iPhone App Reviews

The Day I Was Born

Michael E. | Feb 13, 2010 Lifestyle, Uncategorized

User rating: (7 votes, average: 3.29 out of 5)

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History is made one moment at a time, day by day.  And for every person born, there is a unique history surrounding their birthdate.  I believe that we are all curious to learn more about our birthdates.  We want to see how many other cool people were born the same day we were and whether anything notable happened that day.  Ruslan Morozov’s The Day I Was Born answers that question by unlocking and allowing us to remember that history.

Here’s how it works: the application requests a birthdate: day, month, and year.  Once it has that information, The Day I Was Born generates even more information associated with the supplied date of birth.

What kind of information?  How about Western Zodiac, Chinese Zodiac, Earth elements and stones associated with your birthdate?  Not enough, you say?  Add in numerological elements including life path and destiny, historical accounts of your birthdate across time, births and deaths, and any holidays coinciding with the supplied date.  That’s a lot of stuff, right?

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Tags: $.99

Angry Birds

Tony Mei | Feb 13, 2010 App Sale Alert, Games

User rating: (8 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)

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Edit: Angry Birds is on sale for $0.99, normally $1.99.

Private Snowball: Commander, these birds are angry.

Commander Napoleon: What? Why?

Private Snowball: It could possibly be because we stole their eggs to make Sunday Brunch.

Commander Napoleon: No, that can’t be it. We reimbursed them by giving them DDT-infused worms. What’s the worst these angry birds can do?

Private Snowball: Sir, it appears they are launching themselves at our headquarters using a giant slingshot.

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Tags: $.99, $0.99, casual, Games

Graves Robber

Tony Mei | Feb 12, 2010 Games

User rating: (4 votes, average: 1.50 out of 5)

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Overview:

Machines guns. Rocket launchers. Zombies. Tight pants. Developed by iPhoGame Dev, Inc.  This sentence fragment review is brought to you by a bored app reviewer.

Some good stuff:

Nice 3D visuals and rendering. 1^st and 3^rd person views. Collectable power ups. Money tracking, weapon upgrading, clothing purchasing. Variety of powerups to collect, save, and to lay waste the bosses with.

Recent update shortened my “Not so hot” list considerably.  Gameplay is satisfying. Boss fights are satisfying. Getting mobbed by zombies and dying is less satisfying.

Some not so hot stuff:

About 4 different items to collect. Which isn’t a lot. All zombies act the same. Not very many power ups. Linear levels (kill zombies, kill boss, enter swirly portal). Game gets repetitive quick. Controls are occasionally screwy. Very little rpg-likeness.

Things that would make this app better:

More items, more upgrades, more stuff to do. But I basically say that about every app.

Should I buy it?:

Right now, this app is bare bones and simple, but has a great concept and an extremely ambitious starting. A recent update improving movement and reloading shows the dev’s dedication, and possibly of things to come.

Version 1.1

Reviewed on iPod Touch 3.1.2

iTunes Link – Graves Robber

Tags: arcade, Games, rpg, zombies

Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab

Michael E. | Feb 12, 2010 Education

User rating: (31 votes, average: 3.03 out of 5)

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As surely as fall gives way to winter and winter gives way to spring, spring gives way to standardized tests, whether placement or college entry.  One of the biggest, most important standardized tests of all is the Scholastic Aptitude Test, or SAT, with its math, critical reading, and writing sections.  I always felt that if math was a strength for you, the chances were fairly good that you could work your way from problem to a reasonable estimation of the correct solution.  Or at least enough to where the odds of guessing the right answer were significantly higher.

The verbal section- as it was known back in my day- was a bit trickier, though.  Especially analogies and vocabulary.  Either you knew the meaning of the word or you didn’t and no amount of staring at it would change that painful fact.  I remember studying vocabulary words as though my life depended on it because I was so terrified I was going to encounter a word I’d never seen or even heard of before.  And in spite of all my studying, I did.  Although it’s been a while since I took the GRE and even longer since I took the SAT, I wish I had Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab back then.  Unfortunately, all I had was a few stacks of well-worn index cards. 

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Tags: $.99, SAT, study tool

Ghosts’n Zombies

Brad H | Feb 11, 2010 Games

User rating: (7 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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What do you do when your chapel is overrun with ghosts, zombies, vampires, demons and rats. Well you call on Father Smith the shotgun wielding holy man, that’s what you do. TipCat Mobile brings us this shooter that had me at the opening sequence.

The game play is simple, you tilt the phone left or right to move Father Smith and tap/shoot all the baddies that come on the screen. When you kill something gems fall to the ground, when you walk over them you get more ammo. Better gems giving more ammo drop when you kill multiple monsters with a single shot. Gems also raise your special meter that grant you the big guns. If you get hit by a monster  you loose ammo and when the ammo is gone Game Over so you better make each shot count because a single shot is six bullets.

There are three different modes.

Tutorial: Here is where you learn the ropes. It consists of four stages with simple tasks that teach you all the mechanics of the game.

Story Mode: Consisting of nine levels that you can unlock by completing the previous level. Each level has six timed battles that you have to get through. To pass a battle you need to kill a certain number of monsters that come your way. As you progress through the game you are gradually introduced to different game mechanics. Monsters that are faster and more difficult to kill, different environment elements like ice on the floor. I like the way this is implemented because each level has something new that you must master.

Survival Mode: With six different levels to unlock. This is where you do like the name implies and try to survive.

I was impressed with everything in this game. The graphics are top notch, the game play keeps me coming back for more and the soundtrack is spooky. At a $.99 release sale I would highly recommend you get this game.

This game uses open feint for achievements and leader boards.

iTunes Link – Ghosts’n Zombies

Version 1.1

Reviewed on iPhone 3G OS 3.1.3

Tags: $.99, fun, Games

iTalk to God

Michael E. | Feb 8, 2010 Reference

User rating: (11 votes, average: 1.82 out of 5)

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Everyone needs encouragement.  We all could use a word of advice or guidance when we’re facing a trial and aren’t sure who or what to turn to in our time of need.  Now there’s an answer: WorldLink’s iTalk to God.  It’s an app that you can use as an aid to facilitate conversations between you and God and it’s very easy to use.

Depending on how you feel, select the corresponding emotion on iTalk to God’s menu.  Its menu contains over 70 different emotions, so it’s almost impossible to have a feeling that you won’t find in iTalk.  Angry?  It’s in there.  Doubtful?  It’s in there.  Tempted? It’s-

I’m sure you get my point:  there are a lot of emotions covered by the Bible and iTalk to God.

The goal of the app is to remind the viewer that, regardless of what we feel, God is always there and always capable of helping us to make it through whatever circumstance we’re dealing with.  Based on the emotion you select, iTalk to God will supply you with a relevant verse of Biblical scripture that will address your emotion.  It will also provide a brief encouragement regarding your emotion and a commentary on the scripture.  There is also the ability to email verses to friends if you think they could benefit from a scripture as well.

There are multiple translations of iTalk to God, too, everything from the tried and true King James to the Korean Bible.

I do have a few ideas for this app.  For example, I think giving it a diary- or journal-like capability would be interesting.  The user could provide a brief description of the cause of their feeling, the verse they found helpful, and even tag people or circumstances if they wished.  With such a feature, iTalk could record emotions and scriptures of encouragement over the course of a week, month, or even year, and pull them up whenever they wanted.  A Verse of the Day feature would be nice, too, and adding the ability to share scripture on Facebook or Twitter would be features I’m sure would probably be welcomed as well.

I liked iTalk and even if nothing more was done with it, it would be a good reference to have at your fingertips in a time of need, one that would strengthen your faith and relationship with God.

iTunes Link- iTalk to God

Version 2.1

Tested on iPod Touch 3.1.3

Tags: $.99

Slango – Urban Dictionary

Michael E. | Feb 8, 2010 Reference

User rating: (5 votes, average: 2.80 out of 5)

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Athletes, rappers, actors, and teenagers can frequently sound like they’re speaking a whole different language.  Some of them are and that’s because they’re from a different planet.  Most of them, however, are just throwing a slang term or two.  

Here’s something else: over the past few days, I’ve noticed that nearly everyone is urbaning their name and posting what pops up as a status update on Facebook.  Some of them are really quite embarassing and others are kind of cool.  Wondering what ‘urbaning’ means?  Or maybe you’re wondering what would appear if you were to look up your name as well? 

At times like those, it’s good to have Schroederdev LLC’s Slango- Urban Dictionary at your fingertips.  It is one of the most extensive slang dictionaries out there.  In fact, at over 4,000,000 words, there isn’t much that isn’t included in this app.  It‘s bigger than some of the actual dictionaries I’ve bought in the AppStore. 

Slango uses the online database from “Urban Dictionary” and has some great features.  The Word of the Day will give you the skinny on all the latest terms. Random word search will help you pass the time for minutes that stretch into hours, and Slango’s offline bookmark support will ensure that you can easily find your favorite words from yesterday or a month ago.  And you can share words through Facebook, Twitter, or email.

Slango is very easy to use.  The only drawback to the app is that it doesn’t support browsing, so you can’t read through terms alphabetically.   Fortunately, a future update is in the works that will include this feature.  I’m sureit will be a welcome addition, one that will enable me to waste even more time.

So if you’re looking for a slang dictionary that is fun, informative, and- at times- a little (no, make that a lot) raunchy, Slango- Urban Dictionary is exactly what you want.  It is guaranteed to keep you and your friends entertained and laughing for days.  Or at least in the know.

iTunes Link- Slango-Urban Dictionary

Version 1.1

Tested on iPod Touch 3.1.3

Tags: $.99, dictionary

Speedylicious Pro

Michael E. | Feb 7, 2010 Productivity

User rating: (8 votes, average: 2.75 out of 5)

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I am an avid reader, always have been.  What I read has changed dramatically, however.  These days, I read mostly work stuff.  Email, journal articles, memos, forms, handbooks- you name it, I read it.  But I’m not the fastest reader in the world, especially when I’m not reading for pleasure.  And because I’ve always wanted to learn how to read faster, I was excited to take a look at James Massey’s Speedylicious Pro.  Speedylicious Pro is an app that works by flashing text- one word at a time- on the screen in rapid bursts that can be set by the reader.  It’s known as Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) and it is said that by reading this way over a period of time, a person can significantly increase their reading speed and rate of comprehension.

Most of the speedreading applications available today only allow you to read items from a preset library database.  They have bookshelves full of stuff like Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’ or Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer’.  There’s nothing wrong with that and they’re great works, but if you’re like me, you’re probably far too busy trying to get through the all the other stuff you’re required to read to have time to read about how to defeat an enemy or fill your head with the exploits of some bratty kid.   

Speedylicious Pro can sync with Readitlaterlist and Del.icio.us, so any article bookmarked with either of those services can be automatically imported into Speedylicious Pro the next time the app is opened.  This means you can read online content at any time, offline.  That feature alone makes it worth the $2.99 sale price, since there aren’t all that many apps that are able to do that.  

I did have my problems using Speedylicious Pro.  Articles I deleted using the ReadItLater Free app still appeared on my Speedylicious list after syncing, and syncing between ReadItLater and Speedylicious proved to be a continual source of frustration.  Articles I bookmarked to send to my ReadItLater list via MobileRSS, TwitBird Pro, and Mobile Safari, were hit or miss; sometimes the text would import just fine and sometimes it wouldn’t.  This was the case even when I could see that the article had been successfully brought into ReadItLater and could be viewed through the ReadItLater Free app.

On the plus side, Speedylicious Pro allows the reader to edit imported articles.  This is a good feature to have, since so many web articles are filled with text that isn’t relevant to the article itself.  It isn’t the developer’s fault, but it does get more than a little annoying to have to constantly edit the beginning and end of articles.  The only workaround is to bookmark the article via the ‘print this article’ option most newspaper and magazine articles offer, as the page that’s generated there lacks the junk text.

Speedylicious Pro is a solid addition to the speedreading app offering.  A couple of enhancements come to mind forme, though.  Adding Instapaper as one of the article sync sources would be great, as would the ability to clear the reading list.

If you’re interesting in learning how to read faster, Speedylicious Pro is certainly worth your consideration.

iTunes Link- Speedylicious Pro

Version 1.0.0

Tested on iPod Touch 3.1.3

Tags: $2.99, speedreading

Gridiron Football

Sara | Feb 7, 2010 Games

User rating: (10 votes, average: 2.70 out of 5)

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Blue 62! Blue 62! HIKE!!!! If you have ever wanted to be a coach for a football team, this game is for you. Gridiron Football by Hardenbrook Productions is a fun strategy game with out the bells and whistles. It gets down to the basics of a good game without having to glitter it up with fancy graphics.

In Gridiron Football, you are a coach who is trying to win the game. You can play against the computer or against your buddy. After the coin flip, you get to choose which kick you are doing (normal, squib, or onside). After the kick, you get to choose each play and get to move your players around. The game may not have interesting graphics paired with a good concept, but if you are a die hard football fan looking for something to do during the Super Bowl commercials (that is if you don’t like watching the commercials), then this is one dollar well spent.

The setup of the game is simple and makes it a great pick-me-up kind of game. You can even choose how long each quarter is from five, ten, or fifteen minutes. This is a great feature if you want to play a short game. I found this a really fun game and loved the feeling of being a football coach.

The game also features a mini game called The Drive where you have two minutes on the clock. You are trying to score a touchdown in order to win the mini game. I really liked the addition of the mini game as it added to the greatness of the game; plus, it makes it a great app to play when you have a few spare minutes. Overall, this is a fun game and definitely worth a buck, so click the link below and check out Gridiron Football.

iTunes Link – Gridiron Football
Version 1.4
Reviewed on iPhone 3GS OS 3.1.2

Tags: $.99, football, fun

World Cup Fixture

Brad H | Feb 5, 2010 Sports

User rating: (8 votes, average: 2.88 out of 5)

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GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAL

Football fans you have come to the right place. With the 2010 Fifa world cup headed this way your going to need something to stay informed and Colorme(beijing) Info Tech has got it covered. As a soccer fan living in the states it’s hard getting coverage of the sport on T.V. without buying special packages from the cable company. With the World Cup Fixture app I still wont be able to watch the matches but now I can stay informed on the big tournament.

The World Cup might be four months away but in the meantime the app keeps you up to date with news surrounding players, teams and anything else related to the Cup. There are two ways to follow the games, one is the calendar tab showing the date and time of each match, the other is the group tab which has each match listed in its appropriate group A through H. Both tabs have a results column that will show the final score of each game. Finally there is a knockout tree that will show the games leading up to the final match.

At $.99 this app so far has got my approval, its not too flashy, it’s easy to navigate and all the info has an easy to read layout. I say “so far” because we have to trust they get the info out to the app in a timely fashion and if the frequency of news articles that come out is any indication we have nothing to worry about. Also the iTunes page claims “other features coming soon…” so as long as that is up to par with the rest of the app we are good to go. The only thing I will warn you all about is the #4 Feature they have listed as Wonderful pictures, this isn’t a tab they have loaded with pictures it’s just part of the news feature if the article has a picture that goes along with it. As of today no articles have any pictures, not a deal breaker but a tad bit annoying.

iTunes Link – World Cup Fixture

Version 1.0

Reviewed on iPhone 3G OS 3.1.3

Tags: $.99, Entertainment

Flipside – Digital Studying

Tony Mei | Feb 5, 2010 Education, Productivity

User rating: (27 votes, average: 3.07 out of 5)

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It’s a shock to see a flashcard app that’s actually useful.

Flipside – Digital Studying made a fantastic first impression. The app’s interface is slick. The controls and options are easy to find and use. It’s a breeze finding your way around. After locating the multitude different buttons and features, the process is intuitive and efficient. JBB Productions made a fantastic app that is easy on the eyes and easy to use.

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Tags: $1.99, flashcard, Productivity, study, useful

Lone Star Hold’em

Sara | Feb 5, 2010 Games

User rating: (7 votes, average: 2.14 out of 5)

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Living in Texas, knowing how to play Texas Hold’em is almost required as lots of people like to play it. Lone Star Hold’em by Adduce Studios is a great way to hone your skills on the go and without needing others to play with you.

When I first launched the app, I was met with nice graphics. The art was great and was a nice touch to a great game. The navigation throughout the game was easy and was not confusing to find your way through the app. For those of you who don’t know what Texas Hold’em is, it is a type of two-card poker. At the beginning of the app, you get to choose your opponents for the round who range in difficulty. When you choose the opponent, their stat card appears with their description, games played and games won. There is also a play now button to choose them. After choosing three other opponents, you get $50,000 to start off. The game deals you your cards and you can check, fold, or raise the bet. I found the system of using a scroll wheel type thing to raise the bet inaccurate to use. I would have rather had a keypad input to raise the bet rather than scrolling and taking forever to get exactly to what I wanted to bet.

The game lengths were sufficient if you want to play a long game but isn’t going to finish in five or so minutes. Luckily, there is an automatic save feature so that you can resume your game when your launch the app. Overall, this game is a great game for beginners to pros. It is a great pick me up game and can be very entertaining. The graphics are great, and although I don’t like the way you bet, it is still a cool app. Check out Lone Star Hold’em in the App Store today.

iTunes Link – Lone Star Hold’em

Version 1.0

Reviewed on iPhone 3GS OS 3.1.2

Tags: $1.99, Games