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The Pandora Radio app replicates the interface and functionality of Pandora.com for the iPhone/iPod Touch. If you aren’t familiar with Pandora it’s a website that streams music based on songs or bands you like. I have to admit I was a bit skeptical of how well this app would work. I am happy to report that any fears I may have had were completely unfounded and Pandora Radio has become one of my favorite apps. My only question was how well would it work over the 3G or Edge networks. I, unfortunately, don’t have first hand experience using Pandora over 3G or Edge, but I have read numerous accounts stating that Pandora works well over both.
Pandora Radio’s interface makes it easy to create new stations and the “Now Playing” interface is very similar to Apple’s music player design. Buffering seems to be the Achilles heel of other streaming music apps, but Pandora, over wi-fi, has little or no buffering time between songs. Pandora is not immune, however, to the glitches other apps have faced; it has locked my iPod Touch up a few times, mainly when Pandora has been paused for an extended period. I am sure they will correct this in the next version.
I know it’s already been said, but I am going to say it again Pandora Radio is the current killer app for the iPhone/iPod Touch.
Cube Runner combines classic arcade styling and game play with modern controls that make use of the iPhone/iPod Touch’s accelerometers. The object of the game is to pilot your ship, by tilting the device to steer, through a landscape of multi-colored cubes. The controls are responsive, but not overly sensitive. If, or more likely when, you hit one of the cubes your ship explodes into dozens of tiny cubes.
Cube Runner can be played in portrait mode, but a change of the settings and it converts to a more familiar landscape mode. The game play is quick, fun, and challenging. Of course if you don’t find any of the three levels contained in the included Level Pack challenging enough for you, you can create your own or download Level Packs created by others.This was a brilliant move. It makes the game infinitely expandable and possible for a community to form around creating game content.
Considering the price, there’s no reason not to give Cube Runner a try. If you like games, Cube Runner is a must have game for the iPhone/iPod Touch.
Developer: The Iconfactory
Price: Free (Ad Supported)
Download from iTunes
uRevoo Rating: 5 out of 5
Twitterific is an application that lets you read and post to the social network site Twitter. The free version of Twitterific is ad supported, but there is also a premium version available for $9.99. Twitter users will feel right at home using Twitterific. The main screen is a scrollable list of your friends recent “Tweets”, complete with avatars. One of the things that I noticed is that the scrolling action of the list is a bit jerky. I think this is due to Twitterific rendering and re-rendering the avatars as you scroll. While this issue does detract from the aesthetics of the application it has no effect on usability.
When you select the Post action in Twitterific, you are presented with a pop over input screen that covers about 3/4 of the screen you were viewing. From the Post screen you can update your location, attach a photo, or post a “Tweet”. If you select the Locate icon, your profile location will be updated with your current longitude and latitude. The Photo option allows you to select a photo from your Photo Album which is automatically uploaded to Twitpic and the corresponding URL is inserted in to the text area.
I think it’s safe to say that Twitterific is a must have application for die hard Twitter users.
Remote is an application, developed by Apple, that allows you to control the music on iTunes or Apple TV with your iPhone or iPod Touch. At first this seems a bit mundane, but if you add an Airport Express you have the makings of a networked digital music player on par with Sonos, for a fraction of the cost. That makes Remote a very cool application.
Setting up Remote to connect to iTunes is as simple as entering a 4 digit passcode. The interface is similar to the music player interface you are used to seeing on your iPhone/iPod Touch minus Cover Flow. You have access to your entire iTunes library including Playlists. If you have multiple iTunes music libraries, on your home network, you can easily switch between them.
Admittedly Remote is limited to an audience that wants and/or needs to remotely control iTunes, but I think Apple deserves some credit for seeing the bigger picture with this application.
I figured the only way to truly test an application called “Shopping List” was to make a list and go shopping. So that’s what I did.
The application has a Product List from which you can choose items to add to your Shopping List. The Product List comes preloaded with a small group of generic items. A new item can be added by tapping the “Enter” text field which brings up the default keyboard. New item entry can be a bit cumbersome because of this, but after a few uses your Product List should contain your most frequently purchased items.
You check items off your list by touching the circle to the right of the item. A check mark appears and the item is grayed out. However, several times I accidentally touched the screen while putting items in my cart and had to navigate back to the list. It would be nice if the application had a mode where only the check boxes are active.
I enjoyed using Shopping List and I think with some improvements it could be developed in to a great application.
