Mach Dice ($0.99) is a very slick, impressive dice simulator for the iPhone. You can select any combination and number of dice, so it can be used for all dice games, from Yahtzee to Dungeons and Dragons. It also utilizes a unique 3D effect when tilting the phone that I’ve haven’t seen on the iPhone before. Check it out the video below.
*Update* AppleInsider is citing “several people familiar with Nike+ initiative” that these screenshots are not from Nike and may be the work of a third-party developer working on a personal project.
French blog iPhon.fr has posted screenshots of what it claims is the upcoming Nike+ app for the iPhone. The Nike+ system has been available for the iPod Nano since summer 2006.
The Nike+ software/hardware combo allows runners to track their workouts, including running distances, times, and calories burned. Runners can create goal-oriented workouts and get audio feedback from the iPod when specific milestones are achieved. Data is stored and can be later downloaded to a computer, then uploaded to the Nike+ website and compared with other runners or for personal workout tracking purposes. The iPhone’s EDGE and 3G connection could remove the need to sync with a computer by directly uploading the data to Nike servers.
The hardware of Nike+ for iPods consists of an accelerometer and a transmitter/receiver. The accelerometer is placed inside the sole of special Nike shoes that come with a built-in pocket. Third-party solutions allow non-Nike shoes to use the device by attaching them to the shoelaces or inside attachable pockets.
The transmitter/receiver is attached to the bottom of the iPod and receives data from the accelerometer. Since the iPhone contains both a transmitter and an accelerometer, it will be interesting to see what hardware will be required for the new software.
The last update to the Nike+ system was the April 2008 introduction of the Sportsband ($59.99), which replaced the need for an iPod Nano.
See original article and more screenshots at iPhone.fr
Nike shoe and Nike iPod kit images via Wikipedia.
There is an official licensed version of Tetris ($9.99) in the iTunes apps store, but it’s expensive and bloated and has long loading times. There are, however, two free basic Tetris clones, Teto Teto!! and Tris. Here’s a look at both of them:
While both of the Tetris clones are flawed, the better of the two is Teto Teto!! It won’t win any awards for graphics, but Teto Teto’s button controls are much more accurate than Tris’s, which becomes important when the game speeds up. The buttons rotate and move the blocks left, right, and down. The buttons are in no way comparable to classic tactile buttons, but for Teto Teto, they work well enough to not get in the way of game play.
There is one one minor glitch. If you tap the down button, which accelerates the descent of the blocks, too zealously, it will immediately drop not only the block on the screen and but also the next block in the queue. This is an annoying flaw, but not a game killer, as you learn to be careful and work around it.
Teto Teto also features an interesting strategy twist. There is an area on the right side of the screen called the Stock. Tapping the Stock button will place the next block in the queue in the stock area, and tapping Back will place it back in the queue. You get 5 stocks, which you keep track of on the left side of the screen.
Overall, what makes Teto Teto superior to Tris is the accuracy of control. This becomes more important in later stages when the pace of the game begins to pick up.
iLounge recently took a look at both of these games and listed Tris as the better of the two. While I agree that Tris is the better looking and intially the smoothest, I found it frustrating to control the blocks accurately as the game sped up.
Tris uses finger swipes to move the blocks left, right, and down. Players simply tap the screen to rotate the blocks clockwise (there is no option to rotate them counterclockwise). The problem with Tris’s controls comes with the inaccuracy of the finger swipe positioning. Also, accidental taps tended to be a problem.
Both of these games are very basic (neither features sound) and make for a very average Tetris-like experience. Their controls will take some time to get used to thanks to some control flaws. Since they’re both free, they are a risk-free proposition.
SimplifyMedia is an iPhone app that lets you play iTunes music and other media files from your home computer anywhere you have an Internet connection with your iPhone. It works over EDGE and 3G as well as WiFi, although the time it takes to stream a song or video will depend on connection speed.
It also lets you access the iTunes libraries of up to 30 friends. It won’t stream DRM-protected music, so any music purchased from iTunes most likely won’t work (unless it comes from iTunes Plus), only DRM-less formats like mp3s will stream.
It works on a PC, Mac, or Linux, and requires you to create a free account with SimplifyMedia on your home computer. It requires no router configuration.
SimplifyMedia is free for the first 100,000 downloads but will cost $3.99 afterwards.
Video demo:
Platinum Sudoku ($2.99) stands apart from sudoku competitors due to its depth of features, graphics, and game play, all of which work together to keep the game fresh over time. There are plenty of free Sudoku apps for the iPhone, but if you’re a serious player, Platinum Sudoku’s polish and depth make it well worth the three bucks.
The game features 20 million grids as well as five different difficulty levels: easy, medium, hard, pro, and Sudoku X (which adds diagonals). There are two ways to enter numbers: select a number from a circle or trace the shape of the number with your finger (see above). The second method works better than I expected, although not perfectly. I found the game misrecognized the numbers about 1 out of 10 tries. (See my post on how to write the numbers.)
The game features draft notes for writing down number possibilities. It you’re stuck, the game offers hints such as filling in draft notes or the correct number for a square, or you can choose to have it scan the entire grid and show incorrect numbers.
What really makes Platinum Sudoku special is the sense of progress that comes with completing a puzzle. As you solve grids, you gain unlockable features such as 14 different backgrounds, 11 soundtracks, new puzzles, and special challenges. This works well to keep the game fresh over time.
There is a coach mode that offers a brief tutorial for beginners and a set of unlockable lessons that will teach you advanced puzzle-solving methods. You can also select from two coaches.
Other features are the ability to create custom grids, a solver mode if you’re stuck on a particularly complicated sudoku, and a game called Kakuro, which is described as a mix between sudoku and crosswords.
My biggest complaint about Platinum Sudoku is its loading time. There are 2 unnecessary splash screens before a loading screen that takes another 15 seconds of your time. The sheer size of the game can be bothersome when you just want a quick game of sudoku.
Conclusion
Platinum Sudoku is the most full-featured out of all the sudoku games in the iTunes app store, and its unlockable features and polished interface give it high replay value. Serious sudoku players should look no futher and shell out the $3.oo for the best.
Dashbuster Free is a free iPhone app that lets you view your Netflix or Blockbuster Queues on the iPhone and change the order via drag and drop. Unfortunately, the ability to add movies to the queue is not in the free version but is coming in a future pay version.
Besides viewing and manipulating your Netflix or Blockbuster queue, you can also view your shipped and saved movies. There is also a tab for RSS feeds showing new releases, top 100, and other categories.
Dashbuster Free offers the ability to search the Blockbuster and Netflix databases for movies, as well as switch between DVD or Blu-ray formats. Search results show box art, movie description, as well as limited movie information such as actors, director, and rating. Again, the ability to add these movies to your queue will be in the pay version which will hopefully be released soon.
Dashbuster is also available as a widget for your Mac’s dashboard.
Other links:
Official Dashbuster for iPhone website.
*Review updated for version 1.1*
Since the launch of the iTunes app store, word games, or at least good word games, have been few and far between. Quordy ($2.99) is one of the few to get it right. In fact, Quordy is the best word game for the iPhone to date.
Quordy is much like the classic word game Boggle. The player is presented with a 4 x 4 grid of random letters (16 letters total), and the object of the game is to form as many words out of the letters as possible in three minutes. Words are created by tracing your finger over the letters. Letters can be connected vertically, horizontally, and diagonally.
Scoring:
3-4 letters: 1 point
5 letters: 2 points
6 letters: 3 points
7 letters: 5 points
8+ letters: 11 points
One of the annoying features of the game is that it requests a vigorous shaking of the iPhone to begin a new game. A light shaking simply won’t do. (Note: In the version 1.1 update, the developers claim to have lessened the sensitivity, but I could not tell a difference.) However, you can substitute tracing your finger back and forth quickly across the screen for the shake and save yourself lots of embarrassment in public.
The interface works smoothly, and tracing your finger over the words is an easy, almost relaxing experience. Tracing too fast will cause you to miss some letters, but the game generally keeps up well enough that the game doesn’t feel sluggish to play.
As you trace, the letters appear in the bottom left corner of the screen. Once a word is formed, the number of points the player receives appears and turns green once the player stops tracing. If the letters do not form a real word, the letters turn red and a red “x” appears. A clock in the bottom right of the screen counts down the three minutes by slowly filling in a red circle. A ten-second warning vibrates the phone.
One missing feature is that the game does not warn or make any signal if you re-enter a word. It would also be nice if you were warned with more than a red “x” when a traced word is not actually a word–it could be that the player just missed selected a letter.
The version 1.1 update brought a crucial feature missing in the original version of the game: you can view the words you missed in the puzzle. Hitting “Show Solo Results” brings up two lists, one with the words you found, and the other featuring all possible words. Your words are crossed out in red. In another nice touch, the results screen also shows the puzzle in the bottom left.
The game has no sound, although it is possible to play your own music (the iPhone’s iPod) in the background.
Online Play
Quordy makes a liberal claim of “online play.” Players can sign up for a Quordy account and then email a completed game to a friend as a challenge. Once the friend finishes and sends it back in, both players can click on “Check results” and compare. Words on both lists cancel each other out. The player with the most points wins.
Conclusion
Quordy is a solid, entertaining word game with a slick, smooth interface for a classic Boggle-ish experience. Its cheap price, $2.99, makes it a no brainer download for those looking to flex their vocabularly.
