The other day I went to Apple's website, as I often do since it is still my default home page, and I saw the ad for their new Mobile Me service. At the time I thought, this looks really cool, but I have to sign up for yet another service? Don't get me wrong, the service seemed like everything I could ever want. After a major computer crash recently I realize the value of having all my contacts and other information in an easily accessible place. I also liked the idea of being able to have the same information available to every device. Still, it wasn't something I wanted to think about right now, so I gave it no more thought.

Tonight I got a surprise. Lo and behold, in my .Mac mailbox was a message. If you're a .Mac user you already know what it said, but if you're not, this kind of thing doesn't happen everyday. Basically, starting in July, all .Mac member accounts will be upgraded to Mobile Me! How cool is that?



Needless to say, I am extremely happy. I plan to do some very serious traveling soon and this is exactly the kind of thing I need. I am planning to add a Macbook pro to my Mac and iPhone arsenal so this announcement couldn't have come at a better time.

Tags: iPhone

Who says you can't learn anything from TV? In the latest episodes of McG's NBC spy show Chuck, Agent Walker gets a call from the title character and the camera slowly zooms into her iPhone showing his photo as it rings. Now my first thought was that they faked this just to add some spice to the technology, but I should have known better. You can associate any photo in your library to any contact and that picture will display when the person calls. I guess it's just a matter of my still being unaware of all the cool things the iPhone can do.

In the following episode, the iPhone saves the day and we get to see some good use of its touch screen technology in the show. Chuck is sent a picture of from his best friend's boat trip. Using the touch screen to zoom in and pan around the picture, he spots the bad guy in the background and cracks the case. I knew the iPhone could do this, but it was still cool to see it worked into the show so well. Still, this made me think it was time I really delved into all the other cool things the iPhone is capable of.

In quest to discover more of the features of this device, on of the things I came across was the use of web apps. Apple has quite a list of them on their page. The great advantage of web apps is that they run in the Safari browser on the IPhone meaning they are available anywhere, unlike content synced with iTunes. These can include puzzle games, news feeds and even video sites similar to the Youtube included on the iPhone. In fact, one of the web apps I checked was a Chinese video site, similar to Youtube, which plays content from Chinese TV. They have a lot of current anime in Japanese with Chinese subtitles, but if you know Japanese, that can be cool to see.

Now you may say, Well the iPhone has a full web browser so it's just like going to any web page. This is actually not the case. These web apps are designed specifically for the iPhone's screen size and touch screen features. Some of the puzzle games make use of the screen in ways that wouldn't play well on the desktop. Also navigation of the apps is designed for the gestures available on the iPhone screen. Many of them are very similar to apps running natively on the iPhone. These web apps aren't just limited to fun and games either. Just check out the latest releases on Apple's page today.

As you can imagine from the use of iPhone in the shows I mention, a lot of industry pros probably use the device. It's easy to see how these web apps could be useful for quick information. Of course I had to try them out just now... The footage calculators from Digital Rebellion are really cool. Imagine if you're in the studio or on set and need a quick calculation of the film or video footage you're shooting or editing. Being available on the iPhone as a web app is convenience defined.

You may also notice that Google released quite a suite of apps for the iPhone. I just tried it out and I have to say I am very impressed, especially with having a iPhone sized Google reader on my handset at all times. The gmail feature is cool too. These tools, of course, have existed for the desktop browser for ages, and the iPhone could easily navigate to and use the full size pages, but having iPhone specific versions makes all the difference.

You know I'm going to have to write a web app now right? Can you guess what it is?

Tags: iPhone, Pop Culture, TV, sightings

It was like iPhone central on the most recent episode of the Joel Silver produced, CBS, vampire series Moonlight. The episode opens with the iPhone front and center as an angry waits outside a prison where an execution will be held. Onlookers are seen taking pictures with their cell phones and, of course, there had to be an iPhone user in the bunch.

Personally, I find it interesting as a user. When I first got it, being the first cell phone I ever had, I had specific purposes for it in mind and didn't always keep it with me wherever I went. Only now am I getting to that point where I am actually getting attached to it. There is a reason for that which I will explain later. Anyway, even when I have it, I rarely remember that I can take great pictures with it. I've let some good things go by when I had a camera right in my pocket.

That's not the only use we see for the iPhone in this episode of Moonlight though. The vampire Mick St. John is tracking the bad guy and he loses his iPhone in the scuffle with him. The about is about to depart the scene when he notices the shiny little device on the ground next to him. Naturally, he picks it up, dusts it off and cycles through Mick St. John's contacts to find his address where the vampire is keeping the victim the bad guy is after. How this bad guy who spent the last fifteen years in prison knows how to use the device so well is a testament to the ease of use of the great touch screen interface design.

If you're wondering why there is a gap between my updates, I am currently recovering from a devastating computer crash. I installed a software update and the computer decided not to boot again since then. Since I do most of my manga drawing on a Tablet PC, it hasn't affected this site so much, but most other things were blown back into the dark ages. This gets back to what I was saying about getting more attached to my iPhone recently.

Thanks to the shiny little device, I lost no email or web information. All my bookmarks were safe and sound and I was never out of communication as would normally be the case when my main computer went down. I didn't miss a beat in that regard. The thing is, in the days without a computer, I became more connected to my iPhone. I started getting really fast at typing on it. I felt I could begin to understand how so many people in Japan and other parts of Asia, who usually don't have access to full size PC's of their own, do everything on their mobile devices. It actually started to feel freeing that I could be outside hanging with my neighbors or out and about and still check and respond to mail or read forums. I wasn't tied to my desk for those things.

As for this site, it's time to give it more direction. Aside from, of course, filling it with more cool manga for your iPhone or iPod Touch, I want to start writing more about actually creating the manga. I want to write more about the processes, the way I come up with ideas and the troubles I might encounter along the way. I may still pop up with some news on the world of mobile manga here and there, or even a cool iPhone sighting in the pop culture world, but I want to start grounding things more. When I start to do some serious traveling soon, things will really get interesting.

Tags: iPhone, Pop Culture, TV, sightings

Apparently even cool spies gotta have their iPhones as was seen in this week's episode of the NBC action-comedy Chuck. In the one hour spy adventure from Charlie's Angels producer-director McG, Yvonne Strahovski plays the CIA agent Sarah who needs to rescue her partner, the rival NSA agent Casey, played by Adam Baldwin.

She finds her rival tied to a bed in his boxers and seizes the opportunity to make use of the iPhone's camera features to his embarrassment. I am getting the idea that this device has already so penetrated the pop culture mindset that soon you won't be able to go anywhere or watch TV without seeing them around. Of course, with the iPod Touch being visually indistinguishable from it, we may see more than we think we do.

The great thing is, when it comes to iPhone manga, it won't matter whether it's an iPod Touch or an actual IPhone. They will both show the full color visuals in all their glory. Now with the release on iPhone in other international markets, the need for content will be immense. Some are predicting that because of piracy in some Asian markets, mobile phone content may be the holy grail for content producers, especially as mobile carriers are more than willing to shell out the big bucks to get it.

The future is bright for mobile publishing and iPhone manga will be a large part of that. The printing costs for full color comics are a large part of the reason most manga you see is black and white. Now, in the digital world, any manga can exist in its full color at whatever level the mobile screen can handle.

I've been able to see what the mobile has done for manga and art in general in Japan. In the past, being published by one of the majors was essential to even getting noticed. Then came the rise of the doujinshi world where amateur artists could create their works and find outlets for them through self publishing. The problem is they still have to deal with printing costs and few of these books became big sellers. Those that did were usually snatched up by the major publishers. All that has changed now with web and mobile content publishing.

Today manga artists have numerous outlets to show their work, even if it is just a collection of images, and some are doing very well! This is the most exciting time to be in the arena of content creation. Mobile devices on the level of the iPhone are standard in Japan. I can't wait to see what happens next!

Tags: iPhone, Pop Culture, TV, sightings

It's only been out for a few short months and already the iPhone has infiltrated so many avenues of pop culture. It's the mobile device to have, at the moment, and it is showing up everywhere.

On the CBS vampire detective series Moonlight there have been quite a few appearances of the popular hand held device. A couple of weeks ago, the character of Beth Turner played by Sophia Myles of Underworld fame, whipped out her iPhone to receive a call from the vampire himself, Mick St. John.

In last week's episode, the vampire, Mick St. John, tries to use his iPhone to call for help while stranded in the desert in the deadly sunlight. He doesn't go up in flames instantly, but sunlight will eventually kill him. His phone has a cool diamond around the embossed Apple logo. Mine doesn't have that.

In this week's episode, Beth Turner is working on a story and goes to the coroner for a favor. He asks her what is she going to get him for this and they both say in unison, "iPhone." Good product placement definitely doesn't hurt, especially when the iPhone's beautiful screen is all like, KAKOW!

As for other places where the iPhone is showing up, I haven't seen it myself but word on the street is that the iPhone not only appeared in last nights episode of the NBC series Bionic Woman, but that the character was actually holding it upside down! One poster on the macrumors forum wrote, "I was laughing hard when watching Bionic Woman tonight..."The Bad Guy" Victor had Tom "CIA agent tied up in Chair...Tom gets a call from Jamie "Bionic Woman" on his Iphone. Tom at least knew how to hold and talk into the Iphone, however when Victor grab the Iphone he held it upside down and was talking into the earpiece. Took a bit to notice but I got a good laugh."

Apparently, even the guys on Mythbusters have an iPhone. I guess it really is everywhere. This is of course why I see it as the perfect outlet for iPhone manga. There will be more content read on mobile devices than in print one day! It may already be getting to that point in Japan. The Japanese version of this site will be going online soon. Until then, I'll keep watching out for the iPhone in pop culture, and getting cool manga onto it!

Tags: iPhone, Pop Culture, TV, sightings