There’s been talk lately that Apple’s execs are a little unhappy with the direction the iPhone and iPod touch have taken in regards to gaming. They didn’t anticipate such strong interest in gaming, it wasn’t really a key concern in their initial plans for the platform…and anyway, Stevey J’s not much of a gamer, and everyone knows to steer clear of Steve’s dislikes.

But as the Philosopher Jagger so wisely put it, “You can’t always get what you want.” And, as someone else once quipped, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join, ‘em.” To that end, Apple is advertising a job opening for a “Game/Media Software Engineer.” Based at its Cupertino hive mind headquarters, it’s a full-time position, and it sounds like Apple is taking it really very seriously;

The interactive media group is looking for a skilled software engineer who wants to work as part of a small highly motivated team to work on interactive multimedia experiences on the iPhone and iPod touch.

OK, sounds like gaming, right? I mean, sure, it could be the start of iLife for iPhone, but I doubt that. I suspect this is more likely the beginning of some home-grown games. It has done it before (it’s just, no one cared).

The position on the team is to help design and implement interactive multimedia experiences on the iPhone and iPod touch. The position also requires a creative thinker who can contribute and comment on the design process as well as being flexible enough to aid in all aspects of production such as asset management and able to work to a deadline.

Yeah, definitely sounds like gaming. What other medium is best described as “interactive multimedia?” (Don’t answer that, I know there are loads of genres, I’m just being glib, mmkay?)

The posting adds that applicants must have strong C / C++ / Objective-C skills, while an iPhone development background “is preferred.” In addition, Apple requires its shiny new game interactive multimedia code-monkey to have at least three years of videogame development experience, which includes having shipped “…at least one AAA title.”

So the question now is…why now? It was pretty obvious in the months following the launch of the App Store that games were the hot favorite of pretty much every iPhone/iPod touch owner. (Well, Games and Fart Apps. I once sat in a room drinking beer with some nerdy buddies and one of them started showing off his fart apps. No more than ten minutes later we had purchased and installed half a dozen such apps each. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Yes, I’m ashamed.)

Unlike Fart Apps, public demand for games has a habit of persisting. (Insert Fart-App-related “bad smell” joke here.) So, if Games are here to stay, might as well get in on it, right Apple? At the very least, there’s money to be made.

More Than Just the Money

Of course, there’s another possibility here. Much has been said of the rumored iTablet and the challenges of making iPhone OS applications “scalable” — that is, adapted to run on the tablet’s much larger, higher-resolution screen. Assuming the iTablet also takes advantage of a custom chip architecture (courtesy of Apple’s purchase of PA Semi) we have a unique hardware platform in the pipeline. And when Apple has something new to show-off, there’s a very strictly observed custom to keep in mind…

When Microsoft shows off a new technology, it traditionally does so with the help of a hardware partner. On stage during a keynote, Ozzie will say something like “We’ve worked closely with HP for ten thousand years and here’s their President of Keynote Demos to show off the new widget…” So then some exec in a shirt and tie comes on stage and fumbles around on a PC for 15 minutes talking about “platform integration” and “line-of-business opportunity” or, whatever.

When Apple shows off a new technology, it traditionally takes all the credit for it, from inception to execution and every step in between. After Steve wows us with a 50 foot tall, all-graphics slideshow, Scott Forstall introduces a jeans-and-tshirt-wearing execu-dude, “We are so proud of this amazing brilliant incredible new widget… so we gave it to EA’s developers to play with for only six seconds and they produced this new game they’re gonna demo now…”

Showmanship differences aside, the point here is that Microsoft never tells us how it should be done. Apple, on the other hand, always does.

So perhaps (in the context of taking advantage of the potential offered by an entirely new platform) this job posting makes perfect sense; whether it likes it or not, the iPhone/iPod touch have demonstrated that gaming is an important part of today’s mobile lifestyle. Making them work properly on the tablet will be a new challenge, and one Apple will be keen to demonstrate from day one. If it is going to stick to the Apple tradition of showing everyone “how it’s done,” it makes sense it will want to develop a demo in-house.

If you fancy applying, you can read the posting right here. I wonder if Joe Hewitt should consider applying, y’know, just for giggles?

It’s a game series that’s gotten much love over the years, despite, or perhaps because of, the cheesy live action cut scenes featuring actors like Tim Curry. Now, Command & Conquer comes to the iPhone with Command & Conquer: Red Alert ($9.99, iTunes link), named after its PC and console counterpart released in 1996.

How well does the beloved RTS translate to the iPhone platform? That depends on what you’re looking to get out of the game. EA Mobile has clearly tried to faithfully translate the experience, but as with any translation, no perfect one-to-one relationship can exist. What does come through, however, is definitely worth looking at.

Graphics & Audio

Perhaps just to make me sad, EA chose not to go with live action mission briefings for this installment of the series, opting instead to brief you with static cartoon images and scrollable text. It’s not nearly as pleasant as hammy acting, but it does get the job done and prepare you adequately for the in-game action.

In-game graphics look great, and are probably a bit of an improvement over their original counterparts in the PC version. Units are clearly distinguishable from one another, animations are smooth, and the visual special effects look good. My sole complaint for the in-game look of things is that units can tend to stack, which renders some of them invisible. It’s confusing and can hamper effective unit management.

Sound is good, with music from Red Alert 3, which is the latest game in the series for the PC and consoles. In-game voices are well-recorded and clear, as are most sound effects. Again, the lack of audio in briefings and other between-action components is a little disappointing, but not terribly so.

Gameplay

As with any real-time strategy port for the iPhone, the key to enjoyable gameplay lies in making sure the controls are well-designed and intuitive. This can be particularly challenging even when porting RTS games to consoles from the PC, so EA has its work cut out for it with Command & Conquer on the iPhone.

Selecting and commanding individual units on the iPhone is simple enough. You touch a unit to select it, and touch somewhere else to tell it where to go or what to attack. To select multiple units, you have to activate a selection tool by clicking an icon in the lower left-hand corner. At first it wasn’t clear (I hadn’t reached that part in the tutorial yet) and I tried tapping and dragging and two-finger pinch and zoom type gestures.

Once you have selected a group of units, though, you can assign them to a command group using another icon at the lower left of the screen. This assigns them to one of three slots on the left, and allows you to re-select that group at any time with a simple tap. It’s the saving grace of the game, control-wise, and I wish there were more than three spots available to assign unit groups to.

The campaigns are fun, and not too challenging. There is both a Soviet and an Allied campaign, each of which contains five chapters, and there’s a skirmish mode with customizable starting resources and different maps, which really adds to the replay value of the game.

All told, EA Mobile does a great job skirting the limitations of the iPhone’s controls, and provides ample gameplay while still retaining a fairly casual feel, so that you can pick it up and put it down as necessary between meetings or while commuting.

Verdict

For an iPhone game, Command & Conquer: Red Alert feels polished and professional, but it leaves me wanting something more. I can’t help but yearn for the easier controls and richer storyline and gameplay of the PC version, which may in fact be what EA was intending. Perhaps the iPhone game is meant as a sort of teaser demo to attract new customers to the PC/console line. Either way, despite solid gameplay, Red Alert left me underwhelmed. I’d wait for the inevitable price drop to $6.99 or less before picking this one up.

481 days. That’s how long it took the App Store to go from opening its virtual doors with 500 applications on July 11, 2008 to a catalog of more than 100,000 applications downloaded more than 2 billion times.

Not surprisingly, the folks at Apple are pleased.

“The App Store, now with over 100,000 applications available, is clearly a major differentiator for millions of iPhone and iPod touch customers around the world,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The iPhone SDK created the first great platform for mobile applications and our customers are loving all of the amazing apps our developers are creating.”

The amazing thing is that it’s likely not even Apple knew just how successful the App Store and SDK would be or how it would spawn so many competitors (GigaOM Pro, subscription required).

In June 2007, it was Apple CEO Steve Jobs talking up a different method application development for the iPhone:

“Our innovative approach, using Web 2.0-based standards, lets developers create amazing new applications while keeping the iPhone secure and reliable.”

Imagine for a moment if Apple had stuck to that ideal of a web-based platform. I believe it would be called the Palm Pre.

Of course, it’s possible that Apple knew all along that there would be a real SDK for the iPhone OS, almost assuredly so for major partners like game developers. Apple again pushed that gaming concept for iPhone OS with today’s announcement, too. EA Mobile VP Travis Boatman chimed in on the press release, saying that the App Store has “forever changed the mobile gaming industry and continues to improve.” You can bet Nintendo and Sony believe at least the first part of that statement, much to their chagrin.

What you didn’t find in the press release was what, exactly, is being done to improve the flawed approval process. While Apple talks about addressing issues, there is no evidence of real, systemic change. As the App Store moves inevitably towards 500,000, and then its millionth application, you have to wonder if the App Store can withstand the stress of its own incredible success.

Image Credit: AppleInsider.com

Finally, Apple is beginning the roll-out of its iPod touch-based payment and checkout system for retail stores. According to an exclusive report over at AppleInsider, the Mac maker will begin retiring its current Windows CE-based devices and implementing the new system within a couple of weeks.

The device is an entirely new iPod touch, custom designed for point-of-sale (POS) usage. It features a magnetic stripe reader, an advanced barcode scanner, and Apple’s own proprietary software for processing payments. The new system allows for payment by credit, debit and cash, and includes features that allow for making returns, too.

The EasyPay touch, as the device is being called, was made possible thanks to the introduction of hardware device support via the dock connector. The extended case that surrounds the basic iPod touch contains sleep and volume control buttons, a mini-USB connector for charging, and a rechargeable battery to power the card reader and barcode scanner.

Things that the EasyPay touch can’t do (yes, even it isn’t a miracle worker) include divvying up payment between two or more debit or credit cards, or paying by checks and processing cash returns. These transactions will continue to be handled by more traditional computer-based POS systems.

The roll-out of the new EasyPay touch system will include more than just a change in the hardware used for processing transactions. According to AppleInsider, Apple is aware that many customers find its non-traditional check out systems to be somewhat confusing, so attempts will be made to make it more clear when and where store guests can pay for their purchases.

While there are no plans currently to extend the payment system beyond the confines of Apple’s retail store, it’s impossible not to think about how such an elegant and simple system might appeal to other retailers as well. Should Apple ever decide to license the tech, I’m sure there will be at least a few major companies out there interested in pursuing such an agreement.

Ngmoco has been talking up its new offerings for a while now, including the visually stunning first-person shooter Eliminate, and the virtual pet Touch Pets series of apps. Both of these are now available, free of charge, on the App Store, as of yesterday.

Even though the apps are indeed free to download and install on your device, it should be noted that both of these apps represent the latest attempts to capitalize on Apple’s in-app purchasing system, in perhaps some of the most diabolical ways yet. ngmoco has recently used in-app purchasing to sell level packs for Rolando 2, which can now be downloaded for free with Chapter 1 included.

Eliminate (Free, iTunes Link)

Space marines, jumping, shooting, glowy surrounding, what more could you ask for? Eliminate is the first fully functional, original IP (not that we’re saying it isn’t derivative, mind you) first-person shooters to hit the iPhone platform, and it’s been highly anticipated as a result. It features global matchmaking for multiplayer combat over both 3G and Wi-Fi networks. Sorry, no EDGE, but it probably couldn’t handle the action anyway.

There’s also Plus+ network integration so you can track your stats and invite your friends and contacts to go toe-to-toe in deathmatches, and compare stats on the leader board. And the game includes a leveling and credit for weapon and armor upgrades and customization. Sounds pretty good, right? Now the bad news.

Eliminate is free to play, but it definitely gives you an advantage to pay. As the cleverly designed opening sequence relates, you are equipped with a set amount of energy in Eliminate, and when said energy runs out, you no longer earn credits for kills. Energy refills over time, or you can simply buy more using the in-app purchasing system. Credits allow you to upgrade weapons and armor.

You start with 30 power cells of energy. Based on my trials, that will probably last you about 10 to 15 minutes of play, if that, though I’m not sure of the actual conversion rate. Once you expend any points, a countdown clock starts until you charge again. The clock lasts around 240 minutes, so you are recharged every four hours, basically. You can buy additional power cells in blocks of 20, 280, and 975 for 99 cents, $9.99 and $29.99 respectively if you’re not the patient type.

The game is fun, and works surprisingly well given the touch controls you’re stuck with on an iPhone or iPod touch, and you can practice against bots or play without earning credits for free any time you want. All of which means that ngmoco is being pretty fair with its use of in-app purchasing this time around. Basically, you pay to progress, but the game is still enjoyable by all without that aspect. It’s a nice blend, and one that I predict will be hugely successful once Eliminate hits wide release.

Touch Pets Dogs (Free, iTunes Link)

I admit to once having owned a tamagotchi. Or if not owned, at least permanently on loan from my sister. The problem, of course, was that they always proved more of a nuisance than anything else. All of the demands of a real pet, and none of the benefits, like companionship or snuggle-ability.

Touch Pets Dogs follows in the footsteps of Nintendogs and other pet simulators before it. You pick out a puppy, name it, and then begin taking care of, playing with, and training it. It has a Sims-like interface for checking on your dog’s skills and happiness level, and even their Job status, which is a unique feature introduced by the ngmoco sim. You can train your dog to follow a career path, which makes it even more like The Sims.

There’s actually a lot to do in Touch Pet Dogs, and you gain levels as a dog owner in different areas, just like your dog can gain skills and job levels. It’s much richer than any other pet sim I’ve played, and it managed to keep my interest for more than one play-through, which is a record I think.

The in-app purchasing component to Touch Pets is fairly devious, though. You have to pay for food, which seems extremely cruel, since it’s such a basic necessity for your dog’s well-being. Luckily, your food automatically refills to a maximum of two bowls, and does so relatively quickly, so you can still play without having to cough up micropayments, but it will be harder to keep your dog hale and hearty. You can also buy more Puppy Bucks by converting food that you buy via iTunes.

The Future of iPhone Gaming?

Both of these new games from ngmoco show different types of attempts at capitalizing on the iPhone’s in-app purchasing system. It’s a thorny issue to navigate, since on the one hand, you could stand to make a lot more money than by selling apps in a more traditional manner, but on the other, you could inspire the rancor of your customers if you appear to be using the system unfairly. In my opinion, ngmoco’s done a good job of treading that thin line thus far, and it looks like they’re committed to making changes to make sure they strike the right balance.

Recently I read about the First & 20 project, an effort to share the home screens of various technorati. When I heard about it I immediately shot off to the page to look through the home screens. I was most excited about the possibility of finding new applications. As we all know, one of the hardest things about the app store is app discovery. I thought a collection of applications selected by tech-savvy people like me would be a gold mine of good, new apps I could try out.

Imagine my surprise when I found not a single new app I wanted to try. Even more surprising was how the same third-party applications appeared over and over again on people’s home screens. And the vast majority of those were applications that I either used myself or had tried in the past. Just because I have all the time in the world I decided to have fun with some math.Of the total applications found on the home screens of the First & 20 site, 77 different third-party applications were listed. 46 of those were found only once, or just under 60 percent of the total, while 31 were found multiple times. That might seem innocuous, but when you look at the total number of application slots taken up by the two groups, the numbers flip dramatically.

In total, 162 slots were taken up by third-party applications. The 40 percent of applications that were found more than once took up over 71 percent of those slots on home screens. The reason, of course, is that the distribution of applications found more than once. As you can see below, Tweetie was mentioned 11 times, while Birdfeed was mentioned eight times, etc.

To expand the sample a bit more, I took a survey of home screens of TAB writers and added that to the First & 20 data. The result was almost identical in terms of percentages, as you can see below.

Yay numbers, but what does all this actually mean? What it indicates to me is just how meaningless Apple’s constant prattering about the total number of apps in the app store is. The reality is that only a small percentage of those applications are good enough to make it onto the home screens of the most discerning users. I mentioned above the problem that led me to eagerly check out the First & 20 site: the fact that finding good applications is so hard. The more useless apps continue to enter the app store, the greater this problem becomes.

It also seems to me that the barrier to compete successfully with the app store is significantly lower than some would imagine. The reality is you don’t have to have 90,000 applications to compete with the iPhone and iPod touch. You probably actually only need 1,000 very good applications on your platform. This was driven home for me when I recently saw that Android now has applications for Facebook, Remember the Milk, Pandora, Amazon and Open Table, all apps that I use on my iPhone and apps that make it easier for me to switch to Android.

Apple seems to be trying to address the problem of too many apps through in-app purchases, which holds the promise of finally killing those extraneous “lite” applications, as well as, hopefully, killing off the plethora of single book applications available on the store. But problems remain, like the fact that you don’t see app ratings while searching through the app store. In the meantime, my aimless search for quality iPhone apps continues.

If you are or ever have been the board gaming type, you may have run across Settlers of Catan, or at least heard of it from a fanatic friend. The game, which is a bit like Risk but without the war (at least in its basic incarnation), is all about resource gathering, trading, and colonization.

Fans of the series (and there are many) will be pleased to know that Settlers is now playable on your iPhone thanks to Catan ($4.99, iTunes link), an app that faithfully recreates the experience on your mobile device. If you aren’t yet a fan, Catan for your iPhone or iPod touch might just be the thing that converts you.

Gameplay

If you’ve played Settlers the board game, or if you’ve played it on your PC or Xbox 360, then you’ll already be familiar with the gameplay in the iPhone version, since it uses the standard rule set. Expansions are available for the board game which add more tiles or new gameplay elements, but for now, Catan on the iPhone doesn’t offer any of these additional modes of play.

The board consists of 19 hexagonal tiles, themselves laid out in a hexagon pattern. Each tile represents one resource, either Sheep, Wheat, Ore, Lumber or Brick. Each player gets to place settlements at the corners of these tiles, and collect resources from them when the number on the tile is rolled. Each tile has a number from 1 to 12, and each player rolls two six-sided die at the beginning of their turn.

Some tiles, like those with a 6 or an 8, come up more frequently, statistically speaking, and are strategically advantageous because of this. The goal in the game is to amass resources, which you can use to buy more settlements, roads, and other things to earn victory points. In traditional play, the first person with 10 victory points is the winner.

Catan on the iPhone lets you play with between three and four players. You can either play against computer opponents, or play hot seat multiplayer mode, in which you pass the iPhone off to other players when it’s their turn. It’s not an ideal multiplayer situation, since you have to trust your partner not to glance at your resource distribution, but without a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth option, it at least works well enough to be playable.

Sights and Sounds

Clearly, Catan wasn’t rushed out to the masses on the iPhone. Developer United Soft Media (USM) took its time in refining the look and feel of this cult sensation before its release, probably predicting correctly that fans of the game would be sticklers when it came this version’s faithfulness to the original.

The board is viewed from a top-down perspective, and you can zoom in or out using touch controls. Your resource count is displayed at the bottom of the screen in a convenient and non-obtrusive status bar. All of your controls are nested in a pop-out tab interface usually hidden at the right side of the screen behind an arrow button.

Sound is great, with a nice, fitting soundtrack running in the background, and appropriate sound effects for things like trades, resources, and standard button presses. In fact, I’d say it compares favorably even to the console version on the Xbox 360.

Conclusion

Whether you’ve heard of Settlers of Catan before or not, the iPhone port is an awesome time-waster. It’s engrossing, rich, and carefully tailored to the handheld touch-controlled platform. I will say that I found the difficulty to be rather on the challenging side, even when playing against a stacked line up of all the weakest computer players. The Xbox version has both a universal difficulty switcher and different AIs, allowing for greater versatility, and I would recommend Catan for iPhone adopt that in future, too. Still, for $4.99, you couldn’t ask for a better or more challenging pocket strategy game.

The ZuneHD has it. The latest iPod Nano has it. Even a chunky digital watch I owned when I was seven years old had it. I’m talking FM Radio, and the latest rumors tell us Apple is working on its very own native Radio.app for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

9to5Mac reports that the new app will be allowed to run in the background, and may be incorporated into the existing iPod software on the device. It will apparently feature the exact same functionality as the radio app on the iPod Nano, (such as Live Pause) with at least one notable additional capability — smart linking between songs played via the radio application and their home in the iTunes Mobile store. From the report:

For instance, if you like a song you are listening to on the radio (and that station supports tagging and you are in the US), you will be able to push a button and see the song (and all of the information around it) in the iTunes Mobile store. With another click, you’ll be able to make a purchase.

9to5Mac’s Seth Weintraub says that it is this smart linking that is creating problems for the developers, since not all radio stations in America support the crucial tagging technology upon which this feature depends.

I’d add at this point that on the global stage, radio broadcaster’s support for digital tagging is likely just as patchy. With this in mind, and if this rumor is true, Apple is faced with the problem of providing end users with an inconsistent and unpredictable experience on its ‘premium’ iPod models. If Apple truly is developing this software, mindful of its aim to ensure “It Just Works,” will it include a feature that is guaranteed not to? The implementation of song tagging on the iPod Nano is somewhat circuitous; if a song played on the radio is tagged, the user can mark that song for future review (and possibly purchase) the next time they sync the Nano to iTunes. While this might be acceptable on a Nano, I’d suggest it would be a less-than-satisfactory event on the iPhone, where users expect a more seamless and functionally rich experience.

Feature-set-aside, should this software make an appearance in the near future, the good news is that iPhone owners need not worry about meeting hardware specs. Weintraub assures us that existing iPhone and iPod Touch models have long supported FM radio, though to date, it’s a feature that has seen only limited use communicating with peripherals, such as the various Nike+ products.

I always think of radio as something of an outmoded media, today mostly useful during National Emergencies and, of course, the day our robot slaves rise against us. Feature phones have offered FM radio since forever, but I can tell you without hesitation it’s not something I ever used. No one I know (both Geeks and Normals) ever used the radio on their phones, either. So I wonder, is that indicative of most people today, or am I (and my friends) in some sort of strange, anti-radio minority? Would you use this app?

Google and Apple’s very public, very messy ongoing lover’s spat is obviously not doing either company many favors in the media. Apple looks to be taking steps to ensure that should it need to, it can go without the do-everything leading Internet search provider.

To that end, it’s finally been confirmed this week by ComputerWorld that Apple did indeed acquire Google Maps competitor Placebase in July of this year. Former Placebase CEO Jaron Waldman is now part of the “Geo Team” at Apple, which suggests that the company was acquired so that Cupertino could work on its own, in-house Google Maps alternative.

Our own sister site GigaOM ran a profile of Placebase back in May 2008. It detailed the way in which Placebase’s PushPin product was able to stay afloat and compete with Google Maps, which offered its services completely free of charge. Placebase offered white label solutions for a price.

PushPin, and the follow-up, PolicyMap, which expanded PushPin’s features, competed by offering users the ability to layer on commercial and public data sets, including things like home sales, crime, demographics, employment, etc. Developers could also add their own data sets using a simple API. All of which made it infinitely more useful for business applications, and open to some incredibly creative uses, too.

Acquiring the one company that showed signs of being able to do what Google has done, only better and with more possibilities for third-party developer expansion, does not just seem like something done because of idle fancy. Apple’s motivation was probably twofold: First, it has an alternative in case things continue to go sour with the relationship between the two Silicon Valley heavyweights. Second, if the FCC forces a wedge between the two because it finds their relationship noncompetitive, Apple still has a back-up in place to prevent a major feature loss for iPhone users.

Of course, the loss of Google Maps on the iPhone would have far-reaching complications, especially considering the number of apps that now sport direct tie-ins with Maps functionality. To grant developers access to the Maps app in iPhone OS 3.0, and then swap it out for an Apple-branded version of PushPin would require a massive overhaul from a development standpoint. Will Apple really alienate its developer base with such a risky move?

Then again, with over 2 billion downloads and 85,000 apps in the App Store, Apple truly is in the driver’s seat. It has made absolutely sure that the value proposition of being an iPhone developer is apparent to everyone, and as such, it can probably afford to demand some code revisions if it does make a major change.

We’ll have to wait and see how this plays out, but I’m still fairly confident that Apple will only enact the Placebase alternative if the FCC forces a decisive split between Cupertino and Google. Even if the two are having some disagreements on other fronts, a voluntary end to the relationship just doesn’t make good business sense.

Marking another base-10 milestone, Apple has announced that as of today, more than 2 billion applications have been downloaded from its wildly successful App Store.

Further, there are now more than 85,000 apps available to more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch users in some 77 countries. The iPhone Developer Program now has more than 125,000 participants.

Those are some big, big numbers, and not surprisingly pleasing to Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Noting that more than half a billion apps were downloaded in just this quarter, Jobs declared that the “App Store has reinvented what you can do with a mobile handheld device, and our users are clearly loving it.”

Well, except for those Google Voice customers, maybe, but there is no denying that the App Store is the latest Next Great Thing from Apple. Its success has rivaled that of the Last Great Thing, the iPod, and in a shorter time frame. It took four years for the iPod to become the standard for media-playing devices, but the App Store has achieved its current position in 14 months.

The App Store opened on July 11, 2008 with 500 available apps. Six months later, some 15,000 apps had been downloaded half a million times. About three months after that, the App Store had its billionth download and a catalog of some 35,000 apps. Now, five months later, downloads have doubled again and the catalog has more than doubled. Despite legitimate concerns over the app review process, it appears there is no stopping the App Store, especially with the imminent introduction of the iPhone in China.

Ten billion apps downloaded in 2010, anyone?

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?

Oh, MobileMe, how will you deal with this latest threat to your iPhone feature dominance? First it was improved Exchange support, and now it’s push Gmail using Google Sync.

Remember Google Sync? It’s the service from Google which allows you to synchronize your contacts and calendar with your iPhone or iPod touch, in much the same way that MobileMe users can, only using a free service instead of a paid one. With Gmail push support, the trifecta of basic services is now complete.

True, MobileMe users still get some questionable value-add services like photo and video media-sharing via their MobileMe gallery, online disk storage space, cloud data backup, and Find My iPhone and other remote anti-theft and security features, but will those be enough to stop people from switching over to Google’s free, just-the-basics service? Time will tell. I know I’m thinking seriously about not renewing my MobileMe subscription at this point.

Google Sync allows you to mix and match, so you don’t have to enable all three of the syncing services. That’s a good thing for people like me whose Google Contacts is in a state of utter disarray, but who often uses Google Calendar and Gmail.

You can get set up with Google Sync by following the instructions posted here, if you haven’t already been using it. If you have, check out these instructions to get Gmail’s push features working for you. Gmail push also works on Windows Mobile devices, which no one in their right mind should be using anymore, unless forced to by the company they work for. Also, I’d like to take this opportunity to thumb my nose at BlackBerry users.

This round-up of Cricket apps is dedicated to all of the Cricket lovers around the world. With the ICC Champions Trophy beginning today, I thought it’d be a great opportunity to cover and review the Cricket apps that are available on the App store.

Despite the worldwide popularity of cricket, the market for cricket applications on the iPhone is nowhere near the saturation point of some of the other popular sports. While this is most likely due to cricket’s limited appeal to the American market, there is still a fair amount of competition abroad — and some interesting innovations being put forward by iPhone developers.

As more and more people get their hands on these devices, cricket fans from around the world have a choice between nine applications, most of which can be downloaded for less than US$1 for both the iPhone and iPod touch.

Cricket (99 cents)

Now in version 1.2, when the application is loaded, the news screen displays a list of headlines from articles published on ESPN’s Cricinfo website. Clicking on a headline opens a new screen which shows a summary of the article and a link to open the full story on the Cricinfo’s website. The same news stories can be filtered on a per-country basis via the Countries screen, which arguably makes the default news screen redundant. The Live screen shows at-a-glace summaries of all current and some recent matches. Clicking through on an individual match opens the match details on the Cricinfo website — which is not easily viewable on the iPhone screen.

Overall, the application doesn’t provide much more than what a visit to the Cricinfo website would provide and may make some people wonder if paying for the application is justified, especially seeing that there are free applications that offer similar functionality.

Cricket Live (iCricket) (99 cents)
A relatively new cricket application for the iPhone (released in February 2009), it’s primary feature is a simple, yet functional news aggregator and viewer which pulls articles from several major news sources. The titles of stories, along with the first few lines of the text as well as the date and time, are listed on the main application screen. Clicking on a story launches a new screen with a summary and an ability to open the full story on the relevant website (similar to Cricket, reviewed above). The settings screen provides end users with some control over which news sources are polled.

While the application is elegant in its simplicity, the same functionality is also offered in other free cricket applications. Alternatively, spending a couple of dollars on a good quality, commercial RSS reader would provide the ability to keep up to date with more than just cricket news and provide additional control over the display of the news.

Cricket Live-007 (99 cents)

Another application recently developed (launched in February 2009), provides ICC rankings in addition to the live scores and news. Live scores and recent scores are both accessible via different main menu options, which can make it awkward to find details on a particular match if it finishes earlier than expected. However, a full scorecard for each match is provided within the application, which is commendable despite the tad-unpolished design. The ICC rankings section shows the current standings of teams and players in tabular format — however, no additional player or team statistics are available. Still yet, this is a nice addition that isn’t provided by other applications, but as with the scores section, the design is somewhat mediocre.

Overall, the application has a comprehensive set of features for the small price. Although it was developed by a company that develops a range of other iPhone applications, one would have thought that more effort would have gone into the interface design. Apple’s products in general are renowned for having intuitive user interfaces, however, this application contradicts that, resulting in a less than impressive interface that detracts from the usability.

Cricket Trivia (99 cents)

Released in April 2009, the Cricket Trivia quiz is a relatively simple application with a few added features to tailor it more towards today’s gamers. After launching the application, the user selects the number of random questions that will be included in the test. Each question is then answered, one by one with the final score presented at the end. Navigation through each question is a bit rigid, with the user unable to skip a question or go back to it. Upon the completion of each test, the score is then added to a table that allows you to keep track of your performance. While this provides an element of game play to the applications, there’s no ability to enter your name next to a score or to compare scores online, although both features are available in many similar games offered today.

This applications seems to be more suitable to an iPod than to iPhone since quitting the application (e.g. to answer a phone call) results in the quiz being interrupted. The application would benefit from a free-flow mode where the user is able to answer, skip or revisit questions as they are asked. There is also room for the interface design features to be improved. Unlike other trivia quizzes where answers remain relatively unchanged, the cricket statistics are in constant flux and one presumes that the app would need to be regularly updated to keep up with these changes.

CricketRSS (99 cents)

While its name is more accurate in regards to what to expect when you come across it, CricketRSS is functionally similar to the Cricket Live (iCricket) application reviewed above. The main screen shows a list of news headlines and truncated descriptions, conveniently grouped by date. Clicking on any one of the news items opens up the details page which shows the full description and the ability to open the full source website.

The features of the application are relatively basic and, apart from some minor design inconsistencies between different screens, is reasonably functional. Though not feature-rich, there are no flaws in the application, though for a dedicated news application, it would have been better if it had a wider range of news sources, apart from the usual suspects.

ECB Cricket (Free)

The official application of the English & Wales Cricket Board was released in time for the 2009 English summer. The application opens on the main scores screen and lists the current England international and English County Cricket (ECC) matches. Clicking on a match displays the score summary. Rotating the device horizontally displays the full scorecard for the match, with each innings on a separate screen — a novel approach which maximizes the amount of data that can be shown on a single screen. The interface of the main news screen is reminiscent of the album selection screens on iPods and displays headlines, photos and the truncated descriptions for each news item. Clicking on an item reveals the full article inside the application itself with the photo section working in a similar way. The ECBtv section is a list of video podcasts from YouTube streaming the external YouTube player.

The major, though understandable, limitation of the app is that it only shows the scores for the ECC and the England international matches. As such, the market is somewhat limited to the UK and international ECC fans only. The other notable absence is the running commentary for the matches or the ability to see the past match scores or team standings. Overall, the application is extremely well polished, even though some of the elements may appear a bit gimmicky at times.

iCricket (Free)

When this application was first released in October 2008, it started out as just a free RSS reader for Cricinfo’s news feeds. Since then it has grown to also include links to match scores. The main screen lists various categories of news and scores in a standard scrollable view, though there’s no grouping of sections, which often makes it confusing to determine where to go to access the information you’re after. This is particularly awkward in relation to the match scores and commentary — links to scorecards on the Cricinfo website appears in one section of the application while the running commentary (for selected matches only) appears in a completely different section. The news part of the application is relatively standard, broken down into per-country categories. Clicking on a category takes the user to the list of headlines with truncated descriptions. Clicking on the article opens the Cricinfo website for the full article, skipping the news detail page common to the other applications.

The application is functional, though it generally takes a lot of clicking around to find the information you want to access. The logic behind the layout of the sections leaves a lot to be desired. However, for a free app and an amateur fan effort, it is cute and a better effort than some of the commercial cricket applications reviewed.

MobiCast (Free)

This anticipated app was released in October 2008. The opening screen of the application lists the current, upcoming and recent matches. Clicking on a match displays Cricinfo’s famous ball-by-ball commentary and gives access to the full scorecard for the match. Clicking on a news item displays the full story on the iPhone itself, without opening the external website. The photos section shows photos that do not appear to be linked to any current matches nor do they behave like standard iPhone photos — they cannot be zoomed or scrolled through using the standard gestures. The podcast section is a useful bookmark of the podcasts by Cricinfo’s commentators.

There’s no question that the quality and the comprehensiveness of Cricinfo’s data is top rate, however the resulting application is both confusing and extremely frustrating to use. For example, throughout the match detail screens, notification icons for “4,” “6” etc popping constantly, regardless if matches being played or not. Even more confusingly, the “Matches” tab shows the same type of information as the main screen — only presented in a different format. One certainly expects more from professional developers backed by ESPN and it is hard not to dismiss this as a token effort in the also-ran category of the App Store.

Virtual Cricket ($1.99)

While the final application, Virtual Cricket, was only recently released, it’s clear that the developer has addressed the shortcomings that have been identified with the other applications. The matches screen displays a list of current, upcoming and recently completed matches, with single-line match status and the time of the last update. Clicking on a match shows the match summary with current score and the most recent commentary highlights (4s, 6s, wickets, etc). The news section follows the familiar pattern of listing headlines and truncated descriptions. Clicking through shows a summary of the news item, with a link to open the full article. The main difference here is that the headlines are aggregated from around 20 different news sources, grouped by source and country and catering to each user’s local preferences. The feeds also include leading cricket blogs as an alternative to the traditional news sources, as well as several video channels.

Clearly, this seems to be the most comprehensive application currently available. It takes many of the best features of every other application reviewed and presents these features in a professionally polished package. In a quest for features, it doesn’t forget the details and implements niceties.

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?

When I first heard that some of the first PSP Minis out the gate would be ported iPhone apps, I admittedly got a little bit excited imagining the competitive power of iPhone games on a platform with actual physical hardware controls. Turns out I should’ve reserved judgment.

First, as you may have seen, Minis will be limited to games only, so that’s a whole vast uncontested field left open for the iPod touch. That was bad enough, but now it looks like Minis will only be pale shadow versions of their former selves by the time they hit the PSP. For Minis, both wireless multiplayer and DLC or feature updating will be completely forbidden.

That’s right, according to Gamasutra, Sony’s putting its foot down on anything more complicated than pass and play in terms of multiplayer, and games will be pretty much static upon release. Both restrictions are said to be in service of expediting the review and approval process, a lesson they clearly learned from the beast that is Apple’s App Store submission review system. But is it the right takeaway?

If anything, Apple’s success with the App Store should actually suggest the opposite — namely, that allowing feature-rich and dynamic content into your marketplace is well worth the time investment and criticism you bring upon yourself in the process. Pocket God couldn’t exist in the climate Sony is setting up for Minis, nor could F.A.S.T. (Fleet Air Superiority Training).

Oh, and remember, there’s a 100MB cap for any game released in Mini form. Which cuts out another huge chunk of wildly successful iPhone and iPod touch games. Great job, Sony. I’m sure you’ll have iPhone devs climbing over themselves to generate releases for your untested, extremely limited platform.

There are few iPhone games that I will immediately buy. Most of the ones I do, however, are the classic games I played as a teenager.

The iPhone/iPod touch is more than powerful enough to handle these games and it seems that there are many people like me who are keen to experience these classics again. So, here’s a roundup of modern ports of classic games. Only official ports of classic games are detailed here — clones and the like do exist but I had to draw a line in the sand. I’ve also included links to Wikipedia for those interested in the history of the games.

Classic Arcaders

The Video Arcade is where mainstream gaming began, and there are plenty of original ports from this era to re-live your youth shoving coins into cabinets. I’d still like to see BubbleBobble make an appearance here to completely satisfy my urges.

Space Invaders

Release Year: 1978
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Super Breakout

Release Year: 1978
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $1.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Centipede

Release Year: 1980
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Missile Command

Release Year: 1980
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

PAC-MAN

Release Year: 1980
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $5.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Ms. PAC-MAN

Release Year: 1981
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $5.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Galaga

Release Year: 1981
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Frogger

Release Year: 1981
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $1.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Dig Dug

Release Year: 1982
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Pole Position

Release Year: 1982
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $2.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Q*Bert

Release Year: 1982
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $1.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Space Ace

Release Year: 1984
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Time Crisis

Release Year: 1995
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $5.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Alpine Racer

Release Year: 1995
Original Platform: Arcade
Price: $1.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Adventures

The classic point and click adventure games let you guide your character around a scene, interacting with computer characters and objects by either entering text or clicking on action words. Sierra and Lucas Arts were the kings of this genre until the 3D graphics revolution when they seemed to die out. Myst took a different take on the genre while InfoGames was one of the original companies where text adventures all started (Frotz is an open source interpretor of text adventure games and includes the M.I.T version of Zork).

Zork (available in Frotz)

Release Year: 1977
Original Platform: DEC PDP-10
Price: Free
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Mystery House

Release Year: 1980
Original Platform: Apple II
Price: $5.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Secret of Monkey Island

Release Year: 1990
Original Platform: Atari ST, Macintosh and PC
Price: $7.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Simon The Sorcerer

Release Year: 1993
Original Platform: PC
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Myst

Release Year: 1993
Original Platform: Mac
Price: $5.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Flight of the Amazon Queen

Release Year: 1995
Original Platform: Amiga, PC
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Shooters

The memories of borrowing my school’s greyscale brief-case sized 386 for the weekend to play the shareware version of Wolfenstein 3D are still with me. It started a new era of gaming can now be fondly relived on the iPhone. Duke Nukem 3D is another old favorite, athough ID was clearly the leader.

Wolf 3D

Release Year: 1992
Original Platform: PC
Price: $1.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Duke Nukem 3D

Release Year: 1996
Original Platform: PC
Price: $2.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Platformers

While the original jump’n'run platformer Super Mario Bros isn’t available (yet?), Sega’s main competition Sonic The Hedgehog is, as well as other classic variations of platform games (including hack’n’slash platformers like Golden Axe).

Golden Axe

Release Year: 1989
Original Platform: Arcade Consoles (Sega System 16)
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Rick Dangerous

Release Year: 1989
Original Platforms: Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, DOS
Price: $1.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Sonic the Hedgehog

Release Year: 1991
Original Platform: Sega Mega Drive / Genesis
Price: $5.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Streets of Rage

Release Year: 1991
Original Platform: Sega MegaDrive / Genesis
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Flashback

Release Year: 1992
Original Platform: Amiga
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Super Methane Bros

Release Year: 1993
Original Platform: Amiga
Price: $0.99
Links: Webpage, iTunes

Strategy / Simulation

Sim City and Civilisation are two of the most well known and loved strategy simulation games and of course they make a showing in this list. Personally I’d love to see the old Bullfrog Amiga classics PowerMonger and Populous appear on the App Store too.

Archon

Release Year: 1983
Original Platform: Atari
Price: $2.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Sim City

Release Year: 1988
Original Platforms: Amiga, Mac
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Civilization

Release Year: 1991
Original Platform: PC
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Puzzlers and Others

From the original puzzle game Tetris, to early classics like Bomberman.

Rogue

Release Year: Early 1980s
Original Platform: UNIX
Price: Free
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Bomberman

Release Year: 1983
Original Platform: MSX, NEC PC-8801, NEC PC-6001, Sharp MZ-700, FM-7, ZX Spectrum
Price: $7.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Tetris

Release Year: 1984
Original Platform: PC
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Boulderdash

Release Year: 1984
Original Platform: Atari 400/800, Apple II, MSX, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, ColecoVision
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Crystal Quest

Release Year: 1987
Original Platform: Apple Mac
Price: $0.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Pinball Dreams

Release Year: 1992
Original Platform: Amiga
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Pinball Fantasies

Release Year: 1992
Original Platform: Amiga
Price: $6.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Worms

Release Year: 1994
Original Platform: Amiga
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Vay

Release Year: 1994
Original Platform: Sega CD
Price: $4.99
Links: Wikipedia, Webpage, iTunes

Microsoft is obviously positioning the upcoming Zune HD as a competitor to Apple’s market-dominating iPod touch media player. More evidence of that came out today, as Engadget reports that Redmond has revealed that it will support downloadable apps, including 3D games.

I’m curious about whether or not said games will play nice with their Xbox 360 counterparts, or whether gaming on the Zune HD will at all influence or be affected by the superb 360 gaming experience (minus the occasional RROD, of course). With enough interoperability between the two devices, I think Microsoft could really take some ground away from the iPod touch.

Price is another area where Microsoft could potentially cut into Apple’s business. According to Microsoft’s Zune marketing manager, speaking to the Seattle Times’ Brian Seitz, all games and apps available on the Zune HD will be free downloads. That’s because they’ll either be developed in-house or in tandem with third-party sources, so developers won’t be able to just pick up an SDK and create software for the platform, at least not yet.

Which brings us to the Zune HD’s major failing when compared to the iPod touch. A few select free games handpicked (or hand-coded) by the device’s parent company itself will definitely help the Zune avoid a lot of the chaff and terribly designed offerings available in Apple’s App Store, but it will also stifle the possibility of finding a Rolando, a Tap Tap Revenge, a Fieldrunners, or any of the unique, amazing offerings from smaller studios and developers that managed to do more with the platform than Apple probably envisioned on its own.

In addition to games, the Zune HD will also get Facebook and Twitter apps. Early game titles include Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition, Vans Sk8: Pool Service, and Audiosurf Tilt. Does this latest announcement have anyone feeling more inclined towards Microsoft’s upcoming multimedia device?

Despite protestations by Steve Jobs that the evolution of the iPod touch has always been towards gaming, the deconstructionists at iFixit may have found the missing camera link in its latest teardown.

Prior to the Apple event last week, rumors of a camera in the iPod touch had been circulating for months. Some of the most convincing evidence included video of a case and circuit board with a camera. However, shortly before the third generation device was unveiled, new rumors of technical problems with the camera module suggested delayed availability. The Apple Event and Steve Jobs interview with the New York Times supposedly cleared all that up, except maybe not.

Source: iFixit

According to iFixit, there is space for a nano-style video camera in the iPod touch, but not enough for a still camera like the iPhone. This new information, combined with previous rumors and photos, suggests the strong possibility of a future touch with a camera. As to why Apple did not include a camera in the third generation iPod touch, perhaps technical issues were to blame, or perhaps it was a desire to keep a certain amount of feature distance between the iPod touch and iPhone. That would explain the other big find from iFixit.

It appears the Broadcom chip in the iPod touch supports 802.11n, as well as containing Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR and an FM radio module. The techs at iFixit speculate that if antennas were built in, and if the iPhone OS were to support it, one could stream music in a car that was appropriately equipped with Bluetooth. Those are some huge advantages over the iPhone, which only supports 802.11 a/b/g and has no FM radio.

Seeing as the iPhone earns more income for Apple than the touch through revenue sharing, it would be no surprise if the touch was crippled to protect iPhone sales. Disappointing, but not surprising. We’ll likely see all these features in both the touch and the iPhone in the future, and pay for them in another upgrade cycle, too. That’s expected, but wouldn’t it be great if just once Apple created a product that was as technologically advanced as it could be, rather than as it should be to protect the company’s sacred margins?

Across the pond, our European neighbors have been enjoying Spotify for some time now. It’s only fair that Apple should continue on in that vein and approve Rhapsody for the American masses. Sure Rhapsody costs money and Spotify doesn’t, but it does present a very competitive subscription-based alternative to iTunes.

For just $15.99 a month, Rhapsody subscribers have unlimited access to the site’s entire database of tracks, which numbers somewhere around eight million, and features most of today’s popular artists. While users of Last.fm and Pandora have been able to stream customized radio feeds directly to their devices since early on in the history of the App Store, Rhapsody is the first to bring on-demand tracks and albums to U.S. iPhone owners.

It may seem like direct competition for Apple’s own iTunes service, but is it really? Subscribers can stream music to their devices over either Wi-Fi or 3G network connections, but if you want to listen to music outside of Wi-Fi or cellular coverage areas, you’re out of luck, because the app has no offline access at all. Even if you are connected, constant streaming will significantly reduce your device’s battery life.

There’s also the issue of quality. Regardless of the type or quality of data connection you have, Rhapsody content streamed to the iPhone is only 64kbps — which, to someone like myself who tries to find FLAC recordings when possible, is absolutely unacceptable. I won’t even listen to internet radio streams if they don’t broadcast at at least 128kbps, and I don’t touch AM radio.

If you’re willing to put up with sub-par sound quality, and complete silence anytime you have to use the subway or take a trip to the remote wilderness or do anything that lasts more than a few hours away from a power supply, then maybe Rhapsody seems like a true iTunes competitor. I think Apple is gambling on the fact that most users will be willing to make one of those concessions, but definitely not all three.

Rhapsody is the product of a partnership between RealNetworks and MTV, which means they know a fair bit about sound, digital audio and music appreciation. This early version of its iPhone app probably doesn’t tell the full story of what it has planned in the future. Better to have a foot in the door with less than ideal functionality than to be left out in the cold like Google was with its Voice app.

Rhapsody is available now as a free download in the App Store.

Steve Jobs return as the face of Apple yesterday was immediately followed by an interview with Tech Guru David Pogue of the New York Times. A lot of the conversation focused on cameras, like why the iPod nano got one and the iPod touch did not.

It turns out Apple had no idea how to market the iPod touch — imagine that! Vacillating between concepts such as an “iPhone without the phone” and a pocket computer that actually fits in a pocket, touch users had to help the company that is arguably the most adept at advertising in the world figure out what to do. “What happened was, what customers told us was, they started to see it as a game machine,” Jobs said. From there, a multiplicity of game screenshots drove advertising and “it just took off.”

Completely coincidentally, this also made it unnecessary for Apple “to add new stuff,” like a camera, or a compass, or GPS. Instead, as Phil Schiller said during the Apple Event yesterday, “at just $199 the iPod touch is the most affordable gateway drug to Apple’s revolutionary App Store.” Jobs echoed those comments in the interview, saying that what “we were focused on is just reducing the price to $199.” So, it’s not about artificial product segmentation at all. Glad we cleared that up.

More realistic was Jobs’ response to the lack of photo capability in the video camera on the iPod nano. Apparently, the sensors for video are thin enough to fit in the nano, but the technology for pictures is not. Personally, I find this a little curious, as I often export still images from videos I have taken using QuickTime. At the very least, some kind of built-in workaround like that could have been included with the new nano.

The other topic covered during the interview, and one that will have message boards buzzing, concerned e-readers. Pogue asked Jobs if his dismissive attitude towards the devices had changed since the appearance of the Kindle. Jobs noted that digital books aren’t big sellers, then tossed the tablet fanatics some red meat, stating that “I think people just probably aren’t willing to pay for a dedicated device.”

If that wasn’t an oblique confirmation of the Apple iTablet, this response regarding future products being delayed because of Jobs’ absence is likely as close as we will get before the mythical device is unveiled.

“There are some things that I’m focusing a lot of attention on right now—to polish,” he said. “No, I don’t think we’re going to miss a beat. We have some really good stuff coming up.”

And this is why I love Steve Jobs being vertical again.