AppCraver » Issen Alibris

E! Online Gets Gossip App Right

Issen Alibris — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:00:47 +0000

Gossip gangsters unite! There is a new entertainment news app floating around in the App Store. E! Online is the new app from E! Entertainment that handles all your entertainment news needs.

With E! Online you have around-the-clock access to all the best things from the Web site including breaking news, videos, and photos all from your handset. You can even watch clips from your favorite E! shows like The Soup, Chelsea Lately, Keeping Up With The Kardarshians and The Girl’s Next Door.

A nice special feature in E! Online is that you can customize your own list of celebrities to follow. So, if you’re absolutely obsessed with knowing the latest on celebs like Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, or Robert Pattison you can set part of E! Online to give you the latest news, video and photos only on your faves. And the party doesn’t end there you also have access to your favorite E! Online resources. Check out the gossip from Marc Malkin, Ted Casablanca’s The Awful Truth, The Answer B*tch, Movies Reviews and so much more.

E! online is simple to use. One flick of the finger gets you to the home screen where you can choose the type of media you’re looking for. When you start the app it takes a few seconds to load but nothing so long you’ll pull your hair out. It’s pretty easy to navigate. And, if you’re searching for something using search tool it generally yields good results.

From a design perspective, it’s not cluttered or full of stuff that gets in the way of getting to the good stuff, the gossip. Definitely expect for the app to provide you with the same colorful, fun and smooth looking E! interface that you have seen on the web. The high-resolution pictures are impressive and the videos load quickly.

While E! Online looks beautiful and is well-designed it does have a couple of points of improvement. The first being that you can’t comment on any of the stories or videos. Gossip is no fun if you’re the only one talking about it. There also lots of comments about Facebook and Twitter but it doesn’t directly link to any of those.

Overall, E! Online is a great application distinguishing itself with a cool modern design, special features and excellent content. If you like your gossip free you won’t have to worry.

app_name: E! Online
rating: 8/10

Find The Right Words With Toast 2 Toast

Issen Alibris — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:30:00 +0000

Toast 2 Toast – Special occasions are all about the mood. Everyone wants to say just the right thing to make the even truly memorable. Some people quote Shakespeare others Einstein, Jefferson, or Franklin at special engagements or dinners. Well if you’re short on words or your memory is in a tongue twist Toast 2 Toast will help you find the right things to say.

Toast 2 Toast is an app that helps you find an appropriate quote for any occasion. And, if it’s not listed there’s also a pretty good selection to help you wing it. Toast 2 Toast is pretty comprehensive. The app has 250 quotes from well-known and lesser-known speakers. Choose a quote for any special occasion from birthdays to weddings. You’ll end up with a short memorable toast that should charm or make your guest chuckle.

Toast 2 Toast also gives you the option to find a quote by mood — search anything from bitter to thirsty, girly and festive or inspired. There are even gender specific quotes, too. So, if you’re at the moose lodge and need to inspire the boys there’s something to get them going.

Toast 2 Toast is easy to use. Start it up and choose a toast mode. You can swipe through each category to choose a different toast or give your device a quick shake to call up a new toast. The developers created a bright easy-to-read interface that’s absolutely appropriate for the task. No unnecessary graphics to distract you from drinking and reading at the same time.

For the most part the toasts are pretty decent. And while it’s true that what is considered a “quality toast” is subjective, we’d like a few more quality toasts. Ocassionally, the toasts seemed a little too cheesy. Perhaps we’ll see an addition in quotes with future versions. Toast 2 Toast proves once again that with the iPhone you can have almost everything for every occasion in the palm of your hands.

app_name: Toast 2 Toast
rating: 7/10

Color Your Personality on The Go In The Right Direction

Issen Alibris — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:30:52 +0000

Color Your Personality - If you’ve ever gone to pick out paint for a room in your house, you might have noticed that blue is a calming color and yellow is a very active vibrant color. It’s not a mystery that colors are emotionally evocative. Psychologists have been giving subjects and patients visual tests for years to help them understand themselves a little bit better and to let them know how they can help. Now there is Color Your Personality.

Color Your Personality is a simple personality test for the iPhone that assesses your personality through the color the choices that you make. Don’t worry, it’s not a lengthy test of any sort — and it’s pretty easy to take. Choose the colors you like in order of your personal preference. Wait a minute, then Color Your Personality will ask you to pick the colors again.

Color Your Personality is an interesting app that’s fun to use on the go. However, it’s not detailed enough to give you a true personality assessment. The other problem with Color Your Personality is that there isn’t much explanation. There are eight colors on the screen that represent a variety of different emotions but none of its explained in the about section or anywhere else for that matter.

I took the Color Your Personality test and the thing I like most about it is that it’s short and to the point like a micro mood horoscope. Color Your Personality may not be life changing but it if you’re curious about the color of your mood, the head on over to the App Store to check it out — it’s only $0.99.

app_name: Color Your Personality
rating: 7/10

SmackTalk! The Adorable Prank App

Issen Alibris — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:30:53 +0000

Ten year olds around the world will unite and eternally prank each other and drive their care takers insane once they discover SmackTalk! Smack Talk is a voice altering app developed by Marcus Satelllite for the iPhone. Never again will you have to inhale one of those party balloons to get that squeaky voice to entertain them. SmackTalk! does it all for you.

There are four animated characters to choose from to make your squeaky voiced little ones happy. There is a guinea pig, puppy, kitten and Chihuahua. SmackTalk’s really easy to use. Just start up SmackTalk! and swipe the screen and choose a character. Speak in the microphone and a couple of seconds later you’ll be able to hear and watch your character talk back to you. SmackTalk! repeats whatever you say in any language.

SmackTalk! can be enjoyed by kids, tweens, teens and the occasional adult looking for a wholesome good time. The title artwork is simple, and well done. All of the pictures in the app are high resolution crisp and clear. From a technical standpoint, SmackTalk! consistently functioned properly and always started up quickly. It never randomly froze or started over. What’s really nice about the app is there is only a couple of second delay from the time you speak to the time your animal repeats the phrase. This means it repeats what you say practically in real time. The only thing you have to look out for is that the microphone can be a little sensitive. So you have to make sure there isn’t a lot of noise around and that you speak directly in to the microphone when using it.

Overall SmackTalk! is a solid application. It works well. SmackTalk! has a simple design and is easy to use. Kids will be entertained for a long time. It’s big on the cute factor and low on the cost factor — a perfect combo when purchasing fun from the App Store.

app_name: Smacktalk!
rating: 7/10

TechCrunch Offline Reader Covers the Whole News Suite, but is Buggy

Issen Alibris — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 18:30:37 +0000

TechCrunch Offline Reader - In the 21st century it’s all about instant gratification. So much in fact, that we can’t live without our news, books, game stats, and product reviews at the touch of a button. TechCrunch adds to the instantaneous madness with up-to-the-second tech news from their collection of websites. Maplewood Associates wants to provide instant access to it all with their TechCrunch Offline Reader.

TechCrunch is a blog that profiles and reviews new products and companies. TechCrunch Offline Reader integrates all of the most popular TechCrunch blogs like TechCrunch, MobileCrunch, CrunchGear, TechCrunch IT, Gilmore Gang, & more. Not only may you read all of the blogs but it allows you to post and read comments too.

Using the TechCrunch Offline Reader isn’t as intuitive as some news readers. You have to play around with it for a bit to get going. The app starts with only the TechCrunch icon on the shelf. In order to see the other blogs in the network appear on the shelf go to the settings where you can turn on any of the 9 blogs available.

The TechCrunch Offline Reader settings also has options to choose storage time, download range and whether or not you want to see images. If you tap blogs, the ones you chose will now appear on the shelf. If there have been new posts since you last signed on there will be a small red circle with the number of new posts next to that blog. If you tap the blog list option it simply changes your view to list form. You’ll also see the same red circle if there have been any updates to the blog since you last read it.

From a visual perspective the user interface of TechCrunch Offline Reader is excellent. The colors are bright and vibrant. It isn’t cluttered with tons of unnecessary buttons. The interface has a very smooth modern feel to it. Even the 3D book shelf is well done with noticeable attention paid to detail. Each blog that appears on the TechCrunch Offline Reader not only has its traditional logo but if it’s an international blog it also has the country flag placed at the bottom. While there was obviously lots of attention given to the visual appearance of the app unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be the same amount of attention given to its technical aspects.

TechCrunch Offline Reader is extremely temperamental and buggy. It automatically shut itself down about eight times when I conducted this review. Even though TechCrunch Offline Reader bills itself as the offline reader it connects to the web often enough that it seems like you need a constant connection to the web. Updates are pretty sluggish too and even doing this on a Wi-Fi connection can seem cumbersome.

If you’re a TechCrunch lover you may want to stick to checking out the site via Safari on your handset or the desktop version by computer until they figure out the technical specs on this one. At least the TechCrunch Offline Reader is free.

app_name: TechCrunch Offline Reader
rating: 5/10

Matchmaker Make Me A Match with Match.Com

Issen Alibris — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:00:28 +0000

If you don’t have time to date and you’re already hip to sites like Match.com it’s now on available on your handset. Match.com tries to bring everything that you love from the site to their new iPhone app.

As a member you have access to 15 million Match.com singles, you can edit your profile, take pictures and get your mail all on the move. The premise doesn’t seem very difficult especially if you’ve used Twitter, Twinkle or any other mobile social networking program. There are some problems with Match.com. There are two pretty obvious issues with the app functionality and fees.

From the beginning Match.com was pretty difficult to use. The application wouldn’t scroll down far enough to let me register. After restarting the app about three times it froze. The 4th time I started up Match.com I finally reached the home screen.

In order to set up the service you must create a profile between 200 and 1000 words. After this you can search for people in your area. You can see who has viewed your profile and check your inbox for any messages. Trying to search through the profile pages took ages. It even took a long time when I was utilizing Match.com at home on a fast Wi-Fi connection.

Someone should give kudos to the developers of Match.com for making the interface colorful and pretty. There are nice dark, pale and muted blue colors in the interface. And everything is visually in an easy place to spot. If you’re just signing up to Match.com you’ll have to remember that everything you do on the site has to be approved so expect a little bit of wait before you can find the love of your life. This is not a free service. You’ll have to become a full paying member of the match.com site to actually use the full range of services and that can range anywhere from $39.99 to $20 depending on the plan you choose. There may also be a fee for using the mobile version too.

Notwithstanding the fees, the biggest complaint I had with Match.com is how buggy the app seems to be. I had to restart Match.com about 10 times total to try to get the full value of what it could do. As a miniature version of the desk top site it’s supposed to do so many things well and some even better. It’s a shame that users will probably become frustrated and turn to something else.

app_name: Match.com
rating: 5/10

iZen Garden Relaxes Just Like its Japanese Namesake

Issen Alibris — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:30:24 +0000

If the economy or bad weather has you singing the blues, we may have found a welcome distraction in the App Store. iZen Garden is a portable Zen Garden. From a real world art form to your handset, you’ll be able to create your own personal relaxation garden and take it with you everywhere.

Japanese Zen Gardens have been around for a thousand years. The goal of iZen Garden is to relax and calm you with simple objects and sounds. Before you get to the garden you’ll be treated to a daily Zen, positive messages that pop up each time you open it up.

It’s easy to get your garden going. Everything works with just a couple of taps and using it is pretty straightforward. iZen Garden is loaded with lots of options to fully customize your garden and make it your own. Choose from over 100 different stones, shells, plants and fossils to place in your garden. Don’t like the color of the sand? There are four different colors to choose from in iZen Garden and you can even match them with some of your objects.

If you’re into different shapes you can make your objects round, oblong, square, or triangular as well as change the size of your rake’s width and depth. You can even pinch and expand them with your fingers to make them larger or smaller. If your garden feels a little lifeless, animate it. iZen Garden lets you add fluttering butterflies.

In addition to all of the lifelike objects in iZen Garden, the app has soothing sounds, wind chimes, bells, ocean waves and more. Overall, iZen Garden did the trick for me.

There were a few things that might be in need of updates. The sound of a stream or a waterfall would be fantastic in iZen Garden. Also, it might be a nice feature to be able to stack the objects or bury them. One of the best features of iZen Garden is that you can still listen to the soundtrack even when your handset has locked. Now, if only iZen Garden could simulate the smell from a really nice candle.

rating: 9/10
app_name: iZen Garden

Worlds of Words with WordDigest English Dictionary Thesaurus and Spell Checker

Issen Alibris — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:30:56 +0000

You may not use words like penurious or avaricious on a daily basis but you might read them casually in a story like this. If context clues aren’t enough WordDigest English Dictionary, Thesaurus and Spell Checker could be the fastest way to find the definition.

WordDigest English Dictionary, Thesaurus and Spell Checker is a complete dictionary, thesaurus and spell checker rolled into one. It has 147,000 words in the English language and 87,000 official pronunciations. Watching one of your favorite quiz shows and you want to know the etymology of a word, you’ll be able to hop online and get the information you need quickly. WordDigest English Dictionary, Thesaurus and Spell Checker is linked with some of the most widely used sources for information on the web like Wikitionary, Wikipedia and Answers.com

WordDigest is super fast and intuitively shows words that might be similarly spelled to the one your searching for. This is perfect for those who kind of know how to spell it.

WordDigest English Dictionary, Thesaurus and Spell Checker is easy to navigate. It has a fun plain font with a midnight black and grey interface. Don’t worry about trying to remember a word you looked up a few weeks ago. The application automatically saves your dictionary, spell check and web search history. You may save up to 100 of your last searches by changing your settings options. You can also save your favorite words by tapping the gold star when you’ve pulled up the word you’re searching for.

WordDigest is beautifully designed and super easy to read, especially given how much information can be on a page. Synonyms, definitions and sentences all appear in different colors. It’s easy to toggle back and forth between the thesaurus and dictionary because there is a convenient T icon at the top of the page that zips you back and forth.

While WordDigest seems pretty complete it is missing a few important components. It doesn’t have phonetic audio for enough of the words. Search load times can be a long if you’re not using Wi-Fi and looking for a word that doesn’t appear in the database.

By and large WordDigest English Dictionary, Thesaurus and Spell Checker is solid, works pretty efficiently and is visually easy to look at and navigate.

rating: 8/10
app_name: WordDigest English Dictionary, Thesaursus and Spell Checker,

iWingman a Funny Companion for Finding a Date

Issen Alibris — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:30:52 +0000

If the iPhone has become our eternal digital companion, helping us with everything from our hobbies, finances and humor, why can’t it be our wingman? Maybe it can. iWingman is an interactive pick-up line app.

iWingman is your very own buddy, there to aid you in trying to get the woman of your dreams. Think Swingers & Wedding Crashers but less cool. What iWingman does have is charm. Something that might win your sweetheart’s favor even if you’re not confident enough to do it on your own. iWingman is packed with more than 250 one liners. They range from super cheesy to pretty clever.

The visual interface is ash grey with lots of blinking lights, gauges and buttons. The iWingman menu is set up as if you were pressing buttons in an airplane. There are six categories from which you can rate your compatibility — face, clothes, personality, intelligence, smell and location. Try hitting one and you get a pick-up line. For instance, choose face and you might end up with a line like “Seeing your beautiful face makes my smile aggrandize.”

iWingman is stable. It won’t crash, flash or randomly start over. What it could do better is have an option to go back to the menu without starting from the info menu. It seems like an unnecessary step. There is only one sound in iWingman, the sound of a plane taking off when you go to the main menu. Of course, if you plan on using iWingman on the down low, this is a good thing.

Overall, iWingman is okay. If you use it as a conversation starter you’re likely to get a few laughs, in which case it’s done its job. If you plan to use it as a serious dating tool, well, that might be stretching it.

If you’d like to check iWingman out before investing the $0.99, then try the Free iWingman Lite.

app_name: iWingman
rating: 6/10

IPark Gets You Back to Where You Started

Issen Alibris — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:30:48 +0000

Are you one of the chronically lost, wandering the asphalt jungle in search of your car? There’s an app for that. IPark is a parking utility app that helps you keep track of your vehicle. It will get you there from any location as long as you’ve marked your car. Just follow the IPark compass back to your car.

Start up IPark and mark your vehicle. Marking your vehicle saves the location coordinates right into your phone. You can add notes about your vehicle location in the white bar above these coordinates. Remember you can only mark your vehicle when the border is yellow or green. This means there is a strong GPS fix on your location. After you’ve marked your vehicle and left any relevant notes you’re off to handle your business.

Finding your way back is even easier. IPark uses a GPS-powered compass to get you back to your car. The closer you get you’ll notice the compass will slowly become green and the distance in feet on the display will also decrease. You can even change the preferences so that your phone will vibrate when you are close. When you’re within a specified range, if you’ve snapped a picture of your vehicle and saved it, it will pop up on the screen.

IPark is loaded with extras. If you need a tow or to tell someone where your car is located you can email your location along with a link to Google Maps. You can also enter data on the parking structure such as what floor you were on, space number and set a timer to record how long you’ve been parked. IPark stores all of your previously saved locations by keeping a running history of your entries. It’s handy enough to let you choose between standard or metric units and you can even save your AAA number in the app if you’re a member.

IPark has most of its bases covered, although there are few issues. If you do not have access to clear skies or a strong signal it can’t use the GPS in your phone to navigate you to the car. Between the color coding and compass bar, there are a lot of graphic elements vying for attention. And, unfortunately, IParkfroze a couple of times and lost my information.

IPark seems like a good application. It’s well thought and fairly easy to use. However, I am not quite sure it’s a simple as it could be. After all, you could simply park near a landmark and snap a picture to remind you before walking away from your car.

rating: 6/10
app_name: IPark