My primary phone is a BlackBerry, but I also own an iPhone with no service contract. Several weeks ago I had the lucky gig of compiling a few fart apps for TUAW, and I was less than impressed with the overall situation. In other words: most fart apps stink.

But let's face it, fart apps made a lot of noise for the iPhone, in no small part because Apple initially refused to "pull the finger," effectively blocking them from the App Store. Now the fart app floodgates are open, and the App Store is flush with flatulence. It was only a matter of time before other platforms took the bait and improved upon the iPhone apps in ways the iPhone simply won't allow. Sort of.

You can see a long, boring, detailed breakdown of features for BSFartApp ($1.99) by clicking the read more link, but here's the basic deal: BSFartApp is a complicated and powerful fart app for Windows Mobile. I have nothing against novelty apps. In fact, BSFartApp is superior to many iPhone fart apps in features, but it really falls down in terms of actual usability. Maybe WinMo users are conditioned to doing things in 3 clicks instead of one, but I am not.

As one example of terrible UI, in order to navigate down a menu, you must click AND swipe. Do what now? Why not just swipe? Or just click? The buttons have little arrows that would seem to indicate such functionality, so why not do as the user expects? Also, while there are plenty of use cases for timed or triggered farts (yes, the office clown, we love him, but will he make it to the corner office?), what about just letting one rip? Yeah, you're gonna be about 3 or 4 menus down to just let one go. Thank goodness our own bodily functions are less complicated. Things are bad when you start referring to generic soundboard apps on the iPhone as "elegant by comparison."

BSFartApp's real advantage over iPhone is the ability to send a fart via MMS. Plus, there's a pretty nifty "eavesdrop" feature that should have you getting sued and/or grounded in no time (there's a similar feature that returns the GPS coordinates for supported phones). I'm less impressed with the phone-as-web-server, since the iPhone will do that as well, but WinMo still has an advantage by allowing background processes to run. OK, so I guess it's good that WinMo is getting a little fart app action. Now if only it wasn't such a PITA to use them...

I have to confess that, until today, I was still converting latitude and longitude by Googling "convert GPS coordinates" and putting it into whatever came up first. That just changed when I found Tiny Geo-coder. It converts coordinate pairs to addresses, and vice versa. Not only that, but it has an API, so you can use it in other web projects that require coordinates.

One of the first real-world uses of Tiny Geo-coder can be seen on travel.perfectspace.com, where the authors are passing their check-ins on Brightkite through Tiny Geo-coder to generate a map of their location for display on the site. Another possibility that comes immediately to mind is converting the coordinates that the iPhone version Twitterrific generates into the name of the location for your Twitter profile. I'm sure clever people will come up with some even better ideas for this little app.

I'm pretty bad about remembering to pull out our video camera to record our family's adventures. I think the thought of a bunch of raw, unedited footage piling up just makes me anxious. Of course, something that feels like work can instantly be turned into fun if you throw in a bit of technology, particularly software, right?

My first exposure to Seero was when my dad sent along a link to a video clip of the classic chase scene from the Steve McQueen classic movie Bullitt. Someone had taken the time to painstakingly geo-tag each scene of the movie so that as you watch the scene you can also watch a map of downtown San Francisco showing just where McQueen was during each scene. It's oddly compelling.

It turns out that the Seero site, while well suited to this particular use, is intended for users to record their own adventures with geo-tagging so that others can see just where they were when they saw what they saw.

So, now instead of just having to edit a pile of raw footage, I'll have to edit, then geo-tag it. But depending on what we're recording, the resulting mashup just might be worth it.

One of the two big differences in the new iPhone 3G is the included GPS technology. Restaurant locator/review site UrbanSpoon knows this very well, and they've taken advantage of the GPS with an iPhone native app for UrbanSpoon. Without even having to tell it, it knows where you are, it knows where restaurants are, and it's ready to get food into your mouth.

It gets more fun than that, though: you can actually shake your iPhone like a Magic 8-Ball to get a random recommendation near you. This is great if you're really hungry, don't care where you eat, or just like trying new places. An iPhone native app gives UrbanSpoon a leg up on other review sites like Yelp (which we also find very useful!) by making its information more easily portable. Look for it in July, when Apple launches the iPhone app store.

[via MG Siegler at VentureBeat]

If you're an avid runner, hiker or cyclist, you probably need some way to keep track of your routes and plan workouts that cover just the right distance. TrailRunner is an application that's up to the job. It keeps track of your point-to-point "tracks" using open-source maps, and lets you stitch them together into complete routes. It also works with a ForeRunner GPS, if you happen to have one, or with Apple's Nike+iPod kit.

TrailRunner keeps track of distances and elevations, and shows your routes in an attractive, very readable display. We didn't have any of the supported devices to test it with, but TrailRunner's basic features are easy enough to use that we're seriously considering buying one. It might take a while to build up a solid list of tracks and learn how to use the advanced features, but it could be worth the effort of venturing into the out-of-doors for extended periods of time is your thing.

Nokia has taken the next step by allowing you to share this information with your friends by developing a Facebook application. Now you can share your latest workouts and routes directly in your Facebook profile. Information such as your speed, distance and time are automatically stored to your training diary.

Enjoy sharing your route, speed, and distance with your friends with this smart new Facebook Application.

Google has just added a new feature "My Location" feature to Google Maps for mobile phones. Basically, it works like GPS, but instead of connecting to a satellite, it gathers information from nearby cell towers to determine your location. So your phone doesn't need to be GPS enabled, it just needs to have a data plan in order to plot your position on a map.

Google Maps for Mobile runs on most J2ME-enabled devices, including BlackBerry phones, Windows Mobile, Palm, and Symbian devices. Although you can run Google Maps on Windows Mobile PDAs that are not cellphones, you won't be able to use the My Location feature, since your device won't know how to connect to cellphone towers.

Oh, and while Google could theoretically use this information to stalk you, if you believe the promotional video above, the company claims that it doesn't keep tabs on your personal information and location.

[via Google Operating System]

Last time we took a look at the Nokia N800 Internet Tablet, we showed how to do some fun, if easy, stuff with it--like setting up custom RSS news sources, placing VoIP calls, and even playing a little Quake 2. Now, we've assembled a new video demonstrating one of the most quirky hacks you can pull off with Nokia's little handheld computer: assembling a functional GPS tracking system using a Bluetooth GPS receiver and freely-available software.

In this feature, we'll show you how to set up Maemo Mapper, the open-source navigation software, and how to obtain and install the map tile images you'll need to equip your N800 with both street maps and satellite imagery. We'll also see how the N800 compares to Nokia's N95 smart phone, which carries onboard GPS hardware and mapping software.

And the rumors keep rolling in on Google's phone development. This magical device that will be host to Google's powerful services like Gmail and Search while on the go. This time a person inside HTC has confirmed the development of the device.

The rumors specify that the Gphone will be shipping from Taiwan, and is scheduled to launch Q1 of 2008. The team at Google has been going over the current 20 HTC models on the market and finalizing its handset design. Gphone will have a specially built version of Google Maps, just as the iPhone does, with built in GPS compatibility. Previous reports stated that the device would not have GPS, and that it would support both 3G and EDGE platforms. Gmail and Calendar will be present, with Google Talk becoming part of the phone in a VoIP mode. As for the operating system on the Gphone, the insider said it would use Windows Mobile 6, however some think that a Linux OS would be more realistic. As for price, there have been buzzing's that the device would stay in the range of only $100. Will it be unlocked? We will have to wait and see, but chances of that are fairly slim.

This last Saturday I had the good fortune of being in the middle of a passionate debate between Roy Singham and another ThoughtWorker over iPhone vs. other smartphones. Roy argued that the iPhone is not the game changing device that most people claim it to be because his Nokia N95E90 smartphones can do more and better. The discussion was cut short due to scheduling pressure but it got me thinking, why do people lust after iPhone more than other smartphones? Is it because of the large touch screen? Is it because of the Safari browser? Is it because the iPhone is a video iPod and a cell phone? Or is it all just hype?

Zurfer is straight out of the Yahoo! Research Berkeley facility. This handheld application is a location based photo browser. What it is in basic terms is Flickr for your mobile device.

The Zurfer application is currently being developed in the Yahoo research labs, and will -- when loaded on mobile phones -- showcase photos taken around you based on current gps co-ordinates. You can also pull in the latest photos from friends, take photos and add them to your Flickr collection, and perform searches in Flickr for images using the mobile software.

The Zurfer application is in testing phases, and could quite possibly contain bugs, so download at your own risk. It is available, and has been tested on Nokia S60, Motorola RAZR V3X and a few other devices.

HTC, the company that has supposedly been hard at work manufacturing the Google phone apparently has a date for shipping the finished product. According to the handsets component makers, the official ship date will be the end of 2007, and could reach as high as one million units for the first run.

Unfortunately the handset will not have GPS functionality; it will support 3G and EDGE platforms. The top features of the phone will include preinstalled Gmail and Google Search functionality.

This device is expected to hit European telecom providers first, possibly Orange, before hitting North American soil.

[via digitimes]

How would you like to take a test drive one of the only GPS devices that is powered by Yahoo's Local search? The Dash team is looking for you!

We first wrote about Dash, the first internet connected automotive navigation system back in early January. This GPS device, powered by Yahoo Local Search, was once only available as a test in the San Francisco Bay area for 200 individuals. Dash has opened up recruiting and is looking for 2000 frustrated commuters. Heavy commuters and mobile gadget enthusiasts are preferred to test the device on their own terrain and traffic conditions across the U.S.

If you are interested in seeing what Yahoo Local can do for your commuting in your car or truck, check out www.Dash.net and fill out the survey.

GooPs lets you follow live GPS data from your personal tracking device navigation gadget live in Google Earth. We'll admit, that's a neat trick, but it's not really newsworthy. What makes GooPs interesting is the ability to connect multiple GooPs users together and watch each other move in real-time.

By color coding tracked objects, you can instantly get a feel not only for where your friends are but how fast they're moving. We didn't immediately have access to a GPS device but, the developer promises easy install and configuration. It's like a 3D Twitter for your GPS!

Google has just released a new version of their Google Maps for Mobile application for Windows Mobile users. What is it good for?

• Checking out real-time traffic congestion sites.
• Getting detailed directions with step by step instructions.
• Saving favorite places or routes.
• Local business searches with contact information.
• Enhanced business information including more details on businesses, with hours of operation, and amenities etc.
• Interactive maps with the ability to zoom in and out, move in all directions, and switch to satellite imagery mode.
• Monitor your data consumption in real time, so you know how many kbs you're ripping through.

The Windows Mobile Device has GPS-enabled maps for Windows Mobile 2003 and higher versions. You can download the application straight from the web and sync up, or visit www.google.com/gmm. Google Maps for Mobile is also available for Palms, Blackberrys, Motorolas, Nokias, and a ton of other devices.