Shape Reactor is a challenging and addictive chain reaction styled game for the iTouch and iPhone. The game is similar to online addicting games such as boomshine, but it takes it to a whole new level with:
Created by: Next Mobile Web.
Manage your Netflix® queue on the fly with PhoneFlicks for the iPhone®. Using this application you can view your queue, see your recent account activity, and find and add new movies to your queue.
The application’s main screen offers five options:
While the graphics aren’t as exciting as what you find on Netflix’s website, and you can’t use this application to view movies, PhoneFlicks is very useful for quickly adding movies or seeing what’s available on Netflix.
Pros: Allows for Netflix queue management on the fly. Can move items around in queue. Lets you search for new movies to add to your queue.
Cons: Not as visual as Netflix’s website. Can’t use application to write reviews or instantly view movies.
Created by: Barnes & Noble.
The Barnes & Noble Bookstore iPhone® application gives customers of the store a quick way to find new books, music and movies.
The application has four main features:
Probably the best feature on this application is the Find and Reserve In-Store button. Once you’ve found the item you want, you can tap this button to arrange for a local store to hold the book for you. Provide your name, email address and phone number on the Reserve screen and the store will send you an email when the item is ready to be picked up. It will be held for 3 business days.
You can also access your Barnes & Noble account from the application by tapping Account on the About page. As with the Cart feature, this will exit the application and open a new page in Safari in order to view your account information.
Pros: Provides quick info about new books, CDs and DVDs. Can snap pictures of books, DVDs or CDs and have the app look it up. Can reserve in-store via an email component within the application.
Cons: Doesn’t do much beyond help you find books and media for purchase. Camera search feature is limited. Does not have capability to purchase items via application.
Created by: Matt Coneybeare.
There are several iPhone® applications that offer ambient noise for relaxation. Ambiance for the iPhone offers a distinct advantage over similar products by allowing users access to unlimited downloads from a free library of sound files. Whether you prefer hearing the bustle of a city street, a thunderstorm, or whales, you can find them on Ambiance.
The application has five tabs from the main screen:
While the possibilities with Ambiance may seem overwhelming at times, the fact that it offers so many different options means you won’t need to look for any other ambient noise applications.
Pros: Huge database of sound files to help users individualize their Ambiance application. Allows user to create sound mixes. Can set alarm.
Cons: Application can be a little confusing in its complexity. Might time out quickly when downloading additional sounds.
Created by: Software X.
Have trouble falling asleep? Avoid buying expensive “white noise” CDs or devices to help you doze off—just download Sleepmaker Rain Free for the iPhone®.
On Sleepmaker Rain Free, two different types of rain sounds are available: gentle onto forest foliage, or medium and steady with puddles. Both sound files are high quality and realistic. Switch between files during playback by tapping on the scroll window on the screen. Starting and stopping playback is easily done via the large Play and Stop buttons, while you can increase or decrease the application volume using the slider at the top of the screen.
The application includes a timer that can be set for up to 24 hours. To set the timer, tap the Info icon, then scroll to set the hours and minutes. You can save your selection as the default by tapping the Save as Default button. Once you’ve set the timer, press Done to return to the main screen. A gray banner displays the time remaining.
Pros: Realistic sound. Timer can be set.
Cons: Free version is limited to only two sound files.
Created by: 24/7 Tutor.
If you plan on traveling to a French-speaking country, you may want to download Free French Tutor by 24/7 Tutor to help you brush up on the language. This version covers key words and phrases to help new learners master the basics.
The Free French Tutor groups the lessons into five categories:
Priority levels are set for each word grouping. All items are initially set to Priority 3, but you can change the priority levels as you take the quiz. If some words require more study, set them to Priority 1 or 2. Less important words and phrases can be set to Priority 4 or 5. This way you can focus only on those terms you really need to learn.
Once you’ve learned the vocabulary, the application gives you several ways to test your knowledge:
At every stage throughout Free French Tutor, you can tap the speaker icon to hear the word(s) pronounced. The narration is done in a female voice with very clear pronunciation.
Pros: Covers basic French words and phrases. Offers several ways to test your knowledge. Audio button is available on every section to help you remember the word along with the proper pronunciation.
Cons: Write-in test is not intuitive in terms of figuring out how to input the word(s), even if you know how to spell them.
Created by: Automattic, Inc.
Bloggers using the WordPress® platform may want to try out WordPress’s iPhone® application as a tool for managing their blog.
To add your blog, input your user ID and password on the main screen. Once the application has verified your blog, tap on the blog title to access posts, pages, and comments. If you have more than one blog using WordPress, you can add those as well.
Using the WordPress application for the iPhone, it’s possible to write new posts or edit previously published posts; view, add, and edit pages on your blog; and review comments.
When you select Posts from your blog’s main screen, you can choose to write a new post or review previous posts. To publish a new post to your blog, change the status to Published by tapping the Status field and selecting Published from the list. If you want to be able to edit the post prior to publishing, change the status to either Pending Review, Private, or Draft. You’ll be able to access the post from your WordPress dashboard later.
You can attach photos from your iPhone to a blog post using the Photos button. I have been struggling to get this feature to work for my blogs, but I think it’s just a matter of ensuring that the blog settings are correct.
Want to see how the final version will look on your blog? From the Posts screen, tap Preview to see the post as it will appear on your blog without leaving the application. To change the publication date or add a password to a post, tap Settings. You can also toggle the resize photos feature on and off.
While the WordPress iPhone application still has a few bugs, it’s a great concept and is definitely useful when it comes to maintaining a blog.
Pros: Gives WordPress users a chance to write and post blog entries on the fly. Allows you to review comments as well as previous posts.
Cons: Important to make sure that your WordPress blog is able to work with a mobile application. Can time out easily and may have issues doing anything beyond simple text uploads.
Created by: Mundue.net.
The reMovem Free game for the iPhone® is pretty simple in concept: Eliminate all of the colored dots by tapping on them. The trick is that a dot must be next to another dot of the same color in order to be removed. Fortunately, the game is untimed so you can consider your moves for a few seconds—and believe me, you’ll need the time to study the board.
The Info button gives you access to all of the game settings. You can view your personal statistics as well as a high score table. If you don’t want to save your high scores, you can turn off the option for recording your scores. If you want to be able to undo the last move, set the Undo option to ‘On.’ You can also toggle the sound on and off from the Info screen.
By switching between four, five, and six color options, users can change the level of difficulty of the game. For users that may have a hard time discerning between the various colors, reMovem (Free) can be set to add symbols to the colored dots.
Pros: Challenging, fun game that is very simple to learn. Can save high scores.
Cons: Like most games for the iPhone, it can become addictive.
Created by: Optime Software.
My family and I were big fans of MasterMind, the board game where you had to figure out a sequence of colored pegs. Crack the Code (Free) is the iPhone®’s equivalent of this popular game.
There are three levels of difficulty: easy, medium, and hard. The main difference between the levels is the number of colored dots in the code, with easy having 3 dots, medium 4 dots and hard 5 dots. There are six different colored dots on the easy and medium levels, while there are eight colors on the hard level. You have 10 opportunities to get the code right on the easy and medium levels and 12 opportunities on the hard level.
Guess the code by tapping one of the open spaces on the first row, then selecting a color from the popup window. Once you’ve finished choosing colors, press OK. The small grid on the right will indicate if you cracked the code. A black/gray dot means right color, right space; white dot means right color, wrong space. If a space on the grid is empty, it means wrong color, wrong space. You can scroll up and down on the gameboard to see previous entries.
Crack the Code (Free) does make it a little easy for you by not using empty spaces or repeated colors in the codes. But even if you’re not able to crack the code within the allotted number of turns, the game will show you the code at the end.
Pros: Challenging, fun game of strategy.
Cons: Doesn’t automatically start a new game, or give you the option to start a new game, once you’ve completed a game. On the settings page, hard to tell if options are turned on or off (uses slightly different shading).
Created by: Dictionary.com.
Years ago, if you wanted a comprehensive dictionary, you had to buy a huge book and possibly a stand to hold it while you looked up words. Thanks to modern technology, now you can electronically access world-renowned dictionaries without breaking a sweat. The Dictionary.com application for the iPhone® is based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, thus offering a vast database at your fingertips.
The application has four main features:
Pros: Huge database of words and phrases. Pulls up possible words once the first few letters are entered. Can hear the word pronounced.
Cons: Thesaurus does not show antonyms for words. Have to be connected to the Internet in order to hear pronunciations or access the Word of the Day feature.
Created by: Webworks and Applications.
If you’re an amateur bartender or a professional mixologist, you might enjoy using the 5800+ Drinks and Cocktails Free application for the iPhone®. The application claims to have more than 5,800 recipes, and while I haven’t looked at every recipe to confirm this number, the database is certainly quite extensive.
Drinks Free breaks down into five different screens:
Found a recipe you just have to share with a friend? You can email the recipe by tapping the Email button at the bottom of the screen. It will pull up a new mail message with the recipe in the body of the email.
There are plenty of different types of beverages listed in Drinks and Cocktails Free, so if you’re looking for something new to try, you’re bound to find it here.
Pros: Huge database of drinks. Ingredients feature allows you to look up drinks based on what you have on hand.
Cons: Won’t let you search by drink type. Categories can be somewhat confusing. Application may time out when selecting more than two ingredients on the Ingredients screen.
What I’d Like to See in Next Version: Ability to look up non-alcoholic drinks easily.
Created by: iHandySoft, Inc.
Need to make sure that the picture you just hung is level? The iHandy Level application for the iPhone® can help you out.
The main screen for the iHandy Level looks just like a level used by professional carpenters, with a little yellow bubble indicating whether the surface is level. To use the level, simply put the bottom edge of the iPhone on the surface you wish to measure. If you want to use it landscape, the iHandy Level will automatically switch to landscape layout. Once it has obtained the incline information, the application will give you a degree reading at the top left of the screen.
Calibrating the level couldn’t be easier; just tap the button to the left of the level window. Should you need to make a note of the degree of incline, tap the Hold button. Tap it again to release the hold.
You can turn off the calibration and Hold buttons via the Info screen. The bubble sensitivity can also be modified on the Info screen.
Pros: Graphics nicely simulate a real level. One-touch calibration. Can save degree info.
Cons: Seems to work better on landscape setting as opposed to portrait.
Created by: Fairlady Media.
As a kid I loved playing Whack-a-Mole with my best friend. Spazzle: Midnight Mask, formerly known as Whack’em All!, is a highly amusing and addictive electronic version of the popular arcade game, right down to the sound effects.
The goal of the game is to whack (tap) or smack (shake) as many critters as you can without losing all of your lives, which are indicated by the hearts at the top of the screen. If you whack a cat as opposed to a critter, or you miss too many critters on a level, you’ll be penalized one or more hearts. If you do happen to whack a cat, it will howl—and the sound is pretty realistic. On higher levels, some of the moles wear masks so you’ll think they are actually cats.
While most of the time you’ll be tapping the screen frantically to clear the board of moles, you’ll also want to fell all of those pesky moles in one swoop, also known as smacking them. The hammer icon at the top of the screen lets you know how many smacks you have available. Simply shake the iPhone to smack down all those pesky moles, rabbits and gophers.
It’s pretty easy to get extra points if you’re paying attention. The timer gives you a few more seconds on the clock, while the colored jewels give you bonus points. The hammer icon adds an extra smack and the heart gives you an extra life. And with those darn cats everywhere, trust me, you’ll need those extra lives.
The Spazzle: Midnight Mask tutorial shows you the basics on how to play. If you whack two or more critters at once, you get double points per critter. Pause the game or change the sound level by pressing the Options button near the top left of the screen.
Pros: Fun, addictive and challenging game. Great graphics and sound effects.
Cons: Ads at the bottom of the screen in the free version can be distracting.
For pure nostalgia you can’t beat Pac-Man Lite. The sounds and graphics are true to the original arcade game. The ghosts are just as annoying as ever and our hero, Pac-Man, is still hungry for those little pellets and floating fruit.
Moving Pac-Man through the game can be done using one of three methods. Take advantage of iPhone’s touch screen by using Swipe mode. For a more old-school videogame experience, change it to D-pad mode and use the directional pad at the bottom of the screen.
Accelerometer mode allows you to tilt and move the iPhone in the direction you want Pac-Man to move. Both the Swipe and Accelerometer modes show a joystick at the bottom of the screen, which moves in tandem with the direction Pac-Man is going. You can also use the joystick in Swipe Mode, but it’s not as easy to manipulate. I find the Swipe or D-Pad to be the best options.
Easy game mode starts you out with 6 Pac-Men and moves a little slower, while Normal mode is a little faster. The Original game mode is just like the arcade version. Both the Normal and Original modes give you 4 lives. If you prefer to not hear the sound effects, you can turn them off from the main menu. Pac-Man Lite will also keep track of your high scores for all three game modes.
The only issue I have with Pac-Man Lite is that there’s only one board. Once you’ve cleared the screen, you’re taken to a link to purchase the full version of the game. So those of us with Pac-Man fever will have to cough up a few bucks to get to more levels.
Pros: Does a great job of replicating the original Pac-Man game with graphics and sound. Offers several options for the game controller and game type.
Cons: Can be difficult to use the joystick instead of dragging finger across screen to move Pac-man. Game consists of only one board on the Lite version—once you clear the first board, your game ends and you’re given a link where you can buy the full version.
Created by: Yowza!!
As most folks already know, store coupons only work when you remember to take them with you. While several major retailers have created iPhone® applications to pass along coupons to their customers, not every store has. That’s where Yowza!! Mobile Couponss, a location-based coupon provider created specifically for the iPhone, comes in.
To have Yowza!! show you coupons where you’re located, tap the Nearby icon. Once the application has pinpointed your location, it pulls up retailers and restaurants within a 1 mile, 5 mile, or 15 mile radius that have coupons available. Tap the store to see what the special offers and/or coupons are—sometimes there may be more than one coupon in the system. If there’s more than one location for the retailer, select the location you want to view available discounts. When you go to redeem the coupon, simply open the application and show the applicable discount code or coupon to the cashier or server.
Not sure where the store is? Press the map icon and the iPhone’s Maps application will show you the location. Want to call the store? Tap the phone button and the number will pull up, giving you the option to call the store or cancel.
The Search tool allows you to look for discounts in a particular city or zip code, which can come in handy if the navigation tool isn’t accurately picking up your location. Save the discounts you’re most interested in to Favorites by tapping the star at the top right of the screen.
Want to keep track of how much money you’ve saved using Yowza!!? After you’ve used the coupon, press Track Savings to enter the amount of money you’ve saved. From the main screen you can tap on Savings to see how much money you saved over the course of a day, week, month or for all time.
All in all, Yowza!! is a brilliant concept to help people save some cash as well as help businesses retain customers.
Pros: Great concept, easy to use. Can track how much money was saved using the application.
Cons: Yowza is still building up a roster of businesses offering coupons so in some areas you may not find very many coupons.
Created by: Tamtris Web Services, Inc.
The Free Menstrual Calendar application for the iPhone® was developed by the folks at FertilityFriend.com, a website designed to help women who are trying to conceive. Even if you’re not trying to get pregnant, the Menstrual Calendar is a very useful tool for women who want to track their menstrual cycle.
Using the Free Menstrual Calendar is very simple. Once you’ve opened the application, double tap on any day to enter data. How much data you’ll be entering will depend on whether you’re using the app to help manage your fertility or just keep track of your periods.
The calendar uses a discreet color coding system. In each day the cycle day is noted, preceded by “CD.” There are different shades of pink to indicate heavy, normal, and light period days, and a light pink dot indicates spotting. Should your period come late, light gray is used to note the actual cycle day. The predicted start of your period shows up as a light pink box with pink text, while predicted fertile days and ovulation day are shown in green shades. A blue box indicates the current day.
Intercourse data can be entered, which is great for women who are using the calendar to try getting pregnant. A tiny blue dot indicates protected intercourse while a dark red dot is used to note unprotected intercourse. Those who want to track additional information can use the notes field.
To have the application automatically calculate your cycle length based on the data you entered over the last year, turn on the Auto Stats function from the Setup screen. If you turn off auto stats, you can enter your average cycle length in the text box and the application will use that number as the basis for prediction.
Want to keep your calendar under wraps? You can set an optional privacy code. The only downfall to using the privacy code is that you cannot reset the code if you happen to forget it—you’ll have to reinstall the application.
Under Advanced Settings, you can see the length of your luteal phase and toggle the display of fertile days. The Free Menstrual Calendar will also show you short tips related to menstruation and pregnancy; you can turn these off using the toggle for Display Info Tidbits.
If you’re already a user of the FertilityFriend.com website, you can sync the mobile application with your online account. I’m a big fan of being able to share information between desktop, web and mobile applications, so this is a great feature.
Pros: Very user-friendly menstrual cycle tracking program. Discreet icon on iPhone. Allows syncing between web and mobile applications.
Cons: Requires re-install if privacy code is forgotten. Doesn’t provide summary of average cycle length within application.
Created by: Far Out Labs.
Looking for a fresh take on a situation? Or do you need a new perspective? Oblique Strategies for the iPhone® can help you get a new outlook on life…or it will at least give you something to think about.
Oblique Strategies is based on a card deck developed in the 1970s. Each card featured a saying or instruction that would help users approach a situation or problem differently. The iPhone app works the same as the original concept, with one very cool exception: the application allows you to choose from five different editions of the cards.
Once you’ve opened the application, tap on the screen to have Oblique pull up a card for you. Once you’re done reading the message, tap again to return to the main screen. Want to see another message? Tap the screen.
The information button shows a list of the available editions; tap to switch between editions.
Some sample insights from Oblique:
Pros: Can switch between editions. Excellent tool for stimulating creative problem solving.
Cons: Only works in landscape mode for the main screen.
Created by: Yelp.
Social networking fans are probably well aware of Yelp.com®, the website where you can post reviews of your favorite—and not so favorite—retailers, restaurants, bars and other establishments. While the website is a great place to look up what people have to say about your local coffee shop, how is that going to do you any good if you’re already heading out for coffee? That’s where Yelp’s iPhone® application kicks in.
The main screen offers five options for finding businesses:
Once you’ve found a business you want to check out, you can do several things using Yelp’s iPhone application. Don’t feel like typing a long review? Give a short synopsis by pulling up the business, then select Add Quick Tip to enter a 140-character critique. Add a photo by tapping the Add Business Photo. You can even start writing your review by pressing Draft a Review, then entering your text. Once you’re back at the computer, you can pull up the draft, make any modifications, and post it to Yelp. As an avid Yelp reviewer, I really like this feature because I can start writing while the experience is still fresh in my mind.
Pros: Can add quick reviews and photos; can draft longer critiques on latest version of Yelp. Allows users to bookmark favorite spots for quick recall. Pulls up the most popular searches.
Cons: Cannot access Yelp’s messaging or events calendar via mobile application. May not work in all cities.
Created by: QTech, Inc.
iPhone® users who are looking for a way to stay on task might find reQall to be an effective productivity tool. Similar to programs such as Remember the Milk and the now-defunct I Want Sandy, reQall can be set up to send reminders on tasks via email, text message (with paid accounts), or instant message.
The major selling point for me, however, is the voice-to-text function. To have reQall add a task, tap anywhere on the screen, then start speaking the task. Once you’ve finished recording, tap the screen again. It will take anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes for reQall to post the task. Using this feature requires a little bit of training on the terms to use. For example, to set up a shopping list, you have to say “Buy” at the beginning of the recording, while adding a note is done by prefacing the message with “Note.” reQall’s website offers tips on how to use the voice-to-text function effectively.
reQall breaks down your tasks and reminders into five areas:
While you can change the settings for a number of reQall’s features via the mobile application, you will need to log in to the web-based application for several key features, such as syncing. You can also create an RSS feed for your reminders on the web-based application. This is perfect if you tend to go to your RSS aggregator to read up on the news before delving into your daily task list.
Paid users of reQall get additional features, such as integration with their Outlook and/or Google Calendar accounts, push notifications, and other handy tools. New installations get a free trial of the Pro version for a few days.
Pros: Voice-to-text feature makes it very easy to record tasks on the fly. Can set recurring tasks and categorize them easily. RSS feed allows for easy integration into feed aggregators such as Google Reader or My Yahoo.
Cons: Voice recognition may not always be accurate. If the account is set to sync with Google Calendar, all calendars subscribed to will be listed in the daily memory jogs.
Created by: TweetDeck.
Users of the desktop application TweetDeck will love the iPhone® version. It’s virtually identical to the original version, with the ability to create columns that sort your Twitter® feed based on various criteria, such as follower type, search terms, direct message, mentions (retweets and replies). This feature alone makes TweetDeck invaluable for heavy Twitter users.
To post a tweet, tap the yellow balloon in the top right corner of the screen. If you have more than one Twitter account associated with TweetDeck, you can switch between them by tapping the user name shown in the bottom left of the entry field. Add a photo or shorten a URL using the camera or chain icons, respectively.
There are two great features on TweetDeck that make it very easy to review your various feeds and any links:
From the main screen, you can scroll between columns, see how many total updates are posted and add a column. You can also modify the main settings for composing tweets, picture service (i.e., where pictures are posted by Twitter should you add an image to your tweet), and sounds. Twitter accounts can also be added or removed via the Settings page.
When reviewing tweets from those you follow, you can read their profile information, see who they follow and who follows them, send a reply or direct message, and unfollow or block them. You can also quickly add or remove them from TweetDeck groups you’ve already set up.
If you have more than one Twitter account, you can get access to all of them from TweetDeck. Simply sign up for a free TweetDeck account and start entering your Twitter user IDs and passwords. The TweetDeck account will also enable you to sync your columns across the desktop and mobile platforms. Even though setting up columns on TweetDeck’s mobile application is very straightforward, users may find it easier to set up their columns via the desktop application.
I’ve tried other Twitter apps for the iPhone and TweetDeck is my favorite by far. Since I have several Twitter accounts I maintain, I prefer TweetDeck because it’s so easy to see at a glance what’s happening in various groups as well as among my Twitter accounts.
Pros: Great user interface. Syncs across desktop and mobile versions with a TweetDeck account. Easy to find and follow users, as well as access other information. Pulls up links within the application rather than opening Safari.
Cons: Can only handle 6 columns on the iPhone. After heavy use, the application may time out.
Created by: The Iconfactory.
Twitter® fans will appreciate the simplicity of the Twitterrific application for the iPhone®. Similar to the web-based Twitter interface, Twitterrific streams your Twitter feed clearly and easily. Have more than one Twitter account? Once you’ve entered the user ID and password for each account, you can switch between them from the main screen.
To enter a tweet of your own, tap the word bubble at the bottom of the screen. From here, you can shorten a URL by tapping the double arrow icon, add a photo from your library or snap a quick picture, or update your Twitter location. The eye button minimizes the posting window; tap again to maximize it.
Twitterrific makes it very easy to access all sorts of info about the Twitter users you follow, and those who follow you. Select someone in your Twitter stream, then press the asterisk to see their profile, recent tweets, and their favorites. Want to add personal information? Tap the pencil icon to store that data on your device. While other mobile Twitter applications may require you to go to Twitter’s website to manage your followers, with Twitterrific, following and unfollowing users is very straightforward.
Can’t remember what you just tweeted? Or perhaps you need to check for replies to your last tweet? Tap the filter to see replies, direct messages, favorites, your recent tweets and any tweets you’ve marked.
The only difference between the free and paid versions of Twitterrific is the advertising, and the ads in the free version are so unobtrusive you might not even notice them right away. The majority of Twitterrific users will probably find that the free version is perfect for their Twitter needs.
Pros: Lots of functionality, including the ability to follow and unfollow users very easily. Allows for multiple Twitter accounts.
Cons: Cannot see multiple Twitter account streams on one screen. May time out very easily with weak connections.
Created by: MobileDataforce, Inc.
It’s easy: Select a sound, email it to yourself and install it on your iPhone® as a ringtone. There are a lot of great ringtones available in this app. The selections are pretty diverse, although there is some double dipping in the categories. For instance, you can find a few different pairs of ringtones that sound too similar to one another to be considered as two ringtones. There’s a ringtone for just about anyone who wants a ringtone that fits their style in 1,001 Ringtones.
Addictive Factor 
Keeper Factor 
Graphics 
Value 
Idiot-proof
Created by: Digital Chocolate
Object: The object of this game is to free your comrade penguin from the polar bears.
How to Play: After selecting your mission, you’ll start off by catapulting loyal penguins into the line of fire to do battle with the bears. The catapulting sequence is all done on one screen. Your timing has to be very good to make sure you get your penguin out and even better to get the penguins through the burning hoop. Once you’ve launched all of your penguins, the screen changes to where the penguins are flying in from the catapult. As the penguin flies across the screen, tap the screen to initiate the descent of the penguin. The idea is to knock out as many bears as possible to complete each mission successfully. Getting the penguins through that burning hoop in the catapult sequence will be an added benefit as the flaming penguins coming down will help melt the ice which protects some of the bears. You’ll also have missions to disrupt the food supply of ice cream and fish as well.
This cute game is well-designed and is great for passing time with a smile. The graphics, sound effects and music of Crazy Penguin Catapult help set the stage for a really fun time.
Addictive Factor
Keeper Factor
Graphics
Value
Idiot-proof
Created by: Armor Games/ Antony Lavelle.
As an iPhone® version of the internet game, Shift is a game where you are subject 32763 and your mission is to unlock pathways to the exit door in each level and get out of the experiment. It starts off easy, but as you progress, added elements of challenge are added to force your hand to make decisions quickly and execute your moves with precision. What really makes this game unique is the shift element (hence the name). This flips the screen and puts you in the inverse plane of where you currently playing, giving you the added dimension of game space. It’s a great concept and one that changes the direction of minimalist gaming apps.
The graphics are simple, but don’t let that dissuade you—this game is well-conceived and the gameplay totally wipes that out from your head as you play. The spy music in the background really helps set the stage as you conduct your mission. The only downside is that the game does have an end, so it would be nice if the game had more levels. This game is must-have.
Addictive Factor
Keeper Factor
Graphics
Value
Idiot-proof
Created by: 2XL
This is a sweet 3D motocross racing game where the object is to simply achieve first place.
In order to steer the motorcycle, you tilt the iPhone® either right or left. There are three basic controls: accelerator, brake and preload. You can perform tricks in mid-air such as backflips and whips.
When playing this game, I sometimes could actually feel the sensation of making the turns and taking the jumps as I really got into it and held my iPhone a little too close at times.
You have thirteen different tracks to choose from: time trials, practice and race modes; four camera views; eight different preset control schemes as well as access to the online stats and profiles.
2XL SuperCross is a great game with excellent graphics, music and sound effects and we would definitely recommend it.
Addictive Factor
Keeper Factor
Graphics
Value
Idiot-proof
Created by: Slitherine.
Object: Deliver your load on time and get your money!
How to Play: This game is based on the History Channel’s Ice Road Truckers and involves driving a tractor trailer rig over the ice in a race against time. You’re provided with three different camera angles to view from. I find the “behind the truck” view to be the best. The cockpit view feels too close to the road to have any sense of what’s ahead. Then there’d the front view… A front view of the truck? While racing? Now that’s useless. How am I supposed to know where I’m headed? Well, it does have some entertainment value I guess. You have the accelerator button the right, and the brake on the left. To me, having a brake button when racing on ice is pointless.
The graphics aren’t terrible and the sound effects are pretty good. Ice Road Truckers Lite acts a little buggy from time to time, which tends to detract from the gaming experience. I suggest sticking with the Lite version. It’s fun enough for a free app.
Based upon what was shown to me in this lite version, I’ll save my 99 cents and put it towards my cable bill and watch Ice Road Truckers on the History Channel.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: Digital Chocolate
Object: The object is to build the highest tower and have the most toonies move in.
How to Play: Playing this game involves tapping the display as the building sections (called blocks) are lowered by the crane above. This will drop the block. An accurate drop on top of another block will be signified by a metal “ding” and stars. This is ideal as your building will be more stable and will attract more tenants, called toonies, who move into their apartments by dropping in on parachutes. You can stack an unlimited amount of stories in which you’ll see birds, blimps and airplanes, and even more as you build higher and higher. You are given three chances to make mistakes before your building project is terminated. The building stack is pretty forgiving in that you have to be pretty off the mark to miss the stack although the building’s sway makes it very challenging to land a block cleanly.
If building a city is more your speed, you can do that by working for the city architect who needs a district built to attract business. The idea again is to build your tower as well as possible to attract the most tenants and business clientele. Additionally, when building the district, keep in mind that planning and placement of certain types of buildings come into play as well.
The Party Game can be alot of fun as well being that two players are playing on the same screen at the same time.
Tower Bloxx 3D is very simple, but challenging. The graphics, music and animation are excellent and make for a very pleasant gaming experience for all ages.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: Kevin Calderone.
Object: to get your character to the Sun in each level.
How to Play: The gameplay for this app is very simple. Use the arrows to move your character left or right, with using the up button to jump. You can draw or erase platforms to walk on by touching the screen and tracing lines (hence the name) to wherever you need to go to avoid objects and reach the sun. If you get hit by an obstacle, you will be made to start the level over again. There are six worlds (or themes) to choose from: Paint, Water, Plant, Chalk, Flame and Space, each consisting of twenty levels of difficulty. This game is deceptively challenging despite its innocent appearance.
The graphics and animation are very simple, but novel enough that the gameplay is so interesting that you’ll overlook their simplicity. Your journey on each level is accompanied by ethereal music, which suits the feel of the game. Trace is worth your while to check out.
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Created by: KiraGames.
The object of the game is to get the red block out by sliding the other block out of the way.
This game has the feel of a nice wooden block puzzle you’d find in a craft or antique store. There are 600 levels (block configurations) to choose from. This game is great way to pass the time in a quiet, subdued setting. There are no distracting sound effects or graphics—just you and the wooden puzzle waiting to be solved.
Don’t let the simplicity of Unblock Me (Free) fool you. You’ll definitely stay occupied for a long time! Definitely recommend!
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Created by: BIT-101.
There’s really not much say about this app except that it’s worth every penny that you don’t have to spend for it.
The object is to keep the stick man from being hit by falling balls, hence the name Falling Balls.
Make the stick figure run by tilting the iPhone® left or right. All balls go from left to right. So, a hint I have is to keep as far right as possible as to make time for judging how the balls are bouncing and give yourself time to take action.
This game is very simple and will keep you occupied should all your other apps crash.
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If the pattern to solve is symmetrical, it will be easier than patterns that are asymmetrical. This game is simple, but it is very challenging at its upper levels when the grid becomes 4×4. A good rule of thumb to go by is that if the pattern to be solved is symmetrical, keep your moves symmetrical as well.
This game is very good. The graphics are good, there are no sound effects, but we imagine they are not necessary.
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Created by: Digital Goldfish Ltd.
Bloons (Lite) is a deceptively challenging, but cute game in which you have to pop the target number of balloons to complete each level. Playing the game is easy—all you do is touch the screen to aim and slide your finger accordingly to adjust the power of the monkey’s throw. You are given a finite number of darts to use to accomplish this task, so you have to strategize your approach to meet your goal.
As you go up in levels, the difficulty increases and you will encounter balloons with special abilities and obstacles to make the game even more interesting.
This game is very fun to play and we definitely recommend getting the paid app, which has 100 challenging levels. The graphics and sound effects are very good.
The music is cute, but can become annoying after a while, especially if you’ve been trying to get through the same round over an over again.
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Created by: ADEPT Games, LLC.
Object: To make the board match the target.
How to Play: You play the game by tapping on any of the eligible tiles indicated by the flashing arrows. Tapping on the tile will toggle it from one color to the other. Do this until the your board matches the solution board on top. The kicker is that you have a limited number of moves to accomplish this goal. There are a given number of moves for gold, silver or bronze—gold is given if the puzzle is completed with the bare minimum number of moves. If you like, you can choose the “race against the clock” mode.
Options such as diagonal moves, crystals which enable special powers, warps, wormholes, and more become available as you progress through the game. The harder levels have more blocks with 4×4 and 5×5 layouts, which will really challenge your resolve to get the lowest number of moves to solve the puzzle!
The graphics of Trixel are nice and very cleanly done. You can play iPod® music for your background, which is a nice feature, although the music included is nice enough.
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Created by: Games Café.
Object: Make money, grow your spa franchise, and most importantly—keep your customers happy.
How to Play: As your customers come into the spa, an icon will appear over the customer indicating what treatment they are asking for. It is up you to drag and drop the customer to the appropriate station, and with some intervention by you, Sally will take care of the rest. You can earn tips depending on how well and how quickly you take care of your customers. You’ll know how you’re doing by the amount of hearts floating above each customer. It becomes challenging to keep everyone happy when you become busy.
As you earn more money, you will have access to more resources, which will help to keep customers happy and grow your business.
In the paid version of Sally’s Spa, you’ll cater to twelve different types of customers including couples. There’ll be 65 items to buy for your shop. You can also hire employees to assist you in maintaining nine different spa services, all while keeping your customers happy. You can play 50 levels and grow a franchise of 10 spas worldwide.
The graphics are superb and the sound effects are very realistic. The Asian music in the background actually helps to keep you level-headed when things become hectic at the spa.
Sally’s Spa Lite is highly recommend it for its value in terms of enjoyment and that it is a great lesson in time, money and resource management, and I would definitely recommend the purchase of the paid version.
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Created by: IDeationSource.
Object: Arrange the squares in the puzzle to match the finished puzzle.
How to play: With your finger, slide the rows of colored tiles left, right, up or down to position the tiles to try to match the finished puzzled shown on the top left corner of your display. Sometimes you can catch a lucky break and solve the puzzle really quickly. Sometimes you can slide yourself into a corner and blow minutes just trying to get close to a solution.
If your score is one of the top ten in the world, you can post it for the world to see.
Match Madness LT is a great game, although for more puzzle variety, it is suggested that you get the paid version. The idiot-proof rating is due to its ease of use, not its ease of solution!
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Created by: John Moffett.
This is a virtual hunting simulator where you can go on a deer hunt just like a Good ol’ Boy.
You can choose between the Quick Hunt or a Full Hunt. The Quick Hunt will allow you to hone your rifle shooting skills without the pressure of things like keeping score or worrying about ammo reserves. However, in the Full Hunt, there are more options. Each kill earns cash that you may use towards purchasing a shotgun or bow along with the ammo and arrows. You can even purchase camouflage and scent eliminator to bring the deer closer for easier shots. There’s even radar available for a princely sum, but trust me, by then, you’ll have earned it!
The gameplay is pretty simple. What you do is scan the horizon, 360 degrees, for quarry by swiping across the landscape. Deer can be hard to spot in Summer or Fall since the landscape is mottled by foliage. Winter and Spring seasons have landscapes that have more contrast, making the deer easier to spot. Once you find a deer, you can go the scope view by double tapping the display. At this point, the accelerometer is used to get the deer into the crosshairs to zero in for the kill. The more experience you achieve, the steadier your hand, but the deer become faster and more wise to the hunter.
The graphics, sound effects and realism are good in iHunt 3D. Hopefully, future versions will come with more options.
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Created by: SGN
F.A.S.T. (Fleet Air Superiority Training) is a jet fighter flight simulator where you can virtually do anything a jet fighter can do. You can perform aerial maneuvers such as turns, climbs, dives, rolls, yaw and boost with afterburners.
Three different views allow you to choose to view from the cockpit, behind the plane, or a side view from a distance. When you launch missiles, there is even a missile cam available to watch your missile approach and hit (or miss) its target. All views are equipped with controls, armaments, radar and a heads-up display, which is like the real thing. The distant view from the side can be really confusing at first, but can have its advantages once you’ve become accustomed to it.
F.A.S.T. definitely takes some practice to become even good at shooting down your opponents. As you progress in your missions, you will unlock fighter craft, which are more sophisticated, and you will also gain access to WiFi competition and the potential for reaching the leaderboard. You can fly head to head against the iPhone®, or you can play against and/or with other people in virtual rooms one vs one or in teams—with wingmen and all.
The graphics, sound effects and realism are superb and makes for a great gaming experience.
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Created by: FAKT Software.
Object: To figure out how to use the tools given to you to complete experiments.
How to play: This game is really the epitome of the Rube Goldberg concept. You are given experiments to solve by a professor who resembles Albert Einstein. To conduct the experiment, you’re given an inventory of items at your disposal and a description of what is to be accomplished. As you successfully work with the non-conventional tools, such as rockets, bombs and nitro provided ad-hoc throughout the game, your reward is actually getting to keep them in inventory for use in future experiments. It is strongly suggested that you go through the tutorials to get a grasp on how to apply the tools. You can always “fast forward” through them if you need to.
You are given memory slots where you can create and store your own crazy machine, which allows for full creativity.
Crazy Machines has excellent graphics and great sound effects. For the inventor, creator or curious mind, this is app definitely worth getting!
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Created By: MikaMobile.
Object: To stay alive by not getting eaten by zombies.
How to play: You’ve got to protect yourself from the Zombies in the street! Eliminate the zombies as they come at you so that you don’t get eaten yourself. You do this by acquiring weapons, ammunition, cash and medical care to keep yourself alive to fight another night. You move your character down the street by touching the corresponding lower corner to move either right or left. To fire your weapon, touch the bottom of the screen. The different weapons available have trade-offs, such as faster repeat rates, but less power, thus requiring slightly more ammo to do the job. Some weapons have more power, but their repeat rate is slower.
As you go up in levels, some zombies become faster, some become harder to kill and some become really hard to kill.
ZombieVille USA is very easy to learn and fun to play. The graphics and sound effects are very good as well although they can be slightly gory at times.
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Created by: ngmoco, Inc.
Object: Score points and complete the journey by stacking the various shaped blocks upon one another.
How to play: You start off on a journey through 6 different islands with multiple stops in each. At each point, you must fulfill the goal of stacking various shaped blocks on top of one another. Each stop becomes more difficult as the shapes become more varied.
The faces on the blocks will telegraph their satisfaction with how you stacked them, and provide an indicator as to what you should do, whether it is stay on course or remedy the situation. The game has somewhat of “floaty,” fluid feel to it, so watch out—there is a false sense of forgiveness in the placement of the blocks. You can attempt to keep the blocks from falling over by shifting the iPhone® accordingly. Having to do the stacking upside down is also a challenge. If you wish, you can set up challenges on Facebook®, Twitter® and email.
Overall, Topple 2 is OK. The graphics are excellent, and gameplay is engaging.
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Created by: Fuel Games.
Object: Score as many points in your skating career as you wish.
How to Play: The setting is an empty swimming pool ready for skating, and you have the choice of assuming the role of one of two world-reknowned skaters: Bucky Lasek or Omar Hassan. Once you’ve chosen who you want to be as your skater, you can work on your Career, or you can just go Free Ridin’.
Free Ridin’ is a chance to work on and master your skills without the pressure of time limits or scores.
If you choose to work on your career, you first must start off with the Timed Run. This will give you the chance to become eligible for more events as you achieve different skills such as landing a 360 Airwalk or grind for 30 seconds. The more Events you play, the more items such as board designs and wheel styles become available to you to customize your Pool Ridin’.
When you’re skating, you can do many different tricks from a list of 13 aerials, 2 grinds and a trademark trick for each rider—Omar Hassan’s Verial 360 Heelflip and Bucky Lasek’s Nollie Kickflip to Madonna. If you find it too difficult or “too easy” to execute tricks, you can adjust the tilt sensitivity for more or less responsiveness when playing.
The music provided with Vans Sk8 Pool Service really sets the stage for an authentic skating experience although you can customize the music playlist playing during your skating session. You can even add your own tracks to the mix as well, which makes for a really customized experience.
I have to say for someone like me who is not a skater, this game rocks!!!
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Created by: DS Media Labs, Inc.
Object: Connect the pipes from beginning (blue pipe) to end (green pipe) at each level.
How to play: At each level, the water flows slowly through the pipe—at about 10 seconds per section. You have one minute to uncover and use the appropriate sections of pipe to make the connections necessary to stay ahead of the water. You swap out available pipefittings to make the fit you need to keep the water flowing. At the end of that minute, the water goes from really slow to really fast and if you don’t have all your piping connected from beginning to end, it’s game over. It’s also game over if the slow moving water catches up to the incomplete connection for which you’re working on finding a connection.
Each level of the game gets harder as you progress as you are left with less piping options and thus less margin of error when deciding what section of piping to use. Watch out as you uncover the tiles lest you uncover a time subtraction penalty, which takes away valuable seconds to complete your connections.
This game makes you think quickly on your feet as you race against time to keep from FLOverload.
The graphics are very good and are sufficient enough for a nice gaming experience. There could be a little more variety with the sound effects even though they are not bad in and of themselves.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: Freeverse, Inc.
Object: Simply to the catch the biggest and most valued fish!
How to play: Pick where you want to fish by touching the part of the map you wish to fish. Each area has its own difficulty level. There are a few different baits to chose from depending on the type of fish you wish to catch. The big fish are picky eaters! Cast the bait or lure by flicking the iPhone®. Be sure to practice your technique as the better your technique, the further your cast will be, and your potential to catch big fish goes up. You can use bait with a float to indicate a bite, or you can use a lure. Just as in real life, when a fish bites, you pull backwards (or you can touch the reel) on the iPhone to set the hook, and reel in the fish, but watch that tension meter! Reeling in the bigger fish requires finesse as you do not want to snap the line by being too anxious to land your fish.
What’s neat about Flick Fishing is that there is a photo album of all the fish that have been caught and you can brag to your buddies via email.
You can even buy a downloadable private island fishing spot and an additional game mode from the Village Shop.
The graphics are good, but could be a little cleaner. However, the fun that this game provides for the fishing/gaming enthusiast will certainly outweigh this shortcoming.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: Backflip Studios
Object: Hit the targets in the scenarios presented with the least amount of rag dolls.
How to play: This is a fun game where you simply aim your cannon and shoot rag dolls at the targets. To hit your target(s), you may have to lob or use a ricochet technique.
When playing this game, I couldn’t believe how many different levels there were and how absorbed into the game I had become. Ragdoll Blaster has 73 levels to choose from. The levels get more interesting as they layouts become more machine-like—almost reminiscent of the Rube Goldberg contraptions.
The graphics are simple, but novel and are definitely sufficient.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: FDG Entertainment.
Object: A simple one-player game where the object is to make sure the parachutists jumping from the planes land safely in the boats waiting below.
How to Play: As the parachutists jump from airplanes flying overhead, help them avoid getting sawn in half by helicopters, abducted by UFOs, or zapped by storm clouds. You do this by either sliding your finger to generate wind currents for the parachutist to guide them to safety, or by eliminating the threats by tapping on them (doesn’t work for storms clouds) If a parachutist does not land in a boat, he will be eaten by a big old shark who taunts you at the end of the game for not breaking your high score, although you can make the shark cry if you do.
The acapella music is homegrown, but amusing and adds character to the game.
Parachute Panic, with its simple, but novel graphics, sound effects, and challenging gameplay, is a game worth buying.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: Gameloft
How to Play: This a well-conceived golf game with many options. You can choose between the classic tap controlled and advanced swipe-controlled golf swings. The wind velocity will be indicated on the screen. You can zoom in on the area where your ball will land, which will allow you to study the terrain and make adjustments accordingly. You can touch the display to adjust direction to compensate for wind or terrain. Included is a very, very simple tutorial to guide you through how to play game.
There are a few ways to play the game:
The music, graphics and sound effects are superb, with birds and planes flying and hot air balloons aloft over the course. You have your pick to play on golf courses in USA, Scotland, England, and Fiji. What’s neat is that the background music is suited to the location of play. Another added feature is that the characters provide drama when they win or lose and give words of encouragement when you are close to getting a birdie or making par.
The attention to details in Let’s Golf makes for a very rich gaming experience and is highly recommended.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: E2NDESIGN.
9-Toolbox is an app that is basically a nine-in-one toolbox with the ability to do the following:
A very easy interface for selecting units and the entry of data to be converted.
9-Toolbox is very handy to have—and for an app that’s free, it should be a part of every iPhone’s® utility collection.
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Idiot-proof
Created by: Tapulous
Object: The object of the game is to obtain the highest score possible.
How to Play: The game is played by tapping the tap targets as the round balls called tappers reach the three round tap targets at the bottom of the display. If you choose the option, in-game arrows instruct the player to shake the iPhone® right, left or back during the game.
You’ll have just under three seconds of lead time between when the tappers first appear in the distant horizon to when the tappers reach the tap targets. You might think that’s alot of time, but when you can have as many as 20+ tappers on the screen at the same time headed in your direction, you best be prepared to move those digits! The tappers are synced with music, which plays while you are playing and makes for a very rich playing experience. There are five skill levels in Tap Tap Revenge 2 to choose from: kids, easy, medium, hard and extreme—and trust me, each level earns its title. You’ll need to acquire really good hand-eye coordination for the extreme level.
You can choose to play by yourself or challenge another player by using the same iPhone or by playing online.
Game tracks by various artists are added weekly to the online library and can be downloaded to your iPhone to provide a variety of gaming opportunities.
Tap Tap Revenge 2 is highly recommended for its overall concept, excellent graphics, excellent music and rich options.
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Paid version available: None advertised
Created by: MobilityWare.
Object: The object is to not get hanged by the hangman. You do this by figuring out the word depicted by the blanks before you run out of guesses.
The graphics are really simple, but sufficient for a word game.
This is the iPhone® version of Hangman, the all time classic you most likely played as a kid with a friend.
With different visual themes and 15 categories of word lists to choose from, there certainly will be no shortage of gameplay here. Some of the word categories include: sports, astronomy, celebrities, and SAT words, so this game is well suited for just about anyone.
You can have 1 or 2 players.
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Paid version available: None advertised
Created by: Andy Qua.
This App is called Cube Runner. The object is to obtain the highest score possible by flying through a barrage of colored cubes for as long as you can without flying into any cubes.
Naturally, as the game progresses, it gets more difficult to navigate through the cubes, as they become more numerous as your craft flies faster. The graphics and sound effects are sufficient to keep the game interesting.
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Paid version available: Yes, but as Cube Runner II
Created by: Wings for Cats.
This app is called Archers. When you first look at this game, it almost looks too simple to be good, but don’t be fooled. This game is good. The object of the game is to hit your opponent more often and more accurately than your opponent hits you.
How to Play: Play is very simple—all you do is touch the screen, pulling back further for more power and pulling down for a more parabolic trajectory. You can play against the iPhone®, another person, or you can just plain practice hitting a bulls eye target. You can choose the color of your player and the style of the bow you wish to use.
Hint: It helps to make a mental note of each parameter you use as you fire at your opponent so that when you do hit your mark, you can either go for a tight grouping, or have a reference point to tweak into launching those head shots. It appears that headshots drain the most life from your opponent.
The archers are essentially colorful silhouettes standing in a grassy field on a partly cloudy day. You need not worry about blood and gore when someone takes a hit—all you see is the arrow sticking through the archer.
As far as the sound effects go, the birds chirping in the background are convincing. When you launch your arrow, the sound of the release of the bow is realistic, and, when you hit your mark, you hear a somewhat comical “uuugh!” or in the case of the winning shot, an “aaarrrgh!”.
Overall, this game is a definite keeper.
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No paid version advertised in this app.
Created by: Michael Welch (BlitWise)—a programmer with well over 10 years experience in the coding of artillery games.
Object: This game is all about getting the high score by trading artillery fire volley for volley and trying to land direct hits on your opponent, which can be either a friend or the iPhone®.
How to play: You simply click in your tank the angle and power of the launch of your artillery and then FIRE! The controls for the angle and power are intuitive and easy to use, which makes aiming your tank a simple task. With sounds of crumbling rocks, dirt piling up, and exploding artillery, the sound effects are uncannily realistic and can be toggled on or off in the options screen. The choice of hilly, flat, or cliff-like terrain along with other variables such as wind speed, wind variability, and explosion size provides the potential for a very rich and challenging game against your opponent.
With everything from Napalm to Gamma Blasters, the choice of weapons in Pocket Tanks is immense being that there are over 30 different artillery shells to choose from—each with their own way of pummeling the other guy’s tank into oblivion and racking up the points on the leader board.
Overall, this game is a must-have for your app collection.
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Paid version available: Yes
Once you’ve opened the program, enter the bill total and press Continue. On the next screen, select the service quality; TipStar is preconfigured for tip rates of Excellent (20%), Good (18%), and Acceptable (15%). On the Party Size screen, the total tip shows in the bottom left corner. To split the bill and tip among a group, select the number of people. The final screen will show the grand total in the top section and the total contribution per person in the bottom section.
Some people pay the tip based on the total bill before tax. To toggle pre-tax tipping on and off, go to the iPhone Settings. You can also change the default tip percentages here as well.
Pros: Easy to use; allows user to calculate for a large group of people.
Cons: Seems to overshoot the mark for tipping when the group size exceeds 1 or 2 people.
The main screen features all 12 signs of the zodiac in a wheel formation which you can scroll through to get to your sign. Once you’ve selected a sign, you can view information about the sign or read Daily, Weekly, Monthly and Yearly horoscopes. Under Daily horoscopes there are 20 options based on area of interest, including BabyScope, FoodScope, Teen, Single’s Love, Flirt and Work. Some of the horoscopes are on the lighter side, such as the AstroSlam, but some horoscopes such as Finance are much more serious and can provide some food for thought.
Know your dog or cat’s zodiac sign? You can read them their horoscope from the Daily DogScope or Daily CatScope, respectively. My cats are rarely interested in their horoscope, but these entries are amusing to read. Today’s CatScope for Aries reads: “…You need to remind yourself that you are really a fierce predator who can handle any situation.” The Weekly horoscopes feature five different options, while the Monthly and Yearly horoscopes offer four and three options, respectively.
Overwhelmed by all the options? You can switch from viewing all the available horoscope types to only your favorites To select your favorites, press the Edit button on the top right corner, tap the star icons next to the horoscopes you want to see, and press Done when you’re finished. View only the starred ones by tapping the Favorites button in the bottom left corner of the screen.
Selecting Contacts from the main screen will show horoscopes for those people in your contact list with birthdays listed. The app pulls up your Contacts list—select the person whose horoscope you want to see and it will pull up their sign based on the birthday information entered in their contact listing. Have your Gemini pal’s email address in your contacts list? You can send their horoscope to them by pressing the Forwarding icon at the bottom right of the screen. The iPhone’s mail application will open a new email with the horoscope already inserted.
Like iTarot, iScopes is from astrology.com, a site offering free and paid astrology charts, Tarot card readings and other related services. This application includes a lot of ads, which can prove to be very distracting if you just want to read your horoscope.
Pros: Easy to use, large selection of categories. Works with birthday information in contact list (if available). Can send horoscope via email to others. Fun for those who love to read their horoscope daily.
Cons: Ads can be distracting.
Opening the iTarot application will pull up two cards at random: a Daily Tarot reading and a Love Tarot reading. To read what the card means, tap either card, then press Show to read the interpretation. You can go back to the main screen by pressing the Hide button.
As a student of Tarot for more than 7 years, I find the interpretations to be very accurate well-written and thought-provoking. The Daily Tarot card intepretations are written in first-person, so it’s easier to see how to apply the card’s lesson to your own experience. The Love Tarot interpretations provide guidance related to the card’s meaning.
To pull a new pair of cards, press the New button in the top left corner of the screen. Once you close iTarot, you’ll get a new pair of cards the next time you open it, so if you want to make a note of the card or interpretation you’ll have to write it down.
Tapping the Information button will take you to a page where you can email any issues you’re having with the program. Links to Astrology.com and iVillage.com are also available here.
Pros: Easy to use, clear images from a traditional Tarot deck. Card interpretations are accurate and insightful.
Cons: Cannot save or email a “reading” for future reference.
What I’d Like to See in the Next Version: A way to save the reading or send it to a friend via email.
The object of the game seems very simple: make as many words as you can from the jumble of six letters shown on the screen. The words are shown in alphabetical order. To scramble the letters in order to find more possible words, tap Warp and the letters will be resorted. Once you’ve entered your word, tap Got It. If your word made the cut, you’ll hear a ding; if it didn’t you’ll hear a buzz. Pressing the Last button will pull up the last word you entered.
At the end of each round you can tap any word to read its definition. Definitions are provided by either Dictionary.com, Merriam Webster, Dr. Words or Wiktionary; when you’re finished reading the definition, press Done to return to the game.
To pause a game, press the Home button on the phone. When you reopen the Word Warp application, resume the game by tapping the Resume Game button.
By tapping the Info button you can turn on or off the Alt Word list, Sounds and Animations. Want to make the game harder? Turn on the Alternate Word List via the Info button. Word Warp will start pulling from the Official North American Tournament Scrabble word list. Change the theme by touching the arrow and select from four options: classic, blue twister, red spiral or purple bubbles. Using a slider you can adjust the game time from one to 30 minutes. Moving the slider all the way to the right allows you to play untimed games.
The free version of Word Warp does include ads after each level. To bypass the ads, tap the bottom of the screen and press Skip to return to the game in progress.
I have discovered that if you change the settings to Untimed Game, and happen to start a game with that setting, the End button did not work. I’ve got another 20 minutes to figure out the last word in a game that is using the really hard words and boy, it is a tough one.
Pros: Addictive, challenging word game. Can pause game in progress, adjust timer.
Cons: Cannot reset the game time while a game is already in progress.
Not only does the iBall offer the traditional answers, such as “Reply Hazy, Try Again”, you can choose from among five other options. Answer categories include Zen-type answers, WWJD (What Would Jesus Do), New Years Resolutions, Weird and Programming Languages. The Programming Languages setting might be somewhat amusing for computer geeks, pulling up answers like “Perl”, “C” and “Javascript”. The Weird answers are more silly, with responses such as “Insert quarter for answer” or “Whew! Stinky breath.” For those who might like more spiritually inclined advice, the WWJD setting retrieves answers that are faith-based; “Humble and be exalted” and “Walk in their shoes” are among the possible responses.
There are eight backgrounds available in addition to the traditional black ball with the blue triangle. A jack-o-lantern, smiley face, Santa Claus and eyeball are among the more unusual options. There’s also a plain blue triangle as well as a golden ball. The solid white ball image is one of the most visually appealing as it features italicized answers.
One shake of the iPhone will change the answer on the screen. Tapping the left bottom corner of the screen will pull up the ball options, while tapping the bottom center of the screen gives you access to the answer types.
Pros: Great looking graphics; can change the settings on the sayings as well as the type of ball.
Cons: Ball image setting is sensitive and may pick the image more quickly than expected.
Since StepTrakLite isn’t equipped to manage your walking regimen, they have cleverly included two methods for you to track your step counts. If you already have a Twitter® account, you can enter your user ID and password in Settings in order to tweet your progress. You can choose from three different types of messages and add a personal message if you like, then tap Tweet to send the information. Users with an account at MapMyWalk.com can send their step counts and duration to their log. While I’m not a MapMyWalk user yet, their free membership seems pretty comprehensive and using StepTrakLite in conjunction with their web-based application looks like a great way to stay motivated.
If you want to use StepTrakLite while listening to music, you’ll have to fire up the iPod® app first, then start StepTrakLite. Most importantly, don’t use the top power button to turn off your phone while StepTrakLite is running. If you do, the program will reset to zero.
Pros: Great motivational tool. Works in the background while you’re walking. Allows two different methods of tracking via the Web.
Cons: Because of Apple’s® policy with not allowing applications to run in the background, you can’t use this with Pandora or Last.fm. If you lock your phone while it’s running you will lose steps.
Adding a club card is very easy. Tap the + button to enter the Add Card screen, then you select a merchant. CardStar breaks them down into 7 categories: Drug Store, Entertainment, Grocery, Gym, Retail, Library and Travel. To scroll through the entire list, press (All Merchants). After you’ve selected the merchant, press Save. You’re then taken back to the Add Card screen to enter your membership number. Press Save, then Done.
Can’t find one of your club cards on the list? No worries—just select Other from the list (hint: it’s at the very end of the full merchant list) and enter the card number. In the Display Settings section, enter the name of the retailer in the Title field. I had to do this with one of my club cards, and the only thing the resulting entry lacks is the store’s logo above the barcode—the store name still appears in the gray title bar.
Even if the retailer’s barcode scanner can’t read it from your iPhone, they can still enter the number from CardStar. I tried it for the first time at Petco and the cashier couldn’t get it to work—apparently the iPhone’s screen protectors can make it hard for the laser to penetrate. While that was a minor letdown, I’ve seen cashiers struggle with barcodes on the plastic club cards themselves.
Pros: Great concept. Large database of stores. Barcode and numbers are clearly shown on the screen. For longer barcodes, CardStar lets you know to rotate the phone to get the full barcode for scanning. Easy to add codes for stores not listed.
Cons: Some scanners may not be able to read the barcode if you’re using a screen protector or if your touchscreen is dirty.
Kathleen Kastner, a yoga teacher who’s worked with New Age writer Deepak Chopra, provides the narration and models each pose. The routine contains 11 poses. The poses are easy enough for beginners to do while still offering a good workout for more experienced yoginis. Not sure you’re doing the pose correctly? Tap near the top of the screen to see an alternate view of the pose. If you want more information on each pose, tapping the number in the bottom right corner of the image pulls up the name of the pose, instructions on how to do the pose and its benefits for the body. You also get an explanation on how to make the transition into the next pose. Precautionary tips are included for beginners or those with limited flexibility or range of motion.
To start the routine, press the Sun button at the top of the main screen. To change the play mode, screen transition cue, number of repetitions or wallpaper, press the Heart button.
There are three play modes: Narrated, Auto and Manual. If you prefer to hear the instructions, select Narrated mode. However, if you’d prefer to just use the images as your guide, select Auto for fast transitions between poses without the audio portion. Want to lengthen your yoga workout? Change the repetition setting to 3 or 5 times and Prêt-à-Yoga will cycle through the routine 3 or 5 times, respectively. You can change the audio cue indicating a pose transition on the Settings screen to either a low or high gong, vibrate, or none.
For those who want to take more time, the Manual setting allows you to scroll through the poses at your own pace. If you use the Manual setting, the repetition and transitional cue settings will not take effect.
Pressing the information button on the main screen takes you to a brief bio on Kastner and credits. Tips on how to use the application can be found by pressing the Prêt-à-Yoga Secrets button. If you like the background music used during the Narrated play mode, you can find out more about it by tapping the Discover Cerebral Songs button.
Pros: Clear images and audio instructions for each pose. Can tap screen to see what pose looks like from front/back as well as from the side.
Cons: Home screen uses only icons, so it’s not clear what to tap in order to start the routine. Timing can be too fast for beginners.
What I’d Like to See in Next Version: Option to adjust transition time between screens for Narrated and Auto play modes.
Lose It! is one of the more popular iPhone weight management applications available, and with good reason. The user interface is easy to use and understand. It can be customized to include recipes, foods and exercises—but you’ll likely find very few items that aren’t in the database, as both the food and exercise databases are quite extensive.
When you first install the app, you fill out your profile information, including your gender, birthdate, height, current weight and goal weight. You also can determine how many pounds you want to lose per week or if you want to maintain your current weight. Using this information, Lose It! calculates your daily caloric intake and how long it will take you to reach your goal weight. You can always go back and modify your profile should your goals change.
Tracking your progress is also very easy. When starting the program you can enter the calories you’ve consumed—or burned via exercise—by tapping the + at the top of the screen. Meals are broken down into Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Snacks. Want to include that hour long walk you took at the beach? Tap Exercise on the Add to Log screen. Press Browse Exercises, select Walking from the list and set the duration, then press Add.
Custom foods can be added quickly and will show up under My Foods. You can also create recipes using foods in the database and have Lose It! calculate how many calories are in a serving.
The tabs on the main screen include:
• My Day—Tap here to see a calorie breakdown based on your daily budget. It includes food calories consumed, exercise calories burned, net calories so far and how many more calories you can eat for the day. Tapping This Week at the top of the screen shows a graph of your progress over the past week, with a line indicating your daily budget.
• Log—The log is where you’ll be spending most of your time while using Lose It, as this is where you enter your food/beverage intake and exercise each day.
• Goals—Here you can view the goals you entered in your profile. It uses a simple graph to indicate your progress. From this screen you can enter your weight by tapping the Record Today’s weight button. Weight can be entered to the nearest 1/10th of a pound.
• More—On the More tab you’ll find all the setting options. Go here to access the custom foods and exercises entered, as well as recipes. You can also set your preferences for what nutrients you want displayed and/or tracked by Lose It!, including fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates and protein.
I could go on and on about Lose It! because it’s so incredibly comprehensive. Here’s hoping the next version allows you to export your information—it might well then become the perfect weight management application.
Pros: Huge database of foods, easy to enter new foods. Exercise database is extensive. Great way to keep track of fitness goals.
Cons: Some entries in the food database can be confusing, as they seem to be duplicates in title but the calorie counts differ.
What I’d Like to See in Next Version: A web or desktop version that can sync with mobile application for at-home tracking.
Scenario 1: You are in an important meeting in the late afternoon and you’re very drowsy from a big lunch. Your boss is going to want your notes from the meeting but you are so sleepy you can barely concentrate, much less write down anything. If only you had a way to record everything…
Scenario 2: You’re in your car and suddenly a brilliant money-making idea comes to you. Traffic is moving along at a good pace, so trying to write it down would definitely cause a major accident. If only you could record your thoughts…
QuickVoice is a recording solution that can come to the rescue in both situations. The application features one-touch recording and playback, Pause and Stop while recording, and a Speaker button that allows you to mute playback. (Note: If you’re using headphones for playback, the Speaker function will not work.) During playback, you can rewind by dragging the status indicator to the left; fast forward by dragging it to the right.
Opening QuickVoice on the iPhone® pulls up a list of recordings, including the date, time, duration and file size of each recording. A small blue triangle indicates which recording is selected—double-tap on any recording in the list to play it. To delete a recording, touch to select it, then touch the trash can and confirm deletion by pressing OK.
Once you’ve recorded the meeting or those big ideas, you can rename the recording by pressing the Title button and entering the new title on the touch screen keyboard. While the length of the title you can enter appears to be unlimited, the iPhone screen will show only the first 30 characters.
Want to share the audio file with a friend? Press the Email button, indicated by the small envelope, to send a .caf version of the recording. Enter the To and From email addresses in the space provided and tap Send. Messages up to 2 MB can be sent using the free version of QuickVoice; to send messages up to 20 MB, you’ll need to upgrade to QuickVoice Pro.
Pros: Easy to use, clear playback. Short and long recordings possible. Mail is sent very quickly with WiFi connection.
Cons: Mail server times out very quickly if WiFi is turned off or not available. Note: I am using a first-generation iPhone so this may not be an issue for iPhone 3G and 3G S users.
Sol Free Solitaire is great fun and has easy-to-read screens.
You can play games like Klondike Deal 1, Klondike Deal 3, Baker’s Game, Demon and Spiderette. So if you have some extra time while waiting for a bus, for example, you can definitely kill some time by playing this fun and exciting game.
After a few rounds it can be interesting to look at statistics, scoring and move tracking to analyze your game play.
So check out this fun and interesting Solitaire app!
You can easily create personal radio stations based on artist and genres, and, of course, you can also listen to commercial free music for hours.
Found an artist you want to know some more about? Then use the Last.fm application to check out artist bios and concert information and share your favorite tracks with your friends using the iPhone® contact list.
On the Last.fm website, you can see your iPhone and iTunes® listening history, stored by Last.fm, no matter where you’re listening.
So enjoy some music and try out this application!
This app is designed for easy search, navigation and display of Wikipedia entries.
There is multiple search methods to choose from, like the Smart completion with entry preview, Google searching and a full text Wikipedia search.
The app also offers dual language searching and language switching.
You can easily access Wiktionary, which is a dictionary of terms and can be accessed without leaving the current page you are looking at.
If you find a picture you like, you can just add it to your Photo library on your phone.
So missing some information? Look it up by using Wikipanion and always know the answer to a question. You never know when this app will come in handy.
This great app gives you top news stories, as well as news within business, sports, show business and other categories.
You can sort all stories and articles by most recent or most read.
Since this application has a GPS function, it can easily deliver your local news. All of the articles and stories load fast, are easy to read and can be read offline. If you find something interesting, you can email or text the story to a contact, or save it in your own news archive.
So always be updated on the news with AP Mobile News Network for iPhone®.
This app gives you access to one of the biggest online marketplaces, with just a few taps, wherever you happen to be.
This application uses a streamlined interface that is bright, easy to use and fast. eBay members can search, bid, and check their activity on the go. Buyers can sneak in that last-minute bid on a hard-to-find item, sellers can check on their sales, and everyone can act on time-sensitive information on the spot without a computer.
eBay Mobile has all the features you use on their web based site. So enjoy some online shopping on the run!
This great app instantly synchronizes all of your Evernotes from your iPhone® to the web to your desktop. Whenever you add or edit a note, it quickly becomes available on all computers and devices that you use, letting you access your notes and memories at any time.
This app will also automatically geo-tag all of your notes and memories and all of your notes can easily be accessed offline as well as online.
You can also add a Word document, PowerPoint, or PDF using Evernote on your computer, then sync and view those files on your iPhone. You can even email the files to friends and colleagues. So make your life easier with Evernote.
Have you ever had a Harvey Wallbanger or a French Kiss? Thought so! Then you should try out this app! iBartender has over 1,000 recipes and each drink recipe comes with ingredients, instruction for mixing, garnishing tips and advice on which glass to use.
So now you can easily impress your friends!
You can find drinks in many ways; choose from one of the 450 favorite drinks, search in categories like “ladies night” or search by ingredients.
There is also a measurement reference guide that teaches you essentials measurement techniques.
When the drink is ready, you can use this app to teach you how to say cheers in different languages.
So get ready for The Perfect Drink with iBartender.
iLingo is a talking language phrase book, which is stocked with over four hundred essential words and phrases of each language. Just by a simple tap of your finger, you can hear the perfect pronunciation by a native speaker.
The application is organized into categories such as: Greetings, Shopping, and Emergency, so you can find a post office in Paris or a bookstore in Berlin.
What I think is great about this app is the opportunity to hear the pronunciation and if it’s too difficult for me to pronounce, I just let the app speak for me.
So get ready to travel and learn new languages. Traveling has never been easier!
If you’re traveling different routes, you can specify each route and, if you wish, you can add more details like departure and arrival date, how you are traveling, booking code, seat number, etc.
You can also write notes on different trips to remind you of things you might want to do when you are traveling.
Keep all of the necessary information about your trips in one place, without the fear of losing your tickets or other important documents.
With this app, you now can enjoy traveling!
If you need to find a hotel for the night you can use the ”Hotels near me” feature and it will show you all of the hotels near you.
If you find a hotel, you can book it quick and easily through your iPhone, and if you’re out on the road and need a place to sleep, you can, without a problem, book your hotel in the last minute.
Most hotels don’t even need prepayment—your credit card details are only taken to secure your booking and you actually pay at the hotel.
Hotel Booker works in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Polish and Russian.
You can purchase popular new books from a selection of over 50,000 contemporary titles or choose from an additional 50,000 free classics and recent original works.
You can purchase from an enormous selection of books, including most books from the New York Times best seller list such as:
So get this app and start reading!
Are you looking for a way to try new things and meet new people? Then you should try the LivingSocial application for iPhone®.
This application is an internet-based social discovery network that allows you to catalogue, review, and discuss your favorite movies, books, video games, TV shows, music, restaurants, and beer.
You need to create a profile on livingsocial.com and then you can immediately begin listing and reviewing your favorites in one or all of the interest areas.
This app helps you express yourself and you can get to know new people who have the same interests as you. What a better way to start a friendship!
There are over 95 million items you can choose from and there are over 6 million socialites online. So get LivingSocial now.
Movies lets you watch trailers and will show you show times at your local theater. It also lets you read about the movie and get a detailed description and read ratings and reviews. If you’ve found a movie you would like to watch, which isn’t at your local box office, the app will give you a map with directions to the nearest theater and you can order tickets online.
Movies also has listings of the top box office leaders and movies opening soon so that you will always be updated.
The design is nice and the application is easy to use.
And, if you have some spare time, you can always watch one of the DVDs in the DVD catalog of over 50,000 films or you can watch one of the 10,000 high quality trailer and video clips—right on your phone!
I usually remember them a few days ahead, but when the birthday day arrives, I have usually forgotten it. So for me, this Birthday Reminder app is great and simple!
It reminds you of when all of your friends’ birthdays are. When you first start the app, it will automatically list all of your contacts’ birthdays gathered from your address book. You can also gather birthdays from your list of friends on Facebook®. After you enter your Facebook account information, the app will sync up.
The list of contacts is displayed in chronological order, with the most recent birthday at the top and the birthdays furthest away at the bottom.
The notifications option allows you to enter one email address for where to send the reminders. You can select the exact time and how many days before a birthday to send the email reminder.
You can listen to thousands of radio stations all across the world based on many different criteria. The interface is extremely simple and finding a radio station quickly cannot get any easier.
If you have an iPhone 3G, you can use its built-in GPS module to show any stations that are available locally in your area.
You can listen to live business, money, religious, entertainment, general news, sport broadcasts and even talk shows. The amount of radio stations that you can listen to is endless!
While listening to a station, you can see the station’s logo as well as a little audio visual feed. If you’re listening to a popular station, you will probably see the song and artist of what’s playing.
Tapping on the station’s logo will take you to the station’s home page using WunderRadio’s built-in web browser.
It’s easy to use and is totally worth every penny.
This has happened to me quite often. But I always wonder if it would be cheaper to buy the product online. I usually buy the product and check the internet stores when I get home. The same thing happens almost every time; it is cheaper online.
I found this new iPhone® application that really solves this problem. The app is called Amazon Mobile.
What is great is that every item on Amazon is available to browse, compare, and purchase. I can even read up on customer reviews before I purchase. So when I got to the store and use this app to compare prices, I now usually end up ordering it online while I’m in the store. These comparisons have saved me hundreds of dollars.
So try it out! It’s free.
Are you a person that likes coupons? Then you should definitely get the Coupon Sherpa application for the iPhone®.
Now you no longer have to buy coupon books or search the internet for the right coupons for you.
Coupon Sherpa does the dirty work of looking through coupons on the Internet and bringing them to you. This is a program filled with coupons. To make it even easier for you, you can make lists with your favorite stores and can also e-mail the coupons to your friends. The coupons can also be scanned by optical scanners, right from your phone.
This application is free and you definitely will be able to save some money with these great coupons.
With this great application, you can save your job searches and filter them by miles, date, relevance, full/part-time, contract, city, state and zip code.
Searches are available in the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Spain and India. The app retrieves only the latest jobs that are open, so you’re up-to-date and not applying for jobs that aren’t available anymore.
The application costs 99 cents. So good luck with your job hunting!
Fake Calls is an app that is exactly what it sounds like. It imitates you receiving a call.
Maybe you are going on a date and are unsure if it will go well, you can run this app and decide that your friend Hannah will “call you” so you can excuse yourself and leave.
You can pick out who is calling and delay when the “call” actually occurs. Have a celebrity call you to ask if you want to be their manager, you name it! This app will do it for you.
So now you’re safe on dates and walking alone at night.
Take some lovely pictures of your beloved pet and store them in the picture gallery and then show some great photos of your pet to others and take new ones with your iPhone® camera.
Do you have a problem with remembering your pets ID, birthday, microchip and breed? Problem solved. Now you can save all of this information in the Pet Notebook.
Sometimes it could be smart to have all your information in one place so be smart and enter your pets veterinary in the notebook and you can easily call them and get driving directions from Google Maps.
After a visit to the veterinary, your pet may need some medications, and these you can also easily keep track of in the Pet Notebook.
Make your and your pet’s life easier with this application.
You can buy it for $2.99.
And what is even better is that the “robot” automatically updates the currency rates every time the app is launched, so I don’t have to spend time finding out what today’s currency rate is. Lovely! But I have to mention some other features the Convertbot offers: length, mass, fuel, speed, temperature and volume converting. I have a tendency to forget how many kilometers make up a mile, so for me Convertbot is a great help! Convertbot makes simple conversions like these and hundreds more and I must say that this is a joy thanks to its beautiful interface. I encourage you to check out Convertbot for what it is today—an intuitive, stable and beautifully designed unit converter.
iFood Assistant gives you simple and delicious food ideas, anytime and anywhere you go. All of the 7,000 recipes offer you a video demonstration on how to cook the meal you have chosen. If you need to make a quick meal, you can choose one of the smart 1-2-3 recipes. If you have a particular idea of what you’re looking for, the search function is available and you can browse and select by ingredient, meal type, prep time, and other options. If you don’t know what to cook, you can just roll the dice with the Recipe of the Day.
If you turn the phone to the horizontal view, the recipes switch to index card mode and show you one step in the process on each “card.” When you have chosen your meal of the day, you can add items to your shopping list from recipes, as well as store favorites into an online recipe box. You can also comment and/or review comments on each recipe. Now you can start to enjoy cooking!
If you have not played Trivial Pursuit before, do not let that stop you. The basic concept is simple. You just need to go around the board answering questions until you fill up your “wheel” with all of the different color wedges. You get wedges by answering questions correctly and you can only get wedges when you are on a categories main space. The real challenge in this game is the difficulty of the trivia questions. There are four different kind of game types you can play: Classic Mode, Pursuit Mode, Pass’n Play, and Wi-Fi Multiplayer Mode.
In Classic Mode, you can play alone or against the app’s opponent. When you start the game, you choose the numbers of wedges you need to win, the difficulty of your opponent, and the time limit for answering questions. You can also customize your player by changing your name, mascot, and color. To play the game, you roll the dice and then move your playing piece. Each time you move your piece, you must answer a question. If you answer the question correctly, you roll again. Answer incorrectly, and it is your opponent’s turn.
Pursuit Mode is another single player game. The difference here is that the game board is shorter. You don’t have to roll the dice and move, you just have to answer the question first. The faster you answer the question, the higher the number of spaces you will get to move. The goal is to make it to the other end of the board as quickly as possible.
The Pass’n Play mode allows you to play with multiple players on the same device. The game play is the same as in the Classic mode. You can also play a multi-player game over a Wi-Fi network using the Wi-Fi Multiplayer mode.
The great thing about the iPhone version of Trivial Pursuit is that the questions that are asked are a mixture of hard questions and easy modern questions. This gives you the feeling that you can actually win the game.
So start playing and be prepared to answer questions from the six main categories: Geography, Arts & Literature, Science & Nature, Sports & Leisure, Entertainment, and History.
Enjoy!
This is actually the first fashion app I found and it happened to be my favorite designer. The Chanel iPhone application puts the latest fashions in the palm of your hand. It is smart and includes a store locater that will call the store and map your trip to their door to stock up on the latest designs. When I opened the Chanel app for the first time, it really impressed me. The graphics are great and slick—very Chanel. It opens up to a pretty cool lens flare shooting around their logo and then drops you off on the home page. A black background, white text and nice color photos make this app very appealing to the eye.
You can get news, photos, videos, and product information from one of the biggest names in fashion. You can watch fashion shows, see the latest offerings from the Chanel line, access an RSS feed of Chanel’s news, and get store locations.
So far, Chanel is the only fashion company to release an app like this. You can find the Chanel application from the iTunes App store under the lifestyle category. The Chanel application is available for free.
The app also offers to get maps from a pre-specified point on the map or from the location of any of your contacts. With “Where To” you can find food, places to shop, fun things to do and much more with just a few taps. If you need it, you can quickly get driving directions to your destination through a familiar map user interface.
This application is absolutely beautifully crafted, works very well, and is surprisingly convenient and useful. While you would think you could just type in the search terms into Google maps, this program makes it a 2-3 tap operation and saves you time. This app has over 600 categories and the brilliant circle button design makes using this app simple. You select from the top level 11 categories that include sections such as Entertainment, Emergency services, Food & Drink. From there, you are presented with sub categories such as Movie Theaters, Auto Repair, and Pizza Places.
The application features a favorites feature allowing you to add any sub-category to a list that can save you a click here or there by showing you all of your favorites, across categories, in one list.
Not sure what you want for dinner? Tap “Surprise Me” to make the choice.
Take a chance and find something new and exciting!
I usually forget my shopping list that I wrote carefully at home with everything that I need to buy. I always figure this out when I’m in the store. I try to pick up the stuff I wrote down but I usually only remember half of the things on my list. It’s so frustrating! I found this new iPhone® app, Grocery Gadget, which is great! Since I always have my iPhone with me, I no longer have to shop without my list.
Before I leave my home, I create a shopping list on my iPhone and usually name the list after stores. Sometimes I have to make a specialized list for holidays, birthdays and parties.
What is great about Grocery Gadget is that it stores all of my lists, so I can easily refresh them or use them over again. When I have found an item, I just check it off the list and it will then appear at the bottom of the list. When I have ticked off everything I need from the store, the Grocery Gadget will show me the total cost and this helps me to keep within my budget.
All of the items on my list can be rearranged via dragging. When I tap on an item in my list, I can see the detailed screen where I can add quantity, notes, prices and taxes. If I wish, I can make more categories. Sometimes I have to send someone else out to do my shopping. I then just e-mail them my Grocery Gadget list and they will know what to pick up for me. What is great is that on the detailed list of items, I can attach a photo. This helps the person picking up my groceries buy the right product.
The main screen shows all saved lists, along with an Edit and plus-sign button. The Edit button lets me delete lists, and the plus sign will create a new list. Tapping an existing list brings the list up for viewing, which can be viewed in two modes: Prepare or Shop.
So make your shopping easier! Get Grocery Gadget at the AppStore.
Here are the four methods that Midomi uses to find song information:
When you have found the song you wanted, you can download it from iTunes®, watch it on YouTube® or store it. You can also share and send songs to your friends.
This is a great and free application and you can download it from the AppStore.
One thing that saves me a lot of time writing with the ShapeWriter is that I can write a text in a note or an e-mail in a totally unique way. Instead of poking at the screen to input each individual letter, I just trace my finger over the letters of the word I want to write.
Currently, for iPhone, this app only works for email and notes, but hopefully it will be developed further and integrated into more areas. Finally, you can enjoy writing!
Are you sick and tired of going on the scale every morning and trying to figure out if you have gained or lost some weight? Then you should try this iPhone® application.
Weightbots helps you keep track of your weight and is designed to look and sound like your own personal robot. Set your goal weight, record your weight at any interval (one weight per day max), view your BMI, and view your progress with a beautiful week, month, or year graph. Weightbots also has a built-in secure password feature to protect your weight from prying eyes. It’s easy to use, surprisingly addicting, and designed for everyone to enjoy.
The basic functions are pretty easy: move the slider to a date, click on the weight display, and set your weight. Other handy features you can choose from are: switching from pounds to metric, set a target weight, enter your height to get a BMI calculation, set a privacy code, and back up your data to a web account. The coolest feature by far is the graph mode, though. It’s a quick way to visually track your progress, and it includes your target weight and a trend line. Even if you are not actively dieting, you will love tracking your weight by using Weightbots.
You can get information about what kind of bathroom it is, for example, “sit” or “squat” indicates whether it’s comfortable and clean enough to use freely or whether it’s a destination to visit only in emergencies. You will also get a list of additional features, such as handicap access, hand dryers, condom dispenser, changing tables, and other amenities. It will also let you know if you have to pay to use the bathroom. If you use one of the bathrooms found with the SitOrSquat application, you can rate your visit from 1-5 stars and upload a picture.
The application is quick and reliable and your search for the closest bathroom only takes about 10-15 seconds. Once you decide which toilet you want to use, you will get a map on your iPhone showing you where to go. If you don’t have a big bladder, this can definitely be a perfect iPhone application for you!
Classics is an application holding many great books you can read right on your iPhone. You can escape into some of the greatest stories ever written and experience a revolutionary new reading platform, only for iPhones.
The classic books that Classics offers are an excuse to read all of the classic books you never had the chance to read. While most of the books are still under copyright, many older books are not and are thus free to distribute. There are 20 classic books available for you to read for free on your iPhone. The variety and quality of the books are excellent, and the best part is that the collection will keep on growing. Just make sure to keep up with the free software updates.
When you start the Classics application you will see all of the titles right there before you. They are all laid out on an animated bookshelf, as if it’s your own personal library. Have a look through the bookshelf and click on the book you want to read. When you select a book, it pops up in a nice display that actually looks like a book.
When you start reading, you have two options: you can either just tap the page to go back and forth, or, just to add affect, you can swipe your finger across like you’re really turning the page. When you wish to stop reading you can simply click the home button and a little bookmark will pop up marking your spot. You can do this for every book you choose, so you will not lose your spot in one book if you decide to start another. When you go back to view your library, you will see the books you have started as they each have the bookmarks on them.
Here is a list of some books you can choose from in the Classics app:
I don’t know how many times I have thought about how my brain could possibly remember my many passwords. I have password for my e-mails, websites, phones, and you name it… It’s a miracle I can still remember all of these passwords. But I’m afraid that adding another password to all the passwords I’m trying to remember will make me lose track of all of the passwords I have tried to store in my head. So, I decided I will prevent this from happening and I got the 1Password application for iPhone®, and it works great!
Since I have an Apple® Macintosh computer, this application is perfect for me. The application saves and stores my passwords to make my lifer easier. It also synchronizes my passwords with my Mac. 1Password secures my most private data without inconveniencing me. It not only creates and saves as many different passwords as I would like, but it restores them as well. But this application does not only store my passwords, it also saves my personal identity information such as name, address and telephone number, licenses, social security number and credit cards.
All of the data I enter in the 1Password application is locked behind a four-digit unlock code and a master password, which I have created. So to use the program, I have to enter my 4-digit unlock code and then I can view some of the saved content. To see my passwords, I have to enter the master code. This means that I’m safe if my mobile device ever got stolen or misplaced.
I have the ability to enter in and view various passwords I have saved, write private notes, sync with my computer, and even mess around with the settings.
Just make sure you remember your master password or all of the work you’ve put into it will be wasted! Good luck!
What I think is great about this app is that you can check the real-time status for flights from all around the world. I am constantly worried about flight schedules, delays, cancellations, and gate changes. I don’t know how many times I have wondered if my flight is leaving as planned or how the weather is at the location I’m going to. The FlightTrack Pro application has saved me many times when my flight has been delayed. So, for all the people who are traveling a lot, you should definitely have this iPhone® app.
Some of the features that FlightTrack Pro offers are:
Use this great app to find out about flight delays and cancellations as they happen. You can also view real-time gate changes, baggage claim info, and aircraft type. FlightTrack Pro automatically updates flights with the latest flight info, three days in advance.
I think this app is excellent and simple to use. The graphics are great and so is the database.
This application really gives you all of the information you’ll ever need. You can also save the flights you are tracking so that you won’t have to enter the information again, and this subsequently means that you can track as many flights as you like. And if you’re a little bored—you can shake the iPhone and it’ll track a random flight for you! Enjoy!
The first thing I had to do was to create a character and then select from the different hairstyles, outfits and personalities to create my character, “Lauren.” Once “Lauren” was created, I could start playing and moving “Lauren” around to let her live her life. The game is controlled by different buttons and cameras are controlled by pinching and the zoom button.
The Sims 3 is all about exploring your town. After “Lauren” had moved around in the town for a bit, it was time to get a job, learn to cook and use the toilet. All of these things help to shape “Lauren” and also lets her figure out what to do with her gold.
The graphics look great for an iPhone and the music is comprised of top-notch Sims-style songs. I definitely recommend checking it out. It’ll probably get you a bit addicted, but again, who cares, we are having fun!
When I first downloaded this app on an advice from a friend, I was surprised to see the nice design and how simple it looked. The Things app is a very intuitive task manager and easy to use. I must say that Things has the right balance between ease of use and powerful features. What took me a while to figure out was the possibility to sync wirelessly with the desktop version of Things using Wi-Fi. This is fantastic and it makes it a great tool!
I was a little confused in the beginning with the Inbox, but I quickly found out that all of the new to-dos I created were stored in there and I could easily get things out of my head and into the Inbox instead. Doesn’t that sound great—you can store all of your thoughts in an Inbox, its fantastic! When I made “things” with dates, they appeared automatically in the Today folder for that specific date.
One of the folders I have been using a lot is Scheduled. It lists all of the things I have to do but never find the time to do. I try to set a date to make some time to do them, but usually they end up in the “Someday” folder. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one having the problem of too little time and too much to do.
So if you feel that you have the same problem as me and need some help to sort all of your things, then I warmly recommend the Things app.
You can say that this application has saved me from some fights with friends and dates from time to time. For that I’m very grateful! A few weeks ago when I was meeting up with a friend, we argued about where to eat lunch and we could not decide if we were going to eat at restaurant A or B. After discussing it for quite a while, my mind fell to UrbanSpoon, which I downloaded a few days before meting up with my friend. I mentioned this to my friend and we decided that UrbanSpoon was going to decide for us.
We filled in our location and area and decided on a price range. We could not agree on a food type, so we left that one blank. Then we hit the search button. Since UrbanSpoon kind of works like a slot machine, we waited in excitement and the UrbanSpoon app randomly selected a restaurant for us. Since we agreed on going to the random selection, there was no more arguing. We also read the restaurant reviews because we had not been there before. The review sounded good so we looked up the restaurant’s location on Google Maps and met there to eat. After lunch, we decided to share our opinions on the restaurant with friends.
Just one thing to keep in mind: I have heard that UrbanSpoon tends to work best in metropolitan areas, so in smaller towns it may be a little tricky to make the app make a selection for you.
Avoid arguments with friends and dates and get UrbanSpoon. After all, it’s free!
Facebook has just launched their new iPhone app and it is amazing! It’s one of the best Facebook applications I’ve seen on the iPhone so far. I actually like using Facebook on the iPhone with this new application more than on the actual Facebook website.
Facebook for iPhone not only looks wonderful on that big touch screen, it makes it easier than ever to stay connected with your friends wherever you are. If you are like me, you may find yourself updating your status many times a day once you have Facebook in your pocket everywhere you go.
The iPhone app lets you search for people with just a few quick taps and calls your friends directly from their profile. I can’t think of a better way to stay it touch with all of my friends. With the Facebook app on my iPhone, I can check my wall, chat with Facebook friends, see friends’ photos and upload my own, and much more! Since I simply must check my Facebook when I’m out and about, this is a great way to do it.
Facebook app has over 1.5 million users, so come on and join us! Get it now because the Facebook app is free!
Are you a Twitter® fan? Then you should definitely try out the Tweetie application on iPhone®.
I would say this is the best Twitter client to have while you’re out and about. The application has the perfect features for me. I can view timeline, replies, direct messages and favorites. But my favorite feature on the go is the possibility to post new tweets, reply to direct tweets and send direct messages.
You should also have Twitpic, which allows you to post photos as well. So get your iPhone and download this application and start writing your tweets on the run. For example, you could tweet a funny picture of a lady falling on the street. Like many people, I also have more than one Twitter account and it’s great that you can follow all of them with the Tweetie client. I follow other people on Twitter, see what other twitterers are doing, and I also can update my twitter location.
Tweetie is my new favorite twitter client on my iPhone. Definitely download this today.
I have probably made hundreds of customized “radio stations” by selecting the artist I like and the type of music I prefer to listen to. As I’m a fan of Beyoncé, I can create stations based on her. And Pandora Radio will automatically play her music as well as music from artists similar to her. Since I also love Rihanna, I have added her as well as to my favorite artist—this gives Pandora Radio a set of characteristics to work with. This is based on the Music Genome Project. I just love it!
Some days I just feel like listening to a random radio station and then I can give individual songs thumbs up or thumbs down, to let Pandora know that it’s on the right track of my music taste or if it’s totally in the dark.
Best of all, this great application is free!
