According to Business Insider, just 1 year later, Apple’s iTunes App Store has made the iPhone the hottest gaming platform on earth:

Apple became not only the hottest mobile platform in the world — which around 15,000 developers have made software for, and all of its major rivals have tried to replicate — but arguably the hottest gaming platform in the world. No other platform has had such a rush of developer and consumer interest in the last year.

BI highlight big name developers like EA, Sega, and Gameloft jumping into the iPhone, but also great new studios forming around it like ngmoco. And with iPhone 3.0 and its 1000 new APIs like P2P gaming and in-app purchases, they suggest we might not have seen anything yet…

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone — the Hottest Gaming Platform on Earth?

For those of you who are not familiar with our Apps for Less posts, they are a great way for us to point out a few good applications available in the App Store that are currently on sale or at a price that we feel is worth mentioning to our readers.

To get things kicked off we have a game that all of you Zombieville USA fans will be sure to enjoy, Mummy’s Revenge. [iTunes Link] For a limited time you can now purchase Mummy’s Revenge for $.99! This price will not last long so don’t wait to make your purchase!

This next game is for all of the first person shooter fans out there, Brothers in Arms: Hour of Heroes [iTunes Link] has dropped in price a few bucks to $4.99. If you never had the chance to check out msbaylor's forum review, be sure to take a minute and see what this game is all about. You are sure not to be disappointed.

This last application is my current favorite GPS navigation application with voice turn-by-turn directions available today in the App Store. G-Map East and G-Map West [iTunes Links] are now available for $34.99 each. Here are some great features of G-Maps:

• No Wi-Fi/3G connection needed for route guidance (Maps are built into application)

• On-board navigation application with the fastest real-time routing

• Full PND features with POIs, cool graphics and UI

• No monthly fee unlike other mobile navigation services

So there you have it, three very high quality applications for you at great prices. If you happen to have an application in the App Store that is on sale and want everyone to know about it, feel free to contact us and let us know!

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Apps For Less: Mummy’s Revenge, Brothers In Arms: Hour of Heros, G-Map East/West

MacRumors is reporting that, according to sources at InfoTimes, Apple is set to release a a 9.7 inch, (multi?)-touch Wintek screen netbook this October:

Because Apple will adopt touch screen technology on its netbooks, Apple will not target low-end consumers, avoiding direct competition with Acer, Asus, as well as their less-than-500-dollars netbooks. Apple's netbook (or a “tablet” as many call it,) will probably be sold at around $800 USD each.

Does this mean a new line of MacBooks now that the 13″ has gone Pro? And what does this mean for the long-rumored large iPod/tablet form factor?

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Rumor: Apple to Launch $800 Multi-Touch iNetbooks in October?

The S stands for speed, and the 3G stands for the third generation, HSPA (High Speed Packet Access - wikipedia link) data network, which is also supposed to bring broadband-like speed to your iPhone’s internet connection. When you’re on the 3G network, you can tell by the little 3G symbol at the top of left of your iPhone’s menu, right beside the signal strength bars and the name of your carrier (AT&T, Rogers, O2, Orange, etc.).

There are several other symbols your iPhone might show instead of 3G, however, depending on the type of connection and reception available in your area and sometimes specific spot.

If you don’t have a 3G connection, whether your area doesn’t support it or you’re just indoors or behind an obstruction that’s preventing it, your iPhone might default down to a 2G connection, known as EDGE, (Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution - Wikipedia link). That’s the little E symbol, and If we keep the same analogy, this is older, slower technology — dial-up to 3G’s broadband.

If you’re getting an E and you really think you should be getting 3G, try going to the Settings Icon and toggling Airplane Mode on and off. That should force your iPhone to re-connect with the network and give you the fastest speed available. Sometimes even moving to a different, less obstructed spot can make a big difference.

If even EDGE isn’t available, the iPhone will still try to connect via GPRS (General Packet Radio System - Wikipedia link) an even older, slower 2G protocol shown with an O symbol (for outside chance?). To stretch our analogy as thin as this signal, GRPS would be the ancient 24K modems.

Of course, if you have Wi-Fi enabled and connected, you’ll get the Wi-Fi fan symbol instead.

If you’ve turned all the radios off and gone into “Airplane Mode”, you’ll get the little airplane symbol and absolutely no connection to the internet whatsoever. (Turn Airplane Mode off — and your connections back on — via the Settings icon on your home screen.)

And yes, you can turn on Airplane Mode and still re-enable Wi-Fi if you really want to.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

iPhone 101: iPhone Connection Speed Symbols from O to E to 3G (or an Airplane)

Here’s what you may have missed in the smartphone world last week.

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

Best of Smartphone Experts, 12 July 2009

(Star Defense Forum Review by cjvitek For more Forum Reviews, see the TiPb iPhone App Store Forum Review Index!)

StarDefense is a twist of the tower defense game genre, something I first experienced online. Star Defense takes it to a new level, using a rotating sphere as the game board - representing a planet that is trying to repel Alien invasions.

Overview

As the defender, you start up trying to place towers along the alien path to prevent the aliens from reaching the colonists. You weapons are five types of towers (two are locked initially) - slow, fire, gun, electric, and super gun. Each tower can be upgraded (at a cost) three times, improving their ability to inflict damage.

Opposing your are alien hordes, ranging from scouts to mollusks to…well…other disgusting things that should probably not be described. Some of the invaders have special abilities (flying, extra fast, resistant to a type of damage) that you need to consider when planning your strategy.

And yes, there is strategy. I found that out very quickly. You can’t just start placing towers willy nilly. Well, you can, and maybe at the easy level, you will survive, but if you move to medium and difficult it won’t work.

Compared to other tower defense game, I felt this one excelled in the scenery and the game board. Using the 3D sphere adds a unique element to the game play, and really forces you to move around to keep track of the whole board. Where it falls a little short is the tower units. I wish there were more units, or that upgrading how more of an effects (faster fire rate, for example). Additional unit types (some sort of explosive tower, or more radius type attacks) would be really beneficial.

Also, the games “story” mode only goes through 7 planets. If you defeat those, you are finished with the galaxy. NGMoco has indicated you will be able to purchase additional galaxies though in app purchases, but I really hope they aren’t going to be milking up for another $4 for three more planets. This concern is not limited just to this app - I worry that in app purcahses will initially be really abused by the various developers, trying to milk as much money as they can.

In addition to the “story” mode, they also have a challenge mode, where the goal is to simply survive as long as possible in various planetary landscapes.

There is a push notification option, which I can be combined with the “plus” option to post your scores online, and issue online challenges. I haven’t registered for this yet, but it looks like an interesting way to play. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear as you are directly playing agasint someone, instead you are basically just comparing scores. Still, a fun way to play!

Conclusion

All in all, this is a fun twist to the tower defense genre. I wish there were more tower options, or that upgrades did more to the towers (increase radius of fire, blast radius, etc), but the unique 3D landscape really adds a lot. I found myself twisting the globe around all over the place trying to figure out where to place towers. At $5.99, the game isn’t cheap, and it looks like they will be using the in-app purchase to have the user purchase more “galaxies” to play with. But if you like tower defense games, this one is very well done, and worth the price. Four out of five stars.

Pros

• Cool use of three dimensional map
• Nice way to move up in levels (and go to new planets)
• Commendations!

Cons

• Only 5 towers types, with three upgrades
• No two player interaction (just a challenge)

TiPb Review Rating

In the interest of full disclosure, I received a promo code for StarDefense.

[Star Defense is available for $5.99 via the iTunes App Store]

This is a story by the iPhone Blog. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

App Review: Star Defense for iPhone