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Next-Numbers: A fun game from the Star Walk geniuses at Vito Technology
It always surprises me when a developer decides to do something totally outside the box. That's the case with Vito Technology, the company that develops such great educational and science-oriented apps as Star Walk, Dino Walk, Solar Walk and more. It's taken a big jump to games (the most popular category on the App Store) with Next-Numbers (introductory price of US$0.99), a fun new game that will have you tapping your iPhone or iPad screen with a smile on your face. So, why will you be tapping like a fiend? The idea behind Next-Numbers is that you tap numbers in sequence in one of two ways. First, there's the Blitz mode, where you tap through numbers until a pre-set time is up. The second mode is called Zen, where you are timed while tapping a pre-set group of numbers. Those numbers are randomly displayed in a number of geometric shapes, big and small, that appear on the screen. The app and its icon are designed for iOS 7 -- in fact, the icon features a large, colorful "7" in the center. The screen is always bright white -- if I had one wish, it's that Next-Numbers had a "dark mode" for playing in low-light conditions. The app shows up in portrait mode on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch, and that's where you'll choose your difficulty settings, the game mode and more. Tipping your iOS device to landscape mode simply rotates the numbers in the game. Next-Numbers uses Game Center to let you see how you stack up to friends or the world in general, and there's also a progress bar that displays your progress in concentration, speed of reaction and visual memory. When you feel that you've mastered the easy level, just slide up the controls from the bottom of the screen and select medium, hard or expert levels for an extra challenge. I found the easy level to be a cinch to master, at which time I bumped myself up to the medium level that adds more numbers. Suddenly, my ability to find numbers went from really fast to "OMG, am I this stupid?" Continued use of the game seemed to train my brain to find and remember where the numbers were so I could be faster in the next round. It's not just playing against the clock; it's brain training. Sure, it's brain training for a really odd set of circumstances -- recognizing numbers randomly placed on a screen -- but I've got to believe that playing games like Next-Numbers or word games have to be good for the old gray matter. Who's Next-Numbers targeted towards? Those folks like myself who aren't into RPGs or side-scrollers, but instead love a good brain-teaser. I think that people who are fans of Luminosity will find Next-Numbers to be a winner. I look forward to seeing what's next from Vito Technology -- perhaps it can leverage its newfound game expertise, mix it with a little bit of the brilliance it has shown with Star Walk and really come out with something incredible.
Solar Walk updated, on sale now
During WWDC, we got a chance to see an upcoming Solar Walk update from the folks at Vito Technology, and that update is now available. It adds a redesigned information screen that's easier to access and more filled out, as well as a greatly improved graphics system. There are also preset bookmarks, which will show you around the solar system from different perspectives. There are a bevy of new objects floating out there in virtual space, including things such as asteroids, comets and dwarf planets. To celebrate the update and its back-to-school timed release, Solar Walk is currently on sale for 99 cents. This app, like most of Vito's products, has been everywhere already. It's featured in Apple's stores, and chances are you might have already bought it. But if not, at that price, it's a steal.
Final day of July 4 app sales
A lot of the App Store's biggest apps have been on sale this weekend, and a few holdouts dropped prices earlier today. If your head hasn't hit the pillow yet after your local fireworks extravaganza, make sure to grab some of these while the prices are low: The Real Racing series is on sale, with the first title only 99 cents on the iPhone. All of the other iPhone and iPad titles are also at discounted prices. Vito Technology (creators of the popular Star Walk, Solar Walk, and Geo Walk apps) has put a few of its apps on sale today only. Konami has joined the party, dropping titles like Castlevania Puzzle, Metal Gear Solid Touch, and X-men to just 99 cents each. Death Rally is on sale yet again, for just 99 cents. There's also a new update available for the app that adds a new car and a new gameplay type. Finally, to celebrate the patriotic holiday and the new movie coming out, Marvel Comics has dropped the price on Captain America comics in its official app. Enjoy those apps, and we hope you had a safe and happy holiday!
TUAW's Daily App: Geo Walk
Geo Walk is an interesting title from Vito Technology, the folks behind the popular Star Walk and Solar Walk apps. They originally released Geo Walk a little less than a year ago, but the app wasn't quite as developed as their other titles (and presumably didn't do as well as those either). So Vito went back to the drawing board, revamped the app completely, and the new version is now available on the App Store, at 99 cents for the iPhone, or $2.99 for the iPad. The new app is still an educational title focusing on giving information about various places, people, and plants and animals from different areas all over the world, and rather than just a 3D globe, there are now a few different views, including a new card view to check out. There's also a new quiz mode, which asks questions based on the information on the cards, letting you quiz yourself or others about the various facts. It's an interesting app, and if nothing else, it's a good example of just how flexible the App Store can be -- if an app doesn't work the first time around, a developer can go back and try again. If you've already downloaded Geo Walk, the big update is free, and well worth checking out.
Macworld Expo 2011: Vito Technology updates the Walk apps
Russian company Vito Technology was in one of the booths around the Mobile App Showcase at Macworld 2011 last week, and they kindly sat down to show off new versions of their apps, all coming up in the next month or so as free updates on the App Store. Popular astronomy app Star Walk was first. It's getting a visual enhancement in the next version, with a brand new sky and a new look to the stars that's more visually interesting than the current setup. The other feature that will be added is a "calendar of celestial events," where things like meteor showers or lunar eclipses will be tracked (per your location) so that you can see when something interesting is coming up. Later on, Vito wants to add other cultural displays to the app, including constellation charts and other star maps from Hawaiian, Arabic and Native American viewpoints. Star Walk is also going to be integrated into some of Macmillan's science textbooks, so students will be able to work directly with the app as they learn. We also got to see updates for the other Vito apps, including Solar Walk and a very different Geo Walk.
WWDC 2010: Vito Technology walks on with Star Walk and Geo Walk
We met up with both Victor Toporkov and Murad Nazaraliev of Vito Technology during WWDC this past week, and while we know the company's name well from their great Star Walk and Solar Walk apps (the first one won an Apple Design Award this week, and the second one is quite popular, too), we learned some interesting facts about the history of the company. Toporkov now lives in the United States, but the company has its roots in Novosibirsk, the biggest city in Siberia. Back in the 1950s, Russia created a scientific center out in the middle of Siberia, consisting of a whole group of nuclear and scientific research facilities. Toporkov was one of those nuclear scientists, and now that the Cold War is over, he and many other scientists in that community have moved on to creating various kinds of software. In fact, the region itself is now sometimes referred to as "Silicon Forest," in a comparison with Silicon Valley in the US. I found that background fascinating. But of course, Vito is looking to the future -- after a couple of solid educational astronomy apps on the App Store, they're looking to come back down to Earth with Geo Walk. I first got to use this app back at Macworld Expo this year, but the latest version has come a long way, with lots of various nodes to browse around a 3D globe, featuring historical locations or individuals. The app is due out next week on the App Store, with an iPad version coming later in July, and Vito says they'll be pricing the app at just 99 cents -- it's meant for kids, and they're trying to find the lowest acceptable price possible.
Take a planetary tour with Solar Walk
Solar Walk is a nifty astronomy romp from the folks who did the popular Star Walk iPhone and iPad app. Instead of exploring the night sky and deep space, you get to tour our solar system in luscious 3D graphics. While the app is universal for the iPhone and iPad, the iPad version is breathtaking with crisp graphics and beautiful color. Tapping on any planet will take you close to it, and you can use your finger to orbit the planet and see it from any angle or zoom. You can see the planets on any particular date and time, and speed up the animation to watch the planets in their elliptical orbits. Tapping the info button gets you some information on all the planets, like size, gravity, composition and more. One omission is that the program doesn't tell you which planets are up for viewing on a particular night. You'll need Star Walk for that. %Gallery-93500%
Macworld 2010: Solar Walk and Geo Walk from Vito Technology
Our own Mel Martin is a big fan of Vito Technology's Star Walk iPhone app, so when the company's rep stopped by our booth at Macworld this week to show us two apps that they're working on right now, we couldn't refuse. The first app we saw was called Solar Walk, and while Star Walk will help you find and explore information about the stars, Solar Walk is designed to do the same with planets. The app features a beautiful (and accurate) simulation of the solar system, complete with all of the planets orbiting trails, and an adjustable clock so that you can see where Mars will be in 2029, if you so choose.
