ArronHirst.com

Author: Alex

  • Mosaic Emoji Messenger

    Mosaic Emoji Messenger, created by PLAY more limited, is kind of difficult to describe. It is in essence a messaging application to spice up texting. You can use it to send emoji artworks instead of boring texts. Emoji are Japanese emoticons, there are several applications to unlock them on the AppStore. Mosaic Emoji Messenger doesn’t unlock them, it just uses them. There are basically two modes to the app. You can draw a mosaic with your choice of emoji icons, and then send it in an SMS using the new API available in iOS 4, or you can have the app convert your text into artwork. There is a 10 character limit, unfortunately.

    The app has all the emoji available as you would expect. Just choose which icon you want to be the background, then tap fill. Swipe the selection bar to move to the text filler, or go to draw. If you make a mistake, you can choose ‘replace with’ to fix it. When you’re done, tap the Go button in the top left. There you can send as an SMS, iPod Touches copy the artwork to the clipboard, or save it as a template.  It’s pretty easy to send emails with it, but it just ends up being awkward.

    The – and + buttons can be used to add or erase lines from the message.

    The application quality just seems very low. The UI is always stumbling over itself and getting in your way. An Undo button couldn’t hurt either. It also seems that they need some better translators for the app to really improve, as I’m certain “The message save as ‘Copy’” is a little off. 🙂 The idea is ok I suppose, but I can’t imagine using it often.

    iPhone Integration [rating:2/5]
    Usability [rating:2.5/5]
    User Interface [rating:2.5/5]
    [rating:overall]

  • Ankh: The Lost Treasures

    Ankh: the Lost Treasures, created by Prime-Games, is a hidden object game which leaves you feeling a little irritated. You play as the Egyptian Thara, a young girl who must get a job in order to pay for her dying father’s medical bills.

    After the introductory level, where you find various objects to clean up a camel-wash, you locate a mystic crystal. When you look through this crystal, pieces of a map become visible. After finding all the pieces, you can move to different areas in search of the ancient Ankh of Life, in order to save her father. The storyline is probably the highlight of the game as it’s actually pretty interesting, humorous and a good break from the unfortunately tedious gameplay.

    There are two game types, the timed story mode, and a relaxation mode. After losing the very first level while timed, I quickly switched over. The game has no options to speak of besides that. You can’t turn the sound off, no highscores, nothing. It’s okay, but I was surprised. The game is played by tapping on the screen trying to find the objects listed at the bottom. While the objects to find vary from sea-urchins and crocodiles, to candles and chili con carne, it’s all pretty much the same. Sometimes an object is used in conjunction with another, i.e. find the spear to kill the eel, but it’s all quite repetitive. The items are hidden very well, in many layers at times. You will later return to levels you’ve already played only to realize that the objects you are looking for were there the first time and you hadn’t even noticed. So in the sense of production quality and planning, the levels are very well designed. Sadly the levels blur badly when you zoom in, necessary in every level.

    You will most likely be able to beat this game in a few hours, and it ends with a To Be Continued… leaving the story at a very confusing conclusion. I was honestly infuriated to realize that I had beaten the entire game to be left at a cliffhanger like that.

    There is a hints function that I ended up using only twice. If you find an Ankh in a level, you can tap the icon in the lower right to highlight one of the objects you are trying to find. In principle, it should have worked. However, in practice I found that I never actually had a hint when I needed one. I found myself randomly tapping the screen in the hope of stumbling upon whatever random object I was supposed to be discovering, and I’m certain I wasn’t the only one.

    Ankh: The Lost Treasures was an ok game. It was a strong attempt by the developers, but ended up just not being fun. At a ₤3.49/$5.99 price point, this is definitely for fans of the genre.

    Gameplay [rating:3/5]
    Controls [rating:3.5/5]
    Graphics/Sound [rating:3/5]

    [rating:overall]

  • Submit Your Data to Skyhook Wireless and Use Location Data on Your iPod touch

    Have any of you heard of Skyhook Wireless? It’s the reason the GPS  in your iPhone is so fast. The company keeps track of the location of Wi-Fi hot spots around the world, giving it second look up times to all kinds of devices. But, some of us haven’t experienced that glowing blue circle, that symbol of location actually working. These poor souls, own iPod touches. (more…)

  • Unlimited Homescreens On iPhone, iPod touch and iPad – [HOW TO]

    As I’m sure most of you know, Apple originally limited the number of pages available on the springboard of the iPhone and iPod Touch to 9.  With the advent of OS 3.0, two pages were added to the springboard, allowing a total of 11. By jail-breaking your device, you could use all kinds of neat workarounds and features to access more applications … (more…)

  • iStudiez Pro

    iPhone Integration [rating:3.5/5]
    Usability [rating:3/5]
    User Interface [rating:4.5/5]

    [rating:overall]

    If any of you were not already aware, I’m still in school – and this? Well, this is the app I currently use to keep track of classes and assignments. iStudiez Pro by Andriy Kachalo and Michael Balashoff is a school organizer, and I have to say for the most part … I love it. (more…)

  • 2Do

    iPhone Integration [rating:4.5/5]
    Usability [rating:4/5]
    User Interface [rating:3.5/5]

    [rating:overall]

    I was swiping through my Springboard trying to find an app I would like to review for everyone, when a blip on my second screen reminded me that I was late picking up my brother from Taekwondo. Since it has saved me from trouble on numerous occasions, I figured you would like to know about it too. (more…)

  • Outside

    Outside is a beautiful weather application from Robocat. When you compare the features of the default weather app with Outside, the results speak for themselves. (more…)