Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, First Look
First Look: An app that gives your iPhone something to do 24/7
You're probably keeping your iPhone busy most of the time making calls, surfing the Web, exchanging emails, playing games, and snapping photos. But what are you doing about making your iPhone work during those hours it is sitting in the dock soaking up a charge?Chilli X has just the answer for you: PhotoFrame. The US$0.99 app displays six pictures from your photo library as a slideshow while your iPhone or iPod touch is docked, with a nice clock / calendar displayed at the bottom of each photo.
Controls allow users to select a 12 or 24 hour time display, and the app overrides your auto-lock setting so that it can show off your photos as long as you want. If you're impatient and want to see the next photo immediately, you can tap the picture or shake the iPhone or iPod touch.
If you're not using PhotoFrame (click opens iTunes) to keep your device occupied during those times you're sleeping or otherwise engaged, what is your favorite "downtime app?" Leave a comment below to keep the rest of us informed.
Thanks to Aidan for the tip!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Ryan said 10:15AM on 10-20-2008
My favorite downtime app is called sleep mode... I'd rather have battery for the rest of the day, instead of a few hours showing photos.
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Mitch said 10:17AM on 10-20-2008
good answer sir.
Ryan S. said 11:02AM on 10-20-2008
Whoops. Missed the part, where it said it only works when docked. Don't mind me, it's still too early here...
heytpn said 3:29PM on 10-20-2008
I actually downloaded it a few minutes ago, and you don't have to have to be docking for this to work. You can use it anywhere, but it's meant for when you're charging your iPhone/iPod Touch.
Klaus said 10:22AM on 10-20-2008
I wonder how long time the iPhone's display / light is designed to work, at some time surely it must "power down" and loose contrast or something? And won't an app like this not only make it happen faster, or is it so little that it doesn't matter in the end?
(My iPhone is docked 8+ hours a day, during work)
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John said 10:35AM on 10-20-2008
Actually I don't mind this idea. Afterall, it is running while docked, which means your phone is being charged so you are not loosing battery time when you are on the go. This might actually be the first app I am willing to pay for.
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marc said 10:38AM on 10-20-2008
Had a similar thought about this. How will the brightness/contrast of the screen hold up with these anti-autolock apps showing for hours on end? Is there any chance of burn-in with the iphone similar to a monitor? Seen others use a digital clock app for an alarm/clock while they're sleeping. You can plug it in, of course, to save battery life (or put it in airplane mode at night to avoid interruptions, save power) but what of the life of the screen itself? What say you, Apple?
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brian said 11:01AM on 10-20-2008
``what is your favorite "downtime app?" ' '
I have a better question: how can this app access pictures in my library? I thought all iPhone apps were "siloed" and couldn't read each other's data--that's why, for example, you can't use AirMe to upload existing photos to Flickr.
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Victor Agreda Jr said 12:19PM on 10-20-2008
Yes, sort of... While most apps run in a sandbox, you can access some other apps or data repositories, all perfectly legit according to Apple. Photo library and contacts, in particular. That's why there are so many contact-related apps, and how you can grab images in certain apps (AirMe chooses not to out of a design consideration -- it appears to be solely for shooting and sending).
ShoZu, for instance, can access your photo library as well. Apple hasn't allowed other apps to access calendar data, unfortunately, which is why you can't show upcoming appointments on apps like this or others. Very strange omission, IMO.
brian said 1:53PM on 10-20-2008
Thanks for the clarification and the tip about ShoZu.
James Donevan said 11:04AM on 10-20-2008
Re: display life
One would certainly hope that, in the case of the Touch, a device designed for watching video would have a display designed for longevity. As the image is constantly changing, burn-in should not be a problem (the dateline is deep grey, as opposed to a high contrast white on black, presumably to avoid this problem).
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Curnsie said 11:14AM on 10-20-2008
Great idea. I liked the fact that on previous mobile phones i could have the time displayed when the phone was asleep. I don't wear a watch so my iphone is my time piece. I have to press the home button to see the time. I was thinking that perhaps apple could give us the option to have the time displayed when the iphone is asleep and not docked.
Drew
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Jeshii said 11:43AM on 10-20-2008
I like to turn on AIM to preserve my WiFi connection when I'm at starbucks... does that count?
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Ben said 11:45AM on 10-20-2008
Well I'd love to see an app where I can see my next dates and appointments.
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totoro said 11:51AM on 10-20-2008
does it work in landscape mode? (while plugged in as opposed to in the dock)
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Sebastian said 11:57AM on 10-20-2008
I saw this yesterday. It sounds like an OK idea.
http://lifehacker.com/5065354/diy-iphone+turned+alarm+clock-stand
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Techslacker said 1:08PM on 10-20-2008
I saw that also and already bought a clock program to do this. The only difference is that I plan to get a dock so it's charging overnight which means it'll set upright(the clock app rotates so no biggy).
The wife has already said she likes the alarm on the iphone better than the alarm clock we already had.
Seems to me that a cheap ipod touch would be great in the home as not only an alarm clock but as a remote control for media.
Now if Apple could just get things configured so that you can define an app to run when the device is plugged into a dock.
Stram said 12:35PM on 10-20-2008
Regarding display life i've had my Touch switched on 24/7 docked at full brightness for over a year now. At first it was playing songs all day and night in my hifi while I slept, and now it got demoted to displaying Remote all day and at night either this app or digital clock app. I don't see any screen problems yet. I treat my iPhone better though.
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fl1pn0t1c said 1:15PM on 10-20-2008
so this app crashed my phone 4 times. thanks.
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Dave Hornsby said 2:16PM on 10-21-2008
Hi fl1pn0t1c
I'm one of the developers of PhotoFrame and I saw your post.
The app seems to have been pretty stable so far so I'm quite interested in any problems you're having. Could you let us know what version of the iPhone software you're running and if you downloaded on the phone or through Tunes.
If we can't get you sorted I'll work out a way of getting you a refund - there's no mechanism to do this through the iTunes Store unfortunately...