iPhone Daily News Digest

The process of finding your next ride can often times be a laborious task with researching and haggling and working to get the best possible deal. Thankfully as an iPhone owner, you’ll never walk into a dealership unprepared with apps like the newly released AOL Autos.

AOL Autos for iPhone is a portable version of the popular online car shopping guide. Search for your next car by filtering by price, type, style and make and model. Once you’ve decided on the car, you can further customize with color selection, additional options and trim. The app automatically will adjust and price your new car as you go along.  You can also browse galleries of photos and read reviews from other owners to make sure you’re fully ready when you hit the showroom floor.

Making a big purchase like a new car can sometimes warrant second opinions and AOL Autos gives you several options to share in your car making decision by emailing your car choice out to friends and family for feedback or posting to Facebook or Twitter.

If you’re in the market to purchase a new automobile, do your homework and prepare using AOL Autos.

It’s available now for free on the App Store.

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Pop quiz: you’re a successful independent iPhone developer who’s personal management apps are beloved by critics and users alike, but you just really need a break, a way to recharge the batteries and have some non-managed fun, what do you do?

If you’re App Cubby’s David Bernard, you grab Polar Bear Farm’s Layton Duncan and Made by Rocket’s Dave Keller and you produce KaleidoVid [$0.99 - iTunes link], a colorful, eye-full of childlike wonder for the iPhone. And you make it as simple as it is elegant.

Point your iPhone camera at, well, anything you like (the more varied and vivid the better in our tests) and KaleidoVid instantly transforms the live view into a dazzling, multi-reflected kaleidoscope of lines and blobs, hues and shades, and with a click of a button saves them to your camera roll or lets you share them with friends over the ever-social Facebook or Twitter, or good old email. (Yeah, it’s pretty much instant wallpaper awesome in a bottle if you think the way we do).

Whether you want the same kind of refresh and recharge the developers were after, or you just want to give your child something light and fun to distract them, KaleidoVid is definitely something to check out.

More screenshots after the break!

KaleidoVid Video Kaleidoscope for iPhone is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The Overview

When I first saw Gelex I yawned, “Ho hum, another Tetris-style, match three game.” But then I actually played it. Turns out the game was made by a 78 year old grandmother from the Czech Republic. THEN I got impressed.

In Gelex, you guide I or L shaped collections of 3 blocks to the bottom of the well, rotating them as they fall – all pretty standard Tetris stuff. When three or more blocks of the same color are touching sides, they dissolve – again, totally standard for the Match 3 genre.

This game gets its unique flavorful feel from the Flubberesque physics the blocks take on. Blocks don’t sit still at the bottom of the well – the dropping blocks bounce and toss around the other blocks.

As soon as three similar colored blocks touch sides, they are primed for dissolution. Even if they bounce apart, they will still disappear within seconds. This bouncing will also trigger blocks they touch of the same color – making the big chains.

Sounds fun right? Well there’s a downside. If any blocks have bounced above the game end line when the newest block enters, the game is over. Notice the screenshot directly to the right, I lost that game on the 3rd or 4th brick with a score 0 by bouncing a set of blocks then holding them up above the game end line. BTW… losing that badly is an achievement… awesome, huh?

The Features

Gelex has a ton of achievements to accomplish. Some of them feel nearly impossible (destroy 20 bricks in one turn? Nice!). And it allows you to post your achievements to your FaceBook page.

Not an actual feature of the game, but Marie has her own blog, The Good
Gelex has fun, cartoony graphics. The brick’s faces give great commentary on how they are being treated: angry, scared, elated, etc.

The bouncing physics of the gel blocks make precision placement difficult and creates the special atmosphere of the game.

The Bad
The pause button is tiny, hiding up in the right-hand corner and is a bit hard to hit.

Plus+ or OpenFeint integration would be nice…being able to post to FaceBook is okay, but the other scoring/achievement systems are becoming the defacto standard for all games.

The Verdict

Gelex is not just a fun match 3 game – it is an adventure in basic programming. Through Marie’s blog at grannycoder.com, you can see her development process. though not the best game in the App Store, it is definitely impressive that it was programmed by a septuagenerian in under four months (all while still taking care of her goat).

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Along with the launch of the iPad pre-orders, Apple put up quite a lot of new details about the iPad’s features last week. The iPad is now actually boasting a  tab of its own on Apple.com, but the interesting bits are scattered a bit all around. Here is what we found out:

Find my iPad

Just like the iPhone, the iPad can connect to MobileMe and take advantage of the find my iPhone/iPad features. You’ll be able to locate it, wipe it remotely, make it show a message or play an alert. You can actually get $30 off your first year of MobileMe if purchased with an iPad.

ePub support through iTunes

This is a very interesting one, the format selected by Apple for the iPad’s eBooks is an open-source one called ePub. While you won’t be able to export the eBooks bought in the iBook app, the opposite will be possible. Just take any eBook in the ePub format, drag it to iTunes, sync, and voilà!

Not only this means that you’ll be able to buy your eBooks in other ePub-supporting stores outside of the iPad, but this gives you the possibility to import on your iPad a huge collection of freely available books, like the ones from Google books. (And of course, the Gutenberg Project)

VoiceOver

Your iPad can read things like emails or eBooks out loud.

Delayed Accessories

If you haven’t pre-ordered your iPad case or your iPad keyboard dock already then you’re out of luck. Apple has started updating its delivery times on some of its accessories and the delays are important. The case has just been delayed two weeks to mid-april, and the keyboard dock all the way to May. Some believe this presages some major shortages.

Battery replacement policy

In the unfortunate situation your iPad would need to have its battery replaced, Apple will actually replace your iPad altogether. Out of warranty, the swap will cost you $99 + shipping and taxes.

Youtube Facebook sharing

You can share your favorite Youtube videos to Facebook right from the app.

The App Store to get a dedicated iPad section

Apple is dedicating a separate category in the App Store for iPad-specific apps.

Did we miss anything?

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TechCrunch links to noted developer Tim Bray who’s taking a position as “Developer Advocate” at Google for Android but who announces it while taking a swipe at Apple’s iPhone and the closed nature of the App Store:

The iPhone vision of the mobile Internet’s future omits controversy, sex, and freedom, but includes strict limits on who can know what and who can say what. It’s a sterile Disney-fied walled garden surrounded by sharp-toothed lawyers. The people who create the apps serve at the landlord’s pleasure and fear his anger.

Which is completely and utterly wrong, of course. That’s Apple’s vision of the mobile, curated App Store which they intend to be a family friendly, corporately liable software repository. Apple’s vision of the mobile internet is Mobile Safari and its WebKit rendering engine and other technological underpinnings, most of which are open source and heavily supported by Apple.

You can, now, today, get porn on the iPhone via Mobile Safari. You can get Google Voice. You can pretty much get anything and everything without any interference from or need for approval by Apple. It’s the definition of the Winer-ian vendor-less platform Bray quotes. Never mind:

I’m going to have to get savvier about HTML5-based applications, because a lot of smart people think the future’s there, that the “native app” notion will soon seem quaint.

And HTML5 (which allows web-based apps to behave more like native apps) is something Apple has been pushing very hard as well (from promotion at Apple’s Developer Tech Talk World Tour to WebKit.org itself). And again, now, today, you can code and run some of the best, most robust HTML5 applications for mobile to run well on iPhone Safari — and other WebKit-based mobile browsers.

We’ve said many times Safari is Apple’s open app store, and Apple even includes it beside Mac and iPhone on developer.apple.com. That’s what confuses us about comments like Bray’s and TechCrunch’s mention of former Facebook for iPhone developer Joe Hewitt (who has since said the iPad is “everything he’s wished for”).

It’s awesome for Bray and Google and Android and developers, and we congratulate and wish all of them well on his new position. But it’s important to point out that while Apple’s App Store might be “closed”, Mobile Safari is wide open; if you’re a web developer it’s delivering as well or better than anyone else on the promise of of that platform today.

Confusing: Developers Who Complain Apple’s iPhone is Closed AND Think HTML5 is the Future is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

According to TechCrunch, some of the worst scams in social gaming are moving from Facebook and MySpace to the iPhone:

Users are offered virtual currency in exchange for answering a quiz or some other seemingly harmless offer. But once they click through and awswer the quiz questions they’re told they need to enter their mobile phone number to get quiz results. Often there is fine print outlining the charges. But the already tiny print is completely unreadable on a mobile screen, making that disclosure meaningless even when it appears.

SMS subscription scams are among the most lucrative offers to game publishers because users get a recurring fee of $10 – $25 per month until they are able to terminate the subscription. Many users never notice them, and those that do usually have a lot of trouble getting them shut off.

TechCrunch has reached out to the companies they claim are powering the scams, including “OfferPal Media and SuperRewards and now Google” and has received reassurances from some of them that they are working towards guidelines and policies — not to get rid of the practice but to make the terms clearer for end users. Apparently, there’s so much money involved in this type of “advertising” that it’s not going anywhere soon, it just might get less “scammy”.

Read the articles linked above for more information on how it works and who the players are, but bottom line remember — if something sounds too good to be true, it is. If a game offers you”free” in-game currency (or whatever they use to incentive play) there’s always a cost. Don’t give out your mobile number, and don’t download apps unless you trust them completely.

If you’ve had any experiences with social gaming scams, or any type of in-app scams, let us know!

Facebook and MySpace Social Gaming Scams Moving to iPhone? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

A while back I started noticing people changing their Facebook profile picture to a celebrity that they looked like. Some pictures were close and others were way off. This got me wondering what celebrities I looked like. No one came to mind so I gave up and went on with my day.  Little did I know that yes “there’s an app for that”. Ivango brings us My Celebtwin the app that uses facial recognition algorithms to match your face with a celebrities.

The app itself is fairly simple. You can either use an existing picture in your camera roll or take one in the app. Obviously you want to get a clear picture with your head taking up most of the space. Once you have your picture you choose your gender then send the picture to the servers, wait a bit and voila you have three matches. Here is where I had some issues. I couldn’t get any matches with the camera option, everything would come back blank. When I used a picture in my camera roll it would come back good about 90% of the time. This really hurts the app in my eyes because it’s all about going to a party or get together and seeing who your friends look like, and the last thing you want to do is take a bunch of pictures THEN opening the app and hope your picture as clear and aligned properly for the software to work.

I used the app on myself, my wife and my two sons. I wouldn’t say any of us look like any celebrities so I was very curious to see how it worked. My two boys and I did match one of the three celebrities so I am convinced that if anything the algorithms are consistent. So you might be wondering to yourself, Who does Brad look like? According to My celebtwin I look like (drumroll) Liam Neeson, Danny Materson, and Ryan Reynolds. I don’t think I look like any of them but maybe if you merged Ryan and Danny into one person then uglied him up a tad maybe that guy would look like me. Another fun thing to do is see what celebrity of the opposite sex you look like, definitely worth a laugh.

This app goes for $3.99 which in my opinion is way to much. Even if the app worked 100% of the time I don’t think 3.99 would be worth it. They do offer a lite version with only male recognition so go ahead and try that out for free.

iTunes Link – My Celebtwin

Version 1.3

Reviewed on iPhone OS 3.1.3

Today can’t get any better. First off, it’s Friday, the end of the work week. Second, iPad pre-orders. Third, a bunch of awesome free games!

Comet Racer ($.99 -> Free): Another once paid, now free game from Donut Games.  The game will have you racing around the galaxy in a small rocket-powered ship using on-screen buttons or a unique touch and drag mechanic. Levels contain hidden secrets and power-ups throughout to spice up the gameplay.

The game also features local and online leaderboards and a ghost system so you can race against your own best times.

As with most of these Donut Games promotions, Comet Racer should be a free for a decent amount of time.

Flaboo ($.99 -> Free): A casual accelerometer controlled jumping game that features a plump chick that you must guide to all new heights.  Flaboo’s gameplay differs from others in the genre by requiring you to reach checkpoints before time expires in order to keep moving on.  Also, instead of just automatically jumping you must tap the screen when landing on each cloud.  Your chick can also hover for a moment by tapping the screen.

The game contains a variety of power-ups, and OpenFeint integration for leaderboards and achievements.

Flaboo is available free today only (3/12/10).

Spartacus: Blood and Sand ($4.99 -> Free): A violent and bloody fighting game that allows you to compete one-on-one against enemy AI or a friend via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth in a gladiator-style setting.  Characters are controlled via an on-screen d-pad and three combat buttons: quick attack, block, and strong attack.  Combos can be created with specific sequences of button taps and a move list can be accessed via the pause menu.

The game also features three difficulty settings, eight characters to choose from, and modifiable game rules.

Spartacus: Blood and Sand is available for free for a limited time.

Quizarium (Free): This is now the third time I have mentioned On5’s new game in the last 24 hours, and for good reason, it’s pure fun.  Quizarium is an online trivia game that allows you to test your wits by competing against players from around the world.  The game isn’t multiple choice, you will have to enter your own answers via typing, which makes the game that much more challenging.

The game features 10 categories to choose from and the ability to create your own room, push notifications to invite your friends, Plus+ integration for awards and leaderboards, three themes to choose from, and the ability to share questions and answers on Facebook and Twitter.

Quizarium is and will be free for the foreseeable future.  Check out our hands-on preview to learn more.

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Tapped on App Store and what did I see? Updates for Tweetie, Loopt, Foursquare, and Flickr — and a couple of those say iPhone OS 3.2 (aka iPad) right there in the What’s New listing. (Yeah, that doesn’t mean 3.2 is coming to the iPhone or these are 1024×768 versions, likely just that they’re built using that SDK for maximum blackboxing on the iPad).

Tweetie [$2.99 - iTunes link] has just hit version 2.1.1 and brings iPhone OS 3.2 compatibility(!), Foursquare (4sq.com) integration, Vodpod video uploads, Post ‘message’ parameter to TwitPic, and Instapaper Mobilizer. See our previous Tweetie coverage for more on the app.

Loopt [Free - iTunes link] expands the product’s Pulse feature to include tens of thousands of local events, and allows check-in to events, public Tips, and the ability to RSVP to events posted on Facebook. It’s also got you covered for SXSW, and adds content from SonicLiving, Zvents and Metromix.

Foursquare [Free - iTunes link] brings a whole new look and feel (see below), faster, better checkin, and categories for Places view. Also, it has history for Places, and uses Tweetie-style pull-to-refresh.

Flickr [Free - iTunes link] iPhone OS 3.2 support (!)

Quick App Updates: Tweetie, Loopt, Foursquare, Flickr — Including iPhone 3.2 Compatibility(!) is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

Loopt v2.2 is expected to hit the App Store at any moment today, which will expand on the app’s Pulse feature to help you find even more local events that you can share with friends. The update will be arriving just in time for all of you SXSW goers.  How convenient?

By accessing the now conveniently placed Pulse tab, you will be able to find, check-in at, share tips, and RSVP to tens of thousands of events with ease.  You will also be able to see which of your friends are currently at these events, and which are going to be attending.  For some music events, you will even be able to a hear a sample of the band playing from within the app.

“Locally-relevant content is crucial for helping people to truly discover the world around them,” said Sam Altman, CEO of Loopt. “By adding Events to our Loopt Pulse, our users can now not only find great places to eat and drink, but also discover music, movies, dance, comedy and theater events going on in their neighborhood right now.”

For those attending SXSW in Austin, Texas, this update will come in very handy.  Loopt v2.2 will feature a full guide to the music, events, and celebrations at the event, allowing you to check in at certain SXSW venues for opportunities to win giveaways and other special offers.

Loopt v2.2 is basically about adding new content partners in order to provide more location-based events.  The new content sources include SonicLiving (connects music fans to local concert listings, song samples, tickets and other listeners), Zvents (a leading producer of entertainment guides online, powering a network of more than 285 media partners), and Metromix (a local entertainment guide spotlighting bars, restaurants, and entertainment across more than 60 U.S. metropolitan markets).  That’s on top of all of their current partners, including Zagat, CitySearch, Bing, and TastingTable.

Finally, the Loopt update boasts expanded sharing through Facebook and Twitter, improves functionality around checking-in and sharing locations, and adds a handful of searching options to help you more easily find places and events.

Will this update make you take a second look at Loopt for your iPhone, or are you already quite settled in with your other location-based service?

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