Лучшие клипы

Though we wouldn’t want to trivialize any of the apps in this section by using the words “small” or “weird” to describe them, most were programs that we downloaded some time ago, played with, and didn’t find a lot of subsequent use for. This isn’t to say that they’re bad apps, but rather, with only one exception, they initially sounded really interesting and then didn’t merit additional attention thereafter; recent updates and improvements have brought them back onto our radar.

Layar Reality Browser (Free) from Layar is an app with a ton of potential in certain environments, but limited value in others. It is, in short, an augmented reality application—one that combines four types of data: live video from the camera of an iPhone 3GS, your current GPS location, your current compass orientation, and an additional “layer” of information downloaded from the Internet. Putting all these things together, Layar allows a user to see location-specific information overlaid on images of his or her surroundings, moving the information as the camera (and compass) are moved. Stand at your house, set the right radius, and turn around to see local businesses indicated as dots or icons on the screen, moving as you do; click on any one to pull up information about it.

The key to Layar’s appeal is its ability to swap the data layers, and the key to its eventual profitability is its display of advertising banners along with the data it’s showing: one downloadable layer helps you find nearby In-n-Out burger restaurants, another uses a broader restaurant base, and still others help you locate apartments, tickets, and mountain peak heights. Unfortunately, the layers we downloaded were of limited use in suburban settings, and Layar has been pulled for some reason from the App Store before it receives a major update. We plan to revisit the app in greater detail if and when it reappears. iLounge Rating: NR.

Knocking Live Video (Free) from Pointy Heads LLC is an app we really wanted to like, but we had a variety of problems trying to use it immediately after it was released. The concept: stream live video from your iPhone 3G or 3GS directly to another one, via the 3G network or via Wi-Fi, notably to or from one person at a time—not both sides at once. There’s no audio except for the sound of a “knock” when the broadcast is about to begin, but the video streams decently even when you’re on a cellular network, improving in frame rate when Wi-Fi and/or a 3GS are being used for broadcasting.

That’s assuming, unfortunately, that you can get the connection to work. We had major problems establishing connections with version 1.0 of the software, and even after updating to version 1.1, there were issues. You won’t be able to receive videos at all if you don’t authorize push notifications—it took us a little while to figure this one out—and streams abruptly quit sometimes after a minute or so, even over Wi-Fi. In a mostly successful effort to make “knocking” easier, Pointy Heads requires users to sign up for accounts, but ties the accounts to individual devices. We had various problems logging into previously created accounts, but when we set up new ones and shared the details with friends, turning push notifications on, everything worked as expected within the program’s limitations. When Knocking Live Video works, it demonstrates some of the iPhone’s amazing future potential as an instant point-to-point video broadcasting device, but its instabilities, lack of audio, and under-documented dependence on push notifications could all use some extra developer attention. iLounge Rating: B-.

Ustream Live Broadcaster (free) from Ustream.tv is considerably more impressive in certain ways. Rather than taking the one-to-one approach of Knocking Live Video, it enables any iPhone 3G or 3GS to stream video directly to a Ustream server, enabling multiple people to experience nearly live video and audio from your device at the same time—over the web. After signing up for a free account, Live Broadcaster provides you with a shortened URL that’s easy to share with friends, linked to a channel on its web site; people can find you by your username and watch whatever you’re sharing. Video and audio work over 3G or Wi-Fi, and though the frame rate drops significantly when on 3G, the fact that it’s possible at all with audio—on an iPhone 3G, no less—is great. On Wi-Fi, the audio is smooth and the video runs at roughly 10 frames per second, going up and down based on the amount of motion and change from video frame to frame. Once a video’s finished, you can save it and share it over Ustream’s servers, or delete it. This is all powerful, impressive stuff.