Get Glee on your iPhone and iPad!

To my fellow Gleeks,

You can now sing your heart out with your favorite Glee cast member right on your iPhone or iPad! Smule has done it again, making another hit app that topped the charts right on launch day!

Can’t sing? Not to worry! With the new Smule technology in the app, your voice will be enhanced and the pitch will be corrected as you are singing! The app will also harmonize your voice in real-time, creating a second, third, and even fourth voice!

Just watch Nick, a Smule employee, demonstrate the app. It’s just all in a night’s work at the Smule headquarters!

The Glee app is currently on sale today for just 99 cents today (originally $2.99). It comes with 3 songs and other songs are in-app purchases for 99 cents each. You can purchase it in the iTunes app store.

For more information, see their official website.

Popularity: 1% [?]

iPhone App Review: Sweethearts

Want to send a special treat to your sweet? Do it right from your iPhone or iPod Touch with the Sweethearts app. Sweethearts are the traditional conversation heart candies from Necco. Now they a fun app that promotes their new candy flavors and their new “Tweet Me” heart.

You start by customizing up to 5 candy hearts to give away. Tap on the candy to edit the text. Add another by tapping on the plus sign. Remove it by dropping it on the trash icon. When you’re happy with your box of candy, you can tweet it, DM (direct message) it to someone, or email them. You must login into Twitter before sharing the box of candy though. Your friend(s) will then get a unique link to the box of candy you made for them. It’s simple and is a fun way to say you care.

There is also an option to browse and view other boxes of candy created worldwide, boxes created by people you are following on Twitter, as well as a retweet option.

What I would like added to this app is the ability to add more than candy hearts in a box as well as pick a song for the candies. Other than that, it’s a simple app to bring a smile to anyone’s face.

Here is an example of what the link will take you to. The box of candy will open up for your friend and the candies will be displayed for them to play with.

You can read more about the Sweethearts app on their official website: MySweethearts.com and follow their Twitter account: @my_sweethearts. The app is free and available for download in iTunes App Store.

Popularity: 1% [?]

iPhone App Review: Super Monkey Ball 2

Name: Super Monkey Ball 2 (iTunes)
Written By: Sega
Category: Games
Price: $9.99 $4.99

Size: 74.8 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch
Version: 1.1
Rate: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Last December, Sega launched Super Monkey Ball 2 for the iPhone and iPod Touch. It’s an amazing followup to the popular original game! If you’re a Super Monkey Ball fan, you’ll be happy to know that SMB 2 has some significant improvements over first version of the game. The graphics are highly impressive. The rolling monkeys are now truly in 3D. And the tilt-meter is much more accurate to the movement and position of the iPhone/iPod Touch, which makes controlling your monkey character much easier.

The concept of the game is very simple. Tilt your iPhone/iPod touch to guide your monkey to the goal. Collect bananas along the way and keep your monkey from falling off the edge of the track. The tracks are are challenging as before, but there’s much greater control with you and the accelerator. There are 115 tracks to play, so the game can keep you occupied for quite some time.

In the main game, you have a few modes to choose from — Single Player, Multiplayer, and Practice. In practice mode, a random track will be chosen for you to play. In Single Player mode, collect bananas and rack up points to unlock new tracks. Multiplayer mode is a fun way to play with your friends! Go head-to-head using a wifi connection. Players take turns selecting up to 5 tracks to compete in. Player with the most points wins.

While you are playing, you may also notice a small video icon on the lower left corner. This option allows you to record and save your gameplays. You can save up to 10 of these videos and can view them in the “View Replays” option. It’s a very cool feature, and I hope there’s a way to export the videos in the future.

There is also a mini game called “Monkey Bowling” where you can take turns rolling the monkeys to knock over pins. Multiplayer mode is also available, but only one iPhone/iPod Touch device is needed. Two other mini games — Monkey Golf and Monkey Target — will be available in the near future as a free update.

Overall, the controls are smooth and accurately reflect the player’s movement. Super Monkey Ball 2 is really fun and entertaining, and will keep you occupied for hours and hours. Take the monkeys — Aiai, Baby, Meemee, Gongon — out for a spin!

Learn more about Super Monkey Ball 2 for iPhone and iPod touch in the App Store.

This article was originally published in iProng Magazine.

Popularity: 1% [?]

CES 2010: AlgebraPrep iPhone Apps

Learning math has never been easier! Pearson and Modality have teamed up to create the AlgebraPrep iPhone/iPod Touch app series that provide algebra help anytime with practice tests along with video solutions. Now you can have your own 24/7 Algebra Tutor, anytime, anywhere!

Elayn Martin-Gay, award-winning instructor, firmly believes that every student can succeed in mathematics, and this is reinforced in her new AlgebraPrep Apps.

What I really love most about these apps is the way they teach you by example how equations and problems are solved. You have the option of taking a practice or mini test. In a practice test, you get multiple chances to pick the correct answer. If you answer correctly, you can move on to the next question. If you answer incorrectly, the app will give you a hint on what you need to do. After you finish a practice test, you’re ready for the mini test which are designed to be taken in 10 minutes or less.

These apps are simple yet sophisicated for students in middle and high school. I’d highly recommend them for students learning math.

AlgebraPrep Apps are available for the following topics:

• Factoring
• Exponents
• Real Numbers
• Rationals
• Equations
• Roots/Radicals
• Graphing
• Systems
• Quadratic Equations
• Practice Mid-Term
• Practice Final Exam

All apps are $2.99, except for the Practice Final Exam, which is $6.99. Find AlgebraPrep in the iTunes App Store.

For more information, see Pearson AlgebraPrep official website.

Popularity: 1% [?]

iPhone App Review: Qik Live

Name: Qik Live (iTunes)
Written By: Qik.com
Category: Photography
Price: Free

Size: 3.3 MB
Requirements: iPhone
Version: 4.40
Rate: 4 out of 5 Stars

It’s been a long wait, but now it’s finally available in the iTunes app store! Qik Live debuted on December 24th, 2009 – just in time to capture those special holiday moments! Qik Live is a live video streaming app that allows you to share pieces of everyday life experiences with your friends and family as they happen via your cellphone / iPhone.

Creating a video is quite easy. If you’re a first time Qik user, a short registration page will show up when you launch the app. It’ll ask you to create a new username, password, and if you want your location to show when you stream. The latter option can be changed when you start streaming or in the settings options.

Once you fill out the form, you’re ready to start streaming live video! Click on the red button at the bottom and your video is live! You can also record an offline video if you like. And the video will be uploaded when your toggle the online button. The Qik app has two parts to it. The top display is what’s being recorded in your video. The bottom display is where your live audience can chat with you.

To change the video options, tap on the video display. Options include Mute, Toggle chat, Set permissions (Public or Private video), Edit video details, Share Video, and Send email.

In the “Share Video” option, you can post your video onto various social networks including Facebook, Twitter, 12seconds.tv, Brightcove, YouTube, Tumblr, or your contacts. To activate these social networks, you must first log onto Qik.com and add in the credentials. The newest share option is the ability to “add contact.” You can select contacts from your addressbook and an email will be sent to your friends/families telling them where the link to your Qik video is.

More options are available when you log into the Qik.com website. You can update your settings and add additional social network options to your account. For example, you can set your account to send an automatic tweet when you start streaming, or have your video uploaded to 12seconds, or YouTube by default.

The user interface is beautifully done and the app is very user-friendly. The are a few minor improvements that I’d like to see on the Qik Live iPhone app though. I would love a landscape mode where the chat overlays the video and the record button is on the side. Holding the iPhone sideways seems more natural to me because it’s similar to holding a camera.

In addition to the mobile app on various mobile platforms, Qik also comes to the desktop called Qik-in-Touch. Qik-in-Touch is a desktop air app that will notify people of when live videos happen. It’s very fun to see what your family and friends are up to, the moment it happens, right on your desktop!

Although Qik Live is new to the iTunes App Store, it has been supported on various phones. See the supported phones page for more information.

Some things to remember before using Qik are:

1. Recording videos with the app uses up a lot of battery power.
2. Set your privacy settings accordingly.
3. You can connect with your audience and talk to them over Qik.
4. There are multiple ways of using Qik – have fun, be creative, and enjoy!

Overall, Qik is a great app that lets you experience what your friends and family are doing no matter where you are. That way you never miss an important moment again. Qik Live for the iPhone is freely available in the iTunes App Store.

Screenshots

Popularity: 1% [?]

iPhone App Review: Coolibah

Name: Coolibah
Written By: Coolibah.me
Category: Lifestyle
Price: $4.99 FREE

Size: 16.5 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch
Version: 1.0
Rate: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

If you love scrapbooking, you’ll definitely love the iPhone/iPod touch app called Coolibah. It’s a premium digital scrapbooking app for all your iPhone and iPod Touch photos.

Creating a new scrapbook is very simple and only takes seconds! There’s a free kit that’s pre-installed when you purchase the app. Start a new page by picking a background for your layout. Then add a photo, a few embellishments, and maybe some text. Then viola, you’re done creating your first digital iPhone scrapbook page! Now repeat the steps by adding another page to it and another, and before you know it, you’ll have an entire book documenting your vacation or subject!

Once you’re done, export the book and the pages will be added into your Photo roll. If you like, these can be easily used to print great 4×6 prints as well, or be uploaded to various social networks.

To me, browsing the gallery is one of my favorite things to do in the app. The gallery includes beautiful kits with embellishments created by premium designers. Kits are free or costs about 99 cents each. This is denoted by a gift icon (free) or a dollar sign. You can even browse the elements in the kits before purchasing them.

Some editing features include adding one or more photos to pages, resizing, rotating, and adding shadow to embellishments, as well as sending elements to the foreground or background. There is also the undo, redo, and delete options. When selecting an element to edit, it will be highlighted in yellow. Use one finger to move it on the page, two-finger pinch to resize it, and three fingers to rotate the embellishment. You can personalize your page even further by adding text in a variety of fonts and colors.

Some features I’d like to see in future builds would be:

• Ability to view new kits in the gallery on any type of connection (currently viewable on only wifi)
• Ability to reorder the pages in a scrapbook
• Ability to combine pages indifferent scrapbooks

Overall, this app is a fabulous solution on how to organize and dress up your iPhone photos, or fill in that scrapbooking itch while on the road! It’s a lot of fun, especially when you’re on vacation. It only takes a few seconds to create a fun postcard to email or post! For more tips, tutorials, and information, see the official website or the App Store.

Screenshots

CES 2010: Zipcar iPhone App

Renting a car just got much easier. Zipcar.com introduces their iPhone app that allows Zipcar members to reserve cars in various cities in the U.S. and London.

Simply load the Zipcar iPhone app and sign in with your Zipcar account. Search the map and find a Zipcar location. Once you select the location, choose the type of car you want and reserve it. Select the date, time, and amount of time you would like to reserve it for, and that’s it, your car is booked!

The iPhone app makes the process of reserving a Zipcar so seamless and easy. Other extra features in the iPhone app includes unlocking and locking the car, activating the horn, as well as manage your reservations.

The Zipcar iPhone app is a great app for a very innovative car service!

This article was originally posted on iProng Magazine.

Video Demo at CES 2010

Popularity: 1% [?]

iPhone App Review: Grinchmas

Name: Grinchmas (iTunes Link)
Written By: Oceanhouse Media
Category: Games
Price: $1.99

Size: 5.7 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch
Version: 1.0
Rate: 5 out of 5 Stars

If you’re looking for a casual holiday game, this one will surely hit the spot! “Grinchmas” let’s you play the part of Mr. Grinch on Christmas Day. If you’re feeling like a mean grinch, you can throw snowballs at the houses in Who-ville. If you’re feeling like Mr. Nice Grinch, you can shower the houses with gifts!

The game is pretty simple. There are two gaming modes — Mean Grinch or Merry Grinch.

In “Mean Grinch” mode, the houses in Who-ville are making too much noise for the Grinch. Splat each noisy Who house with a snowball to quiet them down. Do this by simply swiping the phone / iPod Touch. Keep throwing snowballs and see how long you can last!

In “Merry Grinch” mode, the object is to deliver matching colored presents to the Who houses within 2 minutes. Swipe the iPhone / iPod Touch to toss the presents. As each present gets delivered, the Grinch’s heart grows bigger and bigger. The Grinch’s heart grows smaller if the present and house colors are mismatched. How big can you make his heart grow?

The two modes are both simple and fun. I find that aiming at the houses can be a tough though. It may just be because I need a lot of practice. The speed and accuracy of the swipe will determine if the snowball/present hit the right house.

Grinchmas It’s fun for the whole family, even big kids like you! Grinchmas is available in the iTunes App store for just $1.99!

This review was originally published in iProng Magazine issue #56.

Disclaimer: I’ve received a promo code for “Grinchmas” iPhone app from Oceanhouse Media in exchange for a review.

Screenshots

Popularity: 1% [?]

iPhone App Review: Disney’s Prep & Landing

Get into the holiday spirit and help Santa on the most important night ever! ABC brings to you Disney’s Prep & Landing, a new television special airing Tuesday, December 8th at 8:30/7:30c. Along with that comes a cute iPhone / iPod Touch app to spread holiday cheer!

You get to play Lanny, the Christmas elf, as he joins the Kringle Training Academy to become part of the elite unit of elves that prepare homes for Santa on Christmas Eve! Practice in these great mini games: Deployment, Sparkle Ball Practice, and Ski Jump.

In Deployment, you hop off of Santa’s sleigh and parachute down. But be careful! Avoid the toy airplanes, balloons and birds that may be i your way. catch the candy canes and presents to earn rewards!

You never know who’s awake and creeping downstairs anticipating Santa’s arrival! In Sparkle Ball Practice, toss sparkle balls to put eagre children and puppies to sleep.

There are lots of houses for Santa to visit on Christmas Eve, so in Ski Jump, you get to jump from rooftop to rooftop to catch special ornaments that increase your time to prepare for homes for Santa! Watch out for chimneys and snow pits!

This app also comes with some extra holiday fun. Santa has a special scanner to know if you’re naughty or nice, a compass, and a world map!

All in all, if you like fun little mini games, this is a great app to have. Play it while you watch Disney’s “Prep & Landing” tonight!

The app is available in the itunes store for just 99 cents.

If you’re in the US, you can view the video on hulu.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Black Friday App

Name: Black Friday App (iTunes Link)
Written By: DealNews.com
Category: News
Price: Free

Size: 0.3 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch
Version: 2.1
Rate: 4 out of 5 Stars

Black Friday is just a few days away, and what better way to plan your shopping list than with the Black Friday App for the iPhone / iPod Touch? Browse ads from various stores, including Best Buy, Costco, Sam’s Club, Gamestop, Office Depot, Staples, Toys R Us, RadioShack, Target, Walmart, and more!

Simply select a store and browse its ads. If you find an item you like, click on the item and then click on the icon in the lower right. This will add the item to your shopping list.

Other features include:

• Links to stores’ websites, locations, and ads.
• Displays stores’ hours.
• Deals separated into categories
• Browse deals by stores
• Browse deals as they are posted on DealsNews.com
• Ads are marked as a rumor or confirmed deal as appropriate.
• Ads that are no longer valid will be removed from your shopping list.

You can add as many items as you like onto your list, however, there is no option to remove the items from your shopping list yet.

Overall, if you’re looking for Black Friday deals, this is the best app for that. It’s simple, intuitive, and best of all, it’s free!

Related Links

• Get $3 in MP3s From Amazon!
• Get Amazon Gift Certificates
• Amazon BlackFriday Deals Week

Popularity: 2% [?]

iPhone App Review: Zombie Pizza

Name: Zombie Pizza (Full Version | Lite Version)
Written By: Appy
Category: Games
Price: $0.99

Size: 20.1 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch
Version: 1.1
Rate: 4 out of 5 Stars

Zombies love to eat brains.. and pizza! Who knew? Zombie Pizza is a light-hearted horror puzzle game that is such a treat for this Halloween!

In the game, zombies have taken over the world! Unfortunately for Chef Zomboni, the pizzeria owner, he has also been infected, and has about 4 weeks before becoming one of the walking dead. In that time, he’ll be training you, his apprentice, in every aspect of the dark art of making Zombie Pizzas.

Under Chef Zomboni’s watchful eye, you will be creating pizzas to feed the hungry zombies by combining some of the most disgusting ingredients never tasted before on pizzas! Toss on some eyeballs, hearts, bones, guts, and brains onto the strange Zombie Pizzas to create combos like The Roadkill, The Split Dog, The Gut Buster, and the Stink Eye! Be sure to check out the cookbook for the pizza recipes! Some combination pizzas are worth more than others. The ones you can create are:

• The Gut buster – Four of a kind of any Topping
• The Road Kill – One of each kind of any Topping
• The Split Dog – Two of any one topping and two of any other topping.
• The Stink Eye – Pizzas that don’t fall into any of the above. These are worth $0 and make the zombies upset!

As you advance in the levels and weeks, zombies may also request special pizzas in their order. Create those for extra bonus points. Some zombies prefer broccoli. Some will get mad at you if you even dare to put vegetables on their pizzas! Some ingredients will be packaged in jars that require you to smash them open.

The ingredients are set on the fast-moving conveyor-belt. Drag ingredients onto your pizza. When your pizza creation is done, flick it into hole in the door to feed those pesky zombies! Make a bad pizza, and you’ll hear those zombies scream in disgust. Earn gold and silver medals and rack up dollars by creating pizzas with high-value recipes. But be sure to watch the Zombie Rage meter. If it reaches the top, the game is over, and you become their dinner!

Playing Zombie Pizza requires mastery of two basic movies — drag and flick. I love the puzzle aspect where you try to create only the pizzas in the recipe book or special orders. Anything else will be a Stink Eye and give your $0, not to mention, make the zombies very upset. The extra challenges in each level keep the game fresh and exciting. The creepy, yet hilarious sound effects and artwork is what gives the game its charm!

If you enjoy fast-moving puzzle games, I think you’ll like this one. It’s quite a deal for only 99 cents in the iTunes App store. The game is available for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Be sure to feed your zombies pizza today… if you want to live to see another day…

This article was published in iProng Magazine 53rd issue.

Game Trailer

Related Links

• Zombie Pizza by Appy Entertainment
• Lite Version of Zombie Pizza (iTunes Link)
• Zombie Pizza iTunes Link

Popularity: 2% [?]

iPhone App Review: Bed Bugs

Name: Bed Bugs (iTunes Link)
Written By: Igloo Games
Category: Games
Price: $1.99
Size: 14.0 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch
Version: 1.1 (iPhone OS 3.0 Tested)
Rate: 4.5 Stars

“Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

That’s what people say when you’re heading off to dreamland. Sleep should be relaxing and peaceful time, but that’s not the case for the poor sleepwalker in “Bed Bugs.” From the makers of “Dizzy Bee,” comes a lovable game about a little guy who sleep walks through the night and gets in all sorts of danger. You, as the player, must let him dream away while you squish and protect him of the bed bugs!
Read more

Popularity: 2% [?]

iPhone App Review: Slotz Racer

Name: Slotz Racer (iTunes Link)
Written By: Freeverse, Inc.
Category: Games
Price: 2.99
Size: 7.9 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch

If you enjoy car racing games, then this one is definitely the one for you! SlotZ Racer will bring back your childhood memories of building tracks and car racing with your friends and family.

You can play against the computer or up to four players on a single iPhone/iPod touch! Click on “Race” and you are prompted with three options — Quick Race, Single Player, and Multiplayer.

Quick Race will put you in single player mode on a random track! Single player will allow you to race against the computer. And multiplayer lets you play with up to 3 more friends.

There are many racing tracks to choose from. I suggest starting with the “Basic Oval” track to get the hang of controls. To control your car, press the corner to accelerate and gently lift up when turning. Sharp turns can throw you off the tracks if you’re going too fast!

There’s a big variety of tracks to race on, but you can also “Edit Tracks” to make things more interesting!

The video graphics and music are fantastic. You can also race for trophies and to unlock new circuits, cars, track locations, and championship challenges. This game is full of action to keep it exciting and fresh! It’s well worth the money!

This article was recently published in iProng Magazine, Issue 32. You can also read the full 5th Anniversary issue here. (See page 38)

Popularity: 13% [?]

iPhone App Review: Target

Name: Target (iTunes Link)
Written By: Target.com
Category: Lifestyle
Price: Free
Size: 8.7 MB
Requirements: iPhone / iPod Touch

Not sure what to get that special someone for the holidays? Not to worry, Target can help you out with that!

This Target iPhone app gives you plenty of gift ideas! The first screen asks you to denote if the person is female/male, and the age range. Once that’s set, shake your iPhone/iPod Touch and watch it go! A gift idea will appear along with the price from Target. Not affordable? Shake it up again! And keep shaking it until you the find perfect gift.

Tap on the gift to save it to your Favorites (Shopping list), or you can buy it directly from Target.com. It also helps you find the nearest Target store.

It’s a beautifully written iPhone app, that gives you lots of great gift-giving ideas. The only thing I’d like to see is the mobile version of the Target site being linked when you want to purchase the gift.

• Purchase a Target Gift Card

Popularity: 20% [?]