There are a number of excellent apps that let you use your iPhone or iPod touch as a mouse. One of the best is Remote Tap. It not only allows you to use the iPhone as a mouse but it offers full remote
management of a connected Mac.

In fact, it makes it super easy to see which apps are running, which are in the dock or which are simple accessible from the applications folder. It is continually updated and with each update is faster, easier to use and more feature-rich.

The most recent update was sent to Apple on April 6th and finally went live tonight. This update adds some killer features to an already great app. Among them…

-The app now turns you iPhone into an easy to use Front Row remote. (Ah yes, the final nail in the white remote’s plastic coffin)

-You can now control and select the various Spaces (assuming you use this Leopard feature.)

– If you use multiple displays you can see their arrangement and select them.

Of all the new features the nearest one is the Front Row support which visually replicates the familiar remote in either landscape or portrait.

— Post From My iPhone

The Skype app has been a bit of a disappointment to me. It takes a long time to load, lags terribly when moving from one screen to the next and the sound quality has been hot or miss. As a SkypeOut user I really want to like it and a small steptoward that was taken today with an update to the free app.

Nothing earthshattering here but certainly a step in the right direction with some stability issues. Hopefully by version two it will be the homerun I was hoping for.

— Post From My iPhone

Developer’s Notes: 
 
The Dictionary.com app delivers world-class reference content from Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com including more than 275,000 definitions and 80,000 synonyms. No Internet connection is needed. The app also features audio pronunciations, similarly spelled words and Dictionary.com’s popular Word of the Day that is enjoyed by more than a million users. 
 
• "Dictionary.com wins…App of the Day award. Go grab it." – Trusted Review 
• "The application is straightforward, but attractive." – CNET 
• "A sensational app that is easy to use and divine to have." – TMC Net 
• "275,000 definitions, no Wi-Fi needed. Our word for today – horray!" – SF Chronicle 
 
**We recommend connecting to a Wi-Fi network or using iTunes on your computer to download this app.** 
 
Features: 
• Dictionary, Thesaurus and Word of the Day 
• More than 275,000 definitions in the Dictionary 
• More than 80,000 synonyms in the Thesaurus 
• Alphabetical indexing 
• Similarly spelled words 
• Spelling and audio pronunciation 
• Example sentences 
• Non-standard uses 
• Word origin and history 
• Editable recent word look-up 
* No Internet connection required for Dictionary and Thesaurus content 
 
**Internet connection required for Word of the Day, audio pronunciations and similarly spelled words.** 
 

It took a day longer than expected but Pocket Informant 1.01 is out now.

— Post From My iPhone

I love typing on my iPhone’s keyboard. In fact, when I did an experiment a bit back and tried a physical keyboard again I discovered that I PREFER the virtual one. That noted, however there is no question that my accuracy increases significantly when the audible feedback (aka keyboard clicks) are turned on. The problem with that is the way in which it compounds the rudeness quotient of typing in the presence of others. It was for this reason that I was excited to see this app make an appearance in the App Store. According to its description-

We’ve all been in a meeting or class and wanted to type an email, putting the iPhone in “mute” mode and ended up with a funny looking email because you were unable to receive ANY feedback from the keyboard. With this application that problem is over! Every time you type a key the phone vibrates!
Thats not all this keyboard also talks! Tired of not being able to see clear which key you are pressing when typing an email on your iPhone? Whether it’s because the keys are too small to see or your fingers end up pressing the wrong letter or number because the screen is too small; that all is now over! This simple yet helpful application also works by playing the key you pressed every time you do, so you know which one you pressed without having to guess or reach for your glasses! There is a switch to mute the talking keyboard. It will only vibrate if do not want to hear the actual Voice.

It sounds good in theory due to the promise it held for increasing the accuracy of typing silently but I am, by and large, completely underwhelmed by it. There are a few reasons for this.

First off it is portrait only. That is a huge limitation with regard to speeding up the process of typing. Second, while the vibration is not a loud “click” it is absolutely noticeable, thereby limiting the very usefulness and purpose of this app. And finally, because I am fairly quick when it comes to typing on the iPhone, the vibrations from any one letter overlap with the next letter. The result is a mishmash of vibrations that don’t help with accuracy at all.

If you are an exceptionally slow typist on the iPhone this might be a helpful app. For the rest of us, however, it doesn’t bring anything worthwhile to the table.

It is available HERE in the App Store for $.99.