Over 1 million iPhone users have downloaded the first version of PayPal app onto their iPhones and use it to send money. I’m one of them but to be honest, I seldom use the PayPal app, considered that it only provides limited features such as send money and view transaction history.

On Tuesday, PayPal announced an updated version of its iPhone application. After using it for a day or two, I start to love the app and it’s now becoming one of my must-have iPhone apps.

The version 2.0 release offers a handful of significant features and a much slicker user interface. One big feature is “Bump to transfer money”. We have covered the Bump app that lets you swap contact information between iPhone by simply bump two phones together. The new PayPal app integrates the Bump technology and you can tap two iPhones together to transfer money.

Since its first release, the PayPal app is free for download via the App Store. Once you launch the app, simply fill in your Paypal credential and you’re ready to transfer money.

To send money, simply choose a recipient from contact or manually fill in the recipient’s PayPal account. Or if the recipient just sits next to you, tap both iPhones together and use the new Bump feature to transfer money. It’s simple and quick.

The PayPal also comes with a couple of handy tools. It’s common you need to split a bill and pay your friend back for dinner. There is now a bill splitter to help you split the check (with tip & tax included) for up to 20 people. The other feature is Collect Money. It lets user to request money from multiple people for a joint payment (e.g. gift, group tickets). If you have any recurring payment, the PayPal app also provides a reminder feature (via Push notification) to alert you to send or withdraw money.

To prevent unauthorized use of PayPal, the app requires a PIN or password for every transaction in Send Money. (Tip: remember to choose a good password)

With PayPal app, your iPhone is now just your wallet. The bump feature and bill splitter are both great features that you should check out. If you are already a PayPal user, remember to download this free app from App Store [iTunes link]. Not having a PayPal account, register through paypal.com and start to enjoy the convenience of cashless transaction.

Trip Tracker for the iPhone is a wonderful application that the frequent flyer will love! Developed by PageOnce, the app targets to be your one-stop place to manage all your trip itineraries. It lets you manually build your trip plan by adding your flight, hotels and car rental information. But if you own frequent flyer account or other hotel accounts, the app can also “automagically” imported all the flight and hotel details, minimizing all the hassles of manual input.

The app is simple and intuitive. Once you launch Trip Tracker, you’re presented with a summary screen of your trip schedule. To add any new information to the app, simply tap “New” and you will present to you three buttons: Flight, Hotel, Car rental. When you click on one you will be presented with two more options: Automagically, or manually. If you choose automagically, you just need to provide your frequent user account information and any booking made will be automatically updated to your iPhone app. If you choose manually, you then scroll through the list of providers and pick your airline, flight number, hotel, city, car rental agency and dates….i.e. manually setting up your trip information.

The app does not just save your trip plan. It also provides live flight tracking worldwide and let you check gate number, delays and cancellations, as well as, baggage claims. You get your hotel confirmation numbers and the check in/out dates along with the phone number and a Google map with the hotel location. For car rentals, you can check the car rental confirmation number, the pick-up/drop off dates and the contact information of the rental company within the app.

Unlike other similar applications, it’s not a must to register an account to use the service. But by signing up the Trip Tracker (which is free), you can also manage your itinerary via the online website. And all the changes are automatically synchronized back to the iPhone app.

As an registered user, you can enjoy free email alerts directly in your inbox. And, if you have push notification enabled on iPhone, the app can also notify you directly when there is any itinerary updates. Another feature available to registered users is the ability to block access to the app from the website. This is an excellent security feature. Thus, if you lose your iPhone (which has all your trip account information on it) you can visit the website and block access to the app on your iPhone.

All in all, this app is very easy to use and is extremely handy if you are frequent flyer. Once you set up your frequent user programs that you normally book through, you automatically have a lot of very useful information. Best of all, Trip Tracker is a free iPhone app and you can download it via App Store [iTunes link].

It’s been a month since the debut of Google Buzz. By now, the service should be available to all Google users. If you have not yet heard about Google Buzz, it is the latest social product offered by Google. The new Buzz app allows you, through your Gmail account; to share your thoughts, multimedia and social media feeds, as well as, to follow folks that you’re interested. Essentially, Google Buzz is Google’s definitive intertwined social media product.

Along with the Buzz release, Google has also made Buzz available for the iPhone by running a mobile Safari web app. This is similar to other rollouts like Google Voice where instead of going through the app store, Google just takes advantage of Safari’s HTML 5.0 capability to deliver a feature-rich web application.

To try out the service, you can simply point your mobile Safari to buzz.google.com. Once the service is activated in your Google account, you’ll see a new tab named Buzz on the top navigation bar along with other applications such as Calendar, Mail and etc.

Follow to Tap Into Someone’s Thought
Soon after you enter the app, Google Buzz shows who’s already following you and subscribing to your status updates. Don’t like someone to follow your update? You’re allowed to reject their follows. On the other way round, you can also follow them back to get any status update from friends. Just like Twitter, the Buzz service also lets you follow any public contacts and view their public posts.

Sharing Your Thought
Sharing status update shouldn’t be new to you if you’re a regular user of Twitter or Facebook. In basic form, it works nearly the same as the counterparts. The Buzz service puts up a prominent “Share what you’re thinking” textbox. Simply tap on it and you’re free to post anything. While Twitter shares your update with all users, the Buzz service provides finer control of your buzz. You can select to share your thought privately (say, your followers only) or publicly (anyone using Google Buzz).

I have been testing out Google Buzz for a month on both desktop and mobile versions. Using Buzz on iPhone is much more interesting.

So, what makes Google Buzz for iPhone different from the main version?

Buzz Around Your Area
Well first off, you have all of the features with the main (non-mobile) version. On top of that, the mobile version comes with some cool geo-location features. If you have the “use current location” turned on, it tags all of your posts with your current location. However, if you don’t want to give away too much information, you can also control it within Buzz. The really cool feature is the integration of with Google Maps. The “Nearby” feature allows you to see all buzzes around your current location and it possibly opens up a conversation with someone who you never meet before by using the comment feature. Imagine you are watching a football game and send out a buzz, it’s very likely someone who’s watching the same football game will comment your buzz and spawn a conversation. That’s something you can’t do on Twitter yet.

Google Buzz also lets you post message within the map interface. But please take note. Anything that you post through the Google Maps feature is in the public domain and can be viewed by all mobile users on Google Buzz.

Privacy Concern
When Google Buzz was first released a month ago, it aroused lots of privacy concerns. Since then, Google has released a number of major security enhancements such as disable auto-follow, block anyone from following you, etc. That said, if privacy is your top concern, Google Buzz and other social networking products may not be for you.

Where is the native Buzz’s app?
The design of Buzz web app is pretty good and Google already does its best to make the web app look like a real application. In terms of user experience and performance, however, it still can’t compare with a native app. So, does Google Buzz have a native iPhone app? At some point, Google may release a native iPhone app. For now, you can count on Buzzie, an unofficial Google Buzz app developed by Alberto García Hierro. The app is now available on App Store for US$1.99 [iTunes link].

Conclusion
All in all, Google Buzz does offer some cool features but it’s not a revolutionary product. To me, as a regular user of Twitter and Facebook, Google Buzz is just another social networking product. It’s no Twitter killer. Within my one-month testing with Buzz, I still turn Twitter to express my thought publicly or share with my close friends via Facebook. I already get used to the simplicity of these social services. This is very much the same for search. When I need to search something on the web, I turn to Google.

That said, Google Buzz is still a promising product and offers a great way to share information with others. If you’re a fan of Gmail, probably you’ll love the integration of Buzz. Anyhow, give it a shot and let us know if you love Buzz.

To see Google Buzz in action, you can further check out the video (though the demo is on Android rather than iPhone):

Folks from Meninos design have created some really interesting iPhone-related products: drink coaster, doormat and playing cards. This should be a great gift for any iPhone addicts.

The coaster design is based on the iPhone’s application icons including phone, calendar, map, calendar, etc. The whole coaster set comes with 16 coasters, that each coaster measures 85mm square and is made from sturdy MDF plywood and wrapped with a premium vinyl decal & durable varnish to protect the design. There is also a thin rubber layer on the bottom to keep the coasters from slipping around. The iPhone set of coasters costs USD$59.99 and is available via Meninos online store.

If you do not like the coaster, the company also creates a set of iPhone playing cards. With the iPhone’s look & feel, the cards are made of PVC plastic and measures 5.7 x 8.9 cm each. You can also purchase it via Meninos online store and it’s available for USD$25.

Okay, you don’t like both. What about a doormat with the iPhone’s signature “Slide to Unlock” inscription? It’s pretty cool to place it in front of the door. The doormats is made of rubber and measures 70 x 35 cm. It’s also available through Meninos online store for USD$50.

Personally, I love the doormat and will probably grab one soon. Which one do you like?

Pixelbite Games will soon rollout a classic top-down racing game titled Deliverace for iPhone. It features pretty graphics, great control and power slides that optimize for the handheld device.

There is no words about the exact release date or the pricing. But it should be available for iPhone and iPod touch soon. Remember to check out the cool demo (see below). If you love racing game, I’m sure you’ll love it.

Google Street View is now available in Hong Kong (as well as, Macau). If you haven’t heard of Street View, it’s a feature in Google Maps that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world.

Google Street View was first launched in May, 2007 and only available for major cities in U.S. As of today, the street view has been gradually rolled out to other international cities. Now, it finally comes to Hong Kong, my hometown.

Explore the World from Your Computer

If you haven’t never been to Hong Kong, you can just sit in front of your computer and point your browser to maps.google.com.hk to take a virtual walk. Telegraph has written up a handy guide if you do not know how to use Google Street View on computer.

Using Google Street View on iPhone

For iPhone user, you can also use the street view feature on iPhone’s Map application. Simply launch the Maps application and type in a location (say, “Central Hong Kong”). If street view is available for that location, there is a “person icon” displayed over the drop pin. Just tap on it and the map will bring you to the street view mode. You can then use your finger to drag around and walk through the street.

The wait is over. Starting from today, you can pre-order Apple’s iPad through its online store or reserve it at any Apple retail store. For now, pre-order is only available in U.S.

Should you pre-order the iPad? As mentioned by Informationweek, the initial supply of iPad may be limited:

Reports have been inconsistent about this, but there’s a possibility that initial demand may outstrip supply. If you’re serious about acquiring an iPad the first day it’s available for sale (April 3), pre-ordering is the best way. Apple is going to let users sign up and reserve a unit for in-store pick-up. Your odds of scoring an iPad will be much better than if you just show up at an Apple Store on launch day. I mean, seriously, more than, like, 10 people might be interested in your neck of the woods, so be sure to pre-order.

My take is if you love to be the early adopter of the “revolutionary” and “magical” device, remember to reserve an iPad via Apple’s website. But don’t forget you will still need to wait for another 3 weeks until you can actually get the hands-on with the iPad.

For international customers, Apple is going to release the iPad in late April. The exact release date will depend on the country you live in. If you’re so serious about the device and can’t wait for the official release, I can think of two ways to pre-order the iPad outside U.S. Either you can ask a friend to U.S. for help or you can use personal shopper service such as Bongo and MyUS which can purchase U.S. products on your behalf. However, expect to pay a premium for the handling fee and shipment cost.

ComputerWorld’s Gregg Keizer has written up a nice post about some common questions about the preorder. If you have any questions, you can further check it out here.

So, what’s your take? Pre-order or not pre-order?

DigiDNA has launched FileApp Pro and is now available for free download for 2 weeks only. In brief, FileApp Pro is a simply file and document manager for iPhone and iPod touch. It allows you to easily transfer files from computer to iPhone via WiFi and manage them on the go.

Advertised as a document manager, not only you can view various types of files, FileApp Pro offers additional features to manipulate files and folders on your device. Some of the features include file renaming, move files/folder, copy file/folder, compress & decompress file/folder, as well as, folder creation. If you need to create a simple text file, FileApp Pro also provides option for you to create and edit text file.

Similar to other document reader applications (e.g. AirSharing), FileApp Pro also comes with a document viewer. The viewer is primitive but supports nearly all common types of files:

• MS Office documents (Word, Excel, Powerpoint), all formats supported
• PDF Reader with function to select exactly which page you want to read
• RTF and Plain Text (UTF-8 encoding)
• iWork documents (Pages, Numbers and Keynotes)
• Open Office Documents (Text, Spreadsheet, Presentation)
• HTML files
• Safari Web Archives
• Comic Book Archive files (.cbz)
• ZIP (Uncompress zip archives)
• Audio (MP3 VBR, AAC, Audible, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, CAF)
• Video (standard iPhone formats : H.264, MPEG-4)

In case you need to share any of the files, simply tap Edit button and select the file. Then tap the lower-left button and select the Email option. The app will send the file via email as an attachment.

FileApp Pro is a handy file manager for iPhone. If you need an app to manage your files on iPhone, it’s worth to check out. Best of all, the company is now offering FileApp Pro for free (but it’s just for limited time only). So, act quick and download the app [iTunes link]!

How many times you come across a web page and you do not have time to read it in front of computer? If you are looking for an app that lets you save a web page and read it on iPhone while you’re on-the-go. Remember to check the “Read It Later” app.

Basically, this app allows you to bookmark & save any web pages you find interesting and read later on your iPhone even without internet connection.

Read It Later service is completely free. But when you download the app to your iPhone the first thing you will have to do is setup an account with “Read it Later”. Choosing a user name and password is all that is required.

The service offers various bookmarklets (i.e. a kind of javascript) to save web page. You can set this app up with your computer’s web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer) so that you can bookmark those pages to read later on your iPhone. You can also add bookmarklet on the mobile Safari browser. Simply follow the on-screen instructions to set it up. It may be a bit tricky if this is the first time you configure bookmarklet on iPhone. Don’t give up, you’ll figure it out and will be happy you stuck with it.

Once you’re done, it’s ready to save any web pages via the bookmarklet. Later, when you launch “Read It Later” app again, it automatically loads the list of web pages you have just saved. Cool, right? The best is it even pre-loads the web pages and caches it on iPhone. That means, you can read the saved web pages even with internet connection.

Some of the options you have with this iPhone app is the ability to auto download the full web content of the pages to your list, or, just a text only view of a particular page. You can change the scrollbar to be “on or off”, or, on the “left side or right side” of the page. You can also configure “auto download” to happen only when you are connected via Wi-Fi. There are also some housekeeping options that allow you to clear both the downloaded files and cookies.

You can easily tag and search through your reading list for easy filtering if you have a lot of sites that you track. Finally, one really cool extra is the saved position feature. Meaning the application remembers where you left off on every article and provides a “Currently Reading” section that syncs that current article position with your computer when you re-open the article.

I have been using this app for some time and I am a complete convert. I just love this application. The “Read it Later” app for the iPhone comes in two versions: Free [iTunes link] & Pro (US$4.99 USD) [iTunes link]. The Pro version comes with additional features such as full-screen reading, tap to save bookmarklet, screen rotation support, etc.

What do you think of Read It Later app?

Not sure where to buy a book in San Francisco International Airport or looking for a fine restaurant in New York LauGuardia Airport? Featured in Apple’s recent iPhone commercial and developed by Mobility Apps, GateGuru is an iPhone app targets to be your personal guide when you’re in any of the top 85 US airports.

Just like Foursquare, Flyertalk and Yelp to provide interesting locations and restaurant for cities, GateGuru is the Yelp for airports offering comprehensive information to locate the best food, shopping and service option within airport. It is extremely helpful little app for anyone that does a lot of flying in the US. Not to mention, the app is free.

To get started with GateGuru you need to sign up. Once that is done, the app itself is very easy and intuitive to use. You can allow the app to discover your location or you can search and choose one of the 85 US airports available in the list. Once you have chosen the airport, you then pick the terminal you are in. Or you can let the app to locate your location. From there, you are presented with a tabbed screen that has four tabs: All, Food, Shop and Services.

Under the Food tab, you get a list of restaurants that you can search through. Choose any of them, you will see what type of category the restaurant falls into (Mexican, Italian, etc) and the list of reviews. The app also lets you write a review, bookmark the restaurant or update the listing that they have for this restaurant if any of the information is not correct. This is similar for both shops and services, although really only the restaurants seem to have reviews.

You can easily share your travel experiences with your Facebook and Twitter friends using Gate Guru by linking your accounts. Moreover, you can gain High Flyer points by rating and adding amenities. You can watch as you climb the High Flyer leader board and get your “Captain” wings. Moreover, the High Flyers tab shows the list of high flyers in your airport. The Captain for a particular airport is the user with the most points. You can compete and watch as you gain points against your friends and also nationally for top spot (or Captain), making travelling and finding stuff in the airports you visit a bit of an adventure in itself.

It’s a pretty good app for frequent US travelers. The only drawback I see with this app is it is not available internationally that it only supports the top 85 US airports. Hopefully, some of the more common international locations will be available in a future update. To try this free app, simply click this direct iTunes link to download it.

While many of you are using the built-in Safari browser on your iPhone or iPod touch to surf the web, there are a few alternative browsers available in App Store that offers additional features. Here is one: VanillaSurf.

VanillaSurf is a free mobile web-browser app for the iPhone that rivals the native Mobile Safari app. The app is built-in on the same web browser engine as Safari but it offers some excellent functionality that is not currently available with the Mobile Safari app.

As you launch VanillaSurf for the first time, you should notice its interface is very similar to that of the built-in browser. You have an address line with a search icon at the top and number of icons at the bottom that lets you: surf back and forward, set your options, download, actions, bookmarks, tabs and full screen.

So, you can see what functions quickly set this app apart from the Mobile Safari: download, actions and full screen.

With VanillaSurf, you can download anything from the web, as you normally do on your computer’s web browser. Once you have download the file, you can view the file within the internal browser. Or you can transfer it back to your computer via a web interface. Simply follow the on-screen instruction and you should know to how do the transfer. The process is very straightforward.

The actions tab offers the following: New Bookmark (which I will assume all understand), Send URL, Screenshot, Open in Safari and Lock Rotation. The Send URL will send the URL of the current page you are to the email and embed the link into your email. That’s pretty useful. The Screenshot does just as it states, it takes a picture of the screen and places it in your camera roll (note: it is just a screenshot, not the entire page, just what you can see on the screen). The Open in Safari option opens the current page you are on in the mobile Safari app. Finally, the Lock Rotation sets the web browser to either landscape or portrait mode and disable the auto-rotation of iPhone. That’s handy feature especially you surf while lying in bed.

VanillaSurf offers an option tab to further customize its settings. In the options tab, you can turn “load images” on or off, “Ad-blocker” on or off and enable private surfing, if you wish. There are two different themes you can choose: Classic and Black. Also, you can clear your history and cookies. The options you can set for your tabs are many, everything from how new windows are opened to how they open for the same or different domain.

You can easily import bookmarks with the import/export bookmarks tab. Again, you use the built-in transfer function that allows you to link and authenticate with your computer.

The “tabs” window lists all the current open tabs that are available that you can tap on to view.

The full screen button hides the address bar and bottom icon buttons, but it leaves a little (+) button that, when you press, gives you your bottom icons as a see-through set of buttons. If you press (+) again it returns back to the regular screen view.

Performance-wise, it is as fast as Safari. All in all, VanillaSurf can be a great alternative for Safari browser. It may not replace your mobile Safari, but it will be very useful when you need to download a file. To try out the browser, you can download it directly via this direct iTunes link.

Apple’s chief executive Steve Jobs attended the Oscars and his company took this advantage to air the first iPad commercial. With an upbeat song, the 30-seconds short video shows you all the magical features on iPad.

As announced earlier, the iPad will be available for pre-order from March 12 and debut on April 3. For international customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland and the UK, it will be available in late April.

You can check out the video below or simply watch it on Apple’s website (with higher video quality).