Jingle apps, jingle apps...

Mobile use each day has jumped from 39 minutes every day a year ago to 50 minutes a day. Photo / Apple Inc

People in the US are spending as much time on their phones as they do on all forms of reading. Mobile use each day has jumped from 39 minutes every day a year ago to 50 minutes a day as of this December. Sounds good - I mean, reading is good, right? But much of that was at the expense of traditional forms of reading, with US newspapers now being read for just 30 minutes on average. And magazines for just 20.

I'm either ahead of my time, or just impatient. I used to make magazines for a living and even then I didn't read them, except the ones I was producing. For quality control. And companies that produce magazines are either concentrating on producing excellent magazines, or they're cutting costs so much, and pressuring staff so much to work harder for less, and inveigling so much free info off the net instead of using journalism as dispensed by trained and experienced journalists, that often their products simply no longer deserve reading.

And those particular culprits do deserve to have their business suffer.
And where are all those journos going? Many go into PR. That's why you're buying so much stuff you don't need - these people know what they're doing!

I know, I know, everyone says the same thing: 'I love the feel of reading a magazine or newspaper.' Sure you do. You just don't do it, or at least do it as much.

For me, information is king. I've been reading things on my computer screen for a long, long time, whether I liked it or not. If it now arrives on my iPad with beautiful colour pictures and, sometimes, crisp HTML5 movies, well that's great. I will happily grab the iDevice and have a look. It saves me from spreading paper all over the table, and from adding to landfill/recycle.

(That said, I buy a paper every Sunday. It's a luxury. It only takes me 30 minutes to read, as so much of the info is already old hat, but what the hell? It gives me some pleasurable downtime. And it gives me something to wrap the celery in, plus fire starting paper. It's a nice ritual. But unfortunately, that's all it is.)

It's fair to point out that richer countries have embraced the iPhone while developing countries/regions still favour Symbian. Going by browsing, the older system is strongly king in Africa, Asia and South America.

But iOS is indisputably top of the heap in Oceania/Australasia, which includes New Zealand, with over 70% of web browsing. Sorry, all you Android users, you're under 10% for this region, according to Pingdom, with Symbian still ahead of you at about 11%. So if you were wondering whether iPhone has been a resounding success for Vodafone NZ ... yes, iPhone has been a resounding success. (No figures for Windows Phone yet.)

iOS is also well ahead in Europe and a little ahead in the US. Worldwide, Pingdom puts the iPhone in second place with about 24% vs Symbian's 33%. (Don't worry you Android acolytes, I'm sure Android's market share is going to grow. It is, everywhere.)

Anyhow, if you do have an iOS device, there's rich pickings. Two major gaming companies have significantly lowered prices, so either you can get something for yourself, 'gift' games directly to whoever plays them with more bang for your buck, or spend your iTunes vouchers to get way more apps than you'd usually be able to.

Electronic Arts (AKA EA Games) discounted many of its games last week to just $1.29 (in the NZ App store). The app makers are keen to populate the iTunes App Store top ten lists in time for Christmas, since Apple's lists won't be updated from December 23.

There are over 60 EA titles to choose from, including Battlefield: Bad Company 2; Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit; Scrabble; The Sims 3; FIFA 11; SimCity Deluxe and Sims Ambitions. If you type 'EA Games' into the iTunes Store, you will find them all, including a few freebies. 

So Namco followed suit, slashing the prices of many of its titles including the various Pac-Mac games. These reduced prices will be available until January 3, it's claimed. Search on 'Namco' in the iTunes Store. And Tap Tap Revenge 4 just came out, and for free, with 100 songs and a new look. 

Cult of Mac has a guide to using your iOS for cookin'. Sounds weird? Our family iPad is used most for facebook updates, followed by looking up recipes and food advice, so it makes sense. For cooking tips, recipes and help using an iDevice, check out this article, which includes a link to the best iPad accessory ever - the fridge magnet iPad holder. Mmmm ... 

And have you noticed sales assistants' faces when you pull out your iPhone in their shops? Or any smartphone, for that matter?
Until recently, retailers could reasonably assume that if they just got shoppers into their stores with enticing specials, customers might be coaxed into buying more profitable stuff alongside.

But now, shoppers can use their smartphones inside stores to check whether special deals are really so special. In the US, says The Wall Street Journal, roughly 45% of customers with smartphones have used them to perform due diligence on prices.

Grimace. I've done it. But I've also used my iPhone to pxt images of items to check with a Significant Other whether it's a good idea or not as a present. 'Toothbrush holder with big moustache for nana? No?' ...It's a life saver, and I suspect many other blokes have been doing the same.

Retail experts don't expect all chains to measure up to the harsh judgment of mobile price comparisons, so some will need to find new ways to survive. Or get cell phone blockers as used in prisons, perhaps!

Meanwhile, just in time for those long summer drives, TomTom has just announced that the latest version of the TomTom App for iPhone (Version 1.6), includes the latest map of New Zealand. Also, for the first time, it has TomTom Map Share technology. Starting 21st December, Version 1.6 of the TomTom App for iPhone can be purchased on the App Store.
And I notice it's now 'only' NZ$84.99 - it used to cost well over $100. I find it indispensable in my travels to far flung clients in the massive, rolling expanse of featureless Auckland suburbs ...

TomTom Map Share enables iPhone users to make changes instantly to their own maps. Users also benefit from free map updates, which are made by the TomTom community and verified by TomTom. App users can edit street names, set driving directions and block and unblock streets directly on their maps and share these changes with the TomTom community.

The TomTom App checks for new TomTom verified map updates including turn restrictions, speed limit changes and crossing changes automatically every week (or on-demand, as often as users choose).

And here's another freebie - Xmas Lights put christmassy lights on your iPhone for a bit of pocket-sized seasonality. It has ads, but luckily, no cheesy Christmas music.
If anything keeps me out of the shops, it's that awful Christmas music. Bletch! Crank it up more, shop keepers, if you want to keep me out. (Or perhaps they see me coming, iPhone in hand ...)

- Mark Webster mac-nz.com