There's a chance that over the last few days you've picked up a new iPhone, what with all the sales that have been going on thanks to Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. And there's also a good chance that you've got some questions that you'd like to get answered. And that's what we're here for.
So we've broken up some of the biggest questions you might have and tried to answer them the best we can. Obviously if there's anything else you'd like to know, stick your questions in the comments section at the bottom of the article and we will use all of our accumulated knowledge to answer them.
Today, Health o Meter nuyu has announced a series of health and fitness-related products, including the aforementioned activity monitor along with a wireless scale. All at a decent pricepoint, no less.
Gaijin Games, the development house behind the BIT.TRIP series, has just undergone a formal name change and now goes by Choice Provisions.
According to its blog, the studio changed the name to avoid any negative connotations associated with the former name. All existing games will continue to be marketed with the legacy name.
Choice Provisions also announced a new, upcoming game for iOS called Tharsis.
Tharsis is a game of tiny decisions with huge consequences. It uses regular six-sided dice to model emergencies, repairs, research, collaboration, futility, and the madness that can only be achieved three days from the red planet with low air, no supplies, and an electrical fire in the greenhouse. Oh, and if you run out of food, you've agreed to eat Zach Gage.
FairPlay Media has launched a game based on everyone's favorite improvising crime-solver from the 8-s: MacGyver! In MacGyver Deadly Descent, players make a descent into a labyrinth of deadly puzzles in a laboratory that's quickly running out of air. They will have to act quickly and solve a variety of puzzles to save the day.
MacGyver Deadly Descent is available now for $2.99, with proceeds from sales of the game going toward the MacGyver Foundation, which "aims to encourage and support individuals and organizations throughout the world who utilize self-reliance, non-violence, and sustainability to improve people’s lives."
Sega has announced their new game, Dragon Coins. This takes the coin-collecting gameplay popularized by titles such as Coin Dozer and mixes it with RPG battling. The coins that players drop onto a pile to try and collect go toward charging attacks to take out enemies, with upgrades for being a better battler. And of course, dragons are all throughout the game, because who doesn't love dragons?
Simple games with an addicting mechanic are all the rage lately (I'm looking at you, Flappy Bird), and a new game by the name of Jump! Chump! hopes to join the ranks among those games that really strike a chord with iOS users. Hilariously, Jump! Chump!'s list of features - according to its App Store page - are simply listed as Jumping, Chumping, and Online leaderboards. It sounds like a simple game, that's for sure.
But alas, the game is being met with great reviews. Essentially, you're given two characters - one for the top half of the screen and one for the bottom half (named "Jump" and "Chump," respectively). Enemies comes at you quickly from both directions and it's your job to jump and chump your way to a high score, avoiding death as long as possible.
Interested? You can grab "Jump! Chump!" on the App Store for free.
iPhone App - Designed for iPhone, compatible with iPad
I love it when I find an app that's just absolutely stunning to look at, and that's the case with Steller; I don't even need to use it to enjoy using it. This new app takes sharing photos on social media to the next level by letting you put groups of photos and videos together, annotate them with text, and share them as beautiful - flat designed - storybooks.
The app has many great features, including the ability to group your storybooks into collections that others can follow, the ability to discover other stories that have been published amongst a wide variety of topics, and the ability to republish stories you find in the app to your own collection. Finally, Steller lets you share the stories you make via many outlets including social networks, email, SMS, blogs, and websites.
Child-friendly apps are always of a premium, and games that help shape admirable behavior are even more desireable. Development house If You Can is introducing a new app called IF ..., which looks to help kids get a hold of that which is sometimes hard to control: their emotions.
The process is framed as a role-playing adventure. Through various interactions in different social situations, the player gets to explore responses to said situations. The first chapter is free, and the developer promises more levels are on the way. IF ... promises nice graphics, surprises, and simple sequences.
IF ... is currently available for free in the App Store.
Happy Holidays! If you're like many folks, you'll have gotten a new iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch this holiday season. And if you're looking for a place to learn all about this new magical device in your life, you've come to the right place. 148Apps has tons of resources on using your new device and filling it with the best thing about it: apps.
Learning The Basics
The operating system of these devices is one of the most intuitive around. However, there's always more waiting under the hood to make things just that much easier or better on us. While your new iPhone or iPad may not come with a manual, you can download one fairly simply from the iBooks Store. First, grab [appinline:364709193,"iBooks"], then grab the manual for your new iPad, iPhone, or
iPod touch.
Speaking of the operating system, we've written a few articles about the latest and greatest from Cupertino right here on 148Apps. Check out our Full Feature Roundup on iOS 5.
We even published some downloadable magazine-style User Guides last year, on each of the devices. Feel free to grab them and read through them - many of the tips and tricks included there are just as relevant today as they were then. iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
To the iCloud!!!
You may have seen some of the information about iCloud in the Apple TV commercials. It's a great system that gives you unprecedented storage and sharing options. Here's a short intro to iCloud from Apple.
We've got you covered with iCloud as well. Here's information on both moving your data to the iCloud to help keep things synced and backed up. You may also need more information on how you set up iCloud in a multiple user family. This details all the ins and outs of multiple user groups who may otherwise share iTunes accounts.
There Really is an App for That
Once you've got a good handle on using that sleek new iOS device, you'll of course want to dive in and start downloading apps. Whether you're an avid gamer, a music lover, a book reader or even (gasp) all three, you'll find everything you need in the iTunes Store.
When it comes to Apps, iOS has no peer. There are over 500,000 apps in the App Store, so you'll doubtlessly find something you like. The trick, however, is filtering through all of those apps to find the specific things you want. That can be tricky, but luckily there are many ways to help.
First off are our very own reviews. We review a ton of apps weekly to give you the best recommendations about the best apps we find. Be sure to look through our Reviews lists, which can be filtered by type of app as well as sorted by date, app name, or app rating. If you just want to read reviews of our highest rated iPad games, for example, it's an easy click. And for on the go browsing of 148Apps reviews, grab the [appinline: 444792529,"148Apps App"].
In addition, we have our famous Price Drops lists, which can be sorted to just show the latest drops in prices, or even just the latest FREE apps. Very handy, if we say so ourselves. If you're looking for the very latest additions to the App Store, we have a list for that, as well as one for the Top Apps across all the App Store categories for each device. Then of course there's always the very best of the best in free apps available in the free games and free apps lists.
If you want even more app discovering goodness, you might want to check out a few apps made to help you wade through the App Store. Some of our favorites are [appinline:387037496,"AppShopper"], [appinline:348286549,"Chomp"], and [appinline: 383151779,"AppZapp"]. There are even specific apps to help you find the latest free apps. Some of the best include [appinline:348650932,"Free App A Day"], [appinline: 470693788,"Apps Gone Free"], and [appinline:484505841, "Free App Alliance"]. These will all help you sort and find and browse apps and games to your heart's content; we use them all the time to find new great apps to use and write about on the site.
Where Else To Find 148Apps?
We're everywhere, really. However, the best places to find us are on Twitter, Facebook, and now even Google+. Be sure to come visit and chat with us there. We're ever so responsive.
Free Apps You Shouldn't Do Without
Now, we wouldn't be the premier Apps review site without some sort of parting gift, now would we? How about some apps you really should try out? To make the deal even sweeter, let's make them free apps.
iBooks, Nook, & Kindle - Reading ebooks is all the rage these days, especially on these fancy new iOS devices. We love reading on our iPad, and have even been known to crack a virtual spine or two on our iPhone while waiting at the doctor's office. For those of you with shorter attention spans, there's always Newsstand, iOS's magazine subscription service. Some of the best ereader apps include [appinline:364709193,"iBooks"], [appinline:384910586,"Nook for iPhone"], [appinline:373582546,"Nook for iPad"], and [appinline:302584613,"Kindle"]. Happy reading!
Facebook, Twitter, & Instant Messaging - Keep in touch with family, friends, and us - your favorite Apps website - with these free social networking apps. Tell 'em 148Apps sent you!
There's [appinline:284882215], [appinline:333903271] though [appinline: 428851691,"Tweetbot"] is much better, though not free like the official Twitter app.
For instant messaging, check out [appinline:336435697,"imo"] and [appinline:405179691,"imo for iPad"]. And don't forget [appinline: 304878510,"Skype"] and [appinline: 442012681,"Skype for iPad"]. We've become big fans of [appinline: 392796698 ,"GroupMe"] lately too for group communication.
Gaming on the Cheap - Now, we put out a sweet weekly article that tells you about the latest FREE gaming apps, but here are a few we think you won't want to miss. We could go on for hours about it, really, but these should get you off to a good start.
For a great free endless runner, check out [appinline:420009108,"Temple Run"]. A wonderful game. For some great physics puzzle fun, the new king is [appinline:467810884,"Where's My Water? Free"] and you can never go wrong with the classic [appinline:409807569,"Angry Birds Free"]. A couple other free games we really like include [appinline:466965151,"The Sims Freeplay"] and [appinline:422667065,"TinyTower"].
You should also check out our massive iOS game and app sale post. There are tons of great deals and quite a few temporarily free apps there. Be sure to grab the great [appinline: 457446957,"Jetpack Joyride"] while it's free. It's one of our favorite games of the year.
We hope you've enjoyed learning about your new magical iOS devices. The iPad, iPhone and iPod touch are some of the best new gadgets to give or receive. Be sure to come back often to see what we have for you; we're always looking to find the news or apps you want to know about first. From all of us here to all of you out there, Happy Holidays!!!
If you’ve ever had the urge to push someone down a flight of stairs but didn’t want to deal with the legal proceedings that follow, Stair Dismount is for you.
The physics-based game from Secret Exit, the studio that created Zen Bound, has just been updated as a universal app meaning that it now runs natively on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
Available for $0.99 on the App Store, the iPad version features a user interface optimized for the device which includes contextual menus and more detailed textures. Snapshots of your dismounts, which are a little gruesome but make up an integral part of the game, are also of higher quality when taken on the iPad.
For ragdoll physics and laughs aplenty, this is a must-have app for users of all iDevices.
I just received these on Twitter a few minutes ago, from Jonah Grant. He assures me he has had confirmation from Loren himself that screenshots of the new upcoming app are okay to be leaked, due to the cat already being out of the bag. So, here goes nothing! ..
All in all there are 11 shots in this batch, a few of which depict more of what we can expect from the update. Most noticeably I think, is the fact that Tweetie's 'Nearby' feature is now in fact an interactive map of nearby users. From the shot we can tell that the UI is not too dissimilar to Loopt, and you can switch from 'Map' to 'List' view.
You'll also see they depict a new way to refresh your timeline. From the shots it suggests that you pull a 'panel' down from the top of Tweetie 2, and release to refresh - Pretty neat implementation I have to say. Now whether or not Tweetie will have a 'Automatic' refresh option is yet to be seen, but I know you guys sure want it, looking at my replies tab on Twitter.
Update: Tweet update... "Automatic" refresh will be included.
Update 2: This morning I asked Loren of behalf of all of you, that burning question; Would Tweetie 2 bring with it Push Notifications? Below is his response via a few DMs:
"Not in 2.0. It's impossible to pull off reliably on the scale of users Tweetie has. I recommend Boxcar for now. (but there is some exciting stuff coming down the pipe ;)"
I've attached the rest of the shots after the break for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!
So Apple had a big day yesterday announcing new computers, the new iPhone 3G S, and of course the long awaited software upgrade to 3.0 with Copy & Paste, MMS, and the new Video Recorder (3G S only). As great as these features are though, I think they’ve completely over shadowed some other great additions, many of which, on a daily basis are going to be far more useful than being able to receive that picture message of my parents dog in a pig costume, scary...I know. I’ve gone through all of the information I could find directly from Apple’s website (these aren’t rumors) and pooled together some of the new features that have slipped through the cracks.
iDisk MobileMe got some major revision with the “Locate My Phone” feature and the “Remote whipe” but there is also a free application coming out called iDisk. Yup, you will now be able to remotely view you iDisk content straight from your phone, sorry MobileDisk and Air Sharing Pro. An added bonus is that through this app you can send a direct link to any file on your iDisk via e-mail so that anyone you like can view it, this is especially useful for content that is just too large to be sent through an e-mail itself.
Contact Syncing More good news for MobileMe and Exchange users are the new advances in over the air contact and calendar syncing. Right now turning on syncing from a cloud to a phone will erase all information currently on the phone and replace it with the new info. With 3.0 though users will get the choice between erasing, merging all data, or creating separate profiles.
Apple also states that on top of MoibleMe and Exchange the phone will be able to sync contacts and calendars from Yahoo!, Google, iCal, and Microsoft Outlook. At this point it’s unclear if these are going to be new over the air features or more likely ones that need to be synced through iTunes. We do know though that you’ll be able to add subscription based calendars directly from the phone over the air, this is great for some one like me who needs an alert every time the Cubs are going to play a game or Special Holidays are coming up.
There are 2,869 apps in the US App Store. None of them have had quite the anticipation behind them as Spore Origins has. It's available now, grab it here at the iTunes App Store. We'll have a review and more info in a couple days.
