Android – Iphone – Applications

DISCLAIMER

(if I put it in caps, bold, and italics, it looks more legal-like)

I’ve said it in previous reviews, and I’ll say it again here as a caviat to this review, and by way of defending myself if you absolutely 100% disagree with my review of this application.  I am NOT a video game enthusiast.  I didn’t get the video game gene.  I didn’t go to the arcade as a kid, and I don’t use my kids’ Wii.  Mostly because I suck at most video, computer, and electronic games.  I do play The Sims and Mafia Wars and some other types of games, so I’m not a game hater.  Really, I’m not.

END DISCLAIMER

ThreadBound….what can I say.  It’s graphics and story make me feel like I’m caught in some strange acid trip where The Beatle’s Magical Mystery Tour crossed paths with Pixar’s A Bug’s Life.   The basic idea is to maneuver this flying stick bug so that a little blue dude can walk down trees and shrubs in an autumn forest without falling to his death.

I couldn’t do it.  Trying to get that stick bug to fly to and land where I wanted was like playing Twister in mid-air.  No matter how I’d angle my iPhone, that little blue meanie would fall and I’d have to try again.   I nearly chucked my iPhone against a wall it was so frustrating.   The kids couldn’t even get the stick bug to fly right, so I’m pretty sure it wasn’t just me.   There are the obligatory obstacles and falling things that make it more challenging as you move up in levels, but I think they have some work to do on how well the games works on the iPhone or iTouch.  It doesn’t respond to moving the device around as I expect it would, or other games I’ve tried do.  I’ve never been this frustrated with an iPhone game before.  The application also has a feature that lets you build your own levels, if you’re into that kind of thing.

That being said, I don’t get the point of the game anyway.  Seems that if you were over the age of four, the premise of this game would bore the living hell out of you anyway.  Which is why I find it ironic that ThreadBound comes from NeverBored Studios.  I was bored.  Sorry.

iTunes Link – ThreadBound
Application version 2.0
Reviewed on iPhone 2G OS3.0.1

Popularity: unranked [?]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: App, Apple, Application, Game, Iphone, Itouch, ITunes, OS

Miso Music 1.1

Category: Entertainment
Price: Free (iTunes)
Version: 1.0 -> 1.1

src="http://images.appshopper.com/screenshots/322/395563.jpg"
align="right">Description:

Maybe you’ve heard that Miso Music can cure world hunger, solve the economic crisis or help you find true love. Who knows for sure? What we do know is that with Miso Music you can …



• Discover what's hot in the music charts

• Download wallpapers of your favorite music stars

• Learn more about the hottest artists

• Share hot pictures with your friends



Miso (pronounced ‘Me So’ like ‘Me So Happy’) Music is the classic App brought to you by the folks at Miso Mob.





Assuming you like music that’s hot, Miso Music brings you pictures of the top stars of today’s music scene to your iPhone or iTouch. Not only can you download their pictures as wallpaper but you can also learn more about your favorite music stars right then and there with Miso Biography. You can share these juicy images/wallpapers with your friends via email.



Miso Music also allows you to access and view the hottest music tracks from various sources: Yahoo Music and iMeem.



Install it now and let Miso Music ROCK your world!



For more information on how to set up your wallpaper click over to http://www.apple.com/iphone/tips/#photos_wallpaper.



Notes:

-Images are aggregated by us from a variety of online sources and are public domain or for promotional use. Please go to MisoMob.com to contact us if you have any questions regarding content.

What’s New

We've added additional charts and search
Miso Music

Popularity: unranked [?]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: Android, App, Apple, Download, Free, Iphone, Itouch, ITunes, OS

AppCraver recently spoke with Miik McCann, Executive Producer of Seek Mobile Interactive. He shares his experiences developing for the iPhone and iPod touch.

When did you start developing apps for the iPhone? Did you have previous experience as a developer?

I started working on iPhone ports, of some Nintendo DS games I had worked on previously, back in December of 2008. The company I was working for went belly up and so I hopped over to Seek Mobile as they were getting started. Most of my experience lies in management and design, and they were in need of someone with that skill set.

What / how many apps have you made so far?

I’ve personally overseen the creation of about 10 different apps, so far, ranging from a tween girl photo app (IPIX) to fast paced bug squishing fun (Cockroach Crunch) with almost everything else in between.

What type of apps/games/software inspires you? Where do you get your ideas?

Currently we are a developer for hire, so our clients pay us to bring their ideas to life. Obviously, as a gamer myself, working with a bunch of other gamers, we have tons of ideas floating around and work on them as time allows. Personally, I like playing as many games as I can while keeping an eye on the market to see where there are gaps, then finding innovative ways to fill those gaps.

How do you settle on the price point for your apps?

We generally leave that up to our clients, at this point. What we have seen, though, is that most apps we put out that sell for more than $1.99 don’t do so well until they see a price drop.

What has been the best thing about designing for the iPhone?

The horsepower. My background is mostly in DS development, where we had to scale back a lot of ideas due to graphics limitations and processing power. The iPhone, while it has some pesky issues, simply doesn’t have most of those limitations.

What has been the biggest challenge about designing for the iPhone?

Twofold: The discrepancies between the iPhone and the iTouch, in terms of RAM, and getting adhoc provisioning set up for our clients. These are the two issues that, invariably, come up with each and every client.

Is your company venture backed or privately held?

Privately Held

Do you have any other apps in the works?

Almost two dozen. I can’t get too specific, but we have several business apps going, a few GPS finder apps in the works, as well as a couple of games.

What apps do you have on your iPhone?

Mostly games and Stanza. I usually go for the throwback games, like Myst and Oregon Trail, but I have stumbled into some truly original games that have sucked me in pretty good. Must…Eat…Birds!

What do you like to do when you’re not coding for the iPhone?

Play with my kids, watch an extraordinary number of movies, and read voraciously.

One Last Thing:

We love developing apps and can’t wait until we get some of our original IP’s out there!

Popularity: unranked [?]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: App, Game, Iphone, Itouch, OS

Pocket Chinese – Survival Phrases I (1-25) 1.0.1

Category: Education
Price: $9.99 -> $7.99 (iTunes)

src="http://images.appshopper.com/screenshots/316/755005.jpg"
align="right">Description:

*** NEW LOWER PRICE! LIMITED TIME OFFER ***

Not Even Apple Imagined a Developer Could Do THIS with an Application!

Introducing the ultimate language learning application

Are you ready to master a language on your iPhone or iTouch in just minutes a day?

You are about to experience the evolution of language learning! Never before has learning a language been so fun, fast or easy. You’ll be speaking Chinese within just minutes of the very first lesson, and our interactive language experience will keep you engaged and locked in! The progress you make with Pocket Chinese will utterly shock and amaze your friends, family, colleagues, and teachers.

How effective is Pocket Chinese?

Pocket Chinese gives you ALL of the benefits of a state of the art language lab right on your iPhone or iTouch. It's like having a state-of-the-art language lab in your pocket!
Actually, that statement is not entirely honest. This application is even better than a language lab!

Better than a language lab? You’re joking, right?

Actually, we’re not. In a language lab, you don’t get two expert teachers to personally walk you through the pitfalls and pleasantries of mastering Chinese. With Pocket Chinese you do. With the material a language lab presents there is no accountability for the material taught. With us there is.

What else do you get in just one application?

-Fun and engaging storylines to keep you wanting to learn more – You get it!
-Multiple voices to expose you to different speaking styles – You get it!
-Detailed explanations by your own Personal Teachers – You get it!
-One tap of the screen line-by-line audio of the dialog – You get it!
-A Review Track to practice and master lesson specific vocabulary and phrases – You get it!
-A Vocabulary List with audio playback and voice recording features – You get it!
-Vocabulary Flashcards and Sample Sentences with audio and translation – You get it!
-Detailed lesson notes including a grammar point and cultural insight – Yep, You get that too!

All of these incredible features in just ONE interactive application equals one thing: RESULTS.
Pocket Chinese is the fastest, easiest and most fun way to master Chinese Guaranteed!

With Pocket Chinese you’ll rapidly master listening skills, reading, speaking, pronunciation, and even vocabulary, phrases, and grammar! You’ll quickly improve on EVERY aspect of language learning making this a complete package! This application will have you speaking from the first lesson, and reading and conversing after just a few more.

Top notch technological solutions and software on the market sell for hundreds of dollars! Hundreds! But guess what? We just leveled the playing field.
Pocket Chinese gives you a better and more fun experience at a fraction of the cost! Now everyone has the chance to master any language fast!

Features

Complete language lessons. Each lesson includes:
- Lesson Description detailing the background of the lesson and the grammatical focus
- Main Audio Track (approx. 5-7 minutes). Listen to the lesson dialog and master the vocabulary and grammar point as your two expert teachers guide you through the lesson
- Line-by-Line Audio to master listening comprehension and understanding of the dialog
- Review Track (approx. 2 minutes). Master lesson specific vocabulary and phrases
- Vocabulary List. Master the vocabulary and pronunciation with the voice recording tool
- Vocabulary Flashcards. Quiz yourself on vocabulary and phrases from the lesson
- Expansion Sentences with audio to reinforce sentence structure and introduce new words
- Grammar Point. Detailed explanation of the focal point of the lesson written by expert teachers
- Cultural Insight to increase your talking points and knowledge when speaking with Chinese speakers

Get this application now and start speaking Chinese instantly!
Pocket Chinese – Survival Phrases I (1-25)

Popularity: unranked [?]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: Android, App, Apple, Application, Iphone, Itouch, ITunes, OS

In reality, a bug problem of this magnitude would not require a tech genius, but rather professional pest control. On your iPhone or iTouch, iRoach simply requires a fast finger and a tolerance for nastiness. Created by Suponix, iRoach features an infestation of cockroaches and other bugs that crawl across your screen. The best part (or the worst, depending on how you look at it) is you don’t need a shoe or bug spray handy, but simply squash them with a tap of the finger.

Big bugs and small, the insects dart across the screen in alarmingly realistic motion and if you give them a good tap, they squash apart and their innards splash out. Having absolutely no tolerance for bugs and guts whatsoever, I find iRoach to be totally disgusting. Of course, on the other hand, I do feel a remarkably unnatural sense of vindication for every nasty insect that has ever offended me and my home. The ironic thing is that due to their sheer quickness, some of the virtual bugs in iRoach are as hard to kill as the real ones.

When you start iRoach, you have three minutes to annihilate as many bugs as possible. Most bugs only require a single tap, but the bigger ones require two or three consecutive taps before they’re sufficiently squished. You score points for each bug you kill, but be careful of random tapping – you lose 2 points for each miss. The objective, besides terminating the bugs, is to score as many points as possible. Should you be interested in making virtual pest control a competition, you can also enter and save high scores.

Aside from the concept, which is pretty straightforward, the only other key components mentioned about iRoach are the “realistic sound effects.” There are sound effects, but I’m here to tell you that I’ve never in my life heard a bug make these sounds when I’ve squished them in real life. Maybe the sound is muffled in the kleenex, but I still think “realistic” may be a bit of a stretch. However, they are certainly realistic enough in appearance and unless you harbor some sort of affection for roaches, flies, and weird-looking ginormous bugs, you might find iRoach a rather sadistically fun tapping game.

• app_name: iRoach
• rating: 8/10

Popularity: unranked [?]

written by Duy Phong \\ tags: App, Apple, Game, Iphone, Itouch, ITunes, OS