The iPod Nation

The popular iPhone lightsaber isn’t back just yet as it was scheduled to be released on September 16, 2008. It is available as an update to those who have the original PhoneSaber app that was pulled by THQ a few months back. Here is one of the first reviews of Lightsaber Unleashed for the iPhone.

There was much speculation a few months back when THQ asked TheMacBox to remove their popular free PhoneSaber Star Wars app from the iTunes store citing copyright issues (apparently you can’t just make apps based on popular movies without permission… who knew?). Many wondered if it would still be free when it returned, while others (including us) wondered if it would return as looking like a Nascar Car, full of ads and excess marketing crap.

Well, it’s still free….

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Football fans can rejoice now that the iPhone app Pro Football Live is now available on the Apple App Store. The free app from Plusmo provided up to the minute football coverage and scores. You can even chat with users during a game and boo or cheer for your team as well. The Pro Football Live gives users scores, news, and images from the game as well as game schedules. You can also set up the app to follow just your favorite team or multiple football teams. Head on over to the App Store for this cool free app.

-Ray

[Source: app store]

The classic game keno is now available for your iPhone, iKeno is available in the Apple App Store for 99 cents. In iKeno you can play from 1 to 10 sports and wager up to five tokens per game and keeps track of the top 10 numbers drawn and even keeps stats on your games. iKeno also features a quick pick function that can choose your potentially winning numbers for you. iKeno has sounds you can change as well and can be played in Landscape mode as well. iKeno works on both the iPhone and iPod touch with 2.0 software installed.

-Ray

[Source: macworld]

Apps have been kicked off the Apple App Store for a while now and no one knew exactly why. One iPhone App developer got an email that showed the reason. According to Apple an app needs to serve a purpose or perform a significant function to be allowed on the App Store. There are quite a few apps on the App Store that seem to not serve any purpose at all yet they still remain, this seems a bit unfair for the developers who have had their apps removed.

“Hello Developer,

We’ve reviewed your application Pull My Finger. We have determined that this application is of limited utility to the broad iPhone and iPod touch user community, and will not be published to the App Store.

It may be very appropriate to share with friends and family, and we recommend you review the Ad Hoc method on the Distribution tab of the iPhone Developer Portal for details on distributing this application among a small group of people of your choosing.

Regards,

Victor Wang
Worldwide Developer Relations
Apple, Inc.”

-Ray

[Source: topiphonenews]

Firemint of Australia has shown off their new racing game for the Apple iPhone. Real Racing takes advantage of the iPhones accelerometer and graphics capabilities and looks like it could be a really fun racing game. You can also play the game head-to-head with other racers via your cell carriers network or online via WiFi. One really cool feature is that you convert your recent lap to a YouTube video automatically and show it off to your friends. There are also plans for applications so you can show off your best lap on Facebook and other social networking sites, look out for Real Racing in the Apps Store sometime around Christmas.

-Ray

[Source: topiphonenews]

The Pandora radio app received good reviews when it was first released for the iPhone. While new to the iPhone Pandora has been around for some time now, unfortunately it looks as it may be shut down. They were recently hit with very high royalty rates which have really hurt the customizable radio station. Unless something is done to help the struggling radio station they may have to pull-the-plug very soon.

-Ray

[Source: topiphonenews]

Since the launch of Apple’s App Store many cool apps have become available to iPhone users. Many of them are catered to bloggers and media reporters allowing them to retire their notepad and pencil for their iPhones. It’s no coincidence that many iPhone users out there also are bloggers, many bloggers fall right into the iPhones target market and these 10 apps are perfect for those bloggers on the go.

Originally posted on 10000word.net

1.SpeakEasy Voice Recorder
Average Rating: 3 Stars Price: $4.99

From the developer: Record and playback notes, reminders, or just about anything from your iPhone’s built-in microphone. SpeakEasy gives you a recording studio that fits into your pocket. Intuitive and fun, SpeakEasy is the premier voice recorder for your iPhone.

• Record voice memos, reminders, lectures, meetings, or anything you wish.
• Add a title, comments, or even a photo from your photo library or camera while recording.
• Group and organize your recordings by category.
• Interruption protection lets you pick up and continue your recording after a phone call interruption.
• Pause and continue recording with a single touch.
• Playback and quickly scan your recordings with the touch slider.

2. Writing Pad
Average Rating: 4 Stars Price: Free

From the developer: Store notes and send email using ShapeWriter on your iPhone. ShapeWriter is a revolutionary text input technology that enables you to enter text into the iPhone by tracing word shapes rather than typing letters. Each shape traced on the soft keyboard with your finger is recognized as a word. Error correction is fast and easy. For rare names and acronyms, type only once and you will be able to shape write the next time. Shape writing is many times more efficient than letter-based handwriting recognition.

3.WordPress
Average Rating: 3½ Stars Price: Free

From the developer: Robust but simple to use, the WordPress for iPhone Open Source application allows you to create and edit content on your WordPress blog(s) with support for offline use. The app includes the following features:

• Support for WordPress.com blogs and self-installed WordPress blogs (version 2.5.1 and higher)
• Embedded Safari for true previews of posts
• Full support for tags and categories
• Photo support for both camera pics and library photos
• Support for multiple blogs
• Ability to password protect a post, save as draft, or mark for later review
• Auto-recovery feature recovers posts interrupted by phone calls

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Note2self for the iPhone is a useful app that lets you record voice notes, save it on a list and e-mail it to any e-mail address you want. The accelerometer and proximity sensors in the iPhone are used to automatically start and stop recording of the voice notes. This is a handy app that will definitely come in useful for those with horrible memories like myself.

-Ray

[Source: macworld ]

The Palm OS handheld software development company, Stevens Creek Software, is now focused on developing new apps for the iPhone. One of their first apps will be the TripLog/1040 which is a mileage tracking tool that will help keep track of mileage to destinations and costs to help you keep track of tax-deductible mileage logs. It can memorize trips and can e-mail the log.

Another app in development is the Athlete’s Calculator. It calculates time, distance and pace or an athlete and can perform calculations to produce total times. It reads in both English and metric units and can do distance conversions.

The third app from Stevens Creek is the Handy Randy. This app is a random number generator that can select up to three numbers randomly. This is great for games, raffles or picking your lucky lotto numbers.

-Ray

[Source: Macworld ]