the service on 3G, you do need to be on wifi.

The main difference is that the app allows you to watch live BBC TV which is probably the main reason for getting the app, though remember you will need a TV licence to watch the live streams!

In the end I can’t see what the app adds that viewing on the iPlayer on Safari doesn’t have already, apart from “favourites”. What’s the point of that as most content disappears in under seven days anyway…

Neither the App or the web version of iPlayer support AirPlay which is what you would use to stream content to your Apple TV. Now that would be useful especially as BBC iPlayer is not native on the Apple TV (and in the UK it should be). Of course if we could put Apps on the Apple TV then we could put this BBC App on the Apple TV! Sometimes I wish life was a little easier and simpler.

The BBC iPlayer App is an App it currently doesn’t support AV-Out. You can do AV-Out with the web version. If you have an iPad 2 then you can mirror the app using the Digital AV Adapter.

Disappointingly for some this app is only for the iPad, you will need to rely on the web version if you have an iPhone or an iPod touch. Though for those with an Android handset, there is a BBC iPlayer App for Android.

Get the BBC iPlayer App for the iPad in the iTunes App Store.

app of the week

British Library: Treasures HD – iPad App of the Week

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British Library: Treasures HD – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is British Library: Treasures HD.

‘Treasures’, the British Library’s first app for iPhone and iPad, makes it possible to explore some of the Library’s rarest and most extraordinary written and printed material – from wherever you are in the world.

Created in partnership with Toura, the app includes over 100 highlights from our collections, including literary, historical, music-related and scientific documents – alongside illuminated manuscripts and sacred texts. Each is presented through high-resolution images, allowing the viewer to zoom in and explore in extraordinary detail.

Literary highlights include Charles Dickens’s handwritten draft of Nicholas Nickleby and Jane Austen’s teenage writings, while key historical documents include 2000-year-old Oracle Bones from China, an original Magna Carta of 1215, Elizabeth I’s famous Tilbury speech before the Spanish Armada, and a recording of suffragette Christabel Pankhurst’s speech after her release from prison.

The section devoted to music includes manuscript scores from some of the best-known classical composers, such as Handel, Purcell, Mozart and Schubert. A section devoted to maps showcases some of the most interesting and beautiful maps and views from the collection.

Christian texts include the Codex Sinaiticus, the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Gutenberg Bible. Other faiths are represented by the Golden Haggadah, Sultan Baybars’ Qur’an, and Buddhist, Daoist, Hindu, Sikh and Zoroastrian manuscripts.

The scientific documents, which are generally less well-known, explore fields such as astronomy, botany, zoology and medicine. They include manuscripts, notebooks and letters that reveal some of the key scientific developments of all time, including Fleming’s discovery of penicillin, and Copernicus’s and Galileo’s findings on the structure of the cosmos.

Alongside these images, the app also includes sound recordings and nearly 50 short videos. This multimedia content totals over 1.2GB and is best when viewed over a WiFi connection. Videos include interviews with British Library curators, the linguist David Crystal and explorer Ben Fogle.

The app will be regularly updated with information on British Library exhibitions, highlighting some of the star items that will be on display. Currently the app includes information on ‘Out of This World: Science Fiction but not as you know it’.

Explore over a thousand antiquarian texts from the British Library by downloading our ’19th Century Historical Collection‘ iPad app, also available in the App Store.

£3.49

I have been lucky enough to visit the British Library at St Pancras, though as I was there for meetings, I didn’t have a huge amount of time to look round. This app, as you can read from the description, has a huge amount of wonderful content to peruse as and when you want to.

The interface is clear and uncluttered and browsing the images you can swipe and zoom as though they were your photographs on the iPad. It’s great for browsing, but just as easy to focus in on a particular part of the collection.

The developers of the app do say:

Please note that due to the large amount of multimedia content included in the app, a WiFi connection is recommended to watch the videos and listen to the audio.

So not really an App for browsing on the move.

There is also an iPhone version available, alas this is not an Universal App so if you want both the iPhone and the iPad version then you are going to need to buy both! Personally I think the app works best on the larger screen of the iPad, so if you a choice, go for the iPad version.

I was really impressed with the interface, the functionality and the sheer beauty of the content within the app. It was like browsing a coffee table book, or a magazine. This isn’t for the serious historian, but at £3.49 is certainly value for money in finding out about many of the treasures at the British Library and well worth a look.

Update: September 2013

Please note that as of September 2013 Treasures is no longer be available in the Apple and Android stores, as toura have now withdrawn support for the British Library Treasures and Royal Manuscripts apps. We regret the inconvenience this is causing British Library users.

However, it is still possible for you to access the app content that is held on your phone or tablet. To do this you need to disable both WiFi and Cellular Data in the phone or tablet settings. The apps should then load and function as normal, though videos and some other content elements are currently unavailable. When you have finished using the Library apps you will then need to reactivate WiFi and Cellular Data in the phone or tablet settings. We hope to be able to restore the apps to full working order in due course.

For me this is unacceptable, as I paid for the app.

app of the week

Pages – iPhone App of the Week

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Pages – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Pages.

Exclusively designed for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, Pages lets you create, edit and view documents wherever you are. Every page looks stunning and clear on iPad — and also on iPhone 4 and the latest iPod touch, thanks to the high-resolution Retina display. Pages uses Smart Zoom to automatically zoom in on text while you type, and zooms back out when you’ve finished, so it’s easy to write and edit on iPhone and iPod touch.

£5.99

I have reviewed Apple’s Pages before when it was only available for the iPad.

Since then Apple have made it an universal App and so it now works on the iPhone and the iPod touch. One of the reasons they have done this is that the new iCloud will allow you to work on the same document using Pages on the Mac, the iPad and the iPhone without needing to sync through iTunes or copy off through e-mail, iDisk or a WebDAV drive. With iCloud it will be possible to start a document off on your iPhone, work on it on your iPad before finishing it off on your Mac. Changes would be made automatically via the forthcoming iCloud service.

So can you use Pages on the iPhone as a word processor?

Well most of this article was written in Pages on my iPhone.

Virtually all the functionality in the iPad version can be found in the iPhone version. You can embed photographs, tables, charts and shapes.

As before where I think Pages falls down is on document management, specifically getting documents on and off the iPhone. For example in getting documents off the Iphone you have three quite limited options:

  • Send via Mail
  • Share via iWork.com
  • Export

You also need to remember to Export your document if you want to remove it via the file management part of iTunes! Sending via e-mail is often the easiest option, whilst iWork.com is really in my opinion still in beta. However as mentioned previously the new iCloud service should make it easier to edit documents between your iPhone and your Mac.

There are three Export options, Pages, PDF and Word, so if you have a Windows PC that you use with your iPhone then even though you use Pages on the iPhone, you will be able to import and edit your documents using Word on the Windows PC.

Once you have exported you can share that exported file via one of the file sharing Apps such as AirSharing. Alas one of the things I would love to see is Dropbox support, but there isn’t any. The new version does have better document management and rather than have all your files in one place, you can now organise them into folders.

Getting files into Pages is not that simple. Even if you copy files over through iTunes, you then still need to import them again into the Pages App, an extra process that in my opinion isn’t really needed and should be done automatically.

Disappointingly you can’t use Pages on the iPhone in landscape mode, so as a result you do need pretty good eyesight to edit the document or have the text shift from side to side as you write.

There are flaws in my opinion with Pages, but having said that, it is still an excellent word processor for the iPhone and as you would expect very stable on the iOS platform and I am pleased with my results the times I have used it.

From a learning perspective, learners would be able to use Pages to make notes, start writing their assignment, edit essays on the move and so on.

Get Pages for the iPhone in the iTunes Store.

app of the week, ipad, iphone

Artify – iPad App of the Week

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Artify – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Artify.

Inspired by the great Impressionist painters Monet, Renoir, and Degas, Artify instantly transforms your favorite photos into masterpieces. Create gorgeous impressionistic interpretations of photos of friends, family, landscapes, or anything at all. Reveal and highlight any detail you want with just the touch of a finger.

Simple, elegant and instant:

• Take or import photos and transform them with a single touch of the “Artify!” button into impressionistic artwork
• Choose from three different styles to “Artify” with – each creates a unique look
• Reveal faces or other detail with a stroke of your finger, for a gorgeous mix of soft and sharp that will delight your friends and family
• Zoom in, Pan, Undo and Redo to get the exact effects you want, with fine detail control
• Customize and create your own unique version of a favorite pic by turning your fingertip into a small, medium or large brush
• Hit “Clear” to start again from a clean copy of the original photo
• Nothing to “learn” – Artify is instant and intuitive. One touch and your favorite photo is a masterpiece
• Share your artified pics in email, or post to Facebook or Twitter right from the app
• New photos and artified works are autosaved to camera roll for you to keep
• Create unlimited Artified versions of your pics. Each time you “Artify!” you create a unique interpretation of the image
• Artify now supports extra-large resolution images!

£1.19

Okay I like apps like this, I liked ToonPAINT for example that turns images into comics. This app turns photographs into artworks…

Well not quite…

It does certainly apply a filter to images on your iPad (or your iPhone) and make them look different.

Does it turn it into artwork?

I think not.

However the effect is quite pleasing and it’s something that might work as a presentation background.

You can partially remove the “effect” to emphasise a key part of the photo if you want to.

The real advantage of this app is that it is simple, and the one thing it does, it does quickly and easily.

Get Artify in the iTunes App Store.

app of the week, ipad

LIFE for iPad – iPad App of the Week

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LIFE for iPad – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is LIFE for iPad.

LIFE for iPad is a spectacular experience: LIFE’s legendary photo collection at a never-before-seen resolution. Download the free app to explore LIFE’s vast archives, up-to-the-minute news photos, and special features not available anywhere else.

– View high definition (HD) photo galleries featuring this enormous collection of professional, endless fascinating, and historically significant photography.
-Immerse yourself in the map-based LIFE Explorer view that allows you to find photos based on where they were taken.
-“Email”, “Facebook”, and “Twitter” buttons allow you to easily send LIFE photos to friends or post them to your favorite social networks.
– Take millions of high-resolution photos with you everywhere you go.
– Travel through this app by swiping side-to-side or using the interactive filmstrip mode.

Free

I have a few photo galley apps like LIFE on my iPad, it’s a bit like having a coffee table book you can flick through.

There are some really good photographs to be found in the LIFE app and one aspect of the app I do like is the ability to easily share the images with others either through e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.

For example, having found a great image of the Space Shuttle I can send the link to my social network or via e-mail.

The LIFE galleries cover a huge range of subjects, topics and countries.

The only downside is the odd advert which pops up, which I can accept as it is a free app, however it is somewhat discordant when going through a gallery on a delicate subject, such as war, for an advert to pop up about a celebrity magazine!

You do also need an internet connection so remember that too.

app of the week

Photosynth – iPhone App of the Week

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Photosynth – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Photosynth.

Photosynth for iOS is the panorama creation and sharing app that lets you capture more of your world. Now you can capture 360° in all directions (up, down, left, and right) to create spectacular images. Using the latest in computer vision techniques, Photosynth makes it easy and fun to create and share interactive panoramas of wherever you are.

Photosynth can share images and interactive panorama experiences to Facebook (with the included free Photosynth.net service). Integration with Bing Maps means millions of people could see your panoramas on maps and in search results for locations you’ve captured.

Free

This new app from Microsoft for iOS devices now allows you to capture photosynth pictures and display them on your iOS device. Think of stitched panoramas that allow for a full 360° view of a location.

Previously, though it was possible to view Photosynth panoramas on iOS devices, you had to go to a Windows only website to create them. That all changes with this app, you can now create Photosynth panoramas using your iPhone.

It’s very simple to use, but takes a little practice to get a really good panorama.

You move the phone around and the software either automatically takes the photographs or prompts you to do so. It then stitches them together.

You can either then share the completed panorama on Facebook, the Photosynth site or on Bing maps. This is for me one of the downsides of the app, as it isn’t possible to create a private “interactive” Photosynth panorama. Yes taking one of the college library is fine, but imagine wanting to take one of a wedding or a group of learners in the classroom. This may not be a panorama you want to share with the world. Any panorama that you do capture is saved to your Camera Roll and thus can be used by other apps or saved to your Mac when you sync. So for “static” panoramas it is possible to keep them private and that’s what I would use for those panoramas I take of people or weddings… So for taking panoramas of places and great views, yes a great app, for panoramas of groups of people, less useful. The reason is that the interactive version just “feels” better.

I should  point out that the first time I used the app I consistently failed to upload any panoramas to any site. I was able to upload the following day so have put that down to server problems on the day I was using it.

I should also point out that the panoramas in this review are the first ones I created. This one was particularly bad, so do practice with the app to get better results.

I have resized the images to 900 pixels wide, but the app does save them as full size images, so the original image was over 4000 pixels wide.

Compared to other panorama apps, and the fact it is free, this is in fact pretty good and does a reasonable job with the iPhone camera in creating panoramas.

app of the week, iphone

ToonPAINT – iPhone App of the Week

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picture created with ToonPAINT

ToonPAINT – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is ToonPAINT – Toon-FX.

ToonPAINT allows you to easily create awesome looking cartoon-paintings with your own photos.

Even if you have never drawn or painted before, ToonPAINT sets you up for quick success by providing a “MagiSketch” that you can simply color-in. It’s as easy as “paint-by-numbers”, but using your own personal images. Unlike other photography apps, ToonPAINT is not just an image filter — it’s a smart-painting application that enables you to express your creativity and obtain compelling results without requiring you to take Art classes.

Simply import a photo, create an “automagic” sketch of the photo, color-in at your leisure, and you’re done!

£1.19

I have said a few times in the past that I sometimes think the best Apps for the iPhone are the simple ones, the ones that do one thing well.

I was reminded of ToonPAINT recently by a photograph on Instagram, it had been “converted” in ToonPAINT before been uploaded to Instagram. I was impressed with the end result I checked out ToonPAINT, only to find I already had it! If I remember rightly I had bought it in the past, thought it was okay, but not what I wanted and forgot about it. As it is now on version 2.1, they have certainly improved it and it does exactly what you think it does, convert photographs (from the camera or the library) and convert it into a comic format. The key is that it does it very well and the end results do look like hand drawn comics.

So if you are using an application like Comic Life (on the Mac, Windows or the iPad now) you can create a series of comic images from photographs using ToonPAINT and then use them in the Comic Life application. Now it should be said that Comic Life does indeed have filters that do a similar trick, but I much prefer the results from ToonPAINT then the included ones in Comic Life.

The process in ToonPAINT is very simple, take a photograph, either with the camera or from your image library, the app converts it into a comic format, you then save it!

Simple!

If needed you can go in and edit the comicfying settings, changing the levels, thickness of lines, etc… This can help especially if the default settings don’t work just right, which from my experience was rare.

You can also colourise the resulting comic using a built in palette to create coloured comics. There are two extra in-app purchase tools, ToonColor and Photo Brush both are 59p each. I think ToonColor is worth buying, didn’t find Photo Brush as useful.

There are plenty of export options and this makes it easy to show off your pics.

Would like to have seen a Dropbox option so that I could then use the images on my Mac more quickly.

Overall I like ToonPAINT, it does what it does well and as a one trick pony, it does what I want it to do.

Get ToonPAINT in the App Store.

app of the week, video

4oD CatchUp – iPad App of the Week

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4oD CatchUp – iPad App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is 4oD CatchUp.

Watch Channel 4 on your iPad for free with our new 4oD iPad app

– free to download for a limited time only
– the only way to watch 4oD on your iPad
– wide selection of shows from Channel 4, E4 and More4
– huge 30-day catch up window
– free and unlimited access to content

The 4oD iPad app is free for a limited time and is the only way you can watch 4oD on your iPad. It enables you to catch up on a wide selection of programmes recently broadcast on Channel 4, E4 and More4, for up to 30 days after transmission. Once you have downloaded the app, the content is available to watch free of charge with no limits to the amount of content you can play.

Our archive 4oD content (which includes both classic shows and more recent programmes that have dropped out of the 30-day catch up ‘window’) is not currently available on the iPad, but we are looking to bring these programmes to you soon.

This application does not work outside the UK. Please note that US shows are not currently available on this app. The 4oD application is only available using wi-fi, and only supported on iOS 4.

Free (for a limited time)

One of the features I liked about the iPad was the ability to play BBC iPlayer content, however without Flash support services such as Channel 4’s 4oD weren’t available to iPad users. The 4oD CatchUp App now allows some 4oD programmes to be watched on the iPad.

Alas this is not the full 4oD service, but then neither does the BBC iPlayer iPad App offer the full iPlayer experience. What the 4oD CatchUp App does allow you to do is to see some of the Channel 4 programmes from the last 30 days from your iPad.

The App only works over wifi and this does restrict you using it on the move, but this is the same as the BBC iPlayer App.

For the me the importance of this App is the move by content providers who previously only relied on Flash for delivering video to now providing that same content via the iPad. I do expect to see more content providers move in this direction. What this means is the lack of Flash on the iPad becomes less and less an issue for consumers.

4oD CatchUp is a simple App and it works reasonably well, it did crash on me a few times. This should be fixed in a future version I suspect. Hopefully in the future we will also see more 4oD content.

Update: This app is now called All 4.

app of the week

Retro Camera – Android App of the Week

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Retro Camera – Android App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Retro Camera.

With Retro Camera you’ll take delicious old-school pics your friends will drool over. 5 cameras, 5 sets of vintage vignetting, film scratch & cross processing effects for that off-the-hip analog look. Inspired by the old Lomo, Holga, Polaroid, Diana & toy cameras whose iconic styles we treasure. Instant Nostalgia now free.

Retro Camera comes with 5 different cameras:

The Bärbl – An East German classic, naturally faded with a scratched film and medium vignetting, the perfect all-round choice.

The Little Orange Box – The Soviet Staple with aggressive cross processing and scratched square film. It’s crappy plastic lens leaks in light and exhibits strong vignetting. Black and white option for even more emotion.

Xolaroid 2000 – Its inspiration is obvious! We love the candid snapshots this camera produces – you simply can’t fail, every shot is a keeper. Blue / Green cross processing effects and timeless contrast. Black and white option for that classic touch.

The Pinhole Camera – A DIY gem and more unpredictable than Schrödinger’s cat. Full bleed developing and vignetting through the roof, be sure to give this cardboard chimera a go.

The FudgeCan – The perfect rig for outdoors; developed on square film that wasn’t quite stored… or developed right. But therein lies the charm that’ll make your pics with this beauty, memorable and instantly nostalgic.

Free

On my iPhone I have lots of camera and photography apps and they can be used to create some nice photographic effects, Instagram is one I use a lot.

The Google Nexus One does have a nice camera and if you want to get some nice effects for your photographs similar to the effects you can get with the many iPhone camera apps then you might want to look at Retro Camera for Android.

The App is ad supported, so you do see ads in the apps, you can buy the Pro version which is add free for £2.99.

There are five different cameras each with a unique effect.

The advantage of these kinds of apps for learners is that they speed up the process of taking and manipulating images that they want to then use in their assignments, projects, presentations and web activities such as wikis and blogs.

Of course you can get superior results using a proper DSLR and Photoshop, but though that may be the road that media and art students would travel along, students in other curriculum areas may not have access to the kit to do this. Those students probably do have a phone.

I was pleased with the results from the app and would certainly recommend it to anyone who has an Android phone with a camera.

app of the week, iphone

Phone – iPhone App of the Week

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Phone – iPhone App of the Week

This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s App is Phone.

To make a call on iPhone, tap a name or number. That’s it. You can tap to call from just about anywhere: a name in your contacts list, a number on a website or text message, even a phone number on a map listing.

Free

Sometimes you find an app that is both innovative and has a real impact. Though most people will get their apps from the App Store the iPhone comes with apps already installed. Some of these are useful such as the Calculator and YouTube and some which are less useful, Stocks and Weather.

One app that does come with the iPhone is quite revolutionary and enables something extraordinary to happen. That app is the Phone App.

Imagine if you can an app that allows you have a synchronous real time live conversation with another person, even when that person is not in the same room, even the same building, or even in the same country. Unlike other communication apps, this app doesn’t require the other person to have an iPhone, another mobile phone or even a computer. The app works even if you don’t have wifi or aren’t in a 3G area.

The process is that you, using a numeric keypad enter a number, this number usually identified to a person (but not always) allows you, using the Phone App, to create a unique secure connection that enables you to have a real time live conversation. These conversations can be as long as you like, as long as you have enough battery. The cost of these conversations is dependent on a plan you purchase from a service provider.

Not only that, but your iPhone has a unique number of its own, so that other people can create a connection, akin to calling across a room, to you, this calling though is not restricted by geography. It is possible to be “called” from anywhere in the world.

It’s not all good news though, I have found that the app can stop working and as a result you lose your conversation. It isn’t always possible to reconnect and continue your conversation. Interestingly the way in which you hold your iPhone can have an impact on how this app works!

As you may realise, the ability to have real time voice conversations has a lot of potential for learning, however you may think that any conversation would be restricted to just two people, but not so. It is possible to have more people in what is called a conference call, and this is provided within the App and as a result you have the ability to talk with up to five different people. The potential of discussions and seminars via the iPhone become a real possibility. Other learning ideas including talking to learners about progress on their course, attendance and other issues.

Yes, you can buy thousands of Apps in the iTunes Store, but this included free app is the only one that has the functionality to enable real time secure conversations without the constraints of geography, check it out.