Today Agile Partners (creators of GuitarToolkit and previously reviewed Star6) released their newest iPhone/iPod Touch app, TabToolkit, the ultimate guitar tabulature resource. If you are like me, which would mean you play guitar because I do, then you don’t always remember to bring the tab of that new song that you printed out when you find yourself with a little time to play. TabToolkit manages to make this something of the past and does it with lots of style.

TabToolkit allows you to load your own tab files (in either Power Tab, Guitar Pro, text or PDF file types) and will play them back to you with a synthesized instrument as it highlights the note you are supposed to play in tab notation. Guitar Pro and Power Tab files also allow standard musical notation alongside the tab. You can also change the speed of playback from the settings menu, set up a metronome, and change the type of notation, left- or right- hand notation, and whether there is an instrument guide showing at the bottom of the screen. Speaking of the instrument guide, this is one of the coolest parts, especially for beginners (both to keyboard or guitar), because it shows you exactly where the tab corresponds to on the instrument.

This is an amazing app and even though the price is a little steep ($9.99) it is well-worth it, every guitarist with an iPhone or iPod Touch should add this to their set of tools. TabToolkit comes with a few, pre-selected tabs already installed but you can add your own by clicking on the “plus” sign at the bottom right and going to the website it gives you. You can purchase TabToolkit on the App store right now for $9.99.

A user at Androidforums.com, tankboyben, has modded his HTC G1 phone to make it more Steampunk. It was all done by hand and looks amazing! You can view the full gallery of pics at androidforums.com.

 
PALO ALTO, Calif. – September 15, 2009 — Today Kinoma announced that its flagship product, Kinoma Play, is now available for Nokia S60, the world’s dominant smartphone platform. Nokia S60 users can now enjoy the best way to find, play and share media in a beautiful, fast, easy-to-use application.
 
Kinoma Play lets users find media fast by browsing the extensive built-in Kinoma Guide app or searching leading media sites including YouTube, Flickr and SHOUTcast. It allows them to play media in all popular formats including Windows Media, MPEG-4/H.264 and iTunes AAC. Finally, Kinoma Play users can easily share what they’re enjoying using Twitter, Facebook, Last.fm and more.
 
“Kinoma Play connects your media and your social networks with a power and simplicity unavailable in any other S60 application,” said Peter Hoddie, CEO of Kinoma. “It’s not just that Kinoma Play does more — it’s how naturally and intuitively everything works together. Nokia users have been asking us for Kinoma Play since its release on Windows Mobile, and today we’re proud to announce that their ‘killer app’ has arrived.”
 
“Nokia’s goal is to provide the best media experience possible on mobile, so we’re thrilled that Kinoma Play is now available for Nokia S60 phones,” said Purnima Kochikar, VP, Forum Nokia and Developer Communities, at Nokia. “It’s exciting and fun for consumers who want to play and share the world’s
best entertainment content, and indispensible for business users who need constant access to the latest business and financial news. Innovators like Kinoma show that the only limit to Nokia platforms is their imagination.”
 
Setting a New Standard for S60 Applications, and for Mobile Media
As a next-generation media player, Kinoma Play is peerless. It makes standalone single-media players obsolete, enabling effortless command over music, video, podcasts, audiobooks, Internet radio and photos. Whether playing media from the phone, web sites or social networks, Kinoma Play makes the experience fast, fun and easy.
 
In addition to playing personal media, Kinoma Play puts the “best of the web” in the palm of your hand with quick, easy access to content including millions of hours of on-demand and live video, more than 30,000 radio stations, tens of thousands of audio and video podcasts and millions of photo albums.
 
Connecting Content and People Like Nothing Else Can
With deep support for major social networks including Twitter and Facebook, Kinoma Play makes sharing media as natural as playing it. Share photos and links to your favorite music and YouTube videos in seconds. Use the built-in Last.fm app to “scrobble” your personal playlist and learn more about favorite artists, then use Kinoma Play’s unmatched YouTube app to watch their music videos.
 
Exclusive cross-social sharing allows users to share everything with everybody in a way that would be clumsy or impossible with other applications — for example, users can share YouTube videos on Facebook, share Facebook photos on Twitter, share podcast episodes via SMS and more.

Pricing and Availability
Kinoma Play for Nokia Symbian/S60 devices (S60 3rd Edition, Feature Pack 1 or Feature Pack 2) is available immediately at kinoma.com for $29.99 U.S. Kinoma Play supports Dutch, English, French, French Canadian, German, Greek, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish.
 
About Kinoma Play
Kinoma Play is the best way to play and share video, music, podcasts, radio, photos, panoramas and audiobooks on your phone. As the first social media browser, Kinoma Play has changed the mobile media landscape and quickly established a reputation as a must-have application for Windows Mobile.
 
About Kinoma
Kinoma makes software with a focus on design, simplicity, and fun. Its software powers the media experience on millions of devices on 14 carrier networks for customers including NTT DoCoMo, Palm, SoftBank Mobile, Sony, and more. Kinoma’s latest innovation is Kinoma Play, the world’s first social media browser.
Kinoma is a registered trademark of Kinoma, Inc. For further information, visit kinoma.com. Follow @Kinoma on Twitter (twitter.com/Kinoma) for the latest news, and subscribe Kinoma’s blog at blog.kinoma.com via email or RSS.

As I have used Android more and more my developer sense started to tingle and I wanted to create my own Android app. I looked at a couple of development books but they all just seemed to be the same: how to install the development environment and then all about how great the Android is to develop for. Nothing I could find actually moved past walking you through your first app on the code side. So when I was emailed about a new book by authors Shane Conder and Lauren Darcey all about Android Application Development I jumped at the chance to review it!

Android Wireless Application Development is a hefty book, weighing in at 573 pages with appendices and a CD, it is chock full of wonderful little tidbits of information that make Android so much fun to develop for. I was never a fan of Java in my programming classes but now that I see it in another light I’m slowly coming around to it. Of course the book starts you off by getting you to install Eclipse (Win/Mac/Linux) and all the tools necessary to create that app that’s going to make you rich in the end, then you are walked through how to write your first app, run it on the virtual Android phone, and then how to install it on a device to test. The book follows that with introductions in design, interface essentials, common Android APIs, 3D graphics, and finally how to deploy and sell your marvelous app through the Marketplace.

I found the book a marvellous teaching tool, it keeps your attention and has plenty of screenshots, images, and code snippets to satisfy even a beginner (like myself). I was so excited in the intro app when I was able to get my app to play a media file from the web with a small bit of code. The authors have the perfect balance of teaching and explaining that this is one book you will not get bored reading, you will definitely be ready to use what you’ve learned to make a new app as soon as you are done reading about it.

I’ll be looking for YOUR app in the marketplace soon!

Android Wireless Application Development was written by Shane Conder and Lauren Darcey and published by Pearson Education, Inc. It is available in paperback now on Amazon.com for $26.69, on Kindle for $23.75, and at your local bookstore.

Apparently I need to start off my contests a little slower, after a thin turn-out for the SyncMate contest I have decided to make it a little easier. So, in the spirit of the New Year I am going to give out the 3 SyncMate licenses just for posting a comment. I will randomly choose the winners.

Last day to comment and win is January 14, 2009.

From everyone at This Mobile Life, we wish you a happy and mobile new year!

Merry Christmas from your friends at This Mobile Life! Have safe and happy holidays.

About 3 weeks ago I reviewed an app for Windows Mobile called slydial that let you call directly to someone’s voicemail. Today, MobileSphere announced that slydial is available for free on the iPhone App Store.

Here’s the full Press Release.

Dec 15, 2008 09:00 ET
slydial iPhone Application Now Available

iPhone App Allows Users to Go Straight to Voicemail in One Simple Step

BOSTON, MA–(Marketwire – December 15, 2008) -

News Facts

MobileSphere, a leading-edge provider of global wireless communications solutions, today announced the availability of its slydial application for iPhone. Due to the rapid popularity of slydial, MobileSphere developed this free, downloadable iPhone application that lets you instantly voice message anyone in your iPhone address book with a U.S. mobile phone number in one simple step. The slydial App is now available for free download at the App Store in iTunes.

slydial has hit a nerve in the marketplace, indicating the value of this effective and practical messaging service that offers a voice alternative to text messaging. Whether saving time, avoiding an awkward conversation or returning business calls, slydial has proven to have universal appeal. Now, with the company’s smartphone Apps, slydialing will become easier than ever, increasing the use of this sly, yet practical, service.

Don’t have an iPhone? Applications are available for BlackBerry and Windows Mobile smartphones too. Download and install the slydial application of your choice on your smartphone by visiting the slydial Apps page.

Don’t have a smartphone? Have no fear; slydialing can still be an easy-to-use service. Join MYslydial for free and become a registered user to take advantage of advanced features for quick and easy slydialing, including Dial By Name and Click 2 slydial.

To slydial, dial 267-SLYDIAL (267-759-3425) and follow the voice prompts. slydial connects to all major U.S. wireless carriers and calls can be placed from any mobile or landline phone.

- Quote, attributed to Gavin Macomber, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, MobileSphere

“Based on feedback from our user community, it was evident that our iPhone and other smartphone users have been looking for ways to simplify their slydial experience. The slydial app was an obvious next step. Our downloadable applications provide quick and easy ways to instantly voice message any address book contact.”

- Quote, attributed to Clayton Wakida, Honolulu, HI, slydial iPhone App user

“Extremely useful App that every iPhone user should get and everyone else will want!”

- Quote, attributed to Bruce Wagner, New York City, NY, slydial iPhone App user

“I called 40 friends and family in only 30 minutes on Thanksgiving Day and left each of them a super-sweet personalized greeting. How long would it take you to call 40 friends and family without using slydial? And now, with the iPhone App, it’s one-touch calling which is brilliant!”

About MobileSphere

MobileSphere is a leading-edge provider of global wireless communications solutions leveraging the migration from fixed to mobile communications. MobileSphere focuses on providing mobile messaging and telephony solutions to service providers, enterprises, universities and consumers. Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Boston, Mass., MobileSphere’s products and solutions include slydial™ for mobile voice messaging, Joopz™ for web-to-mobile text messaging and CellularLD™, TravelCall™, Utalk™, CarrierILD™ for international wireless long distance. For additional information, visit www.mobile-sphere.com.

NOTE: Apple and iTunes are registered trademarks and iPhone is a trademark of Apple, Inc.

The trademark BlackBerry is owned by Research In Motion Limited and is registered in the United States and may be pending or registered in other countries. MobileSphere is not endorsed, sponsored, affiliated with or otherwise authorized by Research In Motion Limited.

All other trade names and trademarks are the property of their respective holders.