I wanted to start off with my favorite quote, from Ed Colligan, CEO of Palm. “We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone,” he said. “PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.’” Needless to say, iPhone has walked in and started changing the rules for many industries, including Advertising.

So we’ve now had over a week to play with the iPhone, which is an amazing piece of technology on many fronts, even in version 1. It’s definitely the first “phone” that makes watching video and browsing photos truly enjoyable. Considering over 700,000 units sold, I believe that Advertising professionals will be checking location photos and casting videos at stoplights as soon as they can figure out how. And it’s pretty easy in 2 different ways - Online and Offline.

The iPhone’s Online web browsing experience is fairly interesting but not fully baked. Safari does a MUCH better job of bringing the web to your pocket than Treos or Blackberries provide. That being said, there are critical shortcomings for online review and approval. Embedded web video does not work yet, so all websites need to be recoded for the iPhone (for now). Flash is not available yet. Video attachments in Email do not open up at all, although images work OK. AT&T’s EDGE connection (roughly 1/10 the speed of typical WiFi connections) feels like the bad old days of 56K modems for web surfing but is useful for email and Google Maps. What really shows promise for online media delivery is YouTube over WiFi. The simple navigation and responsive video feels good all around. Apple made a brilliant move to have YouTube convert its video over to H.264, holding back the tide of Flash video that has become a real threat to Quicktime in 18 short months.

iPhone has a more straightfoward “Offline” mode. It syncs with iTunes and iPhoto to easily import video, images, songs and even contacts and calendars. Flipping through photos albums on the iPhone is a new and completely enjoyable experience. In fact, iPhone’s physical interaction (thumbing and rotating) is more fun than viewing on a laptop. iTunes and iPhoto are at the heart of the “Offline” delivery strategy and will play a growing role in storing and organizing Production media. This same strategy works for AppleTV as well, which we expect to see in more conference rooms for high quality fully digital presentations.

All in all, the iPhone brings a new level of mobility to professional production and will only grow stronger over time. I would love to hear feedback about your impressions of the iPhone as a “business tool” for media.

Regards,

Bill Sewell

IOWA Interactive is a web applications and design firm located in Marina del Rey, California. We are a team of highly motivated self-starters who work with the top commercial and entertainment production companies in the industry.

We are currently seeking an experienced PHP/Javascript Programmer with experience programming, documenting, and maintaining web applications for high volume web sites. This position will help design, develop, and maintain public and private APIs for
Wiredrive, and also integrate new features. You will also be integrating the new APIs into old sites, as well as helping to expand our current services. Applicants should have an advanced knowledge of PHP, JavaScript, AJAX, and MySQL.

We work with creative clients and expect creative input from our programming staff. This is not the average programming job; all staff participates in developing our products.

RESPONSIBILITIES:
PHP/AJAX Programming of large-scale dynamic websites
Develop and maintain public and private APIs
Maintains and upgrade existing client sites

REQUIREMENTS:
Highly proficient with PHP and Javascript
Excellent verbal and written communication skills
Ability to work in a team environment (Cannot emphasize this enough)
Must meet tight deadlines and work on several projects simultaneously

PREFERRED:
Experience with Javascript scripting for Quicktime and Windows Media Players
Knowledge of Flash/Actionscript/Flex
Experience in Entertainment Industry
Experience with Digital/Media Asset Management
Experience with Applescript/Automator/Xcode

TO BE CONSIDERED:

To apply for this position, email your resume, a list of URLs showing portfolio of past work and code samples to jobs@iowainteractive.com with the subject heading “PHP/Javascript Programmer”.