The iPod touch Weblog

Three Highly Anticipated Apps Released This Week

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:55:00 +0000

It's been quite an exiting week for the App Store this week. Three highly anticipated apps created by EA and Gameloft were released to the public.

1. N.O.V.A. - Near Orbit Vanguard Alliance
Created by: Gameloft
Description: N.O.V.A is the the newest -and best- addition of a FPS shoots to come to your device since Eliminate Pro. The Single Player Campaign features 13 levels, 5 environments, and 6 different weapons. The online mode allows you to connect to the entire world via Wi-Fi or locally through Bluetooth. Play with up to 3 different friends and you find out who is the ultimate N.O.V.A. player.
ScreenShots:

2. James Cameron's Avatar
Created by: Gameloft
Description: Gamelofts new game Avatar is based on the upcoming movie, Avatar. Defend 15 levels to keep the Na'vi safe from the human invaders. Use weapons ranging the most primitive weapons, like bows and arrows, to modern-day weapons, like high-powered guns.
ScreenShots:

3. Need For Speed Shift
Created by: EA
Description: EA's newest racing edition to the App Store seems to be a flop. The game features 20 cars and up to 6 multiplayer worldwide through Wi-Fi or locally through Bluetooth. The sloppy graphics seem to suggest that the game was rushed to its released unlike NFS Undercover, which took much longer to come out but was a much better product.
ScreenShots:

Best App Store Apps of 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:45:00 +0000

1. Fandango Movies - Times & Tickets
Created by: Fandango
Short Description: With the Fandango Movies app you can find movies playing in your local theaters, check out movies that haven't been released yet, watch trailers of movies, and much more.
ScreenShot:

2. ESPN ScoreCenter
Created by: ESPN
Short Description: Get hundreds of sports scores from around the world from the NFL to the MLB and everything in between.
ScreenShot:

3. ColorSplash
Created by: Pocket Pixels Inc.
Short Description: Convert your photos into black and when, then add a dramic effect by adding color to elements of your photo.
ScreenShot:

4. Convertbot
Created by: Tapbots
Short Description: Use Convertetbot to convert currency, length, mass, time, and much more in one single handy app.
ScreenShot:

5. Musée du Louvre
Created by: Musée du Louvre
Short Description: View all the info you'll ever need to know about the 30,000 works of art in the Louvre.
Screenshot:

6. I Am T-Pain
Created by: Smule
Short Description: Auto-tune your voice the way T-Pain does it and sound like a multi-million-dollar rapper.
ScreenShot:

7. CNBC Real-Time
Created by: NBC Universal, Inc.
Short Description: This is the only free app that gives real-time quotes for stocks, company info, and profiles.
ScreensShot:

8. BeejiveIM with Push
Created by: Beejive, Inc.
Short Description: IM any of your friends with BeejiveIM.
ScreenShot:

9. Zipcar
Created by: Zipcar
Short Description: Reserve a Zipcar from your iPhone or iPod touch.
ScreenShot:

10. SmackTalk!
Created by: Marcus Satellite
Short Description: SmackTalk! will take anything you say and say it back in a high-pitched squeaky voice.
ScreenShot:

Add Animated Snow on your Lockscreen and Homescreen

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:05:00 +0000

Add some winter spirit to your iPod touch or iPhone with this falling snow theme for Winterboard.

This creative theme will easily add different falling snow flakes to either your lockscreen or homescreen on top of any theme you already have. Be warned though, if you are on an older device with lower hardware specifications, you may experience some slow down of your device.

How to Install this Theme

Make sure you are jailbroken. (How do I do that?) And that you are on or at an above firmware of 3.0. (How do I check?)
Make sure you have downloaded Winterboard from Cydia.
Download the theme for your lockscreen or your homescreen.
Decompress the theme, place the folder into /private/var/stash/Themes.xxxxxx/
Open Winterboard, drag the theme to the very top and tap on to give it a check mark.
Press your home button and let your device respring.

ScreenShots

Get Free App Store Apps by Helping Us

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Don't you hate it when websites don't have working links, pictures, and downloads? We do too, but we can't fix everything by ourselves. Help us find mistakes on our site and we will reward you! See below for more details.

What you need to do
You can submit errors from the site hat fit into the following categories:

Broken Links
Missing Pictures
Misplaced Pictures
Non-functioning Downloads
Anything else that seems wrong with the site (We will inform you if you have a valid error.)

What you get
If you submit an error to us, you will recieve one free promo code for the Apple App Store that can be redeemed for a free paid app.

Submit
If you think that you've found an error, use the form below to submit it to us. If you are correct, we will send you free promo code that you redeem in the App Store.

Black and White Color Winterboard Theme

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:23:00 +0000

The Black and White Color Theme contains over 120 beautifully crafted icons along with a lockscreen and a matching wallpaper. Along with minimal UI changes, this theme will not slow down your device as much as larger themes will and it will still give an amazing look.

This theme combines the dullness of black and white themes with the playfulness of a colorful dock to give a brilliant and eye-catching theme.

How to Install this Theme

Make sure you are jailbroken. (How do I do that?) And that you are on or at an above firmware of 3.0. (How do I check?)
Make sure you have downloaded Winterboard from Cydia.
Download the package by clicking this.
Decompress the theme, place the folder into /private/var/stash/Themes.xxxxxx/
Open Winterboard, drag the theme to the very top and tap on it to give it a check mark.
Press your home button and let your device respring.

More ScreenShots

Call of Duty: World At War out for iPod touch/iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:07:00 +0000

In an unexpected release, Vivendi Games Mobile Released Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies on the app store today.

The game stars you alone, left to defend your self from the unlimited amount of zombies trying to break into your stronghold. The longer you survive and the more zombies you kill, the higher your score.

You can upgrade your weapons by exchanging your points, in game. The game also has Wi-Fi and bluetooth online multiplayer.

ScreenShots

App Store Description

Atten-shun!

Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies brings the classic Call of Duty: World at War zombie-slaying game mode to the iPhone™ and iPod® Touch. Featuring the original zombie map "Nacht der Untoten" (Night of the undead), fight to survive in the barricaded bunker where it all began - and you can bring along your friends to help push back the endless waves of attacking zombies.

- Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies for the iPhone™ supports up to four players via Wi-Fi/Internet and two players via Bluetooth. Play with your friends in the same room, on the other side of town, and even across the globe. With the option of either private or open matchmaking, where there’s a Wi-Fi connection, there’s a friend to go Zombie-hunting with.*

- This is the Zombie experience from Call of Duty: World at War. “Nacht der Untoten” has been fully realized on the iPhone™ in a silky smooth 3D environment, along with the return of your favorite guns and killer power ups.

- Three different control schemes are available to suit your style. Take advantage of the iPhone’s unique tilt capabilities or, for Zombie vets, use the virtual analog sticks to fend off the undead.

- Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies features a full list of unique Achievements.

- Leaderboard support awards the best of the best, accessed directly through your iPhone™ or iPod® Touch. Become the top zombie slayer and prove your standings to the world!

- Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies will fully support future Downloadable Content, ensuring that the classic survival experience will live on with new maps.

So snap to attention, pick up Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies, and start fending off the zombie horde!

Sentinel 2 - App Review

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 22:08:00 +0000

Okay, we have a plot line: Our Mars colony is toast and the aliens who destroyed it are headed for the Home World. You are captain of a drop ship that has been armed with some advanced weaponry to fend off the enemy hoards. What's a drop ship? Apparently, a ship that has been dropped on a beach and probably without a parachute because it can't fly. At least, I haven't been able to get it to lift off and I'm a pretty damn good Captain. So, what we have here is a tower defense game: two groups of towers, each connected by a grounded iron gate, that I can fortify to contain the Alien Menace. I also have a budget to do this. Sentinel 2 is a little like managerial accounting.

So, let's play! The battleground consists of a wharf attached to a desert isle with a few palms here and there. A deeply-dug trench forms a path angling along the shore, leading to the first gate. The first wave of invaders seems to be a hoard of giant cockroaches that swarm along the pathway and storm the gate. No problem: the gate is charged and it dispatches them like a bug zapper. Then, a bunch of soldiers dressed in WWII GI fatigues tries our defenses and we find that the bug zapper works on humanoids just as well as it does on insects. More cockroaches; more soldiers. After the third or fourth wave of soldiers, the gate is beginning to show some damage. The aliens have wised up and stopped sending the roaches. The next wave of soldiers smashes their way through the first gate. They damage the second. Again with the roaches! We know how this is gonna turn out, right? Gate 50 Roaches 0. Finally, soldiers break through the second gate and the game ends. I was able to get some missiles fired by tapping a lot of icons, and sometimes the ship glows a littler brighter but it NEVER moves.

That was the “campaign” setting. There is also a mission: to fend off a powerful warrior using limited resources. The warrior approaches. This guy is worth the price of the game. He has long legs, a slow, cowpoke swagger and an elongated chitinous skull. If John Wayne mated with the Alien, the kid would look like this when it grew up. But that's not all: he is carrying a glowing green hammer and he farts lightning! Any objective analysis would predict the early demise of this lone cosmic thug, but there is something about that walk. Our worst fears are realized: He smashes through the first gate in short order, farts a few sparks to celebrate, then assaults the second one. Here, he takes several direct missile hits but they serve only to fuel his rage. The gate comes down and the Alien Duke walks on. GAME OVER.

The hard core gamers will have fun with this one. For me, the learning curve is way too steep. Great graphics and probably one of the coolest aliens in gamedom.

ScreenShots

App Store Description

Sentinel 2: Earth Defense - a premium Sci Fi strategy game.

It's war, and this time it's too close to home. The Martian mission may be over, but the aliens haven't finished playing space invaders yet.

Extraterrestrial eyes have turned to a new target: they want Earth, and you're the one that has to say 'no'!
Welcome to the future of Tower Defense.

Sentinel 2: Earth Defense expands upon the acclaimed gameplay of Sentinel: Mars Defense. The action takes place across varied, lushly rendered Earth environments, and the alien assault force has grown more vicious than ever. Luckily, human turret technology has also advanced, and the ship weapons system provides a spectacular new way to eradicate invaders!

NEW IN SENTINEL 2

- Unleash the Sentinel's incredible ship weapons system - if you've got the power to do so...
- Deploy mobile attack drones to harass the enemy and augment static defenses.
- Construct boosters to buff your offense, and upgrade to top-tier towers for devastating special moves!
- Pit yourself against previously unseen members of the star spawned horde.
- Mission mode provides quick tactical challenges. Beat a scenario to earn achievements!
- Full online high scores, achievements, friends and chat using OpenFeint
- Exclusive new music written by Specimen A
- OS3.0 iPod Music Player (OS3.0 or higher required)

CLASSIC SENTINEL FEATURES

- Specialised structures and units provide unique tactical gameplay.
- Use the landscape and destructible defenses to maximize the effectiveness of your weapons.
- Resource harvesting and interest system adds a new dimension of risk and reward.
- Assault mode provides hours of play; endurance mode is an endless challenge.
- Visually stunning environments, towers and enemies with fluid zooming and scrolling.

Asphalt 5 Released

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:11:00 +0000

Asphalt 5 has been released worldwide by Gameloft. The game features many graphical improvements to its predecessor, Asphalt 4.

The game comes in a large 245 MB file containing 30 cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi, and more. The game also contain 12 race maps and 8 different modes including Cop Case, Time Attack, and Last Man Standing.

Asphalt 5 also has a six-player multiplayer over bluetooth or online, something that EA's Need for Speed Undercover left out.

Screenshots

App Store Description

Get in, start up and punch it in the fastest dream cars ever created by some of the most prestigious manufacturers in the world.
Everything you’ve ever dreamed of doing behind the wheel is here on your iPhone/iPod touch.

Stop dreaming and get in!

----------------------------------------------------------

THE ASPHALT FRANCHISE, A SUCCESSFUL TRACK RECORD
9/10 IGN.com: “great models, lots of detail, and wonderful color.”
8/10 PocketGamer: “polished 3D visuals and varied cities to race in.”
TouchArcade: “the most lavish 3D graphics of any iPhone racer–of any iPhone game, really–in the App Store. “
Slide To Play: “sophisticated graphics and enjoyable gameplay”

----------------------------------------------------------

THERE’S A DREAM CAR FOR YOU
Take a ride in over 30 of the fastest, most prestigious cars you’ve ever dreamed, from manufacturers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Audi and Ducati.

THE WORLD IS YOUR RACETRACK
Highly polished HD graphics let you see every detail and animation of the track as you speed over snow, mud, dirt and more in 12 beautiful locations around the world including St. Tropez, Aspen and Las Vegas. Discover hidden shortcuts and jump off ramps!

NEW WAYS TO PLAY
Challenge yourself to 8 different racing events including Drift Contest, Cop Chase, Time Attack, Duel Mode, Last Man Standing and Escape.

RIDE WITH THE PACK
Six-player Bluetooth and Online Multiplayer lets you compete against friends and anyone around the world in tournaments and join the Asphalt Academy on asphalt-5.com. Speed your way to the top of the online leaderboard!

THE SOUND OF SPEED
Tune your car radio to play your favorite songs stored on your iPhone/iPod touch during the race and let the music move you.

----------------------------------------------------------

Full list of cars:
Audi R8, Audi TT-RS, Audi Q7, Lamborghini Gallardo LP 560-4, Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SV, Lamborghini Reventón, Ferrari 599 XX, Ferrari California, Ferrari F430 16M, Ferrari FXX Evolution, Nissan 370Z, Nissan GT-R R35, Bugatti Veyron 16.4, BMW X6M, Caterham CSR Superlight, 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, Ducati 1198, Ducati Monster 1100s, Ford GT, Ford Shelby GT500, Gumpert Apollo, Kawasaki Z750, Kawasaki ZX6-R, Lotus 2-Eleven, Lotus Evora, Mercedes E Class, Mercedes ML 63 AMG, Mercedes-Benz S65 Black Series, MINI Cooper S, RUF 3400 K, RUF Dakara, RUF Rt 12

For fans of arcade racing games.

Eliminate Pro Released - Free RPG!

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:10:00 +0000

Eliminate by Ngmoco Inc. has finally been released after months of delay. Snipe, blast, or blow apart your enemies in this epic free FPS RPG. The game is totally free to play but there are in-app purchases that will fund development of the application.

Eliminate is currently only available in the Canadian App Store but is expected to be eventually released worldwide by the end of the week.

The game comes with three different modes: Global Match, Private Match, and Offline Practice.

Video

Screenshots

NBA Live Released

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 22:22:00 +0000

EA Sports has just released NBA Live for iPod touch and iPhone.

It is currently only available in a few countries but should soon be available for everybody.

The game features real NBA players and teams including the Lakers, Celtics, and Sixers. Check out the screenshots below for a better first-look.

Although we have yet to enjoy the game fully, this game seems to not be one of EA's finest work.

Screenshots

How-to: Overclock iPod touch or iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:41:00 +0000

Overclocking is defined by Wikipedia as

the process of running a computer component at a higher clock rate (more clock cycles per second) than it was designed for or was specified by the manufacturer, usually practiced by enthusiasts seeking an increase in the performance of their computers.

Now this same concept can be applied to your jailbroken iPod touch or iPhone. This process will allow you to increase the amount of free ram your device has by using the flash memory that is intended for music, video, and apps and turning it into extra virtual memory.

This virtual memory can be used by your device to perform normal functions while you play games and listen to music and have a movie downloading in the background with extra memory to spare. So lets get started!

1. Make sure you are jailbroken. (How do I do that?) And that you are on or at an above firmware of 3.0. (How do I check?)

2. Open Cydia then, in the bottom right corner tap on the Manage tab.

3. Tap on Sources then in the top right corner tap on Edit, then Add.

4. Type in http://repo.beyouriphone.com and press Add Source.

5. Once it's done, in the bottom right corner, tap on the Search tab.

6. Type in iPhoneVM 2 (OS 3.X) and tap on it.

7. Install iPhoneVM 2 (OS 3.X) to your device.

There you have it, once you restart your device, you will have much more RAM to use for more functions.

Please note that over-usage of this feature (running more than 7-8 memory intensive apps at once) may reduce the performance of your device over a period of time (a few years).

How to Check what Firmware your Device is Running

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:58:00 +0000

To find what firmware you are running, follow these steps:

1. Tap on the Settings icon on your device.

2. Tap on General.

3. Tap on About.

4. Scroll down to Version. That is your firmware version.

Submit Packages to Community Sources for Cydia

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 21:10:00 +0000

If you have a theme, app, or anything else that you want to submit to the Cydia community sources, use the form below. The package you submit here will be available for everyone to download and use from Cydia. Please make sure that your package is 100% original or you have the authors permission to use their packages.

Ravensword: The Fallen King - Upcoming RPG

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:13:00 +0000

Ravensword: The Fallen King is a upcoming role playing game by Crescent Moon Games. The game is described by the developer on their YouTube account as

... currently the most anticipated action RPG for the iPhone and iPod touch. The game contains a massive environment to explore, almost 50 characters (beasts and NPC's) Many missions, side missions, and mini games. There will be an expansion pack soon after the first release and frequent updates.

We have reserved a place with Crescent Moon Games to be able to be one of the very first to review the game. The game is expected to be released later this fall. Check out the official site here to see the latest updates.

Here is a gameplay video of it in action and the official trailer of the game.

Meteor Blitz

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Meteor Blitz: It’s déjà vu all over again!
Rating: 5/5

If you liked Asteroids, you will love Meteor Blitz. If you didn’t, maybe not so much. Meteor Blitz is Asteroids for Century 21. Instead of white line drawings against the blank cathode ray background of deep space, we get gorgeous, crystal clear million-color graphics and seamlessly smooth animation. It’s a space shooter game, the objective of which is to blow stuff up before you collide with it or get blown up by hostile ships. Two ghostly joysticks direct the action. The right stick controls speed, boost, and vector; the left controls weaponry and offers a choice of fire, ice or the green stuff that the aliens shot at Will Smith in Independence Day. If you want to play your own audio, go for it. I chose New Morning by Placebo because its ominous, repetitive drone seemed perfect for the visual environment. The rules are simple: if it moves, shoot it, smash it into chunks, then blow up the chunks. Those of you working your way up in a bank or a tech firm will catch on right away. And to complete that analogy, whatever you destroy leaves a corpse in the form of a bright yellow ring that can be used to buy ship and weapon upgrades or to unlock other world environments. At the end of each phase The Boss shows up, and yes, The Boss too must die.

Everything about Meteor Blitz is superb, from the graphics and audio to the BMW I-Drive style control sticks. The problem is, for me anyway, there is no payoff. Destroying stuff just brings more and bigger stuff to destroy. Cool stuff, like space snakes and pointy spacecraft, but after a while I want to land. The default planet is a green, Earth-like place with lots of oceans and continents. I should be able to destroy some enemy ships, pulverize a few meteors, then head for a spaceport bar where I can pound a pint or two of Rigellian Wormhole Ale and maybe start a fight with some of the locals. Bustin’ space rocks constantly just starts to seem like prison. Also, just like Asteroids, the ship remains stationary and the background moves. This almost gives the illusion of flight, but mostly it feels like I’m glued to a point trying to dodge stuff that is coming at me.

Still, Meteor Blitz easily scores 5 out of 5. It’s a brilliant space shooter game and it’s well worth a buck ninety-nine.

Dolphin Experience

noreply@blogger.com (keeon) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 21:55:00 +0000

Dolphin experience is a strange app. It’s not a bad app, it’s just that there’s not much to do. Basically Dolphin experience is like having a couple of pet dolphins. You feed them, play with them, interact with them, and that’s pretty much it. They never die or get sick, so there is no goal that you are trying to reach. There are a lot of pros to this app, but more cons. I’ll start with the cons.

First off, most apps like this are a lot more fun. The main problem with this app is that it’s too boring. The only things you can do are watch the dolphins, feed them, have them play with a ball, and jump through hoops. Trust me, it gets pretty boring after a while. Another big problem with the app is that there are no directions. You are left to figure out how to do everything by your self. All though there’s not that much to learn, it would still be helpful. For example, the app summary on the app store says that you can perform 18 different tricks with the dolphins, but I only see two tricks that you can do.

Overall, the app lacks involvement. There’s not much you can do but feed, play and interact with them. Now to the pros. One thing I immediately noticed about the app was the great graphics. The graphics are some of the best I’ve seen on the iPod touch. You can also choose from 3 environments to play with the dolphins. And at each environment you can choose from 4 different times of the day to play with them. So really you are getting 12 environments, because each environment is different, at different times of the day. The sounds are great to, mimicking real dolphin cries and water sounds.

The app also loads really fast, which is a surprise because the graphics are so good. Overall though, I think the cons outweigh the pros. There just isn’t a lot to do in this app. You watch them, feed them, and play with them in two different ways. Maybe if you really like dolphins you’ll like this app, but otherwise, I think you’re better off keeping your $1.99.

All Application Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 16:59:00 +0000

AccelaStudy

A Guttu Jump Pro

AppBox Pro

Armando

Asphalt4

Brothers in Arms

BtBx

Color Splash

Crash Bandicoot

Diner Dash

Doodle Jump

Enigmo

Fastlane

Feildrunners

Ferrari GT Evolution

iCensor

ImpossiSquares

Juxtaposer

Meteor Blitz

Modern Combat: Sandstorm

Monopoly World Edition

Need for Speed Undercover

Rolando

Real Soccer 09

SAT Vocab Spinner

Secret Word

Topple

Touch Grind

Tethering on Firmware 3.1.x

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:09:00 +0000

If you've been looking to tether your iPhone to your laptop or even a desktop computer since the old tethering trick stopped working, you are in luck! A new jailbroken app will now enable tethering on any iPhone (iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3G[S]) on firmware on any 3.1.x firmware.

1. Make sure you've jailbroken. (How do I do that?)

2. Open Cydia, tap on the Search tab at the bottom and type MyWi and tap on MyWi.

3. At the top right corner, tap Install then Confirm. When it's done you'll need to tap on Reload Springboard.

4. Once it's done installing, go to your home screen and find a new application called RockApp. Open it.

5. At the bottom, tap Manage, then tap Rock ID, then Create New RockID.

6. Create a new account.

7. In the What's New tab you should now see an update for MyWi. After you install the update, you will need to do a Soft Restart.

8. Open up MyWi and at the bottom turn on USB and Bluetooth Tethering. Then restart your iPhone.

9. Now open your Settings application. Go to General, Network, and Internet Tethering.

10. Turn on Internet Tethering.

There you go! Now all you need to do is plug your iPhone into your computer and select your iPhone from your list of networks and you should have an internet connection from your wireless data provider.

Please contact your wireless data provider to see if your phone plan covers data charges. Some providers charge substantial charges for this and they may incur while using the guide above.

ColorSplash: St. Basil’s Never Looked Better!

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:26:00 +0000

ColorSplash
Rating: 5/5

ColorSplash is one of two simple and powerful photo editing apps from Pocket Pixels, Inc. Like its companion, Juxtaposer, it’s a one-trick pony. ColorSplash converts any graphic to a gray scale overlay that can be swiped away to selectively paint your photo with color. Although it comes with four detailed tutorial movies, using it is nearly intuitive. Choose a color photograph from your library. The photograph is imported into the app, where a grayscale copy is made and overlaid on the original. Then you get to the fun part: pick an area to colorize, tap it, and the gray vanishes to let the true color come shining through. ColorSplash seems to read your mind, stopping the color at the edges of the selection. For details, spread your fingers to enlarge your work and pinch them to contract. An infinite undo tool erases mistakes. Use the accelerometer to instantly change the view to portrait or landscape. Controls at the bottom edge make it easy to switch from colorizing to graying with a tap. A zoom-pan tool turns off the editing functions, but once you get the hang of working in the app it’s easier to just use the two-finger move to pan, and spread or pinch movements to zoom. Both color and grayscale functions can use fader brushes that allow just a touch of color to show through. For areas that show very little contrast with the background layer, tap the red dot and your colorizing brush spreads a red fog that helps you define boundaries. The fog is gone when the finished work is saved. Sessions can be saved to continue later, and finished work can be posted to Flickr, Facebook or Twitter.

To test the app I chose two cultural icons, one American and the other Russian. The ’57 Chevy was almost too easy. I tapped the car in two places and about 80% of it appeared in color with very little over-spray on the background. I zoomed the photo, wiped color onto the rest of the Chevy, cleaned up a few background areas and it was ready to save. Not bad at all for a total n00b! St. Basil’s was a little more of a challenge with its ornate onion domes topped with gleaming gold spheres. Here, the mega-zoom function came in handy. With a few swipes, I was able to greatly enlarge the image, trace the curves and turn the bright blue Moscow sky a somber Soviet gray while exposing the brilliant colors of the domes.

ColorSplash is a testament to the rebirth of tightly-written code inspired by the App Store and the iPod touch. A wish list might include sepia-tone and blue filters for the backgrounds and gamma adjustment for the color, but ColorSplash is superb the way it is.

Jailbreak Any Device on Firmware 3.1.2

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:59:00 +0000

Blackra1n released by GeoHotz is the first official 3.x.x firmware jailbreak for Windows and Mac. It is also the first jailbreak for iPod touch 3rd Generation! This is quick one-click jailbreak. No need choose settings or go into DFU or Restore mode. Just plug it in and hit "Make it ra1n" on your computer.

Devices Supported: iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3G [S], iPod touch 1st Gen, iPod touch 2nd Gen, and iPod touch 3rd Gen
Computer Supported:Windows and Mac
Firmware Supported:3.1.2
Necessary Downloads:Blackra1n and IPSW for your device file
Exceptions: If your iPhone is unlocked (does not use an official carrier), do not jailbreak. iPod touch 3rd Gen is a tethered (what does that mean?) jailbreak.

Downloads

Blackra1n

or

IPSW File
To find you IPSW file, go here.

On the second drop-down bar, find your firmware file that matches with your device. Refer to the examples below.

iPhone 2G- Find iPhone 2G (3.1.2/7D11)
iPhone 3G- Find iPhone 3G (3.1.2/7D11)
iPhone 3G[S]- Find iPhone 3G S (3.1.2/7D11)
iPod touch 1st Gen- Find iPhone 1G (3.1.2/7D11)
iPod touch 2ns Gen- Find iPod touch 2G (3.1.2/7D11)
iPod touch 3rd Gen- Find iPod touch 3G (3.1.2/7D11)

How to Jailbreak

If you are having problems, you may want to wait for the Dev Team's Redsn0w jailbreak but that is coming in an unknown amount of time.

Warp Reality With Juxtaposer, The Photo Mashup App

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Rating: 4/5

Want to graft a baboon head with rattlesnake eyes and tongue onto your ex-girlfriend’s body? There’s an app for that and it’s called Juxtaposer. Load two photos into Juxtaposer and you have your own pocket Island Of Dr. Moreau. The first photo loads full-size to form the base for your evil work. Choose a second photo, and it loads in thumbnail size, ready to be shaped, re-sized, and moved into position on the base. The final result can be saved and used as a base for a second round of pixel mutation.

Juxtaposer comes from Pocket Pixels, developers of the mighty ColorSplash. Both use a similar interface. Switch between erase and un-erase or between move/pan and edit with finger taps or on-screen controls. Resizing is accomplished with pinch and spread movements and the final image can be moved into position by sliding it with a finger. Tools abound. More than you will probably use and too many to describe in detail here. Besides the red fog (for editing areas of low contrast) and softening brushes familiar to ColorSplash users, Juxtaposer provides stamping ability, image-switching, a transparency tool to aid positioning, and image flipping capability. Juxtaposer will also allow multiple top images to be added to the same session and it will replace one top image with another. The ubiquitous Facebook/Flickr/Twitter post is also available directly from the app.

I found the erase function of Juxtaposer much different and more challenging than the one in ColorSplash. Erased lines have a severe case of the jaggies, requiring careful resizing and frequent use of the infinite undo function. Juxtaposer has the ability to render in 1026 pixels instead of the default 512, but the help pages warns that this slows the editing process considerably so I didn’t use it. With patience and practice, I was still able to achieve acceptably n00b-level results, but I gave up on importing that shroud-like thing that frames Brak’s head. Sorry, Brak. Hope it wasn’t a body part. Beavis was much easier; there isn’t all that much to Beavis. So, here we have a photo of what might have been at that Jersey wedding if two celebrity invitations hadn’t been lost in the mail:

Juxtaposer is a great app for quick and easy photo mash-ups, and with some practice, it can be used to create near-photoshop quality montages.

What's Up with all these 3.1 Jailbreak Code Names?

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:15:00 +0000

The fight between who is going to be able to jailbreak all iPod touch's and iPhone's for both Mac and PC first has been getting very aggressive in the past week. All the developers have been coming up with secret code names for their projects, and for themselves, some have even created fake code names to throw us and their competition off. Here is a comprehensive list of the code names and their definitions. This page will be updated if new code names come out (and they probably will).

Jailbreaking Tool Developers:

iH8sn0w- Jailbreaker who is working to port Dev Team's PwnageTool to Windows. The ported version is to be called sn0wbreeze (see below). More Info.
GeoHot- The user name for George Hotz. He was the one who found the original iPhone exploit and released Purplera1n. He is currently developing Blackra1n (see below). More Info.
DarkMalloc- Working with iH8sn0w. More Info.

Jailbreaking Tools:

Blackra1n- A jailbreak by GeoHot (see above) the supposedly jailbreak the iPod touch 3G. More Info.
Appuloha1l-An easy-to-use jailbreak by the same jailbreaker as Chocolatera1n. It is expected to be released on October 11, 2009. [Fake]
Chocolatera1n- A more advanced jailbreak by the same jailbreaker as Appuloha1l. Supports the H1ssingsnake exploit. Has ability to download Cydia packages and update from the app itself. It is expected to be released on October 12, 2009. More Info. [Fake]
Bananam1lkshake- A new jailbreaking tool that is for iPhone 3G[S] users that will be able to jailbreak even if the USB and H1ssingsnake exploits are fixed by Apple. But this is only a back-up plan (Possibly fake). More Info.
sn0wbreeze- A ported version of PwnageTool to Windows, ported by iH8sn0w and DarkMalloc. Sn0wbreeze is to be released by October 12, 2009.

Exploits:

H1ssingsnake- An exploit required by Chocolatera1n to jailbreak.
USB-An software exploit that is used by Appuloha1l.
ECID- Used by Bananam1lkshake as a back-up plan for iPhone 3G[S] jailbreakers in-case other exploits are fixed in updates by Apple (Possibly fake). More Info.

Freebie Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:26:00 +0000

NimbleBit, an iPhone app developer company is giving away copies of all it's app store apps for free!

NimbleBit is giving away Sky Burger, Scoops, Moon Drop, Bluebird, Kyper, Textropolis and Hanoi Plus for free and only for today. So hurry up and grab your copy of these addicting games now!

[Via NimbleBit]

$.01 Cases, Legit or Phonies?

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:11:00 +0000

If you've ever been to Amazon.com and looked for some cheap cases, you've probably seen the cases that are $0.01 to 1.00. Most people are very skeptical when it comes to these types of cases because they might be rip-off scams that won't deliver what they promise in the description. So we decided to risk $0.01 for the case and $ 2.99 for shipping and handling to put this case to the test.

What we found was that these cases are pretty legitimate! The one's we ordered, were comparable to the durability of those cases made my Griffin and Speck which are usually at a much higher price of around $25.

I dropped the case a few times with an iPod touch 2nd Generation inside and I was surprised to find that the case broke open and absorbed the impact of the fall like it is supposed to. (Similar to how a motorcycle helmet with a crack in it is a good sign.)

My iPod has not since yet incurred any severe dents or dings, and it only cost me $3.00. I am very pleased with this case.

Adobe Flash to Come to iPhone

noreply@blogger.com (Deadfire55) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:53:00 +0000

Today at Adobe's MAX 2009 conference in Los Angeles, Adobe unveiled that, from our knowledge, is unknown by Apple. Developers will now be able to create iPhone apps in Flash CS5 and export the app in .ipa file format. If you didn't already know, .ipa format this the file style that apps for the App Store are created in.

A member of the Adobe Flash team was quoted saying:

"We've done a lot of work to make sure that applications are quick and interactive, and give you the kind of experience that you would expect from Flash, as well as the kind of experience that you've come to expect on your iPhone.

The apps that are created in CS5 are 100% compliant with Apple's app store regulations. This means that it has now become much easier for anyone to create iPhone apps. For a few examples check out Chroma Circuit, and Fickleblox which are currently on the App Store and have been created using Adobe Flash CS5. This also means that it is possible that iPhone apps can be created on a machine running Windows OS.

Here is a video demonstrating CS5 Applications on iPhone.

Adobe Flash CS5 is not expected to be released until after the end of 2009.

Today Adobe also confirmed that a native flash player for the iPhone or iPod touch will not be coming out any time soon because of Apple's restrictions on apps that can be admitted into the App Store. Hopefully Apple will wise up and give an exception to Adobe.