Using an iPhone & iPad in Thailand Tips, App Reviews and News for the iPhone and iPad by Richard Barrow

How to Control Dreambox and PlayonHD with your iPhone

Posted on July 30, 2011

When I bought my house, I had everything re-wired. This included the TV cables. We used a slightly more expensive cable that allows me to send extra signals around the house to every television set. This is basically two extra channels that run from my Dreambox satellite receiver and my PlayonHD media player to every television in the house.  Good as that is, I couldn't change channels upstairs. I had to keep running downstairs to do this. But now that I have an iPhone, I can use apps for changing the channels from anywhere in the house. I just need to be in range of a WiFi access point.

First up is DreamboxRC (top left). If you do a search for "dreambox" you will find others. This one is $1.99 and does the job well. I just have to set up the IP address for my Dreambox and then I can change channels as I like from anywhere in the house. Clicking on the "info" button I can see more information about the program that I am watching. There is also an EPG to tell me what is coming up. With this remote I can also set it to record any program (one time or every episode) and also view programs that I have already recorded.

For the control of my PlayonHD media player, it is possible to use the Ryan Remote (top right) which is available for 99 Cents. With this, you can take complete control of your media player from anywhere in the house as long as you can access the network with WiFi. I can also browse the network to find and play the files that I recorded from the Dreambox. To be honest, I haven't bought this remote as I use a web interface which is now possible with the latest firmware update. Just type in your browser the IP address of the PlayonHD device and add ":1024" to the end. You then get a simple remote control which is good enough to use.

There are other apps that you can get that allows you to watch all of the satellite channels (via Dreambox) and stream movies (via PlayonHD) on your iPhone/iPad. So, you can then watch what you like where you like in your house. More about that later. In the meantime, if you have any tips about connecting a Dreambox or PlayonHD to your iPhone then please let us know in the comments below.

Filed under: Tips 1 Comment

How to record podcasts on your iPhone

Posted on July 26, 2011

Audioboo is an application for recording and sharing your voice with the world.

There are quite a few apps that you can buy for the iPhone to record your podcast. Many of them are probably better than this one. But, I like the simplicity of Audioboo for making podcasts. It is great for amateurs who want to do recordings on the go and then upload straight away to their website and also iTunes. There are limitations of course, you cannot edit the file and you cannot record longer than five minutes. We are using it to record a podcast for learning Thai. I am doing this with eight year old Nong Grace. She does everything. After recording she listens to it back to see if it's alright. It's then her decision whether to do a second recording. If it is alright, we add a title and then click "publish" and it is then uploaded straight to the website.There is also an option to save as a draft which is handy.

Our page can be found on audioboo.fm. There you will see a link for "iTunes". Click on that and you will be able to download automatically every time we do a new podcast.  In addition to this, you can set up your account so that it cross posts to other sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Posterous and Tumblr. This is done automatically. You can see how the results look on my Facebook profile and also my posterous site which is at ThaiPhrasebook.com. With the latter site, I go in later to add some notes. Other than that, everything is done on the iPhone. I do like this app as it is simple enough for Nong Grace to do everything including uploading to the website. If anyone knows of a better one than please post in the comments below.

Download Audioboo for free at iTunes >>>

Filed under: Sound Recording No Comments

Google Plus App available for the iPhone

Posted on July 20, 2011

Google+ for mobile makes sharing the right things with the right people a lot simpler.

Last night Google finally released their iPhone app for Google+ which can be downloaded for free from the US iTunes store. At this time, it is not available in the Thai store, but it is possible to set up an account in the US store if you "buy" an app that is free. If you don't know already, Google+ is the latest attempt to take the crown from the social networking leader Facebook. At the moment it is by invite only, so you won't be able to use this app until you are able to sign up. I have an account myself and I'm happy that there is now a mobile app which will allow me to post while on the go. You can see my Google+ stream by going to http://gplus.to/RichardBarrow

Filed under: Social Networking No Comments

Thai Election Results for free on your iPhone

Posted on July 2, 2011

Probably the best iPhone app for following the results of the 2011 Thai elections is Vote 54 by Channel 3.  They say that the app will automatically update every minute after the closing of the polls at 3 p.m. You will be able to see how many seats for each party and the results of individual candidates in each constituency. The app is in Thai language only.

Download Vote 54 for free at iTunes >>>

Filed under: News No Comments
   

Reviews of iPhone Apps


AR Drone Parrot



Categories

Archives

การใช้ไอโฟนในประเทศไทย





On this blog I will be sharing with you tips and methods of using an iPhone and iPad in Thailand. I am not pretending to be an expert, but I hope that from my personal experience of using an iPhone for my work and pleasure you might gain some knowledge. As well as reviewing apps that I use, I will also post about accessories and also the latest news from around the world.

- Richard Barrow


Twitter: @RichardBarrow
Archives: @TwitterArchives
Contact: @Paknamweb.com

Useful Posts & Websites

* Open a US iTunes Account
* Tips for Using an iPhone in Thailand

Amitiae is an excellent website for people interested in Apple, Mac, IT, iOs, Asia and Everywhere else

Over at Women Learning Thai, you will also find some useful blogs about using an iPhone in Thailand.

Recent Comments

Recent Posts