iPhone Atlas

The new version of AIM notifies you when a new instant message arrives.

Good news on the IM front: AIM (Free Edition) and BeejiveIM 3.0 are among the first instant-messaging apps to support push notification, meaning you'll get alerted to new messages even when the apps aren't running.

If that sounds a bit familiar, it's because we reported on AIM's use in push-notification stress-testing about a week ago.

It also follows the news that uberpopular texting app TextFree was first out of the SMS gate with push support, allowing users to get new-message notifications while the iPhone is off or doing other things.

AIM offers a fairly robust feature set for a free app. It supports multiple screen names and works with AOL, ICQ, .Mac, and MobileMe accounts. It keeps you logged in for 24 hours and gives you the option of receiving notifications via SMS for those times when you're logged out.

I particularly like how you can finger-swipe between different chats. Of course, those features have been around for a while. The big news here is push, and in my tests it worked flawlessly.

I haven't been able to test BeejiveIM 3.0 yet, which is notable for its cross-platform support of AIM/MobileMe, Facebook, GTalk, MSN, Yahoo, and just about every other chat service known to man.

Thankfully, the developer lowered the $15.99 price tag, though it's still on the pricey side at $9.99.

Of course, when you take into account the money you stand to save on SMS charges, that might just be the deal of the century.

Are you geeked about push-enabled IM? If so, what's your favorite app? (Feel free to list those that haven't received the push treatment just yet.)

Push notification: A major "get" for free-SMS apps.

SMS charges can quickly bankrupt a text-happy teen, which is why free-SMS apps are so popular. These programs effectively recreate the texting experience, but with one major shortcoming: they can't notify you of new messages unless they're running.

iPhone OS 3.0 changes all that, and mega-popular TextFree is one of the first free-SMS apps to support the operating system's new push-notification capabilities.

Specifically, TextFree Unlimited 3.0 pops up a new-message alert whether it's running or not, and whether your iPhone is on or off. In other words, it functions more like Apple's stock SMS app (now called Messages).

It differs only in that you don't pay dime one to send or receive messages. The only remaining downside is that if someone texts your phone number rather than your TextFree address (e.g., textyjoe@textfree.us), it'll land in Messages.

Actually, there's an exception: If a message comes from another TextFree user, it'll arrive in TextFree--even when sent to your phone number. But you'll have to tell non-TextFree-using friends and family to update their address books with your TextFree address. Minor hassle.

TextFree 3.0 sells for $5.99. Unfortunately, that's now an annual price, though if you own the previous version, you're exempt from the fee. The free Lite version offers nearly all the same features, but has ads and limits you to 15 messages per day.

If you're holding out for a free free-SMS app, stay tuned: The developers of ad-supported TextPlus told me that a notification-enabled version of that app is coming soon.

In the meantime, what are your thoughts on all this? Now that notification is in the mix, will you ditch your monthly SMS plan in favor of one of these apps? Or will the imminent arrival of MMS keep you from jumping ship?

TextPlus not only sends text messages for free, it also supports group messaging.

Lots of apps let you sidestep iPhone SMS to send and receive text messages for free. But in most cases the apps themselves cost at least a few bucks. Enter TextPlus, a free, ad-supported app that offers unlimited texting.

That's reason enough to celebrate, but TextPlus has one other trick up its sleeve: group messaging. You can send a text to multiple recipients, and their replies will stay grouped together like in a chat room. (Obviously this works best if everyone uses TextPlus, but even nonusers can receive messages from the app.)

When you create a new message, TextPlus lets you choose one or more of your contacts or enter numbers manually. Turn your iPhone sideways and you get a landscape keyboard--always a welcome option.

Of course, the hassle with any third-party SMS app is that you don't get notifications of new messages unless the app is running. iPhone OS 3.0 promises to allow developers to remedy this problem, but for now the common workaround--and the one offered here--is getting new-message notifications via standard SMS.

Needless to say, that's not an ideal solution, as you still incur SMS charges for those notifications. But that's par for the course with SMS apps, and you're still able to save on outbound messages.

Until now, Textfree was my go-to app when my SMS count was nearing its monthly limit. But the freebie Lite version tops out at 20 messages per day, doesn't have a landscape keyboard, and doesn't do group messaging. Needless to say, TextPlus has replaced it.

Is there an SMS app you like better? Tell me why in the comments!

Who needs a browser? AT&T's MyWireless app puts your account at your fingertips.

All together, now: Finally! AT&T just took the wraps off MyWireless Mobile, a free app that lets you manage your AT&T account right on your iPhone.

Specifically, you can view your current bill (either a summary or a PDF of the entire thing) and authorize a payment, though the latter requires you to set up online bill-pay (via the Web) if you haven't already.

You can also add and remove various account features (roadside assistance, parental controls, and so on) and even change your text-messaging package.

Perhaps best of all, the app provides a complete overview of your usage, both minutes (anytime, night/weekend, rollover, and so on) and data. That should elicit a "Hallelujah!" from users who don't have "unlimited" plans: Now, at last, you can see if you're about to exceed your monthly maximum before making that call or sending that text.

As savvy iPhone users will undoubtedly mention, this information has long been available by way of various "*" codes. But let's be honest: This app blows them away. It puts a wealth of account information (and activities) at your fingertips and doesn't require any memorization. Needless to say, MyWireless Mobile just earned a permanent home on my iPhone.

The iPhone famously solves many of life's little problems--you can't decide where to eat, you've got nothing to read, you need to update your Facebook status right now--but who's going to solve the iPhone's problems?

For instance, maybe it's low on storage. Or it's having trouble connecting to a Starbucks hot spot. Here's a list of five common iPhone ailments and the apps that aim to cure them.

Why let music consume precious iPhone storage when Simplify Media can stream your entire library from home?

• You're running out of storage. Apple may have a 32GB iPhone waiting in the wings, but how does that help you and your storage-strapped model now? Here's one radical idea: delete all your music. Then install Simplify Media, a $3.99 app that streams your entire music library from your Windows, Mac, or Linux PC. I've been test-driving the app for a few days and it works like a charm. Just think of how much space you'll free up for apps, videos, photos, and the like.
• You're texting your way to the poorhouse. Tired of dropping an extra $20 per month for unlimited texting? How about a one-time fee of $5.99 instead? That's the price of Textfree Unlimited, which, true to its name, lets you send and receive an unlimited number of text messages. It's not perfect--you need to enable "push" mail if you want new-message notifications--but it'll definitely save you money.
• There's no way to check your SMS count. Prefer to stick with old-school texting? It would be nice if you could see how many messages you have left for the month. Pageonce just took the wraps off Cell Minute Tracker, a 99-cent app that shows not only your SMS usage, but also your AT&T account balance, rollover minutes, and more. (You can even pay your bill.) Check out Jessica Dolcourt's full review.
• There's no to-do list. Third-party apps to the rescue! Chapura's KeyTasks provides robust task management, and it syncs with Outlook. (But $9.99? Ouch!) Appigo's Todo offers iCal syncing for Mac users for an equally ouchy $9.99. If you'd rather sync your tasks to the Web, try Remember The Milk. The app's free, but you need a $25/year pro account.
• Connecting to Starbucks' Wi-Fi is a hassle. Oh, the hoops you must jump to tap a Starbucks Wi-Fi network. For a mere 99 cents, Easy Wi-Fi lives up to its name, making AT&T hot-spot connections a one-tap affair. No monkeying around with text messages and all that: you'll be online faster than you'll be sipping your latte.

Tired of fumbling around the iPhone's onscreen keyboard to send a text message? Soon you can skip that altogether, as long as you can speak English properly.

(Credit: Promptu)

This is thanks to a new iPhone application that Promptu, a talk-and-type mobile phone application developer, introduced Monday called ShoutOUT. The application is going to be the first voice-to-SMS application for iPhone users in the United States.

The application lets you dictate text messages instead of typing on the iPhone's touch-screen keypad. It also allows for checking the transcribed messages for errors and make corrections if necessary before sending them out to the intended recipients.

This seems an overdue application for iPhone, considering the ubiquity in the usage of text messaging. According to Gartner Group, by 2010 the total number of sent text messages will reach 2.3 trillion.

I wonder if this app also means you can send text messages while driving in California, where since Januray 1, texting and reading text messages while driving has been banned. It's not that I think people should text behind the wheel, just that if speaking on the phone via a hand-free device is allowed, sending text without using your hands should be, too.

ShoutOUT will soon be available at Apple's App Store. For now it's unclear how much it will cost. A non-English version of the application will also be available to European users.

Apple has released iPhone OS 2.2.1, a minor update to the device's firmware and operating system. Apple's release notes state only that the update increases the stability of Safari and resolves a problem in which images saved from Mail do not display correctly in the camera roll. However, users are beginning to discover several undocumented enhancements.

In particular, the update appears to address a nasty bug in which users suddenly experience inability to send SMS text messages on the iPhone 3G, receiving the message "error sending" upon attempting to send.

Still unresolved, however, is a minor issue in which Google Maps shows incorrect units of measurement in certain countries.

In order to apply this update, click the "Check for Update" button in the Summary tab of the iPhone device pane in iTunes (with your iPhone connected).

Watch for further details on undocumented enhancements. If you've noticed a new feature or fix, let us know.

UPDATE: For iPod touch users, this update also issue that caused some Apple Lossless (ALAC) audio files to skip during playback

UPDATE #2: Problems installing Some users are unable to apply the iPhone OS 2.2.1 update at all, with the installation process failing partway through. In some cases, the phone may become stuck in recovery mode, typified by the image of a USB cable pointing at an iTunes logo.

If you are experiencing a similar issue, first try the steps detailed in this knowledge base article.

If you are using a Windows sytem, try completey uninstalling then reinstalling iTunes, as described in this knowledge base article.

Recently we reported on errors iPhone users receive when attempting to send SMS messages. Users experiencing this problem might also receive errors claiming the number used is invalid, and asks for a new number.

This problem has affected users off and on for some time, and seems to be a result of an improperly formatted number synchronized to the phone. When users synchronize their phones from various computers, if their personal contact vCard includes only a 7-digit number then it will sync to the phone and cause this problem. As such, users should be sure to enter a full 10-digit number into their contact information. In addition, users should be sure to remove all text messages made with the phone prior to updating the number.

Fixes

Update personal number to include "1" and area code Go to the iPhone's contacts and update the personal information to have a phone number with "1", the area code, the 7-digit main number. In addition, update all contacts which might be synchronized with the phone. These may include Outlook address books (Windows) or "Address Book" contacts (Mac). MobileMe users should also update the contacts via the web interfaces to ensure those are not pushed back to the phone with improper information.

Remove existing text messages In the phone, tap the "Messages" option and in the list of text conversations remove any that were made before updating the phone's contacts. These old messages will still associate the old 7-digit number with the contact, and may prevent the phone from properly using the 10-digit number.

A number of users have reported a sudden inability to send SMS text messages on the iPhone 3G, receiving the message "error sending" upon attempting to send. Among the user reports:

• "When I try to send an SMS and i press "send", the iPhone returns "Error Sending Message". I've tried with another SIM card from another Italian operator (I use Vodafone), but the problem is the same."
• "I had the people at the store swap SIM cards with another iPhone they had there, and I they could send SMSes from their phone with my SIM card, however on my phone with their card, they couldn't send an SMS. I already restored my iPhone 3G (2.2), and still am having this problem."
• "I have this problem, as well. Interestingly, mine started 12/7, all of a sudden. I notice that several people had the problem develop that week. I spent 2.5 hours on the phone with Apple and AT&T last night. Reset everything, no one could find a solution. "

Despite the aforementioned reports, a number of users have been able to resolve this issue through SIM card replacement. Other fixes, including resets and restores have proven ineffective.