App Review: Balloons! by Shiny Development

We first covered Balloons! by Shiny Development a few months ago when it was in beta testing. It’s been a while but the developer finally finished up the app and got it into the App Store just recently. Since we had the opportunity to be a beta tester we were also given a copy of the full version for review.

For those of you familiar with Distant Shores then you’ll understand the idea behind Balloons! very quickly, since they are quite similar.  For those unfamiliar, the entire premise is to share your thoughts and musings with some random, unkown person that could be anywhere in the world.  However, unlike Distant Shores, Balloons! allows you to attach a photo to your musings prior to sending them.  Also, where Distant Shores is rather relaxing (as you stroll along the beach you find bottles with messages), Balloons! I didn’t find to be that way.  In fact, all of the graphics and imagery of Balloons! is meant to give it a fun and exciting feel, after all it is fun and exciting to get messages from around the world!

Balloons! wants to use your Location Services so that it can pinpoint your location.  However, this is (to our understanding) really only used to let others know where the message came from.

When you launch Balloons! you are given the option to Launch your own balloon or to catch one.  If you want to launch your own balloon then you would enter who the message is from, add a photo (or take another) and then add a message.  You then select the balloon you want to use from an array of balloon colors and shapes (this is rather pointless, really).  Now you’re ready to launch!

Selecting Catch a balloon allows your to catch one of the many balloons with messages that are already floating around in the system.  We couldn’t catch a balloon with a more recent message than “about a day ago” which meant the real time back and forth that Distant Shores offers is a no go.  However, you could catch a balloon that had been caught and re-released by someone else.  In fact, this is one of the major points to Balloons! is to keep adding messages to the same balloon.  So, when you get one of these balloons with multiple messages you can read through them all and add your own message and relaunch.

The app worked just fine but I have to be honest in that I’m not sure there is a lot of appeal with this one.  The lack of real time interactivity is a major downer and I completely lost interest in the app after only a few minutes (pssst… please allow for real time interaction!). When I checked on the two balloons I had launch they had still not been caught after a full day in the system. Hmmm… where’s the fun in that?

The app does show tremendous promise though.  If the developer makes the app more interactive then there’s no reason that Balloons! wouldn’t see some great success.  We loved the great interface and reading some of the musings was fun.  Let’s just tweak it a bit and we should have a winner.  However, if you really liked Distant Shores and found yourself addicted to that app, then Balloons! is still worth a try as you may just find that it works great for you.

What we liked: Idea is great, graphics are great, app is well implemented.
What we didn’t like: no real time interactive communication, balloons are launched and not caught for a day or longer, balloons that you catch are also old,

App Review: FluxTunes by Quokka Studios Pty Ltd

As cell phone and iPod use in the car becomes more and more prevalent, there is heightened concern over distracted drivers causing accidents.  What can you do, though?  I want to listen to your iPod, but you don’t want to divide your attention between the road and the screen on your iPod.  Quokka Studios has come out with an app called FluxTunes to help with this very problem.  Before I tell you about this app, I must urge you to read the Safety tab in the app.  It serves as a great reminder that safety and paying attention to the road are first and foremost, and that the laws of the road should always be observed.

FluxTunes allows you to quickly and easily control the music on your iPod or iPhone without having to look at the screen or search for buttons.  There are a few simple finger strokes that can be used to control the music.  There following commands are just examples of what you can do.

• A single tap on the screen will pause or play the music
• A swipe of a single finger right or left moves you to the next or previous track.
• Moving one finger up or down on the screen adjusts the volume.

The settings for the app can be adjusted in the Settings App on your device.  It allows you to change things like the time that the app waits before dimming the screen, whether or not to include podcasts in your playlists, or how you would like the music shuffled.

The only problem that I encountered with the app is that the app was not a responsive as I would have liked.  It didn’t always respond to the motion of my finger on the screen.  Overall, FluxTunes is a great idea and can fill a need for iPod and iPhone users.  Whether you are out jogging or driving a car, it is often hard or even dangerous to try to look at your iPod to adjust the music.

Developer’s Website: http://www.quokkastudios.com/

App Review: Golfshot: Golf GPS by Shotzoom Software

Golfshot: Golf GPS by Shotzoom Software is an amazing app for all golfers.  At first I was worried about getting this app since I have an iPod Touch which doesn’t have a GPS.  Now that I have the app and have tested it out, I am pleased to report that it works great on the iPod Touch, and I didn’t really miss any of the added features that the GPS allows you to have.

To start out, Golfshot will show up with all of the golf courses that are nearest to your location.  You get to select which course you will be playing on and which tee box you will tee off from.  For those of you with an iPod Touch, you will need to download the information for the course that you are playing on a Wi-Fi network before you go golfing.  After that, you get to add any other golfers that will be playing in that round with you.

When you get to the golf course, you can pull up an aerial view of the hole you are on.  By holding one finger on the screen, you can move a target on the screen to map out your approach to the hole.  The app will give you the distance from your tee box to the target, as well as the distance from the target to the green.  Those with a GPS enabled iPhone can get distances measured using their GPS location, specify distance to the front, center, or back of the green, and see professionally mapped targets for each hole.  Those without GPS (iPod Touch and iPhone first gen.) can view distances based on predetermined measurements of the course, which can still be very helpful.

After you have finished a hole, you can input the scores for each person.  To enter scores, just tap on each golfer’s name and put in their score. Following that, you can put in which club you used at the tee off, how good of a shot it was, whether or not you hit into a sand bunker, and whether or not you got any penalties.  After all the information is entered, the app will display your score.  You repeat this process for all of the golfers in your group.  By turning your device to landscape mode, you can see the scorecard that looks like the ones that are supplied by most golf courses.

The other major feature of this app is statistics.  After you play a round of golf, you can view your stats from that round. Some of the stats are Driving Accuracy, Greens in Regulation, Recovery Performance, Putting Averages, Scores by Par, and Scoring. These stats are great for helping you see patterns, good or bad, in your golf game.  For me, they helped me to realize that my drives usually veered off to the left.  Now the next time I play I will be able to adjust my swing so that my drives will go straight.

Golfshot is a rather expensive app.  However, if you are looking for an app that has all of the same features as this one, your only alternative is a $300 plus GPS.  This lower price point makes Golfshot well worth the money.  It works seamlessly, and it can really help you to improve your golf game.  If you are an avid golfer, this app is a must have.

Developer’s Website: http://golfshot.com/

A Tour of Parental Controls on iPhone OS 3.0

Apple’s recent release of the iPhone OS 3.0 has brought a lot of new functionality to the iPhone and iPod Touch. We now have the long awaited push notifications, the ability to search our devices (spotlight), as well as copy and paste.  However, it has also brought a whole new level of worry for parents.

This new OS allows a higher degree of parental controls and lock outs, which is good.  However, with the new parental controls in place, Apple decided they could start releasing more explicit apps in the iTunes App Store.  There is a new rating of 17+, which opens the door now for apps containing full nudity and porn to be submitted for sale on iTunes.  In fact, one such app was released Wednesday.  It was later pulled from the App Store, but not because Apple didn’t approve.  Rather, it was pulled because the developer’s servers were at capacity. [Update: Apple did indeed remove the application in question after they realized the developer had remotely changed the content to include nude photos.]  It seems the introduction of these types of apps is imminent.

So, we decided it was high time we got information out there on how parents can keep their kids, and themselves, safe.  Enabling parental controls, called “Restrictions,” on an iPhone or iPod Touch is very easy.

1. Open the Settings app

2. Tap on General

3. Scroll down the page and tap on Restrictions

4. You will then be asked to setup a four number passcode. Remember what you enter here, as you will need to re-enter the passcode to make changes to parental controls in the future.

5. At the top is a button to enable restrictions.  Touch there.  Now there is a section for apps that you can choose to allow or block.  These apps include: Safari (an internet browser), You Tube, iTunes, Installing Apps, and Location.  The bottom section of the screen allows you to block or limit the content that can be viewed on the device.  You can allow or block In-App Purchases, block explicit Music & Podcasts, and choose the acceptable rating for Movies, TV Shows, and Apps.

Any content on the iPod or iPhone that does not meet the restrictions you place on the device should simply disappear once you have set the restrictions.  After you have adjusted the settings, exit the app.  The restrictions will not be accessible again without the passcode you put in place.

One further word of caution.  Placing restrictions on an iPhone or iPod does not guarantee that your child will never run across anything that you don’t want them to see or hear.  I have run across some apps that I found offensive that only had a rating of 4+.  I would never allow my 5 year old to play with them.  They are inappropriate for that age group.  Furthermore, you should not consider the new parental controls as an end-all to keeping your kid’s away from this content. Most know that they could just launch Safari and browse any of the millions of porn sites already on the web. There is no substitute for staying involved in our kids lives and being aware of what things they are viewing and listening to.  That having been said, the parental controls that are there help block most of the content you’d like to keep from your kids and make these devices a little safer for all.

For more information, or to watch a step by step tutorial, check out our video on parental controls coming soon to YouTube.

10 Last Minute iPhone Apps for Father’s Day

With Father’s Day fast approaching, I am sure there are many out there wracking their brains trying to figure out what to get for Dad.  Here are a few ideas sure to please him that you can buy without ever having to leave your house.

A Tour of Push Notifications Using Textfree Unlimited

The day has finally come that push notifications are available for iPhone and iPod Touch with the new firmware 3.0 update.  This capability is one that many iPhone/iPod Touch users have been anticipating for some time now.  It will enhance the usefulness and function of many apps.  One app in particular caught my interest.  So, I took a look at exactly how Textfree Unlimited will work with this new function.

The addition of push notifications to Textfree Unlimited allows you to receive a notification when you receive a text using the app.  When you open up your Textfree app, it will ask you if you want to allow push notifications (the most recent update is required).  If you tap “OK,” they should be enabled. Now, when someone texts you to your textfree.us account you will receive a notification.  This is regardless if the app is running or not or if your device is locked or not.  It works much like getting a text message on an iPhone.

The notifications come in three different ways, the alerts or pop-up windows, sounds, and badges seen as a number in the upper corner of the app icon on your screen.  In the Settings app on your device you can choose to turn any one of these on or off at any time.

I tested this app sending and receiving texts first with my iPod Touch on when the app was closed.  Next, I tried locking my iPod.  The push notifications still came through (very cool). [Update: Push notifications on an iPod Touch will only work when the iPod is locked if it is connected to a power source (either your PC or charger), it will not work otherwise.  Thanks to Brick for the comment.] With the new addition of push notifications, the need to pay for the ability to text is near zero.  The only limit now is the range of your Wi-Fi network.

Testing push notifications on an iPhone was near identical to the iPod Touch tests but with two exceptions: no need to be connected via WiFi (obviously) AND push notifications work whether the iPhone is locked or not.

If you’re looking for an alternative to text messaging that AT&T’s plans, or you have an iPod Touch, the introduction of push notifications makes Textfree a whoooole lot better.

Textfree Unlimited is $5.99 in the iTunes App Store.

Textfree Unlimited is not the only app to take advantage of this new capability, though.  Other apps that make use of push notifications include AreMySitesUp (Free), Tap Tap Revenge (Free), Star Defense ($5.99), Pollen (Push) (Free), Weather Alert ($0.99), AP Mobile (Free), Leaf Trombone ($0.99), E*Trade Mobile Pro (Free), and Hey Where Are You (Free).  Many more apps are coming that will support this functionality, keep checking back for more updates.

For more OS 3.0 information check out: iPhone OS 3.0 is here. Where to Start and Changes to check out

App Review: Zillow Real Estate by Zillow.com

One of my favorite real estate websites, Zillow, has released their first iPhone app to the iTunes App Store.  The app brings the companies trademark real estate map search and Zestimate to the palm of your hand.  One thing that I love about the Zillow.com website is the ability to see homes for sale in a neighborhood laid out on a map.  I also really like the Zestimate.  While probably not 100% accurate, it’s a great way to gauge the value of the homes in a neighborhood.  I took the app for a spin today and was quite pleased with the functionality that the app provided.

The Zillow.com iPhone app brings the best pieces of their website to an easy to use application.  When you first launch the application, it tries to determine your current location.  Once it has a location determined, the app then displays your neighborhood on the map, along with all homes for sale and all current home Zestimates.  You can move the map around just like the Map application and it is constantly updated with homes for sale and home values.  Drilling down and touching one of the homes will reveal more details of that home such as square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.

This is the first time that I’ve seen an iPhone app implement any sort of mapping application without using the Google Maps.  Zillow Real Estate app uses Microsoft’s mapping APIs which appear to work very well.  A great mobile implementation of maps.

If you like to shop for homes using Zillow.com then the Zillow Real Estate application is a must have.  Driving around and being able to look-up homes around you is a great way to find your next home.  Since Zillow is free, there is no reason not to give this app a try.

Zillow Real Estate is Free in the iTunes App Store.

Developer Website: www.Zillow.com