Yesterday, Apple pulled all Google Voice iPhone apps from the app store.  Riverturn, the maker of Voice Central was contacted by Richard Chipman from Apple. A transcript of the conversation is on the riverturn blog. http://www.riverturn.com/blog/ . Sean Kovacs, the maker of  GV Mobile also recieved a call from Richard regarding the status of his application. Sean decided to release GV mobile through an alternate app store called Cydia, which can service jailbroken iPhones. Sean is making GV Mobile available at no cost. Sean’s blog is http://www.seankovacs.com

I am certainly a Google Voice convert. The service is fantastic. I love everything about it. It truely is a virtual assistant. Using it on the PC is easy to do since it’s browser based. But how well does it work on an Internet capable device like the iPhone? The browser version is less than to be desired. It works OK, but certainly nothing like a native iPhone app would.

There are already clients for android devices and blackberries authored by Google, but not for the iPhone. There are two choices out there written by a few external software developers. I chose to install and use Voice Central. It has an incredibly easy to use interface and most of the Google Voice funtionality that you’d want to use from a phone interface. I like how the tabs are organized with voicemail, history, contacts, keypad and settings.  I can track SMS conversations, voice mails, missed calls etc.. everything you would expect to have on a moderm phone, but with all of the call routing functionality that Google Voice has to offer. The call routing functionality is done on the Google Voice Web Site and not on the phone. But everything else the application does and does very well.

I  had the play-by-play sites up from Macrumorslive.com and appleinsider.com during the Apple WWDC keynote speach. Let me commend Apple on the fantastic innovations. I really liked all of the updates to OS X and the MacBook Pro. It makes me want to go out and buy one. You can really see that Apple listens to their customers. The new iPhone 3G S is an update to the 3G, while it has some compelling new features like video recording, longer battery life, speedier app launch (all of which I would love to have), I’m not going to run out and upgrade my 3G yet.

One thing that perturbed me was Apple wanted to “reduce” the cost of the iPhone. While it sounds good on the surface, most phone are subsidized through the carrier calling plans. The calling plans are really the bulk of the cost of the phone. At $70/month (with no texting) for 24 months, that total is $1680, without taxes , fees etc.. If someone is willing to fork over $1680 over a two year span for the calling plan (I am willing to do that though) , what really is the differnence spending $299 for the 32GB 3G S phone vs. $99 for the 8GB 3G? A couple of percentage points in the total cost of the service? I am not saying that folks who should by an iPhone should always get the most expensive model, but just understand the total cost of what you are buying over the lifetime of the device/service.

I haven’t posted in awhile, but a lot has been going on. Currently, I’m in-between jobs. The second thing is that I got an iPhone. I didn’t realize what a difference one device can make on an individual. The most interesting part is that I haven’t even used the phone part yet.

This device is truly information at your figertips. What are the latest movie releases? How much money is in my bank account? What is the zip code for Palo Alto, CA? 

One of the things I’ve been looking at are productivity tools for the iPhone. How can I use this device to make my life easier? Mobile me is a great starting point whith the syncing over-the-wire with emails, contacts and calendar items. One thing was missing from the stack were tasks.

I use Outlook exclusively for tasks. So, how can I get tasks on my iPhone and in outlook and my PC? What is a good task manager for the iPhone?

The solution I am using is toodledo. Here are the steps below. 

1. Sign up for an account, click on the link to give me credit! 

http://www.toodledo.com/index.php?ref=td49cbbd5fbbd31

2. Download the Outlook / Toodledo sync too from Chromatic Dragon

http://www.chromadrake.com/ChromaticDragon/software/ToodledoSyncDownload.aspx

3. Install the iPhone Toodledo App from the iTunes Store. Link here:  http://www.toodledo.com/info/iphone.php

I know, it seems like a lot of work just to get a task organizer on your iPhone. I’ve looked at todo as well as a few other task management Web sites, apps and toodle do has the most flexibility as well as features for me. Do your own research and use what’s best for you.