Student enrolled in math classes? Have a job that requires the use of math? Simply someone with a love for mathematics? Whether it’s arithmetic, calculus, or hacking the code of the universe, there are dozens of iPhone and iPad math apps to choose from. Read on for TiPb’s Top 5, must have favorites to get you started!

WolframAlpha (Universal)

WolframAlpha is a much more than a math app, but the computational and mathematical abilities it possesses are phenomenal. Need to not only calculate a complicated integral, but know the steps to get the answer on your own? WolframAlpha can do it. Need to quickly solve a cubic equation? WolframAlpha will calculate all real and complex solutions. Or perhaps you want to look up Fermat’s little theorem or the Riemann Hypothesis – WolframAlpha’s got you covered. From basic mathematics to advanced calculus, statistics, physics and other topics, WolframAlpha is an excellent tool to have in your pocket.

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Calcbot (Universal)

Calcbot is a beautifully designed calculator the iPhone and iPad. In addition to being UI candy, Calcbot offers many features that makes it a great candidate to replace the native calculator on the iPhone (and fill the gap on the iPad). The more advanced, scientific functions are accessible by a swipe and Calcbot records your history onto a tape that you can email or send values back into the calculator. And true to Tapbots’ style, Calcbot comes to life with finely machined animation and sound.

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Also Check out:

• PCalc is a very robust and feature-filled RPN calculator and is universal for both iPhone and iPad. [$9.99 - iTunes link]

Apollonius (iPhone)

Apollonius is a must-have application for Geometry students. With it, you can make geometric constructions as if you were using a straightedge and compass. While making constructions, you can move points around to adjust the sizes, angles, and distances to visually see how these changes affect your constructions. Even with complicated constructions, the app runs very smoothly. If you’ve had any experience with Geometer’s Sketchpad, Apollonius is very similar. My only complaint it’s not a universal app for the iPhone and iPad.

[$3.99 - iTunes link]

Math Ref (Universal)

Math Ref is an excellent reference app for mathematics that includes over 1,400 helpful formulas, figures, tips and examples of the equations, and concepts. It also includes example problems and solutions that you may see in specific subject areas. Math Ref doesn’t have a fancy UI, but the information is there; it is clear; and it is easily searchable. Since the UI is basic, Math Ref is very snappy and runs smoothly. This is an app that deserves to be in every math student’s pocket.

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

Also Check out:

• iMathematics! is a universal reference app that contains over 700 formulas in over 120 topics as well as 8 solvers and calculators. [Free, with in-app purchases iTunes link]

SkyNumbers (iPhone and iPad)

For a fun game that will refine your arithmetic skills, check out SkyNumbers. In this game, you’re given a target number while other numbers fall from the sky. You must combine these numbers with addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division to reach the target number. If a single figure falls through the last cloud, the game is over. The speed at which the numbers fall increases with time making this game a fun challenge. SkyNumbers has Game Center support and you can also share your scores on Facebook and Twitter.

[Free for iPhone, with in-app purchases - iTunes link [$2.99 for iPad - itunes link]

Your top math apps?

So there you have it, our top 5 best math apps for iPhone and iPad, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some other great ones floating around out there. Also, be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and the TiPb iPhone App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites, leave them in the comments below!

Lodsys, the company threatening to sue iPhone and iPad developers for infringing on in-app purchasing patents, has put up a series of blog posts in order to “respond and clarify” their position. For example, why are they going after small, independent iOS developers?

The economic gains provided by the Lodsys inventions (increase in revenue through additional sales, or decrease in costs to service the customer) are being enjoyed by the business that provides the product or service that interacts with the user. Since Lodsys patent rights are of value to that overall solution, it is only fair to get paid by the party that is accountable for the entire solution and which captures the value (rather than a technology supplier or a retailer).

Why aren’t they going after Apple?

Apple is licensed for its nameplate products and services.

As are Microsoft and Google, apparently, though none of them are licensed to pass on those services to 3rd parties.

So for those who don’t speak patent blog, here’s the bottom line:

Lodsys is going after iPhone and iPad apps because they can (they bought the rights to these patents), and they don’t want to leave any money on the table. Even tiny iOS developer tables.

[Lodsys blog, thanks @jhoove09!]

Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• PCalc RPN Calculator: A robust calculator with an optional RPN mode and multi-line display, a choice of button layouts, an extensive set of unit conversions, a paper tape, multiple undo and redo, engineering and scientific notation, as well as support for hexadecimal, octal, and binary calculations. Update to version 2.4 brings many enhancements. [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Doodle Jump: New multiplayer racing achievements! Can you become the Racing Legend by winning 1000 races? or a Racing Hero by winning 500? Win 100 races and you’ll be the Racing Champ! [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Pulse : Volume One: Enter an absorbing world where players become part conductor, part note-captor, part multi-touch master. Tap speeding notes as they cross the radiant pulse to conduct gorgeous original melodies. [$4.99 - iTunes link]

• Face Up! Greetings: Send a customized, animated greeting to anyone by choosing a high-quality background, adding one of your photos and recording a greeting. You can even change your voice! [Free - iTunes link]

• MyPad – for Facebook: A Facebook app for the iPad. Now with chat, re-share, auto-login and more! [Free - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

Every week a few of us from team TiPb will bring you our current favorite, most fun and useful App Store apps, WebApps, jailbreak apps, even the occasional accessory, web site, or desktop app if the mood strikes us. As long as they’re iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch related, they’re fair game.

To see what we picked, and to tell us your pick, follow on after the break!

Parkbud – @andrewwray

Can’t remember where you parked your car last time you were out running errands? I’ve run into this problem more than once, and although there’s a few other nice parking apps in the App Store, Parkbud has proven to be the best in its class for me over the past few days since it was released. Parkbud is a gem with all the right features to make it great, not to mention how visually pleasing the design and interface elements are. It’s clear the developers took a lot of care when putting this app together, and it really shines when you need it most.

Features include walking directions to help you get back to your vehicle in unknown areas, as well as a handy parking garage locator that really helps when you want to get the best parking possible. You can also add notes or take a quick photo of where you’re parked, which has been very useful for me at the end of a long day at the office. Parkbud also features a timer so you won’t lose track of how long the meter has been running, and sends reminders before it expires — you’ll never have to worry about finding a parking ticket on your windshield again!

So if you’re on the hunt for a great looking (and even better functioning) parking app, Parkbud may be exactly what you’re looking for. Give it a try!

[$1.99 - iTunes link]

Data Deposit – @iMuggle

I’m really bad about updating my jailbreaks. I’m talking really bad. Not because I don’t want to, but because of the hassle that comes with it. I never restore from a jailbroken backup to avoid issues so it’s a big headache to set up as new. Data Deposit made the process a little easier this time around. It’s an extremely simple application that allows you to store your App Store app save data in your Dropbox account. After you restore and re-jailbreak, you can simply re-install Data Deposit, sign into your Dropbox, and restore all your saved games and app data.

I did notice it’s a bit finicky and sometimes failed to bring down a save file but repeating the process always seemed to work. I’d really like to see them add a restore all option as right now you have to do them one by one. I’d also like to see a way to back up all. Either way, if you don’t like having to re-configure all your apps after re-jailbreaking, this definitely simplifies the process. It’s available for free via Cydia. Try it out and let us know what you think!

Photosynth – @Alli_Flowers

I love taking photos with my iPhone. I don’t carry a camera at all anymore, and have even used some of my iPhone’s video on my own blog. But sometimes you want more than just a simple video or photo. Sometimes you want something…epic.

And when you want epic, there is nothing like a full 360 degree panoramic photo. Now, Photosynth brings Microsoft’s image composite editor from the pc to your iPhone. I’ve used this on the pc for some time, and I know that with a little practice, your panos can be almost seamless. Evidently, that is the case with the iPhone app as well. If you take a look at my first attempt you can clearly see the seams. But I just went outside and began taking photos with no pattern or direction. Had I planned out the scene, the seams might be less visible.

Either way, there is no trick or skill to making beautiful 3D panormas with Photosynth. Point and shoot. The stitching engine takes care of the rest. You can save as a 2D pano, or you can upload your shot (for free!) to the Photosynth website, where it becomes totally and gloriously 3D.

There are so many ways you can use this app! I’ve already told my son that when he moves into his new apartment, I expect a Photosynth 3D rendering of each room. And now I can share with my mother, every time I rearrange my living room!

This is a great app, with so many uses. Give it a try and let us know what you think.

[Free - iTunes link]

PhotoSync – @chrisoldroyd

This week’s pick is an app that I have wanted for a while but never got round to spending any time looking for it. Thanks to the TiPb App for That post, I have found something that works perfectly.

PhotoSync was recommended in the comments by one of our awesome readers and is an app that you install on your iPhone and iPad and it then allows you to transfer pictures and videos back and forth between the two devices over the air. You can also upload direct to Dropbox and other servers or computers.

I use my iPhone 4 all the time as my primary still and video camera but use my iPad to view and edit videos using iMovie. Getting the content onto the iPad could not be simpler with this app. It is really fast and convenient.

[$1.99 – iTunes Link]

Deathworm – @skeetobite

This fun, arcade style game allows you to take a worm and try to destroy the above ground world. This Tremors, for people who have seen that movie. Using a joystick, you move a worm through the ground (or temporarily in the air through massive jumps from far below ground), trying to destroy anything in your path – people, cars, planes…even little birds flying around. The surface dwellers are intent on stopping you, and send attack helicopters, tanks, and loads and loads of army men to try to prevent your rampage and destruction. As you play, you can collect power ups to make yourself longer, more durable, or even able to shoot fireballs from your mouth. This fun game brings me back to the arcades of the 1980′s, where mayhem and monsters ruled. You can play a campaign mode (unlocking different worlds as you progress) or survival mode (where you try to last against a massive onslaught from those nasty humans above!). This universal binary also has a free “lite version”, should you want to try out destruction before you buy.

[$0.99 - iTunes link]

PCalc – @reneritchie

This week a company that doesn’t seem to make much of anything other than patent infringement threats decided to go after several iOS developers who used in-app purchases as a way for users to upgrade from free/lite versions of an app to a full version. Unlike Apple, who provides the in-app purchase API as part of the iOS SDK and has a war chest in the tens of billions, most of the developers targeted are independent and it will cost them a small fortunate, one they don’t have, to defend themselves. Per the iOS SDK, they’re not even allowed to settle without violating their license. Hopefully Apple will step in. Or the EFF. Either way, this is going to be a stressful time for the developers threatened by lawsuits.

James Thomson is one of those developers and his app, PCalc is an amazing RPN calculator for iPad and iPhone (it’s a universal app). For my part, I’m going to be gifting it, and other threatened apps, to friends and family this weekend. It’s a drop in the bucket, to be certain, but it’s a drop I can happily contribute.

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

iStudiez Pro – @jhoove09 (Reader’s Choice)

iStudiez is an organizational tool for students with busy schedules. It offers the ability to sync your iOS calendar into the app and will automatically add your class schedule. You can track assignments, exams, and projects in the app and iStudiez offers the ability to incorporate grades to track your GPA throughout the semester. All of your professors’ contact information can also be added to the app for easy access when needed.

The lite version will keep all your information locally. The Pro version allows you to sync with your iPhone with the cloud. I love that I have an app to track all of my classes, grades, instructors, and assignments. It’s a must have for any student!

[$2.99 - iTunes link]

Your pick?

You’re part of the team as well, so we will be choosing one reader to make a submission each week! Just look for the announcement on [twitter](http://www.twitter.com/llofte] or our Facebook page each weekend for a chance to be picked! In the meantime, jump into the comments and let us know your pick of the week!

Developer James Thomson reported on Twitter this morning that he’s been threatened with patent infringement for his use of in-app purchases in PCalc Lite.

Just got hit by very worrying threat of patent infringement lawsuit for using in-app purchase in PCalc Lite. Legal docs arrived via fedex.

No idea what to do… They seem to be effectively claiming the rights to in-app purchase, but going after me, not Apple.

Talking to Apple now, may go quiet on this for the short term until I know what’s happening.

So, have talked to Apple contact – currently scanning everything in to send. Sorry folks, no PCalc 2.4 happening today.

To be clear, I haven’t been sued yet – I’ve been told that I am infringing their patent, they want me to license it, and I have 21 days.

Thomson isn’t the lone target of these threats, his UK timezone might just have gotten them to him sooner. Already Patrick McCarron has reported the same thing.

Anyone else get a patent threat via FedEx for in-app purchase use in their iOS app? So far @jamesthomson and I got hit.

I can now check off being threatened by a patent troll off my bucket list.

There are likely other developers who simply haven’t chosen to come forward yet. If you’ve gotten a FedEx patent threat today, let us know.

UPDATE: The company claiming infringement is Lodsys and they seem to be targeting iOS apps that have free/lite versions and full versions, and link to or allow updating within app from free/lite to full. Rob Gloess of Computer LogicX was hit yesterday [MacRumors]

Our app, Mix & Mash, has the common model of a limited free, lite, version and a full version that contains all the features. We were told that the button that users click on to upgrade the app, or rather link to the full version on the app store was in breach of US patent no 7222078, we couldn’t believe it, the upgrade button!?!

UPDATE 2: Apparently, according to the iOS SDK license, developers are not allowed to settle these kinds of lawsuits. [TidBITS]

In no event may You enter into any settlement or like agreement with a third party that affects Apple’s rights or binds Apple in any way, without the prior written consent of Apple.

[@jamestomson, @McCarron]

What’s your name? James Thomson

What’s your company called? TLA Systems – and yes, that does stand for “Three Letter Acronym”. It was originally a fake company name I made up with friends to get us into trade shows while we were still students. I kept using it, and now it’s a real company employing myself and my wife.

Where are you located? We’re based in my native Glasgow, on the west coast of Scotland. It can be a bit dark, cold, and wet, but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else – you need the dark to appreciate the light.

What’s your website address? http://www.tla-systems.co.uk/ and http://www.pcalc.com/

What’s your Twitter handle? I’m @jamesthomson – that’s my personal account, but I tend to use it for work too.

What are some of your apps? Our main app on iOS is the scientific calculator PCalc, which is in turn based on PCalc for Mac OS X. We’re also known for DragThing, the dock app that pre-dates Mac OS X.

What other apps do you currently like? NanoStudio is great for writing music on the move – it’s more powerful than GarageBand in many ways, and runs on my phone. I’m not really a musician, but I do enjoy tinkering. Shazam still seems like magic to me – it’s invaluable for identifying background music on TV and in shops. RedLaser is the best app I’ve come across for barcode and QR code scanning. The Chambers Dictionary and The Chambers Thesaurus apps are also both very good. I’m also still playing Game Dev Story – it’s a game all developers and journalists should play!

How long have you been developing? Almost 20 years – I started programming Macs while I was at university, and have been doing it professionally for at least 16.

How long have you been developing for iOS? Since the very first iPhone SDK was released – three years.

Do you do any mobile development besides iOS? Just the Mac. The two are similar enough that i can keep both in my head at once.

What kind of rig do you use for developing? I do almost all of my development on a 3GHz eight-core Mac Pro with a 24” LG L245WP LCD monitor, and everything else on a very broken white second-generation 2GHz MacBook which needs a complete set of new plastics. Plugged into that currently is an iPad 2, an iPhone 4, and a 2nd-generation iPod touch.

What personal iOS device(s) do you use My iPhone 4 is my main phone, so I use it throughout the day.

Do you use any non-iOS mobile devices? Not sure it counts, but I still have a 4th-generation iPod nano which I use mainly for listening to podcasts and audiobooks when I’m out and about. I like the physical controls, and it doesn’t break when I drop it. The iPhone has replaced everything else.

What’s your favorite thing about developing for iOS? Well, if I’m honest, I’d say it’s the fact that it’s possible to make a living doing it! But I think it’s having a physical device in my hand – it’s a very different feeling to developing for the desktop. And iOS is a very nice platform – more modern than Mac OS X in a lot of ways.

What’s your least favorite thing about developing for iOS? It’s something of a cliché I know, but it’s always the approval process. I certainly agree with it in principle, but it adds a layer of uncertainty which can make submitting apps a very nerve-wracking process. We haven’t had any big problems or rejections so far, but I always hold my breath when pushing the button.

What feature would you most like Apple to add to the iOS 5 SDK? It’s minor, but I’d like the ability to support hardware keyboards with PCalc – at the moment it’s not possible to use a external keyboard with an app that displays its own onscreen keyboard. Actually, the real feature I’d like to see is support for the Apple TV – I’d love to develop a new app for my TV.

What feature would you most like Apple to add to the App Store? As a customer, I’d like to be able to sort by some metric of “quality” rather than just popularity. A lot of apps with really bad reviews stay in the charts for some reason, and I’d like to be able to filter them out. Of course, since PCalc gets a lot of good reviews, that wouldn’t hurt me as a developer either!

When something goes wrong while you’re coding, what do you say?* I’d like to say that I swear entirely in obscure Scots, but in truth it’s all very traditional and Anglo-Saxon. It also depends if I’m on my own in the office…

What do you do when you’re not coding iOS apps? I like to get away from computers, but generally don’t get too far away from screens in some form. I try to get to the cinema at least once a week, and I play a lot of video games. But my ideal would be to spend time with friends!

What should we look for from you next? A gentleman never tells… I’m currently putting the finishing touches on a small PCalc update for iOS, to be followed by a corresponding Mac update soon after. After that, I’m hoping to select the “New Project…” menu item in Xcode for the first time in a good few years. Like many iOS developers who play games, I keep thinking I could write a small game myself, but that’s probably not the best plan given how many other excellent games there are out there!

Thanks James!

PCalc, one of our favorite iPhone and iPad calculator apps (see Leanna’s PCalc review), has just hit version 2.3, and in celebration the developer has very kindly offered us a bunch of promo codes to give away. To you. But first things first:

This free update has many improvements, but the key one is taking advantage of the additional screen space on the iPad. You can now permanently show the paper tape, RPN stack, and memories onscreen in a new sidebar area. This was the number one requested feature from iPad users, and we’re happy to be able to add it now.

The tape, stack, and memories have had a complete overhaul for the iPhone and iPod touch too, and are now easier to read across all devices, appropriately themed, and with enhanced email support.

PCalc is distributed as a universal app – one purchase will work on iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. No need to buy a separate “HD” version. It requires an iPhone or an iPod touch running OS 3.0 or later, or an iPad running OS 3.2 or later.

Give away: Let’s make this one simple, shall we?

Head on over to our iPad Apps Forum and give us your best, most creative way to let people know about the PCalc update (other than doing a promo code give-away or adding some angry feathered creatures to the app, of course), we’ll pick the ones we like best, and you’ll get a great app for free. Sound good?

Then get going! Post your idea!

(Promo codes only work in the US App Store, Apple’s rule, not ours, and they expire so if you get one, use it quickly!)

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

We’ve been keeping our eye out as more iOS 4 app updates keep hitting the App Store filled with multitasking, state saving, Retina Display-ing goodness.

Hit the jump to see some of the latest we’ve found!

BeeJiveIM with Push 4.0

One of the best IM clients on iPhone gets better with:

• iOS 4.0 compatibility. Background support for iOS 4.0 devices.
• iPhone 4 compatibility. Enhanced image resolution for Retina Display.

[iTunes link - $9.99]

iHound 3.0

We spoke with iHound back at Macworld and now their already solid location tracking service has been beefed up:

If your device supports multi-tasking, then it checks in with the iHound server every 10 minutes, and the following new features become available for you in your Security Dashboard at www.ihoundsoftware.com:

• PowerSave Tracking: Your device determines its location, transmits to the server, then shuts down until the next check-in.

• Full On Tracking: Your device’s GPS will run continually as iHound transmits to the server every 30 seconds.

• Siren: Plays a siren alarm on your device. It will not quit until you shut it off from the web site.

[$3.99 - iTunes link]

Line2 2.4

No Google Voice app on iPhone? No problem, Line2 offers many of the same services, some extras for business, and now background support so you can use it like a real phone replacement. (Requires Line2 service).

• Receive calls while Line2 is in the background
• Continue talking on a call even when you switch away to another app

[Free - iTunes link]

Omnifocus 1.7

They had us at the purple brush-metal icon.

• In preparation for the new high-resolution display on iPhone 4 we’ve refreshed all of the artwork in OmniFocus. We hope you like the new look!
• OmniFocus now uses local notifications to present due alerts when running on iOS 4 or later, so you can receive alerts for due tasks even if you’re not syncing with a server. (Synced calendar alerts are still available for devices which are running earlier versions of the operating system.)
• OmniFocus is now a multitasking-aware application, allowing it to be quickly suspended and resumed on iOS 4.
• OmniFocus can complete some operations in the background on iOS 4, such as optimizing its database.
• The Completed perspective now includes items from completed projects, not just active projects.
• Fixed a bug which prevented audio from recording in OmniFocus 1.6.5.
• Fixed a crash when tapping “Save” while audio recording was still in progress.

[$19.99 - iTunes link]

PCalc 2.1

If it’s beyond 2 + 3 = apple, it’s beyond me but smart mathamagicians like Leanna tell me numbers are good and PCalc has consistently been one of the best. Now it’s better. And sharper.

• Added support for iOS 4.0 and fast app switching.
• Added support for the Retina display on the iPhone 4.

[$9.99 - iTunes link]

That’s what we’ve found so far, but if you find any you think deserve a post-up let us know in the comments or send us a tip!

PCalc [$9.99 - iTunes link] is one of the leading calculators for iPhone and now its computing power has been updated (as in universal binary) to include support for iPad.

PCalc is an (optional) RPN calculator that is great for scientists, engineers, programmers, and students. It includes a list of common constants, an ample amount of conversions, a paper tape that can be shared via email, and support for binary, hexadecimal, and octal calculations. You can also customize the look of PCalc with different themes and digit fonts.

The interface on iPad is rather beautiful in both landscape and portrait. The buttons are nice and big and everything is easy to read. Navigation between the menus is a much more pleasant experience than on the iPhone.

To see PCalc in action, watch the video after the break!

Unlike the iPhone 3GS, the iPad doesn’t have built-in stocks, weather, voice memo, clock, calculator, or compass apps. It does, however, have the brand new iPad App Store, and yeah… there are apps for all that!

Check out our picks after the break!

Bloomberg for iPad [Free - iTunes link] offers not just stocks but news, company info, price charts, trends, analysis and… you get the idea. It could just be information overload on a 9.7″ screen, but that’s likely just what you stockies want!

Weather Channel Max [Free - iTunes link] costs nothing (thanks to Toyota) but packs in the weathery-goodness. Full screen, customizable maps, in-motion radar, local, regional, and national video, and more make it not so much of a replacement as a escalation.

Voice memos for iPad [Free - iTunes link] is the “I can’t believe it’s not butter” of replacement apps. It looks similar to Apple’s iPhone Voice Memo app, but it’s scaled up to iPad size. Unlimited recording, tagging, pause, levels, timer, and email options make it a great fill in option.

Clock… We haven’t found a good replacement for Clock yet. If you know of one that matches the functionality and the grace of the iPhone Clock app, let us know in the comments. And developers — make a good one, with a great icon. Seriously.

PCalc Lite [Free - iTunes] or PCalc [$9.99 - iTunes link] make the iPhone calculator look anemic by comparison. It includes an optional RPN mode, multiple undo and redo, unit conversions and constants, a couple of themes, and much more in the paid version.

Compass HD + Vector Magnetometer / Gravitometer [Free for now - iTunes link] is an app that, frankly, we may not be smart enough to properly describe. It has absolute mode, north mode, declination mode, and relative modes, and a bunch of different display modes for acceleration visualization. Get it while it’s free!

So there you have it, App Store to the rescue! Did we miss any (other than clocks!)? Are there alternatives your like better? Let us know in the comments!

PCalc [$9.99 - iTunes link] is a great RPN Calculator for the iPhone but now developer James Thomson is curious as to what users would like to see in an iPad version. How curious? He’s made a cardboard version to play around with (above) and is offering TiPb readers ten (10) free copies of PCalc to tell him what you think!

So, head on over to the TiPb Forums and let him know just exactly which features you’d like to see on that big 9.7″ iPad screen. His favorite ten (10) answers will get a copy of PCalc for iPhone for FREE.

Give-away starts now and ends Monday at 12pm, PT. Promo codes require a US App Store account (Apple’s rule, not ours).

PCalc [$9.99 - iTunes link] has 30 promo codes to give away to TiPb readers willing to help them out with a little survey. Here’s the thing: since “free apps no longer have to stay free”, and in-app purchases are now available to everyone, they’re interested in knowing just which in-app purchasable features interest YOU.

Ready? Here’s what you need to do:

• Download the free version of PCalc Lite [iTunes link]
• Try it.
• Rank the following features from the full version that you’d like to see made available as in-app purchases, in order of preference:
  1. More keyboard layouts with additional functions aimed at engineers and programmers.
  2. More themes, digit styles, and key click sounds.
  3. More unit conversions and constants.
  4. A virtual paper tape and display of memory registers.
  5. More advanced settings for controlling things like number of decimal places shown, thousands separators.
  6. Hex / octal / binary mode.
  7. Multi-line display and multiple memory support.
  8. A coupon code to save $9 on PCalc for Mac OS X.
• Suggest one cool new calculating feature they’ve inexplicably forgotten to include so far (real or fantastic).
• Email your feature ranking and new feature suggestion to survey[at]dragthing[dot]com
• Best suggestions received in the next 24 hours will get a promo code for the full version of PCalc in return. (US App Store only — Apple’s rules, not ours.)

Here’s what a sample entry would look like:

Got it? Good. Go get it and get to it!

UPDATE: Just so everyone is clear, the developer did this as a parody, Apple didn’t censor anything. B’okay? Read the full 8008135 story on Three Letter Acronym…

PCalc RPN Calculator [$9.99 - iTunes link] for iPhone has just updated to version 1.8, and the update is… rather unique:

Have you, or somebody close to you, ever turned your calculator upside down and accidentally seen a mildly suggestive word? Have you ever been in a maths class, and had to put up with groups of giggling boys performing elaborate calculations that are not part of the lesson?

Yes, it’s one of the main problems affecting the calculator industry today, the so-called “calculator words”. These otherwise harmless devices can be made to display smut at the press of a few buttons. Added to that, the iPhone App Store is very strict about having inappropriate content in apps. Nobody wants their app to get a 17+ rating, or worse, to be rejected entirely.

Which is why we are happy to announce that the latest version of our PCalc scientific calculator for the iPhone contains a new patent-worthy profanity filter.

Simply enter a number such as “5318008″, turn the calculator upside down, and the offending word will be discreetly censored. Many common calculator words have been included as standard, and we plan to increase this over time via software updates.

The new version also comes, you know, calculator features, and a $9 off coupon for the Mac version (which doesn’t seem to change when you turn your Mac upside down… hmmm… feature parity?!)

James Thomson wrote in to tell us about PCalc 1.7 [$9.99 - iTunes link], and as usual, the prose is almost as good as the app. Almost.

One year ago, as the doors of the iPhone App Store first opened to the public, PCalc was there. One of only four hundred applications available, and a mere handful of calculators. Now, there are more than sixty-five thousand applications in the store, and calculators are second only to Twitter clients in terms of near-pestilential ubiquitousness.

Metaphorgeddon aside, while we mentioned the new version already, after using it for the day, it was obvious it deserved a closer look. Here are the updates again:

• Faster startup!
• Three and four-line display modes, including complete control over what appears on each line.
• Multiple-memory support.
• Optional HP48-style RPN behaviour.
• Much nicer number display with the “Easier To Read” digits option. It’s now actually easier to read!

It is indeed. I’m not a mathmagician like Leanna, but this really is the built-in calculator on Hulk-serum. Check out the screenshots after the break, and if you give PCalc 1.7 a try, let us know what you think!

Jaadu VNC [$24.99 - iTunes link] adds support for cut, copy, and paste, remote copy support, and full screen view.

AutoStitch [$1.99 - iTunes link] includes cropping and support for higher resolution out for iPhone 3GS

PCalc [$9.99 - iTunes link] highlights include 3 and 4 line display modes, more memories, option to prevent rotation (Apple needs to add this system wide!), HP48-like mode, copy tape to clipboard, “easier to read” now even easier. to. read. and button easier to press.

QuickOffice [$12.99 on sale - iTunes link] now supports iPhone 3.0 cut, copy, and paste and shake to undo/redo, access email attachments, text wrapping, aligned overflow, and user-friendly indent and align control for docs.

Fring [Free - iTunes link] now offers Push Notification.

PCalc developer James Thomson is one of our favorites because he not only makes great apps, but he seems to love doing it, and always figures out new, positive, and productive ways to get our attention.

This time around it isn’t just the release of an iPhone 3.0 compatible version of PCalc for iPhone ($9.99 – iTunes link) that includes support for copy and paste (and a couple of new vertical button layouts, one for engineers, one for programmers), it’s how he built one version of the app that supports both iPhone 2.2.1 and iPhone 3.0 at the same time. An iPhone version of Apple’s “universal binary” concept, as it were.

We’re not sure he’s the first to do this — and according to Twitter he isn’t either — but we hope he does write up the process when the 3.0 SDK NDA (non-disclosure agreement) lifts so other developers can do it as well. It’s an elegant solution to say the least.

Now to see if we can not only paste some complex calculations… but understand them!

Ok, not many applications currently in the App Store worthy of our Apps for Less. Although, the ones we did end up finding are not bad deals.

First up we have Terminator Salvation [iTunes Link], if you have not checked out the trailer we post two weeks ago what are you waiting for? This is one of the top games in the App Store and it seems like Gameloft has gotten the hang of programming games for the iPhones hardware. The best thing about this game now is it’s price – it has dropped from $9.99 to $5.99. People complained about the higher price and Gameloft has listened. I feel bad for the early adapters as we always get the short end of the stick in terms of price but that’s to be expected.

Next up we have PCalc [iTunes Link], now on sale for $4.99 An excellent app for anyone who needs a feature-rich calculator that the stock app on the iPhone simply can not match. Features are as follows:

• Switchable button layouts – choose from many different horizontal and vertical layouts to suit your needs.
• Calculator themes – pick your look, all the way from minimalist to striking.
• An RPN mode with one button access to the stack and optional two-line display.
• Hexadecimal, octal and binary modes, complete with a variety of bitwise operators.
• All the extensive unit conversions and constants from the desktop PCalc.
• A simulated paper tape to keep track of your calculations.
• Multiple undo and redo. Just flick the LCD to the right and left to reveal the past and future.
• Stylish, consistent user interface.
• Shake to clear! Two shakes to clear, three shakes to clear all.

If you are a developer and have a great app in the App Store at a great price, we want to hear about it!

The App Store, even with 25,000 applications, is still a new market and one we’re all, developers, users, and media alike, trying to figure out. Developer James Thomson recently did an experiment to see how Twitkitteh, a fun little app, would compare in terms of sales and earnings, to his acclaimed PCalc in the App Store.

The results? Thomson talks about them in a blog post entitled Where Did it All Go Wrong?

Since Twitkitteh released about a week ago, we have sold exactly a hundred and one copies, at roughly 99c each. That makes it about £50 in terms of income at current exchange rates after Apple’s 30% cut. About 14 quid of that went on the domain name for a year, and about another 11 quid on hosting the domain on our existing server.

That leaves us £25 profit for three week’s work. Oh, and minus the 120 or so engineer-hours spent designing, writing, and promoting it that could have been spent on something else. So, depending on exactly how much you rate iPhone engineers at on an hourly basis, you can calculate exactly how much we lost on the whole project.

The good news is, with his grand Twitkitteh experiment completed (for now?), PCalc and PCalc Lite have received updates:

PCalc [iTunes link] gets a brand new engineering layout, with hyperbolic trig functions, hypotenuse, leg, gamma, delta percent and more. You also get a classic theme taken from PCalc on Mac OS X, and six new key click sounds you can choose from too.

PCalc Lite [iTunes link] gets just two of the click sounds, and some other small improvements. PCalc Lite remains completely free however, and completely awesome. If you want to get a feel for how the full PCalc works on the iPhone, just try it out.

Here’s hoping quality apps like PCalc and others will sell well enough that developers won’t have to spend their limited time working on the next great fart app to makes ends meet.

TiPb has been exploring issues surrounding the App Store, especially how developers can earn a living, the various attempts to market apps in a sporting manner, as well the gaming and foul play going on.

In the bright lights category, developer James Thomson (ha! spelled it right that time!) has taken a decidedly humorous approach with the launch of his updated PCalc 1.2 (iTunes link) calculator app:

I think we got off to a bad start last time with version 1.1. It was my fault entirely. I came out with this big release I’d spent months on, sent out my press releases, and not a soul ran a story with the exception of that nice Mr Gruber fellow [Although TiPb did run an interview -- thanks again, James!]. Sales were quite poor and we both said some things we regretted in the morning.

But I understand, don’t worry. You’re tired of the deluge of iPhone press releases, and everything you see just starts to look the same after a while. I didn’t do anything to make it an interesting read and, let’s face it, I’m kind of fighting a losing battle with a calculator which – I’ll be the first to admit – is next to the flashlights and to-do list apps in terms of reaching saturation point on the store.

Not quite. I rock PCalc on my iPhone, with narry a flashlight in sight!

While PCalc chose humor, some others have gone decidedly darker…

Another recent TiPb interviewee, Yellow Pages (iTunes link), has a negative review plastered to the top of their app from someone (iTunes link) who also negatively reviewed a White Pages app, recommending instead the competition (which is “part of the new AT&T“). Strangely, over on phonescoop.com, that userid turns up stating an association with AT&T. D’oh! I think most of us would prefer real users giving us real recommendations, with developers sticking to promoting their own products and not wasting time worrying about the competition. B’okay?

Last up, via Daring Fireball, comes a great post from Andy Finnell of Order N on “How to Price Your iPhone App Out of Existence“. The whole article is definitely worth a read, but the conclusion is killer:

There will be an iPhone app bust. The current prices simply aren’t sustainable. Either developers will crash out of the market when they discover they can’t make a living off their current prices, or the gold rush developers will lose interest and leave when they realize they can’t make a quick buck off the store. The developers left standing will be the ones who set reasonable prices for their applications.

I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is. I currently have an iPhone app in development, and when it comes out, I will price it $9.99 or higher. I’ll let you know how it goes for me.

Dieter has spoken at length about the Long Tail of App Store business, but could the race to bottom really be putting things in short order? I’d gladly pay $10 or $20 for desktop quality apps or PSP/DS quality games, especially if it feeds developers’ families and ensures we, you know, actually get those kinds of apps. What about you?

James Thomson is the acclaimed developer behind DragThing for Mac OS X and PCalc RPN Calculator for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Following up on his recent blog postings about the challenges involved navigating the still-nascent App Store business model for developers, and TiPb’s own look at whether or not there’s a “long tail” potential for the market, James was gracious enough to sit down (virtually) and share his thoughts with us about the issues facing 3rd party iPhone developers going forward.

TiPb: James, you recently blogged about PCalc in the context of a “postmortem”. What was the reaction like to that article, and did it bring about any changes in your current thinking or how you plan to proceed with PCalc going forward?

James Thomson: Reaction was interesting. Many iPhone developers contacted me privately, and via the blog, to say they had encountered similar problems with sales after the recent changes to the App Store.
Some pointed out the “Availability Trick” to change the App Store release date for your software when you do an update, to make it sort higher up in the listings. I talked about that a bit in a follow-up post here. It’s unclear whether it really is a trick, or just what you are supposed to do, but it does seem to work.

I’ve also tried a few other suggestions, like renaming the app to “PCalc RPN Calculator” to make sure it appears during searches for the word “calculator” which it didn’t before. So far, there has been a relatively small boost to sales, but I’m not sure how much of that is due to my changes, and how much is just down to the overall publicity that the article generated.

I’m working on a small 1.1.1 update at the moment to fix a few things, and I’ll likely add some more layouts and themes. The real question is what will happen to sales then. If they remain flat, with all the other changes, then I’m going to have to try some more traditional marketing beyond the Google AdWords adverts we are already running. To a certain extent, the blog itself /is/ a form of marketing – I don’t think I can really deny that, given it is raising the profile of our software.

Read the rest of the interview after the jump…

TiPb has been looking at the App Store and whether or not there is a “long tail” for developer income. Do you think there is currently a long-term business model for developers of niche-apps?

I think it’s a much harder market than it was back in July. It’s well publicised that the store is pretty crowded now, and it’s getting increasingly harder to find things.

I think that when the App Store launched, the initial sales numbers were so high, that many developers – myself included – ended up with cartoon dollar signs for eyes, multiplying the first few months of sales figures out to a whole year. Now that there are many thousands more applications on the store, I don’t think we’re ever going to get back to those early days.

I think it’s certainly possible to have a big “hit” application that breaks the top 50 and stays there for a while, generating significant income, but I don’t think the store is geared towards more substantial applications that will be updated over a long time. Our sales are still non-zero however, so perhaps the level of the tail is just lower than expected.

Also, to be honest, this isn’t happening in a vacuum – the state of the global economy isn’t really helping matters. A lot of the software on the store isn’t essential – PCalc excluded of course – so people might think twice before purchasing if they are worried about their savings. How much of that is a factor, I don’t know, but I can’t imagine it helps sales.

Since Apple and the App Store is the only way for developers to make their Apps available, does this shift some of the promotional responsibility to Apple? I.e., does Apple have some duty to promote Apps and provide as much visibility as possible, or do iPhone developers, like traditional devs, have to take on the marketing aspect for themselves?

I think Apple does bear some responsibility, at least in so far as making the store as easy to use as possible and helping customers find what they want. And more importantly, highlighting the best examples the store has to offer. If thousands of people are buying something, but it has a lot of one star reviews, why should that be more “popular” in the listings than something that has all five star reviews, but only a handful of people have found it?

I’d like it if a new iPhone user was looking for a more advanced calculator, they could quickly see that PCalc has 70-odd five star reviews and a very loyal group of customers. How you would represent that on the phone, I don’t know. But Apple has lots of very talented user interface designers who could come up with something

Of course developers need to do some marketing themselves. But Apple gets 30% of the sales, so I don’t think they are completely off the hook.

PCalc is a $9.99 App, which many have said seems to be the “sweet spot” for paid apps at the moment. However, we see some vendors switching from paid to free and back, or running short-term “sales” to either benefit from volume pricing or drive up their popularity before switching back. Is this a reality in the current App Store model, and is it something developers now all have to consider, both for their Apps and competing apps?

That’s a really good question, I don’t honestly know. Of course, you’ll always get people who say that if your software was just that little bit cheaper, they’d buy it on the spot. How accurate that is, I’m not sure. If PCalc was $4.99, would I sell more than twice as many copies? If it was 99c, would I sell more than ten times?

It’s a little tempting to just try it, and get some empirical data, but if you reduce the price and find that it doesn’t actually help sales that much long term, then you’re just losing out. And if the market tends towards lower and lower pricing, then I think the quality of software on the store will suffer.

I priced PCalc at what I thought was a fair price for what I’ve made, I can’t really do much more than that. As it was there on day one, we didn’t know what the prices of our competitors were going to be, so we tried not to worry about it too much. As it is, there are calculators on the store from free up to twice the price.

I do think it’s equally hard for customers to know whether something that’s priced at $9.99 is ten times better than something that’s 99c…

What steps could Apple take, short term or long term, to help developers gain greater visibility in the App Store?

Short term, I’d add more categories, perhaps add another level below each of the main categories. Put all the calculators in one place so you only need to look at 20 things in a given section, rather than 2000. Perhaps some filtering options, so you don’t see apps with lots of very low ratings. Even just a sorting option to sort by rating would help.

Long term, I think there needs to be a way of presenting what the “best” apps are on the store rather than just those that sell the most copies. I want to see apps ranked by quality, perhaps some combination of sales and rating, maybe with an editorial component. I don’t think Apple has the time to do that right now, given that an app still takes a week or so to show up on the store after submission, but I hope they are thinking about it.

Some way to support limited trial versions in the store would also be very useful for customers. The Xbox Live Arcade store on the Xbox 360 has the right model for this – everything on it is a demo version that can be converted to a full version within the app itself.

The iTunes model for music doesn’t work as well for selling software.

Last question: does “backspace” belong on a virtualized Calculator? (That’s a cheap shot at Apple channeling my counterpart at Crackberry.com… )

Wow, I never even noticed that the Apple calculator doesn’t have one. Yes, it certainly does

James, thanks for your time and generosity in sharing your insights with us and our readers!

Dragthings.com is James Thomson’s website and blog, and his highly-regarded calculator application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, PCalc is available from the iTunes App Store.

On Monday, TiPb Senior Editor Dieter Bohn debuted his new bi-weekly feature, TiPb of the Avalanche, by asking about the iPhone App Store and the “Long Tail” business model.

Looks like he’s not alone. PCalc developer James Thomson (via Daring Fireball) recounted his struggles with Apple’s new policy of listing Apps by original release dates, ignoring update dates, and forcing older Apps to the frozen hinterlands of the last few pages in a list growing well past 5500. Under the old model:

Sales started to slow down over time, but with each of the 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 updates they went back up into the stratosphere as PCalc moved to the front page of the Utilities section again.

And now?

As it stands, the App Store is too crowded to find anything if you don’t know exactly what you are looking for by name.

So while, according to Apple Insider, the App Store may still be climbing faster than iTunes Music did, GigaOm is pishing the posh on the iPhone bump in general.

During Apple’s Q4 conference call, Steve Jobs said that the App Store would reach 200 million downloads today spanning over 5500 Apps in 62 countries. How will Apple’s (continuing?) tweaks on App Store organization help or hinder developers moving forward? And will they, as Dieter is suggesting, have to start putting as much time, money, and effort into marketing as they do coding? Or are there no easy answers?