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From GDC: Appy Entertainment Talks iPad Plans
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Appy Entertainment met with us at GDC, and dished out some details regarding their plans for the iPad. First and foremost they’re fully adopting the iPad in their development plans from this point forward. That means they already have games they’re working on for the device which will be as close to ipad launch as possible only delaying to get it in their hands to make sure it doesn’t over power the device, and feels right.

The first game will be FaceFighter Face2Face, icon above, which is the face fighter on the iPhone redesigned for the bigger device. It will be more than just upscaling the graphics, and instead will provide a whole new experience. It will have iPad unique gestures, and will be an iPad exclusive launch.

Appy is also working on Tune Runner HD exclusive for the iPad. It will play similarly to the iPhone version as you draw shapes as you play to your own music, but with all the graphics made to run natively on the iPad.

In Tuner Runner a music note runs across screen, and you need to draw shapes that appear on screen. You can play your own music while the note runs so you will be able to compare scores on the same songs.

Other Appy news includes that they will be releasing Face Fighter 2 which will be a dual platform release, and build on everything of the current iPhone version. Face Fighter on the iPhone will be getting an update soon adding OpenFeint as well. The current Tune Runner is free with in-app purchases and they will be introducing a $1.99 app to buy the unlimited version of the game.

They are also working on one other mystery product that, knowing Appy, will be just as cooky, in a good way.

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10% Of Microsoft’s Employees Check Their Email From An iPhone
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Unlike Palm’s CEO, Microsoft’s employees seem to be nuts for the iPhone, so much actually, that it’s getting embarrassing.

While they’ll probably tell you it’s out of professional interest, as much as 10,000 Microsoft employees, or one out of then according to the Wall Street Journal, accessed their corporate email account from an iPhone last year.

This embarrassing situation didn’t go unnoticed and a first attempt to tamper with it was made last year already, when Microsoft modified its corporate cellphone policy to only reimburse service fees for Windows Phone owners, without much success.

They didn’t go as far as banning the device, but the practice is definitely criticized. As Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s CEO whose father worked at Ford put its; Work for Ford, Drive a Ford.

I guess that explains why their new Mobile OS seems so similar to the iPhone…

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PayPal v2.0 Update Adds Loads Of Features And A New Look
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Before today the PayPal iPhone app was a complete yawn-fest not really worthy of a place on your springboard unless you were the kind of person who absolutely needed to send money while on-the-go because that’s basically all it could do, that and view your current balance and history.  The recently released v2.0 however, gives the app some actually worthwhile features while also sprucing it up with a brand new interface.

PayPal iPhone app users will no doubt welcome the new look and feel in v2.0, sporting a more colorful and rich interface, but really it’s all about the features.  The app now sports the somewhat gimmicky, although fun, Bump feature, allowing you to bump two devices together to quickly and easily transfer money.

PayPal v2.0 allows you to do a lot more with your money as well, giving you the ability to withdraw funds from your PayPal balance into your bank account, collect money from a group, event, gift, or cause, and request money.

Other neat features include the ability to instantly split a bill at a restaurant, calculate a tip, and request everyone’s share, and the ability to set reminders so you never miss paying a bill.

PayPal v2.0 is now available in the App Store for free.

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Learn And Master Guitar On Your iPhone With Gibson
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

The Gibson Les Paul is the best selling guitar of all time. With the Gibson Learn & Master Guitar App, you can now have one on your iPhone.

Gibson has teamed up with Legacy Learning Systems and Deepwell Software, to develop an App that they claim “is a must-have application for any guitar player”. Having bought a few of the best Guitar Apps available on iPhone I asked myself a simple question “what makes this app better than the rest?” The answer, as far as the Chromatic Tuner, Chord Database and Metronome are concerned is, nothing. These features are available as standard in any Guitar App in the App Store.

So why is the Gibson App so special? Well, The Gibson Learn & Master Guitar App, has an Ace up its sleeve with the “Lessons” feature. “Lessons” offers you free, full length guitar lessons from the award winning Learn & Master Guitar course for beginner, intermediate and advanced. “Lessons” puts this app ahead of the competition, particularly considering that it is free. It certainly is worth a look at for most guitarists, and even more so if you’re a huge Gibson fan.

Gibson Learn & Master Guitar App is available in the App Store – Free.

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Appisode 91: iPad Numbers Looking Good, Games To Save You Money, Plus The Chance To Win Big
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

A group of Apple enthusiests have tracked iPad pre sale orders and estimate that Apple sold 120,000 units on day one – and will sell half a milion before they even ship. So where did these numbers come from? Well, according to Appleinsider, users on the AAPL Sanity Board at Investor Village have used their own order numbers to determine how many orders were taken total.

Want more for your money? Gameloft is here to give it to you, with their new 3 games in 1 Gameloft Sports Pac.

App of the Day: Fantell – check out how you can win a free iPad!!

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App Sale: Helichicken
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Helichicken is on sale for free – normally $.99

Here’s a quirky little no-brainer of a game for you… just touch your iPhone’s screen to make Helichicken go up, release to let him (or her? or it?) fall, and avoid making contact with all the wacky obstacles looking to end your game.

Helichicken is one of those hand-drawn doodle-style apps and there’s not much to it but if you’re into simple endurance games where the sole object is to not screw up for as long as possible then this one might be worth a shot. Bale would be doing everyone a solid if he (or she? or they?) would enable OpenFeint and throw in some more interesting powerups, but hey what the hell… it’s free! And it’s Monday! And you don’t really feel like working or studying anyway!

If Helichicken touches anything... even the white layer of clouds, it's Game Over Man

If Helichicken touches anything… even the white layer of clouds, it's Game Over Man


Self-Proclaimed “Fastest iPhone Typist” Types 83 WPM
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

YouTube user konceptzoflife has wowed the web with his shockingly fast 83 WPM using only an iPhone 3GS, iTextSpeed, and what we can only assume to be robotic spring-loaded thumbs.

The self-proclaimed “fastest iPhone typist” first achieved moderate Internet fame by typing a tepid 81 WPM on his iPhone.  With most of you being avid iPhone and iPod touch users, you can probably understand how difficult of an achievement this is.  Typing 81 WPM is an absolutely astonishing feat on a soft keyboard, and even fairly difficult on a full-size physical keyboard.  His achievement is even more amazing considering he only made a single mistake out of the 44 words typed.

He later followed up his 81 WPM with a score of 83 WPM, although he only has screenshots to prove it, no video.  His overall goal is to achieve a whopping 90 WPM.

Do you think you can come anywhere near that speed?  iTextSpeed is a $.99 app, but the developer does offer a free version that allows you to test your typing skills for a full 15 seconds.

[via 148apps]

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From GDC: Glu Mobile Announces Three New Games
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

We met with Glu Mobile during GDC, and they revealed three new games. The first game is How to Train Your Dragon: Flight of the Night Fury which was released the day we met with them last Wednesday. The game is built upon the same engine as the Glyder series just with the Dreamworks movie tie in.

The gameplay itself is pretty similar, though there are a few simplicities like having a dragon so you don’t need to manage your air the same way as in Glyder. You can pick it up today, or wait for a full review which should be coming shortly.

The next game is called escape from NOM which is quite away from being finished, but we got to see a real early build. It’s a physics puzzler where you try to change the color of the nom to land in the colored pool at the bottom. You will need to use tools like bumpers to change color, deal with various hazards and switches, as well as enemies.

There are five different worlds with 10 levels each. On top of that a level editor is planned. The game is similar to Peggle in that you scroll to line up the nom to launch it through the course.


The final game is Stranded 2 Mysteries of Time which is a classic franchise they’re bringing to the iPhone. It’s an adventure game with a deluxe story that places you on an island trying to figure out its mysteries. You explore using virtual d-pad controls, and attempt to beat all the missions and sub-quests given by various characters you chat with.

The game plays unlike many other games in the App Store by allowing you to progress and fire at the same time in a top down view. In the end you’ll be figuring out mysteries of an island, and traveling though time, wait isn’t there a TV show with that premise? The game is expected to take quite a few hours to get through, and is arriving sometime in April.

Glu overall is a mobile game maker who makes games for all mobile platforms, and isn’t just on the iPhone/iPod Touch. They have the iPhone more in mind though recently, and are going to be bringing social features to their games, but whether it’s their own service or something like OpenFeint they haven’t decided.






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Review: Eveningstar
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Overview

Eveningstar is a vertical scrolling shooter with a new twist. You control a magnetic ball of energy that is tethered to your spaceship through your ship’s movement. Your job will be to solve puzzles using the Eveningstar, and destroy unique looking enemies. The graphics are beautiful and the colors vary widely in each of the nine total levels. There is no social score keeping available but the difficulty is adjustable.

Features

Touch to control your spaceship as you fly through a slow vertical scrolling environment. You have a life bar and a total of three lives. Upon death you return invincible for three seconds right were you died, losing all upgrades gained up to that point, and making death seamless.

There are nine levels in total, each of which has very unique creatures and includes a boss at the end. You can select any level that you have unlocked to play each time you start the game. You fire the guns by touching the bottom left of the screen, there is no fire button displayed.

The main damage you do and the answer to most of the puzzles is the Eveningstar. The Eveningstar is a blue orb of energy that can destroy most enemies instantly, and can also manipulate the environment by touching it. It is tethered your ship and can swing wildly in any direction around you, depending on how much you can swing your ship around to create a slingshot effect.

The controls will see you firing your gun, swinging your ship in wide circles, and dodging to avoid incoming missiles and enemies, all this becomes a lot to deal with at the same time. Fortunately the map scrolls very slowly allowing you time to focus on the tasks at hand. There are a number of upgrades including extra lives, healing, double straight shot, triple wide shot, fire backwards, and Eveningstar size increase.

The Good

The responsive touch controls take vertical scrolling shooters to a whole new realm. The graphics are colorful and crisp. The backgrounds and enemies are all quite unique and very beautiful. The soundtrack is professional quality and adds to the already high excitement level with an epic quality. The levels are quite short allowing for easy replays whether for higher scores or just to beat the level. Each level has a boss and each boss needs to be outwitted using your Eveningstar and guns.

The Bad

As you fly through the levels, the screen scrolls forward at a snail’s pace which can be annoying at times. The backstory is only available intext form and you need to select it if you want to read it. The Eveningstar is difficult to control at first but becomes instinctual as you play on.

The game has a brisk overall feeling. You can die quite easily if you don’t pay attention to where you are swinging that thing. It can become difficult to see obstacles near your spacecraft due to the wild touch and slide control movements needed to get the Eveningstar to do it’s maximum potential damage.

The lack of social score keeping really hurts the replayability despite the adjustable difficulty. There is no store to buy permanent upgrades from, nor a monetary system of any real value, despite coins being attainable as you play through the levels.

The Verdict

The unique touch specific controls makes Eveningstar a game that would only work on the iPhone and is worth checking out just for the revolutionary controls. The soundtrack is top quality and enhances the gameplay. With three easily adjustable difficulty levels this game is accessible, from the casual gamer right on up to the pro. Eveningstar could have easily earned a 4.5 with social score keeping, but this app is still a gamer’s dream.

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Offline Listening Coming Soon To Rhapsody iPhone App
March 15th, 2010 Appstore Apps none Comments

Rhapsody’s iPhone app already provides subscribers (Rhapsody To Go subscription costs $15/month) with over 9 million full-length tracks that can be streamed over Wi-Fi, 3G, or Edge, but the company is looking to make their service more enjoyable and much more convenient with the ability to download songs to your iPhone or iPod touch, pending Apple’s approval of course.

Rhapsody’s recently released YouTube video shows the offline listening feature in action.  It demonstrates how you will be able to download a single song or entire playlists to your device so you won’t have to rely on finicky wireless signals.  Downloaded songs and playlists will be highlighted with an orange color while streaming songs remain blue for easy navigation.  Besides the obvious upside of not requiring a wireless signal, downloaded songs help preserve your device’s battery life by a relatively large margin.

Rhapsody has stated that the update will be submitted to Apple for approval “very soon.”   When it will be available for download, however, remains to be seen.

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