Android – Iphone – Applications

A brand new iPhone 3GS for less that $50 bucks? It looks like somebody is trying to lock up some new customers with two-year contracts, and get rid of some inventory at the same time.

Just why in the world would they want to do such a thing? It looks like AT&T is gearing up for some major changes in the mobile phone landscape, and as customers, you reap the benefits with a sub $50 phone…

This still doesn’t touch the earlier deal that Best Buy was running, but seeing as this appears to be permanent pricing adopted by Apple, this bodes well for the long term.

If you don’t already own an iPhone, would now be the time to jump into the arena? Well, that depends on your needs, but I could never recommend an iPhone 3GS to a friend over an iPhone 4, even if the price of the 3GS is a little cheaper.

And considering that this appears to be a move by AT&T (and to a lesser extent Apple) to clear out inventory, this could mean that the perpetual rumors about the next iPhone being right over the horizon are true.

I know $49 is tempting, but considering that, you might just want to sit on your hands. The last thing you need is a two-year contract on piece of tech that’s two generations behind, right before the new iPhone launches.

What do you think?

written by aldrintze \\ tags: appears, Apple, att, before-the-new, iphone 3gs, lesser-extent, mobile, phone-landscape, price

We recently reported on RedSn0w’s new ‘one click’ support which makes tethered boots even easier, and now the Dev Team has released yet another update to RedSn0w.

This latest updated, dubbed 0.9.6rc8 adds some additional reporting to the custom boot logo command line options featured in rc7.

Now when you select an invalid PNG, you should get a pretty error message describing why your image was invalid…

Just another reason to appreciate the hard work of the Dev Team, as they are very thorough and timely with their releases, even when it comes to small things like this.

You can download the latest version of RedSn0w from our downloads section.

What do you think about the command line options in RedSn0w? Are you a proponent of the ‘one click’ tethered boot, or do you still go about your tethered boots the ‘hard way’?

written by rockingevil

This year, Gameloft decided to assault the App Store the week before Christmas.  As part of this barrage, they let fly their most recent homage to the Final Fantasy franchise, Eternal Legacy.  Let’s just get the confusion out of the way and state up front that this is about as close as a developer would dare tread to Square’s brand, without the necessity of a team of plagiarism lawyers the likes of which only Jayson Blair has ever seen.  But in an age where iOS thrives off of original content, is there still room for a carbon copy?

If you were to look at the laundry list of features contained in Eternal Legacy you might begin to feel like this could quite possibly be bulletpoints from the box of a game like Final Fantasy XIII.  The comparison to a console game is impossible to avoid, if for no other reason than it is one of the few of its ilk available on the App Store.

Richly fleshed out storylines with complex narratives and interesting character designs are not commonly found on the platform, so it was a pleasant surprise to see it featured so prominently.  Unfortunately the immense attention to detail in story construction is often overshadowed by cringe-inducingly bad voice acting.

In the few moments that members of your party are not hurting your eardrums with voice talents that could easily be found at a conference for the mute, players do get the chance to engage in beautifully rendered and executed turn based combat.  While gorgeous to look at as a visual showcase for the potential of iOS, the combat system isn’t anywhere near as elaborate.  Some may even go as far as to call it simple and boring, as well as lacking any variety or challenge whatsoever.

As much promise as the game shows, complimented by Gameloft’s tremendously high production values, Eternal Legacy reeks of lack of originality and passion.  If you are looking for a competent clone of current JRPGs on console, then you have come to the right place.  Just don’t expect it to push the envelope any further than is ultimately necessary.  Sadly, the curse of developers choosing to “play it safe” may have just claimed another victim.

[ Eternal Legacy Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by simonivan \\ tags: final-fantasy, Iphone

Match three style games are a dime a dozen these days. So when a game comes along that can actually keep you playing for more than five minutes, well you know you found something that is better than the average run of the mill fare. Bubble Bust just might be one of those addictive match three games that will surprise you.

A series of bubbles will slowly work their way down the screen. You launch colored balls at the various objects working their way down the screen. The goal is to match three, or more, of the same colors to eliminate them from the board. If you can match the same colors, while separating a clump of bubbles from the board, everything blows up and your job is just that much easier. Completing the level happens when you pop the bubble containing a key at the very end of the stage.

No game like this would be just that simple though. Some bubbles will not show their true color until you hit them with your projectile. Once done, the bubble changes to its true color while changing everything around it to the same color. You can also eliminate whole sections of the board by popping empty bubbles. It is nothing that overly complicated, can be easily grasped within the first level or two, but ends up being very addictive.

The game features a bright and enjoyable presentation package as well. Bubbles range in basic colors like red, yellow, green, and blue. Each stage has different bubble textures as well. The audio will not nock your socks off, but is a lively beat that fits the overall game well. This would only get better if the overall stage theme would change as well.

Bubble Bust offers up just enough addiction to make this a fun deviation from the over abundance of similar games. The biggest downfall is the $1.99 price tag. If you are a serious match three addict, the price is well justified. If you are just a casual match three player, hold off until this one hits a more reasonable $0.99.

[ Bubble Bust! Review is a post from 148Apps ]

written by tmunzke \\ tags: $1.99, board, down-the-screen, Games, rating

Ion Audio in association with Atari, today introduced the iCade. An arcade machine look alike tabletop dock with a joystick designed to turn your iPad into an arcade machine.

The product first turned up as an April Fools joke from Thinkgeek. But now it’s real! We’re on the way to check it out and we’ll have full details soon. Until then, here’s a shot to hold you over.

Questions we have include does this work with more than Atari games, and of course how much and when??

[ iCade, a Tabletop Arcade Dock for the iPad is Real is a post from 148Apps ]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: april-fools, work