LITTLE ROCK — I’ve had several people asking me for app (short for application) recommendations for the iPhone. I’ve tried out a variety of apps, and I thought I’d just toss out a few of the bigger-name ones, a few of the popular ones and a few of my personal favorites. All of these are available through Apple’s App Store via iTunes or the iPhone.
Let’s start with the one I use the most: The Weather Channel app. There is a free version and a paid version, which costs $2.99 and gives more detailed weather forecasts, among other features.I get along fine with the free version. The forecasts are updated frequently, and the motion radar is great to have.
Going out for dinner? I have a couple of handy ones for you. Urbanspoon, which is free, lets you search by city or by your current location. You can lock down price range, location or cuisine, shake the iPhone and the slot-machinelike dials will spin until it pops up a recommendation. You also can browse for recommendations.
Once the meal is done, how much should you tip? CheckPlease can help with that. The free version has ads displayed. The paid version, for 99 cents, ditches the ads. Either version provides a tip calculator that quickly figures out the tip by percentage and lets you round up your tip or bill. It’s extremely handy in a restaurant.
I’ve had people ask me about a list-maker. My favorite is ShopShop. I’ve used this for shopping lists, Christmas lists, to-do lists, packing lists, you name it. A touch will draw a line through an item, a shake of the phone clears the marked-off items. It’s easy and incredibly useful. The best part about it - it’s free.
There’s another topic I’ve had people ask about: navigation. I had the opportunity to check out two of the bigger names in navigation apps - AT&T Navigator and Tom-Tom for iPhone.
AT&T Navigator offers a near-ground-level view of your route, and the pleasant female voice guides you where you need to go. Searches were fairly easy, and the app offers places to visit along the way. The only problem with the app is that it really needs a 3G signal and works much better on the 3GS iPhone, rather than the older or base model 3G iPhone. I used this app on a few routes around Northwest Arkansas. As soon as it hit the coverage area for the slower Edge network, the app all but shut down. So unless you have 3G coverage nearly the entire route, this isn’t the app for you. The Navigator app itself is free, but AT&T charges $10 per month or $70 per year for the service.
TomTom did much better, even in the slow Edge network, though it still had some issues. However, it seemed to recover more effectively when I left the designated route for whatever reason. It quickly offered up alternatives to get me where I was going. I also liked that I could designate areas I wanted to avoid. It even checked traffic and construction for me. Plus, it offers several voices in a variety of languages and accents (I liked the Australian male voice, myself). My only issue with TomTom is that the destination always seemed to be about a block off. The TomTom app currently is on sale, $49.99 for the U.S.-only maps or $69.99 for the United States and Canada. Maps are available for other countries for various prices.
Frankly, they just need to add voice to the iPhone-included Google Maps, and I think they’ll have a winner.
Enough of the serious stuff, time to have some fun. Let’s start with my personal favorite, Tap Tap Revenge from Tapulous. The latest release is Tap Tap Revenge 3, which is free. They also have special editions for artists such as Lady Gaga, Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay and Metallica that cost $4.99 each. Tap Tap Revenge and version 2.6 are still available for 99 cents each.
The Tap Tap series is much like the Guitar Hero franchise for console systems. Balls come down a track, and you have to tap them as they hit the circles at the end. They come in time to music, which can be downloaded for free or purchased as individual tunes or in packages. Tap Tap Revenge 3’s music includes different backgrounds and themes with each song.
These games are great fun, have great music and offer levels from Easy to Extreme.
They’re great for the whole family. You even can play against someone else in person or via an online connection. I highly recommend this series of games.
Those into the old-fashioned arcade games will enjoy apps from Skyworks. Their Arcade series includes Arcade Bowling (better known as Skeeball), Ping Pong, Hoops, Air Hockey, Horseshoes and Field Goal Frenzy. They have free “Lite” versions that include banner ads and limited play, or paid versions ranging from 99 cents to $1.99. The full versions offer online play, but if you aren’t into that, the free versions work just fine. Some, like the Batter Up Baseball game, are a bit more challenging than they should be, but most of the games are fast and enjoyable and bring back memories of those great old arcade games.
Finally, I mentioned a few games last week from Pop Cap Games. Well, they’ve brought one of those addicting jewels to the iPhone - Chuzzle ($4.99). Reminiscent of Star Trek Tribbles, line up these fuzzy balls and they squeak and explode.
The music is catchy but can get tiring after a while, but you can turn it off. Chuzzle is a blast (literally) to play and is great for anyone in the family.
So there you have it, a few apps to help you out and help you have fun. Enjoy, and Happy New Year!
Melissa L. Jones can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
Business, Pages 19 on 12/28/2009