iPhone App Reviews

Update: iBonsai

Michael (Admin) | Feb 4, 2009 Entertainment, Updates

User rating: (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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The original review of iBonsai is here.

Here’s the update from Brainpower Labs:

iBonsai 2.0 is here! Now with several new features that make the experience even better. Since version 1.0 we have had many requests for background music and more control in general. In version 2.0 we have added these and more without detracting from the original theme.

After updating to 2.0, explore the new iBonsai preferences in your iPhone/iPod Settings, and see the new instructions page within iBonsai.

 

List of Changes

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• Added auto-generated ambient music. 

• Added interactive growth shaping tool.

• Added growth speed feature.

• Added auto regrow feature.

• Made the buttons on the main page simpler and more visible.

 

New Feature: Ambient Music

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In keeping with the theme of procedurally generated art, we have added a music composition algorithm which automatically produces an endless supply of unique ambient music! This optional feature creates a sparse sequence of plucked strings which never repeats. The resulting soundtrack provides a subtle audio backdrop which complements iBonsai’s elegant visual style. 

 

New Feature: Interactive Shaping Tool

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The core iBonsai experience is to enjoy its automatic random growing process. However, for those that wish to have more control, we have added a shaping tool to guide the trees’ growth patterns. Simply touch and hold your finger on the screen for a short time to make the shaping tool appear. This tool exerts an outward force on all growing branches, pushing them away from your finger. Let go at any time to resume the normal growing process. 

 

New Feature: Growth speed

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You now have the option of adjusting the tree’s growth speed. Set it slow to enjoy a relaxed, meditative experience. Or set it fast to see a variety of trees more quickly. 

 

New Feature: Auto Regrow

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With this hands-free loop feature enabled, iBonsai continually grows new trees. Plug into your dock and let iBonsai paint trees for you all day long! 

Tags: Updates

Update: BarnacleJive

Michael (Admin) | Feb 4, 2009 Updates, Website Stuff

User rating: (No Ratings Yet)

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If you read my post about the app formerly known as Explosive Diarrhea (now called Mega Fart) you know I was pretty pissed about the developer’s ad placement… ads at both top and bottom of the screen which, in most cases, is just tacky and not that big of a deal. The thing that got my panties in a wad was that the bottom ad totally looked like it was strategically placed to generate false ad clicks! And just in case you’re wondering, I actually wear boxers, not panties… today, anyway.

BarnacleJive Software just posted The World’s Longest Comment on the original post, and here are the parts that matter most:

I’d like to note that the Ad at the bottom of the fart apps has been removed. It was not my intention to “trick” users into clicking on the ad.

Almost immediately after the app became available the ad providing company, AdMob, contacted me directly and said the ad placement was in violation of their guidelines, and that they had stopped serving ads to my apps. If I wanted ads to appear I would have to remove the ad and submit an update.

So I quickly removed the ad and posted an update. The update excluding the lower ad has since been approved by Apple and AdMob, and I suggest you update if you have the app.

I admit that the ad placement was poor judgment, and I regret that that action has lead to an otherwise very reputable software development operation to be criticized because of it. BarnacleJive software primary sells educational and general lifestyle and utility apps. The paid apps have no ads.

The decision to boycott my entire body of work because a couple ad placements annoys you a little is wrong. Again, it was poor judgment to place an ad there, but accidental clicks cost the the user nothing but a couple seconds of wasted time. On the other hand, a boycott of my apps has the potential of really affecting what I have worked so hard to accomplish (stupid fart apps excluded), and is not fair.

Thanks to BarnacleJive for the update.

For the record, though… accidental clicks are no big deal only when they’re truly accidental. It’s when people start to profit from designing these “accidents” that I start to get agitated! BarnacleJive has stated that what they did was unintentional and we’ll leave it at that, but I’m just sayin’…

Tags: Updates

Q&F: iFirstaid Lite

Chris J. | Jan 24, 2009 Healthcare & Fitness, Quick & Free, Updates

User rating: (4 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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When I saw this app, I hoped that it might be a handy reference in any emergency situation. Right away I could see that this app would be lacking as the only categories were CPR, Bleeding, Burns, and Poisons. Ignore the picture that appears in the iTunes App Store, while that picture of the menu shows a “More Topics” option, it doesn’t exist on the version I downloaded. Perhaps an unintentional bait and switch, but it can’t help but sour my feelings toward the app a little.

In my experience with first aid classes, there are some important topics that are absent from the app. Most notably would be a reference guide for choking. Also helpful would be sections for broken bones, heat stroke, and shock. There are of course other sections that could be considered besides those that I’ve named.

Aside from what is absent, what is present is fairly minimal as well. This is only intended as a way of refreshing the memory of a person who has already learned first aid. If you don’t already have a pretty strong grasp of CPR methods, this app will not be of much use to you. The other sections may be helpful to someone even if they don’ t already know first aid.

If you’re the “be prepared” type who needs a reminder on the specifics of only four types of first aid emergencies, then maybe this is the app for you. Personally, I would say that there just is not enough to this app to justify the space it uses.

Additional Note (1/26/09): I had a pediatrician look at the app and she noted one mistake on the CPR instructions for children and babies. If you are alone it is recommended that you first clear the airway and give rescue breaths before leaving to call 911. This is because children and babies require CPR for choking, drowning, etc. and not for heart attacks.

Update (2/27/09): First Aid for choking victims has been added to the subjects for iFirstAid Lite. This details the “back blows” method for helping a choking victim. If you are like me, and took a class which indicated alternating back blows with abdominal thrusts, this app will not help with technique reminders for abdominal thrusts.

Also, the image showing “More Options” has been removed from the iTunes store. I would have preferred that they add more options to the app, but at least the image now reflects what you are actually getting.

The CPR instructions for infants and children is still not completely accurate, as indicated in my note above. The app was developed in Australia, which may explain some of the differences in first aid instruction. Although the app is growing and adding more features, at this point I still will be sticking with my original conclusion and deleting the app after I finish reviewing it.

Tags: Chris J., free

Juxtaposer Update

Michael (Admin) | Jan 7, 2009 Photo & Video, Updates

User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Juxtaposer has just gotten some major upgrades and here’s the scoop, directly from developer Hendrik Kueck:

I just wanted to let you know that a major update to my app Juxtaposer just appeared on the App Store.

I added the ability to save multiple sessions (with their complete undo history). Additionally you now can save masked top images as ‘stamps’. If you spend a lot of time accurately masking for example somebody’s head, you can later load in the already cut out head and use it in a new session.

I also added the ability to flip the top image left<->right, created a nice new menu system and tweaked a ton of things under the hood. It’d be awesome if you decided to mention this update on your blog.

 

By the way, if you’re a developer who’s already been reviewed on iPhone App Reviews, please take note… I’m glad to post your updates. They don’t have to be “major”, but they should at least be significant enough that people actually want to read about them!

Updates can also be self-posted at iPhone App Index.

Update: Campaign

Michael (Admin) | Oct 27, 2008 News, Updates

User rating: (2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Got this from Gorloch Interactive, developer of Campaign which I reviewed about a month ago:

- We’ve expanded the Candidates section to include Public Statements and Issues. The statements are updated several times throughout the week (almost daily) and pull data from Vote-Smart.org. The candidate blog now pulls all the candidate blog data within the application (instead of using the iPhone RSS reader).

- We’ve added more election content to the Polls section. In addition to the Poll of the Day, we are now including electoral data for National and Battleground State polls (from fivethirtyeight.com). We have also added electoral graphs showing the US map distribution of electoral votes, popular vote percentage, electoral vote distribution, and likelihood of winning percentage (also from the five thirty-eight site).

- In the news section, we have adopted user requests and included various new sources.

- We have also introduced a new section called Your Voice, which is a Twitter-like microblog where users can comment in issue-specific forums about what they feel most passionate about.

- We’ve also made various performance and memory improvements to improve load times across the application.

- And finally, we’re making a commitment to keep the application active following the elections. We’re taking requests now about what features to add, but we would like to make Campaign the official news reader for political junkies, not just during campaign season, but in between as well.

Tags: $.99, Updates

Tris Update

Michael (Admin) | Aug 25, 2008 Games, Updates

User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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Looks like I picked the wrong time to review Tris! Noah Witherspoon, Tris’ creator, pointed me to his blog where he explains why the game will soon be disappearing from the App Store:

Well — I’ve received notice from Apple that they’ve been contacted by The Tetris® Company about Tris. That, I’m afraid, is essentially game over. Do they have a case? No. Not really. I am convinced that if it went to court, the “copyright” claim would get thrown out completely. The trademark, perhaps not — but if I changed the name, to e.g. “Trys”, that would be much harder for them to argue.

The trouble is, I’m a college student, and not an affluent one, and I simply do not have the time, energy, or resources to fight this battle right now. There’s a point at which I am willing to give up and be practical, to let the world have its way with that ever-mistreated little ideal of “principle”. Thus, it’s with great sadness that I must announce that I’ll be pulling Tris from the App Store on Wednesday, August 27th, to remain in Apple’s systems but publicly unavailable until I work out a solution to this.

That blows! If you’re reading this and you have the ability to help Noah out with legal counsel or something that might help him fight The Man, let him know through his blog, Two Finger Play.

Otherwise, INSTALL TRIS WHILE YOU STILL CAN! It won’t be there for long. :mad:

Tags: Updates

BoxOffice v1.2 Update: Finally Back in the App Store

Michael (Admin) | Aug 14, 2008 Entertainment, Updates

User rating: (2 votes, average: 3.00 out of 5)

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I just got an email from Cyrus Najmabadi, BoxOffice’s creator, telling me that his now-famous movie app is finally back in the App Store! Geez, it’s about time. He didn’t elaborate on why Apple took it down in the first place or why it took so long to put it back, and something tells me they didn’t give him those answers and never will.

The important thing is that BoxOffice is back. There are some other decent movie apps that do similar things but, of the ones I’ve tried so far, BoxOffice is by far the best. It lets you set favorite theaters for fast access, gives MPAA ratings, reviews from critics, you can watch trailers, and you can even use it to buy tickets.

This app was the very first one that I reviewed on this site and you can find the full review here. It’s just about everything you could want from a movie app, so if you haven’t installed BoxOffice yet you should definitely give it a try.

Tags: free

reMovem Update

Michael (Admin) | Aug 11, 2008 Games, Updates

User rating: (3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

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Apparently Mundue.net didn’t like the name JawBreaker so, in a stunning move that has sent shockwaves through the iPhone community, they have renamed the game reMovem. Get it? Remove ‘em, or re-move ‘em. So now when I’m sipping martinis with society’s elite while I describe one of the dullest games I’ve ever played, I’ll have to remember to call it reMovem… or TGFKAJ (the game formerly known as JawBreaker).

Tags: free

Tic-Tac-Toe Update (Reandevou Software)

Michael (Admin) | Aug 8, 2008 Games, Updates

User rating: (1 votes, average: 1.00 out of 5)

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When I reviewed this version of Tic Tac Toe the other day it was free! I don’t think any Tic Tac Toe game is worth $2.99… maybe $.99 would be ok, but personally I’d rather play on a cocktail napkin and spend my 3 bucks on something I can’t do with pen and paper.

Tags: $2.99, traditional

I Am Rich Update

Michael (Admin) | Aug 6, 2008 Updates

User rating: (1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

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I went back to the App Store to see when Armin Heinrich added I Am Rich, and whaddya know… it’s gone! Score one for internet outrage. If it weren’t for all the people bashing it on message boards, within iTunes, through social media outlets, and on blogs like this one, it would probably still be there.

I’ll bet there are thousands of app-developer-wannabes who have already started crafting their very own little $999.99 scams and they’re all gonna be very disappointed to find out that Apple apparently won’t be letting I Am Rich set a very bad precedent. In fact, I have to wonder if the sudden shutdown of Armin’s little experiment was precipitated by a flood of copycats? Regardless of why it’s gone, I’m just glad it is.

I can already hear iPhone and iTouch users letting out a collective sigh of relief. I Am Rich was dangerously close to steering the App Store into some very dark territory.

Tags: scam, useless

BoxOffice v1.2 Update

Michael (Admin) | Aug 4, 2008 Entertainment, Updates

User rating: (No Ratings Yet)

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I’ve been seeing all kinds of hits on this site from people who are trying to find out why BoxOffice is no longer in the App Store. Well, this isn’t really much of an update but I got this email 20 minutes ago…

I’m trying to reach Apple to figure out why my app was pulled.  Haven’t found out anything yet.  Hopefully in a couple of business days i’ll know.

            – Cyrus

Rotary Dialer Update

Michael (Admin) | Jul 31, 2008 Updates, Utilities

User rating: (No Ratings Yet)

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Just yesterday I wrote a review of Rotary Dialer where I said something about how it should make the rotary dialing sound. Today I was poking around the App Store and Rotary Dialer’s most recent review says this:

“It’s got sound now: Alright folks. It’s time to re-review the app. Since it now has sound, it feels like a well-done app.” (by SyrinxSean)

Another upgrade in this app is the price. It’s no longer free!! Awwww. Well at least it’s only $.99. I don’t begrudge Joshua Minor for wanting something in return for his funny little app, and I hope others don’t either. The masses can be pretty unforgiving when Free isn’t free anymore.

Tags: $.99