Author Archives: GEEK!

Top 5 iPhone and iPod touch apps – January 2011

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Sorry it’s been such a long time since I last blogged. It’s been a busy year so far with countless AS level exams, coursework and other projects I’ve been getting up to out of college. However, I have a little free time so I thought I’d rekindle the site with a new post – I was getting worried that I might not make a single post within January!

Anyway, here’s your top 5 iPhone and iPod touch apps for January 2011:

5. Family Guy Time Warped [£0.59 for full version]

If you enjoy Family Guy, you’ll really enjoy this great app. You play characters from the game in various challenges. The game is very entertaining although sometimes it can get quite frustrating as, at times, you die repeatedly! Nevertheless, if you’re looking for a game that’ll occupy you for a few hours, try it.

4. FleetMaster [FREE]

FleetMaster is a brilliant free battleships game which works via online multiplayer. The game uses “Game Center” to find others players for you to challenge. Whilst the game is a little sluggish at times, it does work very effectively and can be good entertainment if you’ve got internet to hand.

3. Cover Orange [£0.59]

Sadly this game is no longer free, but even at £0.59 it is well worth the purchase. This is an extremely addictive game with seemingly endless levels to complete. You play to save oranges that need to be saved from deadly “rain”. Sounds random, but it is extremely good fun (and often very frustrating).

2. Words With Friends [Free version available]

This free game (ad supported, full version available) is a classic attempt at a digital interactive version of Scrabble. It does actually work very well with online multiplayer. However, if you’ve got many games running at the same time, the push notifications can become extremely irritating so you may want to consider turning those off. Otherwise, it’s another great way to waste some time.

1. Sunday Lawn [Free for a limited time]

I discovered this game some time ago, but it came to my attention that this is now free for a limited time. This has to be one of my favourite classic iOS games – but I almost find it too addictive.

So there you go – nothing very productive this month (!!) but definitely some great games to try. I apologize that there was no top 5 for December – I admit I simply ran out of time. I’ll try and get posts back on the go soon, but for the mean time I hope these keep your i-device stocked up for a while!

If I don’t get time to post, please remember that you can follow me with @geekonthepc on twitter for any personal updates.

Merry Christmas from GEEK!

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Right, well that’s it from GEEK! (pretty much) until the New Year now. My last remaining post of the 2010 will be December’s app recommendations for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

So it remains for me to wish every GEEK! reader a very Merry Christmas and a safe, happy New Year. Whatever you’re up to this holiday season, have a great one. 🙂

Vodafone reminds us that competition isn’t their middle name by reducing mobile broadband allowances with no cost reduction

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Vodafone has today taken the opportunity the opportunity to remind customers that they don’t understand the word “competition”.

They’ve made a very risky move of informing customers that as of 1st February 2011, a £15 top up will no longer grant them a 3GB allowance. Instead, for the same price, it will give them 2GB.

Vodafone claim that the reason for this change is the belief that 90% of their customers use less than 2GB in a month. They notify customers that if you want the same allowance, you’ll have to top up a bit more regularly.

Three (UK) currently offer 3GB allowance for £15 and currently have no intentions to remove this – so Vodafone may lose out to Three, who undoubtedly have better 3G coverage and faster speeds.

Customers have expressed their outrage and there are claims that several people are writing to trading standards. I happen to think it’ll be a risky move – and may cost them large amounts of customers.

Don’t forget this year’s free iTunes stuff with 12 days of Christmas (2010)

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Apple has just set up their 12 days of Christmas website ready for Christmas 2010. The session will offer 12 days of various free music, videos, apps and books.

To download the app to your iPhone or iPod touch head here, or click here to go to the official site where you can sign up to email alerts.

The 12 days starts on December 26th, and finishes on January 6th – so don’t miss out! Last year I remember it was actually really good – some decent apps, films and music given out for free.

This really is a no brainer – something for nothing from Apple, for once!

Top 5 iPhone and iPod touch apps – November 2010

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Since I’ve had my new iPod touch 4G, I’ve been downloading, installing and often deleting a huge number of apps. If you have to give Apple credit for one of their creations, the App Store would be where credit is due. It is, undoubtedly, the most popular store for mobile devices.

So, I’ve decided to start writing monthly top 5 app charts for the iPhone and iPod touch. Don’t ask me whether this will last – I haven’t got a clue! But I shall remain optimistic for the time being and begin now.

Here we go then. Here’s your top 5 roundup for November 2010 in reverse order.

Oh, and I’ll take the opportunity to point out that (for this month at least) there may be some older apps in the charts. You can’t ignore the classics and the most useful apps just because they’ve been out for some time. Basically, what I’m saying is, the month this refers to doesn’t necessarily mean that the app was launched during this month.

5. thetrainline [FREE]

This has to be one of my most used transport apps. This has been around for some time (I can remember it having a permanent residence on my old iPod touch as well as my new one) but, nevertheless, it is extremely useful for finding trains across the UK at the last minute. It’s only downside is that you can’t check ticket prices without registering for an account, which is a bit of a bummer if you need to know in a hurry. It does memorize your home location, though, which is handy as you can just tell the app to find the nearest station to your current location and get you a train home. If you use trains regularly, this is a must have.

4. OpenFeint (Free App a Day) [FREE]

The title gives the app away really. Every day, OpenFeint make an app on the App Store free for a day, and it’s your opportunity to get something for nothing. It’s pot luck really – sometimes the apps are great and other times they just aren’t worth the bandwidth. But as they’re free, I guess you haven’t got much to loose.

3. VLC [FREE]

If you know about VLC Media Player for your computer, it won’t take you long to work out what this app does. However, it does do an extremely good job. It plays a wide range of video formats so I can finally play videos that aren’t in the annoying, space hungry MP4 format. It doesn’t always display videos in the centre of the screen, though, which you might find irritating. However, if you have videos in various formats on your computer, it is well worth the download.

2. eBuddy Pro [£2.99]

If you want a decent portable IM client, this can’t really be beaten. There is a free version of eBuddy for iPhone (and iPod touch) but it’s full of adverts and limitations – so I would suggest buying the full version if you’re going to be using IM frequently on the go. I prefer eBuddy Pro to other IM clients (such as the official WLM app) mainly because it is clean, quick and I find the notifications are much more responsive in this app than any other app of it’s kind. It also handles multitasking very well.

1. RedLaser [FREE]

As previously reviewed on GEEK!, I think this has to be my first number 1 app. If you like comparing prices for products and saving money online, this app will be your new companion. The app utilises the camera built into the iPhone (and iPod touch 4G) and uses it is to scan barcodes. Yes, you’ve heard of this concept many times before – however this app actually works! It’s found the vast majority of barcodes I’ve tried to scan with it, and also managed to get good price comparisons. This app is undoubtedly a huge time saver. It’s also a good entertainer for half an hour if you’ve got plenty of DVD’s or the likes in your home!!

So there you go. Let’s see if I remember to post up next month’s roundup.