To my mind the really interesting news with the new 2.2 firmware update isn’t the podcasting, (which is nice), or the possibility that Safari won’t crash as often (which is overdue), but rather the fact that the iPod Touch DID NOT get Google Maps Street View. Let me explain why…

When the iPod Touch came out it looked like an iPhone without the GSM radio, camera and speaker. It wasn’t. While it looked that was it, Apple had consciously left off features to make sure it wasn’t. It was missing the maps program and all of the features that would have made it a PDA, let alone a non-GSM iPhone. While it was obnoxious on Apple’s part, it did help make sure that, at least initially, the Touch did not cannibalize the iPhone too much.

A short time later those features did become available for a small fee and the Touch DID become an iPhone without the GSM radio, camera or speaker. The Touch took off and didn’t appear to significantly affect iPhone sales.

As expected Version 2.2 of the iPhone/iPod Touch firmware is out this morning and available for download. That’s exactly what I’m doing as I write this.

Among the tastey treats expected-

Map improvements that include Google Street View (except for iPod Touch users- sorry), sharing location via emai (there’s a whole group of apps that have no purpose now), call enhancements for reducing dropped calls (yeah!), email performance improvements, OTA podcasts (double yeah!), and more.

All in all it is a nice update with some welcome fixes and featues.

Kinda makes all that 2.0 headache stuff a distant memory… doesn’t it!

This is not good…

It is bad enough that each individual eBook appears in the App Store as a separate iPhone App. (This stupidity has already yielded 21 pages of books in the App Store and the number is growing rapidly.)

Add to that (App Store polluter #1) ZATZ Publishing’s "DaysTo…" series of crApp (which stands at 37 and counting)

…and you have tons of garbage to sort through when trying to find the latest apps that are actually worthwhile and useful…

(I keep waiting for ZATZ to issue "DaysTo Tomorrow…")

But now this…

The sweet leather scent that emanated from the white Vaja box was truly intoxicating. Then again, the sweat that was running down my forehead due to the contained excitement might have added to the smell.

I mean, I had waited 51 days for something I spent $120 on, and only bought based on strangers’ opinions online, and I finally had the opportunity to see it for myself. I had three very high expectations for the case, so it had better be a good-looking case, a protective case, and a quality case.

I looked inside the box, and saw what had been my most anticipated arrival, second only to my iPhone 3G: a black caterina leather case with a dark blue stripe running down its center (good-looking case: check); The Vaja iVolution Top SP Holster for iPhone 3G.

Immediately, I picked it up, took my iPhone out of the Griffin FlexGrip case it had been shamefully living in for over three weeks, and slipped it inside the SP. Or, at least, I tried to slip it in, but in reality I had to push down on the top of the phone hard for it to settle into place. For me, that was a good sign, because if it took my manly strength to get it in the case, then the case would not allow it to get out very easily, either (protective case: check).

I’ve long been a fan of Aspyr Media’s game and I’m glad to see them moving into the iPhone app space in a big way. Their first release, Buggled, is a

fun and active game of multi-touch finger twister. Ladybugs attempt to escape your nimble fingers in this game filled with charming visuals and curious sounds. So keep your fingers on the ladybugs and don’t get Buggled!

But Aspyr is just getting started. Upcoming releases include-

Since we launched What’s On iPhone this June, we have had, and continue to have, a great time reviewing the growing number of applications available in the iTunes App Store.

It is, and remains, our focus here on the site. But, applications are just the first part of what makes the iPhone a remarkable device.

Just as new apps enhance the usability of the iPhone and help unlock its potential, so too do the ever growing number of iPhone accessories.  

They enhance the usefulness and enjoyment of our favorite electronic wonder. In fact, apps and accessories often go hand in hand. A good speaker system can help pump out the music flowing from Pandora. A high quality noise canceling headset makes Jott job transcribing your message all the more accurate. And, a good case can make using the iPhone to play the new (and awesome!) racing game Fastlane easier or much more difficult.

Accessories are a key part of the iPhone’s ecology, so starting today, we’ll be looking at a few each Wednesday.

While we won’t be losing our focus on new and updated applications, we’ll spend some time every Wednesday, giving our thoughts on some of the best (and worst) in the ever-growing world of iPhone and iPod Touch accessories.

So today, we welcome you to the first edition of Accessory Wednesdays.

Well, it may have been delayed by a few days but Google Mobile App with Voice-Enabled Search was released a short while ago. (Thanks for the headsup J3003!)

Was it worth the wait?? You Bet!

For some reason iTunes did not indicate that an update was available so I removed the app from my iPhone, downloaded the Google app in the App Store and resynced my iPhone. There it was- real voice enabled search on my iPhone.

Like many people in America, I’m trying to get in shape.  I’ve been a member for a while at one of those big gym chains.  One of the problems I have is that I don’t know exactly which exercises to do to accomplish my goals.  I would love to hire a personal trainer, but the cost is simply out of my budget.

With that in mind, I checked if the App Store had any solutions to my problems.  Actually, it offered several, but I was drawn to the iPump family of applications from Pump One.  They have several versions of their application depending on the sort of workout you’d prefer and, as far as I can tell, they each have the same learning structure.  For my objectives I chose the Fat Burn and the Total Body.  Each is sold at the price of $2.99.

The iPump applications have three parts to them: 

WORKOUT, which gives demonstrations of various levels of workout through picture and video.  This is the main part of the application.

LOG, which tracks your workouts through the number of times you scroll through their exercise regimes (some require a manual input).  Of course, the system relies on user honesty, but there is only so much a PDA can do.

INSPIRE, which composes e-mails to supposedly send to your friends hocking iPump’s merchandise.   I’m not that keen on this feature because using it knocks you out of the iPump application and into e-mail, but it only occurs when you click it so I’ll just leave it with a warning that says “can be ignored”.

One of the nice features of the iPump applications is that they assume you’ll be listening to music while exercising and allow for that, provided you don’t run the video examples of each exercise, which stops the music.  There is no clear instruction on switching the music back on without stopping the program.

While the instruction for the exercises within the iPump applications is clear and straightforward, I found the exercises themselves to be somewhat generic.  A possible improvement that could be made in future generations of the program could be the modification of exercise regimes depending on goals.

The program also allows you to either work out at the gym or at home (most of the exercises don’t require much in the way of gym equipment).   A problem with this could be the need for a Wi-Fi or cellular connection in order to see the videos.  While I realize that pre-loading the videos onto the unit would be an enormous resource hog, it seems unlikely that one’s gym is going to provide a Wi-Fi connection (obviously, this is not an issue if you’re using an iPhone data plan).  Nor is it likely you’ll want to interrupt your exercises in order to watch the video.  The videos are best used for exercising at home.

The iPump applications are good for those without knowledge of basic exercise techniques and require the structure of pre-determined workouts without the cost of an instructor.  If used alongside a program for a balanced diet (there are a myriad of free ones available on iTunes such as Calorie Tracker and Meal Diary), then you may have a winning combination towards a health lifestyle.
 

If you use the powerful web-based task management system Toodledo you have two iPhone/iPod Touch app otions.

There is Appigo’s ToDo (it works with Remember The Milk also) and there is the Toodledo app directly from the good folks at Toodledo.com.

Toodledo is the newer (just released a few weeks ago) and the less expensive ($3.99 vs $9.99) of the two. It is also the less mature and (less) fully-featured of the two. Toodledo’s rapid update cycle thus-far suggests it will catch up pretty quickly, however.

I happen to like Toodledo a lot and think that, at $3.99 it is a pretty good deal. (Although Remember The Milk isn’t charging a thing for THEIR app.) This update makes it even better.

Included in this update…

Its been a while since we showed Pandora any love but finally there is an update to one of my favorite iPhone apps!

This it isn’t a major release but, hey, the fact that there is any release at all is nice since it means Pandora is still alive and kicking and, for now, moving forward (even if it is a small step this time).

This update brings some improved phone call handling and station synchronization. (It is always nice to see apps that already work well find ways to improve speed and stability.)

The update does add one welcome feature- genre stations.  You can now create a station based on genre and add it  to your station list. It is a nice way to get back to a more random musical offering instead of your self-created (and often narrow) stations.

Pandora is available HERE in the App store for free!