With all of Apple’s relatively recent success in the smartphone and tablet market, we can forget sometimes that what kicked off their modern dominance was a device that simply played music. BICOM, Inc. has been recognizing how important music is to the company with their playGo series of iOS receiver systems. The newest model, the playGo AP1, is their biggest leap forward yet.

Previous playGo models used USB interfaces but the playGo AP1 instead streams audio wirelessly using Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Apple’s own AirPlay functionality. Music from iOS devices, iTunes and other services like Pandora, Rhapsody, and Spotify are wirelessly pushed to speakers with their high-fidelity audio intact. The playGO AP1 also retains built in USB for compatibility with older devices.

Unfortunately, the project is still in need of funding. However, interested buyers can check out the playGo AP1 Kickstarter page and purchase one early for $199. The funding deadline in July 5th and if it’s a success, expect to see the playGo AP1 released shortly thereafter.

When it comes to news these days, at least here in America, the upcoming presidential election is the big story. Today though, politics can be so crazy that keeping up with it all is next to impossible. That’s why NBC is delivering its powerful political reporting on-the-go with the new NBC Politics app.

With NBC Politics, users can get all sorts of information in all sorts of different ways. Users can read text stories, flip through photo slideshows and view clips from NBC shows like “Meet The Press with David Gregory”, “Andrea Mitchell Reports” and “Morning Joe.” On the more interactive end, users can share stories through Facebook and Twitter using the app and watch election results unfold in real-time. On the iPad, users can even make their own predictions and test them against the experts on the Battleground Map.

Indecision 2012 is just around the corner. Wait, wrong network. NBC Politics is available now for free on the App Store.

FREE!

NBC Politics

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-05-02 :: Category: News

The effects of the iPad can be seen across many communities and subcultures one of the biggest being the music world. Apps like Mixr and djay continue to make the turntable scene less restrictive and more approachable. Now, Sawa Digital is looking to get in on the action with a new update for their Dub Siren DX app which adds iPad functionality.

Dub Siren DX claims it is “the world’s best-selling Reggae, Dub and Dubstep app” and lists Gorillaz as one of the professional DJs it counts among its users. In addition to iPad support, the update also adds AirPlay functionality, radio control, a new interface, a new audio engine and new samples. Exclusive to the iPad version is EQ functionality. Users can even remotely control music on their iTunes library using the app.

Now iPad owners can drop the bass. The updated Dub Siren DX is available now on the App Store.

$3.99

Dub Siren DX - Ultimate DJ Mixer Synth with Reggae and DubStep Radio

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-06-09 :: Category: Music

Knowing what’s going on in the world at large is certainly useful. Sometimes though, it’s more important to know what’s going on across the street instead of what’s going on across the globe. Recognizing that, the EveryBlock app seeks to fill that local news niche and with its the new update it is hoping to fill that niche even better.

The 2.0 update adds a host of new community features bringing the app more in line with the EveryBlock website. Users can now more easily connect to their neighborhoods by choosing the specific locations they want their news to come from all the way down to the block level. Users can become citizen journalists and share breaking news and photos of events as they unfold. Using the app, users can also send questions to their neighbors or even just start a conversation in real time.

Be aware that currently EveryBlock is only available in the following 16 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, D.C. The updated EveryBlock app is available now for free on the App Store.

FREE!

EveryBlock

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2009-04-25 :: Category: News

When people want to just get away from this digital, modern world of ours, there’s no better place to go than the great outdoors. However, doing that usually also forces one to forfeit some of the conveniences of our digital, modern world. With Columbia Sportswear’s new GPS PAL app though, that does not have to be the case.

GPS PAL is designed to enhance one’s outdoor experience through its plethora of features. Users can keep records of their journeys through geotagged text, videos and photos. This user-created media can then be uploaded online to all sorts of websites and social networks. Users can also create and store routes along with their distance and elevation as well as set GPS markers at their favorite spots. Basically, the app is a living journal of one’s outdoor adventures.

Be one with nature while still being in the 21st century. GPS PAL is available now for free on the App Store.

FREE!

Columbia’s GPS PAL™

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-04-20 :: Category: Utilities

Think about how long people spend looking at words and letters all day. Then imagine what would happen if someone made a game about it. The result would probably look something like Lost in Letters, the newest game from Smugbit Studios.

Lost in Letters starts by presenting players with a field full of identical letters. Only one letter differs from the rest and it is the player’s job to seek it out. The developers describe it as their homage to “Where’s Waldo” and other, similar hidden object games. The game has three difficulty levels along with several different modes like free play, survival and time trial. In addition to its minimalist, black and white visuals, the game features an 8-bit styled soundtrack.

Rounding out the package are achievements, leaderboards and Game Center integration. Experience a new word search challenge. Lost in Letters is available now for free on the App Store.

FREE!

Lost in Letters

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-03-31 :: Category: Games

Car2Go, like other “carsharing” services, allows customers to quickly rent small cars for short periods of time. It’s great for when cars break down or when one needs an easy way to get around a new city during a vacation. Now, they are making the service even more convenient with the launch of their new aCar2Go app.

Currently, Car2Go operates in the following cities: Hamburg; Ulm; Lyon; Vancouver, British Columbia; Austin, Texas; Portland, Oregon and Washington, D.C. They also have the world’s first electric car fleet in San Diego, California. Using the app, anyone living in said cities can find and book the nearest available Car2Go, find gas stations and parking lots, view the operating area and view the route to their car. Soon enough, users will be behind the wheel of one of those familiar, little blue and white Smart Fortwos.

Quick auto access is now just an app away. aCar2Go is available now for $1.99 on the App Store.

$0.99

Cost Control for Car2Go

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-03-30 :: Category: Navigation

Video games may often times leave players feeling like they have accomplished something significant but usually it’s just in their own minds. However, what if a game was used to help raise awareness and overcome a real-world issue? CB Labs and their partners at Do Something are doing just that with The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run, a game designed to highlight harmful teen bullying.

In the game, players take control of Timmy, a young boy with an adorable cat suit and a powerful imagination. Unfortunately, when a pretty girl tries to befriend him only to be stolen by Mitch the school bully, Timmy will have to conquer his shyness to conquer Mitch’s treehouse lair and rescue her.

However, the game is more than just a 2D platforming adventure. It’s also a tool to educate players about the dangers of real-life bullying. The game is filled with anti-bullying tips and includes a quiz players can take to see how bad the bullying problem is at their school. The results will then be used to rank the nation, states, districts and schools levels based on the issue.

The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run is available now on the App Store. Additionally, to further help get the word put on bullying, it will be free for the duration of Do Something’s campaign.

$1.99

The Adventures of Timmy: Run Kitty Run

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-09-30 :: Category: Games

All things considered, it’s a little odd how much of a phenomenon the social farm sim has become. Farming in real life is such a boring, tedious process and yet millions of people are spending loads of time and money doing it virtually. Com2us is hoping to plant some more excitement in those people’s lives with their new game Magic Tree.

Magic Tree’s gameplay consists of the same kind of seed gathering and crop harvesting one would expect from the genre. However, everything has been given a fantasy twist. Furthermore, the visuals are all rendered in full, colorful 3D that brings life to the fields, forests and animals. Besides farming, players can also raise pets, build beauty salons, go on rides, cook gourmet meals and defend their homes from invading creatures.

Magic Tree looks to offer a more fantastical farming experience. The game is available now for free on the App Store.

FREE!

Magic Tree by Com2uS

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-04-04 :: Category: Games

Real boyfriends are nice and everything but they do have their limitations. For example, they can’t fit in a pocket for easy access to hugs, winks and kisses wherever one may be. That’s where Mini Boyfriend, the latest installment in Digicub’s “mini” series comes in.

Much like previous entries Mini Gay Girlfriend and Mini Gay Boyfriend, Mini Boyfriend gives players a virtual companion to flirt with as they please. The game consists of nine minigames which simulate dating scenarios like talking at a coffee place, going to the movies and even giving bubble baths or breakfast in bed.

Strangely enough, Mini Boyfriend comes courtesy of former Electronic Arts designer Michael Othen whose previous credits include Battlefield 3. Othen wants to reach a new audience and one would imagine that the military shooter audience and the dating sim audience are indeed quite different.

Mini Boyfriend is available now on the App Store for free. Who doesn’t want a guy to call their own?

FREE!

Mini Boyfriend

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-03-29 :: Category: Games

One of the great things the App Store has brought to the video game industry, particularly in the indie game space, is the increased freedom for anyone to get their ideas out there as long as they are dedicated enough. The latest example of this is Antithesis, an abstract little game that just landed on the App Store. Most interestingly though, the game is the brainchild of Mike Schramm, the games editor for The Unofficial Apple Weblog.

Antithesis can roughly be described as a more experimental take on Pong. Players control a paddle and try to survive as many cycles as possible by reflecting the increasing number of incoming balls, all in a stark, minimalist, black and white art style. The game is the result of eight months of intermittent development that began at the 2011 360iDev Game Jam. However, while this is Schramm’s first game, according to his personal site, it will not be his last. He says that Antithesis “was to help me learn how to develop games, and then actually publish one,” and then urges readers to “wait until you see my next project.”

$0.99

Antithesis

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2012-03-27 :: Category: Games

On April 10th, people across the country will go barefoot in support of the annual TOMS One Day Without Shoes campaign. The shoe manufacturer, which gives a pair of shoes to a needy child whenever they make a sale, created the campaign to raise awareness of the dangers children living in poverty face when walking around barefoot. For this year’s big event though, EA is bringing the campaign to the digital space by allowing The Sims to go barefoot too.

Once the campaign begins, players of The Sims FreePlay will be given the option to let their Sims go barefoot for the day. This has no adverse effect on gameplay as Sims will still be able to do what they want and any player who chooses to show support for the movement will be given a pair of free virtual TOMS’ shoes to put on their Sims once the day is over. Best of all, participating won’t cost players anything as The Sims FreePlay is available for free on the App Store now.

FREE!

The Sims™ FreePlay

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-12-15 :: Category: Games

Anyone can start a diet, but sticking to it is a different story. Between watching what one eats, doing scheduled weigh ins and generally making sure that they are staying on track, a diet can be a hard thing to maintain. To make getting in shape a little easier, as well as prove that the internet can be used for more than just lazy web browsing, Body Chef has released Diet and Weight Loss Buddies.

The app calls itself “the world’s first social network app for people who want to lose weight and feel great.” Through the app, users can put in their personal diet information and schedule reminders to make sure they stay on the wagon. They can also look up new diets and strategies online by connecting with fellow dieters around the world. It has everything dieters need: information, encouragement, and support from others.

Diet and Weight Loss Buddies is available now on the App Store for free. It can help make up for that lost time spent sitting down, playing with an iPhone.

FREE!

Diet & Weight Loss Buddies

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2012-01-05 :: Category: Healthcare & Fitness