To say that there were tumultuous ups and downs in the world of all things Apple and iOS this week is a colossal understatement. Suffice it to say, then, that the interest, anticipation and enthusiasm generated for Apple’s upcoming iPhone 4s was sadly muted by the untimely death of Steve Jobs. While the print and television media have eulogized Steve thoroughly, 148Apps.com founder Jeff Scott posted a succinct and elegant send-off for the icon: “Personally I’d like to thank Steve for all he did and all he inspired. It should be obvious, but without what he created this site that I love and labor over wouldn’t be here. He will leave a void that may never be filled.”

While Steve Jobs has passed, his company and its products continue to live and thrive, and the iPhone 4s is just the latest iteration of that product legacy. Jeff Scott asked the question on the minds of all iPhone owners – should I upgrade now? “Hate to start the rumor mill early, but there will, most certainly be, a next iPhone. And it could come out anytime between 6 months and 18 months from now. It will also likely be a major upgrade and a new form factor. Probably true LTE 4G as well. There, I said it. Rumor mill restarted.

Should you wait? Depends on what kind of user you are. If you are a tech geek, we both know you aren’t going to wait. If you are happy with sticking with a phone for a couple of years maybe you will wait for the next one.

But the iPhone 4S is a great phone. If you have an iPhone 3G or non-iPhone, this is the best time to get one. The jump from an iPhone 3G to an 4S will be huge. You won’t believe what you are missing.”

Read the full discussion on 148Apps.com.

Over at our sister site, GiggleApps, reviewer Amy Solomon took a closer look at a new app for kids from National Geographic, WeirdButTrue. Solomon writes, “Very easy to use, the app is a random fact generator filled with interesting tidbits that kids and adults will enjoy. Each page has its own weird but true information, with bright colors and many vivid photos of related images used to illustrate what is being explained, and I also appreciate the creative use of fonts and design in general to fit the text onto the page in most interesting ways possible. These facts can be about animals, the human body, toys and other topics as the app has a plethora of information and it is great fun how varied sound effects are used per each page that in some way relate to the fact being presented.”

Read the full review on GiggleApps.

FREE!

Weird But True

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2011-09-01 :: Category: Books

That’s it for this week, true believer, but keep watching our Twitter and Facebook feeds for news, giveaways and more. Join us here next week for another recap – same app time – same app station.

One of the ways that developers can release an app for the iPad is known as a universal app. A single app that work on both the iPhone/iPod Touch and the iPad. These apps are specially designed to know what device type they are running on and adapt the application to take full advantage of that device. We’re not talking pixel doubled iPhone apps on the iPad, we’re talking true hybrid iPad and iPhone applications.

One such application is BibleScope. This app is a veteran, having been one of the 500 applications on the App Store on launch day. It did really well, relatively, those early days of the App Store, charting well into the Top 100 in sales.

This coming update for BibleScope is the first applications that we know of that will be offering to unlock the iPad functionality via in-app purchasing. It’s an interesting way for developers to recoup the expense of creating the iPad version, but we wonder how customers will take to it. The general response from consumers has been very negative when a developer tries to charge for increased functionality, hopefully this will be different.

Developer Kenny Ham says that he plans on testing the waters by charging $1.99 via in-app purchasing to unlock the iPad functionality, the first time he’s charged for a feature upgrade in the nearly 2 years the app has been available. The main new features for the iPad version include optimization of the display for the larger screen including a 2-page view and pop-over controls.

The upgraded app should be available at iPad launch or shortly after. Hit the jump for more pictures of the iPad version of BibleScope.

$0.99

BibleScope

+ Universal App - Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2008-07-11 :: Category: Reference

Continue reading iPad App Preview: BibleScope »