Parents on the go, that's what many of us are. Upon awaking you may spend the first few moments of the day fumbling between nuking breakfast and getting yourself ready for the workday. Somewhere in the midst of this insanity, the kids have to be ready too! Dropping them off at school and heading to work in itself is quiet the trek. This is not the old fashioned morning where sitting at the breakfast table and reading the paper comes with ease. You not only race thru the madness of the week or weekend, but often race blindly! The iPhone proudly boasts that there is an app for that and delivers as always.
Apps
SmackTalk Made My Day
Sometimes, the most simple applications are actually the best. That's the case of SmackTalk, an hilarious voice-altering app that features an animated guinea pig, puppy, kitten, and chihuahua that repeat what you say in high-pitched squeaky voices in real-time. Sounds retarded? Well, it is kinda retarded but I laughed my ass off while watching the demo video below and while playing with the app. SmackTalk totally made my day!
SmackTalk is currently on sale in the App Store for $0.99 but we happen to have 4 promo codes. The first 4 people to comment on this post will get a promo code (note that you have to be in the US).
My 10 Favorite iPhone Apps Ever
Since the creation of the App Store a few months ago, iPhone apps reviews are everywhere. I've always tried not to spend too much time on apps reviews to focus more on interesting news or hacks for the iPhone. From time to time though, we do have apps reviews, and it's mostly the job of dannyswrld.
I've received a few emails and comments from you guys asking what were my favorite iPhone apps so I thought I'd write a post about it. Note that these apps aren't ranked in any specific order.
CyDelete Uninstalls Cydia Apps Directly From Your SpringBoard
CyDelete is a new application available in Cydia that aims at making your Cydia apps uninstall a breeze. Currently, deleting a Cydia application from your springboard is a 7 step pain in the ass: start Cydia > Manage > Packages > Look for the package > Modify > Remove > Confirm.
By installing CyDelete, you won't have to go through this process anymore and you'll be able to uninstall Cydia apps just as easily as you delete App Store apps. Simply hold down the icon, wait for them to start wiggling, and tap the X.
CyDelete is still in beta so it might crash on you every once in a while, but so far, it's worked perfectly for me.
How do you like this new app?
My New Favorite Site To Browse App Store Applications
I would like to introduce you to a great site I found to browse App Store applications. It's called www.AppChimp.com and it is the closest thing to an online version of the official Apple App Store. You may think that after AppShopper, 148Apps, and other similar sites, there is no more room for one more online App Store... Well, you are wrong because App Chimp comes with features that these other sites are missing!
The main reason why I like App Chimp is because it is very similar to browsing the App Store. When you get on the homepage of this online App Store, you are presented with easy to browse sections: categories, latest price drops, high rated apps, top free apps, and top paid applications.
My favorite feature of all has to be the search function which is very powerful. You can browse applications by price range, and you can sort the results by price, by date (date added in the store), and by rating. You can also turn on the "Price Drop Filter" to only show applications that are currently on sale.
Do yourself a favor and try out this App Chimp online App Store and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below.
TapArtist App Promo Codes Giveaway
TapArtist [iTunes Link] is a richly featured avatar/picture creator. You get a large library of premade items (hairs, noses, hats, etc) and you can mix and match them on stage. You can move, scale, and color individual components. You can check out what users are making with it (and have it submitted through the app itself) at www.tapartist.com/gallery. Users can download those shared pictures into TapArtist and then edit them. You can save the pictures for your contacts or email them to friends.
It's a pretty fun app and worth a look for $1.99.
The developer gave us a few promo codes for our loyal readers. It's gonna be first come first served, so hurry up! Being one of the first to learn about these promo codes giveaways is yet another reason to follow me on Twitter :)
6RFLFP9J9LW9 64PE6FXEL44K EXMYMPR9A3M6 KPNMH4HA3WXR 93JR9F9YPF6K T6FKMYYT6LFL XXALH66KMFM6 9HYYKE3FAX33 R4YM7JHA9Y43 KK43YEXAY3E7
QuickGold App Launcher
Well here is a really handy app for iPhone: QuickGold. For those of you wondering this is only for those jailbroken devices. Apple has a 9 page limit for apps on the iPhone springboard. Although the Categories app is very useful to bypass the 9 page limit, when you have hundreds of apps in one folder it's kind of a pain having to look though all of them looking for one app. That's when QuickGold comes in handy.
QuickGold is an app launcher. When on your home screen, simply press the home button and a keyboard and search bar will pop-up. Start typing the name of the app you're looking for and QuickGold will show you apps that match what you're typing. In most cases, you just need to type a few letters.
TouchGrind Is Getting A Board Editor
Illusion Labs has been working on and is finishing up a long requested board editor for TouchGrind. According to a post, "you can either take a photo of something (your t-shirt, your wife, cheese, your crocheted Ninja Man and even something you have drawn on a piece of paper) or use a photo from your photo album. You can move it around, rotate it with two fingers, pinch to zoom etc."
They posted a video on YouTube showing how it works:
When I asked them if you could create new boards or if you could just customize current ones they answered:
You can only customize the current ones in this release. The problem is that we're already on the limit memory wise (due to the many textures), so this is the current solution.
You can of course reset a board's graphics if you want it back.
So we have to wait for it to come out. And one last thing they posted:
It will be out when it is ready and fully tested (don't wanna repeat the mistake with update 1.1, do we..).
And to answer some future questions:
Q: Can I change trucks? A: No.
Q: Can I change wheels? A: No
Q: Can I draw pictures in Touchgrind? A: No, it's a skating game. 1) Take photos or 2) draw them on your computer and sync using iTunes.
Can't wait!!
Analytics App Finally Brings Google Analytics to the iPhone
I have about 20 different websites and part of my daily routine is to check out my Google Analytics account to have a look at the stats. Thanks to Michael Jensen and his new Analytics App, I can now do this on the go, directly from my iPhone.
There's already a couple Google Analytics apps in the App Store but they're not nearly as good as Analytics App [iTunes Link]. So what makes Analytics App so much better? Well, to be honest, it's as comprehensive as you can get and it really is a "pocket version" of your full Google Analytics account.
When launching the app for the first time, Analytics App asks for your Google Analytics username and password. Once done, it loads all the websites you have analytics access to. If you have different profiles, it will load all of them with each website conveniently listed. Just tap the website for which you want to see the stats and you will be presented with 29 reports as well as unlimited custom reports, if you set them up. Wow!
I could go on and on about what Analytics App can do but as I said before, it does everything you can do from your Google Analytics account on your computer's browser. To be honest with you, I think I find the app actually easier than the web version!
One thing I didn't really like though is the fact that I cannot get the stats for yesterday. As much as I tried to change the dates and everything, I just wasn't able to get my analytics report for the previous day, which is usually what I'm looking for. I assume it's a missing feature that will most likely be added in future updates.
Analytics App is a must-have for any website/blog owner! You can download it from the App Store for $5.99 and at this price, I still think it's a steal. Now I'm just hoping that Michael Jensen will also develop an application for Google Adsense and Adwords. Michael, if you hear me...
Tweetie – The Best Twitter App?
The App Store has thousands of apps, including more than a handful of Twitter apps. So you might be wondering: "what is the best?" Well, one app that calls itself the best Twitter app is Tweetie. So the question is: is Tweetie really the best Twitter app?
Interface
The interface is nice and feels good. But, there's always a but. It takes a bit getting used to. Especially for users like me who used TwitterFon. You need to learn things like the "swipe" and other stuff. But it is relatively easy to master after a bit of use.
Look
Tweetie definitely looks much better than any other Twitter app I have seen.
Humor
Tweetie is the only app I have seen with a sense of humor. It has a "Popularity Enhancer" feature. It is a joke really, but what it does is it gives you a flashlight and when you do the "swipe" it replaces the normal click sound with a fart sound. Quite funny and a joke on the App Store.
Smoothness
Tweetie is definetly more smooth than other free apps, and it does not crash or eat up all your RAM.
Other Features
- An option for you to set the image compression for a smaller or normal size. You choose how much compression.
- Multiple Account management
- Instapaper integration
- Links to StockTwits
- Optional landscape keyboard
- Themes
- Follow and un-follow people
- Block/unblock users
- Navigate reply chains
- Inline web browser
- Inline TwitPic image viewer
Missing Features
One feature I liked from TwitterFon is that when you were typing a new tweet, there was a @ button which showed all the people you are following. This is very handy. The developers of Tweetie told me they will add this in future updates.
Overall
I'm going to be honest. If you are constantly tweeting, or use Twitter everyday I recommend Tweetie. It's smoothness and easy to use interface has won me over. I highly recommend this.
In my opinion, Tweetie is definitely worth $2.99 for those of you who use Twitter everyday or often. But for those who rarely ever use Twitter, I think you are better of with a free Twitter app.
Up There is a Surprising Game
OK, so the title sound weird huh? Well that's how I feel, really. I first heard of Up There on Twitter. I kept on saying what's the point?! Everyone kept saying it was a great game. Then the developer contacted me on Twitter. He told me he was going to send me a code just for my opinion (don't bomb him asking, guys). Boy was I surprised! The game is a beautiful game indeed just as everyone said. It features beautifully done artwork throughout the whole app.
Above is just a taste. The point of the game is to get the balloon "up there" as up as you can though the barriers that might block you, which is pretty hard. But this has become one of my favorite games. It features an online score board so that you can compete with people. The game is really fun. There aren't really many ways I can describe this well.
The app is normally $1.99 but is on sale for $0.99.
P.S: Just a little comment. One of the developers, Jeff, has agreed to sing us a song once the app reaches the top twenty. So, I'm looking forward to that Jeff ;)
Paper Pilot – A Show Off App!
OK so I bet you are wondering what's so great about "Paper Pilot" due to the title right? Well I'll get right to the point. Although Paper Pilot is not a gigantic game that will keep you entertained forever and that you will get addicted to, it is a showoff.
This app uses the powerful Unity Game Engine and it shows off what the iPhone graphics can be. Paper Pilot has received criticism since it uses demos that come with the Unity Game Engine when you get it, but rest assure: Clever Coding (the dev of Paper Pilot) asked Unity for permission and they have allowed it.
The gameplay is pretty simple: you fly a paper airplane using the accelerometer, collecting paper clips and trying to do so in the shortest time possible to get ranks.
Here is a video of the gameplay (not by me):
Although the game is not yet a "wow" it is a very fun game showing off the iPhone's ability. The devs have planned for a future update:
- Weapons, like spitball guns and pencil missiles - Enemies, like the stapler and tape dispenser - Dogfighting other paper airplanes
The app is normally priced at $2.99 but is on sale for a "limited time" at $1.99. In my opinion Paper Pilot is a fun game to have. It's not anything you will be addicted to but is definitely fun and well made. You might want to get it at the sale price.