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App review: SPB Shell 3D for Android
As we all know, the beauty of Android stems from the fact that you get a wide variety of choices when it comes to devices and interface, though the latter can sometimes be a double-edged sword. Luckily, users who are fed up with their bloated Android UI but don't want to (or can't) mess around with ROMs now have another easy solution. Joining the handful of Android launchers is SPB's Shell 3D app, which installs as a replacement (but removable) home screen that comes with some nifty widgets (radio switches, backlight dimmer, weather forecast with a 3D chart, clock with over 60 skins, world time with a 3D globe, etc.) and resizeable folders. As you can see above, the highlight of the show here is a cool-looking 3D carousel for switching between up to 16 panels, and you can trigger it by either tapping or horizontally dragging the bottom-center button. Whilst in carousel mode, you can also rearrange the panels, change their colors, or flick away excess panels. All of this required no manual reading on our end, so it's safe to say that this is a pretty intuitive app. Read on to see what the performance is like. %Gallery-120445%
Muscle Trigger Points app helps you locate sources of pain
Trigger points are taut bands of muscle that send pain to other areas of the body. Oftentimes people with trigger points might suffer pain in one area of the body, like the lower back, and not realize that the pain is actually originating on the other side of the body (the psoas, in this case). The field of trigger point therapy was pioneered by Dr. Janet Travell, personal physician to John F. Kennedy. After Travell's 40-plus years of work, she co-wrote a (very expensive) two-volume, 1600 page book detailing over 700 trigger point locations and their effects on the human body. For those of you who don't want to spend a few hundred dollars on Travell's books, Real Bodywork has made a universal iOS app called Muscle Trigger Points that details trigger points for over 70 muscles and their pain referral patterns. The app itself is an excellent reference guide that lets you search for trigger points by specific muscle, or by pain zones on your body. Best of all, the app is cheap compared to Travell's books. For those of you who are into trigger point therapy, I highly recommend Muscle Trigger Points just for the fact that it provides an interactive reference that you can carry with you on your iPhone or iPad. That being said, the app does have some drawbacks. It doesn't feature all the muscles or trigger points in the human body, and it does leave out some major ones (Extensor hallucis longus, anyone?). The app also doesn't show you how to deactivate your trigger points, though it does talk you through self-treatment in a four-minute audio guide. (For those who want detailed instructions about self-treatment, Claire Davies' respected Trigger Point Therapy Workbook is the best.) Muscle Trigger Points is a universal app, and it's available for US$2.99 on the App Store.
LinkedIn lets you follow social news with updated iPhone app
For those of you not familiar with it, LinkedIn is a social network for your professional contacts. Think of it as Facebook without the keg stand photos. I've been a big fan of LinkedIn for a while now and was excited when it launched its LinkedIn Today social news feature. LinkedIn Today is a social news aggregator for business people. It lets you easily follow news and stories from the industries you and your contacts work in. In conjunction with the premier of LinkedIn Today, LinkedIn also updated its iOS app to feature a brand new news section that shows you the headlines from your LinkedIn Today industry headlines. The addition of the news section to the app makes it infinitely more useful. Previously, I would only open my LinkedIn iPhone app when I needed to download new contacts, but today I've found myself checking it every half hour to see the latest articles and headlines related to my industry and what news links my peers are sharing. LinkedIn is available for free on the App Store.
App review: AirView
We just came across a neat little iOS app called AirView which, as you can probably tell from the name, transforms your iOS devices into AirPlay video receivers. And since iOS can also output video via AirPlay, this means you can use AirView to either grab AirPlay streams from your computer's iTunes, or you can stream videos from one iOS device to another (provided that they are both running iOS 4.2 and above, of course). Theoretically, little work is required to get the ball rolling -- just launch the app, then play your desired video clip from the source, and finally pick your client device using the AirPlay button. We say theoretically, because it took us awhile to figure out that none of our purchased videos worked, even though AirPlay supports DRM content -- the assumption is that AirView lacks the component for receiving authorization key. Alas, we stuck with our, ahem, homemade videos which actually worked very well over both iTunes-to-iOS and iOS-to-iOS connections, although sometimes we had to relaunch AirView and the iPod app to start a new stream. Perhaps some folks will have better luck than us, so feel free to give this app a go -- it is free, after all. Video demo after the break.
App review: kijjaa! (video)
We're used to seeing all sorts of funky motion-based games on smartphones, but here's something a little bit different: a retro-themed desktop 3D flash game that utilises your iOS device as an accelerometer and gyroscope-based wireless controller. The objective of kijjaa! is simple: just fly your vessel around, shoot down or avoid the enemies, and pick up extra lives. Don't worry, there's no jailbreaking involved here -- all we had to do was visit kijjaa.com/air, and then copy the code onto our iOS app to establish the link via WiFi or 3G. There's no serious challenge in kijjaa! -- based on the app's description on iTunes, the game's designed with students and office workers in mind, so it's ideal for those seeking a fun quickie during their short breaks. We'd say the hardest part is trying to dodge the ghosts that show up randomly in short notice, but what really annoyed us were the occasional control lags that popped up even over WiFi. Still, for a promotional $0.99 pricing (the 70 percent price drop ends on January 17th has been extended to January 24th), this game has gone much further than most other games have, and it'll only get better -- already in the pipeline are Game Center support, new enemies, new bonuses, and achievements. Hopefully the developer will also throw in some more chiptune soundtracks as well. Demo video after the break -- it kinda makes you want this on the Apple TV too, doesn't it? %Gallery-114426%
New BillMinder a paid upgrade, but worth the money
Return7 released version 3.0 of its popular BillMinder app on Tuesday, now a completely revamped program. As such, Return7 decided to switch its users over to a separate app -- BillMinder 3 -- which requires users to pay to "upgrade" to the latest version. While the out-of-pocket expense (US$1.99) isn't much, it's a move that hasn't been that popular in the past -- think Tweetie in the pre-Twitter days. Amro Mousa, co-founder of Return7 told me today that BillMinder 3 isn't simply an upgrade. The company rewrote the entire app from scratch and no code or art is shared with the original app, which is still available via iTunes. The original BillMinder app received more than 25 updates during its lifetime, including the upgrade to version 2.0. He acknowledged that there has been some grumbling over repurchasing the app. "Most software companies don't give away new major versions for free. Why aren't folks angry when they buy a new version of OS X, iLife or Aperture? Since we prefer to continue existing, we're charging for 3.0. Obviously that means we need to provide value in the new version for people to want to buy it," Mousa said. While we didn't review the original BillMinder, we have taken a look at BillMinder 3. The app does exactly what its title implies -- it reminds you when a bill is due and how much it is. A lot of banks have included software through their websites to handle this sort of thing, but not all of them have dedicated iOS apps or will push notifications to your iPhone. It's also useful if you have separate bills going to different bank accounts like I do. Click on to see how the app works.
Game for Cats does what it says, but it isn't truly free
I spend a lot of time trying to keep my cats off my iPad, but thanks to the The Daily What, we got wind of a game specifically designed to have your frisky felines play with your iPad. iPad Game for Cats is a free download through the App Store, but the "free" part is very misleading. Even though the game's website and the App Store page say that it's gratis, you actually can't get anywhere unless you make a 99-cent, in-app purchase. Edit (12 AM 12/21): The developer got in touch with me regarding this via Twitter and has since updated the app description to clarify that the mouse game is an in-app purchase. Thank you so much! But, you do get a little time with the game, and there's only one way to test it and that's with a cat ... or in my case, three cats.
Chew through the undersea ecosystem in Hungry Shark Trilogy HD
I have a new favorite iPad game, and it is Hungry Shark Trilogy HD. Maybe it's because I have an unreasonable fear of sharks that I love Hungry Shark so much. It allows me to control the very thing I fear. In Hungry Shark Trilogy you play as the shark, and your mission pretty much mimics a shark's real life: your only goal is to eat and keep eating. While a singular goal might seem rather monotonous, it's anything but. The Hungry Shark world is full of things to explore. As you chomp and bite your way though dozens of kinds of fish, penguins, scuba divers and seagulls, you'll discover just how rich the undersea environment is. There are hidden caves, sea mines and secret objects galore. As the shark, the more you eat, the more you grow and the stronger you become, which comes in handy when you come across the best boss of any iPad game -- the giant crab. Eating also allows you to earn points, which unlocks other Hungry Shark episodes, or levels, in the game. Hungry Shark Trilogy HD for iPad is an update to the popular Hungry Shark series for iPhone. And if you've played Hungry Shark on the iPhone, you'll be blown away by the game on the iPad. The game really shines on the iPad's larger screen, and the developers at Future Games of London have been able to work a lot more background detail into the ocean environment. The iPad version also offers all three "episodes" of the Hungry Shark iPhone games in one. It also gives the user two ways to control the shark: via the iPad's built-in accelerometer, or by onscreen joysticks. My only gripe with the game is that I wish it had an option where you didn't have to continually eat to survive. That way you could take your time and fully explore the game's undersea worlds. Hungry Shark Trilogy HD is available on the App Store now for US$4.99.
App review: Infinity Blade (iPhone)
Aww, would you look at that, the iPhone's trying to play big boy games! Following in the well received footsteps of Rage HD, today marks the debut of Infinity Blade, the second in what's hopefully a wave of gorgeous-looking iOS games boasting advanced 3D graphics, if not 3D gameplay. Epic Games has put aside the chainsaw-equipped projectile weaponry of its wildly successful Gears of War console series to deliver the first mobile game built around its Unreal Engine 3. You won't be surprised to hear that it's utterly delicious to look at, and the visuals certainly helped transport us to this alien realm of swords, axes, shields, and magical rings -- where body armor is optional, but helmets apparently are not. Jump past the break to see this visual feast in motion and to soak up some more of our impressions. %Gallery-110231%
Google Books app feels rushed, disappoints
Google Books finally went live in App Store and we here at TUAW couldn't wait to give it a try. Unfortunately, we should have. Google should have spent more time refining and polishing this app before releasing it. Google Books is a bit of a half-baked disappointment. Let's start with the big issues. The application doesn't do landscape. Personally, I'm not completely adverse to portrait book reading -- after all, it gives you the most room to read each page on the screen -- but why doesn't Google give me the choice? I often like flipping back and forth between my books and ongoing solitaire games (I know, I know, but that's what I do, and 4.2.1 makes it easy). Having to re-orient my iPad to the lap-unfriendly portrait orientation is just annoying. A two-page side-by-side layout seems to be a given in the e-reader world. I'm stunned it's not already in there.
360 Panorama brings sharing, simplicity to iPhone pano photos
We first looked at 360 Panorama back in July when it debuted against other panoramic photo apps, including Boinx's You Gotta See This and Debacle Software's Pano. On sale now for just US$0.99 (regular price $2.99), Occipital's panorama application has been updated to add what developer Jeff Powers calls "streetview sharing." This new sharing feature (a "hosted immersive viewing experience") allows you to upload your panoramas and access them from any web browser, whether that browser supports Flash or not. When viewed, you can flick and drag to see the panorama from any angle. Follow through the "read more" link to view a sample embedded panorama that I created at a local cemetery, which showcases the hosted interaction. You can easily share your panoramic creations with family, friends, colleagues and clients. All they need is a browser.
Teach small children basic foreign language words with iKidz Pro
Every time I've been to Holland, I've been amazed at the number of languages that many people could speak fluently. Perhaps one of the reasons is that the Dutch start teaching their children other languages at a very early age. I came across a very simple and well-designed app that might prove that's true. iKidz Pro (US$2.99) is an educational universal iOS app that teaches very small children basic words in nine languages: US English, UK English, Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Russian, Polish and Turkish, with more on the way. For fun, a baby language was put in that doesn't teach anything but is fun to play with. If a child taps on a picture within a category, the picture expands to the whole screen, and the written word and picture are displayed. If the child taps anywhere on the page, an animated written word pops in, and the word is spoken in a perfectly accented language of the parent's choice. If tapped more than once, each tap shows the printed word in a different color, and the word is spoken again. That's all it does, but for little ones, I think it's more than enough as an introduction to language education.
LEGO Harry Potter available for iOS, but iPad requires 4.2
Warner Bros. has released the game LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, and it's available as a universal download from the App Store for US$4.99. Gameplay includes going inside Hogwarts castle, the most detailed LEGO game location ever; the game provides 40+ levels of play along with endless freeplay to discover areas not accessible in Story Mode. Players can play as any one of over 100 characters including Harry Potter himself, and can cast spells, mix potions, or fly on broomsticks throughout the game. Mike Rose has played both the Wii and iOS versions of HPY1-4, and he notes that the iOS take is more isometric and 'LEGO-like' than the 3D action of the Wii version. The iOS game presents specific tasks/quests that have to be performed and puzzles to be solved before you can advance Harry and his cohorts to the next scene of the game. Potential buyers should note that while the game is ready for the iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, and iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation) running iOS 4.1 or later, iPad owners will have to wait until they are running iOS 4.2 to play and sync their devices. This is clearly noted in the app description, but it hasn't stopped some overeager buyers from giving the app one-star reviews because they didn't notice the caveat beforehand. Maybe while they are waiting for iOS 4.2 to drop they can check out some LEGO guys unboxing an iPad to pass the time. With Harry Potter popularity at a fever pitch right now due to the first-half film version release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, LEGO Harry Potter might have more than a few fans looking for a good game to download. I myself am looking forward to spending time digging through all the different worlds in the game, especially with a three-day train trip coming up. This should occupy some of that time, for sure.
Count The Beats: A closer look at Amplitube 2.0 for iOS
A few weeks ago, IK Multimedia released Amplitube 2.0, the next iteration of its guitar effects and amplifier emulator app for iOS (don't forget, you need the external iRig piece of kit, too). It's only been about 5 months since version 1.0 came out, but when we got word that version 2.0 was in the works, we got pretty excited. Update 2.0 brings 5 new stomp boxes (additional in-app purchase required), a promise of improved sound quality, a 4-track recorder and master FX section with 3 effects (in-app purchase), the SpeedTrainer as well as the ability to import songs from your iPod library, and a few other tidbits, too. The nice thing is, you can download a free version of 2.0, like version 1.0. That means you get the improved sound quality, SpeedTrainer, and the ability to import your songs from your iPod library at no extra cost. However, the bulk of the new additions in 2.0 are only available through in-app purchase. The question is, are they worth it? Click the "Read More" link below to find out.
App review: Rage HD (iPhone)
The iOS App Store might already have its fair share of addictive and compelling games on offer, but when John Carmack comes calling with his latest megatextured shoot-em-up, you've got to sit up and pay attention. Rage HD: Mutant Bash TV isn't so much a full-fledged game in its own right as it is a teaser for the forthcoming Rage FPS for the PC, and yet even in its pretty limited running time, it managed to woo and thrill us with its visceral gameplay and arresting visuals. It's easily the best-looking game we've yet seen on a mobile device and provides a fine demonstration of just how far Apple's hardware -- on the iPhone 4, iPad, and fourth-gen iPod touch -- can be pushed when some appropriately adroit hands are at the graphical controls. But, of course, games are supposed to be fun to play, not just to look at, so why not join us after the break to see how well Rage HD handles its mutant-bashing duties?%Gallery-107875%
Yahoo! releases Sketch-a-Search for iPad, update for iPhone
Yahoo has released an iPad version of its popular iPhone Sketch-a-Search app. For those not familiar with the app, Sketch-a-Search lets users simply sketch a line around an area of the built-in Google map to find restaurants within the sketched area. The app on the iPhone is great, and it's something I've always thought Apple would be smart to build in as a feature to iOS's Google Maps app. Searching a map by drawing a line with your finger is much faster and user-friendly than typing in search queries. The only drawback to the app is that it only searches for restaurants and not other points of interest. The iPad version of the app is essentially the same as the iPhone version, with the exception of being optimized for the iPad's larger display. Alongside the release of Sketch-a-Search for iPad, Yahoo updated the iPhone version of the app, too. Both versions now feature Zagat-rated restaurants in the search results, along with the ability to book a table through the app using OpenTable integration. Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search for iPad and Sketch-a-Search for iPhone both require iOS 4 or later, which means that unless you are running the iOS 4.2 beta on iPad, you're gonna have to wait to use the app even though you can download it now.
TGI Black Friday app helps you find Black Friday sales
Are you one of the millions of people who seem to lose their mind on Black Friday? Do you wait in line for hours before Walmart opens at 5AM just to get that generic LCD TV for $149? If so, there's a cool iPhone app for you. TGI Black Friday helps deal hunters navigate the bargain madness on the busiest shopping day of the year. TGI Black Friday allows you to search over 10,000 Black Friday deals across stores and categories, get instant Push notifications on breaking deals, create and save lists of deals you want to remember to make a mad dash for, and view PDF versions of all the available Black Friday ad scans. The only thing this app won't do is stop you from getting crushed under a hoard of consumers acting like they're monkeys jacked up on crack, so be careful where you use it. Seriously, you wouldn't drive and use an app at the same time, so don't stand in the doorway of a store just unlocking their doors on Black Friday with your eyes on this app. Good luck and safe shopping! TGI Black Friday is a free download from the App Store.
App Review: NetFront Life Browser for Android
This is no photoshop -- it really is an Android browser that lets you tilt web pages, but there's more than meets the eye. The folks at Access have just launched this free NetFront Life Browser, which packs a few interesting features that caught our attention. Let's hold hands and walk through them together. Upon launching the app for the first time, we were taken to a "unified navigation" landing page that consists of two sections: the top half displays live thumbnails of opened windows, and swiping left or right gives you a smooth 3D transition between them; whereas the bottom half shows you stacks of pages à la Apple Time Machine for history, bookmarks, and scrapbooks. Speaking of which, the scrapbook feature is also one of the main -- and probably the funnest -- highlights here: this is where you can store virtual cut-outs using the scissors tool at the bottom right of the browser, thus creating pictorial bookmarks. If you want to mark something specific on a page, then you can use the checkmarking tool -- located right next to the scissors -- to do so, but bear in mind that the marks will disappear if you close the page's window (so it's fine as long as you keep it in the background). %Gallery-107445%
App review: Wall Street Journal Tablet Edition for Android
We'd always thought this was going to be the year of Android tablets, but until the day Google gives its full blessing for the tablet form factor, the market will still be lacking in apps that make good use of the extra screen estate. Funnily enough, today the Wall Street Journal took a leap of faith and pushed out an Android version of its tablet app, just in time to ride on the Samsung Galaxy Tab's first wave. In many ways, WSJ's Android app appears to be a slimmed down version of its iPad equivalent. Once logged in with a subscription account, users are greeted by the same start screen for choosing your papers, which are automatically downloaded at launch. Naturally, once the papers are on your device, you can read them regardless of internet connectivity, and you can save your favorites to a dedicated area there for quick access as well. More after the break. %Gallery-107209%
ARDefender augmented reality shoot-em-up hands-on
ARDefender has been out for a couple of months but surprisingly it's fallen under the radar of a lot of iPhone users. Combining augmented reality technology with a basic aim-and-shoot, ARDefender allows you to transform your physical desktop or office floor into a battleground. It costs just a buck and it's a great way to both have fun and to showcase the iPhone's [1] ability to integrate with the world around it. To use the game, print out a special PDF template on any printer, trim to size, and place it on any flat surface. As you aim your device's camera at the the template, tanks and planes start zooming around your virtual world. The template becomes a 3-D tower, so you don't actually see it on the device screen. Aim your tower's cannons by tapping on the screen and shoot with a button in the lower-right corner of the screen. Other weapon controls and information are located at the periphery. I have terrible coordination and have not managed to get past the third level, but most people will be able to shoot their way much higher. The fun is, of course, seeing these attackers interact with your real world environment and blasting them away before they manage to reach, for example, your coffee mug. There's not a whole lot more to ARDefender, but it's fun and well worth the one dollar investment. It's not a terribly deep game but it's a fun one. [1] Versions exist for the iPhone 4 (also the iPod touch 4th gen) and the Samsung Bada. Symbian S60 and Nintendo DSi iterations are forthcoming.
