Elliott C. Back: Internet & Technology

Apple released a new version of iTunes 9 today, and it’s chock full of new features. Check out the official What’s New in iTunes page to learn about iTunes LP, Extras, and more. I want to tell you about another new feature–my favorite–called Genius Mixes:

Perfect mixes come automatically.
Meet Genius Mixes. This new feature searches your iTunes library, finds songs that go great together, and creates multiple mixes you’ll love. All automatically. These mixes are like channels programmed entirely with your music. You may discover songs you never knew you had — and rediscover forgotten favorites.

They’re actually as good as Apple claims they are. To get started with genius mixes, first update your iTunes to version 9, then click on Store->Update Genius:

Then you’ll see a new “Genius Mixes” under the Genius bar on the left hand side:

This brilliant feature then scans your library, clusters your music into your favorite styles, and mashes them together into a continuous listening experience. My iTunes has suggested Rap, R&B, Metal, 4 Pop Mixes, Rock, Alternative, Latin, Japanese, and Electronic. Too bad there’s no Chinese mix, because I have an absolute ton of Japanese music:

You’ve probably been hearing a lot about TomTom’s new iPhone application, now available in iTunes for just $99. It’s the first true GPS navigation software available, a massive 1.1GB download that boasts stored maps of the entire US & Canada. No reception? No 3G or Edge? With TomTom, there’s no problem, as long as you have clear line-of-sight to the GPS eyes in the sky. Is it as good as their YouTube advertisement? I’ve bought it, driven 500 miles with it, and lived to tell the tale:

The simplest feature is navigation. You can find a place to go by entering an address, choosing a contact from your iPhone, browsing the map and picking start/end points, or searching through nearby points of interest. Once you’ve figured where to go, the TomTom app knows where you are and gives you a route:

Along the way you have a few route options:

The most useful of these is the list of instructions, which is a turn-by-turn summary of your drive:

The “points of interest” search tool is also quite nice. Here’s a list of restaurants near where I was at the time:

The application itself launches and calculates quickly, generally has OK GPS reception, and is lightweight enough to keep the heat on the iPhone 3GS to a minimum while allowing you to place music in the background without skipping. For $99 though, I’m not sure it’s entirely worth it. For example, the TomTom ONE-S 3.5″ is also $99, and it’s the full unit, not just the software. And, there are some missing features / problems:

• The TomTom application kills the battery, you’ll need a car adapter. I was running low after just 2-3 hours.
• GPS reception is best when the iPhone is held upright, near the dash. Holding it down in your lap or a cup tray doesn’t work well, so you’ll need a dashboard mount.
• In Manhattan, many times the application cannot find a GPS signal for some time. Driving through overpasses/underpasses confuses the GPS, causing it to sometimes issue false directions.
• While the turning directions are spoken, the street names are not. This is a software feature–why not include it?

If TomTom can improve the signal quality and add spoken street names to the application, I would value it around $60. However at $99, it’s a tad expensive, and only useful if you refuse to purchase a full GPS unit–say, because mostly you rent cars.

Update:

After being out for a couple months, a new update has come out that promises more accurate GPS fixes, and the reviews on iTunes have placed the TomTom Navigator application at 2.5/5 stars:

The primary complaints are:

• Slow time to acquire GPS, bad GPS accuracy
• No spoken street names (this bugs me too)
• The high price, lack of updates, huge file size
• Applications crashes

After report surfaced that Apple’s new iPhone 3GS had problems with overheating, followup articles point to the batteries being the source of the problems:

Vronko said the iPhone 3GS’s heat problem is evidently tied to the battery, because the pictures of discolored white iPhones reveal the outline of the battery. He noted that although thousands of iPhone 3GS users probably own defective handsets, the risk of causing fire or explosion is low because the iPhone’s battery cell is extremely small.

I decided to do a small test and played two rounds of Star Defense on the phone while on Battery power. Here’s what I found using an infrared thermometer. Initially, ambient temperature of the room was 80°F and the iPhone measured 83°F on the back. After playing the game, the room temperature had dropped 2° to 78°F while the iPhone 3GS measured 102°F on the back. More interestingly, there was a temperature gradient:

I’ve also felt the phone get much hotter than this quick test, probably proportional to how much load you put on its battery. There’s an Apple support document called Keeping iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS within acceptable operating temperatures which documents some obvious “leaving your phone in the sun” cases which can cause overheating:

- Leaving the device in a car on a hot day.
- Leaving it in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time.
- Using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight.