We here at 148Apps would like to welcome you to the new iPhotographer column. What exactly is the point here? That is a mighty fine question.

We will bring you tips, tricks, and reviews geared directly at photographers of all skill levels. There will be tips and tricks on how to perform tasks on an iOS device that just might have you questioning the need for a laptop. We might even delve into some photo techniques and how these techniques can take your iPhone photography skills even further.

Now the question becomes one of credentials. I am an IT professional who ditched his education in computers for life behind a camera. I am a self-taught photographer who is looking to continue to grow my skill set while helping others along the way.

My name is Chris Nitz and I started my own photography business. I have read more articles on shutter speeds, rule of thirds, lighting, and white balance than I can ever care to remember. I have a passion to see the world from a viewfinder. I am by no means a photography elitist or so called expert. I’m here to learn right along with you, and encourage your comments and suggestions at the end of every article.

Let’s get to the meat of this column with a small review. This review is trimmed down, as you will see this app show up in future articles. The app I am referring to is Filterstorm

Filterstorm takes programs like Aperture or Lightroom and brings them right onto your iPad. Filterstorm contains all the goodness of tonal curves, noise reduction, saturation, and so much more right to your finger tips.

Filterstorm’s interface is easy on the eye while maintaining simplicity in navigation. Firing up the app will have the basic controls on the left side of the screen. Loading up a photo is as easy as choosing it from your photo library. Those with a camera connection kit can even bring in photos straight off a memory card.

Once the photo is in the app the real work begins. All edits are made without destroying the original photo. There is even an apply button you have to hit before the changes are made. You can easily test how the changes will look without racing for the undo option.

Filterstorm also gives you options for what to do with your photos once you’re done. FTP, Email, and saving directly to the iPad are all options. While this maybe a small list, it does continue to grow with each new update.

Filterstorm is not perfect, though. While the interface can be tucked away, it still takes up a decent portion of the screen. No Facebook, Flickr, Smugmug, or Picasa integration might have some people crying foul. There are also some funny quirks, like locking a photo into place when you are editing it. This creates a longer workflow process as the changes have to be made, applied, photo moved, and changes reproduced. Good thing there is a way to record the process and store it as a macro.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that the developer is very active with users on Twitter and various internet forums. This program has come a long way since version one and is looking to make bigger changes with upcoming releases.

Filterstorm is by no way shape or form going to take over from the likes of Lightroom on your desktop, but it will give you the perfect option for making quick edits while on the road. Programs that are far more expensive don’t offer this much flexibility. This is worth its weight in megabytes on your iPad. Those of you with an iPhone, this app is currently being migrated to iPhone 4 and 3GS. Look for it to hit the app store soon.

$3.99

Filterstorm

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-04-01 :: Category: Photography

If you love literature, you’ve probably heard of the Man Booker Prize (often, simply “The Booker”). Since 1968, the prize has been awarded annually to the “best” full-length, original, English novel written by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations or Ireland. The winner generally goes on to become an international success—and usually for good reason. The Booker Prize Foundation strives to find the “finest fiction.”

It’s quite nice, then, to see the Man Booker Prize App.

In the spirit of promoting fine fiction, the app features a full chronological history the prize, including the longlist, shortlist, information about the judges, and (duh) winning authors and books. It also includes exclusive author interviews, video content and audio and text extracts from selected Man Booker Prize titles.

And, of course, you’ll also be able to buy the books, either from an online retailer (Amazon) or using the app’s location search to find the closest bookstore.

At least for the UK, the Man Booker Prize app is the first literary prize app to hit the App Store. It’s not revolutionary—but I do love fine fiction, and having easy access to one more list of recommendations is always a nice thing.

FREE!

Man Booker Prize

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-26 :: Category: Books

The event of the day started out with Steve Jobs introducing his “partner in crime,” Steve Wozniak, who was in the audience. After a quick welcome, Steve Jobs started with a recap of new Apple Store retail locations including Paris, China, and London. The London store marked the 300th Apple Store and they are now in 10 countries. The foot traffic volume is amazing. Apple now sees on some days over a million total visitors combined coming through their stores. Another interesting stat — over 50% of Macs sold in Apple Stores are still to new Mac users, aka Switchers. A stat that has amazingly held for years.

120 million potential Angry Birds players.
Next up for the day is a recap on how iOS is doing. Steve took pride in noting that there are over 230,000 new iOS activations per day. This does not include upgrades. This goes well over and above the Google quoted 160,000 Android devices activated every day. That brings us up to a total of over 120,000,000 active iOS devices. That’s a staggering number for a new platform that is not even 4 years old.

How about some stats on apps? There have been over 6.5 billion apps downloaded so far. That’s over 200 downloaded each and every second. Also quoted was that the App Store recently surpassed 250,000 applications available, which is a number we’ve been tracking over at 148Apps.biz App Store Metrics page.

Continue reading for the rest of the info on the days events — and way too many pictures.

Continue reading The Big Recap — What Apple Announced, and What They Hinted At »

Have you ever put a piece of information onto your iPhone and thought about how nice it would be if you could lock out said data from prying eyes?  While I have nothing to hide, it would sure be nice to have a protected area on my phone where I could store information and keep it just to myself.  In the past I have even worked with certain government contractors that couldn’t use an iPhone as their personal communication device of choice just because of that very reason.  Quite bluntly, if you need to keep things confidential, the iPhone has not been a valid option until a couple of days ago.

Created by a gentleman by the name of Alessio Vinerbi, Private Area is an app that you have been longing for if you are someone who is always looking over your shoulder.  Imagine being able to keep all of your information encrypted safely behind the lock and key of a second set of passwords.  Here is what the new application has to offer:

Create, edit and delete notes

Import photos from film

Taking pictures with the new camera

Saving contacts with name, number and email with possibility of sending SMS and Mail without quitting application

Saving and navigation of websites through the browser integrated without compromising the history of Safari.

I have never been one to try to watch my back when it comes to little things like my browser history, but I certainly know a fair amount of folks that could have used something like that in the past.  There is something re-assuring about being able to surf the web in style, without leaving an incriminating footprint in the process.

The one problem with have an app like this is that it just screams, “I HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE!”  This is not always something that is good if you are in a long term relationship.  I realize that what users do from the comfort of their own phone is their business, but the fact that Private Area can be used as your own personal Little Black Book might not sit well with everyone.

At only ninety-nine cents, the software is certainly cheap enough to take for a test spin because if nothing else, it will give you the thrill of being sneaky enough to have encrypted data on your phone.  Watch out 007, we are gunning for you next!

$0.99

Private Area

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-24 :: Category: Utilities

Oh fantasy football, how I love thee.

Every August or so, I, along with 30 million other people around the world, play the ultimate fan game of fantasy football. While most people find playing only on their computers is good enough, the tech savvy (or fantasy football obsessed) sometimes feel the need to take their favorite game with them. I mean, what if I’m out on a Sunday night and a player gets hurt in pregame warm-ups? Hey, it could happen.

Most though just use mobile fantasy apps to check their league scores, and that is fine too. Whatever your needs are, you need the best app out there. Here are my four favorites.

Fantasy Monster

While I don’t judge people on what fantasy service they use (except for people who play on the slow as molasses Bing-powered Fox Sports), I tend to favor Yahoo! and ESPN leagues. Fortunately for me, Fantasy Monster provides simultaneous access to both leagues, letting me trade players, set lineups, and see my league scores all in the same place. The interface isn’t the prettiest thing on the planet, but this is football people! We don’t need no stinkin’ pretty here!

If you also play fantasy basketball, pick up the pro version. If not, save $2 and get the football only one.

$4.99

Fantasy Monster - Pro Edition

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: FANTASY WIN
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-05-21 :: Category: Sports

$2.99

Fantasy Football Monster '10

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-15 :: Category: Sports

CBS Sports Pro Football/ Yahoo! Fantasy Football/ ESPN Fantasy Football

If you play in one of the big 3 fantasy leagues (Yahoo!, ESPN, or CBS Sportsline), each of the services offer their own fantasy app to support your addiction. Instead of just showing rosters/ letting you manipulate them and fantasy scores (the fantasy app standards), all of the app have a bit more in them to sweeten the pot.

Content wise, the Yahoo! app is the lightest, giving you the standard abilities of a fantasy app with a few episodes of a Yahoo! Fantasy Football webisode. The CBS Mobile app is a bit more packed in, giving you your fantasy controls as well as a bunch of fantasy news plus a live gamecast, so you can see exactly how your favorite player is doing in his game. Both the CBS and Yahoo! apps are free, so any and all features are just bonuses.

ESPN on the other hand is a bit more proud of their fantasy app, and they make you pay for it. Like last years model, the app gives you all the standard fantasy football controls with some news, but the app also pushes you info about the players in your starting lineup. Drew Brees goes down in warmups week 1, finally realizing that he shouldn’t have been on cover of Madden this year? ESPN will let you know… the others won’t. Is it worth your hard earned cash? If you’re in any money leagues, or value your football pride over $5, yes.

FREE!

CBS Sports Pro Football

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-11 :: Category: Sports

FREE!

Yahoo! Fantasy Football '10

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-09-08 :: Category: Sports

$4.99

ESPN Fantasy Football 2010

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-31 :: Category: Sports

Fantasy Draft Genie

If you are still in pre-draft mode and have a modified scoring system, Fantasy Football Genie is an indispensable tool. You just load up your scoring system, as bizarre as it may be, and it’ll rank your players accordingly. If you get really ambitious, you can even enter in all players drafted in real time and the app will give you a top 3 recommendation when it becomes your pick. I have a few PPR and return yardage leagues this year that could definitely use some draft help.

$1.99

$3.99

Fantasy Draft Genie

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-16 :: Category: Sports

iHandy Coin Flip

In Fantasy Football, no matter how much of a grizzled veteran you are, any tight game can come down to complete chance. Anyone who says that it’s all luck is a fool, because the game definitely revolves around great mid season pickups and trades (and setting your lineup… *shakes head*).

Sometimes though, no matter how much thought you put into deciding which player to start on a given week, you just can’t make the decision. Do you go with old reliable or the streaky pick with a ton of upside… what will happen come game time is anyone’s guess. Don’t stress though, just flip a coin. Don’t make it a real coin though, go digital.

iHandy Coin Flip lets you flip and of the 50 state quarters that you want, as well as 10 presidential coins. If you want a comprehensive coin flip app fit for a serious decision, make iHandy your choice.

$0.99

iHandy Coin Flip

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2008-09-23 :: Category: Entertainment

We’ve all been waiting for 4.1 for some time now, and Steve Jobs, seemingly sensing our anticipation, started the keynote with the iOS 4.1 announcement. As Steve would say, “I think you’ll like it”.

Bugs Fixed- Unlike some of the rumors that were floating around online the last few days, 4.1 will fix all of the issues that were plaguing the iPhone. The proximity sensor issue is taken care of, the bluetooth issues are fixed, and 4.1 will make the iPhone 3G not seem like it’s quite as outdated.

HDR Photo – HDR Photo looks to be a really cool new photo feature that will make your photo’s even nicer on the iPhone. Instead of just taking your standard, whitewashed or overly dark pictures, HDR photo will take 3 pictures at once, an underexposed one, an overexposed one, and the standard one. In a bit of Apple magic, it blends the three together to make your photo super pretty. Whitewashed and overly dark photos will magically become good looking, details that you never knew existed will pop up in your photos, and we will see world peace in 2011. Maybe I got a bit excited there.

GameCenter – GameCenter, Apple’s attempt at unifying social gaming on the iPhone, looks to be far better than I expected. They didn’t go into too many details, but unlike the current social gaming networks, Apple’s GameCenter can push game invites straight to your phone. That’s right, no emails for game invites, no going into silly websites to see what friends are playing what, just a solid push system. Jobs made a funny quip that if you don’t have any friends, GameCenter will auto match you up with other people who are on a similar gaming level.

I can’t believe I am saying this, but I’m pretty excited for GameCenter.

4.1 will be out next week, so be ready for some GameCenter invites from all of us here at 148Apps as soon as it launches.

Also announced in the keynote was 4.2, which will finally bring all these cool features to the iPad. Poor iPad users have been waiting far too long to get folders and multitasking, but all they have to do is wait a bit longer.

Also included in 4.2 is AirPlay and wireless printing.

Wireless printing does exactly what it says, finally allowing your iDevices to print from any printer in your wireless network. Will business users (people stuck on BlackBerry) finally stop complaining that iDevices aren’t business savvy? Probably not.

AirPlay is the new redux of AirTunes, allowing not only music to be streamed, but video too. Now I guess college party hosts around the nation will start mixing videos instead of play lists…. oh the 21st century.

4.2 will be out on the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and the iPad in November.

As I am sure you know all to well, today the folks over in Cupertino have a bit of an event planned.  It is suspected that they will be discussing new Apple gaming initiatives such as their recently announced GameCenter. While you would think that larger over-arching services like this would be good for the iOS platform, it may spell doom for smaller cross-game communication platforms like OpenFeint.  So how do such niche services hope to survive?  The keyword of the day is: Diversify.

Earlier this month the leadership over at OpenFeint let slip of plans to open their platform to Android users.  This was a complex system of inviting friends to play games via email and to put it quite frankly, seemed a bit cluedgey.  Well it looks like they were listening and went back to the drawing board a bit, as today they are ready to announce their newest development for cross-platform gaming: PlayTime.

Cross-Platform gaming is no big deal, right?  Wrong!  This is a huge step forward that looks to dodge the earlier stumbling blocks of exchanging emails and the like.  Here is what the platform is bringing to the table:

• It’s the first ever real-time multiplayer gaming system that functions between Android and iPhone.
• Unlike Apple’s Game Center which is planning to provide a real-time gaming solution and requires peer to peer connections, PlayTime will keep games in play even if one gamer drops  connection due to AT&T for example. The game continues with artificial intelligence computer opponent. This is the ideal scenario for mobile game play due to inconsistent network connectivity. Apple’s solution will disconnect the entire game if one player loses connection.
• The one-day install SDK makes this technology available to the masses i.e. indie and mid-level developers who otherwise couldn’t implement it.
• It enables voice chat for trash talking between Android and iPhone gamers.
• PlayTime is fully compatible with Apple’s Game Center

The first point that just jumps out at me is the odd irony that thought his is a product that will compete with GameCenter, it still will be fully compatible with it.  I am guessing that this will help to take the guess work out of matchmaking between other iOS devices.  But this product isn’t about just competing with Apple, it is about expanding the reach of the mobile gaming community and unifying them under one platform.

Initially PlayTime will launch in two tiers: Casual and Core.  The “Casual SDK” as it is being called, will allow you to either turn traditionally single player games into a multiplayer experience by adding in leaderboards, or compete in turn-based games such as what you would find in a game like Words With Friends.  This will also integrate into OpenFeint’s existing Achievement system, which will in turn handle the heavy lifting of integrating into Apple’s GameCenter.  When you consider that they are also adding in voice chat between devices and a unified matchmaking platform, this is beginning to look like a fairly intriguing package.  The scary part is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

With the “Core SDK” developers will be getting the identical feature set of the casual tier, along with a more impressive multiplayer offering.  Partnering with networking engine developer Exit Games, PlayTime Core will allow for up to sixteen players to simultaneously engage in multiplayer action.  OpenFeint is trying to get their new service as close to par with Systems like Xbox LIVE by also roping in VoIP service to these matches as well.

“The most successful games have one thing in common: they bring people together. Whether a simple board game or a stunning 3D console game, games are always better when shared with family or friends. Traditionally, multiplayer technology has been accessible only to top tier developers. It’s just too complicated and time consuming. So we invented PlayTime, which literally takes one day to integrate into a casual game.” – Jason Citron, CEO of Aurora Feint.

If in fact PlayTime is something that can be integrated into an application in less than a day this is something that everyone should be excited about.  Just think of it this way: If you are a developer and you have the option to down the road expand your application’s install base to the Android, with only a day worth of work for the netcode, you would be insane NOT to.

The most appealing part of this entire package is that the SDK will be scalable to the needs of an individual developer.  Prices have not been announced yet, but I am guessing that they will scale accordingly as well, with the “Core” level being the more expensive of the two.  Either way, this looks like it could be an impressive development to multiplayer gaming on the iOS, as long as Apple doesn’t do something to elbow them off the platform all together.  But then that would be a monopoly, right?  And we all know how much corporations love anti-trust lawsuits.  Here’s looking at you Microsoft.

At the end of the day it comes right down to wondering if this is the wave of the future with respect to the portable gaming platforms.  I would argue that not only is it the future, but it is an inevitability.  The Android and iOS platforms are close enough in form that they could easily compete against one another.  I guess we will have to see what happens then PlayTime launches as part of OpenFeint 3.0 later this year.

If you are a developer that is interested in seeing what all the hype is all about, you can sign up to evaluate a beta version of PlayTime at the OpenFeint Developer Connection.

Have you noticed the spiffy new callout under some of the reviewed apps here on 148Apps.com? If not, go check them out right here. Come back when you’re finished. We’ll wait.

Notice anything? Well, thank you. We think it looks nice, too.

We’ve decided to start pointing out the really really good apps and games for the iOS platform devices for you. There are a lot of great apps and games being developed and published these days, and even our stringent standards can get overloaded with the sheer volume at times. There are a few apps, however, that do a lot right and we think they deserve a little something extra.

We call it Editor’s Choice. An app or game must meet several criteria in order to be placed on this list. It must stand out above other similarly themed or genre games and apps in some way, it must integrate well with the target device, and it has to innovate in some way — or master a feature set incredibly well. In addition, it must have that certain something that catches our eye as an Editorial staff, that intangible “aha!” moment or thing that just defines the game or app for us and our readers.

Let’s face it, the app store is a crowded, thriving marketplace full of apps and games that may or may not be worth your time and/or money. 148Apps was founded with the goal to inform its readers about the best and brightest apps in that marketplace, and we’re continuing that tradition by helping you find the best and brightest stars in an ever-increasing sea of starlight. We hope you enjoy our picks, and that you join us in finding new ways to spotlight the apps and games that make all of our lives just that much brighter.

Crank it up!

On This Episode:

Who Are We:

Music:

Where To Listen:

Apps Featured in this Episode:

$1.99

Jiggle Balls HD

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2010-08-27 :: Category: Entertainment

FREE!

QRANK - Your Social Trivia Addiction

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad

Our Rating: :: TRIVIA-TASTIC
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2010-03-23 :: Category: Games / Trivia

Remember how just over a month ago I wrote about AmpliTube, the guitar amplification application for your iPhone and iPad? Well, Peavey Electronics have now joined the scene with their AmpKit software to create a bit more competition and rivalry in the music amplification section of the App Store.

AmpKit turns your iPhone into a highly customizable guitar amp, boasting a myriad of effects and the ability to record your latest music creations. Such effects include the pedals Noise Gate and Elevenizer, and the mics Workhorse 57 dynamic and Germann 87 condenser. As is to be expected, AmpKit contains a number of in-app purchases, including: 12 more amps, 16 effects padls, 13 cabinets and 8 unique mics. Most of these extra purchases are in the range of $2.99-$5.99.

“We’re delighted to be working with Peavey to provide AmpKit and AmpKit LiNK to musicians around the world. Peavey’s world-class hardware design and manufacturing capabilities complement Agile Partners’ unmatched expertise in creating guitar-focused apps for the iOS platform,” said Jack Ivers, a principal at Agile Partners. “Peavey’s music industry experience and global dealer network will provide musicians around the world with easy access to the AmpKit LiNK guitar adapter.”

The aforementioned AmpKit LiNK adapter, required to hook up your guitar, costs $39.99 and is available worldwide. Interestingly, this is exactly the same price as Amplitube’s IK Multimedia iRig, AmpKit LiNK’s main rival.

The iPhone application comes in two flavours: free and plus. The plus version costs $20, and with that you’ll get access to: a Peavey 3120 amp and a matching 4×12 cabinet, a Colonel Vintage amp, a Vintage Brit amp and a number of additional pedals including distortion, fuzz, compressor, chorus, phaser, flanger, reverb and 10-band EQ.

The application is not natively iPad supported, meaning you’re stuck to the iPhone if you choose the Peavey solution. Agile Partners, developers of the application, are also the authors of the much-renowned GuitarToolkit and TapToolkit applications.

Images courtesy of Peavey. For more details on the application and where to buy the LiNK hardware, here’s where you need to go.

$19.99

AmpKit+

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-24 :: Category: Music

FREE!

AmpKit

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-24 :: Category: Music

“It’s the most wonderful time, of the year!”  As the popular Christmas tune rings through my head, ironically, I am not thinking about the holidays.  For many men, myself included, the most wonderful time of our year is the kickoff to the fantasy football season.  Whether you are a seasoned veteran or a green rookie, the key to having a good season is having strong draft selections right out of the gate.  Thank goodness ESPN has our backs, recently releasing an awesome new draft tools application for iOS devices.

The 500 top picks and NFL prospects will be at your fingertips, helping to make draft day that much more successful this season.  Here are some of the other features of the application:

• 2010 Rankings and Projections for 500+ players
• Player Cards with images, projections and ESPN analysis
• Players sorted by name, rank, team/bye week and projected points
• The ESPN bottom-line with the latest sports news and updates
• Updated rankings delivered to the app as soon as they are available Plus…
• Better manage the player list with the interactive draft tool
• Email your draft lists right from the app
• Get updates all season on every player in fantasy – And much more!

I wish apps like this had existed a couple of years ago when I was just learning the ropes of fantasy football.  It would have been great to have a leg up on my competition, considering they were hell-bent on destroying me anyway.  Either way, it is here now and you better believe that I will be taking advantage of it.

Why a draft specific app, though? Why wouldn’t they just integrate this feature into something that could be used all season, instead of just a single week leading up to the kickoff?  I guess we will have to wait and see what else ESPN has up their sleeve.  They are pretty smart folks, so I am  sure they have some sort of world domination plan in the works.

Oh, and one piece of advice if you are participating in a live draft, please make sure you can pronounce your pick’s actual name.  You don’t want to end up like this guy:

FREE!

ESPN Fantasy Football Draft Kit

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2010-08-25 :: Category: Sports

Welcome, my fellow masters of geekdom, to a new monthly special running here at 148apps entitled iD&D. Each month you’ll find me, your friendly resident Dungeon Master, offering you info on some of the best (or worst) apps available in the app store that make it easier (or harder) for us to do our job. Don’t worry players; you’re not left out either. There are plenty of apps, including one that’s part of today’s article, for you as well.

Additionally I’ll be asking you, the reader, to provide us with some information each month that I will provide to the readership in the following months article. For example, this week’s question will be a survey on people who use an iDevice to enhance their pen and paper experience. Check out the end of this article for more details.

Caveat: I play the majority of my games using the Advance Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 gaming system. I’ll be referring primarily to Dungeons and Dragons (3.5), but unless otherwise stated, expect the majority of apps in this section to be universal in application. For those apps specifically for the fourth edition game system, I’ll be running smaller mini-campaigns to get a feel for their usefulness. If there may be variances from system to system, I will do my best to point them out.

Well, if I knew the 148apps lawyers, I’m sure they would be elated with me right now. As for me though, I’m anxious to get into our first article.

Continue reading iD&D: Battlemap »

Apple strikes with a roundhouse kick the gut! But wait, Google fights right back with an eye gouge and a slap to the face! Apple is stunned but isn’t going to give up that easily. What a fight, what a battle; who is going to win, folks? This is the picture much of the media has painted for us, isn’t it? That Google and Apple have locked horns and are doomed to a winless war for all eternity. That’s not really the case though. Truth is, the war is fought mainly with the media and loyal fans who follow the gossip like it’s a WWE match. Yes, the two companies compete with each other on a couple of levels, but at the same time they work incredibly well and profitably together. Based on some recent news, I believe the two have secretly teamed up again in an effort to bring FaceTime to the mainstream for good.

Ok, here’s what we know:

1) Apple is hosting an event on Wednesday and at the very least they’re probably going to announce a new iPod touch with a front facing camera.

4) Google just announced last week the ability to use their Gchat feature for video chats. Gchat, if you’re not familiar with it, runs directly through Gmail and uses other user’s Gmail address to authorize chats.

When you combine the first three together along with the timing of Google’s announcement, it seems just too convent to be just a coincidence. I certainly could be wrong but to me the picture is pretty clear, Apple and Google are going to walk us right into the future and by this time next year, iPhone users and Andriod users will be FaceTiming each other everywhere. Finally the world will be at peace and harmony.

Personally, I believe that you can never have too much sci-fi or fantasy to read…which is why I was happy to hear that Spectra Magazine is taking a stab at the e-magazine market! Spectra is a brand-new sci-fi / fantasy / horror publication, and unlike other fiction magazines, Spectra plans to be digital-only and is specifically designed to fit mobile devices like the iPad, iPhone, Kindle, and Sony eReader. E-magazines aren’t new, but seeing one built specifically for modern, mobile devices is a nice change indeed.

So how did this new fiction mag get started? As Spectra themselves put it:

Spectra Magazine came about as the result of a conversation between creative writing company Pure Square Go and the e-book publisher Andrews UK. The latter has literally thousands of digital books on the App Store, and Kindle, and a host of other digital reading platforms, and was interested in testing the e-magazine waters. Fiction is proving to be considerably more popular than non-fiction on the e-readers, so we decided to launch a kind of pulp fiction/penny dreadful reboot for the 21st Century, covering news, reviews and short fiction from the sci-fi, fantasy and horror genres.

Spectra has already received literally hundreds of stories from both new and established writers—Hugo Award-winning author Kristine Kathryn Rusch has a lead story in the first issue, for example. Submissions are now closed, but authors should note that the magazine pays a portion of the profits rather than on a per-word basis.

If you’re into science fiction, fantasy, horror, or the broader genre of “speculative fiction,” be sure to give Spectra Magazine a look. The first issue is already out in the Kindle store for a mere $3.49, and the iPhone app is slated to hit any day now. In the meantime, you can read some preview at the magazine’s website: http://spectramagazine.com/.

In addition to Magic Life and Gun Bros. launching soon, there are a few other games we got to take a look at recently. All of them coming later this year from Glu.

Toyshop Adventures – launching late September, price: free

This is a cute puzzle / platformer based in a toy shop. The owner of the shop has literally lost his marbles in the store and you, a animated toy, are tasked with finding them. While mainly a platformer, there are some puzzle elements to get you through the levels and find every marble. While not as deep and with no announced customization options, the game does have some elements that remind me of Little Big Planet. The camera angles / 2.5D graphics and the overall fun, toy-like qualities remind me of LBP.

Toyshop Adventures will be released in September with the first 10 levels included free. There will be additional episodes, each with multiple levels available for in app purchase. Further episodes will be released over time.

Family Guy: Time Warped – launching mid-November, price unknown

This Family Guy game is based on the episode where Stewie builds a time machine and gets stuck jumping through time when that time machine breaks. The games is developed for and by fans of the show, so expect lots of inside jokes. You’ll be able to play the game as Stewie or Brian in this 2D action platformer. That’s about all we know so far. Expect more as the game release gets closer.

Lord of the Rings – Middle-Earth Defense – launching early December, price unknown

This movie tie-in game is as interesting as it was unexpected. Middle-Earth Defense will be a tower defense (TD) game based in the Lord of the Rings world. The game uses the actors’ faces from the movie to represent the characters from this Tolkien classic series. It’s a modifiable path type TD game, wherein the enemies have a set path which you can modify slightly by placing barriers to redirect them. You only have a limited amount of resources, however, so you can only change the course so much.

Different characters will obviously have different capabilities. Some characters are stationary while others will travel within their circle of influence to attack. To add a bit of an RPG element, you can upgrade characters in multiple areas — unlike normal TD where you can only do an overall character upgrade.

Expect this one to ship in early December for an unknown price.