iPhone Google Wave Client Close to Release

[Paul Daniel Ash]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu3uz5KLedw]YouTube - WaveBoard - iPhone Google Wave Client Demo[/ame]

video via GetWaveBoard.com


Google Wave is a new real-time collaboration tool under development by the geniuses at Google Labs. Access to the service is still invitation-only, but if you are one of the lucky few there is a new iPhone client that is pending release on the App Store: Waveboard, which is a native iPhone port of the Waveboard desktop client.

Google describes Wave as "an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration." Though we've seen such marketing buzz before about everything from Lotus Notes to Skype, what makes Wave interesting and potentially a breakout product is its support for rich media in a platform-independent, standards-based approach. And though it will work in any web browser that supports HTML 5, being able to operate it in a lightweight, standalone app should make it quicker and easier to work with.

"Waves" (Firefly fans will recognize the reference) are essentially shared, editable XML documents. As distinct from an email, if you're on a wave you can reply anywhere in the message as well as edit it, and all participants can watch in real time, letter by letter, as changes are made. In this way it merges email, instant messaging and something like a wiki. Like wiki documents, waves can link to other waves and changes can be played back in order like wiki history.

The technology is obviously in its infancy and until it reaches wide distribution there's no way to know if this will be significant or not . But the fact that it is being developed by Google is one indication that it will have strong engineering support as it matures and be spread to the widest possible audience. After all, when GMail came out, everybody though it was just another Hotmail.

Waveboard's developer suggests interested users follow his Twitter (@holtwick) for notification of when the app is released.

[ithug]

cool so what exactly is wave??

[Fallguy]

cool so what exactly is wave??

Looks like i'm not the only confused person out here on this subject .

[howlett15]

Looks like i'm not the only confused person out here on this subject .

Wave is Google's attempt at re-creating email as if it were invented today, it looks pretty neat! Watch the 8 min video on youtube about it.

Im pumped! I am hoping my invite will arrive next week!

[awesomeSlayer]

Awesomeness. I want one.

[dbizzy1]

Definitely gonna be getting this...when is it coming out is my question? Hopefully Apple doesn't hate on this app like they've done on so many others

[djthebandit]

Wave is Google's attempt at re-creating email as if it were invented today, it looks pretty neat! Watch the 8 min video on youtube about it.

Im pumped! I am hoping my invite will arrive next week!

I got google wave. You are correct. It's no fun right now as you can only "email" other google wave account holders.
It has potential. But the learningcurve for the average computer joe might be steep.

[howlett15]

I got google wave. You are correct. It's no fun right now as you can only "email" other google wave account holders.
It has potential. But the learningcurve for the average computer joe might be steep.

Well if i get my invite next week i will add you and we can wave at each other? lol

[angiepangie]

Expecting my invite to arrive in the next 24 hours. Can't wait

[metaserph]

Looking forward to waving back!

[Jahooba]

Huh, I have to do a little more research into what this is. I've attempted to learn about what it was at one point, but my eyes glazed over. I'm having a hard time imagining what kind of people I would communicate with using this.

I think I need to see it being used in a useful way before I "get" it. Damn I'm lazy.

[iLaw-One]

Huh, I have to do a little more research into what this is. I've attempted to learn about what it was at one point, but my eyes glazed over. I'm having a hard time imagining what kind of people I would communicate with using this.

I think I need to see it being used in a useful way before I "get" it. Damn I'm lazy.

I actually googled this and watched the whole demo (over 1hr)...some aspects of the demo did not go as planned (cos it's still in beta I guess...)

I've equally signed up and anxiously waiting for my invite! when and if this breaks, it just might be the next big thing, and definitely be better than the present email/IM/file upload/exchange system...all it takes to realise the potentials of wave is a little imagination.

[confucious]

Expecting my invite to arrive in the next 24 hours. Can't wait

Mine arrived in seconds....

[Winterboarder]

What Google wave does, is to put a email/IM/file upload/exchange system on a Wave server at Google or on a server of your own. This makes it possible for the content to be stored and accessed at a single location.

Lets say you get an email at home and when you get to work you don't have it because it was downloaded on the home computer. Same goes for IM, lets say you are IMing with a friend on your iPhone and it runs out of battery, then you log in from your computer and continue your conversation seeing what it was said before. Everything is saved on a remote wave server.

What this leads to??? Big Brother and Industrial Espionage on a massive scale. Having all the data and conversations of everybody in one location it's easier to scan for keywords than to intercept individual email traffic.
Legally the government needs a warrant from a judge to seize your computer and search through it. After 9/11 they made it legal to monitor our every means of communications, and it's a huge undertaking to monitor the data traffic from millions of devices. With wave you can monitor only one server farm since everything is stored in there, IM conversations, email, documents, pictures, video etc.

[confucious]

Paranoia is a wonderful thing.
Let's hope all the terrorists start using wave then!
There are always concerns and you are right to point them out - not sure if it will affect the way I use wave but it does give me something to think about.
Sidekick owners know only to well what happens when all your information is stored centrally...

[iLaw-One]

OMG! The conspiracy theories have begun already...I'm scared!
I wonder if we'd all be out of the ice age today if we listened to all these theories. there may be reason to pause and think, but then those who really have something to hide would find alternate means of communication IMO!!!

[Winterboarder]

OMG! The conspiracy theories have begun already...I'm scared!
I wonder if we'd all be out of the ice age today if we listened to all these theories. there may be reason to pause and think, but then those who really have something to hide would find alternate means of communication IMO!!!

What I'm talking about it's not fiction nor theory, it's fact. Devices running Google's Web Os already gather and send user's, content, behavior and locations once a day to the Sprint Network.

iPhone taken pictures contain GPS coordinates embedded in the png source. Check out Koredoko app making use of this.

The new Google and Bing Search software already stores and extrapolates your search behavior.

All your base are belong to us!!! my friend

You will IM with friends and family on what shade of green to paint your living-room via mobile and you will see advertising delivered based on "Green" next time you browse the internet on your PC.

Based on your data you generate and search patterns you will be targeted by politicians depending on profile, liberal or conservative tendencies.

1+1=2 no matter how you look at it.

If I would have said we are being watched by little green men from Mars and the government is covering it up, that is a conspiracy theory that has no factual basis.

[iLaw-One]

What I'm talking about it's not fiction nor theory, it's fact. Devices running Google's Web Os already gather and send user's, content, behavior and locations once a day to the Sprint Network.

iPhone taken pictures contain GPS coordinates embedded in the png source. Check out Koredoko app making use of this.

The new Google and Bing Search software already stores and extrapolates your search behavior.

All your base are belong to us!!! my friend

You will IM with friends and family on what shade of green to paint your living-room via mobile and you will see advertising delivered based on "Green" next time you browse the internet on your PC.

Based on your data you generate and search patterns you will be targeted by politicians depending on profile, liberal or conservative tendencies.

1+1=2 no matter how you look at it.

If I would have said we are being watched by little green men from Mars and the government is covering it up, that is a conspiracy theory that has no factual basis.

I'm not disputing advertising being sent your way through some sort of monitoring of a person's clicks or behaviour online, after all that's how google manages to keep their software open source.

Maybe you watched the demo, maybe you didn't, or you possibly didn't see all of it. I did, and the developers had thought along those lines by including a feature that keeps conversations 'private'. How 'private' this would be is left to anybody's interpretation.

I'm not particularly keen for my communications/data etc being accessible to just about anybody, but I'm sure there are many others who would feel the same way and if we continue to let paranoia/delusions of persecution get in the way of real technological advancement, and cloud our thinking and judgment, then I'm afraid we'd never move on from this age to the next level...

One thing I can assure you is that... CHANGE IS INEVITABLE. Better to embrace it and work around it's constraints my friend!

[hibaru]

cant wait for this great app

[billchase2]

That looks identical to the mobile version of Google Wave you get if you sign in on your iPhone... What's the advantage to this app over just running it in Safari?