.

The touchscreen interface seems better suited to sweeping gestures than tapping ones, although programs like Bebot have implemented clever workarounds.

But with Apple opening up the iPhone’s dock connector to third parties, I wonder: Couldn’t a manufacturer develop a hardware music keyboard with an intelligent docking station? You’d slot in your iPhone and get a high-res screen, tactile controls, and all kinds of sound-making capabilities.

(source: A hardware Music Keyboard for the iPhone – O’Reilly – David Battino )

So, it’s seems that the iPhone will be a platform for an huge different field: as a mobile self-payment system, or as chemical detector and as a RFID tag reader.

According to a number of believable blog reports, RFID is set to be a part of the as yet unannounced iPhone 4G. Apple holds a patent for a touch screen RFID tag reader and is said to be testing an RFID-enabled iPhone currently. So RFID could be a feature of the iPhone 4G as soon as Spring 2010.

(source: ReadWriteWeb – iPhone as RFID Tag & Reader: Coming Soon)

iPhone RFID: object-based media from timo on Vimeo.

One crude measure for the relative complexity of developing apps across categories is to compare the number of apps per seller. The Top 5 categories in Nov/2009, were Books (17 apps per seller), Travel (6 apps per seller), Education (4 per seller), Reference and Sports (3 per seller). There were also 3 apps per seller in the Games and Entertainment categories in Nov/2009:

(source: Apps Per Seller Across the US iTunes Categories O’Reilly Radar)

The iPhone is a fertile ground for Internet of Things, as a product called WideNoise shows. WideNoise is an iPhone application that samples decibel noise levels, displaying them on an interactive map.With the app you can take a sound reading, and if you so wish share that with the WideNoise community. You can check the average sound level of the area around you, which might be handy if you’re house-hunting or simply looking for a quiet spot to relax in.
(source: Top 10 Internet of Things Products of 2009)

WideNoise

WideNoise

WideNoise is the iPhone and iPod Touch application that samples decibel noise levels, and displays them on a worldwide interactive map.

Noise is pollution as well

We live every day surrounded by all kinds of sound around us. We are accustomed to this background noise, but in the end we feel relieved when, maybe in a park, that stressful noise disappears. WideNoise helps you better understand the soundscape around you.
(source: WideNoise)

Just an iPhone and a small Chemical Sensor to read your Health status… it’s so interesting and awesome!

The chemical sensing prototype plugged into an iPhone - Photo credit: Dominic Hart/NASA

Jing Li, a physical scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., along with other researchers working under the Cell-All program in the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, developed a proof of concept of new technology that would bring compact, low-cost, low-power, high-speed nanosensor-based chemical sensing capabilities to cell phones.

The device Li developed is about the size of a postage stamp and is designed to be plugged in to an iPhone to collect, process and transmit sensor data.

The latest-generation of the chemical detector board, about the size of a postage stamp, sensing chip facing up. - Photo credit: Dominic Hart/NASA

Jing Li - NASA Ames - Photo Credit: NASA Ames Research Center

NASA Ames Scientist Develops Cell Phone Chemical Sensor via iPhoneMedicalApps

It’s seems just another iPhone app, but Breadcrumbs will show how Internet of Things will spread on our life.

Breadcrumbs

The larger trend here is the convergence of smart phones with the Internet of Things(i.e. Internet-connected real world objects). Devices such as the iPhone essentially become sensor and RFID readers, which allow consumers to interact with real world objects in a much more detailed manner.

Breadcrumbs is able to scan barcodes using the iPhone’s camera. The consumer simply points their iPhone at a food item and gets back relevant data. Other than product recall details, the information returned to the user is mostly the same as what’s on food labels – only it is pulled from the Web.

IBM Debuts Food Traceability iPhone App