Some of our senior forum members have graciously decided to take requests to review iOS games/applications of your choice. We’ve decided to spotlight these reviews and encourage all of you to reply with your opinions regardless or whether your agree or disagree. We want to know what you think of these applications.

• MLB At Bat 2011 (iPad)

• Fruit Frenzy (iPhone)

• 8mm Vintage Camera (iPhone)

• Death Rally (iPhone)

Want a particular iOS application reviewed? Let us know here for iPhone apps and here for iPad apps! Keep in mind a request is simply just a request but if our reviewers think it’s worth a look, rest be assured you will see it reviewed.

MLB At Bat 2011, Fruit Frenzy, 8mm Vintage Camera, Death Rally – Reviews from the Forums is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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There’s no way we’re going to report every “analyst” rumor that comes our way about the iPhone 5 release date — because holding an iPhone 5 release pool, and holding the analysts’ feet to fire, is so much more fun. So, first up, Avian Securities as relayed by Business Insider:

Supporting out comments over the last month, conversations with yet another key component supplier indicates that production for iPhone-5 will begin in September. [...] This leads us to believe that any launch is likely a very late 2011 or more likely a 2012 event.

Okay, Avian, your entry is hereby added to our iPhone 5 release pool; no doubt it will soon be joined by a ton of others. Now, when iPhone 5 launches (likely this fall, but who knows?) we’ll see who the last analyst standing is, won’t we?

[Business Insider]

iPhone 5 release pool: Avian says late 2011, early 2012? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

New to iPhone and wondering what exactly that tiny SIM card in the side of your AT&T/GSM iPhone or iPad 3G is, and what it does? The short answer is, it’s a Subscriber Identity Module, and it is a small circuit board which is placed in your iPhone (or any GSM phone) in order to identify it to your carrier. It’s why you can swap SIMs in GSM phones and your phone number, voice, and data plans are swapped right along with it. Unfortunately, it’s also why you can’t just take a SIM-locked AT&T iPhone and run in on another carrier. For the long answer, stay with us after the break!

A SIM card is internationally identified by its Integrated circuit card identifier (ICC-ID) which is engraved on the body of the card. They are also identified by the carrier from its International mobile subscriber identity (IMSI). Beyond identification, SIM cards (mini SIM in iPhone 2G, iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS and micro SIM in iPhone 4 and iPads), have several other functions.

Look

SIM cards have evolved a lot over the years. All three are 0.76 mm in thickness and run at a speed of 5MHz. The old, original SIM cards were credit card sized. The next and still most common size is the mini SIM, which is 25 mm in length with a width of 15 mm with a cut on the corner so that it is easy to place in the slot properly. Apple began using micro SIM with iPads and iPhone 4. This is the newest standardized SIM size, and is 15 mm × 12 mm. Many carriers provide a mini SIM with the smaller micro SIM punched out inside so that it can be broken off and placed into the phone if needed.

There are also 3rd party, after market SIM cutters to turn a mini SIM into a micro SIM and jackets so a micro SIM can be used in a mini SIM slot.

Use

The SIM card is provided with your iPhone (or 3G iPad) by your carrier and it is used to store data about your account. It holds information such as your phone number, security data, billing information and things which help the carrier to know who is the user of the phone. (On older devices, especially feature phones, it also stored things like text messages and contacts). The SIM card allows you to change cellular phones and keep the same user data.

The SIM card is what lets your carrier know that you’re the account holder of the iPhone using it. So if you take your SIM card our of your iPhone and then put it into your friend’s iPhone and receive calls as though it were your own (assuming the SIM card is compatible).

Bonus Tip: So yes, if your iPhone runs out of power and you desperately need to use your voice or data plan, you can just swap the SIM into another iPhone or phone and use it with your minutes and data bucket. Or, if they’re running low on minutes or data, they can borrow your SIM card and use it with the apps on their iPhone until you need it back.

Benefits

The main benefit of a SIM is that you can easily swap phones on your own. If you buy a new phone you can simply insert your existing SIM and keep on using your existing service (carrier restrictions may or may not apply, but the technology works that way.) Likewise if you travel internationally you can just buy a SIM on a local carrier and use that as a way to avoid expensive roaming fees (again, carrier restrictions and lockouts may apply).

Drawbacks

Theoretically there are few drawbacks to SIMs. Practically, however, many carriers lock their iPhones so they only work with that carrier’s SIMs. That means, if you put in a SIM from another network you’ll get an error instead of the service you’d expect. Typically the SIM-lock is in exchange for a subsidized phone (so you can’t buy a cheap phone on one carrier then switch over an use another before you’ve paid back the subsidy over the life of your contract).

However, with iPhone many carriers like AT&T won’t unlock it even if you pay full price, even when your contract expires, or even if you work internationally and need it unlocked for travel.

The only way around the restriction is to Jailbreak and then unlock your iPhone. (See our Jailbreak Starters Guide for more.)

Apple does sell officially SIM-unlocked iPhones in many countries, however they cost full price (over $600 for 16GB and over $700 for 32GB). Some carriers will also officially unlock phones after certain periods or at a certain cost. They communicate your iPhone ID to Apple which then registers it as an officially unlocked iPhone and will activate with any SIM on iTunes.

(Note: The Verizon iPhone and Verizon iPad 3G run on the Verizon CDMA network and don’t use a SIM card, though current and future LTE phones on Verizon will.)

Let us know if you found this post helpful and what else did I miss on the subject?

TiPb Answers: What is a SIM card and what does it do? is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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In stock: BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz HD for iPad 2

The video above shows just how well BodyGuardz can protect the original iPad — and now they’re back with BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz HD for iPad 2. We’re talking top-of-the-line defense against nails, stones, harsh language, you name it. iPad 2 is a big slice of aluminum and glass. You can sit there and worry about it getting scratched or you can slap on a BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz HD for iPad 2 and know you’re keeping it safe. Get yours now.

Shop BodyGuardz for iPad 2…

In stock: BodyGuardz ScreenGuardz HD for iPad 2 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Boy Genius Report is claiming that the upcoming iOS 4.3.2 update should fix some of the connection woes Verizon iPad 2 users have been experiencing. The Verizon iPad 2 models seemed to be the only models affected. A dependable source has told BGR that the update should be available within the next week or so. It should also address a few WebKit vulnerabilities as well as a fix for some FaceTime issues certain users were having.

Hopefully this update will fix some extremely frustrating problems. Any of you Verizon iPad owners having 3G connectivity issues? Anyone having those FaceTime issues? How bad are they?

Boy Genius Report

iOS 4.3.2 should fix Verizon iPad 2 connectivity issues is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Every day, TiPb gets flooded with announcements for new and updated iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad apps and games. So every day we pick just a few of the most interesting, the most notable, and simply the most awesome to share with you!

• WatchESPN: Access to live streaming feeds from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3 and ESPNU. [Free - iTunes link]

• Color Splash: Quickly and easily give photos a dramatic look by converting them to black and white, while keeping your chosen details in color. Images are now displayed in better quality and higher resolution during editing, photo metadata is preserved in saved images, and AirPrint support! [$0.99 - iTunes link]

• Trip Journal: Document vacation experiences and share them with your friends and family. Now you can export and import your trips to/from another device via email and create new trips with a new map view. [$2.99 - iTunes link]

• Bloomberg Businessweek+: Provides all the content in the print edition of the magazine along with exclusive content and interactive features that enrich the reading experience. [Free, with in app purchases - iTunes link

• Plex: Use your iPad, iPhone or iPod touch to browse and play your media (video, photos and music) using the Plex Media Server installed on your Mac or PC. Version 1.1 brings a new look, support for SSA, SRT, and SMI subtitles, Direct Streaming and Direct Play and TV out and much more! [$4.99 - iTunes link]

Any other big apps or game releases or updates today? If you pick any of these up, let us know what you think!

New and updated iPhone and iPad apps for Monday, April 11 is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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

Apple’s video and audio streaming protocol, AirPlay, has had its private encryption key cracked which means in the future you might be able to get software, homebrew and open source alike, to do what requires proprietary or licensed devices like an Apple Airport Express or Apple TV to do today. James Laird is the one who reverse engineered the keys and has created an emulator called Shairport:

My girlfriend moved house, and her Airport Express no longer made it with her wireless access point. I figured it’d be easy to find an ApEx emulator – there are several open source apps out there to play to them. However, I was disappointed to find that Apple used a public-key crypto scheme, and there’s a private key hiding inside the ApEx. So I took it apart (I still have scars from opening the glued case!), dumped the ROM, and reverse engineered the keys out of it. So, here is ShairPort, an open-source (Perl/C) replacement.

Finding a hardware box that’s Wi-Fi enabled, has the appropriate audio or A/V output ports, and can be loaded with Shairport enabled software probably won’t be easy, especially immediately, but the hacking community is nothing if not ingenious, so who knows what we’ll see down the road? Any requests?

[mafipulations via MacRumors]

AirPlay private encryption keys cracked, AirPort meet Shairport is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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If you love the Epic Unreal 3 powered Infinity Blade as much as I do than you might also be excited to see another gorgeous iOS game, Dream:scape, is on its way to the App Store. Based on the trailer, it has a creepy, almost surrealist vibe that looks really interesting.

The player takes on the persona of a coma patient unlocking his past by exploring the dreamscape of his memories. As the player explores the huge open world, memories are unlocked. These are represented by cut-scenes, featuring audible dialog, and diary entries, which the player reads in-game via a 3-D representation of a leather-bound book. The player must determine which areas to explore so as to find and unlock the story.

Dream:scape has been submitted to Apple and is currently in review so hopefully we’ll see it soon. Check out the video after the break and let us know what you think!

[YouTube via Touch Arcade, thanks Def!]

Unreal 3 Engine powered Dream:scape on its way to iOS is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Youngsters in Auburn, Maine may soon be using iPad 2's in their early years of learning. The district has just spent over $200,000 on 285 of the latest Apple tablets. The committee that governs the schools in the Maine, Auburn district, voted in favor of using iPad's to assist children with their early years of education.

The $200,000 cost for the iPad's also includes insurance, educational software and other training costs. The program will begin as a pilot in May, with a full rollout at the start of the next school year. The rollout will eventually cover all six elementary schools in the small community.

The idea started when teachers used their own iPad's with educational software installed. They noticed significant improvements while using the iPad as a learning tool with children whom had previously had trouble learning the alphabet. They see the device as a more appropriate computing experience for the age group in question and results seem to back this up.

Have any of our readers seen iPad's being used in other schools? Do you use your own iPad to assist with your children's learning? Let us know in the comments!

[Electronista]

Maine school district to provide iPad 2's for all kindergartners is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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Adobe is releasing an official SDK for Photoshop and kicking it off with a trio of new iPad apps, Adobe Color Lava for Photoshop, Adobe Eazel for Photoshop and Adobe Nav for Photoshop. iPad links to Photoshop on the desktop via Wi-Fi and passes scripts back and forth, enabling a very impressive environment for interactivity.

Adobe Color Lava lets you create color palettes using your fingers as mixers and any photo stored in your Photos gallery as sampling source. Colors can be beamed back and forth to Photoshop on your desktop. Adobe Eazel is their take on a finger painting program with an interesting dynamic UI that springs out from each touch point. Adobe Nav lets you see thumbnails of all currently open image windows, get info on them, and arrange your toolsets.

While the Photoshop SDK is debuting on iPad, BlackBerry PlayBook, Android, and other apps should follow suit. Likewise, while the first three apps are more proofs of concept. Phil from Android Central and I got a sneak peak last week and suffice it to say, I was impressed. They provide a hint of a future I’m really interested in — carrying around my iPad, PSD files stored in the cloud, having any local instance of Photoshop I connect with automagically adopt my preferred working environment, have any changes I make synced back to the cloud… Designer bliss to say the least.

This is exactly the kind of stuff I hope we see more of from Adobe. Creative tools have always been the forte and it’s great to see them bringing those tools to a new generation of devices. Kudos.

(At the same time, Adobe has announced an update to their cross-platform developer environment, Adobe Flash Builder, allowing Flash apps to be more quickly and easily deployed to a wide range of devices, including iPad, iPhone, Android, and more.)

[Adobe]

Adobe announces Photoshop SDK, 3 new Photoshop companion apps for iPad is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store.

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