Waracle are pleased to announce the release of the Public Contracts Scotland iPhone app.  Commissioned by Millstream, an Aberdeen based e-procurement company, on behalf of the Scottish Government, Waracle developed the Public Contracts Scotland iPhone app which allows businesses to access public contract information quickly, easily and on the move.

http://www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/news/news_article.aspx?ID=482

A couple of weeks back I was asked by the Scottish Government to help launch the app at Procurex, an international procurement conference, alongside Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s Deputy First Minister. She credited the app for “playing a key role in achieving efficiency improvements” within the public sector. The video below...

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The hype surrounding the release of the Apple iPad has been cranked up a notch with some iTunes tweaking. The Cupertino wonder kids have released version 9.1 of iTunes and included some changes that provide a teaser in anticipation of the iPad’s official launch in the UK next month.  These changes come in the form of some features that will enable iPad owners to manage their book collection within iTunes.

Before anyone gets too excited, these changes are largely cosmetic ahead of the iPad’s USA launch this Saturday and provide only a slight alteration when compared with the previous software update. ...

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The Apple iPad looks set to continue the theme developed by the iPhone, with a number of game developers set to enter the market. A survey from Flurry Analytics has revealed a detailed breakdown of the types of apps likely to be available when the iPad is released in April 2010 including entertainment, social networking and sports.  One clear advantage the iPad has when compared with the iPhone is its sheer size. In order to convert popular web based games to the iPhone, developers have cleverly utilised a somewhat restrictive touchscreen interface and screen size. The iPad offers additional screen...

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Yes, it is a dreadfully confusing name for a mobile operating system. The world agrees on that. What seems to be an issue of contention though is what these devices will look and feel like.
Firstly, here is the WP7S promo video from Microsoft :

Why This?

What we can see here is based on the Zune OS. Although not many people will know that because not many people own, or have even seen (myself included) a Microsoft Zune.

Microsoft haemorrhaged cash into developing the Zune...

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Before owning an iPhone, I was always somewhat concerned by the apparent lack of long term battery life that the phone, in normal use, provides. As much as I understand this isn’t the fault of the phone – as just calling this device a phone is inaccurate, as it isn’t really a phone. it’s a portable device music playing web surfing app running social networking sort of thing – it’s an iPhone.

So, what about battery life then? What if I reduce the iPhone to merely just a phone, how long will the battery survive?

To find out, starting this morning and...

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Causing something of a stir when it appeared on Slashdot yesterday evening, the news that a talented JavaScript developer at http://paulirish.com/ had built an rendering engine that can play simple Flash movies  is bound to get some people thinking.

Anyone with an iPhone will know that the built in browser, Safari, has no flash support. This is by design and is as such for a number of reasons. Some beneficial to the user others beneficial to Apple.

Steve Job’s has always said that the lack of Flash support on the iPhone was purely because the device wasn’t fast enough to render...

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The US patent and trademark office this morning published a patent revealing some of Apple’s grand designs for significant innovations in their already impressive touchscreen technology.  The application boasts crisper, brighter displays but most surprisingly talks about a touchscreen device that recognises when you touch the side of the device.

The patent boils down to three key innovations:

- The touchscreen is able to detect when you touch the sides on top of the screen

Each iPhone or iSlate would include metal traces in the border of each device.  This could be used to create actions when specific hand movements are made...

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In the world of Apple, it is not uncommon for whispers and rumors to eventually materialise as fully fledged products. Late last year Waracle ran a story about developing for the hotly anticipated iTablet. Now it seems the device will be named as the ‘iSlate’. Needless to say, irrespective of terminology, Waracle will be looking to develop a range of applications and software for the 10-inch iSlate in 2010.  The device is set to bridge the gap between the smart phone and the recently popularised notebook computer. The iSlate will be perfect for reading books, newspapers and magazines online and...

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Supermarket behemoth Tesco will join a growing list of distributors as it has today announced plans to stock and sell the Apple iPhone. With plans well underway, a spokesman for the firm suggested that the handset could be on Tesco shelves in time for the festive season.

At this stage, precise details of each available tariff have not been revealed, although prices are believed to be ‘competitive’.  However, as with all Apple products including iPhone’s and computer hardware such as the iMac, pricing between alternative distributors does not tend to vary a great deal. The difference between the O2 and Orange...

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For many years it was unclear if this product was even in development, let alone ready for market. Apple has now started making some serious noises about a 10-inch all singing all dancing, book reading, and movie playing iPod touch. Sounds good? Absolutely.

However, whilst we hang on in anticipation for the first batch of the Apple iTablet (also referred to by some as the iSlate) to hit stores across Scotland and the UK, there is surely no cast iron guarantee that the product will be a success. We can’t deny the obvious success of the MacBook, iPod and iPhone,...

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