Access Keys:
Skip to content (Access Key - 0)

3 Weeks With An iPhone

So I got my iPhone a few weeks ago now, and rather than bore you with what I think about it, since compared to the million other reviews what more can I add, I want to list the majority of the apps I have been using and if people want a more detailed review (probably in the [iPhone Space]) then shout out in the comments and I'll do one with screenshots and stuff

Non-Games apps

The things that make an iPhone better than just gluing a PSP to your old phone-that-plays-media-thingy

GoogleSync

A must really, you can now synchronise your calendars, contacts and more using Google's exchange server. A howto is available.

CalenGoo

Although syncing your calendars or accessing google does pretty much all you need This is a niffy little app that makes the calendar interface more 'iPhone like' and has slightly better touchscreen integration.

Tweetie / Yammer / Facebook / LinkedIn / Last.fm / eBay

These are my social network apps. All seems pretty good and do all I need: posting, reading, searching, etc.

TouchTodo

I love this app, its a TODO list that integrates with your iPhone's calendar, or your Google Calendar and Google Tasks if you want. It allows grouping of tasks in to projects, as well as tagging features, and offers several views for listing your tasks.

XpenseTracker

Another awesome tool; Expenses are tracked in Logs (e.g Devoxx09), with each log belonging to a category (such as Personal or Work). XpenseTracker can handle lots of currencies with the defaults being GBP, USD, and EUR, it can also capture date/time, VAT, method (cash, debit card, etc), type (Taxi, Train, Restaurant, etc) and attach photographs of the receipts. What makes this really cool is that by using a free program you can export the logs to your Mac or PC in various (limited) formats along with the photos. Perfect for uploading to JIRA

Ping

A quartet of unix tools: ping (xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx), ping all in subnet (xxx.xxx.xxx.0-255), traceroute, and a telnet terminal. I've not found the ping subnet to be that reliable but the other three tools seems to work ok.

Alarm Clock

I have a dock next to my bed and this is a really nice big green LCD style clock that orients acording to the iPhone direction. The free version is a bit useless except as a display as the alarm noise is a bit weak, however the paid version lets you play music from your library which I haven't tried yet as apparently there are better paid-for alarm clock apps like this one.

GoodReader

This is a fantastic tool for reading and managing documents, especially PDF. Along with an ultrminimal UI it allows you to read files downloaded from the internet, transfer files from machine-to-iPhone via web browser, webDAV, and even share files with other iPhones using Bonjour! Well worth the money, especially if you've a few eBooks or pdfs.

IM+ Lite / Red Laser / Skype

Not really had a chance to use these yet but they were downloaded on recommendations from Dan Hardiker

Games

Ok we all have them, these are my current favourites:

  • Canabalt - addictively simple game that you can play whenever you have a spare minute. You control a runner by tapping on the screen to make him leap over buildings and avoid obstacles like creates, the objective being to run as far as you can without dying. Kickass soundtrack to boot.
  • Beneath a Steel Sky - nostalgia warning, if you played the original on the Amiga500 you'll love this. Perfect graphics and a rerecorded (!!!) audio track and narration, with the interface nearly as good as the orginal mouse-based point'n'click.
  • Crazy Snowboard - Uses the tilt-meter to control a snowboarder as he goes round a track doing tricks and knocking things over. Simple and playable, even the free Lite version is good.
  • Finger Physics - physics-engine based puzzle game with the main elements being stacking or removing ("unstacking" I guess) objects. Not the most thrilling game but a nice diversion for waiting rooms and the ilk.
  • I Dig It - wooo another classic game. Needs no further comments
  • Ground Effect - control your hovercar as it races round several challenging courses. Uses the tilt sensors to steer the car which moves without input, however the player can brake and accelerate via touch. I'm not normally a racing driver game fan but this one is really good.
  • Electric Lite - another puzzle game where you complete electric circuits by dragging various components on to the screen. Mildly stimulating and quite a good app though the UI could be a bit more responsive.
  • Earthworm Jim - another classic remade, the Earthworm Jim platformer
  • Dactyl - this is the hardest games I've ever come across. Tap the bombs on the screen as they turn red, miss one and it will explode and its game over! So far the longest game I've managed is 45 seconds
  • Pocket God - bizzare Japanese style click and play adventure where by some random combination of actions you solve puzzles that sort of tell a story. Weird but intriguing.
  • iShoot - remember the old game written in BASIC well it looks the same and plays the same. You can either play against a number of computer controlled enemies or take turns sharing your iphone around to play against other people.
  • Cows in Space - the cows are trapped in bubbles which can only be burst by certain other bubbles. You control a spaceship on the ground that can fire at the bubbles to try and make them bounce around and hopefully the cows will be freed!
  • Blades of Fury - very basic but enjoyable beat'em up on a similar level to the pre-Street Figher arcade game: two hit buttons and a d-pad.
  • Dungeon Master - by the same people as Blades of Fury and a similar UI except the gameplay is much more like Zelda. From a 3rd person perspective you explore a dungeon slashing at enemies and picking up items. Not convinced by this game yet but its alright.
  • :Shift: - brilliant puzzler platform game where you must reach the exit door, the catch is that the screen is black and white and you are able shift which flips the screen vertically and changes the platform to the background (so if you were standing on white blocks you are now standing on black ones and white is the background). The challenges start of simple but quickly become very hard.
  • Lightsabre - turns your iPhone in to a motion sensitive lightsabre include shwing noises and background music.
  • pWars - the craziest and most fast-paced shooter game ever. Control your ship by tapping to shoot and move by tilting either left and right or up and down. Absolute insanity and great fun.
  • Spikey - great puzzle game; fire Spikey round the screen by dragging your finger to free the trapped butterflies. Lots of variety in the puzzles and lots of them. This is the first game I downloaded on my iPhone and I'm still playing and not even half-way through. Try it, you'll love it
Toggle Sidebar

Author

Archives

  1. 2011
    1. January
  2. 2010
    1. October
    2. August
    3. July
    4. May
    5. February
  3. 2009
    1. December
    2. November
    3. October
    4. September
    5. July
    6. May
    7. April
    8. March

Blogroll

Adaptavist Theme Builder Powered by Atlassian Confluence