Movement App Makes it Easier for Users to Organize iPhone Apps

App Review: Bookworm for iPhone

(Bookworm for iPhone Forum Review by cjvitek For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum Review Index!)

I have said it before, I will take it again, I am not a huge fan or word games. But occasionally one will come along that captures my attention. Bookworm [$2.99 - iTunes link] is just such a game.

The premise is simple - you are presented with a field of letter tiles. You need to go through spelling words with connecting tiles. As words are spelled, those tiles vanish, and new tiles fall from the top to replace them. Throw in features like bonus works, green tiles (for more points), red tiles (that “burn” through the others to the bottom) and you have the game Bookworm.

You progress through each level, getting points for spelling longer and more difficult words. As you go, you can collected various accomplishments (words types, such as body parts). There are two modes of play - classic (just a never ending puzzle) and timed (where fire blocks appear and start burning as time progresses). Unfortunately, there is no multiplayer option although to be honest with you I am not sure how it would be incorporated.

There is an area which keeps track of your stats, but unfortunately, it is limited to the highest score. I wish it also kept track of things like the longest word. You also have your library to see different types of words (like the previously mentioned body parts) you have found. The word library does add something of a long term goal to the game, as you can try to collect as many words as possible in the various libraries. One nice thing to see was that the game saves you progress, even if you exit.

All in all, if someone is a big fan of word game, they probably will enjoy this. As I said, even though I am not a big fan, I still found it fun. However, I found the game a little limiting. With only two play modes, both based on the same play time, I am not sure if I feel I could play the game long term. But for people who like games like Muddle and Scrabble may feel differently. At $2.99, the game is not that pricey and could easily be worth the expense.

Pros:

• Challenging word game
• Easy to play

Cons:

• No multiplayer
• Limited game modes

TiPb Review Rating

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

App Review: Bookworm for iPhone

Where To? tells you ‘where to’

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review

Where To? [iTunes link] is a nice destination finder for the iPhone. The latest version is on sale on the App Store through today for US$0.99. Note: The iTunes store says it works on an iPod touch, but some people are reporting it won't install.

It cleverly integrates maps, a web browser, and a tracking mode to show new points of interest as you move. You can share destinations that you find with email, SMS and the clipboard.

You can also search any one of 600 categories or ask the app to surprise you with, for example, a restaurant recommendation.

The app supports English, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.

How did it work? Pretty well. It's nice to have all the tools you need in one app, although one of my favorite apps, AroundMe [iTunes link] integrates maps, but has no browser. AroundMe is free.

It would be nice to get some integration into the new nav apps that are proliferating, because Where To? has a far larger POI database then say Navigon or TomTom. I did save a POI from Where To? in my contacts, then opened that contact in Navigon and that worked fine, but it's a little fiddly.

There are a few glitches in Where To? While searching for some nearby lakes, the app found some businesses with "lake" in the name. I think the app is focusing too much on the business name, and not whatever category meta-data it is using.

All in all, this app was worth the original $3.00 asking price, and today at $0.99 I'd give it a whirl for sure.

Here are some screen grabs:

Where To? tells you 'where to' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Where To? tells you 'where to' originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: iPhone beat out Windows Mobile phones in sales in second quarter 2009

Apple’s iPhone held onto a 13.7% share of global smartphone unit sales in the second quarter, outpacing Microsoft’s Windows Mobile, which now claims just 9% of the market, according to Canalys. “Apple has revolutionized the smart phone sector, leapfrogging more experienced rivals,” Canalys senior analyst Pete Cunningham said in the company’s report. Sales in the second [...]

Apple speaks out about FCC/Google Voice fiasco

Apple on Friday offered a rare glimpse into the exclusive agreement between the iPhone maker and AT&T, when it officially responded to an inquiry from the Federal Communications Commission and explained its role in the absence of Google Voice from the App Store. Apple filed a series of official answers to queries from the Federal Communications [...]

The Competition: BlackBerry Storm 2 - Peizo-Electric Boogaloo!

Bla1ze over at CrackBerry.com has posted up a video by Salomondrin that shows off and explains the BlackBerry Storm 2’s new “peizo electric” screen technology. In a nutshell, when the Storm 2 is off, the screen is hard just like an iPhone. When the Storm 2 is on, however, it becomes like a sponge beneath a screen coating, so a user can “push” into it to register a click, double-click, or multi-clicks.

Looks nifty, and it will likely make the Storm 2 much more palatable than the Storm 1 to die-hard QUERTY CrackBerrians. iPhone users? Well, I like tapping, swiping, pinching, etc. so I’m not click dependent, and at the end of the day, it’s the OS behind the input method(s) that Apple’s nailed oh-so-elegantly for me.

Only time, hands-on, and perhaps this year’s Round Robin will tell!

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

The Competition: BlackBerry Storm 2 - Peizo-Electric Boogaloo!

iPhone 101: Don’t forget to wipe… your iPhone’s data

Filed under: iPhone, iPhone 101, iPod touch

Stepping up to a shiny new 3GS? Thinking about selling your old iPhone on eBay or craigslist? Don't forget to wipe!

I buy iPhones from time to time to unlock and offer to our local customers. One such phone arrived today and I eagerly opened the box to get things prepared. After charging the dead iPhone for a while, I powered it on and was greeted with tons of personal information about the previous owner.

The phone was loaded up with three accounts full of literally thousands of emails, 107 contacts, 974 songs, a few dozen photos and a handful of apps -- all still happily filling the 8GB. There were faxed checks related to the previous owner's sales position, visual voicemails available to anyone's ears, and a huge log full of text messages.

The previous owner hadn't deleted anything before sending his iPhone off to a complete stranger! While I was taking care of that important step for him, I thought "This is a perfect opportunity to save some TUAW readers from this sort of embarrassment, not to mention potential ID theft, with a quick reminder."

Clearing all of the data from your iPhone was made simple with the 2.0 firmware update last year.

1. Go to Settings
2. Scroll all the way down and tap Reset
3. Choose Erase All Content and Settings
4. Confirm (twice) that you REALLY want to lose everything

Make sure you have it plugged in, as the process will take quite a long time, "about an hour" according to the warning. But, believe me, it is time well spent!

Once the process is complete, you'll be left with a "factory fresh" installation of the iPhone OS with no trace of you or your data, and you can safely sell it and upgrade to the latest and greatest model. Oh, and do me a favor -- if I'm the auction winner, include a working sync cable this time!

iPhone 101: Don't forget to wipe... your iPhone's data originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

iPhone 101: Don't forget to wipe... your iPhone's data originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sun, 23 Aug 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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App Preview: Facebook 3.0 for iPhone

I love Facebook and this is a preview of the hotly anticipated  Facebook for iPhone 3.0, coming soon to the iTunes App Store for iPhone and iPod touch.

Where to begin? When I first installed the app, I was frozen with anticipation. I have seen some sneak peeks on Facebook’s app page, but that was it. Now with it in my hands… Let’s begin by looking at the basics.

Home Screen

Facebook 3.0 has a brand-new redesigned home screen (see above). From here, you have access your fundamental Facebook actions such as your News Feed, Profile, Friends, Inbox, Chat, Requests, Events, Photos, Notes and Search. Notifications have been relocated to a very accessible location on the bottom of the screen that tells you the last notification you have received and the total number of new notifications. Tapping this bar brings up a notification list that is practically identical to the notifications list you have on the Web Browser. You can also tap the title bar at the top of the page to return home any time. For example, if you are commenting on a post and you are done, you can tap the word “Comments” at the top of the page and it will return you to the home screen. Tap again, and it takes you back to your comment. Nice.

New Feed

The News Feed has several new features. For starters you can now “like” posts! Yes, you now have the ability to comment and like a post on Facebook for iPhone (you can also unlike too). You can also add a video (with a 3GS) and record and upload directly to Facebook from your iPhone. If a post has a Web link in it, the link will now open within Facebook to view the Web Page. You no longer have to leave the app to go to Safari, through this is an option if you want.

If you separate your friends and paged into different lists, these have also carried over into Facebook 3.0. You can easily and quick access your News Feed, Links, Pages and more from one spot.

Profile

Your Facebook Profile is now here in it’s entirety! Profile pages are divided into three sections : Wall, Info and Photos. Wall remains relativity unchanged, however, Info gives you a lot of information now. For instance,  when viewing another persons profile, you can see how many friends you have in common, their number of total friends and what Pages they are a fan of. Clicking on any of these choices will take you to that list. From their profile you can also send them a message, Poke them and add as a favorite on your home screen! That is right, the home screen can also be customized with your favorite friends or pages!

Friends

This section contains your typical listing of friends, but now if they have their phone number in Facebook, you are given an icon to tap next to their name. When tapped, it will display quick links for their numbers. Example: Land, Mobile, SMS. Very nice if you don’t have every single friend in your address book, this is an excellent replacement! You also have your Pages here too. This is a great, quick way to access the pages you are a fan of.

Inbox

The Inbox remains relatively unchanged except for the added option of Updates for your pages. If a Page uses this feature and you have it activated, you will see your favorite Page updates in the Inbox too under its own section.

Chat

Chat is another section that has not altered too much from Facebook 2.0. One of the new feature is the Online/Idle icons next to your friends so you know their status.

Requests

Not much here, any pending friend requests you have will appear on this button of the home screen with the red badge number of pending requests.

Events

New to Facebook 3.0, events have a simple scrolling list of upcoming and past events. When you tap on an event, you enter your RSVP and see a guest list broken down into Confirmed, Maybe, Declined and Awaiting. Very nice. Do you also enjoy the Birthday feature of Facebook on your desktop that shows you when your friends have a Birthday? Well, Birthdays have been added to Events as well! Click on the Events tab and you have a whole list of your friends Birthdays divided by month.

Photos

Photos in Facebook 3.0 have had a big change. First, when you tap an album, you get a page of thumbnails like the Photos app on the iPhone. This makes it a lot easier to find photos or get an overview of an album. You can now very easily show or hide tags. Previously, it seemed that tags would appear randomly, now it is much easier. You can Like and make a photo a profile picture right from Photos!

Notes

New to the mix of Facebook 3.0 apps is Notes. When you tap on Notes, you get a listing of all of your notes on Facebook. You can edit notes and create new ones. I was curious about the note creation process on the iPhone and decided to enter some basic HTML to format my note, just like on the desktop. Know what? IT WORKED! That is right, you can add basic HTML tags to your notes and it will format the note accordingly. The only thing missing is the ability to attach a photo to your note. This new feature has me debating whether I should bother with my own traditional personal blogging and just blog from within Facebook… we are almost there…

Search

Searching from the home screen gives you a few filters. You can search for Friends, Everyone or Pages. Typing in a name for Friends and Everyone behaves as you would expect, but the new ability to add pages is really awesome. I am using Facebook more and more for product, news and general “fan” updates. This new feature is really convenient.

Posting

Posting has one of my biggest grips addressed from the previous version of Facebook; the “Send” button (renamed to Share) has been moved to the TOP of the screen so I no longer post accidentally while typing!

Add a Favorite

Lastly, from the home screen you can add your favorite friends and pages to the home screen. You can flick to the left just like the iPhone home screen and have quick access to you the people you care about the most.

Issues and Conclusion

This is one phenomenal update to Facebook for iPhone, however, it is not without its shortcomings. To name a few, you receive an error message when you try to play a video that has been uploaded to Facebook. The error reads “Facebook Video cannot yet be played on this device”. Not sure what that means, but it tells me that it will be coming in s future update. If you have posted a YouTube video to Facebook though, it will open YouTube’s site in the Facebook app and you can watch the video.

I have also encountered the infamous ”Error, Your comment could not be posted at this time” message. I had thought this was resolved in the last version of Facebook. I have not seen this error for quite some time.

Overall, I could not be happier. This version of Facebook is leaps and bounds better then version 2.0. The developer, Joe Hewitt, deserves kudos for his work her. Joe has also promised push notifications and other enhancements for 3.1 to be released later this year.

The promise of the iPhone is to have a mobile computer in your pocket. The iPhone is able to deliver on this promise because there are developers out there like Joe Hewitt that keep making apps better and better. Thank you Joe.

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

App Preview: Facebook 3.0 for iPhone