Let me make it official. We are entering the Golden Age of One Trick Ponies™. These are Mac apps that model after iPhone apps and basically do one thing.
You might need the function, you might not, but this generation of apps promises a solution even if you don’t have a problem. My favorite this week is an app that uses your Mac to dial out using your iPhone.
I Dream Of Genes
How often do we Mac users lay awake at night perplexed and bamboozled by the dearth of Mac apps that could add new functionality to our iPhones?
Instead of grabbing our phones touching a couple of spots to dial out, we need a way to do the same thing on our Macs.
After all, Mac keyboard strokes take far less of a physical effort than all the muscles required to pick up the iPhone, right.
Then we have to cradle it gentle in the hand, then use another hand (not to mention the arm and shoulder muscles, plus additional hand-eye coordination) to press those pesky little letters and numbers just to phone home.
Geez, Louise! Isn’t there a better way?
Rescue From Finger Fatigue
PushDialer to the rescue. For less than Starbuck Gouging™, PushDialer dials your iPhone from your Mac. It uses the Mac’s Services architecture and recognizes phone numbers in Mail, Safari, Address Book, and other Services-aware Mac apps.
First, pair up your Mac and iPhone. Nope, it’s not a Bluetooth thing. Apple’s Push Notification technology works fine over EDGE, 3G, or Wi-Fi.
It even pairs with multiple Macs so you can remotely dial your iPhone from wherever you might be with your Mac.
Man, don’t ask why you might need that functionality. It’s modern technology. It works on Apple products. You want it. You know you do.
Don’t dial your iPhone by finger. Dial it via the Mac.
Grab an email message with a phone number in it just to see the iPhone dial out by clicking on the number.
Find a random phone number in Safari and click to dial. You’ll meet new friends. The real fun is using Address Book to use your keyboard to find phone numbers so you can click them so your Mac will tell your iPhone to dial out. Haven’t you always wanted to do that?
My iPhone Is Too Heavy!
Who wants to be bothered by holding an iPhone in your hand? PushDialer is slick and works in no time. Sometimes there’s a lag between clicking on the number and when the iPhone dials out. Maybe those wireless bits lose their way if there’s cloud cover.
I jest with PushDialer, but I’m impressed. Now if I could only figure out why I would want to use my Mac to use my iPhone to make calls? Let’s discuss!
LosBenos says
I am going to buy this app so that I can dial with one click from a database in FileMaker pro in order to do b2b telemarketing for my web design business. I can automate the calling and wear a bluetooth headset while I work allowing me to effectively multi-task.
I can design and code my site and dial multiple phone numbers without skipping a beat. Great app, great functionality and the alternative is to buy a hardware switch, an ip phone system and an expensive headset. I’d rather spend $2 on this awesome app.