Category: I-phone

Deck the hall with boughs of iMacs[1], fa la la la la la la la la.
‘Tis the season for hardware refreshes, fa la la la la la la la la.
Don we now our Apple apparel, fa la la la la la la la la.
For this jolly update carol , fa la la la la la la la la.

[1] At least we hope so. What do you think?

Thanks to everyone who tipped us.

The Apple Store is down, updated iMacs coming? originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 03 May 2011 05:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The iPad and iPad 2 don’t come with a GPS receiver if you have the Wi-Fi versions. I have a Wi-Fi iPad 2 and have longed for the ability to use the larger format maps on apps like Navigon while traveling. There have been some solutions if you jailbreak, but that’s not something I want to do.

Now there’s a solution from New Sky Products, which is offering a small (2.25″ x 2.25″ x 0.75″) unit that will pair with your iPad or iPod touch and give you the navigation functionality you crave. The device is US$99.99 and can run off an included car charger, or it will work for more than 8 hours using its rechargeable battery. Of course, any map that needs data connectivity (like Google Maps) won’t work, but if the app you have has on-board maps, you’re in business. Maps like the Navigon, TomTom and Magellan apps should work nicely. Note that any functions of those apps that require a data connection, like Google searches, won’t work without Wi-Fi.

There is also a free app that will show you the status of the Bluetooth GPS device, including the number of satellites you are seeing, your latitude and longitude, altitude and battery status. There are quite a few threads on the Apple support boards complaining about the inability of older portable GPS units to link to the iPad, and in fact, I tried it myself without success. That makes this new unit extra welcome if it works as advertised. We’re being sent a unit to review, and as soon as I get it, I’ll pair it to my Wi-Fi iPad 2 and report here on the results.

New Sky Products Bluetooth receiver brings GPS navigation to Wi-Fi iPad and iPod touch originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 03 May 2011 04:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BGR reports that they have the upcoming iOS 4.3.3 firmware and their sources inside Apple claims that iOS 4.3.3 will be out within next 2 weeks to fix the iOS location tracking bug in iPhone and iPad.

iOS 4.3.3 Update will include:

• The update will no longer back up the location database to iTunes.
• The size of the location database will be reduced.
• The location database will be deleted entirely when Location Services are turned off.
• Battery life improvements.
• iPod bug fixes.

Apple is also expected to patch the iOS 4.3.2 jailbreak ‘untethered exploit’ developed by i0nic and featured in PwnageTool, Sn0wBreeze and RedSn0w.

We’ll update you as we know more about the upcoming iOS 4.3.3 firmware. Stay Tuned!

You can follow us on Twitter, Google Buzz, Facebook, and Subscribed to RSS Feed to receive latest updates.

P0sixninja, who’s working on iPad 2 jailbreak with Greenpois0n tweeted that GeoHot has accepted his challenge to see who can dump the iPad 2 bootrom first. p0sixninja recently noted that jailbreaking the A5 chipset loaded iPad 2 is a demanding, time consuming and difficult task. Only a few have the patience, time and skill to do.

This is what P0sixninja tweeted:

@p0sixninja: I challenged geohot to dump the iPad 2 bootrom before me. Maybe having a worthy opponent will motivate me to work harder =P

@p0sixninja: he accepted, he said he didn’t have an iPad yet but he’s getting one really soon

Looks like Geohot, the father of first iPhone unlock, BlackSn0w, Blackra1n and Limera1n, is returning to surprise the jailbreak community by jailbreaking iPad 2 (although he doesn’t have an iPad 2 yet.).

Indeed a great news for all those waiting for an iPad 2 jailbreak. We’ll update you as we know more about the iPad 2 jailbreak and GeoHot come back. Stay Tuned!

You can follow us on Twitter, Google Buzz, Facebook, and Subscribed to RSS Feed to receive latest updates.

iOS 4.3.3 is in the works and should fix the controversial location tracking bug that recently surfaced and has been in the news quite a bit.

Boy Genius Reports the following issues will be fixed:

• The update will no longer back up the location database to iTunes.
• The size of the location database will be reduced.
• The location database will be deleted entirely when Location Services are turned off.
• Battery life improvements.
• iPod bug fixes.

You can read the entire article here.

Received word about an interesting puzzle game  that has been open sourced.  It is currently available in the app store and runs on the iPhone/iPad (along with Android, and Palm versions).

What makes Orbium interesting is that this is actually an HTML5 based game, and the app store version runs through the Phonegap framework — and it runs well.  The game runs smoothly while animated and beautiful which really shows that the iOS devices and Mobile Safari have come a long way in running html5 apps.  There are quite a few games listed on the open source iOS apps list, but this is the first HTML5 based game.

Here’s a video of the game in action:

Because the game is HTML5 based you can test it in your browser here:
http://bni.github.com/orbium/

You can find the Github for the game here:
https://github.com/bni/orbium

The homepage where you can find links to the different versions available is here:
http://jsway.se/

Overall, it is interesting if you want some insight into HTML5 game development.

©2011 iPhone, iOS 4, iPad SDK Development Tutorial and Programming Tips. All Rights Reserved.

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It’s been observed that there tends to be a strong correlation between obsessive/compulsive behaviour and technical proficiency as a software engineer. I wouldn’t argue with that. I try very hard to buck the trend of geeks being poorly-dressed, socially inept and having questionable personal hygiene habits, but I can’t deny that I do suffer from a little OCD (albeit not clinically). Icons on my desktop are, like Goldilocks’ porridge, just right – neither too big nor too small. And you’d better believe that they’re set to snap to grid.

I’ve noticed a further manifestation of this compulsive behaviour as regards installing software on my machines, and I’ve called it the Critical Customisation Cost (CCC, henceforth) of software. Put simply, there’s a cost (not just financial, but rather psychological and emotional) associated with installing third-party software on a computing device, and there’s an associated threshold above which the CCC is so high that it outweighs the benefit of the functionality offered by the software.

Geeks are known to love configuring and customising their devices, but perhaps paradoxically they can also be reluctant to do so because of a compulsion to not deviate too far from a “clean” (and thus presumably safe, fast, efficient, known and well-tested) configuration. If your app’s overall CCC is above a given geek’s tolerance threshold, they’re going to remove it from their machine soon after trying it.

My own CCC Threshold is something I struggle with daily. It’s surprisingly low; I desperately want to stick to the default setup on a new system, with just a minimal set of additional apps. I’m going to discuss some of the symptoms of this condition, and what tends to raise and lower the CCC of a given app, but if you can’t be bothered reading all that then I can offer you an executive summary: I’m incredibly clever and handsome, and you should give me money. If you’re not going to read the whole article, I feel entirely justified in misrepresenting its content.

Symptoms

I doubt that I’m alone in suffering from this condition. Perhaps you’ll recognise yourself in a few of these symptoms.

• Making unreasonable effort to live with default options and preferences.
• Returning to one of the factory-installed desktop wallpapers after only briefly trying a custom one, and repeating this process every two months.
• Automatically assessing a new piece of utility software based on whether you want to install it on all your machines, and learn it, and deal with the heartache of temporarily not having it when you get new hardware.
• Paradoxically (since that’s not the default behaviour) hiding the Dock because you can barely stomach its constantly-changing contents.
• Balking at an app because its menubar (status bar) icon isn’t monochrome, or generally homogeneous with the system-supplied icons (or, even worse, is confusingly similar to one of the standard ones).
• Irrationally quitting low-load, low-memory-usage apps when you won’t be using them for a short while, because that’s how you were raised.

That’s how you know you have it, but the details of how you assess a given app’s CCC are probably specific to you. I can only share the factors that increase or decrease the perceived cost of an app for me, as follows.

Things that increase the CCC of 3rd-party software:

Any of these factors will push a given piece of software ever closer to my CCC Threshold, and ultimate rejection.

• Having an installer. Depending on the app type (i.e. if it doesn’t seem reasonable for you to need an installer), this can be an instant Threshold-breaker.
• Adding a menubar icon.
• Adding a login item (not constantly visible, but nonetheless like a splinter in my brain).
• Being a utility-like app (i.e. not an app I’ll often have frontmost, but will instead use via ancillary UI or shortcuts) which is nevertheless in the app switcher all the time (this is nigh-guaranteed to break the Threshold).
• Auto-adding an icon to the Dock upon installation (instant Threshold-breaker; you’re gone).
• Adding anything onto my Desktop without asking me first, or even defaulting to doing so when you do ask me (this is also an instant Threshold breaker).
• Trying to actually replace a core part of the standard desktop experience (your file-browser/Finder replacement had better be amazing if it’s staying on my machine).
• Doing anything that feels like it uses hackery-pokery, or fragile/undocumented APIs, or that injects itself into system functionality. I’ve never found an Open/Save panel enhancement that I’ve been able to keep around, for example.
• Cosmetically altering the system. It’s unlikely I can live with that.
• Doing things substantially differently than is standard on the platform, especially with regard to UI conventions and/or widget appearance.
• Seeming to be something that will run periodically regardless of whether I’ve initiated it. I only tolerate Time Machine due to its obvious benefits. I balk at third-party scheduled sync solutions, folder-watchers, virus checkers and so forth for that very reason. And yes, I’m aware that all these can be and often are event-based anyway these days; nonetheless, the gut feeling remains.

Things that decrease the CCC:

• Letting me swap an always-in-the-app-switcher standard app for a small, unobtrusive menubar icon (e.g. Notify, instead of Mail).
• Letting me swap a system-supplied app for one with a more focused, efficient user experience but which accesses the same data (via an official API). Examples would be address book apps, calendars, etc.
• Being simply an interface to a remote data store, so I know I can access the data in other ways and from anywhere.
• Being a web app, for similar reasons to the previous point.

These rules change on a weekly basis as the mood suits me, but generally they’re indicative of how I’ll feel about a particular piece of software.

If your app’s Critical Customisation Cost reached my particular (low) tolerance Threshold, I can’t keep it around – it’ll drive me crazy. Does that mean that I, myself, am a little bit crazy? Yes, no doubt it does – but being unhealthily detail-oriented, rule-focused and meticulous does have its compensations in this line of work.

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting Cartoonatic. The developer describes Cartoonatic as a Free app, which lets users record videos with cartoon and sketch effects. Plus users can add music and customize video speed. There are 9 cartoon filters and a number of soundtracks. Plus you can add music from iPod. Cartoonatic is a fun and simple tool to create awesome music videos.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

About the App

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

• 9 cartoon and sketch effects
• Possibility to add music to videos
• Customizable video speed
• Live preview of video effects
• Sharing via Facebook, YouTube and Twitter

Requirements: iPhone 3Gs, iPhone 4, iPod touch 4; iOS 4.2 and higher
Price: Free
Developer: MacPhun

Vote for a Review

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

Would you like to see Cartoonatic reviewed in-depth on AppStorm?online survey

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.

Scrabble, Words with Friends, Scramble, all of these are nearly essential components of the iPhone gaming experience. The word game market is an incredibly popular one and has spawned the creation of ton of really great iPhone titles, both original and classic.

We spent hours sifting through all of these games to bring you this list of the best 75 word games currently available on the iPhone. Whether you like crosswords, word searches, anagrams or even party games, you’ll find lots of new ways to kill time and expand your vocabulary!

Crossword

Scrabble

“Featuring more ways to connect with friends! Now it’s easier than ever to find friends playing Scrabble. Search by username or email address, scan your phone’s contact list, and post invitations to play via Facebook or email. Square off with friends and play up to 50 games at once – more than any other word game on the App Store.”
Price: $0.99

Words With Friends

“Experience for yourself why more than 20 million people are addicted to the word building, triple score seeking, chat bubble sending goodness of Words With Friends. ”
Price: $2.99

WordSnake…Words Without Borders

“WordSnake, by oBo Games, takes word-building to a whole new level of fun. Help Elmer the WordSnake get from his snake den to the den of Ophelia, his sweetheart. One catch – Elmer is a word aficionado. He can only cross the game board over actual words. You must use 130 letter tiles to build a word bridge for Elmer to cross. To make the trip more challenging, there are Obstacles and Shortcuts to help and hinder. Obstacles are impassable areas on the board, while Shortcuts allow you to jump over several columns to get closer to Ophelia’s den. There are also letter and word bonus icons to increase your score. ”
Price: $0.99

HexaLex

“Scrabble fans, meet the world’s first hexagonal crossword game. HexaLex takes the classic, easy to learn but hard to master game and adds a new dimension. Hexagonal tiles let you play words in three directions instead of two. Words interact in surprising ways! But have no fear, thanks to the innovative instant feedback system, tutorial, and detailed built-in help, you’ll be laying down major scores in no time. If you’re hooked on Scrabble or Words With Friends you’re going to love HexaLex!”
Price: $1.99

Lexulous

“The new & improved Lexulous is here! It’s the coolest crossword game with more than 4 million players worldwide!”
Price: $1.99

Wordfeud

“Free crossword style multiplayer word game. Challenge your friends or play against random opponents. Play at your own pace. Participate in up to 30 games simultaneously.”
Price: Free

Crosswords

“Download and play crossword puzzles right on your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. Each day many newspapers provide their crossword puzzles online; with one tap you can download and solve them, get hints, view clues, and track how quickly you’re improving!”
Price: $9.99

Word Micester

“Help Sydney the Mouse build his cheese collection by outwitting the mad scientists in the Super Secret Cheese Laboratory. Play word puzzles like you’ve never seen before. Build word chains and clusters to find the secret cheese labs. Evade the dangerous security drones and unlock the 40 types of cheese. Then crack the passwords and build your cheese collection.”
Price: Free

WordTrix

“The object of the game is to make the letters fall in such a way that they spell a word. The words can be any English word from 3-5 characters in length, and can be arranged either top-to-down or left-to-right, just like a crossword puzzle! ”
Price: Free

Words by PlayMesh

“Come play our version of this classic turn-based word game. This app comes with all the basic features you demand: challenging random opponents, multi-challenges at the same time, familiar rules, etc. But we have taken this basic concept and kicked it up a notch!”
Price: Free

Bananagrams

“Bananagrams is the award winning anagram game that will drive you bananas! Just like the original, players can take their game on the go and play anywhere, anytime. There are multiple game modes for players to choose from so Bananagrams has a little something for everyone.”
Price: $0.99

SkyWords

“SkyWords is the ‘Scrabble-like’ game with a twist: you can stack letters on top of existing letters to create new words! The higher you stack the higher you score, so Aim for the Sky!”
Price: Free

Word Scramble & Anagram

Word Warp

“Similar to Text Twist, Word Warp is a challenging anagram type of word game in which you try to form as many words as you can out of the six letters you are given before time runs out. You will receive points for each correct word you come up with, but in order to advance to the next level you must come up with at least one word that uses all six letters.”
Price: $0.99

Word-Drop

“Tactically pick away tiles from the board by forming a word to unlock the new possibilities that the falling letters will bring, but choose wisely; the larger the words the greater the reward. ”
Price: $0.99

Word Squares

“Imangi Word Squares is like playing Sudoku with letters and words instead of numbers. Just unscramble each square so that all rows and columns form valid words!”
Price: $1.99

Word Dash

“A great twist on a classic word puzzle game! Find as many words as you can using the six letter tiles. Time is added when you find 4, 5, or 6 letter words. Get 5 words in a row and enter a 2x dash mode. Extend the 2x scoring by quickly finding more words. Scramble to enter as many words as quickly as you can for maximum points!”
Price: $0.99

Word Whirl

“You have 2 minutes to guess as many words as you can from 6 letters! Guessing words that are 4 letters or longer will give you more time. Press the refresh button in the top left corner to swap your puzzle. Word Whirl comes with over 8000 words, awesome graphics, and addictive sound. Its the best word game for the iPhone and a great way to improve your vocabulary. ”
Price: $1.99

WordFu

“Shake your letter dice and spell as many words as you can before the clock runs out. Build up your score by unleashing an endless word barrage! Freeze time, flick dice for better letters, and let loose a fiery spelling fury! Once you’ve mastered it on your own, take on your friends over WiFi. Dominate the leaderboard on your quest to earn WordFu Belts and become a true WordFu Grand Master. Once no worldly man can defeat you, play Shaolin Style for the highest WordFu challenge!”
Price: $0.99

Moxie

“Moxie is all about transforming words into new words. You start with a hand of 52 letters that you go through “Solitaire” style. Place each letter on the board or “Pass”. If you “Pass” you can’t go back to that letter.”
Price: $0.99

Moxie 2

“You start with a hand of 64 letters that you go through “Solitaire” style. Place each letter on the board or “Pass”. If you “Pass” you can’t go back to that letter.”
Price: $1.99

Letter Blocks 3D

“Want a great word challenge? Try story mode: an increasingly challenging game with 15 increasingly challenging levels. Don’t let the board fill in or you’ll loose the game! Want the ultimate word compositing frenzy? Freestyle in a random world in the fast-paced arcade mode. The higher you score, the faster blocks will fall on the board. How long will you last? Feeling in a more relaxed mood? Take your time while you solve the words puzzle in clear the board mode: clean up a board full of blocks without shaking the device to get more blocks to enter the global high scores!”
Price: $0.99

WordMaster: Crossword/Anagram Solver

“WordMaster helps you complete those difficult crossword puzzles where there are few letters you can’t figure out. Just fill in the letters you know in the letter boxes, leaving blanks for the missing letters then tap the Search button. The matching words will appear in a blink giving you narrower options for the answer.”
Price: $0.99

Muddled

“Muddled is an addictive, fast-paced anagram word game. Form all of the words you can from the letter tiles given before the timer runs out! Get enough words, and you move to the next round and build your score. Miss too many, and start again at zero.”
Price: $1.99

Jambalaya

“Use your finger to connect letters and form words by drawing a line across the screen. Drag and reorganize your tiles to create space or find new words; give your device a shake to scramble the tiles at random. Get ready for an addictive and challenging word game experience!”
Price: $1.99

Squabble

“In Squabble, you frantically build the longest word you can in a short time limit. Be quick! Each letter scores points with some being worth more than others. Use the bonus spaces to double and triple your letter points. The final round has a full word you can decipher or build the largest word you can and hope your opponent doesn’t guess the entire word. ”
Price: Free

Word Pirate

“Word Pirate is a word game for one or two players. Build words from new letters or by adding and scrambling the letters of an existing word. Steal words from your opponent for maximum scores.”
Price: $1.99

Wordulous

“The objective of the game is to make the maximum numbers of words out of the given set before the time runs out. Perfect to put your word-building prowess to test. Not able to get the hang of the game yet? Just switch to the ‘Practice’ mode. Once you’ve reached the end of a game, all the possible words appear on the screen. ”
Price: $0.99

Wordmaster

“Wordmaster is an addicting anagram-type game where the object is to form as many real words as possible based on a scrambled 6-letter word. With a massive dictionary of 30,000 Official Tournament and Club Word List words (over 15,000 possible puzzles), gameplay never gets stale.”
Price: $0.99

Word Cup

“Word Cup is a word game in the classic genre of finding as many words as possible in a letter grid. If you enjoy word games, Word Cup is for you! The game has a swift interface, supports different grid sizes and many different dictionaries. Game Center is used for leaderboards and for multiplayer games. ”
Price: $0.99

Word Shout

“How quick are you? Word Shout is a spelling game using letter dice. You never know what words could be created after the 10 lettered dice are presented to you randomly. You have 30 seconds (or 60 seconds based on your choosing) to spell as many legitimate words as possible.”
Price: $0.99

Durion – word game

“You’re looking at the screen and your mind is racing through possible words that you can make from the letters sitting there. With a fingertip, you drag and drop this letter and that to build a great scoring word in just a few seconds flat. When you first started playing Durion, you didn’t always come in under the timer but the more you play, the faster and sharper your mind seems to get. You’ve got speed and strategy, now. You’ve got game!”
Price: $1.99

BuzzWord English

“BuzzWord is a totally unique word game, aimed at letters and words lovers. You have 1 min and 30 sec to find the 5 longest words you can using a given draw. Every game is different so you can have unlimited fun! So whether you’re a Goobox long time fan or a new player, come and join the Buzzword champions!”
Price: $0.99

Textropolis

“Travel word-wide and build up your Textropolis by finding the words hidden in each city. Play through 30 different cities in this free-play word discovery game. Stumble across a new word? Textropolis includes definitions for every word in the game. Watch each city grow as you discover its words and add to your total Textropolis population! Shake your phone or iPod to get a helpful hint when you are stuck, and you can even send postcards from your best cities to a friend via email to show off your vocabulary!”
Price: Free

Bee Spelled

“Help a mildly overweight Spelling Bee to defend himself with word-powered attacks and abilities. Make the longest words you can to increase your score!”
Price: $1.99

Boggle & Word Search

Boggle

“Tick-tock. Beat the clock. Once you start you just can’t stop! Test your way with words by playing the popular wordsearch game that’s addictive fun.”
Price: $0.99

Word Scramble Challenge Edition

“Scramble is the fast fun game of finding words in a jumbled grid. quickly slide your finger over letters next to each other to make words!”
Price: Free

Word Quest PLUS

“Word Quest is a fun, polished word and number search puzzle with many twists on the classic genre. With innovative additions to the original concept, challenging features and layouts, and tons of content, it’ll keep you motivated and playing game after game. And unlike other word search games, the puzzles adjust to your preferences to create just the right complexity with the intersections and coverage amounts you want.”
Price: $4.99

Daily Word Search Free

“Explore over 150 preloaded topics, then come back each day to download new puzzles. An advanced generator ensures that every game is exciting, while three difficulty settings offer a challenge for any skill level. Combined with gorgeous retinal graphics, a slick interface, and intuitive controls, it’s the perfect app for any word search enthusiast.”
Price: Free

Word Flow

“Test your brain in this fun, fast paced word game. In Word Flow you have to slide rows and columns of letters in order to create as many words as possible in a limited amount of time. Create longer words to rack up huge scores. Strategically use gold bricks to receive massive bonuses.”
Price: $0.99

WordWeaver

“WordWeaver adds the fun of Bejeweled to the word finder games like Quordy or wurdle. But WordWeaver introduces something unique – a woven lattice board. Manipulate it to reveal hidden letters, discover cool bonuses and earn extra points. At a loss for words? Weave your way out! WordWeaver brings a fresh face to fans of word games.”
Price: $0.99

WordsWorth

“Link letters to trace new words in a beautiful honeycomb structure. Create longer words with rare letters to earn hefty points. Challenge your friends over Bluetooth/Wi-Fi or just select a random opponent to confront. Find out who has the best Vocab Power in the WordsWorth clubs and compete with the finest players to reach the top.”
Price: $0.99

Word Jewels!

“Word Jewels gives you easy and fun word-finding, for free! Capture all of the red gems to win, but don’t run out of moves!”
Price: Free

Abca

“Over the course of a year and more than ten updates, we at Kieffer Bros. have built and refined four utterly addictive word games into Abca. Foremost, there’s Quest. Quest is nothing short of an adventure. Trace words, collect gold letter tiles, rack up points, and advance to levels of ever-increasing lexical intensity. ”
Price: $1.99

Quordy

“Welcome to Quordy, the touch-play, word search game! The object is to form words among the 16 letter tiles. Quordy can be played alone or against friends and is perfect for play on-the-go. Shake or touch your iPhone or iPod Touch to jumble the letters and begin a game. Touch the first letter of the word you want to make, then slide your finger to the next letter in your word. As long as the letter tiles connect–in any direction–you’re on your way.”
Price: $2.99

Word Search Plus

“Word Search Plus is not your ordinary word search game. When you finish a game, you can look up the Details page to learn what the words stand for. Not very fun? We agree. The fun begins when you start playing at the two most difficult levels, where the word list is not given, and you search totally in the dark… Your only weapon is your vocabulary.”
Price: $0.99

Scrabble Blast

“Your favorite word game is now blown out with new dimensions of fast-paced fun and puzzling intensity. Make words by quickly connecting letters raining down onto the board in any direction (including diagonally). Don’t worry about the rules and scoring system. Just jump into the game and you’ll get it! ”
Price: Free

Wurdle

“Wurdle is a fun, flexible and fast-paced word game, perfect for coffee breaks or the subway. Find and trace as many words as possible before time runs out. Can’t find any more words? Shake the board to mix up the tiles! Customize wurdle the way you like it, and see how you measure up against your friends and the world with online high scores.”
Price: $1.99

Woffo

“Intersect a horizontal and vertical word over the Golden Square and score big. Build four horizontal words or four vertical words and you’ll get a Woffo. Do them both at the same time and you’ll get a Super Woffo, a feat so amazing that we take a picture of it and post it for the world to see.”
Price: $0.99

WordWiz

“WordWiz is surprisingly different: the goal is to form words in order to turn all the letters in a grid orange. That’s easier said than done! Because at the end you’ll be left with letters which won’t form a word. Now you need to bring orange letters back into the game and blacken them again, until you find a way to form a final word. ”
Price: $0.99

Bookworm

“Link letters left, right, up and down to build words to keep Lex the Bookworm sated and smiling. Bigger words return better bonuses. But watch out for burning letters — they could spell disaster!”
Price: $2.99

Virble

“Help Virlo on his quest for Golden Choobies! A word puzzle game featuring three modes and endless action.”
Price: Free

Word Seek Social

“Come and join the Word Seek Social crowd! Word Seek Social is the game for you if you love social word games or puzzles! Sharpen your mind, expand your vocabulary, and challenge yourself to solve a puzzle with this innovative, interactive, and addictive play off a classic word search game. You’ll have tons of fun as you find as many words as possible by yourself or live online against your friends in this board game!”
Price: $0.99

Miscellaneous

Word Solitaire: Aurora

“Look northwards and to the stars for a dazzling display of word creation and traditional solitaire! Drag letters onto each other to arrange them into words. Flip over cards to expose more letters and complete the level by using all provided letters in the creation of words.”
Price: $0.99

Word Warrior

“Word Warrior is a new age role playing word game. Use words in this epic quest to conquer your foes and restore peace to the land.”
Price: $0.99

Word Detective

“Become a vocabulary sleuth by searching for words from intriguing topics. Long word lists offer puzzle variety and hours of puzzle solving pleasure. Word Detectives keeps track of your hard work and gives you trophies for your success.”
Price: $1.99

Word Party

“Do you enjoy the game Password, Taboo, or Catch Phrase? Then you will love Word Party, the FIRST (August release) multi-player, multi-team, word party game for your iPhone and iPod Touch! You only need one device to get the party started. Have a ball playing with all of your friends at the same time. This game is great fun for all ages, parties, and even long car rides. Why play Sudoku by yourself, when you can throw a Word Party! ”
Price: $2.99

Word Spin

“Boost your mental agility, language skills and greatly enhance your ability to play ALL word games better with one of the most captivating word games ever invented: Word Spin. Any time you have a spare moment you can now experience the mesmerizing word game that millions of Word Spin fans around the world have enjoyed.”
Price: $0.99

Word BINGO

“Listen to the word the BINGO Bug speaks and tap on the corresponding word on the screen. Get four words correct vertically, horizontally or diagonally to get BINGO and win! The quicker you get BINGO the better your score. Your score is based on time and the lower the score, the better. Earn a BINGO Bug when you beat your best score.”
Price: $0.99

Word War

“Word War is a new word game that pits you against the computer or a friend. The gameplay involves going back and forth against your opponent trying to out-spell or trap them. The computer has three levels to play against – ranging from an easy version with a limited vocabulary whom you can easily out spell to a version with an almost perfect vocabulary against whom you must trap.”
Price: $0.99

Brain Blaze Word Roots Flashcards for GRE* & SAT* Prep

“With BB Word Roots, you will learn 156 important Greek and Latin word roots. These word roots are essential to learning advanced vocabulary words, such as those found on the SAT and GRE. To help you learn, each flash card displays an easy word and two more difficult words derived from the word root. Use the easy word as a mnemonic device to help you remember the meaning of the word root.”
Price: $3.99

Hangman Free

“Think you have a good vocabulary? Take on your iPhone or a friend in this chalkboard classic and find out how good your vocabulary really is. Hangman Free is the best Hangman game available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The game faithfully captures every detail of the classic Hangman experience, right down to the chalk dust. ”
Price: Free

Word Ace

“Word Ace combines a classic word game and Texas Hold ‘Em into an online multiplayer game you can carry in your pocket! Compete against thousands of players online to spell the highest-scoring words, and see how many chips you can win!”
Price:Free

WordJong

“WordJong Daily Challenge features simple, yet engrossing game play. Use a set of lettered tiles to create words and complete Mahjong solitaire puzzles. Shoot for high-scoring words, earn gold coins and bomb power-ups, and attempt to clear the board with no leftover letters. ”
Price: $1.99

WordSurge

“WordSurge is an addicting new take on word games. As bubbles float up, tap them to release the letters inside. Make rhymes for even more points. Keep up with the bubbles or you could run out of air!”
Price: $2.99

Mad Gab

Just read a group of words aloud, like “Yore Luke Ink Hood.” Did you “hear” the answer? Try saying them again. Sound familiar? Quick, the timer’s ticking! Did you hear yourself say “You’re Looking Good”?
Price: Free

Wheel of Fortune Platinum

“Wheel of Fortune Platinum features over 1400 puzzles written by the producers of the show, local and global leaderboards, multi-player modes, theme weeks, and plenty of In-App purchases for more avatar choices and 1800 additional puzzles. Download Wheel of Fortune Platinum today and call out letters all day and night.”
Price: $4.99

Cryptogram

“Cryptogram is an elegant new take on the classic word game. Game play is hand crafted for the iPad, iPod Touch, iPhone and iPhone 4. We’ve studied how players use the game and have worked and reworked each aspect of the game to create a simple but powerful interface. Prepare yourself for hours of fun decoding the mysteries held in each puzzle.”
Price: $1.99

The wheel show

“The wheel show is television game show. The user compete against each other to solve a word puzzle for cash and prizes. The show’s main premise is word puzzles, which are presented with an appropriate category and none of the letters revealed. ”
Price: $0.99

Crypto-Families HD

“What’s Hot. Crypto-Families is a compact cryptogram where your mission is to decrypt 10 related words. The puzzles are challenging, fun, witty, and can be solved in minutes.”
Price: $1.99

SnapWords – The Party Game

“If you’ve ever played word games like Taboo or Guestures, you know how to play SnapWords on your iPhone. Your goal is to get your friends to guess a word. You’re allowed to do anything to help them get there except for say the word itself.”
Price: Free

ABC Maze

“ABC Maze is more than just a simple and fun maze toy for toddlers, it is also a powerful tool for: stimulating imagination, developing fine motor skills, developing hand eye coordination and learning to recognize letters and simple words.”
Price: $1.99

Word Buzz HD

“Here’s the twist: the words are scrambled and falling from the top of the screen. Your job is to spell the words correctly by typing the falling letters as fast as possible! Pay attention to your spelling and don’t let those letters pile up all the way to the top!”
Price: $0.99

Letter Matrix

“As books fall, choose letters from any position in the stack to form words. If you let all of the books stack up to the top of the game play area, the game is over. While trying for the large word scores yields more points and bragging rights, it also increases pressure and creates a scenario where one wrong move could cost you the game. As the game progresses through its 20 possible levels, balancing strategy and composure is critical – even the seasoned word game veteran will have to fight to stay alive. Pay attention to letter values and word length bonuses to really maximize your score.”
Price: Free

Fourfeit

“How many four letter words do you know? Fourfeit knows them all and challenges you to transform words one letter at a time.”
Price: $0.99

WordZinga!

“WordZinga! is an intuitive, simple, and addictive word game. Players are challenged to solve puzzles by providing missing letters to complete known words.”
Price: $1.99

What Did We Miss?

The 75 games above should be enough to keep your mind engaged for years to come. Some are priced as high as $9.99 but if you look closely you can find quite a few free gems for the budget-conscious downloader.

Even with all these titles, there are plenty more that we didn’t list. Leave a comment below and let us know what your favorite iPhone word games are and why!

We’ve collected the top four reviews, roundups and how-to articles from across the AppStorm network in April. Whether you’re interested in Mac, iPhone, iPad, Web, or Android apps, there’s bound to be something you didn’t spot over the course of the month. Now would be a good time to explore a part of the AppStorm Network you’ve never seen before!

Thanks for reading AppStorm, and I hope you enjoy looking over some of our favourite posts from last month!

Best of iPad.AppStorm

Best of Android.AppStorm

Best of iPhone.AppStorm

Best of Web.AppStorm

Best of Mac.AppStorm

Share Your Ideas

Is there something in particular you’d like to see on the site next month? We’d absolutely love to hear your suggestions for articles, topics and giveaways. Just let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading AppStorm!

If you’re a fan of music, then you should be a fan of satellite radio. That’s because it offers over 140 sports, talk and music stations, most of which are commercial free. Currently, the big leader in the market is SiriusXM, the combo pack made up of both Sirius and XM Radio. It used to be that to enjoy their offerings you needed a special receiver connected to a branded radio at your home or in your car, but now all you need is your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Now you might be thinking, “I remember the Sirius app coming out a long time ago. Why should I get excited about it this time around?” Well, the app has been refreshed but more importantly, so has the content. So what makes it so special? Hit the jump and we’ll work it out.

How It Works

First, let’s get this out of the way. SiriusXM is a paid subscription service. To make this app work, you have to pay a minimum of $12.95 a month for the SiriusXM Internet Radio package. If you want to add additional radios or add in a subscription for your car, you step up to a different plan. Because Sirius and XM used to be two different companies, the programming options can be a bit awkward at times, so make sure you look at their channel lineups before you pick a plan. They also have a 30 day free trial as well as a 7-day trial for the iPhone, so if you’re on the fence about joining the network, give that a shot first.

What’s On

When the app first came out, complaints came pouring in because it didn’t include all of the available stations for each subscriber, namely Howard Stern. But with Stern’s new contract came a new deal, and now both Howard 100 and Howard 101 are available on the SiriusXM app.

If you’re not a Howard fan (and let’s face it, he’s not for everyone), there are still plenty of options. Between Sirius and XM, all of the major sports are covered, and then there are other talk draws such as Oprah, Opie and Anthony, Martha Stewart, and Rosie O’Donnell. That’s not counting the music either, which is always commercial free — a pleasant change from most terrestrial radio stations!

How The App Works

Once you’ve signed in for the first time with your username and password (or signed up for a free trial), a list of categories shows up on the screen. Flicking down the screen shows you each of the many options you have to choose from. Touch one of the categories and you’re presented with a list of stations for that segment. One more touch gets the station fired up and running, playing right away.

The logo for each station and an “i” icon are displayed on the top of the screen, and if you’re in the Home view, you get an image of the album cover for the currently playing song. If you like the song you can purchase it via iTunes or tag it and add it to your shopping cart, all from that fancy i icon.

Is It Worth It?

This is a subscription service, so this decision becomes more about whether or not you want to add another bill to your pile or not. If you’re already a subscriber, then downloading this app is a given. Because it streams over 3G, you could use it to replace your car stereo as well, assuming you have some kind of iPhone adapter for your deck. If you are streaming via 3G though, be wary: This app does suck up some data, and if left unchecked, you could certainly surpass your limits with AT&T or Verizon, depending on your current data plan.

The only real complaint that I have is that the app times out after a predesignated period, so if you have it plugged into a home stereo (as I often do) and you’re not nearby, the music will just shut off until you acknowledge that you still want the music to play. This is to decrease data usage I’m sure, but I wish there was a setting to turn that off.

In my case, I already was a Sirius subscriber, so I got the app right when it came out. Without Stern though, it really wasn’t worth a second look so it sat on my iPhone, buried in a folder somewhere. Now though, I can use it when I’m working in the garage, driving down the road or just if I’m in the house.

The app gave me the ability to drop down my Sirius plan a notch too, because I didn’t need all of the radios I was using anymore. It saved me money, and I got added value as well. For me, this app really is the icing on the cake, but I’m admittedly a big fan of the service. If you’re a music buff, give the app and SiriusXM a shot. Who knows, maybe you’ll find a new favorite app like I did.

In this Quick Look, we’re highlighting BullsAndBalls. The developer describes BullsAndBalls as follow: Bulls and Balls is an amazing realization of the famous pen and paper game, “Bulls and Cows”. It can be played by one person against the iPhone. The goal of the game is to guess the combination of balls conceived by your opponent before he guesses your hand.

Read on for more information and screenshots!

Screenshots

About the App

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

• Three levels
• Three game modes (Single, vs iPhone, iPhone single)
• Uses moving balls as chips to enter digits
• Random skins for each game

Requirements: iOS 4.0
Price: $0.99
Developer: Askar Khangildin

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This is the NewView application. In this application we will see after lunch the application first, splash screen will come, later after MainScreen appears, in this screen we will see two buttons are there, after pressing first button “First View” will come , there is one back button and pressing back button the page return to MainScreen. So let see how it will work.

Step 1: Open a Xcode, Create a Window base application. Give the application name “Splash_Xcode”.

Step 2: Xcode automatically creates the directory structure and adds essential frameworks to it. You can explore the directory structure to check out the content of the directory.

Step 3: We need to add three ViewController class in the project. So select the project -> New File ->UIViewController subclass -> select with XIB for user interface -> then give file name “MainControllerView” . Do the same thing two more times and give the file name “FirstView” and “SecondView”.

Step 4: We need to add images for this application. Added two back groung images

i) Default.png

ii) lightingeffects.png

two buttons

i) firstview.png

ii) secondview.png

and one back button

i) backbutton.png

Step 5: Open the MainWindow.xib file , first drag the ImageView from the library and place it to the window, now select the window open the Attribute inspector and select the Default image.

Step 6: Now open the Spalsh_XcodeAppDelegate.m file and make the following changes:

Step 7: In the MainControllerview.h file, we need to define FirstView and SecondView class, UiLabel for  displaying label, two buttons and two IBAction methods. So make the following changes:

Step 8: Double click the MainControllerView.xib file and open it. Open the view from the .xib file and drag the ImageView from the library and place it to the view window. Select the View and open the attribute Inspector and select the lightingeffects.png. Now drag the two button and one Label from the library and place it to the View. First select the label and open the Attribute Inspector, change the text into “Please Click the Button”. Now select the button and open Attributes Inspector change the image name into “firstview.png” and change the type of the button into Custom. Do the same thing for the another button and load the “secondview.png”. Connect the File’s Owner icon to the label , FirstView button and SecondView button and select label, firstView and secondView. Now select FirstView button and open connection Inspector and connect Touch Up Inside to the File’s Owner icon and select FirstView: method. Do the same thing for the Second button and select the SecondView: method. Save the MainControllerView.xib file .

Step 9: Open the MainControllerview.m file, and make the following changes.

Step 10: Open the FirstView.h file and  make the following changes:

Step 11: Double click the FirstView.xib file and open it. First drag the label from library and place it to the view window. Select the label and open the Attribute Inspector , change the label name into “First View”. Drag the Navigation Bar from the library and place it to the top portion of the view and change the Tile of the Navigation Item into “First View”. Now save the FirstView.xib file.

Step 12: Open the FirstView.m file and  make the following changes:

Step 13: Open the SecondView.h file and  make the following changes:

Step 14: Double click the SecondView.xib file and open it. First drag the label from library and place it to the view window. Select the label and open the Attribute Inspector , change the label name into “Second View”. Drag the Navigation Bar from the library and place it to the top portion of the view and change the Tile of the Navigation Item into “Second View”. Now save the SecondView.xib file.

Step 15: Open the SecondView.m file and  make the following changes:

Step 16: Now compile and run the application in the Simulator.

You can Download Source Code from here Spalsh_Xcode

We’ve posted about the Peel universal IR remote before. It’s an interesting setup using a third-party unit that looks almost like a pear, designed to fit right into your living room wirelessly. It connects to an iOS app and turns your iDevice into a universal remote for any other units you might happen to have. In addition to the slick design, there’s a nice bit of TV browsing functionality included. It’s a remote designed not only to help you control your TV, but also give you an idea of what you actually want to do with it.

It’s that kind of overall thinking that got the unit into Apple Stores, and now the hard work has paid off. Peel has picked up a round of funding to the tune of over US$16 million. There have been a few other ways to connect the iPhone up to IR remotes (the Redeye has been another popular solution), but this is the biggest vote of confidence we’ve seen in such a device yet. Peel certainly isn’t quite a mainstream device, but this funding is definitely a leg up. There’s been a trend toward using smartphones to interact with and control other devices, and Peel looks to be in exactly the right place to take advantage.

If nothing else, hopefully this will help Peel get some units out the door; Amazon currently lists the product as shipping “within 1 to 2 months.” $16 million should help out with that.

Peel iOS remote raises $16 million in funding originally appeared on TUAW on Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Major League Baseball has switched up the pricing on its streaming MLB.tv service, and while most of the changes lately have been sending prices upwards (the iOS apps went up in price again this year), these changes are somewhat of a discount. The premium and regular packages have dropped in price by $10 each (which isn’t really that big a deal, especially since we’re a month into the season already). But more importantly, MLB is now offering a “smartphone-only” streaming service, allowing you to watch live baseball games on your iDevice or other approved smartphones for only $49.99 a year.

That’s not a bad deal, especially if you took advantage of that free trial they had going last month. And if your team heats up (though it doesn’t look like my Cubs will), you can upgrade to the other packages for the rest of their prices.

Unfortunately, the iPad isn’t listed on the mobile phone device plan, so I’d assume that still requires a full subscription (likely since it can be connected to a TV). As before, there may be blackout issues with the app — if the game is available in your market already, MLB may keep you from watching due to licensing issues.

But if you’re on the road a lot and looking for a cheaper way to watch these games on your phone without subscribing to the whole package, the new plan is interesting. And it shows just how much mobile phones mean to the league and its viewers so far.

MLB introduces mobile-phone-only subscription originally appeared on TUAW on Mon, 02 May 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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