Morcombe field guide released as an iPhone/iPod touch app

Well there are some good ideas for an upgrade, if the developers are listening to Birding-Aus.

I’d also like to be able to add my own calls – I guess this isn’t available in the current version.

I’m not sure they’ve got the price right – there are a huge range of North American bird field guides, priced from around $12 – $24. I suppose the competition pushes the price down. The Audubon state field guides seem like a bargain at $9, and there are some Peterson guides to families (e.g. Warblers, Birds of Prey) for only $4. The only British Bird guides I could find were $12-14. The only FGs in the $30+ price range are a digital FG to birds of Northern Europe, and the Audubon combined guides (birds and butterflies, or birds-mammals-wildflowers).

The only “competition” I can see for the Morecombe guide at the moment is “Birds of Australia” ($12.99) which is really just a compilation of wikipedia articles – Birdsight AU gives you essentially the same information for free in that app. There are several free apps that let you compile Wikipedia content yourself. Perhaps when the other Australian field guide authors join the iTunes Store then we might see a drop in price – but when you think about what you are getting, it’s better than CD-ROM based computer programs because it’s so portable, has the audio for most species, and is access via a touch-screen: at this price it is fantastic value for money. Let’s hope they sell enough to make regular upgrades a necessity!

Russell Woodford

On Fri, October 22, 2010 3:56 pm, Damian Kelly wrote: > > Searching of notes not currently possible. > > Neither is automatic input of GPS data > > For site lists and easy export Birdsight AU is certainly much better. > > >> That’s impressive. Can you search your own notes? I also wonder if your >> notes are easily lost if you change phones, etc. >> >> I’m also impressed that several people have bought and installed the >> guide >> so quickly. I’d be even more impressed if anything similar was ever >> available for a Blackberry phone, sometimes it seems like the >> manufacturers have put a ban on useful applications. >> >> Peter Shute >> >> >> ————————– >> Sent using BlackBerry >> >> —– Original Message —– >> From: John Tongue >> To: Peter Shute >> Cc: ‘dpadams@gmail.com’ ; ‘birding-aus@vicnet.net.au’ >> >> Sent: Fri Oct 22 15:41:29 2010 >> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Morcombe field guide released as an >> iPhone/iPod >> touch app >> >> Hi Peter et al., >> Just finished downloading it myself, so haven’t really explored it yet, >> but it does look like you can add at least some limited notes. >> >> John Tongue >> Ulverstone, Tas >> >> On 22/10/2010, at 12:55 PM, Peter Shute wrote: >> >>> It’s true about the weight advantage, and that extra pages don’t weigh >>> any extra. (When is iHANZAB coming out?) >>> >>> One disadvantage of electronic formats is that you can’t add your own >>> notes. I assume the Morcombe application doesn’t allow that? >>> >>> Peter Shute >>> >>> >>> ————————– >>> Sent using BlackBerry >>> >>> —– Original Message —– >>> From: birding-aus-bounces@vicnet.net.au >>> >>> To: Birding-Aus >>> Sent: Fri Oct 22 10:49:01 2010 >>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Morcombe field guide released as an >>> iPhone/iPod touch app >>> >>> I’ve been holding off on getting an iPod/Phone/Pad but finally needed >>> one for a project. (I got an iPod Touch.) I was totally skeptical >>> about these things as the screen is too small (iPod/iPhone) or the >>> device is impractically large (iPad). Shows what I know, I’m a >>> complete and total convert. The iWhatever is the field guide of the >>> future. It’s great news that there’s finally something comprehensive >>> for Australia. >>> >>> There’s an old rule in computers that if you want to get people to >>> convert from a manual/paper system to a computerized system, you have >>> to make the new experience better than real life. To explain why I’ve >>> been converted, I’ll list some of the virtues of f iBird Explorer Pro >>> a field guide for North American birds. There are several full field >>> guides for North America available now – including Sibley (best >>> plates). I got iBird because they’ve earned a reputation for having a >>> comprehensive and easy to use application. Here’s why I live it: >>> >>> * Size and weight. >>> If I’m only going to be passing through the US or don’t have much >>> birding time, I don’t tend to take a book along. As it was, I took my >>> smaller guide rather than my better guide for this reason in the past. >>> >>> * Plates and photos >>> iBird has standard plates (they’re fine) _and_ photos for the birds. I >>> like plates but photos as a supplement can make all of the difference. >>> This is particularly true outside of Australia where little brown >>> birds seem to be the norm. >>> >>> * Lots of text >>> It costs nothing to put in more data as there’s no printing costs. So, >>> they poured a lot of detail into the app. >>> >>> * Sounds! >>> Better than paper – it’s a book with sounds. Fantastic. This is worth >>> the price of admission alone. >>> >>> There are more and more field guides available now, depending on your >>> interests. It’s tropical fish, edible mushrooms, birds and mammals for >>> me. There are also trees, butterflies, bugs, flowering plants, etc. >>> out there. Really, the range of applications is impressive now and is >>> only getting better. >>> >>> For those that don’t know about these devices. >>> >>> * iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad all run an operating system called iOS. >>> These devices and the operating system are produced by Apple. >>> >>> * The iPhone has WiFi and a phone and so is likely to require a >>> phone/data plan. Not sure, I don’t use it. The iPod Touch is like an >>> iPhone but has no phone – just WiFi. That’s what I have. The iPad has >>> a much bigger screen and no phone. Applications written for an >>> iPhone/iPod will run on an iPad, but the screen may be magnified or >>> look a bit off. Apps can be written specifically for the iPad. General >>> purpose apps tend to be written to run correctly on all three formats. >>> >>> * You get applications onto your device by syncing it with a copy of >>> iTunes. iTunes is free and runs on OS X and Windows. You can put >>> movies (in some formats), movie and such into iTunes apart from apps. >>> Just to make sure it’s clear, you do _not_ need to buy a Mac to use an >>> iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. >>> >>> * Applications are available from the “app store”. iTunes + the App >>> Store is part of what makes the whole experience work. Purchase and >>> installation of applications is _painless_. Too painless, in a way 😉 >>> Don’t fear, there are stacks of good, free applications apart from the >>> paid ones. ($30+ is actually on the expensive side for applications >>> for these devices.) >>> >>> * The operating system and such are kind of locked down. Meaning, >>> there aren’t a lot of ways to mess things up, you can’t get viruses >>> and the like. (I’ve never even heard of a proof-of-concept attack on >>> iOS, let alone something in the wild.) >>> >>> * Stores are localized to particular countries, but I think you can >>> get accounts in more than one country. Don’t quote me on that. The >>> Morcombe app is $US 29.99 at the US App Store. >>> >>> * The iPod Touch was recently updated – the new version has a built-in >>> camera. So, you’ll probably see a few versions around if you’re >>> looking. >>> >>> * The iPad is always reported to have unbelievable battery life – as >>> in up to ten ours. Chances are, they entire inside of the case is a >>> flat battery sheet. The smaller devices do well, but they certainly >>> don’t last ten hours of full use. >>> >>> * Retail is expensive in Australia because vendors can get away with >>> it. (Retail competition in the US, by comparison, is a bar fight with >>> knives.) Given the giddy heights the $A has reached, consider buying >>> overseas. I think that everything Apple sells has a universal power >>> supply (works on any voltage) and plug adapters are only a few >>> dollars. Don’t quote me on the power supply…Another option is to >>> pick one up on the duty free side of the airport in Sydney if your’e >>> coming back from anywhere – the prices there are pretty close to what >>> you find in the US (usually the cheapest place for Apple gear) and >>> much cheaper than at an Apple Store in Australia. If you’re at the >>> airport and see the Apple booth, you can even use their machines to >>> connect to the Apple store in Australia and see how the prices >>> compare. They don’t sell everything at the airport (no Mac Mini) but >>> did have iPads and such when I passed through a few months ago. >>> =============================== >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >>> send the message: >>> unsubscribe >>> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >>> to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au >>> >>> http://birding-aus.org >>> =============================== >>> =============================== >>> >>> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >>> send the message: >>> unsubscribe >>> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >>> to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au >>> >>> http://birding-aus.org >>> =============================== >> >> =============================== >> >> To unsubscribe from this mailing list, >> send the message: >> unsubscribe >> (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) >> to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au >> >> http://birding-aus.org >> =============================== > > =============================== > > To unsubscribe from this mailing list, > send the message: > unsubscribe > (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) > to: birding-aus-request@vicnet.net.au > > http://birding-aus.org > =============================== > >

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