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Filed under: Gaming, Odds and ends, Freeware, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch

Normally we'd just send out a tweet about this (that's usually what we do with free app deals, so if you're not one of the almost 40,000 people following us yet, you definitely should be), but this is a good one, and it's a holiday, so we wanted to make sure you knew. Sega is feeling particularly generous this weekend, so they're giving away free copies of their Columns Deluxe, a port of the old Genesis game, for the iPhone. The game is a pretty straightforward port -- it doesn't have any extras, and the accelerometer controls are a little tacked on from what we hear, but if you like the puzzler gameplay of Columns, and you should, it's a fun one to pull up for a few minutes at a time.

Plus, it's free -- from July 3rd to Monday, July 6th, Sega says it'll be on sale for the low price of nothing at all. Sounds good to us -- sit back, put a few brats and burgers on the grill, grab a Corona (and lime, of course), and enjoy some old-school dropping block gameplay for no money at all.

TUAWSega giving away Columns on iPhone for free all this weekend originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Software, iPhone, App Store, Road Tested

Like my colleague Mel Martin, I've had a serious GPS jones for quite a while. When I was in much better shape, I rode the local trails on a mountain bike with a Garmin eTrex Summit. It didn't have any maps, nor did I really need any for what I was doing. My next GPS receiver was a Garmin GPSmap 60cs that I used for geocaching. It had a nice color screen and some limited maps, but really didn't do a very good job of helping me find my way around town.

The third GPS unit was another Garmin, and in this case it was my first real "navigator." I still have it; it's the Garmin nüvi 660, which is an awesome little unit that can help you find your way around the US or Europe (depending on the model you purchase), act as an MP3 player, or even work as a fairly serviceable hands-free unit for Bluetooth phones. I've used mine with my iPhones since way back in 2007, and have enjoyed hearing the amplified voices of callers blasting out of the nüvi.

It's best capability, of course, is as a navigator. In this post, I'm going to compare the AT&T Navigator app [App Store] and service with the nüvi, and give you my take on how this free app works. Mel already filled you in on some of the details in his earlier post; we agreed that I'd give you the road test perspective.

Continue reading Road Tested: AT&T Navigator for iPhone

TUAWRoad Tested: AT&T Navigator for iPhone originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Gaming, Software, iPhone, App Store

Just in case you haven't yet heard, ngmoco has released Rolando 2 out into the App Store for the premium price of $9.99. The game's subtitled Quest for the Golden Orchid (in this one, you're rescuing a relic rather than a prince), and though it's not cheap by App Store standards, but on the other hand, it's as quality a game as you'll find on the iPhone. We were big fans of the first one, and the second one ups the ante with a brand new 3D look (though still the same great 2D gameplay), and lots more types of Rolandos to roll and jump and fly and drive around the more than 45 new levels. It's fair to say that if you liked the first one, you'll love this one, and if you've never tried rolling a Rolando around, this is a perfect opportunity to start.

There, unfortunately, no lite version of the second game yet, but there is a version of the first one to try, and there are lots of movies to watch over on ngmoco's site, so you can probably get the idea from there. If you're interested in gaming on the iPhone at all, Rolando's on the short list no matter what your tastes are.

TUAWRolando 2 out now on the App Store originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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MacMall has announced their Fourth of July Weekend Super Sale with special deals on Apple products...

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Filed under: iPhone, App Store, iPod touch, App Review

When the fireworks stop and the smoke clears, it would be a great weekend to look at our beautiful summer skies. Pocket Universe [App Store] is a US$2.99 app that has been updated to make star finding easier for those that have a new iPhone 3GS.

The app uses the position sensors and the compass to orient your phone to match the real sky. As you turn or tilt the phone, the sky map changes to give you a very accurate picture of where you are pointing, with lots of labels and links to more information. This is one of the first examples of an augmented reality app to hit the platform since the introduction of the 3GS.

If you have an older iPhone or iPod touch running OS 3.0, you can tilt the phone to match where the real sky is, but you'll have to manually set the direction you're facing.

This changes everything for the novice astronomer. I tried the feature and it worked really well, even though I was near a large metal building. As I turned my phone the display of the sky changed very rapidly to keep up with my movement.

Other nice features from the last version are intact. You can tap the 'locate' button to find any object that is above the horizon. Select it and it centers on the map. Tap a pop-up for more info and you get a quick summary of the object. In the new version of the app a further tap gets you a Wikipedia entry.

You also get a list of meteor showers, lunar phases and a very nice 'tonight's sky' feature that tells you right away what's up and worth seeing.

Some things I'd like to see improved: The app could support finger-pointing to an object to identify it in addition to going to the locate menu, and the Virtual Sky feature is buried in an options menu. I'd like to see an onscreen button to turn it on and off.

The 3GS features are similar to a Celestron product called the Sky Scout that is a dedicated astronomical instrument. The Sky Scout has a lot more information, and audio tours of the skies, but it costs $200.00. If you're really serious about the stars and planets I'd give it a look.

Meanwhile, another favorite astronomy app, Distant Suns [App Store] has been updated recently, and is now on sale for US$3.99. It has added features to the wonderful tour guides and now includes more information about the objects displayed, including travel time at light speed to the planets. It also includes some breathtaking images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

This is the International Year of Astronomy, so it's a great time to get outdoors and look up. It's fun to do, and the iPhone apps really make it a more compelling and educational experience.

Here are some screen shots of Pocket Universe in operation:

TUAWPocket Universe ups the astronomy app ante originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Soda. Coffee. Water. Next time to you go to the movies, chug 'em all down...

Filed under: iPhone

If there's one thing Apple wants you to know about the iPhone 3GS, it's that this is the device to get for mobile video. Witness the latest TV ad for the new phone, "Skateboard": it could hardly look easier to shoot, trim and email your clips from the neigborhood skate park.

The ad is airing now, and continues the feature-focused ad series for the 3GS that started with Copy & Paste and Voice Control. It's a shame they can't do ads for Tethering & MMS, or Cooking An Egg.

Side note: does it seem weird to anyone else that the "Itchy" ad features a compass app (Tommy Westerberg's Compass Go) that came out prior to the release of the 3GS?

Thanks Chris F.

TUAWLatest iPhone TV ad highlights video editing originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Just as soon as one rumor has suggested trouble in the relationship between Apple and NVIDIA, a conflicting report now claims that the two are still on good terms.

A survey of 2,300 retail stores reveals that Apple has cleaned up in the smartphone market in Japan...