The Inquisitr » iphone apps

Cisco iPhone App Can Check Website Reputations On The Fly

James Allen Johnson — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:19:34 +0000

The newest iPhone App from Cisco is perfect for internet security experts looking to protect their devices and ultimately the personal and business information of their companies employees. The program provides users with internet traffic and e-mail monitoring alerts and even allows IP addresses to be entered for specific websites and servers so users can check the site or servers “reputation.” Those risks are determined base on various factors including traffic volume and location.

The program probably won’t do standard users all that much good, Cisco is aiming the program at IT managers and security experts and is providing SIO TO Go abilities which provides various security news feeds, a Cisco Risk Report, access to the companies security blog, Twitter feeds and other information that may be of use when determining company protocols and blacklisting certain locations.

To gather information the program uses Cisco’s own email monitoring technology, while also access popular information gather options include the WhoIs directory for determining where a site is located, what type of traffic it gets and any reports of malware and other potentially harmful software the sites and server may be distributing.

The program is free to use and is rather intuitive for first time users with simple entry forms and excellent data output. [iPodNN]

Magellan iPhone GPS App Launches Today With Turn by Turn Directions, Additional Features

James Allen Johnson — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:06:18 +0000

GPS device manufacturer Magellan today announced the release of their own iPhone App, named RoadMate 2010. The program like most iPhone GPS options provides turn-by-turn directions, offers bookmarks and spoken navigation cues and even lane guidance.

Users can also use the programs “pedestrian mode” and a “find your car” setting which will allow you to set a market before you walk a way from your car and find it at a later time, a great option for parking in big city are really large mall parking lots.

The iPhone App also has the ability to display highway signs and gives access to 3D landmarks as a means to reference where you are, although not all major landmarks are included at this time. Users can also access their address book to find contact addresses which makes for simple navigation abilities.

The North American edition of the program will run you $80 and includes US, Canada and Puerto Rico mapping. The program also supports several languages which include English, French and Spanish voices. Although according to iPodNN street names can only be read out loud in English and French.

New iPhone App Links To Home Security System

Duncan Riley — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 03:06:59 +0000

LAWRENCE, Kan., Nov. 10, 2009 (Inquisitr Wire) – Protection One, Inc. (Nasdaq: PONE), one of the nation’s leading providers of security systems to homes and businesses, has developed an iPhone™ application that allows users to access their security panels and receive real-time security updates from their iPhone or iPod Touch®.

With the eSecure application from Protection One, users can confirm that their security system is armed while on vacation or turn off the alarm while at work to let in cleaning crews or other contractors. When armed, the eSecure system will send text or e-mail messages when motion is detected, a particular door is opened, in the event of a flood, if high carbon-monoxide levels are recorded and even when a liquor, medicine cabinet, safe or other sensitive area is accessed.

This technology is designed to offer peace of mind to users whenever they are outside of the home or business via real-time wireless access. Protection One is the first national provider of monitored security to offer this application.

“No one wants to spend a vacation or business trip worrying about leaving the garage door open or if the security alarm is set,” says Protection One President and CEO Richard Ginsburg. “This application puts security at your fingertips and keeps you connected, even when you’re away.”

The application maintains safety and security with multiple layers of password protection. A standard Protection One keypad code is required for access to the eSecure keypad, which is neither stored on the device nor visible to anyone looking at the screen.

The eSecure iPhone application, which is free with the eSecure service subscription and available for download now from Protection One at the iPhone Apps Store, is compatible with all iPhone and iPod Touch devices. Working in tandem with a Protection One security system, the iPhone application is customizable to deliver peace of mind every time you leave the home or office.

For more information on Protection One and the eSecure application, please visit www.ProtectionOne.com.

Lawsuit: iPhone app developer Storm8 stole phone numbers, user data

Kim LaCapria — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:10:07 +0000

A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday claims that popular App Store app developer Storm8 may have bypassed safeguards in order to obtain data such as phone numbers via games downloaded over 20 million times.

World War, iMobsters, Racing Live, Vampires, Kingdoms, Zombies Live, Rockstars Live and Ninjas Live are some of the iPod Touch and iPhone titles listed on Storm8’s website. Court documents point to “secret code” written into games to circumvent protections preventing apps from collecting data on unsuspecting users:

“…Storm8 makes use of the ‘backdoor’ method to access, collect, and transmit the wireless phone numbers of the iPhones on which its games are installed,” states the complaint, which was filed in US District Court in Northern California. “Storm8 does so or has done so in all of its games.”

The Register points to a column written back in August about privacy concerns and the iPhone. The columnist highlights data-gathering in Storm8’s Vampires Live mini MMORPG:

One of the best selling iPhone app is Vampires Live, a very cool game which is a take off from the current pop culture fascination with vampires. The app is built by Storm8 and is the 8th best selling iPhone app.

The game is essentially an massive multi-player online game which will use your 3G or WiFi connection. 3G is your data plan. So far so good. While playing vampires is fun, it does not involve exchanging phone numbers with other players. In fact, no one needs your phone number to play with you.

But guess what?

Without your permission, Storm8 harvests both your UDID, phone number, email and name (on registration).

(Examples of code.)

As you can see, the personally identifiable information which is the PNUM is being transmitted and I guess stored with Storm8’s servers. For non-technical types, PNUM is phone number and I changed the telephone number on the log to hide my personal number. I would not want just anyone to have my personal phone number. Worst of all, the information is transmitted unencrypted in plain text.

Storm8 is claiming that the data collection was unintentional and part of a “”a bug that has been fixed.” But the prosecution is skeptical, saying the developers used “very specific and specialized software code to do so.” The claimant in the case is hoping to obtain class action status.

[Source: The Register]

Would you spend $30 on an app to decode your baby’s cries?

Kim LaCapria — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:46:49 +0000

This kind of seems like one of those things that sounds crucial when you’re expecting a baby, but after five minutes with an actual baby, you realize it’s probably totally pointless.

If you’ve ever dealt with more than one baby, you know some babies will sob rather calmly regardless of need while some will shriek like they’re being murdered when they want to be held or when they’ve got a half-teaspoon of moisture in their diapers. But Biloop Technologic claims that science supports their new “Cry Translator” iPhone app- from their website, a blurb about the studies that lead the the “96% accuracy” rate:

Dr. Antonio Portugal Ramírez, M.D. and Chief of Operations of Pediatric Services at Clinic Hospital Juaneda Menorca, Spain conducted a clinical study of the Cry Translator between December 15, 2008 and January 6, 2009. The objective of the study was to validate the diagnostic capability of the Cry Translator.

A total of 140 children from 0 to 2 years of age participated with a random sample of 104 children used in the analysis. Of those included in the test group:

> 54% of participants were male; 46% female
> 72% originated from Europe, 4% Sub-Saharan, 4% Orientals and 8% Latino Americans
> 77 % of the tests were conducted with children who visited the Clinic
> 33 % of the tests were conducted with children hospitalized in the Clinic

Is “Orientals” an acceptable clinical term? In any event, a reported “96% of the babies ceased crying after following the suggestions indicated on the symptom chart,” which does leave an average of 4% wailing babies even if you buy the app. Interestingly, one of the bigger health/science stories yesterday was that babies have just been shown to cry “in their native languages.” Not to worry- the Cry Translator maintains a high 96% accuracy rate for babies of all language backgrounds – even Orientals!

The “Cry Translator” is available for a steep $29.99 after 11/11, on sale for $9.99 before that date in the app store.

New app Babelshot spares you foreign country restroom shame

Kim LaCapria — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:18:14 +0000

If you’ve ever traveled to a land where you don’t speak the native language, you may know the horror of swinging open a door to a bathroom and seeing a man (or perhaps lack of men) at a urinal, who may then begin shouting at you in a language you don’t understand.

If you’ve got an iPhone, you can avoid the inconvenience of being American not being able to speak/read signs in other languages now with the Babelshot app. Most likely named for The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’s Babelfish (and not the AltaVista translation service of the same name) Babelshot “reads” pictures of signs and other print materials like menus and translates them for you.

According to Macworld, supported languages include:

Afrikaans, Albanian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Galician, German, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Malay, Maltese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, and Turkish.

If you’re willing to tap-input the words, you can also translate Arabic, Belarusian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Macedonian, Persian, Russian, Serbian, Thai, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. Obviously, you need a send and receive data to translate, so if you plan on using it, make sure you plan on roaming too. Babelshot costs a reasonable two bucks, and you can get it in the app store now.

NASA iPhone App Ready For Free Download

James Allen Johnson — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:57:23 +0000

The NASA iPhone app is the closest most of us will get to ever visiting space. The program provides users with a real time location finder so we always know exactly where the International Space Station and other spacecraft are located by using mapping software which features border information, satellite imagery and satellite images overlaid onto various maps. While the application also provides pictures from the most current missions and updates about those missions.

The software also provides the mainstays of the NASA page including the “image of the day” database, the official Twitter feed of Nasa, Videos and any available countdown clocks.

The iPhone App is free to download for nerds everywhere and features a decent interface that’s fairly intuitive and inherently full of beautiful shots from space. [GadgetCrave]

Monsoon Multimedia Announces Availability of HAVA Mobile Player for iPhone

James Allen Johnson — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:21:04 +0000

15 October 2009 (Inquisitr Wire) – Watch and Control Your Live TV From Anywhere on the iPhone and iPod Touch

SAN MATEO, Calif., Oct. 14 /PRNewswire/ — Monsoon Multimedia today announced the availability of the HAVA Mobile Player application for iPhone and iPod Touch users. The HAVA Mobile Player app allows HAVA customers to view and control their home television service, including cable, satellite and TiVo, from anywhere in the world on their iPhone.

The HAVA Mobile Player for iPhone was designed for seamless integration with Apple’s unique smartphone allowing viewers to control their home television service (whether it’s cable or satellite, receiver or DVR, standard or high definition) via the touch screen interface.

“Monsoon’s HAVA line of video streaming, place- and time-shifting devices give consumers more options when choosing how, when and where they view their home video and TV content,” said Colin Stiles, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Monsoon Multimedia. “Our support for iPhone and iPod Touch gives HAVA customers the ability to watch any of their 300+ TV channels, their favorite football team on game day or their local news in very high quality, regardless of their location, wherever WiFi is available.”

The iPhone version of the HAVA Mobile Player is optimized software for the video-streaming application that Monsoon also provides for PCs, Netbooks and other mobile devices. HAVA is a standalone device that does not require a dedicated or connected PC/Mac in the home to enable the iPhone or other portable devices when watching your TV over the Internet. In addition to place shifting video to PC or smartphones, Monsoon’s HAVA features unique DVR capability that allow users to initiate a recording to their PC or attached storage, or pause, rewind or fast forward their live TV.

HAVA for iPhone:
High quality video playback
Remote access to HAVA device
Enables full remote control and channel changing capabilities of any TV source such as Cable, Satellite, DVD or TiVo
Browse program guides for schedules, series and episode descriptions (based on availability from service provider)
Favorites” feature allows users to label favorite channels
Supports iPhone and iPod Touch with OS 2.2.1 or higher

Pricing and Availability

The Monsoon HAVA Player for the iPhone and iPod Touch is now available as a direct download at iPhone App Store for $9.99. The HAVA product line is available from Monsoon at www.myhava.com and through select retailers and etailers nationwide.

About Monsoon Multimedia

Monsoon Multimedia provides advanced, standards-based multimedia products and technologies for the PC, Smartphone and Consumer Electronics industries. Monsoon licenses highly optimized multimedia solutions comprised of applications, drivers, frameworks, middleware and reference designs. Our customers and partners are semiconductor companies, PC manufacturers, MSO’s, software suppliers and consumer electronics companies. Founded by the founders of Dazzle and Emuzed, the company has offices in California, India and Russia. For more information, please visit www.monsoonmultimedia.com.

Viper iPhone app unlocks, starts cars

Kim LaCapria — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 16:30:48 +0000

And it’s free, if you shell out for a $500 Viper SmartStart system.

Another day, another groundbreaking iPhone app. This time, Directed Electronics has made a modern convenience even more convenient with a new twist on remote start. Formerly located on a car’s key fob, remote start is something you really wish you had if you don’t- and those who do are generally untenably smug about it on the coldest winter days, when you’re already freezing, ice-crusted and your car door froze shut.

If you were planning on finally biting the bullet and buying a remote start system this year, the whole deal just got a lot more feature-rich. Before, remote start was located on your key fob and required being within a certain distance of your vehicle. (I can imagine if you work in a large building or have to park far from your location, this can be a bit of a pain.) With the new iPhone app, you can start your engine, warm it up or cool it down on hot days, activate the alarm and open the trunk with your iPhone or iPod Touch.

A new system will set you back $499, but if you already have a Viper alarm system, upgrading is a mere $299. The first year of service is included in that price, and after that, it’s $29.99 a year to keep it going.

[CNet]

Adobe PhotoShop iPhone App Finally Available, Well Worth The Wait

James Allen Johnson — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:07:48 +0000

It’s been a long time coming, now Adobe has officially launched their Photoshop Mobile app for the iPhone. The app offers quick and simply on device photo editing for both iPhone and iPod touch users. The program allows photos to be cropped, rotated and flipped and even saturated and tinted.

Additional features include exposure and vibrancy tweaking along with other effects and filters typically found on the full PC version of Adobe.

The filters are actually rather impressive, including converting images to black and white and even adding in “Vignette, Pop and Warm Vintage” abilities. The program according to SlashGear also includes a sketch tool which takes your photos and makes them look hand drawn, along with soft focus abilities.

Adobe is also throwing in 2GB of free Photoshop.com storage which can be accessed and upload and downloaded to directly from your iPhone.

The program is free to download from the App Store. Sorry but only U.S. and Canada Customers at this time.

Here’s the full Adobe Press Release:

Adobe Unveils Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone

New Adobe application brings must-have photo tools and eye-catching effects to iPhone users

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Oct. 9, 2009 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today introduced Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone™ application, delivering Adobe® industry-leading digital-imaging technology to users on the go. Photoshop.com Mobile provides consumers a convenient way to edit photos, apply effects and share images instantly with friends — all with the flick of a finger. Seamless integration with users’ free Photoshop.com accounts enables photo sharing and data back-up, saving them valuable space on their iPhones. The application is available free of charge at Apple’s App Store.

“As the digital imaging leader, Adobe is excited to bring Photoshop.com Mobile to iPhone users,” said Doug Mack, vice president and general manager of Consumer and Hosted Solutions at Adobe. “Now, with access to powerful editing and sharing tools, iPhone users are armed with the resources to document all of life’s unexpected moments, make them look their best and then re-live those memories with friends and family.”

Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone provides a fun, seamless experience to view photos with full-screen previews and edit images with gesture-based editing. Consumers can transform their photos with essential edits like crop, rotate and flip. Users can correct and play with color by adjusting the saturation and tint, enhancing the exposure and vibrancy and converting images to black and white.

Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone also offers eye-catching special effects. The Sketch tool helps photos look like drawings, and Soft Focus can give photos a subtle blur for artistic effect. With just one click, users can also apply dramatic changes to the look and feel of their photos with effects such as Warm Vintage, Vignette and Pop. Edits or changes can be undone or redone so users can experiment without the worry of losing the original photo.

After making personalized edits, users can upload photos from their iPhone to their Photoshop.com account to view and retrieve their images at a later time from any Internet-connected computer. In addition, Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone provides the ultimate digital photo wallet, giving users access to their entire Photoshop.com library directly from their iPhone. Photoshop.com offers 2GB of free online photo storage, which equates to over 1,500 photos.

More information on Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone can be found at: mobile.photoshop.com/iphone.

Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe Photoshop® CS4 and Photoshop CS4 Extended are at the heart of the Photoshop family, joined by solutions for users at every level who want to bring out the best in their digital images. Photoshop Lightroom® addresses the workflow needs of professional and serious amateur photographers. Photoshop Elements provides exciting tools and sharing options for photo enthusiasts. Lastly, snap shooters can access Photoshop.com for free online photo editing to simply fix and enhance photos and quickly share those images on social-networking sites or through Photoshop.com online galleries.

Pricing and Availability
The Adobe Photoshop.com Mobile for iPhone application is available as a free download from Apple’s App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, or at http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=331975235&mt=8. The application is available in the U.S. and Canada only.

Dishy iPhone App Makes Cooking Easy Aims for US Top Spot after Reaching #1 in UK

Duncan Riley — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:41:56 +0000

October 8 (Inquisitr Wire): Dishy comes with a simple promise: to make cooking easy. Released in the iTunes App Store on Friday, Dishy has already grabbed the top spot in the UK: it is now the best-selling cooking app and ‘lifestyle’ app for iPhone and iPod Touch.

Dishy is a cookbook, grocery list and, uniquely, a step-by-step guide to actually cooking a meal.
95 included recipes, developed by an in-house chef, are searchable by dietary requirements, ingredients and cooking time. Users choose one or more dishes to cook, and select how many people they’re cooking for. Dishy then creates an interactive grocery list for all the ingredients, grouped according to areas of the store. As the user shops, items can be ‘ticked off’ on screen.
Dishy guides the user through the cooking process one step at a time, and solves one of the biggest headaches of cooking: getting the timings right. Countdown timers are built into the recipes wherever they are needed, and a progress indicator and expected finish time help the user get all components of the meal on the table at the right time.

Dishy’s founder and lead developer, James Carroll, explains: “This app is perfect for those who love to entertain in their own home but may lack time, patience and confidence when it comes to cooking.
The current economic climate has placed great emphasis on how we spend our money, with many people turning away from more frivolous luxuries such as eating out. This application is the ideal tool for entertaining in a new, exciting way – thanks to the simplicity of Dishy, eating in is the new eating out!”

Dishy is available through iTunes and the App Store at a promotional launch price of $2.99 (normal price $4.99). For further information and a video demo, visit our website.

“Date Check” and “Just Don’t Wife Her” digitize mistrust between sexes

Kim LaCapria — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:10:40 +0000

Website JustDontWifeHer.com and iPhone app “Date Check” are in the news this week, two technologies designed to let you know before you fall for a “player” or a “gold digger.”

The former is a site devoted to putting women on blast for liking a man more for his paycheck than his personality, as indicated in the mission statement on justdontwifeher.com:

Helping good guys by exposing Gold Diggers, Cheaters and Users One at a Time! Has a girl done you, or someone you know, wrong? Now you have a chance to tell others how you feel about it. Share your story and warn others about a “Don’t Wife Her”

The site ponders issues such as unreasonable divorce settlements, un-wifely behavior and men warn men of women (specific women) to avoid.

The latter, Date Check, is more focused on stereotypical female concerns, rating dates on with categories Sleaze Detector, Compatibility, Net Worth, Living Situation and Interests. And the app is comprehensive:

Unfortunately for those who live at home, the Living Situation view will pull data from social sites like MySpace, Facebook, and Flickr to determine if you live alone, have roommates, or bunk at your parents’ pad. Basically, if there’s a public record of any bad behavior, whether social or criminal, your potential dates will know within seconds of looking you up.

While both technologies may prove useful if you have a history of falling hard for the wrong person, I can’t help but wonder if a relationship wherein parties utilizing services like this are already doomed. If your date passes the “Date Check” test, will you still wonder if they might be married and just not on Facebook? Or if you’re inclined to see women as “gold diggers” or “wifey material”, will justdontwifeher.com merely confirm your suspicions about the motivations women have in general?

Starbucks launches two lame apps

Kim LaCapria — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 17:11:13 +0000

Starbucks, I’d like to introduce you to the Chipotle app.

As a busy blogger, when I make my way up the basement stairs and expose my tender green skin to sunlight, I don’t want to have to spend my precious outside time interacting with other people. With the Chipotle app, I never have to listen to anyone try to tell me for the eleventy-hundred times that the red beans have bacon in them, is that okay? Because I just have to mumble my one-syllable name and grab my food and leave. I can even pay for it within the app, limiting my human interaction that much more.

I’m specific. I like my stuff a certain way. I have never once deviated from my order at Chipotle, and I tend to only tweak my Starbucks order once a year. A Venti Doubleshot no ice with whip and ten pumps of white mocha. Easy. But not exactly, because the “baristas” always think I’m gaming them by paying $4 for a coffee, so they try to make me get a White Mocha and add espresso to it at at buck a shot or whatever they’re charging, magically transforming my $4 coffee into a $7 coffee. Yes, I’d love to pay even more for the already marked up same thing!

But the only thing worse than espresso drinks at Starbucks is espresso drinks at independent shops, of which one once tried to charge me $12 for a quad espresso. Starbucks, for coffee, offers much more ease of use than other coffee shops and they usually take debit/credit cards, which was why I was so disappointed to hear about their lackluster iPhone apps- MyStarbucks and Starbucks Card Mobile. There are two, which in and of itself is annoying. There are a lot of great apps, which means that to really have a chance to use them, you can’t have them all.

Annoyingly, the roll out is slow and limited, and nowhere on the East Coast:

Unless you’re geographically very lucky, you won’t be able to pay for a venti frappuccino with your iPhone just yet. Only 16 Starbucks outlets, eight in its home turf of Seattle and eight in Silicon Valley, can currently handle the barcode-based gift cards. These are stores already internally designated as test spots for new Starbucks technology.

But what are you missing? Instead of the drawn out process of directly paying for your drink, you get to transfer money from your account to your phone and then pay from there. Who doesn’t love extra steps?

But can you order a drink? No! However, you can make a pretend one, and find out after you put stuff in your virtual coffee what’s in your coffee! The stuff you just put in it! Technology is so amazing. Then you can go order the drink you just simulated by verbally repeating your order to the barista. And wait while your drink is queued behind all the people who ordered first.

So while the apps offer a store locator between them (kind of useless if you patronize Starbucks and work in an urban area, you already know exactly where they are) and some perks for those who use the cards, it looks like both are not jam-packed with features if you just want to order and pay for a coffee.

iPhone’s C64 emulator hacked, pulled from App Store

Chris Greenhough — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:53:39 +0000

Eww, you got hacker in my Commodore 64 emulator!

Yes, it’s true: only a couple of months after it appeared on the Apps Store, Manomio’s C64 emulator for the iPhone has been yanked from the service. Apparently, some ne’er-do-goods managed to access the C64 BASIC programming system that came with the emulator at launch, and started coding … let’s say inappropriate things.

Developer Manomio did discover the loophole, but it was too late; by the time a new build had been submitted to Apple, the app had been dropped.

Manomio now wants to sit down with Apple and talk through the situation, and try and get its retro goodness back up as soon as possible. And so it should, for the app reached the gaming top 10 at one stage. Also, the world needs to know about Impossible Mission. Releasing a version without the BASIC system should do the trick.

Until that happens, I’d like to suggest an alternative.

[Via Pocket Gamer]

Girlfriend Keeper iPhone app helps handle a needy chick

Kim LaCapria — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 19:24:17 +0000

Love your girlfriend, but hate her constant harping about texting and e-mailing all the damn time when you’re out with your boys?

There’s an app for that. The Girlfriend Keeper automates contact with your other half based on relationship status and the amount of attention required by the love of your life. Or that girl you’re banging. Whatevs. From the official site:

This application allows you to set up automated text messages or emails to be sent to your significant other based on your specified criteria such as “Relationship Seriousness” and how often you would like to (or are expected to) communicate. Messages will be sent based on your criteria (every two hours to once a month) and will be randomly generated and sent based on your relationship seriousness level. Messages will possibly be humorous but never vulgar…

Never vulgar? Well, that’s kind of a fail right there. There are girls that don’t like obscene texts?

In addition, we have an “Advanced Settings” feature, which enables you to enter relationship and personal information such as anniversary dates, birthdays, and even eye color. This way, you will never miss another date and your messages will be very specific.

You don’t even have to worry about remembering your “very specific” texts- the app saves them so you can reply to her replies. Handy, especially considering one of the texts in the screenshots uses a “brown barn” as a comparison point- I’d imagine that might result in a WTF?! from your girl.

[Source: The Frisky]

TomTom launches iPhone app that’s costlier than some GPS units

Kim LaCapria — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 21:46:30 +0000

As consumer confidence tanks and retail spending continues to plummet, TomTom’s much anticipated iPhone app has hit the app store- priced at a questionable $100.

It’s got turn-by-turn audible directions, local points of interest and 3D GPS navigation, but there are several whole entire GPS units by TomTom on sale for less than the cost of the app. (If you can deal with refurbished electronics. Personally, I ain’t no snob.) Don’t close your purse or wallet yet- TomTom plans to extract another 90 clams from consumers for a “car kit.”

If you’re willing to throw down even more cash on TomTom, there’s an optional car kit equipped with a mounted antenna for better GPS performance. The car mount includes a built-in speaker, an audio output jack and a microphone for use with the iPhone as a Bluetooth speakerphone. Pricing has not yet been announced for this accessory, but earlier rumor reports suggest it should cost somewhere around $90.

While I’m all for condensing the amount of gadgetry that orbits us like space clutter on a daily basis (and thanks to the iPhone’s lame battery life, my work bag is a tangle of cords, too)- $99 for an app? Really? A GPS lives mainly in your car and won’t add much clutter to your life, and as an iPhone user can tell you, these things are narcoleptic. I’ve yet to encounter a program that keeps the thing awake, and I’d be really annoyed if my GPS needed to be woken up every 60 seconds.

I’m very interested in seeing further reviews- I can’t see anyone spending as much on an app like this when they can get the same dedicated functionality on a standalone unit. Has anyone ever replaced their regular digital camera with their cellphone camera? Video of the app in action, below.

[Image: Wired via TomTom]

New Pizza Hut iPhone app cuts out strenuous phone ordering

Kim LaCapria — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 21:06:43 +0000

As explained in the surprisingly detailed video below, Pizza Hut has launched a new app to make procuring junk food from where you sit even easier.

The free app is pretty comprehensive, allowing for detailed customization of orders. It also cleverly uses the phone’s touch screen interface to add tactile components to your pizza ordering such as manually resizing pizzas, drag and drop toppings and a function in which you shake the phone to sauce your wings. From Pizza Hut’s press release:

The pizza ordering section allows consumers to virtually build their own pizza by choosing a type of crust in the scroll wheel, “pinching” to select size, and dragging-and-dropping toppings onto the pizza, all with visual confirmation. If an overeager pizza customer adds too many toppings, the pizza explodes and toppings go flying across the screen with an alert to make their pizza happier with fewer toppings. Toppings are easily deleted by clicking them in a generated text list. To customize for half and half, users tilt the phone left or right and the toppings move to one side or the other. When finished, the user sees a visual representation of what their pizza will look like.

Functions for the all three menus (wings, pasta, pizza) are similarly interactive, and while it’s certainly a bit on the “cute” side, I have to give points for creativity here. There’s even a virtual fridge with coupons available to you at your local Pizza Hut.

It might be a nice thing to have for kids, especially since the app includes a tilt game called “Hut Racer” to keep you entertained whilst your pizza is being- well, whatever it is they do with pizzas there. (I’m a born and bred New Yorker- if someone didn’t swear at you while you ordered it, it ain’t a pizza, dude.)

Awesomest morning headline: App goes nude, gets pulled

Kim LaCapria — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:55:08 +0000

Remember the iPhone porn app we told you about yesterday? Yeah, it got yanked. And not the good kind.

For no apparent reason, Apple decided to pull the racy app from the app store. Or it sold out. Can you sell out of an app? Do they have more in the back? Well, can you check? The developer of the not-that-racy “Hottest Girls” app claimed responsibility for the pulling (hee…) citing high demand, but Apple said in a statement:

“Apple will not distribute applications that contain inappropriate content, such as pornography. The developer of this application added inappropriate content directly from their server after the application had been approved and distributed, and after the developer had subsequently been asked to remove some offensive content. This was a direct violation of the terms of the iPhone Developer Program. The application is no longer available on the App Store.”

The removal of yesterday’s most popular app and Apple’s statement leaves everyone scratching their heads at exactly what the new parental controls are for, if we can’t see boobs with them. And while a Safari search would undoubtedly turn up better results faster and for free, the prospects for a decent porn app remain enticing. Sadly, the future of Apple-approved porn remains unclear.

iPhone’s saucy new app turns your cell into a vibrator

Kim LaCapria — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:25:15 +0000

Oh, the iPhone… what can’t it do?

Via Gizmodo comes today’s hot new app, MyVibe. The free app purports to give your phone a sexy second function- as a vibrator. The arguably x-rated app is the only one of its kind to be approved by Apple, and is offered by online sex shop My Pleasure. iCame?

Purely for research purposes, I downloaded the MyVibe app to check out the specs. It doesn’t boast any magical powers to make your phone buzz harder, though. (Not that I tried. For fifteen minutes.) There’s a little Apple-style on off button that starts things up. And in the upper right hand corner, there are up and down arrows to direct the buzzing.

The numbers appear to dictate the timing of vibrations, with 100 being slower, more spaced buzzes versus the faster, more intense buzzing closer to one. Thirty-three seemed to have a pretty good rhythm if you’re into that sort of thing.

There’s no clear way to have anyone control the vibrations remotely, which might be a fun use for the app- although I suppose it would require just waiting around with your phone on your hoo-ha. And the vibrations are decidedly weak- if you’re looking for a real vibrator, this isn’t going to get you very far.

But as a free app, it’s not too bad. You might want to check it out if you’re easily stimulated or afraid of getting caught out with your Hitachi Magic Wand by airport security. I hear that can be very embarrassing.

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iPhone App Developer Ngmoco Grabs $10 Million in Funding

JR — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:37:21 +0000

Ngmoco, an iPhone app developer, has secured $10 million in fresh funding. The Series B round was announced Monday morning.

Ngmoco focuses on iPhone games. The company has created such titles as Rolando, MazeFinger, Topple, and Word Fu. It claims five products with iPhone’s “top 10″ badge and more than 7 million downloads across its catalog.

Ngmoco’s new funding was led by Norwest Venture Partners.

Ngmoco is based in San Francisco. It’s been around since 2008. The odd name actually stands for “Next GenerationMobile Company.”

ngmoco