Please note this now appears to be a bug which is being fixed.

A recent app that I, like many others, bought on the AppStore with real money appears to have suddenly stopped working. A simple application called Night Stand, which is now copied by other app developers in true AppStore style, designed to simply display the time and alarm while dimming the screen. Not exactly a controversial app to say the least and has been available for some time! Now it seems that you can load the app but it simply won’t run.

This app has also been tested on a colleagues phone with the same results. This is not as a result of any updates as it was seen to work recently and, stranger still, the app has been pulled from the AppStore itself. As of this moment I have not yet been able to find any reason for it’s disappearance, but am more concerned about the fact that any app can seemingly be pulled from your device without warning or reason.

I paid good money for that app, all be it 59 pence but it is mine, or is it?

This is all very nice in theory. In practise, however, it is somewhat different…

My personal experience is not good – it simply won’t log in and returns a ‘Network Unavailable’ error. I could believe that a free app released by O2 would maybe cause some server overload but both ‘Mobile Allowance’ and ‘Mobile Minutes Tracker’ connected to the (same) server without any issues. I’m not the only one with problems either, if the AppStore reviews are anything to go by. One in every three of the reviews gives the same error as I received. Maybe it’s an OS3.1 issue, or maybe it’s because I have 2 account numbers with O2 (see previous comparative review) but both the other apps handle these fine.

Our recommendation? Don’t be so cheap and go grab Mobile Allowance for a mere 59p! IT – JUST – WORKS!!

Considering that neither app adds anything new to your life that you cannot already gain by logging in to the O2 website it is only fair that both cost a very reasonable 59p. While they don’t add anything new, they do however put everything into a simple, easy to access app on your iPhone – which is always faster than going to the O2 website!

So, which app is the better of the two then? Firstly both apps will now be referred to by their springboard short names: ‘Allowance’ and ‘MobileMinute’. On first launching both apps you are asked to enter your O2 website login details which I do, for once, remember. However, I have two contract numbers linked to my O2 online account (a leftover from an old contract) and MobileMinute also requires you to enter the contract number. This meant I had to go to my computer, log in to O2 and then find and enter my contract number into the app.

Allowance login screen

MobileMinute login screen

Allowance did not require this extra input, it managed perfectly adequately with just my username and password. It’s not really a major issue, right? Surely the apps are able to  remember your login details, right? Wrong! If MobileMinute is unable to log in for any reason, such as when the O2 site is down for maintenance, you need to re-enter your login details which of course means logging back in to the O2 website to find the contract number completely defeating the whole reason behind the app! Allowance stores your login details unless you specifically go to the ‘change log in details’ option.

OK, so I had some initial problems with logging in but let’s now take a look at the main point of both of the apps – checking your monthly allowance. Upon loading, Allowance automatically updates the screen with your remaining allowance and, over wifi, this takes about 8 seconds.

Allowance data

MobileMinute data

MobileMinute takes a similar time at 9 seconds over wifi but then you realise that the data is out of date – there is a ‘Data acquired’ field at the bottom that tells you when it was last updated but this can be days old at times! You then need to manually refresh the data which can then take anywhere between 40 and 100 seconds over wifi!

Both apps display the minutes and texts used out of your allowance as well as how many days of your current ‘cycle’ (usually 1 month) have elapsed. With Allowance you can press any of the data fields to change the display method, for example to switch between ’9h 34m left’, ’574m left’ and ’26 / 600 used’ for the minutes, and ’20 days left’ or ‘Wed 2 September’ for the next monthly cycle. Allowance also shows your current spend outside of your monthly freebies and pressing this field then gives you a breakdown for Minutes, Texts, Roaming, Roaming internet and Other (e.g. premium texts sent when entering the Gadget Show competitions!).

MobileMinute shows some extra, but pointless, information – my current contract includes 600 texts and an online offer of a further 600 texts; i.e. 1200 in total every month. MobileMinute shows three lines for messages: ’600 Messages (Used 0 of 600)’, ’600 Online double messages (Used 66 of 600)’ and ‘Inclusive allowance totals (Used 66 of 1200)’ – I can’t work out why it splits them up this way, I have 1200 messages to use and I don’t care whether these are my normal free messages or my bonus free messages – either way they are free messages for me to use! Again, it may seem trivial but when you have to scroll down to see all the information it makes me wonder why the extra lines are there. Allowance fits everything onto a single screen. MobileMinute does, however, show your data usage (if that is on your contract) which Allowance does not.

MobileMinute bill screen

MobileMinute also has a ‘Bills’ section – a nice idea but poorly implemented. The Bills section shows a breakdown of your last bill which can be handy (although I prefer Allowance’s guide to what charges are on your next bill) and it also has a ‘Make a Payment’ button which is active even when you pay by Direct Debit. I was intrigued by this and all it does is send you to the O2 website via an in-app browser. MobileMinute does actually log you into the site but then you have to try and navigate the O2 site to get to the bill payment part itself. This isn’t the easiest of tasks on a desktop computer and is practically impossible on a custom-browser with no landscape mode to gain some extra width. Like I said, it’s potentially a good idea – a direct link to pay your bills – just poorly implemented.

MobileMinute: Navigating the O2 site

We’re nearly there, only two more sections and then onto the conclusion! The apps rely on the O2 website for them to function and any changes to the O2 site can throw a spanner in the works. From experience this will happen one or two times a year. Allowance updates are usually submitted to the AppStore within one or two days. I can’t vouch for the update speed for MobileMinute as I purchased the app shortly after Allowance was last updated to fix the O2 website change – I assume therefore that the speed of updates are relatively equal. Support on the other hand is a different matter. I sent a query to each of the published contact addresses around 11pm on 28th July. I had a personal reply from Michael, the author of Allowance, in my inbox at 10am the following morning which answered my query as well as giving me an update on things to come. It took eight days to get a reply from MobileMinute’s author, PageOnce, and then it was an automated response with nothing to do with my original query. Not very helpful at all.

The final part is what many people’s initial thoughts will be – what does the app look like? Unfortunately Allowance is pretty plain looking – a grey/blue screen with groups of white buttons; not too dissimilar to the iPhone settings screens. MobileMinute, on the other hand, has a nicely designed splash screen, different coloured information bars and a nice fade effect when switching between Usage view and Bills view.

If you like pretty colours and nice fade effects then you will like MobileMinute. However, if you want a fast app that does what it says, with all the information you need fitting onto a single screen and with support that is second to none then I readily recommend Allowance.

So, in case the above wasn’t clear enough, the winner is Mobile Allowance!

Basically, the app takes an existing photo (or it can create a new one from the iPhone’s camera) and plays with the colours, darkens the edges (an effect known as a vignette) and puts it in a shiny white ‘polaroid’ frame. You can even write on a caption (14 characters max) before saving it to your photo roll. There is also a FlickR group where your creations an be shared.

Read on to see some samples…

For the great retro effect you get from this app I would be more than happy to have paid either 59p or even £1.19 but for free it’s certainly a steal!

See below for some sample finished products (and a few of the original shots):

Apple Remote

If you have an Apple TV or even some remote speakers connected to your iTunes application on your Mac, then you will know that it is quite tricky trying to control it to get the content you really want.

Apple have developed an iPhone application to overcome some of those limitations: Remote.

Apple TV remote

Apple Remote connects to either your Apple TV or iTunes using WiFi.  This then allows your iPhone to act as a remote controller for your device.

You can connect to a number of devices or iTunes Libraries, but only one is active at any one time.  To make the initial connection you need to authorise the iPhone on the Apple TV of iTunes library so you cant just find Apple TVs around you and start to control them…

Once connected you have pretty much full functionality for an iTunes library, being able to browse by playlist, artist or album.  You can also tap on the search to find the particular item you want.

Apple Remote more options

Tapping on the more icon presents the menu shown to the left.  This provides control of some of the lesser used features of the iTunes library.  From here you can gain access to your video collection, podcasts and TV shows.

In fact this just about mirrors the functionality that you can find in iTunes, and this is great for controlling the iTunes on your computer, but less so for the Apple TV.

In fact for the Apple TV the whole application is really back to front.  The controls for movies are hidden behind a couple of taps.  That is not to say that Remote is not useful, more that is it not as useful as it could be.

The Apple TV has many more functions than the iTunes Library on your computer, and none of these are catered for.  Remote cannot be used as a substitute for the little remote control provided with your Apple TV.  Even the very basic minimum of adding a dial control and text entry would make this a far better application.

Available from the Apple Appstore as a free application

Apple remote video selection

Apple remote video control

Apple remote settings

Apple remote albums