02.09.2010 in News, iPhone by Partha Pratim Mallik 0

Now AutoCAD on iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch

Autodesk is coming up with the AutoCAD WS mobile application. This is going to be a new free app to be available shortly through the Apple’s App Store and it will extend AutoCAD to iOS devices.

The new AutoCAD WS mobile app will enable the AutoCAD users to edit and share several AutoCAD files on all the iOS devices, say iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Moreover the company is all set to offer AutoCAD for Mac free of cost to the students and academicians through the Autodesk Education Community.

It’s worth a mention that Already more than 25 Autodesk software applications are freely available for download to inculcate learning and help prepare students for a successful career.

iPhone app developers have recognized this effort of Autodesk as a great help for the students as they will get a hand on an application which is highly appreciated in the industry.

Both the applications will be available from this fall. Initially the AutoCAD for Mac will be available in Europe & North America, and the AutoCAD WS mobile app is going to be available worldwide. For further details please visit http://www.autodesk.com/autocadformac.

02.09.2010 in News, iPad, iPhone by Partha Pratim Mallik 0

Apple Keen to Win Enterprise: New iOS 4.2 Upgrade Coming in November

Apple is clearly trying to promote iPad as an automatic enterprise choice. At least, the iOS 4.2 upgrade which is due in November this year indicates.

The new upgrade will make the device more useful for the users. This upgrade will enable the users to take wireless printing, file sharing and multitasking. Well these are some of the applications that you need for your business every now and then, right??? In fact, the last two functionalities are only available on iPhone till date.

iPhone app developers can expect more users for their apps too. Wondering why?

Simply because the new iOS 4.2 upgrade will enable the iPad to run the apps previously available only on iPhone. It is supposed to fix several bugs, provide streaming the videos and music with AirPlay. Now these are definitely the upgradations, demanded for a long time, from the users and the developers.

The iPhone app development industry surely demands an unified operating system which will run efficiently in any Apple device. Though that is yet to come, the new upgrade, as of now, indicates that Apple is all set to promote iPad as a lightweight and super-functional business alternative. This may be a very good choice for the companies which allow the customers and/ or sales staff to use touchscreen technology.

Now the iPad can be used in schools, equipped with an AutoCad design software. It is also being used in 50% of the Fortune 100 companies, especially because of the long battery life and secure iOS is runs. The new upgrade can amake IT management simpler for the companies sharing Apple’s iOS on both the iPads and iPhones.

So let’s wait and watch to discover some more from Apple!!!

iPhone App Review: Play with the ARABIC words makes learning fun for kids

Learning a new language is no easy task, and especially a relatively more difficult language like Arabic, so when an app called Play with the ARABIC words comes along, you want to check it out. This iPhone app is aimed at teaching Arabic to kids between the age of 2 to 7 in a fun and easy way.

There are three levels which vary in difficulty according to the progress of the child. The first step is to try and put letters in the right places to form short words. There is also a picture of what the word indicates, and this makes things easier for the child. The second level helps kids to form longer words. In the third level, kids are allowed to form the words on their own.

To make learning the words more convenient, if a letter is placed in the wrong position, it is returned back to the row of letters. Encouragement is always a motivation to continue to do well, and so every time a word is formed, there pops up a congratulatory message. There is even a round of applause accompany the message when a level is successfully completed.

Play with the ARABIC words focuses of helping kids to learn the language through sight, sound and touch. A sound button that appears when a word is formed correctly plays the word, so that kids can learn how to pronounce it.

The app has colorful graphics that are sure to appeal to kids. It is simple and easy to use, and is guaranteed to make learning Arabic a fun affair for the little ones.

App Name: Play with the ARABIC words 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
App Category: Games
Price: $1.99 Play
Developer: Pixels trade



iPhone App Review: ‘Simple’ is the catchword in TileTap

TileTap takes the word ‘simple’ to a whole new level. All we have to do in this iPhone game from Agfonzo is to match identical tiles by tapping on them. The developers have tried to make things more complex and interesting by adding some extra features. Let’s see if this works for us.

We are presented with three rows of moving tiles, and our job is to tap the matching tiles quickly before they move away from the screen. We can choose from among three match modes, the difference between them being that the tiles represent numbers, letters or shapes.

TileTap also gives us three different options when it comes to game modes. In the standard mode, we have to match as many tiles as we can within the two given minutes. The challenge mode lets us extend our timeline longer through the tiles we match; the difficulty lies in lasting as long as we are able to keep beat the clock. Then there is the practice mode which can go as long as we want as we hone our skills.

In the complex match mode, we can play with scrambled words, or go for Math challenges. These modes would prove to be more entertaining for those who find the simple modes too easy. We are given points every time we make a match, and bonuses for some special matches. For instance, matching tiles in rapid succession, or matching a tile just before it disappears from the screen.

The game is Openfeint integrated, and besides the online leaderboards which are quite a challenge, there are 34 achievements up for grabs. TileTap fits all ages, and kids will have fun with the simple modes, while adults would prefer a bit more of a challenge with the complex modes. On the whole, a simple yet entertaining game that anyone can play.

App Name: TileTap 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
App Category: Games
Price: $0.99 TileTap
Developer: Agfonzo



iPhone App Review: Wake up the way you want to with Alarm Clock Rebel

I found the name of this app itself quite intriguing – Alarm Clock Rebel. I mean, how can an alarm clock possibly rebel against anything? That was what I thought before I checked out this app from App Beast Inc.  What I discovered what that this app does things its own unique way and truly lives up to its name.

Check out the various features and you will get an idea how. Alarm Clock Rebel lets us wake up to our own choice of music from our iPod or one from among the 26 given in the app. We can set it to 12 and 24 hr modes, and set as many alarms as we want. It can be quite bugging if we can’t find the stop and snooze buttons immediately, so Alarm Clock Rebel has large buttons to eliminate that problem.

There is more to the app than it just being an alarm clock app. It gives us weather updates for wherever we may be including a 7-day forecast. We can also tap twice to get more elaborate details, and set it at Celsius or Fahrenheit as we wish.

It allows us to keep a tab on the local time of cities all over the world, and we can add as many locations as we want to this list. Alarm Clock Rebel goes a step further to give us RSS feeds of news, and it is again up to us to choose from the 16 feeds given, or add our own.

Apart from providing us all these extra benefits, Alarm Clock Rebel lets us customize and make it our own. We can choose from background options, LCD colors, personalize sounds, and much more. We can even double it as a flashlight. It is quite a fascinating app, not only for its multi-faceted features, but also how well it functions in its main role as an alarm clock. This is one purchase you will never regret.

App Name: Alarm Clock Rebel 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
App Category: Productivity
Price: $0.99 Alarm
Developer: App Beast Inc.



iPhone App Review: Tetrapped is entertaining to the core

Tetrapped is a puzzle game on the iPhone that is out to hook us. The concept is simple, and it is this very simplicity itself that traps us. The game consists of several tetronimo pieces on a board, and the objective is to make the key piece fit into the target spot. For this we have to slide the pieces around, while keeping in mind the number of moves and time it takes to solve the puzzle.

There are three different grid sizes, each of them with different difficulty modes, so the game remains challenging for us. The game pieces also keep changing in size and numbers, making each puzzle a unique one.

Even when we successfully solve a puzzle, the challenge remains to beat the number of moves and time taken in each attempt. It helps that both are recorded, so that we can try and better it any time we want. We can also extend the challenge to others and see who is better at tetrapping.

Tetrapped is also not complicated when it comes to features. I like how we can change the color schemes and sound effects according to our preferences. It has a very clean and appealing look, which is how I think good puzzles should be.

So go on, get the game and see if you can master the hundreds of puzzles waiting to entertain you. It is a great deal at only $0.99 for a whole lot of fun.

App Name: Tetrapped 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars
App Category: Games
Price: $0.99 Tetrapped
Developer: Andrew Wilford



30.08.2010 in News by Partha Pratim Mallik 0

Fashion Mania at App Store

A number of fashion apps are now available to help you in dressing apt and looking better. The entry of such applications from major designers is increasing in the App Store.
The latest great entry in this field has come from eBay, which has launched an app for iPhone recently with an expectation that it “will double its $600 million gross fashion merchandise volume of last year to $1.5 billion this year,” reports Women’s Wear Daily.
“We realized that fashion lovers are passionate about this product area,” says Steve Yankovich, the VP of mobile platform at eBay. “They want to be immersed in it, they want inspiration, and they want selection and deals, and our app is a unique shopping experience that offers all of that,” he adds on.
Though the fashion apps for other platforms are also available, iPhone app developers seems to lead the trend of presenting applications for their users. “Right now, there are more and better app titles available for iPhones than Android,” according to Chris DeVore, the co-founder of AppStoreHQ. AppStoreHQ is a website which helps the Smartphone users to discover different apps across iOS and Android platforms.
Well we have done a quick search for “fashion” apps in the iTunes store and found out more than 550 applications for the iOS devices, like iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.
You can also find the apps from the designers such as Chanel and Dolce & Gabbana. These fashion brands use the iPhone apps to showcase new products and to attract the attention of the customers.
Fashion magazines like GQ and Glamor has got a new opportunity to expand digitally. There is few other apps which play the role of the “trend-spotters,” globally. Then there are some other apps that offer an instant access to Fashionista favorites, like discount shopping and personal styling.

30.08.2010 in News, iPhone by Partha Pratim Mallik 0

What’s in Store for the Apple Media Event?

As the Apple media event is approaching near, the speculations are also increasing in the iPhone development industry. What’s waiting at the desk of Steve Jobs: White iPhone 4, Verizon CDMA iPhone or an iPhone 5?

For last couple of months Verizon CDMA iPhone is probably the story most talked about. Now it is almost clear that, Verizon CDMA iPhone is coming only in the Januray, 2011. Tech analysts; however are expecting a dream Apple device will be launched soon. It was Steve Cheney from TechCrunch who first revealed the news of an expected Verizon CDMA iPhone. “Apple has submitted orders for millions of units of Qualcomm CDMA chipsets for a Verizon iPhone run due in December,” Cheney revealed.

iPhone app developers are also expecting that the next version of Apple device would be the perfect solution for the most discussed antenna issue in iPhone4. The other tech blogs like Daring Fireball, DVice etc. also had published similar stories.

In the mean time, DVice has reported an “inside source” saying that the Verizon iPhone would have a processor of 1.2GHz (please note that the iPhone 4 processor is 1GHz), a bigger screen and an internal antenna. However the Boy Genuis Report has raised an interesting question of whether the new iPhone would be a CDMA iPhone or a gen-next iPad!!!

Any way, iPhone application developers think quite logically that Apple would have to take a quick action to satisfy the customers who are eagerly waiting for the new device. A recent study by Morpace Omnibus has found out that more than half of the Verizon subscribers want to buy a Verizon iPhone. And surprisingly, almost a quarter of the AT&T subscribers want to go for it.