Android – Iphone – Applications

We already knew that iPhone users are the most loyal to their dear smartphone of choice. Now we know the iPhone is the #1 smartphone in the US as it just passed RIM by a slim 0.5%. Android, is a not-too-distant third.

This survey by Nielsen also confirms that the iPhone is the “most desired” smartphone among people likely to upgrade to a new device. An interesting fact is that women planning to get a smartphone are more likely to get an iPhone, while males are more likely to choose Android… Read More

written by iieevvn \\ tags: facebook, Iphone, iphone news, most-desired, phone-download, rim, survey, their-dear

As a device designed for media consumption, the iPad is deft at handling a variety of traditionally print media forms. Books, magazines and comics have all made a successful transition to the iPad, but Japanese Manga has not been well, if at all, represented. MangaBlade hopes to change that with an app that incorporates an e-reader, a web browser, and a content downloader all in one.

When you first open MangaBlade, you may think you’ve mistakenly opened iBooks. The wooden shelves used to display your digital collection are remarkably similar. MangaBlade, unlike iBooks, doesn’t require that you purchase your content. Instead, you can use the built-in web browser to navigate to any site that allows downloadable manga (as long as it’s in CBR, CBZ or ZIP format). MangaBlade even offers its own iOS-friendly website, complete with scanlations of works not available for purchase in the USA. Just click the download link, and the file downloads to your bookshelf. At least in theory.

I had a few hiccups along the way, mostly as a result of the app’s handling (mishandling?) of iOS 4.2’s multitasking and autolock functions. Downloading an issue takes a bit of time, so I sent the app to the background to look at other apps on my iPad. Big mistake. When I returned to MangaBlade, I was told that the download failed. The same thing happened when my screen autolocked. So, you have to stay in-app and unlocked in order to complete downloads. Even then, however, I got error messages after just about every download I tried. Interestingly, these downloads were completed successfully and added to my library; there is a glitch in the app that sends a false “Oops!” message at the end of downloads.

My only other criticism is that the built-in browser does not allow bookmarking. Given the fact that manga scanlations are all over the internet, having favorite sites bookmarked is essential. With any luck, the developers will address both of these issues in coming updates.

MangaBlade is $5.99, which would be a reasonable amount if it worked exactly as advertised. As this is clearly a product with some issues, a lower price might have been a better choice. Still, if you enjoy manga and want a solid reader for it, MangaBlade is a good choice.

[ MangaBlade for iPad Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by assurance \\ tags: $5.99, Application, book, device-reviewed, entertainment, ibooks, japanese-manga, kniveswood, manga, mangablade, overall-rating, price, rating, web-browser

I’m going to skirt around all my liberal animal rights based opinions here and get right to the point – Angry Bulls is actually rather good fun and provides some excellent stress relief on the commute home after a long day.

Angry Bulls allows you to play the role of the bull and the fighter. Bull mode is the most entertaining of the three modes on offer. It allows you to control the bull on its rampage down the streets and into the bullring. Your aim? To knock over as many runners as possible within the designated time limit. Along the way, you accrue power ups through knocking down the red shirt wearing runners. These boost your strength and power. One particularly bizarre power up enables the bull to quickly run round in a circle destroying everything in its wake. It’s all fun in short doses and provides the most satisfaction.

The Brave mode enables you to control a runner escaping from the bull. It’s noticeably harder, as you’d expect really. More points are acquired by staying as close as possible to the bull’s horns. This is obviously a hard task to succeed at without dying quickly and fast reactions are vital here. It’s fun but perhaps a little too one sided to be worth pursuing for any great length unless you’re a masochist.

Bullring mode thrusts you straight into the bullring that features at the end of Bull mode. Again, the aim is to knock down as many runners as possible. Think of it as like a bull version of Carmageddon. If only Angry Bulls had OpenFeint or GameCenter support so you could compete with friends and their high scores.

Angry Bulls is good fun, even if it is terribly politically incorrect. It’s immensely satisfying knocking down runners in particular and the game is clearly biased towards the bull’s plight but that’s exactly how I like it. The virtual d-pad works just how you would expect and it makes Angry Bulls an ideal game to drop into for short bursts.

[ Angry Bulls Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by zulu \\ tags: $1.99, angry, angry-bulls, Application, bull, bullring, fighter, Games, iphone apps and games, modes-on-offer, overall-rating, price, rating, replay-value

Fun With Death is a game that builds upon the hugely successful Angry Birds title whilst simultaneously failing to create an identity of its own. Sure, there’s a variety of environmental triggers that the Rovio team haven’t put into their game, and the concept of saving good souls and destroying bad souls is fairly neat, but really it’s just Angry Birds with angels and devils; lacking the polish and yet lifting much of what we love about the bestseller.

Get off me!

For instance, the menu system is very similar, with levels unlocked one by one from a main level group. There are three level groups in total and on each level you collect halos, up to three of them depending on how well you did. One thing that can be annoying is that every time you load a level you are forced to read a screen telling you something about how to play the game, and then you have to tap to continue. The delay is aggravating, especially on level restarts, because loading times aren’t really an issue with Rovio’s title.

Somewhat familiar looking…

Next up is the object placement, which sounds like it would be a neat addition to the genre, but in reality it’s like designing a level whilst playing someone else’s; in other words, a chore. Players place ramps, balls or TNT in specially marked zones and the less of these that they use the more points they will score come the end of the round. It’s a poor attempt to try and recreate some of the one shot set pieces that work amazingly well for Angry Birds and ultimately disturbs the flow of firing imps at bad souls; especially as the controls aren’t brilliant, with objects sometimes ending up where they shouldn’t be.

Similarly, the firing mechanism is fiddly as both power and angle are controlled by a finger, and small movements easily affect the power meter. Happily though, players don’t have a pre-set order of imps to complete a level, they can choose which imp to fire and select another one at any point. This starts to come alive once the shield imps are unlocked; little blue fuzz balls that fashion a shield around their target, rendering the being impervious to all but falling off the screen.

The game sports some nice visuals but doesn’t quite have the charm of Trucks & Skulls, itself an Angry Birds derivative that is far more confident in its design and overall theme, and really doesn’t offer a great deal more. Yet it’s priced at $4.99, making it as expensive as Angry Birds HD.

Fun With Death has some good ideas but these aren’t enough to set it apart from the competition. The way the game is presented and designed ultimately serves to remind players of Angry Birds, so why not just go pick that one up instead?

[ Fun With Death HD Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by [email protected] \\ tags: angry, angry birds, device-reviewed, fun with death, Game, ipad apps and games, overall-rating, price, review, tornado studios

Though chess has been around for centuries, it actually was not used to determine the winner of the Crusades. However, in the world according to Checkmate that injustice is not allowed to stand, as the game allows players to to lead the armies of King Richard to reclaim the Holy Land in the form of bishops, rooks and knights rather than archers, catapults and, well, knights. This is a title which will likely be greatly enjoyed by chess aficionados, as the solid AI and top-notch presentation makes for a very impressive app.

Checkmate is clearly aimed at the hardcore chess players of the world, as the game throws you straight into the action without any real crash course on the basics of how to play or strategies for victory. Once you move past the introductory screen you’re immediately thrust into your first match, and while the difficulty claims to be set to easy this still isn’t a game for novices. The AI will effectively counter most known chess strategies, and will aggressively seek to move your king into a checkmate. If you’re not the type of person used to thinking several moves ahead then this game isn’t for you.

It’s this unforgiving nature that makes the game, while excellent, hard to recommend for everyone. There’s no tutorial to teach you how to play if you don’t already know, and the lack of any sort of hint or tip system in-game means that you’re totally on your own in this particular “battlefield.” I suppose this is one Crusade which you’ll have to tackle on your own.

It’s a shame that the game isn’t more newcomer friendly though, as it’s visually stunning and could easily stand as the last chess app you need on the iPad if it made life a little easier on beginners. Everything, from the pieces to the background to the board itself is richly detailed, and the included Vs mode makes this a great option for playing with friends when you’re bored or busting it out in the car during road trips.

If you’re an iPad owner who happens to know the pros and cons of the Queen’s Gambit and are well-versed in exactly when to castle then this app is perfect for you. If that previous sentence didn’t make any sense and you’ve never heard the world castle used as a verb then you should probably steer towards a more beginner-friendly app. Once you’ve learned to ropes though be sure to come back to Checkmate, it’s very impressive.

[ Checkmate Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by nimajuni \\ tags: checkmate, chess, device-reviewed, from-the-pieces, Game, Games, heard-the-world, ipad apps and games, lead-the-armies, price, rating, world