Everybody loves lists right, to a greater or lesser extent, the same can be said for movies. So how about an app that combines both! ToDo Movies for iPhone does just that in a single app the enables you to keep a simple list of all the movies that you want to watch.
Because this app has a single purpose the interface is very easy to use with a simple search feature to find you movies and then two lists, To Watch and Watched.
The search results are comprehensive and I’ve yet to be beaten in finding movies, even some obscure movies from my youth are listed thanks to the apps integration with the themoviedb.org which even provides a snapshot of information about each movie.
Once you’ve added a movie to your To Watch list you can share it via Facebook, Twitter, SMS or email and, once you’ve watched the movie move it to your watched list. You can even choose to show badges for the movies on your To Watch list so you have a constant reminder of how many movies you have still to watch.
The simplicity of the app makes it very easy to use and movies can be added and moved between lists with a couple of clicks. While the lists can be sorted based on release date, alphabetically and the order in which they were added it would be nice to be able to edit the order manually so that you could prioritize the order in which you want to watch them.
For movies that are yet to be released at the movie theatre yet you can also choose to be notified via push notification when it does happen.
There are apps out there that offer more functionality than ToDo Movies but if you want to keep things simple then you could download this app by spending 99 cents.
[rating: 3/5]What we like
What to know
Apple’s iOS 6 features a redesigned App Store and developers who have access to the latest beta have noticed quite a few changes. The App Store in iOS 6 most recently revealed a massive update to the official Twitter iPhone application, prior to its release. The update was released exactly as detailed in the leak, several hours after the issue with the App Store was spotted.
The release notes in the leak and in the final release of 4.3, show a number of new features that add depth to the current application, lacking in interactivity and organization. The app brings interactive features, improved notifications, and improved search.
- More interactive Tweet view experience: content previews, videos, images and more will now be shown within tweets containing links to “partner websites.”
- Tweets about “selected events” will now be highlighted. Twitter will curate the relevant tweets and images
- In the Connect tab, autocomplete improvements will be now be present. Twitter rolled out something similar to their official website last week.
- Major push notifications enhancement: You will now be able to choose to receive push notifications when certain people tweet
- Like in Tweetbot, you will now be able to receive unobtrusive Twitter notifications while you are using the app.
- The Discover tab will now be able to alert users when new content is ready for perusal
- Personalized Trends
- You will now be able to tap a user’s avatar to be taken to their profile page
- Improved performance
- You will now be able to manually input your password when having authentication issues
- Hungarian localization
- Finally: the new Twitter logo will be featured on the icon (our image below is from iOS 6 Twitter integration)
- Also promised is a slew of other tweaks, more polish, and bug fixes
The update, released earlier in the week does not appear to be different from the leaked version shown. The App Store bug, which led to the leak of the Twitter update will most likely be patched up in Apple’s next beta release of iOS 6. iOS 6 is slated for release later this year, in the same October timeframe of the next generation iPhone and the rumored iPad Mini.
{via 9to5Mac}
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I’ve been a fan of Google Docs since it was launched and have used it extensively in both my personal and professional life. However, from a mobile perspective it’s always been a little lacking and that’s certainly the case on both the iPhone and iPad.
The latest update from GoDocs appears to have resolved this issue in a few keys areas, it’s not perfect but it provides a valid way to manage your Google Docs on the go.
The interface is clear and concise, once you’ve added your Google account your docs will be displayed in the left hand panel and you can click any of them to download locally and another to open and view it. The files are color coded to so that you can tell at a glance if the file is local, online or is currently downloading.
All Google Doc file types are supported and are easy to read when displayed on the right side of the screen. You can also collapse the left hand panel to take the document into full screen mode. It even has a built in multimedia player for any audio or video files that you have stored in your Google Docs or Google Drive if you’ve converted over, something that not all mobile apps can claim at present.
The weakest part of the GoDocs experience is the editing, which you could argue is a pretty significant part of the application. The applications uses the standard Google mobile and Desktop interfaces for editing which while functional aren’t the easiest to use but for basic editing the interface does suffice.
Where GoDocs does excel though, at least for me, is in the sharing, push notifications and multiple accounts handling.
I frequently find myself having to share files when I’m not at my desk and sharing them with GoDocs is very easy, as is revoking or editing sharing rights. With any file open you can simply click the ‘information’ icon to access the sharing screen and anyone that you share the doc with will be emailed as you would expect.
The ‘information’ page will also provide you with access to opening the file in another application, downloading the file, moving it, emailing, printing, viewing revisions and more all and the touch of the screen. You can also mass edit files to move, download, mail and delete them.
Push Notifications will alert you to changes to files that you share which can be a nice alternative to a bucket load of emails, however, it didn’t always work 100% of the time so may not be something you can rely on if it’s important to you.
You can’t view docs from multiple accounts at the same time but switching between them is really easy, once you’ve enabled them you can switch accounts at the touch of a button which is both quick and easy.
If you are a heavy Google Docs user and need to access them on the go then GoDocs is a great app for you, editing is basic but it works and sharing and notifications sets this apart from other similar apps in the App Store. It’s not the cheapest app in the App Store but still at $4.99 it’s not going to break the bank.
[rating: 4/5]What we like
What to know
One of the most requested features of Tweetbot for iPhone users appears to have been an iPad version of their favorite Twitter app, while the request appeared to be falling on deaf ears we were all taken by surprise recently when not only did the iPhone Tweetbot app get an update but the also released Tweetbot for iPad. Does the big screen version dominate like the iPhone version does?
The first thing you’ll notice about Tweetbot for iPad is it’s nice clean look. Everything you need is available on one screen whether you have the screen vertically or horizontally, with your timeline taking up the majority of the view while the menu down the left side of the screen gives you access to various views.
All of the great features that you may already know and love from Tweetbot for iPhone are also available in the iPad version. You’ll get picture thumbnails in tweets, the ability to mute people, hashtags & clients, Tweetmarker support and push notifications which considering you get all of this for just $2.99 probably makes it the best 3 dollars you’ll ever spend.
Tweetbot for iPad {App Store} also offers multiple gestures, swiping a Tweet to the left right and right gives you access to related tweets and replies while a double tap will take you directly to the detailed view of the Tweet in question. There is also a triple tap gesture and this can me configured to your requirements. The triple tap will take to a reply screen by default but you can change it to Rwetweet, Favorite, Translate or a Favstar view depending on your preference.
Heading into the settings of Tweetbot for iPad opens up a whole bunch of configurable features, from controlling the sound and services such as syncing, image uploading, read later and url shorting to granular notification controls and a great sleep option that will silence Tweetbot for iPad between given hours. Perfect for muting Tweetbot alerts at night when you don’t want to be disturbed.
One of the new features in both Tweetbot versions if the refresh feature. This will refresh your timelime every 5 minutes without manual intervention. This makes it the ideal app for iPad to have sitting on your desktop allowing you to work will your timeline updates all on it’s own.
Tweetbot for iPad certainly continues where the iPhone version left off, it’s feature rich and instantly usable, putting it head and shoulders above the competition. Some users may complain that it’s not a universal app given the the differences are only cosmetic, however, given that they are both only $2.99 I do think that $6 for the best Twtitter clients on both the iPhone and iPad is still an absolute steal.
If you haven’t already gone and purchased Tweetbot for iPad do so now!
What we like:
What to know:
IM+ Pro the all in one universal messaging app for your iPhone and iPad has had a 90% price drop and can now be picked up for just 99 cents!
The app allows you to sign in to all your favorite chat clients including Google Chat, Yahoo, Aim, Twitter and Facebook to name but a few and what’s even better is that if you have multiple gmail accounts, such as a personal and a professional one you can sign into them both and communicate with your friends and colleagues on both of them at the same time.
As well as sending text messages you can also send pictures and videos over many of the protocols and have group chats too. With push notifications for Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo and AOL too you should never miss an important message ever again.
What’s also great about IM+ Pro is that it’s still being actively updated to included new features such as the recently added Angry Birds theme and Neighbors interrogation.
IM+ Pro is my personal favorite messaging client and at just 99 cents it’s an absolute steal.
Last week, iPhoneinCanada reported that they had reason to believe that mobile developer Peter Hajas has started working for Apple. Hajas is getting attention from media all over the web, because it is believed that he is now working for Apple on iOS 5 notification system. He developed a popular jailbreak notification add-on for iOS available in cydia App Store called MobileNotifier.
Peter Hajas did not formally reveal that he would be working for Apple but did say on his blog that he would be leaving MobileNotifier for a short period of time. RedmondPie also revealed that Hajas posted a tweet on Twitter, where he allegedly said that he was going to work in California for a “fruit” company. Apple is expected to revamp of the notification system in iOS 5 as well as other changes in the next gen software update.
With the release of iOS 3 and 4, Apple continued to improve the stability and features within their mobile software, but failed to create a notification system that truly delivered. A report from this past February indicated that Apple had hired an unnamed developer to revamp the notification system in iOS 5.
According to a screenshot of Apple’s internal employee directory app Peter Hajas is working with Apple, which means that the notifications in iOS 5 could be drastically changed, possibly retaining the same look and style as Hajas’ original design with a few minor tweaks.
]]> https://touchreviews.net/apple-hires-mobilenotifier-developer-ios-5-notification-system/feed/ 0NewsAlert is what I would call a “Programmable Universal RSS Feed”. It uses keywords which you define to aggregate news stories of interest to you from around the web. The interface is simple but clean, and consequently relatively quick and easy to set up for your own purposes.
When NewsAlert first launches it takes a few seconds to initialise, and on first run presents you with a blank area topped by a title bar and tailed with a big settings button. A plus in the top right corner on the title bar allows you to add a “New Keyword”. Keywords are your reference for news stories you are interested in.
When you are adding a keyword you are presented with a text area which you can type directly into and buttons to optionally source keywords from your contacts, artists (whose music you have on your device) or from your location information. Once you have added a keyword from your chosen source it is given it’s own bar on the front page of the app. When news stories related to that are sourced by the app this is indicated on the right of each bar as a recognisable iPhone update indicator with a number for the amount of articles sourced within it.
NewsAlert uses Push Notifications so you can forget about it, let it get on with it’s job, and it will alert you when it has updates. You can also set limits on the times it can alert you, which is a nice feature. Some of us do like to sleep occasionally without being beeped at!
Touching a keyword bar will take you into a list of news articles related to that keyword which when themselves tapped take you directly to the news sources web page. Articles are kept in chronological order until you delete them. Ones you have not read are marked clearly as unread. You can delete and “mark as read” multiple stories at one which is convenient. Sources are varied and reputable including such sites as “The Guardian” and so on.
When reading a news story you have the option from a send icon on the title bar to Tweet it, email it, blacklist the source, mark it as read etc. You can also read news articles in landscape or portrait. However, when you return to the main screen the app forces you back into portrait mode again.
It’s really as simple as that.
In the settings area of the app (accessed using that settings button I mentioned on the app’s main view) there are various options where you can enable landscape viewing of articles, enable shake to clear, alter your notification settings and blacklist any sources you find you don’t like.
One “feature” I didn’t really like is that if you want to have more keywords than the 10 the app is initially limited to there is also an option to buy more keywords from within the app. I am not sure I’d necessarily use more than 10 keywords from my iPod or iPhone but I’d like to think that if I am buying an app it’s fully featured and not feature limited.
At $0.99, even with the 10 keyword limit, the app is good value and does what it says neatly and efficiently. It is on sale now at this reduced price “for a limited time”. At it’s normal price of $2.99 I would expect the 10 keyword limit to be removed.
One other small niggle is that keywords of less than 3 letters are not allowed. This may sound silly, and there are obviously reasons why a limit like this is imposed (network traffic). But I am a Formula 1 fan and it’s commonly referred to as “F1″ in news sources. It was one of the first keywords I tried! Luckily “Formula 1″ works just fine too. But it would be nice to be able to use some 2 letter acronyms in common usage as keywords.
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Stephen Northcott
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store Preview)
Updated Mar 01, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.3
Size: 0.3 MB
Languages: English
Seller: Dan Hassin
© 2010 Dan Hassin
Rated 4+
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.1 or later.
Keep an electronic eye on your bills with this handy app
Picking up on this application up again from my review in March, it’s great to see plenty of improvement, particularly the interface which as a whole looks far more sophisticated, complete with 6 different colour variations to help add a touch of personalization although I find gray most fitting to my iPhone.
The most apparent change over the previous version is a month to view option which lets you quickly add bills with the due date that you have tapped, it also lets you see how heavy your month has been on your finances with green squares showing paid and red unpaid bills. The ever present All/Paid/Unpaid filters helping with this letting you flick between these states and changing the also ever present month. This has also seen improvement as you can now tap this to bring up a list of Accounts handled by the app (previously known as collectors, a very sensible name change I must say) so you can easily filter down from all bills down to individual accounts.
The accounts tab has been improved with additional categories that cascade on a tap to reveal accounts inside them letting you handle larger amounts of accounts without feeling bogged down in information overload.
New in settings is push notification, which requires a small annual fee and option of what time to receive that notification although I would like to think this time is relative to your device rather than the push server where ever it may be. Also new here is on tap to pay which lets you mark a bill as paid by tapping the most left icon in the list view changing it from a simplified calendar icon into a green tick mark and an option to turn on PocketMoney Integration. Sadly I can’t comment on how this works as I don’t own the other application but will update if it ever comes up for review in the future.
Perhaps the biggest improvement to this application is getting data in and out of the application, with two new tabs, one for backup/restore and the other for exporting. Backing up your database now couldn’t be simpler with a simple flick of a switch enables a mini webserver in the app, which lets you use your computer and web browser to back up or restore your database as long as it’s on the same wireless network as your iPod Touch. You could also email the backup directly from the app to an email address of your choosing should you get caught away from your computer. The export function lets you specify a start and end month then lets you email it as a .csv file however there’s no option for to specify which account you want it to export from, dashing your idea of sending your business expenses directly to your boss for example.
Price: $1.99 (free lite version available)
as of ver 2.1 27/09/09
The Good
The Not so Good
Reviewed by: TylerDurdan
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]]> https://touchreviews.net/billminder-push-version-21/feed/ 0BeejiveIM is a powerful Push enabled Instant Messaging client with great features and superior user interface!
Beejive’s reliable and efficient networking has been tested and proven on multiple platforms. Now it is available for the iPhone. Move from 3G, Edge, and wifi connections seamlessly. Stay connected after you close the application and be notified when you get a new message through push notifications. After being out of coverage BeejiveIM automatically reconnects and picks up where you left off.
Instant Messaging (IM) apps for iPhone/iPod touch have made it possible to be truly mobile and never lose out on a conversation just because you were not close to your Mac or PC. There are plenty of IM apps available on the app store and sometimes it gets difficult to choose which one meets your need. BeejiveIM 3.0 for iPhone is one of the most stable and feature rich IM applications with very intuitive User Interface.
The app allows you to set up AIM®/MobileMe®, MSN®/Windows Live®, Yahoo!®, GoogleTalk®, Facebook, MySpace, ICQ® and Jabber accounts. Setting up multiple accounts on BeejiveIM 3.0 is very easy, tap the Accounts tab and select the accounts you would like to configure and then enter your Screen-name, Password and description. Once your accounts are set up you can choose your status (Online, Away, Busy or Custom) for individual accounts or for all accounts at once.
Buddy List can be customized to show buddies by account or by group, you can also select hide offline contacts to keep your list uncluttered. Favorites is a great way to catch up with people who you chat with very frequently, avoiding the need to scroll through a long list of buddies. Tapping a buddy on the list brings up the chat window and there your conversation appears in native iChat bubble style. To bring up the text input screen you need to tap on the conversation screen which brings up the keyboard and you can also insert smilies or emoji. BeejiveIM makes it possible for you to be able to send pictures from your iPhone/iPod touch, record voice messages and send them as attachments, email the entire chat in .txt format, scroll through other active chats by flicking or end the conversation by accessing the in-chat menu options.
Push works flawlessly on BeejiveIM 3.0 sending you updates on conversation while the app is closed in almost real time. When you tap on the push notification the app restores the conversation from where it last ended, which is great to recall what you were chatting about. There are tons of options to customize the look and features of the app from the native Settings app on your iPhone. Customization options include transitions, Auto Capitalization, shake options, sounds, tweaking UI, wallpaper and many more.
BeejiveIM 3.0 is a beautiful and power packed Instant Messaging app.
Touch Reviews Highly Recommends BeejiveIM 3.0
Price $9.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Snood for iPhone [rating: 5/5]
Snood has been around since 1996 in various forms for many different platforms and has been an underground hit for puzzle fans everywhere while the more mainstream console version of the game, Puzzle Bobble and Bust a Move have also seen success on the major consoles. However, Snood is now available on the iPhone/iPod Touch so how does it handle the jump to the iconic handheld device?
Snood is a classic puzzle game, the game starts with a screen full of Snoods and the aim is to clear the screen by shooting more Snoods one at a time from the bottom of the screen to create chains of three or more of the same Snood. This sounds easy, and it can be if you choose an easy level, raise the difficulty up a couple of notches though or complete a couple of levels and you’ll need a sharp eye, quick reflexes and an accurate aim.
One of the most popular casual games of all time is now available for your iPhone™ and iPod touch®!
There are many different ways to play Snood and there are both single and multi player options. Looking at the single player options there is the Single Player mode which in real terms is just a series of cut scenes being interrupted by a few minutes of Snoodling. It’s fun for what it is but the storyline where you have to help the real Snoods defeat their nemesis the Numbskull Legion just seems to get in the way. Other single player modes include Classic, Time Attack and my favorite Puzzle Mode. In puzzle mode the Snoods are cleverly positioned over the playing area in such a way that any Snood that you shoot incorrectly could mess-up the whole level. Puzzle Mode really challenges your brain and your reflexes.
While this, along with the ability to unlock achievements, the cutesy upgraded graphics, (along with the original Snood graphics for the old school players, the ability to play your own tunes and the fast and furious game-play would be more than enough for most EA have really taken this game up a notch by adding Facebook integration too.
And this is not just a simple post your high-scores to Facebook integration but also allows you to challenge your Facebook friends to beat your score or actually play a live game of Snood directly against you. There’s also no need to worry whether or not your Facebook friends are online or not as with iPhone OS 3.0 notifications enabled Snood will notify fellow players that you have challenged them a game so that they can fire it up and face your challenge.
While the two player game is the same as the single player game it adds a whole new level of fun and intensity to the game as a picture in picture screenshot of your opponents screen is displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the screen allowing you to see the havoc you are causing on their screen as your clear your screen of Snoods.
When first playing this game I didn’t think I would enjoy it, partly because I thought my colorblindness would limit my ability to succeed in the game but also I thought the game was a one trick pony. How wrong I was, for while the game may be simple there is so much content bundled into the app you’ll find yourself repeatedly coming back for more.
It’s so good everyone should have a Snood in their pocket.
Touch Reviews Highly Recommends Snood for iPhone!
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
Snood for iPhone Screenshots
You can also view the official Snood for iPhone trailer here.
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When Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone in Macworld 2007 it was primarily promoted as a widescreen iPod with touch controls, revolutionary mobile phone and breakthrough internet communications device. Over the past two years a lot has changed and it would not be wrong to say that Apple has not only reinvented the Phone but has also changed the entire mobile gaming industry.
The introduction of App Store has caused a revolution in the way software for phones should be made available and developed. iPhone/iPod touch apps and games have been successful due to iPhone’s revolutionary UI, interplay of hardware-software and the growing creative development community.
iPhone OS 3.0 will be released on June 17 which brings a lot of feature enhancements and speed bumps, but it will also push iPhone gaming to the next level with Push Notification, In app Purchase and Peer to Peer Connectivity.
Push notification
There are a number of ways to send a push notification. Send a message with text that lets the user launch your app. Trigger audible alerts with your own custom sounds. Add a numbered badge to your app icon when it’s important to let the user know how many things are waiting for them.
iPhone OS 3.0 will enable developers to add a new feature to their apps/games with which they will be able to engage and unite users all over the world with a simple sound or text alert. Push Notification will bring new meaning to online games enabling users to connect instantly anywhere and anytime. Today Tap Tap Revenge 2 was updated with push notification service which allows you to challenge your friends to beat your high score. It will be interesting to see how iPhone game developers further make use of this service to enhance mobile gaming. ngmoco:) has already demonstrated how LiveFire (multiplayer first-person shooter) will utilize push notification service allowing you to ask your friends to help you out in game missions which will certainly add great replay value and unique gaming experience.
In App Purchase
In app purchase gives you the flexibility to support a variety of business models. You can offer your customers additional services and content within your paid app.
In App Purchase will add the ability to offer more game levels, features and facilitate continued development for a single game title. This will keep users glued to their favorite game with more and more replay value. Thus, eliminating one of the reasons some games don’t score too well in reviews.
Peer to Peer Connectivity
Some games are just not the same when you’re playing against the computer—word games, chess and other strategy games are so much better when you’re playing against another person. You can now create games that are easy to set up and play between two devices, whether it’s an iPhone or an iPod touch
With more than 40 million iPhone OS devices sold and the number continually growing it is quite possible for your friends or the person sitting next to you having an iPhone/iPod touch. Peer to Peer Connectivity will add the ability to truly enjoy word or strategy games by connecting with other players without a Wi-fi or cellular connection. This feature will allow sharing game state over a standard IP-based communication channel through Bluetooth with automatic discovery handled by Bonjour.
Some games utilizing these features to watch out for: Sims 3, LiveFire, Touch Pets Dogs and Star Defense.
What do you think about the future of iPhone gaming? Leave us a comment.