Mactracker on your iPhone

If you’ve ever worked in Mac IT, or even supported a small collection of personal Macs, you know how useful Mactracker can be. This handy utility, which I reviewed for Macworld a while back, provides detailed information about nearly every product Apple has ever released—from Performas to Power Macs, iBooks to iPods, AirPort Base Stations to Xserves. You can even get the specs on a QuickTake. Information includes processor, bus speed, drives, memory, graphics card, size, weight, supported OS versions, latest firmware update, introduction and discontinuation dates—you name it.

A while back, Ian Page, Mactracker’s developer, provided a way to transfer much of Mactracker’s content to the Notes feature on iPods, so you could have that info available on the go—which, in my experience, is often when I need it most. But now iPhone and iPod touch owners can access this data whenever, wherever thanks to the new Mactracker for iPhone (or, if you prefer, Mobile Mactracker). Basically just a Web site formatted for Mobile Safari that lets you browse Mactracker’s specs, Mobile Mactracker has become one of my most-used “Web apps.” In fact, I even find myself using it on my Mac; it’s often faster to visit the site than to launch the Mactracker application.

A drawback is that Mobile Mactracker doesn’t provide quite as much information as the full Mactracker application. For example, you’re limited to viewing information on desktops, laptops, servers, AirPort Base Stations, the Apple TV, Displays, iPhones, and iPods. So if someone tries to stump you with a question about the eMate, you’re out of luck.

Category: News, Software, Tips & Troubleshooting

Posted by Dan Frakes on Dec 10 2007, 2:23 PM ET

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