Tag: 148apps.biz »

This week at 148Apps.com, we took a first look at Garmin's new StreetPilot onDemand app. Rob LeFebvre writes, "The app itself offers 30 days of premium features for that dollar, including multimodal pedestrian routing, bus/train schedules, spoken turn-by-turn guidance with street names, 3D representations of buildings, traffic rerouting, photoReal Junction View and Google Local Search. Once the free month is up, users can pay $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually, with a special introductory $19.99 annual price for this first year."

Read more about StreetPilot onDemand on 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, at GiggleApps, we got the music playing with our review of Sylvester's Band. Reviewer Amy Solomon states, "The illustrations are simply gorgeous to look at and I really appreciate how each location Henry visits has a unique landscape all its own, while maintaining the style used throughout this book, such as squared-off trees or cloud formations. I enjoy a great deal how the look of this story changes, becoming dark as the gang makes their way high into the clouds looking for William the Wolf. The details about lassoing the moon in order to bring it to the party create wonderful images that stayed with me after reading this book, my favorite moment of this story. It is also great fun the way each time Henry collects another band member they can all be seen, one by one, running to a new location. These creatures look great as well..."

Read the rest of Amy's review on GiggleApps.com.

148Apps.biz featured an article about tablet owners and TV viewing habits. Kyle Flanigan writes, "According to the report, some 50% of tablet owners – iPad included – watch films and TV shows on their portable device for leisure. In the words of research director Keith Nissen, “tablets, in particular, have become a primary video device, both inside and outside the home.” There are few adjectives that come to mind to describe such a high percentage: unexpected, unanticipated and unprecedented began to scratch the surface."

Find out more by reading the full story at 148Apps.biz.

And finally, AndroidRundown writer Carter Dotson announced G5 Entertainment's first simultaneously-launched iOS and Android app, Stand o' Food 3. "While G5 Entertainment only recently got on to the Android train, they aren’t wasting their time making sure their library of sim games are well-represented on the platform. In the past few weeks, both Supermarket Mania 2 and Virtual City have been released for Android, after their initial mobile releases on iOS."

Read all about it on AndroidRundown.

That's it for this week, but don't forget to check out our ever-changing lists of apps, and make sure you keep up to date on all the latest news and happenings by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook. See you next week, true believer.

This week at 148Apps.com, Jeff Scott took a look at the new Dexim iBlueK iPad2 Keyboard Folio Case, saying, "I must admit that I was a little disappointed overall by the iBlueK. Partially because of the 6+ month wait. While it’s a competent keyboard and a good case, it now just feels behind. The 6 months in production, after announcing it at CES, now makes it feel a bit dated. While it was innovative in January, it just feels bulky and a generation behind. Other manufacturers, led by Apple and the Smart Cover, have gone for more sleek and thin cases."

Read the full review at 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, at sister site GiggleApps, Amy Solomon reviewed part game-turned iPhone app Spot It: Dobble. Amy writes, "This app has made me very curious about the related party game, something I will be on the lookout for when my son shows interest and aptitude for this application. Like books, I find value in both the classic presentation of a game like this as well as its application counterpart. Although far into the future, I see myself buying this card game as a standard gift in grade school if my son allows this. I highly recommend this app!"

Read the full review at GiggleApps.

Android Rundown featured an article this week on Talkbox Voice Messenger, an app that allows sharing of small voice recordings between Android and iOS users. Writer Carter Dotson says, "By holding down on the push to talk button, the user’s voice is recorded and then immediately sent to the other user in the conversation. They can then send messages back, and users can listen to the messages. The app can either play back through the loudspeaker or phone speaker by holding the phone up to the ear. Users can send more than just their voices to their friends and other TalkBox users, as they can also geotag their messages and include pictures. It’s kind of like the best walkie-talkie ever."

Read more about Talkbox Voice Messenger on Android Rundown.

Finally, 148Apps.biz writer Rob LeFebvre shared a quick overview of AppBlade, a new service for devs wishing to test their apps. Rob writes, "Typically, companies trying to deploy applications, for the iPhone especially, have to use a number of complex steps to move developed applications from the developer to testers or other enterprise users. The process can be confusing and involves many steps. AppBlade hopes to help manage this complexity from one simple, easy to use centralized location."

Read the full article on 148Apps.biz.

That's it for this week. Be sure to stop by our 148Apps lists for updates on the latest releases and more, and don't forget to check out our Twitter and Facebook streams too! See you next week.

This week, August 8-12, 148Apps interviewed Matt Gravelle, co-founder of Graveck, the developer behind one of the most successful and addictive iPhone games - Skee-Ball. Interviewer Gianna LaPin writes, "Graveck has recently started developing for the Android platform; this, combined with all the recent advances in the iOS world, is enough to make Matt’s head spin. Looking forward, he sees steady, predictable advancements in the mobile computing field instead of major breakthroughs in the near future. Specifically he agrees with Apple’s move towards creating a more seamless, cohesive user experience between devices by leveraging cloud storage, and Graveck plans on adopting that same philosophy."

Read the entire interview at 148Apps.com.

Over on 148Apps.biz, founder Jeff Scott announced the upcoming App Developer's Conference in Santa Clara, CA: "The App Developers Conference is the essential event for everyone building and selling apps for emerging devices. From smart phones to smart cars, applications and connectivity are driving the consumer application market forward at warp speed. This event brings development professionals together with the platforms, tools, services, and brand marketers that are working to connect people, places and things."

Read more details about the conference, and pick up a code good for $100 off your registration, at 148Apps.biz.

The fine folks at GiggleApps reviewed an app designed to teach kids the basics of drawing, appropriately called How to Draw. Reviewer Amy Solomon writes, "How To Draw is a creative and fun application that explains, step by step, the elements used to draw simple pictures how and to re-create these drawings themselves. Although universal, this app best performs on the iPad when one is following along, drawing within this app, but this app also included is a very nice section which allows the viewer to just watch these images progress as well – something that can be enjoyed on either iPad or iPhone."

Read the full review at GiggleApps.

Finally, no weekly wrap-up would be complete without a visit to our 148Apps Lists. Stop by to see the newest 148 apps on the App Store, the Top 148 free apps and more. Plus, keep track of all the latest app developments by clicking "Like" on our Facebook page, or following us on Twitter.

That's it for this week! Check in with us next week for a weekly round-up.

This week, July 25-29, the freemium/free to play revolution continued as Carter Dotson explored the recent decrease in premium game revenue on the App Store. Dotson writes, "Not only are free to play games now becoming the biggest source of revenue for games on the App Store, they’re also potentially more open for competition. The top 10 publishers of free games account for 27% of the total downloads of the top 300 free games, versus the top 10 publishers of the top 300 paid games generating 54% of those downloads, and one of those publishers is one-man developer Andreas Illiger of Tiny Wings fame.

Read the full story here.

Over at 148apps.biz, Sharon L. Cohen explored app developer's needs for solid, substantive analytics, and suggested Chomp as a good source: "The latest Chomp stats...provide continued insights into the way that users are searching for apps. Previously, 148apps.biz reported that fewer and fewer queries are for specific app names: For every one hundred searches, only nine were for the name of an application. This statistic flopped in May. 'Compared to April, the ratio of non-app name versus name queries shifted 9% in favor of name searches.' Ah, the fickleness of users. The moral of this story is continue to place an emphasis on key words and search engine optimization including brand promotion. In other words, cover all your bases."

Read the full story at 148Apps.biz.

GiggleApps reviewed Creative Genius on the Go, an app designed to stretch kids' imaginations, even as they are trapped in the back seat during long trips: "This app offers 150 different scenarios for everyone to consider: 50 'What Ifs?' that prompt the players to describe how the impossible may be possible; 50 'Imagine That,' which are mind-stretching challenges for boosting brainpower and relieving boredom and screams from the back seat, and 50 'Wack-tivities,' or silly diversions for when everyone is tired and can’t wait to stop at a hotel and get something to eat."

Divert yourself to the GiggleApps review for the full story.

That's it for this week! Be sure to stop by our Top 148 Lists page to view the latest price drops as well as the top free and paid apps and games. See you next Saturday.

This week, July 18-22, 148Apps took a bold new step by acknowledging the changing landscape of iOS gaming and reviewing so-called "freemium" and ad-supported games. Though these new terms for games are sometimes used interchangeably, Rob LeFebvre writes, "We had to make sure that all of our writers were approaching these games from the same angle. Let’s face it, all free games are not created equal. So we created a short term list for our writers, to help us all get on the same page when talking about them."

Read more about this new glossary-in-progress here.

Over on sister site Giggleapps, reviews included the oddly-named but strangely compelling Presidents Vs. Aliens, where children are rewarded for knowing various facts about America's presidents by being allowed to "fling a president’s head at these invaders, trying to knock as many down as possible." Given the never-ending debate over the debt ceiling that is currently raging in Washington, a game like this sounds like a good stress reliever for politicians and non-politicians alike.

Read the full review on GiggleApps.

148Apps.biz writer Sharon L. Cohen reported on the growing consumer hunger for more apps on Apple's iOS behemoth. She states, "The typical user will download 83 apps this year compared to 51 in 2010. That’s a whopping 61 percent increase in one year." iOS users are also showing a willingness to pay more for apps, a trend developers will surely want to keep a close eye on.

Read Sharon's full report on 148Apps.biz.

Finally, our 148Apps lists showed that Angry Birds continued its unrivaled dominance in both the paid games and paid apps categories of Apple's App Store, while Scrabble was still top of the heap when it came to top all-time iPhone apps.

That's it for this week. Check out our full page of lists and our ongoing community conversations on Twitter and Facebook.

It may not be a huge trend, but it appears that a growing number of companies are offering funds to assist developers to create and/or promote their apps in the Apple and Android markets. These companies foresee that the number of mobile phones and tablets purchased is only going to keep on rising for the foreseeable future along with the number of apps for these users. It’s a good time to get into the marketplace. Case in point: Gamevil recently announced a $10 million partnership fund for external developers who have smartphone gaming ideas.

Read the full review at 148Apps.biz.

We’ve talked about discoverability multiple times over at our sister site, 148Apps.biz. In a world of 250,000+ apps, it’s of huge concern for app developers. That’s one of the reasons we decided to be a media sponsor for DiscoveryBeat 2010 being held in San Francisco. Put on by VentureBeat, this 1 day conference on October 18th brings together a bunch of experts to talk about the problem and possible solutions.

Read the full article over on 148Apps.biz.