Numbers for iPhone and iPad is a great way for casual users to manage spreadsheets but may not offer enough power for professionals… yet.

Apple’s Numbers is the spreadsheet component of their iWork productivity suite of software, and a companion app to Pages for word processing and Keynote for presentations. All three have proven to be popular choices for document management on the go and have just recently been updated to support for iOS 5.1 and the new iPad‘s Retina display.

If you’re a new iPad or iPhone owner and need a way to create and edit spreadsheets on the go, Numbers is Apple’s iCloud integrated solution. The question is, how easy is it to use and how much can you really do with it?

Numbers isn’t Excel, and that’s okay

Apple’s Numbers isn’t Microsoft’s Excel. That’s the first and most important thing to remember. Apple’s goal wasn’t to copy Excel, Lotus, or Visicalc, but to come up with a spreadsheet program that was easy to use and could produce great looking documents fairly quickly.

That said, if you’ve used Excel in the past, you should feel pretty comfortable with Numbers as well.

Creating spreadsheets in Numbers

To add content to a spreadsheet in Numbers — whether it be text, a table, an image, or something else, you simply tap on the Add button (looks like a + sign) in the top right corner.

Once you add an object, you can move on to editing and formatting it.

Numbers also makes it easy to format content with the formatting brush. It’s represented by a paintbrush icon in the upper right hand corner. In order to use it, you’ll need to highlight something you’d like to format. From there it will smartly choose options based on what kind of content you’d like to edit.

For example, if you select a table full of data, it will give you the option to turn that data into charts or graphs quickly and easily. If you’re selecting a block of text, it’ll give you options for format that text as a header, change the font, place borders around it, and many more options.

If you’ve used past versions of iWork on your iPhone or iPad, you may have noticed that the formatting icon and menu have changed a bit in the updated version.

Sharing your work

Numbers gives you a few ways that you can share your content directly from your iPhone or iPad. You can share your work via e-mail, send it to iTunes (where you can open it via the desktop Numbers app for Mac), and print it.

Currently Numbers still gives users the option to share it to iWork.com or iDisk as well. Given iDisk and iWork.com will be discontinued this summer, I’m not quite sure why Apple is still allowing them as options. I’d advise new users to stay away from them and just enable iCloud from the beginning to avoid having to transfer documents over before Apple turns off these services.

Syncing with iCloud

Upon first launching any of the iWork for iOS apps on your iPhone or iPad, you’ll be asked whether or not you’d like to sync with iCloud. I’d recommend doing so if you plan on editing and accessing documents from multiple iOS devices. This way, if you make changes to a spreadsheet on your iPad, your changes will be synced with all your devices.

There are, however, a few flaws to this system. I’m not a fan of the fact that I have to log in to iCloud from a browser and download files and re-upload them when at a computer. I was really hoping Apple would have implemented a better solution by now.

If you only have the need to edit iWork documents on the go, iCloud is just fine but we have to be practical — most users need to be able to easily edit them on a computer whether in iWork on Mac or Microsoft Office on Windows or Mac as well. The integration just isn’t that great when you’ve got to download a document from iCloud, edit what you need to, and re-upload it in order for it to sync the current version to all your devices.

A syncing solution that better integrates documents with iCloud will hopefully be a big part of what OS X Mountain Lion will bring to the table.

While iCloud does allow you to download documents to your computer in Excel format, there’s no escaping the fact that Excel and Numbers handle some types of data differently. If you use a lot of extensive or custom-built formulas, switching between Numbers and Excel probably isn’t too pretty.

I’ve come across a few occasions where I’d created extensive formulas or functions in Excel or Numbers and when I’d try to cross-edit, the formulas would break or output an error. This has a lot to do with how each handle formulas and syntax. Unfortunately, it’s probably not something Apple can overcome easily.

What’s new in Numbers 1.6

Numbers 1.6 is a free upgrade to existing Numbers for iOS users, and comes with a few new features.

Reorganized user interface

Anyone who previously used iWork on the iPhone or iPad may have noticed that some of the main interface elements were switched around. I’ve found the new layout to be much more productive than the old one.

The main controls have been brought down from four to three. Within these three sections, you’ll find a lot of your options have been condensed or re-organized.

The new layout took me less than 10 minutes to get used to and where I logically thought something would have been moved was typically where it ended up. Existing users won’t need to worry about re-learning the program and new users will benefit from the more intuitive layout.

3D charts and graphs

One of the most talked about features in Numbers 1.6 is the ability to easily add 3D charts and graphs to your spreadsheets. While the 2D charts were good enough for most, the 3D charts really do make spreadsheets created in Numbers pop.

Let’s face it, no one really likes staring at spreadsheets during a meeting or presentation for very long. It’s essential that you have a way to convey your information in a way that’s fun and engaging. I find the 3D charts and graphs to be a way to do exactly that.

Once you’ve got your data set up in a plain text chart, Apple has made it drop dead simple to turn that data into an easy to read 3D pie chart or graph. To add a chart to a spreadsheet, tap the “+” symbol to add an element and choose 3D charts. From there you can highlight the content from your spreadsheet you’d like to appear in the chart and you’re done.

Customizing and editing things like color, font, what data to display on what axis, and other design elements is easier to access with the new formatting icon (hint: it’s the paintbrush in the upper right hand corner). You can also drag individual contents around such as the title or chart key for easy placement and adjustment.

Stability improvements

While the addition of 3D charts and graphs is welcome, the thing I was most happy to see in action were the stability and performance improvements. I’m normally pretty skeptical of companies releasing an update with a generic “performance enhancements” description. This time, it really is noticeable.

I’ve always found the interface of Numbers on iPhone and iPad to be somewhat difficult to work with as it always seemed to lag behind. I’d attempt to highlight a few cells and the cursor could sometimes not keep up with my finger. This seems to be less of an issue this time around. If you’re working with spreadsheets that contain a lot of data it could always be rather tedious to use your iPhone or iPad to edit them or make changes. I always experienced lag. With smaller spreadsheets that don’t contain a tremendous amount of data or formulas, it’s probably a non-issue for most.

Using my iPad 2, I do still experience some lag when typing content into cells and trying to switch between them. Sometimes I find myself having to tap twice in order for Numbers to realize I’m trying to switch between cells. I tested out Numbers on a first generation iPad and unfortunately, a lot of the lag still seems to be present. It’ll be interesting to see how the new iPad will handle large spreadsheets.

The good

• 3D charts and graphs are extremely easy to create and manipulate
• Enhanced speed and stability are noticeable
• The integration with iCloud between iOS devices works without a hitch
• Menu system is easy for new users to grasp

The bad

• Still no landscape support for iPhone which is more than annoying when trying to edit spreadsheets that are wide
• Having to download and re-upload new versions to iCloud while on a computer is cumbersome
• While Excel is supported as a downloadable format, extensive formulas and functions still may break when cross-editing

Conclusion

Numbers for iPhone and iPad is a great way for casual users to manage spreadsheets but may not offer enough power for professionals… yet. The power of the Apple A5X processor in the new iPad will no doubt make handling larger spreadsheets smoother and easier, and the Retina display will make them look better than ever.

Aside from some minor improvements, however, I really don’t feel iWork received as much attention as the iLife suite this time around, namely GarageBand, iMovie, and the all new iPhoto for iOS.

Numbers 2.0 should be a priority for Apple if they want the iPad to continue to convert people to mobile productivity. In the meantime, I’ll continue using the current Numbers for basic spreadsheets that I need access on the go.

It will also be interesting to see what, if anything Microsoft brings to the table if they decide to pull the trigger on Microsoft Office for iPad.

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The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has subpoenaed Apple to testify in their ongoing antitrust investigation again Google. Specifically, they’re interested in the deal Google made to be the default search engine on the iPhone. Since Google enjoys an incredibly dominant market position in search, the government wants to find out if they’re abusing that position to unfairly keep out competitors.

The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 signaled the beginning of a shift from desktop to mobile search, and from search to apps. Google reportedly pays Apple millions a year to maintain default status on the iPhone to preserve their search share, and has developed the competing Android platform to help cement their position in mobile.

What, if anything, the FTC hopes to discover through Apple’s testimony is unknown. Bing, which replaced Microsoft Live search in 2009, and the now Bing-powered Yahoo! are both user-selectable options in iOS, and Apple and Google relationship has soured considerably since Android’s launch.

Typically, there’d need to be a clear sign of abuse, such as bundling (refusal to allow the use of a dominant product/service unless a less-dominant product/service is taken as well). The Next Webs Matthew Panzarino offers some speculation:

Some have postulated that the deal had something to do with Apple's desire to have Google maps on the iPhone. Two sources, one at Google and one at a company that produces Apple-competing mobile devices, have told us previously that Google licenses map data exclusively to Apple outside of its own Android food chain.

More as this develops.

Source: Adam Santarino/Bloomberg via AllThingsD, The Next Web

According to some EU court documents, Motorola and Apple had talked about hashing out a licensing deal in late 2011. Given their rough and ongoing patent battles over the last few months, it’s no surprise to hear Apple claim in the documents that their “refusal to accede to this demand led Motorola Mobility to sue Apple in an attempt to exclude Apple's products from the market." Meanwhile, Motorola has claimed that they’ve been offering fair, reasonable, and non-descriminatory licensing to Apple since 2007. Google’s pending purchase of Motorola looms large in this whole affair, through which they would acquire between 7000 and 8000 patents (500 – 100 of which would be European). Google says that they’re open to Motorola licensing their patents for up to 2.25% of the handset cost, which is $1.35 on a $600 phone. Overall, the EU court sounded positive on the idea of a cross-licensing deal between Motorola and Apple.

“From the information available to the Commission, this option envisaged a cross-licence possibly to the benefit of all Android OEMs but also with mutual carve-outs. This kind of cross-licence would be different in scope from that which might have been concluded by Motorola Mobility prior to the transaction.”

I’m no lawyer, but there seem to be two sides to this. On one hand, I could certainly see the mutual benefit of Motorola and Apple to allow access to one another’s fairly important patents. On the other hand, if Motorola agrees to license their patents under FRAND terms in order to become part of the standard, and Apple decides to keep their patents proprietary to gain competitive advantage, a blanket cross-license wouldn’t be a fair deal to Apple.

Source: EU court documents here, Bloomberg

ChangeWave recently surveyed 1,604 IT personnel with buying power in their company, and of those planning on getting tablets in the next quarter, 84% are siding with the iPad. To properly set the context, however, only 22% of the surveyed companies said that they were in the market to buy tablets for their employees. We already knew that businesses were big on iOS tablets, but that figure is actually up from 77% in November – clearly the new iPad is spiking interest in businesses as well as consumers. Even BlackBerry, the traditional leader in enterprise, only demanded 3% of corporate tablet demand. Samsung’s took second place, albeit far behind apple with 8% demand.

Is anyone really surprised by results like this? Although it continues to highlight Apple’s vice grip on the tablet market, there’s still plenty of room for the tablet market itself to grow. An IT folks out there on the verge of rolling out iPads to the workforce? Have any of y’all already pulled the trigger?

Source: ChangeWave

If you’ve been looking to upgrade your iPhoneography from the built-in iPhone Camera app to something a little more flexible and powerful, then check out the just released Camera+ 3. Built by photographers for photographers, the latest update not only continues Camera+’s great features and filter sets, but adds the ability to lock focus and exposure, mulit-photo imports, improved social sharing, app integration (so you can get to Camera+ from within other apps), and more.

Camera+ has long had the ability to set your exposure and focus separately while taking a photo, but today’s update now allows you to lock these settings in place, independently of each other so that you can fine-tune your composition without fear of these settings changing.

The update now also allows you to important multiple photos from your library at once versus just one at a time. Also related to workflow, Camera+ now gives you the option to edit a photo immediately after capturing it, or to take many photos in a row and decide on your own when you wish to start editing.

Sharing to Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr has also been greatly improved. You can now share to all services at once — even multiple accounts of any service at once.

The folks at tap tap tap have also released new app integration API’s that allows developers to integrate Camera+ into their apps. For example, when choosing to upload a photo in Tweetbot, there is now an option to take the photo with Camera+. After you’re done taking and editing the photo in Camera+, it will automatically take you back to Tweetbot and insert the photo into your tweet. Other apps that utilize Camera+ integration include WordPress, Twitterrific, Foodspotting, and Twittelator Neue.

I’m very impressed with the update so far and will spend more time with Camera+ over the coming weeks. Camera+ has always been one of those apps that was great in theory, but the UI and workflow never really clicked with me. With these added improvements, I’m willing to give Camera+ another shot.

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For today only, the iMore Store has the OtterBox Reflex Series Case for iPad 2 on sale for only $36.95! That’s a spectacular 46% off! Get them before they’re gone!

Get the OtterBox Reflex Series Case for iPad 2 now!

Looking for an iPad 2 case that offers the perfect balance of protection and contemporary styling? The OtterBox Reflex Series Case offers front and back device coverage in a sleek package, preventing scratches and keeping your new iPad 2 clean and safe from drops.

This case has a touch screen shield that doubles as a viewing/typing stand, access to all buttons and controls (including camera lens), plus the simple design makes docking your iPad 2 easy and fast.

The unique audio pathway redirects sound toward you for excellent listening pleasure.

Features:

• Reflex Zones in corners
• Slick exterior
• Easy snap-off access for docking
• Snap-on touch screen shield doubles as a viewing/typing stand
• Unique audio routers direct sound towards you
• Single layer dual density material
• Polycarbonate molded with TPE rubber

With the new iPad around the corner, there are lots of people wondering if now is the time to jump into the wonderful world of tablets. Of course, the new iPad will be the first one many first timers will look at. Many savvy shoppers, however, will also take a look at the alternatives before taking the plunge. That’s especially true of low-cost alternatives like the BlackBerry PlayBook, Amazon Kindle Fire, and smattering of other bargain bin Android tablets (like the $100 ZTE Optik). The question is simple: how much are you willing to spend, and what value can you get for your money?

Screen size

The most obvious sacrifice you tend to make when it comes to budget tablets is screen size, which might not actually be all that much of a bad thing if you’re looking for something portable. The PlayBook, even with its 7-inch display, can still handle HD video playback respectably. The Amazon Kindle Fire is the same size, and is tied into all of Amazon’s book, video, and music services.

The advantage of the smaller screen size is that you can fit it into a jacket pocket, and hold it for longer periods of time without getting tired. It’s closer to a one-handed tablet than the two hands typically required for an iPad.

The down side is that a smaller screen restricts the type of apps you can run. As a result, with 7-inch tablets you typically get scaled up smartphone apps rather than the bigger, tablet-specific apps you get on the iPad. Also, for some bigger really is better when it comes to watching video, gaming, or reading.

If portability is your primary concerns, check out the PlayBook and the Kindle Fire. If screen size matters to you, check out the iPad.

Media and Apps

There’s no other way to say it: compared to the iPad and the App Store, the BlackBerry PlayBook App World ecosystem is sorely lacking. This is the next sacrifice you make when aiming for budget tablets. Even within the massive Android market, Android tablet apps have been very slow to appear. On both platforms you can run Android smartphone apps, but the experience isn’t even close to the same. (Just like running iPhone apps on the iPad is doable but not especially enjoyable.)

For games and really big name apps, it probably won’t matter. You’ll find what you need to get by. But if you want really great software and more importantly, a choice of several really great apps in any given category, it’s something to consider.

Media — books, TV shows, movies, and music — varies more from platform to platform. Amazon, of course, is a content power house and there’s an argument to be made that the Kindle Fire is as much a portal to the massive Amazon store as it is a tablet. The only catch is, Amazon media is almost entirely exclusive to the U.S. You can find Amazon MP3 in a few other countries, but compared to Apple’s international iTunes availability, depending on where you live, the Kindle can end up being little more than a paperweight. Media on the PlayBook is more of a mixed bag, with apps and sync filling in some of the gaps, but nothing to compare with the content offerings from Amazon or iTunes.

If you’re happy with the basics and already have a lot of your own content, you can go with a cheaper tablet. If you want the best choice of the best apps and an easy way to buy more content, go with the iPad.

Performance and user experience

Although the PlayBook saw significant price cuts due to slow sales and adoption, BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 runs really well on the hardware. Amazon has also fixed a lot of the bugs and performance issues that plagued the original Kindle Fire release and the user experience is now much smoother and more enjoyable.

Budget Android tablets tend to be more problematic. Delayed OS updates, wonky manufacturer customizations, and sketchy hardware performance can all make for a poor time on Android.

With the iPad you get what you pay for. A really smooth, really polished user experience that almost always keeps you focused on what you’re doing without the distractions of poor or glitchy performance. It’s a cliche but it just works.

One thing PlayBook and Android can boast over iOS, however, is a more open ecosystem, at that combined with a lower pricetag may be worth sacrifice if you’re willing (or eager) to tweak your device.

If you want a good mix of performance and price, the Playbook followed more distantly by the Kindle Fire is worth checking out. If you value price over performance, budget Android tablets are worth a look. If you put a premium on performance and user experience, you’ll ultimately enjoy the iPad more.

The budget iPad

There’s another choice worth considering in the budget tablet debate: the iPad 2. While it hasn’t reached the $199 level of the BlackBerry PlayBook or Amazon Kindle Fire, Apple did keep last year’s iPad 2 around at a discounted $399 price. If you don’t mind missing out on a Retina display, faster graphics, LTE options, or better cameras, give it a look.

• iPad 2 vs the new iPad: Which should you get?

Apple also offers refurbished iPads, currently both first generation and iPad 2, via their online store. So if you’re on a budget but have your heart set on an iPad, Apple’s refurbished iPad store is worth a look.

Any questions?

Overall, if you’re on a budget, you can typically find a decent (if not great) tablet alternative to the new iPad for $300 less. You’re sacrificing app selection, screen size, and resolution, but you’re gaining a wider variety of options when it comes to hardware configuration and software accessibility. Personally, it’s easy for me to side with the new iPad — I can only imagine that the disparity in gaming performance with anything else is going to be huge.

If money is tight, however, it can be really difficult to decide how much you can or will spend on a tablet. Lower cost doesn’t always translate into better value, but the reality it, tablets aren’t as critical as phones or computers, and there’s only so much gadget money to go around. If you’ve already tried out the BlackBerry PlayBook, Amazon Kindle Fire, or another budget tablet, share your thoughts. If you have more questions or want more opinions, we’re here to help.

• New iPad help forum

Some early benchmarks of the new iPad show that though there’s been a bump in RAM up to 1 GB (from 512 MB in the iPad 2), the processor maintains the same 1 GHz clock speed.  These figures were pulled up from the Geek Bench app on a new iPad acquired a bit early by some folks in Vietnam. The tests also give us some idea of the power of the new Apple A5X quad-core graphics processor by assessing floating point performance and graphic streams. The memory managed about 300 MB/second read speeds, and 1 GB/second write.

While it’s a little sad for gadget geeks that the new iPad won’t be upgrading the CPU, it does have a lot more graphical horsepower for gamers, and the added RAM will help performance across the board. Specs aside, there’s no doubt that Apple will be providing a smooth and enjoyable user experience on the new iPad; after all, it’s not the size of your processor that matters, it’s what you do with it.

Source: Tinh te

DODOCase has just announced three new cases for the new iPad. Famous for the old world craftsmanship and charm they bring to the newest of the new gadgets, DODOCase is not only releasing their signature, classic case for the new iPad, but two completely new cases lines as well.

• DODOcase Classic with red, green, charcoal, or sky blue lining at $59.95.
• DODOcase Essentials in granite, meadow, Tahoe, or sand at $69.95.
• DODOcase Spring / Summer 2012 in two tone granite/poppy, meadow/lake, Tahoe/sunrise, and sand/earth for $79.95.

They’ve also ramped up their personalization options, so you can make your DODOCase uniquely your own, or make it special for that special someone, in either black or gold foil stamp, in three locations including the spine.

"The new iPad gives us another opportunity to continue our support and preservation of bookbinding, while allowing us to introduce an entirely new facet of our business with advanced personalization options and our Spring / Summer collections" said Patrick Buckley, co founder and Chief DODO of DODOcase. "Two years after launching DODOcase, we have built a full bookbinding operation and woodshop in San Francisco. As always, we are proud to offer crafted artisanal products that help connect tradition and technology for our customers."

DODCase’s iPad 2 case won iMore’s 2011 Readers Choice Award, so needless to say, we can’t wait to get our hands on the 2012 models.

Source: DODOCase

The new iPad is officially launching this Friday, March 16. However, as is becoming increasingly common these days, sources in Asia have managed to get their hands on Apple’s 3rd generation tablet a few days early and put it through the perfunctory unboxing. Tinhte.vn in Vietnam scored the photo above and the video below. Their initial impressions, translated by Google:

IPad feeling holding the 3rd generation is great, still very solid machine like the iPad 2 but is somewhat heavier and thicker than a bit. Really do not know if it’s difficult for you to feel very small changes. Biggest difference is the design on the back of your camera slightly larger than the iPad 2 due to large sensor and lens structure also changed. In general, third-generation iPad would make those who want a radical change in design is unsatisfactory but it is still very beautiful at this time.

They also mention the Retina display screen, of course.

Customers in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland, UK and the US Virgin Islands will get their turn on Friday. If anything, this early unboxing helps set expectations — like with the iPhone 4S, there’s no huge external design change. Rather, there are several important internal changes that will likely come together to provide a significant experiential change. (We’ll find out for sure in a few days.)

Need more sneak-peak gadget pr0n? Hit the link below for many more photos.

Source: Tinhte.vn

A class action suit has been raised against Apple claiming Siri does not appear to work as advertised. Siri was launched as a key feature of the iPhone 4S however it has always carried the tag of beta software. This has not deterred a New York man from suing Apple for false advertising over Siri's capabilities. Frank M.Fazio purchased his iPhone 4S back in November and is now part of a class of people who feel mislead by Apple.

In many of Apple's television advertisements, individuals are shown using Siri to make appointments, find restaurants, and even learn the guitar chords to classic rock songs or how to tie a tie. In the commercials, all of these tasks are done with ease with the assistance of the iPhone 4S's Siri feature, a represented functionality contrary to the actual operating results and performance of Siri.

The case claims that Siri is much less responsive than shown in the advertisements even though Apple issues a disclaimer stating that the service’s sequences were shortened for advertising purposes. The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and claims Siri is "at best, a work-in-progress". Isn't that the same thing as a beta?

Source: WSJ

A card compartment that doubles as a stand makes the the Incipio Stowaway a convenient travel case for your iPhone.

When I first saw the Incipio Stowaway case for iPhone I thought it was ingenious. Sometimes I’m out traveling or just shopping and don’t want to carry my whole bag with me, so the idea of just having a place to store a few credit cards, IDs, and or some cash is very appealing. Whether you’re a lady with a purse or a guy with a wallet, you know what I mean. Sometimes less is just less!

Back to the Incipio Stowaway case. It fits both the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4 and comes in black on black, blue on gray, orange on gray, and two tones of purple. It also comes in two parts — a soft silicone core and a hard polycarbonate outer shell. That provides extra protection… but I’m not a huge fan of it in general. It almost always ends up being like a prophylactic that takes way too much time to put on perfectly. You have to literally go around all the edges and make sure they’re properly positioned around and over the buttons, ports, and sides. If you don’t, it just doesn’t look right. I personally prefer cases where the two parts are fuzed together, they’re faster and easier to take on and off.

Once you have the Incipio Stowaway case properly put on, the fun begins. The entire back is a hatch (yes, like in Lost) that opens up to reveal a small area that can fit some business cards, credit cards, ID cards, or a few bills. And I have to admit, the thought of a secret hiding place does bring a smile to my inner spy girl.

The hatch also doubles as a stand which works in both horizontal and vertical modes. (Of course, you have to take your cards out first or they’ll fall out when you open the door to stand it on.)

The good

• Stowaway hatch is ingenious
• Hatch doubles as a stand
• Dual layers provide good protection

The bad

• Dual layers are fiddly to put on and take off
• Bulkier than a skin case

The conclusion

With a convenient compartment that not only lets you stash some cards or cash but doubles as a stand for movie watching, the Incipio Stowaway is an excellent travel case for your iPhone. While I’m not thrilled about every element of its execution, for those who like the extra protection of a dual layers design, it’s a great alternative to more traditional, wallet-style cases.

$29.95 – Buy now

Run, sneak, and blast your way to intergalactic victory in Mass Effect 3 by playing its little brother on iPhone and iPad.

Mass Effect: Infiltrator launched on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad last week to accompany the highly-anticipated Mass Effect 3 game on PC and consoles. At its core, Infiltrator is a classic duck-and-cover third-person shooter, with the usual Mass Effect twist of biotic powers, which are incredible, seemingly-magical abilities. This creates a great fast-paced environment where at one minute you’re sliding behind a spaceship bulkhead just as your cloaking device is running out of juice, the next you’re rolling out and unloading a plasma-fuelled shotgun into some brainless robot drone, and the next you’re levitating foes where they helplessly scramble mid-air as you sprint by to escape.

Unlike a lot of mobile spin-offs, Mass Effect: Infiltrator plays a direct and significant role in your experience with the Xbox 360, PS3, or computer game. It’s all a part of the Galaxy at War system. See, the premise of Mass Effect 3 pits a grizzled war vet against an unstoppable space menace, which culminates in a big final conflict. By playing Mass Effect: Infiltrator on your iPhone or iPad, you gather resources for the intergalactic war effort by way of intel dropped by in-game enemies. Even if you don’t have Mass Effect 3, you can trade that intel for in-game cash to purchase new guns, abilities, armor, and other goodies. Of course, you earn that cash just by playing through missions, plus you can also pay real money for Infiltrator money through in-app purchasing. Progression through these upgrades is a little slow, but that just gives you a lot of time to chew on the game. There’s definitely enough variety to let you create a highly-customized character that suits your playstyle. Now, I haven’t bought Mass Effect 3 yet, so can’t comment on exactly how rewarding this Galaxy at War system is, but I can tell you that the more I play Infiltrator, the more I want to just stop everything and get through playing Mass Effect 2 so I can move on to 3.

The controls were good, and though they were still steeped in the dual-joystick mentality, there were no clunky overlays like you often see in console-to-mobile ports. Instead, you have a whole touch region at either side. The left side is used to move around, and hop between/around cover with swipes, and the right side controls which direction you look in. I found my self occasionally straying from the touch area, leading to stupid moments where I was staring at a wall while being shot at from all sides, but for the most part it’s smooth and accurate. Your touch input leaves a cool, high-tech trail which is a nicely subtle form of feedback. There are additional buttons tucked into the top-left and -right corners to access biotic powers and weapon selection, and they’re implemented with a very slick drag-and-release mechanism.

YouTube link for mobile viewing

Combat was relatively straightforward, but relied heavily on precision. After tapping an enemy, you don’t have to worry about tapping a trigger button, you just have to aim with the right thumb. You need to make sure the crosshairs are right on the bad guy (preferably near the head) since you’ll just keep shooting until your gun overheats and you have to duck behind cover again.  Shortly after dropping an enemy, you have a second of slow-mo Matrixy goodness to switch targets before going back to regular movement mode. The more enemies you can drop in quick succession, the more style points you rack up. If you’re caught outside of cover, it doesn’t take long to get torn to shreds. I would have preferred to play this Infiltrator on an iPad, if only to be more screen to work with when zeroing in on enemies and running where you mean to in the middle of a firefight. For some reason, I found with this game more than others that having big hands on such a small screen made fine maneuvers hard to pull off.

Gameplay is broken up into combat encounters, which are rated out of fives stars based on style, time, and health. I’ve found style a finnicky scoring criteria, but it’s supposedly graded based on how quickly you kill enemies, and switching weapons mid-gunfight, but I still don’t have it nailed down. The storyline deserves a big shout-out. The premise is that you start off as a part of a human supremacist group called Cerberus, but eventually go AWOL to pursue your own objectives when it becomes obvious your boss is crazy. You’re occasionally provided with decision points to be a good guy or a badass, but really, you’re winning whichever way to you go. Combat missions usually have a little nugget of storyline wedged in-between, along with some pseudo open-world exploration where you can get credits just by tapping on hidden consoles.  Though the dialogue is pretty to-the-point, I’ve found the plot to weave nicely into the Mass Effect universe.

The graphics and sound are both awesome. In that sense, I would say the game is at least on par with, another EA title, Infinity Blade. A lot of the sound effects you’ll recognize from the Mass Effect franchise – gunfire, UI elements, voice acting… It’s all very familiar, and that’s a good thing. The developer also made the mobile port for Dead Space, and if you’ve played that at all, you’ll find that the 3D models and lighting are very much in the same ballpark.

One feature that deserves a footnote is the integration of Origin. This is basically EA’s answer to the Steam distribution network, and has a lot of the same features, like friends lists with chat, joining games with friends, and buying new titles. Since I’ve already invested a lot into Steam, I begrudge Origin existing in the first place, but the fact that it’s tied into mobile games now while Steam isn’t may tip the scales for me. Origin has started Steam-esque sales, with many of their PC titles currently half off, which is great and all, but that’s not quite enough to sell me on the paltform.  As is, the installed base isn’t there, meaning none of my friends are actively using the system, which makes its addition in Infiltrator needless bloatware. I have no doubt that consistently shoving Origin down our throat game after game will eventually work, but the fact that it needs to be forced just goes to show the lack of any real need for the system.

The good

• Great sound and graphics
• Clever tie-in with console title
• Good mix of stealth, shooting, and light role-playing

The bad

• Controls a little too sensitive for iPhone (as opposed to iPad)
• Charm of franchise may be lost if you’ve never played Mass Effect
• Origin presence feels forced

The Conclusion

Mass Effect: Infiltrator is an excellent buy for fans of the franchise. The game is high enough quality that it merits the $7 pricetag, but odds are that if you don’t already have a history with the Mass Effect games, you aren’t going to be interested enough in the game to drop that much. Even though Infiltrator plays a big role in the Galaxy at War system in Mass Effect 3 for consoles and PC, I still had a ton of fun playing it as an entirely stand-alone game. Infiltrator is a universal app, but I would suggest playing on the iPad, not only to appreciate the graphics, but also to have an easier time with the controls.

$7.99  – Download Now