iPhone as a mobile blogging tool?

Yep, I just had to try it since it runs a full browser. Using the on-screen keyboard certainly works, but it's cumbersome at best. Adding Bluetooth support for an external keyboard would be nice, but without a stand for the phone it would be awkward. This exercise really shows the glaring omission of a basic cut and paste feature as well. That ought to explain why there's no links in the post; manually typing a lenghty URL isn't something I'd enjoy on a regular basis. Oh, and that lack of an easily accessible file system puts the kabosh on any images, at least on TypePad, which is what we use here. Luckily, I also have my UMPC so I went in and added the pic. Otherwise, the post was created entirely on the iPhone. I wouldn't have thought to try this on a Windows Mobile or Nokia device simply because the screens aren't big enough and it would be a challenge without a QWERTY keyboard of some type. It's not an optimal blogging tool, but is good in a pinch!

Comments

[Scotty]

OK, keep it up and I'm going to find out if my HP Jornada still works. :-)

I'm betting Pocket IE on that beast doesn't even know what CSS is...

[Keith]

Actually my blog is almost completely filled with posts made from my cell phone, a Sony Ericsson S710a. The easiest way to do it is with MMS messages (e-mails tend to have the "sent from mobile device" disclaimer on the end). Can't easily link to webpages, but it's great for a quick rant or posting a picture of an awesome car I run into.

[Keith]

Of course the funniest part is that the iPhone doesn't support MMS messages so it can't do use that convenient Blogger tool :)

[James Kendrick]

You can email posts in with TypePad.

[Rodfather]

You can always use email for moblogging.

I've done it with the Postie plugin for Wordpress.

With flickr, you can set it up to automatically post a message to your blog when you email "Your blog upload email".

For video, I was able to get it done with blip.tv.
With blip.tv you can have the sent videos crossposted to your blog.
With the Blackjack, I recorded a video which saves as a .3gp file.
Emailed a message with the .3gp file attached to the mobile blip.tv email address.
A post magically appeared on my blog with the message, .3gp file, and another video format of your choice (i chose flash video).

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Yup, I knew there were alternative methods to post (e-mail/MMS/etc) but I wanted to try it directly in the Safari browser. That's not something I could have easily done with prior devices except maybe for the Nokia N800. I didn't know about some of the image options that Rodfather provided, so I'll have to check them out. I don't see myself using this to blog except in extremely rare cases.

[James Kendrick]

Emergency blogging, that's cool.

[Mike Cane]

Reference: How To Send MMS On An iPhone
http://mikecane.wordpress.com/2007/07/13/reference-how-to-send-mms-on-an-iphone/

[spinedoc]

How about the iphone as a washing machine? I'm sure some fanbois will figure that one out lol.

[Keith]

Amazing how iPhone ownership affects your memory, Kevin's already erased WinMo phones from his recollection of "prior devices." Or does TypePad's site not even work with Opera Mobile?

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Keith, no memory lapse here: how can I forget my first love, i.e.: Windows Mobile? ;) It's simply been too difficult to blog on my prior devices. The XV6700 had the right keyboard and screen size to give it a go, but when I had tried this experiment on it some time ago, I had issues with TypePad's site. Perhaps I'll give it another go with the latest Opera 8.65 beta.

[Keith]

I remember Blogger's site proper would kill my IE mobile, but it does fine with Opera as long as you stick to the simple stuff.

[Erik]

If you have an iPhone and want a truly integrated mobile blogging experience, check out iRovr.com