FarmVille is a widely popular real-time farm simulation game created by Zynga. It was originally created as a flash game for Facebook and eventually became available at farmville.com. Players can now farm on go with the most recent version of FarmVille on the iPhone.

If you have already invested a lot of time with a farm on Facebook, FarmVille for the iPhone allows you to access your existing farm via Facebook Connect. If you’re a new farmer, you can create a new farm with the app; however, you must have a Facebook account to play.

Farming on the iPhone is much better than on the web. Although the game takes a long time to load, there is no lag while playing – this can’t be said for the flash-based version. It’s a quick tap to harvest anything which makes collecting from animals and trees nice and quick. To use a tractor, tap and hold a plot of land, then drag across the other plots you want to plow; your plowing can take any shape and does not have to be in groups of four at a time (like on the web). When your crops are ready to harvest, FarmVille sends you push notification.

You can also visit your neighbor’s farms, send and receive gifts, purchase coins and FV cash, access the market, organize your farm, and much more. The only FarmVille feature that seems to be missing is co-op farming. There is also one bug; sometimes the harvest indicators for tress and animals are misaligned making it difficult to know which object needs to be harvested.

Zynga did a great job with FarmVille on the iPhone, and now I rarely play FarmVille on the web. Now, if Zynga would make FarmVille a universal app for iPhone and iPad, a farmers life would be complete!

[Free - iTunes link]

Pros

• Tractoring is better than web version
• Special iPhone only items (like Snow Leopard)

Cons

• Takes over 40 seconds to load (on wifi)
• Many harvest indicators for trees and animals are misaligned
• Must have a Facebook account

FarmVille for iPhone – app review is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

While iPhone 4 adds 3G HSUPA (high speed uploads) to preview HSDPA 7.2 (high speed downloads) and is giving many users much faster data, others are filling our inboxes with complaints their speeds are so slow they border on 2G EDGE… or worse.

I know when I upgraded my iPhone 3GS to iOS 4 I had some data issues but almost immediately my carrier, Rogers, pushed out an OTA (over the air) Carrier Settings Update, taking it from 7.0 to 7.1. After that, I was flying.

AT&T seems to still be on 7.0, could a 7.1 update fix the woes of those currently suffering from poor 3G connections? We’ll have to wait and see.

iPhone 4 really is faster, but once again it’s confusing when many people have no problem and get to enjoy that speed boost, and others have nothing but problems and speed bumps.

Let us know which group you fall into, on what network, and where.

iPhone 4 – Faster 3G speeds or nothing but speed bumps? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Consumer reports has posted up their thoughts on iPhone 4 and all the reception issues some users are experiencing. They start off by corroborating Apple’s line that all phones, from smart to flip, suffer the same attenuation problems — since they’re all used by humans whose bodies are interfering bags of water.

They also say iPhone 4 is reported as having better overall reception and less dropped calls than previous versions of iPhone, including the 3GS. They refer back to AnandTech’s tests, and conclude:

There’s no reason, at least yet, to forgo buying an iPhone 4 over its reception concerns. And even if those do materialize, Apple’s Steve Jobs helpfully reminds new iPhone buyers that “you can return your undamaged iPhone to any Apple Retail Store or the online Apple Store within 30 days of purchase for a full refund.”

Apple is claiming the issue is related to a software miscalculation that erroneously reports high bars in low bar situations. Given all phones can definitely be susceptible to signal drop due to the position and placement of the antennae, we’ll have to wait and see whether or not Apple’s update fixes the issue or just the perception. What do you guys think?

[Consumer Reports]

Consumer Reports: iPhone reception problems not unique, may not be serious is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

It seems one sharp reader over at AppleInsider has noticed that the iPhone 3GS does indeed recognize FaceTime URLs under iOS 4. 

Now most people familiar with how these URLs work will understand how this is possible.  Ever noticed if you’re in a regular web browser and there’s a link to e-mail someone, you’ll see in the bottom progress bar a path that contains a URL that will say something to the effect of:  mailto://user@emailaddress.com?  Well, Apple uses a similar interface.

A reader by the name of Felipe Baez started to look a little deeper into how FaceTime was actually working and figured out the scheme is quite similar to the typical schemes Apple uses for apps such as the phone, e-mail, and SMS apps.  If you try and use one of these links on a 3GS running iOS4, it will recognize it as a FaceTime link but won’t currently do anything.

Could this potentially lead to hacks for FaceTime to work on a 3GS? Obviously a 3GS does not have a front facing camera, that doesn’t mean it couldn’t be opened up to where 3GS users can view and converse with iPhone 4 users.  As of now, the audio on the 3GS won’t even work, but I’d guess it’d only be a matter of time before another sharp reader or developer finds a way around that.  Whether or not it would require a jailbreak is anyone’s guess.  Hey maybe a way to use the regular camera in the 3GS could become an option.  The jailbreak community is strong and I don’t doubt this is something that could potentially interest a lot of them. Thoughts?

[Apple Insider]

iPhone 3GS Recognizing FaceTime URLs? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

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iPhone 4 is here and we spend the show reviewing it, from FaceTime to multitasking, Retina Display to camera, and iOS 4 and iOS 4 ready apps! Listen-in!

…because once again, the week is done and so are we!

(Feel free to chat away while we’re unconscious though, pick any topic above or just talk the night away.)

Credits

Thanks to the TiPb iPhone accessory store for sponsoring the podcast, and to everyone who showed up for the live chat!

Our music comes from the following sources:

• I Called You — iPhone Remix by Pete Leidy
via Sneakmove iPhone Ringtone Challenge

iPhone live podcast #106: Re-revolutionized is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

We’re still lurking the App Store for signs of apps that have added iOS 4 support and we’ve found some more good ones. Some apps are only adding compatibility while some really take advantage of the new APIs Apple is offering to developers. Adding compatibility isn’t the same as adding new APIs and features to increase not only user experience, but productivity and ease of use.

Read on to see what ones intrigued us this time.

Apple Store Mobile

I just received this update today and it adds retina display support for images within the Apple Store for iPhone 4 users as well as fast app switching. If you haven’t downloaded this one yet, it’s definitely much more convenient than trying to browse the Apple website within Safari, and it’s free.

[iTunes Link]

Twittelator Pro

Twittelator Pro has always been a serious contender in the race for best Twitter client. A lot of people are hardcore users and follow the platform faithfully. They’ve updated their app with support for fast app switching along with the promise of faster speeds within the app. That’s all they’ve announced, but to me, the icon and app looks a heck of a lot sharper on the iPhone 4. Anyone else notice this?

[iTunes Link]

Reeder

Reeder has been my all-time favorite RSS app on my iPhone for quite a while now. I was happy to see they have now issued an update for iOS4 that supports fast app switching. Reeder would always cache the page even under OS 3.0 but the app just loads so much quicker now, and if you’re actually viewing the real page within the Reeder browser, it won’t kick you out of the article if you close it out, thanks to multitasking.

[iTunes Link]

Echofon

Echofon, like Twittelator Pro is also one of the more popular Twitter clients you’ll find in the App Store.  Recent updates in the past few months have made this client all the better.  They offer a free version and a paid version (sans the ads).  Echofon also offers push notifications and many of the advanced features clients like Twitter for iPhone and Twitteriffic offer.  This update added fast app switching and retina display support for iPhone 4 users.  If you haven’t updated, go check it out!

[iTunes Link]

GoodReader

GoodReader is not only a PDF viewer but a program that will allow USB file transfer between devices.  It also provides wifi syncing as well which is awesome for transferring large PDF and text files to your iPhone from your computers.  I find this especially useful for work documents such as Excel files and large resolution images.  GoodReader also carriers a free version, but you’re limited to transferring 5 files at a time.  The iOS4 update allows for fast app switching.  It does appear they have a bug in iOS4 that affects USB file transfer, and I’m not sure whether they’ve fixed that and just not updated the description, or if it’s still present.  I haven’t had any issues, how about you guys?

[iTunes Link]

iOS 4 updated Apps: Twittelator Pro, GoodReader, Echofon, Reeder, Apple Store Mobile App is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog

The TiPb forums are naturally a great place to talk, commiserate, celebrate, get help, and offer advice to your fellow iPhone users. In order to create a new thread of your own or reply to any of the existing threads, you must be a registered member. Becoming a member is easy and free so if you haven't already head on over and register now!

• Still on the hunt for a new iPhone 4 case? Look no further than the following thread: iPhone 4 Cases.

• The iPhone 4 has one of the best smartphone cameras currently available so after you’ve taken advantage of it’s camera why not post some of your pictures in our forums? Show off your iPhone 4 pictures here.

• The whole reception issue debate continues with some people effected more than others. Chime in on this poll thread and let us know if you are one of those who are suffering with poor reception.

• Miss your jailbreak on your new iPhone 4? Sound off in this poll thread!

See you in the forums!

iPhone 4 cases, iPhone 4 pictures, reception woes, iPhone 4 jailbreak – From the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog