iPhone Apps Archives - ShaneMcDonald.ie

FlightRadar24 Vs Plane Finder, Flight Tracking iPhone Apps

by Shane McDonald | Mar 6, 2019 | Internet & Technology, iPod / iPhone Apps

A few years ago when I got my first iPhone, I downloaded two Aircraft Tracking iPhone Apps. These flight tracking apps were FlightRadar24 and Plane Finder. The smartphone air traffic apps allow you to track the position, height, speed, Squawk Code, Aircraft type, heading, source, destination and Aircraft Registration, plus much more.

These amazing iPhone apps are brilliant, especially if you are interested in aircraft. You may also just want to know where a plane in the sky is heading. Ever since I was a child, when I got my first pair of binoculars, I have been fascinated with knowing which aircraft or which airline is flying overhead. Aircraft are such amazing feats of engineering, it is amazing to watch them as they fly 10km up.

So, back to the flight tracking apps. Which one is better, FlightRadar24 or PlaneFinder? I am going to look at the 2 apps and do a proper review…in no particular order.

FlightRadar24

The FlightRadar24 system was the first flight tracking app I downloaded. The main features of FlightRadar24 were full flight tracking plus visual tracking where you could hold the iPhone camera up to the sky where there was an aircraft and it would point to it with identification using augmented reality. At the time this was very new to smartphone technology but the Augmented Reality system makes it possible to point the camera to the sky and view aircraft information and all the details regarding air traffic over you.

Flight Radar Screenshote - FlightRadar1 iPhone App Review

Flight Radar Screenshot - FlightRadar24 iPhone App Review

The accuracy is stunning – I actually grabbed a pair of binoculars when a Lufthansa 747 was reported over Waterford, and it was indeed the aircraft mentioned on the FlightRadar-24 iPhone App. Amazing.
Check out http://www.flightradar24.com/ for more details.

PlaneFinder

I downloaded the Planefinder app just as a comparison as this one showed actual photos of the aircraft in question and also allowed for sharing of the spotted aircraft on Facebook etc.

PlaneFinder does almost everything that FlightRadar24 does, but I find that there are certain functions you can achieve such as advanced filters, e.g. show all aircraft above a certain height, speed or indeed of a certain airline. I also found some aircraft not listed on FlightRadar24 – for example, a Galaxy C5 showed up on Planefinder and at the same time did not display on Flightradar24 for some reason.

More information on PlaneFinder can be found at http://my.pinkfroot.com/

How do these iPhone Aircraft Tracking Apps Work?

These apps only show information regarding aircraft which are equipped with ADS-B transponders. About 60% of the passenger aircraft and some private aircraft have an ADS-B transponder installed.

The Flightradar24 and PlaneTracker apps use a network of ADS-B receivers around the world. These ADS receivers get plane and flight information from the aircraft with ADS-B (Broadcasts) and send this information to the main server. These apps simply collect the ADS data and displays this information on the iPhone Apps map. However the only aircraft within the coverage area of the ADS receivers are visible – so if you are in the USA you may have limited visibility as these apps are mainly covering Europe. Current coverage is approx 90% of Europe. However, there is also limited coverage in the USA, Australia and the Middle East.

App Problems?

Both Apps require WiFi or a 3G connection to work. If you only have a cellular data connection you may get 1 or 2 aircraft showing up but the app won’t work to its full potential – so ensure you have 3G turned on.

The only problems I saw was one aircraft which was a ghost image of itself – i.e., for example, an aircraft D-GBHF was showing up side by side but it was the same aircraft. Could have been a glitch.
However, the most fun glitch I saw was an aircraft which had a recorded cruising speed of zero knots – clever trick!

Flight Tracking Apps – Conclusion

Both apps are excellent in the way the aircraft are displayed plus the refresh rate and the accuracy is very good on both apps.

Both apps have been updated since my original post and I will be updating this post with the changes and new features.

PlaneFinder retails at €3.99 in the App Store

FlightRadar24 retails at €2.39 in the App Store.

FREE Versions of these Flight Radar iPhone Apps are available also and the desktop or web-based version of FlightRadar can be used for a limited session and with limited functionality for free.

If you have any comments regarding these flight tracking/aircraft tracking apps please comment below!

This post is a re-edit of the original post regarding FlightRadar24 and Plane Finder which was written earlier in 2015.

iPhone App to help you diet and lose weight – MyPlate

by Shane McDonald | Jul 19, 2017 | Personal

Everyone likes to look their best but sometimes that extra chocolate bar or those movie munchies catch up on us. The extra pounds can be a lot harder to shift than they were to put on. When I noticed that I was a few kg heavier than I wanted to be I said I would do something about it but I knew my diet was good to start with.

About 3 years ago I was around 1.5 stone (or 20 pounds) heavier than I wanted to be. That’s when I started using a diet app called MyPlate to help monitor elements of my diet. I have to admit I only used it intermittently, for a few months at a time but I saw results in about a month.

How this Weight Loss App Works

The app asks you to enter in everything in your diet – anything consumed that day. It computes the calories in your diet and deducts any exercise you do. The phone will detect any walking when the phone is on your person or you can add exercises later from a very well defined list. It then tells you, based on your diet goals, how your calorie intake is doing. Your goal can be simple to maintain your weight or to lose a certain number of kg per month.

You can see the breakdown of your sugar, carbs, protein and water intake. Remembering that increased sugar in your diet (e.g. soft drinks, sweets and cakes) will make your body store more fat, the sugar intake is the tricky one to maintain. This app can help with this.

Some initial setup is required, entering gender, current weight, height and the mentioned weight goals. After that, just start entering your daily food and drink intake. There is a huge database of foods already there or you can enter your own food. Obviously, some honesty is required in order to use the app but if you use it well you will see results.

I think part of the reason it works is that you start thinking, ‘Do I really want this?’. It makes you accountable for the things that you eat and makes you think about your diet. Plus, you can enjoy the treats but then you need to work them off. So if you go 60 calories over your limit, a fast-paced 20 minute should burn that right off.

MyPlate Diet App Screenshots

You can see the screens below on how it tracks calories, fat, sugar, carbs and weight. Overall I ended up losing the 20lbs I needed to lose and wasn’t miserable doing it (I still have a sweet tooth). It’s a very good app and if you have good will power it can help you lose weight and keep you accountable for what you eat.

MyPlate Calorie Tracker on the App Store

MyPlate is the fastest and easiest way to diet, lose weight and improve your health! Join millions who have lost weight with LIVESTRONG.COM’s MyPlate Calorie Tracker — the most user-friendly way to track your food, diet and exercise on your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. MyPlate makes tracking calories and getting the proper nutrition easy.

Download App

Best Twitter iPhone Apps

by Shane McDonald | Aug 17, 2010 | iPod / iPhone Apps

People are now twittering and tweeting everywhere from the office, train station to the restaurant and airport. Are you looking for the Best Twitter iPhone Apps? The emergence of mobile technology allows people to tweet quickly and easily. Below are listed some handy iPhone Apps for using Twitter all of which are freely available on the iTunes App Store.

Twitter

The official Twitter iPhone app has all the features you might expect, tweeting, latest posts, lists, access to your profile and favourites and some other extras. This is the twitter app I use most, mainly because it is the official app. Latest Version is 3.0.3 – Size 3.9 MB Price : Free

Tweetdeck

The Tweetdeck iPhone app allows you to have Facebook and Twitter on the same app, saves you having to access 2 different iPhone apps. Some nice features and if you want to have a fully integrated app this is the one for you, tweet and facebook on the one app. I still use this on occasion and it is a handy tool for Facebook and Twitter users. Price : Free

Echophon

This is one I installed a while ago and was my original twitter app before moving to tweetdeck and moving then to Twitter App. It’s a bit clunky and I found it a bit slow to use but that was over 7 months ago … so if anyone has used Echophon add a comment below. However having reviewed the latest app on iTunes I think this has recently been updated. Price : Free Feel free to add your comments and review of the Best Twitter iPhone Apps….

In subsequent years some of the best iPhone apps that I have on my phone (at the time of updating this piece I am on iOS17 on an iPhone 11). The following apps are the ones I would use most during my week and ones that I really enjoy using;

FlightRadar24 – for tracking aircraft overhead.
Scrabble (the official app) – good app but some of the words that are in the dictionary are not in the apps version of the dictionary.
Action Movie – you can add special effects into movies such as explosions (just a bit of fun)
and of course all my streaming apps such as Netflix, Disney+ and AppleTV and apps like Dropbox and Google Translate

iOS 4 iPhone Software Update – New Features on the iPhone

by Shane McDonald | Jun 19, 2010 | iPhone

The new iOS 4 update brings new powers to the iPhone!

The new iPhone will have over 100 new features, the free iOS 4 Software Update will allow iPhone 3Gs users to experience the majority of these. The new iPhone OS, iOs 4, will be released on Monday 21st June 2010 – iTunes 9.2 has been updated so download this first and upgrade your systems in preparation for the new iOS 4 release.

The new features of iOS4 will include the following;

You can use Multitasking and switch between your iPhone apps instantly, without apparently slowing down the performance of the foreground app or draining the battery unnecessarily.

There are Folders so that you can organize your iPhones apps into relevant folders using a drag-and-drop technique. You can also manage up to 2160 apps (the current limit is about 180 apps) and get faster access through your folders.

Text Messaging update – There will be a Character Count option in Messages Settings, so you can keep a track on the number of characters while typing an SMS Text message.

The Email client has been improved and you can see messages from all your accounts in a unified inbox, organize your email messages by threads, and you can open attachments in third-party apps.

There is an ebook reader functionality called iBooks. This is not just an ebook reader, rather iBooks allows you to browse and shop for books as well as reading them (or PDFs) within the system.

The new iPhone will have 5x digital zoom with the Tap to focus function

While shooting video, tap the display to choose where to focus. You will also be able to tag photos and GeoTag where they were taken.

The Home screen wallpaper can be changed so that you can have your custom background wallpaper on your Home screen.

For techies, the iPhone iOS 4.0 includes more than 1,500 new APIs for app developers.

There are many other new features, such as improvements when reading documents, improvements in the contacts section, a photo resize option, playlist creation, and you will find even more when you install your own iOS 4 update (or if you are luck enough to get the new iPhone 4).

The new iOS 4 will work with iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, and iPhone 3G (some functionality for later third generation iTouch models also). Not all features of the features above are compatible with all the devices. For example, multitasking is available only with iPhone 4 and iPhone 3GS and Multitasking then is only available with Apps that have been specifically developed to work with iOS 4 multitasking mode. Also note that the Face Recognition system only works with iPhoto on the Mac (sorry PC users).

The new iPhone4 / iPhone 4G should be on sale in Ireland & UK fairly soon, hopefully in the next month. Carriers such as Vodafone, O2, 3 Mobile and Orange will be making sure customers know well in advance of pending sales of the new iPhone.

This looks like this update will boost the iPhone in the market – great improvements to an already great piece of technology.

iPhone 4G in Ireland & UK is expected in early June

by Shane McDonald | Jun 7, 2010 | iPhone

The much-hyped release of the new iPhone 4G should be with us in Ireland by mid-June ; and although rumours of early July still persist … we will have to wait and see what happens!

iPhone 4G NEWS UPDATE – Apparently the date is now July for Ireland and the UK with the prices being roughly the same as current 16 – 32Gb versions.

The new 4G iPhone will sell in the US first and the date of June 7th was being mentioned as the possible release date. I don’t think that will happen though.

On the back of the iPad release, the new iPhone 4G should have a huge amount of interest in Ireland & UK. Keep an eye on Vodafone, O2, 3 Mobile and Orange who will be pushing to be the first in Ireland & Uk to sell the new iPhone 4G.

The feature list on the new iPhone is becoming clearer, apparently coming with ;

a 5 MegaPixel camera
possibly including multitasking of iPhone apps
sleeker body design
sturdier construction
clearer picture with a high definition capability
a 3.5 inch TFT touch-sensitive screen
available in 64GB & 80GB storage
built in half gig of RAM.

For those with the 3Gs iPhone there should be an OS upgrade also, which should give you some of the features of the new iPhone.

Note : the new 4G iPhone is actually a reference to 4th Generation and does not reflect a transition from a 3G network to a 4G network.

This post is actually an old post and is held here on shanemcdonald.ie for reference and for retro purposes. I was one of the people who started using the iPhone in Ireland around the time of the iPhone 4 and I have remained a loyal apple customer ever since. I upgraded my PC in 2011 to a Mac and in 2021 I got a MacBook Pro which has served me well on international projects over the past 2 years. The iPhone is (at the time of writing this post) on iOS17.1 and the latest model is the iPhone 15 Pro which is quite expensive compared to the iPhone 4.

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