AppCraver » Michael Alexander

Smart Alarm

Michael Alexander — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:00:14 +0000

Smart Alarm — Despite it’s name, Smart Alarm, from Mobile App Center, is more than a simple alarm clock app — it’s also a weather detector and a news and stock ticker.

The idea is that this app will pleasantly wake you up in the morning with a dash of weather, a squib of news and a line or two about whether your stocks are flying or frying. In fact, if the app was capable of bringing you breakfast it would be called Smart Butler, or something like that.

You can use the Settings button to set up the clock to display 12 or 24-hour formats, font and font color and background screen color. You also can set the amount of snooze time you might need, from 1 minute to 59 minutes (if you need more than 59 minutes that means you’ll wake up dead).

Before going to bed, set Smart Alarm to your desired wake up time, and set the sound that you want to wake up to. Smart Alarm comes with 53 sounds of nature, instruments, and other sounds designed to wake you gently. You could, for example, use Smart Alarm to wake up to waves crashing on a beach or an acoustic guitar. If none of the built-in sounds work for you, you can record your own sound with the app’s recording function.

Once you’re awake and seeing straight, take a look at your iPhone or touch and grab the latest news, stocks and weather report. Tapping the weather icon will give you a preview of the day’s high temperature along with a 5-day forecast.

Tapping the icon in the lower left corner — in either landscape or portrait mode — switches the scrolling ticker from news to stocks. Tapping an item on either ticker will take you to Google’s finance pages or to Reuters news stories, using the Safari Web browser.

Truth is, Smart Alarm works better for me as a day-time clock at work: I can keep an eye on the day’s top stories and stock performance and if I need to, set the alarm to wake me up in time to go home before the evening rush hour.

One thing to keep in mind: If you’re using Smart Alarm overnight and you run out of battery juice, you’ll be still sawing logs when you should be attending that day’s big morning meeting. So be sure to plug in your device for smooth sailing.

app_name: Smart Alarm
rating: 8/10

My Brute Online Extends Its Fan Base to the iPhone and iPod touch

Michael Alexander — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:00:13 +0000

My Brute for the iPhone and iPod touch is derived from the online game of the same name, which has more followers than the lead lemming in the annual migration of the little critters over cliffs and into the seas below.

My Brute for the iPhone and iPod touch “is a crazy, off-the-wall game of combat that gives you the chance to challenge fighters from all over the world,” according to Bulkypix, developers of My Brute.

Yep, it’s one of those “create your own character or Brute, give it a personality and go around chopping, hacking, kicking and ideally, turning your enemies into dust and ashes..

Evidently the MyBrute site attracts more than 1.7 million visitors a day, who have created more than 70 million “brutes” or warriors.

Take on your opponent, virtual or real, anywhere around the world. With each challenge, as you gain experience, boost your confidence and unlock mad skillz, you’ll be able to dispatch them faster and faster. You can unlock and use more than 70 skills and weapons, so you can be kung fu fighting like a mad man or woman for quite some time.

My Brute lets you create up to 8 brutes and fight up to five opponents each day. You can also open your own dojo, become a master ,and invite other pupils to sit at your feet like grasshoppers and learn the techniques they’ll need to be successful warriors. You start the game with three brutes and as you get more pupils to join your dojo, you can create up to eight characters with additional powers. In that way, it’s like a Ponzi scheme.

You can also issue challenges to friend and foes on Facebook.

This is a terrific-looking game. The graphics are superb and the if you like, you can listen to your iPod while you’re throwing blows, kicking and pummeling your enemies into submission.

However, I just gotta say: I don’t understand the attraction of My Brute. Your friends must also purchase the $4.99 title if you want to invite them to become pupils and to fight head-to-head. You don’t actually fight – the action is done automatically. It’s just wasn’t engaging enough to keep me occupied for long.

app_name: My Brute
rating: 7/10

Innovative Dub Siren Mixes Reggae and Sound Effects

Michael Alexander — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 22:00:39 +0000

Dub Siren is one of the most innovative music apps I’ve seen to make it into the App Store in a long time. And that’s coming from someone who isn’t even capable of using the app to its fullest!

With some 55,750 apps in stock, sifting through the inventory to find the gems is getting harder all the time. Then, along comes Dub Siren, which streams music from some of the top Reggae, Dub and DubStep Internet radio stations and allows you to interactively mix music with a wide variety of Reggae effects like horns, beeps, boops and many other sound samples.

Until now, these effects have been exclusive to the professional disc jocks, according to Sawa Digital, the developer. I’m not sure about that, but what I do know is this app is a neat sound effects maker.

Dub Siren has two modes: Dub Mode, modeled after ’70s classic analog synth and Dancehall Mode, which includes popular sound effects used by Reggae DJs today. Switching from one mode to the other is as simple as tilting your iPhone or iPod touch between landscape and portrait modes.

The app has several other features — too numerous to mention — such as faders for volume, pitch, speed and depth. In addition you have the option to select one of three wave effects: sine, square and saw. None of this will make much sense to you if you are not familiar with mixing (I’m not) but it’s big fun to experiment.

You’re not limited to listening to Reggae either. You can play music from your iPod’s music collection in the background by first launching your iPod app and then launching Dub Siren. That’s not a feature unique to Dub Siren. Unlike other apps, though, Dub Siren lets you throw in a spacey simulation of a machine gun over your music if you’re so inclined.

The graphics are exceptionally well rendered and the controls are responsive. I did a lot of experimentation with this app and did not encounter any glitches or bugs.

Sawa Digital says pro DJs can use the Dub Siren and a iPhone or iPod touch as a standalone Reggae sound effects machine because it features a sophisticated audio algorithm and uncompressed audio files. I’m not entirely sure what all Dub Siren is capable of doing —I don’t have a musical ear — but it sure sounds good to me.

Watch the Dub Siren Video for a demo:

app_name: Dub Siren
rating: 9/10

Developers Rush to Update their Apps with Push Notification Services

Michael Alexander — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:00:43 +0000

Following the release of the OS 3.0 firmware and SDK updates less than a month ago, app devs are now stocking the App Store with new or updated apps that use Apple’s Push Notification Service.

Push notifications are used by applications to alert you of new information, even when the application isn’t running. Notifications differ depending upon the application, but may include text or sound alerts, and a numbered badge on the application’s icon on the Home screen.

You can turn notifications off if you don’t want to be notified or want to conserve battery life.

Push notification has been long awaited by iPhone and iPod touch users. Until the release of OS 3.0, Apple was unwilling to enable users to run applications in the background (or conversely, when the app has not been launched) because it said PNS would drain the devices’ batteries prematurely.

Now, apps can be always connected to an Apple server, enabling, for example, users to receive IMs without having the app opened on their iPhone or iPod touches..

Here’s a quick roundup of some of the new or updated apps capable of alerting you when you’ve received a text, IM, update or other message from developers.

BeejiveIM, from Beejive, is among the first of these apps to be available. BeejiveIM supports AIM/iChat/MobileMe, MSN/Windows Live, Yahoo!, MySpace, GoogleTalk, ICQ and Jabber, allowing users to access all of their IM clients from one user-friendly interface.

Pinger has released Textfree, which enables you to send an unlimited number of text messages to any U.S. mobile phone instead of via Simple Message Service, or SMS, for short. Sending texts over cellular networks is free, unlike sending texts via SMS, which typically run $0.05 apiece.

ngmoco updated its new Star Defense to enable players to expand their campaigns and compete with friends via Direct Challenges. In addition to Twitter, Facebook and email, players can send Direct Challenges via PNS to their friends over the Plus+ network, a free service for the iPhone gaming community.

Fans of Tapulous’s Tap Tap Revenge can now send challenges to friends via PNS.

NotifyMe (with Push) from PoweryBase has been getting good reviews since it debuted less than a month ago. It’s a to-do app capable of push reminders to pick up the milk, take care of business or anything else you might need to do by deadline.

You get PNS, but only if you want it. To turn all notifications on or off, go to Settings and tap Notifications. To turn notifications on or off for an app, tap Notifications and then select an app from the list and choose the types of notification you want to turn on or off.

Apple Issues Advisory on How to Keep Your iPhone 3G and 3GS Looking Cool

Michael Alexander — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:00:31 +0000

Amid unconfirmed reports that some 3GS iPhone are over heating and turning models with white cases a light brown, Apple has released a document that advises owners on how to use their devices to avoid potential damage caused by a silicon barbeque.

Apple says you should operate your iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS in a place where the temperatures are between 32º to 95º F (0º and 35º C ). Low- or high-temps might temporarily shorten battery life or cause the device to temporarily stop working properly.

Store your iPhone where the temperatures are likely to stay between 4º to 113º F (-20º and 45º C). Leaving your iPhone in your car on a sunny day is not a good idea because inside temps in a parked car can exceed this range.

Some clues that the interior temp of you iPhone is beyond normal range are:

The device stops charging
Display dims
Weak cellular signal
Temperature warning screen appears with the message “iPhone needs to cool down before you can use it”

The warning message is a safety mechanism that protects the components of your iPhone, Apple says. If the message pops up on your display, turn the device off and let it cool down before firing it up again.

No worries: Even if you get the warning message, you’ll still be able to make emergency calls, Apple adds.

You’ll see the temp warning message under the following conditions, Apple says:

Leaving the device in a car on a hot day
Leaving it in direct sunlight for extended amounts of time
Using certain applications in hot conditions or direct sunlight for long periods of time, such as GPS tracking in a car on a sunny day or listening to music while in direct sunlight

For what it’s worth, I’ve been running my new iPhone 3GS nonstop since I received it 4-5 days ago and have not experienced any issues with over heating. In fact, the only issues I’ve experienced with the new phone is an over abundance of goodness.

Memory + Adds a Few Twists to a Tired Genre

Michael Alexander — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:00:54 +0000

Memory +, from Pearl Fisher Games, is similar to Concentration, where the trick is to flip card or boxes and recall the image on the opposite side and then pair it with an identical image hidden elsewhere on the playing board.

It’s a traditional memory game, of which there are several already in the App Store. Memory + takes the concept another step forward with four modes: singles, couples, mixed and classic.

In singles mode and mixed modes, the task is to find a single object among pairs (in other words, find objects without a mate). In couples and classic, the task is to find matching pairs. In couples, you’re directed to find a specified number of pairs (one, two or three). In classic mode, you have the options to set the table size from 4 x 3 to 6 x 4.

You play against the clock or by having the fewest number of mismatches possible.

The sound effects when you tap cards and make matches are simple but pleasant. One thing I like is having the option to choose one of three symbols sets (funny, sea and standard). I don’t recall seeing that feature in similar games I’ve looked at.

The graphics, although quite simple, are polished and nicely rendered.

This is a well-worn concept, but Memory + tries hard to push its boundaries. In the end, however, it’s just another match-up and most adults won’t find it much of a big deal. Kids, on the other hand, will probably like it quite a bit. They’ll find it both fun and challenging, especially with easy, medium and hard levels to play and the ability to change symbols sets.

app_name: Memory +
rating: 7/10

Busted Loop Says Most Paid Apps are Stuck in a Sales Dead Zone

Michael Alexander — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 22:00:32 +0000

The guys at Busted Loop blog did an analysis of what they claim is a “comprehensive, raw ranking data for the entire U.S. App Store, spanning all categories.” Their conclusion: “…most paid apps fail. These ‘dead’ apps may have had some sales shortly after they were released, but once the honeymoon is over, that’s it. No more sales.”

This is not exactly a revelation for most developers as well as for companies such as Pinch Media, AdMob and MobClix who have been tracking App Store sales and who have made similar assessments.

The App Store is quickly approaching its first-year anniversary (July 11). In that time, the App Store has approved more than 58,300 apps, submitted by some 14,000 publishers. Developers are introducing apps at the rate of 1,300 per week, yet, only 1 percent of them are responsible for more than 30 percent of apps.

The picture is overtly grim, according to Busted Loop. What follows are some of Busted Loop’s direct observations and charts. For more details, follow the link above to its blog.

This first chart shows a comparison of free versus paid apps. It’s evident that paid apps dominate.

However, although most apps are paid, the most popular apps are free, Busted Loop says.

To compensate for this, you would expect paid apps to be concentrated at the bottom of the popularity curve but it doesn’t work out that way:

Most of the categories have no free apps at all in the bottom 200. It turns out that at the bottom of every category there are pages and pages of paid apps, uninterrupted by even a single free app.

Busted Loop calls this segment of paid apps in each category the “dead zone”. App Store popularity is based on daily download rate, so the apps in the dead zone for each category have fewer daily downloads than even the least popular free app in that category, Busted Loop points out.

So how many times per day are apps in the dead zone downloaded? Well, since the vast majority of downloads are for apps near the top, we assume that the least popular free apps in each category have very few downloads per day. Probably none.

Domain Name Hunters and Gatherers

Michael Alexander — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 17:00:05 +0000

Domain Name Apps — Finding a descriptive and catchy name for a new domain these days is as hard as climbing a greased pole on a rainy day. According to DomainTools, more than 110 million domain names already have been registered and something like 120,000 new domain names are registered every day.

Need a fast way to find a new name for the big-money site you want to launch? Suppose a great name came to you while you were running errands and you couldn’t wait to check on its availability? There are several apps for that. Here’s a quick roundup of some domain-hunter/gatherer apps in the App Store. They all do at least one thing: Enable you to find hat names have been registered, or to put it another way, what names are available, by searching WHOIS, an official database of registered names.

WHOIS provides information such as the registrar company, date created, name and address of the registrant and more.

DomainTool, from Wei Tan, is as basic and spare-looking as one of these apps can be. It queries WHOIS servers to find out if a domain name is taken and delivers a raw (basic) WHOIS record. You can to bookmark those that have been registered and email your list of bookmarks. $0.99.

Domain Scout, from SeeThoughtDone, scours WHOIS for available names and lets you know whether it’s available. You can read results in raw or in a nicely organized format. You can also bookmark your favorites and review a history of searches. Free.

DomainApp, from iWantMyName, is search and registration tool for domain names, giving you access to more than 80 domain extensions directly from your iPhone or iPod touch. You can create custom search groups, multiple accounts (personal and business) and search international domain extensions. Set up an account and you’ll be able to start registering names. Free.

Instant Domain Check, from TAF Technology, checks for names with .com, .net and .org extensions. If the name is available, the app will take you to GoDaddy of NetworkSolutions, where you can buy and register it. You can also check instantly, meaning the app starts checking for available names as you type into the search bar. Free.

PixPop FREE is a No-cost Taste of Puzzle Popper Games from Spinapse

Michael Alexander — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 17:00:38 +0000

PixPop FREE, from developer Spinapse, is a mash up of a matching game, jigsaw puzzle and “Where’s Waldo?” Something for everyone, in other words.

Start by tapping an area of an image, which will be encapsulated within a small cube and then matching the highlighted area with a cube or “token” on on the right of the frame. If the two areas match, the token pops and disappears. Pop all the tokens and a you’ll go to the next level.

You can play PixPop FREE in Competition Mode, with settings that are similar to the mode you’ll find in the paid versions of PixPop, where you play against the clock and other players, whose scores are posted on a Worldwide Scoreboard.

If you’d rather sit back and relax, switch to Zen Mode where you can slow the game, use hints, determine the number of tokens and change the size of the squares. PixPop lets you customize the game to fit your preferred speed and level of difficulty.

Most people —probably children more than others — will like PixPop FREE. It wasn’t a big hit with me because it’s a bit mindless and not particularly challenging. Don’t take either one of those elements as deal breakers, however. When you want to chill and relieve stress, PixPop is the sort of game that will engage you. There is an addictive quality to it, but for me, that wore off quickly.

Note that I played the free version, which lacks a number of features of the paid versions. There are four additional PixPop games which have more levels and more variety (dogs, sports, art and “around the world”).

I suggest you give the free version a try (everyone likes free) and then decide if PixPop, fills your balloon.

app_name: PixPop FREE
rating: 8/10

Four Voice Recording Apps that Fill In for Apple’s Voice Memos

Michael Alexander — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 17:00:12 +0000

Voice Memos — Apple’s iPhone development people probably figured adding voice memo recording in a native app in OS 3.0 would make the iPhone seem more corporate. That’s only a guess, but if I’m right, I suspect Voice Memos won’t be a big hit around the water cooler. I would take Griffin’s iTalk, QuickVoice PRO Recorder, Voxie Recorder or JMDictate-Professional Dictation ahead of Voice Memos.

Voice Memos is like a boring novel with a fancy cover (it’s good looking). You can record, playback, trim clips and share by email your voice recording. Oh yeah, you can also give it a label by picking one from a list.

“It does the job and besides, I didn’t pay extra for it,” I can hear you reply. You don’t have to pay for at least one of other apps I just mentioned either… and the rest, well they’re worth the extra coin.

Griffin’s iTalk, at least the ad-supported version, is free. Don’t worry, the ads aren’t in your face.You can record your audio at normal (8kHz), medium (11kHz), high (22kHz) and CD quality (44kHz). Then, you can use iTalk Sync, a free download, to drag and drop your recordings to your desktop over a Wi-Fi connection. It’s available for the Mac OS and Windows PCs. If you can’t abide ads, then you’ll have to spring for $4.99 for the premium version.

There’s also QuickVoice PRO Recorder, which is only $0.99. Add here the ability to transfer files via iTunes, Wi-Fi or email. QuickVoice PRO Recorder works best in conjunction with its free desktop app. Importing a voice recording from QuickVoice for iPhone to the desktop app is easy: Launch QuickVoice, select “Import” under the “File” menu and the rest is taken care of.

Voxie Pro Recorder, ($1.99) is a voice recorder and dictation app for the iPhone and iPod touch with features such as Wi-Fi syncing with your desktop, audio file emailing and texting, audio-quality settings, customizable categories and audio file sizes limited only by the amount of available storage space.Other features include an express mode that is activated by shaking the iPhone, wallpapers, icons to flag recordings, the ability to send quick notes to a list of friends and family and to your contacts in the Contacts native app.

With JMDictate-Professional Dictation you have a good variety of options if you would like to transfer your recordings to your desktop and manage them. JMDictate handles email, iDisk MobileMe, WebDAV and FTP. You’ll also find on the Settings screen a switch to automatically activate voice recording and a field where you can enter your initials. JMDictate-Professional Dictation is $7.99; which is pricey compared to most audio recording apps in the App Store but if you often record audio, you shouldn’t find the price too hard to swallow.