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iPhone Application Watch: Spore Origins, Yammer, Say Where

Spore Origins

Electronic Arts has released Spore Origins for the iPhone and iPod Touch, so you can finally get some evolutionary goodness going on.

The official blurb lists the following exclusive features:

Tilt, turn and twist your way through the primordial ooze with your motion-sensing accelerometer.
Pinch, pull, and poke your creation in the Creature Editor, customising the texture, shape, and body parts to fit the way you play.
Personalise your game-play by skinning your creature with pictures from your device's Photo Albums.
Experience two exciting game modes: Evolution and Survival.
Survive 30 challenging levels teeming with bizarre creatures.
Navigate treacherous caverns to explore various strange worlds.
Enjoy vivid graphics, dynamic animations and atmospheric music on your evolutionary journey.

Available now for £5.99. Watch out for a review soon here at iPhonic.tv.

Posted by Andy Merrett on September 9, 2008 5:41 PM in iPhone Apps Store| iPhone applications| iPhone games
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iPhone Application Watch: Direct Line, PCalc, iBlessing, Style.com, PhotoSwap, Murderdrome no more

Direct Line

The Direct Line application aims to get you through the highly irritating string of automated menu choices you're always confronted with when you call a large company these days.

I've a suspicion that it will only work well with US and Canadian companies at present. Plus, it won't do anything for the annoying 0870 numbers we have to put up with in the UK. I refuse to call customer services that use these numbers from my iPhone as they're not included in my call plan.

(Via TechCrunch)

PCalc

If the iPhone's built in scientific calculator (turn the phone into landscape mode, if you hadn't already discovered it) isn't enough for all your über-calculating needs, try PCalc which also offers both simple and scientific modes, but also hexadecimal, octal, and binary modes, bitwise operators, a range of unit conversions and constants, virtual paper tape, multiple undo and redo, and "shake to clear" (I never thought a calculator would use the accelerometer this way, it's a bit "Etch a Sketch".)

Some might say it's a tad expensive at $9.99 (£5.99), but if it does what you want, six quid for a calc isn't bad. Now, if it did graphs, too...

iBlessing

Developed by The Jewish Learning Group, iBlessing displays and plays appropriate blessing prayers for a variety of food groups. It's free to download.

Posted by Andy Merrett on September 1, 2008 8:14 PM in iPhone Apps Store| iPhone applications
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SPONSORED BY POWERMAT

Why your iPhone needs protecting

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Currently found in the hands and pockets of millions of mobile users across the world, the first iPhone did not hit our shelves until 2007.

For a product which is relatively new, iPhones have quickly established themselves as a coveted item and unfortunately this means owners must take the necessary measures to protect their beloved phone from harm.

With their bright, touch-screen displays illuminating the surrounding area, iPhones are easily detectable by thieves and this makes owners wary of flashing them in public.

Unfortunately, physical threats are not the only problem to have afflicted these devices over the years. On top of the danger of theft or damage, iPhone users also face threats from the digital world and in some ways these can be more harmful.

In fact, in July 2007 SC Magazine had already launched a report on how the first exploit of the device had been found - just months after the first devices were sold to an eager public.

Since then, Apple has taken the protection of their beloved device very seriously. In August 2011, CNN reported on how this dedication had seen the company take drastic measures - employing one of the most famous iPhone hackers (Nicholas Allegra who operated under the pseudonym Comex) for an internship.

Despite these moves, problems with security continued, albeit through somewhat different sources - namely the internet.

With Smartphones such as these connecting to the internet in multiple ways, the threat of hacking and internet viruses is rife.

One of the benefits of phones such as these is they can receive emails in the same manner as text messages. Unfortunately this function also means your phone could be at risk from online threats even when idle - making protection vital.

Luckily, companies such as Secure Web Point have developed a solution for this, offering services which are designed to keep you and your personal details safe at all times.

Failure to protect these details can lead to identity theft and internet fraud, causing mass disruption and devastation to those affected.

Even online banking details can be stolen if you do not protect your internet connections and your IP (Internet Protocol) address can reveal data such as your home location, giving criminals all the information and opportunities they need.

Investing in mobile VPN for iPhone is the best way to secure your Smartphone from these threats, providing protection which enables you to browse the internet free from worry.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) allows networks to be extended in a secure manner using the internet. By creating them in a form suitable for mobile phones, developers are offering a way for users to protect their valuable details, allowing them to use all of their phone's fantastic features without worrying about the potential risk.

iPhone Application Watch: Golden Skull, Code Breaker, LinkedIn, Tris

Golden Skull

Following GTS World Racing, Astraware has announced that it will be distributing Deluxeware's "Golden Skull" puzzle game from tomorrow, available via the App Store for US$2.99.

It's a simple "blocks" puzzle game dressed up in a story:

Touch groups of sparkling gems to make them disappear and earn the 5 gold coins you'll need to progress on your search for the Golden Skull. Remove larger groups to earn your coins more quickly but don't run out of moves or your journey will end.

Golden Skull is a simple but highly addictive puzzle game, perfect for a quick game when you're waiting in line. Can you progress through all 10 levels, reach the pyramid at Chichen Itza and retrieve the magical Golden Skull?

Golden Skull has 4 levels of difficulty, automatically saves your progress on exiting the game, and allows you to listen to your own music while you play.

Review to follow. Screenshots after the jump.

Posted by Andy Merrett on August 26, 2008 11:30 PM in iPhone Apps Store| iPhone applications| iPhone games
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iPhone tethering app: surprised it made it into the App Store for even an hour

Tethering your laptop and mobile phone together so that you can use the Internet over a 3G connection when you're too cheap to buy a dedicated data card is nothing new, but for iPhone 3G users it's a near impossibility.

Unless you want to jailbreak your iPhone and use a hacker-friendly application, there's been no way to pair the iPhone and laptop, until late last week an application called Netshare made it into the App Store -- yes, Apple's official iPhone App Store.

Then it disappeared. And reappeared. And... disappeared again. It's currently unavailable.

No-one has made an official statement as to why the application has been practising its teleportation skills. Perhaps it spends most of its life as an application for jailbroken iPhones, and ten percent of it as an official app?

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iPhone App Store: the money's there for those accepted. Fancy a go?

Based on guesstimates of how popular iPhone applications in the official iTunes App Store are, the mobile ad group Medialets has suggested that a number of developers have raised significant revenue from sales of their software.

Of course, it isn't at all surprising that users have downloaded a lot of free applications. There's nothing to lose apart from a few minutes installing the application and trying it out. In fact, Super Monkey Ball (which the analysis suggests may have netted Sega $4.9m in its first weekend alone) was the only pay-for application in the top ten highest rated applications.

That doesn't mean people aren't paying for software, though revenue may be declining somewhat per head.

Posted by Andy Merrett on July 21, 2008 8:35 PM in iPhone Apps Store| iPhone Opinion| iPhone applications
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