iPhone Application Reviews

Here’s another cool application for your iPhone - RulerPhone, an app which turns your iPhone into a measuring tape!

The application takes a picture of a credit card sized item and uses it as a point of reference to measure just about anything - furniture, windows, doors, doorways, cabinets, etc.

RulerPhone can take accurate measurements of objects ranging from a few inches to well over 10 feet.  I found a more in depth video review of this application, which you can watch below.

Click Here to Buy RulerPhone

Click Here to Buy RulerPhone

If you grew up in the 80’s you probably remember playing popular text adventure games such as Zork on your computer.  I was in this category and enjoyed staying up into the wee hours of the morning solving puzzles and making maps to try to finish each game that Infocom could crank out.  Only thing is I never finished every game they made…but it is on my to do list.

Now, a free application called Frotz allows you to play many popular text adventure games on your iPhone or iPod Touch!

After you download and install Frotz, it comes loaded with several free text adventure games that you probably have never heard of.  So…. how do you get the really cool games like Planetfall on your iPhone?  Simple - use a file transfer program to upload .z5 or files from your computer to your iPhone or iPod touch.  The first one I have tried with success is called FileMagnet.  This will only work on a Mac though and you need to download an uploader to use on your desktop or laptop Mac.  You can download the FileMagnet uploader here.  FileMagnet can be purchased for $4.99.

If you are using a PC with Windows XP or Vista, you can use an app called DataCase.  I haven’t bought this one yet, but the great thing about this is it doesn’t require a seperate application - when you activate the DataCase application, a drive will show up on your Mac or PC.  From there, you can drag and drop files to and from your iPhone or iPod Touch.  UPDATE: Ok, I just bought DataCase and it looks pretty cool.

Only thing is for some reason Frotz doesn’t seem to find the .z5 files automatically like it does with FileMagnet.  Anyone out there know how to get it to work?

Also, you might be wondering where you can find text adventure game files.  You can get the files if you purchase the games… and a good place to do this is on eBay:

LARGE INFOCOM GAME LOT COMMODORE 64

You can also do a little Googling around and maybe you’ll stumble across something.

Some games you might want to play include: Planetfall, Zork, Stationfall, Enchanter, Infidel, Suspended, Deadline, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and many more. Here’s a fairly complete list of all Infocom games.  Be careful, your sword is turning blue.

If you have trouble falling asleep or taking a satisfying nap, take a look at aSleep for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  aSleep is a simple white noise/sound generator that you can turn on at night or when you want to close your eyes and imagine your somewhere else for awhile.

It has a timer that can automatically shut the sounds off after a specified amount of time.  Currently sounds include Rain, Wind, Beach, Forest, Relax and Meditation.  Personally, I think Rain is the best…although I’d like to see some thunder mixed occasionally.

Visit the aSleep iPhone App Site

Netgear SPH101 Skype Wireless VoIP Wi-Fi Phone

So you have your iPhone want to download the Skype iPhone application. Well, as of this writing they haven’t released a standalone Skype app for the iPhone. BUT…. there is a way to use Skype on your iPhone and even your iPod Touch.

Take a look at IM+ for Skype. This is a web based application, but still does the job fine. You can chat with friends, family and colleagues and believe it or not can make outgoing phone calls to real land lines/cell phones via WiFi, Edge network or 3G. If you want to save your daytime minutes because you’re on the cheapo AT&T plan just find a wifi hotspot, connect to Skype and make calls for next to nothing.

Personally, I have an unlimited Skype out account which cost around $30 a year when I last paid for it. When you login to IM+ for Skype it will initially go into trial mode which lasts about 7 to 10 days. After that, you can subscribe for $5.95 a month or buy a lifetime license for $29.95. I recommend the latter. I just note that the $30 I paid was for the unlimited calling on my desktop iMac. So, I’m not sure if you have to pay twice or not. I’m guessing you only have to pay for the IM+ for Skype account, but may need to clarify this.

I wonder if they will bother making an application if this continues to work as well as it does. I suspect they will and charge $29.95 for the application. Stay tuned and I’ll make and update on this when and if the app is released.

One of the most controversial applications in the App Store is the application called NetShare. NetShare works with your iPhone to allow you to create a tethered Internet connection with your Mac or PC. What does this mean? Well, it means that you can use NetShare to turn your iPhone into a WiFi hotspot - sort of.

After some pesky configurations, you can get your Mac or PC to communicate to your iPhone which then connects to the web.  I tested it and it does work, but wasn’t very fast since I’m on the Edge network. If you’re lucky enough to have a 3G connection, it will be much faster…. but then again, I’ve never been on a 3G network, so I have no idea how fast that is. 

Enter to win $25 in iPhone apps!  Hurry - contest open to first 25 entries only!

3G iPhone iPod Touch Nano Video Charger Dock Apple 16GB

I’ve only tested this on a Mac so far, but have included a video tutorial that some other dude was nice enough to do.  Scroll to the bottom of this post to see how to configure this on a PC.

[click to continue...]

AppleiPhoneApps.com reviews Jott for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Jott is a voice memo recorder that allows you to record audio notes while on the go.  After making a recording, the audio is sent to Jott servers and… believe it or not real people transcribe the audio message into text for you.  The transcribing usually takes a minute or so.  These notes can then be transferred to your a to do list.  There is a 15 second recording limit and so far you can only read your converted notes on your iphone.  I’m sure in the near future there will be some type of export feature.

Leather Coach Cell/Iphone Case

Installer Apps reviews a pedometer application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Unfortunately it looks like nobody has done a video review of what I think is a better pedometer called Steps, so I’ll have to do one as soon as I get more time.  Steps is brought to you by Edovia and turns your iPhone, iPhone 3G or iPod touch into a personal pedometer.  Enter in your height and weight and it will calculate steps you have walked, distance travelled, time and average speed.

The only flaws I can see so far is that I don’t think it can run in the background while you are doing other things such as listening to music, podcasts, etc.  I’m not positive on this so I’ll test to make sure.  Steps uses the accelerometer (motion sensors) to detect movement.  It is recommended that you put your device in your pocket or wear on your waist for best results.  Currently available in English and French.  If you want to lose weight and are looking for a fun way to do so, try this pedometer application and get in shape!

PEDOMETER Bodymass brand NIB

Stuff.tv reviews Enigmo, a game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Currently, this is the #9 best seller in the iTunes App Store.  Enigmo is a puzzle game that uses the multi touch technology of the iPhone.  This means you can play the game more discreetly - compared to games where you might be waving your iPhone or iPod touch around due to games using the accelerometer.  In this game, you direct water around into little buckets, soak them up with a sponge, etc.  Well, that probably doesn’t make sense, so just watch the video for a better idea.  Enigmo is available for $9.99.

Chris Pirillo reviews Crash Bandicoot Nitro Cart 3D for the iPhone and iPod Touch. This game costs $9.99 and was developed by Vivendi Games Mobile.  You can adjust the accelerometer sensitivity in case you are over steering.  This app can be played in multiple languages - English, French, Italian or German.  Right away this looks a bit like a clone of Nintendo’s Mario Kart.  The game still needs to be optimized a bit, but is still worth ten bucks.  Read his full review here.

Silicone Case Cover for Apple iPhone 3G (4 pcs)