News, apps, rumors, hacks and cracks
Being that I love to email out of my iPhone more than my computer, this particular little app called FastMail really caught my attention. While using it I felt more in control of my email composition creativity. Yes you already have the iPhone application for mail that comes built in and allows you to compose as you type offering optional words above the one being typed. However there are of course certain things that the mail app can’t accomplish. You might struggle with having to retype the same long words over and over or if you’re like me, you might not be in favor of typing the word almost to completion before having the word offered to you.
Fastmail works similarly as the apple mail app except that you can see an entire list of words being offered for your use to the right of your current composition. Here’s the other kicker, you can set it to appear on the left side of your screen if you’re left-handed! But keep in mind this has to be done at the beginning of the setup of the app. The controls and face of this app is very well put together in that there is no extras, it is very simple and easy to roam through it. (more…)
Like all iPhone owners, I want to protect my investment. But like most iPhone owners, I’m going to go thru a few cases before I land the right one. In this journey of trial and error I have purchased a few iPhone cases and returned a few as well. In doing so I have kept a few for different purposes or environments. I have one for the business casual affairs, while I have another for the in-pocket tote. But I have an outdoorsy one that I like for its extra protection (or sense of protection) that it provides while out in the rough. I go on campouts and hikes a few times a year and I love to take my iPhone with me (mainly for its GPS mapping ability).
There is no way that I’m going to trust just any case out in the woods, that is why I purchased and kept the Tough Skin Rugged Rubber Case by Speck. This bad boy not only protects your iPhone, but gives it a rugged outdoor look. I am glad that it doesn’t come in camouflage though because if it was dropped on the ground it would easily blend in, making it difficult to find through the natures grassy floor. (more…)
The following is a guest post by my friend Guy. Guy has been surfing for much longer than I have, and like most of us, he’s addicted to his iPhone too. When I was contacted by the people who developed the Surf by Wavewatch app, I asked Guy if he’d like to review it and he accepted right away. Thanks Guy!
There aren’t many apps of this sort that catch my eye, but this has not only replaced two other apps on my iPhone, but also the tide calendar on my wall. I’m sure there will be complainers, mostly that there aren’t enough locations offered. While it’s true that other apps break down every beach access from Tijuana to Timbuktu, experience tells me that most of that is redundant; if it’s good at Cardiff Reef, it’s about the same at D St. In other words, every ten miles or so is fine. (more…)
With the hot summer around the corner not everyone is running for the door, many are staying in and yearning for the outdoor activities. Well rest assured that one favorite pastime is here on the iPhone.
The app iKite is one that will keep you feeling the outdoors and relaxed all the while never having to worry about dehydrating. It is a very simple yet enjoyable app that even a five year old can utilize and enjoy.
The interface is absolutely simple and easy to maneuver thru the options menu. You are given options the type or model of kite that you want to fly thru the skies. From, the fast flying, sharp turning, to the sleek cruiser type, many options are available.
The skies and turf are also displayed as an option for those of that prefer the beach over a grassy field. Once you have made your choices, you also have the options to choose to have a soothing music accompany you on your flight. You are now ready to take to the skies!
I did mention that even a 5 year old can maneuver thru this app, and I was proven right! I handed my iTouch to my son who will be turning 6 in 3 months and I couldn’t get it back (which is why I didn’t let him use my iPhone)!
Once you are set to take flight the controls are very visible as 2 little circles (where your thumbs are placed). You can move one thumb higher than the other and watch (right or left) your kite sway to the sides.
The tricky part is that it takes a few minutes to get used to and that it can get tangled and crash to the ground. Just like in the great outdoors you do have to be careful for obstacles above you.
In this case there are birds that fly towards the kite, but this makes the app more like a game rather than just stands there and looks at the kite fly in the sky. The occasional bird does keep you on your toes and when done you can look at your hangtime and other stats in the report screen.
iKite is sure to bring lots of fun to all ages that can’t quiet make it outside for whatever reason. Priced at $1.99 makes it all worth the download too. There is sure to be some eye catching upgrades coming to this app soon. In the mean time… go fly a kite!
Since the creation of the App Store a few months ago, iPhone apps reviews are everywhere. I’ve always tried not to spend too much time on apps reviews to focus more on interesting news or hacks for the iPhone. From time to time though, we do have apps reviews, and it’s mostly the job of dannyswrld.
I’ve received a few emails and comments from you guys asking what were my favorite iPhone apps so I thought I’d write a post about it. Note that these apps aren’t ranked in any specific order. (more…)
I know this is the Final Four weekend for college men’s basketball, but many of us are still pining for the upcoming NFL and college football seasons. I’ve seen a few American football games on the iPhone and haven’t been impressed so far. Until Electronic Arts makes “Madden” for the iPhone, maybe Field Goal Frenzy [iTunes link] can help in the meantime.
It’s a simple game: all you have to do is kick field goals. It may seem deceptively easy but it is a very challenging game. To kick, all you have to do is swipe the screen and depending on how you swipe, you can control the speed and direction. After the kick you also have some limited control of where the ball goes by simply tilting the iPhone. I like this game because of its simplicity and the fact that I have never been 100% accurate. You start out close to the field goal and the game changes your position and distance as the game goes on. You can also submit your high score to a global list, but you have to register with a login.
All in all, it’s a very good game for $1.99. If you ever see the price dip lower, it’s a must-have for just about any American football enthusiast.
Illusion Labs, makers of TouchGrind, Labyrinth, and iPint teamed up with ReadyFireAim to bring a unique game to the App Store: Sway. The Sway gameplay is a bit hard to describe. You swing your character across the levels, trying to collect coins as fast as possible. Other levels require you to get three keys to save your friends. It’s easier to understand if you read the story:
The story goes; The scatterbrained wizard accidentally blew up the world of Sway. All your friends survived the big badaboom due to their soft interior and fuzzy exterior but are scattered all over the galaxy. Now you must help Lizzy the Lizard find her friends by swinging her through the worlds. When you save Ninja Man, Stitches, Box Boy, Captain Beefcake or one of your other friends you can make them sway too!
You may have heard that the game is easy and short. That has been fixed!! Update 1.1 has fixed all this. It contains more levels, and more characters so that you can’t swing completely though the whole level and finish in 3 seconds.
The game features 25 levels (harder than you think, will keep you swaying for hours), 10 characters (my favorite so far is Ninja Man), and realistic physics. This video gives you a better idea of how the gameplay is (note that the video is a bit old and the textures have been slightly modified and looks much better)
The game, like all apps from Illusion Labs is wonderful. It is well polished, and its visuals are outstanding (hence the name Illusion Labs). If you enjoyed any of their other apps, I highly recommend this one.
Although it can’t be considered a “platformer”, I guess you can call it a twist on platformers. The game offers a unique and entertaining challenge. The levels of difficulty get harder (as in more obstacles and less room) as you advance though the game. For those of you who think 25 levels is too little, I’m pretty good at these games. I’ve been playing this a lot in the past days and have not finished yet (and won’t be done for a bit). Each character is a bit different, some are faster, some are slower, some have longer arms (which can be useful some times). The game includes a wonderful package of sounds, music, visuals, making it a complete gaming experience I personally love.
Illusion Labs has also released a lite version, for those of you who cannot make up your mind. But it has been temporary removed due to some bugs and other problems. Rest assured though that the full version, at least so far, is bug free.
Sway is currently priced at $4.99 and I think it is worth every cent. I highly recommend this one, especially if you enjoy platformers.
Ian Marsh, indie developer who brought us the beloved Scoops and Textropolis has made yet another addictive iPhone game. Kyper. Kyper is all about speed, in fact Ian calls it the “fastest game on iPhone”. The gameplay is simple yet addictive. You control your ship by moving your device. You need to avoid all asteroids. But there are two types of asteroids. The red (to me they look orange) slow you down. You must stay away from these or it will slow you down. The closer you are to them the more they slow you down. The green (to me they look yellow) speed you up. You must get as close to these as possible. But if you crash into any of the asteroids you die. Although the game may sound simple it is no easy challenge. Especially once you get going really fast. As Ian himself said, after you pass 1,000 km/s that’s when you go into “holy crap” mode. Kyper is not a relaxing game!! (more…)
Laminar Research has released yet another flight simulator app for the iDevices. This time around it’s one we’ve been waiting for: X-Plane Racing. That’s right, racing! The app consists of ‘highway-in-the-sky’, ‘hoops’ that you can go though. There are 4 regions for now and 4 planes (as developer states: “for now”). There’s a course per region per plane, for a total of 16 courses to race though. You can play against the AI plane, which will give you quite a challenge. Courses vary, based on location. Sometimes you will be going almost straight up, sometimes down canyons and valleys, and sometimes close to a river.
As for locations, you can choose from :
And as to the planes:
My experience with it has been very good, same as with all the other X-Plane apps. Laminar Research puts a lot of work and quality into their apps. No bugs found so far, everything is going smoothly. Beating the AL plane is tricky and any mistake can cost you. Awkwardly, even if you are in the lead, the AL plane shows up in front of you. But that does not bother me, I still beat it 
. Also, at the end of each course it tells you your time and how many hoops you missed, and the AL plane’s time and how many hoops he missed. But there is more.
The AL plane is a lot of fun, all 16 courses…………….yeah yeah. But there’s another thing about the app, something that gives it a kick. Multiplayer. That’s right, Laminar Research has added multiplayer to the game. So as long as you and the other player are connected on the same Wi-Fi network, you can race against each other. Booyahh!! This feature is a blast. Playing with your friends is a blast. Especially since they are smarter, and trickier than the AL plane. For those owners of the other X-Plane apps, nothing to worry about. An update was released with other stuff this morning and it includes multiplayer. BUT, you don’t get hoops in the sky or a marked course.
The app also features a sound system when landing (also added to the other apps in the update) so either a squeak from a nice landing or a thump from a hard landing. Also in “Racing” and added to the other apps are visible afterburners, and a basic autopilot. I must say, Laminar Research is outdoing themselves. And they are trying to put everything they can into the app, pushing the limits (I’m on a 2G Touch, supposed to be better for gaming, and it got hot!). A little note, the apps are always being updated with a bunch of things. There is an option to set the tilt (in ALL apps) so you can even play from bed. The desktop version of X-Plane is FAA approved, the iPhone version has 90 something percent accuracy. Now that’s good!
The app is currently priced at the same price as all the other X-Plane apps, $9.99. There is a “series” of X-Plane apps:
All of the apps now have multiplayer. I am loving every app and highly recommend them. You will get lots of fun no matter which app you get. Plus who has not wanted to fly a 747 on an iPhone?! The X-Plane apps are the only flight simulators on the App Store and they are just great. In case you cannot decide which one to get I will post later on which I recommend depending on what you like.
I have about 20 different websites and part of my daily routine is to check out my Google Analytics account to have a look at the stats. Thanks to Michael Jensen and his new Analytics App, I can now do this on the go, directly from my iPhone.
There’s already a couple Google Analytics apps in the App Store but they’re not nearly as good as Analytics App [iTunes Link]. So what makes Analytics App so much better? Well, to be honest, it’s as comprehensive as you can get and it really is a “pocket version” of your full Google Analytics account.
When launching the app for the first time, Analytics App asks for your Google Analytics username and password. Once done, it loads all the websites you have analytics access to. If you have different profiles, it will load all of them with each website conveniently listed. Just tap the website for which you want to see the stats and you will be presented with 29 reports as well as unlimited custom reports, if you set them up. Wow!
I could go on and on about what Analytics App can do but as I said before, it does everything you can do from your Google Analytics account on your computer’s browser. To be honest with you, I think I find the app actually easier than the web version!
One thing I didn’t really like though is the fact that I cannot get the stats for yesterday. As much as I tried to change the dates and everything, I just wasn’t able to get my analytics report for the previous day, which is usually what I’m looking for. I assume it’s a missing feature that will most likely be added in future updates.
Analytics App is a must-have for any website/blog owner! You can download it from the App Store for $5.99 and at this price, I still think it’s a steal. Now I’m just hoping that Michael Jensen will also develop an application for Google Adsense and Adwords. Michael, if you hear me…
