Idean

Isn't it wonderful to experience complete silence from time to time? Just sitting in a beautiful place, breathing, thinking and letting your mind to wander. Our blog has been doing this since Xmas.

We on the other hand have had a completely different kind of enjoyable flow, we've been busy as usual. Some with their project, some with their vacations (looking at you Lauri L.) and some with the ramp up of the Idean USA.

The 2012 is gonna be an interesting ride. Hop onboard!

.harri

.harri

Again it took a lot longer to post this article than expected. But here anyway is the second “Let’s get started with WP7” set of apps. This time focused on tools.

(download)

Click here to download:

tools-JvtDEwifkfxCdrwtosDJ.zip (45 KB)

gMaps Pro (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/7b8bedd5-4368-e011-81d2-78e7d1fa76f8)
Simple and fast app for getting your Google Maps fix instead of the Bing maps.

Pictures Lab (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/5db119bf-7ad5-df11-a844-00237de2db9e)
Looking for a bit of Instagram magic? Picture Lab got you covered.

Evernote (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/db21927d-f292-e011-986b-78e7d1fa76f8)'
The people at Evernot know that they need to be everywhere with their users including Windows Phones. The functionality is really close to Microsofts own OneNote, but as Evernote is platform independent you can easily manage, handle and share your notes across teams, family members or just keep yourself organized. The UI follows Metro guidelines really closely.

Connectivity Shortcuts (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/430cf007-731f-4357-af7b-b897bff25a2c)
iPhone 4S has been in the news a lot lately about its problems with battery life. It’s not the only platform with such issues as both Android and WP7 users tend to be out of charger reach from time to time. To maximize it one needs to control the radios of the device. Connectivity Shortcuts allows you to place new tiles to the desktop for direct access to WiFi and networking settings. Once you see that battery is draining fast just tap the tiles and switch of WiFi and 3G and you’ll might get that extra squeeze of juice to last all the way home. 

Journey Planner (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/a362b740-1061-e011-81d2-78e7d1fa76f8)
If you live in the Greater Helsinki Area this is your best buddy. I’d say that this is better than the really good ReittiGPS on iPhone.

.h

As we all in Finland and especially around the telecom industry know: It’s all about ecosystems. The one our big friend in Keilaniemi trusts is Windows Phone 7, or WP7 for short. We’ve been tinkering with it for quite a while now but in Finland there really doesn’t seem to be too much WP7users. There are no reviews or comments in the Finnish Marketplace so we though to help the newbies in this ecosystem.

But before scrolling down the list,  here’s a big tip to the Marketplace: Click the “Try” button on applications page.  Usually this downloads a bit limited version of the application, but even those are really good and helpful. Paying the extra euro or two will make it even better. It also helps others if you would take a few seconds and rate the apps. You can do it easily by pressing and holding your finger on top of an app in the list view to see the context menu. Then just hit "Rate and review".

In the first batch we’ll deal with few social media apps. Next time it's tool time and then something completely different.

Mehdoh (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/804fce6a-6b8f-4088-9228-baeadea7837b)

Really good app for Twitter. Allows easy access to conversations as threads and follows the Metro UI styles perfectly. Bonus points for adding followed Twitter accounts directly to your Start up screen.

FourSquare (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/26cf3302-469f-e011-986b-78e7d1fa76f8)

There’s probably no need to tell anyone about this service. Nice job with the branding…

4^th & Mayor (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/c7d13b8d-9951-e011-854c-00237de2db9e)

But if you are looking for a serious check-in application go to the corner of 4^th and Mayor. This app is faster and more optimized than the official 4sq version. Don’t let the bland look fool you. This app is dynamite.

Facebook (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/82a23635-5bd9-df11-a844-00237de2db9e)

Facebook application seems a bit useless since the functionality for social networking is built in to the whole WP7 platform. Nicely done app anyway which can be used as benchmark example for squeezing a large almost uncontrollable online service into the WP7 devices.

Foodspotting (http://www.windowsphone.com/fi-FI/apps/55b55f3e-649b-e011-986b-78e7d1fa76f8)

Deciding where to go for dinner is always a bit hard. So why not outsource the decision process to an application. Instead of menus and opinions Foodspotting offers you pics of the actual dishes.  The UI follows nicely to the standards and still manages to stay true to the service itself. Too bad nobody in Finland is using it. Now I have to go to either Chico’s for a Spicy Burger or to Ikea for a hot dog…