Archive for the 'iphone' category

What’s On Removed From the iTunes App Store

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whats-on.jpgZdnet is reporting that apparently, i.TV’s competition, What’s On, has been removed from the Apple iTunes App store. Searching for the iPhone App returns a listing, but clicking on the listing returns an error saying the App couldn’t be found. There is no word from What’s On, and it’s unclear the reason for the dead links.

This news of What’s On, having recently pushed their 1.5 version to the iTunes App store, comes on the Heels of the number one Free App in the iTunes App store, i.TV. Both applications provide TV Listings and customizable TV lists for users, i.TV with much more content. i.TV also provides a movie listings and Theater search service which What’s On does not provide.

i.TV is a client of mine, so I have to admit I have a bias, but I’m very curious to know what’s “going” on here. I have no inside knowledge on this one unfortunately. I can only wonder if Apple discovered something that was in disagreement with their Terms of Use policies.

i.TV Hits #1 in 72 Hours

IMG_0001-20081010-121020-1.pngI’m trying to post a few more inspiring posts with the state of the economy and the sad state of the elections currently. I really believe much of the state of the stock market is being caused by negative reactions in the media. Hopefully I can help stop that. I started with my last post and a little perspective. I’d now like to share a little good news.

Today, at the company I work for, i.TV, we’ve announced that we’re now the number one Application in the iTunes App store! It took us only 3 days to get there. With 443 reviews in the short time we launched and almost all of them raving we’re really excited about it! We’re madly at work on our next features now.

As you can read on our blog, we’ve got some very exciting announcements coming soon, so stay tuned there to hear more. You can also read some of our favorite reviews on our blog. In the meantime, check out our Facebook, and Twitter profiles - be sure to follow and add yourself as a fan! Lastly, if you have any fan photos of your favorite shows or parts of the app, go ahead and share those in the “fan photos” section of our Facebook Page.

Here’s a little video of our launch and celebration music - you can buy the song on Shout Out Louds. We think it’s pretty inspirational. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel here.

Looking for iPhone and Facebook Development and Consulting Shops

With my new work at i.TV (go visit the iTunes Store Home Page if you want to try us out - lower right-hand corner), I have started phasing out my consulting (which used to be my full-time job) and am putting my focus towards building (with a top-notch team and great CEO, of course!) one of the top Entertainment App companies out there. In the process, I am still getting 5-10 people a week contacting me asking if I know anyone that does iPhone or Facebook Development. Quite frankly, finding someone to refer to is not an easy task! That is what I used to do, so it wasn’t something I was looking for (and I know there just aren’t many out there, as well, even with the high demand).

So, if you or someone you know does either iPhone or Facebook development, or work for a company that does, I want to make a deal with you or your company. I’ll send you these referrals for a commission on the deal you make with them. This is a win-win for all - I now have someone to send referrals to. You get the referrals and regular business, and the Clients now have someone they can get help from. Having written books on Facebook, and working for a company that does iPhone App development, along with this blog growing considerably and guest blogging on some of the top blogs on the internet, I get these requests regularly - I’d really like someone to send them to.

If you’re a developer, perhaps you’re starting to see the demand of Facebook and iPhone development. This is an excellent area to have knowledge in, in particular in a down economy. If you’d like to learn I do recommend you look at my book, FBML Essentials, and at the end of this month I’ll be doing a free webinar for O’Reilly in which I’ll cover beginning Facebook development. Stay tuned to this blog and I’ll reveal more details soon.

Know a Facebook or iPhone development company or developer? Shoot me an e-mail (or comment below): jesse at staynalive dot com or call me at (801) 853-8339. Also, if your business is in need of such work, give me a ring and I’ll point you in the right direction!

Stay N’ Alive Now on Your iPhone!

IMG_0001-1.pngThis morning I installed the WPTouch plugin by Dale Mugford & Duane Storey onto this blog, enabling all mobile viewers to have a nice, very fast loading version of this blog on your iPhone. Loading http://staynalive.com in Safari on the iPhone gives you a nice, iPhone-formatted version of the blog that you can easily click through articles, read them in a very plain and simple format, share with friends, and more.

staynalive_iphone_icon.pngIn addition, I also created a nicely formatted icon with my “Social” Geek logo which you can add to your Home Screen. Just click on the “+” sign in Safari, select “Add to Home Screen”, and it will add it to your home page. If you want the full version of the site, scroll down to the bottom and there will be a link to get the original formatting back.

This should be the beginning of a long line of changes for this site. As you can see, I’ve gone naked and listed my Reader count on the right of the blog, showing we’re quickly approaching 500 readers and growing. Because of that I want to do some things that will make this much more professional looking, while at the same time maintains the personal and open nature you have always gotten from me. Stay tuned, and you can follow redesign progress at http://new.staynalive.com.

If anyone has any connections to help get me the “StayinAlive.com” with the “i” before the “n”, it would make a really nice Christmas present!

i.TV Announces TV & Movies App for the iPhone

Today my new employer, i.TV, an up-and-coming startup with headquarters in Palo Alto, announced our first release of the “TV & Movies” App for the iPhone. The TV & Movies App we feel will change the way you watch TV and Movies. We intend to revolutionize entertainment so that you see what you want to see on TV and in the Movies, and that starts with your iPhone.

When you open up the TV & Movies App for the iPhone it starts by asking you your location, and, based on GPS coordinates, it finds your location, and recommends your local TV providers in the area (I’m using Louis Gray’s screenshots for this - he did such a great job on them!). It then downloads listings from your area, right to your iPhone, along with Movie Theater listings around your area.

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From the TV listings, you can click through, choose your favorites, rate each TV show, view actors and upcoming episodes, choose star ratings for each, along with post reviews about each show and see what others have shared. You can rate reviews even and share how helpful they were to you.

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Beyond just TV listings, we let you look up what movies are playing in your area. We’ll display the theaters closest to you and let you choose from the list and see all movies showing from those theaters at given times. From each movie listing you can do the same things you can do from TV shows - write reviews, rate your favorite movies, and more!

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Within each movie or TV show you have the capability to also view pictures from the show, from movies you can watch the preview for the movie right on your iPhone (something that will keep you surfing for quite awhile!). You can also recommend movies and TV shows to your friends via e-mail.

There is an entire section devoted to search. So, for instance, I can type in “football” and see everything playing related to football at a given time. Or I can type in “computers”, or “fishing”, or you name it and find out what’s playing related to that term at the given time. You can also add any show or movie to your favorites (when you give it a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”, it also adds it to your “My Media” page.

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What attracted me to this company is what is coming soon after our launch though. Above each listing is a button that says, “watch”. In the near future you’ll soon be able to save to a Tivo, stream your favorite episodes, and more, all right on your iPhone!

I have been hired onto i.TV as their Chief Community Officer - my responsibilities include Social Product Strategies for the company, and I’m currently working on a social application that I think will blow your socks off if you’re a TV or Movie junkie like myself. Stay tuned to our blog for much more news to come - this is only the beginning of Media, My Way.

We are simply awaiting iTunes to post the App to the iTunes store (we were expecting it to appear today, but due to the iTunes 8 launch it may be in the next day or two). We will update you via our blog and Twitter (we’ll update Twitter first!) when it’s available. You can read the official announcement here: http://mediamyway.wordpress.com/2008/09/10/itv-not-in-app-store-yetcoming-soon/. Check out our video here (YouTube Channel coming soon!): http://i.tv.