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iPhone apps of the week

Posted by Harshad

iPhone apps of the week


iPhone apps of the week

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 04:51 PM PDT

iPhone (Credit: CNET)

With the iPhone 4 launch yesterday, those fortunate enough to have Apple's latest shiny new device probably want to see what it can do. Since not everyone reading has an iPhone 4 just yet, my featured apps are going to appeal to all iPhone users, but if you have the new device, I have a couple of apps you should check out immediately.

Apple's iMovie for iPhone ($4.99) helps you make fun videos using both the forward- and rear-facing cameras, letting you edit your footage, add themes and music, and more (get more info about iMovie here). 3GS users will be able to use all the features in iMovie, but 3G users are out of luck. After using the app yesterday, I'm thinking we're going to need to put out the call for creative reader videos, but that idea is still in the works. In any case, if you have the new iPhone 4 or the 3GS, iMovie is definitely worth the 5 bucks.

The other app I tested is an iPhone 4 exclusive. Eliminate: GunRange (99 cnets) from popular iPhone game developers Ngmoco, takes advantage of the iPhone 4 gyroscope capabilities with a target shooting game that lets you turn your body (with your iPhone 4) to aim your gun. It's the type of feature that needs to be seen to be understood, but rest assured, if you have an iPhone 4, this game is well worth the 99 cents.

This week's apps include a todo list app with tasks you can share with your whole family, and a WWII airplane dogfighting game that's both fun and challenging.

HoneyDo

The master list shows who is assigned each task, and which ones can be picked up by you.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

HoneyDo is one of many todo list apps in the iTunes app store, but with this one you can share your lists with your spouse, roommate, or the whole family. An excellent app for couples that want to share everyday tasks, Honeydo let's you create a task list and assign people to the carry each task out or you can leave the task unassigned so anyone in the group can claim it. HoneyDo offers push notifications so you know when to check for updates, and you can chat in real-time when there's confusion over specific instructions. The one drawback is that everyone involved will need to buy HoneyDo and register with their site (in the app) in order to share task lists, but if you want an easy way to manage regular responsibilities as a group, it's definitely worth the money.

The HoneyDo interface is well designed, letting you browse who is on the account, current task lists, tasks assigned to you, and what time and day tasks are due. For each task (like buying groceries for example), you can assign subtasks that users can check off the list (for each item) as they go. The chat features, which are much like the iPhone regular text messages, let you clear up confusing tasks in real-time and without incurring SMS charges. Overall, with an easy to understand interface and the ability to share tasks with a group, this app will be useful for couples or families that want to efficiently divide up the work in a household.

Skies of Glory

On screen instructions let you know what your next mission is and helpful indicators (yellow arrow) show you where the enemies are.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Skies of Glory (Free initially) is made by the same developer as popular jet fighter game F.A.S.T., but challenges you to play as a WWII fighting ace and blow other planes out of the sky. This game has been around for awhile, but is definitely worth picking up if you haven't tried it before. The tilt controls are responsive even on the 3G, and the graphics are very smooth as you guide your plane through the air and train your machine guns on enemy targets. In this free version, you can play through the first campaign mission, play dogfight missions to test your skill, or play online against other players.

Skies of Glory offers an excellent game mechanic with smooth controls, but like F.A.S.T. (and many other new games in the app store), if you want to progress through missions or get new planes to fly you'll need to purchase content from within the app. Many planes cost 99 cents while some of the other more unique planes can be $1.99 and mission packs are available within a similar price range. If you're willing to spend a little extra on planes and missions, Skies of Glory is great dogfighting game, but it's easy to see how your in app purchases could add up quickly. Anyone who likes airplane dogfights and wants to try their luck against other players online should definitely get this free game. Just watch out for how much you can spend in the in-app store.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Are you a proud (or not so proud) owner of the new iPhone 4? Does a shared task app like HoneyDo work well for your family? What do you think of Skies of Glory? Let me know in the comments!

Music WithMe tries syncing iTunes on BlackBerry

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 01:57 PM PDT

Music WithMe on BlackBerry

It should be called Some Music WithMe.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET)

There are easier ways of getting your iTunes playlists onto your BlackBerry than plugging in your USB cable and transferring songs in a block.

Music WithMe offers one common solution that follows in the footsteps of Simplify Music, before Google acquired parent company Simplify Media to fold the service into its own music strategy.

As did Simplify Music (an iPhone app,) Music WithMe's dual-part system has a desktop component for Windows computers that scans your iTunes library, as well a BlackBerry app from which you can pick the songs to play.

Unfortunately, Music WithMe didn't pan out as promised during our tests on a BlackBerry Bold 9700 and a Windows XP computer. Syncing took some time, as is to be expected, but the app could do with more helpful hints communicating the estimated time remaining in a sync and more importantly, when you've stopped syncing and can start listening.

The more major complaint is that the app only recognized some, but not all of our playlists, even after running through some of the protocol that the company suggested when we presented our findings. Music played on the built-in music player as expected, however.

The technical difficulties keep us from recommending the app without caveats, though Music WithMe might work on your computer and BlackBerry without a hitch. We find the $14.99 one-time purchase price a little steep for something you can essentially do yourself for free, but audiophiles who frequently change up their iTunes playlists may appreciate the convenience of remote automatic updates on their BlackBerry. Luckily, the free 30-day trial gives you plenty of time to decide.

Music WithMe is compatible with BlackBerry phones running OS 4.5 and higher, iTunes version 7.1 and up, and Windows XP, Vista, or 7.

Google Voice incompatible with your iPhone 4?

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 11:04 AM PDT

Google voice logo

Google Voice became available Tuesday to all U.S. residents, but it seems not everyone will be able to use it on the iPhone 4.

The Google Voice service offers a number of features, one of which is forwarding calls made to a central number to multiple mobile phones and landlines.

The call forwarding feature, which calls your preselected phones when someone dials your Google Voice number, is functioning spottily on my iPhone 4, in any event. Set-up worked just fine--I was able to call my iPhone 4 number and activate the phone, but on a couple occasions, ringing Google Voice caused every phone I had to trill except the iPhone 4. The times calls to my Google Voice number didn't go through, I was able to receive text messages and view missed calls.

I'm not the only one. One CNET reader e-mailed a detailed account of how he tried to fix the problem on his own, after activating the iPhone 4:

"When I activated the new [iPhone 4,] it took me back to AT&T's voice mail. I tried setting it up again in Google without success. The problem is that to use Google Voice voice mail, you need to do a "conditional forward," which for at&t the code is *004*1[number to forward to]#. When I enter this code on the iPhone 4, it gives me a bunch of errors and nothing happens...I also read somewhere that I needed to use two "**" instead of one, but that didn't work either."

When calling AT&T's customer support line, our reader said he was told his fix should work.

We're looking deeper into the issue, which could be one more of a number of complaints buyers have had with Apple's iPhone 4 since snapping it off store shelves yesterday, or receiving it on preorder as early as Tuesday.

Google was not immediately available for comment, and we're in the process of reaching out to AT&T and Apple.

In the meantime, if you're a Google Voice user who also has an iPhone 4, let us know in the poll if you're experiencing problems or, if like the antenna issue, this is a rare incompatibility on certain iPhone 4 handsets.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Flash arrives in Google's Chrome browser

Posted: 25 Jun 2010 02:27 AM PDT

Google has fulfilled a promise to build Adobe Systems' Flash Player into Chrome, a move that helps keep the beleaguered plug-in relevant despite significant efforts to replace it.

Chrome 5.0.376.86, the stable version of Chrome released Thursday for Windows, Mac, and Linux, extends the plug-in to the mainstream version of Google's browser. Previously it was only in the developer and beta releases, and because of some hiccups it was disabled for a time there.

google chrome

The new version also fixes five security bugs, including one involving a cross-site scripting vulnerability that had been fixed earlier but that recurred.

Flash has been a dominant component for building the richer aspects of the Web, notably games and streaming video, and programmers have relied on it to bridge compatibility and feature differences among browsers. But browser makers have long chafed at how Flash programs could crash the browser and confuse its user interface, and long-running work to reproduce many Flash abilities in Web standards is steadily maturing.

Google is among those pushing this work, which sometimes loosely is called HTML5 but which in fact also includes Cascading Style Sheets for formatting, and JavaScript for processing, and other elements of the Hypertext Markup Language for Web pages beyond the upcoming HTML5 version.

Apple has been most vocal about opposition to Flash, including a strongly worded letter from CEO Steve Jobs enumerating what he sees as Flash shortcomings and a ban that keeps Flash off iOS devices--the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Despite Flash's drawbacks and mixed reputation, though, it's unarguably widely used on the Web, and Adobe is working to keep it relevant, most recently through the Flash Player 10.1 release that works on mobile phones as well as computers. Here, Adobe and Google have a tight alliance: Android phones are the first to get Flash support, and Chrome now has it built in. That means among other things that it will automatically be updated through Chrome's behind-the-scenes upgrade technology.

To reduce Flash problems in Firefox, Mozilla just released Firefox 3.6.4 that walls off plug-ins into a separate area of computer memory where they can do less harm. The feature is enabled only on Windows and Linux so far but is under development for Mac OS X.

Update 6:32 a.m. PDT: Those who like Chrome but not Flash can type "about:plugins" into the Chrome address bar to see a list of plug-ins and a "disable" button to shut down what isn't wanted. In addition, in the "under the hood" section of the control panel, the "content settings" options lets people selectively block or enable various plug-ins for specific Web sites.

Originally posted at Deep Tech

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