Category: I-phone

Apple is the leader of the tablet market for many reasons. The hardware is stellar, the OS is smooth and the App Store is packed full of apps. So full, in fact, that the overall count of apps for the iPad has unofficially crossed the 100,000 app milestone. As Macstories points out, a quick look at the App Store on an iPad lists over 100,161 apps — and that number is climbing.

This number dwarfs the offerings found on other tablets like the BlackBerry PlayBook and Android tablets like the Xoom. For many customers, the presence of a robust App Store influences their purchasing decision. I’ve experienced it myself when I cracked open a shiny new Xoom tablet earlier this year. It’s pleasing when you get a new device and can spend an hour trying out new apps, but disappointing when you browse an app store and only find several hundred apps (most of which are junk).

Apple has a definitive advantage in this area thanks to a legion of hard-working developers who continue to push out quality apps. Keep up the good work!

App Store unofficially hits 100,000 iPad apps originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lots of games on the iPhone skew more casual, both because the touchscreen doesn’t exactly make for precise controls all the time, and also because a lot of developers are aiming for the iPhone’s much wider audience than most gaming platforms. But 1-bit Ninja is obstinately the exception to this — it’s unapologetically retro and decidedly hardcore. The nearest reference is Super Mario Bros, but not Super Mario Galaxy or the more recent 3D interations. Nope, this one goes back to Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, when Mario could only move forward, and had to make some spectacularly timed jumps to explore the land and fully discover its secrets.

1-bit Ninja isn’t just a 2D platformer — it does have a really wild 3D angle (accessed by swiping the top of the screen) that will show off some new heights or extra secrets to find. But especially early on, that mode’s somewhat underused, with most of the gameplay sticking with the 2D realm.

Still, with over 20 levels to play, challenges to beat (too bad Game Center isn’t included — seems like it should have been), and lots and lots of secrets to find, along with a great stylistic design and some cool chiptunes to play with, 1-bit Ninja is an excellent title. It’s available for US $1.99 in the App Store right now.

TUAW’s Daily iPhone App: 1-bit Ninja originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lots of games on the iPhone skew more casual, both because the touchscreen doesn’t exactly make for precise controls all the time, and also because a lot of developers are aiming for the iPhone’s much wider audience than most gaming platforms. But 1-bit Ninja is obstinately the exception to this — it’s unapologetically retro and decidedly hardcore. The nearest reference is Super Mario Bros, but not Super Mario Galaxy or the more recent 3D interations. Nope, this one goes back to Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, when Mario could only move forward, and had to make some spectacularly timed jumps to explore the land and fully discover its secrets.

1-bit Ninja isn’t just a 2D platformer — it does have a really wild 3D angle (accessed by swiping the top of the screen) that will show off some new heights or extra secrets to find. But especially early on, that mode’s somewhat underused, with most of the gameplay sticking with the 2D realm.

Still, with over 20 levels to play, challenges to beat (too bad Game Center isn’t included — seems like it should have been), and lots and lots of secrets to find, along with a great stylistic design and some cool chiptunes to play with, 1-bit Ninja is an excellent title. It’s available for US $1.99 in the App Store right now.

TUAW’s Daily iPhone App: 1-bit Ninja originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple is the leader of the tablet market for many reasons. The hardware is stellar, the OS is smooth and the App Store is packed full of apps. So full, in fact, that the overall count of apps for the iPad has unofficially crossed the 100,000 app milestone. As Macstories points out, a quick look at the App Store on an iPad lists over 100,161 apps — and that number is climbing.

This number dwarfs the offerings found on other tablets like the BlackBerry PlayBook and Android tablets like the Xoom. For many customers, the presence of a robust App Store influences their purchasing decision. I’ve experienced it myself when I cracked open a shiny new Xoom tablet earlier this year. It’s pleasing when you get a new device and can spend an hour trying out new apps, but disappointing when you browse an app store and only find several hundred apps (most of which are junk).

Apple has a definitive advantage in this area thanks to a legion of hard-working developers who continue to push out quality apps. Keep up the good work!

App Store unofficially hits 100,000 iPad apps originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lots of games on the iPhone skew more casual, both because the touchscreen doesn’t exactly make for precise controls all the time, and also because a lot of developers are aiming for the iPhone’s much wider audience than most gaming platforms. But 1-bit Ninja is obstinately the exception to this — it’s unapologetically retro and decidedly hardcore. The nearest reference is Super Mario Bros, but not Super Mario Galaxy or the more recent 3D interations. Nope, this one goes back to Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, when Mario could only move forward, and had to make some spectacularly timed jumps to explore the land and fully discover its secrets.

1-bit Ninja isn’t just a 2D platformer — it does have a really wild 3D angle (accessed by swiping the top of the screen) that will show off some new heights or extra secrets to find. But especially early on, that mode’s somewhat underused, with most of the gameplay sticking with the 2D realm.

Still, with over 20 levels to play, challenges to beat (too bad Game Center isn’t included — seems like it should have been), and lots and lots of secrets to find, along with a great stylistic design and some cool chiptunes to play with, 1-bit Ninja is an excellent title. It’s available for US $1.99 in the App Store right now.

TUAW’s Daily iPhone App: 1-bit Ninja originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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My Wonderful Days is a US$0.99 journaling app that makes recording your thoughts incredibly easy. It’s designed to let you quickly jot down your activities and rate your feelings using a happiness meter. There’s no pressure to write long passages on your iPhone or iPod touch. It’s all about capturing the moment in a few words, almost like Twitter for your diary.

App Experience:

My Wonderful Days features a clean, uncluttered interface with charming, hand-drawn icons. It uses a black and white motif and is easy on the eyes. My Wonderful Days is easy to use, but I wish the icons had labels. Several times I tapped an icon because I had no idea what it did. The app is lightweight and responsive, which fits in nicely with is streamlined interface.

Functionality:

The app has several views, including a calendar view that lets you quickly see which days you made an entry, and an agenda-style view that lets you see your mood and the first few lines of your entry. There is also a search view that lets you search via word, happiness or star rating. The app remembers where you were when shut it down and opens back to the view.

Each entry lets you add text by clicking on a pencil icon, rating your mood on a happiness chart and adding a star for those memorable days. You can also swipe left and right to move ahead or go back a day. Once your thoughts are jotted down, you can click on the bullhorn icon to share your entry via Twitter, Facebook or email. When you are done, you can click on the paper icon to hop back to the main menu.

The settings are simple as well. You can enter your birthday into the app to get a special greeting, turn on an alert function to remind you to make an entry, toggle sound and toggle the password on and off. You can also change the greeting from “Today is” to anything you want and adjust the font. A backup feature lets you sync your journal entries with your computer via Wi-Fi.

Missing from the app is support for the camera. You can import a saved picture from your camera roll, but you cannot launch the camera, take a photo and have it automatically appear in your entry. There is also no landscape view, but that’s not a deal breaker with this type of app. Landscape is convenient, and some people prefer it. For me, though, it’s easier to read and type in portrait mode. Lastly, the app lacks any location features. It would be nice to have the option to toggle location on and off. If you are travelling you can record a memorable moment with GPS support, and the app will automatically insert the location into your entry.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• easy to use
• stable application
• simple interface that is pleasing to the eyes
• photo import
• customizable greeting and fonts
• backup and restore to a computer via Wi-Fi
• social networking, alarm and password features

Cons:

• no support for the camera
• icons can be confusing and could use labels until you get used to the interface
• no landscape view or native iPad support
• no location services

Conclusion:

My Wonderful Days is an excellent app for recording quick thoughts and your general mood on any given day. It’s easy to use, so you are more likely to be consistent and do it for the long-term. So many people give up on their diary because they feel they have to write a novella for each entry. My Wonderful Days removes that temptation.

Developed by haha Interactive, My Wonderful Days is available for 99 cents in the App Store and is worth a download for those that like to record their thoughts while on the run.

My Wonderful Days makes journaling easy originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lots of games on the iPhone skew more casual, both because the touchscreen doesn’t exactly make for precise controls all the time, and also because a lot of developers are aiming for the iPhone’s much wider audience than most gaming platforms. But 1-bit Ninja is obstinately the exception to this — it’s unapologetically retro and decidedly hardcore. The nearest reference is Super Mario Bros, but not Super Mario Galaxy or the more recent 3D interations. Nope, this one goes back to Super Mario Land on the GameBoy, when Mario could only move forward, and had to make some spectacularly timed jumps to explore the land and fully discover its secrets.

1-bit Ninja isn’t just a 2D platformer — it does have a really wild 3D angle (accessed by swiping the top of the screen) that will show off some new heights or extra secrets to find. But especially early on, that mode’s somewhat underused, with most of the gameplay sticking with the 2D realm.

Still, with over 20 levels to play, challenges to beat (too bad Game Center isn’t included — seems like it should have been), and lots and lots of secrets to find, along with a great stylistic design and some cool chiptunes to play with, 1-bit Ninja is an excellent title. It’s available for US $1.99 in the App Store right now.

TUAW’s Daily iPhone App: 1-bit Ninja originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

My Wonderful Days is a US$0.99 journaling app that makes recording your thoughts incredibly easy. It’s designed to let you quickly jot down your activities and rate your feelings using a happiness meter. There’s no pressure to write long passages on your iPhone or iPod touch. It’s all about capturing the moment in a few words, almost like Twitter for your diary.

App Experience:

My Wonderful Days features a clean, uncluttered interface with charming, hand-drawn icons. It uses a black and white motif and is easy on the eyes. My Wonderful Days is easy to use, but I wish the icons had labels. Several times I tapped an icon because I had no idea what it did. The app is lightweight and responsive, which fits in nicely with is streamlined interface.

Functionality:

The app has several views, including a calendar view that lets you quickly see which days you made an entry, and an agenda-style view that lets you see your mood and the first few lines of your entry. There is also a search view that lets you search via word, happiness or star rating. The app remembers where you were when shut it down and opens back to the view.

Each entry lets you add text by clicking on a pencil icon, rating your mood on a happiness chart and adding a star for those memorable days. You can also swipe left and right to move ahead or go back a day. Once your thoughts are jotted down, you can click on the bullhorn icon to share your entry via Twitter, Facebook or email. When you are done, you can click on the paper icon to hop back to the main menu.

The settings are simple as well. You can enter your birthday into the app to get a special greeting, turn on an alert function to remind you to make an entry, toggle sound and toggle the password on and off. You can also change the greeting from “Today is” to anything you want and adjust the font. A backup feature lets you sync your journal entries with your computer via Wi-Fi.

Missing from the app is support for the camera. You can import a saved picture from your camera roll, but you cannot launch the camera, take a photo and have it automatically appear in your entry. There is also no landscape view, but that’s not a deal breaker with this type of app. Landscape is convenient, and some people prefer it. For me, though, it’s easier to read and type in portrait mode. Lastly, the app lacks any location features. It would be nice to have the option to toggle location on and off. If you are travelling you can record a memorable moment with GPS support, and the app will automatically insert the location into your entry.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• easy to use
• stable application
• simple interface that is pleasing to the eyes
• photo import
• customizable greeting and fonts
• backup and restore to a computer via Wi-Fi
• social networking, alarm and password features

Cons:

• no support for the camera
• icons can be confusing and could use labels until you get used to the interface
• no landscape view or native iPad support
• no location services

Conclusion:

My Wonderful Days is an excellent app for recording quick thoughts and your general mood on any given day. It’s easy to use, so you are more likely to be consistent and do it for the long-term. So many people give up on their diary because they feel they have to write a novella for each entry. My Wonderful Days removes that temptation.

Developed by haha Interactive, My Wonderful Days is available for 99 cents in the App Store and is worth a download for those that like to record their thoughts while on the run.

My Wonderful Days makes journaling easy originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

My Wonderful Days is a US$0.99 journaling app that makes recording your thoughts incredibly easy. It’s designed to let you quickly jot down your activities and rate your feelings using a happiness meter. There’s no pressure to write long passages on your iPhone or iPod touch. It’s all about capturing the moment in a few words, almost like Twitter for your diary.

App Experience:

My Wonderful Days features a clean, uncluttered interface with charming, hand-drawn icons. It uses a black and white motif and is easy on the eyes. My Wonderful Days is easy to use, but I wish the icons had labels. Several times I tapped an icon because I had no idea what it did. The app is lightweight and responsive, which fits in nicely with is streamlined interface.

Functionality:

The app has several views, including a calendar view that lets you quickly see which days you made an entry, and an agenda-style view that lets you see your mood and the first few lines of your entry. There is also a search view that lets you search via word, happiness or star rating. The app remembers where you were when shut it down and opens back to the view.

Each entry lets you add text by clicking on a pencil icon, rating your mood on a happiness chart and adding a star for those memorable days. You can also swipe left and right to move ahead or go back a day. Once your thoughts are jotted down, you can click on the bullhorn icon to share your entry via Twitter, Facebook or email. When you are done, you can click on the paper icon to hop back to the main menu.

The settings are simple as well. You can enter your birthday into the app to get a special greeting, turn on an alert function to remind you to make an entry, toggle sound and toggle the password on and off. You can also change the greeting from “Today is” to anything you want and adjust the font. A backup feature lets you sync your journal entries with your computer via Wi-Fi.

Missing from the app is support for the camera. You can import a saved picture from your camera roll, but you cannot launch the camera, take a photo and have it automatically appear in your entry. There is also no landscape view, but that’s not a deal breaker with this type of app. Landscape is convenient, and some people prefer it. For me, though, it’s easier to read and type in portrait mode. Lastly, the app lacks any location features. It would be nice to have the option to toggle location on and off. If you are travelling you can record a memorable moment with GPS support, and the app will automatically insert the location into your entry.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• easy to use
• stable application
• simple interface that is pleasing to the eyes
• photo import
• customizable greeting and fonts
• backup and restore to a computer via Wi-Fi
• social networking, alarm and password features

Cons:

• no support for the camera
• icons can be confusing and could use labels until you get used to the interface
• no landscape view or native iPad support
• no location services

Conclusion:

My Wonderful Days is an excellent app for recording quick thoughts and your general mood on any given day. It’s easy to use, so you are more likely to be consistent and do it for the long-term. So many people give up on their diary because they feel they have to write a novella for each entry. My Wonderful Days removes that temptation.

Developed by haha Interactive, My Wonderful Days is available for 99 cents in the App Store and is worth a download for those that like to record their thoughts while on the run.

My Wonderful Days makes journaling easy originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We just had some big Father’s Day sales on the App Store, but Independence Day is coming up this weekend in the U.S., and that means it’s time to get started with sales yet again. First off, Tom Tom has put its navigation apps on sale for half price over the next 48 hours. You can get the full U.S. and Canada app for $39.99, or pick up just the U.S. map for $34.99. It was just updated with new maps and features, too, so that’s a good deal if you need a high quality navigation solution.

We’ll likely be seeing lots more App Store sales this weekend, so stay tuned. Odds are that before the week ends, we’ll see games, apps, and more all on sale for you to pick up for both iPhone and iPad.

Tom Tom kicks off July 4th weekend sales originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

My Wonderful Days is a US$0.99 journaling app that makes recording your thoughts incredibly easy. It’s designed to let you quickly jot down your activities and rate your feelings using a happiness meter. There’s no pressure to write long passages on your iPhone or iPod touch. It’s all about capturing the moment in a few words, almost like Twitter for your diary.

App Experience:

My Wonderful Days features a clean, uncluttered interface with charming, hand-drawn icons. It uses a black and white motif and is easy on the eyes. My Wonderful Days is easy to use, but I wish the icons had labels. Several times I tapped an icon because I had no idea what it did. The app is lightweight and responsive, which fits in nicely with is streamlined interface.

Functionality:

The app has several views, including a calendar view that lets you quickly see which days you made an entry, and an agenda-style view that lets you see your mood and the first few lines of your entry. There is also a search view that lets you search via word, happiness or star rating. The app remembers where you were when shut it down and opens back to the view.

Each entry lets you add text by clicking on a pencil icon, rating your mood on a happiness chart and adding a star for those memorable days. You can also swipe left and right to move ahead or go back a day. Once your thoughts are jotted down, you can click on the bullhorn icon to share your entry via Twitter, Facebook or email. When you are done, you can click on the paper icon to hop back to the main menu.

The settings are simple as well. You can enter your birthday into the app to get a special greeting, turn on an alert function to remind you to make an entry, toggle sound and toggle the password on and off. You can also change the greeting from “Today is” to anything you want and adjust the font. A backup feature lets you sync your journal entries with your computer via Wi-Fi.

Missing from the app is support for the camera. You can import a saved picture from your camera roll, but you cannot launch the camera, take a photo and have it automatically appear in your entry. There is also no landscape view, but that’s not a deal breaker with this type of app. Landscape is convenient, and some people prefer it. For me, though, it’s easier to read and type in portrait mode. Lastly, the app lacks any location features. It would be nice to have the option to toggle location on and off. If you are travelling you can record a memorable moment with GPS support, and the app will automatically insert the location into your entry.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• easy to use
• stable application
• simple interface that is pleasing to the eyes
• photo import
• customizable greeting and fonts
• backup and restore to a computer via Wi-Fi
• social networking, alarm and password features

Cons:

• no support for the camera
• icons can be confusing and could use labels until you get used to the interface
• no landscape view or native iPad support
• no location services

Conclusion:

My Wonderful Days is an excellent app for recording quick thoughts and your general mood on any given day. It’s easy to use, so you are more likely to be consistent and do it for the long-term. So many people give up on their diary because they feel they have to write a novella for each entry. My Wonderful Days removes that temptation.

Developed by haha Interactive, My Wonderful Days is available for 99 cents in the App Store and is worth a download for those that like to record their thoughts while on the run.

My Wonderful Days makes journaling easy originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 06:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We just had some big Father’s Day sales on the App Store, but Independence Day is coming up this weekend in the U.S., and that means it’s time to get started with sales yet again. First off, Tom Tom has put its navigation apps on sale for half price over the next 48 hours. You can get the full U.S. and Canada app for $39.99, or pick up just the U.S. map for $34.99. It was just updated with new maps and features, too, so that’s a good deal if you need a high quality navigation solution.

We’ll likely be seeing lots more App Store sales this weekend, so stay tuned. Odds are that before the week ends, we’ll see games, apps, and more all on sale for you to pick up for both iPhone and iPad.

Tom Tom kicks off July 4th weekend sales originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

We just had some big Father’s Day sales on the App Store, but Independence Day is coming up this weekend in the U.S., and that means it’s time to get started with sales yet again. First off, Tom Tom has put its navigation apps on sale for half price over the next 48 hours. You can get the full U.S. and Canada app for $39.99, or pick up just the U.S. map for $34.99. It was just updated with new maps and features, too, so that’s a good deal if you need a high quality navigation solution.

We’ll likely be seeing lots more App Store sales this weekend, so stay tuned. Odds are that before the week ends, we’ll see games, apps, and more all on sale for you to pick up for both iPhone and iPad.

Tom Tom kicks off July 4th weekend sales originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Indian website IT Pro says it’s heard from Apple that the company will be relaunching the iPhone 3GS in an unlocked model to keep up with Indian demand for an Apple handheld. Back when the 3GS was first introduced in India, it was only available through a few carriers. Now, demand for iPhones is so high that Apple is simply going to relaunch the old model, this time allowing anyone to use it on any carrier in India.

IT Pro notes Apple is being a little sketchy here by selling such an old phone as new (“India has become a dumping ground for Apple,” they say), but Indian customers will probably be happy with the option to get an unlocked iPhone 3GS, as iPhone 4 units are still very hard to find.

Price is another concern. The iPhone 4 in India costs the equivalent of about US$760, so a cheaper option will be popular even if it’s a bit slower and clunkier. The iPhone 3GS still won’t run cheap; the price is set at 19,990 rupees, or about $444.

Apple will reportedly re-launch unlocked iPhone 3GS in India originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 02:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We just had some big Father’s Day sales on the App Store, but Independence Day is coming up this weekend in the U.S., and that means it’s time to get started with sales yet again. First off, Tom Tom has put its navigation apps on sale for half price over the next 48 hours. You can get the full U.S. and Canada app for $39.99, or pick up just the U.S. map for $34.99. It was just updated with new maps and features, too, so that’s a good deal if you need a high quality navigation solution.

We’ll likely be seeing lots more App Store sales this weekend, so stay tuned. Odds are that before the week ends, we’ll see games, apps, and more all on sale for you to pick up for both iPhone and iPad.

Tom Tom kicks off July 4th weekend sales originally appeared on TUAW – The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments