Finding parking in NYC requires loads of patience and savvy particularity because parking signs are notoriously difficult to decipher.  The people at PrimoSpot.com have created a site rich with tools to help you land a spot that meets your location, time, and price needs.  Their map clues the user into street parking signs, meter availability, parking garages, street-side images,  places to avoid, premium spots and more.  You can use their site to strategize your parking plan or utilize their smartphone app in the moment as you approach your destination.

This is an indispensable tool for drivers in the NY Metropolis.  Anyone whose experienced the nightmare of having their car towed, which happens all too fast in this city, knows to be extra extra cautious about parking.  PrimoSpot takes some of the pressure off.

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The phone frenzy is palpable once again.  Out with the old, in with the new.  Have you upgraded your OS yet, that is if you didn’t get the new phone?  Download it here. You might as well familiarize yourself with all the perks, tricks, and added functionality now available with iOS4.  It’s bound to make your iDevice more fun.

New iOS4 shortcuts, features, and settings you need to know for your iPhone or iPod Touch.

image from apple.com

Droid vs. iPhone, is there a winner, can there be a winner? I have the luxury of both phones, which I use daily both for personal things and for work. This will not be a whose carrier is better comparison. If I was to do that I would just say AT&T is the worst provider I have ever had to use in Manhattan and that would be the end of it, oh look I did I said it anyway.

Getting back to the heart of the matter: what is bad about the Droid and what is bad about the iPhone. You may be asking yourself why just the bad stuff? I think if you want fanboys to fawn over either device you have a lot of sites extolling their values all over the internet. So lets start.

iPhone: No removable battery Battery life Closed source architecture No tethering * Single carrier Lack of Google Voice

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The Apple site has a great reference for keeping the lithium-based batteries running your iPhone and iPod devices in tip top shape.  I’ll give you the Cliff Notes here for best practices:

#1.  Temperature
Keep your device cool – don’t leave it in a hot car, sunny window, or in its case when charging.

#2.  Use the Lock button
If you lock your device before you put it in your pocket or handbag, it won’t accidentally wake up and run.

#3.  Use your device until the charge runs down
Generally speaking, it is a good practice to let your device run through complete charge cycles.  This means, when your device is fully charged let it run until the charge is almost totally used up before recharging again.  Apple recommends this at least once a month.

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Become an iPhone  super-user with these 20+ handy, but not necessarily well known tips.    They may enhance your user experience or make you an even more savvy pro.

I complied these tricks from iSmashphone.com.  A big thanks to them for spelling these out.  I’m sure at least a few will be invaluable tools for beginners and experts.

1. Scroll to Top of Page

In any application, Safari included, you can automatically scroll to the top of the page by tapping on the “top bar”, which has the time, service bars, and battery. In Safari, this not only brings you to the top of the page, but also brings up the URL bar.

2.  Domain Resolution

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iPhone Explorer is a free application that enables you to copy files to and from your iPhone or iPod Touch.  You can transfer photos, music and other media to right your computer.  You can also use it as a flash drive transporting files or using it as a storage device.

Here is what the makers say:

Sharing folders for your iphone

If you did not hear, apple released the MobileMe iDisk App, of course you will need a mobile me account. OSX users really should have one, let me list the benefits:

- get an new email address ( you choose what it is ) belonging to the .me domain
- can set up galleries through iphoto and upload your pictures to it for anyone to see.
- get a website that you can manipulate with iWeb.
- get 20 GB of space to share between your website/pictures/email or whatever else you want
- get access to a backup application tht will backup whatever files you want to the iDisk ( after it is set up)
If you have an iPhone you can track it if it is ever lost

And the best part? Its all in sync and push enabled (Email , contacts, calendar)

When you have MobileMe installed on OSX or Windows, goto your settings/control panel and make sure you are logged in and iDisk is set up. You should see it under devices in finder or under my computer in Windows.
So either use Itunes to search for the MobileMe IDisk app or use your iPhone/iTouch device to install the device (app store).
Its a great tool to keep your files accessible to you wherever you go.

I love my Iphone, it is the greatest phone i have ever had, and I’ve had quite a few.  Its a computer in your pocket, it also happens to be a phone. The variety of applications are great , and there is no end to them it seems. So we hit the darkside of our technological future. Battery life, quite honestly, as good as it is , it is still abysmal. I want a product that I can use for a week, not a day.

This is where 3rd party vendors come in. While there is a plethora of battery products out there for the iphone, the best I have found is Mophie. I ordered the Juice pack air and I love it. Yes, it makes the phone heavier, but it doubles the battery life of the phone. On a busy day I need it. There have been a a few heavy use days when i actually had to recharge both phone and battery. Which bring me to my next topic.

The battery pack doubles as a protective case, it also uses the new European charging standard for phone plugs (micro usb)*.  The case acts as a passthrough and you can sync your phone to Itunes with no problem. It also has a small recessed switch at the bottom. The Iphone actually uses more power when it charges, so leaving it on all the time would drain the battery. When it is fully charged , the battery pack will start vibrating alerting you to shut it off.

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