SPOTLIGHTm

Hangman by JamSoft for iPhone

What is it?

We know the game. We know the name. Hangman is exactly what you thought it was - players try and correctly guess letters to spell out words. If you guess wrong, a morbid piece of a stickman’s death machine or body will be drawn to mark your mistake. If the picture is completed, the player loses.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

People who like to win (this version of Hangman is much easier than the paid versions available on the app store). People looking for a free, mild vocabulary exercise that have some time to burn. People sitting in the backseat of a long car ride that need some other silly games to pass the time. People who like Hangman, but don’t want to pay $.99 for a superior version.

Summary

Thankfully, JamSoft’s take on the classic Hangman game is not the only version available on iPhone. This one is, however, free, which could be enough to make it worth keeping for some users, but not for us. In terms of being a polished or slick application, it’s clearly not trying to be and that’s not our gripe with the game. Our main problem with this version of Hangman, despite the Microsoft Paint-like graphics, is the fact that it’s just entirely too easy. With 11 guesses until your stick person reaches his death, it’s almost impossible to lose, which might be ok with some of us who like a little English language confidence boost, but we found it much too easy and simple for our liking.

Keep it or Delete it?

Delete it.

Read the rest of this entry »

SnapTell Explorer for iPhone

What is it?

SnapTell Explorer is a pretty sweet comparison shopping and product information application for DVDs, CDs, video games, and books. After taking a picture of a product, SnapTell matches the image with an actual product and returns results from Google, YouTube, Wikipedia, Rotten Tomatoes, eBay, Barnes and Noble, and other relevant sites.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

People who shop for lots of media and want to comparison shop or get more information before they buy. Bargain hunters when it comes to media and people who don’t require immediate gratification when it comes to purchasing these products. This is not an application to compare prices on turkey, Bear Claw donuts, or Prada shades - it is for books, CDs, DVDs, and video games ONLY (but people keep trying to use the app for purposes other than what it’s supposed to be used for, just in case).

Summary

SnapTell is one of the coolest iPhone applications available, despite the fact it’s not the smoothest interface possible.

How? You ask?

Since the iPhone’s camera lens currently makes barcode scanning impossible without an attachment to let iPhone users utilize something like ShopSavvy for Google Android, SnapTell is one of the closest shopping apps that we have this side of Amazon Remembers. You snap a picture and get a bunch of prices and product information from around the web based on the type of product that you’re looking at. If it’s a movie, you get Rotten Tomatoes numbers and IMDb pages. If it’s a song, you get links to iTunes and YouTube. But really, what makes SnapTell really cool is just how accurate it generally is with identifying the product.

Even if your picture is slightly distorted, it generally pulls the right item and sends you to the relevant pages via Safari. Sure, it would be nice if you were going to an iPhone optimized page everytime, but the pages that get returned to you are relevant and useful, especially if you’re shopping or deciding to pull the trigger on a DVD. Overall, it’s a great shopping and information companion that stops you from having to go to each of these sites individually, which is not necessarily a “need,” but it’s a very great “nice to have” and it’s a very cool way to show off new technology at the same time.

Keep it or Delete it?

Keep it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Star Wars Lightsaber Unleashed for iPhone

What is it?

One of the more popular and well known free applications in the iPhone store, Star Wars: Lightsaber Unleashed, previously known as iSaber, turns you into a true Jedi with your iPhone by putting lights and sounds in the palm of your hand that react as you wildly swing your arms around the piece of the galaxy that we call Earth.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

Star Wars fans. Anyone who has lots of friends with iPhones because they might have it. People who enjoy general nerdy fun. Sci-fi lovers and the type of people who find enjoyment shopping at ThinkGeek.com.

Summary

It’s definitely not useful for anything productive, but the Star Wars: Lightsaber Unleashed application is a great source of galaxy battling, random fun that serves as an advertising platform for a $5.99 Star Wars game. While it’s pretty much just nifty noisemaker with some nice colors, the sound effects can actually make swinging your phone around a lot more fun that you’d think because the sounds are so undeniably Star Wars. It’s probably not the coolest thing to bust out at parties, but it’s something that’s fun to mess around with when you’re around your fellow galaxy-swashbuckling friends.

Keep it or Delete it?

Keep it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Amazon.com for iPhone

What is it?

It’s an even more iPhone optimized version of shopping giant Amazon.com via an application (site was already optimized well in our opinion) that lets users not only search and check prices, but sign into their accounts, buy, and remember different products.

How much does it cost?

Free.

Who is it good for?

Anyone who shops for items that could be available on Amazon.com - which encompasses most of what many of us purchase outside of food. Any price conscious shoppers and people who will trade instant gratification for potential savings. Existing Amazon customers will derive the most benefit from being able to access their account and shopping cart through the application.

Summary

With the competitive prices generally offered on Amazon.com, this application is not only a great shopping app, but a good place to check prices before making an impulse buy. We realize that Amazon doesn’t always have the lowest prices, but they’re generally very competitive, especially when it comes to media (CDs, DVDs, games), products that people often pick up while they’re out. With the ability to buy through the application, Amazon has made shopping and price comparisons extremely easy to the millions of customes that already use their services.

Sure, there are some shortcomings - the inability to purchase MP3’s or digital videos to play on one’s iPhone or iPod touch comes to mind (understandably because it could take some of iTunes share) - but the neat “Amazon Remembers” product is a pleasant surprise that helps customers find and remember products that they’re not yet ready to pull the trigger on. Overall, this application provides a fantastic, stable mobile shopping experience from one of the biggest names in retail that can come in handy before you hit the checkout line.

Keep it or Delete it?

Keep it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Knots for iPhone

What is it?
Knots is a iPhone game that challenges users to keep their fingers firmly placed on different dots and remove them sequentially to score points. It’s essentially “Twister for your fingers” with a time element. Rings form around dots and you lift your finger off the dots before time runs out.

How much does it cost?
Free.

Who is it good for?
Casual gamers with two free hands looking for a challenge. People who take public transportation and have the luxury of being seated. Anyone looking for a fun, time-burner that has the flexibility of having their phone in their lap while playing. The DDR crowd who enjoys motor skill-type games.

Summary
Knots is a challenging, at times incredibly frustrating, casual game for iPhone that is simple, but very fun at the same time. While the concept seems simple and easy, users will find themselves challenged and their “fingers in knots” trying to make contact with the screen as the different dots appear and disappear. As much as the application is about finger acrobatics, a lot of it depends on just focusing on your fine motor skills to only lift one finger at a time. Ultimately, Knots is easy for anyone to pick up, but challenging enough to separate the casual gamers from the serious Knots players.

Keep it or Delete it?
Keep it.
Read the rest of this entry »