Drop-It! is a new app from Voxygen Limited that enables users to take photographs and automatically have them stored on Dropbox’s cloud server.

Anyone who regularly takes photographs with their iPhone or iPod touch can relate to the truth that the files can add up quickly, taking up valuable space that could otherwise be devoted to a larger iTunes collection. Drop-It! addresses this issue by automatically sending all photographs to the all-covering cloud in the sky – or, really, just an account on Dropbox. This does two things for users. First of all, it saves space on their device. Second, it allows them to view their photos on any iOS device, Mac or PC. Like with all other cloud-based services, users can essentially take their photos with them anywhere they go.

The app has a few other extras in addition to its cloud services that make it worthwhile. For instance, users can name their photo files and create separate folders for optimum organization. They can also specify to save photos as either a PNG or JPEG file type.

While the iOS Drop-It! app costs $0.99 to download, access to the cloud itself is free. Users can sign up for an account on Dropbox, which Drop-It! uses, for free within the app itself.

“We built Drop It! because we needed an easier way to photograph sketches and whiteboards to share with the rest of our team,” Voxygen Limited says of its app. “Using DropIt! we can now do this with one tap.”

Drop-It! offers a promising service, but one can’t help but wonder how useful it will be once Apple releases its iCloud this fall. Furthermore, this is hardly an original idea. There are numerous other apps already on the iTunes App Store that offer similar cloud storage, such as QuickShot. Only time will tell, of course.

$0.99

Drop-It!

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-07-26 :: Category: Utilities

The instant I saw Magnetic Baby, I was reminded of a game I love: Super Mario Galaxy for Nintendo’s popular Wii console.

There are several reasons for this. First of all, the game plays somewhat like Nintendo’s platformer. Gamers control an orange, round, ball-like hero who must rescue a pink, female character of similar appearance. Players must roll the hero around spherical, planet-like platforms, eventually making their way to this damsel in distress.

Like in Super Mario Galaxy, gamers can transfer from one platform to the next by jumping close enough towards that platform that they’ll be pulled in by the object’s gravitational force. The only difference between Magnetic Baby and Nintendo’s platformer is that in Magnetic Baby, it’s the magnetic connection between the game’s hero and the floating platforms that allow him to roll around them and jump back and forth between individual platforms. In other words, this is basically Super Mario Galaxy – but with a character that gamers must roll around instead of Nintendo’s famous plumber.

There’s more than just jumping between platforms, though. There are plenty of obstacles in the way, including phase gates, wheels, fans, lasers and more. The constant changing of obstacles keeps Magnetic Baby gameplay fresh and challenging. And with over 60 levels spanning 3 different worlds, the game features a solid amount of variety.

Interestingly, Magnetic Baby features three different control schemes, each of which dramatically changes how the game plays. The default option requires tilting to roll the character. This control option is obviously the most daring of the three. But it was a smart decision of the developer to include other control options. Using the tilt control scheme certainly provides for a unique experience, but I find the other two control options – using an on-screen touch pad or dragging your finger where you want to move – to work better.

The other reason Magnetic Baby reminds of Super Mario Galaxy is because it looks a lot like a Nintendo game. The game is cute, colorful and sharp. Its hero – an orange ball featuring funny facial expressions as it rolls around this animated world – looks like something the Big N would create. And the game’s worlds feature a memorable art-direction combining bright colors and different patterns and shapes in an striking fashion.

Magnetic Baby is a fun, cute platformer. Admittedly, it lacks originality – borrowing heavily from Super Mario Galaxy, primarily. But despite this truth, it’s still an entertaining and challenging platformer. And for 99 cents, it’s definitely worth a go.

If you’ve ever caught yourself staring up at the night sky, taking in the billions of stars that softly illuminate the sky, wanting to know more about what you’re seeing, then Star Rover HD might be worth checking out for you.

The app offers users accurate and real-time information on the stars. All 88 constellations are included in the app, as well as all of the planets and their moons. The app also features high quality pictures of nebulae. Furthermore, Star Rover HD even uses equatorial and azimuthal grids, giving you coordinates for everything in the sky.

The whole experience is virtual in nature – this is not an augmented reality app. But, graphically, it looks solid. The app automatically identifies your current location and you can use pinch-to-zoom to get a closer look and more information on just about everything in the sky.

Best of all, Star Rover HD is available on the iTunes App Store for free.

$1.99

Star Rover HD - Explore the Universe

iPad Only App - Designed for the iPad
Released: 2011-05-17 :: Category: Education

Goby Technologies, the company behind the recently released iOS app, Goby, claims that with its new app, “you’ll never be bored again.”

With the app, you can find stuff to do near you. The app works in conjunction with your Facebook profile and suggests things for you to do based on your Facebook interests. You can of course use the app without logging into Facebook. Instead, you’ll have to manually configure your interests, so that Goby knows what to suggest. But by logging into Facebook, the whole process is seamless and fast.

Goby has numerous categories, including the following:

• Musical artists
• Event venues: stadiums, concert halls, museums, libraries
• Nightlife: bars, concerts, theater, casinos, etc.
• Outdoor Recreation: hiking, biking trails, parks, etc.
• Adventure & Extreme: surfing, skateboarding, etc.
• Family Fun: bowling, zoos, playgrounds, etc.
• Sightseeing & Tours: walking, boat, bike tours, etc.
• Arts & Culture: historic, galleries, museums, etc.
• Health & Fitness: spas, swimming, yoga, etc.

All together, there are over 340 different categories of things to do. Of course, just how much stuff users find to do nearby depends on where they live. Still a pretty useful app, and considering it’s free, it it’s quite impressive.

FREE!

Goby

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-03-19 :: Category: Travel

Galaxy on Fire 2 fans: the moment you’ve been waiting for is here. Fishlabs has released the anticipated update for Galaxy on Fire 2, titled Valkyrie, on the iTunes App Store.

The content updated adds a brand new storyline to the game, picking up right where the original game left off. What’s more, the update brings improved warships with smarter and more powerful weaponry. Examples of new weapons include guided missiles and automatic turrets that fire upon enemies on their own. The update also adds a variety of new equipment, such as emergency shields, time delays, enemy signatures and repair robots.

The expansion also adds a black market trading system where you can acquire illicit goods, such as weapons and equipment. In Valkyrie, you can also buy your own space station, where you can dock your ships, and stow any valuable goods you like.

Much of the content in Valkyrie exists because players asked for it.

“We’ve received an incredible amount of praise and constructive criticism from players all over the world,’ says Michael Schade, CEO of Fishlabs Entertainment. “The Vossk warrior tribe is particularly popular, and fans will be pleased to learn that there are now more of their ships to fly. But we’re also particularly proud of the design of the new Deep Science ships that, together with the new solar systems and unique graphical special effects, give the game a whole new look. Meeting the frequent request of our long-time fans, we’ve even re-released three classic spaceships from the first game as a free extra.”

Currently, Galaxy on Fire 2 is one of the highest rated games on the App Store, with an average rating of 4.8 stars.

The update is now available on the iTunes App Store. You can download the update for $4.99.

FREE!

Galaxy on Fire 2™

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2010-10-27 :: Category: Games

IK Multimedia this week launched iRig Recorder App for iOS, which serves as a companion app for the company’s iRig Microphone.

The app costs $4.99 and gives you editing options for recordings done with the microphone. The audio editor feature numerous options, allowing you to optimize tones for speech and music, clean up background noises, brighten voices for clarity, smooth out vocals, and change the speed of tracks without affecting their pitch.

What’s more, iRig Recorder lets you organize your recordings by date and time and tags them with geographic location for easy file management. You can also export your recordings via e-mail, Wi-Fi, FTP and iTunes File Sharing. You have a number of export options for different sizes and formats, including CD-quality, uncompressed audio.

It seems that the iRig Microphone and this new app are an ideal choice for podcasters.

The app is now live on the App Store. You can purchase the iRig Microphone, meanwhile, for $59.99 at both online and offline retailers.

$3.99

$7.99

iRig Recorder

iPhone App - Designed for the iPhone, compatible with the iPad
Released: 2011-04-21 :: Category: Music