Want something different for your iPhone 3G/3GS…

…which also makes a good video stand?

Available in 4 colours: Dark Chocolate, Chocolate, Strawberry Chocolate and White Chocolate!

Now available at SGD$15.90, inclusive of postage in Singapore.

Interested? Please make a reservation using the appended form and I will contact you via email shortly.

Edited: Sorry! This make shift blogshop is closed!

Ok peeps. Stop whining that iPhone 3G/3GS doesn’t come with flash. FastMac iV is here to save the day – A battery pack which also double up as a Camera Flash adapter. But it doesn’t come cheap…. It costs USD$99.95!

Are you getting yours?

Just got your iPhone 3GS recently? Here are some essential free applications which will enhance your iPhone experience!

Location Based Utilities

1. TranSGuide – Locate the nearest bus stops around you and provides you with the ETA of the SBS Transit buses!
2. Locacity SG – Locate DBS/POSB ATM machines, 7-Eleven and other Point of Interest near you in Singapore!
3. iCash SG – Locate POSB and OCBC ATM machines near you. DBS and Citibank will be included soon!
4. Carpark@SG – Locate the carpark and parking fee around your destination before making the decision on where to park your car!
5. iHealth SG – Locate Healthcare institutions and clinics around you! Pandemic Preparedness Clinics are also being highlighted!

Social Networking / Communications

1. Facebook – Upload photos and tag your friends on the go!
2. Plurk – I love the “Mark all as read” function!
3. Twitterrific – You can twitpic with this app and it retweets using standard conventions – RT username:
4. eBuddy – Get connected to Windows Live Messenger and other popular instant messaging networks on the go!
5. Ping! Lite – iPhone to iPhone messaging. Though I prefer Whatsapp Messenger, which is a paid application.
6. WordPress 2 – Blog on the go!
7. PicPosterous – Upload a picture to your posterous account instead of emailing!

Photography and Image Editing

1. Polarize – Create Polaroid like photos!
2. Photoshop.com Mobile – Scaled-down version of Photoshop on iPhone!
3. Flickr – Upload your photos to your flickr account!

Foodie’s Favourites!

1. buUuk – Locate makan places around you! It even highlight those which offer “Healthier Choice”! Can call and make reservations!
2. Hungry Go Where – iPhone version of Singapore’s No 1 Food Resource Website. Can call and make reservations too!

Music

1. Laylio – Listen to MediaCorp Internet Radio on the go! Currently offers Class 95, YES 933, Lush 99.5 and 987FM!
2. MediaCorp Radio Stations – Currently offers 93.8 LIVE and Capital Radio 95.8.

Other Utilities

1. 1-Click Wireless@SG – The name says it all! Just key-in your username and password once, and every time you launch the app, it will log on to Wireless@SG automatically!
2. iCab SG – You never need to remember the numbers of the respective Taxi Companies in Singapore!
3. TraffiCam SG – Check the traffic conditions “live” at key traffic hotspots in Singapore, including the two checkpoints!
4. DropBox – Access your files on the go! You can get a free account at Dropbox.com.

“Fast download & streaming”? How ironic!

I still remember how I tried to get myself online during my last trip to Kuala Lumpur in June 2009 and did not manage to find this pre-paid 3G Broadband package by Celcom.

The only stop-gap solution was to get connected at the free wifi spots, including standing in the middle of nowhere at Mid Valley Megamall just to leech on an internet access point. The convenience stores do not carry this pre-paid package and I only saw the Celcom shop at Sungei Wang on the last day of my previous trip to Kuala Lumpur.

This time round, I headed to Sungei Wang on the first evening of my working trip and got this Pre-paid 3G Broadband Package at RM25, for a weak week access. Little did I know that the connection is this weak! I could only get connected to 1 website at a time when I was in my hotel room at Hotel Capitol and it crawled like GPRS! My colleague who stayed in Concorde Hotel could not even get connected!

This was when I started to miss my 3G broadband connections in Singapore by SingTel and Starhub.

We were lucky that the conference venue at Shangri-la Hotel offered free wifi coverage in their ballrooms. All of us were busy checking our emails during break times.

I did switch the Celcom 3G sim card into my iPhone 3G from the third day onwards. While it still crawled, the applications that I used on iPhone 3G consumed less data and hence loaded faster (not fast).

If you really need to get connected in Kuala Lumpur, Celcom 3G Broadband is only good enough for your mobile phone, but not using it on a computer with a 3G Modem. Leeching on free wifi will be a better choice, seriously.

1. Never apply invisible shield on your iPhone. The sides will wear off and become less sticky after about 1 month, and eventually fall off only at the sides. If you have applied that, do not try to attach external add-ons. Else it will end up like this.

My poor iPhone 3G

2. Don’t get the Griffin SmartTalk Headphone Adapter which cost about SGD$39 at EpiCentre. It spoils really easily. I had to replace it like 1 adapter per month! If you really need to get one, go to Sim Lim Square and get those adapter which cost about SGD$10. The first one worked for me for about 4 months before it died on me.

DOs

1. Get yourself a Mophie Juice Pack Air (US$79.95). It doubles the power! Available at MacShop (Funan) at SGD$129 and Multimedia Integrated (Funan) at SGD$129.90. Yes, now it hides the ugly wear and tear area of my invisible shield.

My iPhone with Mophie Juice Pack Air

2. Get yourself a bluetooth stereo headset! My recommendation will be Motorola S9 HD! It features the SRS WOW HD software which help to improve 3-D sound perception, and ear buds for noise isolation! Bought it at SGD$120 at the duty-free shop in the Budget Terminal just before we depart from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Not sure about the pricing in the open market, but it feels good without wires!

Motorola S9 HD

A big thank you to DK for allowing Clauds and I to experience the 3 latest handphones that he is reviewing. The 3 models are Acer F900, Samsung i8910 (formerly known as Omnia HD) and N97!

Left to right, iPhone 3G, Acer F900, Samsung i8910 and N97

While Acer F900 did not really impress me, the other 2 handphones made me wonder if I should upgrade to a iPhone 3GS when it is out.

Samsung i8910

I am very impressed by the HD screen quality and vibrant colours of i8910 and the ease of use of Symbian S60 5th edition OS. However being an apps junkie, the availability of apps is a serious issue here for me.

For the record, I once sold a Samung Phone to a second hand dealer in less than 3 days as I couldn’t live without apps that are not compatible with it, even though it runs on the same Symbian S60 3rd Edition OS as my other phone – N82.

Back in late 2008, I was wondering if N97 will be the ultimate phone for me when I saw an introductory youtube video of it. After having my hands on it in 3 separate occasions, I must say that N97 is awesome! However, the availability of apps poses another serious problem here.

N97 vs iPhone 3G

While I am paying US$3.99 for Tweetie iPhone App, my friends are paying $14.99 for gravity! And there are just so many free and good apps on the iPhone platform. When I tried the built-in bus app on N97  and with my TranSGuide on iPhone, there seems to be some bug with N97 app.

The image quality for N97 and i8910 are pretty decent. Here are some comparison shots:

Sample Shot - i8910

Sample Shot - N97

Will I ditch iPhone 3G for iPhone 3GS, N97 or i8910? Well, I’ll monitor the respective apps market for another 6 months before I make the decision. After all, my iPhone 3G is barely 6 months old.

P.S.: Orcasquall was there too. But this guy doesn’t get any natural high with gadgets. *smacks forehead*