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THE iNSTA-PRO

Ryan Johnson — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:30:36 +0000

Avid golfers take heed! The iNSTA-PRO could be you’re ticket to a glassy smooth swing that stays on plane from takeaway all the way through impact and follow through! Part of the problem with golfing is that you can’t see your own swing, and to get professional help costs you and arm and a leg. The iNSTA-PRO iPhone app turns an iPhone 3G S into a virtual golf teaching machine. It comes with slick features and an assortment of tools that’ll help you video tape, analyze, document, and improve your swing, all directly from your iPhone.

The iNSTA-PRO app allows you to record and analyze your swing from multiple angles so you’re able to get a good visual on your overall swing technique. The app comes with drawing tools that help you analyze and improve on key swing fundamentals such as setup, head and ball position, takeaway, swing plane, width, and arch, weight transfer, release, and follow through. There are circles that you can use to measure angles and to highlight areas that you need to keep still during your swing such as your head and back knee. There are lines that you can insert at any angle that help you analyze things such as knee and head position, shaft and shoulder angles, and swing plane. On top of these tools The iNSTA-PRO also gives you hands on control to play, pause, and scroll forward or back so you can analyze each and every position throughout your swing. You can even turn your iPhone 3G S sideways to view and compare two different swings at the same time.

In addition to its handy swing analysis tools, The iNSTA-PRO also serves as a swing log. For each swing recorded you can document the date, golfer’s name, course, club, strength, and result of the swing. So basically, you can crank out a swing, record that you sliced the crap out of it, and then can use the swing analysis tools to identify all parts of your swing that went wrong. Likewise, if you cranked out a solid swing with a nice subtle draw, you can log the result, go back and review the tape, and identify everything that you did right.

Key Features of The iNSTA-PRO:

Ability to capture and trim 30fps video directly from the app
Play/Review video frame by frame or in normal, fast, and slow motion
Pan & Zoom in on your video at any point of a swing
Analyze video with drawing tools, including multiple adjustable shapes and colors
Website membership to The iNSTA-PRO & The iNSTA-Club online user community
Ability to save and store your videos on the app or online to your iNSTA-PRO user account

Alright, let’s get down to business. I’ve been playing golf for most of my life. I worked as a cart boy for 5 years, played for my high school golf team, am a member of a country club, and have been known to wager a couple of greenbacks on a round from time-to-time. Although I’m not a pro, I’m very familiar with golf techniques, fundamentals, and teaching principles. Lucky for me, three of my good friends are certified PGA teaching professionals one of which played on the Senior PGA Tour for a brief stint. Because of this I get VIP access to the video equipment at my country club. The iNSTA-PRO app literally has all of the same tools that equipment does. Now don’t get me wrong. The difference in camera quality is night and day, but it should be for how much my country club paid for the setup. In all honesty, you really don’t need HD quality video to adequately perform swing analysis. Just having the ability to capture and analyze your swing on any kind of video is a major help. Throw in the extra tools to mark, measure, compare, and critique your swing and it becomes a really helpful practice tool.

Unfortunately for me, a major snow storm hit the Washington, D.C. area last weekend so I wasn’t able to take The iNSTA-PRO out to the range for a full test. The best that I could do was to solicit the help of a friend, grab a club out of my bag, and let loose a couple of practice swings inside. The biggest weakness I found with the app was that without the help of a stabilization device like a table or a tripod, it was kind of difficult to keep the iPhone perfectly steady. Having a perfectly still video doesn’t hamper you from getting good feedback on your swing, but it does somewhat limit the benefit of some of the drawing tools. For example, if you’ve circled your head and your knee because you want to see if you’re keeping them still and in place throughout your swing, it’s a little harder to tell if you’re successfully doing it when your iPhone is shaking while recording. So, for best results I recommend you have something with you that you can rest the iPhone on to keep it steady while filming.

If there were something else I’d like to see added to this app it’d be a section with golf swing instructional videos. It’d be great if users could view swing fundamentals videos and then compare them side-by-side with their own swing videos. All in all, I found the The iNSTA-PRO app to be fairly comprehensive, easy to use, and thought it worked pretty well. To be able to enjoy all of the apps features you’ll need to have an iPhone 3G S. If used properly I can see this app being a nice tool to have with you the next time you practice your golf swing.

Strimko

Ryan Johnson — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:30:35 +0000

The popular online logic based puzzle game Strimko hits the iPhone and iPod Touch app market with a bang. To put it simply this game sets a new bar for logic based puzzle apps. Strimko is fun, addictive, challenging, rich with features, jam packed with brain twisting logic puzzles, all packed into one extremely user friendly interface that’s been well thought out and is sprinkled with “nice-to-have” features that help make the game experience exceptional. It’s the type of game that you pick up and don’t put down.

If you’re not already familiar with Strimko, it’s a number based puzzle game that forces you to use logic to solve puzzles. Essentially you’re provided with a grid that contains a few prepopulated numbers, and it’s your job to complete the grid without having two of the same numbers in the same row, side by side, or in the same stream. As simple as this sounds, you’ll quickly realize it’s not. The further you advance in the game the more crucial it is that you apply sound logic with every number that you place. You’re assured not to get very far in this game if you don’t.

So what do you get with Strimko? Well, for one thing you get quality puzzles. Strimko hasn’t been developed by an inexperienced puzzle loving amateur living rent free in their parent’s basement. Strimko puzzles are all hand designed and difficulty graded by puzzle pros. It comes with over 20 hours worth of continuous gameplay comprised of 120 unique never been published puzzles, ranging from 4×4 to 7×7 patterns, 4 levels of difficulty, in game hints if you need it, and more. Not to mention, if you’re a Strimko solving machine, you can add additional puzzle packs via in-game purchasing.

One thing I noticed while playing Strimko was that every button, feature, and control were all where I wanted them to be. Quokka Studios went the extra mile when they developed this app and it shows. Not once did I find myself confused, lost, or in want of additional features. The game’s graphics, colors, sounds, instructions, layout, extras, and gameplay are all perfect. I wouldn’t change a thing. Not to mention, there’s a really slick iPod integration feature that allows you to access and control your iPod from within the app. This was easily my favorite feature. I think other apps should take note on this one. The moment I got my songs playing and submersed myself in the game, I played for nearly an hour and didn’t even know it. So far I’ve made it through 11 of the easy puzzles, leaving me 109 more puzzles to go! Not sure how for I’ll get but I definitely plan on finding out!

Whether you’re into puzzle games or not you should definitely check out Strimko. If you’re the type that likes to test drive the car before you buy it, then download the free lite version and take it for a spin. It’ll give you just enough of a taste to see what I’m talking about. I found Strimko to be extremely fun and addictive and without a doubt 100% worth the purchase. I recommend it to everyone.

Tipoli

Steve — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 21:55:18 +0000

When I first saw Tipoli I thought to myself: This must be a game targeted for a younger audience. It has a quirky love story, little smiley face characters, and heart shaped goals that you must reach in order to complete levels. BUT with all that aside, after about one minute into the game I realized that while it does cater to a younger generation with the overall theme , Tipoli by Divide by Zero Games, is actually quite challenging and very addicting. Tipoli had me (a 30 year-old man b.t.w.) deeply engaged within the gameplay. This is a very unique app that is sure to entertain people of all ages, and it does so with a great variety of levels and the most simplistic user controls.

Two ball characters are tethered to each other (Periwinkle & Mint). One ball is sticky while the other is bouncy. The game is very easy to learn and the controls are simple as it gets: just tap the screen to toggle back and forth between your two characters. Tapping the screen will swap the characters position, which leads to the natural physics of walking or traveling along through the levels. Alternating between bouncing off something or sticking to something is the whole concept. As you get the hang of toggling back and forth, you must navigate your characters to the heart goal at the end.

The great thing about this game is the physics behind the character movement, along with the wonderful variety of levels. Each level design is well executed and challenges your problem solving skills. Additional obstacles like moving circles and blue walls that you cant stick to enhance the overall gameplay. Level selection menu’s allow you to pick any level you like, instead of moving in a linear fashion. Once a level is finished a heart appears over the level to indicate completion. There are ten levels per stage, five stages and a special stage. As you move along in the game you can collect smaller hearts within the levels that unlock challenge levels. The hand-drawn graphics are original and the music adds charm, lending to its overall polished appeal. The little book icon on the main menu screen takes you to what appears to be an online user network group where you can share your thoughts about the game, get latest news feeds and leave feedback. At times that page didn’t want to load, though it may have just been a network connection issue.

Tipoli will get you hooked, no doubt about it. This one-button physics platformer will have you going back for more and more. The challenging and diverse level design, vibrant hand drawn visuals, and cute love story all make this game a sure pick. Especially considering the .99 cent price-point.

ChilliFarm

Ryan Johnson — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:59:02 +0000

If you’re like me and LOVE red hot chilli peppers, then ChilliFarm may just be an app you’ll want to find a home for on your iPhone. This fiery little app gives you facts, stats, and images for the world’s hottest chilli peppers! Think of it as your handheld, one-stop-shop for anything and everything chillies!

In addition to providing helpful chillies-related info, ChilliFarm also serves as a pocket sized advertisement for South Devon Chilli Farm (SDCF). SDCF is a well renown premium chillies grower in the UK that’s been featured on television, in magazines, and have been vouched for by famous chef Jamie Oliver as growing “the best chillies in the country”. If anybody knows about chillies it’s these guys.

Laced from end to end with it’s colorful chilli themed flair, ChilliFarm app gives you one touch access to what every chilli lover has always hungered for; anytime/anywhere access to the history, origin, and Scoville Rating (AKA – Mouth Burning/Montezuma’s Revenge Meter) for all of the big time chillies! Now chilli snobs everywhere can unite and show in-person proof to people who brag about eating jalapenos at the salad bar that they ain’t (BLEEP). What? You think the overcooked red peppers in your Kung Pow chicken are spicy? HA-HA-HAAAA! Amateur! Oh, you say the orange habanero at the grocery store is the hottest pepper in the world? Huh…clearly you have no idea what you’re talking about! Yes my friends, with ChilliFarm app for iPhone, you can rightfully assume your position as the ultimate chilli pepper conosur.

In addition to including vital stats and images for the world’s most mouth meltingly hot chilli peppers, ChilliFarm also packs a few extras. There’s an ’About Us’ page where you can learn more about SDCF including links to their website and other publications, an RSS page intended to keep you abreast of what the farm is up to, which more or less appears to be a window into SDFC’s Twitter page, and a page for recipe ideas.

Overall ChilliFarm is colorful, fairly informative, and very easy to use. Being a chilli lover, I definitely like having quick access to mega hot chilli pepper data. Currently though, some of the app’s features could use a little help. For example, the recipes page is very slim. It only has 7 recipes, 3 of which are salsa. The RSS feed page seems rather insignificant as well. It appears as if it’s just a feed from the SDCF Twitter page. I was expecting something more expansive and newsworthy.

The great news is that there are major updates on the way! The app’s developer has announced that they’ll be expanding on the number of peppers and images, increasing the amount of recipes and information, and will be introducing an interactive feature that allows users to upload pictures of their own chillies, as well as to input and share their own favorite chilli recipes! That’ll be fun! So, if you’re a chilli lover like I am, and would like to have some handy chilli related info in your iPhone or iPod Touch, you should go check out ChilliFarm. It’s currently the one-and-only Chilli based app available in the App Store!

Lucky Me Plus

Crissa Yu — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:39:59 +0000

There’s a certain feeling of exhilaration playing for things where the outcome is based, whether fully or partially, on luck. The rush that comes with having little control over how these games turn out is a common addiction for gamblers all over the world. Of course, a lot of us want to experience the same thrill without having to lose a dime of our hard-earned money. If you’re not into online gambling, then you should consider Lucky Me Plus, Emantras Inc.’s shiny new app that lets you put your luck to the test.

A remarkable feature that first caught my attention was the customization of the game screen, where, upon typing your name, you’ll be taken to the main menu. The title now reads Lucky , all done in gold and diamonds. Gorgeous, not to mention little details like that contribute to the overall impact of a game.

Naturally, the game itself offers a lot more than just eye-catching visuals. There are two modes to choose from – Quick Luck and Feelin’ Lucky. In the first, you’ll play through at least three minigames, after which your luck will be graded based on your performance. The latter one challenges you with seven or more games and equips a luck meter to show how you’re faring after each one. You’re in for a fun time as you try to uncover treasure chests beneath unmarked doors, find pearls in an ocean of oysters, shake apples from junk-laden trees, scratch matching combos to win at slots, and much more – all before the timer runs out.

In most of these games, you’ll need more than just luck to get you through. Employ a combination of speed and skill to increase your chances on getting goals accomplished, and if you manage to earn over 50%, you’ll win collectible lucky charms. Brag about your high score to friends over Twitter or Facebook and share your penchant for getting lucky!

Whereas the polished graphics, customization features, and fast-paced gameplay provide for an entertaining time, the sometimes unresponsive controls can be frustrating, especially since your performance is greatly tied to quick reflexes. It also gets a bit repetitive after playing for a time, as the app doesn’t include a large collection of games.

All things considered, Lucky Me Plus is a visually appealing and exciting chance game that uses controls in intuitive and varied ways. It feels a little short of content, but if you’re looking for a casual game to keep you amused for short bursts of time, you’ll no doubt find this app worthy.

Squarepeg Game

Rich DeBell — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 13:06:55 +0000

I’ve been feeling less then stellar the last couple days. Not because I’m sick or have a case of the winter blues, but because I’m starting to question my very intellect and problem solving skills. What might you ask would cause an intellectual person like myself (Tongue placed firmly in cheek right now) to dwell on such dark and interpersonal thoughts? Well… the short answer is Squarepeg Game. Once you try it I think you’ll understand. Squarepeg Game is a new iPhone/iPod Touch app created by FatAttitude Ltd. Their description of Squarepeg Game is:

A modern twist on traditional peg puzzles; players must get shapes down holes to finish each level. A simple premise with increasingly complex logic!

Increasingly complex logic is definitely the key part of that description. Like I said before I consider myself a smart guy but there’s no doubt that I found Squarepeg Game to be challenging, entertaining and down right mind addicting! There you go… it’s caused me to coin a new phrase… Mind Addicting. Perhaps this is just some of my OCD coming out but I just can’t let something go until I do it right. Unfortunately for me that meant I basically couldn’t put Squarepeg Game down. The mixture of quick level game play with ever increasing difficulty kept me glued to my iPod Touch like a burr on a donkeys rear-end.

The premise is quite simple which is the deceiving aspect to this game. Similar to a peg puzzle you have to find the matching shape to fit in the matching hole. Sounds simple right? We’ll there are allot of other variables that get thrown at you in Squarepeg Game. For one thing, you not only have to use shapes but also colors as guidelines for a successful match. Also the orientation of a shape can be very important. There are unique features like spinners that will turn a shape to get them in the correct direction and also gates that have to be opened by one shape in order to get another shape completed. For each level there are multiple shapes that need to be dropped into their corresponding holes but there is also an ever increasing complexity in the mixture of other factors that needs to be logically approached to be successful.

I think FatAttitude LTD should be given major props for creating what I find to be a fun, addicting and unique game for the iPhone and iPod touch. To start you can try the game out for free! That might be the best news here. Try it out for yourself and see if you like it. Once you inevitably do become addicted you can then choose to purchase more levels directly from within the game. Give it a try today and download Square Peg!

FREE Promo Codes for SongStory iPhone Music App!

Ryan Johnson — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 22:06:36 +0000

Learn more about your favorite song with the cool new app SongStory! To get started all you have to do is play a song on your iPod and then open SongStory. It will dig up all of the cool details about your song such as the history behind it, the meaning of it’s name, it’s best chart position, how old the singer or song is, and other cool stuff like that! You can even add additional information about the song yourself for others to see! How cool is that!

Paul Steinhilber, the creator of SongStory was nice enough to provide us with some free promo codes so you can check out his app. Please do him a favor and write an iTunes review if you redeem a code. Make sure to note which code you redeem in the comments.

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FREE Promo Codes for miTypewriter iPhone App!

Ryan Johnson — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:02:15 +0000

White Dev has just launched their new app miTypewriter. This app is turns your iPhone or iPod Touch into an old-time typewriter equipped with realistic sounds, keys, and font. With miTypewriter you can make your emails look like they were typed during the Eisenhower administration!

To kick of their launch White Dev was kind enough to provide us with some free promo codes to hand out. Be a sport and provide an iTunes review for the developer if you get a code. Also, note which one you plucked in the comments section so people don’t have to try ‘em all out. Thanks!

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Gorilla Monkey Crunch

Ryan Johnson — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 20:35:01 +0000

Get ready to squash some monkeys! Gorilla Monkey Crunch brings a unique and different Donkey Kong-like experience to iPhone and iPod Touch. In this game you’ll test your coconut tossing skills as you defend your suspended bridge from being destroyed by pesky banana and coconut hurling monkeys. To succeed you’ve got to nimbly avoid life taking banana peels, keep from falling in the river by jumping over missing parts of your bridge, and accurately pick off pesky swimming monkeys with coconuts, all at the same time!

Don’t let its simplistic looking 2D game-play fool you! Gorilla Monkey Crunch, by Appnoose, Ltd., is one challenging game! It requires fast reflexes, excellent hand-eye coordination, and impeccable timing to score big. To play you simply tilt your iPhone left or right to move your gorilla. At the bottom of the screen you have a jump and a toss button. Pesky monkeys continuously swim in from left to right. It’s your job to toss coconuts and squash them. You have to watch out though, because the monkeys toss bananas onto your bridge , and if you touch them they take one of your lives. Also, if you throw a coconut that’s just a little off target, the monkeys quickly toss them back and damage your bridge. Each time a coconut hits the bridge it removes a board and makes it increasingly difficult to avoid banana peels and much easier for you to fall into the river. Hitting monkeys square on the head isn’t exactly easy because their speed varies. One moment they’re coming across slowly, the next moment they speed up. It takes real strategy and precise timing to hit them perfectly.

In Gorilla Monkey Crunch you’ve got 5 gorilla lives to play with. The better you are at avoiding trouble and crunching monkeys, the longer you’ll be able to play. Along the way there are little extras that can earn you points and can help extend your game. Occasionally little hour glasses will appear that if touched by your gorilla it adds points to your score and extends your playing time. There are also little toolkits that float by in the river and if you hit them with a coconut it counts for points and replaces a missing board on your bridge (this helps big time).

Key features of Gorilla Monkey Crunch:

Open ended game-play
Accelerometer controlled gorilla moves
Realistic gorilla and monkey sound effects
Global High Score sharing including posting results to Facebook and Twitter
Automatically resumes your game if you were unexpectedly interrupted

Overall we found Gorilla Monkey Crunch to be both fun and difficult. It’s the type of game app that will appeal to both youngsters, adults, and 80′s arcade style game enthusiasts. The app ran smoothly during testing. We didn’t notice any weird quirks or bugs. If there were some areas that we’d like to see beefed up it’d be to increase the font on the menus and instructions, to have the yes/no settings boxes for game music and FX to be check boxes instead of plain boxes (it’s hard to tell which one you’ve selected), and to incorporate multiple levels and/or to change the scenery and music each time someone reaches a certain level of points (ex. day to night, sunny to stormy, etc.). One thing’s for sure if you’re a fan of 2D style arcade games, you’ll likely love Gorilla Monkey Crunch! At only $0.99 it’s definitely a great bargain!

sdkIQ

Ryan Johnson — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:38:20 +0000

Have you been aspiring to develop your own iPhone apps, but weren’t quite sure where to start? Look no further! sdkIQ for iPhone is an excellent resource for both seasoned app developers and those new to the iPhone app game. Inside this app you’ll find step-by-step instructions and videos on how to create anything from basic forms and functions all the way to interactive UIs using Cocoa Touch! It also includes tips for submitting your apps to the iPhone App Store and full product support so if you get stuck while developing help is only one touch and an email away!

Inside the app there are a variety of topics to choose from. iPhone Programming 101 provides detailed explanations on how to create your first view based and navigation based apps, as well as how to create custom tableview cells, how to use IBOutlets (Interface Builder) and IBActions, and tableview basics. It even includes helpful book references that contain even more detailed iPhone SDK and development related info. By the time you’re finished with this section you’ll have a basic understanding of how to create and use some of the most popular features used to develop iPhone apps today.

Overall there are currently 100 topics contained within the sdkIQ application. Each topic provides you with clear and concise directions on what to do and how to do it, accompanied with helpful images, sample code, videos, and book references. The icing on the cake is that Cygen, the developers of sdkIQ, provide full support to its users. If you find yourself confused at any point, you can contact them via email directly from the app!

Critical iPhone development topics covered within the app include:

iPhone Programming 101
Developer Environment – avoiding disaster, Xcode
SQLite – Creating schema, accessing data
Cocoa & Objective-C – FileIO, strings, arrays
Interacting with the UI
iPhone OS 3.0 MapKit, in app email, iPod Library
iTunes App Store – Submitting, after submission
Miscellaneous – Tools, game development
Video Demonstrations

Overall we found sdkIQ to be a great development resource for both the aspiring iPhone app developer and grizzled veterans. We took the liberty of letting a developer colleague of ours take the app for a test spin. They found it to be very credible, easy to follow, and full of useful information. To get a sneak peek for yourself you can always download sdkIQ Lite for free before purchasing the full shabang.

While using the app I noticed that some of the video app links didn’t appear to work. After a little bit of research I learned that some of the videos need to be downloaded into the app in order for the links to play them. So, if you come across the same thing, don’t panic! Downloading the videos is really easy, all you have to do is go to the Video Demonstrations section and touch the videos to start downloading. Each one takes a couple minutes. I myself don’t mind that because it makes the initial download of the app much smaller and faster to download.

So, now that you’ve found a great resource for making your iPhone app development dream a reality, stop waisting time and get started developing today!