iOS7 - Iconic?

Before I start on this iOS stuff, I'd like to put a plug in for a great Blog that should interest any of you that have any feelings whatsoever for Manchester. Manchester UK that is, not Manchester, Ontario or Manchester, New Hampshire or any other part of the world that shares a city or town with the same name. 

It's called Skyliner. Written by someone I don't know personally but regularly read - great stories of little known parts of the city, buildings and long lost moments. If you live in Manchester, I'd say you need to have a browse through it. It will change your view of the city.

So, on with iOS7.

The download? Where to begin?

I know I live on a far flung hill, high above Manchester and the internet connection is as good as it gets for the peace and quiet it affords (actually not so bad these days at 1 Mb+ down) but how long?????? It took from 8pm last night to 11:30 for the upgrade to come in and install itself. You have been warned.

As you can imagine I was expecting a fanfare when it re-booted and some sort of dancing ladies show.

The very first thing I really liked about iOS7 is the fact that they have enhanced 'Find My iPhone' - the iPad I use cannot now be reset or cleared without using the password that only I know. I'm sure there will be ways around it for the most hardened thief and their gangs, but if you ever lose or have your device stolen it should serve to make accounts secure for a while longer whilst you go in and reset the passwords.

Didn't get the fanfare though.

However, the icons and the colour gradients are (mostly) beautiful. Operating systems have long been stuck in trying to make every icon and menu item look as shiny as possible with eliptical layers but not iOS 7. Instead they have gone arty and 'flat'. Gradients and colour phasing is everywhere. I like it I must say. Here's an example.

They have also simplified the look of almost all icons too. I'd say successfully. Some might take some getting used to, but in large part, they are still very obvious what they relate to though one or two are too simplistic and miss the point. Example 2 here clearly is about Videos? 

But why oh why didn't they include a play symbol like all other video/mp3 icons everywhere on the web? After all, the play button has been around a long long time.

That would surely be better?

One icon I really REALLY (get it Google?) don't like now is the one for Google Chrome that I use rather than Safari - being mainly a PC user and having an Android phone - it has a white background and when sat on the quick launch bar at the bottom simply looks out of place. I'm sure that will change quickly.

SHAPE SHIFTING - OR AT LEAST A LITTLE NUDGE?

The one change that I didn't get straight away was the fact that someone has come up with a great idea to slightly shift the background image if you move the iPad. This creates a 3D illusion effect. Just as 3D TV is going out of fashion (did it ever really come in?) Apple have decided to bring their home screens to life. I like it, not necessary, but aesthetically very pleasing. Design for designs sake almost - not my usual reaction to this - but I just keep finding myself wriggling the iPad slightly to witness the effect. It is probably better on my setup as I have a close up photo of grafitti on a wall so the icons literally look like stickers on the wall. With a photo of a cute dog or a family snap it probably doesn't work?

USEFUL NOTIFICATIONS - AT LAST!

Apple had never managed to match Android on the use of notifications but iOS 7 now allows you to swipe the alert from Facebook or Gmail and go straight to the app. Finally, don't just tell me about it, let me do something about it.

The notification panel is a bit too much for me, but I'm sure some will really like the integration - and apparently it is better on the iPhone with missed calls/texts etc. I like the inclusion of weather - though it isn't a patch on Android tablet offerings to be honest.

The bottom swipe panel is also much much improved. Now you can swipe on the iPad and turn bluetooth or wi-fi on and off quickly rather than having to resort to settings all the time.

The AppStore or clunkily named iTunes Store 'look and feel' is brilliant - you can tell this is where they make that recurring income!

There's more, much more - like the ability to shoot square Instagram friendly photos... I'll be back to review the deeper things I find in a few days time.

3D EVERYTHING??

We are now used to having an enormous amount of data in our pockets.  The iPhone has boosted this enormously, and Android users are adopting GPS based mapping, location tweeting and facebook check-in's too.

I happen to think mapping related software is brilliant. I would, I use a high end Geographic Information System (GIS) almost every day in my work to visualise data and inspect options for putting together reports for my clients. It is often much better than Excel and pie or bar charts. Though those that know me, know I do like pork pies... oh, that sort of pie.. focus Polko..

Otuside of the world of work and expensive computers and software, it doesn’t matter where you are in the world a handheld GPS or phone can find stuff. Quickly. (except in one of Britain's many wi-fi/data blackspots of course!).

We are all used to Google maps on our notebooks, tablet PCs and desktops too. I also use these at work extensively, and have started to explore Bing maps as these seem to be a little better visually. Give it a go. See what you think. The 3D rendering on Google Maps and Google Earth are generally good – although sometimes the light makes for a poor photo and lack of clarity in tight city and town centre fly overs.

However, a new development by Apple is on its way - the new maps on the iPhone and pads etc will be available in 3D format. See the video here for an example, a video fly-through of Oslo. The 3D mapping has been created from fusing satellite data, photographs and - it being Apple - some head-working crazy algorithms for height and depth information.



So, for those that are looking for the next big thing to show off to friends, or those who can't quite read a flat map (and there are too many of you out there!!!), you don't have long to wait before Apple gives you another helping hand.  I'm sure Google will follow very quickly.