It’s not new, but I was inspired to write about it after using it today in a Starbucks. AT&T provides free Wi-Fi for iPhones in any Starbucks, but the litany of tasks one has to perform in order to gain access to this free Wi-Fi is a pain in the ass. It’s a series of confirmations via the text messaging application. By the time you actually get access to the free Wi-Fi, you’ll want to lie down for a nap.
This app does the work for you. When I acquired it, it was free, but now has a price tag of $2.99. Not bad if you find yourself in or near a Starbucks with your iPhone with relative frequency, like I do.
You simply enter your phone number to set up the app. Then, when you’re in a Starbucks (or anywhere that has AT&T Wi-Fi, like an airport or something), connect to the Wi-Fi in your System Preferences, then open the Easy Wi-Fi app, and voila! You’re connected.
NOTE: this app only works for the iPhone, not the iPod Touch.
Purchase Easy Wi-Fi for AT&T
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I’m a bit of an NPR junkie. By day, I usually listen to WNYC, NPR’s New York affiliate, which features mostly local programming like The Brian Lehrer Show (10am – 12pm), The Leonard Lopate Show (12pm – 2pm) and Soundcheck (3pm – 4pm). The rest of the programming day is left mostly to NPR programming like Fresh Air with Terry Gross and On The Media.
To make my addiction to public radio even more convenient, NPR has released an amazing iPhone app, which enables me to listen to broadcasts of NPR programming, read and share NPR News stories, hear the hourly news broadcasts and much more. Here is the feature list of the app:
- Hear, read and share NPR News stories
- Keep up with the news via our hourly five-minute newscasts
- Listen live to your favorite NPR program wherever it’s on air, or listen to the most recent show on demand
- Bookmark your NPR station(s)
- Use audio controls to pause or skip forward in any story or program
- Create a playlist of stories to hear in any order – right away or later on
- Listen to audio while browsing text stories
- Cache text and photos for viewing offline
All my favorite NPR programs are available for listening, like All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Car Talk (I don’t own a car, but these Boston brothers are hilarious), Fresh Air, Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me! and On The Media.
And the best part? The NPR iPhone app is FREE. Download it and enjoy.
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As I sit here waiting for the M11 bus to take me to 42nd & 9th, I’m writing on the WordPress iPhone app for the first time. It’s amazing to me that I can post to my blog from my phone from anywhere where I can get a connection.
The WordPress iPhone app is a free download and had me connected to my blog admin within two minutes. Absolutely fantasic.
One of these photos I just took with the iPhone of the great little park at the intersection of Columbus and Broadway where I wait for the bus. (I’m sitting in one of the cafe chairs as I write and post this.)
The other picture is one of the reference photos I took a few weeks ago of The Coffee Shop for the design of their website.
This all seems quite banal, but I am still geeked as hell that I can post this (and a photo) in real time with the phone.
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For years, I’ve been a huge fan of SomaFM, listener-supported, commercial-free internet radio out of San Francisco. iTunes radio features many of their streams. You can also listen by clicking the listen links on their site (http://somafm.com).
On my setup at home, I have iTunes connected wirelessly to my stereo via AirTunes/Airport Express, enabling me to listen to iTunes on multiple speakers in the apartment. Whenever I’m not listening to WNYC or my own collection, it’s usually SomaFM. My favorite SomaFM stations are the groovy Groove Salad, the ever-swank Illinois Street Lounge, and Secret Agent, the “soundtrack for your stylish, mysterious, dangerous life.”
Not too long ago, SomaFM released an iPhone app for their streaming radio. Now I don’t have to be at home to enjoy these deliriously delicious stations. In fact, I’m listening to Illinois Street Lounge on my iPhone as I type this post in a Starbucks in Hells Kitchen NYC. The app runs a cool $3.99, but dammit… worth every penny, since the listening pleasure is free. It works on a wi-fi or 3G connection, and sometimes I can even pick it up on the iPhone when I’m riding my bike along the Hudson River (depending on how busy AT&T’s dicey network is).
So here it is… a shameless plug for SomaFM and their wondrous iPhone app. The gang at SomaFM have taken the technology and run with it, delivering fantastic internet radio programming to mobile devices all over the world.
SomaFM: http://somafm.com
Get the SomaFM iPhone app from iTunes
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