Question of the Day:  Is your smartphone an internet communications hub or a device to talk into?

For me, it’s definitely the former.  Email via Flexmail, RSS via Egress, some light mobile browsing via Opera Mini and a regular dosing of weather watching via PocketWeather round out my Touch Pro’s internet communications.  With school on hiatus for the warm months of summer, my routine calls to my wife are minimal as she is also enjoying the same vacation.  My phone can go the whole day without actually being used for what it is – a phone.  Now, if I could only have it stay silent forever.

What’s your device used as?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Today’s JAMM Store Deal of the Day is MobileRemote for Windows Mobile.  You can register MobileRemote for a huge discount off the regular price, so be sure to check it out.

You can download a trial and/or register your copy here.

The programs details and specifications are below:

MobileRemote transforms your phone into a wireless Bluetooth mouse, keyboard and media controller. Connect to any bluetooth enabled PC, OSX or PS3 and wirelessly type, move the mouse, and control the media from your phone. MobileRemote behaves exactly like a physical Bluetooth keyboard, with the convenience and portability of your phone.

Features:

• No PC, OSX or PS3 Software Required
• Remember Previous Pairings (connect with 1 click)
• Multiple Input Methods (keyboard, mouse, media)

Minimum Requirements:

• Windows Mobile 6.0 Professional (or greater)
• Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard (or greater)
• .NET Framework 2.0
• Bluetooth

Display Dimensions
240×240, 240×320, 240×400, 320×240, 320×320, 400×240, 480×480, 480×640, 480×800, 640×480, 800×480
Operating System
WM6, WM6.1, WM6.5

What’s more important to a musician then the ability to keep time?  When I was studying Recording Technologies at Cedar Valley College, one of the exercise requirements for Music Foundations 1 was the ability to keep a proper beat as well as to be able play based on reading rhythms on a page.  Looking at iKeepTime v1.2 at first glance, this program holds much potential for a music student.

iKeepTime v1.2 provides the following features:

* One of the most accurate devices available to measure the ability to maintain tempo
* Offers Easy, Medium, and Hard modes to gradually increase difficulty
* The perfect tool for every musician, particularly those in a rhythm section
* Tempi are variable from 40 to 200 beats per minute (BPM)
* Tempo meter displays tendencies to drag or rush
* Overall accuracy score shows proficiency, particularly percentage of beats missed
* A silent, 1 measure, visual countdown helps develop an internal metronome
* The perfect co-application for Onyx Apps’ DjembePad African drum app for iPad
* An amusing and challenging game for musicians and non-musicians alike

This program can help develop one’s “internal metronome”.  Stay tuned as we’ll look at this program more in depth and see if it has what it takes to make the grade.

I was pretty excited today, when I was browsing the iTunes App Store on my iPad, to find that Hulu had finally made its way to the iPad, in the form of Hulu Plus.  You all know Hulu.  These are the great folks who bring the power of television to the Internet…and now to your iPad (or iPhone).  This has been among the most requested apps since the iPad was released, and the many rumors fueled the fires of hope from the many users hoping to watch their TV on the go.  The fact that ABC made their TV lineup available on day one only made this wait more intolerable.  Apparently, I am not the only one excited by the arrival of Hulu to the iPad.  By the time I found it around 5:30 this afternoon, it had already risen to the top 20 in the iTunes App Store.  By 8:00, just a few hours later, it was already number one.

Sadly, however, Hulu Plus is not quite ready for primetime.  Currently, full access to the Hulu library is by invitation only.  Unless you have an invitation, you will only be able to watch the limited free content.  Once you get an invitation from Hulu (you can sign up for an invite from within the app) you will be able to access Hulu’s full content library of movies and TV shows.

The other thing I noticed here is that the app has a subscription rate of $9.99/month.  At a glance, this does not seem outrageous for all the video content you can watch, but then you stop to think about it.  Uhm…Hulu on any other computer is free.  As in no subscription rate.  So…what gives, Hulu?  They are already getting a ton of one star ratings and negative comments for charging a subscription fee for something you can get on pretty much any other computer for free. 

Not only that, but the whole thing is ad based, meaning you essentially pay twice.  Not only do you have to sit through the ads, but you have to pay $9.99 to do so.  This seems a bit incongruous to me.  It seems like the fee should preclude you from watching ads, and the ad based version should only be required for those who do not pay the subscription fee.

I have already signed up for the invitation, and I cannot wait to check out the full app. I have already been enjoying free highlights from Wipeout! As to whether I will pay the $9.99 subscription fee, that remains to be seen.  After all, why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free on Hulu.com.

What do you think?  Are you excited about watching all of your favorite shows on the iPad?  Are you willing to pony up that $9.99 subscription fee to do so?  Chime in in the comments and let us know your thoughts.

The last 50% off sale on Palm apps seems to have attracted many new users to paid and free webOS apps, and Palm has extended the sale for another two weeks.

Remember, these are the same full-featured apps you could have bought before, and you will be eligible also to upgrades.

From the Palm blog:

Good News: Half Price Sale extended!

We have been thrilled by the response to our Summer Half Off sale in the App Catalog, and hope you have been too. We’ve seen significant increases in downloads of both paid and free apps, and many first-time purchasers are sampling what you’ve created for webOS.

We’re so happy with the response that we’ve decided to extend the sale for an additional two weeks. Not only will this give customers more time to explore the catalog and get great deals on your apps, it will give you more time to generate sales and revenue.

If you currently have marketing in place to take advantage of this sale, get ready to extend it to July 23rd. If you don’t have an app in the catalog yet, it’s time to submit one and take advantage of this great promotion!

Thus, take a look at the catalog, you have time until July 23 to save half the money!

Via: The Palm Blog