5 ways to save money on iPhone apps

Filed under: Deals, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

With over 100,000 iPhone applications in the App Store, finding the right app can sometimes be a bewildering experience. Apple's getting better at refining the interface -- it's certainly easier to find what you're looking for now than when the App Store first launched -- but if you're on a limited budget or just love a good bargain, the App Store doesn't give you the tools you need if you're waiting for that $9.99 app to go on sale for $4.99.

Fortunately, there are alternatives to the App Store's built-in search engine that do let you know when iPhone apps go on sale, and they can save you tons of money. As of right now I have 74 third-party apps installed on my iPhone, and out of those, 34 of them are paid apps. Out of those 34 paid apps, I snagged 17 of them when they were temporarily available for free; almost every other paid app I've downloaded at a significant discount from the nominal, full price.

I've saved somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 on apps for my iPhone, and I got the opportunity to try out apps I might have ignored otherwise. It's all thanks to two websites and three iPhone apps that monitor App Store prices and let you know when apps go on sale. Read on to find out what they are and how they can save you buckets of cash.

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Continue reading 5 ways to save money on iPhone apps

5 ways to save money on iPhone apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

5 ways to save money on iPhone apps originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Twitter unveils new mobile version

Filed under: Internet, iPhone, iPod touch

It's probably fair to say that Twitter clients were the first "killer app" category for the iPhone -- Twitterific lead the charge way back when, but Tweetie came quickly after and then the flood gates were opened. But now, a late and unexpected challenger has entered the ring: Twitter themselves. Mashable has the screenshots -- Twitter has always had a slimmed-down mobile client (and it's still up right now at m.twitter.com, while the new preview is at mobile.twitter.com), but this one's a little shinier, with almost all the features and graphics of the main site.

A few things didn't make it -- you can't skin your page as you can in the browser client (although none of the third-party clients that I know allow you to do that from the mobile client either). And lists are missing as well, though perhaps that's because Twitter doesn't quite consider them ready for prime time yet. Still, it's a definite improvement from the other mobile version, and the official blog on the subject says that they still have lots of visitors, despite all the other third-party clients out there.

Twitter unveils new mobile version originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Twitter unveils new mobile version originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple Says: This Year, Give iPhone

Apple is sending out an iPhone related marketing email, encouraging people to give the gift that keeps on… making Cupertino millions?

Thousands of Gifts. One Box.

With tens of thousands of apps on the App Store and more added every day, iPhone is much more than just a phone — it’s a gift that can give just about anything.

They pimp the Apple Store iPhone Gift Card, some choice accessories, and Apple services.

So, anyone giving an iPhone this year? Anyone have it on their want list?

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

Apple Says: This Year, Give iPhone

Apple Ending Clickwheel iPod Games?

Could Apple be ending the old-school clickwheel iPod games? Perhaps, according to a comment by developer Square Enix:

the iPhone Song Summoner contains both Song Summoner and Song Summoner 2, which was never released due to Apple ending support for click wheel games.

No doubt iPhone and iPod touch gaming has become a juggernaut, and the traditional iPod nano and iPod classic are slowly winding down in popularity. But is this the first portent of Apple going all-in with the iPhone OS platform?

[Joystiq via 9to5mac]

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

Apple Ending Clickwheel iPod Games?

Verizon ad confirms Droid is a not-quite pretty ‘racehorse duct taped to a Scud missile’

There's something peculiar about Verizon's latest addition to its promotional Droid onslaught. Sure, we get the expected Mad Libs-esque hyperboles like "it rips through the web like a circular saw through a ripe banana," but other nods seem to indicate an acknowledgement that, well, it's not the prettiest of flagship phone princesses. "Should [a phone be] be a tiara-wearing digitally clueless beauty pageant queen?" (Wonder who that's a reference to.) Listen Verizon, trading "hairdo for can do" is great and all, but why can't we simply have both brains and beauty? Still, it's nice to know the fighting words haven't all but left the industry. See the ad for yourself after the break.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Continue reading Verizon ad confirms Droid is a not-quite pretty 'racehorse duct taped to a Scud missile'

Verizon ad confirms Droid is a not-quite pretty 'racehorse duct taped to a Scud missile' originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 21:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Reel in a Netflix movie with the ezMoviePick app

Filed under: iPhone, iPod touch, App Review

I am a huge movie fan and have been a customer of Netflix since they opened for business. I would say that I average over 200 movies a year delivered to me in red envelopes, so I was quite excited when ezMoviePick $0.99US [iTunes Link] was released. This app, which works with any iPhone or iPod touch running OS 3.0 or better, is a Netflix queue manager and movie selector rolled into one, so I had to check it out and see if if it could replace a few other Netflix apps like PhoneFlicks, that I have been using for some time, along with uncovering some worthy movies that I've missed.

Movie selection is at the heart of the app. It looks and works similarly to Urbanspoon taking the form of a slot machine. After entering your Netflix account information and choosing which formats of movies (DVD, Blu Ray, Watch Instantly) you are interested in, you tap a key or shake your device to set three wheels spinning. The wheels are for movie type, year of release and number of stars. The result -- after waiting a bit longer than I would have preferred -- is a nearly random selection. Any movies shown will be from the list of films that Netflix would recommend to you. You can tap on a resulting film it to get some information and have the opportunity to add any of your chosen formats to your queue.

The problem is that you can't lock a reel or two as you can with Urbanspoon, so there is no way to concentrate your searches based on any criteria. You get what you get. This is not an oversight in the building of the app though. The Netflix API, according to the developer, makes such a lock virtually impossible:

"Netflix does not offer an API that will let a third party do a request asking for : give me all movies in the category "Comedy" from the 90's, or all movies with at least 3 stars in the Thriller category. Thus because of that limitation, the application right now cannot provide a 'lock' feature."

Continue reading Reel in a Netflix movie with the ezMoviePick app

Reel in a Netflix movie with the ezMoviePick app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reel in a Netflix movie with the ezMoviePick app originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Groundspeak’s Geocaching app turns 3.0

Filed under: iPhone, App Store, App Review

When it's warmer than the current 12°F here in Denver or I'm on a trip somewhere, I love to go geocaching. If you're not familiar with the pastime, geocaching involves using a GPS receiver to find hidden caches that can contain logbooks, "prizes," or even clues to other caches. To find out where a cache is hidden, you need to have an account with Geocaching.com and then search by city or location to see what's near you. The rest is up to your ability to find the cache based on the latitude and longitude provided, as well as clues that may have been supplied by the person who hid the cache, or by other people who have found the cache before you.

The company that popularized geocaching is Groundspeak, and they've just released version 3.0 of their self-named Geocaching app [US$9.99, iTunes Link]. Like a fine wine, this app is definitely getting better with age. Groundspeak added a pile of new features to the app, including the ability to view geocache photo galleries, rotate maps to match your heading (iPhone 3GS only), and view geocaching.com web pages without leaving the app.

One feature I like is the ability to save maps and photos for offline use. Sometimes when I'm geocaching in areas that don't have good cell phone service, I've felt that it would be nice to just shut the phone feature off. Now I can do that by searching for sites near a location, and then saving the information on my iPhone for future reference.

For geocachers who purchased earlier versions of the app, Geocaching 3.0 is a free upgrade. I highly recommend getting the update, and remember to restart your iPhone after installing the app.

Groundspeak's Geocaching app turns 3.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Groundspeak's Geocaching app turns 3.0 originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Multifaceted adapter combines 3-port USB hub with iPod / iPhone connector

Multi-purpose adapters aren't anything new, but it's often the simplest of the bunch that prove most useful. Take this bugger for instance, which is little more than a vanilla 3-port USB hub connected to an iPhone / iPod dock connector port. The purpose for its existence? To prevent you from having to haul Apple's flimsily built charging cable and a USB hub with you each time you scurry out, and to just generally make your time on this planet entirely more enjoyable. Now if only it could recharge our prototype Volt that we've secretly got hiding in the Engadget Garage, we'd really be able to extol the $14.99 asking price.

Multifaceted adapter combines 3-port USB hub with iPod / iPhone connector originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Review: ColorMagic for iPhone

If you're looking to make a photo stand out through selective desaturation, this mobile image-editing app from Molinker is a good choice for the job.

Apple Nixes Support for New iPod Click Wheel Games?

Joystiq reported earlier this week on the release of Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes - Encore, a new iPhone game available in paid [App Store, $9.99] and lite [App Store, Free] versions from developer Square Enix. Included in the report is mention ...

Wolfram Alpha to iPhone Users: Get Off our Web, Buy Our $50 App!

If you go to wolframalpha.com on your iPhone (or iPod touch), instead of an optimized version of their website, you now presented with an intercept pop-up advising you that you can go to the App Store and get your $50 premium experience on.

Were too many people not buying the app when they could get the web for free? And is this the best way for Wolfram Alpha to handle it? Let us know what you think, we already have an idea what they’ll say…

[via TUAW]

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

Wolfram Alpha to iPhone Users: Get Off our Web, Buy Our $50 App!

Nav apps keep updating, adding features

Filed under: Software, iPhone

Today it's CoPilot live, continuing a holiday sale price of U.S. $24.99 [iTunes link] through the end of December. We've had a look at the app before. It is good for a low-cost app, but the database seems a bit out of date and the POI list is limited. The new version adds live traffic, local search and fuel prices for an extra $19.95. The new features are for 12 months only, and then you would have to renew. The new features make up for the POI omissions, but it costs extra to solve the problem.

As all these GPS apps race to add features and keep prices down, we all benefit. And of course, we're still holding our breath to see if the new Google Navigator app makes it through the Apple approval gauntlet. With word that Apple has bought a mapping technology company and wants to beef up mapping, the Google app may never see the light of day.

We'll be doing a roundup with our views on the best GPS solutions for the holidays, so stay tuned.

Nav apps keep updating, adding features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nav apps keep updating, adding features originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AT&T vs. Verizon — Turns Out There’s No Lawsuit for That!

According to Business Insider, both AT&T and Verizon have decided to drop the lawsuits over Verizon’s hilarious controversial “Map for That” commercials. AT&T believed the commercials to be misleading, splitting hairs about 2.5G EDGE coverage and 3G HSPA, while Verizon believed the truth hurt (ouch).

Since the judge rejected AT&T’s request for an injunction, and Verizon will be continuing to air the ads, we’re guessing we know who blinked here… (And also guessing Luke Wilson and Apple will continue to fire back…)

(Insert canned soap opera music here!)

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

AT&T vs. Verizon — Turns Out There’s No Lawsuit for That!

University of Michigan teaches how to create iPhone instruments

The University of Michigan has almost completed the first semester of their course on Building a Mobile Phone Ensemble, taught by a leading developer behind the Ocarina iPhone app.

A car stereo built for the King (of phones)

Filed under: iPod Family, iPhone

No, you didn't click on the wrong link. We haven't changed our name to The Unofficial Audio Weblog. "Why, then, is my beloved Apple-centric site doing a review of a car stereo?!" you're no doubt asking yourself. 'Cause this thing rocks your iPhone like you've never heard before!

Sony was nice enough to send us one of its newest models, the Xplod MEX-BT5700U, which happens to be the company's flagship head unit. With things like iPod integration via the front-mounted USB port and Bluetooth audio streaming, the $299 single-DIN stereo has an interesting mix of features that you'd expect to come at a higher price.

First off, some ground rules. I'm not an audiophile. This isn't going to be a review chock full of decibel ratings or fancy audio terms. While I've had quite a few aftermarket stereos in my time, and I've installed my share of head units, car stereos aren't my living. Instead, I'll be focusing on its interface and various connections to iDevices.

The specs
The Xplod MEX-BT5700U is no slouch when it comes to traditional stereo benchmarks. It outputs 52W per channel without external amplification and has a separate subwoofer out. It'll play nearly any audio source including HD Radio (via an optional kit), satellite radio, CDs (the store-bought pressed ones in addition to CD-Rs and CD-RWs with MP3, AAC, or WMA data files), USB sticks and drives, a CD changer, and of course MP3 players. Oddly enough, there is no Memory Stick slot. (Thank goodness!)

Oh yeah, it even gets AM!

Continue reading A car stereo built for the King (of phones)

A car stereo built for the King (of phones) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A car stereo built for the King (of phones) originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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iPhone in China Not Selling So Well… Official Version at Least

No big sales in China, it seems, and no big surprise given the low initial numbers we saw, and the prevalence — and huge pre-existing install base — of black and gray-market iPhones (with wifi!) smuggled into the country. And if that sounds apologist’ic, yeah, sorry. But iLounge is reporting:

Taobao.com, the largest Chinese e-commerce web site reports that it has sold only two 8GB iPhones and three 16GB iPhones since it began selling them on Nov 22nd.

So, sky fallen for the iPhone in China? Still falling? No one cares because they all have unlocked iPhones anyway?

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

iPhone in China Not Selling So Well… Official Version at Least

Analyst: Verizon-Apple Partneship Very Unlikely

Count down to the holidays with free games from Appvent Calendar

An event organized by Blacksmith Games is offering an iPhone game for free from December 1 through December 22.

Scanner Pro app adds integration with Print n Share

With Scanner Pro 1.2, iPhone users can now scan documents with their iPhone's built-in camera and then use Print n Share to print those documents on any networked printer. The Scanner Pro update also offers the ability to upload scanned documents to Dropbox.

Ansca Mobile Raises $1 Million Funding to Create an Alternative Platform for iPhone App Development