Girlfriend Caller is an extremely useful free app for anyone who calls that special someone in their life 10x more than anyone else. The first time you open the app, you are taken to your contacts. Choose your sweet snookum’s phone number, and you are all set. The next time you tap on the app’s icon, your baby boo’s number is automatically dialed. One touch calling.
The only downside to the app is that there seems to be no way to change the number other than reinstalling the app. So if you kick her to the curb and replace her with a younger, better model (like you would with a new iPhone), you’ve got to go through the whole setup again. Consider it a lesson in avoiding commitment.
- Name: Girlfriend Caller
- Developer: Funsoon
- Price: Free
- Download: Click here
A quick scan of the iPhone availability page shows most Apple retail stores now have all models of the iPhone in stock. If you were waiting until you were sure you’d get an iPhone, now might be a good time to consider heading on down to the Apple store.
Link:
Apple.com iPhone availability page.
Moonlight Mahjong Lite is a free trial version of the classic game of mahjong. There is also a full version for $5.99. Moonlight Mahjong utilizes a 3D perspective that can be shifted to view the game board at different angles. Players must use multitouch pinching to move the perspective closer or farther out, or to rotate it. The interface works smoothly without any notable glitches.
The game is simple without any flashy graphics or animations. The only animation happens when two matching tiles are selected. They both float upwards off the screen.
The free version features only one set of tiles, but there are four different tile stack shapes: the classic “turtle” as well as pyramid, inverted pyramid, and two bars. Try out Moonlight Mahjong Lite if you’re looking for a risk-free introduction to mahjong on the iPhone.
- Name: Moonlight Mahjong Lite
- Developer: Michael Howard
- Price: Free
- Download: Click here.
Carrie’s Dots is a game many of us used to play in junior high. The game begins with a grid of dots. The game requires two players, and the object is to take turns drawing lines until a player completes a square. That player then gets to draw another line. Whoever has the most squares at the end of the game is the winner.
Unfortunately, this game is missing a few features. There is no play single player mode, so it requires two people to play. Also, there is no way to reverse your move, so if you tap the wrong area, you’re stuck with your move.
If you’re going on a road trip with the kids, this might be something to load onto the iPhone along with other games to keep them from driving you nuts. But if you’re a sad lonely goofball, this app ain’t for you.
- Name: Carrie’s Dots
- Developer: Chris Hanson
- Price: Free
- Download: Click here
Bubble Wrap is no replacement for the real life experience of popping bubble wrap. In fact, it’s the kind of game you might play once, have a laugh, then move on with the rest of your sorry life. But, the game is a free download, so your laugh comes cheap.
Yes, there is a game built into the experience of popping bubble wrap. The object is to see how many bubbles you can pop in 45 seconds. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t support multitouch, so only one fingertip at a time works. Pity, because there’s nothing I like more than taking a trip to crazytown with some bubble wrap. As the game progresses, popped bubbles unpop, giving you even more chances to increase your score. There’s only one screen and one challenge, but again, the game is free, so no whining.
- Name: Bubble Wrap
- Developer: Orsome NZ
- Price: Free
- Download: Click here
Labyrinth Lite is a game you can hand over to your grandma to show off the iPhone. This is another game that makes perfect use of the iPhone’s accelerometer–it precisely registers even the slightest tilt motion. But unlike Super Monkey Ball, the game is comfortably controlled and makes for a great casual gaming experience.
Labyrinth Lite is a version of the classic board game where the object is to tilt the board so that the pinball avoids the holes and makes it through the maze to a final resting spot. The free “lite” version of the game features only 10 boards to solve. There is a $6.99 full version called Labyrinth with over 500 puzzle boards.
Labyrinth is available in the iTunes app store in two versions, free and paid:
- Name: Labyrinth Lite
- Developer: Codfy AB
- Price: Free
- Download: Click here
- Name: Labyrinth
- Developer: Codify AB
- Price; $6.99
- Download: Click here.
Blonds have more fun, even when hunting down an iPhone 3G.
