App Review: Draw Something for iPhone and iPad

One of the hottest social games right now has got to be Draw Something by OMGPOP. Anyone can play; whether you’re an artist or not, it’s fun, addictive, and quite easy!

What is Draw Something? As the name suggests, it’s a Pictionary-type game where you draw and try to guess your friend’s word. You and your friend are on the same team. Drawing and guessing a word correctly rewards both sides.

To start, search for your friend in the game. They can be found either by username or Facebook. Then you’ll be given a list of three words, each one having a different value. The easiest word is worth one coin. The next challenging word is worth two coins. And the most difficult-to-draw word is worth three coins. Select one of the words and draw it on the next screen.

Once you’re done drawing, submit and send it to your friend. A video recording of you drawing your masterpiece unfolds for your friend to watch. Below the screen are twelve letters. Some of these letters are in the word, and some are not. Once they figure out what the word is, they can start tapping on the letters to fill in the blanks. If they guess correctly, it’s their turn to draw something for you. When it’s your turn again, you will see a video of your drawing along with your friend’s guesses. And then you get to guess their drawing.

So what can you do with all these coins you collect? You can purchase more paint colors! The five default colors are nice, but having many shades of various colors to pick from is fun too.

So what happens if you’re stuck? If you can’t figure out what your friend drew, you can use the bomb and blast away some of the given letters that aren’t in the word. Only one blast per round is allowed. If you still can’t figure it out, you can just pass.

I think the drawing videos being played back to the users is what makes this game stand apart from other drawing games. It’s fun watching how the brain works, from drawing the first stroke, to the exact moment when the user figures out the word.

I highly recommend trying this game if you haven’t already. The game is on sale at an introductory price of 99 cents and comes with 400 coins and extra bombs. If you are unsure about the purchase, try the ad version for free.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 | Universal Full Version (99 cents) | Universal Add Version (Free)

September’s Bargain iPhone and iPad Apps

Start the Fall season right with some new bargain apps for your iPhone and iPad!

Band of the Day – Here’s an app that makes discovering new music a lot of fun! It has a very slick user interface. Learn and read about a new band each day and listen to a one of their songs while you’re reading their bio. If you love the song, just click to purchase via iTunes. Definitely worth the download if you enjoy music. iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

Turntable.FM – Join in a room and DJ music with your friends! Discover new music and give props to the DJ. It’s a fun music social network app with a cute little interface. At any one time, there can be up to 5 DJ’s playing music in a room. Let them know if the song is either Lame or Awesome. There’s also an option to chat with the listeners as well. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

VidRhythm – Ever dreamed of starring in your own music video? Well, stop dreaming because it’s about to become a reality in just one minute! Create music videos instantly by recording just a few sounds. The app will remix it for you and you instantly become a rock star! Universal App – iPhone 3Gs+, iPod Touch 4th Gen, and iPad 2 Only ($1.99)

Tonara – This app is great for musicians! Ever play the piano and you have to take a quick pause to turn the music sheet? Well, you don’t have to do that with this app. It can listen to the music you’re playing and follow along with you. Great if you’re just starting to play the piano. Only bad thing is there’s only a few music sheets available at the moment. But it is free, so be sure to try it out! iPad Version (Free)

Feed Me Oil – For all of your puzzle lovers out there, this one is a must-have! In the game, you need the little monsters oil but putting contraptions so the oil will drip in where it’s suppose to go. Absolutely fun and addicting. Try out the lite versions to see if you enjoy it. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free) | iPad Version ($1.99) | iPad Lite Version (Free)

My Horse – If you love horses, I highly recommend this app. Adopt, feed, pet, train, and take care of your virtual horse. The graphics are amazingly beautiful and realistic. It’s also a universal app, so you can use it on all your iDevices. Connect with friends on Facebook and Game Center to have your horses socialize. My username is ‘daynah’ if you want to add me!
Universal App (Free)

Dragonvale – Build a little village where you can raise your dragons! Grow and plant them and interact with friends who are playing as well. The graphics are adorable, and the game is relaxing to play and listen to. Plant beautiful trees, habitats, and other beautiful things dragons love. A must-have for dragon-lovers. Universal App (Free)

Dolphin Browser – What a fun way to surf the internet! This browser displays your most visited websites in a beautiful magazine-style display (iPad Version). Flip and turn headlines to read the complete articles. Add news sections to your browser start up page so you can quickly view them. Rss files are displayed nicely with photos and excerpts. Great alternative browser.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

End of Summer Hot Bargain iPhone and iPad Apps

Looking for new apps for your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad? Here are some of end of summer hot bargain apps! Enjoy!

Plants vs. Zombies is an addictive and cute tower defense game. Plant magical plants in front of your yard to keep the zombies away! Normally $2.99 for the iPhone version and $9.99 for the iPad version, they’re both on sale for a limited time! Must-have app for your devices!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99)

MadPad – Meet Smule’s latest app, the MadPad! Remix your life and make a soundboard out of it. Record everyday sounds like opening a soda can, jiggling your keys, your friend’s laughter into the ultimate percussive instrument!
iPhone/iPod Touch 3rd Gen+ Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($2.99)

Smurfs’ Grabber – If you love Smurfs and crane machines, you’ll love this game! It’s a twist on the typical crane machine. You’ll be given certain smurf formulas and must pick up all the ingredients. Free to play, and you earn up to 5 coins a day. Each coin allows you to play for 5 minutes. You can spend real money for more coins, but I think 5 minutes a day is addicting enough. :) Universal App (Free)

The 911 Memorial Past, Present… – Take a look at the World Trade Center before and after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Read historical facts and watch past videos of the construction of the WTC. See interviews of people involved in the architecture, and read about the plans for its future. The app will be free through September 12. After this, it will cost $9.95.
iPad App (Free until 9/12)

NBC watch full episodes of NBC shows like America’s Got Talent, Up All Night, The Office, Community, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, The Tonight Show, 30 Rock, SNL, Chuck, The Voice, The Celebrity Apprentice, and so much more! Also see show-related games and photos.
iPad Version (Free)

djay – Transform your device into a full-fledged portable DJ system! The realistic dj interface allows you to mix and scratch songs from your music library. You can perform live, record mixes on-the-go, or enable Automix mode and let djay mix your favorite playlist from your iPod library auto-magically! Normally $9.99, the iPhone version is on sale for a limited time for 99 cents!
iPhone / iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($19.99)

Music Beta by Google is not exactly a native iPhone/iPad app, but it is an HTML 5 web app. If you have account on Music Beta, view it in your web browser on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad and see how it runs beautifully. Save it as a bookmark on your home screen and a nice icon will be added. music.google.com

Five Little Monkeys eBooks – “Five little monkeys jumping on the bed.. one fell off and bump his head. Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said… no more monkeys jumping on the bed!” I’m sure you’ve all heard of this book and watching it animated is so much more fun! There’s great narration and you can read the book or have it automatically play. This week, all the Little Monkey eBooks are on sale for 99 cents. They’re normally $2.99! Apps are all universal, so you cam play them on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad!

• Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
• Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car
• Five Little Monkeys Sitting in a Tree
• Five Little Monkeys With Nothing to Do

Labor Day Weekend Sale on iPhone and iPad Apps!

For those of you who have Labor Day off, I hope you’re enjoying the long weekend! And in honor of Labor Day Weekend, many iPhone and iPad apps are on sale! Be sure to get them as soon as you can as these sales won’t last long!

Monopoly – is a must-have game for your iPhone and iPad! Send your Prius, Battleship, Thimble, etc. across the board as you purchase and trade properties! Play in various modes — against the computer, against your friends, and even via wifi/bluetooth. The animation is a lot of fun! Normally $9.99 for the iPad version, on sale for just $1.99 this weekend.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99 – 80% off)

Words with Friends – This is one of the most addictive Word games across many platforms, including iOS, Android, and Facebook. Play one-on-one games with your friends. Connect to Facebook to find all of your friends too (recent new update). Enjoy an ad-free version for just 99 cents this weekend — both on iPhone and iPad! Normally $2.99.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Angry Birds Season – I’m sure by now you know what Angry Birds are! The latest update to Seasons version has 30 new levels for the Moon Festival celebrations! Find and collect the hidden moon cakes and have fun! The new obstacles are absolutely adorable.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99)

Scrabble – Gather your friends around to play a round of Scrabble — everyone’s favorite word game! In party mode, the iPad becomes your game board. Have everyone else with iOS devices download Scrabble Tile Rack (Free) and they’ll be able to throw their letter pieces onto the board! It’s quite amazing to watch how the devices communicate with one another. Other modes are also available, but Party Mode is certainly the most entertaining. Best of all, you won’t lose any game pieces when it’s over. ;) Normally $9.99, it’s on sale for 99 cents.
iPhone/iPod Version (99 cents) | iPhone / iPod Lite Version (Free) | iPad Version ($1.99 cents)

Zombie Infection – Action-adventure game where you fight your way through hordes zombies. Amazingly realistic graphics that’s a must for zombie lovers. Be aware of realistic violence. Game is available on both iPhone and iPad platforms. Normally $6.99, this is a sale too hot to miss! iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPhone Lite Version (Free) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Max and the Magic Marker – This game is so much fun! It’s the winner of the Independent Games Festival 2010 (IGF) D2D Vision Award and I can see why. Take Max on journey and draw with his magic marker to get him to avoid obstacles or capture more ink plots! Normally $4.99 for the iPad version, it’s on sale this weekend only for 99 cents (for both iPhone and iPad versions)! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free) |
iPad Version (99 cents – 80% off) | iPad Lite Version (Free)

James Cameron’s Avatar – Enter the beautiful, yet dangerous world of Pandora. The game takes place two decades prior to the movie and you get to be the first experimental avatar. Experience your new powers in your new body as you and the Na’vi become one. The graphics are just amazing and is like watching the movie as you play. Definitely worth every penny. Once $9.99, this beautiful game is now only 99 cents, so get it before the sale is over. The iPhone/iPad version is not on sale, but there is a lite version you can try. The game is huge, so be sure you’re on wifi before downloading. iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free) | iPad Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Version ($99 cents)

Geared – a beautifully designed puzzle game where you try to fit gears into place to make them spin like clockwork! With over 150 unique levels, this game is quite challenging and an excellent brain teaser. The iPad version is free for this week only.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite (Free) | iPad Version (Free) | Geared 2 – Universal App (Free)

Zombie Highway – Who doesn’t love fighting zombies while speeding down a highway? Steer your device and smash into debris to get them off your car, or have your backseat passenger shoot at them. Normally 99 cents, but free for a limited time.
Universal App (Free)

Halftone – Add a beautiful vintage halftone-style printing effect to your photos. Choose from 21 paper styles, 9 layouts, and 6 talk bubble styles to decorate your photos. Take photos right from the app, or import from your photo roll. Fun app to create comic-like photos. Normally $1.99. Universal App (Free)

Bargain iPhone and iPad Apps: Fragger, Hello Kitty, Weezer, and more!

Looking for new apps for your iPhone and iPad? Here’s my weekly round-up on the latest bargain apps! This blog post was recently featured on BlogHer.com!

Fragger – Remember the old Worms game where you had to fire at the other team? Fragger is similar, but you throw grenades at the enemy instead. Bounce off walls, knock down the enemy, or just blast them away! Highly addictive and currently free for both iPhone and iPad!
iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Verion (Free)

Hello Kitty Skins and Shelves – If you’re addicted to Hello Kitty and her friends, try adding some Hello Kitty pizzazz to your device! This app is loaded with many wallpapers and even ones that have shelves to hold your icons. Find the ones you want and download. Change your wallpaper in the settings and you got yourself a pretty wallpaper and home screen!
iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

Weezer – one of my favorite bands have released a new app so you can keep track of their tour dates. Post your pics and videos or use weezerxfest in your Tweets or Facebook status to get included in the content time-line. What a great way of getting Weezer fans together! More featured content to be added soon! iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

Michaels Stores – Are you a crafter? You’re in luck! Michaels finally has a new iPhone app out. Browse through ads, search for projects to do, but most importantly, get those coupons conveniently on your phone! You can also search for the nearest Michaels store, but if you’re a crafter, you probably already frequent your nearest store. ;) iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

GetGlue isn’t new, but it’s definitely an app you need to get! If you enjoy watching shows, listening to music, reading a book, and more… you can check in and see who else is doing the same, and earn real stickers and badges along the way! Many shows, music, books, etc. have exclusive stickers you can earn. Once you earn 20 stickers or more, you can request for the real ones through mail! It’s a fun new social network.
iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

Breast Cancer: Beyond The Shock – I’m sure you may know at least one person affected by breast cancer, whether it be a mother, sister, grandmother, or friend. This app helps to educate us of what a person goes through when dealing with breast cancer. View videos, ask questions, and find support. Universal App (Free)

Pix’n Love Rush – So retro and so much fun, this game will take you back to the time of pixels and short attention spans! Help the little critter make it through the levels by moving, jumping, and shooting. Collect yellow pieces and avoid or shoot purple ones. Rush through all the short levels quickly and safely. The iPad Version was $3.99, but is on sale this week for just 99 cents. iPhone / iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99)

Zulily – Are you a mom (or mom-to-be) who loves to shop? Check out Zulily, a daily deals place for moms, babies, and kids! Lots of huge markdowns on the cutest outfits and many other things. This app will keep you on top of all the deals. Set the type of notifiations you want and never miss a cool deal! iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

PopSugar – If you’re a fan of PopSugar, you’ll absolutely love their apps! Flip through visual stimulating photos of celebrities, as well as browse all their other editorial branches. My favorite is GeekSugar! Beautiful, sleek, and easy-to-use user interface.
iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad version (Free)

Bargain iPhone, iPad, and Mac Apps: Zombie Restaurant, Cut the Rope, iBlast Moki, and more!

Get through the rest of summer with some sizzling new apps! Below are a few bargain must-have apps for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Enjoy!

Zombie Restaurant – The city around you is surrounded by brain-eating zombies! Luckily, you’re a restaurant owner and you figured out how to keep the zombies at bay. As long as you feed them gruesome brain and guts dishes, they’ll stay away from you! Build and expand your restaurant in this hilarious game. Universal Version (Free)

Cut the Rope: Experiments – Little Om Nom has been dropped off at a scientist’s house and he’s trying all sorts of candy experiments on Om Nom! Help Om Nom get the candy in these whacky new levels. Highly addictive and recommended for lovers of puzzle games and problem solvers. Never played Cut the Rope before? Try out the full universal version of the Holiday Gift edition, or the original game. The games are just 99 cents, which is such a treat!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99)

iBlast Moki – Send the Mokis to safety by bombing their way through the mysterious lands! This is similar to Rolando, but there’s definitely more bombs and a whole lotta blasting of things in this game. It’s a game of physics where you have to place bombs in certain places and have them go off at different times. The object is to have the blast bounce the Moki’s into the portal holes. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Glowfish HD – Oh no! Your lady friend, Coralline, has been captured by the evil Dr. Urchin. Bring her to safety with the help of your powerful Glow Chums friends! Navigate through gorgeous water sceneries. With over 50 levels of beautiful graphics in stored, it’s hard to put down! It’s very similar to a game like Spore, but instead of eating smaller species, you collect powerful Glow Chums to help you through each level.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (Free)

Pucca’s Restaurant – If you love Pucca, or just restaurant games in general, here’s a fun one. Cook and serve moon cakes, as well as a big variety of Asian dishes to your customers! Have Pucca run all around the restaurant managing the cooking, menu, and serving customers. Cute and fun music while you play. Plus the app is optimized to use on both iPhone and iPad. Find your friends via Plus+ gaming network. Universal App (Free)

Google+ – is the shiny new social network by Google. It’s fun and addictive once you have all all your friends join. Add friends by adding them to “Circles” and you can share your updates with the Public, all of your Circles, or just specific ones. You can leave comments and +1 (saying you ‘liked’ something) on your friends’ updates. There’s also a feature called Huddle, which is like group texting, for specific Circles or groups of people. You also get notified of various updates on your Google+ profile. Definitely worth the download if you use Google+ a lot.
iPhone Version (Free)

BabyCenter Birth Class – if you’re pregnant, or planning to have a family soon, this is a wonderful app to have on your iPad. It takes you through 3 hours of a birth class, explaining signs of labor, as well as various stages of labor. There’s also great tips and guidance from doctors, midwives, and birth educators, and much, much more. This app use to be $40, but was recently reduced to being free. iPad Version (Free)

Photovine – Created by Google, this is my new favorite photography social network! Start off with a picture (a seed) and watch it grow! Basically, you upload a photo and categorize it. Watch your ‘vine’ grow as more people add photos to your category. You can add photos to ther people’s categories as well. It’s an interesting and new way of displaying your photos. Plus, I’m sure you have lots of unsorted photos on your phone that you can definitely categorize and have fun with this app! iPhone App / iPod Touch 3rd gen (Free)

Google Catalogs – Get ready to do some windowshopping! Recently released by Google, this app lets you flip through many rich and beautiful catalogs. Watch videos and save your favorite products (requires Google account) in a scrapbook. You can even create photo collages of your favorite items and share them. And there’s about a catalog for everyone’s taste! From Apparel & fashion for men, women, and children; to beauty; jewelry; home goods; gifts! More will be coming soon. iPad Version (Free)

Amazon Student – The Fall college school year is just around the corner! So it’s best to arm yourself with this new app. It lets you instantly check prices on textbooks and more. Just scan a barcode to check a price, or use one-click access to scan items you want to buy or sell back. Amazon also has a convenient trade-in program that can turn your books, games, movies, and electronics into Amazon Gift Cards. Plus, join Amazon Student to get FREE Two-Day Shipping for six months with Amazon Prime shipping benefits! Best of all, this app is absolutely free! Amazon account is required for trade-in, and only certain items are allowed to be traded. iPhone / iPod Touch version (Free)

Wunderlist – is a beautiful, yet simple way to keep track of your tasks or to-do list. With a very intuitive UI, you’ll find yourself using this pretty quickly. Sign up for a free Wunderlist account and you can sync your list on every device, including iPhone, Android, Windows, iPad, and Mac desktop iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free) | Mac App (Free)

Father’s Day Weekend Bargain iPhone and iPad Apps

Enjoying the summer so far? But I bet you can use a few more good apps for your iPhone and iPad! Here are some of summer’s sizzling app deals. Get them while they’re hot!

Hanging with Friends – Enjoy Words with Friends? Why not try out their new game called Hanging with Friends? Think of it as a very cute version of Hangman with a slight twist. You’re given a couple of letters that you need to make a word out of. Create your word and your friend has to guess. After 6 tries, they fail, and their balloon pops! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone / iPod Touch Version with Ads (Free)

Pinterest – A new social image bookmarking is making its way into our hearts! If you love images, you’ll greatly enjoy Pinterest. It’s a place for your to keep your favorite images, share them with your followers, and discover amazing new things along the way. Create boards and pin your favorite things in them. The app makes it fun to find new images on the go. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Words with Friends – If you love words games, this has to be one of your favorites! And even better, both the iPhone and iPad versions of the game are on sale this week for just 99 cents! Take turns putting your letters on the board to create a word. Look for the Triple and Double Word game pieces so earn even more points! Connect and play with your friends on Facebook.
iPhone Version ($.99) | iPhone Version Lite (Free) | iPad Version (99 cents) | iPad Version Lite (Free)

Egg vs. Chicken – So what came first? The chicken or the egg? Let’s find out in the game. You play the eggs and you have to stop the chickens from getting in your territory. Match at least three eggs in a row and roll across your opponents! Normally 99 cents, but it on sale now for free! iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

iCookbook – Love to cook? Try out this amazing app on your iPad. Flip through hundreds of mouthwatering recipes and you figure out what you should make for dinner. Choosing just one will be the difficult task! Normally $4.99, but it on sale this weekend for $2.99. iPad Version ($2.99)

The Heist – From the makers of Camera+ comes this fun and addicted puzzle game. Crack the vault and claim your prize! There are four types of puzzle games for your to play and the graphics are gorgeous! Currently on sale for 99 cents — introductory price. iPhone / iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Evite – Summer is here and it’s time for parties and events to take place! Create an invitation right on your phone to send out to your friends, or reply to evites that you have already received. Being able to check and reply on the go makes it quite convient! iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

Burn the Rope – Here’s a fun puzzle game where you get to play a flame. Ignite the rope by tapping on it and make the the flame burn upwards. Tilt the device to guide the flame around the rope. The flame will burn out if it tries to burn down, so keep tilting your device! Fun and creative, and free just for a limited time!

iPhone / iPod Touch Version Full (Free) | iPhone / iPod Touch Version Lite (Free) | iPad Version ($1.99)

Instagram – This is a community of photo lovers. And you don’t have to take a nice photo for it to be talked about. Add filters to your pictures to turn something from ordinary to extraordinary! Post to your various social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare, and more with just one click. Comment and ‘Like’ each other’s photos in your community. iPhone / iPod Touch Version (Free)

Bargain iPhone and iPad Apps: Angry Birds Rio, Bugs Village, LEGO and more!

Looking for some new apps for your iPhone and/or iPad? Here are some of favorite bargain apps for this month! Enjoy!

100 Cameras in 1 – Take a lot of photos on your phone? Make them even more beautiful by adding some filters. Choose from one of 100 filters, tap, and add. It’s fast and simple to use, and has a lovely interface. iPhone version was $1.99, and iPad version just came out.
iPhone/iPod Version (99 cents) | iPad 2 Version ($2.99)

Angry Birds Rio – If you love Angry Birds, than you probably already have this version! The Angry Birds have been captured, but you know them — a little cage can’t handle them. They made their escape and are freeing the other birds with them! Slingshot and break the cages to help the birds escape in the first episode. In the second episode, you can to take flight in the jungle. Smash the monkeys that get in the way of your escape! 60 new levels altogether, and more coming in the next few months! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free) | iPad Version ($2.99) | iPad Lite Version (Free)

Bird Zapper – Help Skippy the Squirrel get rid of the pesky birds on the wires! You have the power of electical shock, so tap, swipe, and zap those birds. It’s a fun match-3 game with plenty of moving parts to get your brain in a frenzy. Accumulate points by zapping birds with stars and special powers. Match, zap, and clear those power lines! Universal App (99 cents)

Bing – Experience searching the internet in new way! Type or speak to find what you’re looking for. Or swipe through popular searches for each day. Bing has a beautiful interface that’s filled with spectacular photos.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

Bug Village – Think of this game as Smurf’s Village with A Bug’s Life theme! Beautiful graphics, where your favorite insects can roam around. Build homes for the ants and bees, and watch them harvest food. The game is free to play. To advance quickly in levels, you can purchase extra coins or download specific apps.
Universal App (Free)

Chimani National Parks – The five national park iPhone Apps from Chimani are free in celebration of National Park Week. This offer starts today through 4/24/2011. Apps are normally between $4.99-$9.99 each. They include detailed information about the park such as maps, photos, audio tour, sunrise and sunset data, and bus schedules. iPhone/iPod Touch Apps: Yosemite National Park (334 MB) · Grand Canyon National Park (132 MB) · Acadia National Park (167 MB) · Cape Cod National Seashore (115 MB) · Cuyahoga Valley National Park (152 MB)

CarZen – Shopping for a car but want to avoid the hassle? Do it right on your iPad! With CarZen, browse numerous makes and models and find exactly what you want. When you find something you like, send an request for a quote (right in the app). You’ll receive an email with the quote and continue your shopping from there.
iPad Version (Free)

Doodle Jump: HOP the Movie – E.B., the Easter Bunny’s son is about to take over the family business, so he needs to be super-efficient at jumping. And who should help him out than Doodle the Doodler himself? Help E.B. jump and hop on pedestals and make it up as far as he can. Gather Easter eggs on 25 unlockable levels. Universal (Free)

Eggs vs Chicken – So what came first — the chicken or the egg? I’m not sure what the answer to that is either, but you can find out who’s stronger! Assemble and align the eggs into rows of matching colors. Tap to release and have them roll over the attacking chickens! Fun game at an introductory price of 99 cents. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Halftone – Add a beautiful vintage halftone-style printing effect to your photos. Choose from 21 paper styles, 9 layouts, and 6 talk bubble styles to decorate your photos. Take photos right from the app, or import from your photo roll. Fun app to create comic-like photos.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 – Big Harry Potter fan? Than you got to get this! Visit the Lego version of Hogwarts as Harry Potter, Hagrid, and all the characters you can think of. The graphics are amazing, and the game play is even more fun! It feels like you’re watching a movie in between each level. Run around and collect Lego pellets while fulfilling the level’s quest. Currently on sale for just $2.99 and worth every penny. Universal App ($2.99)

LEGO Ninjago Spinjitzu Scavenger Hunt – Welcome to the land of Ninjago! Train with the Sensei and his ninjas to the protect the and of Ninjago from Garmadon and his evil skeleton army. Spin your way in the arena to defeat your opponents and win coins and unlock new gear for your ninja. Tap on the screen to spin, and tilt your device to move your ninja.
Universal App (Free)

Tiny Wings – Fly little birdie, fly. But your wings are too tiny! But lucky for your, your world is full of hills that you can slide down on and jump as high as your can. Flap as you’re in the air! Get as far as you can before nightfall. Game Center and OpenFeint enabled with 30 achievements. The game is filled with beautiful colors and graphics. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Pac ‘N Jump – Think Doodle Jump meets Pacman! Bounce as high as you can without falling and avoid the ghosts and other enemies, unless you chomped a power pellet! Chomp on pellets and bonus items to bounce even higher. Complete each mission to unlock additional stages. Universal App (99 cents)

Postagram – Do you use Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing app? Now there’s Postagram, an app that easily turns your cool Instagram photos into a postcard! Login with your Instagram account, select your photo, add the appropriate addresses, and send. Each postcard is just 99 cents, and the first one is free! iPhone/iPod Version (Free)

Words with Friends – Play the most popular word game on the iPhone and iPad. Newly acquired by Zynga, this game now has many more social features built-in. Connect to Facebook to display your avatar and find even more friends to play with. The latest updates comes with better graphics and faster game play.
iPhone Version ($2.99) | iPad Version ($2.99) | iPad Lite Version (Free)

Top 50 Essential iPad Apps

Are you a lucky and proud owner of a new iPad2? With hundreds of thousands of apps in the iTunes App store, your next task of finding just the right ones may become a daunting experience! But not to worry, I’ve got you covered! Below is a list of the top 50 iPad Only and Universal apps (works both on the iPhone and iPad) for you to get started. There are plenty more, but I had to keep the list to just the essentials!

Jump to the various categories: Music and Video, Books and Reading, Productivity, Photography, Games, Social Networking, Education, Shopping

*Unless noted, these apps will also work on the iPad 1st generation.

Music and Video

Pandora Radio – Create you own unique radio stations and stream them anywhere. Learn more about the artist and what inspires them. There’s even an option to bookmark your favorite songs and artists so you can refer back to them, as well as share to your social networks. There is also a link to iTunes so you can purchase the song. Create an account to further personalize your music-listening experience. Universal App (Free)

Hulu – Watch your favorite shows and movies right on your iPad! Glee, Saturday Night Live, Family Guy, The Simpsons, Bones, The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, House, 30 Rock, Food Network shows, movies, and much more. See the current listing. You can try Hulu+ for a week for free. To continue using the subscription, it’s $7.99 a month. Universal App (Free)

Netflix – Already have a Netflix subscription? Now you can watch the shows and movies on your queue right on your iPad! This is part of your Nextflix unlimited membership. You can also resume watching where you left off on your computer or TV. Video out is supported on the iPad, iPhone 4, and iPod Touch 4G. Universal App (Free)

ABC Player – Turn your iPad into a TV! If you enjoy ABC shows like Modern Family, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Castle, The View, and others, you’ll love this. Put your iPad in the kitchen and catch up on your favorite shows while cooking or washing dishes. Commercials are short and Internet connection is required. iPad Version (Free)

Discovery Channel – Watch your favorite Discovery shows on your iPad! Episodes of Dirty Jobs, Gold Rush, MythBusters, American Chopper, and many more are available. Tap around to see extra photos and learn more about the characters. Internet connection required.
iPad Version (Free) | iPhone Version (Free)

Glee Karaoke – Sing your heart out to your favorite Glee song! You can sound like a star with the option to auto tune and harmonize. Compete online to earn the stars and prizes. Additional songs are available for in-app purchase for 99 cents.
Universal App (99 cents)

Shazam for iPad – Ever heard of a song you like but just don’t know who sings it? This app helps you identify that song simply be recording a few seconds of it. A link to download it on iTunes, artist’s page, similar tracks, and social network sharing, along with part of the song are displayed after it recognizes the song. iPad Version (Free) | iPhone Version (Free)

Magic Fiddle – Learn how to play a fiddle right on your iPad! Holding it may be hard at first because of the iPad’s shape, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. Try out Twinkle Twinkle as your first song in the songbook. Additional song sets are available for 99 cents.
iPad Version ($2.99 cents)

Garage Band – What if you could carry a portal music studio with you? Garage Band on your iPad is just that! It includes instruments like guitars, basses, keyboards, and drum sets that you an use to record and mix. Create music by mixing up to 8 tracks and easily share them with your friends. It is a big app, taking up 369MB of space. And it works best on the iPad 2. iPad Version ($4.99 cents)

Books and Reading

Goodreader – This is a wonderful PDF reader for the iPad. You can highlight and annotate text in your PDF. In addition, it could also read other file types such as: MS Office – .doc, .ppt., .xls, iWork ’08/’09, HTML and Safari web archives, High resolution images, and even audio and video! To my surprise, it also read Zip files! It’s like a Swiss Army Knife to file management on the iPad. iPad Version ($4.99) | iPhone Version ($4.99)

Dr. Seuss Books – These books are simply amazing on the iPad. Buy them for the child in your life and watch how they interact with the book. Or just buy it for yourself and bring back a piece of your childhood. I loved watching Dr. Suess’ characters come to life. All the apps are universal and have options to auto-read, have you read and manually turn pages. Tap all around the pages to make the drawing come to life. My favorites are How The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, the Cat in the Hat, and Fox in Socks. Universal Apps: Fox in Socks ($3.99) | The Grinch ($4.99) | Cat in Hat ($3.99) | Cat in the Hat Lite (Free)

iBooks – The iBooks store is fun place to look for new books to add to your iPad. Books simply look gorgeous in this app. When downloaded, your books are displayed nicely on a bookshelf. Each book comes with a chapter preview, so you can try before you buy. There are also many setting options to make your reading experience more enjoyable. Change the font size, font type, screen brightness, toggle sepia on and off, and add a virtual bookmark to your page. Search for text, highlight and leave notes in your book. Universal App (Free)

Kindle – If you already have a great Kindle/Amazon collection of books, this app is perfect. You can import all of your purchases over to your iPad easily. Just login and hit sync to bring your books over. Best of all, the pictures in your Kindle books will be in color! Enhanced books (ones with audio or video) are also available. Universal App (Free)

Google Books – Now you can buy your books from Google too. Access over 2 million Google eBooks on your favorite device. There are options to change font size/typeface, search within the book, more book info, page turns, night-reading mode, and offline reading mode. All you need is to log into your Gmail account to access your books. Universal App (Free)

Epicurious – Download recipes from the fabulous site, Epicurious.com right onto your iPad and read it in the kitchen while you cook! Choose from over 30,000 different recipes. Save your favorites, and create a shopping list of the ingredients you’ll need to cook it. It’s a delightful app for the most seasoned chef, to a casual cook. Universal App (Free)

InstaPaper – Instapaper is a free web service that allows you to save web articles and links for reading at a later time. The Universal iOS app caches the articles you save for offline reading on your device. This is really handy when you want to save articles to read on the plane or when traveling. Many apps also have Instapaper built-in so you can send links to it too. Highly recommended if you enjoy reading a lot of webpages and news. Universal App ($4.99)

Productivity

Penultimate – a great notebook app. Take notes by writing (preferably with a stylus) and organize them in separate notebooks. Choose from graph, lined, or plain paper for your notes. The app is fast and simple to use. There are also options to email your page (or entire notebook) to someone, save it to your photo roll, or print. iPad Version ($1.99)

ToDo – If you ever carried a daily planner with you in the past, you’ll fall in love with this app. It’s a gorgeous To-Do list that’s wrapped up in a beautiful interface. Create your list of To-Do’s and reminders and check them off as you complete them. The simple and beautiful interface is what makes this app unique. Change out the theme as your mood changes. Additional themes can be purchase in-app for 99 to $1.99. iPad Version ($4.99) | iPhone Version ($4.99)

SketchyPad – This is perfect if you’re an web or app designer. Add your design on the canvas, along with various components. Double tap on the component to customized and change. This is the perfect app when you need to jot down your ideas for a client. Design a page/app quickly to demonstrate your ideas. There’s even an option to email the design or save in your photo roll. This works well when you need to share your design idea with your development team. iPad Version ($4.99)

Dropbox – store your files in the clouds. It’s like a hard drive that follows you everywhere, no matter what device you use. Your files will be synced all across your devices. A Dropbox account is required. The free Dropbox account comes with 2GB of space that you can use for as long as you like. You may upgrade up to 100GB. Universal App (Free)

Bento – create your own personal database. Have a collection or cds or inventory you need to keep up? Store it in Bento and sync your databases across your devices. Bento comes with 25 ready-to-use database templates that can be easily customized to organize any type of information you have. You can manage contacts, track projects, organize your album collection, plan events and so much more. iPad Version ($4.99) | iPhone Version ($4.99)

Brushes – Love to doodle, paint, or draw? This app has a beautiful interface that’s simple to learn, yet powerful enough for professional artists. This app comes with 19 high-quality brushes, up to 6 layers, a quick zoom, in-app replay of your paintings (amazing feature), VGA/TV output, and much more. iPad Version ($7.99) | iPhone Version ($4.99)

Evernote – this is the app that can remember everything you can’t! Store your thoughts, pictures, and anything you want to remember in the cloud. You can even tag, search, and organize all your thoughts too. Creating an account is free. You can also go premium if you would like to be able to upload any file time, and up to 1GB of space per month.
Universal App (Free)

Pages – If you edit or create a lot of formatted documents, this is the app you’ll need. Simply type your text like you would in MS Word or Pages. Select and highlight text that you would like to bold or change color. Add, drag, and drop images into your file and move them around easily. Spell checking and word count also available. iPad Version ($9.99)

iMovie – Now that the iPad 2 has cameras, you’ll probably be taking more videos! Edit them right on your iPad with this easy-to-use app. Add photos, music, sound effects and give it the whole Hollywood treatment with 8 different themes to choose from. Some features exclusively on the iPad 2 are the Multi-Touch Precision Editor and Audio waveforms. Overall, it’s a great app to edit videos on the go without the need of a computer.
Universal App but compatible with iPad 4, iPod Touch 4, and iPad 2 Only ($4.99)

Photography

Photoshop Express – Now that there’s a camera on the iPad 2, this app will come in handy. It’s like Photoshop for your fingers! Import your image and edit away. Pinch and zoom to apply filters, and then save the image, or upload to Photoshop.com.
Universal App (Free)

Coolibah – This app is probably geared more for the crafty people. You’ll be taking a lot more photos on your iPad now. What better way to spruce up your photos than with a splash of patterns and colors. Digitally scrapbook your photos on the fly and post them to your favorite social networks. Export higher quality versions to make prints as well! The app is free to download, but your creations will have a watermark on them. You can upgrade via in-app purchase ($4.99), as well as purchase more scrapbook templates for 99 cents each. Universal App (Free)

Games

Plants vs Zombies HD – This is one of the best games out there. And it’s even more fun on the iPad because you can get your tapping-action going. Protect your house from the zombies by planting super-power plants in front of your house. Don’t let the zombies get close.. or you may lose your mind… iPad Version ($6.99) | iPhone Version ($2.99)

Angry Birds HD – You got to have the number one game of all time on your iPad. Your favorite birds are at it again, terrorizing the pigs and scaring them out of their homes. The adventure puzzle game just get better and better, especially being on such a nice big iPad screen. Hit your targets with better accuracy. And if you do miss too many times, call on the help of the big Mighty Eagle! Be sure to join Game Center and see how you rank in the world. (Angry Birds Seasons is a seasonal version of the game.)
iPad Version ($4.99) | iPad Lite Version (Free) | iPad Seasons Version ($1.99) | iPhone Version (99 cents)

Scrabble – Gather your friends around to play a round of Scrabble — everyone’s favorite word game! In party mode, the iPad becomes your game board. Have everyone else with iOS devices download Scrabble Tile Rack (Free) and they’ll be able to throw their letter pieces onto the board! It’s quite amazing to watch how the devices communicate with one another. Other modes are also available, but Party Mode is certainly the most entertaining. Best of all, you won’t lose any game pieces when it’s over. ;) iPad Version ($9.99)

Words with Friends HD – Play one-on-one with a friend with this word game. You can play quickly or take your time making your moves. There are more Triple Words (TW) places on this board, so you’ll be surprised how quickly the scores dramatically change. This game is available on both iOS and Android platforms, so you can play with all of your friends.
iPad Version ($2.99) | iPad Lite Version (Free) | iPhone Version ($2.99)

Cut the Rope HD – Who doesn’t love physics games with something as adorable as a green pet that only eats candy? Candy dangles on a rope and you must cut it so that it falls right into the mouth of your cute pet. Collect stars along the way to advance to the next levels. Trust me, you’ll love it. iPad Version ($1.99) | iPad Lite Version (Free) | Universal Holiday Version (Free) | iPhone Version (99 cents)

World of Goo – Winner of many design, puzzle, and game awards, this game is a must-have. Drag and drop moving and squirming globs of goo to build structures, bridges, canonballs, etc. Unused balls of goo will climb up your structure to reach and end point. Save and rescue enough Goo to advance to the next level! The World of Goo has beautiful graphics and an amazing soundtrack. It’s one of the best games for the Mac and even better on the iPad. Explore and get lose in the World of Goo! iPad Version ($4.99)

Smurfs’ Village – Hooray, hooray! The Smurfs are in here! Get ready for the smurfy cuteness to invade your iPads! If you enjoy games like We rule and Farmville, you’ll love Smurfs’ Village even more. Based on the original cartoon and comic art, this game brings back a lot of childhood memories. Universal App (Free)

Super Monkey Ball 2: Sakura Edition – Your favorite monkeys are on the loose again! Keep your monkeys rolling in orbs as you collect bananas and race to the finish line. Mini-games include Monkey Base, Monkey Target, Monkey Golf, and Monkey Bowling. Have an endless fun time with this accelerometer game! This iPad game was $14.99 but is now on sale for $3.99. iPad Version ($3.99) | iPhone Version ($2.99)

HoloToy – While you’re waiting for the new Nintendo 3DS to come out, get a taste of the 3D effect on your iPhone or iPad! HoloToy a series of 3D games you can play on your iDevice. Believe me, it’s not like anything you’ve seen in the app store before. New games are added frequently and best of all, it’s only 99 cents! Universal App ($1.99 cents)

Social Networking

Flipboard is an amazing and beautiful interactive magazine designed just for you. As you flip the pages, you will see personalized pages filled with your friends Tweets, Facebook updates, and posted photos. At least that’s who it would work if you were allowed to connect your account. They’re currently still working on the accounts portion, but it’s definitely worth the download. I suggest adding the “Tech Influencers” to your content list to get tech news, tweets, and announcements. iPad Version (Free)

Friendly Facebook – Facebook doesn’t have an official app yet, so this app is the best next thing! It displays your Facebook profile, wall, and status updates nicely. Not to mention, the photos are gorgeous as well. You wouldn’t want to go back to the website after trying it. It also allows you to have multiple accounts, but from my experiences, the inboxes seem to get mixed up it there are two or more accounts. iPad Version (Free/99 cents – ad free)

IM+ – Sign into chat with this app and connect to your GTalk, Yahoo, MSN/Live Messenger, AIM/iChat, ICQ, MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, and Jabber accounts. There are push notifications when you receive a message. And it’s a universal app, so you only need to purchase once. Universal App (Free / $9.99 – ad free)

Twitter – Follow your friends and their tweets, real-time news searches, and your interests on the official Twitter app. It has a clean user interface, but is quite powerful underneath it all. Tap, swipe up and down, and reveal hidden features. The one thing I’d like to see add is the ability to manage users in lists. This feature seems to be absent on the iPad version.
Universal App (Free)

GetGlue – this is a social network for people who want to ‘check-in’ and rate movies, tv shows, music, books, and more! Earn stickers and badges along the way. You can also have your stickers mailed to you! Best of all, it’s free!
iPad Version (Free) | iPhone Version (Free)

Education

NASA App is a fabulous app if you want to dive deep into space exploration. Explore each of the planets closely. Read tweets from space, read NASA news, see thousands of images from space, and much much more. Internet connection is required.
iPad Version (Free) | iPhone Version (Free)

WebMD – This app lets you check your symptoms, access drug & treatment information, get first aid essentials, and check local health listings. To check your symptoms, simply tap on the picture of the body to narrow down your affected area.
iPad Version (Free) | iPhone Version (Free)

WolframAlpha – Love information? Now you can access expert knowledge no matter where you are. Computer solutions to difficult math problems, balance complex chemical equations, get help with a crossword puzzle, and much much more. This app was at one time selling for $49.99 and is on sale for just 99 cents this week. It’s universal, so you’ll be able to use it on your iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad! Universal App ($1.99 cents)

EMD PTE Periodic Table – If you’re taking Chemistry, or need to review the periodic tablet of elements, this comes in pretty handy. Click on the elements to get more information on it. The app is universal, working on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad!
Universal Version (Free)

3D Cell Simulation and Stain Tool is perfect for students taking Biology. Learn about what makes up the cell structure with a 3d model, as well as stain your own cell by selecting colors for each structure. Have fun rotating the cell around and finding the Golgi, Lysosomes, and Nucleus! iPad Version (Free)

Shopping

Zappos – As if your weren’t addicted to shopping at Zappos.com already, they just made a gorgeous iPad app that let’s your browse through all of your future accessories! Select an item and swipe up and down to scroll though the different angles. It sure makes shopping a lot of fun! Tab through reviews, more details, and more info about the brand. Shop for shoes, clothing, bags, beauty products, as well as housewares. Great user interface and that’s both functional and easy to use! Universal App (Free)

Target for iPad – Getting ready for some Christmas shopping? Be sure to check out the weekly ads on the Target iPad app. Just set your store location and the ad will appear. Flip through the pages and when you see something you like, tap and add it to your list. When you’re done browsing, email the list to yourself and you’re ready to go shopping. The apps makes it a fun and green way to read the weekly ads! iPad Version (Free)

Windowshop by Amazon is a fun way to browse what’s available on Amazon.com. Pictures of products are displayed according to categories and you can tap and swipe away. Tap on a category and the entire screen is filled with items from only that category. It does make shopping and finding gift-giving ideas much easier! iPad Version (Free)

Boutiques – Shop or “window browse” the latest and largest collection of curated boutiques. These have been created or inspired by celebrities, designers, fashion trends, and popular users. If you love fashion, you’ll love this app. Beautiful interface to tap and browse. iPad Only App (Free)

Bargain iPhone and iPad apps for February!

Here are some brand new apps for your iPhone and iPad! Enjoy!

Grey’s Anatomy Sync
If you’re a Grey’s Anatomy fan, you’ll absolutely love this iPad app. It takes your show experience to a whole new level. When the show is on live (Thursday at 9|8c on ABC), open up the app and the audio from the show will sync with it. Gain insight on various scenes, take polls and quizzes, virtually check-in and earn badges at locations and events (like Joe’s Pub), and connect with other fans. Definitely a must-have if you’re a fan. iPad Version (Free)

TypeDrawing for iPad
Are you a digital artist? Well what if your brush painted font type instead of color strokes? That’s what this app is great at. Create unique drawings with fonts instead of just paint strokes. Change the font type as well as color. Was $4.99 but on sale for 99 cents this weekend.
iPad Version (99 cents)

Candy Rush
An absolutely adorable puzzle + time management game. You work in a candy store and your objective is to make various boxes of candy as they come off the conveyor belt. Different type of candy boxes will earn different amounts of money. Make the candy boxes quickly to earn prizes for your cabinet as well as goodies for your pet cat. Best of all, it’s universal, so play on both your iPhone and iPad for a low price of 99 cents! Universal App (99 cents)

Disney’s Epic Mickey Digicomics
Inspired by the new Epic Mickey video game, this app takes you deeper into Wasteland! It includes one free digicomic issue of Epic Mickey, discover and learn more about all the characters, view trailer and video snippets, and more! Universal App (Free)

Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3
The original arcade game from a decade or so ago is now available for your iOS devices! Punch, kick, and deliver some upper cuts as you “Finish Him!” Multiplayer mode allows you to challenge friends via local WiFi or Bluetooth. Originally $6.99, the iPhone/iPod Touch version is on sale for 99 cents. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($4.99)

Google Translate
A nifty app from Google that translate words and phrases between more than 50 languages. Speak or type in the phrase and hit translate! Really handy when you’re traveling or learning a new language. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Google Shopper
A great app to help you find information on millions of products. Simply take a photo of a cover art, barcode, or search via voice or text. The app will search and find local and online prices as well as reviews, specifications, videos and a lot more! Give it a try the next time you go shopping. It might just be your shopping companion! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Cows vs. Aliens
Help herd all the cows into the barn and keep the aliens out! Sounds simple, but the aliens are quite determined! It’s quite addictive and fun. Just when you thought you push the alien aside, another one sneaks up on you! Game-center enabled and only 99 cents! One of the hottest new apps to debut at Macworld Expo 2011. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Inspector Gadget’s MAD Dash
Wow, this hit 80′s cartoon is now a game for your iPhone! Help Inspector Gadget rescue Penny. Jump and hop on buildings, swing from cranes and more. Go, go Gadget Copter! Free for a limited time! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Angry Birds and Pigs Fall in Love?!

Yes it’s true! It’s February, and everyone is falling in love… including birds and pigs! Recently updated, Angry Birds Seasons for iOS is filling fans’ hearts with that mushy-love-feeling inside, and just in time for Valentine’s Day too. The 15 additional new levels are immersed in red floating hearts, sweet pink trees, boxes of chocolates, and puffy white clouds. As usual, the graphics are simply beautiful. I also have to mention how adorable the birds and pigs look with pink bows on their heads. Now you can get into the Valentine’s Day spirit and your Angry Birds fix at the same time.

Angry Birds Seasons is available on both iPhone (99 cents) and iPad ($1.99). Both are Game Center-enabled so get ready to work up the ranks!

• Angry Birds Seasons (for iPhone/iPod Touch)
• Angry Birds Seasons HD (for iPad)

Angry Birds Board Game

Photo by Electricpig.co.uk

One of the most exciting CES 2011 news for me wasn’t even about technology.

We all love Angry Birds. You see them everywhere! They’re invading our phones, tablets, computers, heck, there’s even a rumor that a movie about them would be out. So I couldn’t help smiling when Mattel announced that they’re working on an Angry Birds Board game! It’s called “Angry Birds Knock on Wood” and so far, the prototype looks fabulous.

How do you play? Basically, it’s a two player game where you have a stack of cards to pick from. One person picks a card and the other player builds the structure on the card. At the bottom of the card is which and how many birds Player 1 can use to knock down the structure. Player 1 takes the slingshot and birds and try to knock down all the pigs. On each card is a number. Knock all the pigs down and that’s how many points you receive. First person to 1000 points wins.

The game is said to come out May 2011. Until then, I’ll keep crafting up my own Angry Birds toys. ;)

(Via Electricpig.co.uk via GeekBeat.TV)

Mac App Store is Open!

The Mac App Store is now open for business! There’s currently over 1000 free and paid apps for you to choose from. Using your iTunes account, you can download and install great new apps in just one step!

The Mac App Store offers apps in Education, Games, Graphics & Design, Lifestyle, Productivity, Utilities and many other categories. Similar to the iTunes Store, users can also browse new and noteworthy apps as we ll as staff favorites and top charts for each category.

The Mac App Store is available for Snow Leopard® users through Software Update as part of Mac OS® X v10.6.6.

For more information, see the official Mac App website.

Angry Birds 3D Display

I was inspired this weekend and created this crafty Angry Birds 3D display. You can make your own too by following my steps! Enjoy!

Big Holiday Sale on iPhone and iPad Apps!

So many hot deals on apps this week! Here’s a round-up of a few of my favorite bargains. Enjoy!

Jenga – Another favorite classic board game has gone digital! Build as high as you can by removing a piece from the bottom and put it on top. Pieces will highlight in one of three colors – white, yellow, or red. This tells you how difficult the piece is to remove. Pull the piece out quickly or slow and don’t let it topple! Compete with friends via Game Center and Facebook to see who can build the highest! iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Wordcrasher – one of the most addictive word games in the iTunes App store. Whether you love word games or not, you’ll fall in love with this one instantly. Make as many words as you can as letters fall down. Well-polished graphics that remind me of a box of candies. Check the leaderboards on OpenFeint and Game Center. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Symbol6 Redux – Here’s a puzzle game that tests your speed and hand-eye coordination. The Symbo6 machine is a hexagon that holds 7 different movable tiles. Drag and drop to match incoming titles to earn points. Game Center integration to share and broadcast your scores. Normally 99 cents, it’s free this week. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version ($2.99)

Babo Crash Rush – if you love match-3 jewel games, this is a must-have! It’s like like Bejewled on steroids! There’s so much action going on and my favorite part is being able to change the direction of gravity. Tilt and turn the iPad/iPhone to get pieces to fall in certain places. The app is universal, making it beautiful on the iPad or iPhone. Full version includes more modes, while the Rush version includes a free timed game. Universal (Free) | Universal (99 cents)

Scrabble – word game addicts, get this before the price goes up! It’s Hasbro’s classic word game right on your iPhone. Play against the computer, your friend next to you, or even your Facebook friends. Add up points and aim to get the triple letters and triple words all across the board. The person with the most points at the end wins! But hurry, this sale won’t last long! The iPad version is normally $9.99, now only 99 cents. You can play the free version as a Facebook app. iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free) | iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Pix ‘n Love Rush – So retro and so much fun, this game will take you back to the time of pixels and short attention spans! Help the little critter make it through the levels by moving, jumping, and shooting. Collect yellow pieces and avoid or shoot purple ones. Rush through all the short levels quickly and safely. The iPad Version was $3.99, but is on sale this week for just 99 cents. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Toy Story Mania – Come one, come all. Step right up and play the Disney-inspired game called Toy Story Mania! Just like the theme park ride, you’re taken to mini-games that are represented by their respective characters. Instead of pulling a string on a cannon, you swipe, shoot, flick, pop, and toss things at targets and gain points. There are 5 mini games which include: Hammin’ Eggs, Buzz Lightyears’ Flying Tossers, Bo Pee’s Baaa-loon Pop, Green Army Men Shoot Camp, and Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery. Full Review..
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Chop Sushi – There are many match-three games in the App Store, but “Chop Sushi” stands out in this genre. This game proves to be a tasty treat! The object of the game is to match at least 3 types of sushi. The more sushi you match, the more turns you get. There’s also a fun roll-playing twist too. Download and give it a try. The game is normally $2.99 (iPhone) and $3.99 (iPad). iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPhone Lite Version (Free) | iPad Version (99 cents)

iBlast Moki – Send the Mokis to safety by bombing their way through the mysterious lands!
This is similar to Rolando, but there’s definitely more bombs and a whole lotta blasting of things in this game. It’s a game of physics where you have to place bombs in certain places and have them go off at different times. The object is to have the blast bounce the Moki’s into the portal holes. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($3.99)

Word Lens – This is probably one of the most amazing apps I’ve seen in a while. It instantly translate printed text from one language into another using your phone’s built-in camera. And the magical part is that it does it in real time! Point your phone at a sign and it’ll translate the text instantly! It’s a free app with two demo modes on it. The Spanish-English, English-Spanish in-app purchases are $4.99 each (50% off sale). iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Snow Brawlin’ – Risoo the squirrel needs your help! A group of rogue rodents have taken over his area. And with the season’s nut shortage, there’s only one way to settle this. Snowball fight! It’s a fun game that will get your quick fingers tapping and heart laughing. The game is free but you can purchase in-app extra three lives for 99 cents. The pro version comes with the extra lives. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPhone/iPod Touch Pro Version (99 cents)

Doodle Jump Christmas Special – Doodle Jump is back with even more holiday fun! New graphics and monsters puts you in the holiday spirit! Jump as high as you can and compete with your friends on Facebook and Game Center.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Scrabble Blast! – Make the longest words you can on the scrabble board before the time runs out. Make words with letters with bombs for even more points. It is ad-supported so that could be a little bit annoying. Some ads show up right over your buttons, and when a game is over, a big ad is shown too. But it may be worth the download if you enjoy word games.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Star Wars Arcade Falcon Gunner – Probably one of the coolest Augmented Reality games currently available! Imagine defending your own city against galactic intruders right in your own living room! AR mode puts the fight right in your own physical space. It turns your surroundings to be part of a space battle like no other game. Game Center and Facebook integration.
iPhone/iPod Touch 4 Version (99 cents)

Tetris – Who doesn’t know how to play Tetris? It’s a classic! Geometric pieces drop down and you need to rotate and move them to fit in rows below. Get four rows at once and you got a super powerful Tetis! The updated graphics and colors are beautiful! It’s currently on sale for both the iPhone and iPad at its lowest price ever this weekend. So get it before it’s gone! Apps are normally $2.99 and $7.99 for the iPhone and iPad, respectively.
iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

SimCity Deluxe – Ever dreamed of building your own city? Now you can and manage it as well with the new SimCity^TM. Draw up the blueprints and run wild planning your city’s layout. Normally $6.99, both iPhone and iPad versions are on sale for just 99 cents!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Bargain iPhone and iPad Apps for the Holidays!

Tis the season to be shopping and gifting! And here are a few apps to help you get through the month of December! Some will help you relieve holiday stress and some to help you with shopping!

Cut the Rope: Holiday Gift – ZeptoLab wanted to thank all the Om Nom fans out there with this special free holiday gift! It’s 25 holiday “Cut the Rope” levels. Be sure to feed Om Nom candy by cutting the rope and land the candy safely into Om Nom’s mouth! Integrated with Game Center and new achievements. It’s definitely worth the download. Universal App (Free)

Angry Birds Seasons – One of the most popular games on the iPhone and iPad is now available in a special holiday edition. Previously known as “Angry Birds Halloween,” it now has addition levels highlighting a winter theme. The one thing that’s different about this holiday theme is that a new level is unlocked each day in Dec. So on Dec 5, five levels are unlocked for you to play. And the 6th one wont be available until Dec 6 at midnight. This keeps is interesting as you can’t breeze through all the levels in one night. Game Center supported.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($1.99)

Bakery Story is the 5th title in the mega-hit “Story” series from Team Lava and is quite adorable. If you’re addicted to titles like Restaurant Story and City Story, you’ll love this one. Open up your own little bakery and customize it to you heart’s desire. Decorate the wall, change the flooring, add new furniture. But most importantly, customize your bakery’s menu! From chocolate cakes to croissants, keep the yummy creations coming to keep your customers happy. A storm8 account is needed to add your friends and give out gifts. Just like the other games in the series, it’s available in the iTunes app store for free and has Game Center supported. Universal App (Free)

Adventure Bay – Ever want to escape to your very own tropical paradise? Now you can build an island any way you want. Plant tropical trees everywhere, businesses, huts and more! Visit your friends’ islands and help them with quests, collecting treasures in return. Escape to Adventure Bay and see what kind of treasure you can bring back!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Pogo Games is 5 games in one! You get Word Whomp, Turbo 21, Poppit, Sweet Tooth 2, and Mahjong Safari all in one free app. In Word Whomp, you have to make as many words as you can with 6 letters. In Turbo 21, deal out an entire deck and make as many 21 hands as you can. In Poppit, you pop balloons to release prizes. Release as many prizes as you can to win! Sweet Tooth is a match 3 game and Mahjong Safari is a game where you find the correct path to match up the animals. The ads may be a little bit annoying, so an upgrade option is also available.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Doodle Fit is a fun puzzle game where you need to fit geometric shapes into a bigger shape. Think of Tetris in various containers. Think fast and fit all the shapes in the box. Lots of fun doodle graphics and works on both iPhone and iPad. Best of all, it’s free for a limited time!
Universal App (Free)

Magic Life – Do you believe in magic? Now you can you play in a world of imagination and magic all around you. Wander in the wondrous place of enchantment and mystery. Learn how to make magic spells. You can make monstrous cyclops disappears, and creatures into other animals. Explore the amazing 3d graphics as you finish your quests. Game Center support and currently free! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

Google Books – Another bookstore is in town! Now you can buy your books from Google too. Access over 2 million Google eBooks on your favorite device. Features options to change font size/typeface, search within the book, more book info, page turns, night-reading mode, and offline reading mode. All you need is to log into your Gmail account to access your books. Universal App (Free)

Target for iPad – Getting ready for some Christmas shopping? Be sure to check out the weekly ads on the Target iPad app. Just set your store location and the ad will appear. Flip through the pages and when you see something you like, tap and add it to your list. When you’re done browsing, email the list to yourself and you’re ready to go shopping. The apps makes it a fun and green way to read the weekly ads! iPad Version (Free)

Windowshop by Amazon is a fun way to browse what’s available on Amazon.com. Pictures of products are displayed according to categories and you can tap and swipe away. Tap on a category and the entire screen is filled with items from only that category. It does make shopping and finding gift-giving ideas much easier! iPad Version (Free)

Price Check by Amazon – If you’re out shopping already, you may want to use this app to scan products you’re thinking about buying! Scan the barcode of an item and it’ll return you all the prices it’s selling for. Compare and see if you’re getting the best deal. It’s the perfect app for the holiday shopping season! iPhone Version (Free)

iPhone & iPad Apps Black Friday Sale!

Here’s an extra special post for the holiday! The holiday being Black Friday! Below are some apps that I thought were a great bargain for Black Friday sales. Happy app shopping!

Scrabble – word game addicts, get this before the price goes up! It’s Hasbro’s classic word game right on your iPhone. Play against the computer, your friend next to you, or even your Facebook friends. Add up points and aim to get the triple letters and triple words all across the board. The person with the most points at the end wins! But hurry, this sale won’t last long! You can play the free version as a Facebook app. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($4.99)

Toy Story Mania – Come one, come all. Step right up and play the Disney-inspired game called Toy Story Mania! Just like the theme park ride, you’re taken to mini-games that are represented by their respective characters. Instead of pulling a string on a cannon, you swipe, shoot, flick, pop, and toss things at targets and gain points. There are 5 mini games which include: Hammin’ Eggs, Buzz Lightyears’ Flying Tossers, Bo Pee’s Baaa-loon Pop, Green Army Men Shoot Camp, and Woody’s Rootin’ Tootin’ Shootin’ Gallery. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | Full Review..

Shrek Forever After – Relive the fairy tale of Shrek! Here’s an adventure game based on the original movie. Shrek heads into the forest to retrieve all the kids birthday presents that Donkey dropped. He gets attacked by Robinhood and his merry men. Punch your way through to reach the next level where Rumpelstiltskin awaits! It’s a face moving game with beautiful graphics. A definite buy for any Shrek fan. Hurry, it’s only 99 cents today so get it soon!
iPad Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Version ($4.99)

Alice in Wonderland – if you’re an Alice fan, this is a must. This adventure puzzle game was inspired by Tim Burton’s film. Help Alice get through various mazes, finding all of her looking-glass friends. Collect shards of mirror pieces and help her get back home. Normally $4.99. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

The Simpsons Arcade – If you enjoy the Simpsons, get this one and help lead Homer to the donuts! He beats up the entire neighbor for them! The game is optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but I really enjoy playing it on the iPad in 2x mode. The graphics look great and the controls are even easier to use. Get it now since it’s on sale for 99 cents! It’s normally $2.99 iPhone/iPod Touch Version ($0.99) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

Sketchbook Pro – This is an amazing tool for artists. Keep a sketchbook of all your drawings right on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. It’s a professional-grade paint and drawing app. Plenty of sketching and painting tools, including several brushes, an array of colors, and layers. Normally $7.99, the iPad version is now on sale for 99 cents. iPad Version (99 cents) | iPhone / iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPhone / iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

Navigon – This is one of the best GPS apps to hit the iTunes app store! Doing a little holiday travel? Get directions to your next destination quickly and easily with Navigon. Included are beautiful offline maps, so no need to worry about not having phone signal in a specific location. Select apps are on sale. iPhone Versions: USA ($29.99) | US East Region ($19.99) | US West Region ($19.99) | US Central Region ($19.99)

Ranch Rush 2 – The sequel to the popular time management is finally out! And it’s gone tropical! Sara’s back with a whole new adventure. Help Sara launch a new tropical farming division. Game-Center ready for the iPad. Normally $6.99, it’s on sale for 99 cents today only.
iPad Version (99 cents)

Tetris – Who doesn’t know how to play Tetris? It’s a classic! Geometric pieces drop down and you need to rotate and move them to fit in rows below. Get four rows at once and you got a super powerful Tetis! The updated graphics and colors are beautiful! It’s currently on sale for both the iPhone and iPad at its lowest price ever this weekend. So get it before it’s gone! Apps are normally $2.99 and $7.99 for the iPhone and iPad, respectively.
iPhone Version (99 cents) | iPad Version ($2.99)

Game of Life – Any idea what your future holds? Why not play the Game of Life? Just like the classic board game, but much more fun! Roll the dice and see if you own a house, have a few kids, or have a career change. Earn money as you go. Player with the most wins!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Mystic Emporium – Here’s a bewitching time management game for you! You have a little shop, The Mystic Emporium, where you brew potions, sell artifacts and grow pocus berries. As your customers come in — you’ll definitely meet withches, vampries, wizards, and more — give them what they ask for and you’ll be nicely rewarded. Both iPhone and iPad versions are on sale for Black Friday for just 99 cents! They’re both Game-Center ready so compete with your friends for the achievement points. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents) | iPad Version (99 cents)

Price Check by Amazon – If you’re out shopping already, you may want to use this app to scan products you’re thinking about buying! Scan the barcode of an item and it’ll return you all the prices it’s selling for. Compare and see if you’re getting the best deal. It’s the perfect app for the holiday shopping season! iPhone Version (Free)

November Bargain iPhone & iPad Apps

I hope your November is going well so far. Now that we’re in the shopping season, it’s always nice to save a bit of money. So here are this week’s top bargain apps! Purchase them quickly as offers may not last long!

Hotel Dash – This is the only time management game played vertically! From the makers of Diner Dash and Cooking Dash comes this new title. Help Flo turn a run down hotel into a fancy 5-star one! Rush up elevators to bring up guests suitcases, towels, water, and food. Normally $2.99, it’s on sale this week for just 99 cents! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (99 cents)

Astronut – IconFactory does it again with another amazing game. Blast off into space, hopping from planet to planet into uncharted galaxies! Gather pieces of stars but avoid the evil aliens. Easy game play, Game Center-ready, and is free (first 4 levels)! 20 additional levels are available as in-app purchases for $1.99. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Boxcar – Missing tweets or Facebook statuses? Here’s a great app to notify you of what you want to know the most the moment it happens. You can set it to so you only get notified of specific things, such as tweets from a specific person / group / lists or when a blog gets updated. Notifications available for these services are: Twitter, Facebook, Google Voice, Reddit, Google Buzz, Foursquare, Gowalla, Email, Github, RSS, Growl, and OMGFacts. It’s worth the download if you enjoy social networking. iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Google Voice – The app is back! Now you can access your Google Voice account right on your iPhone. Now you can display your Google Voice number as your caller id, manage your account right on your phone, and receive push notifications of new text/voice messages.
iPhone/iPod Touch 4 Version (Free)

Kik Messenger – It’s a free cross-platform smartphone to smartphone messenger. Sending a message is fast and easy. It’ll even tell you when your message was read. It has a beautiful interface and works on iPhone, Blackberry, and Android.
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Magic Fiddle – Smule is back with another great app! Learn how to play a fiddle right on your iPad! Holding it may be hard at first because of the iPad’s shape, but you’ll get the hang of it soon enough. Try out Twinkle Twinkle at your first song in the songbook. Additional song sets are available for 99 cents. Normally $2.99, the app is on sale this weekend only for 99 cents!
iPad Version (99 cents)

TouchPetsCats – Love cats but are you allergic to them? Or love them so much you wish you could carry them around with you all the time? Now you can have your very own virtual cat pet with TouchPetsCats! Adopt an adorable cutie and take care of it each day. It needs lots of love and attention just like real cats! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Totally Tangled – There’s not too much to this app, but if you love the movie previews (coming out Nov. 24th), you may enjoy it! There are three main functions to the app — a sliding puzzle game, a character photo, and a link to the movie’s trailer. The puzzle game takes a scene from the movie and mixes it up. You need to un-tangle it. ;) You can also take a photo with Pascal. The movie trailer looks amazing! iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free)

Mr.Aah! – Jump from building to building by swinging across the screen (like Spiderman). Land right in the center of the building to earn bonus points. You have three lives, so use them wisely! See how far you can get before falling down the buildings!
iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPhone/iPod Touch Lite Version (Free)

iPhone & iPad App Review: We Doodle

If you love to draw, or doodle, then I have a game for you! It’s Ngmoco’s latest title called “We Doodle.” It’s a a cross between “Pictionary” and “Win, Lose, or Draw” where you take turns drawing out words and have your friends guess what it is.

Login with your Plus+ account and start a new game. Here you have a three game choices. You can play a match with friends (people on your Plus+ friends list), a match with random players, or a live match where you draw and guess with users around the world in real-time.

Click on “Go” to create a new game. At the start of each game, you also have the option of adjusting the game’s settings. You can change the:

• Number of pictures (up to 10)
• Rounds (up to 5)
• Time Limit (4 hours to 7 days)

Once you create a game, you are given a word to draw. Draw the word to the best of your ability. You also have a selection of colors and tools to use in the lower right. Submit your drawings and wait for your friends to guess them. Your friends have 60 seconds to guess each drawing. This is a turn-based game, so you can play at your convenience.

Once your friend(s) make their guesses, it’s your turn to award them points! It’s 3 points for every drawing they get right, and if you reply within 5:30 hours, you get extra bonus points as well.

The points you earn are the amount of coins you get. Collect and save your coins to purchase new backgrounds, stencils, ink colors, pens, brushes, and more! The more your play, the more fun things you can purchase from the Doodle shop.

We Doodle is a freemium app, so you’ll get the ocassional ads. You can remove the ads by going to the “Doodle Bank” and purchasing the upgrade for $4.99. The ads are somewhat bothersome in the iPhone version, but are non-intrusive on the iPad version. Of the two versions, the game is more fun to play on the iPad because of the screen real estate.

Some tips when playing:

• If you want to save the image you drew, take a snapshot of it. You won’t see the full image again after you submit it.
• Be careful not to close the app when taking a snapshot. You will lose your image if it wasn’t submitted yet.
• Useful tools to purchase are the brushes and inks colors. I didn’t find the stencils, pen, spray can very useful in my drawings.
• If you want to earn more XP and coins quickly, play the Live mode (as games are played instantly and coins are awarded right after).
• Turn Doodle Assist off. It tries to connect all of your lines even when you don’t want them to.

Overall, it’s a fun game to play with your friends and I’m sure it’ll bring out your creativity. You might just unlock the hidden artist inside of you!

Download: iPhone/iPod Touch Version (Free) | iPad Version (Free)

iPhone and iPad App Review: Smurfs’ Village

Hooray, hooray! The Smurfs are in here! Get ready for the smurfy cuteness to invade your iPhones and iPads! If you enjoy games like We rule and Farmville, you’ll love Smurfs’ Village even more. It’s a universal app newly released by CapcomMobile. Based on the original cartoon and comic art, this game brings back a lot of childhood memories for some of us.

Read more on GeekBeat.TV..

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