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back to article Freeview HD EPG debuts on iPhone

Freeview has released its 14-day electronic programme guide on the iPhone. While the app - available to download now, at no charge - is called Freeview HD, it actually includes regular Freeview standard definition programme schedules too. Freeview HD app   Freeview HD app The app allows you to select your region, and you …

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  1. Alan Clinch
    Thumb Down

    Vocal minority

    How nice for the tiny, minuscule percentage of people in the UK that have an iPhone. A headline grabbing iPhone app, just like the Sky one, the various Government ones, Royal Mail etc etc.

    How about catering to the majority instead, Symbian has almost complete domination of the Smartphone market, where is the app for that? Even better how a bout a Java app that near enough every phone can use?

    I suppose it's much easier to get headlines and parliamentary support if it's the other way around, instead of gushing praise and no mention of the issue anywhere.

    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/14/thompson_bbc_iplayer_pac/

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    1. Simon Frost
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      Thumb Up

      It's a cost thing

      Developing for one phone with a large market share (especially amongst those who use the device for things other than calling and texting), which has a decent set of dev tools and can provide a consistent experience, a reliable and proven distribution channel (buy a dev account, take it from there) and predictable support costs vs developing 40 different versions for Symbian or Java to take care of all the different variants (including the same device on different networks), with much higher unpredictable support and maintenance costs and no decent distribution mechanism. Is it any wonder?

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    2. Anonymous Coward
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      Anonymous Coward

      RE: Vocal minority

      If you want an application that gives you Freeview listings, I propose that you write to them and ask them to write one. If you had enough support, they might do it.

      There must be a reason that the app exists on the iPhone and not Sybian.

      Incidentally, when you wrote "How about catering to the majority instead, Symbian has almost complete domination of the Smartphone market" it shot down in flames a commentards post on a different thread about how Apple had a "monopoly" in smart phones :)

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    3. Trygve
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      Happy

      Why, what an excellent idea!

      Why don't you get on the phone to the nice Freeview people and suggest that to them? Perhaps if you offer to develop, test, release and support it for them at a reasonable cost, they might even have you do it for them and you could make some cash out of it?

      Alternatively, maybe you could release it yourself as a paid-for app, since there's such a big market for it.

      Otherwise you would have to accept that the Symbian 'market' has been written off by everyone as a load of Nokia BS that never arrived, and we wouldn't want that.

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  2. Dennis 6
    Unhappy

    Does it have radio schedules?

    In nearly all of the discussion of TV schedule apps radio schedules are rarely mentioned, yet I spend far more time listening to the radio than I do watching TV. Logically an app for Freeview schedules should have radio schedules. It would just be nice to know.

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    Beer for you Alan Clinch

    Your post mirrors exactly what I was thinking when I was reading the article.

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  4. Ian Ferguson
    Thumb Up

    Cool

    Thanks for the tip, good app.

    And sorry Alan but like it or not, an iPhone TV app will be used by a greater number of people than a Symbian TV app. Symbian and Java might be wonderful lovely open standards platforms, but you can't deny the existence of the millions of iPhones and iPod Touches in the country's back pockets.

    You could always ignore any article with 'iPhone' in the title, if you like.

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  5. Daniel Owen

    Record it?

    Surely not as good as the sky EPG with Remote record functionality?

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  6. John 62
    Jobs Halo

    excellent

    I just tweeted the other day wondering if anyone had an iphone-optimised tv schedule! TV Guide is flexible, but despite MobileSafari.ipa's best efforts it is still painful to use on a small screen.

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  7. Alan Clinch
    Unhappy

    The nail on the head

    Here we have the vocal minority proving my point and also getting some facts mixed up.

    1. The iPhone does not have a large market share, not even among smartphones.

    2. 1 Symbian app could be used on every Symbian phone released since the iphone.

    3. The Ovi store is a reliable distribution method, since its symbian though you could just download it from the freeview website, or email it, there are no restrictions.

    4. Why is there always complaints when something only works on the massively dominant Windows O/S? Or the dominant IE browser?

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    1. Anonymous Coward
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      FAIL

      So write one yourself then!

      Stop fucking whining! Jesus! The app is available for the iPhone PLATFORM; which also includes iPod Touch too and fuck me if that isn't a popular PMP that would be compatible with this app! As another poster suggested; don't like it don't read articles with iPhone i the title...

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  8. Alastair 7

    @Alan Clinch

    The iPhone might not have a large market share amongst smartphones, but you're forgetting two things:

    - The iPod Touch. One hell of a lot of people own these, and they're not included in smartphone market share calculations.

    - How many people in this incredible Symbian majority actually download apps? Should you be interested, "Apple responsible for 99.4% of mobile app sales in 2009":

    http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/01/apple-responsible-for-994-of-mobile-app-sales-in-2009.ars

    Now, that's revenue-based rather than download-based but you can see why people pay more attention to the App Store. The Symbian app market is an utter failure.

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    1. The Infamous Grouse
      Reply Icon
      FAIL

      Practically useless for iPod Touch

      Alas this app is fairly useless for iPod Touch users without constant access to WiFi because it doesn't appear to cache a sodding thing. Running the app with no internet connection gives a dialog informing that the guide can't be downloaded, followed by a blank screen. It would have been nice to be able to download the guide first thing in the morning then search it at lunch for shows to watch during the evening, but its design means I can really only use it while in range of the home WiFi. At which point I may as well fire up the Freeview box and check the EPG on the big screen.

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  9. Alan Clinch
    Flame

    Chicken or the Egg?

    Firstly, I would love to see how they are tracking that. Seems impossible to me to get an accurate figure. Maybe from Apple as they reveal it. But other firms don't.

    Secondly, this discussion is taking place on the UK's foremost IT Website, within an article about a new app being released for the iphone. If most apps are only released on the iphone and tiny silly little apps are reported on major IT sites as news, i'm thinking the app store has a very slight advantage.

    Thirdly if you want to include the ipod touch, lets get the DS in there, where is the DS app?

    Fourthly a lot of these apps are only needed because the iphone doesn't have flash or Java.

    Last of all, the Ovi Store recently moved 3m copies of Ovi Maps in 26 days. If you give people what they want, they will download the app. People can't download what isn't there. Even if it was, they wouldn't know unless a balanced stance is taken by the media.

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  10. Alastair 7

    Re: Chicken or the Egg

    "Thirdly if you want to include the ipod touch, lets get the DS in there, where is the DS app?"

    Right... before I thought you were misguided, now I know you don't know what you're talking about. iPhone apps run on the iPod Touch. Thats a far larger marker than the iPhone itself, available instantly.

    "Last of all, the Ovi Store recently moved 3m copies of Ovi Maps in 26 days."

    Yes, because omitting map software from a smartphone these days is just about unfathomable.

    But now we appear to have shifted from "there are millions of Symbian users waiting for an app" to "the media is biased". What argument are you running with? Thousands upon thousands of app developers choose making apps for the App Store over other platforms. They're not all stupid.

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  11. Alastair 7

    Re: Chicken or the Egg (2)

    Also, just to be clear- you're suggesting that any body wanting to make a mobile app is obliged to make one for the App Store, one for Symbian, one for the DS, presumably the PSP too?

    Congratulations, you've imagined a world in which no-one bothers to make mobile apps.

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