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My Xbox Live update for iPhone brings direct remote control, Android users join the party too
As much as we liked the My Xbox Live app on iOS, it left out any practical control of a real, live Xbox 360 -- and left Android users in the cold. The 1.5 update to the app puts those issues largely to bed. iPhone and iPod touch owners now have access both the Quickplay content browsing from the Windows Phone version as well as a direct, button-for-button remote. Android users are unfortunately denied full-on navigation, but they can now at least check their Xbox Live profiles, friend statuses and the highlighted games du jour. Microsoft is silent on when Android and iPad fans will be steering their Xboxes without gamepads, though everyone else is free to jump in today.
TUAW's Daily App: Deadliest Catch
Brand-based games can be hit or miss -- at worst, they're a crass attempt to cash in on a name, and even at best, they often rely far too much on the license, leaving fun and design out of the equation. But the official Deadliest Catch game for the iPhone actually impressed me. As just a game on its own, it lacks -- it's really just a series of minigames designed to simulate crabbing, which itself isn't that fun to begin with. But if you happen to be a fan of the Discovery Channel show (and I am), trying to guide your boat through stormy weather or hook the crab pots safely is actually a good time. The app has a quickplay mode, where you can just jump into the minigames if you want (steering the boat, hooking crab pots, rescuing a man overboard, or sorting crabs on the table), but the real pleasure is the campaign mode, where you can actually build a boat and crew out of the cast of Deadliest Catch, and then make your own way out into the Bering Sea to try and catch Alaskan crab. Mixing up the minigames is a lot of fun -- just like the real sailors, you lay down pots, check them as they come up, and hope that you hit the crab motherload. The app faithfully recreates the show's feel of going out on the deadly ocean and searching the depths for that big pile of crab that means you'll come home with some cash. The only drawback is that at US$3.99, the app is expensive, especially for a licensed title. Not that $4 is expensive for a quality game (if you like the show, it's worth picking up), but for something that could itself serve as an ad for Discovery Channel, that price is a little steep for the potential audience. The good news is that there are no ads in the app itself (except for some links to both Discovery content and developer Hands-On Mobile in the menu), and it runs surprisingly smoothly, even on my old 1G iPhone. If you follow the Cornelia Marie and the Northwestern like I do, grab it right now and go crabbin'! Everybody else can wait for the eventual price drop.
PrimeTime2Go brings full-length TV episodes to BlackBerry Bold, Curve 8900
Ah, so the rumors were true. As BlackBerry App World descends upon the masses today, a particularly unique service is launching alongside of it: QuickPlay Media's PrimeTime2Go. Unlike options from Sprint and AT&T, this alternative delivers video only over WiFi, though this arrangement does enable it to work on all carriers. The app will bring full-length television shows to certain BlackBerry smartphones, and with deals inked with NBC, CBS and MTV, we'd say the selection should be pretty good. As for details, it'll run users $7.99 per month, though it will only operate (initially, at least) on the BlackBerry Bold and Curve 8900, sold by AT&T and T-Mobile, respectively. So, is this the break that mobile TV has been waiting for? Or is this yet another option that better get used to being shunned?
QuickPlayer does "audiocasts" for BlackBerry
Streaming content just got a little more bountiful for (some) BlackBerry users -- but at a cost. QuickPlay Media has launched QuickPlayer for BlackBerry, doing for podcasts "audiocasts" what SonaMobile has done for video by streaming audio content to the normally multimedia-challenged devices. QuickPlayer rolls deep with 100+ channels of content in pretty much every conceivable category from name-brand providers, though users will be paying $7.95 a month to do so. RIM's 7130e, 8700 series, and Pearl are currently supported, so grab the player download (if you've got a decent data plan, that is) and start listening to those Accuweather forecasts in style.[Via Pinstack]
