Post app reviews here =)

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

I purchased Splash Shopper and Splash ID because I use the stand alone Mac desktop versions. Both are pretty slick EXCEPT I'm having difficulty syncing them with the desktop versions. I've contacted Splash Data by email and got a useless response. They don't publish a phone number so I've sent them another message. The desktop versions of these apps have worked flawlessly for me for years!

That said . . . . these two are winners, unless you need to sync the data

I just bought SplashID for the iPhone. Is there any way that I can somehow backup the data I enter into the iPhone version of SplashID without buying the desktop version (assuming they get syncing to work)?

Or am I SOL?

 

[KapitanIksrog]

AppStore: Its a dream come true.

I second that. I am blown away by the Apps and the App Store right now. I couldn't get my hands on a 3G today and I forgot about it since about 8 PM when 2.0 was released (officially... I waited and then I had trouble getting it). Only drawback is I see myself spending waaay too much money at the beginning.

Here are some quick reviews:
AIM - 7/10 - Will go up in September/October
AOL Radio - 8/10 - I love this app. I agree that its like having Sirius (I had uSirius on a 3 day trial). Great for an office job like I have where they block every streaming site that exists
Pandora - 9/10 - I have found that all my radio stations are great. I have an Oasis one and it threw an insane Verve, Oasis, Blur, Beatles combo at me a few minutes ago. (The best thing about an app like this is it lets me relax on trying to get all 200 GB of music I have onto a 16 GB phone. I feel that the artist specific stations are great for artists that you are occasionally in the mood for). Only point taken away is because you can't leave the program and multi-task.
IGN Games - 10/10 - Simple and to the point. My fiance is already thrilled that she won't be waiting 5 minutes for the IGN page to load while I sit in the corner at gamestop.
Shazam - 8/10 - Impressive. Does exactly what is says.
Sketches - 9/10 - Had this on installer and I can't be without it. I can aimlessly doodle for ages. I like drawing pics of all my contacts and adding them.
Midomi - 5/10 - Haven't used it too much but my fiance and I tried singing 6 songs each into it that were well known and only got one that was accurately returned. But, maybe we suck at singing.
iPint - 6/10 - I actually think this "game" is impressive and pretty responsive. I hope they make more complex levels and add a "spill meter" on certain levels. Score would go way up with more content.
MLB.com At Bat - 10/10 - My head almost exploded when I saw this in action. If there is an NFL app like this, I might just completely lose it.
Phone Saber and World 9 - 6/10 - Both could do more but are great as free apps. Unfortunately these will, without a doubt, win me the most annoying person of the year award. I'd love to see updates to these. For World 9... how about different NES games to chose from? I would love to make a punching motion and it to make the Little Mac punch sound (and super punch sound).

Yep, now I feel like I have gone crazy.

 

[ref26]

Pandora Radio - 10/10 This is by far the best streaming radio application I've ever used. Set up a quick account and create stations based on artists you listen to. Streams songs from the artists selected and similar artists. Absolutely amazing - and gives you the option to download from iTunes.

Love it. Blows AOL Radio out of the water.

I've been using the pandora website for awhile and it's great, it's awesome to have it for my Touch, and that I can use my login info and have all my stations all ready

 

[importluva]

Not one mention of the Apple Inc Texas Hold-Em?! Shame!



Anyway, its amazing. Get it, well worth $5. At least Apple is realistic with their pricing.

I would rate Hold-Em at 8/10. Its a big app at 50+mb but it is well executed. Kills battery life real fast unfortunately.

Now if only Apple would release that Touch Fighter that they demoed. I've been looking for a space ship game but doesn't seem to exist?

 

[Chef Medeski]

As for spoon, it definetely does not know what the major cities in Canada are because it only has two and it left out the seconded largest with over 4 million people! Vancouver barely has 2.5! Dissapointing...

 

[aft]

Units
$1.99
1 out of 10

Converted temperature wrong and interface is very screwed up....dissappearing buttons. BTW posted a review in iTunes, but it doesn't show up are the editing/reviewing reviews to make sure nothing is too negative?

 

[suneun]

I've tried only 3 apps so far, though I read through the descrips of most of the Free Apps. I'm cross posting this from the iPhone app/hack forum because I realized this is the actual app forum (!)

Shazam
Free
10/10
This listens to a song for 15-20 secs and tells you what the song is. I only demo'd with one song which it got correct, but reviewers say they've had fantastic results. This is excellent.

ePocrates
Free
8/10
Registration is evil. They want to know your name, which medical school you went to, what year you graduated, and they attempt to VERIFY that you went there. Ick. That's where I dinged it on the rating. Try bugmenot if you hate registration. But otherwise, impressive and important app for health workers. The download is actually an install app which then installs the larger entire application. So don't be fooled by the 0.7 mb file size.

Tap Tap Revenge
Free
8/10
This is a well done game (and free) with tapping and shaking to music. The downside is that they're pre-done music so it can't take music from your library. I expect they'll add that (possibly for a fee?) since they had it in a previous version apparently. There's even a two player version and a contest today and tomorrow with a $300 gift certificate prize.

Yes there are a LOT of silly apps on the iTunes store (sim stapler, white screen flashlights, bubbles, pretend beer/milk, lightsaber sound on movement). I haven't downloaded any because I don't want to crud up my iPhone. But they look like fun!

 

[SmartriX]

My Two Cents

Hopefully someone will find my two cents useful!

As I was halfway typing this long review of my installed apps my iphone crashed on me and I am now having to restore it as we speak...

Aqua Forest:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxpGdRH7J5I
Amazing showcase of accelerometer, awesome sandbox gameplay, great way to waste some time. Def not everybodys cup of tea, if youre interested, tastes like "hell of a sand falling flash game" that can be found and played online.

Aurora Feint:
http://aurorafeint.com/
Hands down the best free game on the appstore right now. Superb graphics, great presentation, addicting puzzle gameplay and its the only game with RPG elements available at the moment, you have nothing to lose at the cost of free!

Brain Challenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNS42Rzcjmc
Feels like a bit washed down version of brain age for ds, very similar to xbox live version. Perfectly priced for the amount of content it offers, I am especially enjoying the daily brain trainer that will keep track of your usage stats, similar to wii training for wii sports. Crisp user interface and great graphics. For anyone who likes brain teasers or math questions, etc.

Enigmo:
http://www.pangeasoft.net/iphone/enigmo/index.html
Nothing to say but what an exquisite translation of the existing mac version currently available. Rocksteady frame rate, great controls, overall great purchase. Tastes like the incredible machine or armadillo run.

iPint:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLp0s88pH3I
Fun at first but gets boring very fast, will probably delete in a while if not for the novelty of showing off, its free!

iXpenseIt:
http://www.ixpenseit.com/
Does everything it says, great finance tool, well integrated and feels solid however lacking a few obvious functions. Setting budget categories and then the transactions adhering to a specific set budget by week or per month then displaying how much money you have left in each budget, would also be nice to see vendors in the transaction list instead of the categories. Really hope for an update because it is a great app.

Light:
The free one, yep its a white screen, it is a bit whiter than using a safari screen or mail screen for the same purpose just for the fact of using those extra 30-40 pixels of white area.

Mix Meister Scratch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ihU-ZD80pA
Another novelty application that is fun for 10 mins, turns screen into vinyl record that allows you to scratch on top of existing ipod music, comes with 10-15 available scratching noises, able to adjust volume.

NearPics:
Handy dandy little application that gps's your location and displays pictures other people have taken near your area, you can also click on the map icon to locate exactly where that picture was taken via geotagging. Fun to see other pictures of your area, could be especially useful on vacation. Takes a second or two to start up but solid thereafter.

OneTap:
In my opinion the best movie app out there right now, except for that wierd map flash at the beginning of every start up. GPS's your location and displays theaters, showtimes, popular movies at the box office and where theyre showing, ratings and descriptions via imdb, streaming trailers and directions to the theater. I chose this over the others because the other two, boxoffice and movies.app simply didnt find all of the theaters I use!

PhoneSaber:
Yup, turns your phone into a light saber, pretty accurate sounds for the motions, allows you to change colors, fun with your freinds, novelty at best, its free!

Quordy:
http://quordy.com/
Awesome little word finding game that utilizes shaking the phone to jumble the words up and adds sliding your finger in multiple directions to find different words, compare yourself to other players times and challenge freinds!

SaveBenjis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMdm2gl9Hug
This is a very useful application for anybody who buys anything, which would be everybody. Simply type in what you are going to buy, or the barcode number if you have it, and it will display all of the cheapest places to buy the item, supplying the online link if necessary.

Shazam:
Application that listens to whatever is playing at the moment and will identify artist, song name, album art etc. Will also display itunes purchase link when available, very accurate!

SportsTap:
Feels very solid, I used the webapp before this native app came out and it feels much better. The quickest way to find out sports scores for any sport, and its free!

Super Monkey Ball:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v0Y1Haa-oQ
Looks and smells great, a good indication of where gaming on the iPhone is headed. Be warned that the controls take a while to get used to and can be very frustrating. It boggles my mind as to why SEGA would condone a gameplay mechanic that involves turning the screen away from the player half of the time. Could very much use the update to include a sensitivity slider for the accelerometer and a calibration tool to choose your center to adhere for multiple sitting positions.

TapTapRevenge:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6HuXJy1J_w
Guitar Hero and Rock Band fans can't go wrong with these free iteration!

Texas Hold'em:
http://www.pocketgamer.co.uk/r/iPhone/Texas+Hold'em/news.asp?c=7622
A must for any poker fan alike, awesome graphics, easy fast gameplay and an intuitive camera system that reacts to the accelerometer. Easy purchase.

Trism:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hy0ptZisr70
Easily the best puzzle game available in my opinion, very original concept, makes use of multiple directions, looks and sounds good and very solid.

Applications I hated and deleted:

Big Canvas Photoshare:
Crashed and never worked

zintin
Not enough features to even feel useful in your hand.

Limbo
Maybe I am just out of the loop, but I will stick with facebook.

BoxOffice
Never found my fav movie theatres.

Movies.app
Never found my fav movie theatres, movies very slow to stream.

Pangea VR
Useful for a VR photographer, but too slow to use for pure fun.

 

[AJsAWiz]

I just bought SplashID for the iPhone. Is there any way that I can somehow backup the data I enter into the iPhone version of SplashID without buying the desktop version (assuming they get syncing to work)?

Or am I SOL?

Here is the first answer I received from Splash Data support:
Thanks for contacting us. You can download and use the SplashID desktop for
iPhone for free:

http://www.splashdata.com/splashid/download/iphone.htm

You still need to buy the handheld application from the App Store though.

To import your data from the previous version, see this FAQ:

http://splashdata.com/splashid/support/iphone.htm#import

Please let me know if you have any other questions.

-Justin
SplashData

It didn't help me but maybe you'll find some useful information

 

[JW008]

Along the lines of SplashID, I'm about to get SplashMoney. It's a budget app that does everything I use in Quicken for $9.99. Plus, next week they're releasing a desktop companion that will sync between the iPhone App and the desktop app. This is exactly the type of iPhone App/Desktop App companionship I hoped would open up with the App store.

If anyone is interested, here's the link to the iPhone app: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=283035434&mt=8

And here's a link to a free trial of the desktop app: http://www.splashdata.com/splashmoney/desktop/index.htm
The iPhone syncing isn't enabled yet, but I asked on their forums last night and they say that they're shooting for a release next week.

 

[GfPQqmcRKUvP]

It didn't help me but maybe you'll find some useful information

Exactly what I was looking for. Thanks a ton!

 

[SmartriX]

Along the lines of SplashID, I'm about to get SplashMoney. It's a budget app that does everything I use in Quicken for $9.99. Plus, next week they're releasing a desktop companion that will sync between the iPhone App and the desktop app. This is exactly the type of iPhone App/Desktop App companionship I hoped would open up with the App store.

If anyone is interested, here's the link to the iPhone app: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=283035434&mt=8

And here's a link to a free trial of the desktop app: http://www.splashdata.com/splashmoney/desktop/index.htm
The iPhone syncing isn't enabled yet, but I asked on their forums last night and they say that they're shooting for a release next week.

Definitely what I am looking for in exchange of iXpenseIt...thanks!

 

[Alan Taylor]

Units
$1.99
1 out of 10

Converted temperature wrong and interface is very screwed up....dissappearing buttons. BTW posted a review in iTunes, but it doesn't show up are the editing/reviewing reviews to make sure nothing is too negative?

I doubt it since there are reviews that refer to installer.app and jailbroken phones.

 

[suneun]

Thanks for mentioning Trism. I hadn't heard of it before and it looks awesome. Just got it!

 

[mikes63737]

Now if only Apple would release that Touch Fighter that they demoed. I've been looking for a space ship game but doesn't seem to exist?

It's a sample app, which was created by Apple as a demonstration, and is available on ADC. (here)

 

[arjunreddyj]

i opened a yellow pages app my screen went nuts its showing some odd colers and nothing is working i tried pressing home screen power button nothing is working i guess i have to wait till battery drains to re start

 

[noisebleed]

splashshopper > everything.

it's not just for shopping... take a look at it, it's just... wowzers.

 

[Tim!]

AIM- seems fairly responsive enough. Wish there was a yahoo and a msn one too though this will do for now. 7.5/10
AOL Radio-Havent really messed around with one that much but so far I like 8.3/10
Baseball-Not really all that great I thought it would have recent info and be updated more... 5.7/10
Facebook-Currently its better to just use safari and log on to facebook and see more stuff... hopefully a update will fix this soon 4.3/10
Light-Does what it does.... nothing revolutionary but nothing bad 8.9/10
Livesportz-Its fairly slow but it is free and quick way to check scores 7/10
Motion-X PokerFirst thing I actually bought from the app store and it was worth it. This game is one of the most addicting games I have ever played and I can not recommend it enough. 9.6/10

 

[Polska]

Weatherbug only in Farenheit?

LOVE: AOL Radio App (free) Weatherbug App (Free)

The problem that I had with Weatherbug is that is only in Farenheit, giving no option to use Celsius.

Erick Pessôa
Germany

 

[Polska]

I purchased Splash Shopper and Splash ID because I use the stand alone Mac desktop versions. Both are pretty slick EXCEPT I'm having difficulty syncing them with the desktop versions. I've contacted Splash Data by email and got a useless response. They don't publish a phone number so I've sent them another message. The desktop versions of these apps have worked flawlessly for me for years!

That said . . . . these two are winners, unless you need to sync the data

I've been using SplashID since it's PalmOS version and I am pretty satisfied with it. I used to sync it with my desktop version with Missing Sync (I had a TyTN II). I also sent them a message asking about how will be the sync system and I will buy at the Apps store as soon as they let me know how it will work.
Cheers!
Erick Pessôa
Germany

 

[egor]

I'm not sure if a sticky thread is the best for reviews, but anyway...


Applications

Talking Phrasebooks by CoolGorilla (Free) - 6/10 - These come in quite a few languages and won't cost you anything. The basics are covered for each language, from travel to numeracy. As well as showing you the written form of the phrase you can hear how it is pronounced.

The interface of a phrasebook is important. In the case of these apps it isn't stellar, slightly unresponsive and too much nesting. Rather than being able to listen to many phrases from a single page you have to go to each phrase's dedicated page.

On the other hand it's an impressive collection of audio phrases considering they are free. You'd expect many more if it was a product you'd paid for, though. Minor quibble, would like a volume control.

Lonely Planet Phrasebooks (From Free to £5.99) - 8/10 - Compared to the previous phrasebooks reviewed these have a large amount of content and a far better interface (little nesting and responsive). I suggest everyone interested downloads the free Mandarin phrasebook to get an idea of the quality (plus Mandarin is a pretty useful language to have anyway). £5.99 isn't bad either, but bear in mind that a real phrasebook would cost the same and have many times more phrases (but no audio, obviously).

Zenbe (Free) - 7/10 - So this is a ToDo list and a very good one. It syncs to Zenbe (which I haven't heard of) and does everything you would expect. A nice clean green interface. You can create many lists and choose a due date for each item if you wish. The most important thing is the ability to tick items off (not possible in notebook). If you wish you can also share the lists. Would be nice to be able to put in an address for each list or listed item (that linked to google maps), but other than that a nice app. This won't replace notebook though, I hasten to add.

Bloomberg (Free) - 8/10 - This far surpasses the inbluilt stocks app and is a must for anyone that used that. Many options, you can add your portfolio if you wish (and it'll track your gains/losses based on each stock based on the book value you enter). You can also read up on news of each stock or the market (for which there is a dedicated page which includes foreign indices). Other statistics for each stock include the P/E, year on year return, highs/lows and volume. The charts are nice too, turn it sideways for a more detailed chart where you can select the time period.

It doesn't get a higher score because the interface is a bit slow and more technical charts are not provided (no candlesticks here). Also the portfolio is only for long positions, no shorts. I still recommend it though, if I could delete the stocks app that comes with the device I would.

Games

Caissa Chess (£5.99) - 7/10 - How much you like this obviously depends on how much you like chess. First up, what it lacks. There is no multiplayer and it is entirely in 2D (not that it'd work in 3D). What has it got? Well there are loads of different boards and pieces, you can choose your combination. The full chess ruleset is also there, as you'd expect. You can save your game on exit, undo moves and select from 14 different difficulty settings. At £5.99 it's not cheap if you have the iPhone and can simply use an online chess game in Safari. On the other hand it's the only chess game working on iTunes right now (the other one is missing from the store). A competent but not spectacular game.

Super Monkey Ball (£5.99) - 6/10 - This isn't as hard as people make it out to be. It's an average game that gets an average score. The graphics are colourful, although unlike the levels the monkeys are just sprites and not 3D models. One of the bigger problems is that you have to hold your device practically flat, as if you were holding the level itself. On the one hand this is logical, on the other it's uncomfortable. One of the bigger problems is the lack of features, there are no mini-games to speak of and in many ways it feels rushed compared to Sega's other Super Monkey Ball games which are usually amazing value for money.

Texas Hold'Em by Apple Inc. (£2.99) - 7/10 - This is astounding value for a game that features multiple actors captured with video. On the other hand it is just hold'em poker with no other variants provided. How much you like texas hold'em affects how much you like this game. Personally I find it can get tedious. There are many different tables with increasing buy-in requirements and prizes, some have a final table you proceed to after winning the first.

You can either hold this in portrait view and see the players make their decisions (watch closely, they have tells that indicate when they're bluffing) or you can stick it in landscape and see the whole table at once (a more traditional view). Watching everyone make their decision in portrait view can take a while, so I recommend landscape.

The way you interact with this game is clever, throw the cards away with your finger to fold; move your chips to the centre to go all-in or tap the chips to make a more precise bet.

There is also supposedly multiplayer, but I haven't gotten it to work. It is unclear whether this is with people in your vicinity or online (I assume online, I don't believe the devices can do ad-hoc networking). There is certainly no lobby system like you'd typically find with an online game. So if it does work, you'll end up on a random table (and I doubt there is a chat facility).

Cube Runner (Free) - 4/10 - A 3D game where you pilot a 2D ship around 3D cubes. Easy on easy, hard on hard. There is little to this game but then it won't cost you much. It's fun for a minute at a time.

iPint (Free) - 1/10 - ****.

 

[kis]

SplashID: 8/10 - great app, works perfectly on the iPhone. I was able to import all my old data from the palm version and sync it without a problem. I'm deducing a point because the desktop version, for whatever reason, takes about 2 minutes to start!? And another one because together with the desktop app it's too expensive.

Mobile News: 5/10 - works ok but crashes when I try to add my location

eReader: 7/10 - got it to work after fiddling with it for half a day. Doesn't work with my fictionswise.com account (produces download errors) and some books in my ereader.com bookshelf aren't listed for whatever reason. The reading experience is good and so is the selection in the bookstore. It also lacks the possibility to add bookmars. Apart from that it's good

New York Times: 9/10 - great interface, great quality news but it's a tad slow

Pocket Express: 5/10 - after finally getting past the account creation, I'm somewhat underwhelmed. Didn't find my location (for the weather forecast). The whole app is somewhat slow.

WeatherBug: 5/10 - would work great if we used the English system over here. 90% of the world's population uses the metric system - if that were added, I'd give it a higher grade.

kis

 

[BelAir57]

Only free apps

I've only been using free apps so far. With approximately 1,000 Sudoku games out there for the iPhone, I'd rather wait a bit to see which one ultimately turns into the best. With that said...

Remote-- Super sweet. It's pretty much everything someone could wish for. Great interface, nothing difficult about it. Only thing I wish it could support was access of the Internet streams on iTunes. 9/10

WeatherBug-- Has one of the most important features I was looking for in a weather app: Radar. Has some other features that are nice that don't exist on Apple's Weather app, but those aren't nearly as important to me. Some nice stuff, but quite a bit of clutter. 6/10

BoxOffice-- Good on-the-go app. Has all the movies out in theatres either in alphabetical or rating order (ratings via Rotten Tomatoes). Theatres either in alphabetical or distance order (Current Location supported). I'd like to see future support of movie reviews (such as the web app Tomatometer). 7/10

Epocrates Rx-- Another good on-the-go app. Very useful information. Requires free registration. Though, seeing as I am no pharmacist or doctor, the app occasionally throws in too many abbreviations for me to understand as an everyday consumer. 8/10

Cube Runner-- Fantastic free game. Would be worth purchasing if it actually asked for a few bucks. Relies solely on the accelerometer (which can quickly eat battery life). Addicting and a lot of fun. 9/10

TapTap Revenge-- Kind of like a mix between Guitar Hero and DDR. Relies on both touch and the accelerometer (accelerometer is optional, however). I had some troubles with the accelerometer when it wanted me to go sideways, but a great little program nonetheless. 8/10

JirboBreak-- Just like the classic game of Bricks but with a few modern twists. You can touch-control the paddle, or you can move it via arrows on the screen, your choice. Fun, but not very difficult, and can get old pretty quickly. (You start out with 10 lives, and I still had 7 on Level 13 on my first try). Should be more challenging. 7/10

Facebook-- Where's the wall? Chat and Inbox support, but that's pretty much as good as it gets. The only one of these apps I recommend you don't get. 3/10

 

[benfilan]

well....

I can't believe no-one has mentioned SimStapler!

just one word......SPLENDID!

 

[AJsAWiz]

SplashID: 8/10 - great app, works perfectly on the iPhone. I was able to import all my old data from the palm version and sync it without a problem. I'm deducing a point because the desktop version, for whatever reason, takes about 2 minutes to start!? And another one because together with the desktop app it's too expensive.

kis

I have the desktop version of Splash ID which is great. I deduct 8 points because the sync feature didn't work (well it worked one time after trying a newer version of iPhone Splash ID, erased all of my data then would not sync again).
My ratings:
Splash ID desktop 10/10
Splash ID iPhone 2/10

There are many others experiencing this sync problem. Check out the Splash ID topic here under App Store. And the forums in Splash Data as well.