Pros:
-22 Regions (Maps)
-40 Aircrafts with customizations
-A multitude of flying conditions
-Missions for each aircraft (even docking the space shuttle at the ISS!)
-Radio Chatter
-Realistic scenery with 3D buildings & terrain
-In app Apollo mission purchase

Cons:
-Up close the land is pixelated

$9.99 (optional $4.99 Apollo mission)
5/5

My very first iPhone App Review was X-Plane for iPhone. Now there is X-Plane 9 for iPad and I must say, it is about 30 times more outstanding than the iPhone App, The iPad app has many more planes & regions.

X-Plane 9 for iPad has 22 regions that include areas from Florida to Alaska to the Grand Canyon, to Hawaii. If you want to you can also land on a aircraft carrier!

There are a total of 40 aircrafts in the app, ranging from helicopters, to gliders, so commercial planes, to fighter jets to even the the Space Shuttle (you can even do the Apollo mission fora $4.99) in app purchase.)

Another thing to mention here is that some of the fighter jets can actually shoot.You can even shoot down an AI jet.

Some of the planes themselves come with missions and can be scene when switching to the map view, but most of the time, you are only going to see the ability to start landing, take-off or start at a random place.

Each plane has the ability to customize the total weight of the plane and its center of gravity.

Much like the iPhone App, there are four times of day – day, sunset, twilight & night. There are also the 5 different whether conditions; however, you now have the ability to mix two different levels. You can also customize the visibility, wind speed & direction, turbulence & wave height.

Once in an aircraft, there are a multitude of views – inside the cockpit with meters & controls, window view with on-screen meters & controls, follow the aircraft, customizable view – zoom in & out on the aircraft.

When flying an aircraft, you’ll need patience especially if you are flying from on airport to another as some of the maps are expansive and it can take awhile; of course you can always just do the landing & take-off missions. Lastly a very neat feature includes the ability to play the sim with another user that is on the same WiFi network. Can you say dog-fighting?

Having played a few aircraft simulation games (which of course had a steeper learning curve but were more accurate) this is a nice app to have on you iPad for anyone interested in a flight simulator

$9.99 for this app is absolutely outstanding! We’ve only said this once, before, but this one fits into that Elite category – every now and then an app comes along and really Wows us!

Don’t forget to check out the image gallery to see more screenshots!

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Pros:
-Super simple application
-3 color markers (for flagging items)
-Attach notes & due dates
-Easy custom sorting along with pre-defined sorting
-Search for items/keywords
-New item entry is quick

Cons:
-Controlling app is away from “normal” look-alike app UI features
-Due date/notes are not displayed in-line with item (except when sorting items by due dates)
-Swipe to complete isn’t intuitive.
-No icon badge for items with due dates

3.7/5

$0.99

What mainly led me onto this app was how the UI looked, in the screen shots- simple & elegant. While it is just that, it also has some issues.

The app itself replicates the creating of new lists much like creating a new document in the Pages app.

After creating a title, you can hit the “new item” button to begin adding items to your list. After the initial item entry, you just have to hit “return” on the keyboard to add another item, and so on.

Tapping on the “>” pulls up options for the item – give it a due date, add a note and whether to flag it one of 3 colors -red, orange or blue. While these things are nice additions to the app, I found them counter-intuitive as the note (even an abbreviated version) nor the date displayed when the dialog was closed- only a grayed-out “note” icon displayed. Of course the colors are quite apparent so there really isn’t a problem there. Also if the item is due on the current date or past due, then the usual “>” turns int o an orange “!”.

At the top of the list, there are four preset sorting options -list (the order you created and arranged the items in), by due date (if you have due dates assigned to the items),

by priority (red, orange, blue & white),

and finally the completed items on the list.

Within the “list” view, you have the ability to re-arrange the items much like you would do in any other item-sort on an iPhone/iPad. Tap and hold the “3 bar” icon on the far right of the item.

Within the completed items, you have the ability to “swipe-to-delete”…sorta. It deletes it from the “completed” section and adds it back to your list.

One of the things that got me twitching was the usability of the app. You might find in a lot of applications, that the User Interfaces seem to all work the same (e.g.: swipe to delete) However this application seems to against that norm. The app allows you to swipe an item to mark it as complete, tapping the “>” gives you more details (while that is a valid use, I found myself tapping the circle to mark it complete rather than wanting more details about it.) Like many Todo applications the due date is shown in-line with the item, in this app it is not. Of course once the item is complete, only then is there a date to show when the item was complete. There seems to be a lot of wasted space in the app. I suppose if each of your items were long (as in words) then you may not have an issue, but for short, quick lists, it just seems like too much wasted space.

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Pros:

• Auto creation or title page
• A TAB button for creating the format of a line
• Scene Outlines
• Global character editing
• Importing
• Universal app platform
• Import/Export of Celtx (*.celtx), Final Draft (*.fdx) & TXT (*.txt) files
• E-mail scripts
• Preview full script
• Change lowercase to uppercase
• Import via iTunes (for iPad)

Cons:

• iPhone importing requires local WiFi transfer.
• Inability to import from other servers (e.g.: box.net, etc.)

Lets face it, when it comes to script writing, you either need a quiet concentrated environment to work in OR you suddenly get a great idea while walking down the side walk, and its a little hard to whip out your laptop and boot it up and… then you forget what you were thinking… Scripts Pro might help you here. Scripts Pro is a Top Tier script writing application for your iPhone & iPad. My initial thought when I saw the application was “I wish I had this when I was in film school!” I’m assuming you are viewing this review because you have either used Celtx or Final Draft in the past or maybe you’re using Word. None the less, Scripts Pro can handle any script coming from those programs (assuming you save the script as a .txt file in Word.)

Importing you scripts into Scripts Pro is quite easy. All you need to do it have your device on the same WiFi network as you computer. You then connect the two using your prowser on your computer and you can transfer a script one at a time. On the iPad you can also import via iTunes.

Scripts Pro makes formatting your script a breeze – it auto-capitalizes scene headings, characters & scene transitions. It keeps a list of all your scenes (can even reorder the scenes) & characters to navigate quickly or to edit a character’s name. It also has an auto-complete popup when typing for scene heading (much like the native iPhone spell checker) or the characters so you don’t have to constantly re-type each character’s name. On the iPad you have extra built-in options with the “replace” context menu.

Another notable feature within the app is the “TAB” button that has been added. In computer script writing software, the use of the TAB button is necessary in order to format certain elements within a script correctly. With the addition of it in the app, users will find it’s VERY helpful (why didn’t Apple add it…)

The application also allows you to hide the top panel of the keyboard so that you can see more of your script.

On the iPad, you have much more room to see your script. The menus for viewing character & scenes are drop downs compared to view it on a new screen on the iPad or iPod touch.

Finally, you also have the ability to view your script, title page & all to see it in its entirety.

Overall the application is very nice and perfect for any script writer that is looking to not get distracted in a software environment while writing. When the app initially released, the app seemed hard to navigate without any instructions. But the developer soon came up with an instruction manual. It can be found here. At $5.99 this universal app is a great deal. To add to its reputation, the developer seems to be consistently updating the app to make the app better and more efficient. If you are still hesitant about getting the app, you can download the “lite” version of the app called “Scripts”

[iTunes Link - $5.99]

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Join Matt & Brie May 4th, 2010 as they discuss some of the latest applications in the App Store and answer questions about iPhone & iPad applications!

Just go here and listen in. Don’t forget, our toll-free number will also be open to take questions, just call 1-877-338-2524!

So many apps, so little time. USA TODAY’s Marco R. della Cava asked Matt Sawyers, who along with a few Texas-based tech friends started TheiPhoneAppBlog.com, to list five largely iPhone-centric apps that really rocked his world — and five he wishes never existed:

BEST IN CLASS

• Waze (Waze, free), a community-based turn-by-turn navigation system. A clever way to get real-time traffic alerts based on input from others using the same app. “Every now and then an app wows us, and this is one,” Sawyers says.

• The Oregon Trail (Gameloft, $4.99), a pioneering adventure game that mixes the mundane with history. Although usually not a big app game fan, Sawyer says the combination of myriad games-within-games and amazing graphics “will keep you entertained for a long time.”

• What’s on TV? (Napkin Studio, free), a handy entertainment guide in your pocket. Providing everything from TV listings to movie times to information about your favorite actors, this app “can even send you updates about the latest buzz in the entertainment industry,” Sawyers says.

• Grocery iQ (Coupons Inc.,99 cents), which can make that penciled-out grocery list a thing of the past. Putting together a shopping list is as easy as using your phone to scan the bar codes off items you’re running low on at home. “This app even has a sharing feature that takes an item off your partner’s list as soon as you do, so you never buy doubles,” Sawyers says.

• Photoshop Mobile (Photoshop, free), which lets you touch up your iPhotos with a mobile darkroom. For anyone “wanting to make small adjustments to their phone photos on the go, this is a great app,” Sawyers says. He notes that photos can be cropped, rotated, flipped and color-adjusted with just a few finger swipes.

FORGETTABLE

• Accurate Scale (SolarEclipseSoft,99 cents), the iPhone as micro-scale. “If you need a scale, buy a scale,” says Sawyers, who adds that items need to be dropped from a few inches. “We got different results each time,” he says — not to mention a dinged screen.

• fishFart (ilovelava, 99 cents), where you can enjoy a moment of fish bliss. “Do we really need to explain?” Sawyers asks. Animation of red bubbles in green water — accompanied by a loop of a bubbling sound — does not a great app make.

• iWarmer (Kooapps, $1.99), where you can warm up by the glow of the screen. You get a variety of “hot” objects to stare at, so the warming is purely psychological. “Laugh at apps like this when they come by,” Sawyers says. “We do.”

• FatBurner 2K (DailyBurn, 99 cents), where you supposedly lose weight by burning fat through vibrations. “Do. Not. Want,” Sawyers says. “One of the worst apps in the store, and one of us was a sucker and purchased it.”

• Evil Oven (Roman Pfneudl,99 cents), the first mobile stovetop for your iPhone. Now off the market, this one set the bar for “the pointless and worst-app-ever category,” Sawyers says. On screen, you simply see the fading in and out of an orange stovetop. “Glad no one else will get burned by this app.”

While these apps (particularly the Noteable ones) were picked with USA Today’s audience in mind, we can’t say they are absolutly the BEST in the App Store. We recommend reading the whole article & let us know what you think!

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Pros:
-You get to make fun of people that buy this app.

Cons:
-Useless
-Drains battery (God forbid.)

The app description says:

FatBurner2K is the only application for the iPhone specifically designed to vibrate fat molecules. In fact, the application is so
focused on shaking your fat molecules that it’s the only thin[g] it does.

Yeah, shake…. Something else comes to mind when it starts vibrating… not a fat burner…it even has a ‘pulse’ setting…

I however, will say that on the DailyBurn blog, they did mention that this was a complete joke. So while giving them some sort of credit, they did but the app under the “Entertainment” category, yet, the app is still CrApp…

.5/5

$0.99

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Pros:
-Easy to use
-Quickly scan barcodes
-Ridiculously accurate
-Find “local results” for a product
-Detailed search results
-Reviews from http://alaTest.com
-Food allergen info (if scanning foods)

Cons:
-Mobile websites do not format correctly (e.g. Amazon)

I have found this nifty application very handy when it comes to buying gifts or just comparing products.

The application, when it starts up will display all your previously scanned entries.

If you tap on the lightning bolt icon at the bottom, it will start of your camera and will have a noticeable  set of brackets in the center to align the barcode. The brackets turn green (like in the first photo) when it recognizes a barcode & then will make a “ping” sound and automatically load information/prices about the product from Google & The Find as well as any local results it might find in your area. Another nice ‘local’ thing when scanning books is it can see if your local Library has it is well.

If you are in a hurry and you want to scan multiple barcodes and then just see the results later, there is a way of doing it. When you load up the scanner, there is a small “switch” in the bottom-right-hand corner. Switching it to “multiple” will allow multiple barcode scans without returning to the results page after each single scan. Tap on “done button to view all the scans your just made & tap each barcodeo load the results.

Looking back at the “home” view – you scan history, you have the ability to star certain results, delete results, mass delete & even email the list along with a .txt file of just the bar code numbers. This export feature is great if you have another software program that can use this file.

Just in case you cannot scan the barcode, then there is always entering the barcode number directly.I’ve found that the scanner doesn’t do very well on very small barcodes, so entering manually is the way to go.

Before the 2.7 Update, I found that if you scanned a barcode that was not found, the you were out of luck. However, now it seems that you can add a photo to the barcode to their global database for the company to check and see if they can match the product with the barcode.

Overall:

I find this application very easy to use and quite nice to have along for the holiday shopping season. The only thing I really would like to see – Amazon.com loading in mobile form. I believe they actually had this at one point, but it no longer works. If you scroll through the results, you might find Amazon.com in the results & view the web page, but it won’t be iPhone formatted The price listing are quite nice especially when comparing products. The new addition of adding photos of the product  with an unknown barcode, product reviews, food allergen look up & the local library’ search really make this app a bang for your buck… erm…. 2 bangs for two bucks If you are a bargain hunter, this is definitely an app for you.

4.5/5

$1.99

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I have no idea why I bought this app, must have been one late night…

It’s adds another tally to the pointless/worse app category. the app is a virtual stove-top at you finger-tips..!

There are two buttons in the bottom right corner, when you touch the left one of the two, the left burner comes on with a click and 1:30 shows up in the timer window above the button pressed.

If you press the right button, the right-most (smaller) burner turns on and the timer appears above the button. The more you press the button(s) the more time that is added to the timer. When the timer runs out, that corresponding burner turns off. It you touch any of the burners, you’ll hear a sizzling sound and a noticeable cold spot on the burner.

After turning the large burner on, if you “rub” the burner an “evil burner” will appear and depending on how you rub it will make a purring/growling sound and will rotate if you move your finger around the burner.

There really aren’t any pros nor cons to this app, it’s pointless…

Pros:
-Um Interesting idea?

Cons:
-Not worth $2
-Pointless

Personally I think pointless apps should cost anything, but o well.

.5/5

$1.99

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Also within the forums, in the post editor, several of the buttons are missing, again we are working quickly on this. We want to have the best iPhone app review community on the Internet and we want you guys right there with us. Let us know if there is anything else no going the way it should.

-Nice layout

-Easy to navigate

-Can be stress relieving

Cons:

-Have to buy extra poems

3.5/5

Poem Flow is an app that lets the user get a poem a day, and read them as a regular poem, or, if the iPhone is turned sideways, the poem is animated to play as the poem should be read.

This is a nicely organized app, and easy to use.  However there isn’t much to it.  I enjoy reading the poems day to day, but I’m not sure I like the idea of subscribing to get more poems by amount or by year.  I’m the type of person to pay for an app once, and enjoy it for the time I use it.  But since the app is free to begin with, its not that bad to pay the .99¢ for 3 months or $2.99 for a year of extra poems.

The poems are informational as well, by giving the title, author, as well as the date or year the poem was published.

This is an app for people who are interested in poetry, whether it be writing poems themselves, or reading the works of others.  You can even see where the poem was read last, if you choose to participate in the geolocation.

While in video mode, the poem moves fluidly and you can almost hear the voice of the poet reading it along with the words appearing on screen.  It’s very calming if you’re having a tough day, and you can choose poems to read that you already have in your library.  But if you want more, you have to wait for the next day to receive a new poem.  Personally, I would rather that all the poems be accessible at once than having to wait, since I’m a little impatient, but that’s just me.

All in all, this app is awesome for coffee shop sitters, students in a poetic writing class, and even for professors teaching said class as well.

Rating: 3.5/5

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Pros:

-Works with 25+ services
-Each services are colored for easy viewing
-Large font of “days remaining”
-Quickly view details about your package
-View map location of your package
-Rename packages for easy viewing
-Sync packages with server

Cons:

-No “easy way” of getting push notifications
-2-button press to add new (one less button tap would be better).

$2.99
4.2/5

Delivery Status touch, a package tracker is a pretty cool application. The ability to track all your packages in transit is quite nice, rather than having to go from one app (UPS) to check one package then switching to the another app (FedEx) to check another package.

Adding packages to your track-list is quite easy to do. You will have to tap the “edit” button in order to make the “+” appear so that you can add a new package. I can’t say that I am a big fan of having to tap on the edit button to add a package, having the “+” sign in addition to the other buttons would be nice.

In adding the new package to your list, just add the service, a name you want to call it, and its tracking number. The add-screen also has a “history” item list if you want to choose from it; however, I am unsure as to why its there. I figure once you track a package, that’s it. There nothing more to track. I may be wrong here, but it seems a little redundant.

There are a significant number of services to choose from, even international services are trackable. The following is a list of supported services as pulled from their website:

With the new layout, you can:

• Browse reviews and their summaries
• Quick access to our “Picks of the week”
• View our 10 top rated apps (and what others think of it)
• comment on reviews without having to first register
• View our review index
• View reviews by category
• View video related to the review
• View more info about the application
• See “Apps you may also like…”
• Submit your own rating for an app reviewed
• Play or download our super cool podcast
• Read news about application.
• Contact form- an easier way to contact us. Of course you can still e-mail (or even call us )
• View reviews on your iPhone
• View video reviews right on your iPhone (currently being implemented)

Our Forums (Opening soon):

• Discuss applications we have reviewed, get help with levels in games you cannot get through! (Registration will open shortly)

Our Podcast:

• This is probably one of our favorite new features and we don’t think anyone else is doing it! Every Tuesday night, we will hold a live 1-hour show where we will take calls & answer questions about iPhone applications, discuss some cool apps we have found or even interview developers!
• As for calling in, you have several options – you can call in any time & leave us a message with your first name, state you’re from and your question & we will mention you on our show. You can of course call in during our show & ask a question live, as well.

We hope to add more features in the future and if you have any cool ideas, please share them with us. We hope you like the new site!

~The TiPAB Team

Writing Toolkit is an app that helps aspiring writers organize their ideas, helps spark new ones, and gives the user the ability to explore different types of plots and settings, as well reminds us all about simple and complex English terms used for writing.

I was a bit skeptical of this one at first, but it caught my eye because I write short stories, and am always looking for a way to help organize my ideas better.  And to my surprise, this app works for people on all levels of writing, and could actually help kids in their writing for classes.

Sometimes I have trouble thinking of scenarios for my stories; this app has a scenario helper, as well as a button for places, and can give you interesting random, albeit sometimes strange, scenarios.  Or you can write your own and save them as ideas for later.

Do you have difficulties thinking up names and occupations for your characters?  This app has the option to help generate random names, as well as let you create your own and start a character list complete with a small ‘roll’ or bio area.

There’s also a note area for when you’re out and about, away from your computer, where you can title and write ideas for your story and save them for later.

Do you have trouble with big flowery descriptive words?  The dialogue button gives you quite a few words with a ‘normal, loud, questioning, or soft’ description.  My only problem here is that there isn’t a short dictionary meaning for these words, so if you aren’t a walking dictionary, you may have some trouble knowing what some of them mean.  There’s also a list of prepositions for all of you non-English majors out there, you may have problems remembering what in the heck prepositions are for, or why you even need to know what they are for that matter.  Just remember the rule, don’t end your sentences in a preposition!!

If you’ve completely forgotten English terms and punctuation, the Toolkit has buttons to lists that describe all the various mysteries of things like commas and adverbs.  “I like the definitions, they’re lovely.”  Can you pick out the comma and the adverb?

The average iPhone user probably has little use for an app such as this, but for all the help it can give a struggling student, or an author with writers block, this app does wonders.  I can even listen to my playlist while in the app.  Which means I can write, listen to my favorite music, and look up what a participle is all at the same time.  Sounds like a typical night for a student to me.

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Cons:
-No extended daily-horizontal-view. (6+ days)
-Weather forecast can sometime be inaccurate

3.9/5

MyWeather Mobile is by far one of the best weather applications in the App Store! Its intuitive data mapping and easy to navigate interface really make this app a winner!

MyWeather Mobile’s main advantage is that it automatically finds where you are and loads your weather data. While this is nice, you also have the option of adding more locations from all over the world (cities outside the US don’t have all of the same features though).

The app is split into three main sections. When the app loads you are presented with the current temperatures of all the cities you have listed in the top section & depending on which one you have selected, you are presented with a 7-day forecast in the bottom section.

In the middle is a tool bar that allows you to display the forecast, the weather trends or the radar/satellite/alerts in the bottom section.

For each of the cities you have picked, the app will list their current temperatures & conditions next to each city. If you tap on the little black arrow (not very visable), you can view more details about the current weather conditions: location of weather station, wind chill, dew point, humidity, precipitation today, wind speed & direction, pressure & whether it is increasing, decreasing or staying the same.

The app defaults to selecting your “MyWeather” By taping on one of your locations you can view the 7-day forecast and the hi’s & low’s for each day. (You can always remove the “MyWeather” or add cities by tapping on the “i”.)

Tapping on the trends allows you to view the current days forecast plotted over a 12-hour period, swipe right to view a second trend – a 12-hr precipitation forecast and lastly you can view a 12-hr wind speed & direction trend. While viewing the trends, if you flip the iPhone so that it’s horizontal, you can view the trends full-screen & they will become 36-hour forecast trends.

Lastly on the middle toolbar, you can tap on radar and the radar imagery will appear in the bottom pane. Again is you rotate the iPhone, you’ll be able to see the radar in full screen mode.

The orange dot on the map is the location you have selected and the other yellow dots are the other locations on your list.

You can pan & zoom in or out to see more or less of the map. I find this feature one of the strongest points for this app. If you tap on the screen once, a HUD (Heads-Up Display) will appear, this allows to change the map terrain – Road or Aerial (my personal favorite;) the Overlay – Radar, Satellite, and Alerts; the opacity allows you to set the transparency of the radar, satellite imagery and finally the play/pause button well it… erm… plays & pauses the animation.

If you tap on the Alerts view, you might notice several colors appear on the screen, in the bottom-right corner, an “i” icon will appear – this identifies what the alert colors stand for.

One of the most recently added features was PUSH notifications for weather alerts that you have listed in the app.

This can be a great help, especially when traveling. The alerts will appear as red push-pins in the main part of the interface until the alerts expire. Tapping on them in the main area or on the map will pull up the alert in more detail.

On a mildly unrelated note, last year I attended NAB (National Association of Broadcasters Convention) and ended up seeing the guys from MyWeather. I spoke with someone that works directly on the MyWeather Mobile iPhone app dev team. After I got done talking with him, I found out some substantial information. Firstly, and most importantly, MyWeather is the data collector & provider for several entities. What does that mean? This means that the data is likely to much more recent that other places that receive the data, then rebroadcast the data to you – leaving a delay in time.

Secondly, I found that they are eventually going to have the forecast expand viewable horizontally when the iPhone is rotated on its side.

Finally, I was told that they eventually hope to have this happen, but there really isn’t a release date – the ability to tap on the map and get current conditions for that area.

The only unusual or lacking things this app had was – when displaying the color map for the alerts, you have to tap the “i” again rather than tapping the map again. Also I really wish there was a 10-day, horizontal forecast view. Overall, this app is completely worth the money. However, I have had some issues with the forecast prediction (85-90% of the time its accurate.) I absolutely LOVE the radar and the way I can manipulate it (to even see satellite imagery of hurricanes in the Atlantic). The radar is incredibly accurate as are the current weather conditions. The interface is super clean & sleek and is highly recommended for anyone that keeps track of the weather on a daily basis.

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-Very user friendly

-Wide range of years, 1948-2009

-The option to buy the song you’re listing to

Cons:

-If you have bad service, song will cut out

I’ll be honest.  This is my first review of an app, so I felt it fitting to review one of the first apps I downloaded.  I bought it the second day I had my iPhone, and believe me, I am a frugal shopper when I look at apps.  So when I saw nuTsie’s Top 100’s, and for only $1.99, I figured it would be a good deal.

What I didn’t realize was how far back this thing goes!  Do you like Johnny Cash?  Elvis?  How about Ella Fitzgerald?  Nutsie goes back all the way to 1948, and finishes up at 2009.  That is 6,100 songs at your fingertips.  For $1.99, people.

It’s very simple to navigate, simply scroll to select your favorite year of music and let the music take you back.  Oh, what’s that, this song reminds you of bad memories from high school, getting a wedgie in the parking lot while someone’s car radio blasted “Beautiful” by Christina Aguilera?  No problem, simply skip to the next song.

Essentially, nuTsie is a radio type app, like Pandora.  You can skip songs, you can purchase the song directly from iTunes, and you can even go to the YouTube music video while still in the app.

However, for you to enjoy the music to the fullest, you have to be in an area where you get full service, or at least a strong wireless signal.  Otherwise, you will be singing a capella at the top of your lungs to Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” when the music suddenly cuts out.

Overall, this is a good app for the cost.  Unfortunately, if you like alternative music that isn’t mainstream, you’re not likely to find many songs here that you’ll enjoy.  But I do have to say that this is an app that saves me from buying songs on iTunes, but keeps me guessing.  You never know when you’ll hear a song that you love, but you completely forgot about.

4.5/5
$1.99

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Pros:
-Unlimited sources to be checked (as many RSS feeds as you want etc.)
-Notification response time is very reasonable.
-100 free notifications (before “unlocking” the application)

Cons:
-App navigation could be better
-Notifications appear in app all bunched up, no way to mark as read.
-Must edit settings in a browser. (opens op Safari.app)
-No RSS feed search

FREE

[iTunes Link]

I’ve never regularly used an RSS reader, because I would add a lot of feeds, then when I’d open it, I had all these things to read and that little number badge would be in the hundreds staring at me from my springboard. I happen to be one of those people that if there’s a number badge on an app, then it needs to be resolved immediately. So I deleted the app. Resolved, right?!? Not exactly what should be done…

Getting back to the app- The resolution to my issue was using the Notifications app. This allowed me to set up certain RSS feeds to be checked and Push notifications to be sent to me. Notifications doesn’t only do push for RSS, but Twitter, Gmail, and if you know how to code, then these are some bits of code that you can utilize on your website. So the app applies to both beginner & advanced iPhone users.

The app itself is quite simple. The main page consists of all the notifications you have received to date & the settings page, which allows you to check latency, to test sending push notifications to yourself and to show you which services you have enabled.

My main issue with this app was determining how to enter my feeds & Twitter searches so that it would send me the notifications. I ended up doing a Google search for the company and finding a login page (that I first registered for) and logged in to be able to edit my notifications.
I really don’t understand why they couldn’t add a button in the settings pane that opens up an IN-APP BROWSER! Mind you, the website is mobile formatted; however, the blanks you type into are not, so it is a bit catty-whompus.

Right now I have about some 30 feeds that Notifications checks for me and one Twitter search. While their website states that the notification come instantly, I noticed that it can take from instantly to 15 minutes before you receive notification. A nice little feature I noticed on the web was the ability to open up a pre-selected iPhone Twitter app when you received a Twitter notification.

Overall, the service is great. If you are looking for a solid RSS application with PUSH, then this is NOT the app for you. If you don’t care much about the app itself & its UI, then you should be just fine purchasing this app. The one main thing I’d really like to see improved is the app itself – to have the capability to marked notifications as read or unread & the ability to sort into categories would be an added bonus.

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Cons:
-Remote server can be tricky to set up as Port forwarding doesn’t work on all networks
-Smaller, less resourceful computers, will not be able to run the software.

Again setting up the iPhone local and Internet connection are easy to setup. At one point I had an issue where I couldn’t get one of the servers to show up under local network & I had to enter my IP manually to get it to work.

The flow of the program is easy to navigate – you have your servers, then your file listings. You also have the option to set a password for your server to keep other out.

It seemed no matter what type of file I had, I was always able to see a screenshot next to the name whether it was converted or not.

In viewing details about the video, if it’s not in iPhone readable format, the app can either convert it for you (you can go about other things & come back to it later) or you can use the “LIVE conversion.”

When the videos convert, you’ll be left with a duplicate video file on your computer – the converted file, which is nonce to keep around other than being capable of streaming the video. Another thing you can do is add the video to iTunes and even to an optional playlist.

One of the things that really caught me by surprise was the extensive compression & ratio settings. You can even create multiple presets (ones for Edge & 3G connections) and set a default preset.

I never had an issue once I figured out the right conversion I wanted to use (the medium default preset worked out well for me to start with). I even made different conversion presets depending on what type of connection I thought I’d have.

Lastly, that other thing that caught me off guard was that the app has the ability to stream files remotely (via 3G/Edge) rather than just your local Wifi. Imagine instead of waiting tediously for a video to download from the Internet, you can leave your computer, check you iPhone, convert it and view it on-the-go!

Overall, this is absolutely an amazing concept & app, I surprised Apple/AT&T didn’t block this one. On a side note, I’d have to say – if you need a video converter & you “happen” to have an iPod touch or iPhone, for 3 bucks to have a well created video converter is a steal!

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DailyBurn + Occipital’s Red Laser = WIN

From the creators of the Daily Burn app & Occipital’s RedLaser technology comes FoodScanner. If you have used DailyBurn before (or if you haven’t you should, but it’s not required to have an account to use the app), then you should know that tracking the foods you eat can become tedious at times, especially when you can’t find just the right food to enter into your Food Log.

Well, FoodScanner simplifies the process, using Occipital’s RedLaser technology. So by using your iPhone’s camera, aim at the food’s barcode & violá, the app will make a beeping noise and load your results nearly instantly, you don’t even have to tap the annoyingly small “camera” button!

Sorry image is blurry, hard to take a
snapshot before the app picks up the barcode.

From there you can enter the food into your Food Log if you wish or you can view nutritional data for the product.

But let’s say the barcode that is scanned doesn’t pull up any results, well, you have the option to add the food to the database by adding the name, serving size,

nutritional data & even a picture!

No barcode? No problem! Use a keyword to mind a food & it’s nutritional info. But wait there’s more! Not only is the product added to your database, but to the global one as well, so when they say “a database of 200,000+ items & growing” they aren’t kidding. My only concern is false information, so do make sure when adding the food to your DailyBurn journal, that the nutritional info seems right.

I was really impressed by it’s ability to take a picture of the UPC barcode. I first tested it on the 3GS, no problems, I turned out all the lights and was able to “scan” the barcode using only the dim light radiating off my computer monitor! I then picked up my old iPhone 2G. While yes, the camera does not have a macro lens, the outcome was nearly the same. It took a little longer for the barcode to register, but nothing I’d say I wouldn’t have expected given the camera’s specs.

Another thing to note is that the screen says “hold still” I literally sat down and “trembled” the iPhone 3GS it was able to pick up the UPC code (it almost seemed to pick it up faster…)

This application really starts off where the free DailyBurn app ends. I only hope that they at some point merge the two into a “PRO” application as having two application is mildly irritating, especially if you need the real estate on your home screen. Another thing I’d like to see in the app (if not a ‘PRO” version, then the ability to “switch” between apps with out having to go to the home screen.) Again, realize that you do not need a DailyBurn account to use this, but if you like tracking your nutrition, then I highly recommend an account & the free DailyBurn app. The app is starting at an “introductory price” of $2.99. I hope they don’t raise the price too much, as I wouldn’t want to pay over the $2.99, $3.99 would be the absolute max. This is a really great concept & awesome app; however, the fact that I can’t go back to simply view data on previously scanned foods is a little annoying.

Review is for version 1.0 of app.

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Cons:
-Occasional crash when refreshing the Downloads page.
-No ingredient or step check off list.
-If you press the “sleep” button on your iPhone, it interrupts the download of new cookbooks.
-Photos don’t always appear in recipes (or aren’t there to begin with. A “default” image would be nice)

3.5/5

Finger Cookbook is as you may have suspected, a recipe app. But this app is different than any of the others in that, Chef bloggers can submit “cookbooks” containing 10 recipes or more to be submitted it to the app devs for implementation into the app!

Currently the application has recipes from 11 different blogs and contain some really good looking recipes I might add.

The second section is the Recipe section. This section lists your cookbooks that you have downloaded & their recipes within.

The third section is a favorites section. You can add recipes to you favorites for easy reference at a later time.

Fourth, is a the Search section. This is self explanatory…

Lastly, the fifth section is an explanation about the app & how to submit your recipes as well as some Conversion charts, in case you need to know how many milliliters are in 1/4 cup…

I was quite surprised by the quality of each recipe – written & photographed (might I add, the “Chestnuts soup with turnip tops” recipe from Irene binaghi, is mighty good.)

Some of the issues I encountered: I had the app crash when reloading the download page. This only happened to me twice ant was sporadic. In cookbooks, when displaying the list of recipes, a thumbnail photo is visible; however, in viewing the recipe by itself, the photo did not show up (this only occurred in some of them).

Overall this is a really neat concept. Some of the main things that I felt were missing from the app – a lack of check boxes to know which ingredients you have added or what step you are on. I’d really like to see this implemented. Another thing that would be really cool to see, would be a global rating system that users vote by only within the app.

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Cons:
-No global scoring
-A little hard to play at the beginning

2/5

No, this isn’t an adult application (come on now, what were you thinking…)

This application closely represents the “helicopter” type game. Where the object of the game is to make the ship fly through the tunnel without hitting the sides or the any of the barriers.

There are also powers you can pick up along the way – good & bad. Some of them make you ship invisible, makes the ship go faster, fly through barriers, slows the ship down, reverse controls & makes the ship smaller.

The application has 3 levels, however, I was never able to get passed level one. For me, I’d think that the first level should be significantly easier than the other levels, but I just got frustrated and gave up.

The controls are basic – tap the screen to make the ship go up, don’t tap the screen and the ship falls.

The sounds that the app make are okay. When you make the ship “go,” the sound loop for it it a bit repetitive for my tastes.

The app also retains high scores in case you want to track yourself along with anyone else that plays the app on your iPhone.

Overall I found this app quite out of character for some of the other applications that Readdle has created. Personally, I didn’t really find this game all that exciting. It was a little hard for me starting out and I eventually got frustrated and gave up. If you like this type of game, then you might be interested in this, but like I said, you might find it difficult right off the bat.

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Pros:
-Intuitive Interface
-Search for planets, constellations, etc. & view details
-Current location or search for another area.
-3GS users can utilize the compass/tilt feature, other users do not have access to the compass feature.
-Zoom in & out, tap to select object in sky
-Night view (red tint)
-View the sky for a specific time of day

Cons:
-When viewing details about some items, text is too long to fit in box (text gets cut off)
-The sound the app makes when “typing” out the object’s details is a little annoying.
-Not all objects show a label when highlighted by the green circle (does show up in details)

4.7/5

Star Walk is the best Star gazing application I have come across for the iPhone. Many of the features found within the application cannot be found in any others! This is one of the best developed and executed applications I have seen to hit the app store.

When the app opens, it will take a moment to load. I noticed that the app states on the loading page “The Universe – Yours to Discover” This is an awesome statement and very true to the app.

The user interface is very easy to navigate. When you get into the application, the app will automatically detect your location and arrange the sky as it is currently for you. You can use your finger to pan around the sky.

For 3GS users, tap on the screen once, then lift the iPhone up over your head & “peer through the viewfinder”. I could keep going on about this feature, but again, this is one of the best features of the app. Other iPhone/iTouch users can do the same however, you can only tilt vertically.

Tap on any object in the sky to select it and see its name.

I however, ran into a few instances where the name did not show up until I viewed the full details. To view the details, you simply tap on the “i” in the top left-hand corner.

Tap on it again to leave the details view. Most of the buttons that take you out of the full sky view, when tapped again, will take you back. However, the “w” button in the details view will take you to Wikipedia to view details on the Internet. This is a nice addition if you have the Internet access.

The clock in the top right-hand corner allows you to change the time of day/date to view the sky. I found it kind of fun to slide the slider so that it continued to rotate so I could view the sky as an “elapsed time” sort-of view. However, when doing this I also found it was a bit difficult to stop unless I tapped on the “now” button. Also if you have selected an object, the sky will “rotate” around it when you change the time/date.

In the bottom-left-hand corner you have a search. And finally, in the bottom right-hand corner, tap the button to make 3 more appear, the bottom one, allows you to change On/Off settings – Night Mode, Constellations, & Sounds.

You also have the ability to brighten of dim the sky (not brightness). You literally can make the smaller stars not appear or have them all appear according to your location. The middle button finds your current location or lets you view the sky from a different location.

And the last one allows you to access & modify bookmarks.

There are also some other neat things I found in the app:

I found that the sun creates a flare on you “window.” It changes direction & angle as the sun revolves around you in the app. Also the sun literally dims in brightness and the flare disappears when another object comes in front it it. Another thing is the Moon. In the above screenshot you can see the moon and as it moves past the sun you can actually see the shadow move across it. These little details show that a lot of thought went into this app by the developers & designers.

Overall this is an outstanding application, while it does seem to have a few minor issues this is a fairly solid app. The one thing I’d really like to see would be – in the full sky view, the sky would constantly be in motion when you aren’t customizing the time/date. This way, 30 minutes later while you are still in the app, the sky is literally “tracking” with you.

I highly recommend it to anyone even remotely interested in Astronomy or star gazing. At $4.99 this is an awesome app, if you have an iPhone 3GS, then it’s a steal!

[ iTunes Link]

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**Note: This review is a blanket review – having beta tested all the apps in the Groove Maker series, they all operate in the same basic way, the main difference are the sound loops.

The application is a new revolutionary way of creating music and it’s going to change the way people DJ on the go.

Check out this MP3 I created using the app LIVE with the Hip-Hop version!
I simply plugged a stereo cable from my iPhone into my computer and recorded it live in Audacity. Nothing else was edited on the song.

Pros:
-Easy to learn UI
-Export your song via WiFi (as a *.wav file)
-Multiple song pack per app
-A lot of loops per app (about 70-100 loops per song)
-Loops stay on beat – no attempting to match the beat
-Tempo modifier (& pitch)
-Loads quickly (after initial load)
-Intuitive & Interactive Help
-Save songs/layouts

Cons:
-Song created is limited to approximately 3.5 minutes/ 15 grooves per sequence
-No fading between grooves
-No filters
-Changing tempo also changes the pitch

4/5

Intro:

The Groovemaker Apps are a new way of creating great music on the go. Intermediate users of electronic music creation will find this app on top of their best music creation apps for the iPhone.

Buttons & Using the Interface:
The interface is quite intuitive and unique. When you open the app, you can choose from a set of songs. On the initial load, the song will take some time to unpack. After this is done, you will not have to do this again for that song. In the main interface you have pads in the middle, below that is a waveform. Tap on a pad and it displays the waveform for that loop, this will help you introduce loops on the beats you want especially if you are performing live.

The buttons of the right side are randomization buttons. These four buttons allow you to randomize the loops depending on the button you tap on – A – D. This is really a nice touch especially if you are just brainstorming to find your new groove.

Below these buttons is the Tempo button. By tapping on it 3 times, the app averages the beat and sets the new tempo. If you want to be more precise, you can hold down the tempo button until a set of buttons appear (about 2 seconds). You can utilize the tack wheel to speed up/down the tempo or you can even be more precise by tapping the “+” & “-” buttons. By holding down the tempo button again the tempo setting disappear. The only thing I really didn’t like about this was the fact that it actually changes the pitch of the loops, that’s not exactly something I like happening, I’d rather change them interdependently.

On the opposite side of the screen you have the interactive help. The interactive help is very neat as it…well… let’s you interact with the app & helps you get to know how to use the application very quickly. The other buttons are your preferences – allowing you to set which pads are randomized via the randomization buttons. While I found this nice, I didn’t fully enjoy it as I couldn’t pick pads out of order, rather I had to choose 2-5 or 2-7, etc. The next button allows you to go back to the song menu. Next is the sequencer, more on that later, lastly, the master button, this controls the master volume for your song.

In the middle of the bottom side of the screen you have 4 very important buttons. The far right one allows you to pull up a loops list and select a loop for the pad. Tapping on the Track button pulls up another set of buttons. The one on the left coordinate the pads on screen allowing you to empty, lock, solo, and/or mute the pads. The ones ones the right side of the screen allow you to control the volume of the pad/loop and it’s pan. Of course to remove the buttons you simply tap on the track button again. The play button is what gets your groove on (pun intended). Lastly, the Groove snap button, this is explained in the next section.

Music Creation:
I really loved how easy it was to create songs. You simply get the pads going the way you want to, then tap the “Groove Snap” button and this saves the “groove” you have created into the sequencer. Before I continue I must explain some terminology – A “Pad” contains a loop. A “Groove” contains a mixture of up to 8 pads playing at once within an 8 Bar/32 beat groove. The “sequencer” allows you to put multiple grooves together to create your song. With me so far? I hope so.

Continuing on… Once you have your pads in place you tap the Groove snap button, this saves you pads and whether they are on or not, you then can change the pads and press the Groove Snap button again to save another groove. These set of actions is what make Groovemaker so unique, you don’t have to turn off the music to save a piece of your music. Once you feel you have saved all the grooves you want, tap on the sequence button on the right side of the screen.

All the buttons will be replaced by the sequencer except for the buttons on the right. The sequencer is separated into four portions – the top one contains all the grooves you’ve saved, the second one (from the top) is your sequence, the third section displays where you are listening to in your sequence and the very bottom are buttons allowing you to empty you sequencer, place certain grooves into the sequencer, play the sequence, mix browser (allows you to save you song/sequence to edit later) and finally the almighty Export button – you’ll need WiFi for that.

The main thing that happens here is – you drag saved grooves (first row) into the sequencer (the second row). While I found this very easy to do, I wasn’t a fan of being limited to only 15 grooves in my sequencer… it broke my groove. I suppose a way around this is to export the first 15 grooves, create a new set, then export and so on.

If you are wanting longer song exports and more control in-between groove changes, I’d recommend exporting your grooves independently, then mixing them on another sequencer. Hopefully in one of their next updates they will allow this to occur.

Performing Live:
Live performances are possible however depending on how you are soloing & muting buttons, it can easily get confusing to which pad is actually playing. However, you can select multiple pads and press the solo/mute buttons. The main issue here is you have to “hold” down one pad while tapping on other pads to select multiple pads at once.

Overall:
I found this app quite nice and easy to use I’d recommend this to anyone interested in creating music in their spare time, but for anyone that likes making their trance (for instance) songs longer that 3.5 minutes or creating sudden changes in the song rather than over a 32 beat section, this might not be the best application for you.

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Pros:
- Accurate
- 6 calculations/ readings
- Nice graphical battery meter

Cons:
- One battery color.
- No UI options

4/5

myBatteryLife does exactly what it says it does- tells you your iPhone battery life based on your hardware. MyBatteryLife, I believe, is the simplest application I have seen. The app displays multiple calculations regarding your battery – Remaining Talk Time, Internet on 3G, Internet on Wi-Fi, video playback, and audio playback.

The application also has a cool looking graphical battery meter that makes it easy to quickly reference. The calculations are large enough to see easily.

My main complaints are the fact that there isn’t any sort of options in charging the color of the battery. I’d also like to see multiple graphical meters that you can choose from. Also for the battery that is there, as it depletes it would be nice to have the color charge (eg. Battery at 20% – battery color is red, at 10% it blinks, etc.)

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Cons:
-Not a very appealing wallpaper is created
-No wallpaper editor
-Error issue in form (see below to get around it)

This App has two rankings:

For concept & service:

5/5

For app execution:

3/5

The best way to not lose you iPhone, is to not misplace it… That being said, (and not very well,) what happens when you lose your iPhone? Is it gone forever? Did you leave your name & number on the screen for someone to contact you? Why should they return it?

These questions have probably crossed your mind at one point or another. Well I have found a possible solution. This past week the developers of the Lost Phone Recovery App (Rewarding Return LLC) contacted me notifying me of their new iPhone application.

First, let me go into what their service does. They help you get your iPhone back to you in the event someone finds your lost iPhone. Basically the screen shot above is self explanatory, but I’ll go into it none-the-less.

The app generates a code specifically for only your iPhone. The code is then inserted into an iPhone Wallpaper like the one above. You then set the photo (saved to your photo reel) as your wallpaper.

The Finder contacts Rewarding Return via the website on the wallpaper or the toll free number. Rewarding Return then has the item shipped to them for verification. They then ship the item back to you, and your reward to the finder. (Yes, I said reward. I’ll explain later.) Rewarding Return pays for all the shipping costs and makes all the arrangements. So yes you saw the “Reward” part…. The thing is why would anyone want to return you iPhone? Keywords: “REWARD IF FOUND.” They say you should still a minimum of $20 as the reward, I did $30.

Now let’s return back to the app itself. Now, the application itself is mainly for registration, creating your ID number & creating a background.

When you open the app, you have the option to Register of Login:

When you register, it’s very simple, basically just complete the form & submit (you’ll also choose a pin number to login with within the application):

If you go to login, simply type in the pin you registered and you can choose the update your info and/or download you wallpaper again.

Issues with app:
The only real issue I encountered, was when I was entering my address into the field & I tapped on submit, it told me to make sure all fields were filled. I noticed that the Address line 2 was blank, I don’t have info for that line, so I just added a ” ” (space) and the form submitted.

Another thing I ran into, not really an issue, but rather a lack of a feature. When you background is created it looks likes the first screen shot above – not really appealing & individualistic, so it would be nice if the information was an overlay for a picture that you could import. In other words – a wallpaper editor would be nice to have.

I ended up sending my wallpaper to GIMP and editing it into a background (I’ve included how to do this after the review). So if you know photoshop or how to use GIMP, then with a bit of cutting & pasting you can have your wallpaper good to go! Here’s the one I did:

If you don’t know how to use a photo editor or don’t really wasn’t to deal with all that, then, when setting the wallpaper as you background you have the ability to reposition the wallpaper. I dragged mine down, so that the info was toward the bottom rather than in the center of the screen, like so:

Overall:
I think this is a great idea, and for only $7, it can’t be beat. Yes, there are other applications that can actually locate your iPhone, but how are you going to get it back? Also another thing I’d like to note – it would be nice if they could assign you an actual sticker as well (after all they do sell them), so that you could stick it to the back of you iPhone, since knowing me, by the time someone finds it, the battery might be dead… But I do recommend this application for anyone looking for a “little more protection.” [$6.99 - iTunes link]

Creating your customized background:

1. Export the wallpaper with the code on it to your computer along with any photo you wish to use as the background. I just used a photo I had taken with the iPhone camera as my background. I used GIMP, so directions will be that way.
2. I opened up the ID photo and cropped it down to just the badge info, I then re-sized the image to 350×115. I then used the paint tool to paint the rounded corners to “square-corners”
3. For my final background, I used a canvas size of 400×533, I then copy & pasted the badge into the main image. I positioned it approximately 107 pixels from the bottom and 24 pixels from the left & right sides of the canvas. The space on either side will likely be cropped once it is set as your wallpaper. And the space at the bottom is for the slide-to-unlock bar.

If you have any questions, sound off in the comments.

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Pros:
-Multiple backgrounds
-Add photo as background
-Numerous “stickies,” “miscellaneous objects,” & “Comic Bubbles” to choose from.
-Multiple colors, sizes, and fonts for text.

Cons:
-Cannot re-size stickies
-Cannot add a photo as a “sticky”
-No script-style fonts
-When “flipping” through each sticky, it slides from one to the other a little slow.
-Cannot save sessions.

3.7/5

Stick It is probably the best “Sticky” application I have seen for the iPhone. I initially cringed at the thought of doing a review for a “Stickies” application, as many of them are CrApp, but this one sticks-out way ahead of the competition (pun intended.)

When I first began the application, a bubble in the upper-left corner told me to add a new note by tapping on the “+”. I thought  – this was a nice addition to help the user to get started. In the “add new sticky” screen, you have three categories to choose from – Notes, Comic, & Misc.

You can flip through the notes by doing the flipping motion with your finger as if you were viewing photos. You then double tap on the image to use it. I found this a bit on the slow side as I wanted to quickly get to one of the stickies at the very end. A tiling view option would have been nice, tap to enlarge & double tap to use.

The blank note will then be placed. You can tap on and drag it into the place you want. You can tap on the round blue Icon to edit the text in the note or tap the red circle (X) to delete the note.

When editing the text, you’ll notice that you can change the font & size;

the color; and of course the keyboard. The one thing I felt that was missing in the editor were fonts that were themed with the notes. For instance, for the worn looking note – it would be nice to have a “handwritten” or “script” font.

Another nice feature – is the ability to customize he background. You can use a photo, a solid color, or one of the built in backgrounds (a fair number to choose from).

When you are all done and satisfied with your layout, you can tap Preview to see how it will look.

And then you can export the photo to you photo reel.

Overall I really liked taking this application for a spin. Like I said before, this is one of the better Sticky apps that I have seen. While yes, is does have some issues, the app show promise and offers a nice interface to work with. Another thing I’d like to not and it initially confused me – when viewing a preview of your background, you actually have to tap on the slide bar to exit the preview. I think it would be better if it was just a single tap anywhere on the screen & not have the animation either. Overall very well done.

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Pros:
-Nice cartoon graphics
-Simple game play
-View statistics of game play (ie. total distance & total launches)
-Attempt to complete goals – thus receiving awards.

Cons:
-Farting sound upon viewing distance doesn’t really fit with theme.
-No multiple hi-score keeper
-No high-scores via internet

4/5

Hot Dog Down a Hallway is a humorous game in which the objective is to launch the hot dog and see how far you can get down the hallway. There some things to help you along the way and other things that… well… stop you from getting very far. Some people might find this as a similar game to Kitty Canon. While I don’t really like comparing one app to another in a single review, that is really the best way to describe the app.

The game allows you to control the angle & the power of the hot dog launch; however, it seems that the obstacles and the items that help you are randomly placed each time you launch.

The game also states that by tilting the iPhone you can control the direction of the hot dog; however, I wasn’t able to see a significant change in direction (backward nor forward.) I assume it’s just to nudge the hot dog in the right direction if you so need to.

In the screen shot above, you can see the crab. If you land on him he cuts you up and thus your launch is over; however, let’s say you hit the chandelier, it’ll spin you down the hall.

I think the graphics are quite good for such a simple game and I really applaud that. I only wish that there was some way to have a global high-score to compare with friends. If you are a fan of these types of games, then grab this one, as the combination of graphics and humor make this an short and simple game. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

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Game Crazy iPhone App, is an app for gamers. It is the first-of-its kind for an iPhone application. The app lets you view the details about new games and upcoming releases. You can watch trailers and even check trade-in prices. And if you happen to want to go get a game, there is a in-app store locator.The app is split into 3 main section: Games, Stores & Settings.

Under the Games tab, you can view all games, new releases and upcoming releases.

In the game details screen, you can view its number of players, systems it’s available fore, Publisher, rgular trdae in price, MVP trade in and the used price of the game. You can also find a synopsis about the game and view the trailer or find a store closest to you on where to buy the game.

Under the Stores tab, you can locate the closet store near you or search another city.

Under the settings tab, you can choose which systems you wish the app to view games for. So if you are only interested in games for your Wii & PSP, then the app will only display games for those systems.

I was quite surprised on how well the app was organized and how well it flowed. It was easy to find games for the systems I was looking for and even read a short amount about the game. This is a great app for any console, PC or Mac gamer!

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Cons:
-No in-game browser for hints (feature coming soon)
-Not a “tome-waster” (could be a “pro” as well)
-slide show movement

Video (mobile version for now)
Mobile

4.6/5

For those of you that do not know what MYST is, it is a port of the old MYST computer game. MYST is an adventure puzzle game in which you are attempting to find your way off the island, or rather attempt to figure out how all the things around you work.

Having played the original MYST, the iPhone version is just like it. It consists of multiple 3D still images that fade from one to another depending on the area of the screen you touch.

Controls
Controls are very simple here. You tap in the direction that you want to go or you tap on objects to interact with them.

Graphics
Like I said before, the game is like a 3D image slide show. However, many of the objects that you will interact with do not act as a slide show, but rather as animations. Also there is video in different parts of the game, such as in the books.

Sound:
I was very impressed by the way the game handled sound. As you continue through your adventures throughout the ages, the audio is constantly changing, not just when you are interacting with objects, but also the ambient noise.

The game is quite large in file size about 720MB, while this is quite a large size, the game is definitely lacking, but rather is in its full scale, just on a smaller screen. This is not a game that you pick up walk around a bit, but down and come back to later, rather it is a game that you will want to sit down with and actually play for a significant amount of time. I suppose you could sit down with it for a short time, but at times the games is very complex in which you might want to take notes, so you might want pen & paper nearby.

Besides all the “usual” game properties, there is also an Options screen. The options screen allows you to “bookmark” or in other words save your game in 4 different slots. You simply drag the current screen (the largest of the boxes to one of the four smaller boxes to save the point in the game you are at. To restore a point, you simply drag in the other direction. There are also sliders that control the speed of the transitions and the volume of the sound. You also have the ability to drop a page if you have one in hand (in order to grab a different one.) Or you you can tap on the Help or Hints buttons. These two buttons will take you out of the game and into the Safari browser. The website it takes you to is formatted for the iPhone, so you should not have any issues viewing the web page. There is also a “back” button which literally takes you right back into the game. I thought the “back” to the game button was a really nice touch to have.

I was curious about what Cyan Worlds had planed for MYST, so I emailed Mark at Cyan Worlds and asked him if there would be any updates for MYST in the future. He replied stating that they would be fixing some minor items, adding an in-game browser for looking up hints “and a few other surprises” Well I can honestly say I’ll be looking forward to what is coming from Cyan Worlds.

Overall
I really enjoyed playing this port of MYST. I highly recommend this game to an MYST fan and for anyone that like puzzles or adventure-puzzles for that matter. However if you are the type of person that just wants to quickly play part of this game to kill time, then this is not the game for you.

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Cons:
-Takes quite long to update currencies at app start up (quicker in airplane mode, due to currencies not updating)
-“Wheel” ‘clicks’ into place rather than smoothly rolling.

4.5/5

$0.99

Overall:
ConvertBot is by Tapbots – the developers of WeightBot and for those of you that love the way the application operates, this one will not let you down.
This is probably the sleekest conversion application I have seen with its cool animations and sounds. However, the only issues I ran into – it takes longer than I thought the program should take to load. At first I believed that it was the app itself checking an Internet connection to update the currency conversions, but when I put my iPhone in Airplane mode, it took just as long. But it is a good thing to note that even though the currencies could not update, the program is still usable.

The sleek interface is what really makes this app so nice. This has to be the coolest working Conversion app for the iPhone. The “wheel” that takes up the main part of the screen can be rotated to set the conversion type:

• Angles: Degree, Radian, & Grad
• Area: Square Meter, Square Centimeter, Square Millimeter, Square Mile, Acre, Square Kilometer, Square Yard, Square Foot, Square Inch
• Currency: Australian Dollar, Brazilian Real, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Danish Krone, Euro, Pound Sterling (UK), Japanese Yen, Mexican Peso, Swedish Krona, US Dollar
• Length: Foot, Meter, Inch, Centimeter, Mile, Kilometer, Nautical Mile, Yard, Millimeter, Foot+Inch
• Mass: Milligram, Kilogram, Pound, Ounce, Gram, Stone, Stone+Pound, Metric Ton, Pound+Ounce
• Power: Watt, Horsepower, Kilowatt, BTU/Minute, Foot-Pound/Minute, Foot-Pound/Second
• Pressure: Pound/Square Inch, Centimeters of Mercury, Inches of Mercury, Kilogram/Square Meter, Pascal, Atmospheres, Bars, Pounds/Square Foot
• Speed: Miles/Hour, Kilometers/Hour, Knots, Miles/Second, Miles/Minute, Feet/Minute, Feet/Second, Kilometers/Minutes
• Temperature: Celsius, Kelvin, Fahrenheit
• Time: Second, Millisecond, Microsecond, Nanoseconds, Year, Week, Day, Hour, Minute, Hour + Minute
• Volume: Cup, Teaspoon, Tablespoon, Cubic Feet, Gallon (UK), Quart, Pint, Ounce, Cubic Meter, Gallon (US), Liter, Milliliter, Cubic Centimeter
• Work (Energy): Kilogram Calorie, Foot Pound, Newton Meter, Joule, BTU, Erg, Watt Hour, Calorie
• And more…

Once you have rotated the wheel to the type/category, then you tap on the bottom left button and you use the “wheel” to select the specific conversion unit, take the center blue button, “ok” and it locks that unit in. This unit is the unit you are converting from. The other black button is the unit you want to convert to. You repeat the same process of locking in the unit.

By tapping on the top “number screen,” this opens up a keypad so that you can type in the amount you are converting from. The application has a live update, in which the app auto converts as you type the number into the app. Tapping on the “number screen” again brings back the conversion “wheel”

You can tap on the center wheel to switch the units if you need to.

By tapping on the “i” icon you can view the Settings which allows you to turn the sound on or off as well as the choice of viewing the Demo (which is quite a nice feature in the app).

Issues:
-Would like to have the “wheel” spin more smoothly, rather than “clicking” into place.
-Not as common currencies are not available in the app. (exe.: Argentinian Pesos or Chilean Peso)

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Cons
-In doc viewer, tapping bottom of screen makes doc auto scroll, can be annoying at times
-Has trouble handling large documents (for me, some files over about 8MB crashed the app)
-Viewing *.xls (or of the like) documents doesn’t always format correctly
-Viewing *.ppt (or of the like) format into one long page

4.1/5

OVERALL

In my opinion the Pros out weigh the Cons and the price tag of $9.99 is completely worth it. To have the ability of getting my document on my hand held and having them at my finger tips is worth it. I was on a film set when I was asked to operate a Sony F900 camera. Luckily, I was able to go to a website using the browser interface and download the manual on my iPhone and had the ability to quickly skim through it and figure out how to use the camera.

ReaddleDocs is a document viewer that basically covers all the ways of getting the document onto you iPhone – so there is no way that you cannot have your documents on hand.

When you purchase ReaddleDocs, you also receive 512MB of storage space on their server. This allows you to upload any documents to the server via any browser and then sync them with you iPhone via any data connection (EDGE/3G/WIFI).
When you tap on the “Online” tab, you select the server you want to connect to and then you have the ability to sync with the server so that any new documents that you have retrieved via the web (on the server) will backup to your iPhone.

Besides using your Readdle Storage space, you can also connect to your MobileMe iDisk or connect to a WebDAV enabled server.

A second way of getting documents onto your iPhone is by forwarding your attached document in an e-mail to you ReaddleDocs e-mail address (given to you when you create your online account). Then, again, you sync you iPhone with your account.

A third way, is to use the built-in browser and navigate to a document then tap on a button to download the document to your iPhone.

A fourth and final way is to transfer the documents from your computer to your iPhone via WiFi.

When viewing your documents, you can edit them – delete, move, create folders, rename folders, rename documents, mail documents, and add a document to a zip achieve.

All documents that can normally be viewed on the iPhone can be viewed via this application as well.

I really like the icons that it uses to represent the type of file
(red icon for pdf files, blue icon to doc files, etc.)

INTERFACE

Within the app you can view all your documents, view your online documents (through whichever server,) use the browser, view recently opened files and adjust settings for the app.

I think for the most part those screen are self-explanatory.

I also like the document “reader” interface. When viewing files such as *.doc, *.rtf, the viewer is simple – you can scroll through your document like you would in the iPhone document viewer, however, you have and “add” button at the top, which allows you to insert bookmarks for that document. I find this incredibly convenient when reading a large document or e-book. The toolbar at the bottom of the screen allows you to view and edit bookmarks, e-mail the document, scroll through a document quickly using the slider and a full screen button.

If you turn the iPhone to the landscape position, it automatically goes to full-screen and rotates the document accordingly.

When viewing an *.xls document, you have all the same features as above. At the top of the document, you can change between the sheets. You might also notice that when switching between sheets, arrows will appear at the bottom of the screen. These arrows are much like the arrows you would use in the browser.

When viewing images, you can view them much like you would in your photo reel, just tap the arrows to move through the pictures within that folder. You can also mail the documents via this image viewer.

Besides viewing and retrieving documents, you can also view the device photos (which might prove a faster way of delete picture on your iPhone if you have to do it that way.)

SETTINGS

In the setting screen, you have the ability to view or hide the “device photos” folder, setup mail settings – mail from and mail signature; allow WiFi network drive and apply username and password; several different viewing options including “view HTML as book”; you can also enable a passcode lock; and setup the document encoding.

ISSUES ENCOUNTERED

• There is no way to move the images to your iPhone photo reel or set as wallpaper functions, while the picture is on my iPhone in a sense, I cannot actually do anything with it unless I email it to myself and do it that way. I don’t always have a data connection when I am traveling so it would be nice to move the images over to do what I wish with them.
• When viewing the a PowerPoint document, the slides seems to form one large “page” (see screen shot).

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Cons
-Not all the grape varieties have pronunciations
-No way to add notes.

Overall I think this is a neat little reference guide. While you might find more information about each of the term on the Internet (and I’d like to see the option for more information on the grape varieties). I think this application handles the information very well and it’s quick and easy to use.

Vine2Wine is a wine drinker’s reference guide, whether you are a beginner wanted to learn the lingo or even for intermediates.

The app is simple. On the main screen you choose from three categories:

• Grape Varieties
• Wine terminology
• Wine Tastes

In the Grape Varieties list view. The different grape varieties are listed and depending on what type of grape it uses it is represented by a correlating purple of white grapes next to each variety. Also within the list view you have the phonetic pronunciation for the terms for quick reference. If you tap on one of the Varieties it will give you some information about it – such as color, flavors, & history.

As for the Wine terminology and Wine Tastes list views, each term is listed and a small part of the first line can be seen. If you tap on the term, rather than going to a new screen, the list expands to display the full text. I thought this was a really cool feature as it was quick and easy to navigate between the terms within the list.

All the lists are just like your contacts list in that they have the letter scroll bar on the right-hand side of the screen.

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Pros:
-Easy & Simple UI
-Up to 3 lines of information
-Colors of text & bar blend in with standard iPhone theme.
-Choose whether your info is at the top of bottom.
-Ability to customize font color of size

Cons:
-Horizontal photos are cropped and stretched

4.6/5

Overall:
I think this is a handy application to have. I’d really like to see the ability to choose whether you would like to crop horizontal photos or have them centered. I can see this application staying on my iPhone for a little while, then being deleted, only to be resurrected when I want to change my wallpaper.

The application itself is very simple.

When you first starts the app, you enter your contact info (Name, Phone, & e-mail). While it asks you for these things, I suppose you could enter any information you wanted to in the blanks. However, the first line will be a little bigger than the rest of the text. The color and the font of the text can be changed later.

This screen will not appear again, unless you tap the edit button within the app.

In the main part of the app, you select a picture from your photo roll (or take one with your camera). Then you select whether you want your info to appear just below the time (Top) or right above the slide-to-unlock button (bottom.) Next you can set the size of the font and the type of font.
You also have the ability to change the color for each line of information. To view all the different colors, merely scroll through them like you would with your contacts. Then you can either preview your image or save your wallpaper. Photos are saved to the camera roll. The app also provides instructions on how to set your wallpaper in case you’re unsure on how to.

That’s it! That’s all that is to it. It’s a very simple app and very
easy to use.

Issues:
The app stretches, centers, & crops horizontal photos to the screen rather than centering them, like they appear in the camera roll

NOTE: You might notice that I have icons in-line with my text on my wallpaper. I used the emoticons-keyboard to get these.

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Versus Overall:
I find Panorama app the winner as I like the ability to use as many photos as it takes to complete my Panorama. Even though there is an extra step involved (compared to the Pano app) in adding the next picture. I like the small preview as I can check to make sure everything is looking okay. I also really like the ability to choose the different resolution sizes. I personally always use the largest resolution as I can make it smaller later.

Pano uses 1/3 of the picture to overlap and combine the images. This has it’s Pros & Cons. Pro being – you can take less pictures to get your panorama, but the problem is (con) that the application has less information in each photo to compare, which could result in a error when stitching the photos. While Panorama uses 1/2 of the photo to stitch the photos together, reducing errors, it can also take longer to complete your panorama.

Two things I’d really like to see in both applications is the ability (rather the inability) to turn off the “use photo” confirmation as I find this a little redundant, especially for the Panorama app and also the ability to save individual photos taken or to have the ability to merge photos that were taken outside the program via the camera reel. It would also be nice to have the option to disable the “add photo” screen in the Panorama app after taking the initial photo (making it much like the work-flow of the Pano app.)

PANO

3.5/5

Pros:
-Simple application to make panoramas at an affordable price
-Merges and corrects exposure fairly well.
-Uses a third of a picture for stitching, less photos to complete your panorama.

Cons:
-Can only take up to 6 photos to merge.
-One set resolution
-No button to take another panorama. Must exit & re-enter app.
-If the app crashes, then you loose everything.

When you first began the application the screen will represent the
camera.app on your iPhone/iTouch, except, it will have instructions at the top (if holding horizontally). You can take the first picture by pressing the green button. If you tap “cancel” then you can enter portrait mode. It will then ask you if you want to use the photo (basically a confirmation). You can choose to “use” or “retake.” You then take the next photo. And you keep doing this until you have taken the right amount of pictures or your have taken 6 photos.

After the first photo has been taken a third of the previous photo at about 30% opacity will appear on the screen to help you line up your next picture that you are going to take.

Pano overlaps the images by about a 1/3 of the image when combining them. After taking 6 photos (or less) the app will automatically merge the photos into a panorama. This might take anywhere from 1 – 5 minutes depending on the complexity of the panorama.

Once it is done merging, you will see “Done” screen and you can also view “Pano Tips;” however, the link takes you out of the app and into the Safari.app.

At anytime while taking photos you can tap cancel to bring up a menu that will allow you to create the panorama with the previous photos you have taken (less than 6), Quit Pano, or Resume shooting.

Here is a panorama taken with the app. The photo was taken on the Baylor campus in Waco, Texas. Click on to view full resolution of the image.

And another example from my recent trip to Rome, Italy.

More screen shots & panoramas created by this app can be found here.

Panorama

4.5/5

Pros:
-If you iPhone happens to crash or you do not want to render the
panorama at that moment, you can exit and return to the app to create
the panorama.
-Multiple resolutions
-Uses 1⁄2 image overlap, reducing stitching errors.
-Add photos to either side of your panorama

Cons:
- “Main” screen can be annoying if you are trying to take the panorama
in a hurry.
- Uses 1⁄2 image overlap which means you must take more photos to make
your panorama.
-After taking a photo, the photo will appear to be misalighned, but when testing, the photos appeared to stich without flaw- conclusion: ignore.

$9.99

Panorama works in much the same way as Pano, but has several more features.

When you first begin the application you can choose whether you want to take the panorama in landscape or portrait orientation.

After that the process of taking pictures is the same as in doing it with Pano, however, there is one extra step.

After taking each picture, you are brought back to a “main” screen in which you can add a photo to either side of you panorama and also remove certain photos if you feel you have done something wring. And of course you have the option to start over. What is especially nice about this screen is you have a small preview of the panorama. As you add photos, the screen will only show a portion of the panorama, but you can scroll it on the screen to view the rest of it. Once you are done, you select “done” and you have the option to select from several resolutions – 600×420, 800×560 or 1200×840.

I always choose the largest resolution as I like to have it in it’s fullest form, however, the larger the resolution the longer the processing time. I think the longest it has taken me to process a
Panorama (over 360 degrees) is about 7 minutes.

Here is a panorama taken with the app. The photo was taken in the Vatican in Rome, Italy. Click on to view full resolution of image.

Tips while using the apps:
Pano & Panorama – Hold down the green camera button then aligning the iPhone to take the picture and the let up on the button. This allows you to more accurately take the picture rather than tapping on the button as this may move your iPhone when trying to accurately position the camera.Also for other to view your panoramas. I recommend using CleVR. CleVR is an online panorama hoster and viewer. Two of the panoramas below (in the Panorama section) can be viewed using CleVR and even more links to others at the very bottom.

Click on the Panoramas to view their actual resolution. (Caution: they are large.)

Pano Panoramas

On the Baylor Campus.

On my flight from Germany.

On the Baylor campus.

Panorama Panoramas

St. Peter’s Square: Rome, Italy || View with CleVR!

On the Baylor University campus.

At Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida. || View with CleVR!

Using CleVR:
St Peters Basilica
Epcot – Showcase Lagoon 1
Epcot – Showcase Lagoon 2

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Pros:
-Professional voice & audio
-Easy interface to switch between audios

Cons:
-Photo in audio is hard to discern, if unfamiliar with technique.
-The info icon leaves the app unexpectedly

4/5

Meditate Now 2 is an application that contains a series of audio clips that capable of helping you alleviate stress and allow you to relax. The audio is narrated by Stin Hansen, whom is an extremely experienced speaker and an award wining meditation expert. Her voice is absolutely perfect for this type of application. Most of audios range from about nine minutes long to about 15 minutes long (with two exceptions being at three & five minutes)

The audios include:
(the following was paraphrased from the iTunes description)
-Be Grateful – Relax and feel more gratitude in your life
-Anchor your Spirit – bring substance to your life
-Breathe It Out – breath meditation that is perfect for anxiety and feelings of panic
-End Pain – bring relief to arthritis, labor, chronic, and surgery pains
-Your Best Self – Connect with your full potential and move beyond daily concerns with the meditation
-Serenity Prayer Meditation – recited at a time of trouble. Used in recovering alcoholics and addicts.
-Center Your Chakras – Center and align your energy centers
-Emotional Acupuncture – for emotional emergencies (also utilities a picture to show you how)

I also found that Stin offers a free podcast through the iTunes store. So if you are hesitant to get his application, you can always check out her podcast. I definitely recommend this app to anyone that listens to audios for meditation. While the ‘Emotional Acupuncture’ audio displays a picture, it is a little hard to understand what it is exactly saying to do. To alleviate this, it would be nice to have only certain parts of the picture visible that relate and change with the audio.

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Intro:
In the past few weeks I have been testing 7 ToDo applications – Things, Appigo’s ToDo, Toodledo, Done, Zenbe Lists, Ultimate ToDos, and Firetask.
I kept restrictions of the SDK in mind, meaning if the SDK doesn’t allow it and the app doesn’t have that ability, it’s not seen as a negative. For instance, people in the AppStore tend to rate negatively because some apps do not have reminders, well Apple’s SDK prevents developers from allowing this.

Note: Some of the Embedded video files are quite large and may take some time to load, use the mobile version if you want a faster loading video.

Overall I found it quite difficult to compare each of them, so rather I reviewed them on an individual bases. They all have the advantages and disadvantages and personally I don;t think there is one that has everything. Really where one app leaves something out, another app has.

Personally I wanted the following in my ToDo app:

• Sync (not at additional cost)
• Sleek/non-confusing interface
• sub-tasks
• due-date
• priority

When I first began looking at the applications, I was confused by how they operated. I come from a long line of palm devices and I was used to writing the ToDo down, categorizing it, prioritizing it, setting a due date if necessary and then checking it off when I was done with it. I wasn’t used to all the terms “Inbox” or “Hotlist.” Some of the apps follow the GTD layout (Getting Things Done layout.) Toodledo has a good write up on the topic and I recommend you take a look at it before purchasing a Todo application that uses that type of layout. Frankly, I suggest reading it in conjunction with this round robin. I will refer to it a few times, but I will write as if you know what GTD is.

Rank in AppStore (as of 2-6-08)

1. Things (Paid)
2. Todo (Paid)
3. Toodledo (Paid)
4. Zenbe (Paid)
5. Ultimate Todos (Paid/ Temp. Free)
6. Done (Paid)
7. Firetask (Paid)

Let’s get to the point. How do these rank in my opinion?

1. Todo
2. Things
3. Toodledo
4. Done
5. Ultimate ToDo
6. Firetask
7. Zenbe Lists

The one that comes closest to the above criteria is Appigo’s “ToDo”, then in second is Culture Code’s “Things” I really wish I could mix “Things” simplicity and projects with “ToDo’s” ability to have Toodledo syncing, multiple customization options and quick task inputting.

While this is my personal opinion, you might find a better app suited for you. In the following posts, I will try to describe the best ToDo application suited for certain people. I have separated each app into a different post.

Pros:
-Quick entry
-Optional sync on start-up
-Can set tasks as repeatable
-Change type of Todo to make task easier.
-Sync with Toodledo, iCal (via Appigo’s software,) or Remember the Milk.

Cons:
-Can’t add new task from any screen
-Can only filter lists by one context at a time.
-Cannot lookup email address when adding an email in the type of task
-No project type tasks/ sub-tasks
-’Feels’ cluttered when viewing tasks

Appigo’s is one of the top three Todo application at the current time of this review. The application offers numerous options to its users while offering a good solid todo application. The applications also follows the GTD concept and layout, but can be modified to your needs if you wish.

*Note: When I refer to “the main screen” I am referring to the screen titled “Lists” as that is the top most screen you can be at.

One of the first things I noticed was that when you open the application it syncs with Toodledo (if & after you set it up) I thought this was nice as it constantly keeps my ToDo’s up to date. I however, soon realized this wasn’t the greatest thing as you cannot open the application and quickly enter a new task, instead you have to wait for it to finish syncing before you can add a new task and the time span for me is about 11 seconds for it to sync over the Edge connection for about 13 tasks. Which can be a major turn off if you are in a hurry. This of course can be turned off so that you can manually sync whenever you want – there is is a sync button that can be tapped on the main screen for easily syncing when you want to (I recommend the manual sync).

From the main screen you can view “All” your tasks, your “Focus” list, and your “Inbox” list. You also have the option of viewing the tasks by the lists they are in, some examples are – Home, Personal, School, etc.

At the bottom of the main screen you have the Sync icon, the “@” icon which stands for the the Contexts screen. There you can edit and filter via the contexts. Only one context filter can be viewed at a time.
The third icon is a Tag Icon and allows you to filter your tasks by selecting one or multiple tags. There is also a text box at the top for easy addition of a new tag.

The fourth icon is a Magnifying Glass which allows you to enter keywords to search for a task. A really nice feature for someone that has a lot of Todo’s.

The last and fifth icon are a set of Gears and links to the settings screen. Here you can choose whether or not to view Completed tasks, edit the default sorting, change general settings such as the app badge, list filters, and new task defaults. You can also adjust how the focus list appears and how you wish to sync and with what service (Appigo’s software, Toodledo, or Remember the Milk.) Under the settings screen you can also view some general information about your device and the app.

On the main screen (lists) by tapping the “+” icon adds a new list not a new task. To enter a new task you have to be in one of the list views. Of you exit the application while in one of the lists, you place will be remembered. So you will not necessarily start in the same place each time.

Each of the lists looks the same as the other as far as the buttons go at the top and at the bottom of the screen as well as the format.

The tasks are automatically sorted by your predefined sorting option (as set in the app settings,) which, for me is set by Priority then Due Date. At the top right hand corner you have two buttons – the first allows you to quickly enter a new task in-line of viewing your tasks. It only allows you to enter the title and then is stored in your default list (for me, it’s my Inbox list.) the right button allows you to add a new task with more options (for when you have more time in adding a task.) You type in the title and then th change the type is you wish – Normal, Call a Contact, Email a Contact, Visit a Location, or Visit a Website.

Depending on which type of ToDo you pick, the new task input screen will change.

For a “Normal” ToDo (my default and I also don’t edit the type) I then tap done and I am taken to another screen that allows my to edit the due date, due time, whether to make it repeatable, set the priority, what list it appears in, its context, its tags, and any notes I wish to add to it. Tap save ad your done.

Now I am going to go through the other types of tasks and what their advantage of using them.

If you select “Call a Contact” you will be asked whether it is an “Existing Contact,” “New Contact,” or you can manually enter a phone number. Existing contact obviously allows you to select from your address book, new contact adds a new contact and enter a phone number…well you probably guessed it, you enter the phone number. Depending on which one you select, the app will automatically put the text into the task title for you – exe. “Call CONTACT NAME” or “Call 123-4567.” Tap save and you can edit the rest of the info as usual.

If you select “Email a Contact” you can choose whether you select an existing Contact’s email address, create a new contact, or to enter the Email address. Once you select you selection, the application will automatically place “Email EMAIL ADDRESS” or “Email CONTACT NAME.” Then you can enter the rest of the task details as normal.

If you select “Visit a Location,” again, you can choose Existing Contact, New Contact, Enter an Address or use Current Location. Again after selecting the appropriate place, the app will automatically enter the task into the box – “Visit CONTACT NAME/PLACE,” “Visit ADDRESS,” or “Visit LATITUDE, LONGITUDE.”

If you select “Visit a website” you’ll be asked to type in the URL. I was surprised that you could not lookup a URL from a contact in your address book. This would be a nice feature to have. Again the app will insert into the task title – “Visit URL.”

Each task type has it’s advantage. Using the “Call a Contact” type you have the ability to call the contact straight from the application. If you use the “Email a Contact” you will exit the app and enter the mail.app with the email automatically inserted into the “To:” blank. If you use the “Visit a Location” task type, you will leave the app and enter the map.app with the address or coordinates you entered. And lastly the “visit a website”… you probably guessed it….you leave the app to be in the Safari app with the address you entered previously. Or if you want to keep it simple, stick with the “normal” type.

After you have created the tasks, if you type on the colored icon, you will be able to – call the contact, email the contact, visit a location, or visit a website.

An issue I noticed when selecting an e-mail address in the task type – you cannot select/lookup an e-mail address from your exchange network (if you use the exchange network). You however, can choose from one of your groups, if you have created email groups.

In the settings tab, you can set the default list to where you want new tasks to be placed in. Unless you of course change it while editing the task itself.

I think that this would be a great app for anyone that relly like to customize how their app looks and doesn’t have a real need for using “projects” (while there is somewhat of a work around). The app also alows for quick entry and is highly recommended if you need an app to quickly enter a task into and add the details later.

Pros:
-Simplicity at its best
-Quick addition of tasks if in a hurry
-Sleek animations add to user experience
-Projects/sub-tasks

Cons:
-Expensive desktop client – If you want to sync with software, it’s another $50
-Does not support repeating tasks
-No option to control what the app badge stands for.
-No windows sync

Things app developed by Cultured Code is the most popular Todo application in the iTunes AppStore, at least at the time of this review. Things’ sleekness and ease of use is really what make this app popular. While this application is quite a bit higher in price ($9.99), it also has a desktop client that can be used in conjunction with it. However, you’ll have to drop another $10 and Windows users need not apply (no Windows sync client,) if you want this feature.

Things uses a very simple layout that is very easy for anybody to jump in and use.

From the home screen you have several different viewing option and at the bottom, the “+” adds a new task and the gear-icon changes the settings.

So on the main screen, you have the Inbox, this is where all you tasks go if they is no list associated with it (see GTD article for more info.) Mainly the Inbox is like the initial step in creating your tasks. They all go there “to be sorted.” If your in a hurry and you want to edit more details to it later, leave it in your Inbox until later.

Also on the home screen you can view your tasks via the lists – Today, Next, Scheduled, & Someday. All of these lists can be added to a task while editing it.
“Today,” obviously means that the task is to be done for that current day.
The “Next” view lists your tasks in the order that they are due next.
“Scheduled” lists you tasks in the order they are scheduled to appear as a “current” todo.
And “Someday” lists your tasks that you plan on completing ’someday’ or in other words, they do not have any sort of date associated with them.

Also you can view your tasks via the Projects view. The projects view is probably my favorite feature about this application. You basically have a project and several sub-tasks to complete the project. Due dates can be set for both the tasks and the project.

In viewing the “Today” list, it displays all the tasks that you have labeled “today,” the checkbox next to the task is also yellow to signify this. However, if it is overdue, it is red and this also goes for any tasks in the other lists. The tasks that aren’t due yet, list their due date next to the task (if you have set one.)
By tapping on any of the tasks, you can view any of it’s details and have the option to edit/add/remove tags, notes, and/or a due date. Again the tags basically allow you to sort certain tasks within each list by the tags you select. Another way to look at tags, is that they could be considered as sub-categories.

At the bottom of the screen, you have a toolbar. The “+” adds a new task into the current list; the star turns the check boxes into stars and when tapped on they go gray which basically means you have removed it from your “today” list and moves it to your Inbox. The arrow, when tapped turns all the check boxes to the left of the tasks to blue arrows which basically allows you to move tasks by tapping on the blue arrow. The last icon, the tag icon allows you to sort the current list by a tag you select.

The “Next” list view is quite like the “Today” list view, but displays your tasks in the order they are scheduled to appear (basically this allows you to keep out certain task that you don’t need to do right away, but have scheduled to do at a later date). The ‘next’ one due at the top and so forth. A gray header separates projects in the list. Again at the bottom of the screen you have a toolbar. The icons that are in the ‘today’ list view are the same here, with the addition of a clock icon, which allows you to sort your tasks by their next due dates.

The “scheduled” list view, lists all your tasks in the order you have them scheduled. Of course, if the tasks are in the future, you cannot check them off; however, you can move them to a different list by tapping on the arrow icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. The toolbar also contains icons to add a new task and sort by tags.

The “Someday” list, lists all your tasks that do not have a date scheduled with them. The toolbar is the same as the “scheduled” list view.

The projects list view is a completely different thing in itself. After tapping on projects, all you projects will be listed; for instance I have – “Write Review.”

This is my project, if you tap on the blue arrow next to the project title, you can edit its details including its due date. If you tap on the project tile, you can view the tasks that are needed to complete the project. By tapping on the tasks you can edit them – by tapping on the check boxes, you check the tasks off. If you tap the check box next to the project, it will clarify that you want to check-off all the tasks withing the project. The tool bar in the project list view is the same as in the Today list view. If you decide to select a project to be put in the “Today” list (by tapping on the star,) it will list all the tasks in the project in the Today list view. Or you can also select only certain tasks within the project that you want to be listed in the “Today” list. It will also show you the association with which project the task is associated with (in gray.)

Finally the logbook, logs (lists) all your completed tasks which can be logged when the app starts or at the beginning on the day when you start the app (can be configured via in-app settings.)

The number that is next to the list displays the number of tasks that need to be completed in that list. If the number is red, that means that you have one of more tasks in that list that are due today or overdue.

If you need support through the Cultured Code website, they have had a recent influx of emails so it might take up to a week for them to respond to your e-mail until they get caught up. So if you don’t get a response within about 2 business days, I would resend your support question with your original support number.

The small animations that Things utilities makes the app sleek and simple without getting in the way, but at a price of nearly $10 and the inability to sync (for the $10), I can’t say this is the greatest Todo application. I would prefer to simply have a web sync if nothing else. Secondly I’d like to see them develop a Windows client as I would assume many users do not have a Mac computer. If you don’t mind forking over the $49.95 (US) for the desktop client, (which offers many more features than the iPhone app) then, this might be a good application for you.

I think this application would be good for a business person, such as Real Estate Agent, that likes the simplicity of creating task, projects and due dates and having the ability to view their todo’s on their desktop.

Pros:
-Large amount of customization
-Uses GTD scheme
-Sync with web
-Utilizes app badge
-Internal help/documentation
-Sub-tasks
-Large number of sorting/viewing options

Cons:
-Cannot create goals during the creation of a new task
-Not able to add a list to the “home screen” for quick viewing.
-No images in documentation for guidance clarity
-Must tap “Done” on keyboard to advance to next field during new task field entry.

Toodledo was the first ToDo application I tried as it was the cheapest ($1.99). In the application, when you create a New Task, you input the Task, Priority, Star (somewhat like flagging an e-mail), Folder placement (kind of like a category,) Goal, Due date, Repeat (have the task repeat,) tags (this helps when you apply filters to sort certain tasks,) and finally you can add a note to the task.

On the main “home” screen, you can view “All Tasks,” view your “Hotlist,” and your “Starred” task lists.
Your “Hotlist” can list certain tasks that you filter into it that can be adjusted in the settings tab.
Your “Starred” list, lists tasks that you have starred.

You can also view your folder, which as I described above is somewhat like categories. For instance I have “Home,” “Important,” “Personal,” “Work.” You can also view tasks that are in any of the folders or that are in none of the folders.

On the home screen you can also view your tasks by the task goal. Basically what this is, is a way of adding a final goal that the task is associated with, such as “Sell House” and possibly one of the tasks is “Call Real Estate agent.” Another way to look at this is as a “Main Task” that contains numerous “Sub tasks.” To create a goal, you must go to the “Goal” screen and create a new goal. You cannot create a new goal while creating a new task (however, it would be nice to have this feature.)

Another way to view your tasks is by their due date – Overdue, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 Days, Next 30 Days, Any due-date, or no due-date

How about viewing your task by their Priority? Yep, you can do that too – Top, High, Medium, Low & Negative Priority.

Remember the tags you can add to each task, yep, you can also sort by certain tags

Now within each of these viewing sections, there are multiple additional filters you can apply (by tapping the “Filter” button in the lower right corner) For instance, whether to show/hide completed tasks, show negative priorities, turn on/off subtasks. You also have the ability to sort by importance, goal, folder, priority, and tag.

As far as tagging goes, you can add several tags to a task by comma separating them, unlike some other apps in which you have to add them separately. This I found nice as I could easily search for these “keywords” in the future if need be.

Finally, (sort of) you have a Settings screen within the app and many of the features in the app are customizable including how your Hotlist will appear, default values set in fiends, fields to show/hide, what the application badge refers to and you can change your “home page.” There is also a significant amount of documentation within the app to help you with it, however, it does lack images.

Another thing that is nice about Toodledo is that it offers an online syncing solution. You have the ability to access you ToDo’s from any computer with a data connection and edit them. Toodledo online sync also integrates with a number of ToDo applications (as you will read later.)

Other than some of the minor UI issues I listed above (goals), I also did not like the fact that I had to hit “done” to go to the next blank field when entering a new task. Next/Previous buttons would be nice to have.

Toodledo Conclusion:
Overall I recommend this application for anyone that wants to “get their feet wet” with the familiarity of the GTD scheme. At only $1.99, you cannot go wrong with this application. This is an affordable application, that should suite anyones needs (once you understand what GTD is). However, if you like a plain & simple ToDo application, then this is not the application for you.

Done
$0.99


4/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-Simple interface
-Simple ToDo manager
-Create Wallpaper of tasks
-App begins with “Tip Todo’s” o how to use the app

Cons:
-No software or web backup (iTunes only)
-Cannot create a new task from the “home” screen
-No due dates

Done is one of the simpler ToDo applications and mostly reminds me of the way the palm handled ToDo’s. A unique feature that this application offers is the ability to create a Wallpaper image that lists your top 6 prioritized ToDo’s. I’ll go into this later.

Upon opening the application you are presented with Lists that you create (will create) – label & color code. You can create a new task by tapping on the “+” in the top right corner.

When you tap on one of your lists, you can view the different ToDo’s in that list. You can tap on the “+” button to create a new task.

In creating new task, you type in the Todo, set the priority (1,2, or 3,) then which list you want it under. If you create the task under the list that you are currently in, then it will default to that list.

To check off a task you simply tap on the number and it will gray-out as completed.

If you have a list that has mixed priorities (tasks not sorted), you can gently shake the device to sort them by priority.

To delete completed tasks, turn the iPhone/iTouch on its side and you can tap the orange check mark and it will delete all of them.

On the main screen where all the lists are listed, by tapping on the button at the bottom middle of the screen, the app with create a photo with your top 6 prioritized tasks. From the photo album on the iPhone, you can then make it your wallpaper, a sleek and unique idea.

In the list view, in the bottom right-hand corner is the settings button – there you can turn the sound effects on or off or turn the app badge on or off.

Done Conclusion:
This is a simple application for people that just want a “list & check off” todo list – nothing fancy. And if you come from a Palm device, you might like the simplicity of this application. (minus the due dates.) This application is $0.99 and for that, it’s quite nice, add due dates and this is a great bang for your buck!

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Ultimate Todo
$4.99

4/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-You can switch tabs to insert next tags or context without deleting partial task.
-Easily add a task from any screen
-Voice tasks
-Capable of viewing the file size of voice tasks
-Multiple tags can be selected for each task
-In app help documentation with pictures.
-Syncs with Toodledo

Cons:
-Can’t distinguish between Tags & Context icons in task view.
-Can’t edit tags or contexts in-line – must change screens.
-Does not automatically sync (this could be a pro for some)
-New Task & New voice task buttons are a little too close together.

Ultimate ToDos is much like the other todo applications, as it also follows the GTD work flow. Ultimate Todos utilizes a Dashboard “home” screen as well as a toolbar at the bottom of the screen. One of the things that is unique to this application is the ability to create Voice Tasks.

The application begins with the Dashboard screen that allows you to view “All” tasks, “Highlights”, “Flagged,” “Overdue,” “Today,” and “Scheduled” tasks. There are also a number of other viewing options, like grouping your tasks by priority, viewing tasks only in a certain priority, grouping them by status, or even viewing tasks by an individual status. (exe. Active, someday, or postponed).

When you create a new task you have the Title, Notes, Due Date, Tags, Contexts, Status, Priority, option to add a voice note, option to add a reference contact.

When viewing any of the tasks in their list view, you have the title which has the check box to the left of it (red for high priority, grey for normal, and green for low priority.) Underneath the title you have the due date, to the right of the title you have the set of icons as selected from your context and tag selections. When viewing the tasks in list view, I found it difficult to discern which icon were for context and which were for tags. It would be nice to have a separator or a different set of icons, or even better, just a color coded bubble of some kind and leave the icons for the tags.
You also have a star next to the icons to let you know whether you have it flagged or not. Tap on the stat to select or deselect it. You can tap on the title of the task to see the details in textual form including a memo if you have added one.

There is also a little gear icon to the left of the add-new-task icon that drops down an additional menu, that allows you to search your tasks, add a voice task, edit the task list, or view in-app-help.

If you decide to create a voice note/task, the add button it right next to the add new task button. While I found it nice to have the two always nearby, I didn’t like the fact that they were so close together as I found that I would sometimes tap the wrong one.
Within the edit screen of a voice task, you can set a title, then tap the record button and then press stop to stop the recording. After you have recorded, it will let you know the Duration and the file size of the recording. I thought the file size of the voice task was a nice addition as it allows you to get rid of the larger files if need be or to leave the smaller ones if warranted.

The second screen is the Tags page, here you can view tasks by their tags, edit/delete/create new tags. When creating a tag you can place an identifying icon with that tag in order to easily distinguish it while viewing the task in list view (as it is displayed.)

The next screen is the Contexts screen. This is much like the tags screen as far as viewing tasks and editing contexts. You can also have an icon for each context; however, you are using the same set of icons as you are for the tags.

The last screen, is the “Sync” screen. This is where you can sync with your Toodledo account if you wish. There are also some options that allow you to manage the way you sync with your Toodledo account. Also realize that you can only sync with your Toodledo account once every minute or you will get locked out of your account for an hour (the program states this under its “Important Notes” section.)

In the App Settings in the iPhone’s main settings screen, you can edit numerous preferences. Such as the startup screen. Whether or not you can easy edit the tasks or have extra measures taken from them being erased. You can have the tasks automatically delete after a certain period of time. And what the badge displays – what id counted in the number of tasks represented on the app badge. If you feel the dashboard is cluttered, you can “hide” certain lists as well.

During the writing of this review, the application was/is free. However its retail price is $4.99 . The more complicated the application, the more issues are possible. While I like this application, there are some things that I really dislike. Firstly, the icons that are viewable from the task list view – they are confusing. I’d like to have the choice of just having the words displayed or one of the options I have previously mentioned. However, unlike some of the other ToDo applications, this one syncs with Toodledo, which to say the least, I think is a necessity for any to do application. I think this application would be good for anyone that likes to have voice notes, or even in this case voice notes. The use of voice notes allows you to enter a lengthy task without having to spend the time typing it out on the iPhone’s keyboard.

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Firetask
$4.99


3/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-color coded priority
-Icon categories for quick visual reference.
-Sub-tasks

Cons:
-No sync (other than iTunes)
-Cannot check-off projects
-cannot check off items in Inbox

Firetask is relatively new to the iTunes AppStore, but offers some compelling features that people might find that it completes their needs. It also follows the GTD layout.

When you first begin the app, the screen opens up to the “Today” tab. While most of the other Todo applications utilize a list view of other views on the main screen, Firetask utilizes a toolbar at the bottom to select between views. While this is nice, the ability to quickly switch to list views under the “more” is a long way of going about it to find the list view you want.

In the Today list view, it displays all your tasks that are due that day or that are overdue. The icon to the left of the task denotes the task category. The blue text below the task indicates the project that the task is associated with. (you must associate the task with a project, there in no way to “un-project” a task.) The icon to the right of the task indicates the priority – the closer it is to red, the higher the priority. Also the status of the task also relates to this icon, meaning, if the status of the task is in progress, two arrows revolving around the icon will appear, if it is canceled or completed a check mark will appear in the icon (not really sure why a check mark appears when the status has been set to canceled?) If the task does not have an action set to it, then it will represent just a small orb-like icon. If this is the case, when you want to check off the task, you have to double-tap the icon to mark it as complete. I don’t really understand why this is, but it seems that when you tap it once the icon changes to the “in-progress” symbol and the second time you tap it, it checks-off.

In the toolbar at the bottom, it you tap on categories you can view, edit and add categories and pick the icon associated with that category. You can also view tasks by any category you tap on.

In the “Projects” tab, you can view/add projects, which contain sub tasks. To edit the project details you tap on the blue arrows, to view the projects tasks, you tap on the project title. I found that I could check of the tasks within the projects, but I was no able to check off the project as it would send me to the project details. This seems to be an issue that would need to be fixed as it makes no sense to not be able to “complete” your projects.

In the “Inbox” tab, it is like the GTD style Inbox. Everything that is not sorted (raw thought, etc.) go into your Inbox to be edited later. Also in the Inbox I found that I was not able to check off items.

In the “More” tab, you are given several listing choices – Someday, Completed, Canceled, Trash, Projects completed, and projects canceled.

I would like to not be able to have a project selected.
This applications seems to do well for people that like visuals – that is to say that this application uses numerous colors to categorize the tasks and prioritize. However, as many features as Firetask offers, they aren’t complete. For instance – in the Inbox you cannot check off a task nor can you check off projects in the “Projects” tab.

This is a good start for this application, but it definitely needs more work to charge for its $4.99 price tag.

Firetask’s developer says on his website that he is working on creating a web client, which is a good thing to know that it is coming as that is a much needed thing with any Todo application. There also needs to be a fix for the other issues that I have mentioned. Once that is complete, I think this application will be on a good path for keeping track of your Todo’s.

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Zenbe Lists
$2.99


2.5/5

Video:

Mobile Version

Pros:
-Tasks within lists
-Remembers last screen before exiting
-Simple User Interface
-App rotates in any direction
-Ability to “share” tasks

Cons
-Lack of color coding
-No tagging
-Cannot prioritize
-No application badge
-Cannot edit list name once created.
-No way to move a task from one list to another

Zenbe Lists was the first Todo application I bought for my iPhone. It’s simple and sleek interface and the ability to sync with the web make this application a great todo app for a project oriented person.

On the main screen, are your lists. You can create or edit your lists by tapping the appropriate buttons at the top of the screen. While you could create “personal,” “business,” or “school” Lists ( aka categories,) you can also create a list as a ‘project.’

After you create your list, you can begin to create your tasks. You can create a task by tapping on the “new” button. Then you type in the title, and a due date if you wish.

You can also mark it as complete if you have already have completed the task. Once you have created a task, you will be taken back to the list’s Todo’s, from here you can once again view your tasks (due date is in gray under the task), check it off or edit it. While there is no way to prioritize the tasks, you can “edit” the list and manually rearrange the tasks.

Within one of your lists, you can share your list by tapping the “Share” button. This will take you out of the app and into the mail.app where you can send a link to anyone. The person on the receiving end will receive a link, and when they click/tap on it, they can view your list and see what you have completed and what you have not. If viewing it from an iPhone, the user can add the list to their Zenbe App( if they have it).

In viewing the lists, you can view them and the number of completed tasks within that list. For instance – “2/10” means you have completed 2 out of 10 tasks. If the numbers are red, then that means one or more of your uncompleted items are overdue. In the list view, if you tap on edit, you can re-arrange the lists or delete them as well.

Zenbe Lists Conclusion:
While this is a nice application that allows you to sync the app with a web client, it is lacking some simple necessities such as color coding, prioritizing and an app badge. At $2.99 this app seems a little high for it’s lack of features. While this app is nice, sleek and works well, it’s not exactly simple as the app seems to work against you when trying to complete simple tasks such as editing list names or with the inability to prioritize the tasks.

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Pros:
-Quick & Easy Entry
-Quick Updating
-Graphs

Cons:
-Graphs don’t appear for a few days
-Screen doesn’t rotate

3.5/5

Habit Check is an application that helps you keep track (and stay on track) of your habits.

Basically you create a Habit that you have by tapping on the “+” button then each day you tap on the habit and then “+1″ if you have done well or “-1″ if not.

By tapping on the blue arrow next to each habit you can view a graph for each of your habits of the course of a month, three months, or even six months.

At the bottom of the Habit list screen displays the threshold, which is the time in which the app allows you to enter a record for you habit. In other words it only allows you to enter one record per habit per day (so you can’t cheat )

If you are in need of an application that allows you to keep track of your habits, then this might be just the app for you. I like the ability (rather the inability) to enter only one record (+1/-1) per habit per day, as this keeps you from cheating your results…quickly at least The graphs are also a nice touch, this way you can see how you are doing over a significant amount of time rather than just the past few weeks. I would like to see the addition of a simple todo task option under each habit. This way users can check off what need to be done to complete that habit. Another thing that would be nice would be screen rotation, as some of the longer habits are cut off do to the width of the screen. I think $2.99 is a little steep for this application, with the addition of more features then I see no problem with paying $2.99 for this.

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Pros:
-Create multiple goals
-Create sub tasks to complete goals
-Journal entries
- Easy reference
-Sync with server

Cons:
-Manual Slider
-No help file

4.1/5GoalTender help you to keep track of your goals and your progress.

GoalTender is essentially a Todo, but utilities the idea of having sub-categories as the Todo’s. Can you say New Year’s Resolution tracker?

The main layout of this app contains a list of your goals that you have created along with how many days until it is due, and a “completion-meter” If it is due that current day, it will be in red, if it is due more than one day away, it will have a yellow tint to it. When you complete your goal, the item will turn green and move itself to the history tab.

What I found ultimately awesome about this application was the ability to see a meter of my progress next to the title of my overall goal in the main list as well at the days left until by goal was due.

In creating a goal, you create a title, then a you can decide whether you want to create a due date, have it due someday, or have the goal that must repeat every day, weekday, week, 2 weeks, every month, or even every year. Now your goal is set. You an go back and edit each goal by tapping on it in the main list view. From here you can set up a sub task that you must complete whether it is on a daily bases or otherwise. You can also list your progress in the journal entry section and you can move the slider over for the percentage you think you have completed toward completing your goal.
You can also create subtasks that can repeat on a per-day bases to help complete that particular goal.
Finally once you complete your goal, you can check it off or in case you fail (unfortunately), you can “x” it off your list.

In the main list view you can view your goals via three filters – Due, Someday (in case you don’t set a due date), or you can view the history of the goals you have either completed or failed.

Finally, you can set up an account on Goal Tender so that you can sync you goals with you account.

Overall:
I found this application quite neat, it allowed a quick glimpse at what I needed to do to finish one of my goals and how far I was along. If you have several short term goals (possibly even a few long-term goals), then this might be a good investment for you and at only $1.99 it’s not a bad one.
Some of the things I’d like to see – creation of sub-goals that when checked off, it automatically progresses the slider/graph, rather than having to do it manually.

More screenshots here.

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Fitness Day Journal (iFiness on iPhone icon) is an application that helps you keep track of your fitness activities (exercises) by listing the instances you have done them and visual graphs of your activities

Fitness Day Journal is relatively simple and easy to use. On the main page, at the top is a graph and below it, is the list of your recent activities, most recent at the top. By tapping on the graph, you can rotate through three graphs – Daily Calories within the last month, Weekly Calories within the last year, Daily Calories within the last week.

I noticed that there was a yearly graph, however, if I were to keep track of my activities for a year on this application, there is no way to find one activity out of hundreds of activities completed. Also the graph is horribly small for any discerning ability to be possible.

To enter an activity to tap on the “+” button, the data that was last used will appear in the blacks and can be changed as necessary. I thought this was nice if you tend to do the same activities repeatedly. Also by entering your current weight it will auto estimate the Calories that you burned.

The activity list has hundreds of activities in it (or so it seems, didn’t count them.)
Within the activity panel, besides listing all the activities, there is also a tab for listing your most recent activities.

You can also search the database of activities in order find your activity. Many of the activities also have alternates, meaning there is walking, 2.5 mph and Walking, 3.0 mph or even Walking 3.0 mph, Downhill. So while there are numerous activities, there are just as many options for some.

Overall:
I like the simplicity of the application, but I can’t see anyone using this application for an extended period of time. If you need small activity tracking for a short period of time, this might be the app for you, but if you are looking for something more complex for training, etc. The graphs are simply to hard to read and its simple log, is, well – too simple. With the ability to search your current log and enlarging the graphs or even the ability to customize and activity, this app will have more potential.

More screen shots here.

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Pros:

-Interesting gameplay

-Different levels of difficulty.

Cons:

-Audio is needed in order to play game.

-Game gets rather boring after a few levels

SuperSniper puts an interesting game in the palm of your hand. The whole idea of SuperSniper is to “snipe” terrorists through windows
without hurting and hostages.

Note*: You might notice that in iTunes the reviews are extremely low. Their original release had horrible controls that nearly made the
game inoperative. With the release of 1.1, these issues have been corrected.

Controls:

The game is controlled by tilting the device. You begin the game by holding the iPhone at a 45 degree angle away from you. Whatever position you have the iPhone at the beginning of the game will become the neutral position. As the game begins, a building number will be called out to you telling you where the terrorist it. By tilting the iPhone in the direction you want to go (tilt away – move up; tilt towards you – move down; tilt to the left – move left; and tilt to the right – move right). When you get close to the terrorist, the screen will zoom in as if you are looking through a scope You then have to
slowly position the cross-hairs on the terrorist and “pull the trigger” by tapping on the button in the bottom right-hand corner.

You can pick whether you want to play on easy, medium or hard. You are given less time to find and snipe out the terrorists in the harder levels.

Issues:

The main issue I had with this application is that you must have the audio on to hear which building you need to go to. On the first few levels on easy, you can get away with just moving around looking for the targets, but soon after that, you don’t have enough time to search for the target. At only $0.99 this application is worth a bit of fun.

Overall:

This game has an interesting concept for a game and at only $0.99 this is a pretty good game. My main complaints are that you have to listen to the audio in order to play this game successfully and the gameplay itself gets boring after awhile.

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You can view applications by release date/new (paid or free); price changes; Updated apps, or you can view apps by category (via new-free, new-paid, price change, or Update)

*Note: I feel that I need to say this as I noticed numerous low ranking in the AppStore. Many people might find this application much like AppSniper, while it’s not my goal in this review to compare the applications, I do feel that each app has it’s pros and cons and that one app might fit some, while the other might fit another audience.

The application may take anywhere between 5-10 seconds to load depending on your connection. Te app will automatically open on the “What’s New” Tab. If you select the option to pick between paid or free in any of the tabs you might see red images with question marks appear. These mean that the image is still loading or there was an error in loading the thumbnail.

I really enjoyed the layout of the list of application. In he default view, it lists the app badge icon, the title, its category and price.
Under the price changes tab, you don’t have the category in the list view, but you do have the price change – exe. $3.99 -> $4.99 . You also have an image that can easily be identifiable by the the color correlating to the price change – red = price increase & green = price decrease. You also have the percentage of change.
Under the Update tab, the listing view looks much like the “What’s New” Tab
The “Categories” tab lists all the different categories, upon tapping on the category, you’ll have the list for that category and 4 sorting option (listed above).

Layout in viewing an Application’s details:
Tapping on an app in the list view will display the details for the application. It was take anywhere from 5 seconds to 10 seconds to load the details depending on your data connection. This layout is what really make this application differ from AppSniper.

You have details, and screenshots. The details page is basically split up into 3 parts – part one is the header which includes the thumbnail, the title, the category, price, developer, release date, size, and version, and compatibility. The second part has the details. Now the details section is a bit odd to me as it is like it’s own screen within a screen, in which it has it’s own scroll bar.

Part 3 are in-line thumbnails which is a nice addition. I don’t like having to hit another button just to wait for the screen shots to load (such as in AppSniper,) I personally like AppShopping more so than any other application due to the information it has in-line.

Issues:
When tapping on the category, the category does not always highlight and therefore, it is hard to discern whether on not the category is loading. Also after the category list loads and you tap on another filter, the thumbnails do not load. However there seems to be a work around (but there really shouldn’t be) if you scroll through the list, the images suddenly seem to load. Another thing I noticed was that in the app details view, the description is a bit odd to view and can be hard to navigate past the description. I’d like to have all the text in-line with everything else, not just in it’s own little “box.”

Overall:
I like where this application is going and I really prefer it over AppSniper as I don’t do much snipping but mainly to see what’s new in the AppStore. I would like the see a Watch List/Favorites List of something of the like. I think this application has several filters and lists to satisfy any new-app-craving (or older apps too) person.

Pros:
-Numerous lists and filters to choose from
-In-line picture viewing

Cons:
-No search function
-No wish list (favorites)
-Details scroll area is awkward
-Hard to scroll past details
-Details text is a little small

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Hero of Sparta brings the “Hack n’ Slash” genre to the iPhone.

Pros:
-Great game play
-Awesome Cinematics
-Good Cut-ins
-Multiple weapons

Cons:
-Control Touch screen can become fickle over time.
-Sound f/x are repetitive

Note: I showed this game to one of my non-iPhone friends while at his apartment and throughout the day he played it. So his input is also included in this review. He actually ended up beating the game on Easy and then began playing on Heroic difficulty level.

Controls:
The direction you move is controlled by the “directional pad” in the bottom left-hand corner and you attack methods are controlled by “2 attack pads” in the bottom right-hand corner – shield & attack. In the top right-hand corner you can change your weapon as you progress through the levels.

The controls I found very easy to adapt to. The only problem I ran into (as well as my friend did) that after playing the game for about 30 minutes or so, the “directional pad” doesn’t pickup your finger movements very well. I sometimes stopped to wipe my hands dry (as my hands began to sweat due to the heat these iPhones produce.) and began to ply again, it seemed to be fine after that, however I again seem to happen quicker into game play the longer time-ago that I restarted my iPhone. In other words I think that it has to do with the iPhone’s RAM.

The different attacks and blocks are mostly dependent on the two buttons and the “directional pad” But for certain special moves, you’ll have to tap buttons on the main part of the screen, if you take too long, well, you won’t last much longer…

After my friend completed the Easy level and he began playing the Heroic level and he said that he didn’t find any difficulty difference, however, I found it much more difficult; although, I didn’t play all of the Easy level.

Throughout the game you won’t just be hacking away at mythical beasts, but you will be also be dodging arrows, jumping from rock to rock, and collecting crystals. Collect 5 green crystals and you increase you life bar, collect 5 blue crystals and increase your energy bar.

Graphics/Animations:
Um, wow… at first I didn’t think much of it, but after I began playing I found myself more interested in the cinematic cut-ins and the cinematic special attacks. I’ll talk more on cinematics later.
The graphics themselves are pretty good, not superior, but very good, as the special moves and the 3D animations make up for the lacking of “superior” effects (in my opinion). Frankly I assume that if the graphics were better, the iPhone would have troble rending the animations and eventually crash. So I guess that is just how it has to be.
In the top left-hand corner the green-bar is your health, while the blue-bar is your energy. Your energy drops as you do special attacks or moves.

Sound/Music:
Music works well for the game, I never got annoyed nor tired of it, depending on the level of difficulty, you’ll have a different soundtrack. The actual sound f/x I didn’t find as impressive and somewhat of a let down. They seem to be somewhat cheesy and very repetitive. It was really the only thing that bothered me in the game. The soundtrack will stop during certain parts on the game such as cinematic cut-ins or special attacks.

Cinematics:
Cinematics is a big thing to me. And I was very impressed with the cinematics to say the least at what this iPhone game could do.

The above screen shot isn’t really in the game, it’s the trailer before the movie, but still, the lighting in the trailer is pretty awesome. Okay so back to the actual game…

The above image was taken shortly after I was supposed to tap certain buttons to do a special move, but failed to do so, so hence – it’s me getting my butt kicked.

Again like I said, the special moves are pretty much like 3D cut-ins, but you have to do certain things in order to have them progress, I think it’s one of the best things within the game.

Overall:
I highly recommend this game; it provides game play unlike any other game does in the app store – namely the cinematics. While the controls can be tricky at time, it may take some time getting used to, but it’s worth it. Game play is about 5 or 6 hours for easy, and possibly a little longer on heroic (not sure haven’t finished playing through it. The replay ability is high due to the fact that all the weapons you gain on Easy or Normal difficulty level, you can use in heroic level.

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Bugz has to be one of the most entertaining games I’ve played (and really the only one I’ve completed all the levels on).

The game play here is simple – you create an explosion, for lack of a better tem, which if the bugs hit it, they in turn explode creating a chain reaction. From level-to-level, you must “clear” a certain amount of bugs off the screen via the chain reaction you create using only that one initial tap.

For your first time through, the game will walk you through on how to play it.

Levels:

I found the early stages harder than the later stages, as there  were more bugs to hit. Well except maybe for the last few, where you had to clear all of them or all but a couple. There are 102 levels, which are really segmented off into 4 different sections (if you will.) The first section only deals with clearing a certain amount of bugs from the screen. The second section is the same, but you have to also include the one or two of the silver-colored bugs in the chain reaction. In the third section, small
flowers are introduced, where they move around the screen. If the bugs get to close to them, they will slow down or even stop, which might throw off your chain reaction. And in the fourth section, you are given a time limit in which you have complete the level.

If you have a Wifi connection, you can view the leader board and/or submit your score to the leader board.

Overall I found the game play quite addicting. I beat the game within 3 or 4 sittings (within about 3 hours). So for me it was a  quite quick, but even though the game play was quick, the game grabbed my attention and submerged me into the game (which all great games should do). I’d really like to see more levels added as well and some increased difficulty in the upper levels.

Pros:
-Entertaining and colorful game play.

Cons:
-Only 102 levels
-Early levels seem harder than higher levels.

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Amy A.I. is an app in which you “chat” to Amy A.I. via the app. The little app took some time to load, but once it was open it was quite entertaining.

Pros:
-Entertaining
-Unique app
-Very easy to use
-Multi-lingual

Cons:
-Amy’s brain is not very broad
-Does not recognize IM jargon (exe. idk, lol, etc.)

4/5

$1.99

Even at some point the A.I. made me laugh because of its replies (which is impressive). However it can get confused at times, thus confusing you. You can see the dialog in some of the screenshots to see what I mean.

“Speaking” with Amy is much like using any other instant messenger.

The app has only one option: language selection.

I found this to be quite entertaining, as I switched over to Spanish. Amy’s “brain” loaded very quickly and I was able to communicate in Spanish. The language selection is a great little feature if you want to work on you 2nd language communication skills. Other languages also include French, Italian, & German. I however, have not tried any of these, as I am not familiar with any of those languages.

For some people that would like to get some stuff off their chest, this might be the app for you…you might even Ask Amy what she thinks. This app is highly recommended if you want to work on your language communication skills and if you just want to be entertained, then it’s still recommended.

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Mobile Ver.

Pros:
-Best way to send a photo to another iPhone user
-Easy UI & direct

Cons:
-No direct reply to SMS sender (not really sure they can do anything about it though)

$0.99

The Truth:
When someone sends me a “picture” I ignore it, I don’t have pen and paper with me all the time…I mean that’s why I have my iPhone… Well Quip can help with this – it basically simplifies the process:

You pick a picture or take one with the camera.

Then you select a contact to send it to.

You also have the option of adding text to the picture.

The receiver will receive an SMS message with a link….yes a link, and that’s it…well almost…

(*In the screen shot, you may notice that it says “Quip” at the top. I added the number that it comes from to my contact list…’cause I hate random numbers on the screen…don’t ask*)

They tap on the link and are taken to a website where the photo is being hosted (via Quip).

Since the picture is uploaded to the Quip servers and the receiver is sent a link to it. In order to reply to you, they have to tap on the phone number in the SMS message or do it manually. Also you can see that in the text message, the receiver is also given your name (your “from” name can be set in the iPhone settings tab, along with your “reply-to” phone number.)

I’ve really enjoyed this app. The only thing I’d like to see fixed- I’ve noticed that after taking a photo or selecting one from the library, to when you type in text, the photo preview seems to vies zoomed in & cropped. However when you send it, it is unchanged from it’s original state. So I am unsure whether this is intentional or not, but this is really just a nit-picky thing. For $0.99 this is a really great app.

Video

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Video

Mobile Video

touchPhysics is a series of simple (sometime not so simple) puzzles in which you have to make a little purple ball touch the yellow star. Sound easy? Think again, as you progress through the levels, they slowly begin to get harder. There are a total of 30 levels to go through not bad for this little app.

In order to complete the levels you have to draw “lines” (drawing a straight line with your finger/crayon); “polygons” (drawing the objects with your finger/crayon) and “small squares” (by tapping the screen once) that hit the purple ball in order to get the purple ball to hit the yellow star.

You can also remove an item from the screen by double tapping the object. And it you find yourself stuck, just shake (and hold onto your iPhone) to erase the shapes you have created.

You can also change some of the setting in the setting panel – like friction, gravity, and elasticity. You also have the option of adjusting the music, turning off of changing the playlist.

For $0.99 (right now, normally $1.99) this is a great little app to keep you entertained for a few hours (or more).
I would really like to see the more levels added and the ability to save multiple users progress.

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Cons:
-Instruction screen disappears a little too quickly
-Controls can be difficult.

The best way to describe this app is a combination of – interactive firework application combined with the Flurry screensaver from a Mac.

This application has no sound and there really is no need for it either.

If you were to just open and watch your iPhone display, you would find a mesmerizing display of colors and bursts.

Besides just watching the app do its own thing, you have the ability to interact with the “flurry”. By pinching or expanding you fingers from the center of the screen vertically, you can change the diameter of the “flurries”.

By pinching or expanding you fingers on the right side of the screen vertically, you can change the colors of the “flurries”.

If that isn’t enough by using the same technique as described above on the left-hand side of the screen, you can change the length of the “flurries”.

And finally using the pinch/expand technique horizontally on the center of the screen you can change the speed that the “flurries” move at.

When you first begin the app, you will see a screen that displays instructions, however, I found that the screen disappears too quickly and you might have to use this review as a reference or exit the app and re-enter it to see the instruction screen again.

I also found that controlling the various changes of the “flurries” a bit difficult. Using the pinch/expand method, the variables changed a little too quickly. It was almost “this or that,” there almost seems nothing in-between. Besides the options of changing the “flurries” appearance, when you touch the screen, the “flurries” will follow. And finally (and the coolest part in my opinion) is when you double tap on the screen, each “flurry” will explode in firework-like fashion.

This app runs for $1.99 in the app store and is recommended for self-mesmerizing enjoyment or providing enjoyment for the “little ones.”

While I would like to see a “Tap-To-Continue” instruction screen and better handling of controls, I find this to be one of the best (and mesmerizing) “firework-like” applications in the app store.

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Pros:
-Um…graphics?

Cons:
-Doesn’t work

$2.99

1/5

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Pros:
-Several colors & burst types
-Can pause motionCons:
-Hard to navigate viewing
-Lack of customizing the height of the burst
-Lack of realistic physics.

In the past I’ve purchased PyroMania, which was a fun little application and I was excited to try out 3D Fireworks, however, I was greatly let down. Straight up, I wouldn’t recommend it right now. Here’s why:

The initial screen begins on describing you how to navigate within the application

When I first navigated the screen, it was a bit disorienting. The screen seemed to pan and move about as I tapped the screen in order to “set-off” the fireworks. I then thought about the initial screen and “locked” the camera. I started tapping the screen once again and I heard the bursts, but did not see hem, or half of the bursts would come into to screen, as if it had bursts just off screen. I unlocked the camera and moved about, I found it quite easy (and very annoying) that you could look directly up and begin spiraling. Also it has tilt controls on it, which I found a bit confusing , When you are looking down at the screen, you can see the horizon, with the fireworks bursting near the top of the screen. When you move it above your head, it’s like your watching it from directly underneath. Knowing this it seems a bit odd, I mean in physical reality that doesn’t happen…if you look up, you see nothing. If you hove your finger around the screen, it pans around the firework burst. This is a neat idea, if everything else worked out equally it would be a very nice app.

I found that you can only set off one firework at a time (no multi-touch). However by tapping multiple times you can set off several.

Once you begin messing around with the application, by tapping the screen I believed you that you could set off a firework and it would explode at that height, but it doesn’t, it seems to burst at a preset height (or randomized preset height). The main thing I was impressed with, was the assortment of colors and types of breaks, it however (as with other firework apps) lack willow-style fireworks (bursts that break and then slowly fall toward the ground) and it also doesn’t have and multi-break explosions.

There are however, a multitude of colors and different burst types compared to other firework applications. You might even come across a bursting-smiley.

If you stop touching the screen for a few seconds, the app will, on its own, begin to “shoot” off fireworks

In the application, you have the ability to pause what is currently on screen and move around it (hence 3D). You also have the ability to change the time of day – sunset (orange in sky & stars), after-sunset (blue in sky & stars) and night (black with stars). Truthfully, I felt this was an un-needed feature.

I am still flabbergasted as to why the firework applications don’t utilize the mic input (like Ocarina). It would be really cool to see the fireworks explode to music.

Overall I would not recommend this application even for $0.99. I however wouldn’t mind paying $1.99 if they ironed out the viewing issues and added some of the features I mentioned.

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Pros:
-Extremely interactive, great for anybody!
-Sound is very good
-Very cool global view
-Stream live to the world!

Cons:
-Sound echoes (reverb)

4.7/5

$0.99

Something that really impressed me was the breath-velocity & sound-output. Depending on how hard you breath into the mic, it will affect how loud the tone is.

By tapping on the tower icon (wifi-looking-tower-thingy), a toolbar will appear with four icons (left to right) – the first is the Ocarina screen, the second is a global view, the third, a settings page and the fourth, is an about page.

Upon tapping the second icon from the left (the global view) what looks like Google Earth will appear (but of course you can’t do much zooming here) there are several yellow dots on the globe, these indicate other
Ocarina users. The app will automatically begin displaying a tune in this view, what you are hearing is someone else broadcasting their tune, (hence the tower emitting green circles in the Ocarina-view). At the top-left of the screen a heart icon is displayed, it you tap it, and then you are simply saying you enjoyed what the user was playing (you can view your stats in the about page). Next is the user that is broadcasting, their user name (you can create your user name in the settings tab). Then the icon on at the top-right allows you to skip to another user. What I really like about this view is the ability to visually see the stream coming from the user’s location as well as each tone that is being played.

On the settings screen, you can name your Ocarina, change the root (the lowest note that the Ocarina begins its scale on [I think.]) You can change the modes, the colors of the “holes” and the “breath” You can switch on/off the “Play melodies when asleep” or “Share your
melodies,” I believe these options are self-explanatory.

Overall I was extremely impressed with this application for a mere $0.99 .

This application is nearly perfect to me, I am giving it a 4.7/5, mainly because it’s a great app for $0.99, I however would like to see improvement on the sound output, as the echoing sounds annoy me a little. Join the forum discussion on this post - (1) Posts]]> http://www.theiphoneappblog.com/ocarina/feed/ 0 http://www.theiphoneappblog.com/sushitime/ http://www.theiphoneappblog.com/sushitime/#comments Wed, 12 Nov 2008 04:54:00 +0000 Matt Sawyers http://66.147.244.179/~theipho4/?p=21

…you then flip over the tile with a swipe of your finger and it reads:

Toxic! “O sheesh”, you think to yourself, “good thing I didn’t get that…”

You realize Sushi Time might have just saved your life…

Sushi Time is a simple app. Its used to look up terms that may be used in a sushi restaurant, and it you are daring enough to try a random dish, you might want to check to see what you are actually getting.

Terms are sorted in alphabetical order or you can view them by type.

Within the list view, navigation is simple, it’s like scrolling through your contacts. Upon clicking on a term a tile will appear with the name and a picture. You can swipe over the tile to reveal information about the term by using the swiping motion. Besides the description you also gave the option of adding to your favorites.

Therefore you can pull up those terms next time you want to order them in a resturant and impress the waitress…

Overall I was expecting more. I thought it would geve me a little more information about each item. I also don’t like the – see picture then swipe to see description. I am not quizing myself over terms, I just want the facts, so It would be nice if they made it just one page instead of a flip screen. $1.99 is asking too much for this app at the moment.

Videos:
Mobile

More screenshots here

$1.99

2.5/5

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Pros:
-Full keyboard
-Interesting take for a piano application
-Should be a fun app for kids

Cons:
-Inaccurate template for tempo
-Sound quality poor for repetitive key presses.

FingerPiano is a piano app with a twist, it shows you which keys to press in order to play a certain song. All the song are classical songs from which you may have heard at one point in your life. There are some 52 songs within this application. Some of the songs include a left set and a right set. So you could possibly play along with a friend that has the same app.

As you tap each key the scrolling bars advance to you know which key to press next. In the top right-hand corner there are 4 buttons that look like a rewind, stop, play and a fast-forward buttons. The fast-forwards
& rewind buttons allow you to move from song to song. The play button will automatically play the song so you can hear the song and follow the tempo of it.

The blue bars represent the White-keys and the green bars represent the black-keys to be pressed. The length of each bar is supposed to determine how long of a pause there is before the next key is pressed,
however, this is not always accurate and is somewhat frustrating for the quicker notes.

The sound is okay for slow notes, but for fast notes, the notes cut off the previous notes, making it sound awful. You can press up to 5 keys at a time without getting distortion.

I would like to see the ability of scoring like a quitar-her-type game. And if nothing else, I’d like to see half on the song played by the app while the user plays the other half. Or something like a test-mode

Video:Normal | Mobile

3.5/5

$2.99

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ShelfLife is a very simple application – it determines when you should throw out certain food in your fridge.

Pros:
-Glance & know readability
-Easy to operate
-Database of items & their shelf livesCons
-Shelf Life is only accessible via Internet connection.
-Text on Item details is very small.

You simply to a search for an item and then add it via the online database. I really did not have a problem with finding the items I needed, however, I was unable to find “soy milk” in their database. In this case, you are able to add the item manually. You can set the title, the date you put it in, shelf life and how many of the item(s) you have.

Once you have found an item, you can add it to you Item List. The Item List displays all the items that are in your fridge (or elsewhere) that you have entered. There are color-coded buttons to the right of each item that let you know quickly and visually whether your food is bad or going bad. As is the picture below, the Chicken Breast needs to go.

Each item is editable, so if you wish to change the quantity for the amount you have one hand, you can do so as well as changing the start date & its shelf life.

When you tap on each item in your list, in small lettering, the date that it was added and the amount of time that remains in the item’s shelf life appears.

As a college student, I have a sign on my fridge that says “science experiments in progress” (here’s the sign for your viewing pleasure )
Sometime I put things in and then I am unsure how long it can stay there before I have to eat it or pitch it. This program odes exactly what it says it does, however, the only downside I found was that you had to be online to access the database. It would be nice if it had an internal database that could be updated via the program.

Mobile

$1.99

4/5

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FATN stands for Free App To Note

Pros:
-Quick
-Easy to set up
-Does exactly what is supposed to do
-You can change the number without uninstalling the app

Cons:
-Opens Safari before calling

4.7/5

FREE

For “speedy-readers” read bolded text.

Speed Dial 1-4 are 4 separate applications that do the same thing. You
just have up to 4 icons on the springboard to do the task. Each application acts as a speed dialer on your springboard.

The first time you enter the application you will select the contact
out of your address book, then you will have the option to quit the
application.

The next time the program is run, it will automatically dial the reselected contact you have chosen.

If you decide to change the number for the icon, then you can go into the iPhone-app-settings dialog and turn on “setup mode”

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Kooaba allow you to take a picture of a movie poster, then looks up the info about the movie.

Pros:
-Cool concept
-Easy to use

Cons:
-Take too long to load results
-Shows results in Safari browser

FREE

2/5

You just push the camera icon on the main screen, snap a picture and it load (takes a long time – 30 secs+), then it opens safari and displays the movie details.

You can also view the history of your searches (if you ended up wasting that much time)

Conclusion: This app takes WAY to long to load results. It, however, is a nice concept, but needs updating and it would be nice to see the results loaded in the app itself.

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Earthscape is somewhat comparable to Google Earth, but for iPhone.

Pros:
-’Smooth’ zooming of maps (instead of going to gray every time you zoom like the built in maps app)
-’3D’ view-intuitive controls (not time consuming to zoom all the way out)
-picture geotagging-wiki geotagged articles
-rotates in any direction
-Using the EDGE network didn’t seem to slow this app down.
-Creation of “homepages” & personal accounts to save, view & share pictures (still under construction)

Cons:
-no ability to reposition geotagged photos on map (Edge network doesn’t always nail my location…)
-Some areas do not have enough imagery when zooming into street level (compared to Google Earth)

I originally bought the app for $9.99 and now it’s free. My rating will be in regards to it being $9.99, long before Google Earth even came outas an app.

4/5 Stars

1. Satellite maps are the only maps, no road labels. There is however city, state and border labels. Also many of the labels have Wiki geotagged articles associated with them (or any wiki article that has a geotag to it)

2. The “locate me” feature is quite nice. You can zoom in to where you are, and then find the wiki articles nearby. Especially if you are in a town/area you wanted to know a little history on, etc. You just click on the wiki label and the wiki page loads within the app.

3. Earthscape added a new feature that allows the user to take a picture and geotag it to your location. You then can view the map with all the photos that are most recently were posted to Earthscape’s map.

4. ‘3D View’ When applied it resembles the 3D view in Google Earth. When using one finger to navigate the image, it’s like looking around in a bubble, it you use two fingers, you can move you point of view.If you use two fingers to navigate you actually pan around instead of “looking around”

5. In the newest current version there is the ability to Search. The app will search places, wikipedia articles, and photo titles. They have also added the ability to add titles to photos.

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Pros:
-Realistic physics
-Decent landscape
-Easy controls of plane – uses accelerators & touch screen (for Landing Gear, Brake, Throttle, and Flaps)
-several camera angles
-lots of applicable situations to fly in
-UI is nice – even trhough is it much more compact compared to X-Plane
that runes on a Mac or PC, the interface is well organized.

Cons:
-One type of landscape – mountainous
-Only 4 aircrafts
-It would have been nice to have some missions of some sort. – like flying from one airport to another.
-Crashes may occur – to fix this, restart iPhone before running X-Plane
(this is a known issue) – the app takes up nearly all the RAM on the iPhone.
-Propeller animation is not realistic

$9.99

4.6/5

(landing, without gear…)

(An in-flight camera angle)

The preference pane, allows you to set random events – long/short landing, takeoff, random flight, random location, time of day type of cloud cover, wind speed, type of pane (4 planes) and the weight of the plane and weight distribution.

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