Apple Makes It’s Social Move

Social applications and games are the current darling of the tech industry. Whether it’s Foursquare, GoWalla, or Latitude; it seems social applications and games are always in the news. Apple, with its commanding lead in the mobile space, has been noticeably absent from this market. According to an article in Patently Apple today, that is all about to change.

The article details a patent for an application called iGroups. The article provides a great, detailed rundown of the service and if you’re interested in the intricate details of the patent you should definitely check it out. iGroups will differ from other social applications in that instead of relying on a “check in” type mnemonic to track who has or is visiting an area, it will concern itself with creating ad hoc groups. Devices running the application that are within range of each other will exchange tokens per preconfigured options. These tokens provide admittance into an ad hoc group in that geographical area. Devices that have exchanged tokens can then communicate with each other within the group. Judging from the patent information, iGroups seems to focus on the privacy concerns recently raised about services such as Foursquare by giving users control over general properties, such as whether or not they want their device to participate in a group, up to how they want to exchange information with other group members. Privacy of this type is an important differentiator from other current services.

With the explosion of social applications on the iPhone, it makes perfect sense that Apple would want to get in on the space while creating a service that is different from those that exist. Check in services are beginning to make some people uncomfortable and are leading to backlash web sites such as Please Rob Me. Imagine a service that is completely configurable, allows for total opt in and opt out, and doesn’t require a user to broadcast their location across a whole network. Sounds desirable doesn’t it? But more than any of these other reasons, people may be more inclined to use an Apple service for one simple fact: it comes preinstalled. iGroups will own real estate out of the box the people at Foursquare or GoWalla could only dream about. In the end, that might be all it takes to make iGroups a success.

What do you think of Apple’s latest move? Is it just more of the locked down and overbearing attitude of a closed Apple? Is it a smart move by a smart industry player to give their users something they want? Let us know in the comments.

Review

BlackJack Run adds a very interesting twist to the traditional BlackJack game making it fun to play and an entirely new game!

Description

BlackJack Run is not your grandmother’s BlackJack! The object is to get the highest score for each of the five rows, without busting (going over 21 points for a row), all before the time runs out for the round.

At the end of each round, if you have scored at least 95 points, you get bonus points for having time left, making natural BlackJacks, making hands of 21, and for getting all rows equal to 21.

The game is ultra-customizable which allows you to play 15 different levels! Once you start playing, you won’t be able to stop!

BlackJack Run is basically based on the rules of traditional BlackJack game with time limit, levels and additional rules. The gameplay is very simple and easy to understand with the detailed ‘How To Play’ within the app.

You get 30 seconds to get a high score in all five rows without busting even once (achieve a total close or equal to 21 ). The game also offers various Bonus points to be earned if Base Score is 95 points or higher.

Now, this application works and works well with a responsive interface. The game also supports various customization options (Gameplay and Background customization ) for all those who love to personalize their games or apps. The game also gives you an option to view and submit High Scores.

BlackJack Run certainly adds freshness to the traditional BlackJack game, making it fast paced and addictive!

Price $4.99 (Right Now on Limited Time Sale $1.99)

The Good

• It’s challenging
• Fast Paced
• Global High Score

The Not So Good

• Interface could be polished further

Promo Codes

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