App-lesauce iPhone App Reviews

New Blog!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:47:00 +0000

Be sure to check out my new blog Things I've Learned. You can learn how to replace a laptop keyboard. and how to make a caffe latte with a Via Venezia

Published with Blogger-droid v1.4.9

How to Connect Your iPod to WiFi

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:03:00 +0000

This post is for a friend of mine from work. I was going to just e-mail him these instructions, but I figured what the heck, this would make a good post, and will be my second attempt at any kind of guide. Helping my friend in this format also lets me use screenshots. I am going to use screenshots and information for Linksys routers, as they are the most common, but it should be easy to apply the information to any router.

Step 1 Get Everything Ready
The first thing you are going to need is your router's SSID, or name, and its wireless key. To get to this open internet explorer and type the IP address "192.168.1.1" into the address bar. It will take you to a screen that looks like this:

For the bulk of Linksys routers, the default username is "admin" and there is no password. If you have changed these, and have forgotten what you used, no problem. On the back of the router will be a little red button. Get a ball point pen or a paper clip and press the button for about 15 or 20 seconds. When you release the button, the router will be restored to factory settings and the "admin" logon will now work.

You will now be on a screen that looks like this:

Make note of the SSID. You will need it when we get to the iPod. Now click on the
"Wireless Security" tab, and you will see this:

Write down the entry under "Key 1". This and your SSID are what you need to get your iPod connected.

Open the settings on your iPod touch. Select Wi-Fi. You will be taken to a screen that looks like the one on the left below:

There you will see your SSID from the router page. You may see more than one. That's okay. Select your SSID and then enter the password you wrote down. When every thing works, you will see a blue check mark next to your SSID and a Wi-Fi icon in the upper left corner of your screen. That's it. You are connected. Happy surfing!

Quick Mention: Juiced

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:00:00 +0000

By: Chilli X
Site: http://chillix.wordpress.com/our-apps/
Release Date: September 21, 2009
Price: 99 cents
Click icon to download

Juiced is an app that gives you a more accurate view of the battery level of your device. What sets this apart from other battery info apps is its mad scientist feel, from the lightning bolt sound effects to the strange colored liquid in the beaker representing your power level. Tilt your device to landscape and get stats like power level, music play time, video time, and talk time.

Screenshot:

Quick Mention: PlaySafe

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:00:00 +0000

By: Chili X
Site: http://chillix.wordpress.com/our-apps/
Release Date: Sept 18, 2009
Price: 99 cents
Click icon to download

Ever tried to fumble around with your devices controls while driving. I'm not trying to say it's the most difficult thing in the world, but it is definitely a distraction from the things you should be doing, like paying attention to the road. PlaySafe gives you a little less to be distracted over by offering a simple swipe system to switch tracks. Swipe left to go forward one track and right to go back. Tap to switch between pause and play. A large icon will be displayed so you can tell what you did at a glance.

Screenshots:

The developer, Chili X offers one piece of advice that I feel I should pass on. Please, for all our sakes, create a playlist for this app before you start driving.

Chain Rxn

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 15:56:00 +0000

By: Zwigglers Mobile
Site: http://apps.facebook.com/zwigglers
Release Date: October 15, 2009
Price: 99 cents
Click icon to download

Chain Rxn, the popular game that is already well-known and loved to Facebook users, is now available for your iPhone. In this game you get one chance to tap the screen and set off a chain reaction that will explode enough balls to clear the level.

Screenshots:

It took me a while to really figure this game out. It seemed simple enough at first. Playing on Facebook, I couldn't understand how my wife scored six million points higher than I did. She really couldn't either. "I guess I just got a lot of them to explode after the limit was reached." But try as I might I couldn't beat that score. Then I figured it out. If you want to achieve the highest score possible, then each ball would have to explode one at a time. The first ball gets you 100 points, the second 800 points, etc. If you set off your explosion and two balls hit it directly, you will get 200 points. If however, one crashes into your explosion and the second crashes into it, then you will get 900 points. The worst thing you can see is a massive cloud of explosions right after you set off the chain reaction. What you want is a slow, steady line of explosions until you are at around the 200,000 to 300,000 point level, and then get the large cloud of explosions, racking up millions of points in the process.
Chain Rxn is highly addictive. It is also a good game to play while waiting in line, on a break, etc. since you only have to tap once and let it go. The game will ask if you want to resume a previous game. Also, Chain Rxn uses Facebook Connect so you can still brag about your high score to all your friends. I will give Chain Rxn an 8 out of 10 for its addictive gameplay and its soothing, wind chime audio.

Tweetie 2

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 14:44:00 +0000

By: atebits
Site: http://www.atebits.com/tweetie-iphone/
Release Date: October 5, 2009
Price: $2.99
Click icon to download

Tweetie 2 is the long awaited sequel to the popular iPhone Twitter client. Tweetie 2 brings a ton of new features to the table, while keeping everything you loved about the original. In this post, we will take a look at all that Tweetie 2 has to offer.


Of course you have the timeline of the people that you follow.	Swipe a tweet and you can reply, open in Safari, mail, repost, save to ReadIt Later, view the tweeters profile, favorite, retweet, or quote it.	Clicking on the tweet takes you to the expanded view, where you can follow any links, hashtage, or view the tweeter's profile. If the tweeter has posted any pics, they will be viewable in this screen.

Touching the button on the right will bring up the retweet menu, where you can retweet, mail a link to the tweet, or quote a tweet.	Touching the left button will bring up the reply menu, where you can reply to the last tweeter or all @mentions in the tweet.	Touching the paper clip button will bring up the mail and quote options. These are different from the mail tweet and quote tweet from the other menu. These buttons mail or quote only the link included in the tweet. The other menu mails or quotes the actual tweet. Touching the star button will favorite that tweet.

Click on the search button (the hourglass) and you can view current Twitter trends and your saved searches.	Click on "Nearby" and you are presented with a map showing tweets in your area. Move the map around and zoom in or out to see more tweets or get a more accurate depiction of where the tweet was posted.	Click on one of the flags to read the tweet associated with it.

Viewing someone's profile is easy enough. Just click on their name and picture in expanded view or on the head icon if you swiped the tweet.	The services near the bottom of the profile help you decide who or who not to follow.	Tweet Blocker assigns a user a letter grade based on how many people have blocked them.

Follow Cost gives you how many tweets per day that the user posts both recently and all time. You can also see what percent of that user's tweets get replies.	Favstar gives you data on which tweets written by one user get favorited by other users.	Last but not least, from the screen that lists out your accounts, click Settings -> Advanced -> Install Safari Bookmarklet for instructions on how to create a bookmarklet that will automatically enter the url info, should you find something you want to tweet.

To save you some time, here is the bookmarklet: "javascript:window.location='tweetie:'+window.location" and here is the link on how to install a bookmarklet in your Browser.

Some more notes, and the one feature that has me, as an iPod touch user, is that you can use Tweetie 2 offline, and when you get to where you have a network connection, you can sync and all of the tweets you made throughout the day are posted. Tweetie 2 also lets you sync the links that you may want to save to ReadIt Later or Instapaper. The link to ReadIt Later can be found here.

Oh, one more thing! Everything above can be done in landscape mode!

Geo Defense Swarm

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:07:00 +0000

By: Critical Thought Games LLC
Site: http://criticalthoughtgames.com/
Release Date: September 14, 2009
Price: 99 Cents
Click icon to download

Geo Defense Swarm is a sequel to the popular Geo Defense tower defense game from earlier this year. A key difference is that in the first game, the creeps followed a specific path, while the sequel, except for a few levels, offers a more freeform approach. Geo Defense Swarm boasts spectacular particle effects and couples that with great sound effects.

Some levels make you guide the creeps along a designated path...

...while others let you determine which way the creeps go.

The key to any tower defense game is its towers, and here is a breakdown of the towers of Geo Defense Swarm:

Blaster Tower

This is your basic gun turret. Fully upgraded, these towers are bad mofos with a range of about one quarter of the map.

Laser Tower

The laser turret slices through any enemy that is unfortunate enough to cross its path, as well as any other enemy that happens to line up with the intended target.

Missile Tower

The missile turret offers a powerful payload with a slow rate of fire. Fully upgraded, this tower is a beast.

Shock Tower

The shock tower slows enemies down. Upgrading increases the range and the number of beams that are deployed.

Thump Tower

The thump tower puts out a pulse that damages all enemies within range. Upgrading this tower to the max will create small earthquakes. The number of shock rings and the frequency at which those rings are generated is greatly increased.

Vortex Tower

The vortex tower absorbs the energy given off when the creeps explode. Players can then link their laser and blaster towers to the vortex tower. The linked towers then use the energy gathered in the vortex tower to greatly increase the damage they inflict.

Geo Defense Swarm is the chief reason that the post count has been lacking here recently. It is the best example of a TD game I have played yet. For its excellent graphics, gameplay, and addictiveness, Geo Defense Swarm gets a 9 out of 10.

iLooney

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 18:00:00 +0000

By: The Game Creators
Site: http://www.thegamecreators.com/
Release Date: August 5, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

In iLooney you place crates on the grid in order to keep the Looney in the bin. As you place a crate, the Looney moves one step closer to escape. Box him in and he's locked up for good, or at least until the next round. Fail, and the Looney is free to unleash his looniness on an unsuspecting world.

Screenshots:

iLooney is pretty much a carbon copy of Catch-a-Mouse it is the Looney and his comments that make this one a little more memorable. iLooney gets a 6 out of 10.

Quick Mention: TwitMusic

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 16:53:00 +0000

By: META-GLAMOUR
Site: http://app.meta-glamour.com/
Release Date: August 15, 2009
Price: 99 cents
Click icon to download

With TwitMusic, you can post the name, artist, and genre of the song to which you are currently listening. Search Twitter for the hashtag "#twitmusic", and get a list of music currently being listened to by users all around the world. Great way to find new music.

Screenshots:

Quick Mention: You and I Free

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

By: Tetsuo Kikuchi
Site: Listed site did not work
Release Date: July 14, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

You and i Free is an app that will use the information provided from iTunes, Amazon, or Yahoo Music to search Youtube for music videos. Users cannot search for a specific video. What this app does is this: If you are in iTunes, then you pick from 9 genres of music and see the top ten songs for that genre. Click on the song you want to see the video for and you get the choice going to the Youtube app or opening the search results page for Youtube in Safari.

Screenshots:

I have two problems with this app. #1 is that there is no search function. You are pretty much stuck with a bunch of top ten lists from three different music providers. #2 is that you very rarely ever get the actual music video. Don't just go opening the Youtube app unless you are a fan of the "I'm feeling lucky" button on Google. Instead, go to the results page in Safari. That way you can do the one thing I found this app really useful for: finding live performances of hit songs I have never seen before. Unfortunately, a huge percentage of the videos are still pics with the audio, like the Black Eyed Peas video pictured above.

Super Duper BALLOUT!

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: SuperRoot
Site: http://www.superrootapps.com/
Release Date: August 6, 2009
Price:
Click icon to download

Super Duper BALLOUT! is a pinball game that uses a slider instead of a flipper. Players get 15 balls to try and rack up the highest possible score.

Screenshots:

Let's try and use this space to tell developers of future pinball games what we expect. In a pinball game a table that makes sense is required. Knocking down all targets in a section should produce a reward like a multiplier or unblocking a space on the table. There should be a sense of purpose for each flip, other than to keep from losing the ball. There should also be realistic ball physics. A ball should roll to the top of the table, slow down, and reverse. Momentum is key to pinball. Also, there should be realistic pinball sounds.
That being said, Super Duper BALLOUT! falls completely flat. If it is a pinball game, then it is entirely lacking any quality of a pinball game. The ball flies around the screen. There is absolutely no sound. Because of this, this game is nothing more than a pachinko machine that moves so fast you can't see the ball. If it is a breakout game, then the elements of the table should disappear as they are hit.
Super Duper BALLOUT! is an amateur attempt at making a game, and really should have been finished before putting it in the AppStore. Super Duper BALLOUT! gets a very weak 2 out of 10.

Quick Mention: Don't Look Outside

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

By: Wireless Worx, LLC.
Site: Listed Site Not Available
Release Date: June 4, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

Don't Look Outside takes the weather app that comes with your device and kicks the ever-loving crap out of it. What feature could this app have that the Apple weather app lacks? Full screen animated radar, that's what!

Screenshots:

Kolonists Lite

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: Kayxo
Site: http://www.getifun.com/kolonists/index01.html
Release Date: August 12, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

Kolonists Lite is a turn based strategy game. Players place farms and roads in strategic location in order to take advantage of the natural resources of surrounding spaces. Wheat fields produce grain, mud pits produce bricks, mountains produce ore, trees produce timber, and sheep produce, well, sheep. Collect these resources and use them to build new structures like roads, farms, and villas, bribe an enemy worker into abandoning a spot, buy favors from Rome called decrees, or use them to trade for resources you are lacking.

Screenshots:

The strategy here is deeper than it appears on the surface. The main goal is to expand your influence to a level of six. Influence is gained by building farms, villas, roads, and by playing the Legion decree. Use your resources, influence, and decrees to become the governor of Kayxo island. In case you are having trouble, the instructions included are detailed and of much help. The lite version is the only one out as of this writing. If the full version adds to this experience then it, too, will earn an 8 out of 10.

Cartoon Wars

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 15:09:00 +0000

By: BLUE
Site: http://bluewhistle7.blogspot.com/
Release Date: August 6, 2009
Price: 99 cents
Click icon to download

There is a new genre of games in town, residing primarily on the iPhone and iPod touch. That new genre is the stick figure game, and Cartoon Wars is a great example. Cartoon Wars is a stick figure RTS game. The point of the game is to destroy your enemies castle while protecting your castle from enemy marauders. Use the gold earned from battles to upgrade pretty much everything, from individual units to your rapid fire bow on the top of your castle.

Screenshots:

Cartoon Wars suffers from one small balance problem. Fight and win a battle too quickly, and you will find yourself fighting a 45 minute battle the next turn. Winning that battle will win you so much gold that you can upgrade to your heart's content. This leads to one or two more short battles that won't produce much gold at all. Also, after winning one of these massive battles and upgrading your units, you can send out one unit that outranks the enemy units and watch as it single-handedly battles its way through the enemy hordes all the way to the enemy castle. After maxing out all upgrades, though, the game becomes much more balanced. Battles then range from 15-30 minutes, and victories are hard-fought.
Cartoon Wars is a fabulous example of what gamers were trying to tell the console manufacturers before the generation of the PS3 and XBOX360: Gameplay is what's important and graphics are not the be-all end-all for a video game. My wishlist for future updates would include multiplayer, both over the internet and bluetooth connections. An overhaul of the sounds would be good, too, as that becomes annoying quickly. Cartoon Wars is a stellar game and has provided me with the most fun I have had on my device in months. I will give Cartoon Wars a 9 out of 10.

Dropship

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: ngmoco, Inc
Site: http://dropship.ngmoco.com/
Release Date: June 1, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

I had played Dropship Lite some months ago. I didn't like it and discarded it. But you see, it wasn't the games fault. It fooled me. The first time I played, the visual effects led me to believe that this was a 3-d game. I became frustrated trying to fly backwards and forwards. Because of this I deleted the game and didn't give it a secong thought. Fast forward a couple of months. Dropship (the full version) showed up in a list of price drops recently, so I got it again. I didn't realize that I had already played it.
As soon as I fired it up, I suddenly remembered playing this before. Only this time, I got it. Dropship looks like it is a 3-d game, but gameplay happens on one 2-d slice of the 3-d play area.

Screenshots:

In Dropship players maneuver their ship around the map and pick up stranded soldiers and destroy enemy encampments and craft. A destroyed enemy explodes gloriously into a dazzling cloud of energy which can be used to repair your shields. Dropship's controls use the "left stick moves right stick fires" control scheme. Power-ups include a shotgun like spread shot and a laser beam.
Dropship sports vector graphics set against a beautiful background. When the enemies are being destroyed all around you, the screen fills with dazzling particle effects. The gameplay is tight and downloadable levels get Dropship (which I first thought wasn't really worth anything) a highly respectable 9 out of 10.

iFPS Online

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: Pick Up and Play
Site: http://www.pickupandplay.com/
Release Date: April 20, 2009
Price: Free for a limited time
Click icon to download

iFPS Online is yet another foray into the genre of first person shooter on the iPhone. Gameplay is fast and furious as you and up to five other players compete in multiplayer deathmatch. Gameplay modes include going for a certain score either with or without a time limit. The level design is on par with the first popular FPS games like Unreal. Maps include Sector D which consists of vast open spaces filled with twisting catwalks, Quarters looks more suited for Capture the Flag, and The Commons, a corridor themed level.

Screenshots:

iFPS takes a lot of getting used to, and a lot of tweaking of the controls to get everything right. The control option interface lets you tweak every detail. Do you want the fire button on the left or the right? How fast do you want the x-axis to move versus the y-axis? Do you want to use two sticks or the accelerometer? If you can't find some level of useable controls, it is not the app's fault.
With iFPS it is usually easy to find a game. The feel of a good FPS is definitely here, but the graphics would have been more appropriate in 1998. Given that, iFPS Online earns itself a 7 out of 10.

Minigore

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: Chillingo Ltd.
Site: http://www.chillingo.com/
Release Date: July 30, 2009
Price: 99 cents
Click icon to download

Minigore bills itself as a survival horror game. It is actually a great action shooter, but the suspense of a survival horror game is simply not there. Minigore's graphics are excellent and the gameplay quickly becomes frantic.

Screenshots:

Minigore uses the now iPhone's now standard left stick moves and right stick fires control scheme. The enemies don't really vary at all. You have small furry black things, medium furry black things, and large furry black things. All of them bear straight down on you. The large ones burst into several small ones when killed. Occasionally, enemies drop four leaf clovers. Collect three of these and you turn into one of the larger creatures with superpowers. In this state you are indestructable. Just run over enemies and destroy them.
More rare than the clover drops are the crate drops. These contain weapon upgrades like the shotgun. They last for a limited number of shots and then revert back to the standard rapid-fire single shot gun. There is no life meter. The only way to tell how close to death you are is by how damaged John Gore looks.
There is only one level in Minigore, but the enemies come in larger and larger swarms as the game progresses. Promised updates include better weapon balance and co-op play over either wi-fi or bluetooth! This feature will make Minigore a great deal at 99 cents. Combine all this greatness with the ability to use music from your library (I prefer the version of Miserlou with the Pulp Fiction quote "Any one of you f*in pigs move and I'll execute every last motherf*ing one of you!" It just works!) and you have got yourself a game that brings in a solid 8 out of 10.

Ant Wars Free

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 22:24:00 +0000

By: 3d Magic Kft
Site: http://iphone.3dmagicbox.com/antwars.php
Release Date: August 11, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

Ant Wars is a real-time strategy game in which you control an army of ants whose sole purpose is to wipe out any other ant colony in the area. There are three different types of ants to choose from, each with their own strengths. The black ants specialize in propogation making it easier for them to take over anthills and grow their population rapidly. The red ants focus on speed. They scurry over to new anthills and beat the other races to the punch. The brown ants have a slight boost on speed and propogation, but it is at the expense of agility, which means they absorb greater losses when defending or attacking an anthill.

Screenshots:

Controls are tight. Simply tap on one of your anthills and then tap on an enemy anthill and a stream of ants leaves to attack. Once multiple anthills are controlled, select multiple anthills to send a massive swarm to attack your enemy. Need to send reinforcements to a battle weakened anthill? Simple. Select the anthill(s) from which you want to send reinforcements and double-tap the weakened anthill.
Ant Wars Free is a fun strategy game. In this free version any kind of hardcore thinking man's strategy is absent. Simply swarm the empty anthills, multiply, and swarm the enemy anthills. In the free version victory is totally achievable by continuously selecting all of your hills and sending them to one enemy anthill after another. The lack of strategy in this free version keep it from getting a better score. I will give Ant Wars Free a 6 out of 10.
The full version of Ant Wars came out on August 15, and a review will follow shortly, after I have had a chance to give it a really good playhrough.

Quick Mention: Gun Rights

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

By: Mobile Roadie
Site: http://www.calgunlawyers.com/
Release Date: June 11, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

Gun Rights gives users a good reference tool for information about the second amendment. Get the oral arguments from many second amendment cases. Read news about government trying to usurp our rights and about people who have protected such rights. The Wall provides users a way to become part of the gun rights community.

Screenshot:

Fantasy Football Draft Guide '09: Cheat Sheet & Draft Tool

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: virtualBoredom
Site: http://www.virtualboredom.com/index.php
Release Date: July 31, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

It's that time of year again. Wives across the country are losing their husbands to the new national pasttime - Fantasy Football. Fantasy Football Draft Guide '09 is the ultimate tool for those husbands.

Screenshots:

Fantasy Football Draft Guide '09 lets users browse through player stats by position. It also lets users set the scoring options for their particular fantasy league. This app supports up to ten leagues, so users can keep their office league separate from the one they participate in with their friends. Fantasy Football Draft Guide '09 is a great tool for fantasy players and it gets an 9 out of 10.

Quick Mention: The Most Useless Application Ever! - The Ultimate Time Waster

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

By: RIV Creations
Site: http://rivcreations.blogspot.com/
Release Date: July 5, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

There is something to be said about this app. It is totally useless. It tries to tell you that, but for some reason you keep clicking. The app tells you that it is a complete waste of time, and that it refuses to let you go on, but you keep clicking. Why? The more you click, the funnier the app gets at trying to get you to stop using. About fifty or so clicks in and I was rolling on the floor laughing. I originally downloaded it to use in a Cr-apps post, but it was just too damn good!

Screenshot:

TurnTurnTank: Global Defense Free

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: Triple-Q
Site: http://iphone.reverio.com/
Release Date: July 12, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

TurnTurnTank: Global Defense is a hybrid tower defense game and shooter. Players control a tank that is mounted on the earth. Enemies swarm the earth following preset paths. Rotate the tank and mash on the fire button to obliterate your enemies and keep the earth safe, at least for this round.

Screenshots:

TurnTurnTank gets frantic quickly. The enemies explode into a dazzling display if particle effect. If things are getting a little busy for your liking, tap on the bomb icon and drag it where you want to unleash hell on your enemies and wipe out almost half the screen. If you prefer to play defensively, simply drag a shield to a key point and enjoy about three seconds of protection from all enemies. TurnTurnTank is visually stunning, and the gameplay is fast and furious. The only thing I can think of to improve would be to introduce upgradeable weapons. I will give TurnTurnTank Global Defense Free an 8 out of 10.

Quick Mention: Battery Info

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 16:00:00 +0000

App-lesauce is introducing a new feature here. The Quick Mention will be used to feature an app that, while definitely worthy of a mention, simply doesn't do enough to warrant a full scale review. Having said that, here is our first Quick Mention:

By: Mcadlie Inc
Site: http://mcadlie.net/
Release Date: June 28, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

One of the biggest gripes coming from iPhone and iPod touch users is that the icon representing remaining battery life is not very accurate. Battery Info gives users a numerical representation of their remaining battery life.

Screenshot:

Quick Turn

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:00:00 +0000

By: Portable Zoo
Site: http://portablezoo.com/games/quickturn
Release Date: July 3, 2009
Price: Free
Click icon to download

In Quick Turn, players must guide the Star Ball so that it hits the wall that matches the current color of the Star Ball. When it hits, the ball changes color and direction, and the process starts all over again.

Screenshots:

Sounds easy enough, right? Well it's not. The ball does not exactly follow the laws of gravity. Sometimes it chooses to float, and sometimes it chooses to fall. After just a few hits players will be frantically flipping their device around trying to get the ball to go in the right direction. I imagine that this app has caused many devices to be accidentally dropped or flung across the room. Quick Turn is a fun frustrating game. Just how I like them. 8 out of 10.

Air Mouse Pro

noreply@blogger.com (Rob Barton) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:30:00 +0000

By: R.P.A. Tech
Site: http://www.mobileairmouse.com/
Release Date: July 3, 2009
Price: $2.99
Click icon to download

This blog is primarily written on a laptop computer. All of the copying and pasting it takes to write one post is quite cumbersome using a touch pad. Frustrated with that, I decided to give Air Mouse a try.
The first thing users need to realize is exactly what an air mouse is. Air Mouse uses the device's accelerometer and a client on your computer to move the mouse pointer. It does not work the same as, say, a wireless optical mouse. Users do not move their device to move the pointer. Rather, they tilt forward to go up, backward to go down, etc. This is hard to get used to, but changing settings on the client side help a lot.

Screenshots:

Users can change the screen on their device depending on what kind of buttins they might need. Function buttons, multimedia buttons, and browser buttons go a long way to make this a very functional app. If you can't get the hang of the air mouse thing, then the landscape mode offers you a touchpad just like the one on your laptop, but perhaps a little bigger. Hooking up your device through the client is easy. I found that the actual air mouse is rather hard to control, but the remote features are definitely worth the price. I will give Air Mouse Pro an 8 out of 10.