EA first hooked me on its mobile efforts when I got to play around with the iPhone version of Tiger Woods at their big sports extravaganza a couple of years ago. A few months pre-release, I found myself going back to the iPhone while most people had bigger fish to fry. To be honest, there was probably more interesting stuff around, but for some reason, I was really impressed.

Up to then, iPhone games of any serious sort either didn't impress me all that much, or wreaked havoc on my phone. Of course, we all know things are different today, but now they've kicked off Madden NFL 11, and it's almost a whole new world all over again.

For the first time, consumers can now play Madden NFL 11 on iPad™. Madden NFL 11 for iPad™, iPod® touch and feature phone versions are launching alongside the franchise console offerings today. A version for Android™ phones will be available later in the year.

“The release of Madden NFL 11 upholds EA’s legacy of innovation in the mobile industry,” said Travis Boatman, Vice President of Worldwide Studios for EA Mobile. “Total Defensive Control, a brand new feature for iPad and iPod touch, redesigns how you play defense giving you more control and ultimately, making it more fun. If you have a mobile device and you’re a football fan, then this is the game for you.”

Madden NFL 11 for iPad and iPod touch

Madden NFL 11 is the most fun and complete NFL experience ever made for mobile devices and is available today from the App Store.

• Win With Defense – Total Defensive Control delivers the fun on defense. Play both sides of the ball with equal intensity with the all-new “Total Defensive Control.” TDC allows players to pause the action, position their defense and deliver game-changing hits like never before.

• Quick Play Decisions – With the new GameFlow playbook based on the console game’s new feature, players spend less time in the playbook and more time on the field. Keeping the game’s momentum going and shortening overall time per play is perfect for gaming on the go.

• Control the Action – With the innovative feature called “Hot Routes Everywhere,” players pick almost any football player pre-snap and literally draw their movement on the field while creating the play on the go. This year, draw routes on passing and running plays, along with defense.

• Graphics and Controls Befitting the Game – With HD-quality graphics for iPad, optimized graphics taking full advantage of the new Retina display and 3GS maximized visuals, football players rumble into action in authentic stadiums as gamers get drawn deeper in the experience.  Controls are maximized for each device including a unique passing wheel designed exclusively for iPad.

• Unmatched Authenticity on Mobile Devices – With 32 NFL teams in authentic stadiums, choose from updated rosters featuring nearly 2,000 real players even seeing players’ names on the their jerseys in the iPad version.

• Play Your Way – Whether playing rivals via Bluetooth on the iPod touch or jumping right into a solo game, Madden NFL 11 delivers like never before. Play through an entire 16-game schedule in Season Mode making trades and tracking stats for a team and the entire league. In Playoffs Mode, replay last season’s historic playoffs all the way to the Super Bowl.

• Additional Features Coming Soon – Upcoming free iPad updates scheduled in time for the kick-off to the NFL regular season include retro-style “Vintage Voltage Football” and multiplayer gameplay.

Pick it up at iTunes here.

RU?

© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

Curious Apps often take off, and it doesn't hurt to have Harry Potter in the name. Harry Potter: Spells is an App that lets you turn your iPhone into a wand and start dueling, and now a free option has been released.

HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS, the best-selling Harry Potter App for the iPhone and iPod touch, is now available as a free app on the App Store.  Based on the Harry Potter films, this immersive app transforms Muggles everywhere into fledgling wizards, enabling them to cast spells against their opponents or disarm them with spells such as Expelliarmus.

Earlier this year, fans who previously purchased HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS were asked to choose the future spell packs through the App’s official Facebook pages.  After receiving a tremendous response, three of the top spells chosen by fans have been included in the first of many spell packs.

The first pack is now available on the App Store and includes Avada Kedavra (instantly defeats your opponent), Morsmordre (summons the Dark Mark) and Reparo (repairs broken objects).  By downloading these spell packs, seasoned Muggles will be able to further hone their spell casting abilities.  Players who download the free app can also add these powerful spells to their collection for an additional $0.99.

About HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS - FREE App

HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS – FREE begins with three spells that allow wizards-in-training to conjure up magic alone or duel others by casting spells from one device to another using Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connections. After receiving an official invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, students visit Ollivanders wand shop, where the wand chooses its new master. Players are then introduced to the legendary Sorting Hat and placed into one of the four houses (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw or Slytherin). Then it’s time to begin Wizard Training in Practice, where players learn the specific hand gestures or touch mechanisms to cast each spell.

May the Best Wizard Win!

Once students master their spells they can practice against the computer or challenge a friend to a duel.  While players of different years may duel, be wary, as more advanced students will have a tactical advantage with a larger repertoire of spells – but novice students can still win based on their magical skills (more damage is done to an opponent with higher level spells and with well-cast spells, regardless of level). A duel concludes when one player’s health meter is reduced to zero.

Spell Types

The app teaches players some of the most popular spells from the world of Harry Potter, including Expelliarmus, Alohomora, and Petrificus Totalus!

Player Profile

Accomplishments, including mastering spells in practice mode and winning duels, are rewarded with house points. The house points that a player earns are combined with those earned by all other players in the same house around the world. In the Profile section, players can monitor the following:

• Statistics: A record of the player’s accomplishments and total number of house points earned including name, house, wins/losses in dueling, total house points, player’s rank within the house and in the school.
• House Point Leaderboard: Displays top ranked players in all four houses and an Overall Leaderboard that showcases the top Hogwarts students.
• Facebook integration – Players can post profiles and scores on Facebook.

The HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS - FREE App is available from the App Store on the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore/.  The HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS spell packs are now available for $0.99 each.  The full version of the App which includes 17 spells and one premium spell pack is also available for $2.99.

For more information on HARRY POTTER™: SPELLS please visit: http://harrypotterspellsapp.com/ or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/apps/application.php?id=2456501788

© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

Now available at the App Store, Ninja Assassin is based on the film, and throws you into the role. You'll swipe the screen to swing your sword, tap to hide and throw shurikens, and much more.

I haven't had a chance to exhaust the game, but it's a fun, highly-stylized hack-and-slash with some twists. Additional game modes add to the playability, but the story mode is the main thing, and the progression of levels offers some variety to what is essentially just a killing spree. You can hide, thus allowing for the option to deliver surprise attacks, and there is some strategy to opting for different weapons. There is a bit of a learning curve, as simple as the gameplay seems when you go through the initial tutorial, and a few of the early targets will possibly leave you unsure about why they keep not falling down at you.

Warner Bros. Digital Distribution and Legendary Digital are converting iPhone and iPod touch-users’ fingers into deadly chain blades, razor-sharp shurikens and lethal katanas in Ninja Assassin, a brutal, action-packed game unleashed today on the App store.

Ninja Assassin is a stealthy side scrolling hack n’ slash action game featuring an innovative touch-based, gesture control scheme.  The player controls a single combatant against a number of different mobs and bosses identical to the primary enemies found in the Ninja Assassin movie. The gameplay is intense yet intuitive, while the gesture system allows the player to pull off stunning attacks that provide rich, over-the-top visuals along with a feeling of empowerment.

The game follows Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world, after he was taken from the streets as a child and transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth.  Haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free and vanishes. Now he waits in the shadows, preparing to exact his revenge.

Ninja Assassin’s story mode is designed around the film narrative and organized into four acts.  In addition to story mode, players can experience the ultimate challenge of “survival mode” where they must outlast wave after wave of enemies. Players can then upload and share their high scores online within the game or post to their Facebook page for the world to see.

Game Features:

• Intense 3rd-Person Combat – Visceral “Hit-point” system allows player to sever enemy limbs
• Intuitive Hack-n-Slash Gameplay – Gesture-based combat controls enable the user to attack with a simple swipe of the finger
• Engaging Story – Featuring 12 action-packed levels spanning over 4 harrowing acts - separated by original hand-painted artwork inspired by the film
• Stunning Visuals – Showing-off highly stylized, vector-based character models
• Global Leaderboards – Player can rank themselves against the rest of the world
• Personalized Playlist – Listen to your own music while slicing and dicing your way through the game
• Multiplayer Mini-Game – Using Bluetooth connectivity, fling razor-sharp shurikens from one device to the other

Considering that this is an App, and movie tie-in game at that, there's more to it than you might expect. It's hard to say how long this one can keep you coming back, but it's priced right, and the graphics are superb (though some shade of red much of the time).

Check it out at the App Store now!

© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

Once in a while, someone picks up on an idea, and puts out a product that's deceptively simple, but incredibly handy to the right people. Such a product is SeatBuddy. A hands-free way to watch videos on your iPhone or iPod Touch, SeatBuddy is a godsend to those really in need of a solution, and not a bad purchase for those who may occasionally want the added convenience.

Incredibly simple, SeatBuddy is a flexible "sleeve" to put your iPhone in, which then offers the ability to attach it to the back of a seat, or a variety of other places, so that you don't have to hold it. Now, let's face it, a lot of people just aren't going to have that much use for such a product. But, for those who travel a lot, this is a clever idea.

With the straps and velcro, you can now attach your iPhone just about anywhere. You can easily use your tray table in a plane, or the headrest or glovebox in a car, but you can also attach it to a treadmill or bike machine.

I don't know how many times I've seen people watching video on their iPhone, and holding it up in front of them while they walk a treadmill (or trying to work out laying it on it), or laying it on their tray during a flight and hunching over it. The last flight I was on, two different people were holding their iPhone and taking notes on a pad. I personally am certainly not the target market when it comes to the possibility of watching a seminar of some sort on my iPhone, but those people are apparently out there, and they look to me like they wouldn't mind a solution.

The iPhone and iPod Touch offer a lot of convenience when you're on the go, especially in combination with other things like iTunes or Tivo, which give you worlds of options for getting movies and TV shows at your fingertips, but sometimes it's a pain to actually watch them. This product fills a gap, and if you actually use your iPhone for watching videos frequently, you'll be glad you have it.

The product seems quite sturdy, and looks to be crafted with an eye to the double need of strength and flexibility. Via my own rigorous testing I can also tell you that your iPhone is pretty well going to stay in no matter what you try.

As I say, there are countless people who aren't going to get much use out of this, but there are countless others who might use this almost daily, and may not even know this is out there. It's the kind of product that you wonder about when you do see it, and I can tell you that if you're thinking about it at all, you won't regret picking it up.

In the interest of full disclosure, the folks at SeatBuddy sent me one of these via a promotional opportunity through www.fuelmyblog.com

Are You Screening?

© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

Continuing on with their major push toward the iPhone, EA is bringing Command & Conquer Red Alert to the iPhone and iPod Touch at the end of October. Having already put together some incredible iPhone games in the sports realm recently (Tiger Woods, Madden 10, FIFA 10), and with a strong list of other impressive entries (notably The Sims 3), EA isn't letting up on the iPhone any time soon.

It's speculation at this point, but the game looks quite nice, and given the mechanics EA has built into recent titles, I have high hopes for this one. I wonder about the touch controls, because I've played a few games recently which have had somewhat tricky tap, or tap-and-drag controls, but I expect EA won't have that problem. Considering the way Madden 10 is played, and the control abilities there, they seem to have a firm grip on working these things out.

Keep your eye out for the release.

RU?

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• Command & Conquer on the iPhone Looks, At Least, Decent From the Screenshots [IPhone Apps] (gizmodo.com)
• Command & Conquer Red Alert On Your iPhone [EA Mobile] (kotaku.com)

© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

For fans of The Sims, the newest release is an automatic purchase that won't disappoint.  The Sims 3 offers amazingly powerful updates to the theory, and everyone from the uninitiated to the die-hard will find themselves with limitless entertainment.

EA has a new trick up its sleeve for The Sims 3, because you can now get the companion iPhone App version of the game as well.  The game offers surprising functionality for an iPhone App, and a level of complexity and richness that makes it an App game you'll be playing for countless hours.

The App version uses the same "personality traits" system and features an entire town just like the PC version.  Your Sims are fully customizable, get jobs, gain skills, and have goals, leading you through infinite possibilities.

The graphics and controls are great, taking advantage of the furthest reaches of the iPhone capabilities.

Go fishing, make your Sim evil, fall in love, or smack someone around until you've got an enemy, your Sim can be and do anything you want.  You've also got a full line of options to turn your house into a party spot, or just the perfect place to hatch your schemes.

But, in the grand scheme of things, selling The Sims is something you almost don't have to do anymore... for the PC.  What I wanted to know was how was an App going to look to me after a few weeks.  I run through a lot of App games, and a lot of them are really great for a week or so, and then I never bother with them again.  How was this going to fare?

The answer is that it does very well.  I've been running through a somewhat crazy approach to the game in order to get exposure to a lot of variations on things in a short amount of time.  It's a version of playing a game that often gives you a good feel for things, but takes away whatever addictiveness a game might be aiming for.  That wasn't the case here.  Even when repeatedly starting new games with increasingly bizarre trait combinations, and going through Sim life with impulse control shut off completely, the game still sucked me in.

How fun is it really to just be a complete jerk, or on a career path for which you have no valuable skills?  Well, pretty fun actually.

So, the question then becomes whether or not that "replayability" really pans out.  There are a lot of games that really hype their "openness" as a selling point, and sure, you can play a lot of different ways and have various careers... but, will you?  You've taken your Sim all the way to final ranks of your career, played chess countless times, and had parties galore... are you really going to start over?  About 90% of the time, my answer is no.  It's great that I have the options inherent in the open gameplay, but by the time I go through the whole game there are other fish to fry.  For the full experience PC game, I want it to suck me in so much that I really will want to play again, but I was ready to forgive an App version if it didn't quite manage that tricky feat.  But, I think most people will find that they'll take a few different roads here.

While the App version is obviously a slimmed translation of the PC release, I think you'll be surprised by how feature-rich it really is, and by how much addiction you can pack into an App.  The developers really did a great job at tweaking things with the App play experience in mind, and I think this is one I will be coming back to again and again for a long time.

Check out the trailer for the game below, and visit the Sims 3 App page here.

Are You Screening?

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• Hands on with the Sims 3 for iPhone and iPod touch (macworld.com)

© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

EA has a new App game version of Clue out for the iPhone and iPod Touch, and even if it doesn't quite relate directly to the board game, it's a pretty fun time.  It's more of a puzzle game than anything else, and it's well-suited to the play value of iPhone games.  It's complicated, and involves more thought than you'd expect, but it's also easy to digest in short bits while you're on the go.

The familiar faces are back (Miss Scarlet, Mr. Green, etc.), and you're tasked with figuring out who had the candlestick (rope, revolver, etc.) and in what room.  In this version of things, you play a reporter who is sent to investigate the murder.  You go from room to room talking to the suspects, examining objects, and taking notes.  You'll get clues like, "I was reading a book," or, "a sharp object was the murder weapon," or, "Mr. Green was in the north wing."  You only have so much time to piece together your notes and come up with an accusation.  The Crime Map, Notes, and Suspicions all help you make the connections.

For a certain theory of iPhone games, Clue is a great addition.  It's clever, looks sharp, and it's the perfect thing for a quick shot here and there when you're waiting for something, or just have a few minutes to kill.  There are a good number of "levels" of increasing difficulty, and they'll have different "endings" on replay, so you can take them on again.

I have to admit to a certain bias towards this sort of puzzle game, but even trying to keep this in mind, I find it a pretty entertaining game.  The interface is put together nicely, making it simple to maneuver around the game and access any feature from wherever you happen to be.

At $4.99, it's priced right.  You get a lot of play value for your money, and it's a slick, fun game for the price.

Check it out with the link below.

Are You Screening?

Related articles by Zemanta

• Review: Clue for iPhone and iPod Touch (geardiary.com)

© 2009, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

If you didn't manage 30 Best iPhone Apps + 14 Games - Part 1 yet, it probably makes sense to check it out.

Jumping right along then...

20.  Pocketpedia

Pocketpedia is basically a media-specific database.  It's straightforward, simple, and has caused me very few problems.

Start out by creating a new Collection, name it anything you want, then search Amazon for titles.  Find movies, books, CDs, or Games, and put them in your collection.  Once added, your collection items will give you Amazon reviews, and other information about the title (director, actors, etc.), as well as the Amazon reviews.

Depending on which category you're in, you get different information.  Once you've got your collection together, you can move items from one collection to another (like "Borrowed"), in order to give a lot of options for keeping track of your stuff.

Now, the majority of the time this works like a charm.  But, I have to mention that getting your collections setup to begin with can be a pain.  Once you have your collections established, having to wait a bit to add the next new thing isn't a real big deal, but if you're searching for the wrong thing it can be pretty slow.

Searching for "Criminal," for example, because let's say you are looking for the movie Criminal, brings a jillion possibles, takes forever, and lists Criminal on about page 14 of the choices.

If you have a massive collection you want to keep track of, you're going to want to really pace yourself on the initial input of your items.

After that, this is a pretty nifty little option for keeping that info handy, and it lets you rate items and then list your collection a variety of ways.

19.  Photogene

Here we go with things that have a lot of App options again.

Our problem here is that the iPhone camera doesn't give you a lot to work with.  Point, take picture, that's about it. Now, you can always load that picture up to your desktop/laptop, and do massively great things with it if you've got the right software.  But, while it's just sitting on your iPhone, you can't do anything out of the box.

Photogene gives you several options once you've opened it and opened a picture.  You can probably figure them out just by looking at the bar you get.  Like I said, it's nothing really complicated or fancy.  Crop, rotate, clean up the color...kind of... your basic options, but options that are handy.

Now, yes, a lot of the time I probably just want to get my picture on my computer, and fix it up more seriously.

But, a slightly different lot of the time, I want to have a picture on my phone and mix it up a little, and email it.

Or, I just don't want to have to upload a picture just to download it again, if I want to keep it on my iPhone.

Okay, and Photogene has little gimmicks on it as well.  Put frames around the images, and add bubbles with customized text.  And, yes, there are several options for different style bubbles, and a choice of fonts.

You're going to want something, and this is the option for anyone who isn't too serious about things.

There are Apps that give you better controls, and more options for playing with the images, but they cost, and you have to ask yourself if you really need it.

Once the thing can do enough, and costs enough, then I'll just move the image to my computer.

18.  Shopping List

Yep, it's just a shopping list.  I'm not going to include a picture either, because... imagine a list... with things you might shop for on it...

This is one of those Apps that gets more and more useful as time goes on.  At first it actually seems like nothing all that special, and you might think you could just as well use a Notes tool.

This one is really handy though, and like I said, it's smart, and becomes more useful.

Also, once you look this up at the AppStore, go to the Apps website and check out the tutorials on how to use all its features, which will tell you more than I can.

Ok, so, you first setup categories of items, and add items to those categories.  You just do this as you're making your first list, and with subsequent lists you keep adding.  In future, you just need to select items to put on a new list.  Shopping list, check.

Now you go to the store.  When you get to the store, you open your list and start a shopping session.  The App will ask to find your location, and ask you the name of the store.  Now you go in and do your shopping, checking off things as you go.  If you have a large list, there are options for organizing it if that helps as you're going through the store.

When you're done, end the shopping session.

Little disclaimer here---  The thing will ask you how much you spent, and there are further features for keeping track of how much items cost, and potentially telling you where things are cheaper based on where you have purchased them.  I'm not messing with that, but for your information there is that option.  See the App website for more on how powerful that might be.

Now, assume some time has passed, and you've had several trips to several stores.  Pretty much everything you're going to be putting on your lists is already in a category, so making your list is just bang bang clicking on things.  At this point, you can, if this is interesting to you, just ask the thing where to go.  It will find your location, and tell you where the closest stores you have been to are, and which items on your list have been purchased there.  When you get there, your list will be organized with items in the order that you are going to find them in the store based on when you have checked them off on your past trips.

Hey, I think it's cool.

17.  i.TV

Yes, pretty much just find out what's on TV.  There are other features though, and supposedly more to come (like maybe set your Tivo from the App).

Start off telling it where you are and where you get your TV, and then when you open it up you get this little shot over here.

Scroll around, switch time, the usual stuff.

Then you can select a show, and get this.  So, you get your episode information, and you can rate shows, and so on.

Now Watch doesn't mean watch the show, it means send yourself an email reminding yourself to watch it.  Share is a similar idea, but you're telling someone else it's a great show.

You can also get options for writing reviews of the show through your iPhone, viewing your favorites, and a few other nifty little things.

Move on over to Theaters, and you get this --

Pick your theater and you'll get times for shows.

Glenn Beck gets a free ad now of course, but what can you do.

You can also select a film once you're in the showtimes, and you'll get info on the movie.

Like so---

The App, thus far (it's relatively new to me, and new in general) works like a charm.  Once in a while it has to download new data, but it doesn't take long, and you get a wealth of info and options.  I suspect they may even be serious about the many features coming soon.

One stop shopping for a lot of things you might want info on.

16. GoSkyWatch Planetarium

This would actually be even higher, except that I suppose it just isn't going to appeal to everyone.

Open it up, let it find you, and get an image of the constellations.  This one also has a great website you can visit through the AppStore which will show you a lot of the features, video included.

You can adjust the settings to turn off the outlines or pictures generated for the constellations as well.

Now, if you let the app locate you long enough, and get a very good position, you can hold up your iPhone and point it at the sky, and the sky in the App will move along with you as you aim it at wherever you want to look.

Really.

You can also search the sky for any constellation, planet, or several deep sky objects, and click what you want, and you'll be taken right to it.  The search list automatically greys out what you can't actually see from where you are, but will show it to you if you select it.

Just like with many iPhone Apps, use your fingers to zoom in or out, and get up close and personal with constellations or specific stars.  (Much much closer than this shot by the way).

This also has a very cool feature that lets you fast forward through time to see what will be where in the future.

Better still, I've yet to run into even the slightest problem with it.  Like I said, you want to kind of sit and let it get a really accurate reading of where you are for maybe a minute, just for functionality, but everything works great.

15.  Midomi

Now, a lot of people are going to say Shazam.  That's the other big App that does basically the same thing.

I'm just going to have to go with my experiences.  Lots of people say Shazam is better, or at least just as good, but it never worked for me at all.  I mean not at all.  Not it worked, but it sucked.  I tried getting it going any number of times, remove it and reinstall it, and who knows what.  Since I first had it there have been, I think, three updates, and it doesn't matter.  Won't get out of the gate for me.

So, Midomi, which has always worked, and worked great, is actually a strange little App.  Short story, it will tell you the song you are trying to figure out the name of.  You've got a lot of options for doing this too.

As you can see, you can sing or say.  Just select that, tap where it tells you, and starting singing or saying lyrics.  Now, why both these options exist I have no idea. 

I can certainly imagine (given the other options) that it makes some difference, but why not just the Sing option?  Whatever.  Works fine though.

This is the page resulting from my saying "Who Can It Be Now?"  Hooray.

You can also type in something to search for, but why bother?

Of course, the real wacky fun of this crazy thing is Grabbing.

You can just hold your iPhone up to any source playing music, and Midomi will analyze what it hears and tell you what the song is.

This result was the same when I grabbed the first ten seconds (it only does ten seconds at a time, if it can't get it you have to try again with wherever you are in the song now), or a couple different middle ten seconds of this song.  I thought that was pretty cool, because the first ten seconds have no words... and barely any music.

I've played with this a lot, and it does what it claims.  You have to be careful with the truly obscure, but I haven't run into too many things it didn't know.

14.  WeatherBug

If you don't already know, the Weather App that comes with the iPhone sucks.  It gives you very little information, although, if you live somewhere that doesn't actually have a lot of weather I guess you're fine.

I live where I have a lot of weather, and I want some serious weather information... let's say, within reason for what an App is going to give me.

You might already know WeatherBug, and here's the App.  This picture will call me a liar, but most of the time I've used it the update was not more than 5-10 minutes ago.

Tap on the day down at the bottom, and you get a somewhat extended forecast for the day.  You can also save several locations to get weather in different cities.

Then tap on Radar---

And, if it's interesting, you can move all around, although that can become a bit slow.

It was not so much a fun day here.

Pretty simple, helpful App that is miles better than the standard issue version.

It also has a Cameras option which I think is really cool, but is probably more functional for those in bigger cities.  I only get three camera options, and none of them are close to me.  I've heard (and correct me if I'm wrong) that major metropolitan areas can find this very useful, because you're bound to have a couple of options wherever you are, or are going.

I have a "when I'm going skiing" option, but that's about it.

New York had a billion options, and none of them meant anything to me, so I just picked this one.  It says (2 of 3), but that's 3 of the options after I picked Central Park as an area, out of at least a score of choices.

This is a live picture fed to you when you tap on the App.  Now, someone's clock is off and don't ask me to explain that.  I went back and checked any number of places, and they all gave me the right time, including this one, but here it's off.  Seriously, it's live.  Well, sometimes it's liveish.  The ones near me especially.  They seem to only snap once every 15-45 minutes, and that's the shot you get.  I haven't found any others that were in the future though.

13.  Snap My Life

Here's an App that you'll either love, or find ridiculous.

Use your iPhone camera abilities to take a photo, and send it directly to the Snap My Life map of the world.  Then you can explore around the map, and find out what's around by looking at other people's shots.

Theoretically, this is another one that will just keep getting better.  Zoom in on this shot, and you will find a lot more pictures, but there aren't as many as would really turn this thing into something awesome.

There are like three anywhere near me.

This is another App with competition.  There are several other Apps that do more or less the same thing.

I chose this one, because it worked pretty fast, seemed to have at least a pretty good start on a fair number of users, and gave me some results internationally.

It loads up pretty quickly after finding you, and you can move around and zoom without the thing crashing or loading forever.

This is the pick for now, but I rather assume that this is the sort of idea where some App is going to "win," and that's the one everyone is going to have to get, because that's the one everyone gets.

12.  Instapaper

This is actually one of my favorite Apps, and it would be higher, except that the whole numbering thing doesn't mean that much to me anyway.  But, just to be clear, I LOVE this App.  There is a free version, but buy the expanded one.  I don't know if I'm going to say that it is absolutely worth it, though it is for my purposes, but this is so cool and helpful that the creator ought to get the money.

So, you install this App.  Then you sign up at the website.  Then, depending on your browser, you in some manner create a "bookmark" that knows who you are.

Now, as you surf the web, read your feeds, go to links from your emails, or whatever, when you find something that looks cool you click your "bookmarker."  So, let's say you find something that looks good, but you don't want to read it all right this second, or you want to save it, or you just want to make it available on the go, one click is all you need.

Once you "bookmark" it with your Instapaper, you just go to Instapaper on your iPhone, and you will find a "textualized" version of that article, or whatever it is.

Like, suppose you were reading something right now, and you wanted it snapped into a newspaper-ish form that you could get whenever you want on your iPhone... that would be cool.

This is one, of course, where you have to ask yourself if you're going to use it.

I use it all the time.  You can blitz through feeds, and whatever you find that might take a while to read, give yourself the option to read it on the go.

11. Easy Relax

This spot on this list was held by Ambience until about four days ago.  That's when I found Easy Relax, which does the exact thing, does it better, with a slicker interface, and for free.

Here again, it's either cool and you'll use it, or you'll think it's really stupid.  

It's just a background-noise maker.  Ambience is one of the big two versions of this same idea, and I liked it better than the competition.  Easy Relax destroys them both, and not just because it's free.  It works better, has miles and miles better sounds, and builds in the timer feature better.

I know, this is crazy, but if you want to just get rid of other noise, or fall asleep on a plane, this is really cool.  Almost all the options on Easy Relax are actually decent background type noises.  Compare that with Ambience which is a huge file and fully 75% of the noises are just frickin irritating.

Well, you've made it through stage 2.  Stay tuned for the top ten, and two posts worth of games.

Once again, The 30 Best iPhone Apps + 14 Games - Part 1

Are You Screening?

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