Boys vs. Girls
After learning yesterday that girls, in Steve’s world, should be doing math flash cards, I was welcomed to the ‘Apps For Boys’ iTunes essentials page today. With awesome (monster trucks!) on top of awesome (Transformers!) apps on the page, we, as a gender, are also supposed to be doing math. Ah, but there is a difference. I’m writing this with the assumption that the “Apps For Boys/Girls” pages are written for smaller kids and not high-schoolers. My sister calls them ‘tweens’… whatever that means.

Looking at the description of the math apps that are assigned to the genders, I see one very obvious difference. If you look at ‘Math Flash Cards’ the math app recommended for girls, it says that “Math Flash Cards is a fun to use math drill application that looks just like paper flash cards. This app is perfect for your kids to help keep their skills tuned over the summer.” Sure, that’s great… stay fresh over the summer. Perfect, Summer is only what, a year away? The boys on the other hand were given Mathemagics – Mental Math Tricks, which, in its description lets you, “Prepare for the math section on the SAT, PSAT, ACT, GRE, GMAT, MCAT, or any other standardized test. Don’t waste time with a calculator on the few tests that allow them. Use Mathemagics as a tutor to quicken up your test taking abilities.”

Wow, so good luck girls… with your silly flash cards. We’ll be studying for the GRE at age 11.

Mathemagics - Mental Math Tricks

Category: Education / Educational
Released: 2009-03-03
Price: $1.99

Unity and Storm 8
Yesterday, I posted an article about Ranvensword that mentioned Storm 8 in a negative light. I got an e-mail rather quickly explaining the situation. Here’s part of the post on their forum that explains the situation.

Here’s the background: You may recall that in August 2009, some users noted that Storm8 games contained software code that for some users collected mobile phone numbers upon opening the application for our massively multiplayer online role‐playing games (MMORPGs). However, Storm8 was not using those numbers for any purpose. Nor did we ever provide them to any other company.

We determined that these numbers were being collected as the result of legacy code (old, obsolete code) in the games. The legacy code had been included early in the software development process as a potential way for Storm8 to identify specific devices; however, we later determined it was more suitable to use the device’s Unique Device ID instead. Once Storm8 was alerted to this issue in August, we immediately took voluntary, proactive steps to satisfy our user community and we quickly made available updated versions of our games without that legacy code.

Storm8 greatly values its relationships with its millions of users and with Apple, and our goal is to continue making our exciting gaming experience available. We know that users are continuing to play Storm8 games, but need the ability to access the iTunes store to upgrade the applications in order for Storm8 to best serve our user community. We are actively working with Apple to help resolve these issues, and will keep you informed.

In short: Current game versions do not download, store or use iPhone® telephone numbers when a game is opened, and Storm8 has no plans to download, store or use iPhone® numbers in the future unless the user expressly authorized the download in advance. We are committed to continuously enhancing your gaming experience and customer satisfaction through planned new launches and ongoing upgrades.

So kids, buy your Storm8 games without worry. ‘Zombies Live” wants you!

Toxic
The Holy Grail for an average developer is to get on the front page of the App Store. Developers can plug away for countless hours on their masterpiece, only to have Apple put their rival app on the front page, making it the clear cut champ. So with thousands of developers just praying for the day that they will reach the front page, how do you think they feel today. What happened today you ask? Today was the day that I went to the page, and in the huge scrolling screen at the top, saw ‘It’s Britney!’. I don’t even want to go into the details of the app… I just want to shake my head in shame. Sorry struggling devs, your hard work is just no match for Britney Spears.

It's Britney!

Category: Music
Released: 2009-11-15
Price: $1.99

Potter fans, rejoice: the first official Harry Potter app has been released to the App Store. iDevice-owning Muggles can grab the app and be Sorted by the Sorting Hat, receive a wand at Olivander’s, and then be instructed in the basics of dueling whilst earning points for their House. If this sounds familiar…then, yes, it’s because it is similar to previous online offerings from Warner Bros. What makes this app so intriguing, however, is its focus on dueling…specifically, multiplayer duels over both Bluetooth and WiFi.

Yes, that’s right; dueling. While the app will allow you to challenge an AI opponent, whipping your friend in a digital duel is undoubtedly better, and I can’t wait to test this one out. Fledgling wizards can currently learn up to 14 spells, and the examples given are old favorites: Stupefy!, Expecto Patronum!, Expelliarmus!, and so on. Spells are unleashed with hand gestures and sent between devices. I can’t think of a better platform for a handheld duel, especially given the iPhone’s accelerometer.

Rounding out the offering are a slew of appreciated extras: Facebook Connect, player stats pages, House rankings, and Hogwarts-wide leaderboards. Warner Bros. is obviously attempting to foster some competitive spirit between friends.

It’s worth noting that Harry Potter: Spells isn’t targeted at the 99-cent crowd; the app is selling for $4.99. We’ll have a review up in a few days with our recommendation, but for now, more information can be found at http://harrypotterspellsapp.com/.

Touch Pets Dogs is ngmoco:)’s newest causual app, has been causing quite a stir in the app world. Being one of the first “pay to play more” apps, the iTunes reviews have been quite mixes, with half being extremely positive siting the great gameplay and half hating it because of the game imposed limited playtime. Being the big app at the moment, we sent some questions to Andrew Stern of Stumptown Game Machine, who worked with ngmoco:) to create Touch Pets Dogs. Being the previous creator of Vitual Dogz, Catz, Babyz, and now Touch Pets Dogs, Andrew may be the top virtual animal mind in the world.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Chris (148apps)- I was going to save this for last, but I just can’t. Why Canada? Touch Pets was launched in Canada first, causing us in the US to wonder what we did wrong. Did they get to you with their kindness?

Andrew- Since social networking is such a big part of Touch Pets, we wanted to make sure our game servers would perform well with a large number of active players. The Canadian market is similar to the rest of North America, and it seemed like a great first country to let the puppies loose in, to test the servers before going global.

Chris- I suppose that those little Tamagotchi’s were destined to evolve into something amazing. I remember seeing people crowded together in grade school, all messing with each others creatures. Somewhere along the line, the social aspect in the genre left though, and we were doomed to play with our pets on our own. Touch Pets seems to try to end that though… explain some of the social features and where you see those taking the game.

Andrew- Definitely one of the coolest things about Touch Pets is how it combines virtual pets with social networking. When you adopt your first puppy, you also create an account for yourself on ngmoco’s Plus+ network. This makes it really easy to start creating a Friends list with other players. They can be Touch Pets players you already know, or strangers you might begin following on the Global Feed. From your Dogs list — the list of dogs owned by players on your Friends list — you can invite any puppy over for a playdate to meet and become friends or romances with your dogs. The game creates a personalized Dog Feed for you, that shows you the latest posts of what you, your dogs and your friends’ dogs are up to.

I find it really fun to play with my puppy Lulu for a while, and then see the latest thing I trained her to do show up on the Dog Feed. My friends can read about it, and see a photo, which is cool. Then I can see what my friends have been up to with Lulu — for example, someone recently brought Lulu along on a Science career step with their dog Fido, to gather DNA samples for some sick wolves. I was able to see a screenshot of Lulu and Fido accomplishing that career step. I even got a Push notification on my phone while I wasn’t even playing the game, that my friend earned some Puppy Bucks from that. And, it turned out Fido and Lulu fell in love that day… but they have since broken up. I’m going to invite Fido over again soon to see if I can get them to reunite… I’ll shop in the Pet Store for a cute outfit for Lulu first though.

Chris- Bonnie, who is reviewing the game as we speak, has a question. “In Touch Pets: Dogs, there seems to be a system that limits free play time.; your puppy falls asleep without food, and it’s hard to play for an extended period of time without paying. Do you plan to adjust the rate of food consumption?”

Andrew- Actually we just replaced everybody’s food with premium chow, that gives your puppies a lot more energy. Instant updates like that are a big benefit of the game being always connected to the internet!

We’re closely listening to players and reading their comments on the Touch Pets Facebook page and other forums, to figure out the perfect balance between free play and paid play. Touch Pets Dogs actually gives away a lot of free gameplay as it is: you get a free bowl of dog food every 2.5 hours, which could give you up to 4 bowls per waking hours of your day. And you can make your free play time last longer by finding ways to play that don’t use up your dog’s energy as fast. And you can peruse the Dog Feed and Global Feed for as long as you like.

Chris- Last question, and I think this is an important one. How do you see future distributions of Touch Pets going? Will they be done through in app purchasing or will we see a new version for each dog, a la Nintendogs?

Andrew- We certainly plan to update Touch Pets with new breeds and more. We’re still figuring out exactly when and how, but the next breeds will certainly be informed by players and what they want to adopt!
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Thanks to Andrew Stern for the interview and Joanna Barber of Fortyseven Communications for setting it up.

No iPhone?
As I said in MMAHQ last week, I am in Sugar Land, TX for the month of November, living it up with the townies. For those of you who don’t know, Sugar Land is the anchor suburb of the Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown metro area, and was rated by CNN/Money as the third best city in the United States. You would think that in a well to do suburb with a ton of kids, you would see an insane number of iPhones. I live in Phoenix most of the year, and everyone I know there has an iPhone (maybe because they all work or worked at various Apple Stores…). Not seeing someone with an iPhone is almost confusing to me. I mean, how in the world would I communicate with people without it. Some people claim that using the phone feature is the answer, but their 20th century thought process is as foreign an idea to me as cheese on apple pie.

I’m rambling… it’s a bad habit. So, to get to the point, I’ve discovered that nobody in Sugar Land, except for my dad (who still can’t grasp the concept of an app), has an iPhone. Something is wrong, and I can really only think of two people to blame. Being a Sugar Land native, I of course blame myself first, but the real culprit is the local Apple Store in the First Colony Mall. The recently red-shirted Apple employees need to step up their game and pump out some iPhones! The gauntlet is thrown. Tell every Apple employee you know to shoot an email to the store manager over there so that they know that they need to be on their A-game.

Unity?
I was sad to hear Friday that Ravensword, Chillingo’s new, amazing looking RPG/adventure game, along with a bunch of other games that were made with the Unity engine, were rejected from the App Store. The official word is that,

Ravensword like many other Unity games have found themselves caught in the crossfire between Apple, Storm8, and API calls which exist inside of all Unity games. The same APIs were used by iMobsters developer Storm8 to solicit contact information from players. While Ravensword and other Unity-built games do not collect information from users, Apple rejected the game and others as a measure to prevent such from happening again.

Fortunately for us, the API’s have been removed and the game has been resubmitted. Hopefully we’ll see its release soon… I’m itching to play.

Who Wants To Go To The Probowl?
Gameloft, to coincide with the NFL season that is well underway, launched an “NFL 2010 Twitter League Contest”. According to the email I received, “NFL fans need to answer trivia questions on this site: http://www.nfl2010game.com/TwitterLeague/
Contest Details on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsVX4Hq5ahY”.

Typically, contests like this amount to very little, but the 1st place winner gets 2 tickets to the Pro Bowl, plus airfare and hotel accommodations in Miami. I think that a 148apps reader should win it. Let me know if you do.

NFL 2010

Our Rating: :: PLAYOFF CONTENDER

Category: Games / Simulation
Released: 2009-08-06
Price: $2.99

Metallica Mad
Knowing how much Metallica hates pirates (remember Napster?), I wonder how mad they are about pirates in the App Store. Do you think that they even know that they have an app?

Metallica Revenge

Category: Games / Music
Released: 2009-10-27
Price: $4.99

This Weeks Sign of the Apocalypse
The new “Apps For Girls” iTunes essentials page makes me laugh. I totally understand the need for the market to open up to girls, but what really qualifies as an app for a girl. According to Apple, girls are interested in only a few things: puppies/kittens, looking like a princess, and math. Wait, what was that? Math? Yes ma’am, on the list of “Apps For Girls” lies ‘Math Flash Cards’, a “fun to use math drill application”.

So while the boys of the world are playing Doom while trying to sound like T-Pain, the girls are going to be looking like princesses while learning math. I’m not sure where this is going, but it sounds to me like an evil scheme concocted in Pinkie and the Brain.

Math Flash Cards

Category: Education / Educational
Released: 2008-12-12
Price: $0.99

I Just Can’t Drop It
I’d love to know how ‘Math Flash Cards’ got onto this list. Imagine… you’ve created yourself this great math drill app, targeted towards school kids of all genders. You sell a few apps on the store, and then Apple calls you with a great opportunity. “Hi One Moxie, this is Apple, we’d love to put your app in the “Apps For Girls” list.”

The End

If there’s one persistent problem with the iPhone, it’s its desirability as a device. That shiny black and glass fascia, and user intuitive software really does appeal to us. Unfortunately, most of the time it also appeals to a different group of people. A group of people with the sole intention to steal. With the introduction of Mobile Me, we saw Apple try to combat this age-old situation, introducing for every one of it’s users the ability to track their devices, directly from their online account from anywhere on the globe.

Before Apple showed it’s hand though, there was one prolific company who were set on making tracking stolen devices – specifically iPhone’s and Macintosh computers – their sole business. That company was of course Belgium-based software developers, Obicule. When their security software, Undercover, came to the iPhone, it hit the mainstream. But there were also the usual critics. See, the problem was that the software would only work as intended if the actual application was open on the stolen device. Today, Obicule are announcing what they deem to be a major update to Undercover for iPhone, version 1.5, and sees this exact launch-to-function issue, resolved. In a stark move, this update now adds adding the ability to remotely open the app on the stolen device.

So, How does it work? Well, Obicule have revealed that harnessing a clever use of push notifications, the user can remotely send the stolen device a push notification alert, (rather similar to ‘Find My iPhone’ on Mobile Me), therefore been able to ensure that the owner of the device can remotely open the application, allowing the tracking of the device. Upon registration at the Undercover Center, you’ll be able to access your ‘Undercover’ account online, from anywhere, and once the app is activated, this account will store the devices location and IP information, allowing you to track it under the radar.

To me, this update from the company really proves the true potential of and how powerful Apple’s Push Notification Service can be; and that if more developers put their mind to it, the service could in fact be used for more than just status updates and alerts. It seems the update is already live on the App Store, so if you are an Undercover user, I say go and grab it!

Universal Studios Home Entertainment have today announced their plans to offer next generation user interactivity on a selection of their upcoming Blu-ray titles. Arriving this coming holiday season, the studio will be focusing on bringing a variety of special features targeted for (and which will integrate exclusively with) both the Apple iPhone, and iPod touch. So, I bet you’re wondering what titles can be expect this functionality on? There are five new and upcoming titles, all on Blu-ray, which we’ll see include these special interactive experiences. These include: Bruno, Funny People, 9, American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, Public Enemies, and Inglourious Basterds.

Split up into two main sectors, this new announcement sees Universal as an entertainment studio shift focus into the iPhone space, and equally importantly at the same time, jump on the ever-changing, ever-evolving social networking band-wagon.

The first of Universal’s announcements is pocket BLU. Described as ‘Groundbreaking,’ this free application will connect through Wi-Fi to any network capable Blu-ray player, and will extend the Blu-ray experience in an variety of new and exciting ways.

Feature extensions to your Blu-ray experience will include the following:

An Advanced Remote Control. Not only is Universal Studios set on extending your visual Blu-ray experience, it seems they also want to enhance the the way you interact with it. Pocket BLU™ will see the introduction of a sleek, elegant new way to operate your Blu-ray™ player. You’ll be able to navigate through menus, playback and BD-Live™ functions with ease, straight from your iPhone or iPod touch.

Video Timeline. By turning your iPhone into landscape mode, you will bring up the video timeline, allowing you to instantly access any point in a movie. I don’t know about you, but for me this seems like a great addition and definitely something I can see myself using.

Mobile-To-Go. Sick of special extra content stuck on your physical Blu-ray disc of your favorite blockbuster? I know I am. What if you could take it with you, in your pocket? This new feature aims to do just that. With it, you’ll be able to unlock a selection of exclusive bonus content with your Blu-ray™ discs to save to your device or to stream from anywhere there’s a Wi-Fi network, enabling you to enjoy exclusive content on the go, anytime, anywhere.

Browse Titles. Maybe you’d like to see what other current blockbuster titles support this functionality, or in fact upcoming ones. With the browse titles feature, pocket BLU will give you access to a complete list of pocket BLU-enabled titles available and coming to Blu-ray Hi-Def. You’ll be able to view free previews and see what additional content (if any) is available to unlock on your device.

Pop-Up Keyboard And all this, with keyboard input OTA. Enter data into a Blu-ray player with this easy and intuitive keyboard that will also facilitate such Blu-ray features as chatting with friends and sending messages.

But that’s just the half of it. The second announcement from the studio is social BLU. This new app will aim to add social interaction to your Blu-ray user experience, namely Twitter and Facebook. The studio says you’ll be able to create status messages for each of these services, about the title your currently watching, at the click of a button, to share this Blu-ray experience with your friends.

The American Pie Presents: The Book of Love release will be the first of these titles to mark this integration of Blu-ray content with social networking. Once available, you’ll be able to control status updates from your Blu-ray player, from UniversalHiDef.com, or within pocketBlu.

Of course to make this all possible, Universal have to first update their BD-Live Center.

Newly redesigned, Universal’s BD-Live, which will be first seen on Funny People, will offer an easy, fun, and interactive experience directly from an Internet-connected Blu-ray player. The “What’s New,” feature will allow you to check out the latest releases coming to Blu-ray and theaters, along with exciting BD-Live features. The update will also bring a “Content Center”, where you will be able to intuitively find favorite previews, trailers, and more.

Universal says that login and registration aren’t required unless you want to access select community features, and with everything designed in a one-click and tap navigation, universal reckons that the Blu-ray experience will be more seamless than ever before.

Personally, I think it’s great that we’re seeing major film studios using iPhone and iPod Touch as tools to extend our already rich media experience, and I can’t wait to see where this will lead.

Look out for all the titles mentioned dropping this holiday season!

pocket BLU

Category: Entertainment
Released: 2009-11-11
Price: FREE

**UPDATE** Apparently the new iPod touch ring-out system Apple will be trying in it’s retail stores this holiday season will also be using the Pogo Sketch Stylus for capturing signatures.

Let’s take a brief look back at the epic but short lived war that was started with the “Yuck” heard around the world spoken by Steve himself when he first proclaimed “Nobody wants a stylus.” I still remember the mass outcry of horror and disbelief from Palm and Windows Mobile users world over as they prepared to dig into their trenches. I, being a long time Mac addict, was amongst the first to enlist on Apple’s side and purchased the original iPhone on 7.11.09 (yes folks, this was pre-app store). The next 5 months consisted of allowing skeptics, wether I was on a plane, at a hockey game, or even in the movies, to sit there and play with my phone as if it were a toy. Quickly the tides turned and by the holiday season of ‘07, just less than a year since the iPhone was announced, the war was all but over. With every major phone manufacturer announcing or selling their own non-stylus driven touch screen phone the stylus appeared to be dead. And yet here I sit in disbelief as I hold a stylus made for the iPhone…

The Pogo Stylus ($15) made by Ten One Design is specifically designed and built for use on iPhone and iPod Touch displays. Its body is no wider than your average Bic pen, in fact is slightly thinner and is only 3.5″ long. Being made of aluminum keeps it light weight while remaining incredibly durable. The tip is made up of a soft spongy material which prevents damaging or leaving marks on the screen.

Wielding the stylus and typing away is just as intuitive as you might imagine, the tip itself is the perfect size to use on the iPhone’s keyboard. I was also surprised how well the iPhone sensed the Pogo as it seemed to pick up on even the lightest of touches. This did not hold as true, however, with an iPhone which had a screen protector. While the iPhone still sensed the Pogo it did required a noticeable amount of added pressure. The spongy tip did seem to work itself in though and over time the pressure needed was lessened a bit. The included clip is a nice addition as well which holds the stylus firmly in place on the side of the phone.

The bottom line of course is whether or not something like this is actually useful or necessary for the iPhone. Being a styli war vet I would instinctively yell NO, I can still type way faster with my thumb. But it wouldn’t be fair for me to review a product with such haste and prejudice. The truth is I was able to find some very compelling situations one might desire a Pogo. The first being one that any Chicago or cold weather native can relate to, not needing to take off your gloves in the winter. Keeping feeling in your fingers may well be worth the $15 price tag, even if it’s only a seasonal accessory. The second situation is for the lovely ladies out there who have given up their beautiful long nails to adopt technology, with this guy you can have the best of both worlds. The third and final situation comes is sketch form. While there are many drawing programs out their for use with your finger, using the Pogo does give you a little bit more control and precision.

Recap:

In other words if you’re cold, miss your manicure, or are a Michelangelo in the making, then this may be just the thing for you. For everyone else save your $15 for some new apps.

Pros: Durable, comes with a clip, great if you’re wearing gloves.

Cons: Not necessary, extra thing to carry/lose, $15 for 1

Verdict: Excessive, unless you need it for a very specific reason.

Because the App Store is growing at such an alarming rate, and our poor little hands can only type so fast, 148apps is looking for a new staff writer. We’re looking for someone who isn’t afraid to give an honest opinion, absolutely loves the App Store, and is willing and capable to pump out articles on a semi-regular schedule.

Experience is not necessarily a a requirement (but it helps), as we are much more interested in writing clarity, accuracy, and enthusiasm. To apply, we just need three (3) things.

1. A short blurb about yourself so we can get to know you.

2. An answer to the question, “How much time you can commit to writing for 148apps?”

3. A 500-1000 word sample review. Choose any app you want… it’s the quality of writing that we’re looking for.

Send the above info to chris.hall at 148apps.com with the subject ‘Writing Position’.

This may be the coolest job ever, as we are actually going to pay you (real money, I promise) to use iPhone apps, so please give us a bit of time to read through all of the applications

A little while ago I got the heads up on a small startup iPhone development studio based just up the road from me, in Liverpool (UK). Consisting of a team of both iPhone developers and 3D designers, Kisky Media have come up with a unique and interesting concept. Debuting this December, Little World Gifts will become a virtual ‘Gifting’ system for iPhone (and iPod touch) which will allow you to pick out, buy and send exclusive rich 3D interactive gifts to a special someone. The app will work off in-app purchasing, and each gift received or sent will be downloaded straight into the app itself.

Sending an gift to someone else’s iPhone is as easy as tapping the item, setting a delivery time, and hitting ‘Done’. Received a gift from someone else? You can store and organise your gifts too, on your own virtual shelve. Talking to the startup, the idea behind Little World Gifts is basically to let people experience ‘gifts’ in a more interactive and visually pleasing way, beating the static 2D object approach.

Over the weekend I got the chance to speak to Jonathan Deamer, community and communications manager at Kisky Media exclusively about the new service, to ask just what was Little World Gifts, how he and the team at Kisky Media thinks this concept might affect the App Store and its users in the future, and a little more about Kisky Media in general. Enjoy!

Can you explain what Little World Gifts is, and a little bit about how it’ll work, for us?

We’re billing Little World Gifts as “a boutique store full of festive curios and trinkets to surprise, delight and amuse during the festive season”. Essentially it’s a shop in your iPhone where you can buy 3D, interactive digital gifts, and send them to your friends iPhones, where they can unwrap and play with their gift. We love existing virtual gifts, but mobile gives us a chance to do even more with them, and iPhone enhances those opportunities even further. So we don’t sell “virtual gifts” – we sell “digital gifts”, with all the charm and personality of a “real world” gift you’d want to send or receive yourself. They just happen to be on your iPhone!

It sounds like a cool concept, but how did you come to think of such an idea? What do you hope Little World Gifts will bring to the App Store and it’s users?

The initial idea came to our developer Paul Stringer at the MacWorld conference last year. When Apple first announced that the then-forthcoming iPhone OS 3.0 would allow for push notifications, he immediately thought that loads of people would create free iPhone-to-iPhone SMS apps. But then it occurred to him push notifications would be great for sending digital gifts in real time – rather than not knowing you’ve received a gift until next time you log in to a social network, it’s delivered to you there and then. Add to that the ability to sell content via in-app purchases, plus the brainwave of having gorgeous 3D gifts with real value, and it all just made sense.

We’re hoping to become *the* App Store destination for iPhone gifts. There are of course a number of web-based services that do vaguely similar things, but no-one’s really got it right yet for mobile. And since the sentiment and feeling behind gift-giving is something really important, we want to put some of that sentiment into the App Store.