Another week passing means another batch of fresh apps pop out of the Apple approval oven and land in the App Store. As ever, I’ve selected four of the best from this week’s releases for you to check out.

My top pick for this week is TimeTuner, an absolutely essential clock radio app for just about anyone who uses an alarm clock. Plus, I’ve also been looking at WorkSnug, Harbor 3D and AutoStitch.

TimeTuner ($1.99)

The iPhone Clock app does a valiant job of waking me up, but sometimes even Apple’s own apps need a bit of jazzing up. Enter TimeTuner, a gorgeous alarm clock app with a chic, ever-so-slightly ’80’s style. The app includes a glowing green LED clock, alongside a customizable radio tuner.

Even without the alarm clock functionality, the radio tuner alone is a powerful app, certainly worth more than a couple of bucks. Powered by Radio Time, the tuner portion of the app is much more than regular Internet radio. TimeTuner started by recommending a selection of local Helsinki-based stations, minutes later I’d even tracked down my favorite London station, Resonance FM, and even assigned Dublab FM as one of my presets.

The app is also more than a nice clock radio. It’s location aware, which means it adjusts the time and stations depending on which city you just arrived in. There’s a swish sleep timer that’s only a scroll away. It’s got a fail-safe back-up alarm, plus you can even use your own music library as wake up tunes too.

The app has already found a new home on my iPhone’s main page, it really is that good. If you wake up with an alarm every morning, TimeTuner is an essential app. It’ll temporarily transform your iPhone in to a stylish alarm clock that sounds gorgeous too.

WorkSnug (Free)

I’ve now got two augmented reality apps. One for finding restaurants, movies and other points of interest. The other for looking for local Wikipedia and Wikitude results. WorkSnug does away with hunting for yummy food and engaging film, instead it’s a tool that helps you track down a space to work in the city.

The folks behind the app have apparently visited, rated and reviewed every place that’s listed. You can find out about free Wi-Fi, coffee quality, power outlets and noise levels, among other things. Note that the app is 3GS only and that it only just launched in London. WorkSnug will be coming to San Francisco soon, so in the meantime, nomadic freelancers should grab it anyway, before the app costs a few bucks.

AutoStitch (Free)

After going all out with a vast selection of iPhone camera apps, I’ve now cut down to the bare essentials: QuadCamera, Flickr and PhotoForge. As great as these apps are though, they can’t make panoramas. AutoStitch, on the other hand, effortlessly jigsaws your snaps together to create excellent panoramic imagery.

The clue is in the name with AutoStitch. With this app, there’s no marking images, laying photos out, or manual labor of any kind. Simply take your photos using your favorite camera app, open Autostitch, choose the photos to be stuck together and the app does the rest.

AutoStitch does some very clever stuff in the background, unsurprising given that is was originally developed at the University of British Columbia, Setting aside the complicated stuff though, the app is essentially an intelligent panorama maker. It takes what is usually a laborious process and, in the spirit of Apple, it just works.

Harbor Havoc 3D ($1.99)

It wouldn’t be right to discuss line drawing games on the iPhone, without first mentioning Flight Control. Spawning an array of wannabe’ clones, Flight Control is a simple and oh-so-satisfying game that finds you guiding a variety of planes to their designated runways.

Harbor Havoc 3D takes the Flight Control concept a step further, cloning and then improving upon the gameplay. It’s your job to guide a variety of different boats to the correct port by drawing a line from the boat to the color-coded port. So far, so familiar.

After level one though, Harbor Havoc 3D mixes things up by throwing in helicopters and helipads. This means that you’ve got to calculate speed and distance on two different plains. It’s a devious yet compelling twist. While the game certainly isn’t 3D, it’s jolly good sea-faring and airborne fun. Much like Flight Control, it takes moments to learn and is just as moreish.

That’s all the picks for this week. What apps have you been using?

As the weekend arrives it’s time to take another look at the latest iPhone apps to hit the store. As ever, I’ve selected four of the freshest picks for you to check out.

This week I’ve gathered a random assortment of app goodness for you to look at. There’s a great new sound toy, a tool for transforming your tweets into haikus, an app for Apple completists and a bombastic little tanks game.

My top pick for this week is Into Infinity, a new sound toy from the folks at dublab. Plus, I’ve also been looking at Twiku, iCombat Lite and Mactracker.

INTO INFINITY (Free)

The iPhone seems to be just the right platform for interacting with sound, so whenever a new sound toy hits the App Store I’ve just got to take a look. INTO INFINITY, an art and music exhibition presented by dublab and Creative Commons, lets you create your own swirling sound mixes and then tweet them out.

Once you’ve opened the app, orbs will start downloading to your mix space. Each orb is an audio-visual bubble, containing an image and a looped sample. Setting a variety of orbs in orbit immediately creates a musical milieu of sounds and melodies. Once you’ve created your perfect mix, hit the share button and you can send your creation to Twitter in a couple of taps.

The folks behind the app are pretty special too. On one side we have dublab, the label behind the most frequently listened to ‘net radio station (and a sterling podcast too). And then there’s the Japanese contingent of Creative Commons, providing forward-thinking licenses that, in this instance, allow us to legally share all the mixes made within the app.

Apart from being a fresh approach to creating mixes, INTO INFINITY is also worth supporting because of the app’s use of Creative Commons. I’m all for supporting sharing music — I’ve even made use of a stack of Creative Commons-licensed samples for my forthcoming album — so, for me, it’s doubly important to support these kind of initiatives. Grab the app, make some mixes and start sharing now.

Twiku ($1.99)

Right now it seems like there’s not much room left for another Twitter client on iPhone. Recently released Tweetie 2 sits at the top of the stack for me, closely followed by Birdfeed and Echofon. Frankly, at present, it’s seems as if all bases are covered by these three able and aesthetically scrummy apps.

As a new Twitter client though, Twiku presents a genuinely unique and certainly novel feature. As the blurb for Twiku points out, “There are many Twitter clients, but only Twiku can make your tweets; poetry.” And that’s exactly what it does, enabling you to transform your insightful and frequently witty observations — such as that rousing description of your lunch — into a delicate Haiku.

As you tap the tweet out, Twiku reads through your message and helps with the haiku composition process. The app includes an impressive 120 thousand word syllable-counting dictionary, allows saving of drafts and can even bypass Twitter, allowing you to mail your creations to your friends.

Mactracker (Free)

Mactracker provides detailed information on every Apple Macintosh ever manufactured. There’s the standard info, such as the device’s initial price and launch date, but there’s also slightly more obscure data too. For instance, did you know that the Macintosh Performa 400’s maximum RAM speed was 100 ns? Or that the Macintosh Portable featured a Sealed lead-acid battery.

Even if these interesting factoids don’t float your Apple-related boat, the app is worth downloading simply because it includes the Startup Chimes for every Macintosh ever released. That’s a whole lot of Startup Chime. And if your abode is overflowing with vintage Apple goods, this app will prove to be a incredibly valuable source of information.

iCombat Lite (Free)

Without a TV in my dainty little Helsinki apartment, I decided that it was time to give my Nintendo Wii away. It’s now installed underneath a large flat-panel TV at a friend’s home, allowing him access to the joys of golf, bowling and boxing from the comfort of his living room.

It’s not the lounge-based sports activities that I’m missing though, instead I’ve had a hankering for the excellent Wii Play tanks mini-game. Despite the slightly clumsy controls, iCombat Lite recreates the joys of the tanks mini-game. Across 10 levels, you’ll drive a toy tank around various arenas, attempting to explode your enemies using rockets, grenades and mines.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

It’s time to delve in to the App Store and take a look at a select few releases that could find a happy home on your iPhone. This week I’ve selected four games that I’ll be zoning out with this weekend.

Of course there are scores of games out for the iPhone, but we’ve been lucky enough to have a few really excellent titles released in the past week or so.

My top pick for this week is 8-bit rhythm-action game Ninja Honda Karate. Plus, I’ve also been looking at Eliminate Pro, Horror Racing and Minima.

Ninja Honda Karate ($2.99)

Amongst the endless generic game clones constantly arriving at the App Store, Ninja Honda Karate is a true breath of fresh air. It takes 8-bit video-games, Japanese culture, chip music and rhythm action gameplay, mashing it all together into a multicolor milieu of awesome.

The game premise just barely makes sense. You play as Karate Alberto Honda, a very Mario-esque but nonetheless cute hero. The aim is to karate chop coins in time to the blippy bloppy beat. Occasionally you’ll tap a mushroom, triggering a psychedelic rocket launch across the screen. At the end of each level, before the scores are tallied, you’ll also deliver a giant mushroom to the princess.

While the premise is gloriously nonsensical and convoluted, the gameplay is plain simple. Coins come out of various tubes on the screen, as they emerge, you simply tap the coin in time with the music. In effect, you end up performing the soundtrack as you play the game. The game certainly isn’t innovative, but that’s the point: it’s a beatific mashup of everything else.

Eliminate Pro (Free)

Developed under the apt codename FPS, this might not be the first first-person shooter to hit the iPhone, but it’s certainly the most polished. Eschewing a proper plot, or even single player mode, Eliminate is all about big guns, futuristic robotic suites and online multiplayer death matches.

The game certainly looks the part. Inside the immaculately designed arenas — all shiny metal-plating and steel walkways — you’ll face competitors in customised power-suits, armed to the teeth with explosive weaponry. Eliminate is, in essence, the pocket-sized lovechild of Quake 3 and Unreal Tournament.

However, a word of warning about the game’s price. It’s free to download and free to play, however your character is given a limited amount of energy per day. When your energy runs out, you’re no longer allowed to compete. You can either wait 24 hours for your energy to re-charge, play a few practice rounds or buy more.

And that’s where some of the more frequent players may take issue. Purchasing energy cells, starting at a dollar a pack, just isn’t good value. It’s a great quality game, certainly worth downloading, but don’t expect to play for free more than a couple of times per day.

Horror Racing ($2.99)

Halloween is over and Horror Racing was released around three weeks ago, so this almost didn’t make the cut. Horror Racing’s saving grace though is that it’s actually a really fun little game. The game brings to mind old-school arcade racers, viewed from above the track you have the perfect vantage point to observe the havoc and wreak devastation.

The game has very little to do with horror, though. The characters are more cute than scary. The circuits are awash with browns and greens, making it look like a muddy mess. The sound helps remedy the situation. The constant RC car buzz as you speed your way around the circuits is perfect.

And then there’s the gameplay itself. The races, a mix of explosions and skill, are downright fun. There are several gameplay modes, including an excellent on-going Championship Mode. As you play through the game, you’ll earn money which can then be spent upgrading your car’s engine, armour or weaponry. All that’s really missing with Horror Racing is a multiplayer online mode.

Minima (99 cents)

Clearly I’ve got a bit of a think for anything wrapped in retro visuals. I suppose I miss the glory days of my old BBC Micro and Commodore Amiga. My final pick for this week takes the retro aesthetic a step further, reducing the graphics to a grid of giant glowing pixels.

Minima takes after its name and keeps the gameplay incredibly minimal. You control a color-changing pixel. The objective is to avoid other pixels by changing color and blending in with them. Further enhancing the game’s retro-vibe, each of the nine levels is styled after a particular classic video-game.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

As another week passes, the seams of Apple’s App Store have been stretched even further with a deluge of new releases. Digging through the latest apps, I’ve selected four fresh picks for you to check out.

It’s Halloween and so my top pick for this week is Alive 4-ever, a top-down zombie shooter with plenty of guts and gore to go around. I’ve also been checking out TowerMadness Zero, NASA and WordPress 2.

Alive 4-ever ($1.79)

As it’s Halloween, I thought that at least one of my top picks this week should be themed for the occasion. Despite the clumsy sounding name, Alive 4-Ever is a surprisingly polished top-down shooter. The plot is simple and disgustingly cliché: for whatever reason, a zombie apocalypse happens, you take to the streets to rescue other survivors.

The game takes its inspiration from some of the best zombie titles out there, including Resident Evil and Left 4 Dead. There’s a battalion’s worth of weaponry on offer, including zombie-slaying classics like the AK-47. Plus, if you’re after more firepower you’re able to purchase bigger, stronger, faster guns in the shop after each level.

There’s also a Bluetooth multiplayer mode, allowing you to jump into the action with three other friends. Alongside guns, zombies and survivors, the game throws in experience points too. Completing a stage earns experience points, these precious points go towards upgrading your character. In effect, you’re able to become the ultimate undead-destroying warrior.

TowerMadness Zero (Free)

Earlier this month, our own Alfredo Padilla took a look at 49 different tower defense games for the iPhone. Owing to the epic nature of his list, days later Alfredo distilled the document down into five tower defense games worth owning. All of Alfredo’s picks costs a few bucks though and, in this cash-strapped climate, some of us don’t have much money to burn on iPhone games.

That’s where TowerMadness steps in. The game is available in two monetary flavors. You can purchase it for a couple of bucks, or you can download the Zero edition: a totally unrestricted ad-supported version of the game for free. The ads are unintrusive and targeted in such a way that, for the most part, they feel relevant.

Of course the iPhone doesn’t need another tower defense game. Aside from being free, TowerMadness is a pretty good representation of the best qualities of the genre. All the usual TD staples are there — waves of enemies, upgradable towers, strategic play — but it’s all wrapped up in excellent graphics too.

NASA (Free)

National organizations seem to be slowly switching on to the iPhone. Last year, the BBC decided to create an iPhone-specific version of its excellent iPlayer site. Canada’s National Film Board just released a wonderful app for viewing its content on the go. And now NASA has released its very own app, allowing us earthlings to keep up-to-date with space mission news.

The app is essentially like having a tiny mission-control in the palm of your hand. There’s a listing of all NASA Missions, all of which have awesome names like Mars Express and Mars Odyssey. Tapping through to a mission section provides a mission briefing, photos, videos and an ever-so-slightly ominous countdown timer.

For me, the best part of the app is the video section. Rather than attempt to visualize the various space happenings described in the app, the videos bring these extraordinary happens closer to home. You can observe spacecraft launches, see astronauts float around in zero gravity, listen to people in space describe their experiences, and watch history in the making.

WordPress 2 (Free)

The original WordPress app just wasn’t so hot. With a clunky and convoluted interface that was all function and no form, it immediately felt dated. And, for writers and bloggers alike, it certainly wasn’t the most inspiring environment in which to attempt to pen a post.

The user interface has been updated but still, on first look, the app looks worryingly basic. In fact, it’s disconcertingly similar to its clunky counterpart, WordPress 1. I appreciate that the WordPress app is here to serve a function, but, discounting features, surely it could have been executed with a little more pizazz?

Anyway, looks are not the most important thing with WordPress 2. This version introduces several new features to the mix. There’s automatic saving and restoring of posts. A new comments interface which includes author URL and Gravatars. The app even stores password in the keychain. If you’ve got your own WordPress blog, this is certainly an app worth checking out.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

The long-awaited weekend has finally arrived and with it comes the opportunity to consider purchasing some shiny new Apple hardware. If you’re looking for a distraction from those wallet-emptying new Apple toys, I suggest you check out my picks from the App Store.

This week’s picks are all about distractions, I’ve selected four apps to take your mind off everything else. My top pick is NFB Films, the National Film Board of Canada’s official iPhone app. Plus I’ve also been looking at Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals, Rebtel and Mr. Bounce.

NFB Films (Free)

Knowing little about the National Film Board of Canada, I was admittedly drawn to the app for other reasons. You see, I’m a long-time fan of Boards of Canada, a Scottish duo who make crackling, whistful electronic music. The pair are known for borrowing samples — and even their name — from Canada’s NFB.

The app itself has absolutely nothing to do with the musicians. It’s actually a meticulously archived selection of videos plucked from the National Film Board of Canada’s brimming library. There’s both classic and current content, organized into categories such as Classics, Documentaries, Animated Films and Social Issues. It’s worth noting that these aren’t clips — the videos are feature-length presentations.

For such a vast quantity of content, it’s encouraging that the app is focused on usability. Browsing content feels just like Apple’s own iPod app, you can mark videos to be watched later, or send to a friend too. There’s even a button to find out what other nearby users are watching. And all this for free, too. It’s really quite brilliant. It’s a truly wonderful app and the NFB should be commended for allowing us all access to such a fantastic collection.

Jamie Oliver’s 20 Minute Meals ($7.99)

Cooking might not be everyone’s idea of fun but, for the non-believers, I can assure you that once you get started it’s a joy. There’s nothing quite like creating a gorgeous looking plate of food and then, in the process of devouring it, discovering that it’s actually quite tasty too.

The turning point for me came after I attempted Jamie Oliver’s recipe for pan-fried tuna steak with fresh asparagus wrapped in pancetta. Before that, the extent of my cooking ability was scrambled egg. Or omelette if I happened to get distracted and forgot to do the scrambling. For me, Jamie made cooking easy and accessible. A pleasure instead of a complex chore.

The iPhone app is essentially a Jamie Oliver cookbook infused with a dollop of multimedia goodness. There are 50 recipes included, all of which can be thrown together in 20 minutes. Each recipe features mouth-watering step-by-step photos and audio clips from Jamie too. There’s even a range of videos presented by Jamie to help you learn essential kitchen skills. A proper pukka package, as the man himself might say.

Rebtel (Free)

News broke a couple of weeks back that AT&T is finally ready to allow Internet voice calls over its wireless network. What this means for iPhone users in the U.S. is that soon you’ll be able to make calls using the Skype app over 3G.

We’re still waiting for the news to manifest itself in an actual Skype app update, furthermore it’s unclear whether carriers across Europe will follow suit with AT&T. This is where VOIP service Rebtel comes in. The company claim that their new app allows super-cheap VOIP calls on the iPhone today.

Except the app doesn’t quite do that. What it actually does is uses a smart workaround to create a clever compromise. When you call a contact using Rebtel, the app automatically generates a local number which your call is routed through. It’s essentially an automated version of the Skype To Go service.

Mr Bounce (99 cents)

The last of my devastatingly distracting picks this week comes in the form of a game. Mr Bounce gives Atari’s oft-cloned Breakout an intriguing physics-based twist. Rather than just controlling the bat, you also control the ball’s altitude.

Initially it feels complicated. Like a physicists re-imagining of a classic game. Changing the altitude effectively changes the bounciness of the ball. There’s also trajectory projection, so you can see the path that the ball will follow. The game is even rendered with an RGB aesthetic and glowing vector geometry.

Once you’ve traversed the first few levels though, the game clicks and you’ll be guided through 25 excellent levels by the catchy blippy bloppy soundtrack. Great fun and great value too as Mr Bounce is currently only 99 cents.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

Welcome to the weekend, a time for rest, relaxation and, most importantly, downloading the latest releases from the App Store. As ever, I’ve selected four fresh picks for the iPhone for you to check out.

This week’s picks are all about getting the most out of your iPhone. My top pick is Boxcar, an excellent push notifications app. Plus I’ve also been looking at Google Wave, Layar and Photoshop.com Mobile.

Boxcar (Free)

Push notifications — those handy messages that alert you to stuff going on inside an app — are curiously absent from my favorite iPhone apps. Facebook’s latest update didn’t integrate push, perhaps because of the cost implication. And Tweetie 2, released just a few weeks back, omitted push notifications too.

Boxcar provides for all your push notification needs. The app can grab the latest @replies, DMs and notifications from Facebook, Twitter and even your e-mail account. Receive a message and you’ll get a push notification on your iPhone. Tap the ‘view’ button and you’ll be taken directly to the message in your app of choice, such as Tweetie 2 or Facebook.

The app is free to download with one service included. You can purchase additional services for a one-time fee. Note that, if you’re intending to use Boxcar for Twitter, there’s a trick to setting up your Twitter notifications: make sure to click Twitter’s ’sign in’ button rather than the iPhone ‘done’ button. Aside from that, you’ll find it’s perfectly smooth sailing.

Google Wave (Web App)

If you’re lucky enough to have access to Google Wave, this is a recommendation that you check out the iPhone app. Otherwise, if you’ve still not received an invite to Google’s new service, consider this a micro-preview.

Google Wave fever hit Twitter earlier this week and I caught the bug. In a desperate bid to get early access to Wave, I wrote and sent two poems to Google, hoping to coax an invite out of them. Despite penning some poetry, I ended up having to track down an invite via my contacts on Twitter.

To install, simply log-in to Google Wave then, using Mobile Safari, save the following address to your Home screen: http://wave.google.com. The Web app launches in ‘app mode’ which means it looks and acts like a real app — no Safari browser buttons or address bar.

From the main page of the Web app you’re able to browse through current waves, create a new wave and initiate a search. Despite feeling a little clunky (it’d probably run much more smoothly as a native app) it’s clear that Google has put a lot of effort into transferring the service to iPhone. For Wave users, this is one Web app worth bookmarking.

Layar (Free)

If you’re still clinging on to your dowdy old iPhone 3G, you might want to look away for a moment. This recommendation is for 3GS owners only. Layar is another augmented reality app, but with a slight twist — it packs in a ton of features and it’s free.

The app certainly isn’t as pretty as Nearest Places, but Layar really does pack in an overwhelming amount of reality augmenting tools and toys. The app fuses your iPhone camera with a browser, allowing you to initiate a search and then see an overlay of local points of interest relating to your search.

The interface is somewhat cluttered though and, because of the amount of options available, it does feel overwhelming the first time you open the app up. However, it’s totally free and certainly worth investing a few minutes getting to grips with the app’s nuances.

Photoshop.com Mobile (Free)

Last week I omitted Photoshop from the App Store Pick. I wanted to focus on fun and games, plus Photoshop.com Mobile just didn’t tickle my fancy. Indeed, it’s nice that Adobe finally brought Photoshop to the iPhone, but it’s nothing more — the app isn’t really Photoshop, it’s simply a few presets and a tool for uploading to Photoshop.com.

In fact, the app seems to be an extension of Adobe’s current strategy. Adobe haven’t necessarily dropped the ball, it’s more like they’re letting it slowly slip from their hands, as if that’s a more graceful way to fail. Their iPhone app is another example of that. It feels stifled and primitive when there’s so much potential for shrinking Photoshop down to palm-size proportions.

Nevertheless, if you’re looking to get your photo-editing fix for free, Photoshop.com Mobile is an excellent tool to download. Before you do though, I’d politely request that you take a quick glance at PhotoForge — it’s a few bucks, sure, but it’s just so useful, easy and fun.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

It’s the weekend and I’m over in London investigating a host of new iPhone apps out later this year. In the meantime, I’ve hand-picked four of the latest releases from the App Store for you to check out.

This week I’ve selected a smattering of fun games. My top pick for this week is Canabalt, plus I’ve also been looking at Nota, Tap Tap Revenge 3 and Real Football 2010.

Canabalt ($2.99)

Earlier this week Adobe announced that the latest version of Flash, version CS5, will support iPhone app development. What this means is that an app can be created using Flash and then effectively rendered out as an iPhone-compatible app file.

Ustwo, who I spoke to earlier this week, prototyped its minimalist designer game .™ in 48 hours using Flash. With CS5, developers will be able to handle prototyping and development without leaving Flash. What this means for us folk who download apps is that we’re on the cusp of another exciting period in iPhone development, especially in terms of gaming.

Which brings us to Canabalt, a game which debuted several weeks ago online in Flash form and has since been ported across the the iPhone. It’s a furious filmic rush as you dash across a futuristic rooftop, jumping buildings, dodging debris and trying to survive for as long as possible. This is one button gaming at its very best, a worthwhile download for all iPhone gamers.

Nota ($2.99)

The iPhone has great potential as an e-learning tool, but so far, it feels like an unexplored area. It’s fair enough I suppose…developers need to make a living too and other app genres, such as games, seem like they have more potential for generating profit. It’s a shame though as there’s so much potential to create something wonderful for learning on the iPhone, something just like Nota.

Nota is a music learning tool. It’s got all the beginners stuff, covering notes and crochets and all that jazz, but it dips into the realms of advanced music theory too. There’s a comprehensive reference section containing music terminology, a music quiz with two difficulty levels and even a four octave piano with a real-time musical stave.

As a musician and producer myself I think it’s important to make learning music more accessible to everyone. The app’s rich selection of tools and toys, combined with a quality finish in terms of the visual design, make this a great investment for professional musicians and students alike.

Tap Tap Revenge 3 (99 cents)

The third iteration of Tap Tap Revenge touched down in the App Store earlier this week, but this time it’s going to cost you. The two previous iterations have been free but with the third game Tapulous is charging 99 cents, a paltry sum for such a feature-packed offering.

The game packs in all the usual TTR staples, such as online play, track downloads and competitions. There’s a refreshed track-listing bundled with it too, containing music from Fall Out Boy and Tiesto, alongside premium track downloads supplied by some seriously impressive names, including Smashing Pumpkins, Killers and Foo Fighters.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, it can be summed up as Dance Dance Revolution for the iPhone. Instead of dancing with your feet, you tap with your fingers, plus there’s some shaking and tilting thrown in for good measure too. Regardless of whether or not you’ve got rhythm, if you love music, this is the game to download.

Real Soccer 2010 ($3.99)

Yet again, Gameloft has launched another game that’s terribly similar to a couple of other big name console franchises. This time the folks at Gameloft have taken their inspiration from the FIFA soccer franchise and the ISS Pro series.

Aside from the omission of real soccer team names — Manchester United becomes Man Red, for example — Real Soccer 2010 delivers everything you’d expect out of a console soccer game. There are real player names, a massive range of teams, a convincing in-game commentary system, single-player leagues as well as online matches and so much more.

Normally I’d condone this type of uninspired game design, but the thing with Gameloft is that the end product of its barefaced borrowing is always executed with such flair, focus and immense polish. For soccer fans especially, this should be a definite download.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

If you listen to music on the go, chances are you suffer from tangled and knotted wires on your buds. I’ve discovered an effortless solution for keeping my 3GS buds untangled. If you want to learn my secret, watch the video below.

A few months back, I purchased a pair of Skullcandy Full Metal Jacket earphones. Unfortunately, they’ve stopped working and, what’s worse, the folks at Skullcandy still haven’t replied to any of my emails.

Rather than dwell on the disappointment of my bad Skullcandy buds, I decided to dig out the free headphones I received from Apple with my iPhone 3GS.

My bright white 3GS buds work wonderfully, plus they even feature in-line volume controls and a good quality mic. However the cables, being awkwardly spindly, tend to tangle up at any opportunity.

All the usual anti-tangling techniques involve rolling your wire up tightly — less movement means less potential for tangling. A tight roll can also damage the actual wire in your headphones, though.

I’ve happened upon a three-step technique that solves my tangling issues. There’s nothing to learn, there are no special knots, and there’s absolutely no wrapping, rolling or tying of any sort. It’s the perfect technique for lazy listeners.

It’s worth noting that you could probably use this method with any headphones, but I’ve only tried it using Apple’s iPhone 3GS buds. It’s made possible because of the little clip that’s attached to one of the wires on the 3GS headphones.

Note that I’ve found that one of the buds can get a little tangled occasionally, though most of the time, this trick works almost perfectly and I rarely encounter knots or tangles.

After testing this at home, I searched high and low and haven’t managed to find anyone else sharing this tip online. Please let me know in the comments if it works for you, too.

Taking you behind-the-scenes of a real iPhone app’s development, in this installment I attempt to make my own iPhone app in one weekend and learn from Ustwo about how to take an idea to the App Store in just 48 hours.

It’s been a few weeks since my last entry in the App Developer Diary. Markus, the coder based here in Helsinki, has been busy. This week he unveiled a playable prototype of our app, allowing me to test and refine the main game mechanic.

In the meantime, Matias coded up a cute little mini-game over the course of one weekend. While he worked on the programming, I created the sound, music and artwork (above). In one weekend we created a really great little game, almost ready to be released in the App Store.

We’re not the only developers who have been working on these quick-fire app concepts. Mobile development studio Ustwo also took an idea from hasty scribble to the App Store in just 48 hours. It’s encouraging to see that their first 48 hour app, simply titled .™, is now selling as a 99 cent download.

Have You Seen the Dot?

We didn’t do much planning for our own 48 hour app. Matias came up with an idea — a button-tapping game with a bizarre musical twist — and built it. Ustwo, being a little more strategic, managed to sketch out a few concepts before coding up their app.

Ustwo founder Mills sat down with his iPhone development team and threw together a development plan. Their app would be cool, simple and addictive. Most importantly though, it would stake a claim in the App Store, showcasing their ability to think fast and be creative under pressure.

Mills laid down a fundamental ground rule too: the scope of the project would go no further than two days. The app would be submitted to Apple on hour 48 of development.

Just the Basics

Stepping up to the challenge, the Ustwo team produced three simple sketches. Their hastily drawn plan outlined the game’s control system, look and feel, and gameplay mechanic.

The sketches only cover the essentials, but that’s really all that the team needed to get coding. The first image covers the game’s accelerometer-based control method, and main character — a dot — alongside succinctly stating that the app will have a, “minimal aesthetic.”

The second sketch contains an ultra-refined executive summary of the game: control dot to select smaller dots. The gameplay mechanic is revealed in the third sketch. Your dot is shrinking, he needs to eat dots to stay alive, triangles will kill him.

In just three images we’ve got a clear idea of how a typical game will play out. You’ll be tilting and twisting the iPhone, sliding a shrinking dot around the screen and trying to collect other dots while avoiding an onslaught of death-dealing triangles.

From Paper To Flash

After sketching out the game concept, the team took the concept to the computers. Their first step was to flesh out a quick playable prototype of the game concept using Flash. Focusing on look and feel, they tested a variety of different visual designs alongside taking a closer look at the controls too.

With the prototype working as expected and with the sketches for reference, the app was hastily coded up. After a quick round of QA — searching for bugs, design and gameplay issues — the team submitted the app for App Store approval. For Ustwo, the 48 hour app concept worked. It made development fun, it reduced costs and it challenged the coders and designers to think quickly and creatively.

It’s possible that we’ll be seeing more studios take on the 48 hour app challenge. Adobe recently announced that the forthcoming update of Flash, version CS5, will render files in the iTunes App Store format. This is a serious boon for Flash-based artists and designers everywhere, putting the tools for app development into the hands of even more creatives. In the case of Ustwo, they even created a fully-functional web version of .™, using Flash.

Our own 48 hour app still needs a few final tweaks before being submitted to the App Store. Ustwo’s successful 48 hour development, .™, is currently available from the App Store for 99 cents.

Fueled by a burning desire to bring you the latest iPhone app recommendations, I’ve kept a keen eye on the new App Store releases this week. As ever, I’ve hand-picked four apps for you to check out.

This week I’ve given my picks a social twist, whether it’s tweeting, traveling or just talking. My top pick for this week is Ping!, plus I’ve also been looking at TwitMusic, Papaya Farm and Nearest Places.

Ping! (Free)

In just over a year I’ve purchased two iPhones — a 3G and a 3GS — totaling just over €1,000. Alongside the two iPhones, I’ve also paid €15 per month for my 3G connection, €2 per month for my carrier contract and countless euros per day on apps.

I’m not actually going to tally all of that up. My brain refuses to let me. Let’s all agree that it’s a lot of money and I’d be forgiven for leaping on any opportunity to save a bit of my hard-earned cash.

With that in mind, Ping! is the perfect antidote to a dwindling bank account. Currently free to download, the app allows you to send SMS-style messages over your data connection, which are then delivered via push to other contacts who are also registered with Ping!.

Indeed, there’s a few other IM apps that handle push, but it’s worth noting that Ping! isn’t instant messaging as such, it’s much more akin to SMS. You don’t pay to send messages, or receive, and your account is free too. Registration literally takes ten seconds, from within the app, so you’ve got no excuses — grab that app!

TwitMusic (99 cents)

Earlier this week, Loren Brichter finally announced that he has submitted the long-awaited update to Tweetie, his Apple Design Award-winning Twitter client for iPhone. If this is news to you then check out my in depth preview from earlier this week.

The latest version of Tweetie, a complete overhaul of the original app, packs in an overwhelming array of new features. However, there’s a few features missing — such as groups, push and music tweeting — that would have certainly bolstered the app’s offering even more.

The latter of the three features I just mentioned is covered by TwitMusic. It’s an app designed for just one function: tweeting whatever song you’re listening to right now. The app will grab all the details about whatever tune you’re rocking at that moment and push it to Twitter. An excellent app for those who like sharing their personal soundtrack with the world.

Papaya Farm (Free)

A few weeks back I tried out Button, an unsettling multiplayer game in which the only objective is to push the big green button. Randomly tapping the mysterious button throughout the day has given me a test for more multiplayer gaming on my iPhone.

Compared to Button, Papaya Farm, despite it’s slightly more complex gameplay, is much more relaxing. The game finds you tending to your own digital farm: a place where the virtual grass is lush and green, and, with your assistance, the harvest is fruitful.

The real game begins when you start playing with your friends. Your fellow farmers play dirty and attempt to steal your crops. In retaliation, you install security dogs. Your friends then send you abusive messages via Ping! You subsequently forget that all you really wanted to do was grow a carrot. The game descends into chaos. It’s great fun.

Nearest Places ($1.99)

The final app this week is just for 3GS owners. Nearest Places is an app that makes use of augmented reality (subscription required). This buzzword seems to have just become fashionable again but it does mean something pretty cool: you can look through your camera and see lots of extra data about the world around you, Terminator style!

Rather than point you in the direction of your local subway or tube station, Nearest Places brings just about everything else to you. Through your iPhone’s camera you’ll be able to locate the nearest bars, museums, ATMs and more.

Acrossair, the folks behind the app, have uploaded several videos on YouTube showing how its augmented reality technology works on iPhone. If you’re still unsure how it’ll actually work on your 3GS, you can also check out Yelp’s app, available for free, which contains an augmented reality Easter egg.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

The sequel to Tweetie, the Twitter client that earned itself the much-coveted Apple Design Award earlier this year, is on its way to the App Store as you read this.

For the past few weeks I’ve been part of Loren Brichter’s Tweetie 2 beta program, testing out new features as the former Apple engineer constructed his new Twitter client.

Brichter has rebuilt Tweetie from the ground-up. The sequel incorporates features such as app persistence, offline mode, drafts, threaded conversations, landscape support and much more.

Read on for an in-depth look at what to expect from Tweetie 2.

Look & Feel

While Tweetie 2 incorporates an updated aesthetic, it won’t be difficult for both new and veteran users to get to grips with the app. More so impressive is how the app incorporates a raft of new features without overwhelming the user.

Even after playing with Tweetie 2 for a few weeks, I’m still discovering new functionality. For instance, when replying to a tweet you can now drag down with your finger to “peek” at the original message.

It’s a small feature indeed but finding these kind of miniscule updates brings to mind that satisfied glow we all get when discovering new features in OS X. In essence, skimming through tweets, tapping out messages and finding new folk to follow looks and feels great with Tweetie 2.

Writing & Replying

Composing richer tweets is easier now. Tweetie 2 lays out the different options clearly so that you can quickly add content to your latest 140 character micro-opus. In a given tweet you’re able to access your Twitter address-book and @ messages, search current hashtags, geotag your tweet and add photos too.

Plus, just like with Tweetie on OS X, you can now shrink URLs with the tap of a button. Obsessively attentive readers may have noticed me video tweeting from Big Bird over the past few weeks, that’s because Tweetie 2 also incorporates video tweeting from the 3GS.

There’s also a wealth of options available beyond simply retweeting a message from someone that you’re following. Now you can quote the tweet, post a direct link, translate and even e-mail the tweet to a friend — all without leaving the app itself.

For prolific Twitter users there’s now a drafts manager. This means that you can write and save a stack of tweets for posting later on. I’ve found that it’s particularly handy to have several drafted tweets ready to go just incase you get hit by a case of tweeter’s block.

Browsing the Timeline

The app now features full persistence. This means that if you’re, say, tapping through a prolonged conversation and then you quit the app, you’re able to pick up exactly where you left off. Every single time you exit, the app remembers your place and drops you right back there.

Offline reading has been incorporated too. You’re now able to compose those witty little one-liners while offline, save them to your drafts, and unleash them on the Twittersphere next time you’re online. Even users or tweets you follow, block or favorite while offline will be synced back to the server.

Exactly like the desktop version of Tweetie, there are now threaded conversations, making it much easier to jump into an ongoing discussion and catch up with what you missed. Also, although I don’t use any read this later services, some users will be pleased to note that there’s Read It Later and Instapaper support too.

One of the most ingenious little additions to the timeline view is the “drag to refresh” gesture. Instead of tapping a refresh button, you simply scroll to the top of the timeline and then drag down. It works as intended and, thanks to the gesture combined with a sound-effect and flippy-floppy arrow, it feels tangible and satisfying.

Landscapes & Locations

Not only can you compose a tweet in landscape view, the entire app can be browsed in landscape view. I appreciate that some users may have been waiting for this, however it’s not a feature that I particularly wanted, nor do I make use of now that it’s here. If I could find the button to turn off auto-rotate, I would do so.

Setting that little niggle aside, the Nearby tweets feature has received a much-needed overhaul too. The original Tweetie displayed an odd looking radar animation before loading a basic, but functional, timeline of tweets nearby your current location.

The new Tweetie loads up a Google Map and then pops up tiny speech bubble icons representing all the tweets in your vicinity. It’s an effective way of sorting through local tweets and is a more creative approach than the standard timeline view.

And There’s Even More…

There are details and small features that you almost certainly won’t come across within the first few days of using the app. For instance, Brichter has now included profile editing from within the app.

Another feature that I just picked up on today is the ability to tweet simultaneously from multiple accounts. When composing a tweet you simply tap the “New Tweet” header at the top of the screen and then select the other accounts that you’d like to post the message from.

The Bottom Line

The app is a standalone purchase, as opposed to an update/upgrade. It’ll be available in the App Store soon for only $2.99, just like the original iPhone Tweetie. There’s also an update to the Mac version on the way, however this will be a free update to current owners of Tweetie for OS X.

If you’re unfamiliar with the current state of Twitter clients, we’ve got a great roundup here on TheAppleBlog. It’s worth noting that the original Tweetie came out on top as one of the top clients.

The new app definitely gets a thumbs-up from me, although I’d be interested to know which of you will be upgrading to Tweetie 2 when it comes out.

As another week draws to a close, the App Store expands even further with a torrent of new toys and tools. As ever, I’ve hand-picked four recent iPhone releases for you to take a look at.

This week I’ve given our picks a creative vibe, selecting four different apps that let you engage with your artistic and cultural side. My top pick for the week is Xewton Music Studio, plus I’ve been looking at Snapture, GraffitiGeo and McSweeney’s.

Xewton Music Studio ($19.99)

Armed with an iPhone, there’s never been so much choice for making music on the move. Despite all the choice, the recording app I keep coming back to is FourTrack. It’s a fully-featured 4 track recorder, complete with bouncing, panning, metronome and Wi-Fi sharing.

When it comes to full on audio sequencing and sketching out bigger ideas, I head for Intua’s BeatMaker. The app costs twenty bucks, but for producers it’s definitely worth it: this is about as close to Ableton Live as you’ll get on your iPhone.

Now it looks like I might be adding Xewton Music Studio to my iPhone audio app lineup. Rather than put the focus on electronica, like Beatmaker, Music Studio is essentially a sequencer designed with traditional composers and songwriters in mind.

Xewton Music Studio includes 21 instruments, a 128-track sequencer, piano-roll note editor, real-time effects and lots more. Although the app may well take some time to learn, it’s powerful enough to potentially become a useful composition tool for many musicians.

Snapture ($1.99)

With Flickr, QuadCamera and PhotoForge handling all of the photo processing on my iPhone, I wasn’t sure if there was room for another camera app. Arriving at the App Store by way of Cydia, Snapture is a very tempting and feature-packed photo processing tool. Tempting as it is for my 3GS, this recommendation is for 3G users only.

The app rolls in a raft of useful functions, such as High Speed Multishot and Level Aid. Plus, once you’ve taken your photos, you can stay within the app to browse and manage your library.

It’s worth noting that the app currently doesn’t make use of the 3GS iPhone’s tap-to-focus functionality. While Snapture works well enough on Apple’s latest device, I would urge 3GS owners to hold out until the app integrates this much requested feature.

GraffitiGeo (Free)

Last Summer I signed a two-year contract with Sonera and received a white iPhone 3G. After arriving home and spending far too long trying to decide if I should film the unboxing (I didn’t), I tore away the packing, activated my iPhone and headed for the App Store.

One of the first apps that I downloaded was Graffitio, an old-school bulletin board that included geo-location support. After tagging various locations and adding a few messages, I got a little bored. The app’s long lists of tiny text felt too plain for my iPhone.

Released this Summer, GraffitiGeo takes the location tagging concept even further. The app feels like a fun version of Dopplr — as a tool, GraffitiGeo is useful for finding food, events and places of interest. And it’s surprisingly compelling as a toy too, as you’re able to form gangs and earn achievements. Definitely one to check out for iPhone owners in big cities.

McSweeney’s (99 cents)

McSweeney’s has always been a reliable destination for deliciously absurd, charming, silly, classy and fun literary offerings. While there are longer pieces to delve into, my favorite is a very short piece by Mike Ward called, E-mail Addresses It Would Be Really Annoying To Give Out Over The Phone.

Regular readers of McSweeney’s monochromatic online offering will be used to getting their fix for free. Although the iPhone app isn’t free, it includes access to a weekly fix of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency.

The most promising aspect of McSweeney’s iPhone app is that it includes a six month subscription to the Small Chair. Every single week for the next six months you’ll receive scrummy multimedia blips — songs, videos, stories and such — from clever creative folk like Spike Jonze, Chris Ware and Jonathan Ames.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

Apparently, as far as the folks at Apple are concerned, all roads lead to Cupertino.

Toying with your latest Apple purchase, it’s not unusual to marvel at the visual joys of the Cupertino company’s product design — gorgeous electronic objects one and all, whether it be the pristine sheen of a brand new Unibody Mac Book Pro or the iconic form factor of an iPod classic.

Dazzled by these aesthetically excellent devices, it’s sometimes easy to forget the software. You might still get that warm glow as you swipe your finger across your brand new iPhone’s oleophobic screen, but did you ever stop to consider any of those lovely looking icons speeding past your extended index digit?

An icon that’s certainly worth a moment of your time is the one that Apple created for Maps. Grab your iPhone now and took a good look at it — notice anything familiar? Try looking a little closer.

Just in case you’re not familiar with that address – 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA — it’s precisely where the magic happens, the place where dreams are made: the location of Apple’s headquarters in California.

It’s not coincidental that the iPhone Maps icons references Apple’s headquarters. The Address Book application for OS X features the very same address for Apple’s HQ, and the Cupertino folks certainly aren’t strangers to incorporating curious details and other such Easter Eggs in their product designs.

If you’ve discovered any other interesting Apple Easter Eggs, let us know!

It’s the end of another week and so it’s time for me to scour the latest releases in the App Store for the hottest new iPhone apps. As ever, I’ve selected four hot picks released in the last seven days for you to check out.

This week I’ve plucked our picks from across the globe. Hailing from Japan, my top pick this week is Brain Controller.

I’ve also checked out Finland’s Pajatzo, France’s Adrenaline Golf and Germany’s Vinyl DJ.

Brain Controller ($2.99)

Created by the apparently twisted minds at Motion Portrait Inc. over in Japan, Brain Controller might not be the most useful app to add to your collection but, it may well be the strangest. If you’re looking to drop some jaws and raise some eyebrows while showing off your iPhone, this is the app for you.

After shooting a photo of your friend, the app will work its truly impressive magic on your unsuspecting cohort. Brain Controller creates a Men In Black-style video, featuring a small alien emerging from your friend’s cranium before delivering a personalized message.

Those that still need convincing can check out some of the videos, uploaded directly from the app to YouTube, or even try out mpChange, an excellent little site that uses the same technology to mess with your face in a variety of utterly weird ways.

Pajatzo (99 cents)

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know how I regularly indulge in pachinko-based fun on my iPhone. It all started several months ago with Rockchinko, a pachinko game that introduces rockabilly and bullet-time to the mix.

As a newcomer to Finland, I couldn’t help but notice pajazzo machines in a few of my favorite haunts. Pajazzo is the Finnish equivalent of pachinko. Played by shooting a coin into the machine, your coin will ricochet around before hopefully scoring a jackpot and earning you a modest return on your investment.

As pajazzo’s success never quite reached the epic proportions of its Japanese counterpart, and seeing as most machines are now dusty disused relics, Pajatzo for iPhone might be your only chance to try out this addictive Finnish classic.

Adrenaline Golf (99 cents)

From the folks behind Adrenaline Golf and Adrenaline Poker is the imaginatively titled Adrenaline Golf. Eurocenter, based in France, specialize in developing online games for iPhone. In fact, looking at their back catalogue, all of their releases feature an online component.

While Eurocenter’s Poker wasn’t the most effective online poker game for iPhone (my pick would be Zynga’s excellent Live Poker), they’ve managed to create something solid and fun with Adrenaline Golf. Online multiplayer matches are mixed up with trampolines, bumpers and even cannons.

Particularly surprising is Adrenaline Golf’s price. For just a buck iPhone 3GS owners get a true taster of the fledgling device’s graphical prowess. The details are delicious, from shimmering tropical waters to glowing night-time torches.

Vinyl DJ (99 cents)

This week’s final pick comes to us from Germany. Developed by Armin Heinrich, Vinyl DJ is strictly for iPhone-owning audiophiles who long for the golden days of music, when the closest thing to the iTunes Music Store was wandering down to your local record shop and sifting through never ending racks of dusty vinyl.

Vinyl was kicked to the curb though, sidelined for streamlined, portable and, most importantly, digital formats. Even though the benefits of digital are hard to ignore, there are some who claim that our new-fangled devices are lacking a certain je ne sais quoi.

And that’s where Vinyl DJ comes in. This app brings back that vintage vibe with a variety of effects including dust, crackle, scratch, mechanical noise and, of course, that all important record deck hum.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

The Beatles may not have arrived in the iTunes Music Store just yet, but it’s not all disappointing news: the App Store has been updated with a new look and a stack of new iPhone apps have been released. As ever, here are my picks from the latest additions.

My top pick for this week is Hitchcock, plus I’ve also checked out Newsstand, Blades of Fury and Rhapsody.

Hitchcock ($19.99)
There’s a fantastic range of apps on offer to budding iPhone-based photographers at the moment. Tools such as QuadCamera and ColorSplash make for fun and effective photo-enhancing toys, and, once you’re done touching up your latest masterpiece, you can share your photography on Flickr via their official app. For folk who want to take their photography a step further and start dabbling in film, Hitchcock has arrived. Don’t let the messy interface fool you, this is a powerful app that’s packed with seriously useful features. Essentially a storyboarding tool, the app allows you to drop in photos as panels, outline camera movement, set shot durations and even add audio notes. Once you’ve laid out your latest shoot, you can export as a PDF too. Possibly a tad pricey but potentially an indispensable tool for indie film directors.

Newsstand ($4.99)
Byline might have been the most useful RSS reader on the block, but there’s a new news-gathering app in town and it’s got a great feature-set and good looks too. Newsstand incorporates a gorgeous newspaper rack style interface, fusing traditional with modern, allowing you to skim the latest headlines in style. Alongside Google Reader syncing, Instapaper support and sharing via Twitter, Newsstand also incorporates two essential RSS features: offline browsing and an embedded browser. I like to be able to open the app up and sync the latest news and happenings across the web for reading later. And for when I’m connected, an embedded browser is essential for those moments when I want to explore a story a little further.

Blades of Fury ($6.99)
There are two interesting things about this app. First up, this game is effectively classic Japanese coin-op and console beat-em-up Soul Calibur, shrunk on to the iPhone. It’s 10 medieval fantasy characters, each brandishing a different sort of pointy stick and an array of special moves. And secondly, Gameloft has seriously upped its quality on the iPhone. It’s heavily leaning on the ideas of other more-successful gaming franchise, like Gangstar’s GTA-style gameplay and Modern Combat’s Battlefield vibe, but it’s releasing good games nonetheless. Just like it’s predecessors, Blades of Fury is derivative, but that’s only noticeable because it does such a stunning job of re-creating Soul Calibur. The artwork and graphics are a true achievement, I’m surprised to see that the iPhone can be pushed so far and while the control scheme isn’t perfect, it certainly works well enough to make for a fun hack ‘n’ slash fighter.

Rhapsody (free)
The joys of Spotify might not have reached the U.S. just yet, but that doesn’t mean that those of you who are stateside can’t enjoy the benefits of all-you-can-eat music streaming. Real Networks, the folks behind the wonderfully bloated ad-touting Real Player, launched its own iPhone app this week. Rhapsody hooks into Real’s music network, giving you wireless access to their gargantuan library, apparently touting more than 8 million songs. There are some neat music browsing features, like Rhapsody Radio and Charts, however, as our own Darrell Etherington noted, the sound quality isn’t so hot. It’s worth checking out though as, although you’ll need to be a paying subscriber to use the app on a regular basis, Real is currently offering a seven-day free trial of the service.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with a fresh selection of App Store recommendations.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

This week’s arrival of Spotify in the App Store (right now limited to UK, Sweden, France, Spain, Norway and Finland stores) could be the ideal opportunity for us all to throw iTunes in the trash and experience the freedom that Spotify has to offer.

Speculation was rife as to whether Spotify would even make it into the App Store. However, Apple’s somewhat unexpected approval of the all-you-can-eat music service means that iPhone and iPod touch users can now listen to anything and (almost) everything, wherever they may be.

For the moment, Spotify is available exclusively in Europe. Released initially for both Mac and PC, the desktop version of Spotify looks and functions quite similarly to iTunes, except with one major difference: everything in the store is free.

Users of Spotify are granted the freedom to cherry pick their favorite tracks, nibbling on morsels of music and sampling the latest flavors, and the tools to legally share them too. You’re able to select any song and instantly generate a URL linking back to the full track, making sharing music a breeze.

The Spotify iPhone app has changed everything. I’m no longer tied to its desktop application. With the iPhone app, I’m able to download and listen to thousands of tracks on the go, which gets me to thinking, is it time I threw iTunes in the trash?

Playlists Versus Libraries

Shifting over from iTunes to Spotify has been a more difficult transition than I expected. Making use of the iTunes “keep my music folder organized” option, my own iTunes library is stored on an external HD where each track is properly named, tagged, numbered and even dated. If I could, I’d wear a top hat and monocle while showing guests around my immaculately maintained iTunes library.

When I’m at home, it’s all about the album experience. I prefer to consume music as the artist originally intended, whether it be the epic tones of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side Of The Moon and Sigur Rós’s Ágætis Byrjun, or the bloops and glitches of Kraftwerk’s Computer World and Aphex Twin’s Chosen Lords.

Out and about however I don’t even tend to listen to music anymore. Over the past couple of years I’ve succumbed to the joys of podcasts via iTunes, subscribing to The Bugle, Answer Me This and Totally Rad Show amongst many others. As a result of this, I’ve increasingly felt as though I’m losing touch with my music collection.

The Album Is Dead

Listening with Spotify is an entirely different experience, though. Like many Europeans who are lucky enough to have a Spotify invite, or affluent enough to pay for a €9.99 premium account, I’ve begun to focus on consuming and sharing music exclusively via playlists.

It’s been a tough transition over to Spotify for me, specifically because there’s no iTunes-style music library. With Spotify, the album is dead, felled by his younger and more agile counterpart, the playlist.

Without the personal music library, the heart of iTunes, there’s none of the satisfaction of flicking through your collection in Cover Flow. And with Spotify managing its vast selection of tracks, never again will you glow with pride after correctly tagging, naming and selecting cover art for your latest procurement.

The App Effect

The Spotify iPhone app doesn’t attempt to ape iTunes or the iPod, rather it plays to its own strengths. In effect, the app further establishes Spotify as an entirely new platform for discovering new music. Although the app is available for free, the service can only be accessed on iPhone by premium subscribers.

The €9.99 monthly subscription fee (equating to roughly $14.50) is worth it though. You’re granted unlimited access to Spotify’s growing library, consisting of almost 4 million tracks. And while there are occasional disappointments in both the mainstream and esoteric departments (there’s currently no Immaculate Collection and very little Boards of Canada), more frequently you’ll find yourself overwhelmed at the breadth and depth of what’s on offer.

Imagine having a free-pass to access everything in the iTunes Music Store. It’s just like that. In the past day I’ve tried a little bit of The Breeders, delved into some classic Radiohead, sampled the delight’s of Jason Schwartzman’s Coconut Records, and, via Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour collection, discovered the joys of Gene Harris, Roy Brown and J.B. Lenoir. It feels liberating and exciting.

Using the desktop app, you’re able to design elaborate and lengthy mixes or, as I do, build playlists out of individual albums. You can then wirelessly sync your playlists to the iPhone app. And here’s the best bit: all of the tracks that are synced to the iPhone are actually downloaded to the device, you can take them with you wherever you go and listen offline.

Life Without iTunes?

The freedom that Spotify offers encourages you to spend more time digging deep, inevitably discovering mountains of new music. No longer can I derive pleasure from pruning my tracks and tending to my albums, but then who cares? With Spotify, I spend more time actually listening to music.

It’s not quite time for me to throw iTunes in the trash though. While I imagine Spotify will have podcasts covered in due course, until they do, iTunes is all but essential. Plus there’s all the albums and artists in my collection that just aren’t available in Spotify, meaning I won’t be wiping my iTunes library just yet.

Until Spotify integrates seriously expands its library and integrates podcast subscriptions, iTunes will be afforded a stay of execution. In the meantime, I’ll be leading a dual life, enjoying podcasts and a few select albums via iTunes, while exploring the vastness that is everything else with Spotify.

While Spotify is currently only available in Europe, stateside readers should be able to try the service soon as Spotify is pegged to arrive in the U.S. before the end of 2009.

The first week of September has seen a deluge of new arrivals at the App Store. It’s time for me to search through the latest releases for iPhone and hand-pick my recommendations for the past seven days.

This week I’ve been looking at Button, Facebook, BlogPress and Quicksilver.

Button (Free)
One of my favorite sci-fi novels, “Better Than Life,” oscillates between a deep space distopia and an almost perfect Earth as it follows the surviving crew members of the Red Dwarf mining ship. It’s soon revealed that the crew’s collective vision of Earth is actually a highly addictive massively multiplayer online game beamed directly into their brains, leaving their real bodies in a seemingly catatonic state. Rather than take a giant leap towards this sinister style of multiplayer gaming, Button instead takes baby steps. There’s a big button, everyone around the world sees the button, when the button lights up you must push the button, sometimes you win a prize, usually you don’t. Button is effectively a nonsensical distraction that seems to tickle just the right bit of your brain. Plus, you can ramp up the futility by playing as a team. I’ve created a special team called tab just for readers of TheAppleBlog, come join my group and let’s push buttons together.

Facebook (Free)
The official Facebook app has finally received its first major update for some time, bringing the service’s iPhone implementation almost (but not quite) up to speed with the 3GS and 3.0 firmware. For starters, the app’s user interface has been streamlined and tidied up — gone are the tiny buttons, pointless scrollable horizontal groups bar and crash-happy inbox. The main feed benefits from having a clutter free interface and now incorporates likes and comments. The menu screen features several big chunky buttons, designed for ease of navigation. Notably, the app now allows video recording and uploads, a real boon for iPhone 3GS users. However, it’s seems that when Facebook update their app, there’s always something missing. In this case, there are no Push Notifications, an OS 3.0 feature which could have been designed solely for apps just like Facebook.

BlogPress ($2.99)
The official WordPress app just isn’t working out for me. While I appreciate the WordPress app being free, I’m still not impressed by the app’s sluggish navigation and overly technical user interface. In essence, the WordPress app doesn’t feel pretty and it doesn’t work as it should. With this in mind, I’ve been on the hunt for a replacement and BlogPress seems to be just the app to knock WordPress off my iPhone. The app features a WYSIWYG editor, incredibly important as you certainly don’t want to be tweaking your latest post’s code on your iPhone’s keyboard. There’s also video uploading, something which the WordPress app doesn’t currently support, handled by uploading your video to YouTube and then embedding within your latest post. BlogPress also supports posting simultaneously to multiple blog services, including Blogger, MSN Live Spaces, WordPress, Movable Type, TypePad, LiveJournal, Drupal and Joomla.

Quicksilver ($1.99)
And finally, while on the subject of replacing apps, I’ve been on the hunt for an alternative to Nimbuzz — while it’s an excellent feature-rich iPhone IM app, and free too, I’ve been feeling like I need a more streamlined solution. With it’s minimal iChat-esque interface, Quicksilver is the perfect app for a quick bit of iPhone IMing, with one caveat: it’s made for XMPP-compliant servers only, which, in non-geek-speak, means it’ll work with Google Talk but not MSN. The really great thing about Quicksilver is that it incorporates Push Notifications, making it more than worth the two buck asking price. When you close Quicksilver, you’re not logged out of chat, instead you’re status is changed to away. If one of your contacts should get in touch, the message will arrive on your iPhone as a push notification.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with more news from the week and picks from the App Store.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

Snow Leopard isn’t the only exciting release this week, as ever there are tons of new additions to the App Store. Here are my top picks from the week’s releases.

This week I’ve been looking at iWound, Star6, Gangstar: West Coast Hustle and Tasker.

iWound ($4.99)
If I’m not in the mood for gaming or tweeting, I tend to head over to the ‘reading’ section of my iPhone. Amongst others, I can keep up with the latest global happenings using the official New York Times app, pore over the pages of a classic book with Kindle or jump headfirst into an adventure with Comics. However, there’s nothing there to sate my creative appetite if I’m looking for a little art, fashion, architecture or design. Created by Wound, this app presents the perfect platter of visual creativity, a feast for the eyes and nourishment for your brain, all packaged in digital magazine form. The app’s current theme is ‘La Grande Illusion’, a concept which manifests itself by exploring awesome electro lady Peaches, New York artist Amy Bessone, London designer Marios Schwab and David Rockwell, award winning architect behind the Kodak Theatre.

Star6 ($6.99)
It’s always a good week when a new sound toy worthy of recommending is released on iPhone. While RjDj and Bloom have the artistic sound-installation side of things covered, Star6 has arrived twirling its glow sticks and stomping its feet — this is a sound toy for folk who just want to dance. The app packs in a stack of samples, alongside an array of different options for manipulating the onslaught of audio. Although you can upload and play with your own samples, there are six sample packs included, covering hip hop, drum and bass, electro and other mild headache-inducing (yet sonically adorable) sound effects. Those familiar with music production and sound manipulation will be pleased to hear that there’s a granular synthesis-powered audio engine, allowing you to control pitch, speed, gate, sample order and randomness. However, even the last sentence sounded like jargon to you, you’ll still find it’s fun to open the app, start tapping buttons and see what kind of weird rhythms you’re able to generate.

Gangstar: West Coast Hustle ($6.99)
A few months back Payback was released for iPhone. The app did a convincing enough impression of GTA 2 to warrant recommending, however after extended play it left me wanting so much more. With the release of the iPhone 3GS, games can now push previous technological boundaries even further. Gangstar uses the iPhone’s usual touch ‘n’ tilt interaction, but takes advantage of the iPhone 3GS — a faster device that’s packing better graphics than its predecessor. What results is the iPhone’s answer to GTA3: a fully 3D, free roaming, automobile heist adventure. The game includes 50 missions, an armory of weaponry, and an entire city to cruise around in — more than enough for a lazy Sunday of iPhone gaming.

Tasker ($2.99)
If you’re all about productivity but you’ve got a hectic on-the-go kinda lifestyle, Tasker may be just the app for you. The app touts itself as a “simple, yet powerful task manager”, yet it’s so much more than that. By keeping the app’s focus solely on task lists, the app’s designer, Scott Sykora, has excelled in creating a task manager that’s easy to use and incredibly powerful. Tasks can be ordered by date or place, allowing you to drill-down to a specific day and plan out your schedule on a map, viewing and sorting tasks in specific locations. As if that wasn’t enough, task-entry has been refined into a fast, yet effective process. There’s a variety of tools out there for managing your tasks via the iPhone, Tasker is certainly worth considering for it’s simplicity and potential effectiveness.

That’s all for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with more news from the week and picks from the App Store.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?

Going behind-the-scenes of a real iPhone app’s development, in this installment I investigate several methods for cutting development costs and adding value to the game.

I have to admit that I’m still working on the Game Design Document. Something which I thought would take only a few days has grown to incorporate minute details alongside gargantuan fundamental gameplay concepts. This document is essentially Tetris in written form: piling on concept after concept, attempting to make it fit together before the whole thing becomes too unwieldy to manage.

While work on the GDD should finish this week – Matias has stated that this Friday is the absolute deadline – I’m finding the time to explore other related areas of app development. In my last entry I spoke to Mills, one of the founders of ustwo, a growing independent mobile content studio.

Mills provided me with some revealing data in terms of development costs and sales. Looking at ustwo’s costs for app development relative to the revenue that they generated led me to think about how I could lower our own development costs while increasing the app’s desirability.

I’ve managed to find three different solutions that add value to our app and cost either very little or absolutely nothing.

Recycle That Code

Recycling and reusing code is a tried and tested convention in software development, particularly in the game industry. When you write a piece of code once – for example a game engine for a first person shooter – why spend time and money writing it again for the sequel? It’s far simpler to copy, paste, modify and deploy.

Working for a game developer a few years back, there were times when I noted that code recycling wasn’t necessarily in the customer’s best interests. In particular, I remember a top-down shooter – in the style of Grand Theft Auto – recycled as two different titles. The artwork was redrawn, the in-game dialogue was chopped and changed, but it was quite clearly the same game.

We plan to be a little smarter in choosing how and where we redeploy certain pieces of code. The PearComp coders, Matias, Markus and Ben, are currently working on Facebook and Twitter integration for the game. The plan is that, from within the game, players will be able to post their high scores to the two social networking services.

Facebook and Twitter posting is the value-adding feature du jour. Being able to link an app to these services provides a seamless connection between a user’s social life and the app in question. For games in particular, it’s a great way of enabling players to shout about their achievements while generating publicity for the title among their social connections.

In effect, the code that the PearComp team have created for the game can be re-used for future iPhone app developments. It’ll benefit some of PearComp’s clients, plus it’ll cut costs, and save time and resources.

Find Your Voice

John J. Dick is a voice actor and DJ who happens to be pretty badly in debt. His biggest gig was working on Serious Sam, an explosive shooter for hardcore gamers. John’s husky vocals helped flesh out Sam, the game’s main man: an alien destroying, gun toting, time traveling mercenary.

Back in the real world though, John’s debt has become such a problem that he’s come up with a cunning way to bail himself out. John has decided to offer his voice acting talent at an incredibly competitive rate: $1 per word.

Commissioning John to record a few words for the game was an easy decision – it cuts costs for sound recording and should save us some time later in the project. Having John’s name, and by extension Serious Sam, attached to the project could also make for some fun PR when we launch.

Collaborate & Communicate

In the previous installment of the App Developer Diary, I found out a little more about ustwo’s MouthOff app for iPhone. After speaking to Mills. I realized that there was potential for a really exciting collaboration.

I called Mills back the next day and pitched my idea: ustwo would create a special version of MouthOff featuring one of the characters from our game. We’d take the MouthOff code from ustwo and put it into our app, essentially this exclusive MouthOff would be accessed from within our game.

Featuring an exclusive MouthOff mode within our app adds some serious fun and replay value to the game. It would also garner some added exposure for ustwo’s app. Of course, we’ll ensure that there’s a link to the App Store for players to purchase the full version of MouthOff.

By recycling code, finding a great deal on audio assets and collaborating with an awesome dev studio, we’ve made our game even better without breaking the bank.

Next time: I finally submit the Game Design Document to the coders at PearComp.

As we wave goodbye to the week that was, it’s time to take a look at the latest iPhone recommendations from the App Store.

This week I’ve been looking at Comics, Coat Hangr, Coins and Album Shuffle.

Comics ($0.99)
It was released back in June and yet, due to the deluge of apps I deal with on a daily basis, I never quite got to spend time getting into Comixology’s Comics app. Having been hit with a sudden hankering to read some good comics, coinciding with a friend’s recommendation of The Walking Dead series, I decided to spend some quality time with Comics. The app is 99 cents and includes a growing stack of free comics – usually first issues – plus, and here’s the really special thing, you can purchase and download new issues from within the app. The content is utterly fantastic and the interface incredibly accomplished. In fact, it’s easily the best I’ve seen for comic reading on the iPhone. This is absolutely essential for anybody into comic books. Also, if you’re looking to dip your toe in before committing, you can also pick up issue one of The Walking Dead for free as a dedicated app.

Coat Hangr (free)
Hunting for vintage apparel is one of my favorite pastimes. I regularly visit a multitude of flea markets, on a constant mission to construct the perfect understated retro chic outfit: not too hipster, not too trashy, just right. And yet, once I’ve purchased some new threads, short of wearing them on my wanderings, they’re hidden in the closet. That’s where Coat Hangr comes in, a social fashion app that allows you to share your style with other fashion conscious folk. Opening the app, you’re able to take photos of your new apparel and post your pics to their network. It’s still early days for the site, which itself doesn’t look so hot and is in desperate need of a re-skin, but the app is good fun and certainly a compelling way of constructing a virtual clothing closet.

Coins ($0.99)
It seems that when it comes to pachinko games, I suffer from the entirely unexpected, but apparently quite natural compulsion to waste hours of time playing for very little actual reward. Pachinko is so irrational — it’s chance-based, play is mechanical, there’s no skill — and yet the experience is just so very moreish. On iPhone, I devoured both Peggle and Rockchinko in days. As such, for a month or so, there’s been a pachinko-shaped hole in my gaming schedule, waiting to be filled with just the right app. Coins is that app, constructed pixel-by-pixel it combines 8-bit artwork with deliciously back-to-basics pachinko gameplay. This is something for everyone, perfect for wasting moments that unwittingly extend into hours.

Album Shuffle (free)
A friend of mine from England came to visit me in Helsinki a few weeks back, bringing along with him an iPod classic. We spent some time comparing his classic to my iPhone, discussing the different interfaces and options available. Expecting the iPhone to be the feature-rich option, I was surprised to discover that the device is actually lacking in one playback option that the iPod classic touts: album shuffle. The album shuffle feature seems so obvious – rather than shuffle track-by-track, you’re able to shuffle album by album. In essence, the iPod classic can play a given album in its entirety before randomly selecting the next one. Filling this feature-gap on the iPhone is Album Shuffle. The app allows you to browse through albums in a novel way, as if sifting through records, and physically shake the iPhone in order to pick an album. It’s a one-trick pony to be sure, but nevertheless an occasionally useful pony to have around.

That’s all the picks for this week. I’ll be back in seven days with more picks from the App Store.

In the meantime, what apps have you been using this week?