Hey, I'm Arron. I'm a nearly twenty year old graphic designer from Cheshire, UK who is very much tuned into both the App Store and Apple in general. I like the design, presentation and clarity of a product. If it doesn't cut it - I'll tell you straight.
Camden, London based iPhone development studio Origin8 has announced that to celebrate this years Bomfire night here in the UK, they’re launching a special offer in which the first edition to their tower defense series, Sentinel: Mars Defense, will be discounted. Starting today, November 5th at 6PM GMT and originally priced at $0.99, Sentinel: Mars Defense will be FREE for a whole week!
“It’s Bonfire Night in the UK, and the thoughts of the nation turn toward really big explosions. Thanks to London-based development studio Origin8, iPhone/iPod Touch gamers worldwide can share in the joy of blowing things up today, as their breakout sci fi strategy game “Sentinel: Mars Defense” will be FREE for a week from 6PM GMT.”
Originally released in February of this year, and in case you’re not familiar with the game, Sentinel: Mars Defense is a 2D tower defense game which brings with it fully immersive 2D (but with sort of a 3D-effect) graphics. The game is centered around stopping ‘waves’ of creeps from reaching an end point. Along the way to aid you in this battle you’ll have to use different powered space-like weapons, each with their own specialties and strong points. The aim is to destroy all alien lifeforms, before they have to reach a series of ‘gates’. If your end defenses are destroyed, it’s game over.
Sentinel: Mars Defense has been described as: Incredible, with stellar graphics, and a great amount of ‘content’ in-game. Having played the game myself, I can add to the fact that that it was definitely worth it at the low price of $0.99, but now you don’t have any excuse. Sentinel: Mars Defense is now FREE, and I highly recommend you go and snap it up!
Update: While the offer doesn’t seem to have started yet, it’s well and truly past 6PM here in the UK, so I’m sure we can expect the change to propagate to the App Store soon!
There have been many recorders on the App Store since it’s debut. From nFinity’s Quick Voice to BIAS’ Pro Recorder and Polar Bear Farm’s sleek looking Record. But although they all do the job in recording background noise, spoken memos and notes, not one has introduced the one feature you’d expect, phone call recording.
Today, in what could be seen as a controversial move by some, the guys at Retronyms (also the people behind the iPhone music mixing studio Dopplerpad) have done just that. They have successfully integrated the ability to record audio from a phone call, straight from within their app ‘Recorder’.
The new feature comes in the form of a separate in-app purchase, and each full hour of recording will cost you $1.99. If you feel you need more than that though, there is also an option to purchase a staggering 8 hours of call audio recording time, although this will cost you $12.99. Of course with any app containing one-tap purchase abilities, the cost through in-app purchasing are sure to rack up – fast – especially for the odd power user. But, in the case of the general user just looking to record short amounts of in-call audio, this is a great addition to the usual bog-standard App Store recorder.
The update is already on the store, so what are you waiting for!
Recorder
Category: Business Released: 2008-07-11 Price: $0.99
id Software finally brings the Doom experience we’ve all been waiting for to your favorite iDevice. True and full, this port will replicate the experience that sucked up most of your childhood! But, just how are those controls?
When taking photos on the move, sometimes it pays to have photo editing apps. After all, you’re not going to tweet that picture without a bit of increased contrast, or brightness – right? It’s a well-known fact nowadays that the majority of photos we see on the web have being edited in some way in a graphics package such as Adobe Photoshop. But what if you can’t get to your computer and need reliable and feature filled editing applications on the move?
Being a keen photographer and designer, I thought it’d be fun to give you my low-down on the photo editing apps I personally think you should have on your phone. I’ll explain why I think you should have them, and what features and benefits I like most about each application. Here we go!
PhotoForge
Definitely one of the more fully-featured photo editing App Store offerings, PhotoForge (in my opinion) should have you pretty much covered for your mobile editing needs. Just like all the editors I’m about to feature, the app will allow you to open, edit and save a photo to your iPhone’s camera roll. What makes PhotoForge a great pick for this over it’s competition is it’s feature set. As well as allowing you to rotate and crop your photo, the app also offers a wide range of both adjustment and visual effects which are comparable to Adobe Photoshop on a mobile level. Continue reading Four Of The Best Photo Editing Apps For Your iPhone! »
Following on from the immersive RPG that was Return to Mysterious Island, iPhone publisher Chillingo have announced they’re bringing a sequel to the store, announcing Jules Verne’s Secrets of The Mysterious Island is coming to both iPhone (and iPod touch), shortly. The first of the series hit App Store shelves in May of this year, and like most adventure based titles seemed to go down in a storm with the iPhone crowd. Recently I seem to be saying that a little too often about various titles, but having actually owned (and played) this title myself, I can say quite honestly say the adventure was thoroughly enjoyable to play through.
Based on a graphic novel by Jules Verne’s, and carrying on from titles such as 1112 and Cassandra’s Journey, the game sees you take the role of Mina, a sailor who becomes stranded on an island, somewhere in the Pacific ocean. As you trail and tap your way around the island, trying your up-most to survive, and finding objects and (more importantly) food along the way, you try to unlock the mysteries hidden within.
Described by Chillingo as an experience which will mirror that of Robinson Crusoe, this new release will carry on from where you left off. The game will start off with a helicopter crash, and continuing the theme of being stranded, you will have to guide Mina to safety. This time will also see you visit new locations including: Captain Nemo’s base and scouring the ruins of an unknown civilization. Eventually, you will realize the cause of the threat to the island, and will aim to prevent it.
For approximately 700 Mb, the player will find out the end of the adventure of Mina. Jules Verne’s “Secrets of The Mysterious Island” contains stunning 3D graphics, many ambient sounds, music designed to enhance the mysterious atmosphere and feel.
Remember .™? If you don’t, the title was the debut of London-based iPhone development studio ustwo™. The game was 2D and involved the user guiding a white dot around a playing field, trying to avoid red matter (triangular), and collecting blue matter (circular). It hit the mainstream for a number of reasons, firstly for its design ethics, but secondly and most importantly being that it was the first ever application to have hit the App Store, whilst having been designed from concept to final within a 48 hour period.
This had never been done before. The thought of developing a polished title such as .™ within such a short period of time, to most other developers I imagine may have started their worst nightmare. There are going to be 6 titles within this ‘exclusive’ set of apps – sorta a “collect em’ all” diddy. The first was .™ which we profiled a few weeks back, and the next is supposedlyInkstrumental™ CRAZO™ (although as we mentioned in our previous first look, the studio themselves isn’t sure if that’ll ever see the light of day, yet.)
In the meantime the studio isn’t standing still, today announcing the sequel to their debut hit title. Calling it ..™. Having not seen the game yet myself, or had chance to play with it, I can only go off this visually stunning teaser trailer which the company has just released above, which to me seems to convey we might just be in store for some 3D goodness – (well .. I hope so)! While it’s not clear if this sequel will follow the 48 hour development method ustwo™ are now famous for, you have to admit that ..™ trailer is pretty damn trippy.
Having played .™, it’s addictive nature tends to bring with it high replay value, and as with any title, high replay usually means value for money. With no word on price yet, it’s hard to judge if ..™ will live up to it’s original – but according to ustwo™ we won’t have to wait long to find out. The title is expected to hit very, very soon.
Update: In a stark move, the studio has created a fully interactive online version of the upcoming game. Part of their new ‘48App’ section, you can now play both .™ and ..™ flash versions – here. Looks like ..™ will be 3D after all! Although, it’s still unclear whether the game will use touch and drag gesture controls, or take advantage of the accelerometer. We’ll see!
.™
Category: Games / Kids Released: 2009-09-17 Price: $0.99
Following the announcement from O2 UK that the two-year exclusive contract agreement between both them and Apple over the iPhone handset is indeed about to end, Orange is believed to be gearing to start selling the iPhone 3GS (and iPhone 3G) just one day after Apple and O2’s exclusivity agreement ends – November 10th, adding to the 27 countries and territories the company already sells the devices in.
While O2 had originally believed it had the rights to sell the handset until 2012, the agreement originally signed in 2007 actually only secured O2 exclusivity of the handset for a two year period.
I know what you’re thinking; Everyone has an iPhone now, so what’s the big news here? Right? .. Wrong. According to SlashGear, Orange has already had over 200,000 people register their interest for the new handsets. The really big news here however, is that Orange is about to get feisty with their offerings. With the end of this exclusivity agreement between Apple and O2 UK, this opens the floor to other companies selling the handset. Yes – companies. More than one – and for the first time ever, this means one thing; competition.
As previously reported, Vodaphone UK also recently showed their hand, stating they too will be offering the handset. With the holiday season fast approaching, this launch will see both Orange and Vodaphone fighting to secure iPhone customers. Orange however, has a plan. Still speculation, Orange are said to be re-thinking the way they are going to offer the handset, with one UK columnist saying the telecoms company could offer customers bundled accessories or even pre-installed applications.
With no handset pricing or tariffs announced, we’re yet to see if the jump from O2 to Orange for existing customers is a viable or more importantly – affordable – option. What is certain though is it’s going to be a fight for customers, and a tough one. At this point, I can’t help but think that Orange has the upper hand.
In fact, according to one source, Orange has teamed up with T-Mobile over the summer, and are both allegedly already selling the device in other areas of the world – and, although Vodaphone UK has managed signed a deal with Apple to sell the devices, it now comes to light the company won’t get it’s hands on the handset(s) until early next year (2010).
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how all this plays out, and what the benefits will be for both new (and existing customers) – if any.
The highly anticipated networked online multiplayer action title arrives on the App Store. With immersive gameplay and a single mission option, the game holds it’s own.
Game developer IUGO aren’t exactly new to the store. Creators of both the Toy Bot Diaries series, and the hugely popular A.D.D Lite (which was unfortunately pulled from the store due to the full version being delayed in it’s release), the studio has today announced the upcoming release of Implode!, a physics-based title they’ve been working on for quite some time.
Implode! is a physics based title with your aim being to create the biggest explosion for a building demolition, possible. Operating via touch and drag controls, you’ll placing sticks of dynamite throughout a ‘chalk-like’ sketch of a building, aiming to impress. Using two different types of bombs (traditional bombs and blast bombs), you’ll face all shapes and size of buildings and structures. The game will play out in 3 difficulties settings. Including: Casual, Veteran, and Expert, with each one adding varying structure shapes, for greater challenge.
The game is also said to have a online submission system in which you can submit any score online. IUGO says that online scores will be totaled from the sum of all your high scores you achieve within each level played. Each time you gain a score, you’ll also ‘graded’ on how ‘good’ the demolition was, adding more re-playability for each of the levels.
While no official release date has been set for the game, IUGO says it’s coming down the pipe as we speak and should be available “very soon” ..
Chromodyne puts a refreshing twist on match-3. With vibrant visuals, and a great soundtrack, it’s a pretty polished title. It could just do with a few more little things ..
Cast your mind back to August 5th 2008. The sun was shining, and the birds where singing. That was until the (now iconic) ‘I Am Rich’ app rocked the App Store sideways. Officially becoming the most expensive application to of hit the App Store ever, and priced at $999.99, the app hit the mainstream for being controversial to the highest level. Offering nothing more than a ’souvenir’ of personal wealth, the app was designed to show how ‘rich’ you were. The premise being, if you owned it, you were rich.
On August 6th 2008, following it’s release, and in response to the huge amount of media coverage and bad press the title had garnered, Apple pulled the application completely, from all 72 countries iTunes operated in. Now fast forward.
Just when we thought it couldn’t happen again, it has. October 16th 2009. Developed by 15 year-old Mark Gurman, You Are Rich hit the App Store. Designed to be a complete copy of the original, You Are Rich is the absolutely bare bones of iPhone development. After you get past the shock of spending $99.99 on a picture of a glowing red gem-like fire-ball thingamajig, maybe the ‘Secret Mantra’ will make you feel a tad better? Then again, maybe not ..
I was lucky enough to grab a review copy from Mark, making me – not really that rich. However, if this is your type of app, you’ll be glad to know this version will cost you ten times less than the previous, at just $99.99, and has a slightly different ’secret’ mantra than the original. For those of you who can’t afford this app, or simply can’t afford to throw your credibility out the window with this app, the new mantra is below for your viewing pleasure:
“If you see this: You are Brave, You are a Success, You are Bold, You are Flashy, You are Amazing, You are Rich.”
On the mantra screen you’ll find a button which states ‘Play Mantras’. Doing so throws up three options, including: Mantra, You Are Rich and I Am Rich. Tapping each one seeing the app play a different sound, with the first reading out the already written ‘mantra’ aloud, in this kinda eery hypnotic voice.
The fact is, I’d get this app while you still can! No really – Since being exposed to the app’s mantra, my personal wealth has grown hugely. In fact, I’m typing this here now from a small yacht on the Caribbean, while sipping a Margareta. While I’m here I might actually start a new business – “You Are Rich” branded handkerchiefs. Think it’ll take off?
The original was first released on the Internet in 2006, and during that time it is said to have been played over a million times. Introduced to the App Store on September 20th 2009, and a collaboration between Nexx Studio and Ryan Curtis, the creator of the popular online flash hit The Idiot Test which inspired the creation of the App Store top selling app The Moron Test, The Idiot Test 3 is a flash-like port which in a sense merges these two hit titles together, and in a few words – tests your idiocy.
The game plays out by giving you a series of seemingly ridiculously simple tasks to complete. Tasks range from tapping the right colored buttons on-screen, or identifying the right object, within a series of objects, to continue. Failing to complete the tasks results in you undoubtedly being called – an idiot, and the game restarts, allowing you to give completing it, another shot.
While the game is said to be fun – albeit painfullyeasy – many people have looked down upon the title as a throw-away one. Something which the App Store doesn’t need. Essentially, another fart app. But the numbers say otherwise.
The studio explained that it first introduced the title onto the store for a mere $0.99 in September, but a few weeks go they made the decision to make the title free. Since doing so, in just a few weeks, The Idiot Test 3 has seemed to have gained huge popularity. In fact, over the short period of time the application was free, The Idiot Test 3 was said to have peaked to the top of the App Store download chart in the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, as well as ranking as the Top 100 App in over 18 countries.
According to the studio, in the past 2 weeks alone, the app was downloaded at the rate of 20 users/per minute worldwide. This means that the Idiot Test has now surpassed 500,000 downloads. Considering what this game actually is, you have to admit that’s pretty impressive, eh?
Due to the title’s recent success, Nexx are now announcing that they’ve submitted a new update, which should be live soon. Submitted this past Monday, The Idiot Test 3 (v1.1.0) will now include over 20 new brain teasing tasks plus some minor improvements around the game’s overall gameplay. Nexx studio have said though that they will be increasing the price of The Idiot Test 3 to $0.99 again, when v1.1.0 is finally approved by Apple – So if this is your thing, to get in quick!
The Idiot Test 3
Category: Entertainment Released: 2009-06-10 Price: $0.99
By now I’m sure you’re all aware of Imangi’s Habour Master. Ever since it launched back in June of this year, it’s been a well loved, and treasured App Store classic.
Similar to Flight Control, Habor Master centers around line-drawing, an App Store genre of game which first hit the App Store in January, with pretty big fanfare. In the game you’re in control of a busy harbor, controlling shipments of goods and packages, and docking the boats in a frantic bid to deliver these shipments to the right ports. It’s a fun title, taking into consideration the true mechanics and value of the iPhone platform, and taking advantage of touch, to create an overall addictive experience.
A few days ago, we got the heads up from Imangi Studios‘ very own Natalia Luckyanova, on a new upcoming update to Harbor Master which should hit the App Store any day now, and is bound to make you fall in love with the title again. The update we’re talking about is version 2.0, and it’s set to bring with it wireless multiplayer matches via Bluetooth. With the update, you’ll be able to select from the 6 included maps, battling to clear the harbor of ships, all the while playing against a friend.
But how are you going to keep track of all these boats? And just how exactly is this 2-player gameplay going to work? The studio explained:
“When a player sends an unloaded ship off the screen, it appears on the other player’s screen, at the same spot, fully loaded. That way, a player can use different strategies to try to overwhelm their opponent, such as timing waves of ships to send over all at once. The player who crashes first loses.”
We are told that the ‘Multiplayer’ aspect of this update will only work on OS 3.0 or higher, and you’ll have to have either an iPod touch (2nd Gen), iPhone 3G or a later model. That said, Natalia ensures the rest of the game will still work on all devices and OS versions.
But the fun doesn’t stop there. Oh no, the update will also include a highly anticipated feature, which is been present in other titles for a while. A fast-forward button. Plus, we’re also told you’ll also be able to adjust the speed of this ‘fast-forward’ motion.
I for one love Harbor Master, I think it’s great – and this update looks like it’ll have me playing it even more! Look out for this mutliplayer update hitting the store very shortly!
It’s been a want by many that Apple would introduce a system in which its users could organise their homescreens. The introduction of iPhone OS 3.0 saw the first step, with the addition of a system wide search engine – Spotlight. Next came the recent release of iTunes 9.0, and this saw the second step, introducing better syncing functionality with more control over where our apps are positioned and placed, even before we sync.
But with the iPhone running a watered down version of Mac OSX, with an operating system this powerful people are starting to wonder if this form of organisation could (and should) be taken to the next level. The only question is: Is Apple prepared to take it there? We’re talking Exposé people, and yesterday, Sweedish design house Ocean Observations showed off their interpretation of what this functionality could look like, to MobileCrunch – and I have to say, I was impressed. Not by the invention of the concept, but by how easy it could be to navigate homescreens, with it.
The system they’re proposing is simple. In the video above you can see exactly how Ocean Observations see it happening. Tapping the home button and you’ll watch all your homescreens turn into a grid-like layout. From here, instead of swiping from left to right (which was supposedly why Spotlight was introduced in OS 3.0), you’d just tap the homescreen you want to shift to.
The amount of bubble notifications you had on each homescreen would then be displayed above the corresponding ‘homescreen tile’. A neat concept, one I personally think Apple should implement. But you do have to ask the question: Would you use it? As it is now, I don’t even use Spotlight. That said, something like this could be quite useful, don’t you think?
Adobe releases its flagship photography editing software Adobe Photoshop for iPhone (and iPod touch). The question is: Is it really all that it’s cracking up to be? Don’t be too sure.
The second coming of arguably the most popular Twitter client on the iPhone has arrived. Loren Brichter’s Tweetie 2. But what features does this version bring, and can it really compete with the original in as far as style and ease of use? The answer? Yes. Yes it can. In every way.
Following on from .™, the world’s first App Store app to be built from concept to final within a 48 hour period, iPhone development studio ustwo™ are about to release the next in the series. Due to the full version of Inkstrumental™ not being quite ready, they quickly created a super lite special. It’s called Inkstrumental™ CRAZO™ and it’s a taster/lite version for the studio’s next major non-48hr release. Inkstrumental™
So, before they hold their Inkstrumental™ pre-launch press event in London tonight, and before the apparazzi™ comes out in force, the studio have allowed me to give you an exclusive look at Inkstrumental™ CRAZO™, which I’m told is so exclusive, Ustwo™ themselves are still undecided over whether they’re even going to release this publicly yet.
If that wasn’t enough, I’ll also be showing you Inkstrumental™ (the full version) in action! It’s important to note that what you are about to see are pre-release products from ustwo™, and features and or UI layout may be subject to change.
Inkstrumental™ CRAZO™ (LITE)
Dubbed Inkstrumental™ CRAZO™ the app is the a super lite special edition of Inkstrumental™ set to hit soon. The app consists of a trippily-designed soundboard, which uses the cartoon-like characters you’re about to be introduced to, in the full version of Inkstrumental™.
Checkout the moisture below:
In this ‘lite’ version, the characters seem to be movable although due to it being a lite version, there won’t be any record or playback functionality. This is simply going to be an app to have a right good ol’ mess around with.
Inkstrumental™ (FULL)
A collaboration between both ustwo and Jon Burgerman, described as sound graffiti and costing the studio in the region of £30.000 to develop, ustwo™ are stressing Inkstrumental™ – is the BIG one.
Having gone back and forth throughout the production stages, changing ideas and even a few week ago starting over completely, ustwo™ are confident Inkstrumental™ is going to be an instant hit with the App Store crowd.
Sneak Peak
A fun app, Inkstrumental™ is set in a crazily cool designed environment. The app sees you playing with wonderfully strange and sometimes plain weird creatures. Each time you tap, the creatures will make different sounds, allowing you to create and record an awesome and colorful musical score. Your creation of musical genius is shown up top on the timeline, and if you feel you want to start over, just shake and the score is reset.
In their words:
“Inkstrumental™ lets you create music by touching the characters, who each play a sound from a selection of weird and wonderful samples and noises. You can make different tunes by putting the characters in various sequences and touching them like a synthesizer keyboard. You will also be able share your Inkstrumental™ creations with other users, and hear what inkstrumentalists™ around the globe have come up with.”
I have to say I’m quite impressed at the level of design work that are coming out in these apps. Look out for both Inkstrumental™ and Inkstrumental™ CRAZO™ hitting the App Store, soon. Can’t wait to see more? We’ll have more from ustwo™ later tonight, where we’ll hopefully be bringing you some shots from their LIVE pre-launch UK press event. Stay Tuned!
Like RPGs? In association with Human Powered Games and Cresent Moon Games, iPhone publisher Chillingo are announcing they will soon be bringing RavenSword: The Fallen King to iPhone (and iPod touch).
Similar to previous titles including: Assassin’s Creed, Hero of Sparta and Dungeon Hunter (to name just a few), RavenSword: The Fallen King is another fully-immersive 3D role playing-like adventure, set in the sunny times of damsels-in-distress and knights-in-shining-armor.
In Chillingo’s words:
“Controls are similar to most of the other 3D games, Hero of Sparta and Assassin’s Creed. The big difference with RavenSword – The Fallen King is that is has tilt look up and down, and it has First Person Mode. There’s also a recalibrate button right at the top right just in case you change positions while playing (standing or sitting) ..”
The game also has some pretty trippy concept art. Check that out below!
According to Josh Presseisen of Crescent Moon Games, we can expect “a cross between an adventure game and an RPG”, comparing the game to the likes of Oblivion and Zelda.
Gameplay Footage
More hi-res concept artwork and screenshots can be found over at the official game site. It is worth noting that the site states the game will work best on the new iPhone 3GS, but presumably the title will still be available for all iPhone models.
Look out for RavenSword: The Fallen King dropping for iPhone (and iPod touch). Fall 2009.
You know Ustwo™ right? You can’t miss them. They’re the guys who seem™ to™ love putting ‘™’ after everything™. But, more than that, they’re also the iPhone development studio behind thinking up and creating the 48-hour apps concept. The concept being, they create a set of 6 exclusive applications, and each application is developed within 48 hours, from concept to final product. The first of which you’ve probably had the pleasure of being introduced to, .™. You may have seen this viral?
Well today, the studio are announcing that they’re about to release a spooky update to their popular real-time mouth simulator MouthOff™, just in time for Halloween.
They’re calling it, MouthOff™ Hell-oween™.
If you’re not familiar with MouthOff™ yet, it’s a real-time mouth simulator. The app basically allows you to control various well-designed cartoon mouths, by using just your voice. The app picks up on background noise via the iPhone’s microphone .. and the results are – undoubtedly – laugh out loud hilarious.
As seen in this video with Jimsy using one of Jon Burgerman’s signature mouths for MouthOff™
This update will include four new mouths for you to get chatty with, including: a vampire, a zombie, a pumpkin and that frankenstein-looking dude (as seen above). You won’t have to wait long either. Ustwo™ tells us that this update has already been submitted to the App Store as of Today (October 6th), and should hit shortly. So, stay tuned!
Today I got the heads up on a new app-centric site which Nimblebit’s Ian Marsh has debuted. It’s called App Classics, and it’s been dubbed “The iTunes App Store’s Missing Hall of Fame”. As I understand it, it’s set to become the collection of App Store cream of the crop.
The site itself is set out in a suave ‘book-case’ fashion, similar to the interface of Classics for iPhone. Using App Classics you can search any of the App Store’s 20 individual app categories, returning the most popular applications for each of those categories based on sales and user ratings. Ian explained that each app is then given an award of either a gold, silver, or bronze medal depending on how established of a “classic” they are calculated to be by the site.
In Ian’s words:
“App Classics searches the App Store to calculate the all-time most popular high quality apps available on iTunes for iPhone and iPod Touch. Behind the scenes, iTunes rating information is crunched, sifted, and percolated in a secret formula to find and grade the truly classic apps.”
Clicking an individual app icon from the front page provides a short insight into what each app looks like by providing a few screenshots, as well as displaying extracts of recent reviews, a short write up of the app’s purpose, a video review and (of course) that all important ranking. Throughout the site you can also share each of your findings with the world, either via Facebook or Twitter.
An interesting project I’m sure you’ll agree. One I’m sure I’ll be using and following. You can follow Ian (@Eeen) or App Classics on Twitter at @AppClassics for the latest.
Surely it can’t be true? Well, fasten your seat belts because this time ladies and gentlemen – it is. Adobe has today announced via its annual Adobe MAX keynote that its popular multimedia creation software, Adobe Flash will finally be making it’s way to iPhone. It’s not Flash Player, but it is Flash. Flash Magazine reports that according to Serge Jespers an evangelist at Adobe, we can expect a beta very soon.
“A public beta version of Flash CS5 Professional with this new capability is planned for later this year. This new capability in Flash CS5 Professional allows developers to use their preferred Flash Platform tools and technologies to develop content for a device that was previously closed to them.”
In fact, you’re probably not going to believe this but the first ‘Flash-based’ applications are actually already on the App Store. Yes, really. Adobe says it put them up in secrecy to avoid a leak of the announcement before the keynote.
The full list of applications which use the new platform are as follows:
So, What does this mean for the market? Well, for one, once Adobe release this beta of CS5 in this quarter, you’ll likely see a huge explosion in flash development companies announcing that they’re going to start targeting their content for iPhone. We’ll also be likely to see long-standing and existing flash developers porting their well loved flash classics.
When asked if Flash Player would ever come to the iPhone, they also had this to say:
“Flash Player uses a just-in-time compiler and virtual machine within a browser plug-in to play back content on websites. Those technologies are not allowed on the iPhone at this time, so a Flash Player for iPhone is not being made available today.”
But moving into the future, what does this mean for us? As consumers we’re likely to see the level (and quality) of particularly our gaming experiences become more enhanced, polished, and feature-full, with Flash bringing with it smooth animation and fluency of motion.
The only question I can see myself asking at that point is; Will our iPhone batteries actually be able to cope with this new genre of App Store swooshy’ness?
In an unsurprising move, Google has started to show their Google Ads on their Google Maps service. As thought, it was only a matter of time before this happened, I mean, let it be known, Google Maps is a great service, but even Google (the company who in my eyes is trying to take over the world, slowly) must pay for it somehow. The ads show as little ‘Place’ icons, and just as normal addresses would they pop-up in iPhone-esque bubbles. These ads are indicated by stating ‘Sponsored Link’.
In the screenshot circulating you can see an ad for a fancy restaurant on West 52nd Street, New York. The 21 Club. The ads are fairly unobtrusive, in fact – very – unobtrusive. In order to view one of these ads, you actually have to click on it’s icon on the map.
These ads are also very sparse. In my recent use of the service I only ran into two or three, that said, with recent reports of Apple buying it’s own maps company, and possibly developing its own mapping system, perhaps Google Maps is becoming less attractive as each day passes.
Have you seen one of these ads? We’d love to know. Hit up the comments.
If I was betting, I’d bet most of you now watch TV through your Mac or PC .. sometime in the day, am I right?
Well, set aside that rather expensive computer of yours, and instead pull out that rather expensive phone of yours. How would you like to watch live TV on your iPhone (or iPod touch) instead? Your frantically nodding your head, aren’t you? Since Apple introduced the SDK which has gradually been getting more feature-full as the months have gone on, we’ve seen an influx of applications from companies promising us our live TV fix, on the move. Ed Lea’s Live TV for example.
Elgato is also one of those companies. Most known worldwide for it’s easy to use and accessible Mac based software, EyeTV. The software allows you to schedule, record, watch and rewind live TV. Not only that, but the software will also convert this recorded content into .MP4, and import them into iTunes if you so choose. This is partly why the software is so popular among the iPod crowd. It is worth noting though, that in order for any of this to work you will need to invest in one of the company’s many ‘Freeview’ USB sticks, available here.
Let’s face it. We all love Google Maps on our iPhone’s. The convenience of swiping here, and flicking there to get directions to where we want to go is all too .. convenient. But, it’s been like that for some time now, and it may just be about to change.
Remember when Apple and Google used to be such real good pals? Well, I’m afraid to say that sadly those days seem to be over. After the recent Google Voice saga earlier last month, which managed to generate huge media attention and even managed to get the FCC involved, Google and Apple seem to have been slowly drifting apart from each other.
Today, Gizmodo reports that another recent rumored purchase of Apple’s may confirm that this is the case. Uncovered via a tweet posted back in July from the founder of Placebase – Fred Lalonde, it’s now rumored Apple have bought Placebase, outright. The acquisition of the company took place in July of this year, but is only coming to light now, due to recent events involving both Google and Apple.
So, what exactly separates Placebase from Google Maps? Well, from this post published on Gigaom in early 2008, we can see Placebase has a few things Google Maps doesn’t. For a start, the service allows users to overlay layers upon layers of data on top of each other, to provide an overall richer, fuller experience. On top of this, it’s said that Placebase’s API is smarter and easier than Google’s claiming easier integration into third party products.
But, if Apple now has a maps company which is deemed superior to Google Maps, Why do they need Google? Now, that said I can’t see them just dropping Google and the arrangement they currently have for ‘native’ iPhone maps functionality, after all – it’s now one of the iPhone’s most prominent features. But you have to wonder. With a maps company under it’s belt, Apple could be gearing to compete with Google in this area, in a very big way.
I just received these on Twitter a few minutes ago, from Jonah Grant. He assures me he has had confirmation from Loren himself that screenshots of the new upcoming app are okay to be leaked, due to the cat already being out of the bag. So, here goes nothing! ..
All in all there are 11 shots in this batch, a few of which depict more of what we can expect from the update. Most noticeably I think, is the fact that Tweetie’s ‘Nearby’ feature is now in fact an interactive map of nearby users. From the shot we can tell that the UI is not too dissimilar to Loopt, and you can switch from ‘Map’ to ‘List’ view.
You’ll also see they depict a new way to refresh your timeline. From the shots it suggests that you pull a ‘panel’ down from the top of Tweetie 2, and release to refresh – Pretty neat implementation I have to say. Now whether or not Tweetie will have a ‘Automatic’ refresh option is yet to be seen, but I know you guys sure want it, looking at my replies tab on Twitter.
Update: Tweet update… “Automatic” refresh will be included.
Update 2: This morning I asked Loren of behalf of all of you, that burning question; Would Tweetie 2 bring with it Push Notifications? Below is his response via a few DMs:
“Not in 2.0. It’s impossible to pull off reliably on the scale of users Tweetie has. I recommend Boxcar for now. (but there is some exciting stuff coming down the pipe ”
iPhone users and future iPhone users rejoiced earlier this week, as O2 announced it has finally (and officially) lost exclusivity of the Apple iPhone handset. In the next breath, Orange UK announced it would be bringing the handset to it’s product line, starting this fall. In fact, it reckons it will start selling the iPhone 3G in the UK and Ireland next month.
But just when you thought that two carriers wasn’t enough, and not one to miss an opportunity, Vodaphone UK have today also announced that they too have signed a deal with Apple to carry the handset:
From the press release:
Vodafone and Apple today confirmed that they have reached agreement to bring iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS to the UK and Ireland in early 2010.
Beginning today, Vodafone UK and Vodafone Ireland customers can register their interest in iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS at www.vodafone.co.uk/iphone and www.vodafone.ie/iphone respectively. Pricing, tariffs and availability information will be announced locally in the future.
So what does this mean for all of us loyal O2 customers? Well, not much really. It was a fun ride while it lasted, but I’m afraid to say you’re no longer “cool” by owning an iPhone. Just think, if Orange and Vodaphone do manage to get the actual handset price down, you could see everyone in your street with an iPhone by January 2010.
There’s no doubting this will be good for competition, but don’t get your hopes up too high. There’s still that little thing called price-fixing, and I think we’ll see Apple fix the pricing on these handsets. Period.
I’ll admit it, I’m a HUGE Tweetie fan. The brains behind it? Loren Brichter.
What was arguably the most hyped twitter client, and what now is deemed to be the twitter client choice for iPhone, of many, Tweetie has been sitting pretty for a while now. After winning an Apple Design Award in 2009 for ‘Outstanding Innovation and Design’, Tweetie has gone from strength to strength. But it hasn’t all been buttercups and roses. Lately, the word surrounding Tweetie was that it had fallen behind. It had become invisible, due to competition. It lacked the awesome’ness of this, and the necessity of that.
Today, this all changes. After teasing us for almost all of the day on Twitter, Loren finally came clean; announcing via his stream that Tweetie 2 for iPhone had been in development for some time, and that it would bring Tweetie back into the foreground again – for all of the reasons you fell in love with Tweetie 1.0.
Britcher explained that Tweetie 2 had been in beta for a few months now, and after 8 beta versions, the product originally codenamed ‘Bigbird’ throughout the beta phases was finally ready to be submitted to Apple. In fact, it has been submitted… late last night. Britcher says the final version is ready, and he’ll all being well submit the app later this week. We just have to hope Apple and it’s seemingly temperamental approval process makes Tweetie 2’s debut a quick a painless one.
So, what can you expect from this major update? Well, quite a lot actually. For starters you’ll now find threaded conversations. Just like Tweetie for Mac, you’ll be able to see just who thought your tweet was cool, what they said, and what other people said afterwards. Next? Tab bar notifications. Since the introduction of Tweetie for Mac, users of Tweetie really wanted to see this functionality comes to the iPhone. Now, it has. Saved searches. Not content with how they function now, in Tweetie 2 Britcher says saved searches will ’sync’ back up to the upcoming Tweetie for Mac 2 desktop version.
Now come’on. Be honest. Were you a fan of the compose screen? Well, you might like it a little more now. In Tweetie 2 the compose screen has been completely overhauled. Adding options for an @people picker, recent hashtags, multiple attachments manager and a “peek” gesture for when replying to a tweet.
You’ll also probably be glad to hear this version will support full landscape mode, and a load more features including: the ability to edit your own Twitter profile, vastly improved gesture shortcuts, in-app rich-text email, new-style retweet support (supposedly to support the upcoming Twitter update), the option to refresh-all on launch, TextExpander support, “read it later” integration, auto-complete recent searches, auto-complete go-to-user, improved avatar caching, inline Twitlonger, reply chain list view, preview short urls, tweet translation and the ability to block and follow from multiple accounts, at once.
There is one tiny niggle, and that is Tweetie 2 will be an entirely new app to what will now be referred to as Tweetie 1. Although, you won’t have to pay through your nose to get it. In fact, quite the opposite!
In his own words:
“Making a “2.0” could have been easy. I could have changed the version number, added video tweeting and called it a day. Other apps call that “2.0” – I think it’s lame. Tweetie 1 set a new standard for Twitter clients and iPhone apps in general. It proved that you didn’t have to sacrifice intuitiveness for functionality. Today we have iPhone OS 3.0, 3GS, and new Twitter APIs. Tweetie 2 is built from the ground up to take advantage of these fantastic new technologies.
Tweetie 2 for Mac will be a completely free upgrade. (So if you haven’t already grabbed a license, feel free to do so). On the other hand, Tweetie 2 for iPhone will be a whole new app. And while it’s arguably worth a lot more, I’m keeping the price exactly the same: $2.99.”
Hopefully if Britcher is lucky, we could see Tweetie 2 hit the App Store inside 2 weeks, but I wouldn’t hold your breath on that. All we can rest on is that it will soon be in submission, and it’s fate will rest solely in the hands of Apple. I for one, can’t wait to get my hands on this.
Pano for iPhone allows you take ’seamless’ panoramic photos, right on your phone or iPod. But, is it really seamless? I took Pano for a test drive on the new iPhone 3GS.
You’ve played it on your Mac and PC, and you know how seriously addictive it can be. It’s Here. Peggle for iPhone. PopCap Games latest touch title brings the experience you all know and love, to iPhone (and iPod touch) – but is it really worth plunking down for? I’ve been putting it through it’s paces.
:: STELLAR
- A GOOD PORT
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