Mobile Apple Me

Section: Software + Apps, Miscellaneous, Third-Party, iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Mac + Computers, Software

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for October 28, 2009:

Macintosh

• IntelliScanner Corporation has announced IntelliScanner Comic Edition 200, the smart barcode scanner and software package that automatically organizes comic book collections and other media items. It automatically identifies comic books by issue number, providing full details like the title, date, writer, penciler, inker, and more. IntelliScanner bundles an award-winning USB barcode reader and comic database software, making it easy to track and inventory collections.
• CTM Development has announced FoxTrot Professional Search 2.5, an update to their popular networked document indexing and retrieval solution for Mac OS X. Developed with law firms, media and mobile professionals in mind, FoxTrot Professional Search helps locate documents and their contents using multiple categorization of search results, ranked by relevance. Utilizing the latest Cocoa technologies, the application works directly with PDF, HTML, word processing, e-mail and rich-media metadata.
• Xeric Design has announced EarthDesk 5.1, an update to its award-winning, real-time dynamic desktop map for Mac OS X. EarthDesk 5 was entirely rewritten in Cocoa, adds many new features and is compatible with both Leopard and Snow Leopard. Version 5.1 adds a new cloud contrast control, fixes minor bugs and has several internal improvements. EarthDesk replaces your static desktop with an image of the Earth showing current sun, moon and city illumination, and more.
• ExactCODE GmbH has released ExactScan 2.8, a major update to their modern and easy-to-use scanning software Mac OS X. ExactCODE continues to provide automated and intelligent document scanning for the Macintosh. Version 2.8 adds support for several portable document scanners, including the all-new Avision AV50F, as well as other popular devices such as the Visioneer RoadWarrior or Xerox Travel Scanner 100. OCR quality, PDF compression and accuracy are further improved as well.
• iPresentee has released iWeb Themes 6.0 for Apple’s popular web site building application. iWeb Themes 6.0 includes five new remarkable themes animated with flash: Personality, Simple, Town, Violet and WildLife. In addition new package of themes includes five ordinary themes with static backgrounds. iWeb Themes with flash is a new outstanding solution combining iWeb and Flash into one great product.
• XChange UK has announced a free Adobe InDesign Server and Automating Adobe Creative Suite 4 seminar. On 23rd November at Adobe offices in Regents Park London, users can learn how implementing InDesign Server can automate the design, layout and typographical abilities of Adobe InDesign CS4. In addition, there will also be demonstrations of Switch solutions from Enfocus that provide configurable automation of Adobe CS4 applications for a variety of publishing environments.
• Karelia Software has announced Sandvox 1.6.5, the award-winning website building application for Mac OS X. This is a maintenance update, free to all registered users. Through the entire month of November, Karelia is offering a promotion where Mac users can get a free license to Sandvox Pro by purchasing one year’s worth of web hosting from either A2 Hosting or Server Logistics via the links on the Karelia Hosting Comparison Chart web page.
• SkypeCap has announced SkypeCap for Mac 3.6, an update to their Skype video and audio session recorder for Mac OS X. With a focus on ease-of-use, SkypeCap for Mac allows recording of audio and video conversation from Skype to video and audio files. SkypeCap for Mac saves your Skype sessions so that you could hear and watch them again later or share them with someone else. It fully integrates the process into the Mac experience by allowing human interaction during recording and conversion.

iPhone/iPod

• Appliya Studio, a provider of customizable template platforms for the creation of iPhone applications, is holding a photo contest for Halloween 2009. Contestants only need to submit their best Halloween photos to Appliya Studio, and the winning photos will become part of free iPhone apps that will be available worldwide.
• Codium Labs, LLC has released Babelshot 1.0 for iPhone and iPod touch. Babelshot allows automatic real-time translation of printed text using the iPhone’s camera. Busy professionals and foreign travelers can use Babelshot to instantly translate items like restaurant menus, hotel booklets, product manuals, or snippets from books and newspapers. Babelshot incorporates innovative image processing algorithms coupled with state-of-the-art Tesseract Optical Character Recognition engine.
• iWater Flow, now available on iPhone and iPod Touch, brings out the child in you. Use the jets of water and tilt the game to place the rings on the spikes. Test your dexterity with this reproduction of the water toys you played with as a child. The controls are the same, and you will soon be reaching your top scores again.
• Fluttr from indieSpring tasks you with saving a butterfly from an explosive end by sweeping aside flowers, poking away bees and pinning up spiders. Easy to pick up and play, with quick, fun gameplay paced gently in a unique artistic setting. Fluttr is built upon the torque iT2D platform from GarageGames, and is also available as a free download for PC & Mac.
• IGG Software has announced iBank Mobile 1.1 for iPhone and iPod touch. iBank Mobile harnesses the power of the desktop version of iBank for Mac to check account balances, enter transactions and categorize expenses, even in foreign currencies. Designed to sync seamlessly with the full edition of iBank, iBank Mobile also works as a separate, stand-alone app for handheld finance management. Version 1.1 adds running balances to transactions, as well as several other enhancements and fixes.
• Graphiclife has announced Tweetspotting 1.0.1, a powerful Twitter client for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Tweetspotting allows you to browse tweets from all over the globe. Explore any location and find out what people are thinking, doing and saying. Tweetspotting also includes a real-time friend tracker that will help you find and follow your friends. Tweetspotting will automatically post your current location to the Twitter servers while you’re on the move.
• Marware has announced the Sport Grip for the iPod nano 5G, their newest lineup of slim silicone cases. The Sport Grip provides smooth, stylish, slip-free silicone protection for the ultimate soft carrying solution. The Sport Grip for iPod nano is slim, comfortable, and is made with an antimicrobial additive. The Sport Grip allows for easy access to all iPod nano buttons and ports, and comes with Marware’s Lifetime Warranty.
• Legacy Effects, one of Hollywood’s most respected special makeup and animatronic effects companies, brings its famed design skills to the small screen of the Apple iPhone and iTouch with the release of its first iPhone App, iMut8r. The new App allows users to take photos of friends and family and transform or “mut8” them into their own custom versions of classic creatures and monsters.
• Gendai Games has announced the introduction of the GameSalad Membership Program and the conclusion of the iPhone Early Access Beta Program. Members of the GameSalad Membership Program now have the ability to publish their GameSalad-made games to the iPhone at the cost of only $99 per year for an Express membership. The GameSalad Membership Program features two tiers of membership: the $99 Express membership intended for casual and prosumers, and the $1999 Pro membership intended for studios and professional developers.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: Apple News, Rumors, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps

Today, Google released their free GPS guidance app for Android 2.0, called Navigation. But rumor, or CNET, has it that the app will make its way to iPhone at some point in the future.

Google posted a video today on YouTube to demonstrate all the features of the beta Navigation app, and it’s really quite amazing. Navigation is GPS guidance Googlefied. Just like on Google.com, you can misspell all of your destinations, or, like the Google app for iPhone, just speak them. There’s free access to traffic data. The app renders its maps in 3D, and will even put their satellite view over the map so you can see what the area around you looks like from the sky. Oh yeah, you probably guessed already, but you can search for anything, such as restaurants, along your route or close by, as well.

Here’s the video for Android phones, in case you’d like to view it.

I can only hope this makes it to the iPhone. Many first time users guess, erroneously, that the iPhone has a GPS navigation app built in. This could fix that, especially if the way it makes it to the iPhone is to replace the Maps app. And considering that Google and Apple worked together to create that app, it’s possible. Here’s to hoping.

Full Story » | Written by Jake Gaecke for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps, Reviews

Category: Third-person shooter
Seller: Artificial Life, Inc.
Requirements: iPhone OS 3.0 or later
Compatibility: iPhone and iPod touch
File Size: 100MB
Version Reviewed: 1.0.2
Price: $3.99 (free lite version available)
Age Rating: 9+

Movie tie-ins generally suck when it comes to gaming. They’re often made cheaply, they’re rushed through production to drop on or before the movie release date, and they’re often hampered by restrictions on story and characters that may not be conducive to gaming. In the case of Pandorum for the iPhone, it may be the opposite. Here’s a game that’s likely more enjoyable than the movie on which it’s based.

Pandorum is, at its most basic, an over-the-shoulder shooter like Resident Evil 4. The controls, however, try to be a bit more ambitious. You have a d-pad on the left for moving forward, backward, left and right, and a slide on the right to turn. These behave digitally, so each movement is like a hop instead of a step. Control, therefore, feels clunky and makes combat frustrating. It baffles me why developers don’t just embrace auto-lock in shooters so you can spend more time…you know…shooting, and less time lining up the shot. Worse, the positioning of the buttons often requires you to cover up the screen, and the buttons sometimes get in the way of where you should be tapping.

The developers compensate for the shoddy controls by offering up plenty of health containers. Oh, and insanity inhibitor vials. Why those? Because…well, let me backtrack.

As in the film, your character—Corporal Bower—is trapped on a spaceship in deep space. Bad things are about, and you have no idea why. In fact, you have no idea of pretty much anything, since you’ve lost your memory. The story says you, Lieutenant Payton and Nadia the scientist are amongst the few survivors on the Elysium heading to a new world. But things went wrong, as they’re bound to do, and now you’re fighting off mutant enemies in an effort to restore power to the ship and head home.

So, the combination of fighting for your life on a giant spaceship with little memory of who you are or why you’re there might make you go a little insane. Too much insane, and you die, which seems odd, but who am I to question the Pandorum? All that matters is that control scheme aside, this is a top-notch game.

Pandorum features excellent graphics. The characters are jagged, but that’s expected on the iPhone, and only really noticeable with your character. The enemies move so quickly that’ll you either have killed them or have been killed before you can complain about the way they look. The lighting effects are nice, and the environments are creepy enough to keep you a bit nervous throughout. There are also some really good “startle” moments that could prove embarrassing if you play this in public. I recommend headphones for the full effect.

Pandorum is also notable for taking full advantage of the in app purchase feature. For an additional $0.99 you can buy bigger weapons, a more protective outfit, and even better visual effects, which just seems strange to me. It harkens back to a time when adventure games contained such impossible and random puzzles that they seemed designed specifically to make you call those 900 number hint lines. Will developers start making games so difficult that you can’t finish them without paying extra money for upgrades?

I’m not saying that’s what the developers of Pandorum have done, but the lack of checkpoints and save options in the first release seemed weird. Thankfully, progress saves have since been added, as well as an extended final scene. That sounds to me like they did, in fact, push the game out the door before it was ready, but no matter. That update, at least, was free.

And so, clunky controls aside, Pandorum is a very impressive entry in the shooter genre on the iPhone and iPod touch. I was expecting junky shovelware and instead ended up with an effective horror/survival game that’s big on action, puzzles and scares, and looks great all the while. It’ll startle, impress and frustrate you all at once, and is ultimately a satisfying iPhone gaming experience. You don’t need to see the movie in order to enjoy Pandorum (I haven’t), you just need to have a will to survive and a willingness to be uneasy with what’s going on in front of you.

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »

Section: Software + Apps, Miscellaneous, Third-Party, iPod + iTunes, iPod touch, iPhone, iPhone, iPhone SDK & Apps

Macintosh and iPhone/iPod updates and announcements for October 27, 2009:

Macintosh

• There are only three days left to purchase the new MacFriendly Bundle of 12 applications for Mac users. The Bundle represents a savings of over 85% off the list prices. Additionally, two bonus applications will be added to the bundle for all customers when 1000 bundles have been sold. The latest version of each application is included in the bundle.
• Jumsoft has announced Keynote Objects FX 4.0 for Apple iWork. Keynote Objects FX is an excellent collection of 150 high-quality 3D images. The strikingly realistic images can be added to presentations as well as text documents to lend them a touch of authenticity. The subjects in Keynote Objects FX 4.0 range from classic furniture and flowers to gift boxes, and the latest selection includes 50 brand-new objects, including many options for sports enthusiasts and leisure-themed objects.
• Agile Web Solutions today announced 1Password 3 public beta, its award-winning password and identity manager for Mac OS X. Over a year in the making, 1Password 3 is the most significant upgrade in company history, incorporating years of customer feedback and new innovation. Version 3 adds ground-breaking features like 1PasswordAnywhere which allows users to view their 1Password information on any computer with a modern browser.
• St. Clair Software has announced HistoryHound 1.9.7, its fast, efficient multi-browser utility for searching the contents of web pages and RSS feeds. Version 1.9.7 broadens HistoryHound’s capabilities with support for the latest versions of Safari, Opera, and Google Chrome. It also adds the ability to search pages pointed to by webbookmark, webhistory, and webloc files, and improves speed and robustness as well.
• Macvide has announced FlashVideo Converter 3.6, an update to its professional Flash to Video conversion utility for Mac OS X. The FlashVideo Converter is a powerful and versatile program for converting any flash video file to one of many popular video formats including iPhone/iPod mp4, Mobile 3gp and MPEG2. FlashVideo Converter able to convert all FLV and SWF files with ActionScript support.
• Second Gear has released Today 1.8.2, an update to its flagship productivity application Today. Version 1.8.2 wraps up several small bug fixes for existing users on Snow Leopard. Today makes it easy to get a one day snapshot view of your upcoming events and tasks in a compact window. Adding new events and tasks is just as easy. You can quickly schedule next week’s meeting or a quick task in Today. No iCal required.
• Zevrix Solutions has announced Instant Backup 1.6.5, an update to its simple and very affordable solution to securely back up selected data on-line and locally. Instant Backup is designed to back up the most important and sensitive active projects - the ones users don’t want to take any chances with. And FTP backup assures that the data won’t be lost in the case of theft, fire or flood. The new version adds support for Mac OS X 10.6 and addresses some usability and connectivity issues.
• Booq, a leading brand of premium laptop carrying cases for creative professionals, has unveiled the Viper rush work-in laptop case. Viper rush is a hard-sided case designed to keep up with your fast-paced day at work, at home, and everything in between. Available at booqbags.com and retailers throughout the country, booq combines sophisticated design and functionality to deliver high-quality bags and cases for the next generation of ambitious professionals.
• Macgamestore.com has announced the release of Macinarium on its web site. Created by Amanita Design, Machinarium is an award-winng point-and-click adventure game by the team that created the critically acclaimed web games Samorost and Samorost2. Machinarium world is populated only by robots of various forms and functions. One of the most interesting places in this world is old, rusty and legendary city of Machinarium where the game takes place.
• Brothers Ian Gillespie and James Gillespie, developers and partners in IGG Software, will personally present IGG’s finance management applications, iBank and iBank Mobile, in demonstrations at four major Apple retail locations this November. Demonstrations of iBank will focus on ways the app can streamline users’ personal money management, including importing data from other Mac or PC finance apps and more.

iPhone/iPod

• PixTalk is a photo communication tool for all travellers. It is also the only language tool you need for travel. PixTalk carefully selects 100 pictures that could tell almost everything needed when traveling. What you have to do is point at the pictures to show what you need.
• MotionDrum is a drum simulator that lets you drum by simply waving your iPhone or iPod Touch in the air. No tiny buttons to tap; just take your device in hand and air drum in one of four different directions. You can choose from a multitude of drum and percussion sounds, as well as sound effects and beat box samples. Use it at parties, concerts, or anywhere else that serious air drumming is required.
• Zoo Games, Inc. has announced that Groovin’ Blocks—the popular puzzle/rhythm game hybrid first seen on Wii—is now available on the iTunes App Store. Like its console predecessor, the game features addicting puzzle action centered around high-energy original music. The portable version will feature all-new levels and new songs to keep you rockin’ on the go. Presented with a minimalistic style, the gameplay is easy to learn, but to become a Groovin’ master, players will need quick wits and the ability to keep a beat. Luckily, the game’s auto-save feature makes this a perfect title for those small blocks of time that iPhone gamers live for. With a perfect balance of casual action, Groovin’ Blocks will be livening up lunch breaks and dull commutes this fall.
• Geospace and developer RogueSheep today announced the WORD SPIN game for iPhone and iPod touch is available from the App Store. The WORD SPIN App combines the elements of popular word games, crossword puzzles and word searches into a portable game for iPhone and iPod touch. The app is a great way to sharpen language skills by identifying words and anagrams from two to eight letters in length. For decades, the Original WORD SPIN has been both entertaining and challenging for everyone from kids to scholars.
• Creaceed today released Vocalia 2.1 speech recognition on the App Store. In addition to English, French and German, Version 2.1 adds Spanish, Italian and Dutch and updated CeedVocal SDK for iPhone speech recognition. Thanks to Vocalia, people owning an iPhone v1, 3G or a 2nd generation iPod Touch have access to speech recognition features like on iPhone 3GS. Vocalia is based on CeedVocal SDK, the speech recognition technology developed by Creaceed for the iPhone.
• WebIS Inc. has announced a major update to its Calendaring/To Do application for the iPhone, Pocket Informant. This release adds push alarms, calendar filtering, automatic sync, optional mini-text-in-month view, improved performance and stability, and much more.  Pocket Informant offers Calendaring and To do management in one easy to use application and is the premiere Personal Information Manager for iPhone, Windows Mobile, and BlackBerry devices.
• Drinking budget down these days? Got a $5 bill burning a hole in your pocket?  In desperate need of a drink? Well, APPSolute Media and Lush Life Productions have a solution to all of your problems. Step 1: Download Happy Houred from your iPhone or iTouch (for FREE). Step 2: Search for specials near you. Step 3: Find Mr. McPints in Austin, TX offering $2.50 vodka tonics for the next hour. Step 4: Redeem your $5 for 2 tasty beverages.
• Sunstorm Interactive Inc. today announces Real Deer Hunting 1.0, their first hunting game for iPhone and iPod touch. Real Deer Hunting tests players’ skill, patience, and persistence as they find themselves in realistic locations, using all the tools of the trade to bring in and bag that elusive monster buck. Building on the style and knowledge of over 50 value games and hunting simulations, Real Deer Hunting provides the most realistic hunting experience available.
• Just in time for Halloween comes the “iFreak” iPhone and iPod Touch application for Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant. “iFreak” allows fans to join the freak show. Users can take a photo and transform into their favorite freak from the film, including the bearded lady Madame Truska, Loafhead, Gertha Teeth, Mr. Tiny, Wolfman, Rhamus Two-Bellies, Evra Von, and Larten Crepsley. Users can mix and match characters and add endless features until they are completely satisfied, save it, and share it. The “iFreak” application also contains a gallery of photos from the film and the official trailer.
• Bikini-babes, zombies, bombs, music, bloodshed, slingshots; never before has a single game combined all of the essential elements into one unified whole. But now, Smort brings us Bikini Zombie Babes. They come in wave after wave. They are scantily clad. And yes, they are trying to eat your brains. The alien invaders have cloned one of the most beautiful women on the internet—Marina Orlova of hotforwords.com—and they are ready to do battle:

Full Story » | Written by Kirk Hiner for Appletell. | Comment on this Article »