Apple iPhone Apps

iMahNishtanah: An iPhone App to Prep for Passover

The iPhone and the iPod touch have the potential to be among the greatest innovations in the educational process ever. As more and more educational apps are developed that take advantage of the computing power and the touchscreen of the iPhone and the iPod touch are released they are reaching a critical mass as a tool for learning. They’re great for secular education but they can also be a huge addition to religious education as well. I carry two different versions of the Bible on my iPhone and enjoy having the ability to reference them with ease. I have an…


Torect Free for iPhone/Touch

As more and more of my students get iPhones, they become a greater source of apps.  At first, they asked me about games and apps they should get but now they are slowly beginning to share their findings with me.  Last week I walked into my second period American History class with four students standing at my desk.  They excitedly told me I must download Torect Free on my phone.  They explained that all of them were highly addicted to the puzzle game.  One of the young men handed me his phone and said he was stumped.  I solved the…


Rediscovering The Music of My Youth With Slacker Radio

I came of age during the 1980s, a period marked in large part by the 2nd British invasion. Moreover, I spent 18 months of the early part of the decade living in the mid-east. While there I was exposed to even more British New Wave/Post Punk as that was largely the music on the radio in Israel at the time. To my mind it remains the best period in music and, thanks to Slacker Radio, I’ve been reexperiencing much of it. Online radio is pretty awesome and two of the major players are  Slacker or Pandora. For a time I…


Cogs for iPhone/Touch

It is crazy how different my gaming habits are than they were ten years ago.  I was once a heavy console gamer, staying up late to finish levels or a game and searching for tips in magazines and websites.  These changes are probably due to age, available time or becoming a parent or combination of the three.  At any rate, my gaming habits has gone from shoot ’em up action packed games to more slower paced “smart” games.  Especially puzzle games.  Larry introduced this game to Dan who in turn sent me an IM that read, “Get Cogs.”  That is…


iPhone Game Review: Plants vs Zombies

There are all sorts of games: big games, small games; casual games, hardcore games; console games, handheld games; role-playing games, shooter, games, action games, sports games; old games, new games; kids games, adult games; thrilling games, boring games; good games, and bad games. And then there is Plants vs. Zombies! How is THAT for an overly dramatic beginning?!?


Free Word Warp for iPhone/Touch

I will admit it…I have become a word game junkie on my iPhone!!  It is a sad state of affairs, but lately, my spare time has been spent playing a number of word games.  The latest addiction is Free Word Warp.  If you have played the flash game text twist on your computer then Word Warp will seem familiar.  Lets take a quick look.


Eos Converge Multi-room Wireless Audio System – Review

We live in a rather unusual house architecturally speaking. Built using post-and-beam construction, it may not look like a barn but it is built in the same manner. This means there are no joists or other type of space between one level and the next. The ceiling of the downstairs rooms is the floor of the upstairs rooms. Between one floor and another are just 6 inch thick boards. And every 8 feet there is a solid beam spanning the depth of the house. We love the house and its unusual look and feel. But during renovation it has posed…


Travel Tips on a Snowy Day

I got back from San Francisco just in time to be snowed in here in New Jersey. It was the quickest trip to the West Coast that I have ever taken but it was actually the easiest. I don’t tend to do a tremendous amount of traveling. In an average year I’ll be on a plane four or six times maximum. I am, however, currently in the midst of an unusual period that has me flying quite a bit more than usual. In the last 3 1/2 weeks I have been on six different flights and I have another trip…


Siri Assistant for iPhone Review

The iPhone has many applications to find restaurants, taxi cabs, movies or weather.  Each of these apps have a unique UI to find these places or events.  Siri has brought yet another interesting method of search and discovery. No more endless clicking on links and pages to get things done on the Internet. Delegate the work to Siri and relax while Siri takes care of it for you. Need a table for 2 at your favorite restaurant next Thursday? Just ask Siri. Need a taxi right now? Just ask Siri and with a single request the cab’s on its way….


Pleasantly Waste Time with Onmsoft’s Squaree Puzzle Game

I’m a big fan of puzzle games, especially ones that don’t have a time element involved.  (Or preferably don’t require excellent twitch reflexes and small muscle coordination.  Glyder is about the fastest-paced game I can handle.  I have this neck injury, see . . .)  I’ve spent hours playing everything from Scrabble to Myst to Bejeweled.  So when Onmsoft came out with a new puzzle game that didn’t have a time element–or at least let you choose a non-time-element option–I wanted to check it out.


TextExpander touch Expands App Intergration

It was a little over a week ago that I returned to using the iPhone of full-time. I’m pretty happy with the decision and I’m enjoying having it as the sole device I rely upon. I am still carrying my Blackberry Bold with me but haven’t really used it for more than a few seconds. One of the things I’ve discovered since returning to the iPhone full time is that typing on it seems to be far easier and more accurate than ever for me. I’m not sure why this is so, but it definitely is the case and I’m…


Words with Friends Free for iPhone/Touch App Review

Word games and puzzles have become my choice of time killers on the iPhone.  Particularly games that involve finding or spelling words.  For example, Word Scramble 2 is a solo game that is great fun and former Blue Plate Special review.  Words With Friends has not only become a method of passing time, but an obsession.  It began innocently.  I played a few games with random opponents.  Then I added my wife, a fellow coach, two of my players, a few more teachers, some friends, Dan, Judie…you get the idea.  This game has become the new rage in our high…


Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars iPhone Game Review

Image courtesy of TechShout So I have written about the announcement of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (GTA:CW fro now on) arriving on the App Store, and of the issues running it on the first-gen iPod Touch. Now I’ve played it, and am ready to review it and let you know how it plays!


Puzzlings for iPhone/Touch Review

Puzzlings first came on my radar as it quickly rose to the top of the app list.  I heard several podcasters proclaim their addiction to the game so figured I better check it out.  To my surprise, the game had become free when I decided to download.  As my reviews have shown, I am a sucker for a good puzzle game.  Puzzlings is what I would call a strange game with a great puzzle aspect. Read more after the break…


Eveningstar For iPhone/Touch Review

Divine Robot has recently released a new scrolling shooter called “Eveningstar.”  The game is a sci-fi shoot ’em up packed full of action and enemies.  The game includes nine exciting levels, each of which require different skills and puzzle solving skills.  Check out the video trailer here then read the review after the break.


Grand Theft Auto On iTunes Warning – *NOT* for First Gen iPod Touch

So I was terribly excited the other day when the best DS & PSP game of 2009 – Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars – landed on the App Store. I said then that I was ‘just getting started’, which actually meant that I had bought it and it was downloaded but I hadn’t had time to install or start playing. Sadly, that night I discovered that I was not going to be able to play the game – because I own a first-generation iPod Touch.


Apple Releases Mobile Me Gallery to App Store

I must have missed this in all the post-CES catch-up, but late last week Apple introduced a free app that allows Mobile Me subscribers to access and share their Gallery from their iPhone / iPod Touch. Apple released a new app today that allows MobileMe subscribers to view their uploaded photo galleries. The app also allows MobileMe users to share links to their galleries with others via email and view the galleries of other MobileMe members. Features — View your entire gallery including password protected and hidden albums — Flick through photos and pinch to zoom in for more detail…


Dark Nebula for iPhone/Touch Review

Labyrinth style games are nothing new to the iPhone.  You know the games where a ball or marble rolls on the screen and is controlled by tilting the phone like it is a table.  This style of games are fun, but are usually the same.  Move the ball around avoiding the holes and reach the end of the maze.  Dark Nebula takes this idea, puts a fresh, futuristic style and adds a new class of obstacles.  As the developer puts it, “it’s like a labyrinth game but on steroids.”  Check out the review after the break.


SplashNotes for iPhone and Desktop Review

I like lists.  Probably a little too much, actually.  I practically have lists to organize my lists.  So when someone offers to show me software that allows me to make more lists, I just can’t resist taking a look at it.  When SplashData asked if I’d like to take a look at SplashNotes, I was definitely interested. I have been using other programs from SplashData for quite a few years, starting with their password keeper program, SplashID, and find that their software tends to have a nice, consistent aesthetic. SplashNotes is a no-frills note taker with outline capabilities.  You can…


Txtr Brings ePUB to the iPhone

Earlier in the week, I ranted about my frustration with the lack of commercial ebookstores on Android. Chief among my frustrations was a lack of ePUB readers that could handle DRM, the one complaint that overlapped with the otherwise better stocked iPhone. Now the iPhone has gone and beaten Android on all ebook fronts, as txtr’s new app reads ePUBs with Adobe Digital Rights Management. Why does ePUB matter, specifically the kind linked to an AdobeID? Because it is fast becoming the dominant format for any non-Kindle ebooks. Barnes and Noble quietly switched to ePUB about a month ago (though…


Evernote- My Discussion With CEO Phil Libin

Call me an Evernote evangelist if you like. It’s actually rather accurate. Evernote is probably the single most important productivity tool that I use. Looking back over my “relationship” with the service I realized that I’ve been involved with Evernote from early on. I joined the beta program within days of that initially rolling out. And I became one of their premium users every day it became available. There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t actually use Evernote numerous times and I never miss an opportunity to tell others about service and to encourage them to…