Price: $.99     Rating: 9/10     By A. Papachristos

Persistent text messaging déjà vu can be one of the greatest annoyances to stem from such convenient technology.  One may often find themselves typing up and sending out the very same messages over and over, making the task rather monotonous and unnecessarily time consuming.  Luckily, with Texto SMS Favorites by TunedOn, LLC, users can pre-program frequently sent messages, even indicating which they use specifically for certain individuals.

Texto features a simple layout that is as easy to use as it is easy to send quick text messages.  When you start up the application, you will find yourself on the ‘People’ tab where Texto will present a pop-up bubble that indicates the plus sign icon in the top left corner of the screen allows you to add any member of your contact to your ‘People’ list.  Those contacts that you text most frequently can then be customized, allowing you to indicate which pre-programmed messages you may send to that specific person most frequently.

Simply tap the plus sign icon to be taken to your list of contacts.  Once you find who you are looking for, tap on their name and you will then see a list of messages already pre-programmed into Texto.  You may choose from any of these  by tapping the message or use the ‘Add New Message’ button at the top to create your own.  Tap ‘Done’ in the top right corner when you are finished to add this person to your main screen’s list of contacts.  If you ever need to remove someone from your list, use the ‘Edit’ button in the top right corner of the main screen.

The second tab, labeled ‘Favorite Texts,’ is where users may customize and edit their list of pre-programmed text messages.  Users may create new messages of their own or delete entries from the existing list using the ‘Edit’ button in the top right corner.  To send a text directly from this list, tap the message you would like and you will be taken to the usual texting template as in the Messages app.  Just type in the contacts name and hit send.  (Note: Texto utilizes the iPhone’s built-in SMS function, meaning it does not currently support the iPod Touch.)

Not only does Texto present a simple, intuitive interface, but it also provides the convenience it promises, literally making those frequent texts just a few taps from sending and saving you both time and strain on those over-texted fingers of yours!

Texto [iTunes Link] requires iPhone OS 4.0 or later and is compatible with iPhone. A small expedite fee was paid by the developer to speed up the publication of this review.

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When Twitter acquired Loren Brichter’s acclaimed Tweetie app and made it the official Twitter app on iPhone, it came with the promise that Twitter for iPad was in the works as well. Twitter has just updated Twitter for iPhone to version 3.1, bringing iPad support to the now universal app.

The first thing you notice about Twitter for iPad is that it feels very smooth and intuitive, much like how Loren Brichter’s other apps have felt. The app is far more complex than Twitter for iPhone, though. Swiping across a tweet no longer calls up the reply and favorite options, for example – it’s now used for moving tabs in and out of view, so you can hide or return to a specific user or tweet view that you called up. You can add multiple accounts, and can upload pictures and video, view your lists, and all the other features that have become standard to most Twitter apps, including Twitter for iPhone.

Links are opened in an ingenious way – when you click on a tweet with a link, it opens up a smaller web view of the link, so that you can view it without it taking up the whole screen, but you can expand it to the whole screen if you wish. If you want a quick view of a conversation between people, you can use 2 fingers to drag down from the tweet to open up a view of the last few tweets. Sadly, image hosting services do not open up in-line previews of the images in your stream, you have to click on the links to view the images. Profiles now show a list of 5 users who are considered ’similar’ to that user for you to also follow. Also, links to tweets do not open as a native view in the app, they open up the tweet in the mobile Twitter site.

Twitlonger support is implemented for standard tweets, but not for DMs. The miniature DM reply view also doesn’t show character count, and only lets you edit the DM by calling up the draft, by hitting the new tweet button. It’s very unintuitive, and something that needs to be fixed. There’s a lot of little tweaks that the app needs, as this is clearly a 1.0 release focused on the bigger picture than on minutiae, and there is a lot of complexity to this app that makes little things easy to miss. But, given the state of Twitter apps on the iPad, a Loren Brichter-developed app with a lot of intriguing and new interface features for free (can you say multiple account support?) is welcome. The app is sure to receive future updates as well, making it worth keeping an eye on for iPad-owning Twitter users.

FREE!

Twitter

+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad

Our Rating: :: STUNNING (BUT ..)
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2009-10-09 :: Category: Social Networking

[ Official Twitter App Updated for iPad Compatibility is a post from 148Apps ]

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The BillyGoat Quiz ($0.99)

Version – 1.1

Review – “Teach your brain to think outside the box!”

If you enjoy things that make you think then there is a good chance you’ll find “The BillyGoat Quiz” to be a lot of fun! The basic idea is that you are timed and given a certain amount of attempts to solve a series of puzzles. Some of them are fairly simple, while others are designed to trick you into thinking the answer is something different.

When you open up the game you are asked if you’d like to sign into your OpenFeint account. In case you’re not familiar with OpenFeint it is a social gaming platform that allows you to see what games your friends are playing and compare your scores with them and the rest of the world!

Once you set your OpenFeint settings it will automatically log you into the account you chose when you star the game. The main screen that you start at has 4 different buttons. In the lower left corner is a button to access the OpenFeint network and your settings. The lower right corner will take you to the developers website where you can find more information about the game and who created it.

The button on the left in the middle of the screen will take you directly to the global high scores list and the one to the right of it will start a new game. Once you start a game the timer will start immediately. The first time you play it though you won’t want to pay too much attention to it because you’ll need to figure out the various puzzles.

In order to be included on the global high score list you’ll need to complete the entire game. The puzzles are exactly the same every time you play but it took me quite a few tries to figure them all out. Some of them are simple things like telling you to press a button. Others will give you a list of instructions that you have to memorize and complete or even tell do something in the instructions box while other tells you to do something else!

While a game like this is not going to be worth $4 or $5 because of it’s limited nature, it does manage to offer a little bit of replay value by having the high score list oncer you finally figure out all the puzzles. For $0.99 I can say that I would recommend this game to someone that enjoys figuring out puzzles and definitely to someone that loves competition. So what are you waiting for? Download it today and see if you’re fast enough to beat my high score of 168.1 seconds!

- David H.

Download Now!(Free Version)

Download Now!(Full Version)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Developer – Doo Labs

URL: http://www.doolabs.com

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© 2010, iPhone and iPad app reviews. All rights reserved. An expedite fee may have been paid for some reviews. We work diligently to ensure that this does not affect the content of the review and strive to keep the journalistic integrity intact. All reviews are the personal opinion of the reviewer.

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Social gaming infrastructure developer Aurora Feint announced that the latest version of its OpenFeint network allows users to send SMS and e-mail game invites to any contact listed in their smartphone’s address book.

While out-of-network invites will be available first to iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad users, OpenFeint positions the feature as key to its upcoming Android expansion. The company notes that both Android and App Store developers will benefit from increased promotion through users of the OpenFeint network.

“With [Apple's social gaming network] Game Center just around the corner and thousands more games coming on the market every year, effective and unique promotion is more important than ever,” says Jason Citron, CEO of Aurora Feint.

“By creating this out-of-network invite system, we’ll help players give more organic game endorsements shedding light on the best games out there and resulting in more game downloads.”

Aurora Feint also revealed plans to promote cross-platform play for supported applications.

“One glaring problem with today’s mobile gaming community is how fractured it is across platforms, OpenFeint is bridging the gap between gamers,” said Peter Relan, Executive Chairman of Aurora Feint. “As we expand cross platform this summer, we’re going to roll out services that will help friends that use different device platforms play against each other.”

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Cerulean Studios first rolled out Trillian more than a decade ago, back in July 2000. Today it exists as an application available on all major operating systems, both desktop and mobile. The iPhone version alone took over two years to create, from the initial alpha development to final release in November 2009.

Presently, Trillian for iPhone supports a lengthy list of clients: MSN / Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Facebook Chat, MySpaceIM, Jabber, AIM, ICQ and Google Talk. In terms of connectivity, the application doesn’t disappoint; even in comparison to the mammoth IM+ client. As with all multi-client applications, Trillian allows you to sign into all accounts at once, preventing the need of having multiple applications at your fingertips.

Getting started is a relatively painless process – you’ll need to first register an account with Trillian (free) before you can begin logging in to all your clients. Once registered, you can begin connecting to your services at will.

Trillian includes all of the expected features for an IM messaging client, such as intelligent push notifications that tell you the contents of a message when it has been received, and low-bandwidth support for those on restricted data packages. Visually, it is a clean and smartly designed application. Contact list groups are collapsable and expandable, names can be edited, avatars can be viewed and a search is present. Of note are the size of avatars: small, which not only reduces data and loading times but also makes more contacts visible without having the need to scroll. Contact information is also viewable with a tap.

The chat windows are similarly sleek. An iPhone SMS style conversation gives Trillian an official feel, and if you’re running multiple chats Trillian’s tab feature means that switching between conversations requires only a single tap at the top of the screen. The keyboard can be hidden. The application also features typing notification support, meaning you can see whenever a user is typing you a message.

In addition to text, photos can be sent between contacts. Photos are first uploaded to Trillian’s servers, meaning a smaller preview picture appears like what an MMS looks like in the SMS application of the iPhone. Buzzes can also be sent to supported clients, to alert the recipient of your existence. If you quit Trillian it will still be running in the background – even on older generation iPhones – so if a message is received a badge will appear on the Trillian icon alerting you. You go can go offline by signing out within the application.

Overall, the client is very visually appealing, and its features are ample for instant messengers. My only problem was that on my iPhone 3G I did find it somewhat slow, particularly in re-initiating the application after it has been closed. Nonetheless, Trillian is stable, secure and well worth the $4.99 price tag.

[ Trillian Review is a post from 148Apps ]

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Journalists are prone to hyperbole, but this title is almost euphemistic. SHAPE Services, creator of the popular IM+ client, are continuing to roll out feature after feature for their mass-market social networking application.

IM+ current supports Google Talk, Yahoo! Messenger, MSN / Live, AIM (Mac users think iChat), ICQ, MySpace, Facebook, Jabber, Twitter and Skype chat. Outside of the seemingly endless list of clients, the application also provides an equally long list of push notification options, including e-mail arrival notifications from popular clients such as Hotmail, Yahoo! and Google Mail.

In addition to the application being universally built for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad, IM+ also features an in-built browser for those who don’t have the ability to multitask – a welcome addition for iPhone 3G and iPod Touch users who are unable to avail of Apple’s much-awaited feature.

The latest update – 4.3 – brings with it a number of new themes and wallpapers, high resolution graphics for iPhone 4 users and VoiceOver support, allowing for speech recognition to be enabled. This last feature will set users back 99c a month.

There’s no doubt that SHAPE Services developers are trying to appeal to everyone. From customizable sounds and animated emoticons to geo-location support and retina display graphics, IM+ is becoming the client of choice for social networking users. It remains one of the top grossing applications for Social Networking – not bad at all for a $9.99 application with almost 4 000 competitors. And to top it all off, there’s a free version too.

$9.99

IM+ Pro

+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad
Released: 2008-11-14 :: Category: Social Networking

FREE!

IM+ Lite with multitasking

+ Universal App – Designed for iPhone and iPad

Our Rating: :: RECOMMENDED
Read Our Full Review >>

Released: 2008-08-28 :: Category: Social Networking

[ IM+ Now Supports More Than You’ll Ever Need is a post from 148Apps ]

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