Quick App: Super Marble Roll for iPhone

iScape Games let us know that they have released their first iPhone game: Super Marble Roll [iTunes link]. I know… another marble game, but I think this one deserves your attention. I have spent a little time playing Super Marble Roll and find the controls and implementation of the accelerometer to be phenomenal. There is also a special easter egg “bonus mechanic” included that’ll help rack up those points!

iScape Games also shared with me that they already have updates planned for the future and are discussing more features such as unlocking levels and stage achievements.

Super Marble Roll is available in the App Store for $2.99. If you pick this one up, let us know what you think in the comments below!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Quick App: Super Marble Roll for iPhone

Microsoft Confirms Multi-Touch Zune HD to Compete Against iPod Touch

Microsoft confirmed today that the rumored "Zune HD" was, in fact, real and that they are planning on launching it this fall. The new touch-screen device will surf the web, play high definition movies and tune in digital radio.<p class="quot...

Microsoft Announces iPod touch Zune HD!

So, two and a half years ago Microsoft released what was basically their version of the 2005 video iPod. Now, some two years after Apple released the iPod touch, WMExperts (via Engagdet and CNET) tells us Microsoft has confirmed… the Zune HD, a wide screen, capacitive, solid-state media player.

At 272×480, it’s not quite as wide as the iPhone’s 320×480, much less the high-end Windows Mobile handsets like the Touch HD’s 480×800. But like we said, it is capacitive (which is strangely still unsupported by WinPho) and what pixels it has are OLED, which will hopefully motivate Apple to give the next generation iPhone the same treatment.

Other features include HD radio support and something nobody can believe they didn’t do from the outset: integrate it with the Xbox product line.

We’re still left wondering, however, is this really a business Microsoft needs to be in? Wouldn’t Zune resources have been better used to get Windows Mobile 7 out last year instead of next when it could be, you know, competitive?!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Microsoft Announces iPod touch Zune HD!

Review: Eucalyptus for iPhone

What sets Eucalyptus apart from other iPhone-based e-book readers is how it takes the cold, forbidding, and ugly type so typical of public-domain e-books and makes it gorgeous.

Free access to 1800 audiobooks for iPhone

Filed under: Freeware, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

Your iPhone/iPod touch listening options just got a lot larger. Audiobooks, [App Store] a free app, gives you a large catalog of public domain classic works from Dickens to Verne for your listening pleasure.

The books come from the LibriVox library, a non-profit project that has volunteers read the books and then releases the free recordings.

The app is ad-supported, but the ads are not obtrusive in my view. The books I listened to were competently read. Downloading was quick over WiFi, quite a bit slower over 3G, but usable. You can start listening while the book is completing the download, which is a plus.

Downsides are that every chapter starts with disclaimers about the book being in the public domain, which kind of breaks the mood.

The search function works well, but would be better if you could search by genre. There is a nice surprise me button, which gives you a book at random, but in practice that isn't really that helpful.

The developer of this app also sells audiobooks at the iTunes Store, which we have reviewed. These audiobooks show the text synced to the audio, but I do not find that a compelling feature. I think the new app is the way to go.

Here are a few screen grabs:

Free access to 1800 audiobooks for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 May 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Free access to 1800 audiobooks for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 May 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: Night Camera for iPhone

Night Camera adds many valuable features to the iPhone’s much-maligned camera, chiefly the ability to shoot photos in low-light situations.

Apple to Launch 3 New iPhone Models with Matte Finish?

FotoMagico Remote puts presentation control in the palm of your hand

Boinx Software released FotoMagico Remote for iPhone and iPod touch, an application that allows you to control FotoMagico presentations running on your Mac.

Road trip! AAA Discounts for iPhone

Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store

After my 1991 VW Vanagon camper ran out of gas late at night in the winter of 1994, and I had to walk four miles in bitterly cold weather to get enough fuel to start it up and drive back to the gas station, I decided to join the American Automobile Association (AAA). Since then, my AAA membership has provided jump-starts when a battery is dead and sent a locksmith when I locked my keys inside a car.

In addition to being a full-time Good Samaritan to members in need, AAA also does a great job of securing discounts on just about everything. Unfortunately, up to this point it's been almost impossible to figure out who offers discounts without referring to AAA's website.

AAA just made life a lot easier for iPhone owners with the new and free AAA DIscounts app (click opens iTunes). The app takes your current location, then displays a map with pins denoting businesses in the immediate area that provide AAA discounts. A tap on a pin brings up details about the discounts available, as well as an address and phone number. Tapping the phone number dials the number for you.

The app displays discount locations either in a list or on a map, and will provide point to point directions or a mapped route. If you're a AAA member, entering your membership number activates a special Roadside Assistance button that will not only call AAA, but provide the responder with your current location.

While this app still has a few bugs that need to be worked out (it kept telling me that it could not validate my membership number), it's a great start and a useful benefit for AAA members.

Road trip! AAA Discounts for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Road trip! AAA Discounts for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Tue, 26 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jailbreak App - biteSMS for iPhone: Feature-Rich, Easier and Cheaper way to SMS

Nokia opens the door to its Ovi mobile apps store

Nokia's Ovi Store is open, allowing owners of Nokia phones to add new applications, just as Apple and RIM allow iPhone and BlackBerry owners to do.

Psystar Files for Bankruptcy

The Mac Observer reports that Psystar, the manufacturer of unauthorized Mac clones currently embroiled in a legal battle with Apple, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move is likely to delay the proceedings in Apple's case, which is currently...

Deathmatch: BlackBerry versus iPhone

InfoWorld's Galen Gruman stacks up an iPhone against a BlackBerry 9000 Bold to see how well each would fare in his daily grind. His conclusion? It's time to bury the BlackBerry.

Celebrity iPhone App puts your picture on the front page of a magazine

Have you ever wanted to be a tabloïd star? With Celebrity, Visuamobile’s new iPhone app, you can put your own picture on fake magazine covers. Just take a picture of yourself or your friends, choose a magazine cover and make it to the front page! Celebrity main features : - 20 realistic covers with various themes - Covers are [...]

Apple to Launch Six New iPhones with Matte Finish? Sorta…

iLounge reports that they’ve been told the next generation iPhone will come in two storage capacities (we’d guess 16GB and 32GB) and three radio flavors, 3G, 3.5/3.75G, and China CDMA. Consumers won’t be able to choose which radio model they buy, each carrier in each local region will simply offer the one that best suits their network. Some choice in color — black or white? — should remain.

The design is said to be roughly the same with the exception of a new, more scratch-resistant matte finish for the back plate, which has been rumored for a while now.

And no, unfortunately, Chinese CDMA won’t run on Sprint or Verizon in the US. Different frequencies.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apple to Launch Six New iPhones with Matte Finish? Sorta…

Review: BeBot — Robot Synth for iPhone

This music app from Normalware is a good example of what the iPhone platform is all about -- a truly incredible application that can entertain both serious musicians and three-year-olds equally as well.

Apple changes mind and accepts Eucalyptus app

Once again, a public furor and developer outcry seems to have changed Apple’s stance on a product rejected from the App Store. Apple recently rejected an app (Eucalyptus, an e-book reader) because it gave people access to “inappropriate sexual content” by allowing people to read the Kama Sutra and other related works. Never mind that several [...]

June 1st cover of New Yorker done on the iPhone

Artist Jorge Colombo took about an hour to fingerpaint a cool-looking Times Square scene on his iPhone using Brushes, a $4.99 iPhone drawing app. Now, it’s the June 1st cover for The New Yorker. Talk about going places. I’m guessing the editors of the magazine saw some kind of weighty symbolism in such a stunt, but [...]

Another Thread in the Rumor Mill: Apple WWDC 2009 iPhone changes

The biggest announcement of the upcoming Apple WWDC 2009 and the biggest question mark as well is the new version of the iPhone. A new model is coming for sure, but we don’t know what will be in it, exactly. Most probably, the new Apple cell will keep its current design. Since Steve Jobs came to [...]

Next Generation iPhone Case to Have Matte Finish? Enhanced 3G?

Previously leaked matte iPhone case
Alongside the artist rendition of the upcoming 5G iPod Nano, iLounge also weighed in on the rumors surrounding the next generation iPhone.

They've been told that the next-generation ...