Look, I'm a patient guy. When you tell me that something I like is coming out I will patiently wait without turning into some forum troll crying about release dates. But some of these iPhone apps need to come out soon or I'm going to burn a kindergaden to the ground.
Netfilx and Gamecenter for iPhone were announced alongside the iPhone 4 months ago. Where the hell are they? Almost half of the features I was excited about for iPhone 4 are still not on my device! Can we get those sometime soon? JUST GIVE ME THE RELEASE DATE!... Also: Hulu. Give me my Hulu Plus Pass already, you butt horns.
Next up: Games. One of the awesome new improvements of iOS 4 is that you can use the iTunes music library on your phone in games and apps. The very next day that this feature was discovered Elite Beat Agents and Audiosurf should have been announced. People, LISTEN. These games need to come to iPhone. They are perfect for the device. The fact that they're not available, or even announced yet.... again, the kindergarten.
I come to you today with two suggestions. First, make it a point to regularly check the website Appshopper.com. They are constantly announcing apps for the iPhone and iPad that are on sale, and if you are looking to get some goods on the cheap, that's your spot. There is always something that has been temporarily made $.99, or better yet - free. Put that in your faves and click it.
My next suggestion is to download that app "Appzilla." If you can get past the stupid name, you'll find one mega-app that contains all those little ones that you wanted to try, but didn't want to spend money on, like Battery Life, Dice Roll, Coin Flip, Fake Call and Text (my current faves), and a ton more. It's not free, but at only a buck and a continually upgrading library, your ROI will only improve. Definitely check it out.
A lot of people didn't think it would happen (including myself), but Apple has approved the Opera Mini browser for the iPhone. I can't wait to try it out; as much as I like the iPhone's native Safari browser, I can't help but feel that it could be improved upon. The Opera Mini app, once live, will be available for free.
I just finished following Engadget's iPhone OS 4.0 Event Liveblog, and here are the most significant features they announced:
1. Multitasking - basically, you double-click on the homescreen to bring up all the apps that are open at once. Since apps can run in the background, this means you can get Skype calls even when the app isn't open, or listen to Pandora while doing something else. This is pretty cool.
2. Folders - this will allow you to put multiple apps into one folder, and it will name it for you based on the apps you add into the folder (or you can name it yourself). This now allows you to put over 2,000 apps on your iPhone at once. I used this on my old unlocked iPhone a little bit, but to be honest, I would forget what apps I had in folders and ended up neglecting them. We'll see how this works out.
3. Enhanced Mail - unified inbox (good for me, since I have four accounts that I regularly check), organize email by thread. Sounds good to me.
4. Game center - Apple's own social gaming network. Basically, Xbox Live for the iPhone. This is huge, because it basically will lay waste to current networks like OpenFeint and the Plus+ network. It's going to have a friends list, matchmaking, leaderboards, and achievements.
5. They mentioned a couple other items offhand, like bluetooth keyboard support (YES!), spell checker, customizable homescreen wallpaper, 5x digital zoom, manual focus for videos, and the ability to create playlists.
The new OS will be out this Summer on 3GS. The 3G will have most of the features, but not all of them (they specifically said multitasking will not be on the 3G). It also is coming to the iPad this Fall, which is good news considering how much processing power the iPad has. Overall, most of what I was hoping for is coming to the iPhone soon, and I'm excited.
Apple is having a press event tomorrow morning, during which they are going to announce the new features for iPhone's 4.0 firmware. There is plenty of speculation afoot in these final hours, and rather than rewrite them all (you have fingers, you can find them yourself) or speculate on what features I think are going to be announced, I'm going to list the features that I personally would like to see.
1. Multitasking. Everyone seems to be banking on this idea, and I'll jump on it. I like it how if I double-click my home button, it opens up a menu that lets me play the last song I was listening to. If they can integrate a more robust way of doing this, or allow me to switch between apps without having to go back to the homescreen, I'd be happy.
2. Bluetooth keyboard support. I could be writing this post on my iPhone right now. If I had a keyboard to use with my iPhone, I would definitely be on my computer less.
3. Wireless LAN support. Let my iPhone connect to my home iTunes network, and stream music from my iMac to my iPhone. I know that there are apps out that that let you do this (Simpify Media, etc) but I think Apple would do a better job with it. Also, let me sync my iPhone without having to actually plug it in.
4. The ability to remove the "Stocks" and "Compass" apps from my iPhone.
It's 1 AM and I can't stop playing this game. It's like Mirror's Edge meets Forza Motorsport. Jet Car Stunts is so painfuly simple, addictively fast-paced and easy to play that I want to go wake up my roomates to get them into it. Plus it has Open Feint integration so I can whup on everyone, achievement-wise.
If you've ever seen Track Mania then you can clearly imagine this game. You drive a Jet/Formula 1 vehicle miles above the earth on floating tracks. Don't worry! It looks harder to control than it is. And so what about the child-friendly button layout!
Look. It's awesome, okay. Just go try it out and come back and let me know if it wasn't the most fun you've had on your iPhone in about a year.
Hey dude. Remember that game called PuzzleQuest: Challenge of the Warlords? You know, that one that seamlessly mixed RPG elements with Bejeweled-style gameplay, and it was frighteningly addictive? Well, I've found a ridiculously fun substitute, and I call it Sword & Poker. The developers call it that, too.
The game is a unique take on poker that also features RPG elements. You are given a tile of nine cards (in a 3x3 pattern), with four cards in your hand. You then can use two of those cards on either side of the 3x3 pattern to create pairs, straights, flushes, etc. It sounds a little confusing written down, but after about 30 seconds with the game you'll figure it out. Your opponent shares turns with you, and the higher hand you have, the higher damage you give to the enemy. You can also buy better weapons which allow you to cause more damage, as well as use spells which can do things like make your opponent skip a turn.
Truth be told, I haven't paid for an iPhone game in many months, but after a few minutes with the lite version of this game I bought the full version for $4 without hesitation. The lite version is really robust, so I would try it out first before buying it to make sure it's what you're looking for. Regardless, this game is the new awesome. Check it out.
I've never seen the appeal of browser games like Farmville. When it comes down to it, I can think of 100 things I'd rather do that play a farming game on my PC. But surprisingly, I find myself playing ngmoco's We Rule a lot. Mostly because it's on the iPhone and it lets me jump in and out of it quickly while on the go. Basically, you build a kingdom and plant crops, which you then harvest and turn a profit, allowing you to buy more crops. You can also use your money to buy things to decorate your kingdom, and the game lets you rearrange them as you see fit, as your kingdom grows.
My favorite aspect of the game is that each of the crops have different growth times; if you know you're going to be in a movie for two hours, you can plant strawberries, which will be ready in an hour and a half. Take too long to harvest, though, and your crops will spoil and you'll have to start all over again.
As fun as the game is, I'm already starting to see the seams in it. For instance, building things like houses and schools have no real benefit, because they give back minuscule amounts of gold and XP. There are some objects, like trees and roads, which only serve to make your kingdom more appealing. But in the end, you can't really "beat" the game anyway, so it shouldn't matter where your money goes.
The game is free, although you can purchase "mojo" with real money, which speeds up the growth time of your crops. Honestly, I like the speed of the game without microtransactions. There's no real point to the game, so I'm okay with taking my time with it. After all, Rome wasn't built in a day, right?
Obama's first State of the Union address, tens of thousands of people dead and dying after the Haiti earthquake, a new Bin Laden tape, Gilbert Arenas gets suspended for the season, the Octmom's new beach-bod, Brad and Angelina. ANY(!) of those thing are more newsworthy than that stale "iPad sounds like a tampon" bit, which made the front page headlines on CNN.com. Come on, newsies, I really expect more out of you than that. What would Anderson Cooper think?
In other late-breaking news, the word "boner" is still really funny. More at 10.
Let's face it. It's 2010, there are a gazzillion iPhone apps out there, and to be honest, I'm a little sick and tired of giving any old iPhone game a chance anymore. I've limped through hundreds of games that work just fine, only to forget about them a week later. Hell, I could count the number of quality, must-have iPhone games I own on two hands.
I think it's safe to say that Skybox (iTunes link / website) deserves to be on my must-have list.
Skybox is simple enough - you guide a falling block (called a "ship") through horizontal planes that have one open spot that's just big enough to fit your block. If you make it through the plane, you speed up a bit. If you don't you crash into it and slow down. That's about it. It doesn't sound like much, but everything seems to fit just right, from the classical score to the encouraging statements the computer tells you that are funny enough to make you want to read them (and get distracted enough to miss your next move). Although I would have liked to have a bit of rumble every time I miss a move, the gameplay itself is very well-balanced, and the touch sensitivity can be tweaked, so I really can't complain. As you progress through the game, more challenging ships are unlocked, which really keep the game feeling fresh. Another nice aspect is its integration with the AGON Online system, which includes leaderboards, an awards system, and facebook/twitter integration.
You can start this game and have fun within seconds. Skybox is worth every penny of its $1.99 price tag.
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I've never seen the appeal of browser games like Farmville. When it comes down to it, I can think of 100 things I'd rather do that play a farming game on my PC. But surprisingly, I find myself playing ngmoco's We Rule a lot. Mostly because it's on the iPhone and it lets me jump in and out of it quickly while on the go. Basically, you build a kingdom and plant crops, which you then harvest and turn a profit, allowing you to buy more crops. You can also use your money to buy things to decorate your kingdom, and the game lets you rearrange them as you see fit, as your kingdom grows.
As fun as the game is, I'm already starting to see the seams in it. For instance, building things like houses and schools have no real benefit, because they give back minuscule amounts of gold and XP. There are some objects, like trees and roads, which only serve to make your kingdom more appealing. But in the end, you can't really "beat" the game anyway, so it shouldn't matter where your money goes.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account!