Yes, it’s a much more closed system than the likes of Android, for example, but an iPhone user’s experience of purchasing apps via iTunes, either from the phone or on a Mac or PC, has still been much better than many other systems.

What has let the side down is the quality of apps available in the Store, made worse by the sheer quantity of them.

New analysis from the Facebook mobile app store Mplayit has found that consumers don’t really care how many apps a certain platform has, but what they are and whether they’ll fulfil a certain need.

‘How many apps?’ is the wrong question,” said Michael Powers, CEO and founder of Mplayit. “People just want to get the job done. It doesn’t matter if there are 50 different to-do list apps on iPhone, because Android or BlackBerry just need a couple of good ones to make consumers happy.”

Perhaps unsurprisingly, apps that can work across various platforms tended to do particularly well in the popularity stakes, with top apps including Evernote (Lists and Notes category) and Pandora Radio (music category).

mPlay it, which uses Facebook to display a range of applications available on each smartphone platform, is aiming at those people who may wish to switch mobile platform without giving up their favourite types of application.

It seems many consumers just want to do a few things on their phone, and to do them well. Sure, us geeks probably tend to examine every aspect of a phone and its software, but the masses maybe care rather less.

Apple may try to convince the general population that there’s an app for just about anything on the iPhone, but most just aren’t after that many.

The handset itself is still pretty important. I’ve used similar apps on an iPhone and a BlackBerry, and let me tell you the BB experience was horrendous. That’s why manufacturers need to ensure their hardware and interface is as good as it can be so users get a good app experience.

In fairness, there’s a lot of technology behind GeoSynth, which will feed a huge range of geotagged photos into a Virtual Earth and PhotoSynth mashup.

Seems the idea is that if enough people take a picture of a particular location, PhotoSynth can build up a pretty realistic digitised version. Stitch thousands of these together and you have something a bit like Street View, except without Microsoft driving around taking photos itself.

“The system would take the best images from a location to create a single image of a specific landmark,” said a Virtual Earth tech specialist.

Sounds pretty cool if you like the whole concept of street-level views of locations. You’d probably get some locations (cities, famous landmarks) with a huge amount of photo data while others would be fairly limited, but then Google’s only really mapping large cities at the street level.

Being able to run a virtual tour of various landmarks just from photographs and without the need for any tags (apart from the geolocation data) is a great idea as this PhotoSynth video demonstrates.

As you’d expect, the community has something to say about that. Fairly good-natured from what I’ve read, but then this isn’t Digg.

Now the fee ($1.99/£1.19) isn’t exorbitant – let’s face it, you splashed out on an iPhone in the first place – but it seems a bit strange that there isn’t a decent web app for the service given that so many other online tools do.

Nice bit of marketing with the “take a picture of yourself with a newspaper and a spoon” idea but only five people got the benefit of that. Meanwhile, the developer will likely get a headache from everyone who thinks it’s their right to have a bug-free app because they paid for it. Good luck, 280north. Mind you, only one person has posted a review on the iTunes app store so far, which in itself is surprising.

Apparently there’s going to be a free ad-supported version in the future (called iReddit Lite, perhaps?). What’s funny is that 280north’s first application was a browser-based slide show generator, so they can build them.

If remembering passwords have become more than a chore, a torture for you, well… you may want to think about getting a password manager to help you out. I like my MacBook’s keychain program as it does wonders for me during my memory blackouts. But still, I cannot bring my Macbook with me always. I need something more portable and less bulky.

The Mandylion Password Manager is just that. Try it out at Thinkgeek’s website for about US$50.

• Manages up to 50 login records simultaneously
• Generates cryptographically strong passwords
• Complies with all DoD, Govt. & Industry Password Security Policies
• Multiple tamper-resistant features and lockout alarms
• Manages Root and Group passwords
• Cradle connection via USB
• Kit containing: token, a configuration cradle, Policy Master Configuration Software (Windows only)
• Device and software not Mac compatible (sorry)
• Dimensions: Approx. 2.5″ x 1.5″ x .375″ (65mm x 45mm x 10mm)
• Takes a CR2032 battery (replaceable)
• One-year warranty
• Windows Vista drivers are available for download

Lim Ding Wen is of Malaysian descent and is definitely a prodigy by his own right.  At the age of 2, he started using the computer (I think I was only starting to recognise letters at that age!).  He was 7 when he first started programming.  By the time he turned 9, he was already fluent in no less than 6 programming languages! How many do you know?

Anyhow, his iPhone app is dubbed Doodle Kids and allows iPhone users to draw using their fingers.  Finger painting, if you wish to call it.

So how did he come up with the idea for the app?  He says that he created Doodle Kids for his sisters who love to draw.  He also says that he “is happy that people like it.”  Well, with more than 4,000 downloads from the iTunes store in less than 2 weeks, it does seem that people really like Doodle Kids.

On the technical side, Lim Ding Wen created the program using Pascal.  And how long did it take him?  Oh, I don’t know, just a few days.

Something good has come from Google this week, Google Latitude. It’s paired with the Google Maps application allowing you to find your friends on the map at any given time. Scary… well, maybe. But don’t worry, as we know Google, this will be safe.

Google Latitude uses Google Maps My Location service that combines cell tower triangulation and GPS. Ah, too much tech to handle… well, in a snip, if you have a cellphone AND you allow friends to locate you, you can be found. There has been tests, that I’ve personally seen, on the CBS show and I must say it’s a 50/50 accuracy hit, at least for now. They tested Google Latitude on a family on a particularly busy and mobile day. Results were not so good, but brings a promise of improvement!

Oh yeah… this will work IF your cellphones can access Google Earth by the way. It will show you an actual map with a few pins on where your friends are (at least those you’re tracking). Cool eh?