AppAdvice

Popular iPhone App Updates for July 3rd 2009

Dave Clarke — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 02:30:40 +0000

We here at AppAdvice strive to bring you, our faithful readers, the latest, freshest news about all things iPhone. In an effort to continue doing so, I’m proud to announce a brand new feature here titled “Popular iPhone App Updates”. Starting today and continuing each day going forward, we’ll be compiling a list of the day’s most popular iPhone App updates and posting them here along with a brief description from the developer listing what each update fixes or changes. There are a ton of Apps available so it’s nearly impossible to catalog each and every update for every App, so that’s why we’ll be covering the most popular Apps that are in use.

Check back each and every night for your daily dose of iPhone App Updates so you can find out if an App you use has an update waiting for you!

Here are the popular iPhone App Updates for July 3rd, 2009:

Tetris: New icon; Now you can listen to your iPod music while you play.
iShoot: Fixed sound and music.
9-Toolbox: Varies bug fixes.
Face Melter: Improved loading times. New automatic mode.
Mega Man II: Control enhancements. New Classic Mode. Landscape view added. Audio issues fixed.w
Taxi Magic: Ability to book in the future. Bug fixes.
iFart Mobile: Optimized audio for better sound quality.
Shutterfly: Improved compatibility with iPhone OS 3.0. Bug fixes.

To Jailbreak Your iPhone Later You May Want To Follow These Instructions Now

Ian Hamilton — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:28:56 +0000

Apparently Apple has a new trick up its sleeve that may block jailbreakers. Whenever you restore your iPhone, which typically happens when you jailbreak an iPhone, iTunes now obtains unique signatures for your device from Apple’s servers.

So it may be necessary for you to find these numbers as a future jailbreak may depend on them. iClarified has done the dirty work and come up with some guides to help you find them. Mac version here. Windows version here.

It is not clear whether you, the end jailbreaker, will ever truly need this information, but the jailbreak Gods advise it as a good precaution.

And remember, if you do plan on jailbreaking at some point, wait for the go ahead from those same jailbreaking Gods before updating to 3.1 when it arrives. We’ll let you know.

iPhone 3.0 = Sports Fan Nirvana

Ian Hamilton — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:05:24 +0000

iPhone OS 3.0 has turned the iPhone into the ultimate device for sports fans.

Between SportsTap and MLB At Bat 2009 baseball fans have access to live video of entire baseball games, push notification reminders at the start and end of any game as well as updates every time the score changes.

You can open MLB At Bat to get pitch by pitch updates and listen to the audio broadcast of any game even over an Edge connection from either the away or the home team’s broadcasters.

Now I have to let those paragraphs just sink in because there’s never been anything like this before and there’s no “well, you have to have this installed” or “it only works if your on wifi” or anything like that. The only drawback (for the time being) is that only a couple games each day are offered with live video and they’re subject to geographic restrictions. However, you also have video highlights immediately after important plays.

But the important thing is that, thanks to iPhone OS 3.0, you can keep up with your favorite baseball team in as much or little detail as you like. If you just want scores - you can have that. If you want live video or pitch-by-pitch you can have that. If you just want to hear the game you have that too.

While the NFL and NBA have yet to try and match what Major League Baseball has accomplished, and make no mistake, it is quite an accomplishment - I’m certain by next season we’ll start to see similar offerings for at least football and basketball.

Review: Rolando 2 - Quest for the Golden Orchid

Trevor Sheridan — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:01:46 +0000

Overview

The Rolandos are back, and this time travel to a new location. They still depend on finger (you) to guide them, and control the environment. The Rolandos are now in 2.5D meaning the environments have depth, but the Rolandos are still flat. There’s a brand new story, new enemies, new rolandos, and new tools.

Rolando 2 begins when Sir Richard comes back from a journey to a warm reception from the townsfolk, the King, queen, and the Sages. As he’s talking to King Edward the Sages become infected by the Kilgorean Flu. The flu must have came back on the boat, and there is only one cure. The cure is the fabled golden orchid that lies atop the great mount of the Island of Fontanis.

Sir Richard takes off at once with his crew, and the royal family. They have to roll across 5 areas on the Island of Fontanis to reach the Golden Orchid. There are native cannibal Rolandos to contented with, and new friends to meet along the way.

In each level you start with a certain number of Rolandos, and you have to save a given amount to beat the level. Each level includes a time limit as well as crystals to collect. In Rolando 2 there are now many more crystals to collect with most levels having at least 20 scattered around.

Features

The newest feature for Rolando 2 is the 2.5D worlds available to explore. There is now depth to all of the platforms and obstacles in the game, so only the rolandos stay in 2D. Brand new enemies are included that are tribal rolandos rather than the shadow people of the first one.

This time around there are multiple tools at your disposal with fingerbombs, stickybombs, arrows, and cars. Also some Rolandos have special abilities from floating in the air, to sinking in the ocean. The bonus levels are back as well where you tilt the entire world to control the sleeping king.

Another new feature is the incorporation of Ngmoco’s Plus(+) Network. Now there are online high scores for every level, and you can send push challenges for individual levels to anyone in the push network. It’s great, when you receive a challenge it pops up like a text, and alerts you with the sound when Rolandos roll into the exit. As soon as you slide to let’s roll it boots into the challenge. After beating the challenge you can re-challenge the person.

Included are 6 stages you have to roll across in your quest for the Golden Orchid. The first stage is going from the castle back to the boat which is pretty much an intricate tutorial. Then you set sail to the Island of Fontanis and travel through Majestic shores, Savage Jungle, Mysterious Temple, Cavernous Cacves, and Stormtop Mountain. Each stage has about 10 levels, so there is a lot to do.

The controls are just like the first, so if you never picked that one up, you might want to try the lite version of it to test the controls. You tilt left and right to roll the Rolandos, and tap to select individual ones. To interact with objects in the environment you swipe or tap, and to view the entire level just drag two fingers across the screen. There isn’t much to it, and it’s just so intuitive.

Another thing to note is that in the first any contact with anything, and your Rolando is dead. In Rolando 2 if your rolando runs into an enemy or is blown up by a bomb the rolando is dazed, and only if it happens again while dazed do they die. That’s nice for some of the tougher areas, and the challenge is still there with instant death obstacles like spikes or lava.

There is also a music shack that lets you preview all of the songs used in Rolando 2. You click once to preview, and click again to be taken to the mobile itunes store, where the songs are from various artists.

The Good

What’s not to like with this title, it is outstanding in every way. The most noticeable difference is the visuals which actually retain the cute polish of the first, but add a whole new perspective. The entire surroundings are 3D with a wonderful moving background image. The Rolandos ironically stick out as 2D circles in a 3D world. Most levels don’t share any resemblance to each other, and all are so intricately designed.

The sounds are amazing, and sets the standard for what other titles should strive for. There are about 10 different full length songs that are varied over all of the levels so they never seem overused. The sound effects are great with each of the different rolandos having a different sound when they’re selected or jumping. Dizzy, the upper class one with a monocle, has the smug british elite uumph, that is directly contrasted by the pirate, Turgut, with gruffness.

The gameplay is amazing, and its by far the best platformer in the App store. This game has console like quality on the go, that you can also sit down and play for hours. Each level requires different techniques and strategy. Most levels have different groups of Rolandos starting in different locations, and require certain types of Rolandos to access difficult areas.

In Rolando 2 there are many new things to deal with. Some levels have big boulders from Indians Jones, other have lava, and some have water. Moving a light beam to unlock paths are back, and so are the yellow objects you need to spin around. My favorite tool has to be the Spikey Death ball; you just get in, and roll over the native rolandos.

The humorous text is back again, and it’s witty banter. With more opposite characters included it makes for some hilarious conversation. One example is the floating rolando who says, “Feed me chili. Give me gas” then another responds, “well I’m not sure we want that exactly.” Another instance is the spikey commando saying “50 beasties, one royal spikey commando, those are my kind of odds.” More and more funny sayings are included that really progress the story.

Replayability wasn’t a problem with the original, and it’s even more true in number two. Like the first, you can just save the required number of Rolandos on each level, and finish the whole game. These levels beg to be played more, and it really is a challenge to get all of the crystals, and beat the level in the allocated time.

Rolando 2 adds even more replayability with the incorporation of the Plus network. The online leaderboards work great, and the push notifications are amazing challenges for each individual level. Also there are plenty of awards to achieve along the way that you can keep track of on plus.

Back for the sequel is the brilliant isave feature which picks up in the exact position you left off. iSave is one of the best features for a mobile platformer. The controls worked flawlessly, and never once did they hinder gameplay. The game progesses smoothly, and is a joy to play.

The Bad

I scoured this game for something, anything that could possibly be bad, but I came up empty. There is nothing, it provides anything you could possibly want from an elite iPhone game.

*Note: This game is only OS 3.0 compatible, and costs $9.99

The Verdict

Rolando was an amazing game, Rolando 2 is even better. Rolando 2 keeps the fun gameplay, and even adds to it with brand new enemies, rolandos, and tools to use. The visuals are beefed up with 3D worlds, but still maintain the cute charm of the first. The Plus network is now added allowing you to push challenges to your friends, and compete for high scores on every level in the game.

$9.99 may seem a little high with so many recent price drops, but Rolando 2 is worth even more. If you only have one game on your iPhone this should be it. There is no doubt Rolando 2 is the best Platformer in the App Store, but it is also the best game you can get. This is the ultimate Must Have.

For Once Microsoft Beats Apple At Advertising

Ian Hamilton — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:54:10 +0000

As Apple airs a new set of ads to highlight the features of iPhone 3GS, Microsoft has one heck of a viral campaign to promote Internet Explorer 8.

Yeah, it’s a stretch to consider this iPhone related but we were too tickled by this not to share it. Warning: it’s kind of gross.

If you go check out the Web site advertised in the video you find out that for every download of Internet Explorer 8 they’ll donate 8 meals to Feeding America, a non-profit focused on getting food to Americans in need.

To recap the message: if you don’t download Internet Explorer 8 for its porn-blocking features you’re literally taking food out of people’s mouths. Sounds like Microsoft to me.

iPhone Dev-Team Demos 3GS Ultrasn0w Unlock On Video

Dave Clarke — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:40:40 +0000

In the wee hours this morning, our beloved iPhone Dev-Team crew posted a video on their blog showing off the world’s first unlocked iPhone 3GS using their unlocking tool, ultrasn0w. Before you get too excited and go searching for a download link, don’t bother just yet because it’s not out, although from the looks of things, we can’t be too far off.

The Dev-Team also took the time to remind everyone that if you want the ability to jailbreak your device as well as unlock it, do NOT upgrade to the impending release of iPhone OS 3.1 which is currently being tested by iPhone developers.

You can check out the Dev-Team’s blog post and video here.

Why Jailbreak: Even More Customization

Adam — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:11:33 +0000

I’ve always said that possibly the best thing about jailbreaking is the customization abilities it provides. There is no iPhone like mine in the entire world. Think about that. Over 20 million other iPhones on the planet, and since I have jailbroken, I now have on that’s unique from all of the others. Sure, your music, contacts, photos, and apps make your phone unique, but jailbreaking and customizing my phone more shows the world that I am unique. This article is all about the 7 things that I have used to make my iPhone, and therefore myself, stand out from everyone else.

Lightsaber Lock Sound

What noise do you hear the most while using your iPhone? You’ll agree with the answer, but it may surprise you. It is your lock and unlock sounds. It’s obvious now, but you don’t really hear it anymore since you’ve heard the sound thousands of times. So, what better sound is there to replace via jailbreak, seeing as you hear it at least 50 times a day?

The sound that plays when I unlock my iPhone is the sound of a Lightsaber turning on:

Listen

And when I lock it again, I hear the sound of a lightsaber powering down:

Listen

Very cool (and kind of dorky, I guess), if you ask me. Any fan of classic films like Star Wars can appreciate customization like this. And turning it off is as easy as just a click of a button in WinterBoard (But who would ever wanna go back to any other lock sound?).

WALL•E SMS Background and Tone

Above you can see what I replaced the boring green- and gray-themed Apple SMS app with. Yay WALL•E! Not much more to say about this, except for, well, you’ll see…

My second most heard sound while using my iPhone has to be the SMS tone. Although the horn is pretty cool, none of the SMS tones make me feel proud to own an iPhone. Thankfully, however, jailbreaking has come to the rescue once again. Behold, the most awesome SMS tone ever, the WALL•E SMS Tone:

Listen

Admit it, you wish you had this SMS tone instead of that tri-tone mumbo-jumbo. This tone was actually one of the main reasons I jailbroke my phone (but then I discovered that jailbreaking could be so much more after I took the plunge). The WALL•E SMS tone shows the world that I love a movie about a little silent robot, while also notifying me of a new text message; all in under 2 seconds. Ah, the glory that is jailbreaking…

Pay Phone Keypad

It’s rare that I actually call people on my iPhone. I know how weird that sounds, but it’s true. And even when I call people, I almost always call them through the favorites list. But, on the rare occasion that I get to use the keypad, I get excited since I can show off my customized keypad. As you can see above, it is much better than the cold and robotic keypad provided by Apple; this one is more wholesome and pleasing to the eye. Plus it’s really cool!

Weather Background

Here are seven different backgrounds to my Weather application that I alternate between. They are very cool, and add a bit of style, elegance, and color to the previously dull Weather application.

White Calculator

There’s nothing wrong with Apple’s calculator color scheme or ‘button look’, but anything can be improved upon, right? Absolutely (3G S, anybody?). Above you’ll find the calculator that I have on my phone. It is still fully functional with all of the original buttons and everything, it just looks a little but better. Jailbreaking strikes again!

You’ve Got Mail

This last one is one of my favorites. Another sound I hear all the time from my phone is the “you-just-got-an-e-mail” ding. But I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve heard it so much that I don’t really hear it anymore. But, by replacing the tone with this classic sound clip, I will know when I get an e-mail while also letting people know that I am a man of class and tasteful humor:

Listen

Pretty cool, huh?

So, there you have it. Just the beginning of what jailbreaking can do, and of what makes my phone so incredibly unique and personalized.

Review: Hero of Sparta

Matt Fox — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:07:55 +0000

Overview

A visually stunning and action packed game of epic proportions with a little bit of God of War thrown into the mix. This hack’n slash game has a few modest flaws, but the good will easily out way the bad as you write your own legend in Hero of Sparta.

Features

Let’s start with the controls here. The game features a virtual keyboard to move around in a complete 3D environment. Fight against legions of enemies as you battle through eight different levels. The game also features a weapons upgrade ability. Use swords, bows, axes, and the twin blades on your quest to become Spartan’s greatest warrior.

The Breakdown

The Good:

Easily, hands down…the graphics. Gameloft has really pulled out all the stops with this one. The graphics here really are amazing and it’s hard to believe you’re seeing some of this stuff on the iPhone. If you don’t believe me, then feast your eyes on the photos featured here. See what I mean?

The amount of variety in this game is pretty impressive. The weapons, the enemies, the environments, etc. It’s nice to see a game that isn’t just the same thing for each level.

As much as I usually do not like the virtual keyboard on the iPhone, I found it works really well here. I know, I was shocked too. When I saw that the game only has one option for the controls I was a little worried. But the controls work and it’s very refreshing.

The Bad:

The game has a pretty bad lag about it. In short, it just doesn’t play as smoothly as you’d like it too. Remember when you played something like Mega Man II on the original Nintendo and once more than like three enemies entered the screen it got all slow and laggy? Well that kind of happens here too.

Your actually fighting moves get a little stale after a while. You get more weapons and you do get to go into a “God of War” like mode where you have to tap the screen at a certain time to kill the enemy, etc. Other than that you have the same basic moves and it can get dull after a few levels.

The Verdict

You know, for only $0.99 this game is worth the price. There’s a lot of game here and the graphics are some of the best on the iPhone. There are a few issues with the game, but they don’t really out way how much good is in this one. Grab it while it’s on sale because once it goes back up, I’m not sure I’d say the same thing.

Review: iFitness

Simone Luker — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:05:41 +0000

Overview

iFitness is a personal trainer on your iPhone. It’s a reference for all those who go to the gym, and never know what exercises to do. iFitness categorizes exercises by area or muscle. Within each area, it displays a list of exercises.

Select which exercise you wish to try and it will display an image of how to do the exercise. There are over 230 exercises featured in iFitness.

After selecting an exercise, gym-goers can also get the description, log how many reps, what weight or for how long each exercise is done -and there’s even a space for your own comments.

iFitness is perfect for those who like to track their efforts. Using the daily logs, iFitness compiles a graph, which provides an easy to read lay out of your progress or failures, which ever it might be.

Features

Log Entries: Log entries allow users to enter reps, weights or time spent on exercises. This way users can refer back to them and know how many, or long they should be doing the exercises for. Log entries can graph your progress, which helps with motivation and keeping on track. There is even space for your own comments.

My Workouts: Getting sick of a workout is very common, so iFitness created a section called “My Workouts” where you select which exercises you enjoy and customize for different days or workouts.

Routines: iFitness also has “Routines” where gym-goes can select from a series of workouts such as “Beginner Program”, “Abdominal Defining Program,” “Weight Loss Program,” and more. This section is great for those who don’t know what they need to be doing in the gym for specific results.

Extras: iFitness has everything a gym-goer needs, from exercise ideas, to program, or customized workouts. iFitness even has extras which include a calculator for your BMI, a weight monitor with graph and product information.

Images: iFitness has great images to display each workout, with detailed descriptions to go with them. It’s a great way to get new ideas for your days in the gym. The images are clear and have steps to show you the progression of each exercise.

Descriptions of Exercises: The descriptions are detailed and also have steps to match the images. Each description has the name of the exercise, primary muscle, additional muscles and what skill level. One excellent feature of iFitness is you can export your progress to yourself by e-mail so you can keep track wherever you are.

Finding Exercises: Finding exercises through muscle type is another great feature of iFitness. It displays an image of a person with pins to display the various muscles, you then select one and it will display what exercises with work that muscle.

Breakdown

iFitness is great for gym-goers who get bored of their same old routines and need new material, or those who are just starting out and are not sure what to work out. The routines are great for beginners also. iFitness is great because it works with you, you can customize your workouts whether you’re a beginner or a gym-junkie. The graphs will help keep you motivated and on task.

Good:
The images are clear are have step-by-step to show how the exercise should look. They have both women and men modeling the exercises.

The descriptions that go with the images are detailed and are also step-by-step.

The graphs are a great idea to help keep you motivated and on task. It also helps keep you on track with how many reps, seconds or weights you are doing on each exercise which can be difficult if you’re doing a number of different exercises.

Finding exercises by muscle is a way that you can find an exercise you know will work that specific muscle, it gives you a number to choose from so you can also choose one that you think suits you.

Bad:
It would be great if it had a calorie tracker to go along with everything else, but there are other apps that do simply this.

It would also be great if iFitness had customized playlists to go along with your workouts, so you can have “get-up-work-out” songs for cardio work, and calmer relaxing songs for abdominal work.

Otherwise, iFitness should categorize exercises by “with equipment” or “without equipment” because many of the exercises feature equipments such as dumb bells, bars or fitness balls that some gym-goers may not have, or have access to.

Verdict

For $1.99, this device acts as your own personal trainer. It has everything a gym-goer would need, whether they are new or veterans. Get new ideas and vary your workouts to keep on track. iFitness is the ultimate Gym buddy that you should have for your iTunes library.

iPhone 3GS Jailbreak Released, But Not By The Dev-Team

Dave Clarke — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:26:59 +0000

A few hours ago, Geohot, the man behind the original iPhone unlock, released his version of the iPhone 3GS jailbreak, dubbed “Purplera1n” which is not approved nor sanctioned by the official iPhone Dev-Team. While this may seem like exciting news at first glance, it’s worth noting that not only is this release a beta, but it has largely reduced functionality. For example, Winterboard, the popular iPhone themeing software by the creator of Cydia, doesn’t work and I’m quite sure that’s not the only thing that doesn’t work.

Geohot says he released this jailbreak because he saw no need to wait for Apple to push out iPhone OS 3.1 like the Dev-Team decided to do. On Twitter, I’ve seen a couple of reports of people running into trouble trying to get Purplera1n to work on Vista which is the only platform that it was released for; no Windows 7 or Mac OS X support at this time.

Personally, I’m going to sit this one out and wait for the Dev-Team to release their version. I see no reason why a jailbreak can’t wait another week or so, especially for those of you using yellowsn0w which by the way, may not work yet for the iPhone 3GS. The Dev-Team has yet to comment on it’s functionality with this jailbreak.

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Popular iPhone App Updates for July 3rd 2009

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Review: Rolando 2 - Quest for the Golden Orchid

Overview

Features

The Good

The Bad

The Verdict

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Lightsaber Lock Sound

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Pay Phone Keypad

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Review: Hero of Sparta

Overview

Features

The Breakdown

The Good:

The Bad:

The Verdict

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Overview

Features

Breakdown

Verdict

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