Apps

UPDATED: Opera Mini on the iPhone Rumor Smasher: Not Denied, Not Even Submitted?!

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Nov 4, 2008 a 10:00 am

UPDATE:

The New York Times gets clarification from Opera (via Daring Fireball):

“We stopped the work because of the prohibitive license,” to Mr. von Tetzchner wrote in an e-mail.

Turns out it was an internal project.

ORIGINAL POST:

So we, along with half the interwebs, picked up a paraphrased comment by Opera's president that pretty much indicated Apple had rejected popular mobile browser Opera Mini from the App Store.

Lightsaber Unleashed 2.1: Custom Characters and Sabers for the iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Nov 3, 2008 a 9:00 pm

So, many of us felt a a great disturbance in the force when the selection of characters included with the original Lightsaber Unleashed (formerly known as PhoneSaber) were tied to the simultaneously released Force Unleashed video game rather than to the original Star Wars movies we all (should!) know and love.

No Luke. No Yoda. No Obi-wan.

Well, Lightsaber Unleashed has just hit 2.1 and with it comes the ability to rectify this disturbance, provided you're willing to do it yourself. Not only can you make your own Lightsabers, mixing handles and colors for the perfect shade, but you can take a photo or choose from a photo album picture to make your own entire character -- complete with fields for names and bios!

Major improvement to an already geek-favorite app!

Gallery after the jump!

Forum Review: Easy Relax for the iPhone (Free Version)

By Staff, Monday, Nov 3, 2008 a 2:00 pm

Easy Relax (Free Version) Forum Review by cjvitek. For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum!

Ahh....relaxtion. The often unachievable goal of most adults (especially during the weekend). With the increasing stress of our lives, is it any surprise that huge numbers of "relaxation aides" have appeared on the market. Massagers, aroma therapy, ambient noise generators - all trying to help us relax.

Well, now the iPhone has gotten into the game.

TiPb Interview: Weightbot Developers Mark Jardine and Paul Haddad Discuss iPhone Interface Innovation

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, Nov 3, 2008 a 12:00 pm

Mark Jardine and Paul Haddad of Tapbots are the breakout designers and engineers behind Weightbot (iTunes link), one of the most original user experiences released on the iPhone App Store to date. Continuing the iPhone blog's behind-the-scenes look at iPhone application development, Mark and Paul were kind enough to take time and discuss their ideas on interface and interactivity, and how what more we might expect from Apple's next generation mobile platform.

TiPb: How was approaching the iPhone interface for this App different than how you would have approached an interface for another platform?

Mark: It was really different coming from a web design background. 320x460 isn't a lot of space to work with and then you have to factor in the huge difference in input devices. A person's finger is a lot less accurate than a mouse cursor. At the same time, I wasn't designing a website so I was freed from a lot of rules and conventions I've been following over the past 8 years. So my initial approach was pretty simple. If Weightbot was an actual physical device, how could I make it usable and fun at the same time?

Paul: The thing I found challenging about dealing with the iPhone interface is that users want a silky smooth and yet the iPhone and iPod touch are both very slow compared to any modern Mac. I spent a lot of time juggling things around in order to get a consistent 60 fps for all the various animations within Weightbot. Coming from our current Multi Gigahertz, Multi Gigabyte and Multi Core world where for the most part you don't have to worry about performance to a platform like the iPhone where every cycle and byte counts is a big change.

Do iPhone WebApps Have a Future in the Post-App Store World?

By Rene Ritchie, Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 a 1:55 pm

We've asked this before: do iPhone WebApps have a future? Sure, Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, and even Apple to some degree are all racing to own what many think will be the next paradigm shift in platforms: the cloud.

Apps for Less: Last day for BeeJiveIM Sale!

By Jeremy, Sunday, Nov 2, 2008 a 8:52 am

Since our last Apps for Less post, price drops worth mentioning have been far and few between. Well today we finally have a notable mention for you. Especially if you are a fan of IM clients...

Today is the final day to get the best IM application available on the iPhone, BeejiveIM (iTunes Link), on sale for $3.00 off the normal price for $12.99. While that is still not the price you'd like to pick it up at, it's better than the normal price of $15.99. So if you were waiting for a price drop be sure to head into the App Store today!

Quick Apps: Bottle Rocket Launches Proxy Pal and Wings for the iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 a 1:55 pm

Bottle Rocket sent us word of two new App Store releases, Proxy Pal ($1.99) and Wings ($0.99). One lets you glide over virtual scene-scapes, the other might just help people outside the US actually access Hulu! (Purty please?)

1 Level Free! Are "Lite" iPhone Games an App Store Deal or a Dud?

By Rene Ritchie, Saturday, Nov 1, 2008 a 9:55 am

One of the highest profile iPhone games to state, EA's Spore, retails on the iTunes App Store for $9.99. Now, however, you can also get a "free" version, Spore Origins Lite Edition (iTunes link). The catch? It's teaser consisting of 1 level. Since Apple doesn't (yet?) have a model for demoing apps ("try" instead of "buy"), it's likely the only thing developers can do to give potential buyers a real preview. They hope, after one or a short number of levels, you'll be hooked enough to pony up the bucks for the full blown version.

Forum Review: Living Social for the iPhone

By Staff, Friday, Oct 31, 2008 a 1:55 pm

[The Lightning Reviews are over, but from their ashes rise... the Forum Reviews! TiPb has assembled a crack team of App-aficionados, and every week we'll be bringing you a few of their very best reviews right here on the blog. And be sure to check out TiPb's iPhone App Store Forum for even more!]

Living Social Forum Review by msbaylor

Living Social is a very interesting app.

The LivingSocial app allows you to keep track of movies you've watched, want to see, didn't like, etc. and the ratings you give them. It also does this with books, restaurants, beer, video games, & music. It will also give you recommendations in each category (provided you have entered a few entries). I personally like this because I can keep track of videos I've liked, what I want to see, books I want to read, places I want to eat at, etc. It is also somewhat of an inventory application because you can mark each entry as owned, want it, etc.

Opera Mini Denied! Apple Disallows Browser Competitor for iPhone

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Oct 30, 2008 a 5:39 pm

To no one's surprise, but perhaps to a few's disppointment, Apple may have denied entry to the iTunes App Store to Opera Mini. Says the New York Times (via Daring Fireball):