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Google Wave dev preview hands-on and impressions
After an impressive debut at Google I/O, the company's newest experiment and collaborative chat client has been making its way into the hands of developers in the lead-up to a torrent of new testers on September 30th. We had a chance to stop by Google's San Francisco office last week for a guided tour of the latest build of Wave with creators Lars and Jens Rasmussen, and have since then spent the better part of our free time working through the ins and outs of the new communication platform. Does it live up to the hype, even in this bug-infested interim build? Read on to find out.
Walmart creates iPhone compatible site
Do you like shopping at Walmart? From electronics to $4 prescriptions, Walmart seems to have everything. But one thing it didn't have was an iPhone application, and now they do. If you visit the Walmart.com website on your iPhone, you will be presented with an iPhone-specific portal for all of your shopping needs. From the home page, you can browse through products by category, see current product specials, and even see a list of approved $4 prescriptions (in PDF form). If you tap the "Shopping List" tab, you can create your own shopping list. This is handy if you frequent the actual store. You can also search for a local store or search for an item. Unfortunately this is where the functionality of the site ends. If you wish to purchase a product you'll have to visit the regular website, which can be slow to load over a mobile connection. If you want to check out the web app for yourself, just head over to Walmart's website on your iPhone/iPod touch.[via @keviano on Twitter]
First Look: Facebook
Facebook always seems to be on the forefront of iPhone development. They were one of the first social networking websites to have a good web application specifically designed for iPhone, and now they are one of the first big-name social networking sites to have a decent native application on the iPhone. The native application looks very similar to the web-based version, but with a few minor "upgrades." You get photo taking/uploading support, iPhone-esqe photo galleries, and Facebook chat. Facebook chat really works wonders, especially if you have been using the web-only client.The Facebook iPhone/iPod touch application is available right now for free from the AppStore. %Gallery-27338%
Associated Press launches iPhone-optimized site
Earlier today, the Associated Press launched an iPhone-optimized news site that really is pleasant to use. To check it out on your iPhone simply visit http://apnews.com. Once there you'll find AP articles, of course, but also local events (in fact, you can enter several zip codes and follow events from several locations) and more from many different outlets.The preference pane looks like that of a native iPhone application (Save the orange sliders instead of blue) and the photos and videos render pretty quickly, even over EDGE. Plus, they've got a cute web clip icon. What more do you need?It's nice to see the AP catering to mobile users. We say, "Well done."[Via iPodNN]
WebApps library launched for Apple's iPhone / iPod touch
Folks hoping that Apple would be so kind as to allow developers to craft their own 3rd party applications and have Cupertino accept 'em with open arms can now commence sulking, as a new WebApps directory unveiled today by Apple is nothing more than a dressed up version of Apple's bookmark list. Essentially, Apple has neatly brought together a selection of company-approved apps (listed here) that should function fine in Safari, but alas, there's absolutely no new functionality. So although iPod touch / iPhone users now have a central hub to go to for links to web applets, Apple is still leaving us high and dry when it comes to native 3rd party application support outside of its browser.
