We have Moved!!

The Apps Machine.com has been moved to App Chronicles.com, an easier to remember domain name for everyday use.

At our new site, you will continue to get important iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, and app news and reviews.  Of course, you will also get free apps and games everyday.

Everyday, we go through dozens of free apps that has just gone free for a limited time.  Many of these previously paid apps, though not free, are still crappy apps that are not worth your time.  We hand pick the best ones to list on our Apps Gone Free section so you will enjoy your download.

We have also added voting capability to each free app so you can  help others pick the best apps.  Vote on the apps you liked and see if everyone agrees with you.

So what are you still waiting for?  Just click here to go to App Chronicles.

“Great Apps Gone Free” is our daily column that features great and valuable paid apps that have just gone free. They have gone free temporarily because the developers want their apps to get some exposure and user ratings for promotional purposes.

Usually there may be 20 to 50 apps gone free per day. However, many are crappy apps that offer nothing of value.  We’ve tested them and filtered out crappy apps from our list so the apps we feature are quality apps that are actually worth your time to download.

But get these apps quickly because most are just free for a limited time. Some apps are free for even less than a day!  So don’t be late in getting these premium apps and games for free. Follow us on Twitter or Subscribe by email to get instant daily free app notifications.

Best App of the Day:

Secret of Lost Pyramid

Secret of Lost Pyramid $1.99->Offer expired. Follow us on Twitter or Subscribe by email to get instant App Gone Free notifications so you won’t miss it next time! (App Store)

Don’t let the title of this great game fool you.  This game plays very much like Uno in Ancient Mayan cards and symbols.  And that is great!

At the beginning of the game you and guard get some playing colored tiles with signs on it. Players one by one place tiles on the altar if player tile matches with current tile by color or by sign (except some special tiles). The winner is the one who first drops all his tiles.

Other Great Apps

Pocket Zombie

Pocket Zombie $0.99->Offer expired. Follow us on Twitter or Subscribe by email to get instant App Gone Free notifications so you won’t miss it next time! (App Store)

Have you ever wanted to control your own flesh-eating virtual pet? Well now you can! It’s time for the zombies to get revenge!

With new “Pocket Zombie” for the iPhone and iPod Touch, devouring panic-stricken survivors has never been easier! Your pet zombie comes equipped with the latest in brain-matriculating features.

Wait until the humans try to sneak by your zombie when he’s sleeping, then spring your trap and tag them in the order you’d like them to be eaten!

Eco Punk

EcoPunk $0.99->Offer expired. Follow us on Twitter or Subscribe by email to get instant App Gone Free notifications so you won’t miss it next time! (App Store)

Take the role of the eco-friendly blood-thirsty skateboarding punk bunny. Defend your neighborhood from pollution by cleaning up the streets and blowing up polluting vehicles in a raging killing spree… what what? BLOWING UP VEHICLES TO SAVE THE ENVIROMENT?!

Let this raging environmentalist blow you away with some REALLY AWESOME AVOIDANCE & SHOOTING ACTION.

Mole – Quest for the Terracore gem!

Mole $0.99->FREE (App Store)

Dig your way to the bottom of earth to find the Terracore gem.  In Mole-Quest for the Terracore gem, players will have to dig for metals to buy equipment upgrades.  Upgrades allow the player to dig faster, longer and find metals easier.

At first you can only dig through the first few layers of earth before running out of air.  But as you upgrade yourself with better equipments, you’ll find yourself at the bottom layer of earth soon enough.

This is one of those rare games that will have you cry, “One more run!”

Timeloop

Timeloop $0.99->FREE (App Store)

Timeloop is a puzzle game with a twist.  Go back in time so your former selves can open doors and perform other actions to help you save the professor.  The great puzzle game will get more challenging as you proceed through the game’s 32 well design levels.

GameoftheDay.com App:

Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers

Arcade Solitaire: TriTowers $0.99->Offer expired. Follow us on Twitter or Subscribe by email to get instant App Gone Free notifications so you won’t miss it next time! (App Store)

Combining the classic Tri-Towers / Tri-Peaks solitaire gameplay with a unique leveling system, achievements, live in-game leaderboard tracking, great visuals, sound effects, and fast responsive controls, Arcade Solitaire

Previous Apps Gone Free Apps Now Free Again:

Scoops – Ice Cream Fun For Everyone

Scoops $0.99->FREE (App Store)

Stack your ice cream cone high into the sky by tilting the phone left and right, catching as many scoops as you can while avoiding the vegetables (veggies ARE great apart from icecream!). The higher you go, the faster they fall, and the more wobbly your tower! Stack similar colors together for extra points.

ZCam (Pro)

ZCam Pro $0.99->FREE (App Store)

A camera app with lots of features.   Remote Control Camera with Live Camera Preview & Audio Streaming over Bluetooth & WiFi, Batch & Automatic Flickr, Facebook & Twitpic Uploading and much more!

Please check to price of the app before downloading.  Prices can change at any time.  Sometimes apps are even just free for a few hours before they get a new price.

The is a get free paid iPhone app article on the App Machine

If you enjoy any of the apps featured in today’s Apps Gone Free, consider sharing those free apps with your friends via email, Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Just click on the icons below to share.

Twitter, Brightkite, Foursquare, Gowalla, Facebook and Google Buzz are all the rage, allowing users to keep their adoring fans, or at least their mother informed of their latest position and activities.  A new site has popped up, highlighting the dangers of being so informative.  Please Rob Me is taking updates directly from foursquare and is doing this to highlight the dangers inherent in letting everyone and his dog know exactly where you are at any given time.

Here is the website’s why:

“Hey, do you have a Twitter account? Have you ever noticed those messages in which people tell you where they are? Pretty annoying, eh. Well, they’re actually also potentially pretty dangerous. We’re about to tell you why.

Don’t get us wrong, we love the whole location-aware thing. The information is very interesting and can be used to create some pretty awesome applications. However, the way in which people are stimulated to participate in sharing this information, is less awesome. Services like Foresquare allow you to fulfill some primeval urge to colonize the planet. A part of that is letting everyone know you own that specific spot. You get to tell where you are and if you’re there first, it’s yours. O, and of course there’s badges..

Foursquare

The danger is publicly telling people where you are. This is because it leaves one place you’re definitely not… home. So here we are; on one end we’re leaving lights on when we’re going on a holiday, and on the other we’re telling everybody on the internet we’re not home. It gets even worse if you have “friends” who want to colonize your house. That means they have to enter your address, to tell everyone where they are. Your address.. on the internet.. Now you know what to do when people reach for their phone as soon as they enter your home. That’s right, slap them across the face.

The goal of this website is to raise some awareness on this issue and have people think about how they use services like Foursquare, Brightkite, Google Buzz etc. Because all this site is, is a dressed up Twitter search page. Everybody can get this information.”

Suddenly it doesn’t seem like a great idea to be broadcasting the fact you have vacated your house.  At least one possible Twitter-enabled robbery has been reported on when a holidaying video podcaster’s house was burglarized last year in Mesa Arizona.  While many commenters don’t feel that the criminal element is smart enough to make this connection, the economic downturn is now creating desperate times and resulting in desperate measures for everyone.  An unoccupied home stashed with a treasure trove of pawn-worthy electronic goodies can present quite a temptation to someone who has not had a paycheque since Michael Jackson was busting out his moon walk.

Anyone with kids in the digital age has already thought through the potential dangers of having their family or home targetted for nefarious purposes.  Children, teens and adults really should scale back the specific nature of their tweets, posts and updates.  Best possible scenario is to report on holidays and away from home activities after you have returned.  Don’t be posting your macarena lessons in real time….wait til you have returned to your disco palace to wow your followers with your amazing moves!

This is an iPhone Home Safety article by The Apps Machine.

It is finally here.  Slingplayer Mobile on the iPhone has been updated to stream live or recorded TV via AT&T’s 3G connection.  That means you can start watching TV anywhere that has 3G or WiFi connection right on your iPhone, effectively turning your iPhone into a mobile TV device.

Slingplayer Mobile could be very useful for many people.  You won’t miss your favorite NBA basketball game if you are unable to get home to your favorite HDTV.  It is also a great way to spend that spare time at the airport.

With the imminent launch of the 3G enabled iPad, watching TV via 3G may get even better with the bigger screens.  And since most iPhone apps should work well with the iPad, watching live TV outside the home may become popular sooner than most people think.

Watching live TV on the iPhone not only requires the Slingplay Mobile app, but users must also purchase a Slingbox hardware.   Slingbox connects to your DVR, digital cable set-top box, or satellite receiver, and broadcasts these digital contents to your laptop, desktop, and of course, your iPhone.  Users can use the Slingbox as a universal hub to fully control your TV and DVR.  Better yet, Slingbox’s setup allows your iPhone to control your TV and DVR like a remote via the Slingplayer Mobile app.

Slingbox comes in two models.  Slingbox Solo and Slingbox Pro-HD. Both models allow users to watch and control live or recorded TV from any PC, Mac desktop, laptop computer, or compatible mobile phones  They both connect to any Standard Definintion (SD) or High Definition (HD) television device – cable/satellite set-top box, DVR, DVD player or Media Center.  Both models also stream Standard Definition.

However, only the Slingbox Pro-HD can stream in High Definition.  The Pro-HD has built-in analog & HD digital (Clear QAM) cable tuner and built-in analog & HD digital (ATSC) antenna tuner. Pro-HD model also connects and controls multiple audio / video sources instead of single source.

SlingPlayer Mobile’s new iPhone update is really revolutionary.  It brings the world closer to your living room.  Anywhere that you have an 3G, WiFi, or a landline connection, users can access the contents of from their existing cable network right to their favorite digital device.

SlingPlayer Mobile (iTunes Link) is currently $29.99 in the Apps Store.

Slingbox Solo (Amazon Link) is currently selling for $158 at Amazon.com.

Slingbox Pro-HD (Amazon Link) is currently selling for $264 At Amazon.com.

This is a Watching Live TV on iPhone article by The Apps Machine.

I really tried to love Rate My Puppy, but for the life of me I could not.  Ok I admit it, I’m a cat lover.  So I was eagerly awaiting Pistol Shrimp to release this app Rate My Kitten (App Store Link).  Now I can while away the hours swiping through hordes of cute furry kittens!  So I admit it, I am biased.  Therefore, in the name of journalistic integrity I got my 12 year old daughter to write the review:

“This app will have cat lovers purring. Rate My Kitten is a neat new app, much like Rate My Puppy, that enables you to rate other cat owners’ cats pictures. I found the layout very simple and effective, even non-tech savvy cat lovers could use it with ease.

If you’re looking for a way to brighten up your day, just open this app and it will have you smiling and aww-ing in seconds. There are contests that the app creators have produced.  If your cat picture gets a high rating you will receive a prize! I think that by providing some incentive the creators will get a higher amount of buyers.

But the fun doesn’t stop there, anyone can add their own cute-as-a-button kitty pictures, too. I, personally, love cats and I think this app will be a good way for cat lovers, owners and everyone in between to showcase their cats. Basically, it’s a cat show for people who can’t or don’t want to go to one!”

Ooops, I forgot to mention she is a cat lover too, actually our whole family is, so there is no way this review can be unbiased!

One irritation should be noted with this app.  When my daughter downloaded it she got an ad-free version.  My app includes banner ads which really detracts from the whole cuteness thing.  Even an ad for Rate My Kitten…really?  Pretty hard to concentrate on cute when you are being bombarded with stupid ads.  I would gladly pay $1.99 for this app to forgo the ads.  Are you listening Pistol Shrimp?  K thx lolz.

App Review Score:  4/5

Rate My Kitten is now available for free download in the App Store.

This is an app review by The Apps Machine.

I don’t play video games. Occasionally, I drink too much, wish I could quit smoking and definitely wish i could stop chasing the wrong women. Nothing is wrong with wanting to make these things stop, but as Samuel Clemens said, “Everyone could live to be one hundred years old if they gave up all the reasons that made them want to live to be one hundred. Despite my use of quotation marks, I’ve got it wrong.  I can’t be bothered to look it up, I’m playing N.O.V.A. I’m hooked.

The problem is the more I play N.O.V.A, Gameloft’s newest first person shooter for the iPhone and iPod Touch, the more I drink, smoke, and get further from my recently contrived New Year’s resolutions and my quest for the century mark.

Look at the above picture, it’s a Halo rip-off. But I dare Microsoft to create something as innovative as the iPhone much less something that really works on the iPhone.

Truly, I can’t be asked to remember the name of the press-ganged, retired, forced into action space marine this game insists you are, but I loved it every time I had to kill an overly boxy alien from Xeno. The reason I loved killing poor enemies?  Wonderfully rendered worlds, 13 of them, that they inhabit and…

6 weapons.

1. The pistol with unlimited ammo.  Boo.

2 and 3, I forget… no like always.. automatic rifle and shotgun.

4… my favorite, in all games that I’ve become addicted to… the sniper rifle. The only better than sniping is sneaking up to cut throats Metal Gear style.

5. The rocket launcher. (make sure it’s full for a boss fight or two).

6. The plasma gun, which makes game play far to easy. (Gameloft is a French company and you can clearly see how they view Aliens/Germans in a need to win, when we know they just surrender).

It just gets Frenchier, the aliens look horrible yet the countryside or beautifully rendered backgrounds are flawless. A grand indictment of the French way of getting invaded and losing.

Game play itself flows and is really only slowed by the controls. Touchscreen first person shooters make seeing what you are doing difficult. In the case of N.O.V.A you have a virtual joystick in the lower left hand corner to control movement, a fire button in the lower left, and the need to aim and look around somewhere in between. Often I found myself playing a level twice just to see what I missed by changing the default controller options.

The enemies or aliens in N.O.V.A are stupid. Once you are seen, they will chase you down making it far to easy to retire to a safe place and await their arrival where they stand no chance. Though we do play these games to kill things, an easy kill is an easy kill.

One of the more interesting features, however, is the logic problems that exist through in each level in order to unlock doors, start generators, etc…You are given a small logic puzzle that puts your brain to the test every so often. A welcome addition given the limited intelligence of the enemies blocking your progress.

And while this game loses in many respects, it is still a winner and why McDonalds calls France the second most profitable country they serve.

Review Rating: 3 out of 5 stars. $6.99 (iTunes Link), worth it.

Great stuff:

• The ability to skip over a less than worked out narrative
• Access, and the ability to put your iPod library in the background as you play
• Wonderfully derived backgrounds

Not so Great:

• Touch screen controls (a review you will see here shortly)
• Boxy, dumb aliens
• Weapons far too powerful.

3 out of 5 stars is a damn fine effort.

Wait, wait…There is a multiplayer option that really changes things up and should be a springboard toward further additions to N.O.V.A . No more silly enemies but rather a 2 player game by Bluetooth and a four player game by network with an international leaderboard accessed through the game itself. Good Stuff. 4 stars out of 5. Well Done GameLoft.

P.S Stop changing my weapon to a pistol when they are at close range Frenchie, it was my mistake and I should be meant to pay for it. not just hit a button and score an auto head shot.

Review Score: 4/5

N.O.V.A. is currently available in the App Store for $6.99 (App Store Link).

Watch the Trailer below to experience this great game.

This is a N.O.V.A review article by The Apps Machine.

Rarely have I played a well polished iPhone/iTouch platform game as good as Plushed (App Store).  Plushed is a 2D platforming game by Black Smith Games that takes place in a fantasy setting.  A fairy mouse appeared when a girl and her bunny plushie put a cheese in front of a mouse hole.  After consuming all the cheese, the fairy mouse offered grant the girl a wish to become a princess in her fairy tales.  However, the fairy mouse’s evil twin interfered with the spell, and the girl and her bunny are magically transported to a realm inside the fairy tales.  There, the bunny starts its quest to search for her human friend and ultimately escape from this fantasy land.

Plushed features 9 magical realms to explore.  Each level is beautifully rendered, each with a unique theme.  Explore ancient ruins, wild plains, mountain trails, forests, swamps, and enjoy the fantastic scenery while dodging monsters and avoiding traps.  In most of the levels, players has to run and jump toward the goal to complete them.  Some levels require players to collect items before that level can be beaten.  There are even boss fights.  Even without a weapon, bunny plushie is able to use items or rocks in the surrounding area deal damage to the bosses.

Plushed also has some unlockable secrets.  Players can unlock mini-games as they collect the golden beetles present throughout the game.  Collect gems and control a jetpack after you unlock these interesting mini-games.

Plushed makes use of the accelerator to do a shaking effect in the game.  When players shake their iDevice, it may make pizzas drop from trees, clear the haystack, or make rocks fall from the ceiling.  The accelerator can even be used to move bunny plushie around in one control scheme.  However this control scheme may work better in some of the mini-games as it is hard to imagine moving your character left or right for hours just by tilting your device.  Most people would probably prefer to use the left and right buttons on the screen to control the bunny.

Plushed’s greatest feature is its graphics.  Its hand drawn environments and characters make you really feel like you are in a fairy tale.  Bunny plushie’s  animation is smooth and enjoyable to watch. It is a great feeling to watch it turns as you complete each level. But Plushed’s vibrant graphics aren’t the only pleasing feature in this great adventure.  Plushed is a challenging game.  You can’t just breeze through a level without dying a few times. The level design will force even a veteran 2D plaformer player to die constantly as spikes and traps appear in the most unexpected places.  In later level, only with lots of tries will players get to the next checkpoint safely.

Plushed also packs some nice surprises in its level design.  Get ready to run for your life as you jump into a field with a giant harvester chasing after you.  Some items such as pizza can be amusing to use as it will open the mouth of snakes, attract rats to help you attack bosses, and even make a plant with a big mouth to grow sprouts that you can step on to continue your adventure forward.

Plushed does have some drawbacks.  There are only a few checkpoints in each level that make this already challenging game even more challenging. Having to play the same levels over and over is also frustrating.  There may also be some players that will have problems continuing the game due to its high difficulty level.

The controls could also be a bit better.  Tapping any area above the virtual control pad will make your bunny jump.  Players can sometimes miss the virtual left and right buttons and accidentally hit jump.  During intense levels, that will probably cause the player to die and restart from the check point.  Also, jump is not activated when tapping near the bottom right of the screen, that should also be fixed.

Seeing the bunny plushed in an armor with a talking sword makes you wonder why can’t your main character attack enemies directly.  Perhaps the developers feel that most of the enemies should be avoided and not defeated to make this game more challenging.  Still, it would be nice to have your bunny attack enemies instead of evading them all the time.

Overall, Plushed is a wonderful platforming adventure game that will entertain and amuse you for hours.  With 9 vibrant and challenging levels along with unlockable mini-games, it is a well designed game that could have easily costs 20 dollars on another portable gaming platform such as the PSP or the DS.  Gamers should be satisfied with the game after several hours into it.  Despite its difficulty and minor control issues, the fantastic visuals and game play will have you coming back for more until you have defeated the final boss.

Review Score:  4.5/5

Plushed is currently available in the App Store for $0.99 at the time of this writing.  Its usual price is $1.99.  (App Store Link)

This is an iPhone and iTouch game review of Plushed by The Apps Machine.

Introducing the Parrot AR Drone. A quadricopter that creates a wifi network to connect to the iPhone and iPod Touch. The accelerometers in these devices will allow a tilting of your iPod Touch or iPhone to control this absolutely off the hook remote controlled toy.

The Parrot AR with the use of two video cameras, one front mounted and the other attached to the underside..will provide not only a real-time video feed to your iPhone but land itself if your connection to the Drone is ever lost. Apparently, the Drone also offers an autopilot and smart flight mode that compensates for wind.

The Parrot AR Drone will also include enhanced reality video games utilizing the front mounted camera and the addition of overlaid 3D models with the potential for third party developed games.

While we have no idea the cost or when it will be available rumors suggest it will come in under $500 and be available by June 2010.

Additionally, the Drone includes two hulls for use both indoors and outdoors. For indoor flight a polypropylene shell can be attached for maximum rotor protection where outdoor flight will focus on maximum control.

I WANT THIS NOW. DESPITE NO MENTION OF THE WIFI NETWORKS RANGE, THIS PROMISES TO BE THE GADGET OF 2010.

Watch the YouTube video.

Follow the release on Twitter and Facebook.

This is an Best iPhone Accessory article by The Apps Machine

iPhone RC Quadricopter with Augmented Reality is Every Man’s Dream

thesharperimage

Myriad gadgets and gizmos are being unveiled at CES in Las Vegas this week and along comes a couple of cool, yet simplistic iPhone/iPod docks and apps that transform your iPhone into a glorified clock with speakers! Reactions tend to be “ha ha look at that, it’s a clock…..but it is a really cool looking clock…with speakers….actually I think I need one of those!” After all, mobile phones are kicking the stuffing out of the wrist watch market, why not clocks too?

The Sharper Image’s elegant offering above features an old school look with backlit roman numerals for a clock around a circle with the dock in the middle. The iPhone becomes the hands when docked and the device sells for $60US. It comes complete with free downloadable applications and plays surround sound music as well. It should be available from their website soon.

iLuv

But what if you prefer more new style clocks? Then there is this personalizable style dock/speaker system called the App Station from iLuv.com. It works in conjunction with a free iLuv app available on the App store once the dock is actually available. When you dock the iPhone or iPod touch into the App Station it turns into an alarm clock complete with weather forecast and temperature. It also has speakers. The alarm clock display can be customized to suit your style preference, it can be shifted horizontal or vertical and you can watch movies on the iPhone and hear the audio over the speaker dock. The device is set to be available in February for $129.99.

This is a cool iPhone app article by The Apps Machine

facebook version 3.1

The Facebook app for the iPhone got a major update today to version 3.1, which is proving to be a major headache for some, while others are cheering it’s long awaited arrival.  Facebook 3.1 arrived in the app store and crackbook addicts jumped on it to see how it could feed their need for friends and networking.  Unfortunately it seems that the app has some strange quirks to it so make sure you know what you are doing before you update wholeheartedly.

This update first of all allows you to sync your Facebook contacts with your contacts on your iPhone.  For those who have put alot of effort into placing the perfect photo with each contact, DO NOT USE the Facebook sync as it will replace those with your Facebook’s friend photo!  This seems a bit extreme.  Now you are going to have your friends’ kids as your phone contact photo, since so many people seem to use their kids as their Facebook profile picture.  So while this concept seems good in theory, it is not so good in practice.  I would rather determine what photos are used as contact photos, rather than having my friend’s Facebook profile pic slapped up there.  You can edit them back to what they were but in some cases I am hearing that those photos were one offs and they had not saved them anywhere else.  Restore may work.  Unfortunately there does not appear to be anywhere you can change the settings to save some photos and nuke the others.  Hopefully there will be some refinements offered soon.  There are also reports that it is misidentifying people and not allowing you to comment on photos, etc. Needless to say, it needs work!

As far as the push notifications are concerned, this feature lets you know on your phone whenever you get a comment from a friend or when another friend comments on something you commented on.  The push notifications seem a little redundant given you could already get email notifications of such events, but the more the better for some it seems.  The notifications are silent however, and whether they are meant to be silent or not is anyone’s guess.  Perhaps this is another bug?

So generally speaking this update seems to be a bit of a dud.  Calls are already going out for 3.2 to fix some of the quirks in this latest update. Facebook is already on some people’s bad list for mucking about with their privacy.  They dropped the ball on this update and this is going to generate even more bad press.

This is an article by The Apps Machine.

There are some apps that you just have to try. At $.99 Pocket Heat (App Store), a new app by Help, Appreciate, Live, may be the most trite offering that 2010 has seen this week. Pocket Heat is just that… a heater for your pocket.

Pocket Heat overloads your iPhones system and warms your hands. I for one use my iPhone for, wait, phone calls so the idea of having no battery is a little disconcerting. This app will burn through your battery in just under an hour if fully charged.´

While the developers claim that your iPod touch or iPhone will suffer no damage, are you willing to try? Fortunately, or unfortunately I live outside of the US and have consequently been forced to jailbreak my phone negating the warranty. The idea of purposely melting the internal components of my phone is just not going to happen with the exception of having to write this review.

In Pocket Heat´s defense the graphics are great, it looks like a space heater and is rendered very well. Addtionally, there are sound effects that do add to the overall effect.

If you have a girlfriend who gets cold hands $.99 is a small price to pay for showing that you care when you reach into your pocket and activate this app.

This is a cool apps story by The Apps Machine

You use this app in conjunction with the iPhone’s copy and paste function.  You identify images or text to copy, and launch Pastebot to automatically store the new clipping.  To copy a clipping from Pastebot you tap on it to light a blue light then paste it in wherever you want, even to your Mac from your iPhone.   It will allow you to paste search terms into Google, send as email or move to a folder.  On the way to doing that you are given numerous settings or filters which allow you to tailor your clipping the way you like it:  all uppercase or lowercase, coded HTML entities or uncoded, wrap in HTML tags and find and replace.  It will aslo allow you to Quote lines, Smarten Quotes and Straighten Quotes.  You can even copy photos out of your iPhone and paste them into your iPhoto  program on your Mac, although only one or two at a time.

pastebot is pretty! and useful!

You can keep up to 99 clipboard entries, and then you can create folders to move the clippings to.  This really helps to keep lots of information and pictures at your fingertips within the app.  The next step for Pastebot would be the capability of copying whole files and pasting them from your Mac to your iPhone and vice versa.

All of this is wonderful but of course you will need to be in wifi for Pastebot and Pastebot Sync to be able to talk to each other from your iPhone to your Mac.   The instructions are a little hard to find and unless you are familiar with this type of program you will probably need to find them in the Pastebook Sync program on you Mac.  Or you can go to the developer’s website at Tapbots. com and Pastebot.com.

This useful app will be very popular for the hardcore iPhone user and is already getting high marks in the app store.

Review Rating: 5/5

Pastebot (iTunes Link) is currently available in the App Store for $2.99






This is an app review article by the Apps Machine

Once you download this 99 cent app, the iPhone opens with a video feed from the iPhones camera.  The screen has a transparent text box in the top third.  At the top are two boxes for phone number and email address.  You can also access your contact list using the blue plus sign.  At the bottom of the screen are icons:  settings which gives you an about for Text Vision with a brief how-to,  a manage accounts which allows you to log in to Facebook and Twitter (which you will have to do in advance if you want to post your text as a status message on either utility).

TextVision screen capture

There is a camera icon which gives you the option to take a picture or choose a picture from your camera roll to add to your post.  Once you have chosen or taken your picture it shows up in a tiny thumbnail at the bottom of your text input window.  You have the option to removed the picture and take another before sending.  There is another camera icon on the bottom of the text input box as well as a character counter.  Tweets cannot exceed 140 characters and the Facebook status is a bit longer but not much.

text vision facebook twitter interface

Returning to the bottom icons, you can bring up options to post to Facebook or Twitter or both.  The remaining icon gives you the option to send your post as a text or to send as email.  However these options are NOT seamless.  They will turn off the Text Vision camera and  go into your SMS and you will have to restart Text Vision to get back into it.  Sending email from the text box is a bit faster as it copies the text and will allow you to move back and forth quickly.  You can even send photos quickly via email with this method.  Apparently no app on the App Store will allow you to send a text directly from the app itself, because it not allowed by Apple yet. Any app that does send texts from the app is sending it from their own server.

The downside of this application obviously then is that it cannot seamlessly text and view where you are going at the same time.  It does however give you the capabilities to seamlessly Facebook and Twitter while walking, and almost email too.  Rather ironic considering the app is called Text Vision.

Rating 4/5

Text Vision (iTunes Link) is available in the App Store for $0.99 as of this writing.

This is an app review article by The Apps Machine

Which game can generate the buzz and hype like the hit console game Halo?  The answer is Halo’s iPhone little brother, N.O.V.A. (iTunes Link).  N.O.V.A. stands for Near Orbital Vanguard Alliance.   Rarely has an iPhone game so anticipated as N.O.V.A.   Millions of Halo fans just can’t wait to play more Halo-like action on their favorite iDevice.   Gameloft, known for making great iPhone clones of hit console games, is the perfect game company to deliver it.

In many ways N.O.V.A. is very similar to Halo.  N.O.V.A.’s setting takes place in space. Players control an ex-marine name Karl Wardin living in a space colony. During a reconnaissance mission to a space ship, Karl will encounter events that lead to battles with aliens. Your space marine will battle aliens with assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, handguns, rocket launchers, plasma gun and more.   If that doesn’t remind you of Halo, the damage system will. The damage system in NOVA is almost exactly like Halo.   An energy shield will absorb damage and then recharge over time.   The graphics also look very similar to Halo.    The characters and landscape will definitely make you think that you are playing Halo on the iPhone/iPod Touch.    For example the opening scene in N.O.V.A. featured combat aboard a space ship, mirroring the opening scenes of Pillar of Autumn in Halo: Combat Evolved.

N.O.V.A also borrow elements from Metroid Prime. Players can pick up special abilities along the way. Freezing enemies, speed boost, and Shooting charged energy beam seem to be abilities taken straight out of Metroid.

Branding N.O.V.A. as a Halo clone may have negative connotations for some people, but it is actually a good thing. According to early impressions in the App Store, this game is great.  The graphics look awesome with great frame rates to go with the gameplay. The multi-player also works great to extend the game’s longevity.

N.O.V.A. features 13 levels set in jungle, snow, spaceship, bunker, and an alien city. 2 to 4 players can play over Wi-Fi connections (2 players via bluetooth connections) with a total of 5 maps to choose from.

For Halo fans, getting N.O.V.A. on you iDevice is a no brainer.  For those that have not played Halo on consoles before, N.O.V.A will allow you to join the hype on the cheap.  N.O.V.A.  (iTunes Link) is currently $6.99 in the App Store.

Watch the Trailer below to experience this great game.

This is a N.O.V.A release post by The Apps Machine

Mikamobile, the developer of the hit game Zombieville has done it again. Their newest hack and slash game featuring katana wielding ninjas and foul mouthed pirates is a masterpiece. The unique cartoony graphics and smooth animations, along with a tough but enjoyable ninja styled hack and slash gameplay make OMG! Pirates! one of the best games in the App Store.

The game starts when pirates attack a ninja village. Our ninja must fight its way against the pirates, ultimately defeating the pirates in their home turf.   The game features 9 missions and 3 bosses. During each mission, the player must fight tens of pirates arming themselves with swords, bombs, and guns. These pirates aren’t all that easy to defeat. They can even defend against your attacks. Only by perfecting your fighting style through jump attacks, special combos and techniques can you complete a mission without being seriously injured.Each level has a player rating after it is completed. If you lose too much lives trying to complete a level, you just might be rank “terribad.”

This game also feature boss fights. Bosses are big and bad with special abilities. Usually, players have to deal with the lesser pirates as they are fighting the bosses. Bosses can take plenty of hits so be prepared to conserve your energy to outlast them in the fight.

Once the player completes the regular campaign mode, the hard mode and survival mode appears. By then, you should be more skilled to fight the pirates. The survival mode is definitely challenging and fun. Fight through tons of pirates with just one life. Lets see how far you can go.

OMG! Pirates! has graphics that will catch your eyes. They are like well-drawn cartoons fighting fluidly on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The animations are smooth as you slash your sword and launch combo attacks against those pesky pirates.

Gameplay is where OMG! Pirates! really shines. The game includes a leveling system for your ninja. As the player level up, new attacks, combos, and techniques may be learned. Ninja’s speed, life, and attack power may also be increased. Thus you will start the game with little more than the standard attack button. But as you progress through the game, you will learn to use the various jump attacks and combo attacks to evade and finish your enemies.The game is tough. Your ninja may face enemies in front and at the back of you at the same time. Getting out of those situation with timely ninja jumps and shielding moves is imperative to completing the mission alive.

Attacked from both sides!

OMG! Pirates! is nearly a perfect side scrolling ninja fighting game.  But it could be improved by including even more missions and bosses.  Addition of multiplayer modes would be welcome too.  But with survival mode, a harder difficult level, and mission rankings, OMG! Pirates still has what it takes to keep gamers entertained for a while.

Overall OMG! Pirates! is one of the best games on the iPhone. The graphics and animation alone will just make you want to get the game. Along with the excellent gameplay, there is really no reason any gamer should pass up on this masterpiece. Just watch the video to see why it is so good.

Overall rating: 5/5

OMG! Pirates! (iTunes Link) is currently available in the App Store for $1.99.

This OMG! Pirates! review is a post by the Apps Machine

We are heading toward the end of 2009, and inevitably the best of 2009 lists will start pouring in like rainstorm. Apple is joining the Best of 2009 frenzy by releasing their own lists. The iTunes Rewind 2009 lists highlights the best sellers and top rated content across apps, games, music, and other iTunes content.

For iPhone apps, iTunes has broken down their “Best of” lists in to 4 categories:  Best of Games, Best of Apps, Top Selling Games, and Top Selling Apps.

Here are some of the highlights for the top selling and top rated apps.  For a complete list, please check the iTunes Rewind 2009:  Apps on your computer.  

• Spider: the Secret of Bryce Manor ($2.99) and Real Racing ($4.99) lead best games
• Sims 3 ($6.99) and the Oregon Trail ($4.99) lead top selling games.
• ReelDirector ($4.99 )and Magellan RoadMate 2010 North America ($79.99) lead best apps.
• MobileNavigator North America ($89.99) and Text-Free ($5.99) lead top selling apps.

It is worth mentioning that EA’s Sims 3, Need for Speed Undercover, Madden 10,  and Tiger Woods topped the best selling games list. I guess higher prices and a well-known franchise name really helped to boost sales of these games for EA.  However, it is sad to see that none of EA’s games made it to the Best Games list.  In fact none of the best sellers made it to the best rated games list.  Perhaps that is how Apple designed the list. 

The best rated games are usually published by small developers.  That is a stark contrast to the best selling games dominated by EA and Gameloft.  May be Apple want to highlight the contributions of small developers to the App Store. 

iPhone GPS navigation apps also topped the list in both best app and top selling app categories.  People just love to have turn-by-turn navigator on their iPhones. Worth mentioning is the appearance of Text-Free app in the top selling apps.  iPhone users may be getting sick of paying a monthly fee for SMS to AT&T and sending their SMS through an app that only charges a one-time fee!

This is a post by The Apps Machine.

Donut Game’s Traffic Rush (iTunes Link) is topping the charts on the top 25 free app list.  It is there for a good reason.  It has a simple control with addicting gameplay.  Players will have to keep an intersection clear from crashing cars and trucks by moving or stopping the cars at the right moment.  The controls make the game simple and fun.  By swiping your finger on a car, car can accelerate through the intersection.  Tapping on the car will make it stop and wait.  But the car won’t be stopping for too long.  It will move again by itself if no orders are given.

The game will get more difficult when there are lots of cars heading toward the intersection from every direction.  Furthermore, the default car speed is different for every car.  Thus getting a score above 100 may be difficult for some players.  In Traffic Rush, scores are based on the number of cars that have successfully exited the intersection.  Top scores can be transmitted to Donut Game’s website for ranking.  Top players in the world have been seen with 2000-8000 points.

It is the urge to achieve higher scores that keeps players from coming back for more.  Share scores with friends to see who is better at clearing out the intersection.  The ability to accelerate the cars also makes the game really fun.  Swiping to accelerate cars gives players an adrenaline rush.  It greatly increases the game’s pace and fun factor.  Just try and see if you can beat your old top score when swiping at every car that passes your intersection.

The graphics and sound in Traffic Rush is simple but adequate for a casual game like this one.  Worth mentioning is the acceleration sounds.  They are nicely done to make players feel the adrenaline as each car zooms pass the intersection

The controls are intuitive and responsive.  The vehicles stops and accelerates immediately as they are swiped or tapped.  Accurate controls make Traffic Rush a winner.

Traffic Rush could have been better with more maps such as multiple intersections.  The current map only features one intersection to manage.  Multiplayer could also work in this game.  It would be fun to seen how 2 or more players can work together to make intersections free from car crashes.

Traffic Rush is one of the must-own game for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  It has the addicting gameplay that makes players come back for more.     By looking at its success in the App Store, it looks like many people will be comparing their best scores with those from their friends.  Since it is currently free in the App Store only for a limited time, everyone should make it a home in their app library.  So what are you waiting for?  Download it today!

Review Score:  5/5

This is a post by The Apps Machine

Rarely have I played a 2D shooter as refreshing as MiniSquadron (iTunes Link).  MiniSquadron isn’t just like any other 2D shooter.  This unique game is actually a dog fighting aerial combat game that pits player’s aircraft against computer controlled jets in a limited 2D air space.  Players will have to fight against waves of enemy planes.  Some waves have only a few enemy planes, but other waves can bring tens of highly advanced aircrafts that will be difficult to defeat.

MiniSquadron has arcade-like game play.  Flip 360 degrees, twist, dive, and shoot your way to victory, collecting 1ups and special stars to gain advantage over the enemies.  There are also some physics based elements in MiniSquadron as well. Your plane can stall and fall if the plane is flown too high or hit by the enemy.  But if you keep your plane’s head down and dive as you fall, you can still regain control and fly upwards to prevent a crash.

There are 8 stages  for the single player game.  Each stage has 12 waves of enemy aircrafts to defeat.  Enemies can range from propeller planes, bombers, jet fighters, to UFO’s.  They can equip cannons, homing missiles, spray bombs, and even lasers.  As players progress through the various stages, up to 56 aircrafts can be unlocked.  These unlockable aircrafts give players more powerful weapons and faster aircrafts.  Each unlockable aircraft has to meet certain requirements to be accessible by the player.  They can be unlocked when they have achieved a certain score during a wave at a certain stage.  Tapping a locked aircraft will display its unlocking requirements.

Mini Squadron’s graphics and music are well done.  Although nothing amazing, it brings the classic cartoon-styled 2D shooter to life.  The aircrafts have an unique look to them and their animations are fluid.  The symphony classical music in the background also seem to fit perfectly to the aerial action in an odd way.

Mini Squadron uses a virtual control pad.  The controls are fairly simple and responsive.  By default, the plane will fly straight.  But by drawing a circle on the virtual control pad, the plane will flip 360 degrees, making it easier to maneuver to the tail of enemy aircrafts.

The aerial combat action can be intense, especially when going against more than 10 enemy aircrafts during a wave.  Dodging bullets and missiles and maneuvering to finish those pesky enemy jets can be really fun.  And since the game rewards you extra score for defeating enemies without taking a hit, achieving the highest score should be the goal of any seasoned MiniSquadron player.

One of the weakness of MiniSquadron is lack of online high scores and achievements that are present in many other iPhone games.  It would be great to see how your top score rank in the world. There is also a multiplayer mode in  MiniSquadron, but MiniSquadron only supports local network connection. If MiniSquadron allows global online multi-player, that would make this game perfect.  It would be really fun to challenge 10 other players to a fight to the finish.

MiniSquadron is a great 2D shooter.  Its intense gameplay will give players a fun aerial combat experience.  With over 50 aircrafts to unlock and master, the game has a high replay value.  It is a must-own game for any fans of classic 2D shooters.

Review Score: 4.5/5

Available now in the App Store (iTunes Link).

This is a post by the Apps Machine

Very rarely do you get a well polished game as good as Touch Pets Dogs.  Touch Pet Dogs allows players to interact with their dogs in so many ways that you’ll feel the dogs on your iPhone or iPod Touch are actually alive!

Touch Pet Dogs features 7 breeds of puppies you can adopt and interact.  Start your game with a cute Labrador, Portuguese water dog, west highland terrier, German shepherd, Jack Russell, dachshund, or even a robot dog.  Within each breed, players can select puppies based on their look, gender, and personality.  These puppy traits can affect how your dogs will interact with you as well as other dogs.

In Touch Pets Dogs players care for their puppies’ everyday needs including petting, feeding, bathing, grooming, and even scooping their poop.  These needs are displayed in the dog’s status menu as a percentage.  With time, these needs gradually fall to 0% unless players take care of these needs.  By taking care of your dog’s everyday needs, puppies will become happier. And when its happiness level reaches a certain point, the player will earn puppy points.  These puppy points can be used to buy virtual items such as new toys, clothes, and gears.  Puppy points can even be used to adopt additional puppies.

Players can also play with their puppies.  Teach your dog to do some tricks such as sit, stand, roll over.  Get your dogs to play with Frisbees, balls, and sticks to increase their abilities.  Don’t like your pup’s look?  Players can dress up their dogs with various clothes and accessories.  Your dog can even have careers. With the proper career item and ability, your dog can catch thieves, rescue victims from fire, and win beauty pageants.

Touch Pets Dogs also allows players to interact with their friends’ dogs.  Invite your friend’s dog for a playdate, and watch as they develop friendships, romances, and rivalries. Your friend doesn’t even have to be online for the playdate to occur.  In the playdate, you can care and play for the other dog the same way you can interact with your own dog.

Players advance in Touch Pets Dogs through leveling up.  Players level up as they complete daily and career tasks for experience points.  Certain items and accessories cannot be obtained unless the player reached a certain level.  Leveling up is another motivation for players to come back for their virtual puppies daily.

The most enjoyable part of Touch Pets Dogs is the interaction with the pups.  Playing fetch, petting your dogs, and engaging in various activities with them make the game really fun. The puppies look adorable, and their animation is smooth.  Most people will fall in love with their pups the moment they started to play the game.

One major concern for most players is the pay system.  Even though players start with many bowls of food.  As the food bowls dwindle down to zero, players have to either wait for the food to slowly regenerate, or buy food with real money.  The problem with waiting for new food to regenerate is that it only gets you a maximum of 1 bowl of food.  Thus if you have multiple puppies to feed, this can cause a rather short game session.   Ngmoco has recently  lengthened the time it takes for energy to deplete.  That is probably due to complaints that you cannot even finish caring for your dogs with a full bowl of food.  Even with the increase in energy depletion time, there’s an outcry to make foods payable with in-game puppy points. But game companies are out to make money, thus that will probably not occur anytime soon.  In the mean time, here’s a tip to make the game more enjoyable for those who don’t want to buy virtual pet food for real money.  First, get your dog to 100% energy.  Then wait until the food regenerates to 1.0 bowl of food.  With more time to play with your dog, this will make a play session much more enjoyable.

The game can also become repetitive.  Once you are familiar with the activities you can engage with your dog, daily tasks of cleaning, petting, feeding, and playing with them can become a chore for some people.

Overall, Touch Pets Dogs is still the best virtual pet game in the App Store with its great graphics and features.  Since it is free to play, everyone, whether they like dogs or not, should at least try this game.  The game is sure to captivate your attention for at least a few hours.  Who knows, it may even motivate you to get a real pet!

Aim, recoil, and jump onto a platform above!  Spring Fling (
iTunes Link) for the iPhone introduces a fun jump-up-the-platform game reminiscent those of the popular Papijump and Doodle Jump.  Contrary to these games, each jump upwards requires the player to recoil the spring before the jump.  Spring Fling also uses a physics based PhysX engine to recreate the action of a spring.  The result is a realistic spring jumping platform game.

In Spring Fling players take control of a two-eyed spring.  The goal for each level is to have your spring character jump to the highest level possible without falling off the iPhone screen.  There are two game modes for Spring Fling. In the static game mode, the camera won’t move, but the player will have a limited number of jumps to reach the pit stop, where the ability to jump gets replenished.  In the scrolling mode, the camera continues to scroll up.  The number of jumps is unlimited, but there is a time limit.  When the spring power reaches zero, it’s game over for you.

In Spring Fling, each jump is critical.  If the player aims or jumps too high or too low, the spring may miss its intended target and fall.  Often, a missed jump results in game over when your spring missed a platform and falls to the bottom of the screen.  This high level of jumping accuracy, along with time limits and jump limits make Spring Fling an extremely challenging game when compared with its peers.

Spring Fling, like other jump-up-the-platform games, has various items such such as rockets, balloons to help players turbocharge their way upwards.  There are also character accessories such as glasses and hats to customize your game character.  There is also an online leader board  players can sign up to compete for the top score.

There are currently 5 levels for Spring Fling, not including the tutorial level.  Two levels are static levels and 3 levels are scrolling levels.  Each level is consisted of randomly generated platforms.  Thus, your game experience varies each time you place.  The visuals for each levels are very well drawn.  They look great!   The sound is also fantastic and match the visuals well.  Together the great sound and graphics make Spring Fling an enjoyable and relaxing game to play.

Is there anything wrong with this game?  This game reminds me of other plaformers  such as Super Mario Brothers and Super Donkey Kong that have levels that scroll upwards.  Perhaps adding enemies, road blocks, and even bosses would make this game even better.

Spring Fling is a great game to add to your app library.  Play it occasionally and see if you can be the top jumper in the world of springs.

Check out the great gameplay footage below!

Review Score: 4.5
Available at the App Store “>(iTunes Link)