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Twist for iPhone is an interesting 'twist' on location sharing
I've been a big fan of Glympse as a way to share my location with friends, so they know where I am and when I might arrive. In fact, it's a favorite app of mine. So I was interested to try Twist, an iOS app that has similar features but accomplishes things quite differently, and in many ways does it smarter and better. A new version of the app was released today. Twist is free, as is Glympse (also both Google's Latitude and Apple's Find my Friends). Twist will ask for access to your address book both for your home address and any favorite locations you want to set up as defaults. When you are ready to go, get a destination from your address book, search using keywords, or drop a pin on a map. Then select the recipients of your location updates; you can notify them via text or email. In a nice touch, Twist doesn't do anything till it senses (via GPS) that you have left your origin. It sends notes to the people you specify, and sends updates along the way with your ETA. Each text or email contains a link that will let people see your location on a map. If your friends have the Twist app, they can get the information there too. There are some other cool features that Glympse doesn't have. When you select your destination you will get a weather forecast for that location, a street view from Google, and Yelp will provide reviews if the location is part of the Yelp data. You can also create a new destination from a calendar event. Twist will tell you it's time to leave to get to your destination on time. In testing the app I especially liked the auto-start function. I can set up my trip in advance, and nothing happens until I leave. I appreciate that my route can be via car, public transportation, or walking. The estimates of arrival time were very good. There are also some things I didn't like. The app asked me to register for some additional services. I think I did, but got no response to my request. Curious. When someone is following me to see where I am, my location on their device (computer or smartphone) seems to lurch around and jump, rather than be a smooth moving position. Glympse does this much better. I also don't think it's always easy to figure out how to set up the your messages to people. While by no means difficult, it could still be more intuitive. These kinds of issues can be cleaned up, but I still think Twist is a giant leap forward in location sharing. I urge you to give it a try if it has capabilities you need. Twist is more about the when while Glympse is oriented toward the where. Both are valid, interesting and useful apps. %Gallery-160006%
Glympse partners with Mercedes to bring built-in location sharing
I've been a frequent user and a big fan of Glympse ever since I first reviewed it. If you're on a trip, meeting someone for lunch and so on, you can share your location in real time, along with your ETA and your route. It's a clever marriage of iOS and GPS. The Glympse app is free, and has had many worthwhile updates and improvements. Today, Glympse announced a partnership with Mercedes-Benz to provide a first-of-its-kind offering that gives users realtime location sharing right in their cars. Drivers will be able to use the in-dash Mercedes DriveStyle to select a recipient, set a timer, and "send a Glympse" to anyone they choose. The recipient receives a text or email link with the driver's real-time location on an interactive map. When the timer expires, the location sharing will automatically stop. Because Glympse is a universal sharing solution, the recipient doesn't require any special software or device. A web browser will do. Having the feature built into a car has the obvious advantage of saving on battery on your iPhone. With the GPS chip sending your data on a second-by-second interval, I always use Glympse with my iPhone plugged into a charger. BMW has something similar, but it is much more primitive. You send an email to someone from the car and it gives them your location. No mobile phone required. But the location is not updated in real time, and you have to keep sending it. Nothing I want to fool with while driving. Glympse stores an address book, and even has templates for frequent destinations. It is easy to set up, and you do that before you go on the road. Mercedes will get similar capabilities as part of the car telematics. No mobile phone needed. This feature will appear in new Mercedes A-Class cars, and I expect it will expand through the model line. I'm sure discussions with other auto makers are in progress. Of course you don't need a Mercedes to use Glympse. Just grab it from the iOS app store and you are literally on your way.
New iPhone? Try these must-have free apps
If you have that new iPhone you received for the holidays, you're probably looking to load it up with some apps that will enhance your mobile experience. Let me suggest some of the best of the free apps. Of course, everyone will have their own list, but here are my 5 favorites that I think most new iPhone users will love to use and to show off their new iPhone. If you're a news junkie, by all means get Zite, newly released for the iPhone. It sets you up with news categories of interest to you, then learns what you like by keeping track of stories you click on. Over time, it gets smarter and smarter, so in essence it creates a personalized magazine for you. Their are other news readers and aggregators, but the presentation of stories in Zite and its ability to learn make it my first choice. Glypmse is one of my very favorite apps, the kind of app I would pay for if it wasn't free. While some of the location-tracking functionality it offers is covered by Apple's iOS 5-only Find my Friends app, Glympse is more flexible and cross-platform to boot. With Glympse you send a message (email or SMS) to someone with information on your location; the link is set to expire when you want it to, so your friends can't track you indefinitely. Let's say you are meeting someone for lunch. When they get your message, they click on the included link, and Glympse loads a map showing a moving pin (that's you) along with your ETA. The person you are meeting doesn't need an iPhone, just any web-capable device, including laptops. It's a great service, and in practice I've found it to be super reliable. Tango does what Apple's FaceTime won't do, which is to allow you to video conference with another cellphone using 3G (FaceTime requires WiFi). Tango has added clients for Android and Windows Phone, so it's a great way to visually keep in touch with friends. I even tried it with a friend touring China and it worked. An update last week allows you to leave video mail for your Tango buddies. For more intellectual pursuits, try the recently released TED app. It's a collection of great talks from people in the arts, literature and the sciences. The app has been updated to work with Airplay, so you can stream the audio to another device like an Apple TV 2. I try to watch a TED talk at least once a week, and it's always a treat. Finally, for pure fun, try Action Movie FX. From the creators of the new Mission: Impossible movie, you can add rather impressive special effects to your own movies. With the free version you can add a missile strike or a car crash to your own video. It looks great, and the price is exactly right. Reviews are glowing. There are some other modules you can buy, like a tornado or helicopter crash, but I was fine with the free effects. It's more fun than you should be allowed to have for free. Enjoy that new iPhone. These free apps should help get you started. I'll add one bonus free app to the mix. Don't forget the free TUAW iPhone app to help you keep up with the latest and greatest Apple news. Happy Holidays! Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this post stated that Find my Friends did not allow you to set up an expiring location tracker; it does allow this, via the 'Temporary' group sharing option. It still requires all participants to be using an iOS 5 device, while Glympse is cross-platform (as is Google Latitude, which also offers an iOS app). We apologize for the error. –Ed.
Updated 6/3: Weber's On The Grill, Glympse, Bump, Stitcher Radio, WebEx
iOS App Store updates this morning: Weber's On the Grill: additional language support Bump: Faster photo uploads Glympse: Redesigned favorites view & more favorites features. Stitcher: Support for the Ford Sync radio. Cisco WebEx: Support for WebEx Beta sites. Hit your app updates in iTunes to download these & any other apps that are ready for you!
Glympse is a great way to share your location
Somehow we missed telling you about Glympse, the great little free app that lets you tell others where you are in real time. To get started, download Glympse to your iPhone and accept the terms of use. There are no accounts to set up or anything else to fiddle with. When you're ready to share your location, enter an email address or search your contacts. Select a contact, email or text message number and set a duration you'd like the person to be able to see your location. Seconds later, your recipient receives a link. If they are on a laptop or PC, they will see you on a Google Map -- it can be street or satellite view. Your icon will be moving in near real time, and your speed will be displayed. If you have selected a destination, it will show up on the map as well. It doesn't get easier than that. If the other person has Glympse on their phone, they have the option to have the app's built-in map display your location. If you want to cut off a viewer before their allotted time is up, you can "expire" them. You can send your location to multiple people, which they can view simultaneously. I've used the app to let people know that I'll be late for a meeting or to display my position in traffic. You can also share your locations to Facebook or Twitter. %Gallery-115655%
