iPhone Game Friday: New Releases

Welcome to June and another installment of Game Friday, folks!

This is, believe it or not, our fiftieth episode, so before we jump into the list, I just want to thank everyone for their continuing suggestions, comments, and feedback on Game Friday. We love you too. Now that that’s out of the way, the best recent releases are waiting for you after the jump, so get clicking!

Mighty Fin

Mighty Fin is a mighty fine example of building on an existing mechanic in a respectful and effective way. As soon as you begin playing, you’ll notice the similarity to Tiny Wings, and this extends beyond the control scheme to the visuals as well.

Of course story-wise, things are rather reversed in that you spend your time swimming instead of flying, but otherwise you’ll probably find that gameplay is pretty familiar, with tapping making you sink and releasing your finger causing you to jump up. As you speed through levels, you collect items and costume bubbles in a way that makes it feel like a combination between Tiny Wings and LittleBigPlanet. The unlocked costumes can then be worn, so you can look stylish while chasing down achievements and highscores.

Whether or not you enjoyed Tiny Wings, you can rest assured that Mighty Fin is a charming and worthy addition to your game library.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Launching Pad Games
Download: App Store

Velocispider

Among the more popular games that came out recently, Velocispider continues on the retro trend and delivers another wholly successful fusion of oldschool gaming with modern polish.

Playing as a bizarre half-spider, half-velociraptor machine thing, you do your best to defend your eggs against an evil man who sends his “robot seafood” to try and steal them from you. It’s a vertical shooter through and through, and it features most of the things you’d expect (powerups, highscore leaderboards, etc.)

There are plenty of levels to keep you busy for now, and more are sure to come. This one is terrific for passing the time; highly recommended.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Retro Dreamer
Download: App Store

To-Fu: The Trials of Chi

As the name suggests, this tale of the “world’s most malleable martial artist” is a cheerful oriental-flavoured story of one tofu block’s struggles to complete the trials of Chi in an effort to become a master.

It’s a puzzle game, of course, but it’s based on the stretch-and-fling mechanic. The trials encourage you to collect relics and little chi blobs while using the minimum number of flings (they call them pings), so the challenge is not only in completing the levels, but in doing so within the given parameters.

Different types of surfaces, spikes, and other dangers will confront you as you progress through the 100 or so levels of the trial, and the game’s friendly and forgiving play style seems aimed at rewarding fresh and hardcore gamers alike. There’s something for everyone in here, so have a look!

Price: $0.99
Developer: HotGen Ltd.
Download: App Store

Panda Warrior: Zombie King's Treasure

Panda Warrior: Zombie King’s Treasure is an amusing and colourful game from the creators of Devil Boy.

Playing as Bo, the hungry panda warrior, you must retrieve your food from the evil zombie king by fighting through legions of his undead horde. It’s a pretty straight-forward game, with simple controls and a pick-up-and-play attitude. What brings it all together is the wonderful visual style, which is overflowing with colours and quality artwork.

Be aware that it’s only available for iPhone 4 / iPod Touch 4th gen for now, so hold off for a while if you have an older device — an update will ensure compatibility.

Price: $0.99
Developer: Rhinobeetle
Download: App Store

Skyblox

Skyblox Full Version is a refinement of an older release by Advanced Mobile Applications. Instead of making more levels available for an in-game purchase as the frustrating original system had it, the full 80 levels are available from the get-go now, and (at least temporarily) for free!

The game itself is a puzzler wherein you must push a rectangular block through each level so that at the end you can slot it into a marker. It’s trickier than it seems, since you must position the block so that it lands vertically on the marker, just touching it won’t suffice. The block is moved via finger swipes, and there isn’t a whole lot else to it in terms of controls, making it a perfect game for those after uncomplicated control schemes.

The levels become appropriately challenging as you progress, but part of that challenge comes from the fact that there is no means of shifting the map around to view what’s coming up in the level, which makes it impossible to plan ahead and can sometimes mean a lot of idle backtracking. It’s a silly oversight that will hopefully be addressed in a future update, but besides that, Skyblox is a solid and

Price: Free
Developer: Advanced Mobile Applications Ltd.
Download: App Store

Whether you’re enjoying these titles, still struggling with The Heist, or have other amazing games that have been taking up your time, we want to hear about it! Pop into the comments and share the fun.

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Get More from Gowalla with Goodfoot

I’ve never been a huge Gowalla user, none of my friends use it (they’re more into Facebook Check-in) and it hasn’t really caught on in my city. Nonetheless, I like the idea of apps like Gowalla and FourSquare, which allow you to assert your fondness for locations and businesses simply by pressing a button. Though I’m not compelled to use Gowalla socially, I sometimes check for nearby spots when I’m in an unfamiliar neighbourhood, only to find a list of churches, bus stops and chain restaurants. The developers of Goodfoot attempt to harness the power of Gowalla and make it more useful to all types of iPhone users, even those that aren’t social network superstars.

Goodfoot lists local Spots in order of their “awesomeness”, a metric they’ve developed which ranks based on how often spots are re-visited by locals, and claims to be able to filter through the uninteresting spots that fill the Gowalla nearby list and show you where the locals actually hang out. So, is it successful? Can an algorithm separate the local hotspots from the tourist traps? Find out after the jump!

Goodfoot boasts a wonderfully straightforward interface with only three self-explanatory tabs: walk, bike, and drive. Each tab lists spots based on proximity and “awesomeness”. Though perhaps not quite as gorgeous as the Gowalla app, everything about the Goodfoot interface is simple and intuitive, I rarely say this, but my even dad could find a local pub with Goodfoot!

Goodfoot Main Interface

Interacting with Goodfoot is a clear, logical process: browse spots depending on how far you want to go/how you want to travel, check out the awesomemeter of a spot and read highlights, then either open the spot in the Gowalla app/website, or get directions and a map.

Open spot in Gowalla or map it

So, the real question is: did Goodfoot accurately identify the “awesome” local businesses and attractions? In my neighbourhood at least, the awesomemeter pretty much nailed it. I’ve lived in this neighbourhood forever, and I know that the best hangouts within walking distance are the park, the Rooster Cafe, and Allen’s, all of which show up at the top of Goodfoot’s list.

I can attest to the awesomeness of these spots

The biking-range list was similarly impressive, save for the inclusion of a run-down mall (everybody goes there, but no one really wants to). The accuracy of the awesomemeter declined with distance, the driving-range spots were more of a mixed bag.A lot of movie theatres were listed, and though they’re a popular hangout spot for suburban teens, they’re not really places you’d like to go.

I imagine if you were living in the suburbs, you’d find a lot of chains and movie theatres and malls, because that’s where the young people hang out, and it’s usually the young people that use apps like Gowalla. In my neighbourhood, this is an advantage, the people who check-in to Gowalla are young, tech-happy professionals and creative types like me, and this is probably the case in most dense urban neighbourhoods.

Some bizarre options within driving distance

Goodfoot is my favorite kind of iPhone app: it does one, useful thing, and does it very well. There aren’t any bells and slow-loading whistles, you’re not prompted to “share” everything you do, and you can get started using it right away without having to figure anything out.

With any check-in based app, you have to take into consideration the kind of people that do the checking-in, and whether or not your tastes are going to align with these types. In my gentrifying middle-class neighbourhood, the spots Goodfoot picked out would appeal to pretty much anyone in the neighbourhood regardless of age or personality. The further away you get from urban centres, the more chains and box-malls you’re likely to find, and if you were in one of the impossibly hip neighborhoods in any city, the popular spots wouldn’t necessarily be universally appealing . None of these are criticisms of Goodfoot, but just inherent elements of any check-in service.

Is it better than Yelp for finding the best Mexican food? Probably not. But it’s a much simpler, faster way of finding what you want than scrolling through conflicting reviews and getting tied-up in star ratings.

If you’re in a new neighbourhood and looking for a local hangout, or find yourself at a dive bar looking for alternatives, Goodfoot can point you in the right direction. If you’re like me, and don’t want to participate in the check-in phenomenon, but still want to take advantage of the data it provides, give Goodfoot a try.

Goodfoot takes all the best spots from Gowalla and sorts them based on the number of check-ins, then splits up those spots based on whether you can Walk, Bike, or Drive to those locations.

9 Goodfoot Reviewed by Tessa Thornton on Jun 6 . Goodfoot takes all the best spots from Gowalla and sorts them based on the number of check-ins, then splits up those spots based on whether you can Walk, Bike, or Drive to those locations. Rating: 9 out of 10

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The Red Bulletin: Offering Exclusive Magazine Content For The iPad

New iPad lifestyle magazine courtesy of Red Bull

As the advert loves to state, Red Bull gives you wings. It also now gives you a global sports, cultural and lifestyle magazine by the name of The Red Bulletin.

This new app for the iPad promises high end magazine content with up to an hour of video and animation throughout. It features numerous interviews with artists and athletes such as baseball star Tim Lincecum as well as features on the likes of art work from Banksy. Other subjects such as base jumping and formula 1 motor racing also feature.

It’s a new venture for the drinks company and it certainly makes for a pretty impressive looking magazine with the issue designed specially for iPad owners, taking advantage of the technology behind the device.

The Red Bulletin app also gives access to the international issue which contains a feast of the best stories from all the print editions as well as the exclusive content.

Best of all, it’s a free app for iPad owners enabling them to gain a free issue for the month of June.

It’s out now in English, German and Polish.

Posted in: Blog

Tagged with: art, baseball, blog, Lifestyle, magazine, Red Bull, Sports

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TouchGen Releases iPad Magazine

New gaming magazine from TouchGen

We appreciate that sometimes you might want to read about iOS news on other sites as well as this delightful place. Hopefully you look towards other O.A.T.S member sites for the information. Why do I mention this? Because fellow O.A.T.S member TouchGen has released the first full issue of their iPad magazine, TouchGen Magazine.

The magazine sets out to provide the same high quality features and reviews that the TouchGen site conventionally provides, but with a print style gaming magazine feel to it. The first issue contains a preview of Gameloft’s new crime based shooter, 9mm, the making of Order & Chaos as well as reviews of many games such as Final Fantasy III, Bumpy Road and World of Goo. There’s even a nice dose of humor with the top five feature of the best games to play while on the toilet.

Throughout the magazine, there are some great visuals and magazine style nuances and TouchGen Magazine makes for a great read that encourages users to look forward to the next issue.

TouchGen Magazine – Issue 1 is available now for iPad owners and it’s a free download.

Posted in: Blog

Tagged with: Gaming, iPad, magazine, TouchGen

View the original article here

Unbelievable “Find My iPhone” Stories: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Find My iPhone is an awesome free feature that allows any iPhone or iPad owner to track down their device in the event that it gets stolen or lost. From any Mac or iOS device, you can log into MobileMe and instantly see a map containing the locations of your iOS devices. From here you can lock them, reset them or even send a message and set off an alarm.

This feature is great in theory, but does it work in the real world? Today we’ve got three “Find my iPhone” stories that recently made headlines, each with interestingly unique outcomes.

Find My iPhone

Manchester, UK – This story takes the cake. It’s everything that you dream about when you imagine someone stealing your phone. It sounds like over-the-top fiction, but according to the Manchester Evening News, it really happened.

A woman was casually enjoying her lunch during a day of shopping when a thief appeared and stole the phone from her purse. She quickly called her husband from another line, who was able to activate “Find My iPhone” and call the police with the thief’s location. Awesome action movie events followed.

“The police scrambled a helicopter to spot the thief, which spotted his car and radioed it in to the boys on the ground.”

The police scrambled a helicopter to spot the thief, which spotted his car and radioed it in to the boys on the ground. A full-on police chase then ensued, ultimately resulting in the thief being stopped and the phone being found among other stolen property in the car.

Helicopters, police chases, all over a cell phone? The best part: all of this happened within an hour of the phone being stolen. A word of caution to would-be thieves in the UK, the Manchester police don’t mess around!

Melbourne, Australia – When you download and setup “Find My iPhone”, you do so with the hope that, if your phone is ever stolen, the information can be used to catch the criminal. But is that always the case?

It would be nice if all police forces had both the gall and resources to scramble helicopters for every phone-stealing punk that walks out of the mall, but it seems more likely that your stolen device will be added to a very large stack of work that may or may not ever be followed up on.

In Melbourne, a man who realized that his iPad, along with over a thousand dollars in other goods, had been stolen immediately tracked down the device, sent it a message and called the police. So, he had the location of his stolen property and he informed the authorities. Rally the troops, it’s time to get the sucker! Right?

“After a month of waiting, the victim discovered that the police had done little to nothing to approach the thief.”

After a month of waiting, the victim discovered that the police had done little to nothing to approach the thief. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the information provided was insufficient for a search warrant to go through the thief’s home and locate the device.

So despite knowing where the alleged iPad burglar was holding his device, the man was forced to let it go, considering but ultimately letting go of the idea of barging in himself to take it back. Think you’d be brave enough to get your iPad back? The next story might change your mind.

Reading the last story might have gotten your blood pumping a little. You’re a tough guy, and if you knew where the little worm who stole your iOS device lived, you’d march in and take it right back!

Umpire Carl Ippolito thought the same thing, and that’s exactly what he did. After using “Find My iPhone” to track his phone down, Ippolito followed the map to the location where, lo and behold, there stood a man talking on an iPhone.

“Ippolito then attacked the man and wrestled him to the ground!”

According to Ubergizmo, Ippolito confronted the man, who of course denied having stolen any phone. Not one to be taken advantage of, Ippolito then attacked the man and wrestled him to the ground!

Somehow, the brawl ended and the poor guy escaped the umpire’s wrath. I say “poor guy” because Ippolito ended up finding his phone nearby in a snack shack, where he had mistakenly left it after a game (whoops!).

Ippolito was then arrested for assault, disorderly conduct and generally not being too bright. “Find My iPhone” allows you to lock the phone and even set off an audible alarm, which may have prevented Ippolito from attacking an innocent bystander who happened to be using a working phone at the time.

As you can see, despite being a great service, “Find My iPhone” can have drastically varied results in the real world. For my own part, the feature has turned out to be a lifesaver. I once realized that my iPad was missing and couldn’t quite remember where I had last used it. I fired up my Mac and saw that my that the device was sitting at a pizza place that I had eaten at two days earlier! Fortunately, the staff had dutifully held onto it for me and I was able to get it back in perfect working order with zero problems.

Do you have a story about using “Find My iPhone” to locate your lost or stolen iOS device? We want to hear it! Leave a comment below and tell us what happened.

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Xantrex Technologies 851-0178 XPower 175-Watt Micro Inverter

The Xantrex Technologies XPower Micro 175-watt inverter transforms your vehicle's electricity so you can power your electronic devices while on the road. Compact and lightweight, it simply plugs into the 12-volt DC outlet in your vehicle to power cell phones, camcorders, small portable stereos, laptop computers, 13-inch TVs, portable work lights, and more. It includes an automatic shutdown feature to protect against overload, over-heating, and high/low battery condition. This durable plastic unit is just 1.9-by-2.9-by-4.8 inches in size and weighs 0.38 pounds. It is covered by a 1-year warranty.

Price: $44.99

Click here to buy from Amazon

111 Years of Deutsche Grammophon: 111 Classic Tracks

This attractively priced 6-CD 111 Classic Tracks box-set is a cornucopia that offers one track each from The Collector's Edition's fifty-one featured artists - and additional tracks by sixty artists drawn from our company's inception through today. This "wow" of a set encompasses the artistry of immortals such as Enrico Caruso and Richard Strauss to our newest signings such as Measha Brueggergosman and Alice Sara Ott. 111 Classic Tracks is further proof, in superlative sound and execution, why Deutsche Grammophon continues to be the dominant entity in classical-music history.

Price: $24.98

Click here to buy from Amazon

Scale and Convert Recipes with Kitchen Calculator Pro

There is nothing worse than standing in the middle of the supermarket with a copy of a recipe for “Ultimate Double Chocolate Cake” that you pulled off the Internet and realizing that all the ingredients are in a measurement system not used in your country. Sure, the Internet can help you convert those measurements, but it can be long-winded, time-consuming and let’s face it, you don’t always have an Internet connection.

Luckily, that’s where the app Kitchen Calculator Pro can step in and save the day (or at least the recipe). Kitchen Calculator Pro lets you quickly and easily convert measurements and scale recipes. So, no matter if you are standing in your kitchen or in the supermarket, you can always convert the amounts into a measurement unit that works for you. Let’s run through how the app works in more detail and explain what the various buttons do.

Kitchen Calculator Pro is a simple yet incredibly useful app that allows you to quickly scale recipes and convert measurements. Never before has it been so easy to get your hands on a recipe – whether you printed it off the web, ordered a world cuisine cookbook or picked up the details during your last holiday abroad. However, those recipes are not always in the size or measuring system that you would like. In the past you might have thrown the recipe out or opened a number of conversion sites online but now you can do it all in one place, without the need for an Internet connection.

Once downloaded from the Apple Store, Kitchen Calculator Pro is ready to use. There is no set-up or registration required. Provided you have some measurements to convert, you are ready to start using the app.

When you open Kitchen Calculator Pro, you are presented with a green, white and orange screen. The main options stem from the four buttons towards the top – a measuring jug, scales, a thermometer and a ruler. In addition to these four buttons, there are an additional four smaller buttons dotted around the top-half of the screen.

Measuring Jug – The measuring jug stands for the volume units (e.g. gallon, fluid ounce, milliliter). When you want to convert a measurement from or to a volume amount, this is where you will find them.

Scales – The scales icon stands for the weight units (e.g. grams, pounds, kilograms). When you want to convert a measurement from or to a weight amount, you would head here.

The Volume Units (measuring jug icon) and Weight Units (scales icon)

Thermometer – The thermometer provides you with a chart showing the different cooking temperatures in Fahrenheit, Celsius and Gas Mark formats. You also have the option to use the calculator on this screen (press “F” or “C”) to convert temperatures between Fahrenheit/Celsius.

Ruler – The ruler icon brings you to the distance units. Never again do you have to try and remember the relationship between yards, feet and meters. It’s all right here for you to convert with the calculator.

Temperature and Distance Units

Checkmark – Located in the top-left corner, the checkmark lets you set the units to US or UK measurements. The setting then applies to teaspoons, tablespoons, quarts, pints, liquid ounces, gallons and gills.

Question Mark – Located in the top-right corner, the question mark takes you to the help screen.

Choose From UK or US Measurements on the Settings Screen and Get Help on the Help Screen

Plus/Minus – The plus/minus button takes you to the fraction calculator.

Paper and Pencil - From this button you can add and edit ingredients.

Converting an ingredient from one measurement unit to another is incredibly simple once you have done it a couple of times. Here’s how:

Tap the scale or measuring jug icon, depending on if you are converting from weight or volume.Select the unit.Select the unit you want to convert to. You will have to change screens if you are converting between weight/liquid measurements.When the ingredient list appears, select the ingredient you wish to convert (if you are converting from liquid to liquid or weight to weight, an ingredient list will not appear). If your ingredient is not on the list, you can add it by pressing the “+” button.Enter the amount you wish to convert. The conversion will show at the top of the screen automatically.Repeat for the rest of your ingredients. Entering the Amount and Adding/Editing Ingredients

From the home screen, scaling a recipe is done by pressing the plus/minus button located at the top right-hand side of the screen. This takes you to the calculator screen where you will enter the amount that you are looking to scale (e.g. 500 for 500g).  You then press the scaling button (it looks like four people of decreasing size) on the right-hand side of the screen.

When you press the scaling button, a new half-screen will pop up with two revolving panels. On the left panel you can enter how many portions the original recipe serves and with the right panel you set how many portions you want the recipe to be scaled to.

Let’s use the 500 example from above. If I want to know how much chicken I need when I scale a recipe that originally serves seven people down to two servings, I would press the plus/minus button, enter 500 and then press the scaling button. In the left panel I would set the dial to “7 servings” and the right dial to “2 servings”, then I would click “ok”. Kitchen Calculator Pro tells me faster than I could have grabbed a calculator and tapped all the numbers in, that I need just 143 grams of chicken for my dinner for two.

Scaling a Recipe

Before you go off scaling all your recipes, you might like to know:

as long as you press “C” (rather than “done”) the calculator will remember the serving settings you previously usedpressing “done” resets the serving settingsyou can also scale recipes when using the conversion feature

Kitchen Calculator Pro recommends that you add ingredients that you use on a regular basis that are not already on the ingredient list. The easiest way to do this is by clicking on the icon that looks like a piece of paper with a pencil on top. As explained on the help screen, from here you will be able to “enter the volume and weight for a typical ingredient portion. Example: 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.” Once you have entered the volume and weight, you will be asked for the ingredient name.

If you are feeling a bit daunted by the prospect of finding out the relevant information for an ingredient you want to add, Kitchen Calculator Pro does give some tips on the help screen, including a website where you can look-up many of the ingredients.

Kitchen Calculator Pro costs $3.99. You can get a “light” version, called Kitchen Calculator, for $2.99. You do however lose some of the options, including the ability to scale recipes. For the small difference in price, I would recommend you go ahead and splurge for the Pro version.

Between the simple design, great help menus and pure usefulness, Kitchen Calculator Pro is an excellent app.  The one point that I would love to see improved is to have a more obvious back button. Returning to the app homepage is usually achieved by pressing the “done” button. However, if you want to go back to the beginning mid-conversion, it feels slightly unnatural to do so. Meaning I often forgot and ended up closing the app and re-opening it.

Overall, Kitchen Calculator Pro is a handy app for those that like to cook. Whether you are an expat trying to recreate some of your favourite foods or just mathematically challenged in the kitchen, Kitchen Calculator Pro is sure to become one of your must-have kitchen utilities.

There is nothing more infuriating than finding the perfect recipe only for it to be in different measurement units or too large for your needs. Kitchen Calculator Pro, in its easy, simple and convenient format takes away that issue and without the need for an internet connection.

9 Kitchen Calculator Pro Reviewed by Heather Tucker on Jun 1 . There is nothing more infuriating than finding the perfect recipe only for it to be in different measurement units or too large for your needs. Kitchen Calculator Pro, in its easy, simple and convenient format takes away that issue and without the need for an internet connection. Rating: 9 out of 10

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The Portable Podcast, Episode 89

On this episode of The Portable Podcast, host Carter Dotson and a variety of iOS developers get together to talk about the future of iOS, given the recent announcements of iOS5 and iCloud.

Round and round and round and roundtable!

On This Episode:

Carter and several iOS developers get together to discuss iOS5 and what the new features mean for the future of development on iOS.

Who We Are:

Host: Carter DotsonGuest: Colin Walsh, Celsius Game StudiosGuest: Gavin Bowman, Retro DreamerGuest: Peter Babiy, Strapped to a Meteor Studios

Contact The Show: Email | Twitter

Music:

“Beatnes7 (Theme to The Portable Podcast)” by The Eternal – Download on iTunes here: “Nanocarp” by The Eternal

How to Listen:

Click Here to Subscribe in iTunes:

Click Here to Subscribe via RSS.Listen on WRGT Radio every Friday at 4pm CentralListen Here:

Apps Mentioned in this Episode:

Posted in: Blog

Tagged with: DEO, Game Center, icloud, ios 5, iOS5, podcast, Portable Podcast, Red Nova, The Portable Podcast, velocispider, wwdc

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D-Day 1944 Review

D-Day 1944 offers an ideal introduction for children to a hugely important historical event. It is a little basic for others though.

D-Day was a real turning point in the Second World War and one that deserves as much recognition as possible. While a great many poor souls perished during the fighting, D-Day was also a great accomplishment in the war against Nazi Germany. It also feels increasingly distant for many young people with the 67th anniversary having just passed last week.

So it’s good to see modern technology like the interactive eBook D-Day 1944 setting out to make the subject that bit more interesting to students and other people with an interest in the topic.

The app offers a series of different ways of interacting with the subject matter. There’s an in-depth text description of the events that happened that day along with also an audio commentary for users who would rather listen to the tale of the ‘longest day’. Descriptions of battles are detailed and there’s also a step by step re-enactment of the key phases of the battle. Animations serve to make the battle more enticing, especially to younger students in need of constant activity to keep interested.

There’s also a Quiz section to test users on what they’ve learnt although this is relatively simple, as well as a basic explanation of soldiers and tanks. Everything there is a little surface level admittedly but in much the same way as a book for middle school or younger children would be.

D-Day 1944 is a little simplistic once users get past the animated battle layouts and descriptive element but it still serves as a great tool to encourage children into learning more about this very important subject. For the adult history fan, it’s probably a little too basic to be worth the asking price but for dipping a toe into the historical event, it’s ideal.

Posted in: Reviews, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Reference

Tagged with: $4.99, Amber Books, D-Day 1944, Education, history, Reference

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Nutella and GO! Snack (Case of 24) (52g)

Cookie sticks and Nutella in one snack pack. Scoop the nutella up with the edible sticks for snack time. Product of Germany.

Price:

Click here to buy from Amazon

DBTech® 175 Watt Portable Micro Power Inverter With USB Port --- 12v AC to 110v DC Car Plug Converter For Your iPod, iPad, iPhone, Droid, DVD Players, Laptops, Netbooks, And cellphones

Look your best by taking care of your face in your shower. This patent

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If you are not satisfied with your purchase we offer a 100% 30-day money

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Price:

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Belkin Mini Surge Protector/Dual USB Charger

Protect your electronic devices wile traveling.

Price: $0.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

Fast Paced Jigsaw Puzzler Puzzle Planet Turns Universal

Jigsaw puzzle solving with Puzzle Planet

148Apps Network Post

Newly available for iPhone and iPod Touch owners comes jigsaw puzzler Puzzle Planet.

Previously available solely on the iPad, Puzzle Planet has now become a Universal app. It’s a quirky jigsaw puzzler that promises attractive images and some intriguing power-ups and souvenirs to encourage players to keep playing. There’s even a loose but cutesy story behind things with alien Nur and his friend Glood exploring the wonders of Planet Earth by solving jigsaw puzzles along the way.

The app is a free app to start with, offering 18 different puzzles. Fans can then pay a small $0.99 fee to unlock one of 8 different puzzle packs which further open up more jigsaws, each corresponding to a different theme such as cities or ancient marvels. These aren’t regular jigsaw puzzles either with fast reactions and skill needed to progress, adding a nice twist on the genre. It looks like it’s going to be a great family game in particular.

Puzzle Planet is out now and it’s an universal app.

Posted in: Blog

Tagged with: Family, jigsaw, puzzle, Puzzle Planet, Universal App

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Ultimate Flint Collection (Our Man Flint / In Like Flint)

There's really been only one rival to James Bond: Derek Flint. That's because of James Coburn's special brand of American cool. He's so cool, in fact, that he doesn't care to save the world. That is, until he's personally threatened. He's a true libertarian, with more gadgets and girls than Bond, but with none of his stress or responsibility. In Our Man Flint (1966), he's totally unflappable as he thwarts mad scientists who control the weather--and an island of pleasure drones. Lee J. Cobb costars as Flint's flustered superior, and Edward Mulhare plays a British nemesis with snob appeal. For fans of Austin Powers, incidentally, the funny-sounding phone comes from the Flint films. However, the best gadget remains the watch that enables Flint to feign death. There's a great Jerry Goldsmith score, too.

There was bound to be a Flint sequel, and In Like Flint (1967) delivers the same kind of zany fun as its predecessor. Flint is recruited once again by Lee J. Cobb to be the government's top secret agent, this time to solve a mishap involving the President. Turns out, the Chief Executive has been replaced by an evil duplicate. The new plan for world domination involves feminine aggression, and Flint, with his overpowering charisma, is just the man to turn the hostile forces around. In Like Flint is still over the top, but some of the novelty has worn off, and it doesn't have quite the same edge as the original. Even Jerry Goldsmith's score is a bit more subdued. But the film still has James Coburn and that funny phone. --Bill Desowitz

Price: $19.98

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Discover The Dark Side With Titus

Political mini games with a dark twist.

A 3D mini-games collection based around politics might not seem like the most obvious choice for a new game but that didn’t stop French game developers Frogames.

Titus is an agoraphobic watchmaker who decides to achieve his dream of becoming the president of Wealland. The player must help Titus achieve that goal by participating in the campaign mode and progressing through five mini arcade games. Each mini game might feel familiar to fans of such titles but it’s the backdrop of Titus that looks set to make it stand out from the crowd.

It’s a pretty cynical campaign simulator all in all with an Election mode to boot, promising low blows and corruption throughout. The entire atmosphere of the game is sombre and gloomy with some very dark undertones. It all feels a little like something Tim Burton could have conjured up. Even the music feels suitably eerie. Fun is promised too though and an encyclopedia of game tips and character descriptions keeps things interesting.

Titus offers an intriguing mix of game types and it’s available now as an universal app and currently on sale at $1.99.

Posted in: Blog

Tagged with: $1.99, Frogames, Games, mini games, Politics, Titus

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Hector: Episode 1 HD Review

Hector: Episode 1 is a crude but frequently hilarious adventure game.

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Telltale Games are true masters of the point and click adventure. Nearly single handedly, they’ve revitalised the genre and brought it back from the brink of extinction. Monkey Island, Wallace & Gromit, Sam & Max, Back to the Future…they’re all great titles in their own right. Each providing great adventure experiences both on the PC/Mac and on the iPad. Now comes a much, much cruder affair in the form of Hector: Episode 1 – We Negotiate with Terrorists. Think of it as a true antithesis of Wallace & Gromit. It’s not comfortable and sweet, but downright lewd and offensive with plenty of profanities and mature themes. It’s also really quite fun for those wanting a bit more bite to their point and click adventure.

Right from the start, Detective Inspector Hector is in your face as a grumpy and unpleasant pig of a cop. And you know what? It’s pretty entertaining. It makes a great change of pace from what players usually expect of point and click adventure. Fans of British cop dramas like Life on Mars or Hot Fuzz will know a lot of these themes as Hector has clearly been heavily influenced by the likes of Gene Hunt. Much of the language is very British too which might take a bit of adjustment for some. It’s consistently humorous though.

There’s a whole wealth of jokes covering everything from condoms, drug addicts, sex dolls, prostitutes and a heck of a lot of swearing. Pretty much the first puzzle consists of retrieving a paper clip from a vile toilet with a condom and a dismembered foot. This is the kind of experience to expect.

The puzzles are a little convoluted at times with combining items particularly important throughout. Fortunately, a fair amount of hints and tips are available, but old hands at the genre will enjoy the challenge set out here. This is the kind of adventure game that requires players to explore every single nook and cranny on the screen in order to find everything, just like in the old days. Controls aren’t bad with one tap allowing players to look while two interacts with the object but it can cause a few mistakes here and there.

Ultimately though, Hector: Episode 1 – We Negotiate with Terrorists is a pretty fun experience for those after cruder humor than the norm. People of a sensitive disposition should stay clear but those looking for a game with adult jokes will greatly enjoy this. Who could resist a game that requires the player to remove all the pornography in the town so as to appease terrorists for instance? Yup, it’s that twisted.

Posted in: Games, Reviews, iPad Apps and Games, iPad Games, iPhone Apps and Games

Tagged with: $6.99, adventure, Hector: Episode 1, Point and Click adventure, Telltale Games, We Negotiate with Terrorists

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E3 Gameloft Hands-on: Block Breaker 3 Unlimited

The classic is back, with a fresh coat of paint.

With popular developer, Gameloft, people seem to forget the developer and publisher’s humble first forays onto the iOS platform in the form of Block Breaker Deluxe 2.  Nearly three years later, the studio has decided to return their breakout gaming roots, debuting their newest installment in the franchise at E3 2011.  However, this time out busting bricks are just the beginning.

Remember the days of early iPhone gaming when everyone was rocking out to Block Breaker’s psychedelic visuals, purely because it was one of the only games on the plaftorm?  The game was in heavy rotation on my device, so you can just imagine my glee when during my meeting with Gameloft at E3, I was handed an iPhone equipped with the previously undisclosed iOS installment of Block Breaker 3 Unlimited.  From the word go it is very apparent that the franchise is back and better than ever, with a few much appreciated tweaks.

First off, instead of clearing each room and then waiting to have the screen rebuild the next map, now players actually have to navigate their ball into the next room through a doorway.  On the surface this may not seem like that big of a deal, but when there are branching rooms, this could lead to interesting new ways to traverse the title’s one hundred stages.  Also lets not forget about the power-ups, because there are going to be many returning favorites, along with a few newbies to mix up the already frantic action.

When you combine these features with a new map editor and eight different gameplay modes to complete each stage in, you can count on this package stealing quite a bit of your time when it launches later this year.
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Posted in: Blog, First Looks, Upcoming

Tagged with: Block Breaker 2, Block Breaker 3 Unlimited, E3, gameloft, hands-on, preview

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Tiny Wings: Flying iPhone Fowl Fun

Some people (apparently a great majority) get some wild enjoyment out of firing furious fowls into rudely constructed structures that protect a pile of prig-looking pigs. It’s not just iOS devices, but Android, Palm and other charts are topped with the best-selling physics-based destruction game “Angry Birds”. But we already knew that, so I’m always interested in seeing which new app will surface to the number 2 spot on the mobile gaming charts; and I’ve found a winner: “Tiny Wings”.

Tiny Wings features a bird with a problem: his wings aren’t big enough to fly. Your mission is simple, keep your bird in motion with high-and-long glides over the colorful hills of rolling digital islands. Start slow, sliding down a grassy slope, then let gravity and aerodynamic velocity take it from there.

Tiny Wings

The first thing that caught my attention about Tiny Wings was the artwork. The pastel-watercolor look really works, drawing in the gamer at first glance. From icon to island, this game radiates with attractiveness. And with more than 20 islands and procedural graphics, you’ll get plenty of new and stunning environments to keep you and your flying bird blissfully engaged for quite some time.

The Many Islands of Tiny Wings

Getting Acquainted

Your first introduction to your bird is a menu where he/she sits proudly atop a modest nest. My recommendation: Give the bird a name. It’s infinitely more exciting to call out to your bird in encouragement as it goes gliding along. On second thought, if you’re worried about your peers and/or neighbors retaliating in frustration to the frequent shouts of “Fly Renzo, Fly!”, you might want to leave the bird anonymous… you’re choice.

Waking up to Slide

In principle, the game is simple- slide and glide far and wide. Your only control is a sort of “dive-bomb” move that is activated by touching anywhere on the screen. On your first run, you’ll be guided through the process of hitting the hills at their optimal downward slope to be propelled the furthest as you depart from the opposite incline.

Step-by-Step Instructions For Gameplay

Once you’ve got the basics down, you’ll soon notice that the daylight is going fast. In the lower, left-hand corner you’ll see a small daylight clock and your points. Your immediate goal is to collect as many points as possible before the sun goes down, at which point you will fall instantly into a deep sleep (Even if you’re in the middle of an airborne glide).

Points seem to be accrued by the combination of distance traveled, coins collected, longest fever (a sort of super slide), cloud touches (high jumps), and great slides.

The End Of The Day

If you think that sliding, falling and gliding would get repetitive after awhile, then you probably haven’t spent enough time flapping your Tiny Wings. But as fun as it is help Renzo (or whatever your bird responds to) beat the day light and discover new islands, there’s more to Tiny Wings that immediately meets the eye.

You start out with a nest. It’s a small, modest nest, but it keeps your bird warm at night when it’s not shooting through hill and sky. But what does every flightless bird really crave and wish for? A bigger, better nest.

Nest Up!

Build up your nest by achieving a number of objectives which you can see by tapping the “Objectives” button on the main menu screen. At the time of this writing there are 30 achievements that you can work through, building up your nest as you go.

List of Current Objectives

As your nest grows, a point modifier grows as well. With a higher point modifier, every jump, “fever” and cloud touch gets you more points towards your ultimate high score.

Contentedly Sliding Into the Sunset

With such simple gameplay, stunning visuals, and challenging objectives, Tiny Wings is sure to keep you pressing madly at your iOS device for hours. I love it!

For information, tips and tricks, and more, check out the Tiny Wings online forum at: http://tiny-wings-game.com/.

You have always dreamed of flying - but your wings are tiny. Luckily the world is full of beatiful hills. Use the hills as jumps - slide down, flap your wings and fly! At least for a moment - until this annoying gravity brings you back down to earth. But the next hill is waiting for you already. Watch out for the night and fly as fast as you can.

9 Tiny Wings Reviewed by C. A. Beninati on Jun 13 . You have always dreamed of flying - but your wings are tiny. Luckily the world is full of beatiful hills. Use the hills as jumps - slide down, flap your wings and fly! At least for a moment - until this annoying gravity brings you back down to earth. But the next hill is waiting for you already. Watch out for the night and fly as fast as you can. Rating: 9 out of 10

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