Frogger hops onto your iPhone

When I was a kid we had a computer lab full of old Apple II computers, which we would use maybe twice a year to play games on. We had several games to choose from, but I really only remember two that I would play; Oregon Trail and Frogger. Unless you are very young, I would be willing to bet that you've encountered these games at some point in your life. Well now you can get at least one of them on your iPhone.

When you download Frogger, you'll be happy to see that the graphics have been updated since the game debuted in the early 80's.  In addition to having better graphics, the game can also take advantage of the accelerometer for movement controls, though this can be disabled for the use of the touchscreen instead. The $9.99 price tag seems just a little steep for a game that's nearly 30 years old, but it is a classic.

Quickie Review: Magic8Ball

The Magic 8-Ball is one of those simple toys that will probably never die. After all, it was created back in 1946. We just seem to have a fascination with leaving decisions up to a D20 encased in a water-filled 8-ball (and you thought only D&D geeks used D20s). Oddly enough, 10 of the answers are affirmative, only 5 are negative, and 5 responses merely tell you to ask again. Well if you're having trouble making decisions on your own, you can now download Magic8Ball for your iPhone.

The app is relatively straightforward. You are presented with the image of a Magic 8 Ball, and you shake your iPhone when you need an answer. You will be greeted with one of the 20 classic responses that we all remember from the real thing. There's really not much else to this freebie.

Apple Can Blacklist, Deactivate Malicious Apps

With the removal of several apps from the App Store in the past few days, many are wondering if Apple is truly checking out these apps before authorizing them. But even more importantly, do they have a system in place to protect iPhone users from malicious apps? It looks like the answer is yes. 

It seems there is a URL the iPhone refers to every once in awhile to check and see if any apps have been "blacklisted": 

https://iphone-services.apple.com/clbl/unauthorizedApps

This will not just remove malicious apps from the App Store. It will also disable apps you've bought and downloaded already. This seems to be a last resort sort of function that will be reserved for only the most dire cases. 

[via MacRumors]

‘I Am Rich’ App Pulled from App Store

Looks like another app bites the dust, but this time, I say good riddance! 

It was called "I Am Rich" and it professed to be, well, the app for rich people. It cost $999 and it did, admittedly, nothing at all! No reviewers were willing to shell out the thousand to get a real look at this app (and rightfully so) but it supposedly provided you with a mantra to stay rich, healthy and successful. Umm, yeah. 

So while Apple has pulled this little nuisance from the App Store, one thing is plaguing everyone's minds. Why was it allowed in the first place? Why was Nullriver's Netshare allowed, then pulled, then allowed? Why was Box Office removed with no notice? It's all very strange, if you ask me. 

[via Gadget Lab at Wired]

Where the First Million iPhones Were Sold

In case you ever wondered how iPhone 3G sales have been distributed across the globe, a recent study conducted by Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research shows just where the first million went. 

As expected, the U.S., Japan, Germany and France topped the curve, taking in a cumulative 81% of the first million 3G iPhones sold. But this isn't really news. 

What is interesting, however, is the dispersal of carriers. And though AT&T tops the list with 600,000 units sold, T-Mobile sold 89,000, Orange sold 77,000 and Softbank Mobile sold 70,000 in the overseas market. 

Even though the iPhone is a U.S. dominated product at the moment, it still has a large resonance overseas. This data reflects only the first three days of sales, so it may be affected by the initial troubles people had registering. 

[via Medialets]

iPhone 3G Available at All Apple Stores

Well, it looks like that whole iPhone 3G availability issue can finally be put to rest. Just like many thought, once the initial mad dash to get the new model subsided, availability would go back up to normal levels. And it looks like all the Apple retail stores have plenty of stock to keep up with demand. 

AT&T stores, however, aren't fairing as well. That's because they are still filling back orders placed two weeks ago and simply do not have enough stock to fill their shelves. 

If you want the black 8GB model, however, you may have to search a bit harder, as only about 57% of the Apple stores have it in stock at the moment. The 16GB models, however are much more plentiful. 

[via ComputerWorld]

Firmware 2.0.1 Makes iPhone 3G Locked for Good?

Will your iPhone 3G be un-unlockable once you upgrade to the new firmware 2.0.1. Not exactly. And not yet, at least.

If you've updated already, you may have noticed that you lost access to any jailbroken apps you may have had. But don't sweat it. The DevTeam is on it. However, the iPhone 3G's baseband has also been updated making it a possibility that once the new Pwnage Tool comes out, you may be out of luck. 

So, that puts many in a bit of a predicament. Update now and get greater functionality or wait it out and hope the new Pwnage Tool will fix the same problems and let your iPhone stay unlocked. It's quite a pickle, if you ask me! 

[via Engadget]

Quickie Review: BreakClassic

BreakClassic by bootant.com is a nifty little game that was free a few days ago but is now $.99. It was a super success as a free app, so I guess the developers are trying to cash in. 

Even so, this is a simple yet fun diversion. It works much like pong, except you have to hit cubes with the ball and then make sure you hit the ball again with the paddle. Sounds simple enough, right? 

And it is, for the most part. However, sliding your finger along the small paddle can make you feel like an ogre. The responsiveness is good, but I felt my fingers were even too big for this game--and I have tiny fingers! 

You get three balls per round. So, the goal is to break all of the cubes above and then move onto the next level. It does get harder as the cubes become closer to the ball and you have to catch falling stars in between hitting the ball, but it's all in all, fairly simple. 

What I love about this game though is the overall look. The colorful cubes are vibrant and stand out and when the ball hits a red cube, let's say, the ball has a red trail until it hits a yellow cube, then it switches. It's details like this that add to a game and BreakClassic has that little something extra. The sound effects aren't anything special, but they are timed well. However, I tend to prefer to play games with any repetitive noises on silent so as to not drive myself insane with all the bings and boops. Not to mention drive everyone around me crazy, too.

Quickie Review: Jawbreaker

As you can probably tell, I've been going on a free app downloading frenzy lately. And for the most part, I've been happy with the results. After all, I can't expect too much from a free app, now can I? But Jawbreaker is a bit disappointing, even for a free game. 

Okay, so there's nothing wrong with the game per say. Okay, let me start from the beginning. Jawbreaker is your standard, match up the same colored balls to eliminate them, sort of game. If you clear the board, you win. If not, you lose. But here's the kicker. Regardless of whether you win or lose, the game starts over just the same. There's no fanfare. No "Hey look! You won!" Nothing at all. 

So why does this upset me? I don't need the validation of a "You Win." I really don't. But what I do need is the sense of progression. I need to feel like if I play the game again, I'm moving up to the next level. With this game, it's one level, one board, one everything. Plus, the color gems don't fall into place when some are eliminated. They just appear there. There's no animation, so that's a bit disappointing as well. 

And sure, it was free, but I don't think I'll play it again. Is that too harsh? Maybe so, but I've got to be honest here, folks. And Jawbreaker just didn't do anything for me. Not even a free price tag can save this one. 

Mophie Juice Pack comes out for the iPhone 3G

You may remember the Mophie Juice Pack from when it was originally released for the 1st Gen iPhone.  Well come September you will be able to get the 3G version of the Mophie Juice Pack.

Right now they are taking pre-orders for the case.  Likely it's not going to be all that different from the original version of the case. So if you're curious about it, you can read up on our review of the original case that was posted back in April.

It can extend the internet browsing time by up to six hours, audio playback by up to 28 and video by up to eight.  The cases will cost you $99 a piece.  However, it'll still be September before the very first shipment.

[via shinyshiny]

Quickie Review: Hangman

I can bet that almost everyone has played the game hangman at some point in their life. It's a simple game, someone picks a word and draws a series of lines that corresponds to the number of letters in the word. As you guess letters, each wrong guess gets a body part drawn on a stick figure until either youv'e guessed the right word, or you run out of parts. Well now that simple game is available on your iPhone.

The game is just as simple as it sounds. You have a keyboard, and you type in letters. The only real complaint I have about this game is that it's a little too lenient. You can pick up to 11 incorrect letters before the game ends. That aside, it's still a pretty fun game, plus it's free.

Quickie Review: Subway Shuffle Lite

It's true that there are a lot of games for the iPhone that are simply re-hashes of old games. There's nothing wrong with that, since many of the classic games are fun to play. But it's nice when something original comes along like Subway Shuffle.

In this puzzle game you are trying to get your subway car to its destination. The problem is that other cars are blocking your path. Each car can only move along a path that is the same color. It's a fairly simple concept, and is pretty fun to play. It also keeps track of the number of moves it took you to solve the puzzle, and tells you how many moves it should have taken you to get there. The Lite version is free and includes 10 levels. You can pay $2.99 to get the full version, which has a total of 50 levels.

Quickie Review: Dizzy Bee

Dizzy Bee is fun little game on the App Store that lets you take great advantage of the iPhone's accelerometer. It costs $2.99, but if you're not up for spending the cash, there's a free version called DizzyBeeFree that will give you a taste of what the game has to offer.

Developed by Igloo Games, Dizzy Bee basically takes you on the quest of a little bee to gather flowers and bring his little friends to safety. You play by rotating the iPhone to allow the bee to drop down through the maze and collect the flowers. But you have to watch out for the bad guys. 

This game takes you all over the place from the garden to the ocean. What I really like about it is how quick gameplay is. We all don't have hours to devote to gameplay, so you can complete a level in about a minute, if you'd like, then pick the game up again later. The sound effects are good and the image quality is nice. The game area is cute but I would have liked to see a bit more three-dimensional quality to it, especially with the Dizzy Bee himself. 

Pretty good game for simple fun. Kids would enjoy this one as well or those merely looking for a diversion while waiting for appointments.