NPR News On Top

I’m a bit of a news junky, but lately the news is just dragging me down. Someone else died, people lost jobs, and a baseball player took steroids. It’s gotten to a point to where I don’t even enjoy reading/listening to it anymore. It’s not advancing my life at all… just making my existence seem pretty fortunate compared to others. I guess that’s a good thing.

Lately I’ve turned to podcasts, the slightly more colorful delivery method of the news that I so crave. I spent hours digging through iTunes looking for the next greatest news-like show, until one day I found Radiolab.

Radiolab, for those of you that are unaware, is the greatest thing to ever happen to the radio. The show is a limited edition show, but it’s available, in its entirety, for free on iTunes. Amazing. Unfortunately, I’ve now listened to everything that they have ever put on the air, so I had to find another muse. I turned to This American Life and it’s fascinating stories of Americana… or whatever you want to call it. I then realized something that I hadn’t ever before. I’ve fully transformed into a deep thought craving adult… am I ready?

Yes… the truth hurts. I am now one of those people– the post-grad NPR/world music listening crowd that tries to eat healthy and read books. What I didn’t expect was I am in the majority here. Looking at the top free news apps on iTunes today, I found NPR news sitting pretty at #1. I had to have it.

It turns out that the NPR News app is pretty darn amazing. Not only does it show you the news, but it gives you access to every NPR station in America, along with ‘On Demand’ broadcasts of older episodes. With ‘On Demand’, I can not only listen to the regularly aired episodes of Radiolab, but also the Radiolab ’shorts’ that you previously had to download or get off the website. The kicker is that you can do all this while reading the news of the day… creating a possible brain damaging information overload. Watch yourself.

So, loyal 148apps readers, I implore you to pick up the NPR News app… it’ll change your life. Well, maybe not your life, but at least your commute. For the price of a glass of tap water at Panera Bread, this one is a must have.

NPR News

Category: News
Released: 2009-08-15
Price: FREE

32 x 32 is a simple and elegant drawing tool that allows even the artistically impaired to create a mini- masterpiece.

It may not be The Sims, but for a buck you should take a look.

This application lists all the Laptops that Apple have made starting from iBook in July 1999 – and going up to the PowerBook G4, 17″ (2005). Why? Well I’m not sure you need this app, but I have to confess to looking & lusting over the laptops!

It’s not going to make you a professional but you could definitely host a fun cocktail party or liven a friends dull fiesta.

Ok – This review took far longer than I had wanted. I couldn’t get my son off it long enough to have a go myself! Action packed, easy to use and a whole lot of excitement! Monster Trucks Nitro, is exactly that!

It’s a free dictionary that works well. This statement pretty much sums up this app. Want to know the exact definition of antidisestablishmentarianism? It’s there… I promise.

In this game, you need to build a path to save the city from the nuclear waste that has been released from a faulty reactor. There is also a puzzle mode, which is really where it becomes a great challenge and slightly unusual from the other pipe style games.

App Store Insider: August Trometer Part 2

Finishing up our interview with August, I ask him about what it is like being an iPhone developer in the lime-light, or Celebrity Developer. He talks about how much fun it has been to break out of the traditional role from time to time, and how it has really helped out his programming business.

I also get his opinions on Apple’s filing to have jailbreaking iPhones judged illegal, what that means to the development community, and how jailbreaking is actually beneficial to the App Store and making the iPhone a popular development platform. August also tells us why he has avoided it.

Most importantly, August gives us the breaking story about the soon to be released app, YOWZA!!, and how it will change the way you shop and use your iPhone.

Listen to how August met Greg Grunberg (Matt Parkman on Heroes) on Twitter, and joined forces with Rick Yaeger from MacMerc, to create a whole new business model for an iPhone app, and how they have tackled the problems of turning your iPhone into a money-saving shopping tool! And it’s going to be FREE!

Here is a little taste from Greg himself.

Enjoy!

You can check out August’s digital book, Optimizing Your Website for Mobile Safari on your Kindle from Amazon, or buy it in PDF format here.

Picture dialing for your contacts, with the ability to phone, message or send an email.

Word Flow is a fantastic game with a refreshing and novel concept. It is unlike any other word game available in the app store. Good graphics, smooth gameplay, and a high replay value all contribute to a rewarding experience. At a $0.99, this game is a steal.

eReader is a electronic book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch. While there are other alternatives, some free and some not, eReader works well, is reliable, and makes reading a joy on the iPhone and iPod Touch.