Category: I-phone

If you’re the kind of person who likes to go out for an occasional drink, you know that it can be an expensive way to spend the evening! One or two outings in a week can really start to drain the old college books fund.

As always, your iPhone comes to the rescue. Today we’ll look at DrinkOwl, a free and easy way to find the daily drink specials in your neighborhood. Get your drink on without blowing your paycheck.

Meet Drink Owl

As I mentioned above, DrinkOwl has only one purpose: to help you save money by locating local drink specials. It does this with a simple but gorgeous interface. The design really makes this app stand far out from the competition, the logo is excellent, the UI is pixel perfect and the controls are easy enough that you can figure the entire app out in a few seconds.

DrinkOwl

When you start up the app it will use your location (with permission) and then attempt to find some drink specials around you. Don’t worry if, as with my case in the screen above, nothing shows up on the map right away. That might simply mean you don’t live next to a bar!

Once you start to pan around to areas where you know contain several restaurants and bars, you’ll likely find plenty of specials. These will be indicated by little colored labels that inform you of the type of drink special you can expect to find at a given location: beer, wine, mix, etc.

DrinkOwl Map View

One of my only complaints about this app is that when you try to zoom out on the map, you get an annoying little message that tells you that you’ve gone past the acceptable zoom level. I’ve never seen a location app that doesn’t allow users to zoom out, it makes the map view very frustrating!

List View

The limitations of the map view are easily overcome by the list view. Here you can see a linear collection of drink specials organized by how close they are to your current location. If you’re just browsing for a good deal and want to hit some place close, this is your best bet.

DrinkOwl List View

As you can see, the name of the location, its distance from your current spot and even the nature of the special is all right here for you to see. Typically you get a look at the price of the drinks in addition to the hours the special will be in effect.

Filtering Results

If you tap the gear icon in the upper left, you get a list of the various types of drink specials. Simply tap each to check/uncheck that option. If you’re not into wine or some other variant, this allows you to easily turn off these specials from your results.

Filtering Results

Once you’ve adjusted the filters, go back to the map or list view to see an updated collection built specifically towards your interests.

Viewing a Location

Once you tap on a location either from the list or map view, you’ll bring up a screen like those shown below. From here you have all kinds of information and options. You can view the specials for that location by day so you can plan ahead, get the address, call them up, or share the spot with friends via social media.

Filtering Results

You can also tap the star in the upper right to add the location to your favorites. Building a list of favorites is an awesome way to keep an eye on spots that you frequent.

A Web App Too!

If DrinkOwl looks like an awesome app, you should know that it’s a website as well. The same basic features are present here so you can tell your friends about it even if they don’t have an iPhone.

DrinkOwl.com

Conclusion: Worth A Download?

Drink Owl is free, beautiful and highly functional. If you like to drink but hate getting overcharged, there’s simply no reason not to have this app on your phone.

As I mentioned, the map view needs a little work but other than that the app seems just about perfect. I think the biggest problem people will have is the same issue that we run into with any location app: it’s limited to big cities. I live in Phoenix so it’s easy to find apps that have plenty of data for my area but I checked a few smaller towns with DrinkOwl and came up empty.

I recommend that you check out the website first to see if the DrinkOwl service covers your area. If so, go grab the free app!

Find My iPhone is an awesome free feature that allows any iPhone or iPad owner to track down their device in the event that it gets stolen or lost. From any Mac or iOS device, you can log into MobileMe and instantly see a map containing the locations of your iOS devices. From here you can lock them, reset them or even send a message and set off an alarm.

This feature is great in theory, but does it work in the real world? Today we’ve got three “Find my iPhone” stories that recently made headlines, each with interestingly unique outcomes.

Find My iPhone

The Good: An Action Movie Police Chase

Manchester, UK – This story takes the cake. It’s everything that you dream about when you imagine someone stealing your phone. It sounds like over-the-top fiction, but according to the Manchester Evening News, it really happened.

A woman was casually enjoying her lunch during a day of shopping when a thief appeared and stole the phone from her purse. She quickly called her husband from another line, who was able to activate “Find My iPhone” and call the police with the thief’s location. Awesome action movie events followed.

The police scrambled a helicopter to spot the thief, which spotted his car and radioed it in to the boys on the ground. A full-on police chase then ensued, ultimately resulting in the thief being stopped and the phone being found among other stolen property in the car.

Helicopters, police chases, all over a cell phone? The best part: all of this happened within an hour of the phone being stolen. A word of caution to would-be thieves in the UK, the Manchester police don’t mess around!

The Bad: Not All Police Forces are Created Equal

Melbourne, Australia – When you download and setup “Find My iPhone”, you do so with the hope that, if your phone is ever stolen, the information can be used to catch the criminal. But is that always the case?

It would be nice if all police forces had both the gall and resources to scramble helicopters for every phone-stealing punk that walks out of the mall, but it seems more likely that your stolen device will be added to a very large stack of work that may or may not ever be followed up on.

In Melbourne, a man who realized that his iPad, along with over a thousand dollars in other goods, had been stolen immediately tracked down the device, sent it a message and called the police. So, he had the location of his stolen property and he informed the authorities. Rally the troops, it’s time to get the sucker! Right?

After a month of waiting, the victim discovered that the police had done little to nothing to approach the thief. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the information provided was insufficient for a search warrant to go through the thief’s home and locate the device.

So despite knowing where the alleged iPad burglar was holding his device, the man was forced to let it go, considering but ultimately letting go of the idea of barging in himself to take it back. Think you’d be brave enough to get your iPad back? The next story might change your mind.

The Ugly: Vigilante Seeks Justice, Ends Up Behind Bars

Reading the last story might have gotten your blood pumping a little. You’re a tough guy, and if you knew where the little worm who stole your iOS device lived, you’d march in and take it right back!

Umpire Carl Ippolito thought the same thing, and that’s exactly what he did. After using “Find My iPhone” to track his phone down, Ippolito followed the map to the location where, lo and behold, there stood a man talking on an iPhone.

According to Ubergizmo, Ippolito confronted the man, who of course denied having stolen any phone. Not one to be taken advantage of, Ippolito then attacked the man and wrestled him to the ground!

Somehow, the brawl ended and the poor guy escaped the umpire’s wrath. I say “poor guy” because Ippolito ended up finding his phone nearby in a snack shack, where he had mistakenly left it after a game (whoops!).

Ippolito was then arrested for assault, disorderly conduct and generally not being too bright. “Find My iPhone” allows you to lock the phone and even set off an audible alarm, which may have prevented Ippolito from attacking an innocent bystander who happened to be using a working phone at the time.

Tell Us Your Story!

As you can see, despite being a great service, “Find My iPhone” can have drastically varied results in the real world. For my own part, the feature has turned out to be a lifesaver. I once realized that my iPad was missing and couldn’t quite remember where I had last used it. I fired up my Mac and saw that my that the device was sitting at a pizza place that I had eaten at two days earlier! Fortunately, the staff had dutifully held onto it for me and I was able to get it back in perfect working order with zero problems.

Do you have a story about using “Find My iPhone” to locate your lost or stolen iOS device? We want to hear it! Leave a comment below and tell us what happened.

There is nothing worse than standing in the middle of the supermarket with a copy of a recipe for “Ultimate Double Chocolate Cake” that you pulled off the Internet and realizing that all the ingredients are in a measurement system not used in your country. Sure, the Internet can help you convert those measurements, but it can be long-winded, time-consuming and let’s face it, you don’t always have an Internet connection.

Luckily, that’s where the app Kitchen Calculator Pro can step in and save the day (or at least the recipe). Kitchen Calculator Pro lets you quickly and easily convert measurements and scale recipes. So, no matter if you are standing in your kitchen or in the supermarket, you can always convert the amounts into a measurement unit that works for you. Let’s run through how the app works in more detail and explain what the various buttons do.

Getting Started

Kitchen Calculator Pro is a simple yet incredibly useful app that allows you to quickly scale recipes and convert measurements. Never before has it been so easy to get your hands on a recipe – whether you printed it off the web, ordered a world cuisine cookbook or picked up the details during your last holiday abroad. However, those recipes are not always in the size or measuring system that you would like. In the past you might have thrown the recipe out or opened a number of conversion sites online but now you can do it all in one place, without the need for an Internet connection.

Once downloaded from the Apple Store, Kitchen Calculator Pro is ready to use. There is no set-up or registration required. Provided you have some measurements to convert, you are ready to start using the app.

What You See

When you open Kitchen Calculator Pro, you are presented with a green, white and orange screen. The main options stem from the four buttons towards the top – a measuring jug, scales, a thermometer and a ruler. In addition to these four buttons, there are an additional four smaller buttons dotted around the top-half of the screen.

The Buttons and What They Do

Measuring Jug – The measuring jug stands for the volume units (e.g. gallon, fluid ounce, milliliter). When you want to convert a measurement from or to a volume amount, this is where you will find them.

Scales – The scales icon stands for the weight units (e.g. grams, pounds, kilograms). When you want to convert a measurement from or to a weight amount, you would head here.

The Volume Units (measuring jug icon) and Weight Units (scales icon)

Thermometer – The thermometer provides you with a chart showing the different cooking temperatures in Fahrenheit, Celsius and Gas Mark formats. You also have the option to use the calculator on this screen (press “F” or “C”) to convert temperatures between Fahrenheit/Celsius.

Ruler – The ruler icon brings you to the distance units. Never again do you have to try and remember the relationship between yards, feet and meters. It’s all right here for you to convert with the calculator.

Temperature and Distance Units

Checkmark – Located in the top-left corner, the checkmark lets you set the units to US or UK measurements. The setting then applies to teaspoons, tablespoons, quarts, pints, liquid ounces, gallons and gills.

Question Mark – Located in the top-right corner, the question mark takes you to the help screen.

Choose From UK or US Measurements on the Settings Screen and Get Help on the Help Screen

Plus/Minus – The plus/minus button takes you to the fraction calculator.

Paper and Pencil – From this button you can add and edit ingredients.

Weight to Volume & Volume to Weight

Converting an ingredient from one measurement unit to another is incredibly simple once you have done it a couple of times. Here’s how:

1. Tap the scale or measuring jug icon, depending on if you are converting from weight or volume.
2. Select the unit.
3. Select the unit you want to convert to. You will have to change screens if you are converting between weight/liquid measurements.
4. When the ingredient list appears, select the ingredient you wish to convert (if you are converting from liquid to liquid or weight to weight, an ingredient list will not appear). If your ingredient is not on the list, you can add it by pressing the “+” button.
5. Enter the amount you wish to convert. The conversion will show at the top of the screen automatically.
6. Repeat for the rest of your ingredients.

Entering the Amount and Adding/Editing Ingredients

Scaling a Recipe

From the home screen, scaling a recipe is done by pressing the plus/minus button located at the top right-hand side of the screen. This takes you to the calculator screen where you will enter the amount that you are looking to scale (e.g. 500 for 500g).  You then press the scaling button (it looks like four people of decreasing size) on the right-hand side of the screen.

When you press the scaling button, a new hal-screen will pop up with two revolving panels. On the left panel you can enter how many portions the original recipe serves and with the right panel you set how many portions you want the recipe to be scaled to.

Let’s use the 500 example from above. If I want to know how much chicken I need when I scale a recipe that originally serves seven people down to two servings, I would press the plus/minus button, enter 500 and then press the scaling button. In the left panel I would set the dial to “7 servings” and the right dial to “2 servings”, then I would click “ok”. Kitchen Calculator Pro tells me faster than I could have grabbed a calculator and tapped all the numbers in, that I need just 143 grams of chicken for my dinner for two.

Scaling a Recipe

Before you go off scaling all your recipes, you might like to know:

• as long as you press “C” (rather than “done”) the calculator will remember the serving settings you previously used
• pressing “done” resets the serving settings
• you can also scale recipes when using the conversion feature

Adding and Editing Ingredients

Kitchen Calculator Pro recommends that you add ingredients that you use on a regular basis that are not already on the ingredient list. The easiest way to do this is by clicking on the icon that looks like a piece of paper with a pencil on top. As explained on the help screen, from here you will be able to “enter the volume and weight for a typical ingredient portion. Example: 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams.” Once you have entered the volume and weight, you will be asked for the ingredient name.

If you are feeling a bit daunted by the prospect of finding out the relevant information for an ingredient you want to add, Kitchen Calculator Pro does give some tips on the help screen, including a website where you can look-up many of the ingredients.

Pricing

Kitchen Calculator Pro costs $3.99. You can get a “light” version, called Kitchen Calculator, for $2.99. You do however lose some of the options, including the ability to scale recipes. For the small difference in price, I would recommend you go ahead and splurge for the Pro version.

Final Thoughts

Between the simple design, great help menus and pure usefulness, Kitchen Calculator Pro is an excellent app.  The one point that I would love to see improved is to have a more obvious back button. Returning to the app homepage is usually achieved by pressing the “done” button. However, if you want to go back to the beginning mid-conversion, it feels slightly unnatural to do so. Meaning I often forgot and ended up closing the app and re-opening it.

Overall, Kitchen Calculator Pro is a handy app for those that like to cook. Whether you are an expat trying to recreate some of your favourite foods or just mathematically challenged in the kitchen, Kitchen Calculator Pro is sure to become one of your must-have kitchen utilities.

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting Jungle Games. The developer describes Jungle Games as follows: “Swipe your finger to toss colored rings at three poles. Build rows and columns of matching colors to score and make the rings disappear. The five difficulty levels reach from Easy to Ultra Panic. In Panic Mode, time is limited.”

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

Jungle Games

About the App

Here are the top five features you can expect to see in the latest version:

• 5 difficulty levels
• Beautiful 3D environment
• 3D models and animations
• Color-blind friendly: each ring has a unique pattern!
• Intuitive gameplay

Requirements: 4.1
Price: $0.99
Developer: Mike Nagel

Vote for a Review

Would you like to see us write a full review of Jungle Games? Have your say in our poll:

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Quick Look posts are paid submissions offering only a brief overview of an app. Vote in the poll if you think this app is worth an in-depth AppStorm review! If you’re a developer and would like to have your app profiled, you can submit it here.

Tower defense games are a particularly addicting niche of apps. The combination of strategy and action is perfectly suited for both hardcore and casual gamers to find something they love.

Any one of them typically provides hours of intense, enemy-destroying gameplay, and today we have thirty! From popular titles like Star Wars and Lord of The Rings to zany concepts like Plants Vs. Zombies, this collection has a tower defense game for everyone!

What Are Tower Defense Games?

On the off chance that you’re new to this genre, tower defense games allow players to strategically position points of defense (typically towers) that automatically fend off hordes of oncoming enemies.

The trick is to decide where to place your towers for maximum impact and how to use your resources wisely to upgrade each tower to best face the challenges ahead. The concept is simple enough to pick up in a minute and complex enough that it can take days or even weeks to master!

The Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense

“Aragorn, Gandalf, Legolas and more – and deploy ally units such as Elven Archers or Hobbits to defend strongholds from relentless waves of attacking enemy forces. Upgrade your Heroes to specialize them in one of four categories: speed, attack, range and skill. In Story Mode, play through 18 levels set in 7 unique 3D environments with story elements based on all three films in the trilogy. Or opt for Challenge Mode, where you’ll face endless waves of attackers until you’ve run out of Battle Hit Points. ”

Price: $0.99

The Lord of the Rings: Middle-earth Defense

Defender Chronicles

“A tower defense game with an involving fantasy story that has led to numerous great reviews! Epic storyline with Voice Over and Comic. High production value: 9 original music soundtracks, spatial 3D audio, voice-acting, hand-drawn graphics, intuitive controls, auto-save, auto-flip, fast-forward, vibrate, HQ graphics option.”

Price: $1.99

Defender Chronicles – Legend of The Desert King

A.I.R Defense

“Protect the Earth from alien attack in this futuristic take on the line drawing tower defense genre. Use a variety of defensive fortifications, quick fingers and even quicker thinking to keep your base in one piece during the massive alien invasion.”

Price: $0.99

A.I.R Defense

Fieldrunners

“Defend and control the field using a diverse selection of upgradeable towers in a limitless adventure, using a wide array of tactics and strategies against countless waves of unique land and air combatants. Countless hours of entertainment and replayable challenges! Enjoy a growing experience through many content additions!”

Price: $2.99

Fieldrunners

Tower Defense: Lost Earth HD

“In search of resources that have been exhausted on Earth, you followed the probe across the galaxy searching for habitable planets. Take command of towers and special weapons to hold your defense against endless waves of enemies on the hostile alien planet.”

Price: $4.99

Tower Defense: Lost Earth HD

Sentinel: Mars Defense

“Deploy sophisticated turret technology across the Martian landscapeto halt the alien advance. Protect walls and barriers that block the enemy’s path to your base. Upgrade your weaponry, or release robotic drones to repair buildings and harvest resources. Watch the battle for the planet unfold in beautifully rendered, atmospheric graphics.”

Price: $0.99

Sentinel: Mars Defense

StickWars 2

“Warning: Many stick figures were brutally harmed during the making of this game. StickWars 2 requires lightning-fast fingers and cunning strategy. Defend your kingdom and stick it to Maelnik’s invading horde!”

Price: Free

StickWars 2

Marbles Tower Defense

“Do you love playing Tower Defense games? HATE letting creeps reach the end of the path? Then Marbles Tower Defense is the game for you!”

Price: $0.99

Marbles Tower Defense

Tweet Defense

“Tweet Defense tosses ridiculous killer zombies and your twitter stats into a tower defense blender for a delicious brainy, viral juice mix.”

Price: $2.99

Tweet Defense

Sweetwater Defense

“Pirate fleets and monstrous sea creatures are threatening your coast and only you can save it. Build a mighty defense of towers, each with unique strengths and abilities to protect your lands. Balance their powers to prevail against various threats from above and below the surface of the sea.”

Price: $2.99

Sweetwater Defense

Dictator Defense

“Hold your ground through 40 levels of insanity and against 4 crazy dictators spanning the globe. Each boss crazier and more nationalistic than the next, they will send wave after wave of relentless attackers to break down your defenses and plant their own flag in your precious territory. In a tough spot? Don’t fear, just call upon your hero to help you on your path to victory. Prepare to fight! Viva le resistance! ”

Price: $0.99

Dictator Defense

Knights Onrush

“Knights Onrush is an intensely addictive and fun castle defence game. As the enemies attack, flick them into the air, crush them into ground, blow them up, freeze them, boil them, sacrifice them, anything goes! ”

Price: $0.99

Knights Onrush

Medieval HD

“Test your metal with Brisk Mobile’s latest castle defense epic – Medieval HD. Out shoot and out last your enemies to claim victory. Defend your castle and your honor! Innovative controls allow you to choose from a variety of devastating weapons. Upgrade your fortress and recruit troops to protect your land. ”

Price: $2.99

Medieval HD

iBomber Defense

“The world of iBomber has got bigger and better! iBomber Defense combines classic tower defense gameplay with the intense action and strategy of the original iBomber games. Keep enemies at bay all over the world using a variety of weapons and tactics, from rattling Machine guns, explosive cannons and awesome anti-aircraft artillery!”

Price: $0.99

iBomber Defense

Legendary Wars

“Welcome to Legendary Wars. Take command of your heroes. Build up massive armies to destroy the undead forces of the Netherworld! It’s time to fight back! Take direct control of any hero on the battlefield and unleash their special attacks! Command huge armies and destroy the monster horde.”

Price: $0.99

Legendary Wars

Star Wars: Battle for Hoth

“Star Wars: The Battle for Hoth is a fast-paced tower-defense game that puts you in command of Echo Base’s defenses. Can you use guile, strategy and reflexes to defend Echo Base from attack? At your command are Infantry Units, Gun Towers, Snowspeeders and more. Facing you is an army of Droids, Snowtroopers and the terrifying AT-ATs.”

Price: $1.99

Star Wars: Battle for Hoth

Sentinel 3: Homeworld

“The third and biggest instalment of the highly acclaimed Sentinel sci-fi tower defense series! Take the fight to the alien homeworld and unleash a massive arsenal of weaponry! Over 20 unlockable turrets, orbital ship weapons, automated drones and abilities at your disposal.”

Price: $0.99

Sentinel 3: Homeworld

Dungeon Defenders: First Wave

“Epic Online Action-RPG meets Tower Defense: battle by yourself or with up to 3 friends! Adventure through a massive Campaign, compete in a new online PvP mode, shop for tons of goods & services, as you build the strongest hero in all Etheria in cross-platform play with the upcoming PC/Console versions!”

Price: $2.99

Dungeon Defenders: First Wave

Three Kingdoms TD – Legend of Shu

“Tired of TD games of guns and rockets? Three Kingdoms TD is definitely worth your trying. It is a unique TD game on iPad, which story is based on the famous Three Kingdoms era in ancient China history. You will play as the army of Liu Bei, leading the Five Generals of Tiger to fight through over 20 classic battles. You need to deploy your units and heroes effectively to defend your headquarters. Meanwhile, you have several ways to gain the advantage in battles.”

Price: $2.99

Three Kingdoms TD – Legend of Shu

Boom Brigade

“For fans of tower defense, line drawing or top down shooters we are happy to present Boom Brigade. Unique mix of three genres resulting in an enjoyable and amazingly playable experience. Control up to four troopers and show the alien scum who’s the boss! Choose your weapons, buy upgrades, command your troops and survive as long as possible.”

Price: $1.99

Boom Brigade

GoblinGun

“The Dark Time has come to the Mediterranean Kingdom. All the castles of King Edgar are in danger – the Antient Evil wakes up and crowles out of the caves. The King asks Goblins, the oldest race, for help. The best Goblin engineers and mechanics create sophisticated weapon to help people. Now the Goblin Gun is in your hands, and you are to protect the Mediterranean Kingdom from the evil forces.”

Price: $0.99

GoblinGun

Pig Rockets

“Your objective is to defend your house from waves of crazy Pig Rockets who are out to destroy everything that you own! Use blocks, ice bombs, hammers and other fun power ups to keep the Pig Rockets away. You will find your eyes and fingers glued to the screen so get comfortable and get ready to kill those Pig Rockets!”

Price: $1.99

Pig Rockets

Townrs Defender

“Take control of one of three heroes as your town comes under siege by fiendish elementals and their minions. Fight back with your own powerful magic – blast them away with Balefire, turn them against each other with Infect Mind, or freeze them in place with Tidal Wave. Each element has its own strategy and gameplay. Multiple weapons, maps, and modes of play mean you’ll be playing this game for hours.”

Price: $2.99

Townrs Defender

Starfall TD

“Starfall is an epic experience loaded with beautiful graphics and engaging gameplay. Build your base, research technology, and repel the enemy onslaught. Tons of research, technology, structures, and unlocks.”

Price: $2.99

Starfall TD

DOFUS : Battles

“DOFUS : Battles offers the perfect mix of TowerDefense and Real Time Strategy mechanisms, skilfully sprinkled with a touch of RPG. Take command of an army of twelve legendary heroes led by the gods’ fantastical summons, Animakhal the dragon. Send them into battle against hordes of bloodthirsty monsters in epic battles which will put your strategy and your reflexes to the test.”

Price: $2.99

DOFUS : Battles

iRome

“iRome is an unique project that combines the original idea of the game world, excellent graphics and the rethinking of the classical canons of the Tower Defense game genre. In the role of commander you will be able to go through three historical campaigns, fighting in different parts of the world for the benefit of ?the Roman Empire! During the game you will be accompanied by the Main Hero – a young centurion protecting the Main Camp. From level to level, he will gain ?experience, obtain new titles and discover special skills.”

Price: $0.99

iRome

TowerMadness

“Evil aliens are coming to turn your beloved sheep into intergalactic scarves! Protect the flock using only quick thinking and the arsenal of upgradeable weaponry at your disposal. 3D graphics let you play from an aerial view or zoom down to first person and get close to the action!”

Price: $2.99

TowerMadness

TriDefense

“Gain control of Zorganto, fighting your way against the Bombdroids, with an arsenal of powerful towers. TriDefense is a new game of the towerdefense genre with a unique feature: modifiable terrain. This opens a whole new world of possible strategies to win the game.”

Price: $2.99

TriDefense

7 Cities

“7 Cities takes you back to the ages past when pirates attacked the Seven Golden Cities of the Amazon. This is a classic tower defense game with an interesting twist: the towers gain experience and get more powerful as they destroy the enemies.”

Price: $2.99

7 Cities

Rednecks Vs Aliens

“Do you have what it takes to survive an alien invasion? Defend your redneck farmhouse from waves of outer-space invaders in this new spin on the classic tower defence strategy genre. Kill enemies, earn money, buy upgrades, and repeat! Get out the Potato Gun, Lawnmower Blade Launcher, or those old bottles of Mayonnaise. You will have to use everything at your disposal: tornadoes, farts, shotguns, AK-47′s, mine traps (and much more). Yeehaw!”

Price: $0.99

Rednecks Vs Aliens

Plants vs. Zombies

“A mob of fun-loving zombies is about to invade your home. Use your arsenal of 49 zombie-zapping plants — peashooters, wall-nuts, cherry bombs and more — to mulchify 26 types of zombies before they break down your door.”

Price: $2.99

Plants vs. Zombies

Conclusion

I hope this collection of tower defense titles is enough to keep you fending off enemies for months on end. These games definitely represent some of the most addictive, time-sucking apps available for the iPhone!

Did we forget your favorite tower defense game? Leave a comment below and tell us about it.

There’s a new carbon-fiber sheriff in town, shaped like a pair of iPhone cases. Element Case is now shipping two new cases, and we’ve got the pair to give away to two lucky readers.

First up is the Ion, which retails for US$49.95. It features a carbon-fiber reinforced back plate, high shock construction and easy removal for docked use. The second case, the Formula 4 (pictured), is a dockable model with a removable bottom cap; it also has a carbon-fiber back plate, a rubber tone finish and a rubber side grip for $59.95.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post with the worst iPhone impact you’ve ever experienced. Two winners will get either the Ion or the Formula 4 case. Good luck!

Official Rules:

• Open to legal US residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Canada (excluding Quebec) who are 18 and older.
• To enter leave a comment on this post about the worst iPhone impact you’ve ever experienced.
• The comment must be left before FRIDAY, June 3, 11:59PM Eastern Time.
• You may enter only once.
• Two winners will be selected in a random drawing.
• Prize: Ion or Formula 4 iPhone case (Value: US$49.95/59.95)
• Click Here for complete Official Rules.

Giveaway: Two new Element carbon-fiber iPhone 4 cases originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Educational app maker Watermelon Express has shifted gears and entered the electronic textbook market. The Chicago-based company, now known as BenchPrep, has over 75 educational apps in the App Store, most of which were interactive textbooks and test prep materials made for larger, more traditional textbook publishers like educational publishers like McGraw Hill and John Wiley.

BenchPrep CEO Ashish Rangnekar told VentureBeat that a single, stand-alone free BenchPrep app made more sense than multiple educational apps, hence the shift in business to interactive prep textbooks for the iPad. Rangnekar also noted that the future of educational materials isn’t limited to etextbooks on the iPad. “Our definition of content is much broader than the textbook,” he told VentureBeat; he said that in addition to books, BenchPrep will eventually branch out into other electronic educational materials such as videos and presentations.

Watermelon Express now BenchPrep, publishing academic prep texts to iPad originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 21:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve received reports from several Apple Stores across the US stating that some AirPort devices are either low in stock or out of stock altogether.

A reader let us know that all of the Apple Stores in his area are out of AirPort Express models, and one of our sources confirmed the Apple Store in his area is out of stock on not just the Express, but the AirPort Extreme and Time Capsule as well. Another source says supplies at one store are not constrained and never have been, but the store “may have” received a notice to send its AirPort device inventory back.

We’ve heard nothing in the tech grapevine about upcoming refreshes to the AirPort line of products, but generally when Apple’s inventory channels get constrained like this it’s a good sign a product update is imminent. It’s worth noting that this year’s WWDC is widely expected to be a software-only event, so if the AirPort line is indeed being updated, it’s unlikely we’ll hear about any upgrades then… unless Apple plans on somehow tying an updated AirPort line in with its iCloud offering. Shared data running off of local storage like a PogoPlug? Could happen.

Of course, Apple doesn’t have to unveil any such hardware updates at a conference, and if the updates are going to be nothing more than modest feature bumps they may just appear out of the ether the next time the Apple Store goes down.

Apple’s online store still offers “within 24 hours” shipping times for all of its AirPort products, and not every Apple Store we’ve contacted has been able to confirm device shortages. However, it has been nearly two years since the last upgrade to the AirPort line, so it might be due for an update.

AirPort devices out of stock in many Apple Stores, refresh imminent? originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ve been pretty frustrated with the iPad stands I’ve seen. The Apple Smart Cover is clever but leaves the back of the iPad unprotected. Some of the cases that double as stands tend to be a bit tippy and if you try to type or actively use the screen they just fall over. I like lots of options for the angle of the screen depending on where I am, but many of the cases don’t give you all that many choices.

Enter the Prop ‘n Go from Padded Spaces in Seattle. It’s a thickly padded case with 14 different screen angles. It’s available in Microsuede or what’s called Air Mesh. The case is designed to provide excellent airflow, and no matter how you push on the case it’s simply not going to slide around or collapse. The model I tested, the US $49.95 standard setup, contains a pocket you can slip your iPad into or use to store accessories.

The accessory pocket is cleverly designed so your power cords, headphones and so on don’t come in contact with your iPad. An upgraded case called the All-in-One includes a strap that turns the case into a backpack at $59.95. A lite version of Prop ‘n Go eliminates the internal storage and drops the cost to $39.95. The cases work with either model of the iPad, and would store an e-reader, like a Kindle, if you don’t use an iPad.

I reviewed the original iPad stand from Padded Spaces last year called the Prop it Up. I liked it a lot, but thought it was too big. The current model is much smaller in width and designed to fit the iPad dimensions. I think this newer model is a decided improvement over an already good product.

Continue reading A unique iPad stand for around the house and travel

A unique iPad stand for around the house and travel originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A small secondary school in Ireland is doing something extraordinary — ditching textbooks for iPads. Starting in September St Coleman’s College is the town of Claremorris in the west of Ireland will give student the option of learning from regular textbooks or specially equipped iPads, according to The Irish Times.

The school made the decision after consulting with students, teachers and parents for weeks. In the end, 96% of the people consulted supported the switch from books to iPads. Each iPad will be preloaded with a suite of educational apps.

Together the iPads and apps will cost €700 each but the price will be spread across a three-year period. School principal Jimmy Finn told the Times that the value for the money was obvious. “It is a bit of a unique idea, but we have to continue to move with the times,” he said. Finn also noted that the switch to the iPad isn’t mandatory and parents can choose to stick with textbooks for their children, though something tells me that if the children have it their way the choice will clearly be the iPad.

Textbooks swapped for iPads by Irish school originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad versions of GarageBand and iMovie have been updated today. GarageBand for iPad has been updated to version 1.0.1 and contains the following new features and fixes:

• Support for audio output over AirPlay, Bluetooth devices and HDMI with the Apple Digital AV Adapter
• Import of AIFF, WAV, CAF audio files and Apple Loops (16 bit, 44.1 kHz)
• Allows copy and paste of audio from supported apps into GarageBand
• Addresses occurrences of GarageBand freezing while playing Smart Instruments
• Improves overall stability and addresses a number of minor issues

A support document for GarageBand 1.0.1 notes now the new audio copy/paste function works:

“You can paste an audio file from an app that supports copying audio to the clipboard. GarageBand for iPad supports uncompressed audio files with a sample rate of 44.1 kHz and 16-bit depth (the standard for audio CDs). Audio files copied from another app can be pasted to Audio Recorder or Guitar amp tracks.”

iMovie for iPad/iPhone has been updated to version 1.2.1 and includes:

• Audio plays from your HDTV when using the Apple Digital AV Adapter
• Video plays full screen from Marquee to your HDTV when using the Apple Digital AV Adapter
• Resolves some cases of missing media in projects
• Provides more accurate clip grouping by date in Video browser
• Fixes an issue where a project’s background music would not fade in or out
• Additional performance and reliability improvements

Both updates are free to existing users and available now on the App Store. Note that these updates may not show up for you if you search for them from the Apps tab in your iTunes sidebar — Apple’s two App Stores appear to be having flaky issues with updates today — but the updated versions do show up on each app’s page, and you can download the updates for free from there.

GarageBand and iMovie for iPad updated originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What could be more engaging than presenting from your iPad to a roomful of seen-it-all colleagues or clients? Sure, it’s keen and different, but when you come down to it, slides are slides. Pushing up involvement by distributing printed copies of the deck is one way to level up the amount of information you can convey — but the back edge of that sword is watching your audience page ahead in your carefully-crafted content, getting distracted by shiny objects and generally splintering off in different directions.

A small team at publisher Condé Nast has come up with one approach to reining everyone in during a presentation: a new app called Idea Flight. This iPad application is free for the audience (‘passengers’) and a $7.99 in-app purchase for presenters (‘pilots’); it lets the pilot walk through the presentation on his or her iPad while the passenger iPads follow along in sync. Once the deck is done, the pilot sets it free — then the passengers can roam about the cabin, so to speak, and explore the presentation at their own pace.

With full buzzword compliance (Dropbox integration, LinkedIn logins, GameKit and Core Graphics implementation), it certainly sounds good; you wouldn’t even need a fully iPad-equipped audience, as you can present to screen from your iPad 2 while running the app. How well it will work in the real world of sketchy networking and complex PDF downloads is another question entirely. I’m going to check out a live hands-on demo of Idea Flight this Friday, so once I see it in action I’ll report back.

Idea Flight harnesses multiple iPads for presentation mojo originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In October 2001 Apple introduced the now iconic iPod, and since almost the same time Apple has owned the ipod.com domain name. But in April of 2002, someone registered the plural of the ipod as a domain — ipods.com. For some reason or another Apple chose then not to go after the owners of the domain even though Apple typically shows no mercy when it comes to its trademarks appearing in domain names.

However, as TechCrunch notes, Apple has suddenly moved to claim the ipods.com domain name after more than nine years. Yesterday Apple filed an official complaint; since it owns the iPod trademark it’s likely that ipods.com will be in Apple’s hands sooner rather than later. As noted by TC and many others, Apple strangely still does not own iPad.com or any other iPad-related domain names. That’s a real head-scratcher considering the popularity of the iPad, the fact that Apple now owns the iPad trademark, and that the company has enough cash in the bank to pay out several million dollars to buy the domain if that’s what it takes.

Thinking of grabbing an Apple-esqe domain name for yourself? Better check out Apple’s guidelines on Unauthorized Use of Apple Trademarks which point out examples of domain names that people are not allowed to use:

You may not use an identical or virtually identical Apple trademark as a second level domain name. Not acceptable: “imac.com” “imacapple.com” “imac-apple.com” “podmart.com”

Apple finally going after ipods.com domain originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What better way to spend a late spring afternoon than to sit inside in front of your favorite computer watching TUAW TV Live? I mean, warm weather, clear skies and singing birds are no match for the excitement of me and the chat room mixing it up on Ustream.

This afternoon is no exception — starting in about five minutes, you’ll be able to use the chat tool and video feed on the next page to watch the show instead of getting a highly-overated and dangerous tan. After all, pale is the new tan…

The topic today? Speculation on what’s going to be said at the WWDC Keynote next Monday. We know that iOS 5, Mac OS X 10.7 Lion and iCloud are topics, but what might we hear about from his Steveness as “one more thing?”

From your Mac or PC, go to the next page by clicking the Read More link at the bottom of this post, and you’ll find a livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments.

If you’re driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you’re stuck in traffic, please don’t — keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else is doing the driving, you can watch the show on your iPhone and join the chat by downloading the free Ustream Viewing Application. If you’re on an iPad, you should be able to use the Skyfire Browser to watch the stream, although you will not be able to participate in the chat.

We’ll start at about 5 PM ET, so if you’re seeing a prerecorded show, be sure to refresh your browser until you see the live stream. For those of you who are not able to join us for the live edition, you’ll be able to view it later this evening on our TUAW Video YouTube channel and as part of the new TUAW TV Live podcast viewable in iTunes or on any of your Apple devices.

Continue reading TUAW TV Live: The forecast is iCloudy with a chance of syncing

TUAW TV Live: The forecast is iCloudy with a chance of syncing originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple released Security Update 2011-003 yesterday with protection from the MacDefender malware and its variants, but some of our readers might want to do more to protect their Macs from malware. Avast has been a longtime supplier of a free (for non-commercial use) antivirus package for Windows that is unobtrusive and fast, so it was with a great deal of interest that I read a PR blast from the company this morning.

The company has just released a beta of avast! Free Antivirus for Mac for download and testing, and like the Windows version of the software, it looks pretty good. The company previously had a download for Mac, but as noted in the user forums on the Avast site, “The current popularity of Apple products also makes them more interesting for the bad guys so we thought it would be good to prepare for the battle sooner rather than later.” The result is a product that is much more on par with the Windows product.

To install the downloaded beta app, you simply drag the application icon to the Applications folder and double-click to launch. The app uses Growl notification, so it helps if you have Growl pre-installed. The app has three shields that are in operation at all times: the File Shield, which scans the binaries of launched apps and all files that are being modified, the Web Shield, which monitors and filters all HTTP traffic coming from websites, and the Mail Shield, which monitors and filters all POP3 and IMAP traffic.

In addition, avast! Free Antivirus for Mac can do on-demand scanning of the whole file system, network volumes, or mounted removable volumes. The scanning engine is updated automatically — I’m just happy that it doesn’t speak “virus database has been updated” the way the Windows version does because that has a tendency to startle me.

Unfortunately, the app does seem to slow down page loading in Safari and I’m sure it would do the same with Firefox and Chrome. Of course, this is beta-ware, so the Avast team will most likely work on optimizing their code as the product gets closer to general release.

If you’re considering antivirus software for Mac for yourself, relatives, or employees, you might want to take a look at the avast! Free Antivirus for Mac beta.

Avast! Free Antivirus for Mac beta now available originally appeared on TUAW on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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