SearchIt is a free app that streamlines searching on the iPhone. While it’s not for everyone, it’s one of the better search apps out there.

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Touch Pets Dogs is a freemium pet sim that boasts a surprising amount of depth. It’s not meant to played constantly, and the need for an internet connection is annoying, but ngmoco has still created a solid game that should delight puppy-lovers…now if only food took longer to digest.

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The first title from Game Jam hits the app store and makes a good first impression. Simple and Pretty, somewhat shallow and buggy right now, but definitely compelling.

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Origin8 Announces ‘Sentinel: Mars Defense’ FREE for a Week

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!

Boxcar is a nearly-flawless notification app for Facebook, email, and Twitter, and I love. What else is there to say?

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Word Ace is essentially a mash-up of Texas Hold ‘Em and Scrabble. It’s free, it’s fun, and the online play is great; all you could ask for is a better offline option and this game would be golden. Still, it’s definitely worth your time!

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Thoughts on In-App-Purchasing For Free Apps

With the announcement last week that Apple would allow In-App Purchasing (IAP) for free apps, we wondered what will really change in the App Store. Obviously right now this is a theoretical exercise as, so far, very little has changed. We’ve seen a couple apps that were previously paid switch to free, and at least one high profile app released as free with IAP.

We talked to a few users and a few developers to get their take on what this could mean for the future of the iPhone App Store.

This new app type, free but with In-App Purchasing has quickly been nicknamed free+. There are some really great things about it, and some really bad things about it. Let’s break this down into what’s good and what’s bad for developers and consumers.

Good for Developers

There are lots of really good things to like about this decision for developers and they are almost uniformly happy with the decision. We asked Kyu Lee of Gamevil for his thoughts, “In-app purchasing for free apps is a huge step for Apple, and it really shows how much they are willing to adjust to the developers/publishers needs. Apple was first to adopt in-app purchases, and now first to adopt in-app purchases for free games. We strongly believe the next steps would be introducing microtransactions that are lower than 99c or the ability to use an intermediate currency within the game. We believe that Apple should provide as many options available to the developer/publisher as possible as long as it enhances the customer’s experience, and we’re very excited about what the tracks they’ve been following so far.”

For some types of apps it makes the developers job a lot easier and potentially more profitable. Then there’s the added bonus of making piracy much harder with apps that include in-app purchasing.

More Income Options

With in-app purchasing there are many more income possibilities for developers. Not only can they sell expansions to their app from within the app, but they can also sell subscriptions, upgrades, and virtual goods (think MMO apps). Doing in-app purchasing allows for the impulse buy. For example, the recently detailed Eliminate from ngmoco:) will feature a certain amount of time you can play per day while advancing your stats. If you are really getting into the game and you run out of time you are pretty likely to drop a buck and buy more time. Maybe just once, maybe a few times. Depends on how compelling the app is. Think of this as the candy racks at the grocery store checkout. You are standing there looking at it, a certain number of people will decide to buy.

In addition to more options, income opportunity is spread out for a much longer time. The way it is now most apps that make it to the top 100 do so quickly, then fall off quickly. This little spike represents a very high percentage of their sales. Sales after that are usually tied to an upgrade, press, or other such promotion. IAP allows for longer term income opportunities for developers as they can add content to the app and charge for it over a longer period of time. In addition, you can continue to get money from the dedicated users more than just once like most current apps.

Continue reading Thoughts on In-App-Purchasing For Free Apps »

Ngmoco takes full advantage of Apple’s reversal on DLC in free apps with Eliminate and Rolando 2: Chapter 1

Ngmoco will take advantage of Apple’s reversal in decision on allowing DLC in free apps, and they will probably be among the first to do so.

First, In conjunction with Apple’s announcement, Ngmoco announced that they will be making their upcoming FPS Eliminate free. The main draw of Eliminate is the thorough online component, with 4-player death match over Wifi or 3G. In the game, you have a certain amount of “energy.” While you are energized, playing online earns you credits, which improve your online ranking and can be used to buy upgrades and armor. However, your energy runs out after a few online matches, and while you can still play online while de-energized, you won’t earn credits. You can simply wait a certain amount of time (this has not been announced yet, but think somewhere from 1-2 hours), after which your energy will be refilled, or if you’re really cutthroat, you can purchase more energy using DLC. This is the only as yet confirmed use of DLC in the game; upgrades and armor will still be bought exclusively using game credits, though extra maps may be available for purchase.

Overall, this looks to be a brilliant move on ngmoco:)’s part. I would be shocked if the game does not quickly climb the App Store charts and reach #1 on the top free games list. This popularity will ensure a huge online community, and there will likely rarely be a waiting time for a match. The downside, of course, is the stress on ngmoco:)’s servers, but with their infrastructure, I imagine they’ll be able to handle it. Within the online community, there will almost certainly be an ultra-competitive subsection who will frequently purchase more energy, and this is how ngmoco:) plans to make money.

For more information on Eliminate, see our preview. The game was submitted to Apple about a week ago, and this new development will not affect its release.

In addition, ngmoco has just released a free version of the incredible Rolando 2. This free version includes chapter 1 of the saga, and essentially serves as a lite version of the game with the full version built in. After finishing chapter 1, you can purchase additional chapters for $.99, with the exception of the last two chapters, which come bundled together for $1.99. Strangely, the total price of all the DLC is $4.98, making it cheaper than the standalone version of Rolando 2 which retails at $5.99. With Apple’s former restrictions lifted, these “hybrid” lite versions could become commonplace.

The Idiot Test 3 Hits Half A Million Downloads!

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 painfully easy – 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!

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.

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Aha Mobile Launches Traffic Warning / Bitching App

Update 8/20/2009: Aha sent us a note to let us know that in addition to SF, LA, and San Diego, the app also now works in DC, Dallas, Seattle, San Antonio, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach. More cities means more venting!

Aha has launched a rather nice traffic monitoring app for the iPhone. Finally an app with a well thought out user interface for distracted drivers. Large, clear buttons, easy to read and understand.

Aha allows you to see at a glance the travel times for your usual routes allowing you to quickly pick the best option. In addition, if you are in need of a quick caffeine hit, you can see nearby coffee shops and gas stations as you travel.

Aha also includes some interesting voice features. You can report on traffic incidents near you and listen to reports from other users and from a robot reading all of the traffic reports. There’s also a room you can listen and publish voice messages bitching about traffic and bad drivers. A welcome vent when stuck in traffic. Bitching about bad drivers, now there’s an app for that.

Aha is available now and it’s free. It currently covers the San Francisco, LA, and San Diego areas.

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.

Monday Morning App HQ

Random Musings of the App Store

More stupidity from Sony

An interesting article over at PocketGamer this week reveals some measures Sony has been taking to combat Apple’s wildly successful (but far from perfect) App Store and to make their virtual download service, the PSN, more appealing for both consumers and developers. Sony might be doing fine with consumers, as the reported top limit of 5 euros is less than the App Store imaginary limit of $9.99, so if consumers managed to stomach the outrageous price of $250 for the PSPgo, they should be pleasantly surprised with the game pricing. The question is, however, will there be any games worth buying. The upper limit of 5 euros is simply awful for developers. For any quality games that are worth buying to a consumer, the volume of sales just needed to break even is immense. This is one of the biggest problems of the App Store, but it has managed to get away with it – for now – because of the huge reach of the store – there are simply a massive amount of consumers who are willing to buy a lot of games. I can’t imagine the PSPgo will sell as many units as the iPhone and iPod Touch combined, so I can’t imagine how hard it will be for developers to turn a worthwhile profit. Just ask the Google Android – the entire Android store probably has seen less downloads than any of about 500 iPhone apps. To make matters worse though, Sony is taking huge control over the games, requiring a two week QA test and regulating release dates, further discouraging indie development. Sure, most people don’t see the iPhone in the same light for gaming as the PSP (though I could recommend you a couple of titles that might change your mind), but with the new insanely powerful iPhone 3GS and help like this from Sony, Apple might just eat away at Sony’s share of the portable gaming world.

Snood arrives in the App Store

Last night, Snood, a classic PC/Mac Bust-a-Move clone, was released by EA into the App Store. Despite some strange Facebook requirements, a quirky landscape interface (the game is played entirely in portrait view), and the fact that it’s an EA port, Snood has made it to the iPhone in all its highly addictive goodness… with online multiplayer nonetheless! Best of all, there’s not even a stupid cross-over promotional Pocket God pygmy in sight! A friendly warning: I lost many hours of productivity on this game back in the day. I’ve not spent enough time with the game (ok, basically none) to give it a recommendation, but we’ll try to have an official 148apps patent-pending review up soon (or not…I didn’t get that checked out with our editor, Chris. He might have some sort of strange anti-Snood bias).

App Store Fire Sale

It seems that in the App Store lately, everything must go! Developers have been slashing their prices to new lows, some even making their games free for a limited time. Rather than typing more, I thought I’d let our fancy boxes do the talking, so here are some notable price drops:

(Full disclaimer: I really don’t like NFL 2010)

This week’s sign of the apocalypse

The game Ricky is currently sitting at the number 33 spot in the App Store. The description tells me that if I like Super Mario Bros, then “surely I will like Ricky.” Well Ricky, the only thing I’m surly about is your game. Ricky is a blatant Mario rip-off (ported horribly I might add). The hills have eyes, the main character is an italian plumber, and oh yeah, the icon is the 1up mushroom. Really Apple, you saw no possible copyright infringement going on. It just makes you wonder how apps like this get through while quality games like iMech and A.D.D. are held up in the approval purgatory for months.

Apps of the Week

This week was a great game week, and while I was hoping Duke Nukem 3D would hold a spot on this list, unfortunately the controls are among the worst I’ve seen for a big title on the iPhone. Nevertheless, a duo of great games, one new, one old, made my list for the apps of the week.

Spider: the Secret of Bryce Manor

Spider is simply a work of art. The main gameplay, spinning webs to catch and eat bugs, is very compelling, especially with fantastic touch controls, but what makes Spider truly great is the multi-faceted story. The story is a human one that rivals many novels, but it is told through subtle clues found throughout levels. Items of seemingly little consequence can fill in a crucial missing piece. To top things off, Spider comes with many secret area to levels plus a secret room that it will take a true adventurer to unlock.

Civilization Revolution
Earlier in this article, I mentioned the addictive nature of Snood, but that is nowhere as addictive as the classic turn-based empire building game Civilization. Once I start a game of Civilization, I literally am not capable of doing anything else until I’ve finished the game. The iPhone version is slightly watered down, making it more accessible to newcomers, and it does have some interface/control issues (no performance issues over here on my iPhone 3G), but it’s still Civilization, and it’s still awesome.

That’s it for this edition of MMAHQ. Next week, I hope to have some super secret exclusive content for you all that I’ve been working (or should I say waiting) on. Enjoy your week!

I think we need more pinball games in the app store. When they are done right they are such a treat. WildWest has some pinball-tastic game play and at that price you have to get it, seriously – Now!

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The B&N eReader is a fantastic piece of software that is far superior to Amazon’s Kindle for iPhone app. But without a killer piece of e-ink hardware, B&N’s app might not be widely adopted…yet. Regardless, I’m ecstatic that there’s a new player in the ebook field, especially since this is the best eReader app I’ve seen so far!

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What you can accomplish with Evernote will vary depending on your needs. Because the application is so flexible the application can do more than you can initially anticipate. As this is the case you will feel as if you’re not getting 100% out of the application until you’ve used it for a while.

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Ordering a pizza has never been so easy!

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If you’re looking for fun and interesting ways to come by new drinks then you should pop out your wallet and pay for a drink because there isn’t a sweeter tasting chaser than a price like free.

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TweetDeck for the iPhone is definitely designed to be a companion to the desktop, everything feels similar and the usability comes easy because of the similarity.

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Daylite Touch, from Marketcircle, is an incredible tool for people who need serious task management on the iPhone. The app ties in with Daylite and requires Daylite Server to enable syncing over a LAN or a true server environment.

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A puzzle game described by them as a mind twister. I agree, it is a mind twister, but perhaps too much so, making it less fun then it should be. Ouch.

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This handy little utility lets you transfer pictures and/or contacts to other iPod Touch or iPhones over a shared wifi network with a simple swipe of the screen. Free goodness!

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The Public Radio Tuner is a streamlined way to play public radio stations on your iPhone or iPod Touch. Plus, you can choose from a library of dozens upon dozens of stations—so what are you waiting for?

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FMyLife.com, the website that has started a global craze, has finally come out with an iPhone app. It’s not pretty, or quite as featured as the fmylife website, but the app does the the trick of getting you all your favorite FML posts for free, wherever you are.

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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.

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This somewhat overhyped location-based coupon application has a fantastic, forward-thinking concept. Unfortunately it doesn’t have much to offer users at the current time.

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Although limited in its feature set, this free app from Directv allows you to set your DVR to record programs on the fly. And it works!

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Cisco Edge Quest 2 is a very short, but well done racing game in which you guide a router along a data stream to insure fast and reliable networks. While the game is a promotional vehicle, the advertising is unobtrusive and the overall experience is good.

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I thought that the notion of a Mafia app with a cutesy pet theme sounded pretty dull—until I tried it. Epic Pet Wars is a quick, free, mindless MMO that’ll bring out the animal abuser in all of us.

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TechCrunch is a tech-centric blog network, and their offline reader promises to deliver all of their content in a quick, convenient package. While it’s pretty enough to look at, and has plenty of features, the reader is just too crash-prone to justify consistent use.

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