There are times in life when we simply need to a break from the ordinary. Home might be great, but every now and again, you need to get out and see the world. That is exactly what today’s Showdown is all about. So join us as we look at some of the best apps, services, and online book depositories the world has to offer. We begin our journey in Canada.

App #1: Shopify

Website: http://www.shopify.com/
Developer: JadedPixel Inc.
Country of Origin: Canada
Specialty: Web store construction
First Impression: “Well, it certainly looks interesting…”

App #2: YubNub

Website: http://yubnub.org/
Developer: Jon Aquino
Country of Origin: Canada
Specialty: A “social command line”
First Impression: “I am not familiar with the thing that I am seeing.”

App #3: Zapr

Website: https://www.zapr.com/index.aspx
Developer: Zapr
Country of Origin: Australia
Specialty: Simple file sharing
First Impression: “Neat. Do I have to download something, or is all of this done from their website?”

App #4: Pixenate

Website: http://pixenate.com/
Developer: Sxoop Technologies
Country of Origin: Ireland
Specialty: Image editor
First Impression: “Ooooh … free hand drawing. I can draw a shaky line onto a mountain!”

App #5: Trexy

Website: http://trexy.com/
Developer: Trexy Limited
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Specialty: Um … We’re not exactly sure at the moment…
First Impression: “What is this? Did Rudolph switch to Linux or something?”

App #6: Zlio

Website: http://www.zlio.com/
Developer: Zlio Inc.
Country of Origin: France
Specialty: Web store creator
First Impression: “Wait… You don’t even sell your own products? That’s weird…”

App #7: InternationellaBiblioteket.se

Website: http://www.interbib.se/default.asp?id=13552
Developer: The city of Stockholm, among other governmental agencies
Country of Origin: Sweden
Specialty: social network/library database
First Impression: “So … Want to borrow a book from the Stockholm Public Library system?”
Second Impressions: “It seems as if I can also go to the Diet Library of Japan, get a Swedish driver’s license, or visit the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies. This should definitely be interesting…”

App #8: Telesa.tv

Website: http://telesa.tv/
Developer: Telesa
Country of Origin: Russia
Specialty: Original, professionally produced, web-based television programming … in Russian.
First Impression: “Is there any way to switch the language to English? Also, a cartoon angel may be telling me the weather. I have no idea why.”

App #9: The Power of Politics

Website: http://www.powerofpolitics.com/StartNew.aspx
Developer: TPM Games GmbH
Country of Origin: Austria
App Type: Web-based, politically charged strategy game.
First Impression: “So I play as a politician, right? [Pause] Man … I’m going to lose. I’m going to lose bad. As soon as the other players find out how bad I am, they are going to attack me. ‘She’s terrible at this. Let’s bomb her district for fun!’ “

App #10: Aprex

Website: http://www.aprex.com.br/home.php
Developer: Aprex Solutions
Country of Origin: Brazil
Specialty: Office suite/online storage
First Impression: “Now this could be useful.”

…And we’re back! As you might have noticed, we have been a bit “preoccupied” as of late. Because of this, we have let a few “newer” services fall by the wayside. So obviously, there is only one thing that we can do to rectify the situation: Have a Showdown! So sit back, relax, and enjoy this massive, two-day journey through the new and scary.

App #1: Yahoo Meme

Website: http://meme.yahoo.com/home/
Developer: Yahoo
Type: Web service
Speciality: Microblogging
Why We Consider It to Be New: The service itself was released early last August. The API was released yesterday.
First Impression: “It’s cute. Not as cute as Plurk, but cute nonetheless.”
Potential Roadblock: English language users seem to be in short supply at the moment.

App #2: hi5

Website: http://www.hi5.com/
Developer: hi5 Networks
Type: Web service
Speciality: Social network
Why We Consider It to Be New: Hi5 has undergone what some might call a “gimmick change.” Instead of being a straight social network, hi5 now puts much of its focus on casual gaming. (Note: We here at the Free Line hate the terms “casual games” and “casual gaming.” From this point forward, all games of that nature will be referred to as “fidget games.”)
First Impression: “I love me a good fidget game.”
Potential Roadblock: None at the present moment. The Showdown is still young, however.

App #3: CNN Mobile

Website: N/A
Developer: CNN Interactive Group, Inc.
Type: iPhone Application
Speciality: News app
Why We Consider It to Be New: …Because it is. According to the iPhone app store, version 1.0 was released on September 24th. That seems pretty darn new to me…
First Impression: “This … Is (the iPhone-centric, mobile version of) CNN.”
Potential Roadblock: One can only take “so much” of cable news before going completely off of his or her rocker.
Note: I will be judging the app itself, not the reporting that lies therein. The Free Line is roughly 99.995% “politics free,” and I plan on keeping it that way.

App #4: iDrudge

Website: http://www.drudgereport.com (Original site)
Developer: Joseph Nardone
Type: iPhone Application
Speciality: News app
Why We Consider It to Be New: Again, it is. Version 1.2 was released at the beginning of October.
First Impression: “Why did the program close just now?”
Potential Roadblock: The program seems to be a tad “touchy,” as they say.
Note: Remember the disclaimer to the CNN app? The same exact thing applies here. As far as this blog is concerned, the app is everything.

App #5: Photoshop.com Mobile

Website: N/A
Developer: Adobe Systems Incorporated
Type: iPhone Application
Speciality: Photo editor
Why We Consider It to Be New: It’s five-days old.
First Impression: “It’s free?! I wonder what’s wrong with it…”
Potential Roadblock: This isn’t the original “Photoshop” that we’re talking about here. It’s Photoshop.com. Remember our last go around with Photoshop.com? If you do, then you know firsthand why we consider this to be a roadblock.

One Final Thought About Opera: To say that I was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement. I am extremely pleased to report that the days of paying $40 for a subpar browser that is crawling with oddball “browser windows” and obnoxious advertising is long gone. Today’s Opera is solidly built, extremely fast, and has enough options to keep an “experienced user” like me busy for weeks. While I do wish that I had access to Firefox-esque extensions, the loss truly wasn’t that big of a deal. I quickly realized that I simply wanted them, instead of “needing” them like I did in Internet Explorer. Besides, Opera allowed me to rekindle my life-long love affair with Pipe Dream. What other browser can make that claim? All in all, Opera 10 is definitely worth the old “once over.” Even if you don’t like it, you won’t regret trying it. I can guarantee it.

All of this praise, of course, leads us to one major question: Is it better than Firefox? The answer is a sad, but completely matter of fact, no. It comes close, but at the end of the day, I still find myself longing for my Mozilla-based friend. After all, I spent tons of time — years, actually — modifying and tweaking the browser to get it just the way that I like it. I’m not going to throw that effort away on a whim. I will, however, be keeping Opera installed. It’s always nice to have a “backup” browser that isn’t Internet Explorer and besides, there are still several options that I have yet to try.

…So where do we go next, you ask? Easy: We are going to try Chrome again. As fans of the Free Line are already well aware of, we have a rather tenuous “love-hate” relationship with Google’s so-called “browser of the future” — it loves us, but we hate it. The bizarre, one-sided love affair that many of my colleagues in the tech world  seem to have with both the browser itself and its developers doesn’t help the situation. That said, I plan on going at things with as open of a mind as humanly possible. Unfortunately, it is already proving to be “difficult” at best.

First Thoughts About Chrome: Let’s get at it from the top.

• It’s fast. I’ll give it that much.
• After installation, Chrome asked if I wanted to import my saved passwords from Firefox. I said yes. Sadly, it didn’t work right. All of my saved information was either wrong or corrupted.
• I don’t care what the press says — the Omnibox is a horribly bad idea. Yes, combining the search bar with the URL bar is a good idea in theory. In practice, however … well … it only leads to a tension headache.
• Having the tabs sit in the title bar instead inside the browser window is actually a good idea.
• The options screen is sad. I’m talking “Internet Explorer” sad here.
• Several of the hidden menus — namely about:network, about:ipc, and about:objects — are not coming up for me. I honestly have no idea why.
• In the span of ninety minutes, I had to “force close” Chrome twice.
• I miss the status bar. The “pop-up” box that appears in the bottom-left corner of my screen simply does not cut it.
• I can apparently readjust every text box that I run into. That’s nice … I think.

…And there you have it. Be sure to tune in tomorrow, when I continue to fight endlessly with experiment with the enigma called Chrome. Until then, we bid thee adieu.

There are some stories, concepts, and rumors that seem to live on blogs like this one. Most of the time, these stories deserve the “star status” that they have been given. Every now and then, however, you run into a”Brett Farve” — a report that used to be interesting, but has been driven into the ground so much that it has become downright annoying. So on today’s episode of the Free Line, we are going to take a look at five of these stories, keeping a close eye on what exactly went wrong.

5. The “Twitpocylyse” – As you might have noticed, there has been one word on the lips of every mover, shaker, and outgoing athlete in the past year: Twitter. But for every one story about the insanely popular service, there seems to be two talking about its eventual end. According to some, the end is going to come when the number of users exceed 4,294,967,295. When this happens, the sites say, many Twitter-based programs will simply stop working. Interesting? Yes. Scary? Well yes, if you’re a Twitter addict. Still, there is one small problem with this theory — it was supposed to have happened once before. See, June 12th was supposed to bring about the end of all Tweets as we know it. The actual result? Two programs stopped working, but both were fixed within twenty-four hours. Maybe take two will bring about the end. We can only wait and see.

4. Google Makes the Greatest Things Ever – If there is one thing that everyone can agree upon, it’s Google’s track record. They make good products, plain and simple. Unfortunately, that sort of reliability has the tendency to be overblown by us in the press. Chrome isn’t a promising browser and/or operating system; it’s the one-two combination that will send Microsoft into bankruptcy. Android was being called a “sure fire iPhone killer” months before anyone even saw a screen shot. The latest program on the bandwagon is Google Voice, which is supposedly poised not only to take down Skype, but Apple and AT&T as well. Praise is great, but sometimes, it can go a bit too far.

3. The Demise of… – We are all familiar of the pop culture phenomenon known as “the backlash” — an odd social  movement in which a celebrated musician, trend, or celebrity goes from hero to “public enemy number one” seemingly overnight. This happens in the tech world as well, only in a slightly different fashion. Instead of mocking the offending tech product on talk shows and the like, we talk about how the company is on the point of death. Yahoo, MySpace, and eBay have all been subject to the “web services death watch.” While all of the companies mentioned have seen better days, the suspicious timing of these articles, and well as the dubious suggestions on how to right the proverbial ship (e.g. “Do what the competition is doing … it’s not ripping them off at all!”) , have us rubbing our collective temples in frustration.

2. Is Biz Stone Going to Sell Twitter? – For media outlets such as ESPN and Sports Illustrated, the aformentioned “Brett Farve watch” is a bonafide dream story. They can spend hour after hour and page after page sitting out on the man’s lawn, hoping that he will eventually come out and say “yes, I am coming out of retirement to join the Minnesota Vikings football team.” And if he doesn’t, who cares? The simple fact that he didn’t make an appearance is a fine little story within itself. The tech crowd has their own “Farve Watch,” but it has nothing to do with “sticking it” to the Green Bay Packers. No, ours involves the looming sale of Twitter by Biz Stone. Like Farve, Stone knows exactly how to play the media to his liking. All he has to do is drop a few key words into an interview — “monetize,” “Yahoo,” “Microsoft” — and the tech crowd is talking about it for a week. No matter when or if Stone decides to set his prized creation adrift, we can almost guarantee you that like Brett Farve’s third comeback attempt, the reality of the situation will not live up to the hype.

1. Fun With Microsoft and Yahoo – Everyone loves a good “will they, or won’t they?” story. In the 1970’s, we had Satuday Night Live’s lampooning of Fransisco Franco’s deathbed drama. (Spoiler: Franco is still dead.) In the 1990’s, we had the ongoing love affair between “Friends” Ross and Rachael. In the new millennium, we have the ongoing merger talks between Microsoft and Yahoo to keep us guessing. It seems like everything is going well, but oh no! Then-Yahoo president Jerry Yang has shot it down! Everything appeared to get back on track, but then Microsoft head Steve Ballmer announced that his company wants “absolutely nothing to do” with Yahoo. Things went on … and on … and on … like this until last week, when the two companies finally worked out a search deal. While it’s great that Yahoo has gotten their company in order, we sort of wish that they wouldn’t have “teased” us for so long.

…And there you have it. On behalf of everyone here at the Free Line, good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.

As you probably have heard by now, Yahoo Search is no more. In a move that totally surprised no one everyone, Yahoo has decided to jettison the “search” end of the business in favor of Microsoft’s shiny new Bing engine. The folks at Redmond, in return, will receive complete, unfettered access to the likes of Yahoo BOSS and Search Monkey. Despite the grumblings of a few “disgruntled” stock holders, the big brass at both companies actively welcome the change, calling it “a complete game changer” and “a great day for Yahoo.” If all goes well with the government, expect to see Bing in a Yahoo search bar near you within eight to nine months.

This isn’t the first time a major tech firm attempted to play nice with another massive corporation. Anyone who remembers running Microsoft and IBM’s OS/2 operating system on their brand new desktop featuring an Intel-branded AMD 286 processor knows exactly what I’m talking about. Still, our story isn’t about the manufacturing of microprocessors or the internal bickering between Bill Gates and Big Blue. No, today’s story involves a search engine, a cartoon mouse, and a web portal that time — and the majority of the Internet – has forgotten. And what is this portal that we speak of? Go.com.

Once upon a time, the site now known as Go.com was once a search engine called “Infoseek.” Started in 1994 by prolific inventor Steve Kirsch, Infoseek was one of the first engines to actively allow users to incorporate Boolean modifiers into their searches. Because of its sheer willingness to try something a bit off kilter, “Mr. Kirsch’s pet project” became the talk of the town, both online and off . It was so popular in fact, that the company felt the need to create “Ultraseek,” an engine designed specifically for enterprise users. This success lasted until 1998, when the folks at Disney — yes, that Disney — swallowed the company whole. On the surface, the deal appeared to be a match made in heaven for everyone involved. Disney now had a world class search engine at their beckoned call, while Infoseek had a proverbial “800 pound gorilla” backing them up. The merger of the engine with the newly acquired Starwave development house helped to excite users all the more. Within months, both companies were gone. In their places sat Go.com, a web portal designed to bring the so-called “House of Mouse” into the Internet Age. The days of Infoseek were officially no more.

Needless to say, the entire project was a failure of epic proportions. Within four years, the search section was gone for good. In its place sat a box for its new “search partner,” a little site called Yahoo. (Funny the way the world works, isn’t it?) While Go.com does still officially exist, it is now little more than a host site for the likes of ESPN and ABC. The Infoseek name is still used in both Japan and Australia, but these sites have little to do with the “engine that Steve Krsch built.” (The former is run by Japanese shopping kingpins Rakuten, while the latter is controlled by design firm Orange Digital Media.) The only technology to make it out of this entire debacle alive was Ultraseek, which is still trying to deliver enterprise search to the masses. As for Yahoo, well … you know.

…And there you have it. Be sure to tune tomorrow for part two of our “Summer Travel Showdown.” Until then, we bid thee a fond adieu.

As many of you are already well aware of, we in the Northern Hemisphere are knee deep in something that we like to call “summer.” Now to most people, summer means only one thing: complaining about the heat seeing movies in which things explode for no apparent reason going places. On part one of our special three part Showdown extravaganza, we will be taking a look at four apps and services that are designed to make the summer trip just a tad bit easier. But before we do, however, our good friend “Triple N” (aka “the dissenting opinion”) has something to say.

Triple N: “Hey … What gives? I thought you said that there would be more marketing stories.”

Us: Don’t worry about it. There will be. Besides, you don’t have to use these tools on vacation. You could always employ them on your next business trip. There’s more to “work” than just staying in the office, you know.

Triple N: Good point. Carry on then.

…With that said, here we go:

Tool #1: MotionX-GPS

Service Provided: GPS
Platform: iPhone
Programmer/Host: Fullpower Industries
Why We Checked It Out: To many, a good GPS system is a must. The problem is that we don’t necessarily have one. The closest thing we have is an unlocked Nokia smart phone that contains full maps for Finland and Germany. While that would be great if we wanted to drive from Helsinki to Dusseldorf, it makes driving from Atlanta to, say, Pittsburgh neigh impossible.
First Thoughts: I honestly have no idea what I am doing here. There is a compass, a scrolling banner and several intimidating looking buttons, all of which are doing something completely foreign. This is definitely going to be interesting…

Tool #2: GasBuddy

Service Provided: Gas station locator
Platform: Web/iPhone
Website: http://www.gasbuddy.com/
Programmer/Host: GasBuddy (Website); Bottle Rocket (iPhone app)
Why We Checked It Out: Finding a place to get cheap gas is always a good thing.
First Thoughts: The website is absolutely perfect for the rookie traveler, telling us everything that we could possibly need to know in a straightforward, timely matter. The iPhone app, however, left us scratching our heads in confusion. Still, the trip (and the Showdown) is still young.

Tool #3: TripIt

Service Provided: Social Travel
Platform: Web/iPhone
Website: http://www.tripit.com
Programmer/Host: TripIt
Why We Checked It Out: It’s always a good idea to keep track of your travel plans. Hey … It beats writing everything down on paper, right?
First Thoughts: The site, while a tad cryptic, looks to be rather promising. We will have much more on this intriguing looking social service in a few days.

Tool #4: Traffic

Service Provided: Traffic guide
Platform: iPhone
Programmer/Host: CLO Software
Why We Checked It Out: Just because we know the lyrics to “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys” and “Feelin’ Alright” by heart doesn’t necessarily make us experts on “Traffic.”
First Thoughts: The reviews on the app store were the very definition of the word “mediocre.” Here’s to hoping that our experiences buck the current trend.

…And there you have it. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a more in depth look at each of the services listed.

Hello and welcome back to “Web Programming for Smart Phones,” our landmark five-part series dedicated to unlocking the mysteries of the mobile web. Today we continue our journey with a frank dialog about load times.

I get how network speeds can affect the load times of my site. I just don’t understand how the various network speeds. – The major mobile networks work like this:

• GPRS – Also known as “2.5G,” users on this network generally experience speeds on par with a 56K dial up modem. Extremely slow and financially costly to the user, GPRS systems are primarily employed on older mobile phones and the original iPhone.
• EDGE – Also known as “2.75G.” Generally considered to be the “basis” of modern 3G networks, EDGE users can expect speeds as fast as 236 kb/s. While it isn’t the speediest network on the block, EDGE can still deliver the goods when needed.
• 3G – Considered by many to be the modern standard bearer for mobile networks nationwide, 3G enabled devices can perform such media heavy tasks as streaming audio and video without a noticeable delay. 3G can be delivered to the user in several different ways, including CDMA2000/EV-DO (Sprint Nextel and Verizon), and the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (T-Mobile and AT&T).
• WiFi – No explanation is needed here. Moving on…
• WiMax – Think WiFi on baseball/bodybuilder-level steroids. Instead of covering small rooms, WiMax is designed to blanket entire cities with broadband style access. As of this writing, WiMax is only available as a laptop “connect card” and to users who wish to ditch their current cable or DSL service.

Our Suggestions – Unlike our previous two installments, I cannot simply show you a site and say “site X’s load times are fantastic.” It has much more to do with the user’s mobile network and handset of choice than anything the programmer/webmaster has control over. After all, a laptop employing WiMax will undoubtedly get better speeds than a four year year old Blackberry connected to Metro PCS. That is not to say that you don’t have at least some control over how your site reacts. That is where our advice comes in.

1. Aim low.* – I know that that might sound a bit counterproductive, but hear us out. While your site might run perfectly on 3G beauties like the iPhone or the Palm Pre, it could crash and burn on older models that rely on EDGE/2.75G to get by. Lose them, and you will lose a sizable chunk of your audience. By making your site “EDGE compatible,” you essentially take loading times out of the proverbial equation.
2. Listen to your gut. – If you believe that that fancy new script that you have been toying with will put mobile users at a disadvantage, don’t use it right away. Sometimes, the old “gut feeling” is right. Pay attention to it.
3. Do the research. – Check out the specs of the major smart phones. Make absolutely certain that you understand what makes these handsets tick. Only then can you…
4. …Accentuate the positives and hide the negatives. – The goal is to make your site appear to be tailored made for whatever smart phone or mobile device the consumer is currently using. You can make that happen, provided that you have done your research correctly. Let’s say for a moment that I have five random devices sitting in front of me right now. Now according to my research, only one of those devices can run Flash properly. The conclusion? No Flash for you. Sure, it might look great, but what’s the point of using a technology that only one person has access to? It might seem like a pain now, but “hiding the negatives” will definitely pay off big at the end. Trust us on that. *Note: You might have noticed I said to tailor your site for EDGE, not GPRS. The reasoning for this is simple: GPRS is on the way out. There’s a fine line between being “inclusive” and just being brainless. Be sure not to cross it.

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back next week for part four of our series: Let’s Get Creative, People! Until then, we bid thee adieu.

Okay gang, it’s time for yet another highly popular round of “ask me a question.” So without further adieu, let us get to it.

Where is part three of “Web Programming for Smart Phones?” – Part three, tentatively entitled “The Waiting Is the Hardest Part,” will be hitting a web browser near your within the next few days. the series is very important to us, but honestly, we also wanted to establish our other concepts as well.

Oh? Such as? – Building our own mobile site, for one. High class, high quality mobile sites should not just be limited to the likes of million dollar computer firms or folks whose personal wealth rivals that of Scrooge McDuck. We intend to prove that it is possible to build, maintain, and most importantly advertise, a mobile site without spending a ton of cash. We are so confident that we can make this happen, that we set our design budget to an unthinkable, unheard of sum of zero dollars American. That’s right. We will have a top shelf mobile headquarters, and it will not cost us a dime. And the best part? A site like this can be yours as well. It’s all about smart design, forward thinking, and a great ad campaign.

Wait … I thought you said you were for tailoring your existing site to fit the needs of mobile users. What gives? – We still are. Still, it doesn’t mean that we cannot explore other options.

Will this be programming intensive? I hate programming. I have guys who do it for me. – Nope. This will be about theory, content, advertising, marketing, and overall presentation. Not one line of code will be printed in this blog. I assure you of that.

Works for me. How’s the text advertising project coming along? – As we said last Friday, it usually takes a little while for this kind of thing to register. Ask us again in a few days.

I hate the “geek” stuff. More advertising news, stat! – We hear you. We here at the Free Line promise that there will be more talk about marketing your site and/or product in the future.

Great. Do you have anything that I can check out right now? – I do, actually. For those interested in the emerging world of mobile advertising, I highly suggest reading “Mobile Marketing Without Being Annoying” by Chris Crum. Essentially an expanded interview with Yahoo’s Tom Foran, the article explains the ins and of out of advertising on the so-called “mobile web” without being too confusing or geeky. While some of his suggestions and tactics are not exactly “free,” the piece is still worth the old “once over.”

…And there you have it. Until tomorrow, we here at the Free Line bid you all good day.

As many of you already realize, there’s more to advertising your site, brand, or genuinely “hilarious” YouTube video than just posting a note on Digg. No, if you want your media project of the future to be a true success, you’ll have to do more than hang out at social hot spots. Mastering the basics (and possibly the intermediate level) of search engine optimization is always a good thing to do. Making sure that you understand the “ins and outs” of various browsers, hardware platforms, and programming languages doesn’t hurt, either. Still, there is even more that you could be doing to draw new faces to your site. And what is this magic fix that I speak of? Viral advertising.

Now I know what you’re thinking. “Is he crazy? I can’t pull that off! It’s too expensive and time consuming!” Now before you call the nice young men in the clean, white coats to take me away, hear me out. Not everyone who sets up a viral campaign is trying to pull off a J.J. Abrams style Alternate Reality Game or is trying to sell a badly put together ring tone to teenagers. In reality, most viral marketing campaigns are rather small, low-key affairs that deliver their pitch to prospective users with a minimal amount of trouble or annoyance. Simply put, it’s targeted advertising done right.

To prove the ease that I speak of, we will engage in our own campaign. Yes, that’s right. The Free Line is going viral. At the present moment, our campaign will rely heavily on SMSDelivery, a handy little service that allows us to create text message campaigns for free. Everything we do — our successes, our failures, and so on — will be reported here. Before we call it a day, allow me to answer a few questions.

So … which plan are you going for: free or paid? – Free, of course. We wouldn’t be able to call ourselves the Free Line if we actually paid for things like this. It’s against the rules.

I want to get in on the action. What do I text where? – Our account is still firmly in the “setup” phase right now. According to the official website, it sometimes takes as long as two business days to get things working properly. As soon as we get a number, we will definitely pass it along to you.

…And there you have it. Be sure to come back Monday for part three of “Web Programing for Smart Phones.” Until then, we bid thee adieu.

On today’s award winning episode of the Showdown, we will be reviewing four iPhone apps that went overlooked. Some are good. Others show promise. One … well… some things are best left unsaid at the moment.

Google Voice

Original Showdown: VoIP on Mobile Devices
Website: https://www.google.com/voice
Developer: Google
Country of Origin: US
Note #1: As of this writing, Google Voice is not a “VoIP” service in the strictest sense of the acronym. It is actually a “middle man” service that dials out to a handset of your choosing before calling the person or persons in question. The quality of the call will largely depend on the quality of your phone service.
Note #2: You are able to avoid all nationwide long distance charges with this service. You are not, however, able to avoid your cell carrier’s “monthly minutes.” If you decide to let the service call your mobile device, you will be subject to the terms of your phone plan.
Note #3: Since there is not an official “Google Voice” iPhone app, we used a third party app called “GV Mobile.”
Overall: N/A — Google Voice is a nice service, but the sound quality is totally dependent on your phone. Because of this, we will not be giving this service a concrete score at this time.

Oceanus

Original Showdown: Proprietary Mobile Browsers (iPhone Edition)
Developer: Vikas Singla
Rendering Engine: Unknown
First Impression: “It’s pretty. I like the load bar on this one.”
Ease of Use: 7
Positives: Everything we tried — search, tabs, even a speed test — was almost on par to what one would find on a traditional desktop browser.
Negatives: Full screen mode is a bit a odd to work with at times, and buttons on the toolbar are a bit too small for our tastes.
Overall: 8

Perfect Browser

Original Showdown: Proprietary Mobile Browsers (iPhone Edition)
Developer: Ingenious Creations
Rendering Engine: Unknown
First Impression: “I like the transparency on the bottom window.”
Ease of Use: 9
Positives: The Perfect Browser pulls off what both iCab and Oceanus could not: a full screen mode that actually works as advertised. We were able to hide, then re-enable, both the address bar and the icon list in a matter of seconds.
Negatives: Try as we might, we could not find an options screen to save our lives.
Overall: 9

Gaggle

Original Showdown: Proprietary Mobile Browsers (iPhone Edition)
Developer: Trippert Labs
Rendering Engine: Unknown
The Gimmick: Gaggle touts itself as the first “social web browser” for the iPhone.
First Impression: “Why is it giving me an ad?”
Ease of Use: 1 — “It’s not really ‘hard’ to use at all. It’s just dumb. Really, really dumb.”
Positives: As we mentioned above, Gaggle makes it easy to share links with your compatriots on Facebook and Twitter.
Negatives: So what is it that we hate most about Gaggle? Is the gigantic ad that sits at the bottom of the screen at all times? It is the horribly touchy zoom feature? Is the fact that for whatever the reason, the now standard “horizontal display” option has been permanently disabled? The answer: It’s all of those things, and so much more. Our apologies for sounding like elitist snobs, but we here at the Free Line would like the ten minutes we spent on this browser back.
Overall Score: Nothing. Absolutely nothing.