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

Twitter for iPhone Gets Push Notifications

One of the features for the official Twitter app for the iPhone that I have missed since the beginning was push notification of new messages. Even when you were inside the app you didn't know that someone had sent you a private message until you scrolled to that screen. So, sometimes I wasn't aware of a private message for several hours or more. Now that has all changed with this free update that just came out today. Now you can choose to receive push notifications of any tweets that mention your name (either from people you follow or everyone in the world) and whenever a private message comes in. You can set this up differently for each of your accounts. It is looking good so far. Now the only thing that I am missing is scheduled tweets. At the moment I am using the free HootSuite for that. Don't forget that Twitter also works on the iPad and in my opinion the best twitter app.

MSN Arrives for iPhone

I know many Thai people will be happy to hear that MSN is now available to download for the iPhone. I think Windows Live Messenger is the most popular IM software in Thailand. Certainly all the Thai people that I know chat on it all day. Even when they are supposed to be working! However, the bad news is that this new app for the iPhone is NOT available in the Thailand iTunes store.

But, all is not lost. As it is a free app, it is easy to get at the US iTunes store. The other day I told you how to Open an iTunes Account without a Credit Card. Just follow that link for the instructions and then choose  Windows Live Messenge as your free app. I have downloaded the MSN app already even though I am in Thailand.

I haven't played with it much yet, but these are the official release notes:

Use your iPhone to instant message your friends list, view and comment on your friends’ photos and status updates from Windows Live, Facebook, and MySpace, and at a glance, see what your Messenger friends are sharing from Flickr, YouTube, and many other social and photo sharing sites.

Chat: Instant message with your Windows Live Messenger and Y! Messenger contacts on the go so you’re always connected to the people that matter most. You can even receive IM notifications when your app is closed so you never miss a message.

Social: Windows Live Messenger gives you one place to view the updates your Messenger friends are sharing from social networks like Facebook, Flickr, MySpace and more, helping you cut through the clutter on the go.

Photos: Upload photos right from your phone to share your favourite moments with the people that matter most. Create albums, add captions, and let your friends and family comment on your photos.

Hotmail: Access your Hotmail account without leaving the app to read, reply to, and compose emails. Get email notifications within the application so you know when you have new messages.

With the Skype app, when you close it you are signed out. It looks like here that you will receive a push notification if someone sends you a message. I will update this blog later once I have played with it for a few days.