by Greg Kumparak

Schmap, Inc., creators of the iPhone-friendly Schmap city guides and Schmap.me map sharing service, further expanded their iPhone offerings this morning with the launch of their new “GeoTweeter” iPhone application. GeoTweeter plays on the common practice of using Twitter to inform your followers of your current location, with one neat little twist: it shows them how to get there.

Think about it – how often do you see folks using Twitter to invite their friends out en masse? Generally, it’s something like “I’m at McBlahdigan’s Pub! Come join!”. But which McBlahdigans’s do they mean ? The one on First St., or that shady one over on.. wait, where’s that other one again? Now you’re tearing through Google Maps looking for a pub, writing down the address, calling your friend to make sure you’re headed to the right place – it’s all very archaic.

GeoTweeter is looking to take away all of those extra steps. When a user is ready to have their friends join them for a night on the town (or for whatever other reason they may want to broadcast their exact location via Twitter), they pop open GeoTweeter, blast out their tweet, and fire away. GeoTweet will create a schmap.me map (example) pointing at your current GPS location (or any other location you choose) and strap the URL onto the tail end of your tweet. These maps are viewable from just about any browser, with special optimizations for BlackBerry, Nokia, Palm, Sony Ericsson, and the iPhone. On some of these platforms, tapping the address on the page will automatically launch the handset’s built-in mapping software, allowing you to navigate to the location without copy and paste or, worse yet, paper and pen. You can also store your regular locations for later use – you know, just in case McBlahdigan’s becomes your regular spot.

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by Greg Kumparak

ARE YOU READY TO ROCK!? Yeah!? Thats cool, but would you settle for jamming little buttons on a touchscreen instead?

Now that the Android Market is beginning to allow developers to submit paid applications, the big name brands are starting to pay attention. Telegraph is reporting that Guitar Hero is headed for Android, and should be one of the first apps to go up for sale. Gameplay reportedly involves jamming onscreen buttons – but for the sake of keeping Android handsets around the world from being frustratedly thrown into walls, we certainly hope they’ve mapped out some keyboard support a la Frets on Fire.

We’re also hoping that EA and Harmonics respond with a full Rock Band port. Image: two guys poking at their screens, one singing whilst holding the headset up to their ear, and another banging away on the screen with little tiny drumsticks. It would be magical.

Manufacturers regularly produce new iphone ringtones because of their popularity; I doubt if anyone could have predicted just how popular this would become. Although giving your phone that individual touch is something anyone can do, it is primarily aimed at the younger market place. Always on the lookout for a new way to grab your attention, iphone designers are making it easier to download and install ringtones and wallpapers.

Because people enjoy playing around with different sounds and swapping them, the ringtone converter was devised. Many internet sites rely on the technology behind these converters to enable sound files to be downloaded onto mobile phones and computers. To ensure no-one misses out the iphone ringtone converters can be used with phones from virtually all manufacturers. Some older or more basic models may not have a built in programs but it may still be possible for you to use the existing phones music creator.

Newer ringtone converters no longer require cables or even infrared connections to transfer these files. Of course the only way your sound will be truly individual is if you create it yourself with a built in iphone composer. Then you can create and edit your own ringtones when you have this composer in your iphone. Editing sounds and converting your favorite song into a iphone ringtone is easy with modern software.

Sounds that can be used on phones are also available at an ever increasing number of internet web sites which now cater for the almost insatiable desire for this new craze. Most of these web sites can send the ringtone via SMS and do not need to use your computer at all. However you want to proceed, you have all the information now with numerous web sites, music composers or even get them from friends, and the choice is yours. Ensure your phone is compatible with this technology and use the proper software for it and you will find creating your own iphone ringtones or wallpaper is a simple process.

Source: Download Wallpapers

by Erick Schonfeld

What would you rather have, an iPhone or a My Phone? Both Microsoft and Yahoo think you want a My Phone. On the iPhone section of its Website detailing the revamped Yahoo Mobile service, due to launch publicly in March, Yahoo marketers try to drum up interest in the new offering by using this headline in its marketing campaign:

From iPhone™ to “my” phone.

The iPhone trademark is taken (notice the ™), but that is not stopping mobile marketers from trying to ride on its coattails. Yesterday, Microsoft announced its own My Phone service for syncing data between your phone and desktop.

If you are a mobile marketer, here is a tip for you. Coming up with something that rhymes with iPhone to peddle your mobile services is not a winning strategy. It is derivative and shows a lack of imagination. It is as though they are trying to say, “Our products are like the iPhone, but only better and more cuddly.” Why even invite the comparison? That two major Web companies decided to characterize their products as the My Phone just goes to show how much the iPhone is defining the industry right now.

So what exactly is new about Yahoo Mobile? The service is built around Yahoo oneConnect, which the company announced at the World Mobile Congress last year. OneConnect is a social address book that pulls together all your contacts, emails, IMs, SMS messages, and activity streams from other social networks and social media sites across the Web. Building on top of oneConnect, Yahoo Mobile will integrate more services such as oneSearch (its mobile-optimized search engine) and Yahoo onePlace (a fancy feed reader that lets you keep track of blog posts, stock updates, sports scores, and the like). The different apps appear in a familiar icon grid, just like on the iPhone.

In March, Yahoo Mobile will be available as a destination on mobile browsers, as a new app for the iPhone, as well as apps for a wide range of smartphones including Blackberriey, Nokia, Windows Mobile, and other handsets. (Yahoo has been working in thisMobileCrunch found some screen shots last November). One noteworthy distinction between the iPhone app and the other smartphone apps is that Yahoo Mobile will incorporate the Opera mobile browser as one of its icons on the smartphone apps. It doesn’t appear that the Opera browser will be an option on the iPhone app. The mobile browser is not something that Apple is too keen on opening up to competition.

by Greg Kumparak

In a fairly huge win for VoIP fans everywhere, Skype and Nokia have just announced a partnership to preload Skype onto handsets beginning later this year.

But they’re not just throwing the app onto the devices and calling it a day – the integration will run at least contact list deep. Once you’ve tied Skype contacts to their relative contacts in your address book, their Skype status will appear right within the contact list. Both text and voice chat will be supported over 3G or WiFi.

The first Nokia device to get the Skype-treatment will be the N97, beginning in Q3 of 2009.

Full release after the jump.

Skype and Nokia Partner to Integrate Skype into Nokia Devices
Mobile World Congress 2009

BARCELONA, Spain–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Skype and Nokia today announced a partnership that will bring the world’s leading Internet communications experience to the Nokia range of mobile computers. Under the terms of the cooperation, Skype™ will be integrated into Nokia devices, starting with the Nokia Nseries. The Nokia N97 flagship device will be the first to incorporate the Skype experience in the 3rd quarter of 2009.

The Skype experience will be part of the address book of the Nokia N97, enabling presence – seeing when Skype contacts are online – as well as instant messaging. Nokia N97 owners around the world will also be able to use 3G and WLAN to easily make and receive free Skype-to-Skype voice calls, in addition to low-cost Skype calls to landlines and mobile devices.

“Making Skype available everywhere through mobile devices is essential to fulfilling our vision of ‘enabling the world’s conversations’,” said Scott Durchslag, Skype’s Chief Operating Officer. “Collaborating closely with Nokia to preload and integrate our software onto their devices will benefit the many Nokia customers who already use Skype, as it makes Skype easily accessible and simple to use on the go. It will also bring Skype new users who love Nokia’s Symbian S60 experience.”

“With more than 400 million Skype users worldwide, the integration of Skype on Nokia Nseries mobile computers is a significant step in bringing converged Internet experiences from the desktop to the world’s most advanced mobile computer,” said Jose-Luis Martinez, Vice President, Nokia Nseries.

About Nokia

Nokia is the world leader in mobility, driving the transformation and growth of the converging Internet and communications industries. We make a wide range of mobile devices with services and software that enable people to experience music, navigation, video, television, imaging, games, business mobility and more. Developing and growing our offering of consumer Internet services, as well as our enterprise solutions and software, is a key area of focus. We also provide equipment, solutions and services for communications networks through Nokia Siemens Networks.

About Skype

Founded in 2003, Skype is revolutionizing the way people communicate around the world. Skype has more than 405 million registered users globally who use Skype software to communicate for free through voice and video calls as well as instant messages. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings, such as calls made to and from landlines and mobiles, voicemail, call forwarding, and SMS. Skype is used in almost every country on Earth, and people have made more than 100 billion minutes worth of free Skype-to-Skype calls. Conversations over Skype can take place on computers, mobile devices and Skype Certified™ hardware. Skype certifies and sells hundreds of hardware products from more than 50 partners, and works with hundreds of third-party developers who have created plug-ins to extend Skype’s functionality.

Skype is an eBay company (NASDAQ: EBAY). Learn more and download Skype at www.skype.com.