Freebie Friday! (For 3/12/2010)

There’s just so many apps in the iTunes App store… so where do you start? Here’s a list of wonderful apps I personally tried this week and greatly enjoyed. Click on their icons to take you straight to the iPhone / iPod Touch app download. If you have suggestions yourself, please let me know! Just leave a comment below.

PlayFirst’s Diner Dash 2 Lite | Free iPhone Download | Full Version ($2.99)
A fun time management game where you play a waitress named Flo. In the game, you work in a diner and you get to serve up some food to your customers. Prepare dishes, sandwiches, drinks, and desserts! Do it as quickly as you can and pick up tips from your customers. Along with an iPhone app, you can also try it on a PC/MAC/xBox/Mobile for 1 Hour for free!

Jane’s Hotel Free | Free iPhone Download | Full Version ($2.99)
Running a hotel is never easy. You give out the keys to your guests at the reception desk and show them to their rooms. You also get to take care of lobby — call out the maid to water the plants and clean out the rooms. And of course, keep your guests happy by bringing them the newspaper, tea, or something they request. If you’re a fan of time management games, this is another great one! Try out the first 3 levels for free with the lite version!

Makeout Mania | Free iPhone Download (Full Version!) (Limited Time Only)
Makeout Mania is a cute puzzle game that reminds me of high school! Make students fall in love with each other, but watch out for those teachers! Rack up points as you score combos (perfect matches). If this is your first time playing, be sure to start off in puzzle mode (second link) and read the yearbook to see who likes who. This will ensure that you’ll get more points for the perfect kiss! And when you’re ready, play the super fast Mania mode. You’ll find yourself tapping a lot!

Supermarket Management Free | Free iPhone Download | Full Version ($2.99)
Working in a supermarket is not easy. You’re constantly trying to multitask — fill up empty shelves, help customers find items they’re looking for, cut up the different meats, make sure there’s enough shopping carts, run the cash register, and much, much more! This is a fun time management game where you play the store manager and do all of the above tasks. Very fun, especially if you enjoy time management games or just love grocery shopping! :)

SpongeBob Diner Dash | Free iPhone Download | Full Version ($4.99)
This is a great game for fans of Sponge Bob or the Diner Dash series. You get to play Sponge Bob and work as a waiter, serving people who enter the restaurant. Seat them, take their order, and bring out their food. The faster you do this, the more tip you get. I find the graphics for this game a bit too small (much smaller than the Diner Dash series), so I think they can improve that part. There’s fun music you’ll recognize from the cartoon. Try out the lite version first to see how you like it. There are 5 free levels in the lite version.

TouchPetsDogs SpringFree iPhone Download
Normally 99 cents, this app will give you 10 extra bowls of food for your virtual dog as well as the Mad Hatter watch for your collar. If you downloaded “Touch Pets Dogs Go” for free last week, you’ll have enough bowls of good to trade in for a lot of puppy bucks! Trade in puppy bucks for clothes and toys for your puppy! My review of the original game.

TuneRunner | Free iPhone Download
Here’s a excellent game to play with your own music playlists! No extra music downloads necessary. The app populates itself with your music and the robot will dance to your tunes! Draw the shapes in front of him so he doesn’t trip. Draw them a few times before he touches them for extra points! There are some ads, but you can upgrade with in-app purchases for their removal for just 99 cents.

FoodSpotting | Free iPhone Download
FoodSpotting is a fun social network for foodies all around the world. They recently released an official version of their iPhone app that allows you to view pictures of foods taken in your area. If you decide to join the social network, you can also upload your own photos, add friends and see what they’re eating, as well as follow restaurants (not just people). It’s definitely a fun app if you love food! Here is my personal FoodSpotting website! You can make one too with this app!

Be sure to check out last week’s Freebie Friday if you missed it!

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iPad Ordered

Happy Apple iPad Day! For those of you who have waiting for a while, the day to order had finally come. Now we just have to wait until the shipment date!

I just pre-ordered my Apple iPad. I ended up getting the 16 GB Wifi version. I had plan on getting the 3g one but with all the added costs, I just couldn’t justify it. Plus, if I need internet I’m sure I’ll have my trusty iPhone with me if wifi is not available. I’ll give it a try for a year and see if I want to upgrade to a 3g (or better) version when the second model comes out. And I hope that version has a camera and some multi-tasking.

Now I’m anxious to see how the iTunes App store will change. And what will be showcased the first week of shipment? I’m assuming there will be 3 different types of apps in the store: regular iPhone /iPod Touch apps that will work if you display it 2x its size, the apps that are hybrid and can display different versions depending on the device used, and the iPad-Only apps.

So, are you getting one? Pre-ordering? Or waiting a while to get it later? Or are you getting a tablet alternative?

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MacWorld 2010: Web Development Symposium

While attending MacWorld Expo 2010, I went to Nick Floro’s session – Market Symposium SA: Web Development: Tools, Trends and Technology. It was a great session on various Web 2.0 technologies. Topics covered were: Web 2.0, Designing Interfaces, Social Media, Video on the web, Simulations & Games, Project Management, Prototyping Techniques and other Tips and Tricks. Below are more information about the session as well as the slideshow.

Attend this day symposium and learn about the latest trends, solutions and what customers want today in web development. You will gain valuable knowledge on how to manage projects, developing new ideas, the latest hardware and software tools and what’s new in delivery for the web. Whether you’ll be creating marketing, education, presentations, e-learning, e- mail campaigns, asset and content management applications you won’t want to miss this session! Whether you are new to web development, a graphic artist wanting to learn more, a marketing manager, production coordinator or an instructor, this is the symposium to see the latest in web technology.

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MacWorld Expo 2010 Overview

MacWorld Expo 2010 was quite a fun and educational experience. Even without Apple being at the show, the Mac community is still very strong. What I really loved this year was being able to meet the actual iPhone app developers at the App Pavilion and seeing the projects that they’re working on. There were also a lot of learning opportunities at the conference as well. Below are some of my conference highlights:

Interesting iPhone / iPod Touch Apps

I didn’t get to see all the iPhone apps at the show, but of the ones I saw, there were the interesting ones:

• Abvio.com – makes three fitness apps – Runmeter, Cyclemeter, and Walkmeter. The 2.0 versions have many innovative features like mapping out your run (or walk/bike ride) via Google Maps by tracking your on GPS. (iTunes)
• Navigon – an impressive GPS system. The new version features beautiful 3D graphics rendering, built-in social networks features, and automatic route customization based in part on past driving habits. (iTunes)
• QuickOffice Connect Mobile Suite is the first and only full-featured Microsoft Office productivity suite for iPhone/iPod touch with integrated access to multiple cloud services. iTunes
• Farm Frenzy 2 – a new version of the cute farm game for kids. Educational game that teaches children how to count and how to take care of a far. I heard that Farm Frenzy Ice Age is just around the corner! Full Version: (iTunes: Full | Lite)
• Cisco WebEx Meeting Center – allows you connect to Cisco WebEx meetings right on the phone! iTunes
• Square is an app that can accept various payment cards. This is a great tool for small businesses and street vendors! Only a small iPhone headphone port adapter and an app – both for 99 cents. Read more..
• Fastrac – helps you plan your day at Disneyland! Select all the rides you would like to go on and what day. The app will calculate what time you should go on each ride, making sure you’re never standing in line too long! (iTunes)

One thing I would strongly suggest next year is to have more space for the developers in the App Pavilion. Exhibitors only had 1/4 of a small table to stand at and to show off their products. Once Friday and Saturday came, it was just too packed.

Favorite Booths

• Targus engaged with the audience via social media. They gave nice bags away if you sent out a tweet about their booth. They also tossed bags and t-shirts into the audience! Most importantly, they had this bag that I just love for my future Apple iPad.
• Smule was such a fun booth! They demoed their “I Am T-Pain” iPhone app and had conference goers singing and auto-tuning their voice. It was great! Pictures!
• Office 2008 for Mac was so cute! They had people dressed up as each one of the Office products. And they’d dance when I ask them to.. :)

Great Learning Opportunities

My favorite thing about attending conferences is all the learning opportunities available. There were various sessions happening all over the expo floor as well as specialized classes and workshops in Moscone West. Some sessions I attended were:

• GameSalad is a software that allows you to make iPhone/Mac Games without any programming at all. They were located in the expo floor, so attendees were able to take various learning sessions offered by GameSalad. Sessions varied from beginner to advanced. Read more..
• Market Symposium SA: Web Development: Tools, Trends and Technology – I attended this session by Nick Floro on my second day at MacWorld. It was a great session on various Web 2.0 technologies. Read more..
• US982: Demystifying iPhone (& iPad) App Development: A Non-Technical Overview for Decision-Makers and Idea People – was a session meant for non-technical uses, but I found it quite informative. Ron walked through all the phases of iPhone App Development, starting with the idea all the way to contracting a developer and putting the app in the store. In addition, I loved all the resources he provided.
  My favorite part was when he showed up some tools for designing the user interface:
  • Case Study: “Things” by Cultured Code
  • The Developer Sketchbook for iPhone Apps
  • Mobile Sketchbook & iPhone UI Stencil (translucent green UI stencil)
  • UIStencils – (stainless steel UI stencil)
  • “Getting Real” – Interface First – (“design the interface before you start programming”)
  • OmniGraffle / OmniGraffle Pro (prototyping software)
  • Yahoo! Design Pattern Library – “Graffletopia” – iPhone Stencil Kit
  • Teehan+Lax – Photoshop stencils for iPhone & iPad
  • Cocoia – iPhone/iPad icon design template
  • Zebra – #2 mechanical pencil
  • Caveats about prototyping
    

  Read more..

Funny and Memorable Moments

• Seeing Leo Laporte dance on stage during “MacWorld Live.”
• Meeting Adam Savage!
• Seeing iJustine dance around MacWorld
• Chatting with Dr. Kiki about science, CES, MacWorld, and Leo’s wardrobe..
• Getting my official TWIT bandanna! Thanks Tony!
• Watching all of the beach balls bouncing around in the iPad Session!
• Giving Beatweek Best of Show Awards with the staff!
• and.. seeing, meeting, and hanging out with geeky friends of course!

Photo Gallery

Photos taken by Albertech.net and Daynah.net

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Freebie Friday! (For 3/5/2010)

Alrighty, it’s Freebie Friday, and for the first one, I’d like to give you a few links to my favorite free iPhone apps and music downloads for this week. Also, I’m thinking about starting an iPhone Apps mailing list. Would you be interested in joining it if I do? The content will be somewhat similar to this post! Enjoy all the freebies and happy un-birthday! I threw in some Alice in Wonderland apps since Tim Burton’s movie is out today!

Coolibah is a very fun digital scrapbooking app! It was $12.99, but is now free! (with some limitations). There’s are a lot of beautiful scrapbook kits to choose from, made by professional designers. I personally love this app, especially when I’m on vacation. I can instantly create scrapbook pages and share them with my friends on social networks. My Review | iTunes

Wordcrasher Lite – play 4 levels for free! Make words out of the falling letters in the game. I like how the game pieces are like candies in a box. There’s great use of physics in this game. Full version is only 99 cents and well worth it. The developer has already started working on an iPad version with very beautiful graphics. My Review | iTunes

Angry Birds Lite – It’s a nice casual game where these angry birds get back at the pigs who stole their eggs. Catapult the birds and knock over all the pigs to advance to the next level. It’s a very simple concept, and very addicting as well. Lite version has 6 levels, and the full version has a ton of levels and is well worth the 99 cents!
My Review | iTunes | Full .99 cents

2Do Lite: A Stunning To Do List is an amazingly lovely task/to do list app. The user interface is simply beautiful. The lite version has a lot of capabilities. The full version is a bit expensive, but comes with more themes, calendars, colors, and backup.
iTunes

Alien Glyphs – A great puzzle-arcade game that tests how well your hand and eye coordination are. Match fast moving hieroglyphs to your given puzzle pieces. Great training for your eyes and shape recognition. (Free for limited time)
iTunes

Scoops – In honor of their release of a new game called Dizzypad, Scoops is free! Who doesn’t want to catch ice cream scoops in their cone? Catch as many as you can, but watch out for onions. You don’t want that on your ice cream! Also many other themes you can purchase in-app. Free for a limited time! iTunes

Touch Pets Dogs Go – is the best virtual pet app out there. Create, train, and feed your puppy! If you’ve played it before, this version will give you give you free puppy bucks, free 10 bowls of food, and also a White Rabbit Watch from the Alice in Wonderland collection!
My Review | iTunes

Alice in Wonderland Storybook — Enjoy the story of Alice in Wonderland in full color! The font is a bit small, but I love the classic illustrations in the app. The app is normally 99 cents, but is free until March 8, 2010.
iTunes

Alice Free Fall Lite – fall down, down the rabbit hole and catch some roses and powerups. But be aware of the falling cards and other obstacles! Try out the lite version for free. The full version is $2.99.
iTunes | Full $2.99

Alice in Wonderland – An Adventure Beyond The Mirror – is absolutely a fun adventure game, especially if you’re a big Alice! Journey with Alice and meet all your favorite characters from the story! Each one has their own special power that can help you finish the level. I’d recommend trying the lite version first before buying the full version for $4.99.
iTunes | iTunes ($4.99)

Alice in Wonderland Theme Song

Get the theme song from Alice in Wonderland by Danny Elfman for free! Available on Amazon, but US only.

Kina Grannis – Valentine — Kina’s Stairwells album released this week has already hit the billboard charts! She’s also making her hit single, Valentine, available for download on her website for free! Download now.

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