One of the big iPhone news items this week revolved around an app I wrote about in the June 11 edition of iPhone apps of the week. Apparently, Taptaptap, developer of Camera+ (not currently available at the App Store) recently added a feature called "VolumeSnap" that would allow users to snap pictures using the iPhone volume controls on the side of the device. Apple pulled Camera+ from the iTunes App Store saying the app violated Apple's developer agreement terms by using one of the main iPhone controls in a "non-standard way, potentially resulting in user confusion."

I suppose it makes sense to keep things consistent, and of course Apple has the last say in these matters, but I have to agree with the idea that tapping the screen isn't an ideal way to snap pictures. Just about every time you take a picture with an iPhone you're holding it unsteadily in your hand and pressing the screen only moves the iPhone more, sometimes resulting in blurry shots.

Am I asking for another button on the iPhone? I wouldn't go that far, but now that the iPhone 4 has upped the ante with a 5-megapixel camera, it just might be the kind of thing Apple needs to consider. What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

This week's apps include a free photography app that makes it easy to share your photos and a demolition type game that offers a unique twist on other popular games in the iTunes App Store.

SayCheeze (free) is a photography app that's focused on snapping pictures and sharing them on Facebook (almost) immediately. While not all of us are out there snapping pictures wherever we are, those who do will appreciate the simplicity of SayCheeze's interface. Start by using the settings to log in to your Facebook account, then flip the switch for auto-upload to the "On" position. From there, every time you snap a picture, your photo will automatically be uploaded to Mobile Uploads on Facebook almost immediately. If you want to check out images before uploading them, you can turn off auto-upload and it still only takes a couple of screen taps to upload them quickly.

As a free app, SayCheeze doesn't come with a lot of fancy extras, but it fulfills its intended purpose very well. Extra options include a zoom feature that goes up to 4x zoom and the ability to apply a simple effect to images at the time of upload. My only complaint about SayCheeze is that you can't choose which effect to use on your image--the app chooses randomly from seven basic effects, which means you would need to cancel and then hit upload again to get a new effect. But overall, if you are a person who likes to capture the action and send it to Facebook without a lot of added extra steps, SayCheeze is an excellent free option.

Fragger (99 cents) takes the concept of hit game Angry Birds and adds a special-ops spin by instead having you toss grenades into structures that house enemy soldiers. Even with its similarity to the Angry Birds game mechanic, Fragger manages to offer enough variation in levels and enough of a graphical detachment from the popular game to make it both fun and addictive.

What separates Fragger from Angry Birds is the need to make highly precise shots in certain situations. Sometimes you'll need to bank grenades off of walls to drop them into a bunker, while other times the grenade will serve as a method for knocking soldiers off high platforms (where the explosion of the grenade becomes unnecessary).

You get 70 levels to play through across two different worlds, and, judging by the level-select screen, another world will open up in a later release. Overall, if you like demolition games or want a more military feel as you blow up structures than you'd get in Angry Birds, you should definitely check out Fragger.

What's your favorite iPhone app? Is SayCheeze just the photo-sharing app you were looking for? Do you think Fragger is too much like Angry Birds or is it a great game in it's own right? Let me know in the comments!

A new method for blocking approved plug-ins from third-party sources appeared in the developer's version of Google's Chrome browser. Available on Friday for Windows, Mac, and Linux, Google Chrome dev 6.0.490.1 includes numerous bug fixes and introduces the Click-to-Play feature for more finely tuned plug-in control.

Click-to-Play adds a small but useful level of functionality to Chrome's native plug-in blocking. It allows Chrome users to activate a plug-in on a per-page basis. Without it, users can only toggle plug-in activation on a per-site basis.

To see how it works, first, you're required to activate it using the "enable-click-to-play" command line switch. Then go to Options, Under the Hood, Content Settings, and choose "Plug-ins" and "Do not allow any site to use plug-ins" to disable all plug-ins. Load a site that uses Flash, such as CNET TV, and you should see the puzzle piece icon shown in the screen capture above. Disabling plug-ins without Click-to-Play will make Chrome think that the plug-in isn't installed. With both, users will see the location bar plug-in icon in the top right of the above screenshot.

The security implications of the switch would be minor, except that slow-to-update third-party plug-ins represent a major risk vector for browsers. Click-to-Play represents a reasonable attempt to place more control in the hands of users, and it could have major implications for user-determined ad blocking that still enables the user to see his or her desired plug-in based content.

This version of Chrome dev also includes fixes that repair how autofill adds addresses and how extension syncing behaves. It also includes Options menu fixes on Macs. The Chrome dev 6.0.490.1 changelog is available at the Chrome release blog.

In a wise move to keep Android devices ahead of the curve in terms of features, Google has released Voice Actions. The free app, which requires Android 2.2 (Froyo) and higher, is pretty simple: it let's you speak several handy commands that access various features on your phone. Simply stating a word automatically launches a Web search, or you can use specific statements to send e-mails and text messages, listen to music, pull up maps, get directions, or make a note to yourself.

I put Voice Actions to the test on a Motorola Droid running Froyo and found that the app can be quite useful--about half the time. There were actually a fair amount of commands that it just couldn't get, such as "send e-mail to Antuan Goodwin, hello how are you" and "directions to Papalote" (see above for the outcome of that one). Now, I understand the second one isn't precisely English as it's a Mexican restaurant, but considering Google's own example of Pizzeria Venti, I was still a bit surprised. I tried those two several times without success.

However, I was able to get somewhere with "map of San Francisco" and "directions to Nopa" (yes, I like restaurants). I was also pleased with the music functionality since it let me choose which app I wanted to listen with. In any event, you can expect to get some mixed results from Voice Actions, but it's free and certainly worth a download regardless. Just remember to e-nun-ci-ate.

Originally posted at Android Atlas

Standalone GPS navigators are pretty cheap these days, but when it comes to getting the most bang for the buck, it's hard to beat an app-equipped iPhone.

One of the most popular navigation apps for the iPhone, Navigon's MobileNavigator North America, normally sells for $79.99, but in honor of the company's first-year App Store anniversary, it's on sale for $39.99.

This half-off sale, which is good through Sunday, August 15, also extends to MobileNavigator USA (now $24.99); MobileNavigator Canada ($24.99); and MyRegion East, Central, and West ($14.99 each, down from $29.99).

Navigon has discounted its prices for in-app purchases as well. Traffic Live, normally $24.99, is on sale for $12.99, while Panorama View 3D, which shows a more topographical view of your surroundings--and looks really cool--is now just $4.99.

All versions of MobileNavigator provide more navigation features than I can list here. However, its highlights include text-to-speech; integrated Google search; location sharing via e-mail Facebook, and Twitter; in-app iPod controls, and the (optional) live traffic updates.

I've tried a bunch of GPS apps during the past year, and while others are quite good in their own right, MobileNavigator remains my favorite. Obviously, the North America version is the best overall value. But if you routinely drive within the same third of the country, one of the MyRegion versions should suit you just fine. That's an awful lot of GPS goodness for just 15 bucks.

By the way, if you don't already have a car mount for your iPhone (please don't leave it in your lap or on the seat next to you, unless you're planning to rely solely on audio navigation), here's a do-it-yourself dashboard mount that costs about $10.

Originally posted at iPhone Atlas

Microsoft plans to launch the beta of the Internet Explorer browser on Sept. 15, according to a blog post on Thursday.

The software maker has scheduled an event in San Francisco to mark the arrival of the beta, billing the event (and the browser) as highlighting "the beauty of the Web." Microsoft also sent packages to reporters containing a variety of art supplies, such as crayons and fingerpaints, inside a box with an IE logo.

That Microsoft is holding a launch event reflects the resurgent importance of the browser and the degree to which Redmond is counting on IE9 to get it back in to serious technical competition with Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

As noted in a story earlier Thursday, the beta needs either Windows Vista or Windows 7 (no XP) and will also require users to swap out their current installation of Internet Explorer. Among the key features of IE9 is its support for HTML5, an improved JavaScript engine, and the ability to tap a computer's graphics chip to accelerate text and image rendering.

Microsoft hasn't said much about the design of IE9, but the company's Ryan Gavin told CNET that the goal of the browser is not to block the view.

"The browser is the theater," Gavin said. "We're not the play."

Gavin said that Microsoft is hoping to see wide adoption of the beta. "The beta is not for everyone, clearly," he said, "but if you are comfortable downloading and installing software, I know I am going to want you to try IE9."

For those who don't want to, or can't, install the beta, Microsoft plans to continue to offer and update its technical preview of the browser engine, which runs side-by-side with earlier versions of IE. The fourth such preview was released last week.

Microsoft's chief operating officer, Kevin Turner, told financial analysts last month that the beta of IE 9 would come in September.

Originally posted at Beyond Binary