Price: $.99   Score: 6/10   By A. Papachristos

As technology continues to advance, life gets more and more complicated.  The programs and gadgets designed to lighten our load have become a burden themselves, causing the general public to have to constantly learn new methods and advance at the same rapid pace.  But then there are programs – in this case, applications – that attempt to ease this problem by combining everything in hopes of making the all-in-one concept seem simple and more enticing to the crowd.

Yet, when it comes to social networking, we fail to realize that half the tasks we take on are completely unnecessary.  However, Pinch – iMessenger, iContacts & iLocation Sense by Affle Pte Ltd takes a plethora of these pointless actions and combines them into a single application that may or may not put your mind into overdrive depending on how much information you can take in at one time.

While Pinch most definitely does a decent job of combining multiple types of social networking and mobile communication into one application, one also has to account for the fact that such an application will only work to the fullest extent if all your friends are using the app as well.  Luckily, Pinch features cross platforms messaging support, meaning iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, Blackberry, Android, Symbian, Windows Mobile, Web and Facebook users can access the same services, slightly increasing your chances of finding friends who use the application.  Otherwise, once you create your account, be prepared to send a lot of invitations.

Upon startup, all users will first need to access the Profile tab, which will allow existing users to log in and new users to register.  While users can either create a new account or sign in using their Facebook account, all will have to provide their mobile telephone number and email address in order to proceed.  Pinch promises that such information is confidential and used to simply provide users with their messages and archived information, for Pinch offers free unlimited storage of your message history.

With the iMessenger component, Pinch hopes to redefine texting by ridding users of roaming or data charges.  Their idea is to eliminate the need to pay for SMS and MMS messaging and data by taking advantage of your device’s Wi-Fi capabilities.  Users can also customize their messaging layout with personalized themes and wallpapers available under Preferences.  To compile all your contacts in one place, the iContacts portion works to organize and auto-discover your friends from your phone’s contact list, Twitter and Facebook (assuming you give Pinch the permission to connect to your accounts).

However, the most unnecessary (and unsafe) aspect of Pinch would have to be the iLocation Sense aspect.  Acting as a built-in stalking system, more or less, iLocation will find fellow Pinch friends and users nearby, while also sharing your location and tracking your personal journey with directions and miles traveled.  To encourage check-ins, points are awarded every time you inform the world of your location.  These points can then be used in Pinch’s leaderboard contests, including their current iPad giveaways.  Of course, I do know that users can control who sees their location, but encouraging such forms of social networking is irresponsible considering the potential dangers sharing such information may lead to when in the wrong hands.

But, if you are truly into such forms of social networking, then you best get to work on inviting all your friends (anyone with a Smartphone, that is) so they can join you on your journey to make Pinch semi-practical in a world run by Facebook, Twitter, Four-square and all those other social networking sites that have come to control our daily activities already.

Pinch requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.  A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Price: $.99   Score: 10/10   By M. Schusterman

The best way I can think of to describe Doodle God? This is one weird, creative, oddly addictive game.

Designed by JoyBits Ltd, Doodle God proves that as far as ideas for games goes, developers are still churning out completely unique stuff. To really get a feel for what the app is about, I’d recommend watching their preview on YouTube.

Basically, you are Doodle God, creator of your own doodle universe. You begin with the four basic elements – water, air, fire and earth. Tap any two elements to watch them collide, creating an entirely new element. For example, water and air collide to make steam. Earth and fire collide to create lava.

And each of these new elements collide with others to make even more elements – in fact, from the four basic elements you can end up with 140 total. Sounds easy, but it’s not only surprisingly challenging, it’s addictive as well.

I adore the graphics for this game – detailed and beautiful, but with an understated look. The music and sound effects are equally classy. It’s also a great app for those who like games where figuring out how to play only takes a few seconds.

What’s fascinating is how much thought and planning must have gone into the elements – as you create more and more, your elements become more complex, from clay to plasma, energy, beetles, and even humans. Another feature I love is that each time you create a new element, a relevant (and usually somewhat humorous) quote is displayed.

The number of elements you have is tracked at the top of the screen, and you can tap the list icon at the bottom to see your “Reactions History” – useful, because after a few dozen it becomes quite difficult to remember which combinations you’ve already made. Based on the quality of the graphics alone, I was honestly surprised to see this game is only a dollar. Highly recommended for strategy game fans.

Doodle God requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Puzzle-Adventure isn’t a massive gaming genre, but this is about as good an example as you’re likely to see on the iPhone. Developed by Clickgamer, Helsing’s Fire is a dark and foreboding puzzle game set in gothic Victorian times.

Professor Helsing has teamed up with his assistant Raffton and you’ll need to use all your wits to help them defeat Dracula’s vampire minions. By moving Helsing’s torch to light up different monsters, you then need to dispatch them in the correct order using a combination of Raffton’s tonics. The puzzles are quick, but the gameplay is addictive and entertaining.

Featuring 90 unique levels set across three worlds, there is a huge amount of content to navigate through in Helsing’s Fire. Each of the levels are distinct and are populated by a number of different monster types and bosses.

The graphics in Helsing’s Fire are simple and understated, the game music atmospheric and engaging. A solid offering for just $0.99

Helsing’s Fire is compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad and requires iPhone iOS 3.0 or later.

Price: $4.99     Score: 9/10     By A. Papachristos

Before the creation of the all-in-one printer, easy access to a copier, scanner or fax machine was slim.  When desperate, one would have to run to the nearest office supply store and pay them to do the task for you.  However, having access to such contraptions in your home still does not help when, like most, you are on the move and simply can’t afford to slow down.

But, with Scanmobile by LocBay Ltd, iPhone users will never have to slow down again.  Scanmobile turns your phone’s camera into a quick, convenient and affordable scanner so you can copy and share text and documents everywhere you go.  Plus, the portable scanner now in the palm of your hand employs smart optical transformation technology that turns any picture into a clear, readable document as if you just used an actual scanner or copier.

For anyone who has ever tried to take a picture of text on paper, or perhaps even a board, you know that the camera’s quality distorts the photo, making it grainy, uneven and sometimes hard to read.  Such shabby quality is certainly not something you can pass along to a colleague or anyone of importance for it does not look professional in the slightest.  However, Scanmobile eradicates this problem by cleaning up the digital noise.  Scanmobile will remove any shade or unwanted light that may be detracting from the photo, as well as automatically adjust the document so it looks as if it were indeed laid flat on a scanner.  This, combined with the automatic sharpening of the lines’ texture, brings about the final product: a PDF document that can be sent via email right within Scanmobile itself.

When you startup Scanmobile, you will first need an image.  Users may use the file icon in the bottom left corner to access a pre-existing image, or use the camera icon in the bottom right corner to take a new picture right within the application.  Once you have approved the photo, Scanmobile will load the image and the auto-detection will set preliminary cropping parameters, though these can always be adjusted by hand by the user if they so choose.

To label your new document with a name, use the third icon in from the left in the bottom navigation bar.  Next to that, users will find an icon that lets them return the cropping parameters back to the original suggestion in case they attempt to adjust things on their own and are displeased.

Next to that, users will find another icon, this time allowing for the rotation of the photo before processing.  When rotating, I suggest proceeding slowly because, after multiple attempts at rotating numerous different documents, I found that rotating often led to Scanmobile freezing and then crashing, leaving me to start over.  While this may seem significant, I would hardly consider this flaw to be detrimental to the app’s overall convenience.  Though I’m sure this is bound to be fixed in future updates, as long as you proceed with caution at the moment, you should find you have no problem.  Simply have patience.

After your image has processed, you will see that the results are just what is promised.  Your image will now look like a scanned or copied document, as if you used the real thing.  Even handwritten notes come out looking clearer than the original image, and may even be more vibrant than the actual notepaper itself.  Everything truly looks like a photocopy.  Once you are satisfied, simply save your image you your photo library for future reference, or send it right along as the resulting PDF file via email.

While iPod Touch users can get some use out of Scanmobile by using pre-existing photos of text already saved to their photo library, the application becomes void of all the convenience it has to offer, basically making the investment a waste of money for users of said device.  However, anyone with an iPhone who ever has or ever will need a photocopier or scanner-like apparatus in the palm of their hand at any given moment shouldn’t hesitate to spend the $4.99, for the convenience will pay for itself after one use.

Scanmobile requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

Price: $3.99   Score: 9/10    By A. Papachristos

Diets and workouts are a growing part of our society today.  With gyms popping up left and right, and men and women all over hopping on the fad diet bandwagon, we can see that the desire to be fit and healthy is not something that will likely fade any time soon.  However, keeping track of your habits, progress and commitment involves a mental workout that may just cause some to lose more confidence than weight as they attempt to keep on task.

But, with FitClick Diet & Workout Tracker by Genesant Technologies, Inc, users can easily track their diet and workout habits in a single, easy to comprehend application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  All one needs is their device, an Internet connection (iPod Touch users must have access to Wi-Fi), and a goal to get started.

To begin, users must register with FitClick.com, or login if they already have an account.  When creating an account, users will need to provide a username, email address, password, their age and gender, current weight, goal weight and height.  (Don’t worry; the registration page will open in a Safari window, but will direct you back to the FitClick app upon completion.)  For the next step, users will need to choose a workout setup from the potential choices, including: Track My Exercise Only, FitClick Walking Plan, Beginner Circuit Training, Combo Cardio Plan and numerous others.  Once you tap submit, you will then need to choose your diet setup: Track Food & Nutrients Only, Good Carb Diet, Healthy Lifestyle Diet, Slim & Trim Diet, and Carb Reduction Diet.

Once you have finally set up your account, you will be directed back to the FitClick app where you may login.  The home screen also acts as the main menu, displaying the necessary tools needed to optimize you experience, as well as simple features such as the ‘Change Current Date’ button, or the ‘Help’ page, which will clear up any confusion that may arise when entering your information into the system.

Under the ‘Calorie Balance’ category, users will find their calculated target caloric intake for the day.  By tracking the number of calories eaten and the number of calories burned, this section also presents users with the figure for their daily net calories.  For this to be possible, users must also utilize the ‘Diet Tracker’ section, which allows users to enter the food they’ve eaten for breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner.  Their database of over 110,000 foods makes logging your intake simple and helps users automatically calculate their caloric intake for that given meal.

The ‘Workout Tracker’ helps guide users with a list of suggested exercises based on their chosen workout plan, though users may add other exercises if they choose.  Underneath each exercise is the suggested reps.  Once the user has completed the exercise, they can then tap the specific exercise to indicate it has been completed and to record how many reps were done.  However, the ‘Exercise Demonstrations’ may be FitClick’s greatest asset.  With 799 listed exercises (covering abdominals, back, biceps, calves, cardio, chest, forearms, lower back, shoulders, thighs, trapezius and triceps), users receive not only a written step-by-step instruction on how to carry out the exercise, but also a video demonstration, as if they have their own personal trainer right within their portable device.

Plus, users also gain free access to FitClick.com after registration, unleashing many other attractive, useful characteristics.  With this comes access to their calorie counter and food journal, 7,000 custom diet plans, 10,000 custom workout routines, the ability to create and share your own diet and workout plans with other users, over 11,000 recipes, weight loss groups, custom grocery lists and so much more.

How ironic that an app dedicated to helping people get fit can be so fat with attractive qualities… Wonderful!

FitClick requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.

Price: $9.99     Score: 6/10   By M. Schusterman

Travel guide apps are one of the most exciting developments in the world of iPhone apps. Condé Nast Traveller City Guides, a series of apps designed by Condé Nast, utilize a range of capabilities from GPS to augmented reality.

The first few minutes of browsing the app – in my case, the Barcelona guide – brought one word to mind: Sexy. The format is fantastic, with obviously a great deal of thought and care having gone into the way the app reacts, the intuitiveness of the design. In addition to Barcelona, these city guides are also available:.

• New York
• Paris
• Rome

There are several ways to search for what you want to do or see in the city. On the “Guide” screen, you can select categories like neighborhoods, places to stay, shopping, or nightlife, then filter them further by price, mood or attraction type. You can search by keyword as well. While viewing each point of interest, you get a great picture, along with the address, phone number, website, and in most cases, hours and transport advice. Add the item to your to-do list with a tap, or email it to a friend. The “AR View” and “Map View” are always available at the top. The map works great, and while I couldn’t technically use the augmented reality feature (not being in Barcelona, sadly), it does seem like a very slick feature.

The biggest problem I ran into was with the “More” icon, which brings you to a menu that allows you to view your journal, do the walking tours, view the photos you’ve taken, and other cool stuff. Each time I entered one – I tried the journal first – I couldn’t get back to that particular menu. I moved back over to “Guides”, to “Search,” to the main menu, then tapped “More” again, and it just brought me straight to the journal. So I removed the app from my phone then reloaded, and went to “More.” This time I chose the photo album – great feature, but again, I couldn’t return to to the main “More” menu to choose another feature. Because so many of the apps coolest features – namely the walking tours and your photo album, but also “Settings” – are located here, it’s a pretty big inconvenience to have to delete and reload the app every time.

I also had a problem with getting a blank page on some of the other sections the first time I ran into the issue with the “More” section. Again, deleting and reloading the app solved it and it didn’t happen again – however, that won’t do anyone any good when they’re wandering the streets of Barcelona without their laptop.

From my experience, this guide has a few kinks to be worked out that would make me hesitate on the $10 price tag, but with a great layout and exciting features, I’d keep my eye on it for the future.

Condé Nast City Traveller Guide requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Price: $.99     Score: 7/10     By A. Papachristos

Healthy lifestyles have become the center of attention.  Working out and eating right, however, are not simply passing trends, for we must all make our physical well being a priority.  But what if you wanted to play around and see exactly what would happen if you let yourself gain a few pounds?

With FatBooth by PiVi & Co, users can manipulate photos, creating new, “larger-than-life” versions of themselves and friends.  Simply take a photo of yourself or a friend with your iPhone’s camera, or use photos from you photo library (iPod Touch users) to test out what you would look like if you happened to gain some weight (in the chin area, at least).

To begin, all one must do is press ‘Start’ on the homepage.  FatBooth will then tell you that only face front photos will suffice, no profiles, for you will not be able to align photos properly in that manner.  Then, either tap ‘Camera’ to take a new photo or ‘Choose’ to pick from photos already in your library.

Once you have your photo, FatBooth will take a moment to load the image using its face detection capabilities.  If your photo is too far away or too dark, FatBooth may alert you and ask you to choose another photo.  Then, once you have chosen an adequate photo, FatBooth will ask you to adjust the eyes, mouth and chin markers to make sure the photo is properly aligned before manipulating.  Then, when you’re ready, press ‘Go’ and a jumpy little hamburger will hop up and down on the screen exclaiming “Yummy, yummy!” until for photo has been altered.

The results are usually quite hilarious, in fact.  As long as you are using a centered, face forward photo, you will surely find yourself and your friends with much fuller, fatter faces than you ever imagined possible.  (Think of it as a glimpse into the possible future and use that image as incentive to remain fit and healthy.)  Once you are satisfied with the result, users can save the image to their photo library, enabling them to send the photo via text message.  Users may also send the image via email, Facebook or Twitter right within FatBooth itself.

FatBooth is like an instant fat suit for your face.  However, I would recommend you avoid using FatBooth in front of anyone who may be heavier or have weight issues, for the entire concept could be found as insensitive.  A sense of humor is definitely in order.

FatBooth requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch.

Price: $2.99    Score: 9/10    By M. Schusterman

Of all the types of iPhone apps I believe can change the way we learn, language learning apps are my favorite. As a former ESL teacher and a student of the Portuguese language, I know that no matter what lessons or classes you’re taking, if you really want to learn a language you’re always looking for more, more, more resources. Language apps – the good ones – are more affordable than books or CDs and provide a more well-rounded approach to learning.

iStart Spanish, designed by Mirai LLP, is absolutely no exception. No matter how basic the course level, a language app must cover a vast amount of information, and so organization and format are incredibly important. iStart Spanish is very intuitive to use. When you open the app to the main menu, the lessons are listed and labeled. You can scroll through and skip or repeat lessons as much as you want.

Tapping on the lesson gives you an overview of the focus. I really enjoy the way the lesson is set up. Basically, you have three teachers – one who speaks English, and two who speak Spanish (one from Spain and one from Colombia). You can tap play at the top to listen to the lesson all the way through, or tap on each teacher’s text to hear just that part spoken. This makes it easy to repeat and isolate certain parts of the lesson as much as necessary.

At the bottom, you can access a list of vocabulary from the lesson, with definitions and audio examples from both Spanish speakers. Tap the add icon at the top to add any word to your own personal list of vocabulary words to study anytime. Each lesson also comes with a short multiple choice quiz, and a progress bar above the main menu tracks how you’re doing.

iStart Spanish has a clean, easy to use format and great audio. At the price of a latte, it’s a great app to consider if you want to brush up or get started on your Spanish.

iStart Spanish requires iPhone OS 3.0 and is compatible with both iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

There are quite a few “inspirational quotes” apps floating around out there, most of which fall into a specific category for people with very specific beliefs.

Be Free Now, an app designed by FriendliApps, is based on the writings of Vernon Howard, whose quotes and messages were intended to apply to people of all religious and/or philosophical beliefs. His ideas and writings have been used by psychologists, clergymen and educators.

The app has over 600 of Howard’s thoughtful quotes, each of which is displayed one of nearly 70 unique photographs. Be Free Now is easy to use – just shake your iPhone to randomly pull up a new quote and photograph. The tabs at the bottom allow you to star any quote as a favorite or email the quote from your account. You can also touch a tab to generate a new quote rather than shake.

As for the quotes themselves, I can easily see how they would be classified as “inspirational”. Some are short, some are long, but all seem to focus on one main concept – helping you figure out how what you mean in the universe. How you fit in, how you think about things, how important or not important the way others view you is…somehow each quote is relevant. Each time you shake your phone and pull up a new one, your mind finds a way to apply Howard’s words to your life now. I will say that I seemed to stumble onto quite a few that were more specifically aimed towards women, although I don’t know if that’s indicative of all six hundred something quotes.

For those already a fan of Vernon Howard’s, Be Free Now is one to check out for sure. But other fans of inspirational apps may also find some comfort and enlightenment with this app.

Be Free Now requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

Price: $2.99   Score: 8/10    By M. Schusterman

I’ve never been the type that clamored for Cosmo magazines just to take the “Does he really like you?” quizzes, but I can certainly understand the appeal. The Boyfriend Evaluator, designed by Cogitoad, Inc., aims to help girls understand and evaluate the guy they’re with.

This app takes itself seriously, but not too much – there’s definitely some humor in the questions and answers. Some of the questions are rather obvious, in my opinion, such as “Has he ever hit you?” – a clear sign of a problem if the answer is anything other than no, regardless of the other 49 questions on the quiz.

But some are more subtle and touch on things that some women, particularly those new to dating, may not consider. For example, “Is he ever unkind to waiters or other hired help?” That’s an important one for me, as treating waiters like second-class citizens is a big sign of a person’s true colors. The final question is one that I found especially insightful: “Do you often feel exhausted after you are around him for a while but don’t know why?” Particularly for younger girls, that can also be an indication of compatibility.

One thing I enjoyed about the answers was that they didn’t pigeonhole each boyfriend into one category only. For example, if your man shows tendencies of being a Lush, Operator, Airbag, Judge, Iceman, or Momma’s Boy, the answer will say so, and go into detail about each. And the answers truly are well-thought out.

The Boyfriend Evaluator is a simple, non-flashy app that’s easy to navigate. Each boyfriend you enter is automatically saved to a list, where you can view their test scores, take their test again, or email their test results. I’d say that this app, while the price is maybe a tad steep, is a good one to consider for those with real trouble identifying the good boys from the bad, or for girls who just enjoy a magazine-style boyfriend quiz.

The Boyfriend Evaluator requires iPhone OS 3.1.2 or later and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.