Alright guys, you have until midnight to cash in on this, so here are all the details:

Dark Harvest, the highly addictive iTunes game, is a level clearing game with an objective: collect evil plants. Why do you need evil plants? Why, for your evil garden of course. If you can fill up all 30 vegetables you’re the winner.

The game has two modes: Quickplay and Adventure mode. You shoot chemical orbs into a cloud (easy, aim and shoot game). The orbs you shoot can stick to each other upon contact and when three or more orbs of the same color get stuck together and burst rain falls! If you don’t match the orbs fast enough, other balls will fill the screen and end the game. If you beat the required number of matchs, you get an evil vegetable to grow.

It’s a highly addictive game, so I suggest you get your free copy on iTunes before midnight so you can join the rest of us Dark Harvest players. The offer is only good today, Friday the 13th (of November). Come on. Everyone’s doing it (peer pressure).

With the new update, owners of the game will be able to play the newly added “Bejeweled Blitz” game which used to be Facebook exclusive.

This version allows players to play anywhere, anytime and compare their scores and achievements reflect those of their friends.

Bejeweled costs less than $3 on the iPhone and the update is free to owners, so now is definitely the time to check out the game (more bang for your buck).

If you’re a Bejeweled fanatic, let us know below. If you’re not then check out PopCap Games’ website to find out if it peaks your interest.

For those of you who don’t know what Fallen Earth is, here’s a summary of the premise: The deadly Shiva virus has decimated the population by 99%. 2156 years after the virus struck, the Grand Canyon is the last citadel of humanity. Inhabitants must choose to ally with one of the remaining factions or rally against them. You can re-build the human race or destroy it. The choice is yours. Sound interesting? Look into it!

With the iPhone app coming out, hardcore players will love the opportunity to check their stats on the go.

There is now confirmation that the iPhone is a legitimate, all thanks to Tarver Games’ new production, Ghosts Attack. This game, which should be released in the coming week, is probably one the deepest and most interesting releases I’ve seen.  From the interface, to the gameplay, to most everything in between, Ghosts Attack is one upcoming iPhone App that I am quite excited for.

To give a short overview of the plot, Ghosts Attack puts you in the middle of a rescue mission to help 13 scientists get rescued after an experiment goes terribly wrong.  Apparently the scientists were trying to invent a teleportation machine in the 1960’s.  Instead, and I think we’ve all ran into this issue from time to time, the scientists accidentally opened a portal to a alternate dimension where they were transported, never to be found.  Now, 40 years later, it is your task to help find these scientists in this dangerous, ghost-filled world.

In the beginning of the game, you are a new recruit in the world of Ghost hunting.  Most of the game’s opening missions are just a tutorial, but they are quite entertaining given what most iPhone games put you through.  You are led by Karl, your mustachioed guide and Torgan Science Rover Technician, who shows you the ropes on how to use your new vehicle.  Using fairly straight-forward missions, awesomely-poor voice acting and some uber-nerdy wit, the tutorial is over before you know it and the game begins.

The controlling scheme is quite intuitive and easy to use.  On the left side of your screen, there is a bar that allows you to change the speed that your Rover will travel with a slight slide of your thumb.  On the right, there is the button to shoot, which helps the destruction of enemy ghosts.  To steer, players must tilt the iPhone in the respective directions.  Getting used to the controlling scheme is going to take some time to master, but experienced gamers should be able to catch on quickly.

One good thing about the game is that the Rover is upgradable, specifically in the firepower and handling of the vehicle.  This adds some customization to an already deep production from Tarver.  Buying these upgrades are a fun way to spend the “credits” that you accumulate during the game.  Credits are earned by distance traveled, items recovered and ghosts killed, letting players have fun not only by spending money, but by making it as well.

Ghosts Attack uses the different functions of the iPhone in ways not even imagined by many other developers to enhance the gameplay.  For instance, with the use of the Google Maps interface, players can take their Rover to any place in the world to combat the Ghosts and recover important objects.  Selecting a region by use of Google Maps will let the game invent new levels for you to roam about, making the potential replay value virtually unlimited.  Ghosts Attack also implements less-common-but-not-previously-unused features such as Facebook Functionality, which will allow you to invite friends to play the game with you, coordinate rendezvous points or leave a package for fellow Ghosts Attack patrons.  Tarver Games’ upcoming title will also incorporate episodic content, which will allow players to download more missions, add-ons and Rover upgrades as the year progresses.  This will be a form of in-game transaction, costing each player about $0.99 per episode.

Ghosts Attack also has a very intriguing storyline.  Though I haven’t played all of the levels, many of which will be released at a later date, the plot develops pretty well for a mobile game.  Karl offers plenty of comic relief while the ghost characters are quite scary.  Let’s put it this way: I laughed, I cried and I cant wait to see what additional twists and turns will be made available as we move through the comings months.

My favorite part of Ghosts Attack was how impressively deep the game was.  Not only was the story good, the graphics tolerable and the gameplay entertaining, but the sheer number of levels was unexpected.  I think that Tarver Games really has something going here.  They have really pushed the bar to which gaming on the iPhone was thought possible.  Though it is a completely different style of game, I almost got a Half-Life vibe from Ghosts Attack.  It’s just that interestinh.

However, this brings me to one of the few negative aspects of Ghosts Attack.  First, I must add a disclaimer that this has nothing to do with the gameplay or in-game controlling schemes (things of which have been know to be very picky about).  No, instead this is more a broad, couldn’t-help-it criticism that should be taken very lightly.  I just wish that Tarver Games could have expanded on this title a little more.  It is already great, don’t get me wrong, but I would’ve liked to see this title go another step forward in development.  I know that Tarver doesn’t have unlimited resources or capital, so it is very hard to put any blame on them for this.  Let’s just hope that this game is a success, so Tarver is swiming in revenue and can kick even more ass with the sequel.  Also (and I’m nitpicking here), some of the loading times for the game were a bit slow.  Hopefully that will be taken care of to a certain exent by the time the public release is live.

Blast Factor: The significant thing about Ghosts Attack is not that it’s the best game that’s ever been made for the iPhone; that’s just not the case.  This title has shown the potential that iPhone has as a gaming platform.  Furthermore, the fact that Ghosts Attack came from a smaller developer like Tarver Games is just icing on the cake.  I cannot wait to see what Tarver brings in the future and, if we’re lucky, what a major developer can do if they sink enough resources into a project for the iPhone.  Ghosts Attack can be picked up for $4.99 at the iTunes App Store, which is a very fair price.  If you’ve got the iCash, I say give this App a shot and let your visions for the future of the iPhone as a gaming platform unfold.

Ghosts Attack will be available exclusively at the App Store for $4.99. A copy of this game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes.

Panel, a new iPhone app, founded by Darius Fong, is aiming to bring back the record store experience of yesteryear, when music industry professionals and music buffs were present at your point of purchase to give you insight on what you might like or look forward to for the next addition to your record collection.

Panel is different than other music applications or online players. While many online music sites can match a playlist to your liking very well, like the engine at Last.fm, nothing is strictly personal, like press releases or ads. It’s by music lovers, for music lovers. Each Panelist can explain their choice and their influences to help users find out more about the album.

The Panel App streams two full albums each week in various categories, including rock, pop, indie, jazz and more. Curators of the Panel App will be featured panelists that are composers, radio DJs, record storeowners, producers, musicians, and others with a musical background, every month to feature music that they love.

The iPhone application will also feature interviews with the Panelists, album descriptions, and a one-touch process will be made available to users in order to purchase albums they like. In addition, these users may then comment on selections and invite friends to join, listen, and create a fan-supported community.

To find out more, go to WearePANEL.com for images of panelists and photo journals of each week’s content, interviews, “Panel Blog”, videos, podcasts, and links from featured albums to iTunes and Amazon.

Hell, when the likes of Alyssa Milano are playing it, it’s got to be popular, right?

Take a look at the full list below, and maybe pick up your jaw, as it’s likely to fall when you see how many EA-made games are on the list.

1. Rock Band (EA) $9.99

2. Bejeweled 2 (PopCap Games) $2.99

3.Tetris (EA) $4.99

4. Madden NFL ‘10 (EA) $9.99

5. Need For Speed Undercover (EA) $4.99

6. Tap Tap Revenge 3 (Tapulous) $.99

7. The Sims 3 (EA) $6.99

8. Skee-Ball (Freeverse) $.99

9. Scrabble (EA) $4.99

10. Monopoly: Here and New (EA) $4.99

The iBend itself weighs less than one gram and is incredibly thin. They come 2 to a pack and are easy to store.

Three renowned artists from Canada, New York and California designed the Artist Series. Each artist was responsible for four designs, which come two per pack. This resulted in a grand total of 12 new designs for iPhone and iPod Touch owners.

The iBend Classic is available in black and white for $4.99 and the Artist Series packs are available for 7.99 from www.myibend.com

“Rock Band is coming to iPhone/iPod touch this month,” EA Mobile announced on its Twitter account today but publisher’s love of social outlets didn’t stop there.

A post on the EA Mobile Facebook page reads:

“Check out the in-game Music Store to purchase additional tracks from OK Go, Foo Fighters, Smashing Pumpkins, Lenny Kravitz, Social Distortion, Devo, and more.”

So not only did EA confirm the game, they also confirmed an in-game music store for the game. Nice!

And best of all, EA released the game’s full core setlist. Have a look.

· 30 Seconds To Mars – “Attack”
· AFI – “Girls Not Grey”
· All American Rejects – “Move Along”
· Beastie Boys – “Sabotage”
· Blink-182 – “All The Small Things”
· Blondie – “Hanging on the Telephone”
· Foo Fighters – “Learn To Fly”
· Foo Fighters – “Everlong”
· George Thorogood & the Destroyers – “Bad to The Bone”
· Jethro Tull – “Hymn 43″
· Joan Jett – “Hymn 43″
· Lynard Skynard – “Simple Man”
· Motorhead – “Ace of Spades ‘08″
· Pixies – “Debaser”
· Presidents of The United States of America – “Ladybug”
· Rise Against – “Give It All”
· Silversun Pickups – “Lazy Eye”
· Smashing Pumpkins – “Cherub Rock”
· Steve Miller Band – “Take The Money and Run”
· The Go Go’s – “We Got The Beat”

The game will include vocal, guitar, bass, and drum parts and will take advantage of the Bluetooth functionality built into your iPhone or iPod Touch for up to 4-player multiplayer fun.

Tap Tap and Tap Tap Revenge beware, when Rock Band for iPhone hits, you won’t be the fattest cat in town.

Source: MTV Multiplayer

For those who don’t know, Mr. Driller stars Susumu Hori, who coincidentally is the son of Taizo Hori of Dig Dug fame.  Susumu’s task is much like his fathers, to drill, drill, drill.  The further and faster Susumu drills through the multi-colored underground blocks of his domain, the more points he accumulates.  However, this task is not without its perilous dangers.  The deeper Susumu drills, the higher the chance of unsupported pieces of earth will collapse upon.  Worse yet, Susumu can run out of air if he drills too long without getting his supply replenished.

Now that a little background information has been laid out, lets talk game modes.  Mr. Driller for the iPhone comes in three modes: Survival mode, Arcade mode, Time Attack.  In Survival mode, players drill as deep as they can for as long as they can.  Players will have to keep an eye on their air-level meter, however, if they want to survive.  Luckily, each level in Survival mode will have air-replenishers, which look like little blue pills, dispersed throughout the drill-scape.  Still, even an unlimited amount of air will not protect the younger Hori from the falling rocks…

Arcade mode has a more level progression-based type of gamplay.  On the initial menu screen for the mode, players can choose whether they would like to play levels are that 500m or 1000m long, depending on if they consider themselves “beginners” or “experts.”  It would have been nice to see a less extreme designation for what players consider themselves, if only to let me feel something other than severe modesty or tremendous cockiness.  Arcade mode is quite similar to Survival mode in that, both modes are evaluated on the distance they drill while also providing air-refilling pills.  However, Arcade mode does have one main distinction from Survival mode: Arcade mode players are able to go through multiple lives before the dreaded Game Over screen is bestowed upon them.  This one feature definitely made Arcade mode my favorite of the three.

In Time Attack, time subtraction tokens are scattered on the level instead of air bonuses.  This is because players are only evaluated on the time they take to clear a stage, rather than how many points they can accumulate.  Time Attack is fun because players can choose which level they would like to play on, making it the most customizable of the modes.

Though the game modes are entertaining, my favorite aspect of Mr. Driller is the high-quality nature of its visuals.  The Japanese stylization is fun and colorful, making for a less graphics-intensive gaming experience.  This does wonders for battery life and making Mr. Driller one of the iPhone’s most unique looking games.

Still, not all of the aesthetic features of Mr. Driller were satisfactory.  Every level design in this game is repetitive.  It seems like each level was built nearly identical to one another.  Sure, the backdrops change for each stage, but Mr. Driller always works on the same blocks with the same colors.  The game is certainly cyclical, but never really boring, which is a nice change when compared to other games of the genre and platform.

Namco also continues to implement my favorite controlling scheme in its games, with Mr. Driller being no different.  The use of a virtual arrow pad is key for any game like Mr. Driller, so it makes sense for Namco to maintain that approach.  To control Susumu, players need to simply point his drill in the desire direction by pressing down on the corresponding arrow on the pad and then pressing the drill button.  That’s it.  This is a very easily learned controlling scheme and can be used by even the most novice of iPhone gamers.  Namco also continues to offer the Swipe and Accelerometer controlling schemes options, but I’m not sure why.  It’s always nice to try and attempt to use the iPhone’s amazing features in your product, but that doesn’t mean one needs to do it.

Finally, Namco decided to add a Facebook connect feature to Mr. Driller.  This allows players to post their top scores on their Facebook page while also talking a little trash as well.  This will add a whole new level of competition between players and friends.  I think this is a great addition and will be key to replay value of the game.

Blast Factor: Mr. Driller is a very fun and addicting game.  Though it does lack diversity in its levels, Mr. Driller does have some excellent game modes and visual features to make up for it.  At $1.99, it has a great price and a great value.

Namco’s Mr. Driller is available exclusively at the iTunes App Store for $1.99.

We also like lists. Here’s a top 10 list of the best-selling iPhone/iPod Touch games and their respective prices, as reported by Apple.

1. Dungeon Hunter $6.99

2. FIFA ‘10 $9.99

3. Madden NFL ‘10 $9.99

4. Need For Speed Undercover $4.99

5. Cartoon Wars (Blue) $.99

6. Skee-Ball $.99

7. Bejeweled 2 $2.99

8. The Sims 3 $6.99

9. Tetris $4.99

10. Tiger Woods PGA Tour $4.99

via Kotaku

But no matter how much I try to justify it to myself, I just don’t have that much of a reason to personally have a car. I ride my bike around town eight months out of the year and curse the MBTA’s existence the other four. Cambridge, the place I call home, is replete with bike lines on practically every major thoroughfare, and Boston is certainly attempting to get there too. And when all else fails, I’m always up for a lovely stroll through town. It’s Boston, after all!

But there are times when it’s clear that I need a car. Like for my frequent trips to Ikea. Or like every eight or so weeks when I go on a massive grocery shopping binge because I hate walking back and forth between the grocery store, even though its only ten minutes away form my house. Or like every eight weeks when I do the laundry because I hate doing laundry with every fiber of my being.

Luckily for those times, there’s Zipcar. If you’ve been living underneath a rock, I’ll — pardon the pun — zip Zipcar up for you. The Cambridge based and founded company allows licensed drivers aged 21 and over to rent a wide variety of cars parked all over the city by the hour or by the day.

If you’re feeling eco-conscious, grab Prius Pete — every Zipcar has an adorable, alliterative name — from the Genzyme Garage in Kendall Square for $7 per hour. If you’re feeling flashier, grab Baker the BMW 328 for $13 per hour from the Boston Common garage.

To become a Zipcar member, users pay a $50 annual fee to join. For those who only grab a car every now and then, they pay the hourly or day-rate for whichever vehicle they want. For those who drive more often, users can make a minimum monthly commitment, and cash in on discounted rates. Every reservation includes 180 miles of driving, a gas card to fill the car up — and make sure to use it any time the vehicle falls beneath a quarter tank! — insurance to cover your indiscretions, and a parking pass if the Zipcar lives in a non-free lot.

Users make a reservation, tap their RFID-tagged Zipcard on the windshield to unlock the vehicle, which already has the key inside the ignition. They then zip around town, and then lock it up when finished by tapping their Zipcard on the windshield again.

Car sharing is as simple as the name sounds. The cars are meant to be parked near where users will need them. Because everyone pays a membership fee, they all in a way jointly own and share the vehicles. Everyone is expected to fill the gas when it gets low, keep the car relatively clean, and keep it from being damaged. Zipcar will even reimburse users that pay for a carwash. Another big part of car sharing is making sure the vehicle is where it’s supposed to be. When Zipcar says your reservation is over at 6:00 PM, they mean 6:00 PM, sharp. If you haven’t locked your car up by then, you’ll get a late fee. Get enough late fees, and Zipcar will suspend you from driving.

Obviously, I don’t want to turn you off from Zipcar. You have to really piss someone off to actually get your account suspended, and because it’s a car sharing program after all, users are usually rather fanatic and therefore largely respectful of the rules. Overall, Zipcar is simple, effective, and much better than having a car and insurance payment every month — plus, for me at least, it’s the closest I’ll ever get to driving a Beamer before I can ever afford one of my own.

While Zipcar got its start in Cambridge back in 2000, it has since spread to 49 cities across the world. Zipcar was founded by residents Robin Chase and Antje Danielson who based the company on car-sharing programs similar to those in Europe. By the end of 2002, the company had 6,000 users in Boston, D.C., and New York.

Zipcar got its start by stocking different neighborhoods with different cars, giving each area it’s own identity. In Cambridge, home to the recycling, biking, hippie granola crunchy type, the company filled the neighborhood with gas-sipping Priuses. In the Back Bay, Zipsters were more likely to want a showier convertible Mini-Cooper for weekend trips to the Cape.

Now in 2009, Zipcar has merged with former rival Flexcar, and now commands a fleet of 6,000 vehicles for 675,000 users in places as far as Ann Arbor, Mich., Tuscaloosa, Alab., and even across the pond in London. In fact, in one of the tougher economic times we’ve seen, Zipcar is preparing itself to go public, and is launching an IPO in 2010. The company is constantly adding cars to its fleet and expanding its user base. With the influx of cash from an IPO, Zipcar really will be going places.

What makes Zipcar so special is its amazing blend of cute personality, sharp business prowess, and of course, cutting edge technology. The technology starts when you try to start the car. Sitting in the upper right corner of every Zipcar is a little black box. When you tap your Zipcard on the windshield above it, the system sends out a signal to Zipcar HQ over EVDO — yes, that ancient data technology your old cell phone used to run — that matches your card to a reservation to a specific Zipcar. When everything aligns correctly, the black box unlocks the car door, the black box releases the kill switch on the engine, and you get in and drive off.

The black box is also hooked into the on-board diagnostics system, or OBD. When my Zipcar wouldn’t start on a particularly cold January night, I called Zipcar, and the helpful man on the phone could already tell me that I had killed the car battery by leaving my headlights during my quick trip into Trader Joe’s. If you somehow lock your Zipcard inside the vehicle, a quick phone call to Zipcar customer service can unlock it. Likewise, the black box has a simple GPS system so that the vehicles can be located should they wander off and get lost. The same kill switch that keeps the car from being stolen can also kill the car should it somehow manage to drive off.

However, the newest technology debuted at the tail-end of September is, of course, Zipcar’s new iPhone app. Up to now, users have had to make reservations though the Zipcar website, the mobile website, or over the phone. Both of the websites are robust, AJAXy, and a breeze to use. The phone however, well, lets just say it’s not Zipcar’s fault if you’re using a technology from the 19th century.

But now with the magic of the Zipcar iPhone app, users can locate themselves on a map of all of Zipcar’s offerings, make a reservation, and even unlock the car from inside the application. When I did just that with my iPhone app, I almost cried from the sheer amazingness of what I’d just done. It also made me feel amazingly futuristic, despite the fact that we’re all supposed to have personal jetpacks in the future. And OK, fine, people have been able to remotely unlock cars since OnStar in the 90s, but that still required calling someone who was sitting at a computer somewhere in Arizona. Now, I can do it from my touch screen god-phone.

Using the rest of the app was just as easy as you would expect Zipcar to make it. Making my reservation was a breeze. The app grayed out all Zipcar lots that didn’t have a car that matched my time reservation. If you needed the exact location of a Zipcar lot, the app would send the exact coordinates to your Maps application which would then direct you to the lot. While my reservation as open, I could extend the time I needed the car from inside the app as well.

Zipcar polled its users and found that 25% of them had an iPhone, hence releasing their first app on Apple’s platform. Everyone else without an iPhone can still use the mobile website to make reservations. Also, once you’ve given Zipcar your cell phone number, they’ll send you text message reminders about your reservations. You can then extend your reservation just by texting Zipcar back. “Ext30m” will get you an extra half-hour to get back while “End today 4pm” will do just what it says.

Zipcar has always been a company to embrace technology, and now every car in their fleet now comes equipped with an auxillary cord to plug into your iPod or mp3 player of choice, so you can jam out to Taylor Swift, or any other embarrassing musical offering you might enjoy. Every car has a toll-tag that auto-magically bills your Zipcar account for the tolls.

Another thing that’s hard to ignore about Zipcar is that the company is rather green—and we’re talking about more than its logo. Like I said before, I only drive a Zipcar when I really need one. But if I had a car of my own, I’d probably take a lot more places. That means I’m driving more, burning more gas, and doing my part to warm the earth with more carbon dioxide. When you factor in people who just use Zipcar instead of owning a car, that’s a lot fewer miles being driven out there.

Zipcar recognizes this, and discounts the Priuses in its fleet more than the other vehicles. Zipcar even ran a “low-car diet challenge” which in return for media coverage, encourage drivers to hang up their keys for a month and ride public transit or use a Zipcar when absolutely necessary. While the miles saved from these twelve users is merely a minuscule blip in the amount of carbon spewed into the atmosphere by the millions of drivers in the U.S. every day, the ideas are still a good one. It’s also a counter intuitive notion, considering that Zipcar essentially makes its money when people drive, but it’s just the good-nature of the company. When was the last time you saw gas companies encouraging eco-consciousness?

Zipcar is here for good it seems, and that’s something that I, and thousands of other users certainly embrace. While Zipcar advertises through print frequently, a lot of Zipcar’s brand strength comes through word of mouth. Zipcar user Matthew Lasek shared just such a story. “About two weeks ago I rented a Volvo and zipped to the hardware store to fill up on more paint, brushes and cleaner to remove all the paint I would inevitably spill. While locking the car a 65 year-old woman asked ‘So how does Zipcar work?’” Lasek then explained the entire membership and rental rental process to the questioning woman, Brookline resident Lauren Smith, who lamented how expensive it is to rent a cart through a traditional car service and how she hated asking her daughter to drive her on her errands.

When asked to sum up the Zipcar experience, Lasek put it like this: “I think this is what Zip Car is: freedom. This strong and able senior wanted to have the freedom to do something as simple as go to Johnny’s Fresh Market; while my exploits in Zipcars to the beach or Six Flags are a little more adventurous, the fact remains that Zipcar lets us do things that our own two legs can’t, or what our wallets would prohibit.”

Images courtesy Zipcar, the author, and Flickr users Andrew Currie, rakka, reinvented, and scoobyfoo.

Today, Electronic Arts released FIFA ‘10 for iPhone and iPod Touch, vastly furthering the reach of the footy game to the millions of Apple portable devices out there.

FIFA ‘10 for the iPhone/iPod Touch sounds like a very promising version, as it features 12,650 players, 570 teams and 30 leagues and is controlled through what EA calls a “simple and innovative two button control system that offers a free flowingsoccer experience.”

Additionally, the game features multiplayer in the form of Wi-Fi, guaranteeing you and your friends a match any time of day or night.

Download FIFA ‘10 in the App Store or on iTunes today for $9.99 , and look for the console version October 20.

The App, available today in the App Store and on iTunes, lets Madden fans check out the latest standings, league news, propose and accept player transactions, set their depth charts and more for their Franchise.

According to EA, over 200,000 franchises have already been created, so least some of you have an iPhone/iPod Touch right? EA thinks so.

The Kensington Windshield/Vent Mount with Sound Amplified Cradle nearly doubles the sound of turn-by-turn navigation instructions or other sound without the need for additional batteries or draining of the iPhone battery by redirecting the sound towards the listener instead of straight down.

The device mounts to either the user’s windshield or vents and comes with rubber inserts to fit with all models of the iPhone. Another benefit to mounting your iPhone is to give it better reception.

This is a great addition for those of us who live on the go and need to keep our attention on the road while also being productive. The device will be available in Apple retail stores beginning in November 2009 and will cost $39.99.

Obviously though, wading through all those apps can be rather daunting. While a new App Store earlier this month certainly helped, Yappler wants to take it one step further and has launched Yappler Sync, a discovery tool for Windows and OS X that allows iPhone users to share a list of their favorite apps with their friends. The tool scans a users App Store library, and sends that list to the Yappler website, where a user can share it anonymously or post it for others.

Yappler.com Sync also creates a list of the apps used by all of its users and updates the list when new apps are downloaded or old ones are deleted, generating their own Top Apps list. Users can share their own list of apps on Twitter and Facebook, or even embed the list as a widget on personal blogs and webpages, like below. We noticed that Yappler doesn’t not which apps you personally don’t sync to your phone though. We don’t actually keep multiple fart apps on our phone. Honest.

Check Yappler out, and share your app lists in the comments.

Though it sounds great, there are sometimes mixed results with updates of classic franchises on the iPhone. Pac-Man does hold a special place in my heart though, so I especially wanted to keep an open mind, even if the possibility of a poor controlling interface or unimpressive graphics was still present.

When first launching Pac-Man Remix, I knew I was in for a treat. The splash screen instantly brought me back to my classic Pac-Man days, while the interface gave the game a more modern look.  The opening menu lets users know what game modes are available: campaign and free play.  Though fairly self-explanatory, I’ll go ahead and describe them anyway.  The campaign mode, not surprisingly, is most in line with the classic Pac-Man gameplay.  Players go through a sort of Pac-Man adventure island, exploring different and unique maps.  When each area of the island is completed, a new region is unlocked and available to be played.

Each region of the island is unique due to the diverse features found in the maps.  At one area, maps will resemble (to an extent) the classic, simple maps of the original title.  However, a few levels later, one will run into such additions as elevating platforms, acceleration devices and even teleportation pads.  Each map also has its own color scheme and design, again dependent on the region in which the player is trying to complete.

Free play mode essentially has the same meaning in all Namco iPhone releases, but it’s always good to touch on because I see it as an important feature.  This mode allows players to go back to their favorite levels and experience the fun again.  For a game like Pac-Man Remix, with the very diverse levels and mere depth it provides, having a mode like free play can really help the replay value of a game.  With so many games that can downloaded for free at the App Store, a game like Pac-Man Remix , which is currently running for $4.99 at the iTunes App Store, will need any additional features it can get to compete with the competition.

Though game modes are great, the majority of Pac-Man Remix’s value comes from the revamped graphics it features.  First of all, instead of the flat, pixelized graphics of the past, Pac-Man Remix brings some eye-popping, colorful 3-D visuals to the table.  These graphics make what was once a super simple game into a complex and interesting title to play.

Pac-Man Remix also features one of the best controlling interfaces that I’ve seen from Namco as of late.  Though it still offers the (dare I say) awful “Flick” controlling system, which requires players to flick their finger across the screen to dictate what direction Pac-Man should go, Pac-Man Remix offers an arrow pad option that is infinitely superior to the other option.  The arrow pad resembles what one would find on a keyboard, making it fairly natural to use.

Blast Factor: Overall, Pac-Man Remix is a fun little app for the iPhone.  Sure, its not the most innovative thing anyone has ever seen, but it is quite fun and very addicting.  For the price ($4.99), it might be a questionable buy for a lot of iPhone gaming enthusiasts, but for fans of Pac-Man and classic games in general, this is probably a must-have title.

Pac-Man Remix is available exclusively in the iTunes App store for $4.99.

No, we’re not plotting the reasons for the demise of American health. These are current applications for you iPhone that allow you to place an order without ever speaking to another human! Considering that we’ll spend twenty minutes scouring websites in order to make a doctor’s appointment to avoid actually having to place a phone call, this clearly represents a marked improvement in our lives.

The application features what you would expect it to—location awareness selects the correct store for your delivery—to the unexpected—shake your iPhone to make your hotwings spicy! The application is actually very svelte, and supports the entire range of iPhone input gestures. You can pinch and pull the pizza to make it go from a personal pan size to an extra-large. You can rotate the phone between landscape and portrait, depending on what you’re trying to accomplish, and you can swipe forward to move steps.

The pizza builder is our favorite part. You can drag and drop individual topping to your custom pizza, or click and drag the phrases like “ranch chicken” for predefined sets of toppings.

While we haven’t technically placed an order with the application (iTunes) yet, you can check out the official YouTube video below.

Of course, this wouldn’t be the future if there weren’t some sort of convergence, and sure enough, the app integrates with Facebook and Twitter (What, no MySpace? Twilight fans always struck us at the MySpace type) to allow users to post to their other social networks about Twilight. The app also allows users to select an avatar of their favorite Twilight character. (We wanted Bella’s dad, but that’s not a choice.)

As the release of “New Moon” approaches, the app will continue to be updated with showtimes, movie news, tickets, and and products from the Twilight series. The Twilight Tracker app is available for $2.99.

Apple recently launched a “top grossing” list for the App store and with it comes our examination of the games department.

These are your top-10 highest grossing App store games for the week with developer in parentheses.

1. Madden NFL ‘10 $9.99 (Electronic Arts)

2. Modern Combat Sandstorm  $6.99 (GameLoft)

3. Uno $4.99 (GameLoft)

4. Scrabble $4.99 (Electronic Arts)

5. Tetris $4.99 (Electronic Arts)

6. The Sims 3 $6.99 (Electronic Arts)

7. Bejeweled 2 $2.99 (PopCap Games)

8. Need For Speed Undercover $4.99 (Electronic Arts)

9. Dexter: The Game $5.99 (Marc Ecko Entertainment)

10. Frogger $.99 (Konami Digital Entertainment)

Anything stand out? Besides EA owning 5 of the 10?

Artist's rendition of the angry mob of Google workers outside the Apple offices in Cupertino.

In the ongoing volleying between Apple and Google over the Google Voice application, Google has released an unredacted version of the letter it sent to the FCC. In it, Google states that Apple has unequivocally rejected the Google voice application for the iPhone.

The Google Voice application was supposed to allow iPhone users to access all of the features that are part of the Grand Central system that Google acquired back in 2007, including one VoIP phone number that rings all of your phone numbers, integrated SMS, and customizable voicemail and call-screening depending on the caller. Rumor has it that Apple and AT&T are worried that the Google app could replace core functionalities on the iPhone—or eat into AT&T’s bottom line.

Here are the relevant quotes. Google states in its letter to the FCC which discussed negotiations between the two companies:

Apple representatives informed Google that the Google Voice application was rejected because Apple believed the application duplicated the core dialer functionality of the iPhone.

This stands in direct contrast to Apple’s statement in a press release:

We do not agree with all of the statements made by Google in their FCC letter. Apple has not rejected the Google Voice application and we continue to discuss it with Google.

In any case, one of these companies is lying, because they can’t both be true. Google claims that Apple rejected both the Google Voice and the Google Latitude applications because they duplicated functions the iPhone is already capable of doing and might create customer confusion. This is, of course, laughable considering the number of calculators, stopwatches, email apps, and all the other apps available in the store that blatantly duplicate available functionality.

Google and Apple used to be a match made in heaven, until the two companies found themselves in ever-growing competition. With Google throwing its full weight behind the mobile open-source Android platform, they’re increasingly finding themselves in direction competition with Apple—so much so, that Google CEO Eric Schmidt stepped down from Apple’s board of directors.

Only time will tell if these two companies will ever be able to make nice. We sure hope so, because the idea of using MapQuest instead of the pre-installed Google maps application on our iPhone makes us shudder.

Apple maintains, at least since yesterday, that they are working with Google on the Google Voice App for iPhone.

Apparently Google is saving its best for last. It has in its possession an image of the rejection letter. So Apple will most likely approve the Google Voice App to save face, and we’ll probably see it in a few days as the Post speculated.

The questions remains, if Apple did lie to a federal regulatory agency, what will come of that?

Priced at $7.99, the game allows players to trudge through an entire season including playoffs and the Superbowl while delivering a “hard-hitting and realistic” experience.

“We think fans will be impressed by the amount of detail and authenticity in Madden NFL ‘10, as well as by how intuitive it is to just pick up and start playing,” said Travis Boatman, VP Worldwide Publishing for EA Mobile. “We really took advantage of the platform’s unique capabilities so players have a new way to interact with the game. They can control the speed of the game as it unfolds to make the right call, draw routes on the screen for pass plays or with the swipe of a finger, kick a winning field goal.”

The iPhone/iPod Touch version allows for “Mutli-Touch” control where hot-routes can be traced out with the tip of your finger and like it’s console cousins, John Madden lends his booming voice to the project. Maybe you’ll want to use headphones while playing on the train? Just a suggestion.

RockStar Games has released the debut trailer for the game with Timbaland himself presenting the different modes and functionalities of the musical presentation of Beaterator. However, they have also released Beaterator Sessions: Max & Clay, a live action video of two young kids creating original songs from the application. This hilights the easy to use nature of the game. Check out the videos embedded below.

Comment below with your thoughts and opinions about the trailer.

“Chinatown Wars is a perfect match for the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games. “We are very excited to bring this incredibly ambitious version of Liberty City, with this level of detail and immersive gameplay on Apple’s new gaming platforms.”

It’s no secret that Chinatown Wars saw lackluster sales on the DS despite STELLAR reviews, but this announcement coupled with the previous one, which dated Chinatown Wars for PSP, will bring the game to a total of 3 portable entertainment fronts, thus tripling the chance of monetary success…right?

Comment with your thoughts and opinions below!

The charging system comes in two parts. The first, the WildCharger Pad, plugs into a wall like any other charging base station. The pad is a simple, flat surface that you lay your device on. There are no sliding parts, no grooves to line up, no orientation to match — you just toss your device onto the pad and it automatically starts charging. I tried placing my iPhone in many different directions and playing around with it, but I was unable to find a orientation separate from being of the pad where the WildCharger failed to charge.

The trick, which the engineers took no effort to hide, is the twelve strips of metal in the pad that generate a potential. The second component to the system is the case you attach to your device. The iPhone case I tested has metal contacts on the back of the case in a “T”-shape. They were spaced out in just the right proportions that at least one of them would connect to a different strip of metal on the pad, completing a circuit, and generating the charge for the device. Because the pad is larger than your devide, you can also cram as many devices on the pad as you want.

So while the WildCharger Pad is technically wireless, it still requires metal contacts to transmit the power. This means that you couldn’t put something over the pad and expect it to charge. Also, should the contacts on the case ever become oxidized, it will become unable to charge.

WildCharger's universal adaptor can let you charge just about any device.

Even with these possible limitations, the technology is promising.  The company is currently developing laptop chargers. Looking even further into the future, the company hopes to put all of these devices in cafes, restaurants, and bars, eliminating the need to fight over outlets. We’ll just hope no one spills something on them. That would probably be bad.

While I used the iPhone case, the company sells cases for the iPod Touch and Blackberrys, as well as generic adapter to most phones or other devices. The case is rubber which covers the phone while also preventing scratches and other damage to the phone. The case isn’t too difficult to remove, which is a good thing since in order to charge your iPhone or iPod Touch, the WildCharger has to be plugged into the dock port on the phone, preventing you from syncing with your computer while the skin is on the case. Though many other skins cover or otherwise obscure the port, it’s still is a hassle to have to take it off anytime you want to sync your device.

Overall, I think the WildCharge is a great product, and if the WildCharger pads start to show up at my local Starbucks, we certainly wouldn’t complain. At this point, you just have to ask yourself how much the convenience of not having to charge your device with a wire is worth to you.

Comment with your thoughts below.

Well, there’s an app for that. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Air Sharing Pro (iTunes link), from Avatron Software, is an amazingly featured and tight package that essentially turns your iPhone or iPod touch into a wi-fi thumb drive and file explorer. As long as your computer and your iPhone are logged into the same wi-fi network, you can easily move files between the two devices without installing any extra software (well, with one minor caveat), unzip folders, print and email the files, all from within the app. The software handles a huge range of documents from .pdf, .txt, .doc, .xls, and all the usual image formats. You can also add any WebDAV enabled server, such as your MobileMe iDisk. Even better, you can do that over your iPhone’s data connection.

I tested Air Sharing Pro on my Mac and iPhone 3GS, but everything I say applies to all iPhones and the iPod Touch (substituting wi-fi for data connection where necessary). Like I mentioned earlier, no extra software is required if you’re running OS X or Windows Vista. Those running XP are highly encouraged to download the free NetDrive to fill in the gaps in XP’s networking protocols, which is a minor annoyance, but hardly a deal breaker, and especially not once you see what you can do with this app.

Setup was indeed ridiculously easy, and works exactly like the app’s help page tell you to. On OS X, all you have to do was “Add a server…” via Finder, and enter the IP address your phone tells you to. This mounts your iPhone as an external server, and from there, everything is a matter of moving files between folders, which I’m sure you learned to do around the third grade.

The main interface for the app is a list of the servers you can access (defaulting to your computer) followed by a list of the folders and files that you transferred to the phone. From here, you can open any of the files you want to, move them around, copy, paste, or delete them, all to your hearts content. The app flawlessly handled any file format I threw at it, which isn’t that much of a surprise considering that the iPhone is pretty good at handing most formats. Still, it was nice to see my .pdf with all of the images rendered correctly, and be able to skip around the many pages using the intuitive arrowed interface, as well as open up my .xls chart and graph. Folders of images can be viewed individually or as a slideshow.

Sharing is just as intuitive. Once you’ve selected the file or files you want to share, you have the choice to upload the file to a drop.io account so you can share them on the web, or just move the file over to the email app and send it as an attachment. You can also print any of the documents from inside the app, which is still something that blows my mind a little bit every time I do it. Accessing my iDisk was also just as easy, and the app updated itself on the fly, even as I changed and uploaded files while it was navigating them.

Although I don’t know anyone else using the software so I couldn’t test this, the app can detect other users on the same wi-fi network and allow you to connect to them and share files, which is certainly nifty and very iPhone 3.0. Security wise, the app allows you to lock access with a four digit PIN, and will transfer files on any encrypted wi-fi network. If you end up storing your iDisk credentials in the app, it’s likely a good idea to use a pin.

Air Sharing Pro is $9.99 in the app store, and while I have no problem spending $5 on a cup of coffee, I’m not easily convinced to spend as much on an app for my phone. That being said I feel is actually worth every penny considering how many features they managed to cram inside it.

Think about it: while you could always attach a file you want to an email, email it to yourself, open the email, and then download it again every time you need to view it. Or you could just move it to your iPhone once, and have permanent and quick access to it, with or without a data connection.

Should you still be unconvinced (which I find hard to believe), the basic features of the app like file moving, storing, and viewing are available in the Air Sharing App for $4.99. While you won’t have access to remote servers, be able to share the files, or print, all the other basic “thumb drive” and file-viewing features are still available. Overall, Air Sharing is one sterling app, and definitely one worth a space on your home screen.

Air Sharing Pro (iTunes link)
Air Sharing (iTunes link)

The first game of Tetris was played in 1984.

So, what do you get when these two classic games are combined in 2009?  Puzzle Domino for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

Puzzle Domino, created by 415 Games, is a simple and addicting Tetris-esque app where the player must manipulate falling white domino blocks in order to eliminate buildups and prolong the game.  However, this isn’t your run of the mill Tetris game where players must make complete horizontal rows with random shapes.  Instead, making vertical, horizontal and diagonal combinations of three like domino numbers purges the blocks from the screen in this title.

Puzzle Domino is the definition of a simple game.  There are no levels.  Instead, it seems that this game is a mere test of addiction and endurance.  What’s amazing about Puzzle Domino game is that the simplicity does not take away from the replay value.  Instead, 415 Games takes the classic gaming approach and just leaves players with their Highest Score and the opportunity to beat it.  It would have been nice to see an online leaderboard for Puzzle Domino’s best players or even a top-10 Scores list for each phone, but perhaps 415 Games didn’t want to venture too far from the simple nature of the game.

The simplistic approach in Puzzle Domino can also be noticed in the gameplay.  To rotate the blocks, players must tap the falling domino.  This action will make the current item turn clockwise.  To move the block horizontally, just take your finger and drag the block across the screen.  Finally, once you have a domino positioned where you want, simply flick the block down to speed up the falling process.

There are a few different types of domino blocks that fall in the game.  First, there are the standard domino blocks, complete with two squares containing an assortment of dots designating the number each side represents.  Next are the single, randomizing blocks.  Instead of containing two sides with different numbers, this block is a single square that switches its number designation in rotation fashion.  The only way to use this block is to use careful timing and strategy.  If you don’t, you’ll probably end up messing up a chance to remove some squares from your screen.  Additionally, there are the bomb blocks.  This mistake-eraser is good for only one thing: eliminating squares.  When this block shows up, the strategy is to find the biggest and most unruly mess on your screen and slam your bomb block into it.  If used correctly, the bomb block can take out a large chunk of any troublesome squares.

There are certain parts of the game in which the screen gets noticeably darker and black dominos start falling.  When this happens, players must maneuver these blocks the same way they would the white dominos.  However, the dark blocks can only be used to eliminate dark blocks.  This adds a more difficult aspect to the game and increases the level of fun.

One of the great things about Puzzle Domino is that it is an App that loads very quickly.  Too often do iPhone and iPod Touch owners are burdened with slow loading Apps, which cut into crucial gaming time.  It’s a small detail, but one that will certainly be noticed and appreciated.

Puzzle Domino is one of those games that could easily become a big hit.  It’s simple, it’s fun and, above all, it’s addicting as hell.  The only thing holding this 415 Games creation from reaching its selling potential is the price tag.  It is currently selling for $1.99 when it plays more like a $0.99 title.  For big Tetris fans or bored gamers with some extra iMoney, Puzzle Domino makes sense for that price.  However, for the average iPhone or iPod Touch owner, it seems like there are cheaper options that make more sense.

Yes, that is indeed a Dunkin’ Donuts iPhone app (iTunes). We know, we know, it’s almost too good to be true. But wait, it gets better. You don’t even need an iPhone to take advantage of it. Here’s how it works.

You’ve been elected by the office to make the run to DD—you are the runner. You send out an invite. Everyone submits their order to you via iPhone or the web interface at www.DunkinRun.com. Everyone’s order shows up on your phone. You place the order at DD. You deliver the goods. Everyone loves you.

The online menu and app are both very slick and really easy to use. The app will even use those newfangled push notifications to remind you that you signed up to go on the run (heaven forbid that it’s your fault no one has their morning coffee) or to notify everyone else when you return from the run—maybe not what the execs at Apple had in mind when they developed push notifications, but a creative use nonetheless.

We can’t wait to try this one out in the office this week. If we weren’t the Alpha Geek of the office before, we certainly will be now.

Thanks to Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima, a new brain training iPhone app released by Namco Bandai, no longer do I need to pretend that I know how to read in order to seem like I have a single iota of intelligence.  Nope, instead all I have to do is turn on my handy iPhone device and start playing the various games that Brain Exercise has to offer, boosting the power of my frontal lobe in the process.

However, with the ever-growing number of apps available, can Dr. Kawashima’s latest creation validate its price tag?  Let’s take a look.

The first thing you notice when booting up Brain Exercise is the very clean and colorful presentation found in every menu within the game.  If I was told that a sophisticated, educational game heavily used pastels and metallic color schemes throughout its menus, I would have been very skeptical.  Nevertheless, Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima makes it work.

After admiring the aesthetics, players must create their own personal, reusable account to login to the game.  Each of these profiles allow players to track the progress of their brain training and their improvements – or regressions, as the case may be – throughout certain mini-games within Brain Exercise.  Account holders can measure their progress through charts, graphs or even by use of a calendar.  If you end up deciding to download Brain Exercise, expect to be visiting your profile page religiously.

Once logged into a profile, players can begin their brain training.  There are two different ways to do this: either through Brain Training or Brain Age.  Each of these modes has their benefits and unique quirks as they test the different regions of the brain with their diverse collection of games.

When starting a brand new profile, I suggest starting with Brain Age.  This mode challenges players to complete a certain mini-game at the best time possible.  Players will only get one attempt at the game.  The more accurate and swiftly one can complete a game, the lower their brain age will be.

The difficult part of Brain Age mode is the fact that a player cannot attempt to lower their age more than once a day.  This offers a challenging experience to any player with a competitive, self-improvement mindset.

However, because Brain Age only allows one attempt at a single, brain area specific game each day, a player’s brain age is only determined by testing a single brain region.  This would lead to me scoring a low brain age when tested on a certain region, but a higher age when tested on another.  It just seems like something as all-inclusive as a brain age should test all regions of the brain, not just one.  I would much prefer a “brain region age” with this format.  However, I don’t have a PhD and leave much of my education up to the completion of games on iPhone Apps, so I’ll leave the decisions up to Dr. Kawashima.

Once you have established your brain age, it is time to get to work with Brain Training.  This is the mode where players will probably be spending most of their time in.  Brain Training lets players complete three different games per day in order to condition their brain for success in their next Brain Age attempt.

Using the Brain Training mode is a great way for players to learn all of the different games that Brain Exercise has to offer such as: Inverted Numbers, a game in which players must type in which upside-down or backwards number they see on the screen, testing the Parietal lobe of the brain; Rolling Shapes, a game in which players must decide position a shape is lying after its silhouette is rolled, testing the Temporal love; and Add 3, a game in which players must do simple math problems while also adding 3 to the resulting answer, testing the Frontal lobe.

The great thing about Brain Training is that it is able to test more than a single brain region at once by letting players complete multiple games.  Brain Training also collects all the data from your attempts and adds it to your progress tracker in your profile.

Brain Exercise is full of extra goodies as well.  First, Brain Exercise will keep the casual Sudoku player satisfied with an additional bonus game.  Also, players can enjoy a multiplayer experience by using the Challenge function, which allows players to duel their friends by playing a certain game on the same iPhone.  Finally, players can also download high scores from around the world and also upload their personal profile to the web.

There are very few negative things to say about Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima.  Sure, the price might be a little higher than a lot of Apps available for the iPhone.  But, given that Brain Exercise is a game that can be used every day, the price is justified.  Another potential negative aspect of Brain Exercise is the lack of clarity within the game instructions.  The presentation of the instruction screens is great, but it usually takes a run-through or two before a game is fully understood.

Overall, Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima is a great App.  It is fun, addicting and, most impressively, educational.  This is a great release and has already become one of my favorite Apps.

Brain Training with Dr. Kawashima is available in the iTunes App store for $5.99.

OK, so obviously those are a couple disappointments, but we’re still getting landscape keyboards across all apps, system-wide spotlight, and push notifications (as soon as the app developers implement them) among many other improvements. A scan of the Twit-scape shows that there are speedy downloads and no major hiccups for people installing. So give it a go, and let us know how it works for you. We forgot our cord at home today, so we won’t be installing until tonight.

Update (3:31 p.m.): Looks like we spoke too soon. It appears that while Apple’s download servers had plenty of capacity, the activation servers couldn’t handle the rush of people itching for iPhone 3.0, and many people are stuck with an updated, but non-active, shiny brick. It could be a while before the activation servers come back up, so everyone will likely have to just be patient.

What’s more is that the iPhone/iPod Touch version of the game rocketed to the number 1 paid App spot in Apple’s App Store and, at $9.99 is still there ( I just checked to confirm).

You number savvy folks can also enjoy this figure: 7 million.  That’s the number of times players have downloaded user created content in the game and with such rampant success what will EA do next with the wad of cash they’re currently bathing in?

“Our business is based on building great games. Adding another platform to the mix, like the iPhone or Ipod Touch, provides great revenue possibilities for Playlogic, and provides us with new customers to experience our games,” said Rogier W. Smit, executive vice president of Playlogic.

We don’t know any specifics about the games the company is developing for the Apple handhelds, only that we’ll see them sometime in 2009.

Available June 19, the iPhone 3GS is Apple’s new iPhone hardware. Apple claims that everything on the phone is “twice as fast” at loading apps, sites, and everything else. The device will also feature a faster 3G antenna (7.2Mbps HSDPA, for those who like details), the rumored 3MP auto-focus camera, complete with an API for developers, and a 30 FPS video camera with an associated app to allow for video and photo editing. Another rumor to come true is an internal compass that will orient the maps app depending on which direction you’re facing.

The iPhone also features a new voice control UI, allowing users to make vocal commands such as “Call Mom” or “What song is playing?” all in a live transcripted interface. Snazzy? Sure. Necessary? Probably not.  The phone also features hardware encryption and an improved battery life which should come as a relief to iPhone users everywhere.

The form factor for the iPhone 3GS is staying exactly the same, available in black and white (sorry, no flaming orange iPhones). Storage will also increase–$299 for the 32GB model or $199 for the 16GB model. Still too pricey for you? Pick up the older iPhone 3G for just $99 (yay recessionomics!).

The iPhone OS 3.0, which will ship June 17 to other iPhone users contains many new improvements, most of which have been announced before, but we’ll summarize them anyway: the iPhone is finally getting copy/paste, MMS messaging, system-wide Spotlight that will index your email, contacts, and apps, and a landscape oriented keyboard.

A cool new feature will allow users with MobileMe to locate their phones should they go missing and you’re not in enough hysterics from losing your iPhone to be able to use a computer. Apple announced support for data tethering, but AT&T was notably missing from the list, most likely indicating that iPhone users in the US will be SOL. Safari will be updated to run faster and will auto-fill contact and stored login info.

Push notifications (including text, sound, and “badge”) will finally go live in this release, after much delay. Apps will also be able to access the dock connector, allowing you to use you iPhone with external gadgets, such as TomTom’s new GPS driving device. Peer-to-peer interfacing will allow you to connect to other users to play games or send information such as contacts.

Overall, only Apple could drum up so much publicity for something that is ostensibly just an evolutionary change rather than a revolutionary change. Nevertheless, these developments are still exciting, even if they’re overdue. We’ll let you know what we think when we get our hands on a new iPhone 3GS in just a couple weeks.

Yes, once again Namco has come out with another throwback title for the iPhone. This time Namco has reached all the way back to 1982 to recover the popular arcade game Dig Dug, a game in which players control a single futuristic miner whose sole mission is to eliminate the dangerous monsters who inhabit the underground, to create Dig Dug Remix.

In Dig Dug Remix there are two versions of the game. First is the original version, which is identical to what you would find in an arcade in the 80’s, just in a smaller package. Second, there is the Remix version, which gives players a more updated and impressive presentation of the classic title.

(A look at the classic version of Dig Dug.)

Of the two versions, the Remix is quite impressive and is definitely my favorite game to play. Though this version does not closely resemble its more famous, classic counterpart, Remix really brings a different and exciting look to an old-school game.

The Remix edition also shows an incredible attention to detail for such a simple game. From the character animations to the movement of the dirt, the Remix is sure to please even the most fickle of visual critics. Even things as small as the flowers, which are located in an area that is rarely used in the game, sway back and forth in the wind. I found that the small mole that pokes his head out of the topsoil during random instances in the game to be the most enjoyable of these features.

(A closer look at the Remix version of Dig Dug.  Notice the higher quality graphics.)

However, beyond its nostalgic value and great graphics, Dig Dug for the iPhone has one major flaw: the control systems. Dig Dug Remix offers two different ways to control your character. One of these is by use of the basic arrow pad; the other by means of “flicking.” Though both of these control systems have their advantages, neither is particularly useful for this game.

As mentioned earlier, the default control system is by using your thumb to press a basic arrow pad. The pad itself is fully functional. However, the size of the pad becomes very bothersome. When trying to press the up arrow, you end up going sideways instead. Trying to use your index finger to press the arrows is worth a shot, but it feels quite unnatural. Overall, this system was not fun to use. Not fun at all.

The second control system is called flick. With this system, players flick their finger anywhere on the screen in the direction that they want Dig Dug to go. Though it sounds simple, flick is equally as frustrating as the directional pad. All too often my flicks would not register within the game, resulting in many deaths. Also, I would find myself flicking across the main part of the screen in order to make sure my instructions register. However, this would often interfere with the in-game visibility, resulting in more deaths. In a game that relies heavily on precise directional control, these problems are incredibly disappointing.

Dig Dig Remix is definitely a fun app for the iPhone. Namco has been doing a solid job reincarnating the classic titles of the past for use on mobile devices. In the case of Dig Dug Remix however, the control system, which is frustrating enough to make fans new and old very frustrated with this beloved game, makes it quite apparent that there may be more worthy investments for your iCash.

Dig Dug Remix is available exclusively for the iPhone for $5.99.

At some point in every kid’s life, one wonders what it would be like to try to survive a zombie apocalypse.

However, the folks at Monkey Wrench Games take this thought to a whole ‘nother level.

Say hello to Kids Vs. Zombies, an exciting new game for the iPhone. This tower-defense(ish) app has a lot going for it, but will it be intriguing enough to purchase over the deep field of similar titles?

Kids Vs. Zombies has two different versions: Full and Lite. With only 2 levels and limited functionality, Lite has significantly less entertainment and replay value. Today, we will be looking at this Lite version to see if it warrants the purchase of the fully functional edition.

The object of Kids Vs. Zombies Lite is to defend your base from the increasingly difficult undead onslaught. As the zombies approach your fort, it is your job to kill them before they can do any damage. The more levels you complete, the more money you will receive to repair your base and upgrade the weapons and intelligence of your characters.

Your tools for defense come in the form of a few weapon-savvy kids. Dexter, the demolitions expert, is responsible for taking out large groups of close to medium-ranged zombies. In the Lite version of Kids Vs. Zombies, Dexter shoots large orange balls that will take out just about anything in its path. Scarlett, the long-range sniper, is the character I found myself using the most. She is able to hit zombies at long ranges by launching golf balls out of a slingshot. Finally, Marcus is the close-combat specialist. He is only effective when the zombies are very close to the base. Each kid has their own unique skill set and can come in handy in each game.

To play, users must aim one of the kids towards a zombie, pull their finger back in order to determine the distance of which to fire your weapon, and then release. Aiming involves pointing an arrow in the direction of the targeted zombie. Don’t expect to be accurate from the get go as it will take you a few tries before you really get the hang of the targeting system.

Initially, the gameplay of this app seemed a bit unnatural. Turning the separate characters in order to use their weapons to your advantage can get a little hectic, but one gets used to it fairly quickly. Also, when the zombie get close enough to your base, the characters that you aren’t using will pitch in with a few shots. Unfortunately, when aiming at distant zombies, the targeting system can be unforgiving. Luckily, the characters have nearly unlimited ammo, so one can just keep pumping out rounds until the enemies are cleared.

An interesting aspect of this game is that every level represents a new night of survival. This means that every level is taking place in the dark, making zombies tough to see. Luckily, aiming Dexter, Scarlett, or Marcus at an area can also be used to illuminate zombies that may be approaching in the darkness. This element makes Kids vs. Zombies Lite much more exciting and VERY addicting.

Other helpful features include the ability to save a game in mid-level. I have been waiting for more apps to implement this feature because most of my gaming is on-the-go. Kudos to the guys and gals at Monkey Wrench Games. The tutorial was also surprisingly accommodating.

In terms of graphics, Kids Vs. Zombies Lite is pretty good. The game runs very smoothly while it’s also visually impressive. The zombie models are diverse and move realistically. Also, the models for Dexter, Scarlett, and Marcus are satisfactory. The different types of ammo that are fired, the colorful menus and even the battle grounds are detailed as well, making it quite apparent that Monkey Wrench Games did not cut corners when it came to graphical presentation.

Overall, Kids Vs. Zombies Lite is a good, addicting game. With four difficulty settings and two levels, this app will surely keep any mobile game player enticed for a while. However, it is clear that purchasing the regular version of Kids Vs. Zombies is undoubtedly worth the $1.99 price. Happy hunting, kids!

In the past we’ve seen Roller Coaster Tycoon, Zoo Tycoon, and even a Prison version, but now handheld gamers can relive those past moments of innocence streetside selling lemonade to strangers!

The title is a business/strategy type game with decisions regarding pricing, inventory, supplies, marketing, advertising, and even your own staff left up to you. I can’t help but smile as you’re given the ability to alter weather, location, and even your secret recipe in order to maximize profits. The fact that such a game exists is inspiring and altogether exciting.

Best of all, the app is free (with sponsor messages throughout) and allows you to listen to your iTunes library in-game.

Selling Lemonade

Decisions decisions

P + L Statement