mobilesafari posts

Back in March I made a plea for a native Gmail application on the iPhone. As it turned out, Google was working on a new version of the Gmail Mobile site that takes advantage of HTML5 features like database storage to provide caching functionality on the iPhone and Android phones. The demo was compelling; a super-fast Gmail experience that includes long-awaited features like full label support, the ability to apply changes to multiple messages at once, and a floating action bar (dubbed the "floaty bar") that allows you to archive, delete, mark read/unread, add or remove a star, or mark messages as spam without having to scroll to the top or bottom of the thread you are viewing to do so.

The demo was certainly exciting, but though I was hoping would be released soon, I was fearing we were still a year away from seeing this new version of Gmail Mobile. Boy, was I wrong.

This sexy new web version of Gmail Mobile was released yesterday, and as a heavy Gmail user I have only one word for it: Glorious! Okay, I'm a blogger, so we know I never only have one word for something. But if you've been using the built in Mail app on your iPhone to avoid the clunky web version, it's time to try Google Mobile again.

While it's a huge, massive improvement on the previous version, the new Google Mobile is not without areas that could use improvement. For one, it is very slow to load. For me, I'm willing to put up with this since once it does load everything is significantly faster than it was. But it would certainly be nice to see an improvement in this regard, and that's something that was hinted at on the Official Gmail blog post announcing this new version. Another small annoyance is that the buttons are smaller than standard iPhone buttons, and there are more of them. It's manageable, but does require a bit of extra care and attention.

All in all, a very solid improvement, and one that makes working with email on the iPhone significantly more pleasant for Gmail users.

1. Launch Safari on your iPhone
2. Browse to a desired mobile site (most sites will automatically redirect you to the mobile version once they determine that you're using an iPhone)
3. Click the Favorites (+) button at the bottom of Safari
4. Click "Add to Home Screen"
5. Type a name for the icon that will appear on your home screen
6. Click the "Add" button

Google quietly fixed a problem yesterday that bugged at least a few iPhone users -- the results page it returned when searching through the toolbar in Mobile Safari.

In a pre-Tuesday world, Google would return its standard, not-iPhone-formatted results page. Why? I honestly don't know, but personally didn't question it too deeply. It was what it was. I'd do my search, zoom into my result, and be on my way.

That was so 2008.

Now searches through the toolbar return nicely-formatted-for-iPhone results. Just as it should be.

Thanks to DJT for sending this in.

Apple also released a firmware update for iPod touch, bringing it in line with most version 2.2 updates for iPhone released a little while ago. It doesn't appear, however, that iPod touch users get the enhancements to the Maps app that iPhone users do. (Thanks, Guillermo!)

The update contains enhancements to Mail, fixes connection issues with WPA-secured wireless networks, improves Safari stability, and includes a new preference to turn off auto-correction for typing.

Also, podcasts are now available for download from within the iTunes app, and pressing the Home button from any home screen will now take you to the first home screen.

Several security enhancements are included, too, updating CoreGraphics, ImageIO, networking, Office Viewer, Passcode Lock, Safari and Webkit. A complete list of security updates is available on Apple's website.

The update is available by clicking "Check for Update" with your iPod selected in the Devices area of the sidebar in iTunes.

Following up on our report yesterday, a new tipster sent us screenshots of the Maps and Safari applications, highlighting changes on the way in iPhone firmware 2.2.

Apple looks like they're maximizing the income they make from offering a Google search option by cramming a search box in next to the address field. In the current firmware, the search field only appears when the address field is tapped.

As we mentioned yesterday, Google and Apple have also worked out a way to include Google Street View. It doesn't work quite the way I thought, but is much like Android's implementation nevertheless: Tapping on an icon of a human torso (according to our tipster) rotates the screen and displays Street View. Then, you can pan around the scene with your finger, in a 360-degree panorama. Our tipster says "the entire experience feels snappier than 2.1, very very fast in general."

Soon to be available in Maps is a new "Share Location" button that drafts an email with a clickable link. Handy for when you want to find friends after you've split up.

As always, if you have screenshots or tips you'd like to send in, please do!

Update: Because there was some confusion as to what we meant by "torso," a new image showing the icon has been added to the gallery below.

Gallery: iPhone 2.2 beta

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Adobe has confirmed that it's developing a version of Flash for the iPhone, and it's "a certainty" that it will be included in MobileSafari, according to Paul Boutin of Valleywag. Color me skeptical.

Paul Betlem (this story is replete with Pauls, it appears) from Adobe stopped short of saying it will be included on the iPhone, but instead said the ball was in Apple's court. If Apple approves, Adobe will have the player available shortly.

We knew Adobe was working hard on a version of Flash Player for the iPhone and iPod touch. The "closed system" of MobileSafari was making it difficult for them to build a plug-in for a browser that doesn't officially support plug-ins. Having Apple's buy-in on the project is an absolute requirement.

It remains to be seen how lean Flash Player will get in order to provide good video playback (for example) without draining the battery in 30 seconds flat. Will Adobe favor performance over economy? Or vice versa?

[Via Valleywag.]

Ajaxian has posted a ridiculously simple way to enable web apps to mimic the iPhone's side-to-side flicking behavior using custom CSS supported by MobileSafari. If you're creating a web app specifically for iPhone and iPod touch users, you can get a similar feel to a native application with MobileSafari.

MobileSafari includes some CSS 3 support, including advanced DOM selectors and support for animations and transitions. Chances are, other browsers will have limited support for CSS 3 draft standards, and whatever you write probably will only work in MobileSafari and Safari 3 on the desktop.

The test application in this movie shows how it tracks finger movements across the screen, and performs actions based on the distance "swiped." Very nifty.

[Via Cameron.io.]

Softpress Systems has released Freeway 5.2, which includes new tools for building web pages for iPhone and iPod touch. Freeway is WYSIWYG website creation software that features a traditional, page-layout approach and omits the need to write any code (unless, you know, you really want to handcraft your HTML).

New in version 5.2 is the ability to create iPhone home screen icons and custom links to iPhone applications like Mail, Phone, Maps, and YouTube. Also, Freeway helps prepare QuickTime videos for playback on iPhone under a variety of network conditions.

Additionally, Softpress has published a best practices document for publishing web sites for the iPhone and iPod touch. The "Building websites for the iPhone with Freeway" document can be found on the Softpress website.

The update is free for registered users of Freeway 5 or higher. For new users, it's available in two flavors: Freeway 5 Express ($79) and Freeway 5 Pro ($249). The differences between the two versions are available here.

I've been getting more and more frustrated with the fact that every time I load up Google Reader on my iPhone, I have to log in again. I tried it with and without my 1Password bookmarklet, checked my javascript and cookie settings, all to no avail. And it's not just Reader, everywhere I turn, I'm logging in again. It was with great relief that I discovered the cure.

iRemember is a lightweight hack that makes a few tweaks and tells you it's "safe to uninstall" before Installer even finishes cleaning up. Do you have a jailbroken iPhone or iPod touch with a foggy memory? Add http://repo.ispazio.net to your sources in Installer, refresh and search for iRemember. Your favorite web apps will give you a much warmer welcome.

[via Lifehacker]

Some things sound really cool -- until you actually have to step up and do them in real time. TUAW reader Gerald Buckley's story about traveling with his iPhone strikes me as belonging to this class.

When he approached the American Airlines counter to use his iPhone as a boarding pass, the coolness quotient for his entire trip got bumped up several notches. It seems that he navigated over to AA.com using Mobile Safari, signed in and displayed a PDF of his boarding pass on-screen. The American Airlines counter agent in San Antonio "humored" him and scanned the barcode as displayed on his iPhone. The scan worked, and Buckley proceeded with his travels (much to the envy and amazement of his fellow passengers, no doubt).

Here's the thing though. If it were me, this would have totally gone another way. First, while waiting on line, I would have had bad WiFi. It would have taken me about 20 minutes to type in my information and the people behind me on line would have been coughing *significantly* to get me to keep moving along with the line as I tried to type, move all my luggage and possibly keep three extremely rambunctious children in order. Finally, I would get to the gate agent and I would have gotten the snarky impatient version -- somehow I always do. Assuming that I could even get all the typing and navigation done, I know in my heart that the response would have been "you need a printed boarding pass, ma'am."

Of course, this is entirely academic because I have not been granted a boarding pass for the last 5 or 6 years due entirely, I'm sure, to my last name. It's always "You must check in at the counter" -- which is way easier than even a boarding pass because I just swipe my credit card.

All that having been said, TUAW congratulates Mr. Buckley's ingenuity and offers the example of his experience to speed you your travels in a uniquely geek fashion.

If you've got the travel bug (with or without your iPhone), be sure to visit our sister site Gadling for all things flight-related.

This morning, I Farked my way over to this story about British Tea Cakes. The tea cakes, which appear to be nothing more than British mallomars, have been re-categorized from biscuits to cake. Far be it from me to dispute the accumulated wisdom of the EU high courts, but from this American vantage point if it looks like a cookie and tastes like a cookie, perhaps the tea cake actually is a cookie -- and not a cake. I consulted TUAW's in-residence Britishness expert Nik, who threw up his hands and asked (justifiably) whether this was actually related to Apple or its products.

Being in a cookie-minded mode, I decided to respond to a reader who asked about issues on the iPhone in visiting mobile versions of sites that were less than accommodating upon revisits. Some mobile sites hide "log out and log in as another user" details in their mobile formats. (I would point the finger at FireEagle/Yahoo--but lately they've cleaned up those problems rather nicely.)

If this situation happens to you and you really need to access a site as if it were your first visit, let me recommend clearing your cookies. And yes, I can hear you groaning: "You want us to do...what?". Unfortunately, with Mobile Safari, cookie clearing is an all or nothing proposition. You can't just clear cookies associated with a single site. It's a clean sweep or nothing at all.

To do this, open Settings > Safari. Scroll down and select Clear Cookies. The iPhone throws up a pop-up confirmation. Tap Clear Cookies and quit from Settings. Your problem sites should now act as if it's your first visit.

And, as for that whole tea cake thing? If you serve cookies for supper, are they tea cakes rather than biscuits? British people feel free to expound in the comments.