Opal Limited Trope
Users call it Bloom 2.0, but this new app from musician Brian Eno and producer Peter Chilvers takes the ambient music genre to a "more introspective, more atmospheric" place that's considerably darker than their previous endeavors. By tapping and drawing free form on the screen, users create and shape tones corresponding to particular moods that can be selected prior to starting the session. The backgrounds are moody and muted, and we can see getting lost in this app in any number of emo situations...download and enjoy!
www.generativemusic.com/trope.html | Price: $3.99
Fwix
Fwix is the idea app for newshounds on the go. Compatible with OS 2.0 and up, this new application allows you to access the local news and blogs as well as report anything newsworthy that you see on the streets. The reporting feature, however, requires that you have at least 2G on your iPod touch or iPhone. Connect to Facebook, sign in to Twitter, and generally stay updated to the minute with what's going on in your city whether it's good, bad or ugly! The cool map interface also allows you to see thumbtacks where events have occurred and shows you where upcoming entertainment options like shows and music are set to occur.
http://fwix.com/about/iphone | Price: Free
Fake-A-Call
We at MacTribe really enjoy making grossly exaggerated claims, so here's one for you: buying this app will be the best dollar you've ever spent. Seriously. From the pre-loaded voices to the ability to delay the call for a specified amount of time, this app will save you from boring phone calls, annoying co-workers, accidental meetings on the street you were really hoping to avoid...you name it, and Fake-A-Call can rescue you with its detailed faked calls. Just think...you'll never have to pretend to be interested in an inane conversation ever again. Excellent.
www.excelltechmobile.com/ | Price: $0.99
Doodle Jump
When the title of the app in the App Store says "BE WARNED: Insanely Addictive" it should be the only news you need to hear to turn around and walk away. But we've never done that before, so why should we start now? Doodle Jump is a cartoon-sketch arcade game where you try to get your little Doodle man to reach stratospheric heights and avoid all of the traps and pitfalls set for him. And you can shoot nose balls at bad guys. AND as you rise, you can see where other notable players have lost the epic battle against black holes and exploding platforms. 'Nuff said.
www.limasky.com/ | Price: $0.99
I Can Has Cheezburger 1.1.1
Don't even try to tell us you haven't seen the ridiculous YouTube videos of lolcats and loldogs. We won't believe you. Since we know you think it's hilarious, we're happy to bring you news that you can have all of your favorite funnies in one place, in one ad-free app. Eight different options, from the original two to Engrish Funny and ROFLrazzi will keep you amused for hours on end, and with shake to shuffle, you can switch between them just based on how hard you're laughing. Of course, you could download the free one, but who wants to look at ads when they can be ROFL with the Kittehs?
mcdevzone.com/software/ | Price: $0.99
Snood
Some of us here have been playing this game since it came out in the mid 1990s. Honestly. So you can imagine our wonder and happiness when we realized that we could play one of our favorite games on our new favorite toy! While the Snoods have undergone a makeover, you can always do what we did and select "Classic" mode from the menu to relive those wasted hours where nothing mattered but saving the Snoods and knocking off that dang Numbskull. With 100 levels and difficulty ranging from easy to evil, this puzzle game will keep you entertained for hours on end.
http://www.eamobile.com/Web/ipod-game/IpodReskinView | Price $3.99
Tap Tap Revenge 2.6
With more than two hundred free tracks for you to tap and shake to, it's no wonder that Tapulous's newest update is the most popular app in the store! Easy, fun and addictive, Tap Tap Revenge is styled like Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Dance Revolution, and we have to say you will look much cooler rocking out on your iPhone than sweating bullets in an arcade. Just throwing that out there. If you're feeling flush, you can spring for the new Lady Gaga Revenge edition...like you haven't heard Poker Face enough.
tapulous.com/taptap2/ | Price: Free
American Heritage Dictionary
Are you an awful speller? Keep one of the most respected tomes of the English language at your fingertips for quick checks on esoteric words, etymology to impress your friends, or just for the peace of mind you'll get being able to school everyone you know when they're trying to bluff during Scrabble. You still play Scrabble, don't you? Audio pronunciations let you know just how to say "nuclear," in case you've forgotten, and full color illustrations accompany many entries; this is truly the best app out there for lexical reference and it sure beats busting out the 7.5 pound book on a regular basis.
www.enfour.com/iphone/apps/hmh/ah.html | Price: $24.95
Yelp!
The user-generated picks and pans of everything from food to fun has finally come to the iPhone, and with a healthy dose of Augmented Reality. With Monocle, your iPhone uses a combination of location, compass and camera to divine where you are and what the eye of your camera is seeing--and what other Yelpers think about it! It works very much like the website except you can't sign in, but for free, this app over performs to the extreme. The location feature on your iPhone makes finding anything nearby a snap...go forth and conquer, and freak out your friends with the first Augmented Reality app in the US!
www.yelp.com/yelpmobile | Price: Free
TomTom Navigation App
When your map just isn't cutting it, enlist the help of TomTom's navigation app and prepare for a smooth ride. Packed with features, this app makes use of embedded GPS technology in the 3G and 3GS iPhones to quickly get you where you need to go--it'll even tailor your route to the time of day, making sure you stay out of traffic. What are our favorite buts, you ask? Text-to-speech technology means you never take your eyes off the road to see which turn is next, advanced lane guidance helps you navigate difficult interchanges, and IQ Routes use aggregated data from millions of users to choose a path that saves you time, money and gasoline.
In-app music controls, restaurant finder and local emergency service information put the TomTom app over the edge; avoiding traffic jams is worth every penny.
iphone.tomtom.com | Price: $59.99
iPhone Explorer
Now, we at MacTribe have always made our stance on jail breaking very clear; we still know you're gonna do it anyway. The iPhone Explorer app, while not a jail breaking program, can help you access the real root of your phone and recover texts, contacts and emails that are otherwise lost to you after the process.
It does some other stuff, too...actually, its intended use is as a USB iPhone browser. Drag and drop interfaces make copying or transferring files a breeze and the ability to use your phone or iPod touch as a flash drive or in disk mode is really useful.
http://www.iphone-explorer.com/ | Price: Free
Zipcar
Getting into a Zipcar has never been easier with the advent of their new, free iPhone app. Not only can you use it to reserve a car and find your preferred model with Locations, the app allows you to compare rates, view models and specifications of the cars you're considering, and contact Member Services in the event you need to extend your reservation or report damage.
Probably the coolest part of the app though is being able to honk the horn, lock and unlock the doors using only your phone...we're a sucker for the small things.
www.zipcar.com | Price: Free
Projects for iPhone
Not your everyday to-do list, the Projects app for your iPhone will keep you organized in a down to the minute kind of way. Actually, this app is probably best for users who have a basic grasp of task planning software already--otherwise it's easy to get confused with the timescales, Gantt charts and task updates. If you fit the bill, you'll find Projects to be an invaluable help in making sure your plans go off without a hitch: keyword searches make it easy to locate on task out of many, alphabetical and time plan views make seeing the big picture easier and exporting data to MS Project or Excel simplifies everything.
www.blackburninternet.com/projects/index2.php | Price $6.99
More iPhone
iPad Costs
That's some profit! No wonder Apple execs have said they'd stay nimble on pricing! With demand for the iPad under scrutiny and this week's news that the "Take Picture" hint was removed from the Address Book app in the iPad simulator even we are starting to wonder if it's not worth waiting for the 2nd generation.
Trust us, it's painful to say.
Google Challenges the Internet
This is huge news, and we hope our city is on the receiving end of the new interwebs...here's the official Google Blog if you want to read it all in detail or submit your community.
Dogs on Twitter
Seriously, the app is set to sell for $5 and will post your pet's barks to Twitter. Silly? Yes. Fun? Probably!!
Will you let your dog speak his mind? Tell us here.
More News
iSuppli Corp., which generally waits until it can actually get the new Apple product to estimate its production cost, has decided to forgo hands on examination in the case of the iPad. They have--from just looking at it, it's amazing--decided the base model only costs $219.35 for Apple to produce. According to AppleInsider the base model won't make Apple anywhere near as much profit as the 32 GB model with 3G wireless priced at $729...that one reportedly costs only $287.15 to produce.
"Think Big" indeed. This time, Google is setting its sights on the very way we transmit information and asking people from around the country to nominate their city or state to be included in an ultra-high speed open internet network of Google's building. Set to include anywhere from 50,000 to 500,000 people, this network will boast 1GB per second fiber optic connections that Google reps are hoping will bolster developer creativity, test new ways to build the infrastructure and challenge internet service providers to band together to create a better internet instead of shunning change to maintain their bottom lines.
From the country that's given us karate and karaoke comes the newest iPhone app: that's right, Japan's Index Corp. has announced the release of "Bowlingual," the dog emotion translator. Latest in a long line of technological advances, this app (to be released this summer) analyzes Fido's bark and puts it into one of six categories, like "needy." Or "happy." Then it adds a caption based on the emotion and allows you to snap a photo of your pooch in its current mood; as if that weren't enough it can modify that photo to enlarge your pet's eyes...oh...so cute.
