iPhone App Discussion

Fash · Post by **Fash** » April 16, 2009, 11:09 am

Very pleased with the iPhone as a phone, much more so than Windows Mobile phones which my last 2 were... the phone app is very responsive, voice quality is great, and visual voicemail is the best.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 16, 2009, 11:21 am

iPhone as a phone has been great. I don't use it much as a phone but the calls I do make are usually long and I've had no drop issues (depends whee you live for this of course). Speaker Phone very good and as Fash said, visual VM a very nice feature.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 16, 2009, 12:58 pm

Agreed on call quality and VM. My only gripe really is the crappy browser.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 16, 2009, 1:35 pm

Canelek wrote:Agreed on call quality and VM. My only gripe really is the crappy browser.

Are you serious? The browser seems pretty damn good to me. The zoom function and gestures work great. I agree, I'd like to be able to have mobile Opera on the iPhone as an alternative but the browser is a strength IMO.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » April 16, 2009, 2:05 pm

Spend 2 years using Mobile IE and you'll bow down and worship Mobile Safari.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 17, 2009, 2:23 pm

ok ok....I suppose it could be said I was more griping about the lack of Flash....

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 19, 2009, 8:08 pm

The iPhone is easily one of the coolest gadgets I've ever played with, but as an actual phone the ear and speaker volumes are way too low. If I'm in the car with a window cracked or around ANY noise I can't hear my call at all. Maybe there is a setting I'm missing but I've cranked the volume side button up for each and it still isn't loud enough. Anyone else notice this or do you all just use the geeky ear pieces? And no picture message (mms) support? Wtf?

Other than call volume and lack of mms support, this is an incredible gadget. Hopefully I can find a way to increase the volume otherwise it's useless as a phone.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 19, 2009, 8:22 pm

I haven't noticed any issues with volume. I know the mic is very good as if you're doing anything in the background, the person on the other end is going to hear it. I don't crack my window though and my car has good soundproofing.

The speaker is also very good. I listen to podcasts while driving using only the iPhone speaker. (I have the iPhone upside down in my front shirt pocket so the speaker is facing up.

MMS messages will be part of the OS 3.0 update in June. Stereo Bluetooth will also roll out with that update which will finally get me to buy some headphones for the iPhone.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 19, 2009, 8:57 pm

it's odd but yeah, music is plenty loud; it's just calls - especially the speaker phone volumeA. It's almost like the call volume only goes to 6 where music goes up to 10.

cadalano · Post by **cadalano** » April 20, 2009, 5:15 pm

i just bought an HTC Fuze.. switched from a blackberry since my company started using Microsoft Online Services so no more BES. I wanted something with functionality on par with the iphone but with a keypad. liking it so far. it does have some issues, though.. but nothing deal-breaking.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 22, 2009, 2:26 pm

Winnow wrote:Some RSS Readers are better than others.

Newstand is the best one for the iPhone I've seen so far

Anyone have a source for a cracked one of these?

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 22, 2009, 7:01 pm

I'm assuming you've cracked (not just jailbroken) your iPhone. If so, Appulous should have it. If not, I can PM it to you later.

http://appulo.us/appdb/

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 23, 2009, 12:02 am

I'll check Appulo.us for it. I actually thought that was just pay apps since it listed the prices on them. My iPhone came with 2.2.1 so I couldn't unlock it (yet), but I've got the other two hacks done.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 23, 2009, 1:29 am

Siji wrote:I'll check Appulo.us for it. I actually thought that was just pay apps since it listed the prices on them. My iPhone came with 2.2.1 so I couldn't unlock it (yet), but I've got the other two hacks done.

No need to unlock t unless you're going with another Cell phone company. I assume you signed up for the 2 Year AT&T contract so jailbreaking/hacking it is all you need.

Check your PMs

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 23, 2009, 10:29 am

Google just released a fantastic little app that has voice activated search. It works great and is free.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 23, 2009, 11:08 am

The Ambiance app works great for newborn babies btw!

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 23, 2009, 1:45 pm

Apple is suppossed to hit 1 billion apps sold by tomorrow.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 23, 2009, 2:10 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:Google just released a fantastic little app that has voice activated search. It works great and is free.

Android has that built into the OS.

Sorry, I can't help myself.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 23, 2009, 2:13 pm

Is there an app available to block incoming calls from specific phone numbers?

Daily, I have a call marked as 'Unknown' come in. It is a collection agency grasping at straws for an account that was not mine. Anyway, they left their number and some research showed me that they are indeed a collector that uses threat-tactics to collect.

They cannot touch me, but the calls are rather annoying.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » April 23, 2009, 2:15 pm

Canelek wrote:Is there an app available to block incoming calls from specific phone numbers?

Daily, I have a call marked as 'Unknown' come in. It is a collection agency grasping at straws for an account that was not mine. Anyway, they left their number and some research showed me that they are indeed a collector that uses threat-tactics to collect.

They cannot touch me, but the calls are rather annoying.

That is a feature built into my phone too, you just have to add them to the phonebook and you can block calls from them

I would like something that allowed me to block "unknown" callers too, though. Haven't seen anything like that yet.

Side note: There used to be a service for regular land line phones where you could block up to 10 numbers for a set amount a month. They do not offer this service anymore.. I wonder why? Too many people blocking collection agencies, etc?

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 23, 2009, 2:25 pm

Yeah, I can't do that with my iPhone, as far as I can tell (re: contact list).

There are some apps out there that I have seen, but they are only telemarketer databases, poorly built, and don't truly reject calls.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 23, 2009, 4:10 pm

I downloaded iBlackList for free. You can block 2 numbers with unregistered version. It has options to have busy signal, hangup, go to VM or reply with SMS. It can also block SMS incoming. I'll report back if it works.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 23, 2009, 7:08 pm

Canelek wrote:Is there an app available to block incoming calls from specific phone numbers?

Daily, I have a call marked as 'Unknown' come in. It is a collection agency grasping at straws for an account that was not mine. Anyway, they left their number and some research showed me that they are indeed a collector that uses threat-tactics to collect.

They cannot touch me, but the calls are rather annoying.

you have two options. jailbroken, there are blocker apps, right on the featured apps page of Cydia. Second option is to create or download a silent ringtone. Assign the annoying numbers to silent ringer and you'll get no annoying interruptions. (prob wont work with "unknown" so not sure if blockers work.

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 23, 2009, 7:16 pm

yeah, installed iBlacklist, as posted above. I have it set up to give busy signal to 1-800-250-8877. It is also supposed to do that with 'Restricted' numbers.

However, since the 800 number is masked to 'Unknown', I will not know until they try to call.

I looked at the silent ring option, but would rather just not know they tried to call unless I checked app log. Also, I would like to waste their time and generally irritate them.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 25, 2009, 3:36 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:http://www.iphonedownloadblog.com/2009/ ... y-tracker/

The Intimacy Tracker is free for a limited time. You get to customize 4 categories and it keeps track of how often and what kind of intimate encounters you have. I changed the 4 categories to oral/anal/vaginal/solo. If you do all in one night, all 4 get marked off. It's pretty cool and I look forward to seeing what long term data will look like for my wife and I. I just have to remember to enter the data...

I have several great ideas for sex based applications and am checking the competition out! I've heard Apple is pretty down on sex stuff though. Somehow I'm not surprised at all.

Cracked update posted: http://www.appscene.org/download.php?id=252547224

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 25, 2009, 4:34 pm

iFitness is a fantastic little program. I highly recommend it.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 25, 2009, 7:55 pm

iToot is a great way to get the wife to hurry up and finish her shopping trip that you didn't want to go on in the first place.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » April 26, 2009, 5:06 pm

WoW on iPhone:

http://kotaku.com/5228209/warcraft-on-a ... g-to-yours

Fash · Post by **Fash** » April 29, 2009, 12:49 pm

Undead Live has taken over my iPhone life. Level 40 werewolf in yo face!

Canelek · Post by **Canelek** » April 29, 2009, 1:04 pm

Been using iBlackList unregistered version (free) with great success! That number that was calling me has been successfuly blocked, according to the history logs. Yay! Also, it blocks any call that shows up as 'blocked'. I have it set to just send a busy signal.

Good times!

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 29, 2009, 1:30 pm

You can grab iBlacklist cracked at the xSellize source via Cydia.

Go to the xSellize forums and register an account. Then add http://xsellize.com/cydia/username-password as a source in Cydia.

They've also got Intelliscreen which I couldn't find anywhere else. Didn't end up using it, but they've got it.

If anyone else has any decent source, feel free to share em'.

PS: Another gripe for the iPhone. Putting on custom ring tones and especially trying to change the message/alarm tones and such is such a pain in the ass. Not only is it annoying to get them there in the first place, but they can only be of something like 30 seconds or less. The message alert tones even shorter. Hope 3.0 addresses that.

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » April 29, 2009, 2:00 pm

Siji wrote:PS: Another gripe for the iPhone. Putting on custom ring tones and especially trying to change the message/alarm tones and such is such a pain in the ass. Not only is it annoying to get them there in the first place, but they can only be of something like 30 seconds or less. The message alert tones even shorter. Hope 3.0 addresses that.

How long do you let your phone ring?!?

Siji · Post by **Siji** » April 29, 2009, 2:34 pm

Fairweather Pure wrote:How long do you let your phone ring?!?

It's not so much how long I let it ring, which by the way could be awhile if I've got a baby in my arms and I'm in another room, but more that I have some ring tones (I make them myself) that aren't meant to repeat but are more of song clips. (NIN Ghosts has a lot of good ringtone material for this sort of ring). So yeah, I have a few that are longer than 30 seconds. Usually not by much, but enough that they'd be much different if I tried to scale them back. Personally, I dislike custom ringtones that repeat over and over. Play me 45 or 60 seconds of 'Beautiful People' by Marilyn Manson anytime.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 16, 2009, 2:16 pm

By Brian Lam, 8:10 PM on Fri May 15 2009, 19,991 views

Apple's said no background apps on the iPhone forever, citing it destroys stability and system resources. Today, three reputable publications have independently claimed that Apple is having a change of mind. What the hell?

Techcrunch, Gruber and Alley Insider (Alley first) all claim to have sources that say Apple is working on and discussing just how they can run applications in the background. (An example of such an application and a potentially convenient use for background apps is an IM client that would alert you as soon as you got a message; Apple previously claimed their now late push data system could alert dormant applications of new events without needing those apps to be open. Open apps would take up resources.)

Part of this rumor is that Apple would require applications that run in the background to undergo a more thorough application process for the iTunes store. That makes sense and is the most likely scenario. Apps could be vetted (even more stringently than the current approval process) for processor and memory usage, then approved for being a background-capable app.

Why would they change their minds? Well the Palm Pre is certainly the main reason we can think of. Palm has, to many reporters, said that the Pre's advantages lie in its faster hardware, light operating system designed specifically for a mobile environment, ability to run multiples programs at once—each referred to in the UI as a card—despite the potential battery drain. And the Pre, as we all know, is high up on the list of things we're all excited for.

But what makes more sense is for all of this to be for the next hardware iteration of the iPhone, one that has more processing power and memory—two things that are in tight supply on the current versions. This would mean Apple could stick to their story of not being able to support background apps now, but still deliver on something just about everybody wants.

Oh hell yes. I'm all over this even if I have to buy a new iPhone. The biggest issue I have is not being able to run chat messengers in the background with the iPhone. I don't want to be sitting there with my Messenger open all the time. I want to send an IM, then leave IM app open in the background while I wait for a response. I pretty much want my Messenger App and iStockManager app up all day long. I leave my Iphone plugged into my PC at work so battery drain isn't an issue.

The new 3.0 software is going to rock and the "push" technology helps in it, but if a new iPhone and powerful processor allows for multitasking, I'm all over it.

Fash · Post by **Fash** » May 16, 2009, 5:55 pm

I've had AIM Mobile for like a bazillion years. I don't need an IM client open to respond to IM's.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » May 16, 2009, 11:42 pm

Or you could just use the Backgrounder app in the mean time..

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » May 18, 2009, 10:18 am

Peggle is the most addictive game I have played since I can remember.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 18, 2009, 6:44 pm

Siji wrote:Or you could just use the Backgrounder app in the mean time..

Backgrounder works great. Thanks. Not sure how I missed that!

Ransure · Post by **Ransure** » May 23, 2009, 11:59 pm

Slacker radio is the shit.... I now stream radio in my car on my way to work... I have a 1st gen iphone, so pandora and the other radio apps work like shit.... I like slackers interface and music better than pandora's also. If I could store music on my iphone like the BB and slacker hardware allow you too, I would be completely in love.

valryte · Post by **valryte** » May 24, 2009, 11:23 am

How do you upgrade to 2.2.1 if your phone is already jail broken? Every search I find is based on not having a jail broken phone.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » May 24, 2009, 4:28 pm

valryte wrote:How do you upgrade to 2.2.1 if your phone is already jail broken? Every search I find is based on not having a jail broken phone.

Pretty sure I posted how to upgrade to 2.21 with jailbroken Phone in this thread since I did it. You'll have to look!

valryte · Post by **valryte** » May 26, 2009, 7:51 pm

yeah, I found it. I'm going to just wait for 3.0 which is supposed to come out sometime next month.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 11, 2009, 7:25 pm

I'm going to have to give this a shot. Might be fun to play at work!

Zenonia Micro-Review: Unexpectedly Epic
By Mike Fahey, 12:00 PM on Thu Jun 11 2009, 9,239 views

Korean developer Gamevil seeks to pack an epic experience into a tiny space with Zenonia, an action roleplaying game for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Zenonia follows a young man named Regret as he searches for answers to the mystery surrounding his birth after the sudden death of the man who raised him. Players start off the game by choosing one of three classes - paladin, warrior, and assassin - each with their own set of skills, strengths, weaknesses, and play style. The game features the classic look and feel of games like The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, combining it with several more modern roleplaying conventions, such as skill trees, special moves, and weapon enchanting.

With around 20 hours worth of play in the main story and the ability to choose between good and evil paths, Zenonia stuffs an enormous amount of game play into a relatively small iPhone title, but can an epic adventure thrive on a platform that tends to focus on smaller titles?

Loved

A Full-Featured Action RPG: This isn't some light, throwaway role-playing game. This is the total package, with three classes, skill trees, equipment levels, different skill builds, side quests, special attacks, and more. Zenonia can easily stand toe-to-toe with any action RPG on the Nintendo DS, and could even give the best the PSP has to offer a run for its money. You can easily squeeze upwards of forty hours out of the game, and when you consider you're only paying $5.99, the value is pretty much insane.

Style With The Substance: Providing a lot of game play is only half of the equation. Zenonia's anime-inspired art style fits perfectly with the overall tone of the story. Memorable characters and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that sometimes breaks the fourth wall keep the game entertaining throughout its expansive length. The only real flaw in presentation, aside from a few misspellings, is the constantly looping soundtrack, which while charming at first, quickly wears on you.

Hated

Touchy Controls: Where the rest of the game shines, the controls fall flat. Controlling Regret with a virtual control pad and action button is at times extremely frustrating, especially for those of us with larger snausage fingers. Navigating the menus is particularly painful, and the inventory screen is far too small and cluttered for such imprecise controls. Note that the developers have already submitted an update for the game to Apple which widens the control area, addresses the inventory system, and allows you to listen to your own music as you play.

I've been following the roleplaying game scene on the iPhone ever since I got my hands on my first iPod Touch, and while I've been amused by some of the offerings I've seen for the device, I never expected anything quite as expansive as Zenonia. It is a massive game, with an impressive amount of variety and customization lurking beneath its seemingly simplistic outer shell. This is the sort of title you scan message boards for, trying to determine the best skill build for your assassin, or arguing the merits of paladins over warriors. It's more than deep enough to have been successful as a retail release on more traditional handheld systems, yet here it is, for $5.99 on the iPhone.

If you're a fan of the action RPG and own an iPhone or iPod Touch, there's really no reason for you not to play Zenonia. It's an amazing game that sets the bar for the genre on the iPhone platform.

Zenonia was developed and published by Gamevil for the iPhone and iPod Touch on May 24th. Retails for $5.99. Played through to final boss as an evil assassin; toyed with other two character classes.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 11, 2009, 10:56 pm

Oops, forgot I had Installous on my iPhone and can install hacked apps without using iTunes.

Zenoria is only 10mb so installed it. Eh, it's iffy so far. lotta text to click though. Took long time to get to the actual game after bunch of boring text story background.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » June 12, 2009, 12:26 am

valryte wrote:yeah, I found it. I'm going to just wait for 3.0 which is supposed to come out sometime next month.

My main desire from 3.0 was MMS capabilities. Having found out that AT&T won't be supporting this yet makes me less than happy.

Siji · Post by **Siji** » June 15, 2009, 3:28 pm

http://appulo.us/appdb/?page=viewapp&id=4628

Fash · Post by **Fash** » June 15, 2009, 8:19 pm

I just finally hacked my iPhone 3G 2.2.1 today. I held out for a long time and spent a shit ton on apps... time to ride the free train for a while.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » June 16, 2009, 8:18 pm

OK, that last game I posted wasn't that great. Here's two that are:

The General 3.99 Stratego for iPhone

http://www.apptism.com/apps/the-general

You couldnt ask for more if you are a Stratego fan. The game offers several easily switchable "looks" to the gameboard and pieces. It also provides multiple default game piece setups that you can use or easily modify for your personal setup strategy. This is important so that you don't have to place every piece on the board which would be tedious using the little game pieces and touch/dragging.

The game is polished. Worth the 3.99 if a Stratego fan or find it on Hackulous if you want to give it a shot for free.

------

Mecho Wars 4.99(Turn based Strategy version of Command and Conquer type game)

http://www.apptism.com/apps/mecho-wars

Unlike the previous RPG type game I posted, this game's touch controls are great. The tutorial does a good job of getting you ready to play. More of a simplified Might and Magic IV type gameplay.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 26, 2009, 11:25 pm

This is the kind of racing game that's fun on the iPhone. Not the high res graphics stuff:

Racer

Although if you want a really nice looking racing game, this one plays well on the iPhone:

Real Racing

WINNER – IGF Mobile, Technical Achievement
WINNER – IMGA, Excellence in Connectivity
IGN, Slide to Play and AppGamer iPhone Game of the Month
9/10 IGN: "best iPhone racer to date"
9/10 Pocket Gamer: "the lead in a crowded genre"
A UGO: "iPhone's answer to Gran Turismo and Forza"
A iLounge: "a triumph for this platform"
4/4 Slide to Play: "could easily pass for a PSP game"
10/10 iPGN: "one of the best titles we have ever seen"
4.5/5 148Apps: "Best racer ever"
Touch Arcade: "sets a new standard for what to expect"
MobileCrunch: "electrifying gameplay, jaw-dropping graphics - a must-buy"
CNET: "it seems the hype was all true"

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » July 31, 2009, 11:18 pm

Oh BTW, this is an absolutely badass comic book viewer for the iPhone.

http://comicreader.mobi/

What makes it awesome is that you can use standard CBR/CBZ comics and that if you click on the text bubbles, the text bubbles enlarge. It works great!

Watch the youtube video of it in action on the link above. Best small screen reader for sure for graphic novels/comics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smRIKw23FWA

The thing is amazingly accurate in detecting the bubbles but if it misses, you still have a nice magnifier. It's easy to load comics onto the iPhone using the sync app and it does well supporting folders so you can keep your series separated and organized.