If you’re an iPhone user and as geeky about it as I am, you’ve probably already done the iOS 4 upgrade. I did it last night and, while it took a bit of time, it was well worth it. This is by no means an exhaustive review, just my first impressions of the features that jump out at me in my personal use.

My favorite features — in no particular order:

• Still Camera: Digital Zoom • A big one for me; just tap in the middle of the screen and you get a slider that lets you choose the level of zoom you want. Makes my Snapture app unnecessary.
• Multitasking • This is sweet. Double-tap the home button and it brings up a dock that shows the last four apps you used. You can switch between apps by double-tapping on the home button.


Double-tap the home button to bring up this screen



iPod controls

• iPod Controls • Double-tap to bring up the multitasking screen then scroll left. A very quick way to control the iPod while you’re doing other things on your phone.
• Video: Tap to Focus • In the video window, tap the screen where you want to focus. I tested this and it works well, but i’m not to bore you with that.
• Home screen background • This is just plain fun and pretty.
• Folders • By far my favorite new feature. I’ve kept my home screen apps out of folders to be able to access them with one tap, but the rest of my screens have apps organized by function. With more than 120 apps on my phone this cleans it up quite a bit. I’m sure I’ll rearrange and restructure the folders as I use them, but for now, I’m loving it.


My home screen stays the same



Apps on the second screen are organized into folders based on function

I’ve upgraded the software but I’m not planning to upgrade my phone anytime soon — I have 3GS, so it runs smoothly with all the features.

How about you? Have you installed the update? Planning to get a new iPhone?

Let me know in the comments.

As the SXSW (Interactive portion) geekfest wrapped up in Austin, Texas this past week, I don’t think it’s coincidental that the top five iPhone apps in the What’s Hot category were location-based social networking apps.

This year, location-based apps have been touted as the new Twitter and Foursquare and Gowalla have emerged as the clear leaders. On March 17, Mashable reported that Foursquare had added almost 100,000 users in the preceding 10 days surrounding SXSW and estimates of its userbase are in the one million range. Though I didn’t get to go to SXSW (a post-PowerBall-winning dream) I’ve been playing with location-based apps for some time (read about that here).
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I love how the app reminds you where you are in the program.

Couch to 5K is going pretty well, all things considered. Given that I have a weak ankle, I’m 51 and haven’t been able to do much exercise for the past year due to the ankle, not bad.

Still, I think I’ll stay in Week 1 for the rest of this week and repeat days 2 and 3. Week 1 consists of (from Couch to 5K Web site):

A brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes. Then five-minute cooldown for a total of 31 minutes.

After just three times, I can tell the running part is getting easier. I actually like it. Each time I got the signal to walk, I could have run a little longer, which I think is a good sign.

Here’s the playlist, which I know for some of y’all is extremely dorky, but it works for me:

1. Layla by Eric Clapton • The unplugged version
2. Creed by Third Day • Apostles’ Creed set to southern rock. Yeah, it’s old, but it really motivates me to hear what I believe cranked to the max.
3. Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin • The live version. It’s really cool that the solo (which is even better on the live version) hits at one of the running sets. Nothing like running while Jimmy shreds.
4. While My Guitar Gently Weeps by Eric Clapton • Another ridiculous guitar solo.
5. Grace Like Rain by Todd Agnew • An old favorite. Very motivating song to end with.
6. Beast of Burden by The Rolling Stones • Kind of a nasty song, I know, but it has a great beat and I gotta do what I gotta do.
7. Nothing Compares by Third Day • Great wind-down song.

Other than my Eden Isle Marina baseball hat, no special gear this time as I did my workout indoors. I do love and highly recommend the C25K iPhone app though — and I receive nothing for saying so.

I’m not yet far enough along to get through the whole playlist, but it kind of gives me something to look forward to. More next week … unless my ankle craps out or I fall off the treadmill.

How are y’all doing? Brag on your progress in the comments.

Recently I’ve been playing around with a few location-based social networking services, such as Foursquare, Gowalla and Whrrl. The goal was to do a post with a comparison of each one, which I’ll still do, but for now I want to talk about something my youngest daughter turned me onto, which enables me to check in for a good cause. CauseWorld is a free location-based application, now available for iPhone (app store link) and Android.

How it Works Like the rest of the services, it’s based on check-ins at various locations. CauseWorld is a bit more limited in that you can’t check in at your home or church, only businesses and you can’t add venues. You collect Karmas for each checkin, which allow you to donate to a list of causes. If you don’t see a cause you like, you can also suggest a cause. Sponsors Citi and Kraft Foods have donated nearly $500,000.

Choose from the list of nearby stores to check in (left). Your Me page (center) shows donations you’ve made and badges you’ve earned. When you are ready to donate, you can select from the list of causes (right) or suggest your own.

It works with Facebook Connect, which allows you to post donation activity to your profile.

A recent update includes the option to donate to earthquake relief for Haiti through the Red Cross. All karmas donated to Haiti relief are doubled.

Get CauseWorld and help — the only cost is a few seconds’ time.