Applications

iPhone app shares your whereabouts with ease

During a recent visit to a friend's house in backwoods Kentucky, I got lost while jogging on deserted country roads. I had my iPhone, luckily, but no good way to tell my buddy where I was so he could talk me back.

What I needed was Glympse, a fantastic new app that shares your location via e-mail, text message, and/or Twitter--and does so for a set amount of time.

Tapping Google Maps, Glympse quickly zeroes in on your current location, then gives you the option of sending it to one or more e-mail addresses and/or phone numbers. If you elect to link your Twitter account, you can just type in "Twitter" in the To field.

From there you choose a duration: anywhere from 0 minutes (meaning Glympse sends your current location and that's it) to four hours. For anything higher than zero, the recipient can track your movement in real-time, in Google Maps, for the designated period.

Recipients don't need to sign up for anything or install any software; they just click a link.… Read more

LA City Council delays Google Apps decision

The city of Los Angeles has decided to delay making a decision about whether or not to adopt Google Apps across its network, citing cost concerns.

The City Council's Budget and Finance Committee did not take any action regarding the proposed contract, which has been debated for months as one of the more high-profile public sector Google Apps deals. That means the matter will pass to the full City Council for a vote later this month, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Security concerns had been prominent during earlier discussions of the proposal, which would see the city move … Read more

Rock Band for iPhone doesn't exactly rock

Rock Band. For iPhone and iPod Touch. Right now in the App Store for $9.99.

Just thought I'd cut right to the crucial information, as hard-core fans of the console mega-hit probably don't need to hear anything more. "Rock Band? iPhone? Ten bucks? Sweet!"

Everyone else should listen up before plunking down that sawbuck. EA's official, real-deal port brings the jamfest to the iPhone in style, with gorgeous visuals, great songs, and some solid multiplayer action.

Unfortunately, compromises abound. The songs are great, but you get only 20 of them (and 5 are locked). … Read more

Five awesome iPhone tower defense games

If there's a bigger game genre for the iPhone than Tower Defense clones, I haven't found it. A quick search of the App Store reveals well over 100 titles matching that description.

No surprise there: the iPhone's touch screen lends itself perfectly to this kind of game (which, for the uninitiated, requires strategic placement of defensive armaments to ward off increasingly powerful attackers).

OK, but which TD titles are worth your time--and cash? Here's a roundup of my five favorites. It's by no means a definitive list, but I think fans of the genre will enjoy them all.

Bloons Tower Defense Balloons. Monkeys. Darts. Nearly everything from the beloved Web-based classic appears in the iPhone version. The controls are a little finicky, but if you want to introduce young kids to the world of tower defense, this $2.99 game is the one to get. Navy Patrol: Coastal Defense Though the learning curve is a bit steep and the onscreen action can get a little cluttered, this naval-themed, open-path TD exercise offers some of the most in-depth and challenging gameplay I've found. And the $1.99 purchase price includes new maps as they get added to the game.… Read more

Weekly Utilities Update: OnyX, MacDust, Cocktail, more...

Our Weekly Utilities Update report is a list of all the updates for many Mac utilities that have been released in the past week. While utilities can be any tool that helps you perform a routine task (including image manipulation and synchronization), our main focus in this column is to bring you those that help in troubleshooting Mac hardware and software problems.… Read more

A bar code scanner and a four-wheeler dirt racing game: iPhone apps of the week

Do you have a "jailbroken" iPhone? Ever since the iPhone first came on the scene, there has been a large group of users who believe Apple tries too hard to control what works and what doesn't on the iPhone. The minute a new iPhone firmware update is released from Apple, a whole slew of people search for ways to unlock the device, letting them download apps that have never had to go through the App store acceptance process. This means that apps that would have otherwise never seen the light of day can be used on an … Read more

Moto Cliq: Best Android implementation yet

I know I'm not the only one staring at my clunky T-Mobile G1 right now, willing it to transform into Motorola's new Cliq. I've never been a fan of the G1's thick slab of chin rest that came as part of Google and HTC's debut of the Android platform. And, in my opinion, the plastic slug never did Android any favors, especially when compared, as it inevitably was, with Apple's sexy iPhone.

The MyTouch 3G is much better designwise, with its smooth lines that make it a device people would actually want to use--and … Read more

Apple OKs in-app purchases for free iPhone apps

Developers of iPhone and iPod Touch applications can now enable purchases from within their freely available App Store applications.

Until now, Apple has permitted in-app sales of content, subscriptions, and digital services only for apps costing at least 99 cents.

Apple on Thursday sent the following e-mail to developers:

Considering all the drama surrounding the App Store approval process, this latest move by Apple appears to be a positive one for iPhone SDK developers, as it gives them a bit more flexibility in how they design and potentially profit from the applications they build.

We'd like to hear from … Read more

Concert Vault: Free live recordings on your iPhone

Wolfgang's Vault is an online archive containing hundreds of high-quality concert recordings, mostly from big classic-rock artists like The Who and U2, but with a few newer artists, such as The Walkmen, thrown in as well. (Here's a complete list of performers whose recordings are available on the service.)

Last month, Wolfgang released an updated version of its much-lauded free iPhone application, Concert Vault, which gives you access to these amazing shows directly from your iPhone or iPod Touch.

The update adds a couple minor features, including a list of featured concerts--helpful for keeping track of shows that … Read more

Leonard Maltin Movie Guide packs 24,000 films in your iPhone

Scan the bookshelves of any serious movie buff and you're almost certain to find a worn, dog-eared copy of "Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide."

Of course, just as encyclopedias work far better as interactive, online guides like Wikipedia, so do reference tomes like this benefit from the digital treatment.

Enter Leonard Maltin Movie Guide for iPhone ($4.99), which not only reproduces the full text of the print version, but also delivers some interactive "plot twists."

In addition to 24,000-plus capsule reviews, the guide provides a couple dozen of Maltin's latest reviews (full … Read more