RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘iphone’

iPhone App – The Hidden Park

25 Mar

There are plenty of games on the iPhone, some great, some not so great, but The Hidden Park is a game which absolutely caught my attention as an iPhone lover, casual gamer and most importantly, a Father.

The Hidden Park involves being outdoors, using the iPhone GPS, Map and Camera functions to give a real unique and engaging augmented reality type gaming experience to you and the little ones.

The Hidden ParkThe Hidden Park The Hidden Park

The idea behind this game is that the park you are playing in is being under threat by some greedy developers looking to destroy it.  Your challenge is to use the iPhones GPS and Maps to work your way through challenges, taking pictures, playing little games and riddles as you go.

There are a collection of ‘Official Parks’ which come bundled with the game and are being added to all the time, but don’t worry if there is not a park near you as the game also comes with a park builder for you to create your own parks and games and share them with friends.  You can even submit your parks to the developer where they will be considered for inclusion into the game as an ‘Official Park’ for all to play.  A great idea!

UPDATE: My own Hidden Park game for Aberdeens Hazlehead Park has been turned into an Official Park! More details soon!

Currently on Sale for £2.39 ($3.99), The Hidden Park is a great game for kids (both big and small).

App Store > The Hidden Park

 
No Comments

Posted in iPhone Apps

 

Tweetie, or not Tweetie…

29 Sep

It’s been announced that a new version of the incredibly popular Twitter app, Tweetie is on it’s way into the App Store with a load of new features set to make THE iPhone Twitter App once more. Rebuilt completely from the ground up, this is a completely new app and will be launched as such; Tweetie 2.

Tweetie is dead… Long live Tweetie 2…!

Well, not quite…

Since the announcement, there has been an increasing amount of both critisism and support for the decision to release this app as a ‘new’ app, and not an ‘upgrade’. Some suggesting it’s a slap in the face to Tweetie’s users, it’s supporters, who have bought the app and feel that being forced to pay full price is simply not cool. Surely an application upgrade is just that and those who have paid and supported the app should get just that?

Well, if I’m honest, I can see both sides of the coin in this debate but think the main point is being missed. Thanks to a gentle push (Thanks @GaryPacitti) I should get off the fence and join in with the debate… So here goes:

Every single person on this planet deserves to get paid for their work and effort. Tweetie 2 is the culmination of 6 months development and it’s developer deserves the right to be paid for his efforts.

I paid for Tweetie shortly after it’s release and think it’s an excellent app. Yes, it’s in desperate need of an update as there are more feature rich apps out there, but I paid for Tweetie and I got Tweetie. It was supported, bugs were fixed and features were added and for this, I paid the sum of £1.79… Bargain!

Now, there’s a new version on it’s way. Not only has it got a lot more features, but it’s been completely rebuilt. If I want this, I pay £1.79. If it turns out to be the app I hope it is… Bargain!

For a small fee, a developer gets paid for his work and I have access to great app which I am sure will be supported as required.

What about the other side of the coin?

Firstly, I want to make it clear I DO NOT think that Tweetie 2 should be a FREE upgrade to exisiting customers. In fact, I think a lot of the sound minded individuals arguing FOR a Tweetie upgrade are prepared to pay.

The problem seems to be the principal of not being offered the choice to upgrade and instead being left in the cold as a ‘new customer’ tastes a touch bitter. And who can blame them, it’s the world we live in where new sofware releases usually come with an upgrade path for existing users as a thank you for their support and relatively reduced fee to upgrade their software experience to the latest version and CONTINUE to support the product and devs. Sounds great, a win, win concept.

There’s one small problem with this, a paid upgrade is NOT available to App Store developers. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the choice is simple in the App Store – Free Upgrade or New App.

In this situation, there’s seems like no winner. Once again, the App Store shows itself not to be in the interest of developers or customers with devs being made to make tough decisions once again. I think we will see a lot of this in the near future as developers seek ways to maintain an income for the work they are doing in developing their apps.

I don’t suggest this is the position or attitude of the Tweetie dev, but faced with those options, I don’t blame him for releasing a new app. I would too…

Instead, we should divert attention to the broken app store and that once again it isn’t supporting developers and customers fairly.

 
No Comments

Posted in iPhone Apps

 

iPhone App | Yahoo! Inquisitor

05 Apr

This App recommendation is a major surprise as I stumbled upon this app by accident, got interested and downloaded it.

Inquisitor is a Search Engine App, (originally a Safari base which i have never used) but the iPhone version is a real gem. Primarily, it’s the excellent interface which is the cornerstone of this App and what it makes it an absolute joy to use.

Startup Inquisitor and you will be ready to start a search within seconds, and here’s where it shows it shine…

Results are stacked in a simple, designed manor, including a synopsis of the result and it’s Favicon. This makes the resuts really clear to review at a glance.

Click on a result and it it opens up in a WebKit browser within the app (no open in safari here… Nice!).

As pages are loading, a larger version on the sites synopsis is displayed for you to read a little more whilstthe page actually loads. This is an EXCELLENT idea and I cannot praise this concept enough. It’s so incredibly simple, yet really effective and of value.

Not only do you get search suggestions as you type in your search, but at the bottom of the results there is a collection of alternative search queries. Yes, we have seen this before, but it’s important that it’s here.

Your Search Queries are automatically saved (and can be cleared). It’s quick tand easy to quickly grab a search you used at an earlier date.

If only this Apps capabilities could extend to to the iPhone itself offering contact, email, notes, etc. but with Apples Spotlight coming in 3.0, I doubt it ever will. Unfortunately.

So, the conclusion:

I think this is a great Search App and although I admit I do not use it for every search I have, there is definately a time to use this very well designed iPhone App.

 
No Comments

Posted in iPhone Apps

 

Podcast | The Totally Rad Show

21 Mar

TRSIt’s time for another Podcast recommendation and this one is another from the people at Revision3.

This recommendation is The Totally Rad Show.

As this is a Show produced by Revision3 (Internet Television), you can watch this Podcast online at Revision3, or of course download it as a Podcast for watching/listening later.

So, what’s it all about:

The Totally Rad Show is the summer blockbuster of geek news shows. Every week, hosts Alex Albrecht, Dan Trachtenberg, and Jeff Cannata rip into the world of movies, video games, tv, comics, and more and pull out what’s rad.

iTunes Link: The Totally Rad Show

Revision3 Link: The Totally Rad Show

 
No Comments

Posted in Podcasts

 

iPhone App – iCatchAll – Free for 24Hrs

10 Feb

iCatchAll is FREE in the App Store for 24Hrs ONLY. 16+ Apps all in 1.

Nice!

Click here for App Store

 
No Comments

Posted in iPhone Apps

 

App Update – February ’09

09 Feb

Latest collection of Apps being used regularly on the iPhone:

General Apps

Tweetie – The best app IMO if you are into Twitter.
TV Plus - Great TV Guide with Added Sky Remote Recording.
Fring – For all you IM/Skype Needs… (c;
Darkroom – Create Camera App for dark lit areas.
Around Me - GPS aware app. You NEED this on your iPhone. Neem an ATM? Petrol? – Sorted.
UniCon – Units Conversion.
MMS – MMS receiving (FREE) and sending (£).
Shazam - Like Midomi, only better IMO.
Remote – Control your PCs iTunes from your iPhone (party time!)
Flixster – Movie Trailers, Synopsis, etc.
Shovel – If you are into Digg.com.
EBay – Great for keeping up to date with your EBay stuff.

Games

LightBike – Tron BABY!
Slotz – scalextric for iPhone!
Topple – GREAT accelerometer based stacking game.
Days of Thunder – Get it NOW whilst it is at 59p. Not a bad game…
Shooting – Its Free and fun. Gets addictive once you get the hand of it!
Sound Box – Because there is a child in all of us and it makes Fart noises… You can even record you own noises and assign them to buttons. Oh, and its FREE!

Got any recommendations?

 
No Comments

Posted in iPhone Apps

 

Podcast | Diggnation

18 Jan

DiggNation

Podcast recommendation time and this one is great! Familiar with Digg? A.K.A Digg.com? Yes? No? Who cares…  This is a great podcast for anyone.

Diggnation is a weekly Podcast based on the top digg.com stories presented by Kevin Rose (founder of Digg.com) and Alex Albrecht (industry ‘Dude’).  Generally, Kevin and Alex pop on the couch, crack open a beverage, pop their laptops on their… er… laps (1 Mac & 1 PC, how fair…), and discuss.

Hillarity ensues including the odd gratuitous display of affection (Alex and his dog).  Nice.

Check it out and whilst you are at it, go discover digg.com! (if you have already, well done you… x)

But before you go, for those unaware of Digg:

Digg is a place for people to discover and share content from anywhere on the web. From the biggest online destinations to the most obscure blog, Digg surfaces the best stuff as voted on by our users. You won’t find editors at Digg — we’re here to provide a place where people can collectively determine the value of content and we’re changing the way people consume information online.

Click here for iTunes Link: Diggnation

Click here for digg.com

 
No Comments

Posted in Podcasts

 

iPhone App | Oil and Gas

14 Jan

Oil&GasIt was only a matter of time until this little nugget became available: Oil and Gas price tracking for the iPhone:

Oil and Gas is a FREE app, available in the App Store offering the following:

  • Natural Gas Price
  • Heating Oil Price.
  • US National Gas Average.

Click here for App Store : Click Here

*sigh*

 
No Comments

Posted in iPhone Apps

 

Podcast | The iPhone Alley Podcast

02 Jan

ipalogo_thumbI have been a listener of the iPA (iPhone Alley Podcast) since it first launched and is presently my #1 Podcast resource for all things iPhone.

Produced from the guys at iphonealley.com, the iPA Podcast is a weekly (mostly) dose of iPhone, Apple, rumours and application reviews by host Michael Johnston and now regular guests Adam Christianson (The MacCast), Jeff Gamet (The Mac Observer) and Dave Hamilton.

Recent offering have seen an interview with Steve Wozniak (Woz.org) and an insightful chat with the guys from Brightkite about their Brightkite for iPhone Application, development and its future.

Informative, but most of all a lot of fun thanks to the wit of Jeff Gamet, I recommend iPhone Alley Podcast should be a subscription to anyone with iPhone blood in their veins.

Top Stuff…!

Click here for iTunes Link : The iPhone Alley Podcast

 
No Comments

Posted in Podcasts

 

Fancy an Unlocked iPhone 3G

15 Dec

…well you are in luck as Apple have posted a listing with all authorized countries selling the iPhone 3G and whether the carrier offers the phone unlocked, unlocked upon request along with a couple of other intersting carrier details.

So, if you are in the market for an officially unlocked Apple iPhone 3G, all you need is this link and a plane ticket to Greece… (or a friend to purchase and send over on your behalf).

 
No Comments

Posted in Tech

 
« Older Entries