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This week at 148Apps.com was all about the red, white, and blue as we celebrated the 4th of July. Writer Lisa Caplan contributed to the festivities with her list of Favorite Four apps for Independence Day. She writes, "It’s July 4th, so we hope most Americans are out celebrating and reading this on an iPhone or iPad or between activities. But if you are still looking for apps to help make the day even better, we’ve rounded up four of our favorties that commemorate everything from US History to the traditional BBQ for you here."

See Lisa's complete list at 148Apps.com.

GiggleApps stayed on a vacation theme with its review of Miny Moe Car. Reviewer Amy Solomon says, "Miny Moe Car is a charming and fun simulated driving app that toddlers and children in preschool will enjoy. I have always been a fan of this type of toy, both as an arcade game as well as a simple children’s plaything. I remember when my son was just a year old, I bought him the most realistic driver I could find – a toy he still enjoys today. A search on iTunes will find a few applications of this type that mostly show a POV from the driver’s seat of a car or other vehicle. This is also the case for this application which does a really nice job of recreating the driving experience for toddlers."

Read Amy's complete review on GiggleApps.com.

And finally at 148Apps.biz, Carter Dotson reported on a new study revealing the iPad as the number one gaming platform. Dotson writes, "Tablets and phones are vastly different devices. This seems obvious, but in reality, they really aren’t: the difference between the iPhone 4S and the iPad 2 is basically different sized screens. However, the way that users, especially gamers, use the two devices is still dramatically different, according to PlayFirst, via Pocket Gamer. Tablet users are playing more games than phone users are, and they’re spending more on games."

Read the full report at 148Apps.biz.

That's the end of this week's happenings, but there's always more news, reviews and contests headed your way across the 148Apps network. Just follow us on Twitter or Like us on Facebook to keep track of all the goings-on. Until next week, enjoy the fireworks!

There is nothing more frustrating that having the plot of a show spoiled, thanks to some oversharing fan on twitter.  That said, some people love to see the realtime reactions of social media during their favorite shows.  The invention of DVR and video streaming services complicates matters even further, because now consumers can watch whatever they want, whenever they want.

For those that like the best of television on demand and social media, there is a new indispensable application that must be added to your arsenal: Sidecastr.  This innovative tool allows you to follow what happened in the twitterverse, almost as if it were on taped delay.  Using the internal iPad microphone to determine where the viewer is, Sidecastr syncs up the world's reactions, like they were watching the program right along with you.

The best part is that this awesome new app is available at no charge.  So what are you waiting for?  Take it out for a test spin and let us know what you think.

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Taptu, the social news reader for the iPhone and iPad (also known as the service "DJ-ing the news") has expanded its service to be usable on any browser. The new HTML5 Taptu app will let users create and share their personal Taptu streams just like they can on their iOS devices.

Even if a user has Taptu on both iOS devices and wants to view it on the web, all of those streams will be synced across every device. Taptu even has plans to update the service with a mobile web app so that nearly any mobile user can be in sync with the Taptu service on nearly any device.

In an update to both the iOS, Android, and new web platforms, Taptu has added the ability for users to create a stream based on a search term. So if a user wants to keep up on "Justin Beiber" news, they can make a stream for that.

Taptu is a social news reader app that aggregates all of a users important streams (like Facebook, Twitter, RSS feeds, and more) into one, visually focused app. Like most news readers, users can save articles to read for later on their favorite services (like Instapaper and Pocket).

Taptu is a free, universal app.

This week at 148Apps.com, writer Carter Dotson explored all things Zombie with his Favorite Four list. He writes, "May is Zombie Awareness Month. While pop culture seems intent on making us aware of zombies on a regular basis, this is the special month for zombies. May is almost over, but that doesn’t mean there’s not just enough time left to celebrate with some zombie-themed apps."

Read Carter's full list at 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, everything over at GiggleApps got dotty, as Amy Solomon reviewed Dot Collector, saying, "Dot Collector is a very nice universal app for the youngest children with simple game play, wonderfully bright colors and soothing sounds that babies will enjoy. This app is utterly intuitive to use as players need to simply drag moving dots into a black dot, clearing the board. A new dot is added to each additional level, adding to the game play."

Read Amy's review at kid-centric GiggleApps.com.

Finally, Kevin Stout on 148Apps.biz reported on the increasing numbers of young children using smartphones. Stout writes, "There’s no such thing as to young when it comes to smartphones and tablets. When keeping in mind the younger audiences when developing apps, even the youngest of children have a high percentage of exposure to mobile devices. An infographic released by Schools.com has reported that 38% of 0-8 year-olds have used tablets or smartphones."

Read the complete report at 148Apps.biz.

That't it for this Memorial Day week. Summer's here, so keep your eyes on 148Apps.com, our Twitter and Facebook feeds to make sure you get the latest app news, reviews and contests. See you next week, tovarish!

There's a new social networking app vying for everyone's attention. It's called Manifest and it's all about showing people what's cool or not. Think of it as similar to the Facebook "like" button but with the potential to show what's trending.

All the user has to do is take a photo of whatever they see and class it as either "cool" or "dumb." They can then share it with their followers and friends either through the app or via Facebook and Twitter.

It sounds incredibly simple, mostly because it is, but it's got some fun potential. Users can browse globally or locally meaning they can check out what's trending near them. For tourists, it could prove a great way of checking out what's cool near them. For everyone else, it's still a fun way of seeing what's going on nearby and what deserves giving a miss.

Manifest is out now and it's free to use.

This week at 148Apps.com, Kevin Stout examined the question more than a few of us are asking: Why won't Nintendo release any games for iOS? Stout writes, "Nintendo recently reported its first annual loss, showing that perhaps 3DS isn’t enough of a success. Nintendo hasn’t even released its legacy games on mobile platforms where others like Sega have (Sonic the Hedgehog). While current CEO of Nintendo, Satoru Iwata, is in charge, it’s unlikely that Nintendo will acknowledge its mistake. When asked about releasing Nintendo games for smartphones, Iwata replied, “This is absolutely not under consideration. If we did this, Nintendo would cease to be Nintendo….”'

Read Stout's full commentary and analysis at 148Apps.

Meanwhile, Amy Solomon at GiggleApps took a look at a new Marvel Avengers app for kids: Avengers Origins: Assemble! is a very enjoyable universal interactive storybook that tells the tale of how The Avengers became a cohesive group after meeting Captain America. I really enjoy how these characters are introduced, making this a great primer for children new to Marvel comics. Interactive moments are included throughout that children will also enjoy such as dragging the tools used by each Avenger to their rightful owner."

Read Amy's full review at GiggleApps.

Last, but certainly not least, 148Apps.biz writer Carter Dotson reported on results from a recent MocoSpace study: "MocoSpace has announced the results of their new “Y U Play?” study that tries to answer the question of just why people play mobile games, anyway? The answer for the majority of people appears to be just pure entertainment. 34% of people like to play mobile games because “the games are fun,” and 32% do it because they are bored, or want to kill time."

Read more about the fascinating study at 148Apps.biz.

That's the week that was. Keep up with all of the latest news, reviews, trends and contests by following us on Twitter or liking us on Facebook. Have a great weekend - and we'll see you in seven days!

Twitpic has provided many regular Twitter users the means by which they can share images alongside their text-based tweets. Now there's a whole app devoted to the wonders of Twitpic.

The app, cleverly called Twitpic, is very similar to Instagram but more tightly integrated with Twitter. Users can easily share their photos and videos with other followers, while also applying filters if they so wish. Other editing options such as cropping, orientation and adjusting brightness are also included. Other sharing comes in the form of being able to view photo timelines from people the user follows, as well as checking out the most popular Twitpic users.

It is all very much like Instagram but with the huge amount of Twitter users out there, it should form a great new place to check out the latest images of the world.

Twitpic is out now and it's free to download.

This week at 148Apps.com, two great new apps for kids were featured: AutisMate and Ruckus Reader. Writer Jennifer Allen had this to say about AutisMate: "AutisMate was designed by Jonathan Izak, someone whose younger brother and first cousin who have autism. It allows users to add their own pictures, videos and voice recordings to the app in order to create scenes that help promote positive interactions."

Kevin Stout contributed the following about Ruckus Reader: "When a child is in possession of a device as versatile as an iPad, it could be just as distracting as it is productive. A new series of apps by Ruckus, Ruckus Reader, has been released that help parents keep track of their children’s progress through Ruckus Reader books."

Read more about AutisMate here and about Ruckus Reader here.

Meanwhile, at GiggleApps.com, Amy Solomon was investigating the hidden joys of Smash Your Food HD, "Smash Your Food HD is a highly entertaining app for iPad dedicated to the better understanding of the amounts of sugar, salt and oil found within foods that are commonly eaten. With five levels included, players are asked to determine the amounts of these substances by reviewing the nutritional facts of each food in question and then watching as these foods get pulverized – much to the delight of children."

Read more about Smash Your Food HD at GiggleApps.

And last, but certainly not least, 148Apps.biz writer Kevin Stout reported on Apple's recent change in policy regarding iAd revenues: "Before April 1st, developers earned 60% of the iAd revenue they generated within iAd-supported apps. Now developers will receive 70% of iAd revenues, according to Apple’s Developer Center. Developers will now receive this higher percentage for both app download and iAd revenues. This is likely to be a rather large boost in income for developers that use iAd as their primary source of revenue for their free apps."

Read more about this change at 148Apps.biz..

And, to paraphrase Cronkite, that's the way it was. Keep track of all the latest happenings across the iOS and mobile universe by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook. You'll be glad you did. Until next time, watch out for the hoary hosts of Hoggoth!

Bubbly, a popular micro-blogging service in Asia, is now a global service and was released in the U.S. App Store on April 11th. Unlike Twitter and its 140 character limit, Bubbly users have the option of posting audio or text updates. The service includes “like” and commenting features similar to Facebook.

Voice posts are the driving feature of Bubbly. Users are encouraged to use the audio option when posting to convey the emotion and feeling behind what they’d like to say. I’ve grown particularly accustomed to the fact that sarcasm and irony aren’t always apparent in a text-only platform. Something like Bubbly remedies that confusion.

The service has a strange in-app purchase option. To unlock access to celebrity Bubbly-ers (Bubblers?...Bubbly users), users must pay $2.99 as an in-app purchase. I’m not sure any other service has ever done something like this. I’m trying to imagine Twitter being free, but needing to pay for popular users.

Bubbly has reached 16 million users (1 million just in the last month). On average, users post three times per day and 75% of that content are audio posts. Bubbly is a free service (except for the in-app purchase for premium user access) and the app is available to download for free.

This week at 148Apps.com, everything was hopping in celebration of Easter weekend. We started with Jennifer Allen's Five for Friday feature, showcasing an array of Easter-themed apps. Allen writes, "Happy Easter folks. No matter how you may celebrate it, and whether you do or not, we’ve got some fun Easter themed apps and games to cover in this week’s Five For Friday. Much like the event itself, the apps are a little geared towards families but there’s still fun to be had for all."

Read the overview of all five apps on 148Apps.com.

Jennifer Allen has also compiled a comprehensive list of apps on sale this Easter weekend. Grab 'em while they are cheap! Read the full list at 148Apps.com.

Meanwhile, Amy Solomon from GiggleApps reviewed a new interactive children's book - Nedi the Yeti. Solomon says, "Nedi the Yeti would make a great first app for babies and toddlers as the animals are friendly looking and engaging as well as not so well hidden that children of all ages could not find these creatures with ease, as a drag of a finger will coax these animals from their hiding places and a tap will trigger a speech bubble and a fun animal sound, be it either cartoony or realistic as is the case of the included bird or owl sounds found within."

Read the rest of the review at GiggleApps.

Finally, 148Apps.biz writer Kevin Stout explored ways for developers to acquire new users for their apps. Stout says, "Getting recognition and acquiring new users for mobile apps has gotten harder and harder as the app ecosystem has grown. This week, at the VentureBeat Mobile Summit 2012, strategy was discussed about the rising cost of user acquisition by three people close to the issue: Gabriel Leydon, chief executive of Machine Zone (free MMO developer of iMob and Original Gangstaz), Maria Alegre, CEO of Chartboost (app promotion solution), and Chris Akhavan, VP and GM of Strategic Partnerships at Tapjoy (app discovery and sharing platform)."

Read more about the VentureBeat Mobile Summit at 148Apps.biz.

Thanks for another great week! If you want to keep track of the latest reviews, news and contests, there's a great way to do it - just follow us on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. It's just that easy - promise! See you next week, law-abiding citizen!

It is funny how once someone cracks midlife, suddenly their calendar becomes a constant companion.  Thankfully the age of smartphone has made keeping track of life's goings-on so much easier. But what if you were a person that wanted to share meetings, events and plans with others?  Thankfully the tool UpTo can help bring the worlds of scheduling and social interaction together.

Integrating into your existing calendar software of choice, UpTo allows users to share events, view friends' schedules, even seamlessly tie into Twitter and Facebook.  All users need to do is fill their contact list with co-workers and friends to communicate, and suddenly the app becomes a social Swiss Army Knife that you can't afford to go without.  As an icing on the cake, the software is a completely free download in the App Store, so what are you waiting for?  Be sure to share your hands-on impressions in the comments.

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With important news breaking all of the time across many different mediums, it seems like it is near impossible to stay on top of everything.  The information age brought about new media services like Twitter, Flickr, and of course YouTube, which can further add to the congestion of every news cycle.  But what if there were a way to tackle all of these information sources, plus many more, covering only content that was of interest to you?

Don't pinch yourself, because this miracle app has finally been born: ChannelCaster.  All users need to do is select a range of topics that are of interest, and the tool will do the rest, pulling in the breaking stories from numerous different information sources across the web.  Heck, you can even choose to publicly share your channel if you see fit, so the entire world can see what you think is pertinent.  This free app is well worth taking a look at.  It could very well revolutionize the way you consume media.

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Tweetbot has been updated to version 2.1 on both the iPhone and iPad. These bring several new features and improvements to the app. Most importantly, the apps now support tweet streaming when connected to wifi. This means that when the app is open, there's no need to refresh, new tweets will add themselves to the feed, and the unread count will automatically update. To make it easier to jump to where new tweets are coming in, double-tapping on the timeline button will jump to the beginning of unread tweets.

The iPad version of the app has been updated to support the new iPad's Retina Display. The iPhone app supports the Camera+ 3.0 APIs for using that app to capture, edit, and share photos from. But these features pale to the single most important one: the new tweet sound only will sound when there's a new mention, direct message, or the timeline is manually refreshed. No longer will we think someone replied to us while visiting a web page from within the app! Our long national nightmare is over!