PDA zur

When you purchase a new and precious item, it is natural to want to protect it from the many harms and hazards that exist around us. What more if you just got your hands on the all-new iPhone 4, a privilege that very few out there would have had, and many would love to have! When you own the magnificent iPhone 4, you would definitely want to keep the phone in the best of conditions, especially without a scratch on it! Thus the most practical and realistic way to achieve this would be to obtain a iPhone 4 case for the phone.

There are plenty of iPhone 4 cases available out there today, as the iPhone 4 is without doubt one of the most revolutionary and eagerly awaited phones in recent times. Thus you are practically spoilt for choice when it comes to protecting your phone with a case, as there are hundreds of options available out there in terms of design, color and material.

Why would one need to protect the iPhone 4? Well, if you have heard of the ‘death-grip’ problem before for the iPhone 4, you would be aware of the fact that a case would help protect the antenna of the phone from this issue, thus allowing you to forget about any dropped call problems. Getting a ZAGG invisible and scratch-free iPhone 4 case would definitely help you overcome this complication easily!

With the many cases out there for this phone, you tend to change the appearance of the iPhone 4 when you put on a case that would change the appearance of the phone immediately. If you are a lover of the original color of the device, the only option available for you if you want to successfully protect the phone at the same time would be to obtain an invisible case! Enter the ZAGG invisible and scratch-free iPhone 4 case! One that allows you to maintain the original color and appearance of the phone, without compromising on the safety of the device! Definitely impressive if you ask me!

Nevertheless the biggest advantage of having this case is without doubt the protection factor that it offers. Not only can you brilliantly protect the screen and body of the device from dents or scratches, you would also be able secure the safety of the camera, the ports and all the buttons excellently as well when you have a ZAGG invisible and scratch-free iPhone 4 case attached to your phone! Dirt and dust can also be kept at bay successfully when you have one of these cases in tow! Keep in mind that an iPhone 4 that is scratched or dented would never be desirable any more, and it would probably cost you a fortune to fix it, thus why not opt for the more practical solution and protect it from the start?

If you’re one of the millions of people around the world who have managed to scoop up the hot new iPhone 4 ,  you’re now probably trying to decide if you should purchase an iPhone 4 case . Cases are a good idea for any cell phone, and especially for the iPhone 4.

First of all, there’s the famous “reception” issue that we’ve all heard about . With the iPhone 4’s antenna and dropped call problems widely reported that the new iPhone 4’s have, it is important  that you have some sort of cover  to shield  the antenna from from the wildly famous “death-grip” problem that has been reported in the media . The basic iPhone 4 bumper case that Apple is now giving away will solve that problem for your iPhone , however  there are countless third-party Apple iPhone 4 cases that are better looking  and offer more protection for the rest of the Apple iPhone  as well.

The biggest benefit of having an iPhone 4 case, is to protect the new Retina display screen and overall body of the iPhone. . The iPhone 4 is a very attractive phone, with a smooth and sleek design, so avoiding scratches and scruff marks  is important.  Moreover, while the new iPhone 4  is a pretty durable phone, care should be taken not to  accidentally drop  or crack the screen, so a good case needs to be able to protect the phone from scratches as well as act as a shock absorber to protect the functionality of the phone, and protect the touch screen from scratches and cracks.

Since it also has a camera, you should also take steps  to safe guard  the camera lens from dirt and scratches as well.  A good iPhone 4 case will have a clear covering that covers the screen as well as the new HD video camera lens, without impeding the use of the HD camera.

All external buttons and plug in ports  should be sheltered from dirt and debris too. A common problem is dust, pocket lint, sand and all sorts of debris getting into the accessory port on the iPhone. Once the connections in the port get embedded with dirt, the data cable, charger and other accessories no longer work. An effective iPhone 4 case will protect the iPhone from such dirt and debris, so you don’t have to worry about these things causing unwanted issues with your new iPhone.

Another important benefit of an iPhone 4 case that you may not have thought of is style and individuality. The Apple iPhone 4  itself is a stylish and sexy phone, but since there are only black & white versions available,  they all look the same.  A cell phone case can be a very eye catching and attractive  accessory and can express your individual style and personality.

In summary , an iPhone 4 case is a must for any iPhone 4 owner. An iPhone 4 case can solve the notorious reception  problems ; protect the investment of the iPhone  and even  make a fashion statement all at the same time.

It might have happened in the past, or it’s bound to happen in the future — at some point you will accidentally delete an important text message from your iPhone.   When this happens, and you are franticly looking for a way to retrieve the data from your iPhone, what options do you have?

Are there really any “quick and easy” ways to recover text messages on an iPhone that were accidentally deleted?  The good news is that there is definitely a couple ways to easily retrieve deleted text messages from an iPhone.

1) IPHONE SPY STICK

An iPhone Spy Stick (www.iphonespystick.com) looks like an ordinary USB drive, but the way an  iPhone Spy Stick Data Recovery Tool works is you simply plug one end of the cables into the iPhone, then the other end into your PC.

Using the included software (of the iPhone Spy Stick), you’ll be able to immediately recover and read deleted text messages , recover deleted photos , call logs, and even GPS locations.

THE GOOD?

No need to jailbreak the iPhone.
Nothing to install directly on the iPhone.
Extremely easy to use.
Works “after” the data is deleted versus having to install something before the data is deleted.

THE BAD?

Requires constant access to the iPhone.
Somewhat expensive considering the cost of option #2

2)  IPHONE SPY APP

The second option is to get your hands on  iPhone spy app that is often used to catch cheating spouses, monitor teens cell phone use and track employees. Even though this type of software is referred to as “spy” software, it’s fast become a popular way to back up your iPhone logs, thus helping you recover deleted data.

The main reason why this method is becoming a popular choice, is because there is no “syncing” or manual back up tasks to remember to do. Your iPhone data (text messages, call history, etc.) are automatically backed up every single day. This means if you ever  accidentally delete  a text message, and then need to quickly recover it, all you have to do is log onto your account and then in just a few clicks, you’ll have full contents of every message that was either sent or received from your iPhone.

In summary , iPhone spy software is essentially a real time personal back up solution that requires absolutely ZERO work on your part. Everything is done for you.  The ONLY thing you NEED to remember, is that you must install the iPhone spy app software BEFORE any messages that you want to retrieve are deleted.

THE GOOD?

Works exactly as advertised.
More affordable than an iPhone Spy Stick.
Entire text message history is retrieved, not just recent ones.
No further access to the iPhone is required once the app is installed.

THE BAD?

Installation takes time, especially for anyone who isn’t comfortable installing cell phone apps.
You must install spy phone software BEFORE any messages are deleted that you want to retrieve.
Requires a data connection such as 3G or Edge.
Requires that you jailbreak the iPhone.

In summary, if you’ve accidentally deleted an important text, don’t worry because now you know a couple different ways on how to recover deleted text messages from any iPhone.

Don’t worry. We were exactly in the same position as you, and know exactly how you feel.

Our names are Mike & Quoc, and we once had an idea for an iPhone application just like you, but we didn’t know how to program apps for the iPhone, and Quoc didn’t even own one.

Since then, we’ve published over 20 iPhone apps, many of which climbed to the top of their rankings in the app store.

And the craziest part of all this is – we never programmed any of them.

That’s right. Our entire business was built without ever having to program one application ourselves.

We’ve spent the last few months laying out exactly how YOU can make your iPhone app idea come to life with no programming experience whatsoever, and we put it all into the ultimate guide: How to Make iPhone Applications With No Programming Experience: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating and Selling Your Own App.

“You can have the best idea in the world for an application, but until it’s created and on sale, you’ve got nothing. There’s no better time to get started than now.”

PROOF You Should Listen to Every Word We Say About Building an iPhone Application

There are a ton of other How to Make iPhone App Guides out there. We know this. A lot of them are decent too.

But, we also know that NONE of them have the same type of information that we have to offer, and NONE have the same experience that we do in the App Store.

As of February 2nd, 2010, our company, Thinking Drone, LLC (which includes Free The Apps!, Hipposoft, and Moon Apps in the App Store), has published 22 applications and has registered a total of over 10 million downloads.

We have reached the #1 application in the Photography and Utilities category several times with different applications.

Our highest overall ranking was the #3 TOP FREE APPLICATION in the App Store, which generated a total of101,443 downloads in a single day.

In this article I will give some insight into the hackers environment of iPhone and give you some reference to some interesting sites that will provide you with resources if you ever want to wander down this road yourself. However, we take no responsibility for any third party links, nor the content found therein either. If you want to jailbrake your iPhone, then you have to be aware of one thing, you will depend much on your own knowledge about how to maneuver with your new modified iPhone.

However, it is fun, it opens a totally new world for use of the iPhone. You will be able to take part of some very innovative use of the Mac operating system as well as its user interface. It is a world with almost no limitations.

If you want to, you can wait for Apple’s release of its SDK and wait for some developers coming up with some official applications for your iPhone. However there are thoughts in the market that Apple will not reveal all of iPhone’s potential through its SDK and therefore it will be utilized for development of applications Apple themselves find convenient for iPhone and especially for the business related side of iPhone.

We will start our search for resources and you are more than welcome to take a peek behind some of the links and begin to learn the true potential of your iPhone.

Manage Your Blockbuster Queue From Your iPhone

You can view your shipped and queued movies, as well as drag and drop Queue reorganizing. You will also be able to search for and add movies as well as add movies from Blockbusters RSS feeds.

Here you can get tips as well as apps and downloads for your iPhone, such as Firmware, iPhone Software, Modded files, Stock files, templates, themes and Widgets for the iPhone.

Here you will find iPhone Hacks. It is your source for the latest Apple iPhone Hacks JailBreak Unlocking News Applications Tips & Tricks Reviews Rumors Blog on the Apple iPhone … Fix for iPhone’s

iPhone Hacks, Cracks, Homebrew, and Modifications. All your iPhone underground needs! … Hack your Apple iPhone Welcome to the source for all your iPhone Hacks . iPhone hackers . This is another source for all iPhone Hacks. iPhone hackers, developers, and researchers around the globe have been working hard to open the device in hopes to achieve what Apple never intended. iphone-hacks.com aims to share all the hacking, mods, cracks, and discoveries with you — in one central location.

On this site you will find the latest iPhone Accessories, News, Reviews, ringtones and more.

iPhone Hacks Forums :: Forums for the latest Hacks News Applications Tips & Tricks Reviews Rumors on the Apple iPhone.

News and hacks for your iPhone can be found here. Some tricks and tips are also found here.

If you are looking for downloads for your iphone then you might like this great site we found where you can get heaps of iphone downloads – PLUS PLUS!!! – plus videos, PLUS movies, PLUS music, PLUS TV shows like “The OC”, PLUS games (and a stack of other downloads!).

We here at POPSnail love fancy software, and we’ll try anything for our “World’s Most Popular Now!” award. The name of the game today is SVCD to iPhone Converter. Of course, some programs work better than others, and we’ve made it our mission to help you find the best of them, without you having to download and delete six different ones! We give our “World’s Most Popular Now!” award to the best of the best and nine runners up in five categories ? UI skin, speed, ease of use, user rating and popularity.
For today, the best of the best in SVCD to iPhone Converter are listed below. They’re clearly the winners in all five categories, as you’ll be able to tell immediately when you download them.
1. Accelerate DVD + Video to iPhone Converter

It converts almost all formats of video files that are already on your computer (AVI, MPG, MPEG, ASF, WMV, MOV, 3GP, AMR, FLV, FLIC, SWF, RM, RMVB etc.) and DVD movies into a format that’s compatible with iPhone video, that is, iPhone mp4 format.

2. Lenogo DVD + Video to iPhone Converter

It converts almost all formats of video files that are already on your computer (AVI, MPG, MPEG, ASF, WMV, MOV, 3GP, AMR, FLV, FLIC, SWF, RM, RMVB etc.) and DVD movies into a format that’s compatible with iPhone video, that is, iPhone mp4 format.

3. Cucusoft DVD + Video to iPhone Converter Suite

Cucusoft iPhone Video Converter Suite is an all-in-one iPhone video Conversion software. This iPhone includes “Cucusoft iPhone Video Converter” and “Cucusoft DVD to iPhone Converter”.

4. Lenogo Video to iPhone Converter

Lenogo Video to iPhone Converter is a professional video to iPhone converter software. It can convert AVI, MPG, MPEG, ASF, WMV, MOV, 3GP, AMR, FLV, FLIC, SWF, RM, RMVB to iPhone

5. Wondershare iPhone Converter Suite

Wondershare iPhone Video Suite is an extremely easy to use DVD/Video to iphone converter. The software makes the process of converting DVD Movie, MTV, Music Video and TV Show to Apple iPhone MP4 or H.264 Video easily.

6. Alive iPhone Video Converter

Alive iPhone Video Converter is a professional video converter to convert almost all popular video/movie formats to iPhone MP4 format.

7. Accelerate Video to iPhone Converter

Its conversion speed is 3 times of the playback speed, even faster than real-time.AVI, MPG, MPEG, ASF, WMV, MOV, 3GP, AMR, FLV, FLIC, SWF, RM, RMVB to iPhone Converter.

8. Digiters DVD + Video to iPhone Converter

Digiters DVD to iPhone Video Converter Suite is a One-Click, All-In-One solution to convert DVD to iPhone, Tivo to iPhone, DivX movie to iPhone, Xvid movie to iPhone, MPEG video to iPhone, WMV to iPhone, AVI to iPhone, RealMedia to iPhone, etc.

9. Cucusoft iPhone Video Converter

Cucusoft iPhone Movie/Video Converter is the easiest to use video converter software available. It can convert almost any video format to play on Microsoft iPhone Video Player, e.g. DivX, XviD, MOV, RM, rmvb, MPEG, WMV, AVI to iPhone Movie / iPhone Video format

10. PQ DVD to iPhone Video Suite

PQ DVD to iPhone Video Suite (PQ DVD to iPhone + iPhone Video Converter) is a One-Click, All-In-One solution to convert DVD, Tivo, DivX, MPEG, WMV, AVI, RealMedia and many more to iPhone and iPod Video.

Is the iPhone Boom a Business Boon?

We all know how the iPhone frenzy has grabbed popular imagination since it was first announced in Jan 2007. With its cool feature set, slick appearance, powerful computing capabilities, beautiful display and intuitive touch navigation, this poster boy of the mobile generation has captured the imagination of gizmo freaks and tech phobics alike. To get some measure of iPhone’s success, one only needs refer to Tim Cook’s (Apple’s COO) recent statement at a conference – he said that the company had “really good confidence” the company would hit 10 million iPhones sold by the end of 2008.

According to a research from IDC, 70 percent of those polled who own, or plan to purchase an iPhone in the next year, consider it to be for both personal and business use.

Considering the vast proliferation of iPhones in such a short span, it is natural that all those who own a iPhone would want to extend its use to business as well. And it is no joy carrying around a Blackberry and iPhone in either pocket. All that does is to exert extra downward pressure on the belt. It is no wonder then, that iPhone’s usability in a business context is a raging debate nowadays. That is still a secondary question, because the fact remains that present and future end users of iPhone see is as something they want to use for business.

The Bad News

Unfortunately for corporates, iPhone was created mainly for the meatier consumer market, and never really meant to be a business tool.

What Obstructs “iPhone for Business”

-   It’s mainly a PIM

-   Third party applications not supported

-   Lack of Exchange Support

Mainly a PIM – iPhone mainly has PIM(personal information manager) capabilities (email, contacts, calendars, calendars, notes) and not meant to be used for team collaboration, which requires the ability to share and work togather on information.

Sorry Third Party Developers – iPhone runs on a custom built operating system called the “iPhone OS”, and at this point does not allow third party applications to be built & installed on this native OS. Users are restricted to applications prebuilt into the system (mail, sms,  calendar, photos, etc). This meant no special business centric applications could be created to make use of iPhone’s computing & display capabilities and internet-ability.

No Exchange Support – The gravest ommision was a lack of support for MS Exchange, which meant that users could not view even the most most elementary business information – business mail, contacts, tasks, and calendars, on their iPhones, what to speak of advanced collaboration. The only way to achieve this was complicated and unreliable workarounds.

The Good News

iPhone’s Business Friendly Features

-   Rich Safari Browser

-   Web 2.0 Applications Allowed

-   Internet Friendly

-   Recent Apple Announcements

Hurray for Web 2.0 – The good news is that they allowed a small window, through which an elephant could be pushed. Soon after its launch, Apple announced that it would allow third party web applications supporting web 2.0 standards, to run on iPhone though its rich Safari browser. This effectively meant that iPhone could be part of the web 2.0 revolution, and access all the rich applications therein.

The Safari Browser – iPhones web browser Safari, is a full web browser with the works. It is light years ahead of the custom made web browsers of traditional corporate handhelds like Palm’s Blazer browser, Blackberry browser, etc. It is not just comparable to a desktop browser, but is a desktop browser. This allows iPhone to ride high on the current web 2.0 wave, rather than just being a bystander.

According to AT&T and Google, iPhone generated 50 times more search requests than any other mobile handset.

Internet-ability- iPhone allows internet access through wi-fi or wide area EDGE networks. One important prerequisite for a mobile to be an effective remote collaboration tool is the willingness and comfort level of users to use the device for web access. With no little thanks to the large display & the safari browser, the iPhone has been a huge success as a device for web access. The iPhone increased the average wireless data usage as much as 30 times higher than on other phones.

Apple finally Awakens from its Slumber – Only lately has Apple has woken up to the previously ignored aspect of business usage. This was largely caused by the hue and cry raised by the media and users over its frustrating lack of business friendlyness. Even as I write, there is news of iPhone finally offering Exchange support, and an iPhone SDK (software development kit) which will allow programmers to develop applications specifically to be installed on the iPhone.

But these new developments are not just in their infancy, but even foetal stage. It will be some time before these new applications find their feet, an truly provide trouble free functionality to businesses.

Exchange support at this time is issue riddled and works only for companies that support Exchange 2007 or Direct Push on Exchange 2003. Moreover, this and the launch of installed applications for iPhone wont take place until a firmware update slated for June 2008.

Webapps to the Rescue : HyperOffice as a case in study

Amongst the first companies to regonise the oppurtunity presented by iPhone for rich business applications was HyperOffice. Already well experienced in the web based business collaboration domain, they developed HyperOffice for iPhone, an iPhone specific version of their flagship product, HyperOffice.

This allowed business users to use almost the entire feature set HyperOffice right from their iPhones. Rather than an isolated personal information manager, HyperOffice allowed iPhone to be used as a dynamic collaboration tool through which users could access the company intranet, share contacts and calendars, plan projects, share and edit documents, schedule meetings, & many other things.

They also realised early on that a major pain point for users looking to use iPhone for business was a lack of Exchange support. HyperOffice allows users to get past this hurdle easily by acting as a bridge between Exchange and iPhone. It allows users to receive information directly from Exchange, or access Outlook information (mail, contacts, calendars, tasks) right on iPhone, with or without Exchange. No matter where users access mail and other information – Outlook, iPhone’s email client or on any other web device, information is automatically synched. Users always get updated information.

There seems to be a lot of confusion around the iPhone 3G, and how to unlock it. There are tons of websites claiming/misleading that they can unlock the iPhone 3G with a software solution – they cant! There is no software unlock available yet for the iPhone 3G, anywhere!

No matter what your friend says, or what that website claims to do – it is impossible to Unlock an iPhone 3G with software. There is however a hardware SIM unlock for the iPhone 3G – it’s just as easy to install, doesn’t require any modding of your iPhone or SIM card and it works with all firmware versions. – I will talk more about this method later on, need to explain some more about the software unlock while we’re still on that topic.

You can currently “Jailbreak” your iPhone 3G with the software, the same software you would use to unlock your 1st generation iPhone will be able to Jailbreak your iPhone 3G. Jailbreaking your iPhone simply allows you to install your own 3rd party applications onto the iPhone. This process is reversible, so don’t worry if you mess anything up. Here are a couple of guides, the first on How to Jailbreak iPhone 3G and the second, Revirginize iPhone 3G (if you need to restore your iPhone 3G to factory settings).

In order to unlock any iPhone with software, it must first be Jailbroken – to allow you to install and modify the code on your iPhone 3G to unlock it. Please don’t be tricked into thinking there is a software unlock for the iPhone 3G, because there isn’t- the second the software unlock becomes available for the iPhone 3G you will be able to see it, and download it at Unlock iPhone 3G’s iPhone 3G Software Unlock Status page. If you see any website offering the software unlock for the iPhone 3G before it’s announced at Unlock iPhone 3G – then it’s 99% a scam, walk away.

Now… back to the hardware SIM unlock for the iPhone 3G. Basically this little device slots in your iPhone (in the same way your current SIM card does), and allows you to use your iPhone 3G on any network. It’s easy and it works! BUT there are loads of different types of hardware SIM now floating around on the internet, and most of them – like with the software unlocking companies *cough* site site site *cough* – are really rubbish products. They lack quality (reception, signal, phone call clarity, 3G issues) and some even require your cut your SIM card.

At iUnlock iPhone 3G, we have tried and tested over 20 variations of iPhone 3G SIM Unlocks, in order to provide you with the best solution. Our Unlock for iPhone 3G requires no cutting of your SIM, and there is no signal / reception problems at all! You will not even notice a difference. Our iPhone 3G Unlock ships worldwide, and you can get it for just £34.99 (there’s no need to update your hardware SIM, once you have it – it will keep your iPhone unlocked forever), this price includes access to The iArea, where you have access to thousands of iPhone Wallpapers, iPhone Themes, iPhone Downloads, iPhone Software and Premium 24 iPhone Support via our Ticket Support System.

I hope this clears up the iPhone 3G Unlocking Status for everybody.

iPhone 3G Software Unlock – Not Available

iPhone 3G SIM Unlock – Available Now!

The launch of the Apple iPhone was an amazing eruption of hype and publicity that drew customers to it like moths to a flame. Most customers who bought the iPhone are now in search of the best sites for unlimited free iPhone movies downloads, unlimited free iPhone game downloads, unlimited free iPhone music downloads, unlimited free iPhone software downloads and more. This is primarily to keep their iPhones stuffed full with their favorite movies, TV shows, games, music, software and more.

The iPhone has become such a trend that everyone wants to buy it and utilize it’s fantastic features like being able to download iPhone movies, iPhone games, iPhone software and iPhone music. In this article, will discuss some of the best places to get free iPhone downloads.

Before choosing an iPhone downloads site the most important thing to consider is the type of service you want. The two most popular types of iPhone downloads sites are pay per download sites and unlimited free iPhone downloads membership sites.

If you choose a site with pay per download fees, this means you will be charged about $0.90 for each and every one of your movie, music and game downloads. This type of iPhone downloads site can become very costly if you plan on downloading a lot of movies, music and games.

Your other option would be to join an unlimited free iPhone downloads membership site. Once you pay a one time lifetime membership fee of about $30-$35, all the downloads would be free of cost for you forever, which would include unlimited free iPhone movie downloads, unlimited free iPhone game downloads, unlimited free iPhone music downloads, unlimited free iPhone software downloads and much more. So, instead of paying for each and every one of your downloads for your iPhone, all you need to do is pay a one time lifetime membership fee. Most of the good free iPhone download sites also offer a one or two year option. Without question, the unlimited free iPhone downloads membership site seems the best deal by far.

At this moment, the iPhone seems to be the hottest gadget in the world, and as an Internet device, it has soared miles ahead of its competition. So, if movies are your thing, you can now enjoy watching all your favorites by using your iPhone. It goes without question that iPhones are expensive, yet, the amazing features that comes as part of the entire iPhone package make it well worth the extra expense. If you are wise enough to take advantage of the iPhones fantastic features, you’ll join an unlimited free iPhone downloads membership site too.

While having the ability to watch movies or play games on your iPhone is great, its even better if your iPhone’s movie downloads and iPhone game downloads are free. But please don’t trust everything on blind faith. That can get you into deep trouble. Remember to always be careful about your iPhone. There are some iPhone download sites out there that are pure scams. If you want to protect your iPhone from malicious viruses and spy ware then check out the iPhone review sites to find out the best sites to get your unlimited free iPhone downloads from.

The Apple iPhone is an amazing device that invites  creativity. You’ve probably said to yourself: ‘I wish I  could do that on my iPhone.’

With the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), programmers can make your ideas reality – even if you yourself don’t know the difference between a C-pointer  and a SQLite database.

More than 200 iPhone application projects have already  been posted on Elance.com. Check out these tips in this article to get  your project kick-started.

We focus on the development of applications for the Apple iPhone, and we asked Nick Dalton, iPhone SDK specialist, to give Elance buyers a few tips on how to scope and post an iPhone Application project. Here’s what he had to say:

The iPhone is an amazing device that invites creativity. If you’re an iPhone owner I’m sure you’ve said to yourself: ‘I wish I could do that on my iPhone, or I have a great idea for an iPhone application’.

With the iPhone Software Development Kit (SDK), programmers can make your ideas reality – even if you yourself don’t know the difference between a C-pointer and a SQLite database. But before you go ahead and post your application idea to the buzzing iPhone project area on www.Elance,com. here are some pointers to get your project kick-started:

Study the Masters
Apple has already spent a lot of time thinking about how to present information and build interactive applications on the iPhone. The applications that come with the iPhone are the results of this research. Study them in great detail and try to apply as many of the user interface metaphors as possible to your application.

Not only will Apple be flattered if you imitate the user interface in their applications, but they actually mandate it to a great level of detail as described in their Human Interface Guidelines.

Dream in Color Screens
Most applications for the iPhone will be very visual. Therefore it makes sense to provide your requirements as screen images or sketches. You don’t have to be a graphics artist to do this effectively. An iPhone programmer is looking for the following information:

- The type of layout each screen should have

- The buttons on the screens

- The actions associated with each button

The exact shape and format of your screen sketches is secondary. As long as they are readable, it’s a great way to communicate your application design to a programmer.

Be Realistic About Your Budget
Look at other iPhone projects posted on Elance to get a sense for the bid amounts on these projects. Read the descriptions of these projects to see if they seem to be larger or smaller projects than what you have in mind. If you set your budget to under $500 for something that is realistically going to take a programmer two months to implement, you are not likely to attract many bidders.

From a programming perspective, some things are easy to do on the iPhone, while other seemingly simple things are very time consuming. For example the beautiful cover-flow animation used in the music application on the iPhone should be simple to use in other applications. Unfortunately you can’t. If you want this animation within your application it will have to be written from scratch, probably costing a one month of work.

If you talk to an approved iPhone developer early in your application design process you can learn how to get most out of your budget by avoiding the things that are really difficult to do on the iPhone.

Don’t Be Too Original
iPhone users already know how to do certain tasks on their phones by convention. For example, if you tap an item in a list that has a > icon next to it, you expect to be taken to another screen with more information about that item. If your application needs similar functionality, don’t be creative and come up with a new way to solve the same problem. Use the conventions already established by Apple.

New conventions are difficult to establish especially with the touch interface because there is no way to discover how your application works on the iPhone. Unlike a website where you can hover with the mouse pointer over areas that look like you can interact with them and a tool tip or the status bar will reveal some clues to you.

Know Your Limitations
The current version of the iPhone SDK, which is used to write applications for the iPhone, has many restrictions and limitations. Some of them are common sense, e.g. you can’t send text messages from an application. Imagine an application that sends out thousands of text messages without your knowledge, who is going to pay the phone bill for that?

Other restrictions are maddening: applications cannot access the log of phone calls, or interact in any way with the calendar or the music stored on the iPhone.

To Apple’s credit, the iPhone SDK is an amazing piece of software especially given that it was publicly released as a Beta just three months ago. Some of the shortcomings listed above will likely be addressed in future releases of the SDK.

As a buyer with an idea for an iPhone application, you should educate yourself about these limitations before you spend too much time designing an application that is impossible to implement. Talk to a developer or company that specializes in iPhone development (and there are many available on Elance) and they can help you get on the right track from the start.